IT'S TIME TO CELEBRATE…. I'M FINALLY ALL CAUGHT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Need a Good Laugh?

The other day Ashlyn came up to me and asked if I would tell ghost stories with her.  I told her I would but that I wasn't sure if I knew any good ghost stories.  She responded by saying that I could just tell one about the cereal man.  I questioned what she meant and she responded, "You know the cereal man that they always talk about in ghost stories."  Obviously she has older siblings who have told ghost stories that must have included a serial killer.  However, I was having too much fun with what her little mind must think a "cereal man" is.  I asked if he was like a Captain Crunch man or a Cinnamon Toast Crunch man.  She said, "Oh I think I was wrong.  I think he's called a breakfast man."  That was the best session of ghost stories I've ever had!

The other night Baylen and the kids were watching the Mask of Zorro.  Ashlyn walked in the room at the very end when Zorro and the girl were kissing.  She said, "Ewww.  It looks like they're chewing each other's mouths."  

I love the things that come out of little kid's mouths!

New Years 2013

Happy New Years!  This year we partied with Grandma and Grandpa Whipple, Emily, Dave and Bailey, and Leslie and Seth.  

We got Papa John's Pizza (a treat, for sure) and had lots of yummy snacking food.  We played games, watched a movie, made 2013 glasses, and had chocolate fondue.  

At midnight we toasted sparking cider and made LOTS of noise!!!

Sledding

Christmas break was really short this year.  The kids only had 7 days off of school.  However, we sure crammed a lot of fun into that short time.  On Saturday we went sledding with the Bird family.  We didn't go sledding once last year because of the lack of snow.  So, it was fun to go again.  It was especially nice that I didn't have to haul any kids up the hill this time!

Sleeping Around Grandma and Grandpa's Tree

Lately, it seems to work better to do the Whipple "sleep around the tree" during the Christmas break.  

We had a great night with yummy yummy food.  I think this is both Baylen's and my favorite meal of the year.  Everybody brings different finger foods and appetizer type foods.  It's fun to do something different and it always turns out so good.  My mom and dad also have tons of junk food for us to snack on all night.  It's heaven! 

 We always play lots of games!  This year the favorites were Bang and Farkle.  We also had fun just hanging out visiting and laughing.  Part way into the night we started talking about when we were little.   Jared always has the best stories that  make us laugh so hard. 

 Here are the kids all set up to sleep around the tree.  I use the word "sleep" very lightly since not a lot of sleeping occurs :)

Grandma and Grandpa are so sweet to always host this party.  It's a lot of work for them but we always love every second of it!!!

Bowling

Another Bird tradition during the Christmas break is bowling.  We take up several lanes and it's always a party!

 The little kids' lane is always a riot.  It was a team effort every time Jackson went up to bowl!

 Mickell and Sarah

Seth and Baylen were able to stack six balls on top of each other.  I still can't figure out how that is possible.

Ice Skating

We always have a week of fun after Christmas with the Bird Family.  Growing up, ice skating was always my favorite activity that we did.  My kids love it, too.  It's amazing how much better they've gotten over the years.  Even Ashlyn was skating a little by herself!

I had to go exchange Ashlyn's tablet so I wasn't able to skate and Baylen was at work.   Seth, Leslie, and Emily were sweet to hang out with the kids on the ice.  

Christmas 2012

We had a really good Christmas this year.  I feel like I was prepared enough, for once, that things weren't too crazy.  And, as always, our parents were so kind to host the festivities!

We spent Christmas Eve Day with the Sillito family.  The guys got together earlier to play volleyball and then we had the party after.  Baylen's mom still managed to pull off an amazing party despite not being able to put weight on her foot.  

We had our traditional french meal with bread, cheeses and soups.  Then, we did the nativity program.  I did more recording than pictures but here are a few that I got.  

 I'm thinking this may be the last year that Tanner does this.  Tanner and Mickell were the oldest ones that chose to participate this year. 

 After the Sillito party, we braved the snow storm to head up to my grandma's church for the Bird party.  We haven't been able to go to the Bird Christmas Eve thing for years so it was fun to be there.

We had dinner and then we had a little talent show.  Mickell sang Baby in a Manger, all three girls sang When Christmas Comes to Town, Tanner played the violin, and Baylen did a fiddle number.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of them performing.

 Then my mom shared a thought that my grandma had found and Robert read the Christmas story from the bible.

 After the program there were lots of games to play.  I was helping the older kids play a game that I had brought, so I don't have very many pictures.

 I always love Christmas eve night!  The kids are really excited to get their stocking out and get to bed.  So, that usually leaves a quiet night for Baylen and me to sit by the Christmas tree.  This year we watched the movie The Christmas Story.  I forgot how funny that movie is.

We told the kids that the earliest they could get up on Christmas morning was 7:00.  They were at our door at 7:00 sharp!  Baylen thought we should finish our last scripture in our advent jar, so the kids were really patient while we all sat on our bed to do that.   Then we headed down.  

Here are the kids waiting while we went down to turn the Christmas tree lights on.

Mickell got just what she was hoping for… an IPOD touch.

Here are Hailey and Ashlyn with their new barbies.  They also got tablets.  However, poor Ashlyn's was broken.  We figured that it must have gotten broken in Santa's sled.  I could tell that she really felt bad, but she handled it well.  There was only one time that morning that I saw her in tears about it.  When we got to my parents house, she immediately told my mom that she had good news and bad news.  She said, "The good news is that I got a tablet.  The bad news is that it's broken."  Poor thing.  It will probably be the Christmas that she remembers most because of that 

 Tanner also got an IPOD touch.  They couldn't be happier!

 Baylen had his work cut out for him that morning.  He spent all morning getting the kids' electronics set up and downloading apps for them.  It's a good thing that he got backpacking stuff that he couldn't really use that morning because he didn't have a spare second to himself.

After breakfast, we headed down to South Jordan.  Here are the presents that the kids got from Grandma and Grandpa Whipple.

 We spent the day relaxing, eating, playing games and just hanging out together.  It was perfect!