Christmas with the Sillitos

We did our traditional Christmas Eve dinner and nativity in early December this year because Boyd and Terry were going to be on a trip in  Mexico over Christmas.  

We started out with the usual french bread, cheeses, and clam chowder and then did the nativity program.  With 18 kids participating, just trying to get everyone in costume is a huge ordeal.  Grandma was super organized and had all the costumes laid out.  She also had a sign up for parts which worked out really well.  Usually there are tears because EVERYONE wants to be Mary and there can only be one.  However, this year's production was tearless.  Yay!!!

I have to laugh at all these pictures.  Poor grandpa likes to have a nice, spiritual production.  However, it was almost a comedy act with all the kids.  

 The kids always wait on the stairs until it is their turn to "perform".  We'll call this the peanut gallery :)

 You mean you've never heard of a sword fight in a nativity production.  Well, ours had one!!!  Love it!

 Ashlyn LOVES babies.... sometimes a little too much.  Here she is with little Josh.

It was a fun evening but we sure missed seeing everyone over the holidays!

Tis the Season

Here are pictures from our much anticipated "Sleep around the tree" night.  We ate dinner at Golden Coral, saw the movie Puss and Boots, saw the lights at Layton Park, saw Santa at the mall, played games, danced, ate goodies, read the Polar Express, and watch a Christmas movie.  We fit a lot of fun into one night!!!

The kid's favorite game is the Night Before Christmas Right/Left game...

 We decided to keep our sibling gift exchange pretty simple this year.  Each of the kids took a dollar they had earned to the dollar store to choose a gift.


Mickell got Tanner a basketball game...

 Tanner got Ashlyn these jewelry connectors...

 Ashlyn got Hailey glitter glue...

 Hailey got Mickell glitter nail polish...

It was such a fun night.  One new game that we kind of made up was musical gift bows.  We put several different colored gift bows on the floor.  Then we turned on Christmas music and danced around until the music stopped and then we had to grab a bow.  It was so simple but we played and laughed about it for a long time.

This is Halloween

We had a really fun Halloween. Our ward put on an amazing Halloween party the weekend before. I wasn't able to participate in most of it because I was in charge of the hot chocolate booth. I wish I would have taken a picture of the booth. My friend (who is an amazing decorator) helped me put it together and it turned out better than I ever imagined it would. We had Halloween marshmallows in a cauldron and whipping cream and hot fudge that were in different potion bottles. It was fun, but A LOT of work! The one thing I was able to participate in was the haunted hayride. It was amazing!!!


This pirate ship was part of the haunted hayride.  There was another ship across the street.  The cannons really shot foam balls out of them.  There was pirates of the caribbean music playing, too.  I felt like I was on the ride at Disneyland!
                           
We were also able to go to the Parker's Halloween party. It was a costume party which really threw me off. I haven't dressed up in probably 10 years. The plan was for both Baylen and me to be hippies. However, I spent a good 5 hours the day of the party trying to make us bell bottoms. I thought it would be an easy project. For most people, it probably would have been.   However, sewing has never come easy for me and it was a disaster. So, we pieced together everything we had to make Baylen a hippie and then at the last minute I threw on an old prom dress and went as a fairy princess. We had a lot of fun eating delicious food and playing Halloween games. 

On Halloween day we had my family over for dinner and trick or treating. The weather was perfect for trick or treating this year and we hit lots of houses. Our neighborhood is definitely the hot place to be on Halloween. Everyone gets so in to the holiday!

Tanner went trick or treating on his own with friends this year. I'm kicking myself that I didn't take a picture of all his candy. He got enough to fill over half of a pillow case. I'm sure he had at least 15 pounds of sugar!The kids had lots of fun playing with their cousins. I guess we never got a picture of them all together, though.

Tanner was Zorro...

 Ashlyn was Cinderella...

 Mickell was a bee...

 Hailey was a ballerina... 

 Here are the princesses.  I wish we had a picture that showed their costumes better.  Oh well.  You would never know that Raylee and Ashlyn are only 3 months apart in age.  They are definitely on the two extremes of height :)

My Life

My life is full of little moments that make me smile, laugh or feel very grateful. I just wanted to write down a few of these moments...so I can keep smiling, laughing and feeling grateful for them for years to come!

A few weeks ago Ashlyn asked me if I would play fairies with her. While pretending to be fairies, she decided we both needed names. I asked her what she wanted her name to be and she responded, "I'll be the yellow snow fairy." It would probably make more sense if I explained that her very favorite color is yellow and she was being a winter fairy. But it really was too funny!

Last week for family home evening we were talking about the scripture in Matthew about, "In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." I started the lesson by talking about birthdays and what we like about birthdays. I then related it to how we celebrate Christ's birthday at Christmas time and how it would be neat if we could give him a gift. Ashlyn immediately chimed in that of course we could give Jesus a gift. She said, "All you have to do is get a present, wrap it, and tie a balloon to it so it can float up to heaven." She was totally serious as she said this. That definitely wasn't the point I was trying to make, but it sure made us smile.

Tonight for part of family night we watched Mr. Krueger's Christmas. I don't think there are many things that will get you in the true Christmas spirit more than that show. I was so impressed by how much it touched my kids. Tanner mentioned that he always wants to take his wallet with him when he goes places so that he can give his money to people who need it. Hailey asked me if an old homeless lady that we saw in Salt Lake last March might still be there so that we can help her. These little comments kept popping up all night. Later tonight Tanner brought his letter to Santa up to me. He typed it up a few weeks ago but we haven't gotten around to mailing it yet. I'm sure glad we haven't because tonight after the movie he decided to revise it. At the bottom, he penciled in, "P.S. The number 1 thing I want for Christmas is for all the lonely people not to be lonely."

Feeling Blessed

I have a journal that I keep of the little miracles and tender mercies that I see every day in my life. Most of the things I write about are too personal to put up on the internet. However, I do want to include this experience so that I have it in my blog book.

On Thursday, since Baylen was home to watch Ashlyn, I decided it was a good time to go to the temple. Several things came up that morning and I kept thinking that I couldn't let them get in the way. I didn't make it to the temple in November and nothing was going to get in my way that day. So, I got ready and headed out. Well, by "nothing getting in my way", I didn't even imagine that category 2 strength hurricane intense winds actually just might.

I first noticed something different as I drove up 200 North. There were several semi trucks parked on the road. I thought it was strange but really started questioning what was going on when I turned on to the on ramp and had to squeeze between AT LEAST 25 semis parked on both sides of the on ramp. If I would have been smart I would have realized that something was wrong and backed off the on ramp. However, I drove through the semis and onto the freeway. It took me a whole 3 seconds to realize that my life was in serious danger. The wind was more intense than I had ever experienced in my life. I didn't know whether I should stop right there (like many other vehicles were) or try to get to the next exit. Terrified, I decided that I needed to get off the freeway, so slowly I drove on. I made it to the next exit but then realized that I didn't know what to do next. The winds were even more intense on the off ramp because it was higher and totally unprotected. I knew that if I tried to cross over the freeway, I would blow off the bridge to the freeway below. As I was stopped, waiting for the light to turn green, I think I experienced one of the most terrifying moments of my life as the mini van in front of me was rocking back and forth on the sides of it's tires. I could feel that I was doing the same. I called Baylen in a state of panic and asked him what I should do. He confirmed what I already knew... I needed to turn left and go across the bridge to the other side so that I could take the back roads home. To say that I was beside myself would be an understatement. How was I going to cross that bridge and live? However, a few seconds later I had a prompting that I should turn right. I had no idea where I was going but I turned right and somehow made it into a neighborhood. I thought I'd be a little more protected there. As I looked around, I was in total shock. It seriously looked like a hurricane had gone through. All of the fences were scattered in streets, every stop sign I passed was bent in half, most of the houses had all of their siding torn off and there were countless huge uprooted trees fallen everywhere. I assumed that I would be trapped on the west side of Farmington for several hours. But, another little miracle occurred when my mom (with the help of map quest) was able to help me find a way to get home. As soon as I got home I immediately turned on the tv to learn that I was in Farmington at the exact time that the worst winds were pulsing through there. I saw video of flying signs, branches and power lines. The building that I was stopped next to had one of those huge construction trailers blow away. My mini van is way lighter weight than one of those and I feel really blessed that I wasn't in the same situation as that trailer or dozens of other semis, cars, and mini vans that were tipped by the wind. That area was actually declared as being in a state of emergency. I know that I was inspired to turn right. With as bad as the destruction was on the west side, the east side was so much worse. I feel like Heavenly Father really protected me and helped me know what I should do to get home safely.

They canceled school on Friday because of all the damage. They also had us go home early from church today so that the guys could go help clean up from the damage before another huge wind storm hits tonight. Pretty crazy stuff!

When I grow up, I want to be just like my children

Any outside reader will have to forgive me when I share something a little more personal than the normal "what we've been up to" post. I don't really have individual journals that I keep for my kids, other than this blog. This is, in a sense, our family history.

I just wanted to share a conversation that I overheard today between Tanner and Mickell. They had no idea that I was eves-dropping but the conversation brought tears to my eyes.

I guess I'd better give a little background. The past week has been very emotional for our family. Last week Emily and Dave's precious little baby passed away. Two days ago an amazing family in our ward had a tragic accident in which the dad died and the mom is still in critical condition. We've been pretty close to this family. Sasha (the daughter) was one of my laurels and Baylen was able to work with the dad in scouts. We have truly been heart broken for Emily and Dave and the Seegmillers.

Last Sunday we participated in a family fast for my uncle (who is going through a huge trial right now with his health) and Emily and Dave. Today our ward fasted for the Seegmiller family.

I know how hard it is for my kids to fast and so I decided to leave it up to them whether they did or not. I told them about the invitation to do so each week and then didn't say anything else to them. Today after church Tanner and Mickell were deciding if they wanted to keep fasting through lunch or not. Mickell mentioned that she thought she would break her fast and eat lunch. Tanner then said,"I was going to break my fast, too. But, then I thought about how hard it would be if I lost a member of my family. I also thought about how sad Emily looked when Macie died and I want to keep fasting to help them."

I was truly touched by his faith and love for these people we love that are suffering so much right now. Both Tanner and Mickell decided to keep fasting... even though being hungry is a really hard thing for them. My children are such an example to me and I learn from them everyday.

The Perfect Example

So, a while back I posted about what a kind, sensitive kid Tanner is. I mentioned that Tanner thanks me for everything (which seriously makes me so happy). Well, I have the perfect example now of the fact that "everything" does in fact mean "everything..."

While driving home from the doctor's office yesterday, Tanner very sincerely says to me, "Hey mom, thanks for taking me to get a flu shot!"

It was all I could do to focus enough not to drive right into the median when I heard that.

Mind you, all of my kids did fantastic. Not one of them complained or cried once. In fact, when I picked them up at school, Hailey hopped in the car saying, "I'm so excited to get my shot."

I'm pretty sure this isn't normal. But I'll take it any day!!! I sure love my kids!

Fall Break

This year for UEA we had originally planned to go to the cabin. When we found out that my cousin asked to use it, we considered St. George. However, we decided that we didn't want to spend the money in gas to go down there to swim at the hotel (which is what my kids like spending the majority of their time doing on "hotel trips." So, we decided to make the long journey (one hour) and do a little vacation down in Utah County. We actually spent one of the days at home doing fun stuff around Kaysville. We saw Smurfs at the dollar theater and got our favorite gelato at Harmons. Thursday night the kids requested that we do a fondue night. We had a great time and ate way too many sweets!

On Friday we headed down to Utah County. Our first stop was Trafalga. Our Pass of all Passes includes a season pass to Trafalga. So, we spent the entire day there for free. There is so much to do and we took full advantage of the fact that we could do it all. Here are pictures of a few of the things we did.

When we were completely exhausted, we headed down to Orem. We drove around showing the kids our old apartment and different places that we loved when we were down there. It brought back so many amazing memories. Baylen and I both decided that we would live those years of our life again in a heartbeat. We miss happy valley!

We then headed to our hotel where we spent the night swimming. I forgot the life jackets. So, Hailey had lots of practice swimming. I guess I've never really given her the chance to practice because the life jackets are my security when I take the kids swimming by myself. I was really impressed at how good she is. She could swim around the whole pool with no problem.

That night we also played a few card games and ate popcorn. As the kids were going to bed, we told them that they could ask us any questions that they wanted. They asked us a lot about when we were kids. It was fun to just lay there and talk and laugh together.
In the morning we went swimming again for a few hours. The pool was a perfect temperature! Then we packed up and headed to Provo Canyon. We went to Bridal Veil falls and then Vivian Park.
We spent a lot of time at Vivian Park when we lived in Orem. It was fun to take the kids back. While we were there the girls played on the playground and Tanner and Baylen hiked to the top of the mountain. Literally. It was a super fun weekend!

Fall Fun

We have had some absolutely beautiful days this fall. We have been trying to take advantage of those days by spending as much time as possible outside! We were lucky to have an almost hot October day one Saturday. So, we decided to head to J&J's. J&J nursery does a free hayride out to their pumpkin patch each year. Everyone that donates a can of food, also gets to choose a pumpkin for free. We had a lot of fun despite the fact that by the time we got there, most of the pumpkins were pretty picked over. We had to hike quite a ways out to find some good ones. Then, since Baylen wasn't able to come, we struggled to get all the pumpkins back to the hayride. It was quite the ordeal but we made it! Here is a pic at the patch. I didn't take very many pictures for obvious reasons (I was attempting to carry up to three pumpkins at a time :)

Ashlyn and I were also able to go on her preschool field trip to Black Island farm. We love that place!!! Ashlyn was in heaven because of all the animals. When I was able to pry her away from the goats and turkeys, she also had fun on the slides, bounce house, train, corn maze, hayride and swings. It was fun spending the afternoon with her.

Ashlyn and her friend Landon
Ashlyn and Hope
Her favorite part...

You Can Find ANYTHING On the Internet!

The other night the kids and I were all hanging out in the loft. I was on the floor folding laundry and the kids were playing computer games. Ashlyn was watching Hailey as she played. At one point I guess Hailey was getting frustrated that she couldn't figure out how to open the door in the game. Ashlyn responsed by saying, "Hailey, just go to www.how-do-you-open-the-door?.com." I had to laugh at how far technology has come since Tanner and Mickell were Ashlyn's age. They had no idea what the internet was and now Ashlyn is convinced there is a web site for EVERYTHING!!!

This picture is of Ashlyn and her preschool pet Peanuts. She loved bringing it home for her turn and especially had fun dressing it up in a little pumpkin costume that she wore when she was a baby.

Our View

Baylen's been having a lot of fun with our new camera and photoshop! Here is his latest masterpiece.

This is the view directly to the west of our house... like a stone's throw away. Yup, it's the land that is all over in the news lately. It makes me so sad that sometime in the future this beautiful field will be a highway.

Adventure is Out There

Today we were able to go to Bergan and Kara's baby Tinsley's blessing. It was a great day! After sacrament meeting, we had a luncheon at the park. Here are a few pictures that Baylen took there...

Ashlyn LOVES Mindy! She didn't leave her side from the second we got to church until the second that Mindy had to leave.

Here is my beautiful new niece! She definitely has the "Sillito look" doesn't she?!

After the lunch we went to check out the "UP" house. This house was built in the neighborhood right next to Bergan's. They built it as an exact replica of the house on the Disney movie "Up." It was one of the houses that was part of Parade of Homes and now it is a model home. They said that during the Parade of Homes, the builders even put balloons on the top of the roof. The kids were so bummed that since it was Sunday, it was closed and we couldn't walk through the inside. The house is for sale. $400,000. Think we should buy it?!

I'm just sticking this picture here for now because someday I'm going to make a page of the many faces of Ashlyn. I don't want to forget to include this one :)

Rise and Shout

Actually, there wasn't a whole lot to rise and shout about... unless it was in anger. BYU was embarrassing. Oh well, the party was fun!

We decided to snap a quick picture before heading over to our BYU/Utah game day football party at the Hintze's house. Matching clothes always calls for a picture, right?! The picture needs a little cropping because we had cute Mickell take it, but I'm not sure how to use our new computer to do it. So this is what you get :)

One exciting note... I just updated our summer post and I'm now OFFICIALLY CAUGHT UP ON MY BLOG. I'm not sure if that's ever happened before- time to celebrate by starting my blog book!!!