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It's kind of fun to have "horsey" sister. The weather was perfect today for a visit to Aunt Jill and Aunt Shelly's farms. 

All the kids were able to fill their need for equestrian companionship. Even Canon and I. Super fun morning with my little chickadees. 

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I was not as diligent this year as I have been in years past in regards to taking my kids birthday pictures. Neither of the girls had a photo shoot this year...Until Today. I refuse to let 2013 come to an end without capturing the beauty of these cheesy sisters. They do love each other most of the time. My original intention was to take their individual pictures, but they posed so well together so of course I had to snap away. 

 

 

 

 

 







Time for individuals. Averi simply oozes goodness and joy as she always has. Such a fun little model to work with as she flows from one happy place to another. She spends hours dancing around the back yard with her imaginary friends each day and carries that same mindset into all she does. Averi is technically 7 years and 8 months old today, but we will still call these her 7 year old pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

"But Mom, you said I could take some pictures without my jacket so you could see how cute the back of my shirt is." -Averi
Lexi recently discovered what a "photobomb" is and was determined to perform the task. I had to let her succeed at least once. Frustrating, yet hysterical at the same time.

 

And then it was Lexi's turn. More serious in nature than her whimsical sister, Lexi's poses tend to be more deliberate in nature. A highly intelligent girl with incredible persistence, Lexi can literally achieve all that she sets her mind to. A trait I both admire and strive to attain. Her current passion is playing the piano. She loves to memorize all of her songs and will play them 100's of times a day. Cory and I are learning patience. At 9 years and 5 months of age, Lexi is growing into a beautiful young girl, although more rapidly than we would prefer.

 

 

 

 

 
Thank you daughters for indulging me in my effort to preserve your childhood through photography. My memory will surely fail me sooner than I wish, but these images will forever remain to warm my aged heart.

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Tis the season for Saturday long runs. We r exactly 10 weeks away from the Phoenix Marathon and Cory and I are both well into our training. Hence our Saturday mornings are filled with mileage and time goals. Luckily the kids don't seem to mind. They just play. However our day doesn't really begin until about noon because of it.

After our runs today we worked on taking down Christmas inside the house as well as trying to clean up and organize all the new additions to our home. However this evening we joined Krissy and Wade and his parents home to watch the big UFC title fight. Pretty sure it will be a classic as Anderson Silva broke his own leg in pretty gory fashion.

After my most difficult run yet this morning it was nice to just sit for a couple hours. 

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We are so close to being out of diapers. So close...yet so far away. Someone has just not been interested in potty training. Until today. He saw this little potty at Walmart and took a liking to it. So of course I bought it. Lots of sitting and looking at books, a little pee, but no poop. Canon will be 3 in February. It's time to get serious!

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The day after Christmas the partying continued for Canon. He attended his first birthday party for a non cousin friend.  His nursery buddy and neighbor Levi Bagley turned 3. He had a "blue" birthday. Avert thing they did and ate was blue. Canon was just a little out of his comfort zone so I ended up staying. At least I got some pictures. Cute boys!

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Merry Christmas 2013 to the Williams Family! We had a wonderful Christmas. Santa found our home. Cory and I were awakened by 2 little girls giddy over each finding a box with their names on it shaped just right to possible container her anxiously anticipated American Girl Doll. As they left our room again I overheard the older girl say to the younger,"Lets go practice out surprised faces". Oh the magic of being a child on Christmas Day.

Well, the girls were correct about their guess. Lexi and Averi each received an American Girl Doll designed specifically to look like them. And I must say they were overly thankful. Many expressions of gratitude were much appreciated. 3rd year asking was the charm. They play with their Journey Girl dolls like their children so it was time. They love them. They also very much love the fake "attitude" glasses Santa put in their stockings.

Ethan's favorite gift was probably his Kindle e-reader. Now he can take a full library with him in the palm of his hands. And forget about the bike, Matix favorite gift had to be the Ninjago Lego book he has begged for about 2 months for. Happy day! Both he and Canon loved their Bionicles as well. Now that they have 2 dolls, the girls needed a bunk bed to sleep them. Daddy was wise to get mommy some new cold weather running attire and mommy was wise to do the same for him. Must be marathon training season.

However mommy's most exciting gift was a brand new sewing machine. Gone are the days of spending as much time fixing the machine as sewing. Woohoo! I am so excited! Other highlights included: Canon's Strider bike, Ethan's chess set and table, the 4 older kids were given bow and arrow sets from Santa (yikes), my new boots and Willow Tree Statue, Cory's car stereo, and Canon's beloved Ninja Turtles figurines and Legos.

We are very blessed with worldly things, but are so much more blessed to have a happy, healthy family that possesses the knowledge of the truth of Jesus Christ our Savior whose birth we celebrate today. We are very thankful that our children are learning and developing their own testimonies and will share those with us. I pray they always know where they can turn for true peace and joy. 

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I love our traditional Christmas Eve morning hike. This year we conquered Silly Mountain in East Mesa. We also invited Krissy and Wade and Grandma along. Kash and Braily made it as well. 

Cory gave the kids a little nature lesson before we began the ascent. (Not really much of an ascent, but that sounded cooler)

We made a short stop at Jill and Shelly's farms on the way back and the kids explored. 

The girls rode the horses. 

A nice lady offered to take this picture of our whole group after the hike. Love that! And I love this shy. So happy to capture the moment. Merry Christmas Eve from Silly Mountain!