Christmas!

We had another great Christmas in Durham! It is so fun to see how excited the boys get every year about Christmas.  I love to watch the expressions on their faces as the open their presents.  We spent Christmas day at home relaxing and even had a friend from church come over (we forgot to get a picture).  The boys loved having someone else to play with all evening.  Dan was present.  He just didn't make it into any pictures!  Sorry!

Christmas Shenanigans

Every year we go down to the American Tobacco District to see all of the decorations.

We had a fun time putting together a Charlie Brown Christmas puzzle.

The boys loved decorating gingerbread houses this year.  Christmas is so fun as kids get older and can be creative and really enjoy things. I think they turned out really well!

Owen

Right before Christmas Owen learned to roll over from his back to his belly.  He also got to try some rice cereal for the first time. Yum!

Parker's Piano Recital (12/2016)

Parker started taking piano lessons this year.  His teacher is in our ward and she is amazing.  Parker is doing really well and I have really enjoyed watching him learn. In December, he played 2 songs at his first piano recital.  He did great!

A Tennessee Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. We drove to Tennessee and stayed at Brian and Ella's house.  My mom, Joe and his fiancé Heidi and her son Legion came up from Florida and Emma tagged along too.  Brian's family was so nice and made the whole dinner since we all got in late the night before. It was a great dinner and fun to be with so much family!  The boys love going to Aunt Ella's house and playing in the boys' rooms. They also discovered Ella's craft room this time.  They were in Heaven!  We made a trip to the Aquarium in Gatlinburg and spent a lot of time just hanging out at Ella's.

I loved seeing what the kids are thankful for on their school work. 

 Ethan's (no family, haha):

 The very long table:

 Uncle Joe and Owen.

 Parker reading to Owen.

 The view from Ella's house.

 Playing with leaves.

 The aquarium:

 Watching movies in the car with Austin.

 The craft room. I want one just like it!

Colorado - Matt Formisano's Wedding (11/2016)

Dan's good friend from Colorado was getting married so we took the opportunity to get away for a quick weekend.  We paid some friends to stay at our house with the older boys and took Owen with us.  It was nice to just have some time with Owen.  We kept ourselves pretty busy and did a lot of driving but it was fun to see so many friends and family. The wedding was nice as well.  It is always fun to sit through a sealing and remember our own sealing. 

Parker turns 8!

How is Parker 8 already?!? For his birthday Parker had 2 of his best friends over, Miriam and Joel. They ate his favorite foods (pasta, peppers, and breadsticks) and had a powdered donut "cake". They played with Legos and jumped on the trampoline.  He was very excited about turning 8 and getting baptized.  So many people turned out to support Parker and his decision to be baptized.  His 1st grade teachers, Mr. Alban and Mrs. Beckwith, his friends from school Stella and many of our friends from church.  It was lovely.  We failed at taking pictures, but we got a couple to prove that it happened. 

Parker is growing up so much!  He still loves school and loves reading, soaking up everything like a sponge. He is becoming more confident, trying new foods, and learning new skills.  He is a great big brother which can be hard at times. We love you Parker!