Christmas this year was pretty relaxed. Prince's cousin, his wife and daughter visited from California, and we had a lot of fun with them. Between Chrstmas with my family and Christmas here the kids cleaned up! Ayo recieved the motherload of all things cars. Big trucks, little cars, even a semi truck that hauls cars! Me and Prince gave him a little gangster truck that jumps on hydrolics, and he LOVES that! Samarrah got lots of girlie things, a new bed set for her twin bed, a microphone, she enjoys interviewing us, a baking set so she can bake with mom, and lots of chapstick. We had a lot of fun apending time together as a family, and enjoying the Spirit of the season. Hope you all had a great Christmas!!!! We are looking forward to New Years and our Anniversary. Love you all!!!!
Christmas dinner on their new kids table Santa brought for them

Ayo's tons of cars!!

Samarrah with her loot...

Samarrahs bed set complete with 4 dollar canopy from D.I.

Christmas in Vegas

Last weekend we had an early Christmas in Vegas since everyone was in town for my brothers daughters blessing. It was a blast, it snowed like crazy, and we had we too much fun! Tyler, Brookelyn, and Isabelle were down from WA and we had so much fun with them. Samarrah and Ayo and Isabelle were so cute playing together. We had our Christmas dinner and presents on Saturday, and we recieved the MOST thoughtful gifts. We are so lucky to have such amazing family. It is always so sad when we have to leave. Here are a few pics of the weekend. Thanks to mom, dad, Tyler, Brookelyn, Alyson, Melany, Bryan and Michelle, we love you all SOOO much. P.S. not pictured is Saturday morning when me and my mom, Alyson, Melany, and Brookelyn woke up early and drove to St. George to go to Tai Pan and spend Christmas money. It was pretty much as good as in my dreams!!!!!!! I love Tai Pan!!!! P.S.S. So also that Sat. morning was grandkids pictures, and the guys had to take the kids alone, how we wish we could have been flies on the wall! The pictures turned out great!
all 4 grandkids, sorry it is a picture of a picture.

Samarrah and Ayo

In the snow with Grandma

Fun in the snow!

Christmas jammies (Samarrah, Ayo and Isabelle)

Christmas dinner

Ayo's favorite...his 4 wheeler he rides 24/7

Samarrahs new pink radio with diamond buttons

Christmas clothes

Samarrah's beautiful cape my mom made for her!

Let it Snow

So it has snowed one day every year that we have lived here and it has always been in February. But yesterday it snowed ALL
day, it was really neat. It did not start sticking to the ground till the sun started going down, but it was still so much fun!

The snow we had last night...


What we woke up to this morning...

Santaphobia!!

So I have finally found the official name for my childrens issue...Santaphobia! It is real, and my children are full of it. So tonight we went to our ward Christmas party and after dinner and the program we decided to sneak out the nearest exit before Santa showed up. We are leaving out the exit, and a member of the bishopric says" watch out Santa is coming through this door "next thing you know we are face to face with Santa in the doorway, Samarrah starts screaming and takes off running, I was holding Ayo so he did okay, but me and Prince are busting up while he picks her up and tries to calm her down. We could not have timed it worse. So we finally got out of there, and it was SNOWING outside. AHHH! it was so exciting. We drove the kids around to look at Christmas lights, and as we drove past the temple, Samarrah said " Mommy I think the temple is cold, the temple needs a jacket." it was adorable. It was so much fun!
So I cannot post without pictures so I included pictures of our tree, stockings, and the foam Santa house me and the kids made. Enjoy!

Temple lights

On Monday for FHE we took the kids to the temple to see the lights. It was really windy and the leaves falling from the trees looked like snow. It was lots of fun and a great reminder of what Christmas is really about.

Riding Along

now that Samarrah is tall enough to reach her pedals, Prince is trying to get her to do it. So here's to pedaling on her own, hopefully!

Christmas Card Rejects

So in an attempt to save big bucks we have started taking most of the kids pictures ourselves, we hope to one day have a fancy camera, but for now use our little digital. If we take enough eventually we get a good one. Well we decided to take the kids out and try to get some good Christmas card pictures. All did not go so well, we ended up with a few good ones that made it to the card, but to us the best are the rejects because they are full of personality. and you would figure it would be twice as hard with two kids, but it is like 20 times harder. So, here are a few of our Christmas card rejects!

Our definite favorite!


Mid-jump

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was so fun. My sister in law Michelle made a delicious meal. It was so relaxing to just hang out with family. We even went bowling for my mom's birthday on Saturday. It was Prince's first time and he did really well. After boxes of Christmas decorations and saying "Don't touch that tree" fifty times already I am starting to wish Thanksgiving had never ended.
Thanksgiving dinner

Traditional holiday breakfast of monkey bread.

My Dad and Ayo at the park.

Samarrah at the park

Prince doing all of the dinner dishes!

Splashing in the rain puddles in Grandma's backyard.

Prince bowling

The kids were great at the bowling alley because we kept them fed!

My mom's birthday was Friday. She is 50 but does not look a day over 30. She is pretty much the most amazing person I know. Happy Birthday Mom we love you!!!

Giving Thanks

Things I am EXTREMELY grateful for...
1.


First and foremos I am Grateful for a Heavenly Father and a Savior who love me. Who have given us the gospel here on this earth. For the priesthood that my Father blessed me with and that my husband blesses me and my children with now. I KNOW that my Savior knows me, that he is aware of me and my family. I know that if we have faith in his timing in our lives that great things are in store for our little family.
2.

I am SOOOOO lucky to have so many amazing people in my life that I can call family. First and foremost to my husband. I am so lucky to have him in my life. He works so hard for our family. We have been through a lot this past year and we have grown ogether. He is an amazing man, priesthood holder, and patriarch for our family. Next is my 2 year old diva and princess Samarrah. She made me a mom and I have learned so much from here. She is beautiful, caring, thoughtful and brilliant. She is always so worried about everyones feelings in our home. She knows her first article of faith and and reminds me often of those simple truths to our religion. She is the greatest blessing that I never desereved. She is my angel. Second is my beautiful son Ayo. He is such a boys boy and I love it. He is always suprising me with cuddles and kisses, and his smile melts my heart. He loves to play cars and throw balls. He is a daily reminder of my Saviors love for me. Of course I have to include the amazing family I was born into. I have the most loving, caring, Christlike parents.(Iknow they are laughing at that, but it is true.) They are always there for us, and care so much for us. The greatest blessing would be to one day have my children love me and appreciate me the way I love and appreciate them. I have great siblings. My sisters are my best friends. We talk almost everyday and I feel so lucky to have them in my life. They have taught me so much! I have amazing brothers too who love and cherish their families. I am proud of them. I am so grateful for a family in Nigeria that I have not yet met, but that I love so much. For in-laws that loved their son enough to support him in his decision to join the Church and to move across the world to America. They are a great example in my life of unconditional love and I love the so much. Last but not least all of my amazing Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins. As I have grown older I have realized how much each of them have taught me and how much they mean to me. With this year being as tough as it is I am so grateful for all of our families thoughts and prayers, the little notes in the mail and boxes of things for the kids. We LOVE you all so much.
3.

I am so grateful for the blessings of the Temple. THis world we live in is unpredictable, and there are no gurantees, so to know that my husband an my children are sealed to me FOREVER is the greatest gift and blessing in my life.
4.

This is a picture of me right before my c-section when I had Ayo. I am so grateful for my families health. We deal with allergies and a peaunut intolerance, but that is it. I am grateful for trained doctors and medical technologies that allow me to have children. For medical reasons I have to have c-sections and I totally realize that in pioneer days I would have passed away in childbirth along with my child, so I have deep gratitiude to be able to have children.
5.
I am grateful for missionary work. My husband was baptized when he was 21. I am so grateful for those missionaries who taught him the gospel and baptized him. I will probably never meet them, and they will never know how they have affected my life, my childrens lives, and all of our posterity to come. They helped one and touched the lives of many. I am grateful for a husband who served an honorable mission, for the lives he touched and the man he is because of that experience. I am also grateful for a father and an older brother who also faithfully served and will never know the extent of the lives they touched. What great faithful men I have in my life. I am thankful for their example for my own son.

These are just a few of the things I have decided to write about. I am thankful for every aspect of my life, and the many things my Savior has blessed me with. Thanks for reading this long post. We are going to Vegas tomorrow to be with my family and can't wait. We always have so much fun together. I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving.

HILARIOUS!!!

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