December Happenings

We've been keeping busy with Jack home with us this month. Here's some random pictures of the kids being cute.
Mailee loves to dress up in mine and Jack's clothes. Here she is playing with Jaxon's nerf gun wearing Jack's hat and Bernice's shoes.
Jaxon has been keeping really busy with his Preschool and gymnastics class. Here are some shots of him in his tumbling class.
Here he is stretching.
On the balance beam.
And here's a video of him attempting a cartwheel. Just click on the picture to see the video.

Jaxon also had his Christmas concert this month too and it was so much fun watching him perform on stage. Jack was so awesome and drove straight through the night so he could make it back in time for Jaxon's concert...so needless to say, Jaxon was a pretty darn happy kid that night. :o)
And here's a video of Jaxon "acting" out Silent Night. It's pretty funny. :o) I love his movements...and how they are just a little bit off from everyone else. Just click on the picture to see it.

Thanksgiving!

I was so lucky to have my sister and her family come to us for Thanksgiving. It gave me a chance to finally cook my very first turkey...which turned out wonderfully. I think brining is the secret to a yummy turkey. :o)

We had tons of good food, time with cousins, Black Friday shopping, Kirtland and just a good time all around. Here's some pics.

Aurelia and Jon busy in the kitchen.
Part of the spread...
Cousin time
And brother and sister time :o)
And Kirtland!
Mailee was so cute holding onto Z's hand while we were walking around.
Petting a real fur pelt.
Had to get E in the pic too. :o)
Mai girl being cute.
Actually, we took this when I had to take her outside and away from the tour cause she was being a little too enthusiastic about everything. :o)
Two-thirds of the Lau cousins. :o)
Baby E.
She and Mai played so well together. It was really cute to watch. They were good buddies the whole time they were together.
Jaxon and E were also pretty good buds...most of the time. :o)
The kids wanted to dress up the mom's as "wisemen."
Ahhh, we miss them already!

Halloween!

We had a couple of Halloween/Fall celebrations last month. First, I got to go to a fun girls night out Halloween party put on by some awesome gals out here in Ohio. We ate some great food and went on a scavenger hunt, and we learned how to dance the actual thriller dance. :o)
Laura and I raided our kids' dress up box to find our costumes, and we surprisingly had very similar things.
So...needless to say, they were a little bit tight on us. :o)
Then Jaxon's preschool had a Fall festival and it was sooooo cute. They had a little photo booth for us to dress up and take pictures in, and so many fun activities for the kids. It was AWESOME!!
Here's one of the crafts Jaxon got to do.
Mailee got to participate too. They loved painting a pretty fall picture.
They had some fun treats for the kids too.
And lots of fun games.
The best part of the fall festival was the end when they brought in a Jungle guy with lots of cool animals. The kids absolutely loved it! Jaxon thought it was the absolute coolest thing when they all got to go up and hold the boa constrictor. I thought it was pretty cool too. :o)
Then we had our ward Halloween party. Jaxon helped me make these cupcakes for it.
Jaxon was a chef and Mailee was a cherry cupcake.
I was a little last minute trying to figure out my costume, so it was kind of goofy, but I tried to be Blueberry Muffin from Strawberry Shortcake. I couldn't believe my costume actually won a prize. I think it might of had something to do with the fact that I was one of like five adults that dressed up. :o)
Jaxon LOVED all the treats...especially the cupcakes. I love how the frosting gave him a goatee. It kind of went with his costume. :o)
All in all, it was a fun and eventful October!

Jaxon's First Day of School

Jaxon started his actual VERY FIRST day of schoool in beginning of October... well preschool. I know I was more nervous about it then he was. :o) I stayed up late the night before picking out his outfit and laying it out. We started off his morning with a special breakfast per Jaxon's request...eggs and toast. He was so excited that I cut the toast into heart shapes.

Isn't he so handsome? :o) I can't believe how old he looks!
Of course Mailee wanted in on the action.
When I asked Jaxon how his first day went, he was so excited about everything he was able to do at school. He totally loved it and I was so glad.
But since we were in Utah for September, Jaxon started school a month after all the other kids in his class. So, needless to say, he was a little bit out of the routine. This became apparent when I asked him who his teacher was and what her name was. Jaxon said he wasn't sure at first, but then he looked at me and said, her name is "Sit Down."
Poor kid, he must have heard that a lot his first day from his teacher. :o)

September Catch Up

We were so lucky to be able to spend the month of September in Utah and see so much of our family. It went by so much quicker than I thought it would and we didn't get in half as much as I had wanted to or even see all the people we wanted to see.
But we did get in some fun things. Memorial Day we went out boating with Jack's parents out at Willard Bay.
Jack's dad took us around the lake for a bit and I loved it! The kids....not so much. :o) I think they were a little bit worried about the choppy water and getting soaked. But we sure did enjoy our yummy picnic Char packed for us.
All in all it was a great day being able to spend the entire day all together as a family.
We also celebrated the Chinese Moon Festival...although a little late, but better late then never. I introduced the kids and Jack and Jack's parents to some really authentic Chinese food, though I can't say I was all that capable. Cooking the food was new to me too, so I was lucky everyone was so open to tasting it.
Dorothy and I also made a trip out to Gardner Village for the first time. It was super cute and they had all their Halloween...and even some Christmas things out and it was fun getting the kids all hyped up for the holidays.
And last but not least, we were just so excited for family and more family. So fun for the kids to play with their cousins.
Utah, we miss you already!