Snow much fun!

Kids playing in the snow is always so much fun.  Home sweet home!

 Rhett was a trooper and even though him and Dustin had been out playing in it on the 4 wheeler (and got yell at by 2 cops) he still went out and pulled the girls just around our house on the sled.

There is supposed to be more coming tomorrow.  So pretty when the world is white!

Girls Trip

For Christmas all of us girls got tickets to Disney on Ice.  When Holli and I first got them I said it better not be snowing that day.  Well guess what - yep big storm coming in.  We decided we better go Thursday after school just in case the weather was worse on Friday.  From Forrest Lake to the bottom of the rim the roads were all snow packed and it was snowing like crazy.  We made it there just fine.  Friday morning we did some exchanges from Christmas and a little shopping.  We went to visit Grandma Nena.  We also got some POGO Passes for Christmas so we went to Fat Cats to go bowling and miniature golf.  It was a lot of fun.

 That night was Disney on Ice.  Holli and her 2 kids went, mother and Kelli and Melissa.  We got to ride the light rail for free with tickets there.  It was super nice riding it because we didn't have to worry about anybody driving or anything.  We just sat there and visited.  It took about 50 minutes to get there.

 All seated ready for the show!

 Disney on Ice was Mickey and Minnie, Toy Story, Cars, Ariel and Frozen

 We loved the show.  Hopped back on the more crowded light rail and headed back to Kellis.

We spent Friday night there and had to figure out how to get home Saturday with the snow.  It snowed about 6 or 8 inches here.  The roads were pretty bad but then cleared up.  After driving down on bad roads I didn't want to drive back so Bruce rode to Payson with Derik and drove us home. The roads ended up being just fine.  It was great to come home and the girls had time to play in the snow a little bit.

Tylinn Basketball

Tylinn got to start Jr. High Basketball.  She was so excited.  She is the cutest little thing ever.  She started and played most of this game (it's her first one).

 She is a hard worker out on that court!

Dustin is 17!!

We had a surprise birthday party for Dustin a few days before his birthday.  Things were going good with it staying a surprise until the morning of and Bridget sent an Instagram message to everybody to invite them and Dustin had one of his friends passwords to their instagram and so he saw the message.  A bunch of kids came and ate nachos and chips and salsa and played games and talked.  Brooke was here from Oregon which was fun and Scott and Tedi stopped by with Porter in their way home from Snowflake so he got to be here a while.  

 The day of his birthday he got an electric razor.  He better keep that face shaved good!

 Getting the candles lit.

I sure love this Dustin boy.  He is such a great example of how to choose the right even when everybody else isn't.  With each birthday we like to go around with our family and everybody tell somebody they love about that person.  Well with Dustin it was that he likes to make people laugh, that he is a friend to everybody, that he loves everybody, that he has a strong testimony and chooses the right and is a worthy priesthood holder.  I can't believe he is 17!

Temple Trip

Just a pretty snow picture of our home!

 After New Years - during Christmas Break I took Tylinn and some of her friends to the temple.  Isabella, Megan, Tylinn, Mary and Emalee. Great girls!

New Years Eve

On New Years Eve this weirdo showed up.  Not sure who he is but these pictures appeared on my camera.  He kind of looks like Alfalfa!

Dustin was gone to a basketball tournament this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  He got home Saturday evening.  That night the oldest 4 kids and I went to Capps to have a New Years Eve party with our ward and Black Canyon Ward.  We played human hungry hippos, had music, tons of food (bean dip, chips and salsa, nachos, cookies etc) played a few more games then turned the lights off for glow in the dark fun with balls and glow sticks.  Rang in the new year and fed them pancakes and sausage cleaned up and crawled in bed about 2:00 this morning. I got up at 7 this morning to everything white again.  It was so pretty but it was melting as fast as it was snowing. Today was church - we have fast Sunday next week due to the partying last night.  Sacrament meeting was over and bishop got up and announced due to some major plumbing problems we would forgo the rest of our meetings.  I guess there was a water leak somewhere and the sewer was backed up.  So we got to come home after sacrament meeting.  It was a super big treat because we go to church at 1 now. 

2016 was a wonderful year!  We had many blessings!  The best blessing of all is all of us happy and healthy!  I loved every minute we got to spend together as a family - which wasn't as much as I would have liked.  I sort of look forward to 2017.  It is going to be a good year but hard because Bridget will be graduating from High School and I know our lives will never be the same.  I know they won't be bad - just not the same with all our kids home under one roof!  Family is what it is all about!

Christmas 2016

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas this year - as usual!  The kids got to open their jammies Christmas Eve.

 Just a disclaimer - Rhett has his eyes clothes in about 90% of the pictures I take of him!!

Zippy's last night left this message.

 The reason for the season.  Baby Jesus waiting for the Nativity.

 Our delicious Christmas Eve Mexican dinner with Italian Sodas!

 We had Scott and Amanda and Kyi and his family over for a few songs, stories and the nativity.  I invited a less active lady I visit teach but she had to work and didn't end up coming.

 Beautiful Bridget reading the story "A Brother Like That" one of her favorites.

 Our amazing nativity.  The kids are always good sports to do this every Christmas Eve.  Something super funny was Mary (Bridget) was riding the donkey (Rhett - because he is always the donkey :) and as they were going past the Christmas tree Mary slid off backwards because the blanket was super slippery on one side.  It was so funny!

 The kids all watching the instant replay on the camera of Mary's graceful fall.

 All the kids decided to sleep upstairs - it was fun.  We hoped they would have more time to hang out upstairs together but Scott's family and us were having too much fun visiting so they stayed pretty late s it was time for girls to just go to sleep.  So here is their daddy laying down with them helping them try to go to sleep.

 Looks like Santa came!!

 The kids anxiously waiting on the stairs to come down.

 Thrilled boy!!  He actually really was but shows his excitement just like his dad - not much at all!

 Going through stockings.

 Rhett Man got a snow board!!!  Just what he wanted!

 Bridget opening a big box  -

 It ended up being a new comforter for her bed.    Probably the most exciting thing was after we were finished we told the kids there was an ornament on the tree that was new.  They looked and looked for it.  Finally Rhett found it and it was a cruise ship.  So YEP! WE ARE GOING ON A CRUISE!  We have been saving our credit card points for quite a while and wanted one last big trip before Bridget graduates.  We hope it is great!  We are going during Spring Break for 4 days to Ensanda and Catalina Island.  We are super excited!

 Rhett playing on a new snow toy.  It started snowing Christmas Eve about 4:00 which was perfect!  The only problem is it didn't last long enough!

 Dustin got beats - nice ear phones.

 Tylinn was most excited about the Polaroid Camera the girls got.

 Kaylee got her ankle boots she wanted so bad and a new dress and gel pens.

 Bridget loves her Converse shoes

 Bridget's cute new dress.  I so bad wanted a picture of all the family in their Sunday Clothes on Christmas but everybody left and got home at different times so it didn't work out.

 Barr and Noah came for a visit that night.  Fun boys!

 We went to Snowflake on Monday - day after Christmas.  I think this is the only picture I took.  The kids were eating breakfast so those 12 and older could go to the temple.

It was a wonderful Christmas.  This year the church put out the Light the World - and 25 ways to serve in 25 days.  We reflected on the Savior more this year then most and I know that is why it was so good! And nothing beats being home as a family with nothing going on!  Life is good!