Christmas Eve

We had so much fun hosting Christmas this year. Our kids loved spending time with some of their Hobbs cousins (We missed you Camden, Sam, Alex, and Clara!) as well as Grandpa Hobbs and their aunts and uncles. We had our big Christmas dinner Christmas Eve and then told the Nativity story intermixed with songs while the kids put a sticker scene together. The kids were then allowed to open their Christmas pajamas and gift from their Hobbs cousin. Finally, it was time for pie and bed!

Christmas Dance Recital

Shelby had her first dance recital in December! We had so much fun getting her dolled up. She danced to "Christmas Don't Be Late." Here she is pictured with her good friend Brenley.

BUNCO!

I thought I would post a picture of the table setting from the Bunco party I hosted a few weeks ago. I centered everything around pumpkins including the food and prizes. Thanks to my friend Nicole, the glittered pumpkins for centerpieces were a huge hit. I think all twelve of us had a good time, and as far as I know, I am the only one that got sick (a flu bug...not really from the food)!

Happy Halloween!

I realize that I am 6 weeks after the fact, but with some serious nagging (thank you Laura), I am back! Here are some snapshots of the kids at Halloween. Shelby...fairy, Libby...princess, Cooper...knight, and Cache...vampire! We had a fun day with school parties, then off to our ward trunk-or-treat, and finished with a few homes of family members and friends. What a spooktacular night!

It's Always Fun When Grandma Comes!

We had so much fun with Grandma here over the weekend! It was nice to have her stay longer than usual! We were able to enjoy each other more and not feel so rushed to squeeze everything in. Here are some highlights of her visit...

We all had lunch at the school with Cache and Cooper! The boys thought it was a very special treat!

Shelby painted Grandma's toenails and fingernails SEVERAL times! "You just can't have too much polish!" said Shelby.

We played with bags of raked leaves on the trampoline. Grandma and I even joined in! We felt like kids again!

Eight is GREAT!

Cache celebrated his 8th birthday on October 7th! He had a great day and there was a special feeling in our home knowing what this birthday meant. Cache is very anxious to be baptized. He had his interview with the bishop tonight and in his words, he only got one question wrong...I think he passed!! He got new scriptures as one of his gifts and has been reading them like crazy. He has even mentioned to me on several occastions that he has felt that special feeling when he reads. What a GREAT kid!

California Here We Came

Like not showering today until my cleaning was done ( I have showered by the way...), I'm not going to bed until I've done some blogging! I am taking control of my life! It seems like I have been pulled in a hundred different directions lately. Don't get me wrong, I don't think things are going to slow down at all, I am just going to try to simplify and get caught up on everything I have wanted to do!

With that said, here we go...


We had a blast in California. We played every second our eyes were open and the kids had so much fun. It was so nice to be away as a family for over a week. We played at Disneyland, California Adventure, Sea World, and Legoland. It was so fun to go with cousins too! What great memories! Here are some highlights...


One Happy Family! I'm hoping all our dreams come true like they said they would!

We all got to eat lunch with the princesses. Each princess came to our table, signed autographs, and took pictures. Here is Shelby with one of her favorites...Cinderella!

We tricked Tony into riding this one. He said he enjoyed it when it was all done!

Cache & Cooper enjoyed every ride they went on and I think we might have rode every ride!

We even went on the giant ferris wheel pictured here (well, the kids and I did anyway, Tony doesn't do well with heights.)

We ate like kings and queens the entire trip! One of the kids favorite places was Rain Forest Cafe. They loved their rainbow slushes that Daddy splurged to get for them!

Our friends let us borrow their 2007 Ford Expedition for the trip. It was dreamy! Complete with navigation, DVD, and a sunroof which Libby played peek-a-boo with.