Christmas 2016

Christmas is our favorite time of the year! Something just seemed a bit off this year though.. I don't really know what it was but for some reason it just didn't "feel" like Christmas. The "Christmas Magic" was missing. We missed the Anderson party because of the snow, our elf on the shelf didn't come (because he's lost.. somewhere), we didn't get any lights put up on the outside of our house, and we didn't drive around to look at the lights like we usually do. We didn't make the Christmas countdown chains, and we didn't write our letters to Santa, and Avery refused to go talk to Santa when we saw him. We're lame. We did make gingerbread houses and gingerbread men, we did listen to lots of christmas music and watch lots of Christmas movies though. Most importantly, we spent a lot of time together which is always nice!

opening jimmies!

The traditional family photo!

It's impossible to get a good one.

Opening Presents!

We got a snow globe from Fred Barry Elfman (our missing elf), that said he hasn't been around much this year because Santa gave him a promotion to Head of Elf Operations in the North Pole so he's been super busy but he has been checking up on us from time to time.

We all had a pretty good day. Mackenzie got a polaroid camera, a bunch of clothes, a hedgehog, and some other girly things. Gavin got a new air soft gun, a hiking pack, a new pair of roller blades, a new watch, a drone, and binoculars. Avery got a puppy surprise, a chapstick truck, a case full of pokemon stuff, make-up, and some artsy stuff. Dallas got a new watch, and I got some jeans, a jacket, and some new boots.

Meet Pedro. He's so creepy!

disclaimer- There's always got to be something.. right? Mackenzie was SO excited about her camera. Until she tried to use it. It wouldn't even turn on!! We've been waiting to exchange it but everyone is sold out. So- we'll keep waiting.  Gavin loved the drone! He would fly it until the battery died, plug it in, set a timer for 70 minutes, wait for the timer, then fly it some more. He had it for 6 whole days before he went outside and flew it in the wind (which he had been warned not to do), a big gust of wind came, and carried it off. He saw the general area where it went down and we tried to find it but we didn't have any luck.  Poor guy was so upset. I told him we can replace it but that he'd have to pay for half but he's not sure if he wants to spend his own money on something that might not last very long- see how that works?? They have no problem spending my money but if they have to spend their own it's a different story haha.

Family Pictures

The Sills and Enlows all got together to take take a few family pictures. It was Grandpa Green's Birthday and we don't see him often. Actually I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have seen him. He always sends my kids something at Christmas time, but they don't really know him so I am glad to have these pictures so my kids will always have something to look back on.

The Sill clan... minus Chelsey

Summer shenanigans

Fun with friends at the Zoo!

Avery had this orange cast for one whole day in-between the red one and the green one. We had to meet with the orthopedic surgeon but because she is so young they did not feel they needed to do surgery. The bone will correct itself as she grows. We were so happy to hear that!

We had a big fire up by the youth camp. Dallas had a great time. He loves playing firefighter!

We spent more time at Lagoon this summer than anywhere else. The kids had a great time meeting up with friends but by the end of summer all of us (except Mackenzie) were done. I think we will take a break next summer. A person can only handle so much Lagoon!

Mackenzie's principal and her friend Janessa's dad was killed in a rafting accident this summer.  The kids all loved Mr. Olson and will miss him. Janessa and her mom and Brother decided to move back to Utah so before they left, we took her and a few other friends out for breakfast then they spent the day at my house playing volleyball, playing in the water, and using every ounce of shaving cream and whipped cream they could find in this house lol. They had a great time. 

Avery finally got to have her cast removed and we had a few other appointments so we made a weekend of it. we stayed in a hotel, went to the doctor, then to the Trampoline park. We love that place! I found out I can still land a front flip lol. Avery of course was super careful with her arm. She had to wear a brace for 3 more weeks then she was all clear!

More Lagoon fun with our Utah friends!

Me, Kenzie, Kylei, Alyssa, Cierra, Ashley and Wakely, Ashleigh, Gavin, Tasian, Avery, Becka and Max, Buddy, Kelby, Makenna, and Skyden.

Of course we made a few trips to Bear Lake too!

Time just seems to get away from us. We were only able to get go camping twice this summer. I guess we've got to take what we can get!

Ellie loves camping!

Family photo shoot. 

Gavin's favorite thing to do!

Sometimes we get a little bored.

Bear Lake with the Andersons!

Grandma and Grandpa both took a nap.

Fright mares!

And just like that another summer was over! I think Avery was the only one excited about school starting but it did't take the rest of us too long to get back into the swing of things. Avery is a big 2nd grader, Gavin is in 6th grade, and Mackenzie is in 8th which means she is going to be in High School next year!!! How did that happen???

A few days later Avery celebrated her 8th birthday!! For her Birthday she wanted to get rid of the bunk bed and get a new big girl bed so that's what she got. We also painted and re-decorated her room. Here's the before and after. We love how it turned out!  

Birthday girl!!

spaghetti for breakfast?? That's what she wanted!

She had her friend Oaklee come over for a little party.

The day after her birthday we had a big party! She got baptized by Dallas and confirmed by Grandpa Anderson. She had lots of cousins come to support her and we had a big lunch afterward to celebrate and as awesome as I am, I didn't take a single picture. We are proud of the person she is though and I know she had an amazing day!

Dusty, Sara, Bryn, and Kenzie playing dress-up with the little girls at Grandma's house when Erick and Leslie came to visit for a day.

Mackenzie played volleyball again this year.. It was a little rough and she didn't enjoy it quite as much as she did last year but she's still looking forward to next year.

Me and Avery went out on a date- we decided- to celebrate both our birthdays. We had to go to Morgan to have some work done on the car so we stopped at Taggart's for lunch. As we were sitting there I notice something looked off about Avery's eyebrows. I look closer and I notice that half of them are missing.. Then I noticed she had also shaved a big chunk off of her sideburn area. I asked her what happened and she refused to tell me. She just kept saying "I don't know." I asked her if she shaved them and she said "no." I laughed and told her that I know she did.. because eyebrows don't just fall off on their own lol. It took a long time for her to admit that she had shaved them off but she never would tell me why.. or what she was doing that led up to the shaving of the eyebrows. She sure keeps us entertained!

Mackenzie got to go to a Halloween party in Salt Lake with the Studio C actors.. Her friend won tickets and they invited Mackenzie to go with them. They all dressed up as one of the characters from the show. She had a great time! She took her costume off after about 10 minutes though.

carving pumpkins

I re-finished the floors in the kid's bathroom. I've wanted to try the stained concrete flooring and I thought that was the perfect place.  I like how it turned out. I don't know how well it will hold up but time will tell. We put in all new fixtures. Now we just need to do the shower, re-paint, and put in a new window. Someday.

This year our Thanksgiving was different than what we're used to.. Dallas "forgot" to ask the day off so he ended up being on-call with the ambulance. So, we stayed home and had our own little Thanksgiving dinner. I think we did ok. It just wasn't the same without being surrounded by family.