Saturday night/ Mr. and Mrs. Claus

Saturday night my parents put on their annual Christmas open house. Keaton was old enough to be an elf this year and he was so excited. He did such a great job. They sit outside in their driveway all suited up for anyone that would like to stop by. The give out toys to all of the children and ask that people bring donations for the Utah Food Bank. It is always such a great night for our family. I think they are so great and generous to put this on year after year.

This is picture of all of the elves that got to help them out this year. Keaton is in the middle. They are in charge of greeting guests, directing them to the guest book - cookies- drinks and choosing age appropriate toys for the children. At the end of the night my parents present each of the elves a nutcracker. Keaton is so excited to have his very own now.

What we did on Saturday

On Saturday we celebrated my Dad's 60th Birthday. We had the yummiest layered Chocolate cake. The kids all got to eat cupcakes. The kids that picked the blue cupcakes had blue mouths from the frosting....it was a hit! Wow, I can't believe my dad has hit the 60 mark. It just doesn't seem possible. My sisters and I gave him a card that said we would take him to dinner and set up a time for us to have are picture taken with him. I think he is happy that we will be getting a photo taken since the last one that we have of him I think I was 12 or so.....anyway, many moons ago!

Then....we had our family Christmas party at my Grandparents home. This year we decided not to exchange gifts and put on a program instead. The kids had a lot of fun. We had a good time watching them. We even got my Uncle Brent to sing (I think that was my favorite part).

Later on we just hung out and talked. Carter enjoyed being "passed around" all night. He is such a sweet little guy. Some of the cousins played with a little Smurf set that my Grandma has had around for years. They hadn't seen it before and thought it was the coolest toy ever : )

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Chistmas Tree....

The kids are out of school now for Christmas break. They both had parties at school today and said that they had a great time. My shopping and wrapping of presents is all taken care of so now we can sit back and enjoy the holidays. I still can't believe that Christmas is next week. This year has flown by so quickly! We have a tree in our basement that I will have to post later but this is the "pretty" tree that has all of my nice ornaments that I have picked out over the years. I get so excited to decorate it each year......it is my chance to have something extra sparkly/fancy and girlie in the house!
I found this super cute advent calendar this year for us to use. We usually do the chocolate countdown or the chain but this has been so fun! I put little ornaments inside all of the doors and each day the boys trade off opening them. Then they get to hang them on the tree (new for this year also....I love it!) It has been exciting for them to see what is behind the door!

Talon's Winter Sing.

On Wednesday Talon had his Winter Sing at school. It was so fun to watch him and all of his little buddies perform. I get so teary eyed whenever I watch my kids in programs. I am not a person that cries for much of anything but I tell you what......watching my kids in programs does it for me every time!!!

What a handsome little guy. He was hamming it up the whole time!

Then...they got a surprise visit from Santa.

Talon was thrilled to get a candy cane. He is so excited for Christmas this year. He has been asking so many questions about Santa, the North Pole, the sleigh and so on and so forth. It is so fun to see his excitement.

Holy cow!!! The boy next to him has older sisters that are twins....and then he is a triplet!!! Can you even imagine???? They have the cutest mom and she always seems put together.....I need to know her trick!!! I have trouble keeping it together with the boys that I have!

All of the cute girls...

Here is the picture we had taken for my moms Birthday. It turned better than we thought it would considering the crazy lady that took the picture and the morning we had leading up to it. We are just happy that all of us were able to get together to have it taken. I love my mom and sisters very much. They mean so much to me and I am thankful to have them all in my life. I am glad that my boys have great women to look up to and trust. Thanks guys for all of your love and support throughout my life.
Also, thank you for letting me talk your ears off when I get the chance : )
Love, your daughter and big sis : )

Flashback Friday on Saturday : )

Well, it is Saturday but I didn't do my Flashback Friday post and I haven't been good at taking pictures this week so here it is...............Flashback Friday on Saturday : )
This is a picture of Keaton taken at our old house when he was 3. He was hanging out with his "guys" in his new big boy bed. His all time favorite stuffed animal is the black and white dog that is pictured. It's name is Spot. One time when my mom and her friend Suzy were babysitting him, they took him to the store and he fell in love with it. My mom said she tried ditching it off in the store but he through a fit. She ended up buying it for him and to this day it is his favorite. Who would have thought. He says that he will keep it forever!!!

Look at how chubby and squeezable his cheeks used to be. I love it!

Happy Birthday Keaton!!!

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Keaton, happy birthday to you! Keaton turned 8 today! Tonight his Nanna, 2 Aunts, and his cousins came over to celebrate his special day. He didn't ask for anything for his gift, he told us just to surprise him. We got him a drum set. He was so thrilled when he saw it. He has wanted one since last year. It is even blue, his favorite color. It was so fun for me to see the excitement in his face when he got it.

He decided that he didn't want a cake this year. He asked for mint brownies and cookies and cream ice cream. Hey, that was easy for me : ) It tasted so yummy too!! He had such a great time hanging out with his cousins. He just loves them so much.

Keaton has been such a joy to have in our lives. He is a great boy and is willing to help out with things that need to be done when asked. He is excited to get baptized next month. I am so lucky to be his mom!!!

Carter and Liam had fun tonight too! They hung out in the shoe/coat closet. They had a great time opening and closing the door. What cute cousins they are.