Season's First Snow

I am a really boring winter mom. I do not look forward to the snow season. I think it is because it lasts so long and it makes me cold. I just want to curl up in a blanket and have chicken noodle soup everyday. I remember the days of Seattle when you were lucky to have it snow once in four years and the whole town shut down to have a great time! Not so much here in Utah. Life just goes on as normal and it's not as fun.
I'm glad that the kids are old enough to go outside and just enjoy the snow all on their own. We've been collecting "snow clothes" for the last few years and it's nice to have good clothing for the kids to go outside for hours. Here are Isaiah and Miles with their friends Xane and Tyler. They had a great time!

Here is Ella all decked out for the first time in her snow clothes. She loves being outside, but hates being cold. She lasted a few minutes out there!

Grace Performing

Grace has been in a performance group this year. It's kind of a long drive, but luckily we found someone to carpool with. She enjoys learning new songs and dance moves. This really is the perfect activity for her!
Here's Grace singing with the WHOLE group. To her right is her friend McKenna that she met when we set up our carpool. They have really hit-it-off and have become really good friends.
It's really hard to get a good picture of people in the motion of singing. I know because when I was practicing for the Relief Society General Meeting Choir, the chorister wanted us to all smile while we sang. I practiced in front of the mirror once and was embarrassed by what I saw. I can't smile and sing and look normal. I know that some women can do it, but it's not in my genetic make up. I thought this one was pretty good of Grace, but you should have seen some of the funny ones.
Grace had a chance to sing a solo at the Festival of the Trees celebration. I was really sick this weekend and couldn't go. I am so disappointed that I missed it. Nate said that she did a perfect job. There were about 450 people in the audience. She is getting lots of practice singing in front of big groups of people. Watch out American Idol, here she is in another 8 or 9 years!

Christmas Celebrations

December is a month of excitement and dread. I love the feel of the holidays. Everyone is on the move trying to get all of their shopping done, decorations are up and enjoyed, and all of the children have 50 programs to go to. I love the programs, and despise the programs. With so many kids it really busies up your month and it is hard to enjoy the real spirit of Christmas. I do LOVE watching my kids perform though.
The kids come home with lots of Christmas costumes to share. Here is Moses with his reindeer antlers. I'm not sure why he has a blue sticker on his nose. Shouldn't it be blue?
Here's Ella enjoying the fought over Santa hat. I need to get one per child so our problems will be solved.
Here is Moses with Santa. Do you know what he asked for? A black bow tie. Yes, that's right. Even Santa looked at me and said, "Did he just say he wanted a bow tie?" Crazy kid.
Here is Moses' preschool class with Santa. He has really enjoyed preschool and making new friends. He comes home with stories everyday about them all. If their parents only knew... I wish I knew the stories that come home about Moses too! I'm sure they're great!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving with Nate's family this year. It started off with a turkey bowl football game with the Pack's vs. the Clawson's. I was recruited for the Clawson team because they are my genes you know. We had a great time. I haven't played football in a very long time and didn't realize how many muscles you use when you play. I was sore for DAYS after. Really sore. The Clawson's ended up pulling out the win. I'm glad that I got to play with both of my families on this day. I'm very blessed!
Grandma let the kids make their own personal pudding pies. They had such a great time making the pudding and pressing out the crust. These were their prized possessions all day and for days afterward. It was a great idea to get the kids involved.
I always like to have the kids dress up for Thanksgiving. We have been reading a book about the Pilgrims this month as a family. The book had lots of pictures and it was fun "reenacting" the first Thanksgiving with them. I don't think anyone else was really all that excited about making the costumes. I put Nate in charge of making them while I was helping prepare food and he delegated it to his brothers. They were complaining the whole time. That's Nate for you -- the master delegator. Ella didn't keep her hat on for long, but she looked so sweet with it on.
Here is our little Pilgrim boy. He was enjoying his candy/nut cup before the feast began.
Here is our Indian and our little Pilgrim girl. We had the best food at Thanksgiving this year. Everyone brought such creative things to share and it was all so delicious. We ended the night going up to Grandma and Grandpa Clawson's for pie. It is so fun having both of our families live 10 minutes away from each other because it allows us to spend time with both of them more often. We have so many blessings to be thankful for this year and it was a great day to ponder all of them.

Preschool Thanksgiving Party

It is always fun to have preschoolers who have fabulous school celebrations. Here is Moses with all of his "prizes" from his Thanksgiving party at school!
He made a turkey out of a Styrofoam cup and painted feathers on a paper plate turkey. Can't ever have too many turkeys! I happened to love his Indian headdress the best! He had a great time and LOVES to go to school!
Ella wanted me to take a picture of her too! I thought it turned out pretty cute!

Isaiah's Bedroom

As you all know by now, Isaiah is quite the history and geography buff. His own space by his bunk bed (which is his only "me" space) has transformed into a crazy collage.
He has put up multiple maps. One of the world, North America, Utah, and Davis County. He now wants a Clinton map to put up. He also has little photos of all of the Presidents and some larger pictures of his favorite presidents. Those include George Washington, Abe Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson. At least he has a couple of temples thrown in there.

Here I Go! by Isaiah

Here is a story that Isaiah wrote based on a leaf falling off of a tree:

When I fell off, the positive things I felt were: courageous, being a leader, and growing up. I felt very courageous when I left the tree and started falling. I felt like I've escaped from prison or something like that. But I also felt scared, or frightened. I felt like I wasn't wanted in the group.

When the wind first turned me loose, I thought I would be killed. You see, this is what happened. First, I was sound asleep. Then, I woke up when I heard a crackle of thunder. I was about to go back to sleep, when a giant gust of wind hurled me off the tree. I plunged towards the grass below.

I was plunging towards the ground. Suddenly, another gust of air took me into a cave. It was so dark, I couldn't see anything. I felt like somebody was playing catch with me. Suddenly, another gush of air pushed me through more darkness.

Air was whooshing past me on every side. I kept on smashing into walls. It hurt really bad since it was solid rock. I kept spinning in circles and bringing down fragile stalactites. Suddenly, everything stopped and gravity sucked me down to the surface.

I landed on something very soft. I landed very lightly, and felt very weird. I felt I used to be strong and powerful. Then I was tiny and fragile. So, I just laid down and took a rest.

I had no more friends. I would never see my family again. Suddenly, I heard a soft sound beside me. It was my best friend! Oh, what a joy this was! This was the time of my life.