Mylee starts taking Dance Lessons

I signed Mylee up for a Ballet, Tap and Jazz class on Monday mornings. Today was her first day and she LOVED it!! It was so fun to see such a sparkle in her eye and to see her try to manipulate her body the way the teacher was telling her to. Nothing against Mylee, but I was way impressed at what she could do!! I was a little worried if she would participate at all, but she did. That girl surprises me sometimes. At the end of class her teacher Ashley put sparkles on each of their hands. Mylee thought that was the GREATEST thing ever!! She held her hands out forever after class was over because she didn't want the sparkles to come off.

Dr. Clifton Visits the Kindergartners!

Today Blake came to Kelsey's school for College/Career Week to talk about his job. He had gathered together enough masks and hats for every Kindergartner to take one home. He also gathered up some bones and brought them to show the children. He was a big hit! When he arrived at the school, Mrs. Spradley had Kelsey introduce him. With her face all red and while looking slightly down she spoke in a real clear and loud voice and said, "This is my Dad, Blake." Mrs. Spradley quickly corrected her and said, "Dr. Clifton". Blake then told the kids what he did for work. He taught them what the major bones in their arms and legs were called then showed the kids what surgeons where before they operate by dressing up Kelsey in all the gear. She was so patient and was so proud to have her daddy come visit. A while back Kelsey had come home from school and told us she told her friends at lunch time that her daddy cuts people open, but in a good way. Blake and I laughed when she told us.

When Blake finished his presentation, he asked the kids if they had any questions. Most were not questions--more like stories of when they or someone else got hurt. Some had legitimate questions though. One boy asked why Dr.'s call their tools instruments--Blake said it sounded better, more professional I guess. They also asked what kinds of things he fixes. One of the teachers asked how long Blake had been in school to get where he was. We had figured out that when he is all done with his training he will have been in schooling with some training for 26 years! When Blake asked how long they had been in school one boy yelled out, "FOREVER!"

Trampoline Set to Go!!

We finished setting up the trampoline today!! It's a huge hit!! I'm excited for the girls to have another activity to do outside!

Happy 1st Birthday Lanaea!

Has it really been a year!! Sweet Lanaea you have been the MOST wonderful thing that has happened to us in 2010. In a year of many trials, you have brought us hope, joy, peace, and comfort. You're a sweet mell0w-tempered child with an excitement for life. Your sisters love you!! To your dismay, Mylee can't get enough of you at times. Thank you for making our lives that much brighter and wonderful. Dad and I LOVE you! May you always remember how special you are and that you are a Daughter of a loving Heavenly Father.
At one year old you can say "Mamma", "Dadda", "Uh-o", "Hi" and you point to everything and say, "huh?" When you point or wave hi you fully extend your arm and stick out your pointer finger and your thumb. You are a GREAT eater!! You'll try anything I present to you. When you don't like something you'll just spit it out. You've been sleeping through the night since you were 4 months old and you still comfort yourself in your bed by sucking your thumb. You're close to walking by you aren't quite there yet. You can stand alone on your two feet though and get to that position by yourself. You love to go through all my tubberware lids and throw them all over my kitchen floor. You love to play peek-a-boo and will often start the game yourself with a blanket. You also do a really cool trick by standing on your head and pointing your bottom up into the air. You're a healthy and beautiful baby!

Lanaea throughout her first year:

Christmas with the Astorga's 2010

After visiting my dad's side of the family on Monday night and Tuesday we headed over to my Mom's side of the family to spend a couple of days with them and celebrate Christmas. Celebrating Christmas was one of the first things we did when we arrived at her house on Wednesday. Kelsey again exclaimed, "Too many presents!" We loved our gifts, but I was especially excited to give my mom and step-dad the new dishes me, my sister, and grandma went in together to get them. They LOVED them, especially my mom!! My mom is always good at giving good reactions!

I felt spoiled by my mom's good cooking and by not having to cook it!! My sister Megan, Abby and I went on a shopping outing one afternoon. I wanted to go check out Down East Clothing, but wasn't able to find anything really--bummer. We had a great time together as sisters though. That same afternoon my step-dad Roland and Brother-in-law Aaron showed Blake how to play the Wii. It was funny to see Blake be bad at something. He's never been one to play video games. My favorite part of staying at my mom's house was playing games at night with my sister Meg's, her husband Aaron and my 2 younger sisters Abby and Lizzy and my younger brother Spencer. Megan and Aaron have some great games. We played late into the night and had a wonderful time.

I must not have had my camera accessible while at my mom's house because I don't have any pics. I must have been having too much fun!! After we left my mom's house we stopped by the Clifton's house to pick up our things and pack our car for our trip back home. The morning we left, Blake's dad took our family out to eat at I-Hop!! That was a big treat for us! We had a safe drive home and stayed again at my Grandma and Grandpa's house in Farmington, NM on the way home to split our drive up into two days. We were glad to be home!

Christmas with the Brown's 2010

We had a good time at my Dad's house. It felt short-lived, but we made the most of our time. Tuesday morning we had Christmas together. The girls were SO EXCITED that they were going to have Christmas AGAIN!! We all loved our gifts! Kelsey remarked at the end, "I got too many presents!!" We gave my dad and step-mom a calender with our family pictures from 2010. We give them that every year and they always seem to love it.

Later that evening my step-sister Nicole and her family, my sister Megan and her family and my step-brother Jared came over to play games and hang out. We had a wonderful ham dinner and played games into the night. Kelsey and Mylee played so well with Nicole's kids. Lanaea, Brighton, and Bowie didn't know what to think of each other!! All three babies are within weeks of each other. We had a great time!!

Kelsey and Mylee wrestling with Uncle JaredGrandma Cheryl helping to open presents.

Happy 7th Anniversary!

For our 7th anniversary we dropped our kids off at my mom's house and went to Salt Lake to do a session in the Salt Lake Temple and go out to eat somewhere nice. The temple was wonderful as always. The Salt Lake Temple is special and near to my heart because it's where Blake and I were married for time and eternity and because it took 40 years to build, requiring a lot of faith and sacrifice from earlier faithful latter-day saints. The inside is so beautiful and the workmanship is so detailed and intricate. I remember walking through that temple for the first time the day I got married and remember feeling as though I was walking through the corridors of heaven! It was fun to see other couples that were getting married that same day. It brought back so many memories.

It's hard to believe that Blake and I have been married for 7 years. Time has gone by fast and we love each other even more then we did on the day we got married. Looking back through the 7 years we've been married, we've been through a lot and grown closer together because of it.

While in Salt Lake, Blake and I were hoping to eat at The Roof on the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, but it didn't open until later so we ate next door at The Garden. The food was yummy. I got a chicken croissant sandwich and Blake got a burrito. From where we were sitting we could see all of temple square, it was beautiful. After we were finished eating, we killed time for a while by walking around Salt Lake until my Dad met up with us with our 3 girls so we could show our girls Temple Square all lit up during the Christmas season. Kelsey was awe struck when she saw the temple!! It's much much larger then our temple in Lubbock. She couldn't believe that that was the temple she had seen in pictures.

The lights on temple square were as beautiful as ever. Our girls enjoyed it, but they didn't last long in the cold. After a short stroll we stopped by a local restaurant and got hot chocolate. It was a big hit!! We went to my Dad's house to join him for a couple of days and have Christmas with his side of the family.

Christmas Day 2010

Christmas was great this year. The girls were so much fun to watch while opening their presents! It made all the effort to make it special for them worth it! When reflecting upon Christmas this year, I can't help but pause and thank my Heavenly Father for the bounteous blessings He poured upon us this year. He truly carried our burdens and made them feel light. He uplifted us spirtually, took care of us temporally, and blessed us in so many other ways I can't list them all. Here are some pictures of the highlights on Christmas morning:

Kelsey got a new Hello Kitty backpack that she had been asking for a long time. She had been using a red and grey "boy" (that what Kelsey said it was) backpack I had gotten for free at Office Depot
Blake was sneaky and surprised me with a Cricut machine!! Santa got Kelsey a bubblegum machine. When she opened it she said, "Oh...It's just what I wanted!!!"
Lanaea was content doing this (above) and this (below)

And the biggy--a letter from Santa telling the girls he left a trampoline at their house!

After we finished opening gifts, Blake started to prepare the prime rib for Christmas dinner--per his request again!! Blake loves prime rib and has become quite good at cooking it. Our dinner that evening was delicious, Blake's prime rib was a special treat! Blake's brothers Trent and Trevor were there with their families along with his two sisters Capri and Shayla and of course his parents. We really enjoyed visiting with them and I especially enjoyed watching my kids interact with their cousins.

We went to church with the Clifton's the next morning on Sunday then dropped our kids off at my mom's house on Monday so we could enjoy our 7th anniversary together in Salt Lake childless. More details of that day to come.

Christmas Eve 2010

We went home to Utah for Christmas this year. We left on the 23rd from Lubbock, stayed at my Grandma Jean's and Grandpa Lavoy's house that evening then left Christmas Eve morning making it to Mapleton around 4PM. We didn't have any problems or hic-ups other than having to wait an hour and a half in Monticello because highway patrol was cleaning up a wreck and had closed the canyon until it was cleared. When we arrived in Mapleton we were pretty tired, but SO excited be at the Clifton residence to celebrate Christmas. Blake's Mom Joyce had prepared lots of yummy munchies--per Blake's request--to eat through the night, and we did just that.

We had a special nativity program. I'm not sure what our kids heard from what was read, but I'm hoping they were able to at least get something out of the program by dressing up like the characters we were talking about.

After our nativity program Joyce pulled out some muscial chimes to play some Christmas carols. Kelsey had it down, but the 3 year-olds struggled--Mylee and her cousin Heidi. It actually became quite humerous!! I really enjoyed learning about and participating in some of the traditions Blake did as a child.

After we had finished our planned activities, I gave the girls the pajamas I had sewed for them this year. I'm so happy with the way they turned out and my heart filled with pride when I saw them all together wearing my creations. However, I should note that I've already told myself that I'm buying them pajamas next year. If I wasn't cleaning, cooking, taking care of a child, doing laundry, or running errands, I was SEWING!! They were very time consuming and I lost way to much sleep over making them. The time and effort it took though this year was worth it!! Our girls went to bed very excitedly, wondering what Santa was going to bring them in the morning. Us adults talked for a while and I finished up wrapping some presents and got my breakfast casserole and sticky buns prepared to eat for the next morning then went to bed shortly after. I couldn't wait to see my girls open their presents in the morning!!

Happy Holidays!

Slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Kelsey's Class Christmas Party

Mrs. Spradley asked me to plan their class Christmas party this year. So I sent some notes around to the parents asking for some help. The party turned out great. I should have gotten babysitters for Mylee and Lanaea, but oh well lesson learned. I divided up the class into 3 groups and had them go to three different stations to play a game. Here are the games we played:

Wrap Race--Each of the kids were to dress one of the children up like a snowman using toilet paper, paper circles and some crepe for a scarf. The kids had a lot of fun with it.

Pin the Nose on Rudolph--I was so proud of the Rudolph and I drew and colored myself!!

PASS the Present--While music played the kids passed around a present I had wrapped up in many layers of wrapping paper and got to open a layer of wrapping paper each time the music stopped. When each child had a turn and when all the layers of wrapping paper were off, they kids got a candy cane.

I sent the kids home with some white-chocolate covered pretzels sticks I had made to look like snowman along with other gifts some parents had sent that day. There are some things I would have done differently, but all in all the party turned out great. At one point Mrs. Spradley asked me where the paper goods were, opps, I forgot to have someone bring those!

Making a Gingerbread House

Despite all the busyness of the holiday season--this year has felt particularly busy and crazy for some reason--we tried to continue on with our traditions and make our annual Gingerbread House. Blake kicked it off for us and helped the girls start their house while I had to go to a church meeting. They didn't finish that night, but we'll get it done one of these nights. These kind of activities are right up Kelsey's alley. I'm hoping it will be for Mylee one day too.