Our December

I am so behind it is sad. This month as flown by and now it is almost over and I have not posted a single thing. At the beginning of the month, Jayda's 4th grade and the 5th grade did a Christmas concert. I luckily had a friend go with me to help...Nelson has been out of town a lot this month for work....so  I recorded a lot of it, and didn't get any good pictures. :( It was good! :)

On the 18th, Nana and Papa Bill came to visit for Christmas. Our first event was the drive through lights at Washington Park. It was a fun to see the lights and Kason was actually awake this year to see some...he loved them. :)

They were also lucky enough to get to attend Sienna and Mia's Christmas Parties in their classroom. Sienna's, being Kindergarten and all was full of entertainment and fun....Mia's was sitting in the dark while they watched Polar Express...hey at least we were there....even if Ryder spilled his hot chocolate all over me and the floor!

Here are a few pics of Sienna's party.

Christmas Eve, we invited the Sister Missionaries over and a friend in the ward, Laurie to celebrate and eat our traditional homemade pizza. We played our usual fun games, ate, visited, opened pjs, and had a great time! :)

Christmas morning was fun and eventful, we woke up to a little bit of snow covering the ground, so that was nice! And, the kids were spoiled again of course, but had a great Christmas. We are ever so grateful for family who can spoil us....Grandma and Grandpa Cluff for the amazing 12 days of Christmas they do each year, Grandpa Martinez who send just what we need :), Auntie Angie who did an excellent job at picking out the perfect gifts for them this year (I did it. :) But she paid, and that is the much harder part...and Nana and Papa Bill who made them all great tie blankets they love and bought them a wii. It was a great Christmas. The girls got different things, some got dream lites, ipod shuffles, books, games, they all got homemade aprons, the boys got lots of trains...which they LOVE, and homemade stick horses...which they ride often. :) Here are a few pics.

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(Ryder's Book of Mormon...he goes to Primary in a week!)

(CTR Rings)

(Sienna got twin boy/girl babies....she named them Jace and Juliet...I don't think that is Legal!):) 

There are too many pics to post them all, but It has been a fun Christmas......and you bet the very next day after a house of trash, boxes, wrapping paper, toys everywhere...and Christmas decoration that have been up for over a month...we cleaned house...put it all away and how nice it is. It was fun while it lasted...now time to focus on getting ready for babies...and not going into labor too soon!

Today we woke up to about 4 -6 inches of snow and it has been coming down all day. It is beautiful. This past week we have all had colds...it has just gone from one to another...so only Halle, Mia, Sienna, and Ryder could go out in the snow today.....they had a good time...you know, the entire 10 minutes they played in it. Doesn't it take longer to find their snow clothes and get them dressed than how long they play in it? Oh well, they had a fun time. 

It has been a fun and super fast December. Time flies. We are truly blessed. 

The Loss of a Dear Friend

Words cannot express the sudden loss of a dear friend. Camille and I were friends right away when we first met in 2003. She lived above us in our condo in Eagle Mountain. She was due with her first baby and we were due with our second. Over the years we took trips together, celebrated the birth of other children, celebrated birthdays, holidays, cried together, laughed together, went to movies together, visited family together, and played so many games of Settler of Catan we probably couldn't keep track. 

How can the world ever be the same when someone so dear has gone to the other side? I can't express the sadness I feel or the sadness I have for her sweet family. Her husband and two darling children are surely suffering more than I. 

The one bright hope is Christ. He suffered for all that we may not have to. I hope He can provide comfort and peace to everyone who loved her. I hope he can comfort her husband, her mother, and her children when they are in the depth of sorrow. Most importantly I hope they can feel of her presence and come to learn the veil is thin, that they can come to gain a testimony of temples and forever families. 

Camille was a dear dear friend. She was so talented. She could cook amazing food. She was so intelligent. She loved to read and watch movies, play games, and just be with people. She was so much fun to be around and such a great friend. She had such a gentle kind heart and just loved people. She was like family to me. I will miss you dearly my friend. I hope you can have a little peace to your sweet spirit now. I love you and will see you one day again. Til we meet again. 

Thanksgiving

We had a great Turkey Day. We invited our friend's the Heaton's over, and the missionaries in our ward to come spend Thanksgiving day with us. We are lucky enough to have a set of sisters and elders in our ward right now, so it was fun to have them all over. We had everything you can possibly imagine to eat and more. It was so delicious! We just hung out and played games all day and it was so nice to just have fun and relax. 

We have many things to be thankful for! 

Sienna's Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast

Today was the last day of school for the kids, through Turkey Day. Kindergarten always does fun stuff, so Nelson, the boys and I went up to see what fun Sienna was having. First, they got dressed in their Pilgrim gear, then sang several adorable Turkey songs (working up their appetites). Finally, they were able to eat lots of Thanksgiving food before calling it a day.

It was so fun to see her singing and enjoying her class. Her teacher is amazing and they have so much fun!

Halloween

And so it came. The hurricane Sandy and Halloween! Sandy did some great devastation, but missed us entirely. We only had some hefty winds, but that is it. Thank goodness. And so Halloween continued....we went to the girls' school parade and also their parties in their classes....Nelson and I tag teamed...2 and 2. Then we came home to get ready for our own trick or treating. It was a good night, cold, but no rain and no wind. The kids had fun walking all over the neighborhood and seeing their friends. Kason sat in the stroller most of the time....I thought this would be the year he did some walking and going up to doors...he did a couple, but still didn't get it...next year. Besides, mom was too big and pregnant to walk up to each door....Nelson and I watched from the road....Luckily the kids all grabbed some treats for his bucket/ mom and dad to eat later. :) It was a fun night! Happy Halloween!

I did take pictures at the school parties...and parade, but I will have to add them later...they are on my phone. Check back for those!

Fall Leaves & Trunk or Treat

We have a tons of leaves in our front yard now, since it is long since "officially" fall. The kids had a fun time playing in them this afternoon. I have to say that is one of the things I love about New York. Fall is gorgeous. The colors are beautiful and vibrant and even if our own front yard we can see it! Pictures don't do it justice, but there is a lot of beauty here that Heavenly Father created! Here are a few pics of the kids playing in our leaves!

Today was also our ward Halloween Party at church. I let the kids (girls) all invite a friend to come along, since this will one of few opportunities we can fit four more people with us in our monster van. They were all excited to invite a friend and of course being Halloween, wear their costumes. At church we had a chili dinner, then they had fun games and activities set up for the kids to do. And after all that fun...they get to Trunk or treat....or go from car to car and get candy. :) It was lots of fun and they all had a "giggling" good time! Here are the pictures!

Here are a  few from the Halloween Party....

We were thinking...good thing we had a fun Halloween on Saturday before the coming Hurricane Sandy...just in case we don't get Halloween on Wednesday! :) 

Here is a pic of our decorated trunk....which got rave reviews....good thing I went to the Dollar store for ideas a couple of hours before. :) Last minute inspiration I guess. :) Not too shabby. 

Our lanterns glowed in the dark...it was pretty cool. :) 

On an additional note....they kids were all hyped up on candy....and as usual...even without candy...put up a fuss to go to bed and never stay in their beds. Ryder has become a hellion at night, up and down the stairs, playing in his room....make a rukus. Here is what we found tonight when we went to bed...for one his bedroom light is always on....this time..his mattress was pulled off his bed (no sheets on his bed)...notice the big mess...and don't forget the candy bucket so nicely placed by the bottom of his bed. :) 

good thing he has a mommy and daddy to cover his butt up. :)