January

 Carrie and Leah in their matching sister jammies.  They really are the cutest sisters.  Every morning Leah gives Carrie a morning hug and Carrie says "That's my sister!"

 Leah always does what Carrie does... for now anyway

 Spencer participated in the spelling bee this year. He got first place in his class and then second place in the school- he worked hard and we are very proud of him!

 Carrie watching "I Love Lucy"

 Our friends were nice enough to share their Chinese New Year lantern with us, it was cool to light it and send it off!

 Silly kids

 A new favorite game "Baby Houdini" How to play, wrap Leah up as tightly as you can in a few blankets and see how long it takes her to get out.  Surprisingly enough Leah really enjoys it too.

 One long noodle

 Ready to go!

 James reading to Carrie

 Making a snowman with the little snow

 Best sisters

 Crazy hair day- we didn't have any hair color so I painted on their hair with washable glitter paint

Leah loves to hold the speaker and dance to the music

 Leah's first bubble bath, she would not put her arms down into the bubbles

Carrie however got right in.

Christmas Trip

For part of our Christmas this year we did a family trip.  We had a time share kind of thing at a condo in Mesquite.  Besides the scary and stinky swimming pool it was actually a really nice place an besides Leah's left over cold we were all healthy the whole time.  Most of the kids slept through the night, but when Lean woke up there was a Downton Abby marathon on PBS- so it was okay.
Anyway we got there on Monday.  On Tuesday we went St George.  We toured the Brigham Young home and met up with our friends for lunch.  Then we went to the Children's Museum

 James playing mechanic

 The dinosaur room

 Cute little Leah

 One day we drove in to Las Vegas

 We went to the Shark Reef Aquarium, Spencer finally got up the courage to pet a sting ray

 A purple Christmas tree- go Cougars

 Daddy and Carrie and the lion fish

 Spencer and Komodo Dragon

 Spencer really wanted me to take a picture of him and the jelly fish because they are green!

 It was cool to see people swimming around in the tank, until we realized they were picking up the dead fish.

 Then we went to Circus Circus to play some games and watch a few shows, we saw some acrobats, a foot juggler and a clown.  Spencer got to go to a real Houdini magic shop which was on his bucket list.

 We went to the Bellagio to have Gellato and watch the fountains.  The Gellato was amazing as usual but I learned that unlike ice cream where chocolate is always your best bet, fruit is better in Gellato.

 The botanical Gardens at the Bellagio

 We got to see the fountains twice.  One time the background music was "Santa Baby" so Carrie was quite excited.
On the way out of Las Vegas we stopped at a triple D restaurant.  We were debating it had been a long day- would the kids be good, would it be worth it?  But it was sooooo delicious it would have been worth it if the kids ran around, but they were too tired to be crazy I guess.

One day we just hung out in Mesquite.  We went to a park, tried to swim and washed off a lot after, went to a cool little museum where the kids got to try a type writer (another thing check off of Spencer's bucket list) and ate a really yummy Chinese place that the kids have dubbed their favorite restaurant ever, for no anyway.

 Carrie bought an after Christmas sale hair kit that had a brush and princess clips and a crown.  She spent a lot of time in the bathroom doing this- I can't wait until she is a teenager.

 Hairdo with the crown

It really was a wonderful and relaxing trip

Christmas

 Traditional Christmas Eve pajamas.
Watching the Santa tracker- a favorite tradition, and when the boys got up Santa was already delivering presents, he has to start early!

 This year we had a Christmas Eve dinner at the school with many teachers who stayed for the holiday.  Then we had the Singers over for traditional bingo.  Our photographer must have been out sick or something, i feel like we need a lot more pictures of Christmas!

 Anyway here are the boys notes to Santa- Dear Santa I want a mario race track.  I love you.  Some people don't believe in you- inserted in my class-.  Love James

 Dear Santa have you had a good time so far?  I have been watching you on the Google Santa Tracker.  Did you know you were being tracked?  I watched the Princess Bride today.  Another thing last night I woke up at 2:00 in the morning not exactly. Just a reminder.  I love and believe in you.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year sincerely Spencer

 Wow, this Christmas thing is pretty crazy!

 Spencer got a big jar of his favorite Famous Dave BBQ sauce in his stocking.

 James got his Mario Race Track

 Carrie with her chocolate Santa

 Spencer got a Magic kit- he has been practicing lots of tricks lately

 Traditional breakfast burritos

 I love how excited Carrie was for every present

The girls got strollers from Santa and cute dolls for them from the boys, once again the photgrapher must have fallen asleep- no pictures.  It was a great Christmas though

Christmas performances

James impromptu solo for Hold that Note performance

Spencer's Jingle Bells solo

 At the school Christmas concert Spencer's class sang "Rockin around the Christmas Tree" and James' class sang "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" in Navajo.