Sledding

Although there wasn't much snow, James was determined to plan a sledding party at the ranch. He even had the crazy idea to make some sleds with old skis, so he and Jess enlisted Grandpa's help to get it done. They spent a few hours working on them the day after Christmas, and they turned out awesome! The next day everyone met up at the ranch and we had a blast sledding! Sledding at the ranch is one of James' favorite traditions from growing up, and I'm so happy we've been able to continue it over the years with our girls.

Christmas 2013

James & I were so excited for the girls' Christmas surprises. It just gets more and more fun to see the magic of Christmas in their eyes! We got to bed at a reasonable hour on Christmas Eve, and when Emery and Avri came in to wake me up I was so excited. They said, "Merry Christmas Mommy!" and I gave them each a hug...then looked at the clock and realized it was 3:30 a.m.!!! Way too early!! So they climbed in bed with me. Emmy fell back asleep but Avri just couldn't--she was too excited. She finally fell asleep on the floor in the hall, and I slept a few more hours too.

I saw a cute idea from a friend last year to hang wrapping paper to separate the kids from the tree/presents on Christmas morning. I'm so glad we did it and think it will continue as a tradition. The girls got to tear it down and run to find their gifts-it was fun! Emery ran right by her new dollhouse and searched to find the gift she got Avri--it was so funny! I had to tell her to turn around twice before she finally realized the dollhouse!! Avri was thrilled with her coveted iPod and Claire plopped herself in her chair and was so happy she got her Doc McStuffins (no picture :(...) I was so excited to give James his cowboy boots and skeet shoot thrower....until I later found out he doesn't have a shotgun! I had no idea he needed one for it....and no idea Mr. James Lufkin didn't own one among his other guns!! Guess I should start saving now... :) I was excited that James made me a console table for our entry way and he got me a big soup pot and new running shoes. And I'm so excited we got tickets for the Lady Antebellum concert in January!!

After gift opening and playing, we all got packed and ready to go to Rigby. We had a wonderful brunch at Grandma & Grandpa's, and then dinner with my Mom.

We were able to spend the next few days with family and friends, and enjoyed every minute!!

I did a horrible job at taking pictures on Christmas morning... :( Here are the few I did snap...

We were so blessed with another wonderful Christmas and took time often to talk about the Savior's birth, the gifts He has given us, and the gifts we can offer Him. We read from the scriptures, watched videos, and tried to do good deeds to keep the Spirit of Christ in Christmas. I hope we can continue throughout the new year to work on the gifts our family chose to give the Savior. I hope that giving spirit can remain in our hearts as we try to serve those around us and share the Savior's love. We are so humbled and grateful for our many blessings, and know without a doubt where they come from.

December Happenings

December flew by and was unsurprisingly busy. There were Christmas programs and activities, James was swamped with Finals on top of his usual busy schedule, I got sick, we were in charge of all the food for our ward Christmas dinner, elf shenanigans, etc. Here are a few pics...

Buddy the Elf sent us an Elf Yourself email, made a snowman in the freezer, drew and wrote the elf rules on the girls' bathroom mirror, wrapped their backpacks, ziplined through the kitchen, had a toy parade, got stuck in a glass in the cupboard, made a Christmas countdown chain for the girls and a tiny one for himself, sent the girls on a hidden candy cane search, and did other fun elfy things. This year the girls took turns each day telling them the good deeds they had done, and we got a letter from Santa encouraging the girls to remember the true meaning of Christmas and to work on our family list of gifts we chose to give the Savior. 

All tuckered out, but still festive!

The girls did so great performing in the Christmas programs. Emery's class sang several songs including "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "Jingle Bells", and recited a few cute poems. Avri's class sang "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" and they signed while singing "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". Adorable!!

We continued our Christmas Eve tradition of driving around to look at all the Christmas light displays. This year we added popcorn, and Buddy left the girls a scavenger hunt to do on our light tour.

We started a great new tradition of James making Christmas Eve dinner!! :) He made a ham and mashed potatoes, and I made the salad. It was delicious! We'll see how long this tradition lasts... ;)

Love this one of Emmy. Fell asleep reading after a long day of fun!

The long-awaited day finally came!!! Avri lost her first tooth!! She has been looking forward to this for months and months!! On Sunday while we were watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, Avri told me her tooth was hurting. I took a look inside and found out why--it was loose!! She was SO excited and wiggled it like crazy for the next few days. Yesterday, while she was over playing at the Evans', Nate told her he would give her $10 if she let him pull her tooth out. For some reason this didn't sound like an appealing deal to Avri, but it did motivate her to pull it out herself!! She came home with her bloody tooth wrapped in tissue and a huge smile with one less tooth!!

She left the Tooth Fairy this note...

The Tooth Fairy reluctantly obliged and left her tooth, a $1 bill, and a receipt. She was a very happy girl!

Here are some random pictures from the past several weeks that I wanted to post...

Grandpa Jones with some of his great grandkids.

Claire, Emery, Sawyer, Taylor, Bridger, Grandpa, Avri, Olivia, Grace

Mom & Avri at her Thanksgiving Feast.

Love when she falls asleep on me!

Avri typed this up and I thought it was so sweet!

Watching a movie with Grandma Sherry.

Sawyer spent the weekend with us and the girls had so much fun!

Little Miss Claire still hasn't figured out how to climb out of the crib, but we decided it was time for a "big girl" bed anyway. She is doing awesome!! I dare say she sleeps better now than before we made the switch!

You gotta record moments like this... All three girls playing contently before church. Love it!

He's baaa-aaaack!! :)

November Instagrams

11.3.2013

Someone is a bit obsessed with the Garth glasses!

11.4.2013

Claire fell asleep on the way home from grocery shopping, so I brought her in to the couch. A few minutes later, I looked over and saw this... Emery wasn't even asleep, just climbed up to snuggle with her little sis. 

#sosweet #sisters #anicebreakfromtheirfighting ;)

11.7.2013

I asked Claire to put the shoes away...

11.10.2013

Triple cuteness! #matchymatchy

11.16.2013

Happy 80th Grandpa Jones!

(Grandma asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said, "Take all the kids to Leo's place for pizza and games!" We sure love this guy!!)

11.21.2013

Off to bed. 

#superdad

11.22.2013

Thanksgiving feast with my favorite little first grader!

11.27.2013

#blessed #grateful