Christmas Day!

We had such a good Christmas this year. We have been blessed to be together and have Earl off school for a while. The girls got new pajamas on Christmas eve and they loved them. They were really cute in them too.

Before we took them down to see their presents, we went into their room and we read the Christmas story to them. It was fun to talk about why we celebrate Christmas and to help them remember Jesus.

The girls had a lot of fun with all of their presents. Thanks to Grandmas and Grandpas and aunts and uncles who sent them such wonderful presents. Nadya was so excited to open up all of the presents. Samantha wanted to just play and I had to open up all of the boxes once she unwrapped the present. They got a kitchen from Santa this year and they really enjoyed playing with it. It was such a nice relaxing day. We were able to let the girls just play with all of their presents and not rush off anywhere. Samantha stayed in her pj's the whole day and Nadya liked some of her new clothes so much that she ripped off her pj's to put them on.

It was a very good day and we enjoyed it a ton. We did miss seeing our family this year but we were lucky to talk to them on the computer. We have such good families and we are very blessed to have them.

Christmas Eve!

Since we didn't get to go home this year for Christmas, we were invited over to our friends house to spend Christmas Eve with friends. It was so much fun. It was definitely a great alternative to not being with family. We had a good dinner with smoked turkey and pork on sandwiches, salads, potatoes and desserts. Then we played some games. At the end of the evening, we had the kids act out the nativity. They were so cute and it was good to hear the story and remember why we celebrate this season.

Nadya was the only shepherd and she had to bring a camera to take a picture of the baby Jesus. She was really cute in the nativity.

Thanks Jill for inviting us. We really did have a great time.

Merry Christmas!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Children's Christmas Social

Before school let out for the break, the SAA had a Children's social for Christmas. It was a lot of fun. The girls got to write a letter to Santa and tell him what they wanted. Nadya wrote hers all by herself and she asked for a My Little Pony. Samantha pretty much just colored on hers but she had a good time. They then put the letters in a bag and an elf who came to visit them took all of the letters to Santa. The elf was so cute and the children loved him. It was a lot of fun just getting out and Nadya and Samantha had a really good time.

Winter Ball

Every year Earl's school has it's version of prom. We were pretty excited to go because it only cost $5 for dinner and babysitting. It was a nice night out without the girls. The dinner was pretty good and we even danced a little. This is Earl and I before we left.
Amy and Paul
Me and Amy.

Earl's sad moment.

Last Saturday, we went to a friend's house to watch the BYU vs. Utah game. Unfortunately for us, we were the only Utah fans there. It was fun to watch the game even though we were the odd men out. It was a sad game to have it be so close and then Utah lose at the end, but we were glad to be able to watch it. The kids were highly entertained by each other so we could watch the game without too much distraction. We have some really great friends here.
Amy and Paul Miller are next to Earl. Then Des and Danny Sandgren, and Angel and Greg Price.

Getting ready for Christmas!

Nadya standing in front of our finished tree. Sam wouldn't stand in the picture.

The tree skirt that I made this year. I'm actually really happy with the finished product.
Nadya putting one of the ornaments on the tree.
Sam helping her daddy decorate the tree.

We have been so excited for the Christmas season. We have been trying to really let the girls know about why we celebrate this season. I want them to know that it is about Jesus and his life and not just about getting presents. We have had fun talking about it and setting up the decorations. The girls had a lot of fun setting up the tree with their daddy during his week off of school.

Happy Thanksgiving '09

This Thanksgiving was the first one that we spent away from family. It ended up being a lot of fun. Earl got to go and enjoy playing football at the annual turkey bowl. He came back really sore. We then got to go to the church and enjoy a thanksgiving feast with friends from our ward and school. The kids had a lot of fun running around together and eating the yummy food. We had fun chatting with our friends and enjoying the kids being entertained. Thanks so much to everyone who invited us and made such good food.

Pictures are of the mostly the kids but some of our friends. Julie and Steve Jensen, the Warner's, the Smith's , and the McClure's. It is nice to have good friends when you can't be with family.

We were lucky enough to at least talk to our families that day, though.