Christmas

Christmas was a lot of fun. Luka didn't go to bed until 11:30 which is normal for her lately, so it was a late night, but luckily the kids didn't get up until 7:00. Then the race was on. Clay and Luka both seemed to love what Santa brought the other one as much as their own gift. Luka keeps commandeering Clay's Diego Set and Clay keeps playing restaurant with Luka. He even informed us that he was going to be a chef when he grew up. I had just got done congratualting him and encouraging his budding aspirations when he then continued by adding that he was going to be a chef at Artic Circle. Big Dreamer!:) But they were very cute playing together. I love Christmas, and I know it is weird but I also love cleaning up all of the Christmas 'stuff'. Its funny how things that are festive and fun turn into clutter over night :).

The Best Time For A Bath

We've had the stomach flu at our house this month. It was just the 24 hour flu for Clay and I, but poor Luka had it for a few days. It was NOT fun. Our washer and dryer ran pretty much the entire time she was sick. Luka also took several middle of the night baths to feel better. She was being so silly and we were so tired that I couldn't help but grab the camera. It was the one nice moment of a few not fun days.

Christmas Catch-up

We have had a very busy Christmas time this year and, of course, most of the time I forgot my camera. But here are a few pictures of things that we did. We had a lot of fun at the annual Henriksen Christmas Party at Grandma Lu's. Tucker got to be Joseph with his cousin Audrey being Mary. He thinks Audrey is pretty cool so he was happy about that. Tucker also recited 'Twas The Night Before Christmas' which he has worked hard to memorize. And I took a picture of Grandma's tree which can't even come close to doing it justice as every single ornament on it is special and full of meaning (Bridget did manage to make my picture more interesting :) ). We also got to spend time with Brett's family when they came out for a weekend. We went and saw the lights. (I left my camera in the car so all I have is a picture from the car as we left ). And we went to the Living Aquarium with Brett's family, which was really neat, but of course I didn't have my camera. We also made gingerbread houses like always. This year because I have been so busy we opted to do it the traditional Henriksen way with graham crackers. Usually we make individual gingerbread cakes and turn them into houses, but the kids didn't notice the difference since they're only in it for the candy anyway. By the way candy absolutely, positively does make kids hyper.

Sillies

A Gris ... Oh Wait, Pedersen Family Christmas

We went to Vernal for Thanksgiving and the day after, we went with Brett's family to hunt for the perfect Christmas Trees. We haven't cut down our tree before and it turned out to be a lot of fun! Our tree tag had a 15 ft. limit and so we cut down a 15 ft. tree. We had to trim it down to fit in the vault of our living room but is still one big tree.

Mom's 50th Birthday

Last Monday we had Mom's surprise 50th Birthday Party at our house. We turned our unfinished basement into a winter wonderland and had a white theme. We even tried to have white food. My sisters cut hundreds of snowflakes and we hung them everywhere. We amazingly kept it a surprise from Mom and she was completely surprised. (I did feel bad when she showed up with the yummy rolls I told her to bring since she thought she was coming for Thanksgiving Dinner FHE at our house). But all in all, it was a lot of fun. We love you Mom, Happy Birthday!

Updated. . . Finally!

Thanks to Amy for encouraging me to update my blog finally! We've been a busy family this fall and so far have managed to stay healthy (knock on wood) which is highly unusual for us. Homeschooling is going well. We went to Hee Haws for a field trip and of course it was on the most freezing day of the year so far. I finally told the kids that if we left I'd take them to get Happy Meals and they agreed (Thank Heaven). Then when we got in the car I was taking off Luka's boots only to discover that she had pig/sheep/goat/? poop all over the bottom. EEEWWWWW!!!!!! Turns out the boys did too. We got happy meals, went home, had baths, and I SCRUBBED and SCRUBBED my hands.:). The kids things kids think are fun! We went to Vernal for Halloween to see my adorable nephew Karson be baptized. It was really exciting for the boys, especially Tucker because he will be baptized next year. Then we went trick' or' treating with cousins. The kids had a blast. And I, of course, forgot my camera. All well. It was good to spend Halloween with Brett's family since we have never been able to before. Now it is November and it seems like Christmas is just around the corner. Yeah!! My favorite song right now is 'Jingle Bells' sung by Luka all of the time.

Snow!

Family Halloween Party

We had a fun pre-Halloween party this year with the family. Thanks for coming guys, it was fun!

Fall, Tuck's Birthday, and a Trip to the Cabin

Some Pictures

Just some recent picturees from Tucker's soccer, boating with Grandparents and aunts, visiting Grandma Rasband in St. George, and Luka's birthday.