Buddy..Our Elf

Our 'elf' this year got quite creative in his spots around the house this year. He is our elf that keeps an watchful eye on us during the month of December and reports his observations to the big man Santa. He would land in a new spot every day and we got some good giggles on were he landed that day. Below are some shots of Buddy the elf in action.

We liked the one where he was in Ashlynn's Barbie car being held up by the army guys. Ashlynn also gave buddy some candy canes and then he would take them with him where ever he was in the house. Now that Christmas is over our elf has lost his magical power and now sits in his book box to rest and wait for the next Christmas.

Treats..

These were our treats that we handed out this year. The white chocolate covered Oreo snowmen were for the kids classes. The gingerbread and drizzled chocolate popcorn were neighbor gifts. We had fun making them all, which was alot.

Family night with the elves..

We have made this outing one of our family traditions. We find all the elves listed on the scavenger hunt list and turn our papers in to get an award. We also browse through all the shops decked out for Christmas. Then, we head to Archibald's to warm up on some yummy warm food. They have Ashlynn's favorite macaroni and cheese. The place is a hit in her book if the place has that dish.

We had fun finding all the funny things the elves were doing especially the elf that was actually snoring in the camper. This was the first time one of the elves made noise.

A very cold night...

We had a family night at Temple square before Christmas. It was very cold, but we wintered through it and enjoyed the lights around the square. There were also lots of other people enjoying the scenery and out of all the people around us we ran into some old neighbors of ours. It was such a delight to hang around together. We also stopped in the new Deseret Book downtown and saw their pretend gingerbread cookie machine and they were handing out real gingerbread cookies. They were delicious!

We liked the new nativity sets that were placed around the square. Not sure if they were new, but we have never saw them. So they were new to us.

Speed Stacking

The kids school participated in the 'Stack it up' Guinness World Records contest. They participated with other schools country wide to beat a record. I am not sure if they made the record, but I did want to point out that this sport (yes it is a competitive sport) is one that Carter is really good at.

He was introduced to the cup stacking sport last year in PE and he kept telling me that he needed these cups that stack and so that he can show me how fast he is. I tried to give him paper cups and I guess there are special cups you use. So we hopped online last year and bought him is own set with a professional mat with a timer. Every time he walks in his room he runs through the cycle and over the last year his speed to run through the whole cycle has improved. So during the school contest he was the 3rd Grade Champion and came in second for the whole school..yay!

Since, then his PE teacher came up to me at school and told me that Carter should try out for the state cup stacking team. I guess they have a state team that plays against others. There is a boy that is 11 that is from our area that competes on the state team as well. I was just surprised that there was even a team out there. So, the tournament is this Spring. We will see what happens in the Cup Stacking World.

During the contest Ashlynn liked to make castles with her cups. She likes to show her creative side. She is so funny!

Fall Basketball

Carter just finished up Fall Basketball. It is amazing how much skills you remember from one year to another. I think it also helped to have his own hoop at home to practice with. He mostly played point guard, so he passed the ball alot and only shot the ball a few times. He still had fun!

Beware..lots of pink and pictures...

My niece had her wedding on Friday and it was such a fun and beautiful day. Ashlynn loved being part of the wedding as a flower girl. She had been looking forward to this day for months and the day had finally come. She even skipped school because she wasn't feeling well so she hung out with us all day before the other kids got out of school. Silly girl..she just couldn't hold in her excitement. We loved being able to share this special day with Jessica and Anthony. I just had so many good pictures that I wanted to document.
The sealing in the Bountiful Temple was such a amazing experience to be apart of. It brought back memories of our wedding.

The reception was full of excitement as well. We got to mingled with people that we haven't seen in a while since moving to Layton.
The poor little boys just wanted to get away from all the wedding stuff. You would always find them playing some electronic device away from all the people or getting food.

Congratulations to the new married couple! We wished them off on their merry way with a line of sparklers.