D.O.T.S

 

 

I am serving in the YW presidency right now.

It was our New Beginnings night last week.

Our theme was Depending On The Savior (totally stolen from pinterest)

 Hence all the polka dots!

 

 

 

 

We created an image of the Savior with connect the dot numbers outlined around

His face. As the night progressed and after different speakers spoke or girls were introduced we would but a black dot next to the number.
Once all the dots were connected we explained that as we all depend on each other as well as the Savior
our lives are connected in this wonderful gospel in which we have!

 

 



 

I don't have a picture of the food but we served a light dinner of:

Chicken salad on croissants.

Strawberries, blackberries, and grapes

Chips and dip and pink lemonade!

For dessert, chocolate eclairs!

You have to make the elcairs the night before so it was hard for Casey to not

 dig into one of the 6 pans sitting in our fridge!

 

We went crazy with the decorations!

 

I made these polka dot paper flowers for the center pieces.

I couldn't figure out a way to keep the flower from tipping over to the side

once in the jar.

I tried stabbing it into jumbo marshmallow's, gluing it to  a huge rock,

poking it through a snack pack... you name it!!!

Finally Rusty and I went to a park and stole some sand!:/

 

 

 

The gift for the new girls coming into YW.

It was a framed picture of the Savior with the connect the dots.

 

I thought this was the cutest.

To introduce the new Beehives they would "spot" the girl in the

audience with binoculars and bring her to the front.

 As they were being introduced they would get a dot put on them with what

their favorites were, what they look to do...

 

The lovely ladies I serve with!

Counselors and advisers.

 

The presidency.



Day to day stuff

 

 

 

 

Lindi got a new bib from aunt Jael.

She crocheted her name on it.

We randomly matched by accident.

Totally went in public like this, too.



 Rusty likes to make his own pb&j's.

Ai yai yai.

I would always proclaim that I couldn't wait for the

day when my children could make their own lunches.

Now that he refuses my help, I get to clean up an extra mess

and double the time it would take for me to just make the darn sandwich.



 

After church snuggles

 Lindi is Rusty's sidekick.

She saw that he had an apple, so she needed an apple too!

 I find Rusty in Lindi's crib almost every morning.
She thinks its the greatest!

 

 

My all time favorite thing.

Rocking a sleeping baby.

I postponed putting her in her crib for 30 minutes:)

 

 cutest pink piggy's I've ever seen.

Marcie watched Lindi so I could get my teeth cleaned.

They did pedicures while I was gone:)

I was in a rush to pick up Rusty from preschool

 so I didn't notice them till about an hour later.

Casey noticed the second he got home from work, ha!

 Probably the best park day happened last week.

Beautiful weather, fun toys. All were happy.

 

Claire and Rusty are becoming buds!

We got to watch Claire for a few hours the other day

and they had a ball together.

I think it's fun for him to feel like the older cousin since in his boy cousin

 groups he is the younger one.

And you can't leave aunt Shelley's house without eating a bag of Cheetos:)

 

the days after Christmas

 

Holy moly, Christmas vacation can sure get packed full of activities!

Thankfully the days after Christmas were a whole lot more relaxing than the rush leading up to it!

The boys loved riding their new ziggler bike contraptions.

Grandma and grandpa gave each boy one as their Christmas gift.

They are pretty cool!

 

 Dinner out at San Tan Flat.

 A bike ride at Tempe Town Lake!

 My hideous face.

Its hard to ride a bike and take a picture of the peeps behind you at the same time!

Potty break up on a hill for everybody to see.

Rusty learned how to ride a bike without training wheels!!!!!

 New years eve we basked in the sun and went swimming...

while others prepared for a polar vortex.

Soaking in the last bit of 2013:)



Our New Years eve night was pretty lame.

We stayed home.

Baked nachos.

Kids went to bed at 8:30.

Casey slept on my lap while I watched tv.

Called it a night at 11pm.

 

We did go bowling with our friends the Yamamoto's New Years day!



 

Not pictured:

Cutting 11 inches off of my sister in laws hair.

And about 5 inches off of my brothers (she had shorter hair than her husband for 30 minutes).

Dinner at Gecko Grill with my family then dessert at the My Waffle Crush truck.

Play dates at the park with friends and cousins.

A trip to the doctor and double ear infections for Lindi.

De-cluttering the house and filling the back of my car with Goodwill donations.

 

Bye, bye 2013!

 

 





Christmas came!

 

 

We may have started a new tradition for our little family.

Christmas Eve Casey and I decided to take the kids to Cheesecake Factory for dinner.

We were unsure how it would go.

Crazy wild kids at a swamped crowded restaurant?

 Or a good night out just with our little family.

Luckily it went the second version.

It was the most fun we have had together in a long time!!

We waited 10 minutes for our table.

The kids were so well behaved.

It was awesome for Casey and I to see and feel their excitement

for Christmas as we sat together in our little booth.

Plus they thought it was pretty rad that they each got to choose their own

flavor of cheesecake!

Lane chose s'mores.

 FYI, superb. And I'm not a s'mores fan.

Rusty chose cookie dough.

 

 

 

Lindi enjoyed her puff's and bread crumbs:)

 After dinner we made a few more last minute treat delivers then home for bed!
But first Lane wrote a note for Santa and we left him some cookies.
Translation: To Santa, there are some cookies and chocolate chips.

 

And what do you know, Santa came!!!!!!



 

 

Santa brought Rusty: Jake and the Neverland Pirate Legos, Lane: a nerf basketball hop game for his room, and Lindi: a baby doll that has a giggle that sounds just like hers!

 



 

Then it was off to Grandma and Grandpas!

I got my hands on Jeffy's hair:)

 

 The whole gang together on Christmas!

We spent the afternoon at Grammy and Papa's.

Rusty was so excited to give to Kamryn in the cousin exchange.



and it's a bad picture but all of the grandkids got umbrellas with

 money hanging from ribbons!

 

It was a very Merry 2013 Christmas!!!