Merry Christmas!

It was a great Christmas day that ended a fun Christmas season! I wanted to put a few of my favorite pictures from the last week on here. There's nothing better than seeing big boys sitting on Santa's lap.

On Christmas Eve, we continued our tradition of going out to dinner. This year we went to Mountain Mikes and pigged out at the pizza buffet. We usually go to a movie as well but this year there wasn't anything we really wanted to see. So we went to the dollar store and let the kids pick out their own candy. Then we went home and watched Home Alone together. We also had a great time decorating our gingerbread houses. We did it in teams this year. Kierra, Katie and I were on a team together and failed miserably. Our house collapsed! Jadon, Kyson and Jake were a team and Daddy and Jaxon were a team. They all did really well but the final vote was Daddy and Jaxon as the winners! (The house on the left)

We had church at 9:00 a.m. today so we decided not to do any of our Christmas until after church. We put wrapping paper across the opening into the front room so the kids couldn't see what Santa brought. They were so excited to come home and bust through the paper to see what Santa brought them. We had a fun Christmas morning and everyone was excited with what they got. Katie was especially cute. She LOVED everything she got and sat and played with everything all day. We had a wonderful day. The kids got along all day. I am so thankful for my family and all the many blessings that we have!

Adventures downtown

We have had a few fun adventures downtown in the last couple of days. On Sunday morning Jadon, Kierra, Jaxon and I were lucky enough to go to the conference center to watch the Christmas concert. We only had 4 tickets and Dale was nice enough to volunteer to stay home with the little kids. I really wish he could have come because it was amazing! The music was wonderful and very powerful! I was glad that my kids had a chance to see it and I hope we can again next year!

Last night we went down to temple square for Family Night to see the lights. We had a good time, even though it was very cold. We haven't done this since Katie was born and I have missed it. I can't believe Christmas is only a few days away. I am always sad when the Christmas season is over. I'm sure we'll enjoy being together with all the Christmas activities the rest of the week.

Birthday shopping trip

Kyson got some money for his birthday so I took him to Walmart to pick out what he wanted. He was so funny. We got a cart and I let him put all the things that he liked in it. When he was done going down all the aisles, we set all the stuff out so he could start eliminating things. I told him to take away the thing he wanted the least.

We kept doing that until he was down to the things he wanted the most. He had it narrowed down to 6 things and was having a really hard time deciding what to get.

He finally picked his 3 favorite things and was pretty excited about it. We had a great time shopping together. The best part about it was that I got a whole bunch of ideas for Christmas.

Officially potty trained!

I started potty training Katie exactly two weeks ago. It really has been super easy! I guess that's what you get when you wait until they are 3 to start. She has only had 3 accidents the whole time!

She gets to pick out a sticker to put on her sticker chart every time she goes potty.

And...she gets a gumball! That is what did the trick. She loves gumballs so she wanted to try and go potty all the time just to get the gum.

She is now going potty without telling me and has gone 4 straight days with dry underwear. She has woken up from her nap dry from day one and the last 3 mornings her diaper has been dry.

I would say she is officially potty trained! Yay!!! I can't believe I don't ever have to do this again! Now we have to work on getting rid of binkies at nap time so she can get a big girl bed!

Tired????

Yesterday when Jadon came home from school I was mopping the floor. He came in and plopped down on the couch. Not even 2 minutes later, I turned around and he was asleep. I guess his busy life has caught up with him.

Kyson's 7th Birthday

Kyson's birthday was last week but I wanted to wait until he had his birthday party before I posted his pictures. This was Kyson's first birthday party and he has been excited about it for a long time. He was very set on going to nickelmania for his birthday. He had a hard time deciding what friends to invite because he has so many. He ended up inviting 14 kids. I was pretty hesitant about keeping track of that many kids in an arcade so I made Dale and Jadon come with me to help. Dale was so good to keep track of them. When we all went into the building from the parking lot, Dale made them stand in a single file line and follow him the whole way.

The kids had a great time playing games and getting their tickets. Luckily we were the only people there so we had the place to ourselves.

Kyson got way too much stuff for his birthday but he was really excited to open it all. Kyson is a great kid! He is nice to everyone! (I guess that's why he has so many friends) He is very tenderhearted and concerned about a lot of things. He is such a good brother to Jake. Even though Kyson is younger, he watches out for Jake and always makes sure he's doing the right thing. He's doing great in school and is becoming a good little reader. Most of the time, he has a smile on his face and wants to do the right thing. I am so thankful he is in our family! I love you Kyson!

Katie's 3rd Birthday

I can't believe that my baby is 3 already. Her birthday was yesterday and she had a great time. We went where she wanted for dinner, chick-fil-a. After dinner we came home for cake and ice cream and then she opened her presents. She was so cute. Every time she opened a present she was very excited about what she got. She is such a girly girl! She loves babies, barbies and princesses. She has recently started watching barbie movies and loves them. She wants to watch them all day. I have a great time with my little Katie. She is the only one at home during the day so we spend a lot of time together. She is growing up so much. She has a few little friends and she loves to have play dates with them. She has a great imagination and plays really well by herself. She started potty training this week and is doing great! She has only had one accident in 4 days. Yippee! She is excited to be a big girl because she wants a big girl bed. I am so happy to have her sweet spirit in our family. She is so fun to listen too and I love watching her play with her little babies. She'll be a great mom someday! I love you to pieces Katie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a very wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. It was the Byers year this year and Gladys was in California with David while Doyle and Kris were spending it with her parents who just returned from their mission. So we invited Darrell and Shara's family, my mom and dad and Dale's Dad and Geneva to come for dinner. We spent a lot of time the day before and that morning getting organized and ready for the day.

Kierra and Kyson made these cute little turkeys for our place settings.

This is what the Kitchen looked like before everyone got there. I didn't get a picture of what it looked like once all the food and dishes were everywhere. What a mess!

Mom was making the gravy while Darrell cut the Turkey. It was nice to have everyone doing something. It was a little cozy in the kitchen but that was ok. I was so glad to have my mom there to help me pull this off. This is only the 2nd time I have done this at my house.

The kids table

The grown up table

My favorite picture. After we were all done eating, Jadon had pulled his chair up to the counter to finish off the green bean casserole. He said that was his favorite part of the dinner. Thanksgiving dinner is a lot of work but it's worth it to have a nice dinner with our family. I love how it starts the season and makes us grateful for our family. I am so thankful for my sweet husband and my 6 wonderful kids. I would be lost without them!

Once upon a mattress

Last week Kierra was in her first play. The middle school put on the play "Once upon a mattress". It was the princess and the pea story. She had a small part but did a great job. She spent several months, every day after school, going to play practice. Sometimes she got sick of practices but she had a fun time in the play. She said she is going to keep doing plays. I was so excited when she tried out because I always wanted to be in plays. I figure if I can't be in them, at least I can watch her in them.

I love my kids!

Before I start this post, I want anyone who reads it to read it in the spirit of a mother who loves her kids and is very proud of them. It is not meant to be boastful in any way!

We recently took our kids out to dinner to celebrate how well they have been doing in school. Jadon and Kierra just completed their first quarter in middle school and Jaxon, Jake and Kyson just had their first parent teacher conferences. Kierra got all A's and H's on her report card and Jadon got almost all A's (one A-) and all H's. The grades mean a lot to us but what I am so proud of is how hard they worked. Kierra has been so busy with the play that she is in, volleyball and young women's but always managed to maintain her school work. Jadon has 4 honors classes and has had A LOT of homework all quarter. He always comes home from school and gets to work right away. With a lot of help from his Dad, he is learning to be organized and manage his time better. Jaxon, Jake and Kyson all got great reports from their teachers. Jaxon's teacher said he is nice to everyone in his class and she wishes she had a class full of kids like him. On top of that, he is getting all A's and H's as well. Jake's teacher says that he is very smart and she can't believe that a kid with a disability like his, does so well in school. Kyson's teacher says he's doing really well in first grade and he is a great student and always does what he is suppose too. It is so rewarding to hear these kinds of things about my kids. I'm sure I had a big smile on my face as I left the school that night. Like I said, this post was not meant to be a big bragging moment. I just wanted to record all this so that one day, when my kids are grown, they will be able to look back and remember how proud I was of them! I love you guys!

Happy Halloween!

I loved Jaxon's costume this year! If you can't tell, he was Russell from UP. For some reason, he wouldn't wear his costume when he went trick or treating so this is the only picture I got.

The kids all had fun at their Halloween parties. I was in charge of Jake's class party. He was picked as one of the kids to get dressed up like a mummy. They had a great time doing that.

The kids were so exctied to go trick or treating. Jaxon and Kierra went off with some friends while Jadon, Jake, Kyson, Katie and I went together. Jake was the first one to go home. Kyson and Katie were troopers. They went pretty long and got tons of candy!

After everyone got home, the tradition of trading candy began. Everyone dumped out their candy on the floor to check out what they got and then proceeded to talk their siblings into trading for the candy they didn't want.

The kids had a great time on Halloween. The only problem now is that every room in the house has candy in it that I am tempted to eat!

Jaxon's 11th Birthday

Jaxon turned 11 two days ago and he did some pretty fun things to celebrate. First, we all went out to dinner at the place he chose, Panda. His friend, Mitchell, and my parents came too. After dinner, we went to pack meeting. We had a great time. There was a mad scientist and since Jaxon was getting his Arrow of Light, he got to be the assistant. They did a lot of fun things including riding a hover craft over to the bridge that he crossed into 11 year old scouts. The next day Jaxon had his birthday party at Airborne. He invited 7 boys and they had a blast jumping on trampolines and eating pizza. I hope he had a great birthday. Jaxon keeps life exciting for us. He did great in baseball this year both in spring and the fall. He is a good student. His extreme competitiveness applies to both school and sports. He doesn't like anybody to beat him, or do better than him, with their schoolwork or throwing a ball! He has really been into playing football in the front yard and plays every day after school. He loves it when Jadon doesn't have any homework so he can play with him too. Jadon and Jaxon have really learned how to get along and have a great time together. Jaxon and Jake have a hard time getting along together but I have seen many situations this year where Jaxon is watching out for Jake and it melts my heart when I see that. Jaxon has a very strong personality and I hope that he will learn to use that strength to be a great leader in his life! We love you Jaxon!

a BIG Change!

Isn't it funny how when a little girl gets a haircut, she looks sooooo much older? Well, that's what happened to Katie today!

I took these pictures of her before we went to get her haircut.

Katie was so good for her haircut. She wanted nothing to do with getting her hair washed, but other than that, she was perfect. I have been thinking about getting her hair cut into a little bob for a long time and decided it would be a cute little haircut for a 3 year old. I have to admit, I was a little sad when Laura made the first cut. It was hard to watch those long curls fall to the floor.

I love it! She looks so much older but it is so cute on her chubby little face!

"From the Back" after picture

Three forks hike

One of our most favorite hikes is called three forks and it is up Spanish Fork canyon. We decided to hike it this weekend. Since it was a last minute decision, it wasn't planned out very well. When we went last time, we left the little kids home and the hike went pretty fast. With it being UEA weekend, we didn't have anyone to leave Katie with so we decided to just tough it out and bring her. Luckily, we were able to borrow a backpack from a neighbor to carry her in. Unfortunately, we went a week, or two, too late to see the beautiful fall colors. It was still pretty but a lot of the leaves have already fallen. Even though it was not as vibrant as last year, we still had a great time! The hike didn't seem as long and hard as before, and the kids did great! They didn't swim in the hot pots but they did put their feet in. The hike down was awesome! The sun was just perfect and made all the leaves glow. Jaxon, Kierra and I decided to run most of the way with Jenny. It was so much fun! Jenny always wanted to make sure we were all together. If we got too far ahead of the rest of the group, she would run back to check on them and then come run with us again. She did that the whole way down the mountain. Kyson did get pretty tired on the way back down but his Daddy carried both him and Katie. Even though it took the whole day, everyone had a great time and we can't wait to go back next year!