Merry Christmas!

Christmas was just as magical as ever this year.  The kids are all at such fun ages and every single aspect from the decorations, to the service, to the dresses, to the family parties was a new exciting adventure.

The girls loved their dresses and Teagan, the ever growing boy, got a new suit.  It is so fun to match them all!

We tried to get Scout in our family picture this year and it was very challenging.  Turns out, he is not very obedient, we'll have to keep working on that.

I had to take a picture of Teagan wrapping this present for grandma, he cut it right out of the middle.  I was dying of laughter.  Kids are funny!

I was supposed to help in Eloise's class but the other girls were sick so I couldn't make it.  Eloise begged me to call and ask grandpa to come in instead and she absolutely loved having him there.  We are so lucky to have him close by!

We got to see Santa at our ward party and at Grandma Packer's ward party...Teagan opted out of the pictures this year...sadness.

One of our highlights was going to "Laughing All the Way" with Hank Smith, John Bytheway and Meg Johnson.  It was so funny and inspiring and we all loved it!  The Ivins and Davis families went with us as well.

We dressed up and acted out the nativity and it was pretty great, check out our home video for details! 

There was no shortage of family parties and we soaked it all up.   We did a party with the Durtschi cousins and Grandma Packer and it was fun and low key.  Then after Christmas we had another party with the rest of the Durtschi crew.  We love all the family time!

Everyone got matching Moosletoe PJs complete with slippers for Christmas Eve which was so fun.  Mom even got the sizes right this year!

Christmas morning was so fun!  It was a little bit smaller this year, but everyone was still completely delighted with every present and they were so grateful.  Some highlights were kitties, a tea set, new clothes, wheelies and earrings.  Teagan got soccer gear, including an awesome goal to practice on downstairs. There are no pictures because we just kept taking videos of him scoring but no pictures.

The Hersley Fundraiser

This year November was filled with putting together a fundraiser for our neighbors, the Hersleys.  Brain was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and their church decided to put on a fundraiser.  I am friends with their mom, Charlene Tomchak, so I decided to join the committee and help.  We spent hours and hours collecting donations, assembling gift baskets and organizing the event.  

I eventually became the designated food lady and got to work looking for donations for all of the different food items for our Costa Vida dinner.  I was so amazed at how generous all of the different local businesses were.

When the week of came, I spent every day either shopping, chopping, or cooking food to get ready.  I made dressings, cilantro, beans, pork, and chicken for 300 people and gathered the lettuce, chips, salsa, rice, cheese, tortillas and cookies from amazing people who donated it!  It was no small undertaking and I took an entire week off afterwards to recover, but it was such an amazing event to be a part of!  I had so many friends and family members who helped pick up food, deliver it to me or the high school, cook food, or help me prepare at my house.  It was incredible.  

The morning of the event I woke up and checked my "Light the World" calendar and saw that the goal was to find a way to help someone in need by making a donation.  I cried and felt like I was doing what God wanted (there had been many moments of doubt when I wondered if I was really doing the right thing).  I loved working with the people at Journey Church.  They are amazing, have such strong testimonies, and are just cool people to be around.  

During the actual event Zac bid on a million baskets, Eloise had fun writing her name down on lots of items and begging dad to bid on baskets and Teagan helped serve food.  It was really beautiful and I loved being involved.  

Thanksgiving- More like Everly and Logan

Thanksgiving was so fun this year!  The whole Durtschi side of the family was getting together so we had the Lewis family sleeping at our house, but we actually did Thanksgiving day with the Daniels family which was so fun.

Unfortunately, we were hosting Thanksgiving and didn't take a single picture because we were busy cooking and cleaning and entertaining.  But we did get pictures of the pre-meal fun.  At breakfast, Zac pulled out a key lime pie and gave each of the kids a slice.  It was so fun and I have a feeling it is going to become a Thanksgiving tradition!  We spent the whole day eating and playing cards and a new Christmas game that Adam and Sheena gave us.  It was so fun to have the day together!

The rest of the weekend was spent with cousins.  We went swimming at the hotel where Whitney and Joe and Garth and Alicia were staying.  It was a blast, everyone LOVED swimming.

The rest of the time was spent just enjoying each other's company and obsessing over how cute Everly and Logan are.  We could all claim that we don't play favorites, but the only pictures of the entire weekend are of these two cuties.  We did get Teagan's arm in one and him pulling the sled in the other.  LOL

But seriously, look at them, they are for real the cutest little things I've ever seen!

Beautiful Children

Zac switched to Samsung, insert gasp, and has had fun trying out all the exciting new features, especially the camera.  Check out these fun pictures he got of the kids!

Happy Halloween

This year Halloween was so much fun!  The girls decided to be flower gardens and we had a lot of fun fixing and painting hair, tucking in flowers and getting their bumblebee all set.  Eloise and Adeline loved the flowers in their hair and Everly thought her costume was so cute.  She wore it for several days straight, even to bed.

Teagan was going to be a pumpkin in the garden, but decided last minute to go as Santa Claus, he seems to be growing out of Halloween which makes me sad.  He still loves the candy, but the excitement is fading.

After we did a quick hour of trick or treating to some neighbors (it was FREEZING!) we headed back home and made donuts for the people who came to our house to trick or treat.  It was so fun to have a crowd there and to have something warm to give them.  I think we will be doing it again next year!

Pierced Ears for Eloise

After Eloise's failed first attempt at getting her ears pierced at a tattoo parlor last year, she decided to try again, but decided to try Claire's instead to see if it was a little less scary.  She worked hard to do jobs and be obedient so that she could save up "minutes" to use to go on a date with mom and dad.  After a month or two of saving up, she finally had enough!

She was so tough and brave and didn't even cry one drop.  After they pierced the first one she jumped a little and grabbed for her ear right after.  When she felt the earring she started giggling uncontrollably and was so excited.   She anxiously waited for the day that she could change them out and all she wanted for Christmas was new earrings, specifically mini hoop earrings that she could wear.  Eloise is all girl!

Family Pictures

Melissa Hersley took our pictures this year and did a great job!  Good job family for being so goofy and fun and I love you all!