Christmas Season Begins

We went down to Ephraim on the Friday after Thanksgiving to visit and lay a little tile. (I can't resist a tiling opportunity!) This was just a little one so the satisfaction of completing it came fast.
That night we went over to Manti to watch the parade of lights with the kids. Sanpete county parades are a little smaller than those in Salt Lake, so it didn't take long, but the kids loved it.
Joshua loved waving at everyone passing by with his pink gloves. (Yes, he has an older sister.)
Parker thought the fire truck sirens were way too loud, and Gabby was just trying to stay warm. Easy entertainment.

Thanksgiving Event

...and what an event it was. Food, food, and more food. You can't beat that. We were with my family this year, so of course we had Thanksgiving dinner at a church. It was a great time visiting and just hanging out and relaxing. Everyone pitches in with the food so it doesn't seem like too much work for anyone, but there is always too much food. We all loved it.

Joshua likes to find anyone smaller than him and boss them around so he can feel in charge. He has too much competition at home with Gabby and Parker. Teigan was his target this time. She is so close to walking, and is about his height, so he better watch out. This may have been the last time he can push her around!

Side note: Joshua had a little drink for his shirt early in the day so it had to be removed. Notice his cool jacket he got to wear instead. A little chest hair would have been awesome!

Making Gingerbread (or gram cracker) Houses was a big hit with everyone. Sandy and her family put the houses together, Dana provided the frosting, and candy seems to grow on trees. The kids and adults all had fun being as creative as you can be with Fruity Cheerios and red hots.

Isaac & Bella Turn Three

Isaac and Bella, Randy's sister's kids, invited Gabby, Parker and Joshua, along with lots of other friends and family to celebrate their 3rd birthday "bouncing." The kids had a great time sliding down the big bouncy slides, climbing through tunnels, and scaling the ropes. I have to admit I tried out the slides with Joshua and Isaac. It is much more fun that the wimpy slides at the park!

Bella gets help from Carter to blow out the candles.

Isaac excited for sugar. Who isn't?

Six grand kids. Bella (3), Gabby (6), Parker (4), Isaac (3), Joshua (1) and Carter (4). What a crew.

Oh Mrs. Sun, Please shine down on me...

In Gabby's school every class has a drama performance each year. Gabby was "Mrs. Sun" in the big performance (a very important role). She memorized her lines with no help from her parents, even the biggest word of the play. "Did someone say sunshine?...Here little plants, catch my rays and your leaves will turn them into energy to grow. That is called photosynthesis."She entered near the end of the performance, but it is well worth the wait. We were very proud.

Let the Holidays begin...Halloween

Continuing Parker's Birthday theme, he dressed as a pirate, hook and all. Gabby dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West, minus the green face. I can only put so much effort into Halloween. Joshua was supposed to be a dog, which he loves and can imitate, but refused the put on the costume. It's a good thing we had the pumpkin sweatsuit.
At our stake Halloween party there was a clown making balloon animals. The booth we were responsible for was right next to his, so Parker made great friends with him. We are waiting for him to tell us he wants to be a balloon animal making clown when he grows up!Joshua made friends with the cute little bumblebee so he could score some candy.
Gabby and Syd, costumes inspired by The Wizard of Oz.

What Fills Our Time?...

As I put my kids to bed at night I often wonder what I have accomplished that day. Here are just a few things that fill our time: Hanging out with our "Cool" kids...
Reading with Gabby. She loves to learn and loves to read. Popcorn Time. Joshua has inherited his love of popcorn from his grandpa.
Playing with Friends. Parker is always happier with a few friends.
Don't forget the work. Kids and all, we have to squeeze that in. And more reading, sometimes allowing a little snooze...

Pirate Parker is Four!

Parker had his big fourth birthday on September 21st. He was "Three and Three Quarters" for a while...
I won a birthday cake made to order at a Relief Society service auction. Parker decided he wanted a pirate cake, and this is how it turned out!

I could never make a cake that looked like this. Amazing. I don't think I could even think up the right shape. Parker loved it. In case your wondering, his cool wink is his pirate impression.
"I'm four"
The most exciting gifts he got were the bike that is big enough to allow him to extend his legs when he pedals, the cool bumblebee helmet, and the much needed elbow, knee and wrist pads. Safety first in our house!
Joshua is just always happy to be here. He has mastered walking at 13 months after waiting until 10 months to crawl. We all catch up sooner or later!

Our Baby Turns One!

Joshua turned one on July 11th. Years do go by faster the older you get! On his birthday we had a little birthday ice cream. Joshua's favorite hang out place is on the counter. Not safe, I know. But, it keeps him happy. Now you know what kind of mom I am!
We had family over to share in a birthday celebration. He is too young to get excited about opening presents, but with the help of his big brother and sister, he soon found out what everyone had brought him.
Michelle, Isaac and Bella came to join in the celebration.
Gabby made the day extra exciting by loosing her first top tooth. She looses teeth with the holidays. He first bottom tooth she lost on New Years Eve!

Family Comes to Town

This summer Grandma and Grandpa Willardsen came to visit for a few days. We all went to Melanie and Brian's house to have a BBQ and hang out for a while. All the kids are changing and growing so fast.

Joshua put on his nervous face to greet the crowds.
Gabby, Carter and Bella jumped in the back of the truck to have some fun.
Watch them grow: Joshua (1), Isaac & Bella (2), Gabby (6), Carter (3), Parker (3).

Bryce Canyon Adventure

In July we decided to run a second Half-Marathon down at Bryce Canyon. Don't two halves make a whole?
It was a good excuse to take a little vacation and show the kids the canyon. I ran with Stephanie and a friend from our ward Shelby. We camped instead of staying in one of the glamorous hotels down there. Not a terrible night sleep, but it could have been better. We all improved our time even after sleeping on the ground. It was a beautiful run, and a great time to spend with friends.


After running, we were treated by Dave with a great camp breakfast. Then we headed off for the canyon to see the sites. The kids loved hiking around and were as amazed as we were at the beautiful scenes.
Gabby and Parker had Annie and Tate to share the fun.
This was Gabby's "missing the two-front-teeth" stage. What a great smile.
Joshua spent a lot of time on Randy's back checking out the sites and catching a little nap here and there.

It was a great trip and one that our kids will remember.

April Continues

April also brought us some Easter celebrations. We had a few family gatherings, and the kids had a great time hunting for candy and eggs. Easter is always a great excuse for new Sunday clothes, which leads to pictures of the kids. I have to say, I do think they are amazingly cute. My kids always look so much cleaner in pictures!

Nine-month-old Joshua and his happy self! He is usually happier than this, but after 45 minutes of picture taking, who wasn't crying? Three and a half year old Parker. Can you capture personality in a picture? I think so. Our pretty Gabby. She is this sweet...More fun around the house. Parker has a thing for crazy glasses.

And to finish off April...our big girl Gabby made us all feel older when she turned six!

April Showers

April was filled with excitement in the Willardsen household. To start, Stephanie and I ran the Salt Lake Half Marathon. We had began training to run it in January. We ran three times a week on our own, and on Saturday's we would do our long runs together. The exercise was great, but I have to admit the social time was a bonus. At the beginning, running and talking didn't mix, but after while, the miles started to blend together, and I was even a little sad when our Saturday run was over. Proud of the accomplishment, but sad we were finished chatting!
We will probably never set any records, but we accomplished the goals we had set: run the whole way and finish before the first marathon runner! Laugh all you want...Those guys are fast. We beat him by over ten minutes though. Of course my family was at the finish line to cheer me on. It was so crowded there they didn't see me! That's okay. Parker thought it was so fun to watch all the runners come in.

Steph started it all. Thanks for the idea and the encouragement. It was great running with you! We should do it again some time.

Tee Ball Fun

I finally broke down in the spring and decided to enroll my kids in some organized sports. Since they could both be on the same team, and I am all about keeping it easy with one game a week instead of two, Parker and Gabby were enrolled in Tee Ball. I have to admit we were a little disappointed in the experience. They did have a good time, but learned no rules of the game. Maybe soccer would have been a better choice?
Joshua was about eight months old and still had not decided to crawl. He was just happy sitting still and watching.

Trip to St. Geoge to Welcome a Niece

In March we took a trip to St. George to visit Stephen and Kim and their new baby girl Teigan. The kids thought staying at a hotel was amazing. When we asked them what their favorite part of the trip was they had to go with the cool hotel. Nothing like sleeping in a bed that hundreds of other people have slept in.

Of course, the camera only came out once during the trip when we took a hike. We didn't even get one picture of the baby. What a bad aunt I am!

The hike was beautiful though. Parker kept talking about how we were going to go "hunting" instead of "hiking." When we explained the difference to him he couldn't stop talking about people killing animals.

Soon-to-be six Gabby and three year old Parker show off their newly learned climbing skills. They obviously learned from their cool uncle Dave! (I do have to take the credit for the awesome camera work.)Parker finished off his day of hiking with a ride in Chris's dune buggy. Seven months later he is still talking about it. For a while every convertible we saw was a dune buggy.