Having a Tea Party

Emily got a tea set for Christmas and has been forcing Isaac to have at least one tea party with her every day. He is so cute and acts like he knows what is going on, and she gets to boss him around. Today we had Becca at our tea party and they were hilarious. Emily laid out all the dishes and helped them pour water in their cups and get snacks on their plates. Becca accidentally spilled her water and Isaac gulped his down and then said "More", all while holding onto his cute football. Emily was patient and kind to them and helped clean up the mess and repoured their beverage. She is such a great hostess in her ballerina outfit, and fairy wings!
What a cute bunch of kids!

Sledding at Little Mountain

We went sledding up Emigration Canyon this weekend at Little Mountain. It's our favorite sledding spot, because you get dropped off at the top of the canyon and then sled down the mountain (almost a mile long), cross the highway and end up at the bottom. You get back into the warm car and do it all again. No walking required!! It's a steep, bumpy ride, so usually little kids are scared. But Taylor has been begging us to take him, so we decided to try it. Usually I just take the kids sledding at the park, or over at the hill at the church.

Aunt Nat came with us and she was kind enough to take Emily on her sled.
Emily was unusally brave and LOVED sledding! She went down the mellow half a couple of times, and then decided she was ready to try the whole mountain. She tried to change her mind, but I had already driven away, so down she went! We were proud of her and happy that she had fun getting white washed in the face, (being in front of the sled is a cold, icy spot).

Danny and Taylor were having a blast! Taylor went with Danny a few times and then decided he wanted to go on his own sled. He went down super fast, andreally out of control! I don't think he realized he was being dangerous and reckless, and could have really gotten hurt, but he has a fantastic afternoon in the snow!

Isaac was such a good sport, he didn't even get out of his car seat the whole time. We just kept driving up and down the canyon for a few hours. He kept entertained with books, cars and unlimited drinks and snacks! He is such a funny guy and constantly keeps us entertained.

We can't wait for the next snow storm so we can go sledding in some fresh, new powder!

Christmas!

We had a great trip to Boise for Christmas. The kids loved seeing Grandma & Grandpa Deppe and their aunts, uncles and cousins. We celebrated Christmas eve with a delcicious dinner, games, decorating piggy banks, and a gift delivered from the elves. Taylor and Emily are at the perfect age for Santa and love all that comes with Christmas!

On Christmas morning, amazingly the kids slept in until 8am! They woke up and were thrilled to find Santa had come and found them in Boise. Taylor was thrilled with his magnet games, art stuff and pokemon cards. Emily was delighted with her baby high chair and play make up. Isaac got a Igloo tent with a tunnel and it kept him entertained the whole morning.

We had huge, yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then relaxed and enjoyed the day. It was so fun to spend time with all of Danny's family and enjoy playing games, walking down by the river and watching movies in the movie room.

We will always love Idaho and sometimes miss living in Boise.

Last night we went to the extended Shields Christmas party and had fun party. It was a fantastic party with dinner, a program, games, obstacle course, etc.... Derek performed a song with Taylor, Emily and Natalie and it was great. They love their uncle Derek. It was a fun party that went late into the night.

We can't wait for New Years!

Christmas Activities

This has been a fun week full of many fun Christmas activites! Taylor made this cute Gingerbread house in his class at school. It was packed full of yummy candy, which he ate all the way home from school. Taylor loves his teacher and has had a fabulous year in 1st grade.

Then earlier this week Aunt Nat was being a little grumpy. She got a special delivery from Santa's elves, and it was a big bag of coal. The poem told her to change her attitude, or expect more coal on Christmas. The kids thought it was great, and it helped Taylor and Emily shape up as well. Taylor also made this cute snowman gift bag for a gift he made in his class.

Then we had a fun, Hawkins Christmas Party at Uncle John's house. There was a delicious dinner, games, chimes, bingo and candy guessing jars. The kids had tons of fun and it was great to see all the extended family.

We Love this time of year. We can't wait for Christmas!!

A week of "first's"

This has been a week of first's for Taylor and Emily. Taylor has not lost any teeth yet, so he went to the dentist to have two teeth removed. The teeth were fused together so they needed to be removed in order for his other teeth to start loosening.

He was very brave and said it hurt a lot. He enthusiastically put the giant tooth under his pillow for the tooth fairy. His friends have told him about all the money they get from the tooth fairy so he had high hopes. What ever happened to a quarter a tooth?

Then yesterday Emily had her first dance recital. She was excited about the show all week, but when we got to the school she got really nervous. She was terrified of going on stage and was clinging to me as I walked her up to perform. She started crying and looked so sad, but she pulled through, started dancing and by the end of the song was smiling and loving all the attention on her! I was so relieved. She has come along way these past few months and has made huge improvements in her self esteem and ability to be around other people.

Showing off her red nail polish!

We love you Emily and we are so proud of you!

Let it Snow!

We've been playing outside in the snow this week, even though it's 16 degrees outside! It's freezing cold for me but Taylor, Emily and Isaac love being in the snow. They beg me to build a snowman, go sledding, or build a snow fort.

Isaac looks jjust like Taylor did when he was this age. Taylor wore all these same snow clothes when he was one. Isaac says "No, No," for snow, over and over when we play in the snow. It's one of his favorite words right now.

Emily likes to make snow angels and go sledding. She loves her cute new snow hat, (thanks to Aunt Katie).

Time to go get warm with hot chocolate!

Wassil Party 2009!

We attended our First ever Wassil Party hosted by Marcus Shields. We have livedout of Utah for the past seven years, and have never been fortunate to attend the event.

It was a fantastic Christmas party complete with ugly sweaters, treats, sing-along carols,hot cocoa, a photo booth, steaming wassil, and lots of friends and family.

Taylor and Emily thought the party was great. They got to stay up late, eat candy and drink cocoa.Taylor wanted his sweater to be "ugly" so he put duct tape all over the front and back.

A good time was had by all, we are so glad we could see all the outrageous sweaters, hats and boots.What a wonderul way to start the Christmas season!