On January 2nd we packed up the kids to go to Goofy Grandma & Grandpa's house for the weekend. We headed on a trip to Kauai and they got to spend a couple of days with them in Springville. They had lots of fun and got spoiled I'm sure.  The rest of the week they were lucky enough to have Grandma & Grandpa Deppe come from Boise, ID to stay at our house with the kids. They were so nice to come and we really appreciate it so much! The kids loved bonding with their grandparents and having fun with all of them . 

Thanks for taking them for the weekend!
We dropped the kids off Friday night and then woke up for early flight to Kauai! We headed there with my whole entire family, parents, siblings and their spouses plus 2 cute baby ( Jack & James) for a wonderful week in the sun! The trip was a way to celebrate mom turning 60 later in January! We landed in Kauai Saturday afternoon, picked up groceries etc.. and then relaxed in the beautiful, warm sunshine for the next 7 days! 

Our days were spent sleeping in, going to the gorgeous beaches located around Kauai, snorkeling, boogie boarding, surfing, napping, eating good food, paddle boarding, swimming, sitting in the hot tub, chatting with all the family, playing with cute babies and staying warm in the sun!!!

There were 16 adults plus the 2 babies. We rented 2 four bedroom condos, and it worked out great! The condos were very nice, comfortable and perfect. There was a pool, hot tub, and it was good to have a kitchen, laundry etc... 

Danny surfed pretty much every day, Derek also rented a board a few days and joined him in surfing. The waves were good and the water was perfect. 

I took A LOT of pictures, so here are the highlights. 

On Sunday after church we went to see Waimea Canyon. The views were incredible and it was a fun activity. Everyone was taking lots of pics, especially Monica with her selfiestick. 

Lots and lots of time spent leisurely enjoying the sandy beaches. We tried a bunch of new different kinds of fruit, and ate plenty of out favorite snacks, cold,  fresh papaya, with lime juice! 

On Tuesday we went up to the north side of the island with Derek, to see everything and show him around the island. We stopped in to get smoothies at our favorite health food store in Hanalei. We went to Hanalei, Ke'e beach, Luma hai, Anini, Tunnels, and more. A lot of these beaches are no crowded, there is hardly anyone around and it's so peaceful and wonderful. 

Wednesday we went back to the north side of the island ( about a 1-2 hour drive) and hiked along the amazing Na Pali coast. We hiked into a secluded beach with huge waves, and lots of big rocks. 

Half the group continued on the trail to hike into the water fall which was another 2 miles on the trail. It was a fun day full of spectacular scenery!!

We all had a fantastic week and it was the perfect way to start a new year!
Happy 60th Birthday to mom!
Thanks for a terrific & memorable trip to Kauai!!

The big news this week is Taylor got braces! He was nervous and scared but survived. He will have them on for about 18 months.
He'll have them off before high school. So he's excited about that! I am freaking out that he will be in high school in only a year and a half! 

We had the big extended Shields Family Christmas party extravaganza at our ward on Monday night! It was a fun, wild crazy party.
We had a yummy dinner, played BINGO, did a piñata, had dessert, listened to a  program etc... Its always a fun night full of family and fun. 

Taylor loves hanging out with the little kids, Henry is the cutest little guy! 

Emily won this creepy doll at the Bingo game. It's a puppet, doll and it's scary. 

We had a fun day at Jump Around Utah with friends. We stayed all afternoon, and played hard. It's a great place to go get their energy out. 

Emily and her cute friends. She had a blast with them all! 

This week of Christmas was fun, busy, and wonderful!
The snow kept falling so we took advantage and played outside several days. I took the kids and a few friends to Sugarhouse Park to go sledding one day. There was lots of  snow and we had a blast!

They liked making a big train with the sleds and going down all together. 

Christmas Eve, Eve was the Shields party, surprise dinner and gift exchange. We had our dinner, opened gifts from each other, sang songs etc.. It was a fun night and the excitement level was high! 

We had a big variety of food for dinner, sushi, salad, egg rolls, chips, fruit etc..  it was yummy! 

Christmas Eve Day we went skiing at Alta. The weather was cold and sunny, but it was a beautiful day! It's always fun to ski with cousins, and Megan, Colton etc... The snow was awesome!

After skiing all day we were tired, We headed home and went to dinner at "Hon Hong"  our favorite Chinese restaurant. We had a delicious meal and then went and drove around Christmas street and Bible street. IT was a fun dinner and no one had to cook or clean up! After we got home we opened new pjs, did a program, talked about the true meaning of Christmas etc... Then the kids were tired and ready for bed. They went to bed around 9 or 10 all ready to see what Santa would bring.

Christmas morning was perfect! It was snowing, the kids slept in until 8:00 and then we opened presents. Everyone was happy with what Santa brought and they all had fun seeing each others gifts etc.. 

We had a nice, relaxing day together just playing with new toys, games, eating treats etc...
Christmas comes and goes too fast! 

Taylor & emily had a sleepover at G& G's house with their big cousins Christmas night. Taylor chose this huge bowl for some cereal.

The day after Christmas we went sledding at "Little Mountain"
It's our favorite sledding spot, and is awesome because you drive up the mountain and then sled all the way down. The kids loved it! Even Lizzie, Henry and Milly, had fun and didn't get too scared. 

It was a successful Christmas week! Now we get to get ready to celebrate new years!