Goblin Valley

I had a couple of slower weeks recently which gave us evenings and weekends together as a family.  We decided to take advantage of a free Saturday and drove about 4 hours to Goblin Valley State Park.  It is a very cool place which is a great area for small kids.  The "goblins" are cool rock formations which the kids can climb on and are lots of fun.  It is actually a really small area but when you get down inside the valley, it feels like it goes on forever.  We were worried it was going to be freezing, but the weather was in the forties and clear and was just about perfect.  We all got nice and dirty (especially Lexi) and had a great time.  Making the trip much better was my brother Jordan, his wife Crystal, and their three children who caravaned with us down there.  We had fun putting cousins together in different cars, listening to the Frozen soundtrack, and catching up on how life has been for them.  It also made for lots of fun cousins pictures.

Lexi was in heaven (until she got tired, then she was done)

I also had fun making photospheres of the area.  Here is a link to one (if it works):

https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/115033622022710672729/photo/eNWGNeaOst0AAAAGOxC7Ig

Ten of My Favorite Memories from this December

1.  Nicholas told jokes for his talent at the Wells Christmas Eve Party.  He did a great job wearing his Santa hat and his slinky eyes.  We had practiced two jokes, but he choose to go with his own material.  His jokes went something like this: "What do you get when you cross a girl, a shoe, a clock, and a piano?....A clockgoshoe!!!"

2.  The kids loved dressing up like wise men during the Wells family nativity.  Lexi especially loved all the sparkly things she got to wear.  For the Muhlestein nativity they were very uncooperative but cute sheep.

3.  We went to Frozen on Christmas Eve morning as a family.  It was fabulous!  The kids loved it, but Nicholas thought the Ice Monster was too scary.

4.  Lexi got 4 pairs of shoes for Christmas and loved them all.  Nicholas also got a pair of boots.  True Texas children!

5.  We made lots of Christmas cookies.  Nicholas loved the dough much better than the cookies.  We dropped them off at neighbors and took lots to the Christmas Eve Party.  Nicholas called himself the "Cookie Dough Monster" and told me, "I just can't help it!  I'm so attracted to the dough."

6.  Jack, our Christmas elf, came and visited for the month of December.  He stayed out of reach most of the month, but did get touched by Lexi one time and had to get magic sent from the North Pole.  Nicholas really wanted her to get coal as punishment.  In this picture, Nicholas is saying goodbye to Jack.

7.  I was in charge of the decorations for the ward party.  It was a lot of work and worry.  I ended up wrapping every small box in our house and using them as centerpieces.  The kids had fun unwrapping them later.  Nicholas went up on stage with the Primary children to sing and ended up playing in the curtains.  Got to love him anyway.

8.  We ate Pat's BBQ for Christmas Eve dinner at the Muhlesteins.

9.  I got a lot of emergency supplies, food storage, and laminating pouches for Christmas.  Joseph got a ladder and a circular saw.  Lexi got princess things, Minnie Mouse things, shoes, and a doll.  Nicholas got a headlight, bike, flashlight, boots, new iPad games, and angry bird stuff.

10.  Joseph is currently working the night shift so he made it to most Christmas events, but kept falling asleep.  He is the best.  We postponed our family Christmas until the evening because Joseph wouldn't make it home in time to open the gifts.  Nicholas was okay with that because we promised him all the iPad time he wanted on Christmas morning and new games to keep him busy.

2013 Christmas Card

We love you all and wish you a

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Nicholas' Prayer Tonight Included...

"Please don't let Jack (our Elf on the Shelf) see us when we do naughty things.  Please help Santa bring us lots of presents..."

At the end to the prayer, Joseph and I couldn't bring ourselves to say Amen.  We had a little discussion about how it would be better to not do naughty things in the first place instead of trying to figure out ways that we can hide our actions from Jack.

Nicholas, being such a brilliant young man, has also been trying to use Jack to his advantage this Christmas season.  I often hear him having quiet discussions with Jack about how Mom put him in time out or took away his games.  He is trying to get me in trouble with Santa.  In his mind, I'm definitely the one deserving coal this year.

The Many Faces of Lexi

The above is my favorite face.  She uses this face instead of saying yes in response to a question.

Happy or sad, she is the cutest little girl in the world!!

Lexi's Fashion Sense

Lexi's go to outfit is this purple princess dress, pink cowgirl princess hat, kitty binoculars, and purple sparkly shoes.  She likes it for special events, sleeping, and just lounging around the house.  The outfit isn't fully complete without each of these specific items.  Sometimes wands, wings, and other things are added but the core of this ensemble are the above mentioned items.

Notice how she points her toe in the below picture to highlight her purple shoes.  The purple shoes are the most valued piece of her outfit.  Probably because Mom lets her wear them a lot more than the rest of her acessories.  Beware if you remove these shoes not only will you upset this princess, but the smell is also pretty deadly.

Below are featured a few other combinations she tried before she settled on her current favorite.