After-Thanksgiving Fun

The weekend after Thanksgiving is always set aside for putting up Christmas decorations.Gma's nativity was the biggest hit with the girls. They loved playing with the little figures. Gma decided it was time for some news one, because the old ones were pretty battered and broken. Anne and Alicia were so excited for the new figures; they kept asking over and over when Gma was going to go buy them.

Setting up the tree is almost my favorite part of the whole Christmas season. It sets the whole atmosphere. My hubby was so good to do it for me. Thanks you so much, bud.

Playtime

We have had a couple fun times this past week. My good friend, Sara, came to spend the day with me and to help with the kids a bit. She even made us all lunch. The kids had such a good time spending time playing together. As the following picture shows.

Lunch was sooo good!

And then Uncle Richy has had great time doing some fun crafts with the girls. He made a beautiful star with them. I have a picture of the finished product somewhere. I will attach it when I find it. We sure have loved having Uncle Richy around.

Thanksgiving 2010

Uncle Richy came to spend Thanksgiving weekend with us and to meet his new nephew.

We had a good crowd with us. Beate's brother, Oliver, was there. He loved holding Hyrum and didn't want to give him back.

I loved decorating the table.

We invited some of our friends over. Our girls had so much fun with the other kids. The food was delicious and the company was even better.

I am so grateful this year for my little family. But most especially for my husband, who does soooo much for me. He is my strength and my best friend. I am the luckiest girl in the world. I am also so grateful for the love of my Heavenly Father and how often I have felt it lately.

More of Hyrum

Since we can hardly get enough of him, we figure that some of you might be interested in some more pictures of this little boy ... These are from the hospital.

Look at That!

What a size comparison!!

Christmas is Coming

I must be excited for Christmas because yesterday we made our Christmas chains. I love seeing them hanging by on the doorframe. The girls had fun doing it, but in the end got tired of making them and I finished for them. But oh well. Christmas is Coming!!!!!

Calling Rachel Keller

Do you recognize this outfit? Anne wore the girl version you gave us also, when she came home from the hospital. I love them!!!! Thanks soooo much...again!

Liahona FHE

Last Monday we talked about the Liahona and doing what Heavenly Father asks us, so he can help us when we need it. I also found these fun Liahonas online that colored, cut out and put together.

And this was just cute. I found Katie putting my nylons on. She must have seen me do it, because she certainly knew how to do it.

Presenting....

Hyrum Jared Dautel

He was born this week and I am finally home. We sure love our little boy. And yes, we purposely didn't say on the blog that we were pregnant. We wanted to surprise you all. Did it work?

New Room

Now that Jared is self-employed and working with his dad, they have moved the home office to a better location. This means that there is another room available in the house. We decided to move Anne and Alicia downstair, and give them some more space of their own.

The room needed a little TLC. It is actually our first chance to really decorate a room the way we want since we were married. It was fun, but so much work...especially for Jared.

We let the girls help us to paint in the beginning. We wanted them to really feel they had helped in making thier room their own.
Anne was so proud of the butterfly she painted and was a little sad to see it painted over.

A messy child is a happy child.

Finally the room is as done as it can get right now. And we showed it to the girls. After they helped us paint they weren't allowed down anymore, so it would all be a surprise.

The results:

There is still a dresser and lamps coming for between their beds. And we are going to get some canapy type things they will get for Christmas and a little table and chairs, also for Christmas. But they love the room and loved sleeping in it last night.

Thanks so much to my fabulous hubby. He is the best and I don't know what I ever did to get him.

Jared B-day...The Rest

Now I have the rest of the pictures of Jared's birthday.
I had the girls make some paintings for their daddy. I was a bit nervous about how much of a mess they would make, but they did excellent. I am so proud of them.

You can kind of see the finished products. They were immediatley hung in Jared and Ray's new office.

His hockey tickets and attire.

I can't help but include a silly one of my man. So typical him!

Girls Trip

I finally got the pictures of the girls' trip with Gma and Bahnka.
The Zoo

Feeding the ducks and swans on the lake.

Visiting one of the most beautiful castles in the world.

Playing at the park.

Other highlights, were the hotel and breakfast at the hotel. Just having one-on-one time with Gma and Bahnka.

Long Weekend

Ray and Beate took Anne and Alicia with them on a short business trip. They had so much fun and I will have a post about that when I get more details from them. That left Katie, Jared and I with 2 1/2 days of peace and calm at home. I LOVED IT!!!! It was soooo neeeded. I just relaxed and didn't push myself to do anything.

We played some Wii, sat around and were lazy, did some shopping, and just enjoyed the quiet. Katie loved having the one on one time with mommy and daddy. I even got to wake up when my body wanted to and not when my kids demanded that I do.

We did do some work in the yard. Katie and her daddy had a great time playing in the leaves.

That evening Jared got to go to his very first hockey. Ray and Beate had given him tickets for his birthday. I haven't been since the Salt Lake Olympics. Katie, of course, had never been. I was curious about how she would do, but she did soooo good. She loved watching everything and everyone around her. She got to stay up way past her bedtime, sit on daddy's lap and eat. What could be better.

I went to change her diaper during the break and found that the bathroom didn't have anywhere for me to change her. So I had to just do it with her standing. Not ideal but it got the job done. Jared loved the game and we think we will go again, but not with little girls; it was just too loud for their tiny ears.

Again the Same Age

For 2 months each year Jared and I are the same age. I don't have to feel so old. This weekend was Jared's birthday. It kind of got smashed between several other major events, but we tried to make it as special as possible.
I made Jared his Boston Cream Pie. He is not a fan of traditional icing, but loves vanilla pudding, or vanilla-flavored anything. So this is the perfect option for him.

Look at all those candles!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, my Wonderful!!! I sure love you. Thanks for all you do for me.