Other December Musical Happenings

Brandon and Kate are both on the chimes team at school. This is a very fun group who play these chimes that make the most beautiful and heavenly music. I just love to listen to them play! This year the 4th graders had their own music night at the school and then the 3rd graders had their music night the week after. Then all the chimes teams (3rd grade team and 2 4th grade teams) went on tour together. They visited two retirement homes in the area and played Christmas carols for them. Carli and I were able to go along and it is so neat to see all the faces light up when these kids come in the room and play their music. They especially love seeing the little ones, like Carli and a small baby who was with our group as well. It was a neat day.

Megan's grade has a little "sing" at the beginning of school one more last week. It only lasted 5 minutes, but the kids love to dress up in their Christmas clothes and sing these sweet songs to their parents and the rest of the school. Megan donned her bright red Christmas dress and sang her heart out. :)

Here are some pictures from all of these happenings.

Megan singing with all the other 1st graders. We couldn't get very close because the rest of the students in the school were sitting in the main part of the gym. Megan off to class

Kate playing on the tour.
Kate playing her chimes at the 3rd grade music night

After the chimes tour they all went out to Cici's Pizza for lunch. Everyone enjoyed that!

Sorry about the open mouth (Brandon!!!). Here he is with his buddy, Ryley, who is on the 3rd grade team.

Carli sure enjoyed the pizza and pasta! Yum!

Carli has to walk the curbs wherever we go. This was outside one of the retirement homes.

Brandon got right up to the camera lens and this was the result. Silly guy!

Brandon (center boy) playing on the chimes tour. His team played Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. They did an awesome job and it was really beautiful to listen to.

Piano Recital

Brandon and Kate both take piano lessons and a couple weeks ago was their Christmas recital. They played these songs ALL the time at home and got very good at them. Kate was even the only one to show up without her music because she knew how well she could play them and had them completely memorized. She played Joy to the World and The First Noel and played them beautifully. She had a smile on her face the whole time.Brandon, on the other hand, played his songs, Deck the Halls and Here Comes Santa Claus, very well, but the look on his face was quite terrified. Silly! He is so good and doesn't want to keep playing. I don't want him to quit! How sad would that be?! I've told him he can quit if he really has to at the end of the school year. I don't want to let him quit, but I don't want him to hate playing, either.



Here they are after the recital...couldn't even get him to crack a smile after it was over!

Class Christmas Parties!

Friday was spent mostly at the school going from one class party to the next. The 4th graders make gingerbread houses every year so Brandon got to experience that and he had a blast. I think his house turned out so great! I am totally loving it! It's totally symmetrical, same candies on both sides, and patterned (notice the M&Ms and the gumdrop path)--so like his mathematical mind.

Carli and I ran home and grabbed some lunch and what we needed for the other 2 parties and headed back to school! Carli loves when we "get to go in" the school so she had a blast--especially with all the yummy treats she was getting! She's such a fun little girl.

Kate's party was next. When we came in they were busy coloring little wooden ornaments. Kate kindly let Carli color one of hers and shared her treats with her. Kate wanted Carli to stay in her classroom while I went to Megan's party (which I was in charge of), but I was mean and said no. :)

We didn't get to stay long there and headed down to Megan's class to get her party started. It was pretty fun and casual--eat treats, color some activity pages, and do their little book exchange.

It as a fun day, but it's nice to be done with it and enjoy these next 2 weeks off! We were up late watching the BYU game last night and everyone slept in nice and late. Now we've got to hurry off to church!

Christmas Party

Ben and I attended the annual Microsoft Christmas party Saturday night. It was really awesome! They have amazing yummy food (and lots of it), music, dancing, pictures, a jazz room, and a casino. We've never hung out at the casino area, of course. :) We went with some friends and it made the night all the more enjoyable. Ben sported his tux and I had a cute black maternity dress to wear. We ate tons of food and then headed to the jazz room. It was great to just sit and listen to the music, watch some dancing, and visit with our friends. Ben and I got to dance 1 dance, but I was really not in any position to do any more. I'm feeling very sore and big (although everyone is telling me how tiny I am--it does not feel that way...lol) so it is uncomfortable to be up and moving around much. Baby's head is very low so every time I stand up it feels like I'm pressing on a bruise. Anyway, the party was fabulous and the kiddos were all asleep and well when we got home thanks to 2 awesome babysitters!

Here we are before leaving for the party:

Update :)

Well, I got through the weekend, mostly. :) The ward Christmas party was a blast and went off pretty well. Our only hitch was it was brought to our attention 1/2 hour before we began that "Santa" couldn't fit into the suit so we had to find a fill-in last minute. Turned out perfectly, though! It was a blast, but we will not be volunteering for anything like that again anytime soon. LOL! The food was awesome, the primary kids did their little nativity program beautifully and the spirit was definitely there. What a special night. I even fudged my way through sharing time today and it went all right.

This week we have lots of school events to get through. Highlight will be seeing our little girl on ultrasound again this Wednesday. Can't wait for that!

I also tried to get a picture of the kids this morning in their cute Christmas clothes--ugh. Here's an example of one. Ha!!!!

Um, yeah. Well, we'll see if there's a usable one in the bunch. Carli would not smile for anything. She'd fallen earlier in the morning and got a lovely fat lip so she wasn't in the mood for happy pictures.

Happy Sunday everyone! :)

I shouldn't be on here...

I have too much to do to be spending the morning on the computer. However, being almost 8 months pregnant gives me a good excuse to spend some time off my feet, right? Wrong...like I said, too much to do! Am I doing it, though? No, I'm sitting here instead. :) Here's my list of things to do and stuff just coming up that I can't forget about--

-Extra chimes team practices for Brandon this week
-Piano tonight as well
-Buy hams for tomorrow's ward Christmas party (which I am also in charge of) and get them delivered
-Find rolls for tomorrow's party as well
-Make dessert for Christmas party
-Make sure everything is ready for the stake baptism day tomorrow (our ward is in charge of music)
-Make sure the party goes without too many hitches
-Photo shoot first thing in the morning (cold!)
-Sharing time Sunday
-Brandon's med check-up Monday afternoon
-Brandon's chimes performance Monday night
-Finish getting Christmas decor up
-Clean house (yeah right...)
-Laundry (not happening either...)
-Christmas shopping (mostly done--have to finish some homemade projects still)
-Conference with Kate's teacher (ugh)
-Deal with a 6 yr old who does everything on HER time or not at all
-Christmas cards
-Treats to neighbors/friends
-Get photo dvds delivered
-Find a pediatrician for new baby and rest of kids
-Ultrasound next week to check on baby
-Remember to take iron pills every day (not so good at this one...not helping my fatigue level)

Oh, I'm sure there are tons of other things...now get me off this computer!!!

Thanksgiving!

What a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend we had! Ben's brother, James brought his family all the way from Mesa to spend the holiday with us. Aren't they a cute bunch!?

We are so glad they came to visit! The cousins had a blast together! I remember spending many Thankgivings with cousins and I am glad that our kids have some of these wonderful memories now. We spent Thanksgiving morning at the playground because the weather was so perfect and beautiful. Here are a few pics of the kiddos having the time of their lives:

Sam

Carli and Joey

AdamMy GirlsBrandon and KateTime to eat! We fed the kiddos first and then the adults got to sit down and eat. It worked out really well and everyone got very full on all the yummy, yummy food! We also had the Putman's and Prince's over from church. It really was sooooo fun! I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends and family (this pic also gives you a little glimpse of the new paint in the kitchen)