Karley

Cannon and my bff K digg, planned the best birthday surprise ever. Can took me out to dinner to the only Ethiopian restaurant in town, which was surprisingly good, and when I came home...BAM she was in my house! We cried happy tears and all was right with the world for that week. Of course we didn't take many pictures and the ones we did take are on my phone. I love this girl and her kids more than words and I was so beyond grateful that she would come all this way to be with us. Oh and also Can threw me a party which I didn't want but he insisted and it was fun and I did a half a@# job on the cakes so they weren't the best but they were sweet so no one cared. The end. 

These boys actually got along pretty well. 

Up CLOSE and personal with Elly Belly.

LOVE this boy so much!!

Bees

For a little homeschool project Elyse learned about bees. We finished off the project by visiting our friend in the ward who is a bee keeper. He inspired us to start our own hives!

This is Elyse holding a frame from the langstroth hive. 

These are his top bar hive which is what we have. 

Looking for the queen. Our queen is marked because I am just not patient enough to take the time to find her each time. They put a little sticker on her back so you just have to look for the colored dot!

Valentines day

This year for Valenitines day I decided not to be lame and have a little party for the kids. Mostly because we actually have a dollar store so decorating for these little events is easy and cheap!

Cannon went all out this year and bought some lovely tuna which he seared with sesame seeds on top. 

He made a beautiful glaze and a pomegranate salad dressing. We finished off the dinner with a t-bone steak....grass fed of course. It was amazing!

Levi's birthday!

Levi also had a birthday in January! He turned 7!

I was so excited to finally be able to have an outdoor party for him since the weather was in the 50's but of course it rained that day so we had to move things inside. 

Of course the game they were playing turned into a wrestling match. 

Happy birthday little man! He has grown so much. It is so fun to see who he is becoming which is a little braniac who loves facts and numbers. He is obsessed with Jack and Annie books right now and will read for long stretches each day. We love you Levi!!

Elyse is 12!

Elyse turned 12 in January! It was a sleepover and I made all of her favorite foods and they stayed up way too late, but it was fun! We went to the temple with her a few weeks later and it was a really great experience for everyone. Sadly the temple is about 2 hrs away. We were used to going any time we wanted and now it is definitely harder. This girl of mine is getting so grown up! She loves Young Women's and is babysitting a lot for us. It's hard to believe that we only have 6 more years with her in the house. I have had that on my mind a lot lately and I really hope that I can treasure these next years even though I know they will bring with them the challenge of having a teenager. 

New Years Eve

This New Years was the best yet! We had a party and since it wasn't freezing and we have a driveway we shot off fireworks. It was awesome and made me love SC that much more! The winter this year was the most mild I have ever experienced. There were 2 ice storms but most of the winter was in the 50's and would get up to 60's and sometimes 70's. Not too shabby!

The Yorktown

In January we went to see the air craft carrier in town. I know, exciting stuff, right? But it was free so we took advantage!

Definitely one of the most exciting parts for August. 

Elly was cool with it. 

Awesome family pics eh?

Christmas

Better late than never! 

We had dinner on the floor in front of the fire on Christmas Eve. 

Christmas Jammies! 

Even for the parents!

Then we took these silly pictures which were way better (or so we think) than that other Christmas Jammies family. 

Christmas morning. Tired face and binky face.