End of the year 2014...

Wow, I feel like my kids really pulled together this year.  I needed help with Mikayla and Mark and they all pitched in.  Juliet is fabu with Mikayla and Jack is magnificent with Mark.  Maxine has babysat a TON for me and that has made me feel human again.  Merril works hard to support me.  Love you all!  Here are a couple of pictures from the end of the year.

Grandma and Grandpa Campbell invited the families on a bike ride.  I only got pictures of Merril and Mikayla.  It was pretty cold so Mikayla, Mark and myself drove the Tahoe along the trail and make sure everyone was doing okay along the way.

They rode from the Snow Canyon overlook to Marv's Diner at Sunset Plaza.  The older 3 and Merril did great.

I was looking for a new yard inflatable after Christmas and found this for $25.  It's a little larger than I was going for but the price was right and the kids love it.

Playing with Christmas toys!

And a night out with the gals!  (Excuse the horrible picture)  Laurie is due to have a baby in March and we were out at Red Lobster.  We all started in the same ward but now we live in different wards.  We still get together about once a quarter for breakfast or dinner, usually around someone's birthday.  (Left to right:  Valerie, Laurie, Sara, and half of me.)

These ladies are inspirations of service, love. generosity, and dedication to the gospel.  I love them.

Oh Christmas!

Homemade gifts are some of my favorite to give.  This year, the kids and I made a set of blocks for Mark and Mikayla.  I cut the blocks and the kids were in charge of sanding.  They sanded diligently for a little while.

And then they decided to play with them.  :/  Hey kids, you're not supposed to play with other peoples' presents before Christmas.

I probably posted this last year but I still like the stable.

This is Christmas Eve right before we went to bed.  I can't believe the pile of presents!  I had such good intentions of taking some pictures on Christmas but alas, I lived it and didn't pic it.

Maybe next year!  ;)

Quick trip to Salt Lake...

My extended family had a Christmas party up in Ogden.  It was the Saturday before Christmas and I totally wanted to bail but decided quit being a wuss and get up there to see some fam.  We decided to go up Friday night and visit Temple Square and its amazing Christmas lights!

Mikayla loved her Burger King crown.  The weather was super pleasant for December in Salt Lake.

We stayed at a hotel and went to sightsee the next day at the conference center and downtown Salt Lake.  The kids loved the escalators at the Gateway.

Then we went up to Ogden for the party.  I didn't get any pictures of the party because I was too busy chatting.  And now, on to Christmas!

Someone remembered our Un-Anniversary...

Juliet was born on our anniversary, June 17th.  Ever since then, Merril and I have put our anniversary on the back burner.  Lately the anniversary of the day we first met, December 18th, has become a day that we celebrate together.  This year, Merril totally surprised me with a hot air balloon ride for our un-anniversary.  To be honest, I'd kind of forgotten the date this year!  

The weather wasn't right on the 18th so on Friday, the 19th, we arrived at a house in Washington Fields for our ride.  We were told to dress warmly and be ready to work.  First the balloon and basket are laid sideways and big fans inflate it.

Two fans were used but we were told it can be done with one.

After it's filled with air from the fans, which didn't take that long, the pilot chirps the burner a few times and the balloon starts to rise.

Once it's upright, the pilot says "jump in" and away we went!

It was pretty amazing!

At first we flew quite high and I was thinking I should have a harness to keep me in the basket.  The sides of the basket were lower than my rear end, to make it easier to jump in and out of.  I found it to be a little low and so stayed in the corners, where the basket came up higher.

Hardly any wind was blowing so Rocky, our pilot, had an idea of skirting close to the river to try and catch some wind.  We were about 1-2 feet from the ground and cruised over the river top.  Unbelievable!

When looking for a place to land, we went where the wind took us, which happened to be in the middle of a subdivision south of Costco.  Rocky was able to set us down right in the middle of the road, gentle as a feather.

After taking pictures with neighborhood kids, Rocky chirped the burner enough to raise the balloon a few feet off the ground and Merril and his team guided the balloon to a vacant lot around the corner.  Then we helped the balloon deflate and packed it away.

Super fun!  I would recommend it to anyone!  Maybe not if you're afraid of heights though.  :)

Jack is getting older...

Wow Jack, you're looking awesome!  Your braces are going to be coming off soon!  I'm sure you can't wait!  I can't believe how big you are getting and how much your little brother, Mark, loves you.  You are definitely his favorite sibling.  It's amazing to watch you take care of our little Spanky guy.  

Jack also decided to join the Coral Canyon Choir.  Participants are eligible in grades 3-5.  Jack's a pretty good singer.  He has tone and sings on key, which can be hard for children.  

Visiting Santa at Tuacahn...

My neighbor Dana, invited us to go to see the lights out at Tuacahn and see Santa.  Maxine and Jack were both a little under the weather and Merril volunteered to stay home with them and Mark.

Dana and her kids always go out to see Santa at Tuacahn.  Seeing Santa is not a huge part of our Christmas tradition.  I don't see the need of making my children sit on a stranger's lap and scream.  Since we don't go see Santa, I figured Mikayla would be pretty skittish of the bearded man.  There wasn't a line and Mikayla surprised us all by running straight up to him, jumping on his knee, and snuggling her face into his chest.  What-A-Crazy-Kid.  Juliet followed behind and posed for a picture with them.  Mikayla whispered that she wanted a stuffed reindeer for Christmas.  ;)

We rode the little train to see the lights and played by this tree.  In the end, I'm glad we didn't have Mark because it was cold and getting late and he would've been sad.  But we had a nice time.

Grandma Swapp's 85th Birthday in Midway...

Grandma Swapp's 85th birthday was the Saturday after Thanksgiving in Midway, UT.  We piled in the Tahoe for a day trip.  We just decided to get up early and head up and back. Mikayla, who is doing pretty good with potty training, still needed us to stop quite a few times on the side of the road.

At the party, and with some food in him, Jack promptly fell asleep.

By mid-afternoon, the littles needed naps.  I drove them around to fall asleep so Merril could keep visiting with relatives.  

Merril called and said the party had wrapped up and the girls wanted to ice skate on the rink next door.  I decided to join them.

 Jack wasn't with us anymore because he had gone with Grandpa Campbell, Beau, Uncle Justin, and Uncle Matt to a Jazz game.  After the little woke up from their naps, we went to see a natural hot spring and then drove home.

Time to get a Christmas tree!

I love going into the mountains to cut down a tree for Christmas.  We usually go out to the Kaibab by Jacob Lake, AZ.  Dinner at the Jacob Lake Inn usually follows and it's delicious! Riding in the car is the hardest part.

It was unseasonably warm this year, around 50 degrees and sunshiney with little to no snow on the ground.  

We've had years with snow up to waist but this year's tree was easy to find and drag out.

We usually get a white fir but Merril has always wanted a blue spruce.  Blue spruce it is.

At some point, the tradition of bringing hot chocolate and soft ginger spice cookies found it's way into our family.

Even though it was a little early for tree cutting, certain scheduling conflicts made the Wednesday before Thanksgiving the day to go.  Don't worry, I most certainly will NOT put up that tree before turkey day.  I feel like it's important to be grateful first.

Basket Brigade 2014...

Last year, Merril and the older kids put together Thanksgiving dinner baskets for needy families. Brent and Andrea P. are part of the committee for the Basket Brigade of Southern Utah.  Donations are gathered and needy families are nominated and selected.  We show up the Saturday before Thanksgiving and put together baskets and deliver them.

The kids are amazing helpers and I think it's a great service opportunity for them.  The baskets were heavy so it took at least 2 to carry it. 

Odds and Ends...

These pictures don't really have a cohesive theme or follow a life event but I still feel they are noteworthy.  I was at Merril's storage unit with my camera and Mikayla wanted me to take pictures of her running.  I think she's adorbs.

Mark is being a stinker, completely dumping out a container of pretzels all over the floor.  He knows he's been caught too.  Check out his face.  Ok, he's adorbs too.

And here are my girls, making pretty dresses out of blankets.

Other than that, I've been trying to get some Christmas shopping done to get a jump on the season.  Having 5 kids means buying 10 cousin gifts.  Suddenly that seems like a lot!

Literacy Night...

Literacy Night this year entailed dressing up like a word.  Juliet was 'Sparkly' and she is covered in spray glitter.  Jack had an old crocodile hat so he was set as a crocodile.  I threw together a last minute sign that said 'stroller' and pushed Mark around.  I couldn't believe how many people thought it was funny.  The two signs I spent the most time on rarely got a chuckle.

To be honest, coming up with costumes right after Halloween was a little annoying.  But it was fun and I'm glad we pulled something together and went.

Jack had a birthday, shout hooray...

Merril was able to use a rock climbing wall from the Search and Rescue facility and so we had a rock climbing birthday for Jack!  He turned 9.

They played on that wall almost the whole time, just stopping to have some pizza and cake.  We had neighbor kids and birthday kids on that wall until it was too dark to climb!

Merril and I spent the better part of a day harnessing up kids and attaching them to the pulleys.  The whole automatic belay system was super amazeballs!  

I didn't even get a picture of Jack on the wall, just Mikayla.

Mark just ate cake and had a nap.  Gross!

Jack is horrible about saving money, loves Legos, taking apart cars and is Mark's best friend.  Mark and Jack are so cute together.  Jack can make him laugh more than any other person, including me.  I love my boys!

Wow, Maxine is 12...

Maxine turned 12 and I can't believe it.  She's so grown up, she only wanted clothes and make up for her birthday.  *sigh*  It was bound to happen I guess and she's growing up to be a great person.  I just hope I can make it.  12-18 is such a monumental period is a person's life.  So much personality is shaped and I want to protect her from all the garbage out there.  She already makes good decisions, I hope the trend continues.

She wanted to be able to do baptisms for the dead as soon as possible and our ward was going a few days after her birthday.  Luckily, I was able to go with her because the YW were short on leaders.

Maxine is a huge help to me by babysitting a lot and helping out.  I'm sure she can't wait to go on real babysitting jobs and make real money.  Not that I blame her.  Just can't believe how fast she's growing up.  :)