Fun Family Christmas Party at Mom & Dad's

Last weekend we spent a perfect afternoon in Blackfoot at Grandma and Grandpa Rose's house. We had our traditional clam chowder and breadsticks, a spectacular grandkid talent show, the Nativity, a fun and thoughtful gift exchange, and topped off the night with a Skype session with Matt, Sara, and the kids! What a perfect day. I truly have the best family.

I also have to share that my parents gave us a Christus statue for Christmas!!!! It is so incredibly beautiful and has added such a warmth and focus to our home. Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Mom and Dad!

 

My Gorgeous Little Ballerina

Kate was thrilled to be able to play a town girl (one of Gretel's friends that gets turned in to candy by the witch) in her ballet company's production of Hansel and Gretel this year. She was also a ghost! She is improving by leaps and bounds and gaining so much confidence. She decided this year to start attending classes twice a week in the hopes that she would start to improve faster. Success!!

 

Family Pictures

A huge "thank you" is owed to my sweet and talented sister, Julie, for taking some family pictures for us this fall. While she was fun and efficient and it was pretty painless, this face really sums up Jack's feeling about the whole day.

 

Jackson Hole 2011

Lucky us! We got to spend a glorious 5 days in Jackson Hole with our best friends, Mike and Amber Tribe and family! We LOVE this annual tradition and I'm counting the days until next year. :)

 

Todd's 13th Birthday

How in the world did I become the mother of a TEENAGER???? Good thing he's such a super guy. Todd is intelligent, kind, happy, funny, a voracious reader, obedient, and just plain good. We're lucky, lucky parents...

 

Finally... Videos of Music Camp!

Hope you'll enjoy some fun videos of the kids performing their solos at music camp this year!







Kate sings first, then her bud, Sadie, then Morgan! It's a long one, but worth it!





Jack is second from the righthand end, Kaleb is to the far right. Emma Tribe is the tall little girl in the middle. :)

I Can't believe I Caught This On Tape

Kate had a GREAT baseball season this year thanks to awesome coaches (thanks Bro. and Sis. Tribe!) and her best bud, Sadie, as her teammate! She made great strides this year and really learned to be a much better batter and ball handler.

All was going well until her last at-bat of the season... you won't believe it when you see this video ... all I can say is prepare to cringe.

Here are the results (complete with an imprint of the baseball laces!):

Poor kid! She's got a giant goose-egg tonight, but I'm sure it will look better in the morning. Our family doctor happened to be coaching the opposing team, so he looked at her and made a quick makeshift ice pack -- better than a housecall! I wonder if I'll get a bill. :)

Darn cute kid, if I do say so myself!