Very Jane

I recently ran a deal selling bracelets I make on this awesome website: www.veryjane.com. And now they are doing a giveaway! Check it out: https://veryjane.com/giveaway.htm

most magical

Christmas with four young kids has got to be the most magical thing imaginable! I LOVE it! Here they are with Santa at the ward Christmas party. Ryken is missing because he went with daddy to pick up our Christmas tree at a far away Costco. On December 3rd, our Costco in town was all sold out of trees and not restocking. It's December THIRD, folks! Get some more trees!! I have a deep love/hate relationship with Costco.
Christmas Eve making gingerbread houses.

I love my Santa baby!!
On Christmas morning, after all the presents were opened, this is what each kid was doing:
Galla is playing with her fancy new Barbie house.Finn is getting a feel for his new Heely's (good thing he's got his helmet on inside).
Paisley is playing with the magnetic silly face toy.
And Ryken is being a rascal, as usual! He figures while everyone else is distracted he'll get into Galla's stuff! Look at that guilty grin!
At Sesa and Pa's we got to see cousins.
Oh Galla, you look gorgeous in your new dress! :)
A quick family picture taken as we leave Nanny and Pop's house. I wish it could be Christmas everyday!

high 5 finn!

I love ringing in December with my boy Finn's birthday! He hit the high 5 and we celebrated with a Lego themed party. My Finn has a solid body and a smart brain. He is always thinking and asking questions and explaining things in his own "Finn philosophy." You can tell his mind is always ticking! Finn loves to play outside and ride his bike, at which he is awesome. He can be stubborn and hard to crack, but on the inside he's super sweet and loving and very considerate. He gives me lots of hugs and is getting so big he can nearly pick me up! He loves to wrestle with dad and puts up a good fight. We love Finn so much and I'm so happy to be his mama!

full of thanks

True to tradition, Thanksgiving was a day filled with family and food and a whole lot of gratitude (even if 2 of my kids weren't so happy to take this picture):





And I think this last picture sums up how we felt at the end of the day: stuffed and sleepy!

save me san francisco {Sept 23 2011}

Ok, now that Ryken is getting a little more mature and in effect slightly more manageable, I'm starting to feel like I can commit myself to my blog again! I love blogging as a means for a family journal and so I'm going to take it back to play major catch up and then bring it up to present. It may take a while, but here we go...
Brad and I took a great weekend trip to the City by the Bay last September for an 8 year anniversary celebration. We had a blast wandering around sans kids, eating chinese, shopping, eating pizza, running along the piers (I think I dragged him on a 4 miler--Brad might say it was closer to 6 or 8 miles...), eating crepes, and strolling while holding hands. It was so fun and the kids were in good hands with Brad's receptionist, Alicia, or, as Paisley calls her, "A-felicia." They were happy to see us when we got home but I think only because they knew we'd bring gifts. I guess we didn't get a picture of the boys with their nunchucks and the such, but check out these beautiful flowers: