Caroling Party!

Every year our friends have a caroling party.  I think it is such a fun tradition.  We all get together and eat appetizers, yummy soups, & desserts.  Then, we bundle up and go out caroling to other neighbors and friends.  It is just a great Christmas experience and I am so glad we are always included.  I love that the kids get to experience it.  Always growing up I would go caroling with our extended family and we would go on a hay wagon, which I always loved.  This reminds me of that except we just walk, which is just as fun.  Anyway, I never get pictures because we are usually just too busy walking around but this year, I took the camera out and got pics of everyone except Jaxon, who I couldn't get to cooperate with me.  Maybe next year.  :)

You can see we all have a lot of fun and just enjoy the wonderful season we get to experience each year because of our wonderful Savior.  It's always best to go out and feel you are giving of yourself at least a bit during this magical season.

Recitals, Programs, & One Party

Christmastime is always a wonderful time of year!  I absolutely love it, I could do without a bit of the craziness, but for the most part I adore it.  This year we were running every night as usual, but I love the Christmas music and wonderment so it is always worth it.  We even got in a few nights of reading Christmas books as a family.  

It all started with Christmas Tree lane.  It was on the 7th and both Josie and Jainie danced in it - their tap dances.  Jainie danced to "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" and Josie danced to "The 12 Days of Christmas."  They both did an excellent job and had lots of fun.  I am glad they both enjoy performing.

Then, we moved to Jainie's singing recital.  She decided to take a singing class last year, but we only got in about 3 lessons before the year was over.  This year we started on time and she has loved singing Christmas songs.  She is a really good little singer and sang "Said Samuel Within 5 Years" as a solo!  She was so brave and did an excellent job!  She is the youngest in the group but is very brave and holds her own.  I wish some of my other kids would do this.  I think Josie would but she does NOT want to sing a solo in front of people so says she won't.  And, they boys are simply not interested. 

 This was on the 11th, which was the same night as our Primary Baptism Preview, which I needed to conduct and Jake got to attend with Jared and I.  So, while Jared, Jake and I left early, Jainie got to stay with Gpa and Gma to finish the program.  Jared, Jake and I had a lovely time at the Baptism Preview and Jake is VERY excited to get baptized in March.  He is also SUPER excited about Scouts and asked if he couldn't go that week.  I think he will love scouts and enjoy every single activity.

We got a little reprieve at this point in December and only had basketball games and work parties, well, I am sure there were other things, but I can't remember them right now.  ;)

On the 20th I got to go to Ilene's cookie exchange party, where I made fudge, and a couple other kinds of cookies, which I don't remember what they were.  (I am sure they were fantastic. :)).  Also, Ilene, Debbie, Katie, Emily, Alissa, & Leslie made some tasty treats - really they were yummy.  And, I got to bring a whole tin home, which was perfect because then we let each child choose one kind of cookie to leave out for Santa.  Then, I didn't even have to make any cookies on Christmas Eve.  

That evening was pretty packed - first up we had Josie's band concert - this is her first year of flute and she is loving it.  Not enough to practice much, but enough to keep playing.  :)  Josie played "African Noel," "Diary of a Grumpy Elf," and one other she can't remember.  She did a great job and looked oh so professional.

 This is her and her friend Kassie

We had to leave a bit early to get to our Ward Christmas party, which had the Primary Christmas program first.  So, off we went, except for Jaxon who had a basketball game.  Jared left the party early to get to the game as well.  But, the kids did a great job.  Jainie and Jake didn't have actual parts but sang their best to the Christmas songs.  I have to say I am getting tired of dealing with these programs and told the Bishop that next year maybe we (the primary) should just sing a couple songs.  :)  I know the kids like dressing up though, so we might have to add that in.

 Jainie and her friends Harper and Malia as angels.

 Jake as a shepherd - looking somewhat subdued.

 This is the first time Josie sang with the YW - I think she had practiced once with them.  Jared and Jaxon were supposed to sing with the YM, but were at the game.

 The oldest primary class always gets to be Mary and Joseph and we have about 8 girls in the class who all wanted to be Mary and 4 boys who none of them wanted to be Joseph.  Consequently, none of the boys showed up.  So, Josh got to help out.  I think these pictures are pretty funny, you can see how happy he is to be playing the part.  :)  He literally grimaced the entire time.  But, Mary looks beautiful and serene.

 This was his real part - one of the kings - you can see he is really happy about it as well.  It's hard being so cool, I guess.

We left the ward party early so that we could get Jainie and Josie to the first night of the Nutcracker performance, which we made just in time for Josie's and Jainie's dances.  Ah, what a night!

 The next day was Joshua's 4th grade program - which was great this year.  Unfortunately, Josh was on the back row and we couldn't see him at all.  It didn't help that he bent his knees and hunched so that no one could see him - boys, sometimes I wonder.

 Later that night, Jaxon had his chorus concert.  This is the group of boys in the choir, there are girls on both sides - at least double as many girls.  Jaxon has had a good time in choir and is happy he decided to take it.  He says he only took it for the girls but I think he really likes singing too.  And, he really has a nice voice.  You can see that this year he has grown to be one of the tallest boys in his grade.

 And, then, right afterward, we went back to the Nutcracker with the girls.  This year Josie was the Spanish and Jainie was the Gumdrops - they both looked and danced so beautifully.  And, they LOVE their outfits this year, which is another bonus.

 Unfortunately, all the pictures of Jainie by herself turned out blurry.  But, Jos has a nice pose in this one.

The next day we headed to Jake's 2nd grade program - "The Polar Express."  He is the best boy performer at this age that we have had.  Luckily, he had a good seat and we could see him throughout.  And, he sang.  Jaxon always yawned throughout his programs and Josh just hides and tries to mouth the words.  Jake sat up and tried hard and was so cute doing the "Macarena."  He was supposed to sit by his cousin Emma during the performance, but then Emma ended up being needed elsewhere so he was a bit bummed about that.  But, he survived and was a cutie pie.

 Just to note:  We never have new pajamas until Christmas, when we get a couple pair.  However, they are always needed right before Christmas and Jake had none - that fit or matched.  So, I went out and bought him a brand new pair for the program and he couldn't find them that morning.  We spent a lot of time searching and nope, nowhere.  (We did find them the next day.)  Anyway, luckily, Josh had already gone to school and I had just washed these so we threw them on Jake - they fit him pretty well actually and made his pretty blue eyes look even bluer!   So, nope, they are not Christmasy at all, but I am just glad he found matching pajamas.

 He thought it was great that his wreath fit perfectly on his little round face without him even having to hold it on with his hands.  He is such a funny little guy.  Oh, and notice his 2 front teeth are still missing - they were coming in, but he liked singing "All I Want for Christmas is my 2 Front Teeth" because it fit so well.  ;)

 The next day were class parties and I got to help with Jainie's Kindergarten class.  They were all so cute and had so much fun.  This was the cookie she frosted and decorated all by herself.  Sometimes it's nice to not have adults telling you can't do something.  She only had one bite before saying she didn't want anymore and throwing the rest away.  Silly girl, at least she had fun decorating.

This is her and her good friend, Lucas.  She plays with him at about every recess and thinks he is oh so funny.  She knew he was giving her bunny ears and thought it was great.  I think she has played with too many boys since birth, she prefers playing with boys to girls every time.  Hopefully that will change a bit.

Her favorite game at her party was a snowball fight - where she got to wad up paper and throw it at whomever she chose.  She chose her teacher most of the time and the two of them had quite a battle.  :)  It was a fun party and it was great to see her interact with her class, she really is quite a jokester.

Ah, I need to take a breath - even writing this is overwhelming - it was crazy but with five kids, what do you expect?  It was lots of fun and the month of December flew by, as it always does.  But, I wouldn't change it for the world.  It is so much fun being a mother and especially a mother of these wonderful children that I have - I think I am the luckiest person alive!  Well, most days.  :)

Guess who's SIX?

Jainie Elizabeth Belle 

I can't believe my little chippy is 6 years old.  She is such a little squirt.  Just yesterday I was eating a piece of fudge and she looks at me with questioning eyes and says, "Mom, are you sure you need that?"  So, I looked at her and said, "What do you mean?"  She replied, "Well, you know it will just make you bigger" as she pats her tummy.  Well, I didn't even know what to say, I just laughed.  Keep in mind I am 7 1/2 months pregnant.  The nerve of some people.  At least she keeps me on my toes.  Jared too.  She is always telling him what he needs to do better.  

On Jainie's real birthday we woke up to a breakfast in bed - a Thalman tradition.  My problem is that I like to sleep a bit more in mornings so I am telling you it is a real sacrifice to wake up and get the breakfast made.  I think since Jared brought this tradition along he should be the one to wake up and make breakfast, but I am a wonderful, caring, supportive wife (just ask him :)) so I ALWAYS get the breakfast making job.  :)  Usually I do not look too spectacular because I literally pull myself out of bed and drag myself to the kitchen.  

She LOVES pop-tarts, who doesn't?, and hot chocolate and pink lemonade.  I tried to make the pancake into the shape of a "6" because Jared and I had her convinced that we thought she was turning 5.  She was a bit worried about it, so I wanted to show her we knew how old she really was even if we aren't happy about it.

 Good morning baby girl!

 The kids all know that the first and usually only present they get to open in the morning ends up being clothes - something new to wear for the day.  Doesn't everyone like wearing something new for their special day.  Jainie was thrilled with every single present.  This one was a church outfit with this cute unicorn purse.  Unicorns are one of her favorite animals.

And, her new fancy hair flower - which she loves.

We don't have church til 1:00, so after waking up, she decided to work on her poster for school.  We worked on this poster for days - she loved it.  (I don't have any pictures in her school, but I went in and showed a couple pictures of her and then the kids got to ask her questions, we explained her poster and then she wanted cupcakes - blue and pink - so every girl got pink and every boy got blue whether they wanted it or not.)

This was one of her favorite presents - she and I have been working on it for a year!  We finally finished her Disneyworld book - she chose the pictures and told me what to write for the whole thing.  Initially, each child was supposed to get one, but these are a lot of work.  I told Jaxon, Josie and Josh they could choose their own pictures and put them in a file and then I would help them.  And, I told Jake that I would start with Jainie's then move to his - this is as far as I got.  It is super cute though, wish I would have done more. She hasn't changed a lot, has she?

After we got home from church, Grandpa Thalman, Grandma, and Garrison came over to visit and Jainie loved showing them her book.  Notice her bun - she loves having long enough hair to have one - even though it is sparse.  :)

Jainie's favorites:

                          Color: pink

                          Animal: unicorn and giraffe

                          Friend:  Malia Moss & Lucas Foster

                          Book:  Big Sister and Little Sister

                          Food:  mac n cheese

                          Movies:  Barbie movies

                          Princess:  Ariel & Belle

                          Thing to do:  draw!

                          Thing about her birthday:  opening presents and getting cake!

She really is a joy in our lives and I am grateful everyday that she is a part of our family.  She definitely keeps us all on our toes and will tell us exactly what she thinks.  We couldn't survive without her.

Jainie Belle's Birthday

My Bellerina is SIX years old!!! I can hardly believe it, but she is excited and has been counting down the days.  Her birthday was on Sunday, a fast Sunday, which was hard for all the kids since they wanted to eat.  But, I am getting ahead of myself.  Grandma Judy had given us a tea party at the Grand America in SLC and tickets to "A Christmas Carol" play on Saturday the 3rd.  I decided to make a trip out of it and so we went up on Friday night and slept in a hotel so we could go swimming.  Jared didn't go, he was supposed to go on a scout overnighter, long story.  Anyway, it was me and the kids - needless to say, it was a bit exhausting.  Luckily, Grandma, Ry, Sar, Linds and Laura were with us a lot of the time so that helped.

So, we woke up on Saturday morning and decided to go swimming first thing.  Jaxon, Jake, and Jainie had gone swimming the night before as well, but Josie and Josh were too tired.  We texted the fam to see if anyone else wanted to join us and luckily, they did!

It's always refreshing to have a nice warm pool to jump in while looking outside at the freezing cold snow - it was great.  Or so I'm told, I didn't swim - didn't want to look like a beached whale.  :)

Then, it was off to Grand America for our tea party.  Jaxon went with Will to eat at "Mo Betta," (a restaurant that Jaxon now loves) and then shooting at a shooting range - he had a blast and would love to go again.
When, we got to the hotel Sara and Grandma were waiting for us.

Those yummy things in glasses are strawberries with whipping cream - it was pretty tasty and pretty fancy - just perfect for Belle's birthday.

 I think these four, who shared a table,  had a little different experience thanks to the boys - they ate all their food faster and didn't fully appreciate the fanciness of the occasion.  :)

Linds got to sit at the girl table - Ry was here too but at a different table with some of his friends.  Our tables were great, right by a window and the fire.

I have to say Jake admired the fire the most - but we have discussed that he is a pyromaniac.

 So, I can't remember what this was called, but it was some kind of tea that you could drink if you wanted to - we didn't try it.  But it was fun to watch it unfold/grow.  It was a tight bulb that was placed in this steaming hot water and then unfolded to this exotic flower.

 So, we got a whole bowl of sugar cubes - brown and white.  You can see here the boys enjoyed them.  Their whole bowl was gone within a few minutes.  :)  But, the brown ones were left, they said they were gross.

 So, Josie ordered raspberry hot chocolate, there was also mint, regular, & almond.  They were YUMMY!  Really thick and rich - and it came with a cup of freshly whipped cream   MMMMM!

You can see how Jake drank his- pretty funny.  He got tired of using the cup I guess.  I think things at their table were very different.  :)

So, these scones were my FAVORITE - even out of the desserts.  These were so light and crumbly and had the best custards to go with them.  Just thinking about it makes me want to go back.  :)

And, then we got to sing some Christmas songs and Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus came and met with each of the children.  But, first Santa asked Josie to come and ring his bells while we sang, "Jingle Bells."  It was great!

(Uncanny how Santa and Mrs. Claus look exactly the same in each picture - makes you wonder if they're statues, right?)
This was the only time I could get Josh to sit on Santa's lap this year - he thinks he is getting too old.  At least he did this time.  Jaxon hasn't for a couple years now even though he promised me that this year he would.  Boys, they are so ridiculous!

After Santa saw all the kids he had them sit down and he read them a story.  It was wonderful, they all loved it.

Afterward, we went on a scavenger hunt of the hotel - it is a beautiful hotel.  We got to go on an adventure with Maurice the penguin, then we saw an amazing toy store inside and had to check it out.  Plus, for completing the game we each got a shortbread cookie from the delicious bakery there and I got to finally try a macaroon.  It is a fun place to go if you have a little extra time.

Don't worry about Josh - he isn't misshapen, he just chose to put his sticker over his mouth, attractive, right?  Oh, and only one mishap, Jake broke an ornament in the store.  Yep, that's what happens when we all want to touch everything.

After this, we headed to "A Christmas Carol," which was wonderful!  I loved every minute of it and hope we can go again sometime.  So, thanks Grandma for the wonderful birthday for Jainie - she, and the rest of us, had a WONDERFUL time!

Gingerbread houses

My mom is so great to always make the neatest gingerbread houses for us to decorate.  So, every year, some time after Thanksgiving, we head over to decorate some houses.  Jared was working and Jaxon and Josh were off somewhere, I can't remember where but the rest of us went and decorated some sweet houses.  

 Sara and Jainie shared a house

 Ry had his own house

And, Josie and Laura shared a house - their's definitely took the longest, not that it was the fanciest, these two just, hmmm, well, they are slow (er).  :)

Unfortunately being prego, I just don't have that much energy so I didn't even get any pics of the final projects - Jake I think made one too, but tried to do it on his own, or he might have helped Ry - good grief, my memory must be gone.  Oh well.  Either way, you can tell it was a fun time and a good couple hours.