Our Little Dancing Rudolph

 Aria's dance class had a little winter concert before Christmas.  The first dance they were in these big stockings for the first part.  They were so cute!

The second dance they got reindeer ears and red noses for a tap dance number.

  I love watching Aria dance.  She loves every minute of it and she is so into it.  Her dance teacher asked to have her moved up to the next class because she sees a lot of dancing promise in her.

Santa came to see the girls and Aria actually sat on his lap!  Wonders never cease.  

Book Ideas for Christmas Gifts

I have been asked by a few people for some good ideas on books for their kids for Christmas.  I decided to compile a little list.  Some are more for girls but a lot can be enjoyed by both girls and boys.  I'll label the more girlie books.

Teens (Probably 13 and up)-
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill you by Ally Carter (Girls)
The Heist Society by Ally Carter (Girls)
Starcrossed by Elizabeth Bunce

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
Matched by Ally Condie (Girls)
My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison (Girls)
Beastly by Alex Flinn
Airman by Eoin Colfer

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck (Girls)


Older Child/Preteen (Maybe 8-12)
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordin
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordin
Magyk by Angie Sage
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale (Girls)
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan
The Girl Would Could Fly by Victoria Forester

The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker (Girls)

The Wide Awake Princess by E.D. Baker (Girls)

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (Girls)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
The 39 Clues Series by Various Authors
Savvy by Ingrid Law
Scumble by Ingrid Law
Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan
11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass (Girls)

Finally by Wendy Mass (Girls)
13 gifts by Wendy Mass (Girls)
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

Hope this is helpful to someone out there!

The Best Thanksgiving Ever!

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at our house with my side of the family.  Two years ago we decided to do a nontraditional Thanksgiving with them and it was a big hit.  This year we thought we would do it again.  On the menu was Grilled Chicken, Steak, and lots of Grilled Veggies.  The Veggies were so good!!  I made my usual raspberry orange jello and there were heaps of garlic mashed potatoes.  The meal was completed with a big green salad and my sister Tiffany's homemade rolls topped with our homemade strawberry jam.  I'm starting to drool just thinking of it.  

For dessert the favorite treats were an oreo cheesecake and vanilla ice cream made by Tiffany and the traditional Hunt Family Frozen Lemon Pie made by me.  It was a fantastic meal!

Laina having fun trying to feed herself.

Marcus, Steph, Brian, Amy, and Tiffany

Kyle and Rachel

Mauri, Laina, and Mike

Michela, Hunter, Aria, and Chase

The Hunt Crew

We had so much fun hanging out, laughing a lot, playing Monopoly Deal, and relaxing in the Family Room.  At the end of the night we threw Just Dance 3 into the Wii and had a serious dance party.  The Hunt family loves a good dance party.  Tiffany, Michela, and I were the top players, but Marcus was holding his own.  The best part was watching Brian, Kyle, and Marcus get their grooves on.  Luckily we grabbed a camera and got some hilarious video.  We laughed even harder after we watched them.  I'll just say that was some workout.  We were all sweating and had to throw open the windows.  The only sad part was when Laina ran out into the middle of the dancing and got knocked on her back by Marcus' knee.  Luckily all she got was a little scrape on her chin and a bit of a sore mouth.  After everything was cleaned up and our guests had all gone home I asked the kids if they had enjoyed the party.  Michela said, "Mom, that was the best Thanksgiving Ever!"  My sentiments exactly.

Snow Forts, Snow Angels, Snow Babies, and Snow Fights

On Saturday the kids woke up to fresh snow on the ground.  There was only a few inches, but that was enough for them to want to get in their snow clothes and head out for some fun.  Michela really wanted to take Laina outside with them so we dug through the clothing boxes and found some snow clothes small enough for her.  She loved trudging through the snow. 

 She did end up falling quite a bit though.  Michela and the boys worked on snow forts.

 

Laina inspecting their work.   Aria wanted to make snow angels.

  A few snowballs were thrown.

  Don't even think about it Mister.    And a helping hand was given.

    Isn't that the cutest picture ever?!  I wish the good feelings could have lasted.  After a while I took Laina in and started on the laundry and housework.  I decided to let the kids play for awhile before I called them in to do their chores.  About an hour later Michela received a phone call and I went down to let her know.  As I walked across the kitchen I saw that they had made a snowman together.  I thought, "how nice that they are having so much fun together and getting along."  I opened the door to call for Michela and I saw her and Chase wrestling on the ground beating on each other.  Hunter was pelting Michela's snow fort with snow balls and the snow forts were in shambles.  I told them to stop fighting and as they got up Michela and Chase began kicking each other's forts.  Chase was in tears and screaming at Michela, Hunter was sitting on the ground pouting, and Michela was kicking as hard as she could.  What had started out as a beautiful fun filled day ended in turmoil and tears.  Why can't we all just get along?

Grandma Staker

Yesterday we attended the funeral of Mike's Grandma.  Waiting in the room for the family prayer I glanced over at her and thought, she needs her glasses!  She just didn't look the same without them.  It was a wonderful service, full of fun stories, laughter, and tender moments.  So many memories of her were shared from her love for the Jazz, her amazing pancakes and pies, her funny sayings, and her great love for her family and friends.  I was impressed with what a strong woman she was.  She helped raise her brothers and was without her parents at an early age.  She was a strong member in the church and raised six beautiful children.  She lost her husband when she was just 69 years old and has lived independently since then.  She was an amazing woman who will be sorely missed.

Grandma with Chase

Some fun memories I have of Grandma Staker:

Mike brought me down to her house when we were engaged and we spent the night there.  Before he went upstairs to his room for the night he warned me that there were bats in the attic.   I hate bats, so I looked at Grandma Staker and asked her if he was joking.  She laughed and said, " it's true, but I don't think they'll come downstairs."  I closed my door tight that night and kept an eye out for the bats just in case.

She made me a beautiful quilt for our wedding and the whole Staker clan signed it at my bridal shower.

Staker Family gatherings at her home down in Mt. Pleasant.  The Memorial Day parties were the best.

Staker Family Halloween parties.  She always dressed up and loved seeing all of the great grandchildren in their costumes.

Her laugh.

"Cute, cute, cute."

When you asked her a question she would always start her reply with, "well..."

Signing her guest book at the house.

She had a wedding to attend that was just around the corner from our house a few years ago.  We drove down and picked her up from Mt. Pleasant and had such a fun drive back to Provo chatting away.  That night after the kids were put to bed we asked Grandma if she wanted to watch a movie.  I don't know how we ended up deciding on "Napoleon Dynamite", but she seemed interested.  I was worried as to what she would think but she ended up giggling through the entire movie.

I just loved this sweet lady.  She made me feel so welcome in her home and in her family.  I truly felt like one of the grand daughters and knew she loved me and my family.  I will miss her sweet face and her hugs.  Love you Grandma!

Trick or Treat

This year Halloween was a bit different for us.  The kids were still super excited about costumes and candy.  I was still sewing away all week trying to get costumes done by Halloween.  The house was decorated and the weather was beautiful.  The problem?  My kids all wanted to go trick or treating with their friends!  I was excited to finally go out with them instead of handing out candy at the door (and stuffing my face with candy) and they all wanted to go their separate ways.  Michela went with her friend Rachel in a different neighborhood.  Hunter went with his friend Adam.  Chase went with his friends Ryan and Jacob.  I was left pushing the stroller and taking Aria and Laina.  It would have been fun, but after about 20 minutes Aria was done.  She said she was too tired to walk anymore and I was tired of her freaking out whenever she saw a cat or a dog.  Oh well, the kids looked adorable and at least Aria got to wear her costume at school and dance class, so my hard work didn't go to waste.

Hunter was a Death Eater from Harry Potter.  He couldn't wear a mask to school so we painted his face to look like one.

Chase was Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter.

Aria was a pretty little witch.  Laina was a sweet little ghost.  We tried to teach her to say, "Boo" but she was too afraid to say anything while trick or treating.  Aria treated a few of the neighbors with a little Halloween song.

Laina did love greeting the trick or treaters at the door though, she made everyone laugh when she came running and shouting every time the doorbell rang.  The funniest thing was watching her try to get into all the candy.  One time she knocked over the bowl and was covered in candy.

Michela was her own creation.  She saw these cool masquerade masks at Target and fell in love with this feathered one.  She wore it all the time the week before.  She picked out this tutu skirt and these fun tights to go with it.  She already had the shoes and we sewed some sequin strips onto a shirt from her closet.  I think it turned out to be a pretty fun outfit.

It was fun chatting with friends out on the street and at our door.  I loved seeing all the neighbor kids in their fun costumes.  There were witches, ghosts, football players, princesses, mermaids, cats, clowns, pirates, wizards, and more.  I think the thing I love the most about Halloween is that you get to use your imagination and become anything you want to be.  Chase was already coming up with ideas for next year.

Payson Lakes

On Friday our friends, the Petersons, invited us to go with them to Payson Lakes for some canoeing and fishing.  We borrowed some canoes from a mutual friend and headed down to Payson.  I've never been to Payson Lakes, there are so many things I've never seen in Utah, and it was so pretty.  The fall colors were spectacular on the ride up the canyon.  It was a bit chilly but we brought lots of layers so we would be warm.  Mike took the kids out on the lake and spent most of the time fishing with them.  They caught a few fish, Mike cleaned them, and brought them home with us.  I don't like fish, but he actually cooked them up the next night and they were quite tasty.

Laina and I hung out on the beach and took a little walk with Aria, and Abrie along the trail that circles the lake.

We ate a picnic dinner and warmed up some water for some much needed hot chocolate.  We were going to try doing s'mores, but by that time were were all ready to go home.  It was a fun little trip, but next time we'll have to remember to go a couple of weeks earlier so we don't end up so cold.  

Sock Bun Curls

I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest.  If you haven't tried it you are missing out on a wealth of information.  I just have to warn you, it is majorly addicting!  I found this tutorial on sock bun curls.  If you don't know what a sock bun is, it is a bun made using a rolled up sock.  It makes a beautiful bun.  We tried this on both Michela and Aria, but it worked the best on Aria.  After washing their hair we put in the sock buns and they slept with them.  In the morning we took the bun out to reveal curls!  Michela's hair is pretty thick so her hair was still a bit wet.  Next time we'll have to try getting her hair a bit more dry before putting it in the bun.  Aria's worked beautifully.  She has very fine thin hair so it produced super springy curls.  She loved it!  A little hairspray, a cute headband, and she was good to go.  Those curls put a little extra spring in her step that day!