Brower Christmas Party!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year!  It started on Friday when we headed up to Tremonton to have a party with the Brower side of the family.  We got there in time to play with our cousins, eat soup & scones for dinner, and do some caroling.  The gingerbread house that the kids made was cute, but not structurally sound!  It was funny to watch them try and decorate it while holding it up by the sides.

 Alivia and Cooper were so cute together all weekend.  They are only six days apart and so it is so fun to see how they play with each other!

 Even though it was quite cold outside, we did manage to bundle up and go caroling to a few houses.

 (Justin stayed home on baby duty while we went caroling!)

 When we got back, Grandma Joy had a fun present exchange game about the "Right Family"....using left and right to eventually have the kids end up with a present.  Then we read the Baby Jesus story and tried to get the kids to act it out as best as possible with just a few towels as 'props' and Livy as the baby Jesus.

 Saturday morning we all went to the church and did 30 minutes of entertainment at a blood drive...thanks to my mom signing us up to do so before we even knew about it on Friday. :)  It went well.  We sang a few songs as a group, Carson did a short piano solo "Good King Wencesles" and Kaylee and I also sang her Stable song.

 We went back home and enjoyed leftover soup with some Pizza Plus breadsticks before playing a quick game of Catch Phrase and heading back home to get ready for Christmas.

It was a wonderful weekend and a great way to celebrate Christmas!  We are so grateful that we were able to spend so much time with my side of the family.

Dinner at Applebees!

On Wednesday, we were lucky enough to meet up with Grandma Karen, Papa Bear, Ryan and our cousins Taylor and Chase at Applebees in Draper.  We had a super fun dinner and laughed our heads off over conversation and the tv show we were watching on the tv above us.  It was such an enjoyable evening.  

Since Taylor and Chase live in Washington state, we don't get to see them as often as we would like, so it was nice to spend some time with them before they went back home!  Can't wait to see them again!

Alivia 9 Months

On Sunday, we had a great day going to church, eating leftovers and skookies and celebrating Alivia turning 9 months old!  Crazy, right!?!  We enjoyed Grandma and Grandpa Brower coming to Sacrament meeting with us, since they were on their way home from the concert broadcast that morning.  Carson sang with the primary for Sacrament meeting.  He did great!  Then after church, since I was so tired and we had SO many left overs, we opted to eat them for dinner instead of making something.  It was perfect!  And for dessert, our favorite thing....skookies!

 I almost put Livy to bed before I remembered to take pictures of her on her 9 month birthday.  She is growing!  And she has ONE tooth that came through a few weeks ago.  On the top!!!  And the second top tooth is not far behind!

 We took her to her 9 month appointment yesterday, and here is where she stands.  14 lbs 12 oz, (1%) 26 3/4" long (23%).  She is still just itty bitty.  But the doctor isn't concerned since my other two kids were that little too!  But she is hitting her milestones like she should.  She is using her hands to transfer things, she is pulling herself up to a standing position against the couch, and she is crawling!  Very slowly, but officially it is a crawl!  Today Kaylee had a small bag of peanut m&m's and left them across the room from Livy, but within minutes Alivia found them and had three of them in her mouth before I realized she had gotten to them!  She was pretty mad at me for making her spit them out!  She loves table food and refuses to eat baby food.  She loves the flavored instant oatmeal, yogurt, and anything we are having for dinner that I grind up for her.  She does a clicking noise with her tongue and copies us when we do it.  She also waves hi and bye (when she is in the mood) and now I am working on getting her to say mama.  She is very much a mama's girl and will not go to anyone else if she sees me in the room.  It is still hard to believe she is getting so big, but she is so much fun and we love her to pieces!   

A very Grand Dinner with the Prophet.

Last night was had a great evening.  It was the annual Motab Christmas Dinner party.  It is held at the Grand America and it is very fancy!  It is especially fun since we get to double with my Mom and Dad and President Monson was there!  They served a yummy salad, then main course that included a mushroom chicken and beef steak.  Then for dessert they offered both a german chocolate and lemon type of dessert.  They each came with raspberries and were amazing! 

 We tried taking pictures of ourselves with President Monson behind us.  Can you tell which one is him?

 We sat on a table with some other choir members my mom knows and they were hilarious.  It was a very enjoyable evening!  It is definitely one of the better perks of being a member of the Bells on Temple Square!

1st Grade Christmas Party

On Monday, Carson's class had their Christmas party.  I was asked to help with the cookie station, which was great with me!  Nick came home early to watch the girls so I could go and help.  The kids rotated to three stations, the cookie station, the Snow ball game station (wadded up white paper) and the gingerbread man station.  

 After they each took a turn at each station, they did a gift exchange game using the Right Left Story to switch up the gifts.  It took a minute for them to figure it out, but once they did it was funny to watch!

It was a fun afternoon and I was glad I could be there.  I enjoy being able to help out as much as I can in his class.  It is fun to get to know his teacher and the other students.  He has a great class and great teacher!  Later that night we delivered our neighbor gifts and then ended it with some yummy Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt.  It was a fun day!

Motab Christmas Concert

We had three nights of a great concert.  On Saturday afternoon, the bells were scheduled to be at the recording session, but late Friday we got word we didn't have to be there for that and we just had to be there by 4:30 for dinner before the concert.  They fed us, the choir, dancers, and the stage crew at the Church Office Building cafeteria.  It was yummy!  I ate first with the bells, but then later met up with my mom and finished eating with her.

 So all week long people kept telling us our costumes looked like they were from star trek.  So Paige, one of the bell ringers and a very comical lady, made cool tags for us to wear that were the star trek logo with BoTS printed on them.  It was awesome!

 We rang during the opening number, then had about 40 minutes before playing in the production number and the finale.  So we either hung out back stage or in the little theater at the conference center.  I did quite a bit of reading during that time.  It was actually kind of nice to get to just sit and read and not have any distractions like children or a dirty house to clean.  Even though it was a lot of work and very tiring, it was also very relaxing in a way.

 This is the 2nd year doing the concert with the Bells and it was a great experience.  The best part was that I was able to stand right next to my mom when I rang.  I could hear her singing and she could watch me ring.  It worked out great!  What a great memory!

Kaylee's Christmas Recital

I was really sad when I found out Kaylee's dance recital would at the same time as the Friday Night Motab Concert.  That would mean I wouldn't be able to attend her recital.  But luckily we had Gma & Gpa Bennett and Uncle Ryan that were able to be there with our family and help take pictures and video of her performances.  

 Alivia was thoroughly entertained by not only the singing and dancing, but by the people who sat in front of her.

 Kaylee did a great job yet again singing her solo and doing her dance.  I was so proud of her!

 Watching the video just made me laugh.  After each performance she would do this little clogging jig and then run off the stage without waiting for the rest of the group.  It was really quite adorable!  I wish I could have been there to see it in person.  What a fun night for her and our family!