Christmas Dinner

Brooke, pretty much kicked our butts at Guitar Hero

So I am posting these because they showcase Matt's awesome picture taking skills........

That's right, he really knows how to capture the moment............

group shot, we're missing Nate and Mr. Gabe(he didn't think our party was that great)

this is our school dance pose.....we're pretty awesome.....maybe

the ladies

party favors

table setting

We got to have a Christmas dinner at our house with some fabulous friends! I love this time of year! It's a great excuse to do stuff like this and go all out!!! Really, just an excuse to eat delicious and fattening food:) (wonder why my pants are always tighter in January.....)

The girls first dance recital!

Addy

Miss Nemmy

Emerie is on the left, Addy on the right

There is a little movement this time

Cute little Miss Savvie, love this little girl to pieces!!!

I gave been so excited to see how the girls would be on stage in front of a lot of people and performing. They danced to the song "Where are you Christmas", from The Grinch. I thought I would be a good mom and prepare them a little to what the Grinch actually looked like. I thought they would be dancing with someone in a full on Grinch costume. Addy didn't have a problem with the movie, Emerie, on the other hand, went and hid upstairs at my moms house and wouldn't come down until she knew for sure it wasn't on anymore.She said,"mom, i don't want to dance with the Grinch, he's mean." AWESOME......I couldn't do or say anything to convince her to dance. Finally, she decided to give it a try if she got a Toy Story toy. We went for their last dance class before their performance and she heard the Grinch's voice on CD and melted down! Addy was out there doing the dance with the other girls and she would not go. Finally, after almost an hour of convincing her to do it, she went on the dance floor and while the other girls were doing the dance she twirled in a circle bawling! It was the funniest thing! Am I a mean mom for laughing??? It was really cute! I was really worried the night of their performance, it wasn't as bad as I thought. They both got up there, no crying, and just stood there.........yep, that's right, no dancing. They looked so cute just standing there though:) They danced a little during their 2nd performance and still have one more to go. Hopefully they will do the whole dance then:) Thanks to mine and Matt's family for coming to watch our girls stand on stage:)

November

the girls had fun helping to decorate our tree

Addy still insists on wearing her princess dress ups everyday! She LOVES them!

I LOVE this picture of Matt with Justin and Crystal!

Trying to get all the kids to look at us at the same time and smile.......impossible:)

Spencer looks so sad in this one! He's probably sick of us taking pics!

At the beginning of the month Matt's sister Crystal, her hubby Eric and their cute little Spencer came to visit! We went up to the cabin for an over nighter. It was fun and relaxing....and very cold:) We're glad that we got to spend some more time with them this year, this is their second visit and we love it!!!

I didn't get any pics of Thanksgiving or shopping with my favorite girls on Black Friday! I love this tradition. In the middle of the night as we are losing energy and sleep we wonder why we do it, but it is one of my favorite traditions and I love all the delirious laughter and diet coke and eating pizza in the middle of the night!

Matt and I have been so blessed with such wonderful families and friends and we are grateful for each and everyone!

Happy Holidays!!!

Halloween

Cute Savvy, and Aunt Robby, invited us to a Halloween party the day before and had lots of treats, games and even prizes for us!!! This girl has a future as a party planner:)

Maddy really just wanted to do her own thing, so she played the piano

decorating skeleton cupcakes

pin the face on the pumpkin

musical pumpkins

the party guests!

Right before we went out into the freezing and soggy weather

Miss Maddy, trying to escape!

For our annual Halloween party, we went as tourists.....thanks Dan for the fanny pack:)

I bet your wondering who that sexy hunk with the yellow visor is.....yep, he's all mine.....

We started doing this party the year we all moved out of our town homes and I am so grateful we still get together and do it!!!

We officially made it through the hectic, expensive, fabulous and memorable October!!! As much fun as we had I am glad it's over and am looking forward to the holidays!!! It's been a little bit of a struggle not to put up my Christmas tree yet.........Matt would never let me, but maybe one of these days he will come home to a house ready for Christmas! I LOVE Christmas and have always wanted to get it going as soon as Halloween is over. I remember so many years that Kim and I would wake everyone up at 5 am.......we had to wait for our tired parents and (cranky) and tired brothers:) I love the whole day and everything leading up to it. The shopping, the baking, the service projects, the parties and especially the time spent with family!!! I am so excited for the girls to get bigger and better understand what a magical time of year it is and the significance that it holds, and not only the presents, but the day that we celebrate our Saviours birth!!!

Ok, so now I REALLY want to put my decorations up.......

Great Quote

You know when you can read something a million times and it finally clicks? I was reading this and when I read it aloud to Matt, it "clicked" I love this because you can use it for any type of trial you are going through, no matter how big or small!!! Sometimes you wonder why things are happening and as for me, I need a small reminder sometimes that I need to remember that the Lord is mindful of me and there is a reason, I just have to take the time to figure out what He is trying to teaching me!

Patience means accepting that which cannot be changed and facing it with courage, grace, and faith. It means being “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father.”8 Ultimately, patience means being “firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord”9 every hour of every day, even when it is hard to do so. In the words of John the Revelator, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and … faith [in] Jesus.”10Brigham Young taught that when something came up which he could not comprehend fully, he would pray to the Lord, “Give me patience to wait until I can understand it for myself.”5 And then Brigham would continue to pray until he could comprehend it.The work of patience boils down to this: keep the commandments; trust in God, our Heavenly Father; serve Him with meekness and Christlike love; exercise faith and hope in the Savior; and never give up. The lessons we learn from patience will cultivate our character, lift our lives, and heighten our happiness. They will help us to become worthy and faithful disciples of our Master, Jesus Christ.It is my prayer that patience will be a defining characteristic…in our lives; that we will courageously trust the Lord’s promises and His timing; that we will act toward others with the patience and compassion we seek for ourselves; and that we will continue in patience until we are perfected. ...Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!

Vegas, baby!!!!.....and RAGNAR

the Provo Misfits

At the Rio

We got to shop for hours:)

In bed with Hugh Hefner......yuck! Good thing he's fake

This is what's in my dreams........except it's Diet



Matt had the opportunity to run the RAGNAR relay race in Vegas with our friend Jeremy and his team. Matt trained for months and worked so hard to reach his goal! I am so proud of him and had to fight back the tears as he got to run through the finish line with his team!(cheesy:) Brooke and I decided that we couldn't just let the boys go to Vegas without us so we rode along and made a vacation out of it! Friday, while the boys were running their guts out, we had the hard task of shopping, eating, shopping some more and eating some more! It was awesome and i am so grateful to my parents and Kim, Dan and Am for taking care of the girls for us while were were gone! We left 73 degree weather for 48 degrees today......it was so nice down there! Thanks Moons for letting us tag along:)

Pumpkin Patch and pumpkin carving contest

the end result

That GIANT pumpkin is out of my parents garden

All the Johnson grand kids!

We have made it a tradition every October to go to a pumpkin patch with the cousins and this year we were lucky enough to have Christian here! We got pictures of all the grand kids! Another tradition is our pumpkin carving contest! I look forward to it every year and know that the girls will to as they get older!

My parents 40th

This is their original cake topper

My cute brother made a toast that was so sweet!

feeding each other the cake

the girls

We started planning a surprise anniversary party for my parents back in May and it was so hard to keep the secret because I was so excited about it and I tell my mom everything. Luckily i was able to keep my trap shut and keep it a surprise:) We told them that my nephew Alec was getting a scouting award to get them to the church and we had family and good friends waiting there with us! When they walked in will be one of those moments I will remember forever and I am tearing up as I think about it!!! It was so much fun thinking about and planning with Kim and Dan and Jer and Rob!!! I am so blessed with such a wonderful family and wonderful parents!!!

Thanks to all those that came and helped us pull htis off!!! Happy 40th Dad and Mom!!!

p.s. Thank you to those who helped us, my cute friends Brooke Moon took pictures and our cute cousin, Mandy did the cake/cupcakes.