Congratulations Blake

Blake was chosen to be Student of the Month at school for the months of November and December. When we meet with his teacher for parent teachers conference she told us how proud she was of Blake. He has made huge improvements since the beginning of the year and had become a great student. He continues to excel in Math. We are so proud of him. We are are so thankful for such a great teacher that makes him love school and learning. At Friday morning assemble the Dad's presented them with their badges.

Then the kids that were awarded got to attend a special ceremony in the multipurpose room. Blake teacher wrote to him the following:

Congratulations on being chosen as the coyote of the month! I am very proud of your hard work and effort this year. Keep up the great work!

Brilliant artist

Loves to learn about Dinosaurs

A very good reader

Kind to all classmates

Excellent at multiplying

Great job Blake!

Hailey's Thankful List

This what Hailey wrote that she is thankful for:

I am thankful for TV, Wii, school, my toys, my family, food, drinks, books, trees, principle, letters, numbers, friends, paper, pencils, math, crayons, my house, freedom, pets, animals, arts and crafts, computers, exercises, trampolines, flowers, dirt, plastic, class rooms, clocks, snow, water, space, video cameras, AR, cursive, money, wallets, silly bands, video games, sports, life, turkeys, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, air, gardens, nature, hair, shelter, games, DSi games, DSi, Birthday parties, farms, fruit, vegetables, times tests, math problems, class, heart, health, Disneyland, camping, love, my sisters, and brother, and Jesus.

Hailey sure does love to write and is very thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year for Thanksgiving we went to Grandma Di's for dinner. We came straight from Big Bear to have dinner with our family. All of Todd's siblings where there and his Aunt Carol, Uncle Steve, Cousin Heather and Cousin Lisa. We had a full house for sure. Blake loves the soup Aunt Carol and Grandma Di make. He was very excited to get some.

We went around the table and everyone said what they were thankful for. Blake said video games (so proud). Hailey believe it or not got shy and hid under the table. Madison said she was thankful for Grandma Di. Abby was the sweetest of all and said she was thankful for Jesus (so cute).

Thank you to Grandma Di and Aunt Carol for such a great dinner!

Since we had just come from a trip from Big Bear we decided to bring a cooler of snow to share with the cousins. The kids had a fun snowball fight in the backyard before dinner.

Kyla is so excited that Madison and her both love horses so they both brought some horses to play with.

The girls worked off dinner by playing Just Dance.

We are very thankful to have a wonderful family in Utah and nearby! Happy Thanksgiving!

Playing in the Snow at Big Bear

There was so much snow in big bear, and the kids loved being able to go right outside and play in it all day. This is our car after it snowed the night before.

Abby just loved her little snowballs. She acted like they were little kittens. She is so funny!

Abby was in heaven the whole trip. She got so much attention from all of the kids. All the kids are so cute with her. She says that Matthew is her "best friends", he is twelve and she has him wrapped around her little finger. Emma pulled her around all the time in her sled.

We also headed to a nearby park to do some sledding. Here are Blake and Sara cruising down the hill.

Todd, Madison, and Abby went down like this about a dozen times. They couldn't get enough of it.
Abby got a ride all the way up with Daddy. It was so funny how she would hold on. At the bottom we would spin her around like this and she would laugh and laugh.

We all had a blast! Back to the cabin for some hot chocolate. We went through so much hot chocolate that trip. The kids think it is the best thing in the world. They always call Grandma Newbold before we go to Utah and remind her to stock up when we come at Christmas.

Big Bear Lake

We decided one morning to try and get some pictures by the lake. Hopefully a good one for a Christmas card. The kids, however, where not as in to that idea. Oh well, it is what it is when you have four kids, and they have been up playing late the night before. The lake was so pretty and there was snow everywhere. Blake and Sara were looking for any frozen fish.

Hailey and Karis

One picture of many attempts.

Me, Brittany, and Leanne.

Cabin Sweet Cabin

For Thanksgiving break the kids got the whole week off so we decided to go up to Big Bear with some family friends and stay in a cabin. We picked the perfect time to go. It was beautiful and had just snowed. We also had the best cabin ever to stay in. We had three families and it wasn't crowded at all. I know how to plan a great trip :) Half of the garage was converted into a game room. The kids spend most of the time playing here. The cabin also had a bunch of games for them to play. The girls loved playing Twister.

The family room was very big and had a huge sectional we all could sit on. At night we would play games together. I have never laughed so hard. The kids love playing Things and they loved the Roller Coaster game Dale taught them. One night we all talked about the things we are grateful for. The kids loved listening to the Dad's talk about being grateful.

At night we also went in the spa out on the deck. It was 30 degrees but most everyone braved it, except for me. The snow started to fall while the kids were in it. They were so excited!

What a fun memory to have, and a great way to start the holiday season. We hope we can go again!

Madison's Barnyard Bash

For Madison's 5th Birthday we had a Barnyard Bash. They are all so cute. Some kids are missing because we took the picture in the beginning.
The snack table.

The party favors.

They all started out by coloring in Callie Cow's Coloring Coral and then Hailey had them play Barnyard Bingo. Hailey loved being in charge of a bunch of Kindergartners. She loves to play school.

Next we went outside and rotated through some games. We had a Haystack Hunt where the kids found silly bands hidden in the hay.

We also played pin the apple on the horse's mouth in Honey Horse's Feeding Trough

A duck matching game in Quack's Duck Pond Sally Sheep's Barnyard Toss

Farmer John's Animal Round Up on the trampoline with animal balloons.

Inside we decorated Pinky the Pig's prized pigs with chalk.

Next we did the barnyard boogie. It was so fun to watch. First they did Cotton Eyed Joe from just dance than they did the chicken dance and hokey pokey. They also just danced around to some country music cheering each other on. Madison was quite the little dancer in her cowgirl boots. Super fun and cute!While the kids were dancing Blake and Hailey snuck outside and hide Mrs. Cluck's eggs all over the backyard for the kids to hunt. The eggs had little yellow fluffy chicks inside. Some have Madison's friends went home and made a nest for them and have named their toy chicks.

What a fun day. Madison loved sharing her day with her good friends. Thank you Grandma Di for coming and helping out.

Happy 5th Birthday Madison!

Madison turns five today! We love our sweet Madison with her big brown eyes and adorable smile. She gives the best squeeze hugs every and I love when she helps me with projects while Blake and Hailey are still at school and Abby is napping. We are all so thankful for you to be a part of our family! Blake used to call you Goo Ga and could not get enough of you. Hailey loved playing with you,her sweet little baby sister, and making
you pretty.

Madison got to celebrate her birthday with her cousin Dylan who also has a November birthday. For Sunday dinner we went to Grandma Di's house and had a family birthday party for Dylan and Madison. She loves being around family.

On Madison's actual birthday we brought Italian ices in for snack at kindergarten, which are one of her favorite treats. She also got to wear the class birthday crown all day.

Happy Birthday Madison!