Little Ballerina

 

 Ryley finished off her first dance class, and she loved it.  Sadly she wasn't feeling all that well for her final class when we got to come in and watch all that she has learned.  I was able to see where some of her dancing moves that she has been doing lately have come from, and it was fun to hear all about them making sundays on their toes, or how to manipulate a pizza slice. I never had the opportunity to take dance, and it is really fun to watch Ryley.  I have registered her for another round of classes, I guess as long as she is loving it as much as she does now,  I will keep registering her.

It's December!

 It is finally December, and I am soo excited for all things Christmas.  I just love this time of year, with all of the excitement and fun.  I love coming back to the true reason for the season and slowing things down a bit.  I love a fun decorated bright and cheery house, I just love it!  This year December 1st was a Saturday, and a busy one for our family. 

At my kids school they do something called Service Saturday.  It is a day put on by the jr. high hids, and kind of like a Christmas fair. There is a bake sale, a place to write letters to Santa.  You can get a picture with Santa, do a craft, or decorate a cookie.  All of these things cost money, but I don't mind at all, it is a fun outing for the family and all of the money raised goes to local charities.  I LOVE to see those jr. high students so involved, and I was particularly impressed this year with how a few of them went the extra mile to help my kids through some task.

After we had gotten out fill inside the gym we ended the trip off with a hay ride outside.  I waited for Jordan and the kids, and I froze, I am sure that they were plenty cold on their ride as well.
 
Then we all climbed back in the van and carried on out to Kananaskis  to find the perfect Christmas Tree. This is something we have done since Skyler was a toddler, and we love it, our trees never look like the farm trees bought at a tree lot, and more often resemble what Charlie Browns tree looked like, but it is a fun tradition, and one we intend to continue.  We were lucky enough to have Mom join us on our adventure, and we scoured the mountain looking for the very best tree. I do think this years tree is a step above our previous years, but we made Jordan scale the mountain above the river to get it, then he had to pass the tree up to me, and climb back up with the saw.

Our day didn't end there though, even though my pictures do.  We then rushed up to my cousin's house to get pictures of my Grandma Darker with all of the great grandkids.  Then The kids carried on to a surprise 80th birthday party for Grandma while Jordan and I made out way back home to get ready for his work Christmas Party.  It was a busy day for sure, but definitely put us all in the Christmas spirit.

a Teddy Bear Picnic

Ethan had a Teddy Bear Picnic at school, and this is what I made for him to take, they just turned out so cute.  I was really excited because it took very little effort!

Ready for Church

Look at this good looking group of kids.  Here they are all ready for church at 8:30 in the morning.

Skyler started Basketball

 
 Skyler has now entered the world of basketball and he really enjoys it.  He could have started out last year, but Jordan thought that it was too young.  I on the other hand think, if most kids are starting this young it will be harder for him to really get into it if he starts out much later and doesn't know what he is doing.  He is a decent dribbler, now that Jordan has spent some time working with him - it wasn't so pretty in the beginning.  But he is not super strong moving the ball up and down the court.  He shy's away from the ball (after getting hurt a few times) under the net, but he greatest strength right now is stealing the ball.  He literally just watches for his chance to take the ball from another player, and he is pretty good about not fouling the other players.  I have a lot of fun watching him, and I am excited to be able to play in the driveway this spring and work with him. 
(Skyler is number 1)