Sam's Great Teacher

Sam has an amzing teacher.  She is so great and loves Sam so much.  She emailed Sam this picture of her dogs loving the dog toys he got them.  Just a little thing, but so sweet.  It made Sam's day.

Sam the Scientist

Sam got to bring the Science bag home from school this week.  It was fun to look through the bag of goodies and find an experiment in the book that he could do for his class.  He got to do the experiment for his class on Friday.  Since I was already there for music time I got to stay and help/watch him do it.  It was fun to see him perform the experiment for his friend and watch them say "oooohh" and aaaahh".  He felt really cool and I loved that.

He chose the experiment about how two toothpicks floating parallel on the surface of the water would retract quickly from each other if you dipped another toothpick that had soap on it in between them without even touching them.  It was fun as all the kids said, "wow, it's magic."

Eddie

Our Chinese Tour Guide, Eddie, came for a visit and we were able to have him over for dinner and let him meet our family.  It was so fun to have him over and spoil him and introduce him to new things just like he did for us when we were on his turf. 

The kids loved meeting him and wouldn't stop talking to him and showing him things.  From James showing off his China clothes, to Sam teaching him about Nachos, to Chloe singing and dancing, he got quite the welcome.

We are so glad he came and that we were able to see him so much.  He will definitely be a friend for life.

Thanksgiving in Preston and Chloe's First Shopping Trip

We had a great time getting away for a much desired vacation.  Going up to Preston is always a treat for us.  We love how calm and peaceful it is.  The kids love playing with their cousins.  Sam and Dani always seem  to team up as well as James and Tori and Chloe is Madi's constant shadow.

This is Sam and Dani's score card for the game they were playing.  I love it. 

 

They had fun cuddling up together for some late night shows before bed each night.

Chloe was constantly stealing all of baby Libby's things for her puppies.  Her puppies did need a turn in the bouncer after all.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious as always.  I didn't have to do a thing this year which was nice and also a little weird.

We of course had to head out for some great Black Friday shopping.  We did most of it online this year, but I did end up taking 3 trips to Logan in less than 24 hours!
Our Friday morning trip was the best.  Seth and I went out with Jake and Jaime and their 2 oldest girls.  We brought Chloe too and she was so excited to go shopping with the girls.

I absolutely love these next few pictures.  Chloe's expressions were so cute.  I love how she would just follow and admire everything that Madi did.  It was like she knew she was learning important things and didn't want to miss any of it.

Chloe spotted exactly what she wanted when we went to the Children's Place.  First it was the bright pink boots.  Then she spotted the sequence hat and matching bag.  She didn't need them, but we did it.  They were all great deals, and she looked so cute walking around the mall with her new accessories and bags of goodies! :)

I think Chloe thought the day couldn't get any better, but it did.  We went to a pizza buffet for lunch and Chloe had a blast with her own drink and pizza.

After a few more stores the excitement wore off and she was done.  It was to her seat with her blankie and sippie for some much needed R&R.

We ended our long weekend by going to the town's holiday parade.   It was awesome.  It was mainly just truck with trailers with lights on them, but it was so festive and fun.

Northern Lights

There are two places we love to go whenever we go to Preston during the holidays.  There is a house there that goes all out.  They even have awesome cut outs that they have made of all the popular Children's cartoons.  It is so fun to drive through and see.  The kids love spotting their favorite characters, and now that we have been there for a few years now, it's fun to see what new ones they have each year.

Here's some of our favorites:

 Mickey and Friends, Puss in Boots, and the Aristocrats

 Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp

 Beauty and the Beast and the Grinch

 Tangled

 Cars

 Cinderella and Lilo and Stitch

 Toy Story

Our other favorite stop is up North at Willard Bay.  They do a great light display.  We just happen to be driving by it at night a few years ago and couldn't help but notice all the millions of lights.  We pulled off the freeway and had to check it out and we are so glad we did.

They have everything from dinosaurs to Indians to Disney characters to the Nativity to Polar Fun.  Most of the lights are animated and that's our favorite part.  It's fun to watch and see what will happen at each display.

A Gift for His Teacher

Sam was very excited to be able to get his teacher a Christmas present since he will be going off track and not see her again until after.  We decided to get some toys for her dogs that she loves so much.  He even wrote her a cute little card.  I was so proud of him.

Sleepover by the Fire

The kids were so excited to have their first sleepover by the fire tonight.  It was so cute to see how excited they were and how great they did all snuggled up. 
This is one of those times when I take a deep breath and can't believe how big they are getting so fast!

Grandma Treats

The kids love going to their Grandma's house and eating her treats.  Well, this last week I stopped by there and she sent me home with some Fruit by the Foots for them.  They were so excited and have been having fun finding fun ways to eat them.