Random November and December

Before I go and get caught up on this little blog, I thought I would post the pictures that won't have a "home" in all of the festivities.

Devynee as Elmo.

Every single tie that Easton owns (except the bow tie ones).

Kendree's preschool had some fun activities the week before Christmas.  One was making smores.  These pictures are funny to me because they showcase my utter lack of photog skills.  The lighting is HORRIBLE.

These girls are getting pretty good at playing together while Easton is at school (in fact, Christmas break threw a wrench into that).  Kendree is "in charge" and sometimes they are quite the fashionistas when they put on a "fashion show" for me.

Never a dull moment.

Christmas Outfits

I had the kids wear their "Christmas" outfits to church on the 22nd.  All of them were hand-me-downs this year (the best!) and Devynee had 5 different "Christmas" dresses to wear for the entire month of December (all from either cousins or purchased for Kendree).

This may seem like a picture overload, but when you pay attention to Kendree, you understand why I had to post them all.

Christmas Day

As mentioned in my Christmas Eve post, I was not feeling well when I went to bed.

I slept pretty well and woke a few minutes before seven.  The kids got up just a bit after seven and came into our room.  Ron went out to turn on lights and start filming and we had the kids file out from youngest to oldest.

I was feeling quite a bit better but very weak, so we just decided to take the day slowly and see how I was doing.  We had planned on going over to my mom's house around noon and spending the night that night there to see all of my siblings while they were in town.  At this point, I wasn't sure if that would happen.

The kids were spoiled rotten, as per usual.  Repeatedly, each of them would exclaim, "This is the best Christmas EVER!!!"

Videos of the entire morning are below (you are welcome Grandmas and Grandpas!), but I realize most won't want to watch those.

Here are a few pictures for the rest of you.

The loot pictures:

After presents, the rest of the family had some sticky buns while I ate a few pieces of toast. I began to feel better and better and we decided to head over to Laramie and pack as if we were staying the night, and then just see how I felt over there.

Ronnie quickly made two pumpkin pies (our assignment) while I got kids dressed and clothes packed for our possible overnight stay.  We left the house in all of its craziness and arrived in Laramie in time for a 1 p.m. lunch.

After lunch, the kids got to open more presents!

We had a wonderful time and I continued to feel better.  The only other picture I took was of sweet Brylen when she stole Todd's Christmas hat and put it on herself. Cutie.

Christmas Eve

The only picture I have of Christmas Eve is this one that Ronnie took of our tree that morning.

The day started off pretty great, and we ran two last errands (a return for Ron and to grab 3 things at the grocery store for me).

Then we lazed about and eventually got dinner ready for the sister missionaries (we now have a set of elders and a set of sisters assigned to our ward!) and our good friends, Gil and Carla.

We had our traditional "eat what Jesus ate" dinner and enjoyed crab, salmon, halibut, shrimp, grapes, nuts, bread, dates, and raisins. (We take "fish" pretty loosely).

Just as we were finishing dinner prep, I started to feel queasy and knew that I wouldn't be eating anything for dinner.

As the night continued, I continued to feel worse and worse.  I started having hot and cold flashes and my energy was gone.  After the sisters and our friends left, Ronnie got the kids loaded up in the car and they all drove around to look at Christmas lights for an hour while I napped on the couch at home.

After they got home around 9 p.m., I helped get kids to bed and then managed to get everything ready to go for the next day.  It took me over an hour to get three kids stuff set up and I had to take major breaks when I was having hot or cold flashes.  I finally crawled into bed at 10:30 p.m. and pleaded with Heavenly Father to let me feel better in the morning.

Ron (bless him!) finished all of the other prep, did dishes and wrapped the remaining presents that I set out for him.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Greetings to all of our Family and Friends! [this letter has been slightly edited for internet reading]

Let’s get right to the point, shall we? Because I love a nice bullet point list, and I’m the one who makes all Christmas card decisions around here, we’re keeping this short and sweet.

·         Devynee (2) has perfected the temper tantrum (just ask any store clerk in Cheyenne).  She got glasses in January (she is far-sighted and cross-eyed, I’ll spare you the technical name) and wears them like a pro. Devynee tries to do everything her siblings do (with moderate success) and talks in full sentences.

·         Kendree (will be 4 in February) has more energy than anyone else you know (seriously). She loves to help and has an uncanny sense for when I am going to cook (she knows before even I know, it seems). Kendree loves her one day a week preschool and thrives on everything social. She is comfortable talking to kids and adults alike.

·         Easton (6) is a mighty kindergartener and loves every minute of his all-day school time. He is learning to read and I am realizing that my window of “spelling” is quickly closing. Easton continues to love all things sports (especially what is in season currently) and played t-ball and soccer this year.

·         I continue to chase kids around, work part-time for [insert employer here] and even picked up a new part-time gig handling social media and workshop preparation for [insert 2nd employer here].  If any of you have another part-time job I can do, let me know.  I have plenty of extra time on my hands. I am currently serving as the Young Womens Secretary and Beehive Advisor at church.

·         Ronnie seems to at least sleep here (we see evidence of such) but between doing lawyer-y things (that we would rather not hear about) and serving as the Bishop of our ward, the kids hear the phrase “Dad has a meeting” quite a bit. He did find the time to bag a 6-point elk this year, so all is well.

In summary (since I know a few of you skipped that middle part), the kids are getting bigger (shocker!) and we had a great year.  May the spirit of our Savior penetrate your homes and hearts. 

Love, the Just KaLee Family

Santa Visits

We have the privilege of seeing the "real" Santa at both Ronnie's work Christmas party and our ward Christmas party.  Every other Santa we see is just a helper, but this is the real one.

I neglected to get a picture of Easton with Santa at Ron's work party, but as my friend Sarah said, he has so many more pictures than the other girls can ever hope to have, this goes towards evening the scales. :)

Devynee is smitten with Santa.

She didn't leave his side as he found his seat...

And then sat on his lap as he passed out gifts to children that were not her.  Finally, we took her away so that parents could get pictures of their kids with Santa withOUT Devynee in the picture as well.

And this is the face that she made to let us know how she felt about that.

Kendree got a turn.

 And finally, it was Devynee's turn to have Santa to herself.

 

A few days later it was time for one last visit with Santa.

And this time, I even documented Easton!

 Also at the ward party, the primary kids sang us a few songs.

 Devynee went up with everybody else (of course!) and there was a rare few moments of sisterly love.

Easton was there too, can you spot him?

My Birthday

I turned 31 this year! Crazy talk.  Good thing I don't feel nearly that old.  In actuality, I don't really care how old I am, as long as I am getting a good nights sleep. :)

I drove to Laramie and worked that day and then Ronnie brought home my favorite pizza for dinner and cheesecake for dessert.  Perfect end to the day.

The kids were excited for me to open up presents, but it is always funny to me how disappointed they seem when my presents aren't what they should be (toys, obviously).

A little video of the cake process.

Easton's Birthday

I almost can't fathom how this has happens, but my kids keep on getting older.

Easton turned 6 on December 10th.  We had our local family over for dinner, presents and cake on Sunday, December 8th, as his birthday was on a Tuesday.

 First, we opened presents while dinner finished cooking:

Then, after dinner, we had CAKE!

Then, on Easton's actual birthday we got to do it all over again!

Presents:

Devynee was pretty fond of his stuffed Yoshi