Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. We had a great one. Travis, Jen, their four kids and Tyler and Brittney made it and so we had a houseful. We had Christmas in the addition. We had our normal traditions like hanging the stockings up in order of age, acting out Luke 2. The kids had fun dressing up. All the girls were angels and Billy and Forrest were Shepard's. Todd and I were Mary and Joseph. Then we read twas the night before Christmas. Our kids got new pajamas the night before Christmas to wear on Christmas day. On Christmas day everyone sat on the stairs from youngest to oldest then went and got their stockings down. The boys got lots of cars. They were very happy. Katie got her fairies from Santa she had been asking for. I got my Nintendo ds I had been wanting and Todd got a new camera. It was great spending Christmas with lots of family.

Christmas Vacation Begins:)

We left for Todd's parents yesterday. We took Katie out of school early because there was a storm coming last night and we wanted to beat it. The drive went great. The roads were clear and the kids did really well. Of course there was the DVD player to keep them entertained. We only hit snow when we were almost there. The kids were so excited to be out of the car and to see Grandma and Grandpa. They kept running circles around the house. It is good to be here. Todd has a fun family and I miss not living by them.
We bought Katie some skis and ski boots so she can start learning how to ski. As we were leaving yesterday we stopped to buy ski goggles for the kids. These are some pictures. I thought they were cute! Today Tabitha, Ty, and Ruby went to Walmart to do last minute shopping. I am finally done and found something for the boys from Santa. It has been a nice lazy and relaxing day. The kids have been able to go play in the snow and Todd is out on the four wheeler right now because he was bored.

Billy's Mohawk

So we gave Billy a mohawk. All the boys were getting haircuts and since Billy's hair always gos into a point when it gets long (his nickname is rooster) we just cut the sides. It is cute because anyone who knows him knows that his personality is opposite of the mohawk persona. He gets so many giggles and compliments when we go out. Plus it makes his hair look more red because the top is redder and the sides blond.
Billy also had a school party so we went to see him. They had a bunch of goodies and it is fun to see him with all the other kids. He was excited that daddy got to take him to school since he didn't have work.

Christmas Parties

We have had three Christmas parties this last week plus a Military Ball. It has been busy but nice to not have to cook as much. Todd had two work parties. One was at a place kind of like Chuck E Cheese. Santa came and then the kids got to play on all the fun bouncy houses. Billy refuses to get anywhere near Santa this year. We tried everything we could to coax him. Johnny is a little too shy this year too so we will see how he does next year. Katie of course loves him and isn't shy at all. The second party was his Battalion party. The food was pretty good and they had a lot of fun little things for the kids to do. Plus they had a bouncy blow up slide. They didn't want to leave. Our third party was our ward party. I have learned that there is never enough food at our ward parties. So we had to eat more when we came home.
Todd had a military ball on Wednesday. WE got to dress up (Todd hates it because it takes so much work putting his dress blues together. We got a babysitter and the kids were so excited when Hannah came over. Even Johnny didn't mind us leaving. The best part of the ball was the dancing after. We got to do some country dancing and that was fun. Plus Todd looks good all dressed up!:)

Thanksgiving

We have had a fun couple of weeks. A week after Jennie and Mike got here Todd's parents and Typhena her girls and Jesse came. So we have had fun visiting and playing lots of games. We had a good Thanksgiving. We all pitched in with the cooking. We also had the annual dessert making contest. We ate Dinner at one so for dinner we had all the dessert. Todd and I were lucky at cards yesterday and got a quadruple pinochle. It was cool.
This morning Ty, Jennie and I braved the crowds and went shopping. We got a few really good deals. I got about half my Christmas shopping done. Todd got one of his Christmas presents early. He got a 33 gallon air compressor. Ty got a pink vacuume Bissil. It was half off. And Jennie got glassware she wanted.
Now about twilight. I was sso excited to finally see it. The second time we went Jennie and I took Grandma. She read the books and liked it and she enjoyed the movie too. Then last night Jennie and I wanted to go see it one more time while we could. So it was fun!

Having Fun With Grandma

We have had a good week and a half. Two Saturdays ago we took the cog train up to the top of Pikes Peak. IT was cold but not bad for the fall. The kids liked the train but did get a little bored. We were tired of trying to keep Johnny happy by the time we got back as he had to stay in our row and didn't like it. It was a beautiful view. Then this last week Todd had a four day weekend so we used the rest of our timeshare points to stay near Rocky National Park. It is a little northwest of Denver. There wasn't much to do though as we went in between seasons. We were hoping for some skiing for Todd but the slopes weren't open yet. So we spent the two days hiking in the national forest. There was snow so the kids had a blast playing in it. The second day we hiked up to a little waterfall and then Todd and Katie hiked farther while Grandma the boys and I went back and hung out in the car. When Todd and Katie got back she made about over 30 snow angels in the parking lot. She had fun. So we had a good time. We had a hot tub in our apartment and Katie and Johnny loved getting in. Billy got in the first day and didn't like the bubbles so he wouldn't go in after that.
This week we have been getting ready for family to come. Jennie and Mike are coming in Saturday:):):) and it couldn't come soon enough. I haven't seen them since last Christmas. Then the week after that Grandma and Grandpa Stull and Typhena, Jesse, Alexis and Lacie are coming for Thanksgiving. So we have a lot to be thankful for. Billy is excited for Lacie to come. He said he wants to sleep by here. She is his best friend. It is nice they had over a year to live by each other. Today I took Billy to school and while we were waiting for it to start a boy in his class named Jacob (who is very nice and always tries to talk with Billy)came over and tried giving Billy a hug. He was turning away and I told Billy that he wasn't shy anymore. And Billy said", I'm shy again". All the parents laughed. It definitely takes him a while to open up to other kids.
Yesterday I bought advanced tickets so we can see Twilight next Friday. Mike and Todd are taking Jennie and I on a double date. Well we are making them but they are good sports about it.