LIVE--LAUGH--LOVE

Happy New Year!!

Since I didn't get Christmas cards out this year, I'm doing something on our blog. Here's a little about our 2013. BART-accounting article published*made Partner at PwC*released from Bishopric*put in as High Councilor*steller balancer of work, church and family SHANNA-teaches pre-school for Kelsey (rotating with 4 other Moms from the ward in our homes)*lost 33 lbs*got braces*Sister's Weekend in Utah*reads when she can*survived all of Bart's travel COLE-4th grade*soccer*rocks and minerals*school treasurer*Wall of Character at school*Monster Jam with Dad SADIE-2nd grade*Wall of Character at school*alternate class representative*soccer*origami*writing poetry*rainbow loom*loves to read JAYDA-Kindergarten*lost first tooth*singing*coloring*Wall of Character at school*always smiling*loves making Makenna happy KELSEY-Joy School*dress-ups*legos*Dora*gymnastics*loves writing on pads of paper with a pen*loves to shake her booty while dancing*Mom's helper MAKENNA-crawled*walked*grew in lots and lots of teeth*slobbers like crazy*climbs*hears music and dances*tries to do everything the other kids do*our only blue eyed child AS A FAMILY-survived month long trip to UT, ID, and MT in July (Bart left us 3 times during that month to travel for work)* Great Wolf Lodge*bowling*Myrtle Beach*Wii Dance 4

Myrtle Beach Trip

We left the day after Christmas to head down to Myrtle Beach, SC. We were having our wood floors/stairs refinished and needed to be out of the house for 5 days (a post on that later). We decided to go somewhere we hadn't been before. It was a fabulous trip! We had such a great time and enjoyed every minute of our time together! There was so much to do. The Marriott OceanWatch Villas at Grand Dunes were amazing! The Marriott offered several activities during the day and evening, had great amenities, was right on the beach, plus it had 3 heated pools and an indoor pool. The kids had a really great time and it was so wonderful to spend time with Bart. We celebrated our 12th Anniversary during our trip, which was fun to do with the kids. The weather was in the high 50's, low 60's. The kids got in the ocean, but mostly played in the sand. We definitely spent time in the heated pools and hot tub. Yippee for fun family trips!

Myrtle Beach-Aquarium

The Aquarium was amazing! SO much to see and do! The kids picked up horse shoe crabs, petting baby sharks, took a ride on a moving sidewalk through a tunnel where several types of sharks and tons of types of fish, eels, turtles and coral were found. They had a fun kids room with things to play with, a rock wall, legos and different types of fish in several tanks. We watched a diver feed the fish and the kids got a picture with her. Overall, one of our favorite things we did.

Myrtle Beach-Fun Stuff

Getting pushed by Cole in the hotel room

The "I Love Sugar" store

Cole eating crab legs for the first time

Sadie trying clams

Mini Golf

"The Hook" mini golf course

Makenna tasting Krispy Kremes! Yum!

Painting pottery

Myrtle Beach-Sky Wheel

Such fun! I have to admit, my belly got a little queezy, but it was a beautiful view!

Myrtle Beach-Beach

The beach was gorgeous! Pretty much right outside the door. The kids found some beautiful shells.

Christmas

Christmas was a little odd this year. Not many decorations, although we got a tree. Knowing I had to take Christmas down the day of Christmas, didn't make me to anxious to get alot out. As soon as the kids opened their presents, we took Christmas down and moved everything out of our living room (in recent weeks, we had gotten rid of most of our furniture). Then, I had to pack for everyone for 6 days (more on that later). So, Christmas was more of a hurried experience this year, but the kids were still excited about the gifts they received. It's always fun to watch their eyes light up! Cole built a monster truck track outside

New pj's from Grandma Stratton