New Years Eve

Sometime last fall, Bret mentioned to Emily that when he was a kid, he used to love it when his family made home made root beer.  Ever since then, Emily has been asking when we could make some.  The trouble is, if you don't live in Utah, root beer extract is hard to come by.  So, when we we at Nana's house, we went to the grocery store and bought a couple of bottles of root beer extract.  We thought New Years Eve would be a perfect time to whip some up.  The kids loved watching the dry ice and the bubbles, and thought the finished product was fabulous.

Happy New Year!  Allison was at the multi stake New Years Eve dance (which, it turns out, was pretty lame, according to Allison), so she missed ringing in the new year with us.  Happy 2011!!!

Christmas Morning

Emily's much wished for phone

Allison and her silhouette machine

Caroline and her baby doll crib.  She has been asking for this for months!

Sydney didn't know what she wanted to ask Santa for, so she just asked him for a surprise.  He brought her this hot pink electric Razor scooter.  Fun, fun!

Note and treats for Santa and the reindeer

Caroline got a pink kitty pillow pet from Nana.  This is another gift she has been wishing for since last summer.

Allison and Nana adding more detailed information to the very cute family calendar that Allison made for Nana.

Christmas wouldn't be complete without a couple of new dolls!  Every year, Bret asks, "don't they already have dolls?"         
Yes, they do, but that is SO beside the point!

After a long day including a visit to the Smiths and all of the Lee cousins at the Allred home, Caroline gave in and fell into a peaceful, comfortable sleep with the help of her new pillow pet.  It was a successful and Merry Christmas, start to finish!

Christmas Eve

This year was a unique and memorable Christmas Eve for our family.  It was technically our year to be with the Paulson side for Christmas Eve, but Grandma and Grandpa were in Canada and Craig, Kristen and Nicole there visiting, and the Smiths had other family plans.  The Chamberlain side of the family were at Nana's house, so we decided to go out to dinner and to see the lights at Temple Square.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Market Street Grill, followed by a fun (but cold!) visit to Temple Square.  After that, we went back to the Brooks house (they were in Idaho), read Luke 2 and had a little family devotional.  Then, the girls opened their Christmas Eve pajamas and had a bath.  When the Chamberlains left, we headed back to Nana's house and hurried to bed so Santa could come.  It was truly a great evening!

The lights at Temple Square never disappoint! As we were walking toward the temple, Caroline exclaimed, "Look! It's a castle!"  I explained that it was the temple, but it is as beautiful as a castle, and even more special.  What little girl doesn't want to grow up and get married in a castle?

Caroline and the Baby Jesus

One night in early December as I was folding laundry, I noticed Caroline with a baby doll and a dishcloth on her head.  She was quietly talking to the baby.  When I asked her if it was the baby Jesus, she sheepishly smiled and nodded her head, yes.  I had to snap a couple of pictures of this precious little moment in time.

Emily's 11th Birthday Party

Allison made these jumbo cupcakes with marshmallow fondant letters.  Yummy!

Dinner was tri-tip, chicken, and hot dogs with lots of chips, snacks and fruit.  The plan was to eat outside, but it was a little chilly, so we ended up inside with a picnic on the floor.

It was a cold night after a rainy day; fortunately the pool was nice and warm!

Chocolate fondue

An unplanned activity of the night was playing with fire; one of the girls mentioned that you could pass your finger through the flame without getting burned, and everyone wanted to try it.

We finished off the evening with the movie "Up."  Lots of fun, giggly girls make for a great party.  Happy #11 Emily!

Mike Lee Election Night Party, take two

 O.K., so this party wasn't nearly as suspenseful or exciting as the one back in June, but this was the real deal, where my brother Michael officially became Senator-elect Lee.  It was a fun night, and great to have so many family members there.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves, too!

Emily, Jacob, Isaac, Allison, Carter, Wyatt, Sydney

Tara, Sydney, Emily

Bret, Emily, Tom, Cole.  Notice the cut in between Cole's eyebrows.  Earlier in the day at the sign waving, Cole got a little to excited with the sign and dropped it on his face.  Ouch.

Wyatt introduced Emily to a fun new game on the iPad, Cut the Rope.

Granato concedes, and Michael delivers his speech.