Photo Dump

I will never catch up if I try to separate all of these pictures into individual blog episodes...hence, the blog dump!  We have done alot of activities and a whole lot of nothing during the Christmas break.  Here are the pictures to prove it!

We spent lots of time with the California Cushings...Eating, Playing and celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday.

After a project for our Christmas service we decided to stop at a local fave - Iceberg and wow, they look excited!

 Bowling is an annual must for this crew.

 Even the adults join in!

 Games at the Cushings...lots and lots of new games - some good and some gross (Aunt Heather's contribution...I might add that McKaleigh actually threw up during one of them!)

 It's really tough to get this crew all together - Props to Aunt Katie 8+ months preggers and she pulled it off!

 We even frosted cookies and held a white elephant with all of these kiddos!

 A quick and COLD stop at the Utes football game...

 And an annual Christmas break Hockey game - Go Grizzlies!

 One of my bucket list items was a stop by the Tree of Life in Draper.  It's pretty cool, but it was a very cold night, so we were in and out. The tree is cool because the lights actually sparkle!

 One of the only Christmas pictures we got was at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Christmas Eve.  We were missing Colton Christmas morning, so it was great to have a picture of all of the kids in the shot!

 We have a few more fun activities coming up....so get ready for additional pictures!

Annual Temple Square Trip

Every year we head downtown to Temple Square to see the lights and freeze!  This year we tried something new and ate dinner at The Lion House before heading out into the cold.  It was really yummy and a fun addition to our wintery trip.

 This year it was snowing pretty good when we went out, so it made for a short, quick trip!

Christmas Tree Cut Down

The past few years we have gone back and forth as to whether or not we should cut down our own tree or just stick with the tried and true "lot" trees.  Well, before I knew it, Brett had purchased a tag and we were on our way to find the perfect tree....If only it ended up that way!

We drove clear out West - for about and hour and a half, somewhere, and found the area on the map we were supposed to look for a tree.  Here we are starting out on our adventure.

 We all scouted around...and the trouble with that is that everyone has their own opinion as to what the "perfect" tree looks like.  We found all kinds of strange and "Charlie Brown" trees.  I think we ended up with one ourselves! Ha!

Here is a shot of Alex taking the first few whacks!

 McKaleigh patiently waiting while we chop...

 The kids goofing around!

 We all took turns hauling the tree back to the truck...Funny, bit it didn't look this sparse when we chose it or were chopping it.  I am convinced we lost some branches on the way down.

 Here it is...a little leaning to the left and wobbly, and a lot Charlie Brownish!

 But everyone looks happy.  Not sure we will go on that adventure again in the near future, but it was a learning experience!

Thanksgiving Point Scarecrow Festival

It seems like time is flying by and we are constantly trying to fit in fun adventures. We were able to go have a fun afternoon with Grandma Deb and the Cropper cousins.  It was everyone's first trip to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens during their Scarecrow festival. They had all kinds of Scarecrows set up with games and fun kids activities.  I think that everyone really enjoyed it!

My favorite scarecrow.  I think Day of the Dead is great!  I love the day of the dead faces and Book of Life is a great movie!

 Cousin pictures.

 Dad and his favorite scarecrow...a Ute football player.

 A rarely photographed kiss! 

I so enjoy family time, and wish we could spend so much more of it together.  It seems like everyone is growing up and getting so big...I hope we can always enjoy a good family adventure!

Alex and RSL

As we all know, Alex lives and breathes soccer!  This year he was chosen to represent Murray Max (the soccer club he plays for) on the field at a RSL game.  Here are a few shots...don't let his serious face fool you, he really had a great time!

Powder Puff

McKaleigh has been having a busy, fun, and exciting senior year.  She has joined in so many fun activities.  Here she is at the Senior Powder Puff football game.  It was a really cold, rainy night, but she was a trooper!

 We didn't know she had that kind of speed in her!

Homecoming

I know i've mentioned this before...but McKaleigh has the best group of friends!  They all swap around for dances and go as friends having a wonderful time.  Here are a few shots of her and Conner.

 During the morning/day these kids go on a "day date".  They all go together for a lunch at the park and then went bowling...where I heard that our graceful daughter fell down hard...That's our girl!

 We searched high and low for a cute/modest dress for this dance and I think we succeeded!  She looked stunning!

 The group of gals

 And everyone

 She is such a beauty, inside and out!

Scouting

Colton has been on quite a few scouting adventures....we have a wonderful troop that he is a part of!  Now that he is getting older, the trips are more physical and demanding.  This past venture was a hike, carrying in his food, gear, etc...He packed everything himself and secured it all tightly.  It was a success!  Here is a pic I managed to take before he was off! And yes, he wore shoes!

Camping at Scofield Reservoir

As most of you know, we are looking into getting a trailer...Momma just can't sleep on the ground and enjoy the ride anymore...(or I think it was ever, but I suffered).  We have found a few great options, but got to thinking, what if we buy one and we hate it!  Kind of silly to buy something you've never tried out, right?  So Brett found a place about 2 hours from home that had a trailer all hooked up and all you had to do was come and stay (kind of like a rustic hotel).  We tried it out and loved it!

This is a picture of the trailer...it was really deluxe inside - and we're glad we did it!

The first day we were up there... it was VERY windy and a little rainy/chilly.  So we stayed inside for a chunk of the day and watch movies and read books.  It was great to be warm and comfy inside!  We all kept saying how miserable we'd have been inside a tent....Spoiled, I know!

 The next days were just barely better.  McKaleigh and I tried kayaking and fishing which was a bust, because the wind blew us all over and the waves were huge.  Alex and dad went mining (i'll explain about that).  The general consensus was that fishing was the best activity.

 A few weeks ago, Alex bought this pick ax at Home Depot, with his own money.  He thought he'd try his hand at mining during our camping trips.  He little mind had planned that he was going to dig up all kinds of treasure.  Here's an accounting of what he found this trip...a few cool rocks, a few old lures, some bones and crap claws.  No gems, but better luck next time?!

 On day two the weather allowed us to kayak around a bit and for Mckaleigh to paddle board (she loves that)

 We did some more fishing...but didn't catch anything...we've got to figure this fishing pole thing out~

 So, over all it was a great experience!  We'd love to go with family and cousins when we get our trailer...and with the onsite rental, there'd be room for all!