January 2015

January 24th we woke up to snow! When we went to bed I noticed there was a slight chance of overnight snow.  I was pretty skeptical, but sure enough, we got a pretty good dusting!

 The kids raced to the trampoline to jump in the snow. 

 Jarod loves jumping on the trampoline, and this was no exception. 

 Carly made a tiny snowman.

 Jack ate snow.  Daddy asked him later if he had been sure to check that it wasn't yellow....

 As soon as Josh got outside he started making snowballs and throwing them at his brother and sister.  Daddy got into a snowball fight with Jack and Carly.  Not sure who won, but Jack had a huge snowball!

December 2014

In December Connie snagged us tickets to the American Music Countdown Awards.  We maneuvered our way to the stage and actually got on TV! It was such a fun Girls' Night.

Here's a screen shot of us on TV that Monica's husband Matt texted to us.  The next day we watched ourselves and just about died at how many times we made it in the shot.  Hilarious!

This year we got a tree that was a little smaller than last year's.  The darn thing didn't take in but maybe a cup of water the entire month it was in our home. We kept lifting it out of the stand to cut the end off or drill holes in it, hoping it would encourage it to drink.  I was worried it would be brown before Christmas, but it made it!

We had a great Christmas.  The kids were beyond spoiled, and Mama and Papa were here to spend it with us.  We love having them with us.  It never seems long enough.  Papa got a selfie-stick from one of his high school students.  They gave it to me, and we had a lot of fun with it while they were with us.  

  

We continued our tradition of going to the nail salon for pedicures a couple days after Christmas.  Carly also got her hair cut. She looks so grown up.

 

Jack had been wiggling his two front teeth for weeks.  I finally pulled them out for him.  He was a real trooper. 

We took Mama and Papa to see the Stones River Battlefield.  It's incredible to think that such an important Civil War battle was fought so close to us. 

 

 Mama and Papa got the kids science kits for Christmas again this year.  They all loved it.  Josh did circuit boards with Papa, Jack did magnets and a solar car, and Carly grew a crystal garden.  Science is FUN!

 We were worried the solar car didn't work, but the sun finally came out enough to take it outside for a spin.  It worked great!

 For New Year's Eve we went to the Johnston's house for an awesome party.  The dads sat around talking and playing Mario Kart, and the moms sat around chatting and playing board games.  We made it to midnight and then booked it on out of there. 

The kids all got big Lego sets for Christmas.  Josh finally finished his.  It's quite the castle, with a working drawbridge and everything. 

November 2014

November 1st BYU played MTSU here in Murfreesboro!!

We had Thanksgiving lunch with the kids at school.  I was sick all week, so Jarod went to lunch with the boys.  I raced over to have lunch with Carly.  I had to park on the grass, and in the process almost ripped our bumper off.  Awesome. 

We had Thanksgiving dinner at home with our friends the Johnsons.  We made two different turkeys, since it was Jarod's first time smoking one.  They both turned out great.  Actually, Jarod's was amazing!!

October 2014

I always say that October is our busiest month.  This one did not disappoint.  Carly turned ten!! We had a Night Owl party.  She had several friends over for a late night party.  The girls decorated pillowcases that I sewed owl ribbon on to.  We played slumber party games, and had pizza, cake and ice cream.  It was a great party!

For Fall break we rented a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN with three other families.  It was such a fun vacation in the Smokey Mountains.  The scenery was beautiful, and the company was fantastic!

I love a good funnel cake!

The skeleton head made its way around the cabin. On our second night I found him waiting for me in our bed.  

We've made some great friends here in Tennessee. 


Carly got a bunny for her birthday! She named him Lucky Antonio Valdivieso.  

Shortly after we bought Lucky home, Little Jarod came down the stairs carrying him in this little purse.  He's a stinker!

A couple weeks after our trip to Gatlinburg we went on a campout with our friends to Fall Creek Falls.  The Colors were great. It was a freezing night, but nothing compared to our camping trip to the coast in California. 


The crew included us, the Johnstons, the Buchanans, the Johnsons, and the Burtons.  

Jack turned seven while we were camping!! We had a family celebration when we got home.  



The kids had a fun time dressing up for the ward Trunk or Treat.  I got to help plan and carry out the event with the YW.  We had an awesome spook alley.  The other leaders and I went to set it up earlier that day.  We tested the fog machine and set off the smoke detectors in the church building.  

  Everyone got a kick out of Little Jarod dressing up as Santa.