Christmas in California

We spent Christmas for the 2nd time in California and it was soooo FUN! Since the majority of his Immediate family lives in California it is very hard for us to get to spend time with them however the past 2 Christmas' we have been able to spend in California. Kip's mom and dad are leaving for a mission on Monday January 12th to the Mexico City, Mexico temple mission and we got to spend their last week with them at home. We packed up and left Tuesday December 23rd with his 87 year old grandma and drove what should have been a 12 hour trip in 16 hours. The roads were horrible and very icy, we saw around 15 car accidents some of which happened right in front of us. It was crazy but we finally arrived safely there. His brother and his wife, Aaron and Kristy were kind enough to let us stay with them the week and 1/2 we were there in California (Thank you, Christensen family!!!) We had so much fun with them and they treated so well! We spent Christmas morning with them and enjoyed watching the little ones open up their Christmas gifts. Although we were there 1 and 1/2 weeks we didn't spend as much time with everyone as we would have liked. Time seems to go by so fast and before you know it, it's time to go home. We enjoyed family parties, movies, games, tennis, basketball, moving, cleaning, warm weather, yummy food and good company. I loved getting to know his family a little better and seeing how much the kids had all grown up! We are excited for our new little California neice or nephew who will be coming soon!

We had the opportunity to go to the Fresno temple with his parents one last time before they left and it was so neat to be able to do that! We will really miss his parents but know they are off to do bigger and better things!

7 days until Christmas

Only 7 days until Christmas and I am so excited! I heard a really neat thing today at work that I wanted to share, it's about Christmas. A friend says that she does it every year for her neighbors and it helps them(herself included) remember the true meaning of Christmas. She buys a nativity set and delivers one peice a day leaving the baby Jesus until the day after Christmas, on the baby Jesus gift she leaves she asks the question, "Did you remember the true meaning of Christmas this year?". This helps her family and the families she is delivering it to remember the true meaning of Christmas. It's neat!

Christmas time is so fun and I love the feeling of it! It's neat to have so much time with your family, give things to people you love and even people you don't know, bake yummy things, smell the smells of Christmas time, enjoy laughter and remember our savior. This year I am definately able to remember our savior more because I am teaching it to the little ones in my primary class. It is an awesome reminder of why we even have Christmas!

We are leaving to California in 5 short days and I can't wait! It will be fun to see the California family and get to know them a little more. This is a special year as well because Kip's mom and dad are leaving for the mission. I am excited to be able to go and see them give there farewell talk and spend some time with them since they will be gone for a while.

15 days until Christmas

Only 15 more days until Christmas and 13 days until California. I'm so excited to be going to California for Christmas and I am loving this Christmas season. Working at Focus helps me remember that not all people are as fortunate as I am. I am grateful for the opportunities that come to me and for the smiles it brings to others faces when I am able to help!

Monday night we got to see Cache perform at his choir concert and he did so good! He looked very handsome and sang every song. I am grateful for him inviting us to come watch him.

Last night I got to go see my Grandpa and Grandma Barker with Cassie and Noah. We got to visit and enjoy the time spent together. They were so cute to go and get us all of this yummy food just for the visit we had with them.

Thanksgiving

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and it was a really fun day. We got to sleep in until 9 which is a rare treat, it felt really good! We visited my dad at my Grandma Jones' and then we had dinner at my Grandma Barker's with the rest of my family. It was really fun and we ate a lot of really yummy food! I got to hold Noah and Asher, both of which are getting so big already. Noah seems so much more alert and like he wants to smile already. Asher is talking and actually likes me to hold him and play with him now instead of always wanting his mom.

I got to talk with mostly all of my brothers and sisters and that is always nice. Caleb had a football tournament this weekend and won his first game in the tournament yesterday. I got to help Cache pass off some scout stuff and that was a lot of fun! Crystal and I planned a sleepover at my house next weekend. Jordan is busy dating new girls and has decided to move in with my dad instead of staying with his freinds which is a very good choice. :) Everyone else seems really good!

Kip went duck hunting this morning at 4:00 AM and I missed him tons! He came home with 3 nice ducks but said it was the coldest hunt he's been on in awhile and thinks it will be his last this season. We ate the duck for dinner tonight but it wasn't very good, I guess I'm not much of a duck person.

Duck hunting and Baby Noah

Kip went duck hunting with his cousin James awhile ago but we hadn't seen the pictures from the hunt. Kip just got them and wanted to post them. There is a picture of Kip and one of his cousin James' dog, Sadie. Kip thinks that she was one of the most amazing dogs and very beautiful!

As you know little Noah was born last Friday early in the morning so I am posting a picture of him while at the hospital visitng. He is so freakin cute!

It's finally baby time.....

I got a call from an excited Cassie today at around 4:30 saying she was going to be induced tonight at 5:30. So I rushed to call Cassie and rushed home to fix Kip dinner then rushed to the hospital. Here we are at 11:30 Pm and she is has just gotten her epidural and is hopefully going to have him soon. It's hard to see her in so much pain but is so exciting because a new little one will be here soon! While Cassie was getting her epidural I walked down to the nursery and saw cute little baby twin girls, just born one with blond hair and one with dark hair. They were so cute!!

Basketball and horses

Here are some pictures of Kip playing basketball and playing with the horses. We bought a basketball a couple of weeks ago and now Kip is able to play anytime, he loves it! The horses are Burke's horses but they live in our backyard so we go visit them once in awhile. It's really fun having them in our backyard since we get to see more of Burke's family!