January 4, 2013...

January 4, 2013, was our 10 year anniversary! Ten years seems like such a milestone,

though it has flown by, life is pretty different than in was when we were first

married! James has had two jobs, three moves, we've purchased three homes, grown

to a family of six! (That's the craziest one!)

We spent the night at Little America, which is where we stayed the first night of our

honeymoon. This time, the room was a bit fancier! It was 8 degrees out that night,

so it was awesome to curl up on a couch by ourselves in the lobby with a raging fire

in their fireplace. They also have an indoor pool that connects to the outdoors, which

James just had to try out. He couldn't talk me into going outside in that weather! I really

enjoyed the hot tub though!

For dinner we ate at the Happy Sumo and had a delicious sushi roll and entrees. Then we

had to walk to the Starbucks at the Gateway and get hot chocolate to warm us up. At the

Clark Planetarium we saw a laser light show entitled "Rock on Demand" where the

audience votes on what songs we want to hear. I wouldn't have paid $9 for it, but it was

fun since we have season passes there! It was just so fun to relax and not worry about

the kids for such a long period of time.

They were in good hands, being watched by

Uncle Caleb. I got to drive Caleb's fast fast fast Maxima around Salt Lake too! It

made me dream for the day when James will finally give up his POC '95 Saturn

(aka pink rusted Barbie Ferrari) so we can get a sporty car. He just reminds me that

our mini van is a "sports mini van", whatever that means!

The kids "tattled" on Uncle Caleb when we got home and told us how he let Paul

drink homemade pancake syrup from the pot, how he finished up the salad out

of the serving bowl, and how they all had a slumber party in the family room. It was

an exciting time for them as well! So...hopefully for our 20 year we will be headed

our for a trip to New Zealand and Australia!



New Year's 2013!

 The kids and James spent the afternoon sledding with Uncle Steven and Stuart, and cousin Carissa. They were visiting from Oregon, so we don't get to see them much. Later, we headed up to my parents house where we all helped to make a Chinese dinner of won tons, pot stickers, orange chicken, and fried rice. We had peppermint brownie sundaes covered in homemade fudge sauce for dessert! Jackson was entertained for hours making a tower out of these cottage cheese containers. Yes, my dad consumes that much cottage cheese! It was a cool tower that reached the ceiling, but he had a panic attack whenever someone walked past it!

 Alanna and Peter are good buddies!

 It wouldn't be New Year's without wearing ridiculous paper hats and banging pans outdoors! We also played a few rounds of Telestrations. It's perfect for our family since there are so many players included, and the boys can play with us. They actually make the game so fun with their interpretations!

 

Our good friends, the Wongs, from California gave each family these cool napkins with our last name printed on it. Their daughter, Jennifer, seems to be very skilled with the silk screening. The Wongs always give us the most creative and thoughtful gifts for Christmas each year.

 

So, I have a couple of resolutions for 2013. 1) Enjoy the moment! As a mom I find myself always in a rush thinking about what I need to do/plan next. I really need to relax a bit and just enjoy each moment while it is happening. Easier said than done! 2) I really need to look outside myself and be more thoughtful of other's needs. I can be a more attentive friend, converse with the grandma who strikes up a random conversation at Walmart, and just look for opportunities to perform little acts of service. I get way too caught up in my life, and it is a very good blessed life. I have a tendency to forget that not everyone is riding so smoothly at this time, and I can reach out to them.

Fly on the wall...

Jackson was discussing the reality of Santa Clause with his friend, Emerie:

 

Jackson: Paul thinks Santa isn't real, but I just don't know what to think!

 

Emerie: Well, I think Santa is real because my parents would never get us something expensive like a

DS for Christmas!

 

Jackson:  Well, my parents are pretty cheap too. But, that could be part of the trick. Maybe they act like they are cheap all year long, and then get us really cool presents. Then we will think Santa is real!

 

Emerie:  Yeah, that could be right.

 

 

So Jackson and Emerie are 8. Paul and Masey (Emerie's sister) are 6, and they are certain they have Santa all figured out. It's mom and dad that buy the presents and eat the cookies! Pretty funny!

Clark Planetarium...

My parents gave us all an annual membership to the Clark Planetarium for Christmas. They have some really cool interactive educational displays. The coolest thing is we can see all of their documentary IMAX movies for the whole year! We have already taken advantage of this a few times. It's great for the kids to be entertained while they are learning about space or nature.

 Taking a walk on the moon

Our "Hawaiian" Christmas!

 We were so excited to announce to the family that we are going on a trip to Hawaii in May! On Christmas morning, we asked the kids to get on their swim suits before coming downstairs. It was funny because they wanted to know where they were going, and Paul said "Jackson, we are going to Hawaii!". Their interest had been sparked because of a Christmas card we got from the Wong family. They were in Hawaii and included "Chief Seilu", in the picture. The boys were talking about wanting to meet him! Perfect!

 We had a day of Hawaiian food and drinks! Okay, some of it you can just classify as "tropical" like our Hawaiian Lava drinks. They were pina colada's with strawberry puree. But, our kids would not eat poi and other native cuisine of that like!

 I finally whispered the "secret" into Alanna's ear, and she shouted "We are going to Hawaii!". Paul had an attitude of "duh, I already said that", while Jackson sat with a gaping mouth like "are you serious? Fo real?" They are excited, although riding an airplane will take some convincing with Alanna.

 James and I spent two weeks in Maui for our Honeymoon, and we always have said we would go back for our 10 year. This time we will have 4 kids in tow :) It will be an adventure for sure!

 Great Gran Perkins gave Alanna this finger paint set. It was perfect since she begs for one every time we pick out a b-day present for a friend.

 And behind this door...Santa presents.

 Blaze is obsessed with Thomas the train, and this is a really cool set of automatic trains that carry coal through the city. I think James was just as excited about it as Blaze was.

Jackson's main wish was this very specific blanket. We went to Hobby Lobby and he picked out the fabric and ribbon to let Santa know just what he expected. He also got 15 Ronald Dahl books, a frisbee, Pringles, and I can't forget to mention the chocolate covered cherries!

 The Barbie Cruise Ship was just what Alanna ordered! I have to say, I think this is a toy that James also enjoyed just as much as Alanna did. It is really cool!

Proof that I am a very unselfish and thoughtful mother right here :) Paul wanted a Utes blanket, rival to our Alma Mater - BYU! He also got some Ronald Dahl books and has enjoyed reading "The Twits", a football, and of course, chocolate covered cherries.

 Proof that we do buy our kids shoes! We'll see how long it is before Jackson has multiple holes in these!

For Christmas dinner, we had a fabulous Hawaiian pizza. You can sort of see my fruit arrangement of palm trees in the sand. Pinterest is so much fun! James and I said we wouldn't get each other anything since our big gift is Hawaii. I surprised him with tickets to an upcoming Bon Jovi concert though. He was very surprised and excited! I received a nice "love letter" from James on Christmas day.

Visiting the "Mall" Santa...

 I just had to throw in this picture of little stinker cheeks! He made off with a pack of candy canes meant for the Primary kids! His face says "I'm so clever, Mom!"

 My Mom likes to have an official family shot of all the kids with Santa. It's only been in recent years (meaning the past 4!) that I have been able to opt out! It was so cute to watch my kids, and Peter, line up to meet Santa.

I've got another post about this, but Paul is the only one who is a firm believer that Santa "isn't real"! Jackson is undecided, and of course the little ones esteem him as a magical part of Christmas still. 

Christmas Eve Fun ...

Lots of fun sledding in the Perkins backyard! Uncle Caleb made a series of snow forts in the front yard out of the piles of snow too! Last year we didn't even get to go sledding once, so YAY for snow!

 Christmas Eve dinner, following a fun day of sledding and playing board games, and pictures with Santa.

 K.C. "got" to wear a cute Christmas sweater and provided much entertainment for the kids as she ran around chasing them and her new favorite doggy toy.

 Two new Perkins baby boys are "baking" and are due to arrive in March within two weeks of each other. SOOO exciting!

 Our innkeeper for the nativity play.

 The play was narrated, directed, and produced by Mr. Jackson Williamson. I think he's got the job for several more years since he nailed it! He is sporting our grandpa's (his great grandpa's) bright red smoking jacket for the occasion.

 Our main musician, Uncle Andy who can play anything by ear. Aunt Andrea sang a beautiful solo, as did Uncle Caleb (not so beautiful but very heartfelt!) I played my song of the year "Joy to the World", accompanied by everyone.

Peter and Blaze are OBSESSED with Curious George, and this is Peter's excitement as he opened the Curious George shirt we gave him. Blaze got an identical one, and he wants to wear it everyday now :)

 Grandma Ce-Ce and Poppy gave Alanna this doll that is as big as she is! She has named her Goldilocks and takes very good care to feed her and put her down for naps. Uncle Andy pointed out that Goldilocks could be the sister Alanna never had. Alanna quickly replied "yeah, but I'd rather have a REAL baby sister!" Dream on...

 Paul and Jackson got Beywheels and Beyblades from their grandparents. They are all the rage in our neighborhood right now, and James and I have found them to be very addictive to play with. We were also given season passes to the Clark Planetarium, so we can watch every single IMAX movie there for free!

 One of the highlights of the night was opening presents and finding out that we got Caleb and Lauren the same thing they got us - Telestrations! It's so funny because earlier in the day when we were playing board games, Lauren and I were asking each other if we had played the game and if we liked it etc. We did well for each other!

Isn't Cara gorgeous? If she and Andy get married and have kids, they are destined to be super models :)

 More Beyblades from Great-Gran Perkins to go with his track.

 Alanna wants these finger paints every time she sees them at Hobby Lobby - great shopping Great-Gran Perkins. She also got a huge pack of sticker earrings from Luke and Andrea that she is loving.

 My dad picked out this Northface backpack for James so he can transport his laptop to and from work safely. James is so in love, and that's saying a lot because he is VERY picky about backpacks!

The ever growing Perkins family! We are so blessed to all live in close proximity to one another. This is what "makes" Christmas for me - my family!