Chocolate cake and Grandparents...

Grandpa Joe and Grandma Leslie stayed with us for a couple of days, so we wanted to have a special cake for them. It was chocolate and cookies and cream, and it was delicious! We also had fun playing in the manner of the adverb with them. It's so fun that our kids are old enough to play the same games that the adults like to play now!

Scarlett pimpernell

Andrea played the part of Madame Tussaud in the Scarlett Pimpernel, at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse! She did a wonderful job, and the kids loved watching her perform! It was my first time seeing the play, and it inspired me to read the book too since several friends said it is their favorite! The book is different than the play, but I love both of them! Now the kids are anxious to track down the movie from the 80's so we can watch it together!

Full of crepes...

The many faces of Blaze! This one says "I'm such a greedy piggy and ate too many crepes with chocolate custard and cream and I can't even bear to smile for a picture!"

Paul's Blue and Gold Banquet...

This year's theme was a Luau, and Paul was so excited that his awards came with a candy lei. We also got to bring home one of the table decorations...a gold fish! I wasn't too happy about this, but we already had food from fish he bought at school last year so he convinced me. He lived for less that 24 hours though :( I think it may have had something to do with all of the kids "petting" the goldfish during dinner!

Cousin play day...

We had the day off and headed up to Layton to hang out with the cousins! Alanna had so much fun taking care of Presley and playing in her little kitchen. She also helped Peter and Max on this fun car ramp. We got to eat lunch and dinner there and even hang out with Caleb after he returned from work. James took the boys up to snowboard at Beaver Mountain with some friends from our ward. They had a good time, but it was a really long drive!

Queen of hearts...

Lane Peirce received some pay back from the Primary Presidency one again! Michelle made this heart costume with Primary songs taped to it, and the kids had to shoot an arrow to pick a song! He's always a good sport, and of course we all enjoyed laughing at him!

Valentines Day 2017!

Blaze was thrilled to get a bag of Valentine's from his Kindergarten class, especially a mini box of chocolates from a special girl named Lilly!

Paul cheated a bit and used some of our Hawaiian decorations for his box.

Jackson was happy to create a Chewbacca themed box for Alanna!

I got a special Valentine treat from Cassie. She sent a text while I was out to say that she left something on our doorstep. I got home 10 minutes later, and a couple of deer were checking out the box right on our doorstep. They turned their heads and watched me enter the garage, and then went back to poking at my treat. Luckily, no harm was done and I shared my pastry with Blaze!

Happy New Year's 2017!

We spent a wonderful day up at Snowbird skiing/boarding. Blaze decided to make the switch from boarding to skiing for now, so that day was his first time on skis. We had so much fun watching him fearlessly glide down the bunny hill and only falling a few times! The weather was warm when we were all bundled up in snow clothes, and it felt so good to be out in the sunshine.

We got home around 6pm and I enlisted every one's help in making the Chinese food dinner they wanted. I never thought we would come to the day when everyone was capable of working in the kitchen chopping and frying etc. With all of us working together, we had stir fry, won tons, pot stickers, and several appetizers on the table in just over an hour! Then we watched "Finding Dory", which was not our favorite Disney movie we've watched. Once again, Caleb gave us these lanterns to light for the New Year. It was so foggy and dark outside that we felt like we were in a scene from Harry Potter! We couldn't even see the lanterns for very long after they took flight. Each of the kids made a resolution as they let their lantern float off into the abysmal darkness. The sound of celebratory fireworks were in the air, but we couldn't even see their patterns in the sky.

I have been reading and listening to the set of "Happier" books and pod casts lately. The author often talks about how research shows that the more experiences you have, the slower time goes. For one who doesn't have enriching experiences, time speeds by. I don't agree! I feel like we just can't cram enough into the days and weeks and it is flying by faster than I would like! Jackson and Paul will continue to take guitar lessons this year, Paul has decided to join swim team, Alanna will start her dance competitions soon, and Blaze is finishing up his first season of basketball. We are counting down the days until our trip to Oahu where we are sure to make memories that will last a life time. Life is so sweet right now with so much to look forward to in 2017!

Great Escape Room...

This didn't turn out to be the greatest "groupie" the computer took for us, but it was such a great night to be out with the adults in my family! We went to a zombie escape room in Layton, and we actually escaped with time to spare! James and I both thought this was the most fun we've had out of the 4 rooms we've done, and it was a first for the rest of the group who all said they want to do another! It was very well decorated and we had a guide who stayed in the room with us the entire time who stayed in character and gave us vague clues when we needed them. It was enough to help us get on the right track, but enough to still make us work for it! Afterwards, the plan was to eat at the Cheesecake Factory, but when we found out if would be a four hour wait for this group plus mom, dad, and gran, we opted for the food court at City Creek instead!

It didn't matter that we couldn't eat at the Cheesecake Factory, because getting to hang out with my family is still my favorite thing to do! It is fun to have all the kids around most of the time, but it's also fun to be able to have uninterrupted adult conversations too! I think we need to take the opportunity to schedule more group date nights with this bunch! I always feel so blessed to live in such close proximity to at least two of my brothers and their families! I love to be part of their lives and see how everyone grows and progresses. Hopefully we can work out a Perkins family vacation for this summer!