Family Photo Shoot

Before they went across the world to Kazakhstan for a year, James' brother-in-law and his lovely wife took some family pictures.  Here are just a few...

Thanks Kirsten and Scott.

The BIG event

There is a reason I haven't posted since December.  The basement.  Last December James and I decided it would be a good idea to get the basement finished...our goal?  Ella's baptism in "April".  April turned to May which turned to June 2nd.  We got it done one week before the company arrived for the big event and boy was it  A LOT OF WORK.  That's all I'm going to say about that.  I will probably post pictures soon since I know have oodles of free time.  But, for now, I wanted to show y'all how Ella's baptism went.  

Right before....she was totally bugged by the bare feet and baggy jump suit and almost called the whole thing off ( not really).  But she did tentatively ask me "Mom, what would you do if I decided to not get baptized?"  This as we are changing her into the jumpsuit.  I said "Oh, well, I would just try really hard to convince you". She was just feeling a little nervous about the new experience and was  o.k. when she saw her friend Isaac in the same getup.

Much happier in her white dress and fancy heels.  We are so proud of her and are really pleased with how seriously she took this step in her life.  She is such a sweet girl!

This cake was a group effort...the idea from my sister, Sarah, in Utah and the actually labor and moral support from my Mom and other sister, Marie, when they came for the baptism.  PS, thanks to Ruth for the great recipe. 

Another First

He had to revert back to crawling to get around, but he loves it!

Merry Christmas!

The Halloween Photos

We've got The Little Mermaid, a Chinese Fairy, and a Beauty Witch.

OH, don't forget the pirate! (my sister, Sarah, made this costume for her little boy a few years ago. Not pictured is the awesome boat she made that goes over the stroller.)

What do you do with all the candy afterwords? Hide it, throw it away? Let them binge until they are sick and never want to see another Snickers again? Fun times.

First Day of School

Cuties

They love school! No homework, yet, so that might be why. Yes, we start early in the year. That's because of our awesome modified calendar that lets us have a two week fall break and a two week spring break. Good luck this year Ella and Nina!

GNO

We had a wonderful night planned by my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Yummy food, fun facials, and beautiful make-up. :) The girls loved it!

Fun Night! Thank you, Joetta and Verretta