I did it. I've been threatening to do it for the last couple years, but I finally did it this year. What did I do? I sent out Christmas cards with our blog address on it, so I could put off my family letter longer. So, this is now my "official" family Christmas letter update.
It's going to be brief because you can go through my blog and look at pictures and read more about everything.
Nikosha is 8 years old now and in 3rd grade. She got baptized this summer by her dad. This last year she danced, played soccer, and played the piano. But her favorite thing to do is stay at home. She'd rather have friends come over then go anywhere and she'd rather stay at home and baby-sit then have to run errands with me.
Katelyn turned six this year and started kindergarten. She also danced, played soccer, the piano, and t-ball. She loves to go to school and is quite the opposite of Nikosha when she was in kindergarten. Katelyn doesn't really care that she's away from mom at all. We miss having her at home, though, because she's always so happy and easy-going.
Kenzi is four (going on 16). She also danced last year and with her blond hair and spunky attitude we thought she'd love to be on the stage, but she kind of froze up a little bit, but was still super cute. She started preschool this year with a couple of other kids in the neighborhood and she loves to go see her friends from school. She's always busy trying to get a lot of attention and we love her for it!
My baby boy, Kyler, turned into a toddler this year and he is 100% boy. He loves to run, throw, hit, and just be wild. He is such a happy kid and so fun to watch, but sometimes a little hard to keep up with.
As for me and Nate, we got to take a vacation this summer. We first went to Colorado for my high school reunion and then went to Cancun for a whole week with my parents and all my brothers and sisters. My brother, Tyler, served his mission there so along with doing the fun tourist things, we also got to go to church and go to dinner with some families from Mexico.
Our family also had the opportunity to go to Arizona this summer and go visit my grandparents, aunts, uncle, and cousins. It was a long drive with the kids, but sooo worth it. We had a blast! It was the last time in this life, though, that we were able to see my grandma, Booma, because she passed away the following month from lung cancer. We will miss her so much, but are very glad we had that opportunity to share that time with her. My grandpa, Papa, is now living with my parents just a couple miles away. We love to be able to see him often!
We truly hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas this year! Remember why we celebrate and don't let all the worldly items get in the way of celebrating the birth and life of our Savior. We love you!
Leave a comment and let us know you dropped by to read our blog. (Okay, there was nothing "brief" about that, sorry.)
Our girls were cheerleaders again this year for the High school fundraiser. (Them and 80 other little cheerleaders.) They loved to get their face painted and get their hair all done cute for the performance, but they didn't have that much fun practicing. It was for an hour and a half for three nights in a row. Kenzi's attention span isn't nearly that long and Katelyn saw Kenzi having fun messing around so she kind of ran wild too, but Nikosha had a lot of fun being a cheerleader. They even did some stunts and lifts with her age. I could see her being a cheerleader some day. After we explained to Katelyn that she couldn't run around and she needed to pay attention, she worked very hard and learned a lot.
Today the girls decided they wanted their faces painted. So we got out the craft paint and put a couple dribbles on paper plates and painted their faces. After that it turned into a "craft project" that kept my kids entertained for over an hour. All you need is some paint, a paper plate, and paint brushes (q-tips worked just fine too). And they had a blast with it, so they made sure I took all of their pictures with their plates they decorated.
Then, to begin our 2010 year, Roman (Nate's brother) and Roberta (his wife) came up to visit from Utah. Roberta's brother, Eduardo, was also here visiting from Brazil.
