General Conference Packets

So I don't know if anyone else has a hard time, but we struggle getting our kids to sit and pay attention to General Conference. Last session I printed off Abby some worksheets and she sat with me through almost all of the sessions working on them. Sugar Doodle has the best worksheets, and this year has coloring pages of the General Authorities for the younger kids too. I just printed off our packets and thought I would share them with you too, SugarDoodle.net. It should have the link on the top of the page, and then you can download them and make your copies. I hope that you enjoy them as much as we have.

Details

Thank you everyone for your well wishes and comments! We are so excited. The kids are dying to see the baby already. Nate is hoping it comes on Friday. It is going to be a long six months! We are due September 12. My sister in law and I both announced to our families on Sunday. We are due 3 days apart. It will be fun having cousins close. I am feeling great, and go in for my first official appointment next week. So I will keep you all updated.

A Side Note

Family Pictures: $40
New Matching Clothes: $35
Bribes for good behavior: $7
Knowing that there are really six people in this picture: Priceless

New Pictures

I called my friend Leslie on the last minute possible, and she happily agreed to do a family photo shoot for us. It turned out amazing. I have never been a big fan of my own pictures, and I have to say that I can't stop looking at these. I absolutely love them all, and cannot choose a favorite. If you would like to see the rest of our pictures, and some more of her fantastic work, please check out her blog. foreverphotographybyleslie.blogspot.com Thank you so much for taking our pictures Leslie, I will love them forever!

Johnny & Mysha

My little brother got married this last weekend. It was very nice. It took place in Morgan, and we enjoyed staying a hotel with the kids and relaxing for the weekend. Here is all the handsome Brother-in Laws and Brothers on my side. (I guess my dad is in there too!)
Here is Johnny and Mysha walking down the aisle after becoming Mr. and Mrs. Harold! That one was weird for me, this is the first sister-in-law, and hearing my maiden name is now someones married name threw me off a little. But I couldn't be more excited. We love Mysha, and she will be a great addition to our family!
Here is my brothers Michael and James, the best man and the ring bearer.
I had to sneak in a picture of me, because one...they rarely happen, and two...I had to show off my new hairstyle. I had it dyed and cut this weekend, and I am really liking it.
This is where we found Nate, helping himself to the cake. It was a very cute cake...their colors were turquoise and pink.
Someone got their car, wish it was me, but someone else found it first. They did a great job too! Congratulations Johnny and Mysha!

Christmas

We had a great Christmas. The kids were so cute, they woke up and then tried to wake up Leah. She wasn't quite ready. We knew she had gotten up, but she hadn't joined us by the tree so Rich went looking for her. He found her in the hall leaning against the wall, still asleep. As soon as she realized there were gifts she found her energy.
These giant boxes are the kids' pillow pets from my friend, Jolene. They are treasures around here. We sleep on them every night and then haul them around all day!




Here is the aftermath. All Abby really asked for was a banana chair, and thankfully Santa came through for us.

Christmas Parties

For Christmas this year we celebrated with Richs family the day after Christmas. It was so much fun, and great that everyone was there. Including Grandma Perry. My kids love to play with their cousins and it so much fun and chaotic when we are all together. I wouldn't change it for anything.

The kids are playing christmas songs with chimes, they had a lot of fun with it.
Here is Samantha with Rich, he loved it that she was happy with only him. She loved playing peek a boo with his hat.


At my parents house we have our party on Christmas eve. My uncle Gregg every year reads The Polar Express. The kids love it, and someone is always hiding in the room with a bell to ring.

We do the nativity, this year Abby was Mary, with the newest baby in our family. Charitys little baby Tyler. They were all so cute, and they love to get dressed and acting out their rolls while Grandpa reads the story from the scriptures.


For the gift exchange, whoever wants to participate brings a gift. We did Emergency Preparedness items, or Food Storage. Everyone puts their gift in the middle and draws numbers. Number 1 goes first, and then so on. As you play it, you can take a gift from the middle or steal one that has already been opened. Its a lot of fun, especially if you bring the gift that everyone fights over. It was a great Christmas, and we love to spend it with our families, I love that both of our families are close and we get to see them often.

Winter Fun

One day last week, I heard the door close and I quickly followed to find out what was going on. I knew Nathan was getting on his snow clothes to go to the backyard and play with the tubes. Leah decided to follow. She dressed herself in her hat, gloves, coat and boots, and wanted to be in the fun. Apparently we don't have any good hills in the backyard to slide, so the trampoline was the next best option.

Gingerbread Houses and Christmas Tree

It is a Rowley tradition to make gingerbread houses every year. My kids look forward to this for weeks. This year they were each able to make their own. Abby then helped Leah with hers. They have loved sneaking candy off of their houses every day.

Here is our Christmas Tree. I have loved it, and I think the kids did a great job of decorating it.

Merry Christmas, and I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season!

Cutting Down Our Christmas Tree

This year we thought it would be a lot of fun to take the kids and cut down our own tree. Not to mention its cheaper than buying one from a lot. We bundled up everyone and headed out. It was so much fun. We had to get out a couple times and take closer looks at some trees, but in the end we found a great one.


I know they are kind of dark, it was getting dark fast out there. Abby is helping Rich pull the tree across the little stream that they had to cross. They loved helping Rich use the saw and Leah and I were content to stand and watch. It was so much fun and I think a new tradition for our family. As soon as Rich downloads the rest of the pictures you can see a final product. It fits prefect for our house and I love the smell of fresh trees. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!