Early season ski

We've had such amazing snow so far this year, we couldn't help but sneak up to the mountains today to ski.  It was worth braving the crowds just to be there!  The snow was great and a day on the mountain this early in the year for us was such a treat!  We'll be back soon I'm sure.

 

Christmas 2021

We love Christmas and love that we have family around to celebrate with us!  This year my grandma Iverson came to town and spent the holiday with us.  We were so happy to have her!  It has been a lot of years since we've had here in Utah, so we felt so lucky to spend this year with her.  On Christmas Eve, Caleb and Hayley and Grammie, Papa and Great Grandma Iverson came for dinner and all the Christmas Eve festivities.  We did the nativity and had french dip sandwiches which are traditional at our house.  It's so fun to see the kids all dressed up and acting the story out.  

After we opened pjs, all the kids crowded into the same bed like they always do on Christmas Eve.  They are always so excited and can barely sleep in anticipation.  A couple of them try to stay awake to hear Santa, but eventually they all drift off to sleep.  

Christmas morning is a whirlwind of fun and wrapping paper!  We try to keep a little control and open our sibling gifts first which is always super fun to see what everyone got each other.  Then we open just one gift at a time so we can watch what everyone got.  With a few extra people in the house it took some time, but it was so great to have a houseful!  It's so fun to see who gets excited about which gift and which thing ends up being a favorite.  I love this morning so much!

While the kids were busy trying to hear Santa on Christmas Eve, Josh, Papa and I were playing Santa's workshop downstairs in the boys room.  We have been thinking about doing bunkbeds in their room for such a long time and decided this was the year we would actually do it!  So along with the signs we've been collecting for year and the beddy's that I've been waiting to use forever as well, we finally got this room done and put together for their Christmas present.  It was definitely a win!  They were so excited about it and I know this room will take a beating in the years to come.  But for now these boys are excited about it!  Merry Christmas to all!

 

Christmas party in Delta

Justin and Steph invited us all down to their new home in Delta for a Christmas party.  It was the perfect way to get all the cousins together and exchange gifts...and eat of course! Their house turned out so nice and we were excited to get to be there with them.  We love being so close to family and just cherish the chance to get together with them when we can!  

 

Christmas lights

We took the young women to see the Christmas lights at a light show in South Jordan tonight.  We all crammed into the back of Stacie's truck, drank hot chocolate, snuggled under the blankets and enjoyed the show!

 

Sub 4 Santa

This year as a family we decided to do Sub 4 Santa.  We found two families that needed a little extra for Christmas and chose them to be able to help out.  It was so fun for all of us to be able to buy gifts for the kids in the families and then wrap them together.  We all loved knowing what ages and how many kids were on our minds as we shopped!  We set out to deliver the presents tonight and it was super special to be able to place all the presents under their tree and see how excited they were about it.  Such a cool thing to do together as a family and get to know these cute families throughout the process! Merry Christmas!

 

Covid shots

We took the plunge and got the kids their covid shots today.  With us traveling back and forth to Puerto Rico so much it makes it so much easier to have the shot than to have to test every time we go.  The kids were on board so we did it!  And they were champs about it.  No covid for us!

 

Too Small

I think this one has outgrown his ski clothes from last year...

Or did he just somehow fit into a younger brother's clothes?  All I know, he's getting too tall!

 

Snow

The snow we have gotten the last couple days is just incredible.  And that sky to go along with it?  Just what winter dreams are made of.  

 

Superhero math

Keen reached superhero status today in math and was officially made a member of the superhero club in a ceremony at the school today! He really loves math and works hard at it.

 

5th grade store

It's 5th grade store time and Liev has been working hard on his projects!  His team decided they wanted to do clay are so he got busy molding and baking all sorts of shapes and putting them on keychains, earrings, bracelets and everything else he could think of.  It's such a great way for these kids to learn how to make a business, prices their items and work hard selling what they made.  I love seeing them hard at work!  He has been so excited to do it and I love walking around to see all that the kids have made.  Such a good day for this boy.

 

Band party

Rease and her band got together tonight for a Christmas party.  I'm not really sure how they got Santa there but it just wouldn't be a Christmas party without him!  Rease loves these friends of hers and I love that they are such good, fun kids to be with.  Merry Christmas all around!

 

Christmas with Papa and Grammie

One of our favorite traditions with Papa and Grammie is our annual Christmas dinner with just them.  We love the one on one time with just our family and the two of them!  It's a night to enjoy eating dinner, opening our gifts from them and just hanging out until late listening to Christmas music.  It's always one of our favorite nights of the season and we're so glad we live close enough to enjoy it with them!

 

Shoveling snow

This boy.  He loves the snow and he loves to shovel it.  He's the best helper when it comes to clearing off the driveway on a fresh powder day.  Love him and his get up.  The cutest thing on the planet!

 

Wrapping gifts

Getting all ready for Christmas around here and the best way to do that is wrap gifts while listening to some Christmas tunes.  That's just what we did today as we wrapped cousin and siblings gifts together!  It's the most wonderful time of the year!

 

Christmas band concerts

The girls had their Christmas band concerts tonight and it was so fun to go watch them perform. 

Rhen has loved her beginning band class so far and is playing the tenor saxophone alongside her best buddy JT.  I have to admit that beginning band group sounded a lot better than I expected for their first concert! They did some really fun Christmas songs and played really well together as a group. The saxophone just seems to fit Rhen and her style. Love that girl. 

Rease performed after with both her symphonic and jazz bands and they did amazing. I especially love listening to the jazz band and their music!  Rease has been playing the piano in jazz band and had a couple solos tonight in the concert. She did awesome. 

We love listening to these girls and seeing what they have been working so hard on this year. 

Weirdos

Tonight we went out to eat pizza with the Hammers and my kids were in one of those moods…They seem to bring out the goofy side of each other when we all get together!

Christmas Card

 

Tree lot

Rease is working at the tree lot again this year and had a super successful first day!

 

Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is up and we're all ready for the holiday!

 

Candy Day

Candy day is one of our favs of the whole year!  Lots of chocolate and sweets pumping out of this kitchen today.  

 

Thanksgiving 2021

We had such a great Thanksgiving this year! With lots of the Beutlers in town it made for a great and large group at our house for dinner!  Sid and Dan and their family and Dixie and Scott came to town.  Whitney and Ty drove down from Idaho and the rest of the locals all gathered.  It was so fun to be together as a family and celebrate this wonderful day together!

 

Gym

Rhen just started going to the gym and today was leg day for this girl!  Love that she is trying and doing her best!

 

Movies

We took the young boys to the theater to see the new Disney movie.  Luxury seats, popcorn and treats always make for a successful date!

 

Honors band

Rease auditioned for and was invited to be in an honors band for the Jordan School District. She was one of 4 French horn players and the only one from her school. It’s a great big honor for her and I’m so excited that she got to do this cool thing. They all took a couple of days from school and practiced together for a few hours a day. Then had one night where the whole honors band performed together. It was so cool to hear them and what they accomplished in just a few hours of playing together. They all do an incredible job  and performed their numbers beautifully. So proud of this beautiful girl and all she does!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

We took all the kids to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang tonight and it was sooo cute!  The kids all loved it and were totally entertained by the flying car and all the amazing props.  So well done!

 

Rease 9th grade

Rease is king of the school in 9th grade and loves that she is technically a "freshman" this year.  She loves her classes and especially her jazz band class which is an early morning class (6:30 am).  She works hard and gets good grades and has a great group of friends.  So proud of this girl and all she does!

 

Rhen 7th grade

Rhen LOVES 7th grade and not just because she's no longer in elementary school.  She likes having 8 different classes and has had a blast meeting new people from other schools.  She has a great group of girl friends that love to giggle and talk about boys!  And once in a while she squeezes in some school work.  She's a great student and was nominated for and outstanding academic achievement award!  Love this girl to pieces!

 

Liev 5th grade

Liev has a great 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Panter, and has done really well in her class so far.  He has a mind for math and really loves it and also loves solving riddles and puzzles of all types.  His mind works in a different way than mine does and I love him for that!  I can't believe this boy is already in 5th grade...

 

Keen 4th grade

Keen loves his 4th grade teacher, Mr. Brown, and I admit I think he's a great teacher too!  I've volunteered in the class a handful of times and love his teaching style and how he makes it fun and different for the kids.  He loves Keen and has so much good to say about him and how he treats people in class.  I love to hear that and am not surprised.  He's such a great kid!

 

Beck 2nd Grade

Beck is doing awesome in 2nd grade and has a great teacher, Mrs. McCarty.  She makes them work hard and get lots of good things done in class.  He is sooo good at math and reading and also just received the principal's pride award!  Such a smart boy!

 

Desh Kindergarten

Desh is having a blast in kindergarten this year and loves his teacher Mrs. Hernandez.  She has nothing but good things to say about this boy and his hard work in class.  He practices his sight words every day and knows all his letters and numbers.  And his favorite thing to do right now is imagine learning on the computer.  Love this big boy!