"Tis the Season

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  Isaac was tall enough to reach the top of the tree this year (with help).

 

 

Our holiday season was full of concerts and performances.  First was the Franklin Winter Sing which was amazing.  Jacob's group sang, "Let a Little Christmas Fill Your Heart," "The Snow Song," and "Sing a Song for Hanukkah."

 

Noah was simply the star of the show in the Taylor Combined Band and Chorus concert.  He was awesome as the bell ringer in "Carol of the Bells."

Jacob played a fun "The Twelve Days of Christmas" in the Franklin Band Concert.

 

The Kindergarten Sing is always so sweet.  I cried a little when I realized it was my last.

 

 

Isaac was so handsome singing with his friends.  His favorite song was "Kindergarten Jingle Bells," where they sang about the things they have been learning this year.

 

My favorite song was one with the line: "The very best part of Christmas time is the love you give away."

 

These are two of Isaac's new friends this year: David and Lui.

No-Shave November

This is December 1st, the day Spencer shaved his month-long beard growth.  We had to use the haircut clippers first, then the electric razor.  What's funny is that if you notice the clock behind Spencer, you will see that we were going to be very late for school.  Spencer brought his razor in the car and it ran out of batteries when he was only half done.  We were freaking out as we pulled up to pick up Jacob Heslop, who saved the day by loaning us his straight razor.  We drove like crazy to the school and made it in the "nick" of time.  Pun intended.

 



On The Way Home

As we usually do, on the way home to Arizona, we stopped in St. George to spend the night and to see all of our "Allen" cousins.  It was funny how it worked out.  We arrived there about 30 minutes before Emily and her family had to leave, so we just barely had time to gather everyone and snap a few family pictures.

 

I love this picture of Grant up in the backyard tree.

 

Then the fun began. It's always perfect timing in St. George to be able to "leaf fight" over Thanksgiving.  The kids have a riot throwing the leaves at each other.

 

 

And then the traditional attempt to rake them back up so Grandpa doesn't have to...

 

 

...which always ends with attempted buryings and more leaf fights.  Poor Grandpa.

 

Saturday

On Saturday morning we went to the annual Nativity display and performances at the Kaysville Tabernacle.  We loved the music and adored the amazing collection of nativities.

Once the kids had finished a scavenger hunt of the displays they settled in for drawing, coloring, and puzzles.

Even Spencer colored a picture!

Jacob and Isaac were so proud to hang their pictures on the children's art wall.

More family pictures!  This one is just Nana and Papa and the grandchildren.

And one of all of us.  Collin hardly knew what he was missing.

We were a little bit chilly being in Utah.  I thought this was so cute that Jacob and Isaac had found a patch of sunlight to curl up in.

Later on, we gathered for the traditional Trujillo Family party.  Spencer and Noah were all ears when it was announced that the enchiladas, rice, beans, salad, and desserts were ready.  I wish they would listen to me that quickly!

Pinata Time!  Isaac's turn:

And Jacob's turn:

It really was so great to visit with so many of the Trujillo cousins that we don't ever get to see otherwise.  Family is Everything.

Black Friday

Our Black Friday shopping this year was done primarily in the afternoons, avoiding most of the late-night and early-morning frenzy.  I kind of missed that rush but savored my sleep!

Friday night Jon treated all of us to a cheese bar.  He had received an array of crazy-flavored cheeses for his birthday and we all got to try them.  Crackers and grapes rounded out the tasting session.  We laughed so hard at the look on our faces as each person tried the super flaming hot cheese spread.  It was really fun!

Spencer is the oldest grandchild and Collin is the youngest.  Spencer just adores his cousin!

My boys got desperately needed haircuts from Nana and then it was off to the movies!

Beautiful holiday displays made for some cute King family photo ops.

And finally, we got to see the new Muppet Movie!  We loved every second of that adorable show.  Mahna Mahna.

Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving!

We drove to Farmington this year to spend time with the Kings for the weekend.

The turkey dinner was yummy, and Nana even let me contribute a few "Allen-type" dishes: egg noodles, chocolate-pumpkin cheesecake, and holiday jello.

After dinner, we watched movies and browsed the Black Friday ads.  There was also a pretty competitive football matchup happening next door at the Arsenaults.

The teams were: Jeremy and Jacob King vs. Michael and Jacob Arsenault plus Isaac.

Isaac was so happy to be included!  They played for a long time and got nice and tired out.

Later that afternoon it was fun to get a visit from the Bean family for a little while, then the Carlson family showed up to spend a few days with us.  It was so great to pow wow with the cousins!

Fall Festival

I was just thinking that this was our 11th year attending the Franklin Fall Festival.  Goodness.  We go every year to support the school fundraiser and always have a great time.  I think we cleaned the game booths out of their prizes of footballs and basketballs this year.  Isaac and Jacob just couldn't stay away!  In addition to the usual rock wall and bounce houses was a new kiddie train that Isaac loved.  Jacob played percussion with the Intermediate Band in his first concert and ate six snow cones.  And I won a gift card to the Pei Wei restaurant during the Silent Auction.  All in all it was a great day.  Fun times.

Awards Banquet

 The Diamond

Members of the Pit

After all the marching band competitions were over, the band members and their families were invited to an end-of-season awards banquet at MCC. Noah and I got to go with Spencer. We ate our fill of Panda Express food and then were treated to a couple of hours of highlights and awards. It was a memorable evening for these super kids.  They are truly all diamonds in the making!

Time Out for Mom

I love Deseret Book's Time Out for Women events!  Every year it has been such an uplift and inspiration for me in my life.  This year Wendi and I went together and had such a fun time.  We loved hearing Brad Wilcox, Laurel Christensen, Matt Baldwin, Kris Belcher, Macy Robinson, Hilary Weeks, and D. Kelly Ogden as they shared their experiences and testimonies with us.  It was so great to just spend time with hundreds of women, laughing, crying, and feeling the Spirit.