The Bathrooms are Done!

Almost a year ago (really, almost an entire year!), we started remodeling our bathrooms.  We did some ourselves.  And by we, I really mean Greg.  I guess I picked out the paint, tile and counter tops, but he did the work.  We contracted out the tile and counter tops, but Greg did everything else:  painting the walls, painting the cabinets, replaced the light fixtures and mirrors and installing the back splash.
I love how they turned out!
The master bath:

The kid's bath:

I love these pictures!  I found them on Esty, shipped from Poland.

So fun!  And so glad they are done!

Daily Christmas traditions

The best part of Christmas is the traditions!  I love them.  It makes all the craziness worth it.
We have a lot of fun traditions, but the kids like our daily traditions the best.  It works out well that we have four kids, because we have four traditions each day.  I have a list.  Really.  I had to type up a list, day by day, of our traditions to keep it fair.  It's even laminated.
First tradition is our nativity calendar.  I painstakingly handmade this about 13 years ago.  I had fun with it and it is really a treasured family heirloom.  I'm thinking each child might get one when they get married because they all want it when they are 'old'.  Each day we put on a part of the nativity story.

Second tradition is our activity calendar.  It's a muffin tin with pieces of paper in each cup.  Written on each piece of paper is an activity.  This is where our big traditions come in.  On the days that we have a busy night, we do something simple - like our ornaments. Some nights we do bigger things - like make sugar cookies, decorate gingerbread houses, Temple Square, etc.

When the activity is an ornament, that child gets to pick one of 12 star ornaments to hang on the tree.  Each ornament has a name of Christ and a scripture to explain what the name means.

Third tradition is a Christmas book.  We have 24 Christmas books that I wrap and put under the tree.  Every night, a child gets to pick a book, unwrap it and we read it as a family.  They all get excited when their name is on 'book'.

Fourth tradition is the elf.  Now, our family does the elf differently because my kid's mom is exhausted and just can't add one more thing to her December.  She admires the moms who do because it looks like so much fun and their kids love it, but Fowler Mom is tired, stressed and honestly needed one more tradition to equal four!  So, when it is your night for the elf, you get to hide it and then your siblings try to find it.  The kids love playing this game and we usually hide it a few times a night.
Enoch made our elf an honorary chair to rest in at night.

Such fun every night (at least the nights that we have time!)

Zoo Lights

Even though we have had a pass to the zoo for a few years now, we have never been to zoo lights.  It just seemed too crowded and cold.  We decided to go this year so we could sneak in some more time with the Fords.
It was the perfect night to go.  It was so warm!  I couldn't believe how warm it was.  For a while, Enoch even took off his coat.  And, since we went one Booster night, it wasn't too crowded.  We were so spoiled!  It really was a fun way to start off our Christmas celebrating.
We saw a lot of lights:

 We danced to Christmas music:

We rode the carousel.  And we did see a few animals.  Greg was disappointed we didn't see more, but they were all asleep.  The bats in the reptile house were pretty creepy at night and the tiger was up and going.
It was such a fun night and I am so glad we went.

The Tree

I love getting our Christmas tree.  It signals the beginning of the season.  I love the smell.  I love walking into the kitchen in the early morning and having the glow of the tree light up the room.  I love sitting on the couch in the late evening, with the lights off, and having the glow of the tree light up the room.  It's magical!
We always get our tree at Smith's.  I know - it would be amazing if we hiked through the woods and cut down our own tree, but realistically, that is never going to happen.  Smith's has a great selection and good prices.
After we get it home, it's the process of standing it up straight with the least amount of bare spots showing.  Everyone has an opinion!

 And then the lights.  Yuck!  I make Greg do the lights.  This year we did spurge and replaced our multicolored lights with white lights.  They match our ornaments better and it just looks so pretty!  We accidentally bought white lights with white wire.  Greg was so brave and returned them to Target and bought lights with green wire on Black Friday.  He said the lines weren't too bad.  Thanks, sweetie!
And, then the decorating.  Everyone's favorite part.

Greg gets to put on the star every year (despite Enoch's whining), because he is the Dad (and I make him put on the lights.  There needs to be some kind of compensation for that!).

So beautiful!

(This picture was taken a few days after we initially decorated the tree.  You can see the bottom is already a bit disheveled!) 

Thanksgiving

This was my view for Thanksgiving dinner.  Beautiful!  We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Fowlers this year at Grandpa Dee's cabin.  It was a great year to be in the canyon - not too much snow to make it difficult to drive in, but enough to feel festive.
Dinner was delicious.  It was a bit tricky to get all the food up there, keep it warm and get it ready to serve, but we did it.  We brought sweet potatoes and the relish tray.  Gavin could only stay for 45 minutes before he had to head down for work, but he was able to snag some turkey, mashed potatoes and rolls before the rest of us ate.
After eating, we headed home, relaxed, watched a movie and had a great time doing much of nothing.  It was a fun day to spend with family.

We are Thankful

We were not as consistent with our Thanksgiving gratitude chain this year, but we did get in a few days.  So, in no particular order - we are thankful for...

Greg
tithing
Brandon Sanderson
job
Gavin
all good things I have
Grandpa Dee
house
Tresa

Tresa
bedtime
chocolate chip cookies
Steeneck family
Greg
Kate
Enoch
Book of Mormon
quilts
seat heaters
Gavin
good doctors
Guard

Gavin
(Apparently Gavin isn't grateful for anything this year!)

Enoch
BYU
beds
Coal
pillow
animals
school
spirit animals
Minecraft
the earth!
food
glasses
fresh food
cardboard

Kate
wolves
Valentine's Day
Mom & Dad
Coal
my blanket
Guard
stuffed animals
house
school
family

Guard
playing chase
kisshugs
horses & chickens
Legos
Mom
nursery
Wild Kratts
Ned
underwear
dinosaurs

Randall Christmas 2.0

Greg called this get-together the Randall Christmas 2.0.  We first celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa in St. George over Labor Day.  Now we are celebrating with the Fords over Thanksgiving.  It just spreads out the fun!
This year we decided to do a cousin gift exchange.  All the kids had a great time opening their gifts and they all liked what they received.
Gavin didn't want to participate in the exchange, but he still got some Roxberry gift cards from the Fords.

 Enoch got a natural disasters book and a solar powered robot from Brynnley.

Kate got a kit to make paper beads from Carson.

Guard got a puzzle with a robot and his name on it from Lucy.

Enoch gave Brynnley a voice changer megaphone.  Kate gave Lucy some dress-up crowns.  Guard gave McKay some animal crackers and a Bubble Guppies book.
After presents, we visited, played with toys, frosted cookies and had a great time being together.  It was so fun to have the Fords home.

 During the party, Guard got a hold of the camera and got some great shots.

Merry Christmas, again!