December Happenings

In the beginning of December we got some snow...a lot of snow. And it was super windy, so we got some CRAZY drifts! It was also FREEZING COLD. These crazy boys still wanted to go outside and play in the drifts. Under all that snow is our picnic table (you can kind of see the ridge of it in the middle of the picture), our stairs, and 3 layers of planting areas. Crazy.

   Craziness.

This was another cute moment. Kate was sick so she stayed home that day. Kara got to go to school by herself. Weird for her I bet!! This doesn't happen often, but when it does it is so cute to see them reunite and chatter about what each of them did. Well, this day they made a countdown to Christmas at preschool. Kara was teaching Kate how to make it. I was so happy they were being so good together. I wasn't watching or instructing, but later that day went into their room and saw the completed project. Kate's is on the left. 

 Kara must have forgotten about linking the loops, because instead they taped together the circles and then connected one circle to the next with a piece of hanging tape! It was adorable to me! I wish I could have watched them do it together. So cute.

 

 Oh Addie. If she is with us while we put away the girl's laundry she always snags the undies and wants them on. :) Super Baby to the rescue! She would put them all on at once if I let her.

 Ha ha!

 

Transformers...robots in disguise. Justin has started playing hockey here in town, full pads and all. (Finally! Santa gave him these last Christmas and he hadn't used them once! Not like he had many occasions too, but it is nice to use your Santa gift at least once before the next Christmas.) Before his first time playing he got it all out to make sure it all worked. Zach wanted to try them on too.

 



He felt a little studly.

It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Low-Ho-Ho!!! We decorated pretty early this year, (perk to being Canadian is legally decorating before American Thanksgiving--since we don't have it!) so it has felt like Christmas for a LONG time. Love it. Love the music, the decorations, the feeling, the pajamas... ;)

 These beauties were given to me in high school or something. My sister Carrie has matching green ones. :) This year I found out that Addie's jammies match almost perfectly! (which I bought for the girls 2nd Halloween costumes "Thing 1 and Thing 2"!) The kids love when I wear them. The only thing that would make them better is a bum flap because it is COLD when I have to used the restroom or anything.  Brrr.

 

We got this kit at Costco...the way to go. The kids and I (yes, even I!) had so much fun decorating this together and they did a great job and used great restraint! I loved how much even Addie wanted to help.

 

  

Beautiful, isn't it. ;) First time I've ever used fondant. It came with the kit, so we tried it out!

 

We also kept the Crippen tradition of watching "The Muppet Christmas Carol." This is also a special movie to Justin and I as it was our first "date" that I initiated during finals week of 2004. We went out and found it and rented it. And he met my sister then too...and it all took of from there. I am surprised my singing every song didn't scare him away and make him think I was a weirdo...but I couldn't help it. If you can't love Muppets, you can't love me...or my dad. ;)

It was pretty cute how into it Addie was...and how she got her popcorn and water and took it to the big empty chair and got comfy. :)

 

Family movie night. :) Addie is growing up way too fast.

  During the weekend after American Thanksgiving Cardston High always hosts the Alumni Tournament. Darin and Nada came all the way from Tennessee, so we had a big FHE night with a bunch of friends! There were 11 adults and 18 children with 3 on the way! We ate soup, had a Christmas Family Home Evening, and then decorated cookies! The adults chatted while kids played/ran wild. :) It was really fun. I am so glad everyone came out, even though it was in the middle of a huge freezing winter storm. (2 snow days and -35 C weather!) And for that reason I am glad I was hosting. ;) Worth the sprinkle mess to not have to leave my home.(I didn't leave my home for 4 days actually!!) 

She is not old enough to be doing this?! Where is my baby?!

After that storm we got some MAJOR snow and drifts. Those are our back porch stairs and picnic table COVERED!

 

 Kamry needed pictures for a Christmas project she was doing so I took a few of the kids and sent them in.

Kamry edited this one and used it. I sure love these kiddos. Life is crazy sometimes and loud always, but so good. :) 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

 

 

(and if you didn't get one and wanted one, I am sorry...I ran out so quick and was too late to reorder! Next year I am ordering more!)

 

 

Merry Christmas Family and Friends!

 

 This year has been a great one for our family. Justin (30!) --now officially known as Dr. Low!--is completely done with school after 10 years of post secondary training! Looking back, it went fast, and it seems crazy to be done…and VERY wonderful! With that accomplishment complete, we moved our family to Cardston, AB, Canada. It’s a small town of about 3,500 people close to the US/Canada border; the same town that Justin grew up in and where his parents still live. We are settling in here in Cardston. Justin enjoys his new job (working a family medicine clinic and E.R. in the local hospital) and we all love our new house. It is at the end of a cul-de-sac full of kids. Our kids are in heaven! I just wish they all had ‘locator’ buttons on them so I could easily track down where they all are. Zach (6 ½) is in Grade 1 and gets to ride a bus even though school is closer to us than it ever has been! Joys of a small town. He loves it and so do I. He lost his first tooth and is working on the second! He is learning to read and enjoyed gymnastics and basketball. Kate and Kara (5 this month!) are in preschool two days a week and also get to ride a bus! They also are in gymnastics and love having friends so close to play with. Little Miss Adaleigh (19 mths) is just a fun spunky girl. She is easy going, happy and funny, but can certainly hold her own. She loves her siblings, singing, and is talking up a storm. I’m (29!) busy at home being a wife and mom and play volleyball once a week if I am up for it. J Life is good. We love you all and are ready for visitors!             

 



Sk8ters

 

We had to give them an early birthday present...There isn't much to do here in Cardston, but there IS an ice skating rink and there are several free family skate times!!! So fun! SO we opened a month early bday present (that I've had since after last Christmas!) and went sk8ting! (writing it like that brings me back to middle school and Stussy letters...)

 If you are going to teach your kids to skate, don't start with these things. They only lengthen the process!! We've gone 4 times now and they were finally able to not use them and just do tiny steps around the ice. Better.

 

 Me with my walker...first time on the ice since I broke my elbow skating 4.5 years ago...with 2 month old twins and a 23 month old. Not cool. I don't mind pushing Addie in the stroller one bit. :)

 

Zach did skating in his kindergarten last year. He can scoot around pretty fast now!

 Entranced by the Zamboni.

 Watching the Zamboni

 

 All my sk8ters.

And he was just a handsome stud, who can REALLY skate and still really impresses me, so I had to get a picture of him. :)

18 month-old Adaleigh!

We did it! We made it to nursery age!! :) Addie girl is sure growing up. I swear I just had her...and she is already 18 months?! Are all of my babies going to keep growing up this fast! She is so much fun to have around the house. Everyone loves Addie. She is talking so much and can communicate pretty well with us. And she sure knows how to get herself heard even around our noisy house! She is such a fun baby and one of my favorite times of the day is putting her to bed, not because she is going to bed, but because of our routine of songs and chatting. She loves the song "I love to see the temple" and can sing the whole song! It is adorable. Whenever I try and record it she just keeps saying "No...no, no, no." with a cheeky smile. She also LOVES E-I-E-I-O and likes to sing it in a squeaky voice. Old MacDonald always has a cow. :) She also tells me when to hum and when to sing and then pretends to snore. :) Weird, but it's so fun! 

Too cute! :) I love her in this little coat.

(It's even cuter when you find out it was $10 brand new last spring! Glad she grew into it so nicely.)

Cheesy girl. She frequently does this smile with the squinty eyes. 

And she is OBSESSED with shoes. Boots, shoes, any size, style, color...she is all over it.

I love squeezing those delicious thighs and tickling that belly.

Her obsession with shoes...these are Kara's huge Rapunzel dolls shoes! They fit her! Ha ha! She walks around in them all the time. It is so funny.

Here is her other favorite thing to do...Little Einstein's Old MacDonald's Farm. Love's it. She calls it "E-I-E-I-O." She usually does this while I work out both our videos are about 25 minutes so it's perfect! :)

 

 
She also loves carrying this baby around. One day I caught her reading to her baby. She kept readjusting her on her lap until she was just right and then reading to her, only later scoot her up more on her lap again. :) It was pretty cute. I snuck out my camera. And, I love those duckie jammies. I got them for Zach when he was little. They are getting a hole in the foot. :( Addie LOVES these pjs. "Quack, quack!"

Caught ya! 

Here is her other obsession...DVD's...mostly trying to find "E-I-E-I-O" or "We Are" --Ice Age 4. I have since moved them to a higher shelf until we find a better storage solution. And I guess this day she figured out how to get her diaper off...oh dear. Butt cute! ;)

We love her. The End. ;)