My girls

These two girls are becoming good friends . . . what more could a mother ask for?

{How cute are they in these matching "Tangled" pj's?}

December Fun!

We've had a busy, busy, BUSY December this year!

We've had lots of fun things to do and see.

Let's see if we can wrap most of it up in one post, shall we?


Emmy had her recital for the performing group she's in, Platinum Performing Arts.
She did such a great job!

{Emmy and Max - they might get married someday . . . Max was trying to kiss her on the lips the other night, but Emmy was not having it.  Let's just hope she keeps that up as a teenager!}

Emmy also had a Christmas program at her preschool.  Her teacher put her front and center, and after they started, we knew why - she was the loudest one and knew all of the songs!

It was so cute!
It was so fun to go to her school and see her in that environment.


Jake and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary by going to Vegas for a few days.  It was MUCH needed and was seriously one of the best vacations we've been on!  We got one pic on our trip . . .

Then my friend, CC, and I threw an Ugly Christmas Sweater/White Elephant party.  It was SO much fun!
I decided to go all out.  I figured my clothes were ugly, why not match the hair and make-up to the occasion?

I was so hideous!  I had to pull out my '80's hairstyling skills.  I knew doing my hair like that in the '80's would pay off one day!

{CC and I in all of our ugly Christmas sweater glory!}

And Jake wore one of my grandpa's old suits.  My grandma was getting rid of a bunch of stuff so my mom brought some of it home for Jake.  I think this suit is from the '70's!  Jake looked like Fez from That '70's Show and our friend, Colt, looked like Kelso . . . what a perfect pair :)

 Oh, and our friend, Brooke, let us have the party at her house.  She lives in her grandma's old house, which has not been redecorated since the '60's or '70's!  It was PERFECT!

More fun things . . .
Emmy and I made Gingerbread houses out of graham crackers.
I didn't go all out and actually make the gingerbread like I did last year.  I didn't have the time or energy to do it!  Her best friend, Skye, came over and made some with her mom, too (who is CC from the pic above).

{Emmy being silly}

These girls are so silly together!
They both threw their hands up at the exact same time in the pic below.  They march to the beat of the same drum . . .
And Emmy makes sure to let me know that Skye is her best friend :)

And here's a pic of Kate since she's not in ANY of the other pics in this post - oops!  She was eating a granola bar and somehow a couple pieces got stuck to her hair and were just dangling there . . .

Along with all of these things,
my sister and I sang at the Dickens Festival, I sang at a benefit concert with West Coast Jazz Players (an amazing Jazz band located in St. George), I had a Christmas recital for my private vocal students, we had work Christmas parties and I sang with a woman's choir and also sang a duet for a Christmas fireside.  Oh, and we had a special Christmas activity for the YW.  I'm not kidding when I say we've been BUSY!  It's already been so nice for things to slow down a little.  Hopefully that's a sign of how next year will be, nice and relaxed!

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town!

We have had lots of fun seeing Santa this year!

It started at the Dicken's Festival.  We see Santa there every year.

We have a picture of Emmy about the same age as Kate is here, and she is crying, too!  I love the classic crying with Santa pics.


Next, we went to the Iron Mission State Park.  There were lots of activities for the kids to do, including seeing Santa!  But Emmy informed me that the Santa there wasn't the real Santa because the other Santa she saw was the real Santa.

Kate was a little concerned, but didn't cry this time.


And we got to see Santa yet again!
We went down to SUU for an alumni dinner and guess who showed up?  Santa!

 

Kate was scared again - at least she has stranger danger!  No messing with her.

Santa looks a little scary in this pic because he was trying to talk to Kate.  I probably should have taken another pic . . .

We have had such a great holiday season this year.  I have really felt the spirit of Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Winner!

Okay, people - only 12 people entered the CSN Stores giveaway!!!!  

 I would have entered if I could :)

But since there were only 12, it gave all of you who entered a better chance to win.

And the winner is . . . 

Ashley, who said, "I love csn!"

Congrats, Ashley!  

I will email you your promotional code so you can get to your shopping!

CSN Stores Giveaway!

If you're a follower/reader of my Loving Every Second blog, you know that CSN Stores did a giveaway for a $20 promotional code.  Well, they have so generously offered to do another giveaway, this time for a $35 promotional code!!!  

CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from stylish furniture, counter height stools, or great cookware!

Some things I found:

Love these dishes . . . they are so pretty!

And I love this bed . . .

. . . or this bed

. . . for Emmy's room!

I could seriously spend SO much time shopping online at CSN Stores!!!  They are your one-stop-shopping center!

To enter:

All you have to do is leave me a comment!  

It's as easy as that!

Contest ends on Monday, December 20th at 9:00 pm MST.

Winner will be announced Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Good luck!!!

The Crafty Gals

My cute sister-in-law, Mary, has started a new blog.  It's called The Crafty Gals and she does some super cute things!  Go check her out at TheCraftyGals.blogspot.com and give her some bloggy love!

P.S. - she's doing a giveaway right now for a gift card to Hobby Lobby, so make sure you enter

To Help Stop Hunger Benefit Concert

I have the great opportunity of performing at a benefit concert on Friday night.  West Coast Jazz {a local, and amazing, jazz band} asked me to sing a few numbers with them and I gladly accepted!

If you live in the St. George area and are looking for something to do on Friday night, you should seriously come.  You can have a steak dinner and stay for the concert {$25 per person} or you can come for just the concert at 8 pm {$10 per person}.  It will be great entertainment and the proceeds go to a great cause - to help stop hunger {it's for the St. George Soup Kitchen}.

To order your tickets, see the flier below or leave me a comment and I'll get back to you.

For more info on the St. George Soup Kitchen, go to StopHungerHere.org.

Tickets Still Available!

Steak Dinner & Jazz Benefit Concert Presented By:

Steak Dinner & Live Music Premium 21-day aged steaks, potatoes, salad, dessert and beverage.. Tribute to Cool Jazz Concert (Music from the 40's 50's and 60's) West Coast Jazz Players, together with local jazz artists, play songs made famous by: Miles Davis, Lionel Hampton, Sarah Vaughn, Stan Getz, Tony Bennett, Chet Baker and many more. Date: December 3, 2010 (Fri.) Tickets: $25 Per Person Venue: Grace Episcopal Church Address: 1072 East 900 South, St George Dinner: 6:30 PM Concert: 8:00 PM ($10 for concert only) Reserve Seat Now or call Jessica at 435.215.9084 Just go to www.StopHungerHere.org and click on the "Donate" button. You will be contacted soon to verify your reservation.

A Tinkerbell Party

Emmy wanted a Tinkerbell party for her birthday, so that is what she got!

{Emmy dressed up like Tinkerbell}

I made these tissue paper pom-poms:

I've seen them all over blog-land and decided to have a go at them.  I thought they turned out really cute, and they are now hanging in Emmy's room.

For the party, I sprinkled the kids with "Pixie Dust" as they came in the door.  Then they decorated paper stars:

and then played "Pin the star on Tinkerbell's wand":

I read them a Tinkerbell story:

They colored Tinkerbell pictures and we had a Tinkerbell pinata:

{I LOVE this picture of Skye!  She is getting ready to hit that pinata!}


The kids, frantically trying to get their bags of candy filled:

And I made Tinkerbell cupcakes w/ homemade strawberry frosting - yum yum!  They were easy-peasy and super cute.

Emmy made a wish and blew out her candle!

And, of course, there were lots of presents to be opened:

Emmy had so much fun at her party!  I put "Pixie Dust" in the goodie bags (glitter from the dollar store) and Emmy has me put it on her "so she can fly" at least once a day, which means she's always got little glitter flecks in her hair.


I also got to take donuts to Emmy's preschool class for her birthday.  She was really excited for me to come, and I got to meet the kids she always talks about.


Here she is with her teacher, Ms. Charlene:

 Kate enjoyed a donut and some crackers at Emmy's school, too:

And here are Emmy's stats:


{Weight}: 35 lbs, 14 oz (58th percentile)


{Height}: 39 inches (33rd percentile)

{Love this pic - mouth full of donut and frosting on her face, just the way it should be}


We love you, Emmy!!!

Emmy turns 4!

{The birthday girl on the morning of her birthday}

Emmy turned {four} last week!

My, how the time flies.  For real.  I swear, this little girl was just a little baby joining our family.

She had a great birthday!  

She opened presents:

{She's a big Tinkerbell fan}

 {She had been asking for a Book of Mormon.  She has to hold it every time we sing "Book of Mormon Stories"}

{This present was the big winner - she loves that the fairy wings can turn into the Barbie's dress, and vice-versa}

I made her an Ariel cake, but it was not the best looking cake in the world, so I am not posting pics - I'm too embarrassed about it!  But she {loved} it and that's all that matters.

She had a Tinkerbell party with her friends, which I will post about later.

Here are some things I want to remember about Emmy:

- She still {LOVES} to sing!  And she's got a great little voice (I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom, promise!).  She is always singing her little heart out.

- She has a fun little imagination.  We are constantly "playing" something.  Most of the time she's Christine and I'm the Phantom.  Or I'm Jane and she's a monkey (from Tarzan) or she's Jane and I'm Tarzan.  And it doesn't matter where we are or what we are doing.  It can be while I'm making dinner or getting ready.  She's always ready to play make believe!

- I taught her "I am so smart.  S.M.R.T."  Why?  I'm not sure.  But it is so funny listening to her sing it.  I wonder what her preschool teacher thinks about that one . . .

- Emmy can write her name and she knows all of her letters.  We will be at the store and she will get so excited and say, "Mom!  There's a "L"!!!"  The best was when we were in St. George and she saw the big D on the hill.  She excitedly yelled out, "MOM!!!  There's a "D" on the mountain!!!"

- She is becoming a better eater (YAY!) and is more willing to try new foods.

- She LOVES books!  We try to read to her for at least 15 minutes a day, usually right before bed time, but she could be read to for hours at a time.

 

These are her school pictures.  So cute!!!  I love them!  I was too lazy to scan it in, so I took a picture of the picture, which is why it maybe looks a little distorted :) 

Emmy and I had a mommy-daughter date a couple weeks ago with my sister and her daughter.  We saw "Phantom" at Dixie High.  Oh my.  She LOVED it!!! 

The girls dressed up in their "Christine dresses" and their "Christine cape's" that Grammy made them last year for Christmas.  We went to dinner first and everyone was loving them in their dress-ups.

{Mysterious . . .}

DHS has changed A LOT since I went to school there!  Their theater department is awesome - it really was such a great production.  Just look at the huge Phantom mask that was outside the theater!

Emmy wanted to get a picture with "Christine" but, of course, I had to be in the picture with her.  She just stared at all of the characters after the play.  Especially the Phantom.  But she would not even let me get close to him!  Apparently he was too scary.

Coming up next, a post about the Tinkerbell party!