Stars were Gleaming, Shepherds Dreaming (literally)

You want to know one of my favorite parts of the holidays? Kids putting on Nativity Reenactments, that's what. They're so cute, ridiculous, and completely touching and heart melting at the same time.

 Here is our holy family, complete with the cutest little lamb I ever did see.

 The donkey wasn't feelin' it, but he stayed put.

 The star had her moment of... uh... stardom.

 This kid. You can't teach kids to be like Jonah - they just come that way. And you feel incredibly blessed when they do.

 Yes, I did make this costume. The day before. Feel free to praise.

 The angel choir sang their hearts out! And I cried!

 Millie was overcome with the spirit.

Just kidding.

 The shepherds fell asleep.

This littlest angel excused herself from the Heavenly Hosts and sang from beside me on the bench. But she sang really well! 

The obligatory photo op after the performance.

The donkey's still with us! Barely!

 This is my beautiful friend, Stacey. She's the children's choir director and she is awesome. The kids adore her. And she adores them!

 I made the grievous mistake of not putting the basket of costumes away when we got home that night, and the next morning Amelia darling discovered the face paints. She so desperately wanted to be a sheep like Jonah!

In other news:

I was a little early picking up Emmy from Ballet last night, so I spied on her.  

I love my kids. So much. 

Salute!

Emmy's dance studio put on a Veteran's Day show this year, and it was so cute! Recitals can be somewhat painful at times, let's be honest. This one, however, was not. 

It was super upbeat, all the songs were patriotic, and there were two little singer boys that belted out their song louder than the entire rest of their choir, which had the whole place rolling. 

Jonah and Claire found a perch where they could see better.

As did Millie.

You need to watch this to get the full experience, which I know is what you're after:

Disclaimer: Katie was filming whilst holding a very wigglish Millie, so I apologize if you get a little seasick. 

Great job, Miss Emmy! 

We went on a fishing adventure

 Jayne and the gals headed to Salt Lake City to help give dear sister Hanna a shower. She needed it. I guess it takes a whole lot of ladies getting together to get a pregnant lady to shower. While they where off attempting to give Hanna a shower, Jonah and I spend a few estrogen free hours together. 

We had cake and ice cream and cookies and candy and watched movies and then went for a hike/fishing.

Jonah requested the camera control.

 Yep this is what we look like after a lot of sugar.

We both put on jeans, flannel shirts, muddy hiking boots and I grew a five o' clock shadow in 2 hours just for this occasion.

 Below is home. Everyone should have one of these wet things within walking distance to their homes. We drove. We could have walked but why when we have a cool truck to drive?

We did anything and everything we thought that sounded fun. We ran and played and got wet and dirty. We climbed up on things just to jump off. We threw rocks and tried to scare each other.

 Jonah had his first opportunity to cast a fly rod. I think I could just sit and watch him cast all day. If you look close, his face says everything about how much he liked it.

I sure love this kid. I read somewhere about a Mother saying her children were her favorite works of art. 

 Jonah my son, You are my favorite work of art. Thanks for being my boy. 

We're not done yet

Remember I told you that my bestest buddy DeAnn and her chosen one came to Zion with us? This friend of mine happens to be a photographer, and she just sent me her photos. 

 Feel free do die a thousand deaths of happiness with me as you gaze at her work.

 Sometimes I realize that they won't be little forever.

And I want to cry a little tear.

Then I remember that even when they're grown they'll still be mine, in a way. And I squeeze them a few hundred more times and send them out to play and be kids.

 This is DeAnn's chosen one, and he was chosen for good reason. Kids like him, which is just about the best compliment a person could receive, IMO.

 Years and years ago we had a Slade family reunion at this campground, and Caleb thought it would be appropriate to recreate a portion of that wonderful event. Specifically the part when Grandpa Tom cooked mountains of bacon.

 There was much bacon to be enjoyed by all.

 Also juice boxes, of which this child drank more than her fair share.

 DeAnn really has a knack for capturing the true character of her subjects. It's such a gift.

The characters that we had along with us were definitely worth capturing!

 *swoon*
This kid kills me. I need another son.

I love this kid! We spent the better part of our high school and college years together, and we got each other through it with style. Our own style, but style just the same.

Thank you for shooting my kids, DeAnn! You know what I mean.

Hold on, Emmy. I'm not sure I trust that railing. (breathe, Jayne)

 These two. I wish I had words for how much I love them. They are their own kind of style, too, and they fit so perfectly together it's amazing CJ ever got along without her!

 Look at this crew! This might need to be an annual thing. Way too fun for a one time deal.

And again, my dearest Hermie the Dentist - thank you for the photos!!

Happy Birthday Mommy, By Emmy

I love you, and Happy Birthday. 

I love you because you make cupcakes, you take of us, you where married in the Temple to dad forever,  you teach us history, to be kind, to obey, to listen, to cook bread and frozen burritos. 

I Love you so much.

Emmy.

Hello Mommy!

 We love you Jayne, and adore you. You are our joys and smiles and the glue that holds our growing family together. Thanks for being everything for us. Happy Birthday.

Hopefully you didn't... umm... what Caleb said

Here I am, as promised by my darling husband. He really has a way with words, does he not? 

Every year Caleb and I lament the buckets full of candy that find their way into our home due to trick or treating. We love the dressing up! Costumes are the best, and the anticipation is enjoyed for months. But we could do without the candy. 

Plus, Zion National Park happens to be absolutely gorgeous at the end of October. 

 Why have I never packed a camp kitchen in clear totes before? This changed my life. Genius.

The deer welcomed us to camp, bright and early the first morning.

Hello, friend. Looking for some breakfast? You won't find any here. Not for you, any way. *Muah!*

 And guess who else came? Hanna! And Tom! And CJ and Emily! And DeAnn and Cortney! It was a party, man.

 The kids were awesome hikers, as expected. They're such troopers. They love being out on the trail as much as we do, which makes for a blissful life - I tell you what.

Plus they're weirdos, which makes everything more fun.

Caleb just got a new camera, as did CJ, so they were playing with them most of the time - which I LOVE.  

Watch your step, CJ. Please.

The Watchman Campground gets a huge thumbs up from us.
Isn't it funny that we gather 'round the fire even when there isn't a fire?

Millie had this face 90% of the time.

 Partially because Batman was there, and she has a dog crush on him.
Isn't this van awesome? Be honest. You've always wanted one.

 They put gravel down in the spot where you pitch your tents, which is so genius! It makes the best floor ever! We were supes comfy.

And Tom got his lumberjack on.

 I love this face. And this face loves riding the shuttle.

 The weather was perfection the first two days, and we enjoyed every second of it.

Then the weather turned to a different sort of perfection. A rainy sort. Which made the bus rides extra fun.

We spent that day checking out the visitors centers and museums.

 Caleb thought the photographers were more interesting than the clouds.

 The rain let up while we were learning about the canyon's formation, so out we went again!

This little one is determined to be big. *sigh*

 These big ones are determined to be little. *sigh* (jokes, HanTom, I love you guys)

 Oh! And we celebrated Halloween!
 The big kids went to hike Angels Landing, and Hanna and I took the little kids in to town because we heard tell there was a carnival. We found it! At the Post Office! Springdale is cute like that.

 We had the handsomest cowboy in town.

Along with a right lovely cowgirl.

 We had a beautiful blue bird.

And a Kitty, who for some reason wasn't loving her M&M's.

 We didn't know what time the carnival started, and as it turned out we were 30 minutes early. So we found a nice lawn and waited it out.

 Millie has been in character for about 15 months now.

 And what a carnival it was! There was food, games, and prizes. What more could you want?

 They all won some cute little toys, had a great time, and we headed back to camp.
We did find one street that had some houses on it, so we stopped and walked up and down it knocking on doors. Only one person was home, but they had candy! Counts, right?

 Quite the bunch, if you ask me. I'm so glad they're mine.

Jonah: "We didn't really get much candy, Mom. But lets do this again next year, it's fun!"

That was exactly the response I was crossing my fingers for! Success!

And just because they were so adorable, the camp hosts rode around in their cart and handed out candy. I want to be a camp host when I'm old and adorable.

Emmy and Jonah had their own tent this trip, which was a new one for our family. We usually all squeeze in together. They loved it! Oh my heartstrings! Stop growing up!

As mentioned before, great company, gorgeous location, good food: what a trip!

I love these hooligans more than I can say. SO MUCH. Thanks for being awesome, you kids. 

And Caleb, don't ever sell your camera again. Because this.