My 31st Birthday!

This is the first year that I can remember that I have ever been sick on my birthday. I had a massive cold that seriously hinder my ability to breathe, smell, taste, talk, and generally, have a good time. So, while we had big plans for the day (since my birthday fell on a Saturday this year), most were cancelled. 

I did go to a Christmas concert with my sister, Jennie, which was fun. However, the massage was cancelled as well as walking outdoors in the cold to look at lights.

 Good thing birthdays come around every year! :)

The kids were scoping out my presents.

We did a mini cake and cupcakes (mostly for the kids' benefit, since I couldn't really taste anything) and Brian and I did go out to eat at The Cheesecake Factory. We had a "birthday redo" the following weekend with my sister, Jennie, and her husband and my mom and dad, so that was nice to get out again.

Sydney's TaVaci Concert

On December 8th, Sydney had her holiday performance for her TaVaci singing group. Brian was actually out of town, but Brian's mom and grandparents were able to come and see the show.

 

It was fun to watch Sydney try and do the actions and sing at the same time.

You can always spot Sydney with her curly hair (front row, 2nd one in)! Her cousin Lydia is in the back row, 5th from the left.

The kids were singing "Mele Kalikimaka". There are boys in the group, I just didn't take any pictures of them.

Pretty tricky to get a bunch of 4 to 7 year old girls all going in the same direction!

These Rudolph noses actually flashed. It was one of Sydney's favorite props.

All the kids were supposed to say into the microphone what they wanted for Christmas. Sydney was the only one who decided she didn't want to do it.

Little holiday bakers!

This was the finale with the younger kids and the older kids all together.

If you look closely, you can see Sydney's reaction when she found out Santa was coming on stage.

And when she saw Santa coming, she took off and left the stage. She wanted no part of that guy.

Sydney and Lydia after the show. These girls sure have a lot of fun together!

An attempt at getting a picture of the Dildine family with Santa. :)

Random Fall Photos

Here are some random pictures from September to now! 

Just one of the disadvantages of being a "lefty"...all of the drinking fountains are made for right-handed people!

Movie time! Brian was out of town somewhere this night.

The beautiful fall view I had for a few weeks while walking to take Wes to school and pick him up everyday.

Parents waiting to pick up their kids from school after they were on lockdown for the whole day. Wes just thought it was a lucky day where the kindergarteners got to eat lunch in the cafeteria and watch movies all afternoon.

Jumping in the leaf pile!

Leaves are so exciting for kids!

Grandma Hanks was in town for the Boise Temple open house so we all went together.

Temples dotting the Earth! Pretty cool!

Cookies, milk and stories with Santa at the mall.

Wes received a special first trimester recognition for "Academic Excellence" at school. We hung up his certificate in his room so he could be reminded that it was a great accomplishment.

This is Wes with his current best friend at school, Dylan. Dylan received an award for "Academic Effort".

My picture at 30 weeks! I guess I'll be good about documenting my monthly bump for every other child since I wasn't very good at it with Wes either.

Countdown to Christmas Activities

Here are a bunch of pictures from our pre-Christmas activities (so far). 

 

Somehow I forgot to post these pictures from gingerbread house making during our Thanksgiving trip.

Wes patiently waited his turn while Sydney put on her candy.

This is the best picture we could get of the three of them with the finished product!

A few Saturdays ago, we went to the "Elf Academy" at the mall. Santa and Mrs. Claus were there as well as crafts, face painting and balloons...all free.

After their crafts, the kids got certificates making them real elves, signed by Mrs. Claus. They also got those little stuffed reindeer (which I think was Wes' favorite part).

Sydney got her face painted in the "winter princess" theme. She wore that sticker heart on her forehead many days after the face paint was gone.

We saw Rudolph at the Meridian City Christmas event, but it was a little too crazy in there to do many of the crafts or even get pictures, so we left after a few minutes.

I was co-in charge of the ward Christmas party decorations and the theme was "Christmas Around the World" so I made this subway art to use. It reminded me of the Macy's star, so Wes called it my Macy's Tree.

How do you decorate 36 tables on a budget of $70? With paper trees and paper placemats. I also made those little trivia things with different facts from different countries.

We put coloring placemats on the kids' places so they'd have something to do.

I also made this picture that we put at the entrance with a little Christmas tree.

For the program, the Primary kids performed the "Thankful" song that says "thank you" in different languages.

Sydney did not want to see Santa, but he pulled her up on his lap and she survived and ended up with a Rice Krispy Treat ornament.

Wes about had a meltdown while we were waiting in line because he couldn't figure out what he wanted to tell Santa that he wanted for Christmas. He ended up telling him a "blue dog". A couple days later, Wes told me he couldn't remember if he said "blue stuffed dog" or just "blue dog" and hoped Santa would realize he wanted a stuffed blue dog.

This past Monday, we went to the quarterly Smith Family Home Evening (Brian's extended family). Wes was a sleepy wise man (apparently).

The group of (second) cousins and their nativity. Sydney chose not to participate.

Thanksgiving Fun 2012

I hadn't realized it had been over a month since my last post! So, here's the Thanksgiving update.

Wes had a Thanksgiving Feast at school.

I was able to help out with the feast. Luckily, Wes is at an age where he enjoys his mom being in class with him!

On Thanksgiving Day, we went to St. Anthony, Idaho to spend the holiday with Brian's grandparents and family.

Audrey, Sydney, and Wes enjoyed their dinner and turkey cookies.

Then, we had a program and each of the families performed a talent. The turkey was a hit! :)

Audrey sang a solo. She loves singing into the microphone and is completely oblivious to the attention she's getting as she performs. It's pretty hilarious.

Wes and Sydney attempted to sing as well, but they just wanted the attention. :)

Brian had a great time playing basketball with his cousins.

The day after Thanksgiving, Brian helped put Christmas lights on the Bluth house.

Later that night, we played Christmas Minute to Win It games.

Go Mom Hanks!

Brian eventually got the cotton ball stuck to the Vaseline on his nose.

Janna did a great job at "Jingle Booty". :)

I had some intense concentration on "Nut Stacker".

Janna and Mom went head-to-head to see who could pull the tissues out the fastest.

Mom wins!

And, as the winner, she got covered in Kleenex. Lucky lady!