Christmas

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas this year. This was our first year doing Christmas on our own. Chris had Friday off and we had lots of fun preparing for Christmas as a family. We looked at Christmas lights and had hot cocoa and finished wrapping gifts on Friday. On Saturday we tracked Santa on the internet all day so we knew where he was at all times. I made cinnamon rolls as per tradition, we had tamales for dinner, and had a Christmas program. We sprinkled reindeer food that Burton made at preschool and left goodies for Santa. Burton came in our room at eight and we went to see what Santa had brought. He was happy there was no coal, because sometimes he can be a little bad (those are his words). After he checked out his stocking we decided to wake up sister. She squeaked and blew kisses when she saw her gifts, exactly the reaction we were hoping for. We had a fun time opening gifts and playing with toys. I think we were a little spoiled this year. I don't want to name names but I believe two of the culprits go by the name grandma. We are very blessed to have so much and to have such a loving family.
Chris was a huge help with Christmas dinner. This was our first time cooking a turkey and he took care of all the gross, and I mean gross parts for me. I just held open the cooking bag and slid the bird in the oven. We had a nice dinner together and apparently Burton likes egg nog unless you tell him it's called egg nog. He also likes pecan pie, but not the pecans. He's four. Burton sang with the primary today at church and really melted our hearts. They sang and signed a Christmas song and it was just about the most precious thing I've ever seen. He looked so cute up there doing every sign and singing every word. That was a great Christmas present. We are so lucky to have such great kids. And also so greatful to be able to celebrate the birth of our Savior and have the opportunity to teach what Christmas is really all about to our children.

Brooke will steal any ornament she can get her hands on. As the days went by, the ornaments got higher and higher.

Thanks aunt Megan for the Agent P slippers. Brookie with all the babies and stuffed animals she got for Christmas. She has officially kissed all of them.

Brookie was just checking to see if Santa left her any goodies. I realized it was probably time for some breakfast.

My parents were able to talk to Camille today on the phone. She is serving in the Philippines, they said she sounded really good and were able to have a good chat. We are so glad she is doing well and very proud of the work she is doing there.

Christmas Pagent

Mom and Dad we wanted Burton to participate in your Christmas pagent. So, here he is singing a song. Merry Christmas!!

Love,

Chris, Amelia, Burton & Brooke

St. Louis

This last week Chris was at a conference in St. Louis, Missouri, for the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors. It was a good experience to learn and network. There were a couple classes he really enjoyed. I asked him to take some pics for me so I could see where he was and what he was doing. He came back with quite a few for me. We missed him so much and are so glad that he is home safe. I thought mom and dad might like to see some of these pics too, a little trip down memory lane.

Some gooey butter cake from Park Avenue Coffee, which was featured on the Food network. Chris tried to sample some of the local signature food from the area. He also tried the toasted ravioli and St. Louis style thin crust pizza.

A picture of the hotel and conference center.

I thought this was an awesome shot of the arch.

Busch Stadium home of the Cardinals.

Chris and I on our seven year anniversary. We were actually at my parent's house for Thanksgiving. Of course I have zero pictures, but I think Kath took some. We had a good visit and were able to spend lots of time with our families.

Halloween and SUU fun!

Burton really wanted to be a pirate this year for Halloween. He's been really into Jake and the Neverland Pirates on the Disney channel. We searched everywhere for a pirate costume and just couldn't find anything that we liked, so we finally decided to make one of our own. Burton got to wear his costume to school and they went trick or treating across the street on campus to a few departments. I was sursprised at all the candy he got. That night we went to a Halloween carnival and then to SUU for Thunderkids trick or treating. After that we went to the women's basketball opener. Burton won the costume contest during half-time. He got a Pizza Hut gift card. Thank you Burton for being awesome.

Burton got picked to be the tip off kid. He got to take the ball out to the ref before the game started.

SUU has a huge Halloween party they do every year and this year's theme was Dead men tell no tales. Chris had us come down before it started to show us around and Burton got to take pics with the pirate ship. He was pretty excited, he thought they built the ship just for him.

Burton designed his pumpkin all by himself and Chris cut the face out for him. I was pretty impressed.

Seriously Burton is making the wierdest face. Melissa and Greg came down a few weeks ago for the weekend. They brought Burton lots of Halloween goodies. We had lots of fun having them here, especially the kids!! They got lots of attention.

The kiddos before the basketball game. Brooke was so obsessed with Burton's bucket of candy. She just wanted to play with it so bad.

Brooke trying to escape the stroller. She made the cutest duck.

So I don't know if I've mentioned this but Burton absolutely loves Thor. Part of Chris's new job is going to the tailgates and other activities on campus. We've been able to do lots of fun things as a family. Burton talks to Thor every chance he gets. One of the neat things they do at SUU is let all the Thunder kids run out onto the field with the cheerleaders before the football team runs out. Burton has done it a few times and everytime I get so proud and excited for him.

The kids sporting their SUU shirts at the Homecoming parade. Everytime they threw candy Burton would take a piece and give it to the lady sitting next to us.

Burton hanging out at the tailgate with a cool thunderbolt on his cheek. It's cute to see Burton hanging out with all the college kids. All of the students Chris works with are super nice and they are always excited to see Burton and Brooke.

Burton's Growing Up

Today was Burton's first day of preschool. He's going four days a week this year. The best part is that it's across the street from daddy's work. Chris was able to pick him up with me today. I'm looking forward to days like this. We asked Burton what he did at school when we picked him up, but he said he'd tell us at bed time. Of course we were able to find out what he had for snack. Brooke and I will be having lots of girl time from now on.

I seriously asked for a regular pose and a regular smile like 10 times, but this is the best I could do. He's such a fuuny kid.

They have free time at the beginning of the day, I was just hoping he wouldn't ruin his clothes before school even began.

Each kid decorated a shirt for the first day of school. This week they get to talk about themselves, their families, and things they like. Burton picked an orange shirt, of course.

On Saturday Burton got to meet some of the SUU football players. Burton loves SUU. We signed him up to be a Thunder Kid. He got a t-shirt and a basketball and wants to wear his new shirt everyday.

Happy Birthday Brookie!!

Our baby girl turned one today! It's hard to believe that a year has passed by so quickly. We are so in love with our little girl. She is just the most beautiful girl in the world and has the biggest smile. She absolutely loves her daddy and loves to kiss him. I'm always jealous of all the kisses daddy gets. We're so thankful to have such a sweet baby girl.
On Friday my parents, Megan, Melissa and Greg came into town. We had cake and ice cream that night and then because it was so late opened presents the next morning. It was nice to have everyone here, even though it was a quick visit. Brookie got lots of super cute outfits and some fun new toys. She's so spoiled- it's not her fault that she's so cute. Today we went to the park and had some fun outside. She opened the rest of her presents tonight with help from Burton.

I gave Brookie chocolate cake and she totally loved it. She was trying to eat every last crumb on her tray. I almost wanted to give her more because of how well she was eating.

Opening more presents. Then she tried to eat the tissue paper.

Having fun at the park, you can tell by Burton's red cheeks.

Oh Brooke, why is this your new favorite place to be? This girl loves to get into everything she should not be getting into. I guess that's what you can expect from a one year old.

Summer highlights

So I'm a little behind on the blog. We've had some neat family events this summer. My sister Melissa got married in June in the Salt Lake Temple. Our whole family and lots of extended family were able to be there. She had a reception that night and then that weekend we had an open house back in California at my parent's house. Everything turned out really nice. It was fun to be all together and the driving really wasn't that bad. I'm always thankful for how well my kids travel. I always tell myself- it could have been a lot worse.
So right after the wedding it seemed, my other little sister Camille entered the MTC. She's been there for almost two weeks. We've heard from her a few times, and she seems to be doing very well. She'll be serving in the Manila, Philippines Mission and speaking Tagalog. We're so happy with her decision to serve a mission.
Here are a bunch of pictures, in no particular order.


Burton and Halle playing at the reception. They are so cute together. A few days after we got home, all of a sudden he said, "I'm never going to see Halle again!" I had to assure him that we will still see her even though she lives far away.

Melissa and her husband Greg. She looks so beautiful!!

I thought this picture was so sweet. Melissa and Greg are so great with all the nieces and nephews. They tried to get a few pictures with all six of the kids, but let's just say it didn't work out that well.

Another Burton and Halle shot. This is at the reception also. Melissa had a great photographer, she got so many great candid shots.

This is the entire family. The last time we were all together was when Melissa came home from her mission. The next time will probably be when Camille gets home from hers.

I love my cute family.

Our sister pic- Katherine, Camille, Melissa, Megan, Melanie, and Amelia. Four down only two more to marry off.

My little cuties.

Grandma stayed with us last week while Megan was at EFY at BYU. She took Burton and us to see Cars 2. It was Burton's first movie. He was pretty excited about the popcorn. I think we'll wait a little longer before we go back again.

Sister Camille Engstrom, this is the night that she got set apart as a missionary.

Daddy and Brookie at the reception. She loves her daddy.