November was a very nice, if busy, month! We started off the season with a Thankful
FHE. I made up this little turkey and then we cut out a bunch of feathers and we all took turns writing down things we were thankful for and added them to the turkey. It was extra fun because Grandpa and Grandma Anderson were with us! This was really fun and I hope I remember to do it again!
Taysum's Kindergarten class was very
adventurous and had a full Thanksgiving feast they made themselves; including churning the butter! They even dressed up as
indians and chose
indian names.
Taysum was Honest One. He had a lot of fun and all he could talk about was the feast! They learned a song that says something like, "I don't care if I ever see food again!" A very fitting song for the season! :)
This is our cute little Hayden
chillin' in the Elmo chair
For Thanksgiving this year, we went down to Utah to celebrate with the Cutler Clan! It was so great to have EVERYONE together! We sure are growing!!
We arrived late Wednesday night and we were able to stay a full week because Ken had some work in Southern Utah the week after Thanksgiving. It was a great (and sorely needed) break for all of us! Ken's older brother Paul and his family put together a very nice little Thanksgiving program. They played a video of Pres.
Monson talking about the importance of gratitude.
Jessica made these incredible cupcakes for the kids! I was SO impressed!!
You can't go to the Cutler's and not play games!
Daddy's
playin' partner
While all the grownups were playing games, sweet Aunt Amanda played with the kids. She even got them doing Yoga which was something else to see!!
The next day, we went to see Uncle Nick, Aunt Leah and Lucy's new house in
Tooele. It's an older house and they got a great deal on it. They have been working hard on it and it's turning into a great little house! We had a great lunch with them and Uncle Nick became
Taysum's hero because he introduced him to Mario Kart Wii! Hayden and Lucy are about a month apart and it's fun to watch them as they grow so fast!
Then we headed over to Salt Lake to hang out with Uncle Shane, Michael and Eli at Discovery Gateway. It's an incredible place just for kids! Uncle Shane works there, so we got a great tour! It was such a good time and the kids had a blast!
Each center we went to, the kids didn't want to leave and it was hard to get them to go see the next one! The first level was dedicated to younger children; they even had a center for ones as little as Hayden! Up stairs was geared more towards older kids and they had a lot of centers geared more towards cool science activities. Once we saw both places, we had to divide up and take Bailey back downstairs and stay with
Taysum upstairs. They had such a great time! The water center was certainly in B's top three!
Dr. Cutler and the grown-ups
This was another one of B's top three: the store. She LOVED going "grocery shopping." They had little carts, a checkout stand, and even dirty colored
linoleum you'd expect to see in a grocery store! :) We had a
ridiculous time trying to get her out of there! :)
B's third of her top three was the farm (no surprise there to those of you who know B!) They even had this life size horse to ride. Here's T and Eli sharing a mount!
Bailey was in high heaven dressing up as a cow and riding the horse!
Ken was really excited for the kids to try the rock wall!
Michael and Eli
Did you know cows could climb?
Upstairs was pretty cool! We all loved this retired helicopter!
At this one, you could make an air craft out of muffin papers and pipe cleaners. Then you put it in this air
column and watch it fly!
At first glance, I thought these were magnets, but it's tubing with posts in them that go into holes in a metal wall; you can build long tube courses and then watch a ball follow the course! It was pretty clever!
This station was pretty fun, too! There is a button you push which starts the fan and blows the open umbrella along a wire.
Taysum spent quite a bit of time at the
Duplos table!
Downstairs again, I took Hayden into the Baby exhibit. They had a lot of fun little books to read and baskets of soft blocks to play with. He had a really fun time!
Bailey came in with us for awhile and had a good time, too!
And as if our full day wasn't already crazy enough, we decided to go see the lights at Temple Square. It was really difficult because we had a
stroller and two kids. Bailey wanted to be carried and
Taysum was so over-stimulated he was just kind of wandering in and out of the street and we couldn't get him to listen to us. It was pretty crazy! We were excited for them to ride the
TRAX and they thought that was pretty cool!
This is something I would really like to make a family tradition, but Ken and I decided we need to either wait until the kids are a little older, or make sure we bring some extra hands with us! :)
We did a lot of fun things on our vacation! One of my favorites was a girl's lunch! Mom Cutler, Holly, Alicia and I went to a really yummy restaurant (I wish I could remember the name!) They had amazing bread!! Then we went shopping and we all found something new to wear. It was so fun to hang out and do "girly" things!
Hayden did really well on the trip, but he did get pretty sick while we were down there. He had a fever and he kept throwing up! It only lasted the first day, but it was a rough first Thanksgiving for him! So, the night of the Community Family Dance, I decided to keep him home and let him sleep. Ken, Grandpa Ned, Grammy Penny, T & B went and they had a great time!
The "baby" of the family home from college! 
Hayden Nicholas hanging out with Uncle Nicholas and Aunt Lindi 
One of the traditions we have in our family is playing the chimes. Each chime has a number that coordinates with a music chart and we play Christmas songs together. Sometimes it can be an interesting arrangement, but it's a great tradition. 
My Mom's favorite tradition is using this Nativity scene (Tyler cut them out of wood for her) and having the kids tell the Christmas story in their own words. It's funny to see the different ages and the way they interpret it. CJ was pretty much quoting Luke 2. When it was Taysum's turn, he just shouted out the name of the animal he was holding. :) It will be fun to see how it evolves as they get older! 
Uncle Matt played "Silent Night" for us on the guitar 
"Helpful Hayden" on the loose "helping" great-grandpa with his shoe straps 
One of my favorite traditions is when my Dad reads "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." It's so great to watch him read it to the grand kids now!
Then it was time for presents! The kids could hardly stand the wait! Grandpa and Grandma spoiled them all and we had lots of happy kids!! Something new this year was, I wanted to put together a family CD. Each family chose a song that kind of "fit" them. It actually turned out really nice and everyone really enjoyed it! My brothers want to make it a tradition. We have a family joke about "It's a Wonderful Life." It's my Dad's favorite Christmas show and we can all pretty much quote it by heart... but he sleeps through it each year and we always make guesses about how long he'll last! I found a song by Mindy Smith called "It Really is a Wonderful Life" so I put that as the first song. My Mom chose "Shower the People" by James Taylor. My Dad chose, "Memories Are Made of These" by Dean Martin. We chose "Remember When" by Alan Jackson. The Lindsays chose "In My Arms" by Plum. Matt and Megan had "Dental Care" by Owl City. Nick and Lindi had another perfect fit with Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas." Tyler chose "The Boys of Fall" by Kenny Chesney. We decided that each CD would always end with "Love at Home." It was pretty much the song we always sang at scripture study or when someone in our family needed a "reminder." I was happy that it went over so well! 
I just love watching the kids open their presents. Their excitement is so infectious! My Mom saw this little kitty toy and she said she just knew she had to get for B. It's very life like and it mews and purrs and moves it's head... it looks just like a little kitten. Bailey was just in awe. She kept checking and re-checking that it was OK for her to take it home; it didn't leave her hands once that night! 
We went home and opened our Christmas pajamas and hopped into our beds so Santa could come. It was another WONDERFUL Christmas Eve!! This year, more than any, I felt overwhelmed with love for all of my family. The best part is everyone being together. And the greatest gift of all is that our loving Savior, whose birth is the reason for this incomparable season, has made it possible for our families to be together forever. I think Heaven would be very similar to having the wonderful feelings of the holidays(without the muss and fuss) everyday!
