"Decking the Halls"

I had a one of those moments the other day where your motherly intuition is telling you that perhaps you should go see what your 4 year old is doing... but you're too wrapped up in watching that DVR'd episode of last night's Glee to pause it and check on said 4 year old. 4 year old was extremely proud of his "decorations" he put up (in an astonishly short amount of time, I have no idea how he did it so quickly), that I couldn't get mad and I couldn't bear to take it down for a few days.

Way to get into the Christmas spirit, little man!

Now that Alex is getting older, I really want to create memories for him during the holidays. Alex and I kicked off the month by going to the Festival of Trees and had a great time, went to a showing of The Polar Express at the movie theatre, but otherwise really haven't done much.
We haven't gone to see the lights at Temple Square for a few years and thought it would be a lovely way to spend a Sunday evening.

Now, I love my husband dearly, but I really must remember that these types of outings are funner without him. He dislikes crowds, and no matter when you go to Temple Square at Christmastime... there's just no getting around it. Consequently, he turns into the Grinch and I get ticked off because he's putting a damper on my mission to make a memory.

Did Alex enjoy it? Hard to say. Poor little guy kept having to pee every 15 minutes because it was so cold outside. I did get a few nice pictures though...

I got Alex and I (without Steve) back on the Christmas spirit path today by making Christmas cookies. Baking and decorating sugar cookies with a 4 year old turned into a 3 hour long chore, but seeing how excited he was to deliver plates to neighbors made it all worthwhile. Especially when our Hispanic neighbor answered the door to see this cute little guy proclaim, "FELIZ NAVIDAD!!"

boys will be boys...

What is it with boys and sleeping with their hands down their pants? I promise there isn't any "monkey business" going on here... just for warmth I suppose? With his hand propped behind his head and mouth wide open snoring, he looks just like his dad. Alex just saw this picture and said that he's not sleeping, just resting his eyes. He must have heard his dad say that in church one day... ha ha

Thanksgiving Fun and Surprises

Our Thanksgiving festivities began this year with a "Thanksgiving Feast" at Alex's preschool. I was excited that I was able to go help. It was fun to see what Alex does at preschool each day.

A few days before Thanksgiving, Steve received an early Christmas gift. His sister from Mississippi, along with her family had travelled out to Utah but kept it a surprise from Steve. We went over to his nephew's house for dinner Tuesday night, you can imagine his shock when Josephine and her family popped out of one of the bedrooms! It's been great getting to spend time with them this week. We had a lovely Thanksgiving, divided into sections. Part One: a "Southern Style" Thanksgiving with Steve's family, complete with cornbread, homemade mac 'n cheese and black eyed peas. Part Two: a traditional "white folks" Thanksgiving meal with my sister and her family, then Part Three; back to Steve's nephew's house for leftovers from both feasts!

A Lilly Family dance party... black folks sure know how to have a good time (although I must confess, I appointed myself as photographer and videographer because I was a little self conscious about being the only white person dancing... don't get me wrong, I can hold my own on the dance floor, but still...)

Alex's new look... I call it, "Justin Bieber meets Joe Jonas with a pinch of Chris Brown for a little added color".

The Definition of a Missionary

I came across a quote the other day that I absolutely fell in love with. It says,

"mis-sion-ary (noun) a person who leaves their family for a while, so others can be with their
FAMILIES FOREVER"

My heart aches tonight as we just learned of a young man who went to Kearns High that Steph and Steve knew. He was nearing the end of his mission in Texas and was tragically killed, along with another missionary while riding their bikes. I can't begin to imagine the devastation and heartache these elder's families are feeling right now. I can only pray that the Lord will wrap His arms around them and bring them peace and hope at this time.

This also hits close to home as our family has 3 missionaries out in the field right now. I am so proud of these young men and am strengthened by their examples. I am also in awe of the strength of their mothers who bravely send their sons off for two years. The very thought of one day doing the same with Alex is more than I can fathom.

In the meantime, all I can do is continue to pray daily for these young men as I also pray that one day my son will be as valiant as his cousins.
Elder Kujanpaa- Indonesia

Elder Eide- Brazil

Elder Cragun- Baltimore, Maryland

Halloween Happenings

A few weeks ago, we had a church activity where the kids could dress up. We didn't have an official Halloween costume figured out for Alex yet, so Steph and I threw this together last minute and it turned out pretty dang cute if I can say so myself...

In this picture, Steve was so impressed because he thought Alex was demonstrating the proper technique for catching a football... I didn't have the heart to tell him he was actually making the "U" sign for the Utah Utes.

We took advantage of the beautiful (probably for the last time) weather last weekend to go to the pumpkin patch.

Yesterday was the Halloween party for preschool. The parents lined the sidewalk for the kids to parade in their costumes, then they performed a Halloween song for us.

My sister made her son an adorable squirrel costume some 20 years ago which we turned into a chipmunk. Alex has been on an Alvin and the Chipmunks kick lately and thought this costume was pretty cool!

Alex and his beloved "Miss Tami".

Tumbling!

Alex is a mover and a groover. He loves to dance "beat boy" style, spinning around on the ground, doing handstands and such. So, I thought he might enjoy a tumbling class. I signed him up through the community ed where they hold classes at various high schools (quite often taught by someone who is barely out of high school themselves!), so I didn't have very high expectations, but both Alex and I have loved it. His teacher is phenomenal and Alex is about to begin a second session, now in Tumbling 2! Here he is learning to do a cartwheel...

Love the expression on his face in this one after sticking his gold medal landing.

On to Tumbling 2!

Fire Station Field Trip

Alex went on his first field trip this week... to the fire station! There were a handful of very excited little boys from his class, and 3 little girls who seemed entirely unimpressed... go figure!

The firemen did an excellent job of talking to the kids about fire safety, showing them their gear and equipment, and of course the most exciting part for the boys... getting to sit in the fire engine!

At the end, each kid got a special sticker if they could demonstrate how to "stop, drop and roll". This is Alex's turn...

He's not covering his eyes out of embarassment, you're supposed to cover them for protection (something new that I didn't know...)

This field trip must have made quite an impression on Alex as he says he wants to be a fireman when he grows up. It will have to be a sidejob though, because he's also said he wants to be a superhero... and a golfer.