Santa House 2012

 

We love the town we live in so very much.  Every year our family heads to the Santa House to sit on Santa's lap and take in the wonder of this beautiful house.

 

 

 

All the kids took a turn visiting with Santa and telling him all of their Christmas wishes.  Logan was not yet interested in sitting with Santa, in fact, he was quite terrified.  Luckily Santa understood and still brought him his blue bouncy ball that he had been wishing for.

 

Mackinac Island

In 2012 we took our very first trip to Mackinac Island.  We fell in love and were sad that we had not come sooner.

 

 Its a quick ferry ride over to the Island that the kids all loved.

 

 Once there we hopped on our bikes and spent the day enjoying amazing views, beautiful water and nature all around us. 

 We had so much fun the boys crashed.  Logan's poor sweaty head squished on the plastic was quite the sight.

 And who can leave Mackinac Island without some delicious fudge?  No us...I think we left with more than our fair share and enjoyed every single bite of it.

We loved our day there so much we vowed to come back again and we have!

First Day of School 2012

 

I am a little out of order here but  I keep finding pictures that I never posted.  This was first day of school for the kiddos.  I don't have any pictures of Sam at preschool because...oh yeah...I was in Hawaii!  Sorry Sam.

Abby starting 6th grade.  Middle school here I come!

 Ethan starting 4th grade.  He has Mrs. Shaffer this year.  One of the best teachers in the world.  She sparked a love of history in Ethan and he thinks she is the greatest! 

Morgan starting 3rd grade. 

Morgan's 8th Birthday

There is more than one downside to blogging about events that took place 2 years ago.  I don't really have any special things to say about my Morgan and how she was at this exact moment.  I can tell you how she is now, and its probably pretty close to who she was then but not exact.  I am trying really hard to catch up though and really do hope to be better in the future.

 

This was Miss Morgan's 8th birthday.

 

She got an American Girl doll.  Boy that was a good gift.  She has spent hours and hours and hours playing with this doll.  She makes her own clothes and has taught herself to sew.  These dolls are an investment that you don't know if your kid will even really play with.  In Morgan's case its been worth every single penny.

 

 

 Seriously...how can you not want to just pinch those cheeks! 

 

 I have been trying to convince her for years to cut her hair short again but she has fought me and so far has won.  Looking at these photos may however make me fight a little harder.  I LOVE her hair like this.  Her excuse is gymnastics...and some mumbo jumbo about not wanting it in her face all the time.  Would it be wrong of me to threaten making her quit if she won't let us cut it short again????

Halloween 2012

Halloween at the Carn house is always a busy and fun time.  This year was no exception.  There were pumpkins to be carved...

 

Costumes to be made....a scarecrow, a dino, Spiderman, roller derby girl and Mr. Head in the jar.  The head in the jar was such a success that we have used it since then and Ethan actually won a costume contest at school this year for it.  But I'm getting ahead of myself (2 years ahead of myself!).

 And who can forget trick or treating with friends and enough candy to last a lifetime!

 

Our good friends also did their yearly adult Halloween party.  I know I have a picture of the two of us but I can't find it for some reason.  This year was one of our favorites.  Charlie was a piñata and I wore a blindfold and carried around a bat.  He stuffed his pockets full of candy and I would hit him and he would toss candy out all over the floor.  SO.MUCH.FUN!

Morgan's Baptism Day

What a special day for Morgan and for all of us.  Her baptism day was filled with family and friends and the spirit was strong.  I love having girls... and being there to swoop Morgan into my arms right after she was baptized by her father was the best feeling ever.  It was a special moment just between the two of us that I will never forget.

 

 A family member once told me to get really nice pictures of your kids when they are around 8 years old.  This just happens to be right when they get baptized and makes a perfect excuse for adorable pictures.  I have taken that advice for Ethan and Morgan and hope to do the same for the other boys.  Its a perfect time when they are still little but not at that unfortunate awkward stage quite yet. 

 

I have LOVED looking back at these photos.  It made me tear up a bit to see how much she has grown.  I absolutely adore these pictures of my sweet Morgan!

 I am so proud of Morgan and her decision to be baptized.  She is a wonderful example to all of us!

Muscle Meet

Morgan was able to participate in her gyms muscle meet a few years back.  The problem is that I have no memory of what her actual results were.  She did really well and won or tied on or placed in several of the competitions. 

 

At the muscle meet they do a ton of timed strength and conditioning moves, things like leg-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, running...you get the picture.  Hard stuff...stuff normal people can't do unless you go to the gym for several hours a week.

 

I had to post this one video in particular because it sums up Morgan as a gymnast.  The girl is determined and even when her body tells her, nope, no more....she tells it ummmm yes, and sucks every ounce she has out of her self. 

 

I also love this video because you can see her cute coach Heather in the back pushing her to keep going.  Heather has since left to finish up her schooling but is so cute and will still come to see girls compete at state and pop in to the gym now and again.  Morgan loved coach Heather and she was one of the first people to really believe in Morgan!

 

I love this little girl, and boy does she NOT take after her mother :) 

 

Balloon Fest 2012

One of the very best things about living somewhere for so long is you have traditions that you get to do every single year.  The balloon festival is one of those traditions we look forward to each year.  In fact, as I am typing this tonight is our annual balloon festival!  Ok Ok so I am 2 years behind in blogging.  Let's hope I post about this weekend before 2016!

 

This particular year Charlie and I were in Hawaii and missed the festival!  I know, poor babies right?  I was so happy however that Ross and Diane were willing to take the kids.  And even snap a few pictures for us while they were at it.  Way to go Grandma and Grandpa!

 

 

Balloons and brotherly love.  Does it get any better?

 

 

I had to add these in because they warm my heart.  My kids love grandma for many reasons but if you had to ask them why grandma was so great I can bet you that her cooking would probably be number one on the list!

 

When grandma is in town there is always a cake or homemade bread or cookies to be had.  I love that while we were away she took some time to cook with my boys!

Morgan's Utah Trip

Charlie gets to go to Utah twice a year to recruit at BYU.  He usually takes a kid along with him when he can.  As jealous as I am that I am never the one that gets to tag along I am thankful for the opportunity my kids have to pop in for a visit now and again and spend time with family.

 

On this trip he took Morgan and she had the opportunity to spend some special time with her cousin Emma. These two girls are peas in a pod and I love seeing  them together.

 

They went swimming in a natural hot spring by grandma and grandpas cabin in Heber.

 

They fell asleep exhausted after a day of crafting.

 What girl does not enjoy a mani/pedi with a good friend?

And as for this picture....I have no words.  You know you have sent your daughter to Utah when she comes home with a cowgirl hat and a picture of her holding a gun!

 Our two cowgirls had an outdoor movie night on the deck.

 

And they also were treated to a day of horse back riding!

 

Seriously.....I want a trip to Utah!  So glad my little Morgan was able to do this and spend some great quality time with Emma and her Grandparents. 
 

Charlie took Morgan to the alpine slide and they had a blast.

They also went to visit the gymnastics gym and got to watch the girls on the team practice.  Maybe Morgan will be in that same gym in the future!

 

Then it was off for a night of tailgating with Uncle Chris and Aunt Angie and watching a BYU football game.  From what I heard she fell asleep not long into the game, but with the time change and all this fun I think I would have been sleepy too!

 

 

 Last but not least, before the kids are baptized we always try and take them to a session of conference in the conference center.  We have been able to do this for all of the kids so far and I hope we can do it with the last two. 

 

 

 

This was a special trip for Charlie and Morgan.  I am so glad she has some time to connect with family she does not get to see very often.

Sister Photo Shoot

 

Several years ago a friend of ours was working on her photography business and wanted to try out a new lens.  She asked if she could borrow my girls for an afternoon sister photo shoot.  The girls were beyond thrilled being "models" for a day.

 

Our friend Elizabeth captured some amazing shots.  Here were some of our favorites!

 

 

I am so glad that these two girls have each other.  It warms my heart to hear them talking late at night.  I look forward to the future and seeing their friendship continue to grow.  There is something special about a sister, I know I am so thankful for mine!