Seventeen

Steven had to work for half of his birthday. Good thing all the fun happens at night on New Year's Eve. A bunch of his friends came over to hang out and celebrate Steven's birth. They played the longest game of Apple to Apples I have ever witnessed; 9pm-midnight. 

Steven continues to amaze me the older he gets. I can't wait to spend his seventeenth year with him.

I love my Steven.

Slouch Hat for Me

I found this adorable slouch hat pattern at Little Monkeys Crochet. 

This should do a good job at keeping my head warm for the couple of days we'll be in Utah.

Frankincense

For Family Home Evening,Steven gave a lesson on how we can show the Savior we love him. He asked Dave-o what happened on Christmas Day. His response was:

"We opened presents, we celebrated Jesus' birthday, and the three Wise Men brought Jesus myrrh, gold, and Frankenstein."

Last Moments

We are experiencing a lot of "last moments" with James. I'm excited for him to serve the Lord on a two year mission. However, IT'S TWO YEARS! I've never gone more than 5 days of not talking to him. I am finding that we are all competing for time with him. We are squeezing every moment we can with our James. 

Christmas Day

The day was filled with:

7am wake up call.

Finding out Santa did come.

Opening presents

Christmas brunch with Mom and Dad Zinn, Mike and Stacy family, and the missionaries.

Playing with toys.

Eating danishes.

Eating danishes.

Eating danishes.

Feeling sick from all the sugar.

Talking on the phone to family.

Dinner at Mom and Dad Zinns.

Merry Christmas!

You Make Me Happy

 Elsie's shirt says it all:

"You make me Happy"

I love being an aunt almost as much as I love being a mom.

So, whenever I get the chance to spend time with my nieces and nephews, I jump at the opportunity. I kept my little "elves" busy making and decorating Christmas cookies.

The most fun was eating them (after setting some aside for Santa).

Doughnuts

We received a surprise invite to have doughnuts at Mom and Dad Zinn's. That is an offer hard to refuse. Dad Zinn was excited to show us all his new toy; a hover board. Everyone figured it out, except for me. I fell off seconds after getting on. We all had a good time

And a yummy time.

Black Cat Hat

I made this hat for Kirsten's friend who is a huge cat lover. I can't decide what I love most about the hat; the black yarn with gold flecks or the ears. The free pattern can be found at Persia Lou's blog.

This is a hat I will make again. 

We Wore PJ's to Church

Having breakfast for dinner is a favorite of our family. This is our meal choice for most of our Sunday evenings. We were excited to learn that our Ward Christmas party was catching on with this fun idea. We even got to wear our pj's there.

The primary children sang Picture a Christmas, Santa made a visit, an "awkward family" photo booth was set up, and the YW had a "Whoville" hair salon for the little kids. We had a great evening.

Set Up

(Bishop Black, Whitney, Kirsten, Steven, Jocelyn, Jake, and Justin)

 Kirsten, Steven, and I had fun helping out with set-up and decorations for the ward Christmas party.

Steven testing out the "Awkward Family Photo Booth" with his friends Whitney and Justin.

Christmas is Nearing

Our home is looking like Christmas now.