Christmas in Idaho Falls!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

We finally made it home safe and sound from our 5 day trip to Idaho Falls for the holidays. It was so much fun and I think it will take us a week to recoup from all the late nights we had. I do not believe Zack and I made it to bed anytime before 2:00 a.m. the whole time we were down there. We stayed up late playing games every night because we were having so much fun! On Christmas Eve, our familes came together and we had a sock party, ate fondue, played games, had a gift exchange, let the kids break a pinata, and had Mackee and Keely act out the nativity.

Mackee and Keely baked cupcakes and sprinkled reindeer food all over the front yard for Santa's crew. It was so cute to see them experience the magic of Christmas. When we tucked the girls in bed that night, Mackee said, "Mommy, can we check to see if Santa ate the cupcakes before we look to see if he brought us any presents? I think she was more worried about Santa getting enough to eat then anything because when she woke-up she said, "Mommy, Santa must have been thirsty because he took the cup of water we left out with him." Opps! She insisted on water not milk... The girls got just about everything one could imagine. I am still trying to figure out where I am going to put it all. Then, to top it off, while we were visiting family, we got do a bunch of activities. We got to go out to Grandma Rae's and go snowmobiling and sledding. They had so much snow pilled up from plowing the driveway that we actually got to sled down a hill that was probably close to 15 feet tall. We also got to go bowling with Zack's side of the family for an afternoon. Grandpa just about fell down every time it was his turn to bowl. We discovered that all of us bowl much better on the Wii then we do in real life. The highlight of the trip for me was my girls' night out when me and my family went to see TWILIGHT again! Yes, I am still addicted. No need to worry though, my heart belongs to my husband. I keep telling Zack I want a poster to put on the back of my bedroom door so Edward can watch me sleep at night. LOL Zack took my cousin Lindsay fly fishing at a nearby pond. Even though they froze their butts off in their float tubes, they still had a lot of fun. I think they decided to give up when the eyelits to their rods kept freezing, making it near impossible to cast.

I wish I could share more but that would take forever, so please enjoy the slideshow that I put together. Thank you to all of our family for your help with our girls and to Farren and Melissa for your hospitality! I think Zack and I gained about 5 pounds from all the yummy food, but it was worth it! "Do not worry Sherise, if you are reading this, I will be hitting the gym this week."

Christmas Blessings

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas!

This year Grandma Rae sent our gifts home with us early. The plan was for her to go to Palm Springs for the holiday so she wanted us to have our presents. Well, even though her plans fell through, we decided as families to go ahead and open up our gifts early this year. There was no sense in Zack and I hauling all the gifts (enough for a toy store) all the way back to Idaho Falls. It was kind of nice for a change because we got to unwrap some gifts under our tree for a change.

Thank you Grandma ~ We all love you very much!

The Best Present of All Came Early!

We also found out that my sister Raegan is going to be having TWINS... We are so excited for her and her growing family! I cannot wait to see my niece and nephew, which are due to arrive sometime in late May. The best part about being an aunt is that I get to enjoy two babies at once, but not have to be the one who gets up in the middle of the night with them.

Congrats, Sis ~ We are so happy for you!

The Reason for the Season

Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem!

This week we had the opportunity as a family to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. We got to go visit The Little Town of Bethlehem (inside Boise). It was a really neat experience and we manage to survive in the freezing cold. We also got the opportunity to go Christmas Caroling with Clyde the camel.

The Innkeeper

Hark the Harold Angels Sing

Away In A Manger

Joseph & Mary's Donkey

Preschool Fun!

Special Preschool Visitors

This week for Preschool, I had a Santa Claus come and visit my class during our Christmas party. All of my students loved him and I even let Mackee stay home from kindergarten for the party. It was just too much fun, and she loved it!

A big thank you to our good friend, Glenn. We could not have done it without him. He made the perfect Santa... (SHHH!)

Another fun visitor we had at preschool this week was Fireman Mick! He came to teach all the preschool kids about fire safety. He even let all of the kids try on his gear for fun!

Our snack of the day was a S'more on top of firewood. I am sharing this because it might help remind those reading this post to talk to their kids about fire safety. It would also make for a great FHE lesson. Sadly, my grandparents house burned down so it is something that I worry about. After discussing fire safety with your kids, you could make the yummy treat below together.

Here are some tips that Fireman Mick shared... *talk to your kids about the emergency phone number 911 *practice setting off the smoke detector and teach them to crawl out on their hands and knees (below the smoke) *stop drop & roll *assign a special meeting place (ours is the mialbox). Whenever your kids see a fireman, have them hold up two fingers - this tells the fireman that they know you know to replace the batteries in your smoke detector two times a year.

S'more Cupcake on Firewood

Firewood = pretzel sticks, S'more = cupcake, frosting, sprinkled graham cracker crumbs, mini marshmallows, hershey bar chunks.

A FATHER'S LOVE

This week while mom got to go out and do some Christmas shopping, dad took over and had a daddy daughter night! Dad helped the girls make gingerbread houses. To mom's suprise when she got home, the adorable houses were neatly set out and there was no mess to clean-up.

The other day, Mackee turned on some music and asked dad if he would dance with her. Being the greatest dad out there, Zack could not refuse. Mom thought it was too cute so she snatched a quick picture and dad did not even complain about being on camera.

Not only did Zack take good care of his girls this week, but he took good care of mom as well. He hates hanging the outside Christmas lights but he knows mom enjoys them so he did it anyway.

THANK YOU SWEETIE!

Our good friends had a Christmas Party and Santa Claus showed up. The girls were so excited they gave him their Christmas list and told him what they wanted. It was pretty cute until Izzie took one look at him

and then started screaming...

I had to post this picture of Izzie because it makes me realize how fast she is growing. She is now eating solids and seems to be doing well with them. Her favorite foods of course are the baby finger foods that make a huge soggy mess. Mom keeps trying to convince herself that if it makes Izzie Arlene happy, then it is worth the clean-up.

Sesame Street Live!

Three months ago we told Keely that if she would learn to go potty in the potty, like a big girl, then, we would take her to see Elmo! Well, it totally worked, so over the weekend we got to go see "Elmo Makes Music". The girls absolutely loved it! Keely was fascinated with the characters and her eyes were glued on them for the entire show. My good friend Chantele and her husband were able to come down from Idaho Falls to watch the show with us. We had so much fun, and it was totally worth bribing Keely with it because she did an awesome job when it came to potty training!

Check out our slide show!

"Elmo Makes Music"

Behold Your Little Ones

This week for Family Home Evening (FHE) we spent time with the girls talking about the real reason why we celebrate Christmas. The birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We took a couple pieces of our nativity set and showed them to the girls while we talked about the special events that happened the night baby Jesus came into the world. It was heart warming to see their faces light up and get so excited about all of it. Moments like this remind you as parents why it is essential that you take the time to teach your children the gospel.

After our FHE lesson, we let the girls write letters to Santa and make a Christmas countdown chain. The number one items wanted from the girls is a doll house (Mackee) and a tinker bell doll (Keely). Mackee keeps telling us that if we are not good, then we are going to get one of those "big black hard things". What is it?

A LUMP OF COAL!

I love the feeling of Christmas in our home. It often brings tears to my eyes when I see the tree all lit up, the nativity set up, the stockings hung, and Christmas music playing in the background.

Christmas is so much more fun when you have little ones because they are what make the season so magical.

The best gifts that I have be given this year are my three beautiful little girls, my wonderful husband, and my Savior and friend, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving Feast!

I am thankful for my family!

Grandma Rae and Izzie Arlene!

We were able to go back home (Idaho Falls) for the Thanksgiving holiday and visit with all of our family. It was a lot of fun! I think I may have gained 10 pounds from all the wonderful food we ate. We stayed with my aunt and uncle and it was wonderful. The girls loved it, and we are very grateful for their hospitality.

My aunt Melissa did a wonderful job of cooking and coordinating all of the colors to match the fall season. We had a blast stuffing ourselves and then playing games with each other. However, we were also sad because it was the first Thanksgiving where Grandpa Hunt was absent due to serious health problems. He is currently in the Salt Lake Hosipital. We are praying for him every day and we miss him terribly. May the Lord comfort him and my grandma during their time of need.

We also got to spend time with Zack's family and that was very enjoyable as well. After the big hunting trip that the guys took over the weekend, I think I have officially proved that I am the better shot. It only took them a whole box of shells before they were able to harvest their deer.

Thank you to Farren and Melissa for taking us to

The Forgotten Carols!

We will never forget it!

Thank you to Katie for babysitting my girls and playing with them constantly, thank you to Sherise for going shopping with me, and thank you to Lindsay for making me feel young again by playing truth or dare with us. I promise I will not tell anybody what fun entertainment you provided.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Crafts of the week!

It was one crafty week. I spent a lot of time doing stuff for the girls. We made these really cute Thanksgiving Turkeys for the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving! They were lots of fun to make, but after making 18 of them for all my preschool students I was ready to move on to something else.

The Halloween pillowcases I made for the girls were such a hit that I decided to make them a Christmas one. We will see if I can reach my goal of one for every Holiday. They are super easy to make and my kids absolutely love them. It makes bedtime and naptime a lot more fun!

I was getting tired of my fancy hair accessories getting smashed, so I put together this cute bow/flower holder for the girls. Now I just need to fill it up.

Besides all the crafting, it was kind of a crazy week. Keely was throwing a temper tantrum in the bathroom and hit her mouth on the toilet. Needless to say, she has knocked two bottom teeth loose. I called the dentist and they said there was not much they could do unless they were fractured and then they might have to pull them. In the meantime, I was told just to watch them and see if they tighten back up on their own. Everytime she gets bumped in the mouth she starts to bleed. Hopefully, they will be okay.

Girls' Night Out!

TWILIGHT ADDICTS!

On Friday night my friends and I went to the new hit movie TWILIGHT... If you have not read the books, then you are missing out. They are to die for and the movie would not be the same without the novels. I am happy to say that I finished book 4 this week. Just in time for our girls' night out. My friend Jessica and I made Twilight shirts for the special event. Everybody loved them! We all had a blast at the movies and then to top it off we went out to a late night dinner. Just us girls for a change - no boys allowed. I told Zack that I loved my date with Edward, but that there was no reason to be jealous because he is just a dreamy character. The movie really did make my heart throb.

I am a little suprised that we did not get kicked out the movie theater after all the popcorn throwing we did while waiting for the show to start.

Wholesome Recreational Activities

Zack and I went deer hunting up to Mackay over the weekend. It was so much fun to get to spend some quality time together as a couple and do the thing we love most (spending time in the great outdoors)! We got up early and hit the mountains before light. We hiked, hiked, and hiked some more before we finally ran into a heard of nine does (thanks to my father in-law who used the radio to tell us where they were). I shot first (as always since my husband is such a gentleman) and then Zack shot. We had both our deer down by 9:00 a.m.

My shot placement was perfect, straight through the heart!

I wonder if my brother in-laws can beat that?! Ha, Ha, Ha...

Thank you so much to my great friend Tiffany who took all three of our girls so Zack and I could go hunting together. Bless her heart. She spoiled them rotten by taking them shopping and swimming, and then she did not even complain when we found out that Izzie woke her up six times in the middle of the night. The girls loved it and Zack and I are very grateful for her service to our family.

On top of all that exciting news, all the girls were sick over the past week. Keely spent much of her time watching "Tinker Bell" over and over no thanks to her nasty fevers.

Keely also got a new haircut this week. Her big sister Mackee Rae thought it would be fun to cut her hair for her. So, we will be speding the next several months growing out bangs and the chunk that was cut off on the top. It was a good thing we decided to get our family pictures taken before they decided to turn my bathroom into a hair salon.

Izzie Arlene Koehler has officially found her toes

this past week.

It is so cute to see her play with them!

Crazy Week!

We just posted our new family pictures on our blog! Let us know what you think... We have been so busy chasing the girls around the house this week that Zack and I are going crazy. Miss Keely Jane has hit the terrible two's this week. She got a hold of a permanent marker and drew all over our couches, entertainment center, and walls. She also managed to stamp up the kitchen table and the bathroom sink with a stamp pad. Thankfully we were able to get most of it scrubbed off. Everything but the couches that is. I met with Mackee's teacher this week for parent/teacher conferences and she is doing really well. Her teacher said academically she is right on track... Good job, Mackee! Zack has been sick with a fever and a sinus headache this week, which is no fun. As for me, I started book 3 from the TWILIGHT series. Best Books Ever! They are soooooo good. A bunch of my friends and I got advanced movie tickets for the upcoming movie. I am looking forward to the girls' night out!

Happy Halloween!

The Wizard of Oz Family!

We had so much fun on the night of Halloween! We loaded all of us up and some of our close friends, the Bowman's, in the bed of our truck and drove around as we trick or treated. We had plenty of blankets and hot cocoa to keep us warm. All the kids loved it! After hitting a few houses, we ended up at another wards trunk or treat and then back to the Bowman's house for a PARTY! The kids got to have a doughnut eating contest and go fishing for prizes. To top the night off we made the guys participate in a pie eating contest, which Zack ended up winning! Too bad I forgot my camera because it would have made for a funny picture.

Our ward had a Halloween carnival a couple nights before Halloween. The girls got pretty butterflies painted on their faces. We got lots of compliments on our costumes and we thought Mackee made the perfect Dorothy! Keely took off her costume after wearing it for a few short minutes.

PUMPKIN PATCH!

It is amazing what you can find in your closet...

I am dressing up as a scarecrow this year since we are going as the Wizard of Oz family and I managed to throw this costume together in an afternoon for only $3.00

It turned out so cute I may have to wear it again next year, especially for that price!

This past weekend included so much fun! We took the girls to a nearby pumpkin patch where they got to take a hayride out to a field and pick out their very own pumpkin. Who knew there would be so many choices.

The girls had to pick a pumpkin that they could carry and then afterwards we got to

go back to the farm and pet the pigs and the sheep. Izzie slept the whole time of course, but for the most part we all really enjoyed it and the fall weather was perfect...

Then for FHE we let the girls pick whether they wanted to paint the pumpkins or carve the pumpkins. Of course they choose to paint them. Zack and I were thrilled over that choice because it was way less work on our part. Usually we end up carving half of it for them and so this way they pretty much got to do it all by themselves. They turned out very colorful!

On top of all the weekend fun Izzie finally rolled over for the first time. It was so cute. We all watched her do it twice in a row. 5 months and now rolling!

My cousin Lindsay came and stayed with us for a night because she was on her way to Oregon. The girls absolutely adore her. A big thanks to her for helping me improve my blog and for the yummy slice of cheesecake that she brought me from a fancy downtown restaurant.

SPOOKY HALLOWEEN FUN!

SPOOKY HALLOWEEN FUN!

This week for some family fun we let the girls make some SPOOKY Halloween hands! They loved it! They have been taking turns hiding them around the house. It was so much fun to see them get crafty that I did not even mind cleaning up the popcorn mess.

Mackee is doing amazing at gymnastics... She really enjoys it, and who would have guessed that she would be so flexible. She sure seems to have a talent for it. She is almost close to being able to do a 360 on the bars all by herself.

I had to post this picture because it was way too cute...

I wish I could sleep like this!

The Start of Our Blog

All Because Two People Fell In Love...

I have no idea what I am doing when it come to this blogging thing, but apparently it is the new thing that everybody is doing so I thought I would give it a try. I figured it would be an easier way to be able to keep in touch with close family and friends.

As you can tell by the above picture. This is our beautiful family. A family of girls. It is crazy to think how fast our children our growing. Mackee, Keely, and Izzie have been a wonderful blessing for Zack and I. We are truly grateful for their precious spirits.

Halloween is underway and the girls are so exicted! We took some time and let the girls decorate pumpkins by turning them into some scary looking bats. They absolutely loved it! They especially liked getting to use spray paint.

That was an adventure!

I love the holidays so I made some Halloween pillowcases for the girls to sleep on for the month of October this year. That brought some SPOOKY fun to our house. I just about have all our costumes ready for the big day. We will be going as the WIZARD OF OZ family. Mackee is going to be Dorothy, Keely is going as the Lion, Izzie will be the (nice - as Mackee puts it) Wicked Witch, and I will be the Scarecrow. We are still trying to talk dad into going as the Tin Man, but he keeps telling us he is going as a pipefitter. In other words, he is going as himself. I guess we will see, but I personally think dad would make the best Tin Man ever because of his shinny bald head.

Outside all the Holiday fun, Kindergarten is going really well for Mackee. She loves it! Her teacher is named Mrs. Parke and she is the sweetest thing ever. We have been learning how to sound out words so hopefully she will be reading soon. She loves to write words down. I went and bought her a little journal so she can copy words and she would do it all day if I would let her.

Keely is officially potty trained during the daytime. I have to say, she was ten times easier than Mackee was. We pretty much let her do her own thing and as long as she gets her TOOTSIE ROLL she is good to go. I am going to be taking her in shortly for her first haircut. It has taken two years but it is finally starting to get some length to it.

Izzie is doing really well. She is growing like a weed. We have been having some problems nursing, so we are in the process of starting to wean but she does not like that very much. She loves her new bouncer that Grandma Rae got her, and I swear up and down she is more of a daddy's girl than a mommy's. I guess dad just has that special touch. She is turning 5 months old tommorrow.