Celebrating Christmas.

We had an amazing Christmas.  Before that, though, we celebrated my dad's birthday.  Sidney made him a cute cake.  

My dad really is an amazing father and Grandpa.  He is such a trooper when it comes to hanging out with all of us ladies!

I bought a few bottles of sparkling apple cider for the holiday.  Sidney has been enjoying a glass every evening.  I had to double check to make sure it was apple cider, as I accidentally tried to pour her a glass of wine at Thanksgiving.  To my credit, the bottles do look alike:).

We started our celebration early by sneaking into the donuts my mom bought for Christmas morning...

My dad barbecued steaks for us on Christmas Eve.  It was delicious!

Kendall assumed the role of bingo caller.  Cousin Cody taught her well.  She really keeps the game moving.  It is a good thing, because there were so many fun bingo gifts to go around.  

Sherry sent all of the ladies these adorable (and super cozy) sweatshirts.  I was remiss to ever take mine off.  

We were all blessed with so much love and such nice thoughtful gifts.  One of my favorites was this black and white collage that Sidney received.

Yes, this was a beautiful Christmas.  I cherish each and every holiday with these sweet ladies.

Left, Right, Center.

 Kendall's dance team had a pizza party celebration before the three week dance hiatus.  After spending nearly every day together, a three week hiatus is like an eternity.  Each of the girls brought a gift and plaid the game left, right, center in white elephant exchange fashion.

Kendall ended up with the coveted blanket.  What is it with teenage girls and cozy blankets?

Also, I ask the same question when it comes to showing the bottom of shoes?

The girls had an amazing time hanging out and celebrating.  January is not too far away!

Quilt Mania.

 Since my mom and I were on a roll with my runner quilt, she was inspired to make each of her grandkids a quilt.  I agreed to help her.  Hallie and Jonny wanted a king size.  Whoa!  My mom and I work very well together and we were done with the top in no time.

Heather and Dylan wanted a smaller quilt in neutral tones.  I just love the way this turned out.

My mom was so happy with the way they were turning out, she purchased fabric for Kendall and Sidney's quilts.  We are already almost done putting these together as well.  

The hard part will be learning to use the long arm and actually quilting it.  With this many quilts, my mom is going to get certified to use the machine at her favorite quilting store.  I will be here for moral support the whole time:)

Winter Recital.

Kendall has been working very hard on her dance technique this fall.  She has the bumps and bruises to show for it.

Dancing is a full contact sport apparently.  Kendall got this nice gash after practice one day.  She knocked her head on the storage cubbies.  Okay, not quite a dance injury, but impressive nonetheless.

All of her hard work culminated in a winter recital that took place last weekend.  She performed five dances over the two day event.  It was a super fun, exhausting weekend for her.  She enjoyed both the performance and the comradery of her team.

Here is a gorgeous opening shot of her team dancing to Ruby Blue.  One of the parents took this photo and sent it out to the team. 

I know I am her mom, but I was absolutely impressed by the progress she had made.  She is a performer.

I am very excited to start watching her compete this spring.  She has definitely found her passion.

Winter Horse Fluff.

Though the Eh Capa season is officially over for the year, Sidney has been staying very active with her horse riding.  She has been learning to jump this winter.  Alyssa has her working with Indy for her jump practices and events.  She is very proud of her progress, as she has been working on 2 point form for her jumps.  

Though she is spending a lot of time on Indy, she tries to sneak in some time with Marley as well.  Alyssa has been taking Marley to a number of workshops to progress her training and work on de-sensitizing her.  Alyssa has said that both Marley and Sidney have matured in their skills a lot this fall and will be ready for the spring time.

Celebrations and Remembrance.

 My parent celebrated their 50th anniversary with a weekend in McCall.  They went all out for the weekend, including a $78 steak.  What?  I am so happy for them.  It is such an accomplishment to get to this milestone.  

The following weekend, we celebrated their anniversary at home, along with Terrell's birthday.

It was a beautiful evening, complete with a candle lighting remembrance and pineapple upside down cake.

Hannah joined us for the evening, which was super special as she is just like part of the family.  We all decorated Kevin's tree together.

Memory Quilt of a Different Kind.

 After Kevin passed away, I got the idea to make a quilted runner for my bed.  I chose a daisy theme as it always reminds me of our courtship.  I bought all of the materials and then it sat for a LONG time.  I just could not bring myself to pull the trigger until recently.  My mom took a quilting class and was inspired to do a project.  She agreed to help me put the quilt together over the Thanksgiving holiday.  We spent a couple of days cutting pressing and sewing.  I chose to do an applique quilt, instead of a traditional quilt.  

It was a lot of fun spending the time with my mom.  She even trusted me to use her fancy new sewing machine.  This machine is insane.   

Here is what it looks like just before the quilting process.  I am having the quilting done by another lady.  She said it will be ready to pick up this weekend.  I am super excited to see the finished product.  She is going to quilt around the applique so that it will pop nicely.