Hailey's Birthday and other fun stuff!

The sunsets in Arizona truly are magnificent.  They often happen when I'm inside cooking dinner.  But so often my Spencer will see some color through the window and he will tell me to go out and look! I'm so glad he shares my love of beautiful sunsets!

Tom and I are performing in a Christmas Concert for a neighboring stake.  We love to perform, especially at Christmastime.

I asked my mother if she was interested in coming to Arizona to perform with us and she said, Yes!!  It was so fun to do two duets with her!  We performed our classic "Sleigh Ride" duet on the piano then we did a fun piano/organ duet that combined a Sonata from Josef Haydn and Joy to the World.  We received many compliments on our duets and it was so much fun to have her there to perform with me!

Tom also sang a few duets with our dear friend, Jill Chipman.  My favorite was, "Mary, Did You Know?"  It rocked the house!

I snapped a quick photo of my new highlights in my hair!  (Tom in the background brushing his teeth, ha ha!) 

Oh how my mother LOVES to put puzzles together!

Happy Birthday to our 11 year old--Hailey!!!

She invited a lot of her friends and it was so fun that many of them could make it to her party.  It's hard having a December birthday but somehow, we had a great turnout!

Hailey made a fun scavenger hunt for everyone and at the end, they all got fuzzy socks!

It always makes me smile to see her so happy!

Dallin Everton dressed up as the Grinch and came to visit us! haha!

Had to give Tom a little shout-out for him being on Spotify this year!  I could listen to him sing all day.  I am in love with his voice!

Here is Tom's sweet mother, Mary.  This picture was taken when she graduated out of the heart center at the hospital.  We almost lost her when she had a heart attack and then a quadruple bypass.  She has stuck it out and been such a trooper!  We are so thankful she is ok.

We also had a private Girls Day Out for Hailey's Birthday and it was extra special because my mom and Kelsey were able to come!

We went to the American Girl Doll Store in Scottsdale and had a really fun lunch then bought her some clothes for her doll.  It was so sweet to see Kelsey and Hailey together.  Sisters :)

We also held our annual End of the Year Party for Chamberlain Orthodontics at our home.  I hosted a luncheon then we all went to get pedicures afterwards!

We feel so blessed to have such an amazing staff!

It's becoming a fun tradition of ours to go see "A Christmas Carol" at the Hale Center Theater.  We love the music and it just gets us in the Christmas Spirit!

How sweet to see Kohler hugging his little sister.  I love those moments!

I love this photo of my dad.  I'm not sure how it got on my phone but it's sure a keeper!  

Christmas Around the World and December Fun!

Kohler's sweet girlfriend, Suzy Nielson, aka Hermana Nielson, is serving her mission in the Chile, Concepcion South Mission.  They have been writing each other for a long, long time.  These are some fun photos from her mission.  She is a doll and we all can't wait to see her when she comes home in May 2017!!

Kelsey and Kohler made some fun videos of them singing up at our Utah house.  They are priceless to me---I love those two kids!

Here is Hailey and her first experience at the Cheesecake Factory!

Yes, our elf on the shelf, Herbie, seems to follow us no matter where we go!!

 Spencer knows a lot about astronomy and he was helping his college brothers and sisters with their homework!  ha ha!

 Yep - one of my favorite sights to see . . . all 4 together!

 We surprised our kids and took them to see Jim Gaffigan!  

 I always love going up to see Christmas Around the World!  This year I was able to sell my children's book again and it's always so fun to autograph copies for children.

 This is a special photo for me because these people are super special in my life:  Mary Bee Jensen (founder of the Folk Dancers at BYU and is turning 100 this May!), Ed Austin (my artistic director from 1988-1992 and dear friend), and Jeanette Geslison (the current artistic director and we toured together back in the day!)

It was so much fun seeing Ali and her two darling girls, Parker and Hayden at the concert.  We have the best family ever!

 This is what our family gave away to our friends this year.  Holiday Potpourri smells the best!!

 This is my special group of friends---we all attend an Institute Class on Tuesday mornings together and it is SO much fun! (left to right:  Melissa Thatcher, Karen Johnson, Sarah Steck, Rachel Hixon, me, Kris Booker, and Jody Peterson)  I love and admire these women so very much!

 Every year I love our family tradition of putting Christmas Cards Through the Years on my office door.  It's so fun to see how much the kids have grown!

 Hailey is really loving her riding lessons out at Passey Ranch.  Her trainer is Brooke Passey (her sister is Lindsey Sterling!).  She is a very disciplined teacher and is giving Hailey such a great foundation of great riding technique.  Hailey says it is really peaceful out at her ranch.  It's out in San Tan Valley and takes about 45 min. to get there.  But instead of complaining, I decided to make that my special time with Hailey.  We talk about her day at school, watch funny movies, or just listen to music and talk.  I've actually come to love that time with her all to myself!

      

 Here is Spencer after his choir concert. He is in the Men's Choir and is really loving it!

 Here is Hailey performing with Gilbert Youth Choir at her Christmas Concert.  They always do such an amazing job!  

 Mary Kay is the director of the Singer's Company and her daughters performed the other night.  It was really great to go watch them.  I'm super proud of MaryKay.  That is a lot of work!

This is my super fun Zumba group!  We had a holiday party after class one day and it was really special to get to know these ladies.  They aren't members of the church and rarely do I get the chance to interact with people not of my faith.  They are so kind and make me feel so loved each class day.  The teacher, Sasha, is on the far right and she is from Russia.  She is amazing and we all just love her!