Seattle...

On a total whim I decided to fly to Seattle with Tyler on business last week. Thank goodness for my super flexible and willing mother who didn't even hesitate when I called to ask if she would watch the kids. Love her! We stayed an a beautiful resort that sits right on the Snoqualmie waterfall. The Northwest has been pounded with rain so the river was really high. It was crazy to stand in the resort and look out the window and see all the water...made me a tiny bit nervous! We didn't make it down to the lower observation deck but did our best to take a few pictures. These are the only three pictures I took of the whole trip (and they are terrible) and look at us all cute and goofy. We have been married almost 10 years I love this funny guy more today then ever! It was a fun few days filled with lots of rest, reading, movies, and plenty of good food!

Itty Bitty Basketball...

Oh how I love that these boys love each other so much! They are doing itty bitty basketball together at the Legacy Center and were lucky enough to be put on the same team. Itty bitty ball is ALWAYS fun but it is even more fun that they get to do it together. They are SO excited to see each other twice a week and I am equally as excited to be able to sit and chat with my sister. It's a win win situation! :) Now if I could just get Summer to sit still for that hour it would be perfect!

Christmas Card 2010

The Holland Family ABC’s

A is for AUSTIN who just turned 4! He loves pre-school, playing with cousins & friends, and being with his dad. A could also be for the AGGIES who our boys love to support!
B is for BALL…baseball, basketball, volleyball and soccer! The kids have kept busy playing on teams and attending camps. If the kids are playing that usually means that Tyler can be found coaching. It is always fun to watch their confidence grow and skills improve!
C is for CHRISTMAS, our favorite time of the year! We are grateful for this Christmas season and for the life and sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
D is for DAD – we sure do love ours! He is hard working, fun, and loves us all.
E is for EVERYTHING that our sweet Summer gets into. E could also be for ENERGY, which she has!!!!
F is for FRIENDS. We are lucky to live in such a great neighborhood! We are surrounded by wonderful people and consider this one of our greatest blessings.
G is for playing GAMES, something our kids have started to love! The game of LIFE has become the family favorite.
H is for our HOUSE. We are grateful for the roof over our heads and heat during the cold months.
I is for ICE CREAM, a family favorite especially in root beer floats!
J is for JUMPING, something Kylee does each week at gymnastics and Nick and Austin do off of any elevated surface in the house!
K is for KYLEE who just turned 8! She was baptized this year and looked beautiful all dressed in white. Kylee is a great friend and spends hours with them creating things. She just got glasses and looks darling in them!
L is for LOVE - Tyler and I will celebrate 10 whole years this May!
M is for MOM who keeps busy chasing four kids, fulfilling her Church calling, and volunteering at the school.
N is for NICHOLAS who is now 7! He loves to play with friends and can usually be found in the front yard playing football with half of the neighborhood. He is a great kid and awesome older brother!
O is for OUTSTANDING! Both kids are doing well in school and have brought home report cards filled with “O’s”. Let’s hope we can report the same once they hit Jr. High School!
P is for PARENTS. We have been blessed with great examples and our kids are lucky to have such wonderful grandparents!
Q is for QUIET, something that is rare at the Holland house!
R is for RUNNING, something Renee has started to do. She ran the Ragnar in Las Vegas with her family in October and even completed a half marathon!
S is for SUMMER who we refer to as our “monster”. She is our sweet and sassy 18 month old who keeps us all busy and entertained. Her blonde hair and blue eyes make her destructive nature bearable!
T is for THANKFUL! Our family has a lot to be thankful for…we are so blessed!
U is for UNBELIEVABLE which describes the last year according to our kids!
V is for VACATION! Tyler and I traveled to Guatemala and Belize, took the kids to Disneyland, and spent a week at Bear Lake.
W is for WEATHER (according to Kylee). We enjoyed great weather this fall and have had a mild winter so far. The four seasons in Utah are one of the many reasons we love where we live!
X is for EXHAUSTED, EXCELLENT, EXTRAORDINARY – you choose! ☺ For us it depends on the day!
Y is for YEAR and 2010 has been a great one! We hope that this letter finds your families happy and healthy too! We can’t wait to see what 2011 will bring.
Z is for ZOO, which our house can often be…come visit and we will show you!

Perfect day on the slopes!

Yesterday was the PERFECT day to hit the slopes...so we did! It snowed lightly the night before making the conditions on the mountain about is good as it gets. I buddied up with Abbey, Taylor and Kelsey and we enjoyed a day laughing and realizing how out of shape our legs really are! We stopped for lunch in the lodge which brought back many great memories of my younger days on the slopes. I always loved the lodge...the warmth, the food and the company. The lodge at Sundance has since changed but I still enjoyed looking back on those fun years. I hope that I get a chance to hit the slopes again before the season is over...I average about once every four years so maybe I will make it twice this year...we will see.

Introducing...

Nicholas.
I love this kid to death. He is convinced that someday he will play in the NFL. I love that he dreams BIG and hope that he continues to do so. Our conversations over the last few weeks have been all football related, like when he asked which team in the NFL I wanted him to play with, hoping that he could maybe play in California or Arizona so we could come to more games. He has also been concerned about attending Church on Sunday and asked if the NFL might provide him with a headset that would broadcast Sacrament Meeting into his helmet while he was warming up for his Sunday night games....BUT if he had 9:00 meetings he should be able to do it all. I love the way his little brain works. He watches ESPN and re-runs of old football games on The Mountain like they are cartoons. He can tell you the stats of nearly every team and is true to HIS teams. Our DVR is full of recorded games that he watches over and over again - so many times that he can pause the game and tell me what will happen next. He plays football on the XBOX, football on the computer, and football in the front yard. We have tried to convince him that maybe baseball or basketball will be "his sport" but there is no convincing him that the NFL is not for him. Kids - I love them!

One of those days...

Today was one of those days...in a good way. The kids were fairly cooperative getting things done this morning, I had a basement full of boys all afternoon, Kylee was content playing with a friend and the baby took a good nap which makes for a good day in itself! Tonight I loaded the kids in the car and met Tyler in SLC to see the lights on Temple Square. I think it has been a few years since we attempted this but I am determined to now make it one of our traditions (per Kylee's request). The snow was lightly falling but it was warm so seeing the lights was enjoyable, not miserable as I remember it in years past. We toured the Conference Center and visited both of the Visitor Center's on Temple Square. We watched the Luke 2 video and saw a presentation on eternal families. It was a perfect night and put me in the mood for Christmas. It is nights like these that I am grateful to be a mom and a wife. I love my kids and my husband. I am grateful for friends and neighbors who are examples of goodness. I have been blessed with a wonderful extended family who love and support us. Tonight I concluded that life is good. We are blessed. So rather then getting upset that the request at 10:15 was for root beer floats, I sat at the table with my kids and loved the moment. I need to do it more often.

The Count Down

This little Santa sits on our kitchen counter starting the first of December. The kids often fight over who gets to change the numbers each day and it seems to be a race each morning to see who wins the honor. This morning Austin was up bright and early and this is what I found...
Part of me wishes that there really were 81 days until Christmas. For some reason I am feeling really unmotivated and unprepared this year! Christmas is just around the corner...18 days according to my kids and I want this year to be special. I want them to understand and feel the true meaning of this time of year. The Santa countdown is one of my favorite traditions, especially when I wake up to cute little hands trying to get the numbers right. Happy shopping everyone and if you have any great ideas on how help kids stay focused on Christ this time of year I am open to suggestions!