Merry Christmas

 

Merry Christmas from the Bierstedt’s! We had our traditional Christmas Eve breakfast for dinner with my family. It is one of our favorite traditions spent together. We have been doing it for so long and always have the best time. The kids got their Christmas Jammie’s and looked so cute. My dad got a 12 day countdown with candles and Christ’s different names. It was a beautiful moment and we all said what we are grateful for. We also got to watch a Christmas devotional put on by Taliah’s mission leaders and her district. We watched the nativity and then Navy put on a whole season of the nativity herself. She directed the whole thing and casted everyone when she needed them. She introduced all of the episodes and was so funny and adorable. She sure makes us smile. 

Christmas morning we were all up so early and everyone was so excited. I love watching the kids faces and their excitement. I got work out shoes and make up, Jake also took the kids out and they each picked out something for me. They were so sweet and thoughtful, sure love them. Jake got work out clothes and earlier we fixed up his garage a bit as we turn it into more of a gym. Benjamin got AirPods and spike ball. Emma got a Minky blanket and lots of clothes. Those two are getting harder to shop for as they become more and more teenagers! Noah was so excited to get his own Stanley cup and a long board. Navy loves everything she got like each item is the perfect gift. She got rollerblades and is so excited to have real ones and not skates anymore! We had amazing cinnamon rolls and the best hot cocoa bombs for our breakfast before we headed to church. 

We went to my parent’s ward for church and loved sitting with them and hearing all the beautiful musical numbers. The primary got up to sing and Navy went right up with the rest of them even though she didn’t practice with them.. she did great and smiled and sang what she knew hahaha. No fear that girl! The spirit was so strong and I’m so grateful for family and the gospel. After church we got to video taliah and talk with her. We all sure missed her like crazy this Christmas. I’m so grateful for the work she is doing. We love her and our so proud of her. 

Christmas dinner was amazing and having everyone together. The kids played all day. This year we did a Christmas gift exchange with everyone included. Luke had Noah and got him a fish…. Yes, a real fish… hahaha everyone said Jakes reaction was better than Noah’s excitement for the fish. Noah loved having my mom and got her spa gifts. Navy was so excited grandpa had her and got her a vet station for her new doll! Abigail and navy each got a doll that looks just like them. Navy has carried her everywhere since and loves her so much! Benjamin got a whole drawing kit which is perfect combined with birthday gifts. Can’t wait to see what he draws next. Emma got her plain, white, zipper, hoodie from grandpa and grandma! That is what she kept asking for and grandma got her two! On Noah’s list was a bag of cash and sure enough Noah got a bag full of dollar bills for his gift! He was so excited and thought it was so awesome. Christmas is the best even with kids arguing still. Looking around and being surround by loved ones is a true gift. This year we really focused on giving and I loved seeing the kids excitement for that. Yay for Christmas 2022!

Jeff and Vicki Christmas!

 We went out to Jeff and Vicki’s to have dinner with everyone for Christmas. Of course there was so much yummy food! Jake ended up being the only one of Jeff’s kids to make it out there, so we got lots of time with Vicki’s kids and family. It was a great day. The kids all had a blast playing games and hanging out. Especially the boys! Benjamin, Jordan, Noah and navy even braved the pool and swam in the hot tub gramps and Grammy heated up for them. To start the day Jeff took Benjamin and kylee and Jordan out on a ride. Benjamin loved getting to spend time with just him and gramps. Gramps even taught him and let him drive the razor. Kylee is so much fun and it was awesome having my sister out there for the day with everyone.

 Before it got dark the kids were driving around on the razor and dirt bike. Benjamin came over and was kind of limping. Kylee asked if he crashed and he said no…. Well then we see blood soaking through his new jeans! Crazy kid totally cut up his leg and knee. He didn’t even care just loved riding with all the kids. The boys all played ghost in the graveyard after dinner. I love watching them get to play with cousins! Jeff loves to host and cook for us and we love coming out! We had the best day with great people and missed everyone that couldn’t make it.

Benjamin is 14!

Benjamin is 14! He is 5 feet 9 inches! So tall and so skinny. He loves it and is getting to be so grown up. Can’t believe I’m  mama to this handsome kid. Benjamin  loves to play games and is playing club volleyball. It is his favorite and he is really enjoying the sport. He is still 100% social and just loves being around people. He is taking art this year and is getting pretty dang good at sketching now. We are so proud of him and love celebrating this kid!

 For his birthday I took a group of boys to see Avatar. We all loved the movie so much, it was just so long! It was so much fun though with the group of boys. They are some good kids! We had a few rows at the movies too, Charlotte and Robert, kylee and Jordan, madi, Jake, navy and Noah. Lots of popcorn and candy for spending four hours in a theater! 

We had so much fun on his birthday. He got his free Dutch drink! For dinner he asked for biscuits and gravy and Oreo milkshakes. So yummy and it filled this kid up! He loves grandma and her dinner she makes them for birthdays. Present time! Benjamin got loaded on Nikes and was loving it! He is so excited to finally have some white Nikes and  is so lucky to have a grandma that loves him so much to go to all the stores to find his shoes and his size which is a mens 12!!!! He loves to draw and got really nice color pencils and drawing stuff from Grammy and gramps. Grandma deedee stopped by with an Amazon card too he can’t wait to shop with. We love games over here and he got a dart board and Fortnite monopoly. My favorite part of the break will be just hanging with the kids playing games. Benjamin and Vernon have already challenged each other for monopoly! Show down!

Volleyball and fish ice cream

 We spent most the day watching Benjamin play volleyball. He even played against some of his and Emma’s friends! After we took the kids to get fish icecream! We have been telling them about it since we went with our friends and finally made it there. Called Somi Somi. It is yummy ice cream put in fish waffle cones with a filling. The cones are soft and so yummy! It was a huge hit with the kids too. On our way to the car we asked someone to take a picture and it ended up being the owner! We raved about it and couldn’t believe that was who we asked for the pics!

Gingerbread time!

We have done gingerbread decorating together for years now and all of us just love it! This year it got moved a few times and all the kids kept asking when it was time. They know we do it together and make a huge mess with candy and sprinkles. I made my frosting because it’s so yummy and helps right?! Sugar high for all!

 

Polar Express

 It is our favorite night! Last year was our first year invited by Chad and Emylee. This year we  luckily were able to get tickets still! It is the thing to do and tickets go so fast. We got to go with my whole family and share the magic! 

The entire night is filled with magic and Christmas. Starting by seeing the Zonkey. He is the cutest and everyone thought it was painted, but nope! We took pictures along the wait to get on the polar express. Got our boarding passes and loaded the train. Santa knew my dad and called him out!! We all were in shock and made the magic even more special! I love all they do with movie scenes and the North Pole. Little Peyton was obsessed with Santa and just wanted to be by him. 

After the ride Abigail pulled Madi aside and long story short, but she got off that train knowing Santa is REAL! I mean of course he is, but this place is truly magical and full of belief! It made my whole night! 

We loved riding all the trains and had so much hot cocoa. Everyone that makes that place go helps fill the night with magic. Such generous, beautiful people! Thank you for making our night. It is truly our favorite Christmas event!

I get annoyed with my phone sometimes, but love having all the memories so much more! So grateful everyone smiles for me and I get to take all of the pics all night long! Love you all!

Christmas parties!

 

Party time! We have been so busy with so much Christmas. I went to a girl friend ugly sweater party. It was so much fun, crying laughing with presents for our gift exchange! 

Jake and I went to his annual work dinner at Lawrys. It is one of our favorites and just delicious! Amazing food with great company. We sure love the Dixon’s and that Jake works for them.  Emma had her Christmas choir concert that night too. She went with Penny and they looked so cute all dressed up to sing. 

Our ward Christmas party we had dinner and a nativity. The kids each got to play what part they wanted. The narrator told the story while the kids walked for their parts. Noah was the only Joseph to about 7-9 Mary’s…. Hahaha he thought it was hilarious. Navy was a beautiful angel! 

Emma had a couple of parties and gift exchanges. With cheer, then friends party and then young womens. I love being able to coach or teach and be apart of more events with the kids. Even though their stealing for white elephants is pretty boring haha. They all want to open an unknown present instead of steal.

We had a great Sunday! All my guys spoke in church. Noah in primary and he kept wanting to make his talk longer to take up the whole time. Then it came his turn and he cut out all his notes. He is the cutest. Benjamin and Jake both spoke in sacrament and did so well. I’m so proud of all of them and just love listening to them. 

Christmas Caroling

Our friends got a giant trailer to use and planned a caroling night! We all had so much fun singing. The kids would ring doorbells and drop off cookies then we would all sing when they answered the doors. I love seeing how happy the kids are and they loved being with friends and the hay ride was so much fun all around our area. Of course we had yummy hot cocoa and cookies too! So grateful for good friends!

 

Young Women trip

 Emma and I went up to Utah with all of our Young Women. We took them to St. George to Tuachahn to see the live nativity. Such a beautiful theater. The backdrop of the cliffs is so beautiful and watching the nativity play out made for a beautiful time. After we went to cedar and stayed over night. Thanks to amazing people who hooked us up with a place to stay! Emma even played in the little amount of snow that was there! We had the best time. The girls stayed up so so late after I crashed. We played some games and ate treats. Saturday we headed back home tired  from a great, quick trip. 

Christmas with the Bulloch’s

We have had a Christmas event every night for about three weeks! These fun pics were from the Bulloch Christmas Party. It was filled with fun, hot cocoa, yummy food and a horse! The kids were so excited and loved being able to go on rides. They boys ran around playing all night with cousins. Thanks everyone! 

 

Christmas Enchant

 After a weekend of Buddy the Elf we hit up Christmas Enchant at the Ballpark with Chad and Emylee. We all went last year and knew we had to go again. Emylee we’re on getting tickets as soon as they released them hahah.

This year instead of searching for lost reindeer in the maze, we all searched for 9 lost toys that one of elves dropped off the sleigh. The kids love running from section to section. We take so many pictures all along the way. 

My favorite part was the giant gingerbread house of lights. We loved the giant tree that you could go inside of. I also love the tunnels of lights. Jake and I had a moment with the heart of lights too. 

Santa Claus is the best too. He spent so much time with us and talked to each of the kids individually. Mrs. Claus sat with the big girls and asked all the questions, she was just too much fun and so cute! We all said that is future Auntie Em! We love the magic and Christmas lights! 

Buddy the elf!

Noah tried out and got a part in the schools musical, Buddy the Elf! He was one of only third graders and the youngest group in the musical. He got the part of elf and New Yorker. Then at rehearsals worked so hard and for one song buddy the elf is singing a song about his life story. Noah got to play buddy the elf for the song! He was so excited!! 

As his part he sang and built toys, he pretended to ice skate in Central Park and loved every minute of the whole production. He had so many people there cheering him on. A huge plus was doing it with his cousin penny! She played Michael (buddy’s brother) and an elf. It was so fun seeing them perform.

Noah loved all the people that came to see him, he worked so hard for months and the whole cast pulled off the show fantastically. He got a lot of Buddy the Elf gifts (instead of flowers) after his performances. They did four shows. I watched the first two and then helped backstage for the last two. Watching Noah from both front and backstage made for a proud mom. He is the best and we sure love him tons. Mrs. Jacobs put together a wonderful performance and Noah can’t wait to do another one. 

 

Idaho Thanksgiving

 

It’s been way too long since we had a trip to Idaho. We had the best week, but busy every minute. My grandma gave us each an ornament every Christmas now she gives them to my kids and my they love it so much! Before we left we asked grandpa to give the kids each a blessing. I’m so grateful for his love for my kids and the words of wisdom he has. My mom made countdown candy wreaths with the kids. The kids loved it and surprising we didn’t have missing candy by the end hahaha. On our last day my dad, navy, Noah and I set up the Christmas tree for my grandma. We are so blessed with amazing grandparents and aunts and uncles who care so much about my family and kids. 

This week we got to go to the temple with Benjamin and Emma to do baptisms together. I love being there with my grandma and mom and dad, my sister, Jake and my kids. Grateful for forever families. The next day we woke up bright and early to go as adults. Another completely beautiful morning we walked out just before the sun rose. I’m so grateful to be able to be with my mom, madi, my aunt Janelle, my dad, Vernon, both of my grandmas and my love!

Jake and my dad went on early morning walks every morning and saw lots of deer. Just the sights from my home town are absolutely beautiful. There is nothing like it. The kids had so much fun playing and helping. 

We plated lots of monopoly and games which is always one of the best parts of being together. We got to go to Hagerman and spend the day with grandma Schraft playing games and watching movies. I’m so grateful for our trips and the memories we get to make there. My kids all know and love their great grandparents with their whole hearts and our loved even more in return by these wonderful people!!!! They each of their own relationships with them and it’s the best sight to see.

Some throwback pictures we found, grandma laying on the couch! A love note to my great grandma Oleta! Mom, grandma and I had a blast going through all the old photos and boxes. 

November is birthday month! We celebrated my dad, Kylee, Jordan, Madi, and Oakley all the week we were there. Makes for lots of yummy treats and busy days! For Jordan we went to skate land. The kids had so much fun skating with friends and cousins we don’t get to see very often! Then pizza pie cafe and cupcakes for our sweet Oakley. Emma loves her and I’m pretty sure it’s returned! Emma was the best help and took care of and played with all the little girls and they all just love Emma. 

We got to see my friends brand new little baby and give her love right on our way out of town. Madi, Charlotte, Emma, mom and I got in some Black Friday shopping! So fun being able to bring Emma in on the fun!

On the day we left we woke up to it snowing outside. The kids were so excited and helped shovel the driveway and walks. It was the perfect end to our trip that we got some snow! We are completely spoiled with the love of our Idaho family. Thank you to all it made our trip!

Happy 30th Birthday Madi!

Madi is turning 30 next week and so while we were in Idaho we threw her a surprise party. Anyone that knows her knows she has loved titanic for so long, so our theme was set! We had so much fun making up decorations and getting everything together. We had her face put on the cake and Vernon’s face on Leo’s for her party clue. Kelsey made a ship photo-op prop and table decor. We had the ships layout poster and portholes. Water from the Atlantic and life preservers! We even made a playlist full of songs that played for the night. Love you Madi! So glad we pulled it off! 

Jake’s 1/2 marathon

 Jake has been training every day running. He did a 1/2 marathon at my Charleston earlier this year and knew he wanted to do another one. His hard work paid off! He got first place in his age and he got 5th overall. We are so proud of you Jake! 

Benjamin

Benjamin made a club volleyball team this year and has been absolutely loving it! He had his first tournament and we loved watching him! He has grown so much and know he is just going to keep killing it! 

He had some great hits and passes! So much fun watching him do something he loves. 

My friend from Idaho reached out and her sons team was playing in Vegas and needed a player! Benjamin and I headed to the courts for the night. He hasn’t played in years and we had a fun night. He even made all but one of the shots he took! Fun to see some points on the board from him. Also so fun seeing him play with one of my friends kids that we were that age when we first met!

Had to document the Idaho trip where Benjamin passed up his great grandmas, and great uncle! He is catching up to great grandpa Jack real fast! He is loving his Jardine blood!