December 2016

We had a fun cozy movie night watching Rudolph.

Sher and I practiced doing hair, 

and yoga...Christine didn't quite "get" yoga, 

but Christine did "get" chores. She was happy to help sweep the porch. It was great having such helpful guests.

Everyone earned their chocolate that night! 

Tech Central. Everyone hard at work together, what would we do without computers and good wi-fi?!

The cookie baking tradition! By this time Christine was in bed, but she enjoyed squishing and rolling out some dough. 

I like in this picture how you can see her artwork on the fridge in the background. We glued beans and popcorn on construction paper. 

The washing machine was so interesting to watch. It almost looks like she is having a time-out, but not this little sweetie. She just wanted to get buckled in and relax, watching the clothes spin around and around. 

A fun moment during scriptures at night. She wanted to sit in Debi's lap and Sarah is sweetly massaging my shoulders. 

We took the Burrs for a day trip out to Oatman. 

Oatman is a little tourist town an hour away that has donkeys roaming the streets.

You can pet them and feed them.

You can watch the old western shoot-out that happens at 12 and 2.

Sheralyn with a little baby donkey.

The whole crew... and some donkeys.

Christine wanted to get out of the stroller and Rachel was happy to hold her. 

It isn't Sarah's favorite town, she has to be careful not to touch anything and we can't stay too long.

She does like the candy shop, it is my favorite part of the town.

Christine and Adam wrestling on Sunday.

The stake music festival was going on and the Swigert children came over for awhile while their parents practiced, which worked out nicely because they took Sarah with them to the rehearsal. We all went later that night to hear the concert.

Car buddies...can you find the hidden Mickey?

Christine wasn't sure how she felt about having to share the toys and our attention at first, but she adjusted quickly.

For family night we took Cole and Sher up to the Hualapai's just so they could see them before they left. Cole ran up a mountain and back down while we waited.

It was a little cold, so Adam and Christine stayed in the car and played.

The sunset was gorgeous.

So we snapped a little family photo.

So cute.

Adam's pack meeting. I can't believe he got them all to wait with those balloons and none rolled away or popped. Cub Master Scott Anderson had it well under control.

So funny, the blowing race was on!

French Toast morning, our guests were packing up to leave.

Cute buddies eating together, Christine loves her food, she is a true Burr.

Adam and Christine playing their last game of doggies.

Goodbye sweet family. It was a joy having you with us for this short time, and especially fun to have you be a part of our seasonal Christmas traditions. We hope Hawaii is awesome and that the baby is healthy!

Sarah Peterson took Bronwynn to furniture shop in Vegas, so we had her kids for the day. Rachel flew a kite with Gracie and Kjersti.

Then they had a tea party. 

Then played dress-up, 

and baked cookies. 

We all had a fun day. 

Especially Adam and Jace who were in their own world racing cars all day. 

The primary children practiced for the nativity they would perform at the ward Christmas Party. 

The Palmer children indulged Sarah and played the violin with her. Rachel surprisingly could still play, better than I thought. 

The Swigert Christmas Concert of 2016.

Back: Suzanna Allred (accompanist), Bronwynn Swigert(teacher/violinist) Ryan Swigert(husband/cellist)

Front: Rachel Strong, Kendra Pease, Sarah Palmer 

A few days before Christmas Sarah got her ears pierced. Adam and Gracie came, anxious to see them skewer her head. Gracie was trying to convince her parents to her have hers pierced too, but watching proved to dissolve her desires, for which her parents were grateful. They want her to wait a few more years and now she is happy to wait.

Christmas Eve our fire was bare...and wet. It had been raining so much. 

It was dripping down the bricks of the fireplace so I moved our family photo just in case.

The rain gave us a lake in the backyard.

Pretty crazy.

But we didn't let it spoil our fun. Here Adam and I are playing "wimpy swords." What else do you do with your wrapping paper innards? We whack at each other's until they become wimpy and break little by little, it's hilarious. It reminds me of the sword fight with the fish in Sleeping Beauty.

Christmas Eve before bed.

Christmas Morning!

Rachel got a new backpack and magnifying mirror shaped as an Eiffel Tower, Sarah got a hair straightener and a clock radio.

Adam got the Scooby Doo Lego set he wanted.

She was also really excited for this, but I don't even know what it was now, but she has a cute face!

Sarah was excited for her new stand.

Adam was excited for his new bat. 

Rachel was excited for her new coat. 

We were all excited about the new boogie boards from the Bednars! Next October 2017 will be epic! We are going to be Lucky Bums! 

Christmas day we had Holly over for puzzles and games and nachos.

The day after Christmas Sarah was asked to watch the Peterson kids for 2 days and 2 nights. She did a great job. The second day she needed a break and a shower, so while Carly napped I took all the boys to the church to play ball so she could shower and make dinner. She said it was really helpful. I was so proud of her and what a great job she did taking care of and cooking for the 7 kids and keeping the house clean. She will be an amazing mother.

Part of her success lies in how much she loves them. She really hopes to have little boy twins or triplets.

While Sarah was gone Rachel and Adam were good buddies.

They played Lego's and watched movies.

The morning of what would have been the third day, Dec. 28th, I picked her up from the Peterson's and took her to Dr. Swigert's office to have her wisdom teeth out. She had been up every hour with Carly during the night and was very tired. The Peterson's weren't home yet, but thought their 12 year old son could handle breakfast and the morning well enough and they planned to get home around lunchtime from their anniversary trip. I love how happy Sarah looks here...it shows she doesn't know how bad it will feel afterwards.

Yep, there it is. The truth about wisdom teeth.

But her sweet siblings tried to keep her entertained and comfortable.

We kept assuring her the pain wouldn't last forever, and it didn't. By New Year's Eve she felt good enough to come to the dance our ward was hosting. Joseph Scholl worked hard making New York themed decorations and it was quite a success. We made a little bed in the Primary room where Rachel and Adam watched movies and had treats and where Sarah could rest if she needed to. It was a fun event. We let the little kids come in for a little bit to dance, but Rachel kept getting asked to dance, so they went back to their hideout and watched Geek Charming. 

Happy 2017 everybody!