Cupcake

Hallie got a cupcake making set for Christmas and we've been promising her a Cupcake Party with a few of her friends ever since. So we handed out invitations and made cupcakes today! This is actually a big moment in my life too--posting an event on the very same day it happened--but Hallie is really excited for Kyle to see the pictures so I decided that was reason enough. So this is for you babe! Just don't get used to it!! ;) Here's Kyle on the video chat: We kept it simple and had a lot of fun, Hallie really has a talent for planning and organizing parties. I probably won't think that's quite as cute in ten years or so. While we waited for all the girls to get there Hallie got everyone warmed up with a game of "cupcake, cupcake, frosting."
As the official Man of the House, Jake did his best not to get too caught up in all the girly fun. Mason didn't mind letting Hallie and her friends decorate his cupcakes, just as long as he got to eat them!

FeBruaRy <3

Kyle's been gone all month :( So to keep from going home and feeling sorry for myself on the day he left I took the kids to the BYU Basketball Game! We spent the first half down with my parents in their awesome second row seats. We got an up-close look at all the players and the kids loved getting some personal attention from Cosmo. Mason spent 5 weeks straight in his Man-Man costume so of course he wore it to the game too. (just ignore the old guy yawning in the bottom of the pic, it was the only one I had with everyone looking my way)By half-time enough people had shown up that all six of us were squished into three seats. So we headed up to our ticketed seats in the tippy-top of the Marriot Center. The kids pretty much ignored the game from then on (it was really far away) but we had food so that kept us all happy.
This picture sums up Mason's life this past month or so really well. He wears his Man-Man costume and he eats as many pancakes as he can talk me into. The question I get all the time as he wears it everywhere but church (I had to draw the line somewhere) is "Can he even see out of that thing?" The answer is no. But it really doesn't seem to bother him so I just pull it up every time I walk past him and keep him away from busy streets. I don't let him wear it to bed either but he sleeps with it wrapped in his arms under his covers. I think he likes to keep it close in case of emergency. You never know when the world will need saving.

Our biggest news this month is a new baby!!!! No it's not ours. Jeff and Alisha welcomed #4 on February 10. He is a darling, beefy little guy (weighed in at 8 lbs. 13 oz.) named Logan R Young. We skipped school that morning and hurried off to the hospital to meet him.

Hallie especially coudn't get enough of holding him. She's going to be such a great helper when our own #4 comes along!

Hallie is such a cute little scientist. She figured out how to Google the other day and I found her upstairs Googling animals in China for the animal journal that she was making.

I am just kicking myself because I only got 1 picture of the most exciting thing we had happen all month. On Valentines Day Daddy came home!!!!! He stayed for three days and we loved spending all that time together as a family. He brought home little stuffed honu's (sea turtles) for the kids. They got right into their swimsuits so that they could go swim with their new toys. There is nothing like having to spend time apart to help us appreciate how much we love to be together.

This one I tacked on just cause it's cute. I went in to check on the kids and found Mason on the floor snuggled up to his Sully.

Holiday Recovery

Well, the Holidays are officially over! I've spent the last couple of days boxing up our Christmas stuff and trying to detox my body from the massive amounts of chocolate I managed to eat. But it was definitely fun while it lasted---I've always loved Christmas but there is something especially joyful about celebrating it with little kids. Here are a few of our memories.

We made Gingerbread houses (actually decorated the pre-made ones from Costco) with the other Utah Woodruffs.

A favorite Young Family Tradition is the matching PJ's that we get every year.

And here's the Ghost of Christmas past...Mason forgot to take the pillow out of the case before he stuck it on his head.

Aren't they just so cute?

Reading "Room for a Little One" and "The Night Before Christmas"

A few Visions of Sugarplums....I don't know if you can tell but that middle picture has four kids (Jake, Mason, Hallie & Alexis) all in Hallie's top bunk.

Even though it's a tradition that originated in Kyle's family, my family have been pretty good sports about "Jingling around the House" with us on Christmas Morning. I look a little scary, I still don't do 6:30 am all that well.

Here are all the boys enjoying their Christmas toys. Mason got an addition to his train set and Jake (and Kyle) got a cool new Hot Wheels stunt track.

Hallie got a cupcake baking set and a Felicity Doll.
Here they are in their new robes snuggling up by the fire.My parents came over and helped us ring in the New Year. We ate Tostatas, Tostitos and Tamales, played games, watched a movie, had fireworks, and then banged pots and pans to bring in the New Year around 9. It was perfect.

Goofballs

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Nothing?

Nothing who?

Nothing but a goofball!

That is by far the kid's favorite knock knock joke. We hear it over and over (and over and over) and over and over again. But it definitely seems to fit!

Flashback

I'm killing time at my parents this morning (the roads are slick and scary so I'm giving the snow plows a little while longer to do their job before I head home) and found these old pics of my babies. They were so cute I just had to post them. Can you tell who's who?

And one more...

Fun in San Antonio!

As you can see, we had all kinds of non-stop fun while we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Woody in Texas last week. We went to the San Antonio Children's museum, the Alamo, the River Walk, the temple... In true Texas Christmas fashion we also got to drive over to Gruene (pronounced Green) and see Cowboy Kringle (aka Santa) ride into town on his horse. And we stayed overnight in Burnet where they put on a huge live re-creation of Bethlehem from the night Christ was born. It was really incredible. Thank you again Mom and Dad Woody for such an amazing trip!

Jingling Around the Class!

Hallie was invited to share a Christmas tradition from her family with her class. She took in our jingle bells, lined up her class and showed them how to jingle around the room. It is a long-standing Woodruff family tradition to line up from oldest to youngest in Mom and Dad's room on Christmas morning and sing Jingle Bells through every room of the house before we get to the Christmas tree. Kyle has done it every Christmas for as long as he can remember and our kids have loved carrying on the tradition!