CHRISTMAS REVIEW

We have had quite the busy week. Here is what our week was like. For the most part. Let's start with the Friday before Christmas....

We attended the temple lights with some members of my family. It's always fun to go & look at this amazing display. They also have a display in the Visitor's Center of nativities from around the world that's pretty cool, too.























My niece Shelby was lucky enought to warrant a spot in the background of our family photo!


















After the temple lights some of our group came back to our house for some hot chocolate. Which of course would not be complete without a photo of all the guys & their Tinkerbell mugs. Silly boys!

Then my nieces Shelby & Lainie spent the night with us. The girls had a blast & we were lucky enough to be graced with the presence of a pirate, a couple of dancers & a princess at breakfast.

Saturday afternoon we headed to Mimi & Papa's for a wonderful Winter Wonderland party! What a blast & of course my camera was starting to break so I have no pictures. Hopefully one of the other girls will get one to me. (hint - hint)

On Monday we built gingerbread houses. I tried to be economical about it & bought graham crackers & some random candies. Not necessarily a good idea. The weren't very stable & only mine & Jadyn's houses actually stayed up. Oh well - it was still fun. Here are the finished products...

Erik's...

Kylie's...(she's helping hers stay up for the photo)

Jadyn's...

Mine...

Tuesday came a little non-Christmas surprise. Jadyn lost her first tooth. She woke up in the morning & claims it just fell out into her hand. It's still a mystery, but at least it's out!

That brings us to Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with Erik's family & had a fun time eating, playing & watching The Office. Christmas morning we woke up & opened presents in our own home! This was only the 2nd time since we've been married that we've done that & it was nice. Kylie was a little excited to get Battleship & Jadyn was just excited! After presents we went to see "Bedtime Stories". Then, just lazied around the rest of the day. Erik & I have spent way too much time on Facebook playing Mob Wars this past week, but it's been a nice, relaxing break for us. I'm sad for school to start again next week!

CHRISTMAS CARD

For those of you that did not receive this via email for whatever reason - here you go...


Dear Family and Friends,


We are taking the easy way out this year & emailing our cards. Much better than last year when we did nothing! So, here's a little peek into what we've been up to...


ERIK - Erik still works for Bell Photographers & enjoys his job. He's working hard to pick up new schools for next season. He also has a new passion he's busy working on. It is "Mob Wars" on facebook. If anyone has a facebook account be sure to find Erik & join his mob. And if you don't have an account - consider opening one so you can join in the fun. He's also been moving our house around. He moved our office into our loft & separated the girls. Which turned into quite the project of reorganizing the whole house. He is also enjoying this season for another one of his loves - Basketball season! He is currently the Sunday School teacher for the 14+ year olds in our ward.


MELANIE - Melanie's been busy teaching away. Her studio is closing though & that comes with mixed emotions. Sad to see it go, but happy to be home more. She lost her older brother Michael this summer & that has been hard. Thank goodness for the gospel & the knowledge that she'll be able to see him again. She just received a calling as the 1st counselor in the Young Womens & is excited for this opportunity. She's even started to work a little more for Erik.


KYLIE - 9 years old - Kylie is our little social butterfly still. She just turned 9 this month & loves having her own room. She's growing up so fast it's just unbelievable! She is now in 3rd grade & was chosen as Student of the Month in September. She was chosen to play "The Dead Girl" in the Easter Pageant this year & loved every minute of it! She was elated to see a clip of her part on the news even. She did so well with her big part. The directors must have thought she did a good job as well because she has been cast in the same part for this coming year! Erik's just hoping he'll be able to carry her up the ramp this time without falling since she's so long. Keep your fingers crossed for us.


JADYN - 5 1/2 years old - Jadyn is still our little princess. She is a girly-girl through & through. She loves anything to do with make-up, hair & fashion. (Poor kid picked the wrong mom to have with those passions.) She started Kindergarten this year & is very proud that she gets a 100% on almost everything she does. She's our little genious & school is not tough for her at all. She loves that her school is a little harder than the normal public school because it's still too easy for her. We'll see how long that lasts. She also received the priviledge of being chosen as Student of the Month for November. She lost her first tooth yesterday & is happy to show everyone how her tongue can now stick out of her teeth.
We are so blessed in many ways. We love & appreciate all of you! We would not be who we are without any of you. We are so thankful for this season & for the Savior in our lives. We love this time of year to be reminded often of His birth & all that He has done for us. We hope all of you are happy & well. We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!


Love - The Parkinson's

SAD WEEK

This is a sad week for me for 2 reasons...

1. Monday was the 15th. Which means that it was the 6 month anniversary of my brother's passing. It was a hard day for me remembering that. We did have a family party that night that helped me. I'm not sure if anyone even knew, but it was a rough one. I miss him - I've missed the normal Michael for years, but that doesn't make it any easier.

2. The studio that EmmaLee & I have worked so hard on is closing this week. We are so small, which is what we wanted. Well, we didn't want to be this small, but we didn't want to be huge either. With the economy the way it is & everyone cutting out "extras" - dance is the first "extra" to go for most families. Needless to say, we are no longer able to stay afloat. I debated about writing about this on my blog, but it is a part of my history, so it was necessary. Plus, I'd rather have people read about it than ask me how things are going & have to tell them in person. We are sad. Yet, we're also happy to be home more with our families.

On a happier note. We are excited for the holidays at my house! I am still working on our Christmas Cards. Surprise, surprise! It won't be much - I just have to do it. And we're going the lame route this year & emailing them out to everyone. So, if we don't have you're email be sure to leave a comment with it so we can get one to you. Thanks & love to all!

NINE

How old do I look? WAIT! Don't answer that! But, apparently I'm old enough to have a 9 year old. When in the world did that happen?! My Kylie turned 9 yesterday & this is just eating me up. Last year when she turned 8 I was just baffled by the fact that she was getting so big. But 9 is really big. She's basically reaching the tween phase & not a "kid" anymore. CRAZY!!

The poor girl hasn't had a friend party in years. (Let's face it - she was born in December & who wants to go to a birthday party in December?) Well, we had one this year last Saturday & she's been planning on having a "Camp Rock" party since the summer time when the movie came out. We played a trivia game from the movie where we showed clips from the movie & then asked random questions about what they just watched. Then, we did the whole cupcakes & presents thing. (The party was held at the studio to easily accomodate all the kids. So, we didn't have ice cream since there's not a freezer their. We just had cupcakes.) I was quite impressed with my cupcakes since I have no cake decorating abilities what-so-ever. Kylie wanted 8th note cupcakes like in the movie, so here's what we got...Then, we learned a little bit of the end dance from the movie. This was the one other activity Kylie really wanted to do. When I told the girls what we were doing one girl came up & very seriously told me,"I don't dance." I told her it would be short & maybe she would have fun just trying it. She said, "No, I don't dance." Needless to say, again, you can't please everyone. All in all it was a fun day.And, of course, being the good mother that I am I have no pictures from yesterday. Her actual birthday. Man - I rock! Oh well. Happy Birthday to my big girl - we love you tremendously!!

PRAYERS

My heart breaks for this young couple in my ward. This couple was married earlier this year (in February I believe). In July they learned that Susan had colon cancer. What a fight this poor girl had. She passed away Friday night & my heart just aches for them. I just can't even imagine what they've been through & what this poor husband is dealing with - especially now. I didn't get a chance to know them personally, but their story has touched me. Check out their blog for the entire story...
http://lemonademakers.blogspot.com/
Please, if you feel, prayer for this family. I'm sure they will be greatly appreciated during this hard time.

STUDENT OF THE MONTH

Kylie was chosen as Student of the Month in September & Jadyn was chosen for November! We're so proud of her & she was so excited! The value for the month of November was GRATITUDE. Here's what her teacher had to say about her...


Jadyn is a wonderful student to have in class. She follows the rules and is a good role model for other students. Jadyn always tries her best. She showed GRATITUDE by being thankful for her family.

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving.....HUH??.....What?! That's the way I feel. Time is just flying by. I can't believe Thanksgiving has come & gone already & life is just full speed ahead. My head is constantly spinning. This year we ventured to Dammeron Valley to spend Thanksgiving with my Mom & my Stepdad Alan. It was nice to get away for a bit - even though we froze. Well, I did. Sad to say that the following pictures are all I have. We spent a couple of hours Thanksgiving night just taking silly pictures. Oh wait - we spent most of the weekend being silly! What do you expect when all the sister get together. Alan's girls are hilarious & they make me laugh. I truly am greatful for them & the fun weekend we had together. They are my sisters even if it's not by blood. Alayne came up from Vegas for the day on Thanksgiving & it was so good to see her. It has been a couple of years since we saw her. Anyway, here's some of our silly pictures....

Allison's never looked so beautiful as she does in the above picture!

The next pictures are what happens when Stephanie's around when Erik's getting set up for family Christmas Card photos in front of my Mom's house...