Made by Memilyrae

So, we’re pretty miserable here at our apartment. I’ve been sick with a cough (and for a little while the flu) for a week and a half. Steve’s also had the flu for a while, plus the cough and now the poor guy has an adult ear infection. Not fun. Luckily the kids have only had a fever and it didn’t last very long. But, Steve and I are miserable. We both missed some school, he’s missed work, and I’m not excited for my chemistry test since I don’t understand the stuff I missed and already have a hard time concentrating on things. 🙁

Evan’s birthday party was a hit! Even though Annette and I started planning it yesterday, it still worked out smoothly and without much stress! Evan’s friends came over, we took pictures of everyone in the cloak (except Spencer who didn’t want to participate). The kids each had a picture frame that they put star stickers around the border and there was space beneath the photo opening that said “Star Wars” “Jedi Master Spencer” (with each child’s name). While they played ‘asteroid toss’ and did ‘Jedi Training’ (from Master Jedi Joel) I used Photoshop to fix the pictures, putting each “Jedi” on a ship next to Vader (see below). I think they turned out pretty awesome! I was tempted to color Evie green and give her Yoda ears (due to how small she is) but decided against it. Evan opened presents, they had cupcakes and ice cream and then went downstairs to hit balloons with their inflatable light sabers. Then Vader’s march song came on and who just happened to come around the corner? Darth Vader in the flesh! (or Uncle Mikey for the kids who were scared of him). Each child (who opted to) took a turn fighting him and then they all attacked together. Vader ended up going upstairs, with little Jedi’s following behind, and we heard a loud bang. I guess Vader fell and Jedi Evan was very proud of himself! The kids also got little tattoos.  What a fun party!

Thanks Uncle Mikey for being the bad guy, Jay and Brenda for loaning costumes, and Mikey’s co-worker for letting Mikey borrow the Vader mask! It was great!

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas like we did.  We started off on Christmas Eve at Steve’s parents’ house. We had dinner, played games and just hang out.  Spencer helped me write a letter to Santa telling him he was at his Grammer’s and Grandpa’s, what he wanted (“lots and lots of toys”) and saying he’s been a good boy. I asked him if we should put out milk and cookies for Santa and he said, “No. Hide it.” I asked him where we should hide it. “In fridge.” Easy enough. 🙂 We put the kids to bed upstairs (a toddler bed and crib pushed next to each other…mainly to keep Spencer from falling out of bed) and the kids giggled at each other for a long time.  We played more games until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. We woke up to Spencer crying in the hallway. Our door was cracked open but he walked the other way and saw the dark house. That woke up Evie…so, that meant I was awake.  Pat and Alec said they heard the “pitter, patter of little feet” and were happy to wake up. We talked to Steve’s brother, Michael, the Thompkins and then opened a few presents. Next we had breakfast and got ready to head down to Annette’s house. I called my family in Oklahoma, wished my dad a happy birthday, and chatted a little about their Christmas. At Annette’s house we played, opened presents and played some more. We only spent a few hours at Annette’s before heading back to Alec and Pat’s. John, Steve’s brother, called from Mongolia (he’s on his mission) and we didn’t want to miss it. We chatted with John for a while…boy does he sound mature and a lot like Michael!…and sounded like he really enjoyed being there. Next, we opened presents with Bri and Jadyn, the boys played a ton (Evie was asleep) while Alec started on crapes. YUMMY! we had so many toppings for the crapes…and boy did we get stuffed! We played a little more and then packed up and took the kids home. We had a great Christmas and hope everyone else did too.

 Elder “Show” (Shaw is not a nice word in Mongolian) is doing well…he likes the food – even the pizza, he is doing really well with the language, and doesn’t feel the cold too much (-13* anyone?). Here he is with his mission president and his wife, Brother and Sister Andersen. Oh, and he gets asked a lot by the students in his English class for his phone number because they all know he doesn’t have a girlfriend. How funny is that? Please remember to keep John and all the missionaries and soldiers in your prayers.

We realized Christmas is only 1 week away and it blows our mind! We finally got our tree at a great little place run by a family. The guy was really nice and even dropped the price by $10. So, for a 6 ft tree we paid $32. Not bad!

I decided to take Evie to Target to get her 1 year pictures but as soon as I found out there was no sitting fee I decided to do the whole family. Spencer didn’t want to smile most of the time and Evie just wanted to explore all of the props. Here are a few that turned out okay.

Family Pics

Kid Pics

Spencer (with mitt on wrong hand)

Evie (tired and very ready to take a nap) and her Teddy

Lukie had his 2nd birthday party tonight. He was so cute! We had dinner (which was eventful because Evie got a hold of my plate, dropped it and it shattered…and I mean SHATTERED…all over the ground! What a mess maker!), opened presents, then had cake and ice cream. Let’s see…Lukie got a few books, a toy car, a Little People’s airplane, a ball pit, and there are a few presents still in transit so he’ll open them later. A huge ball fight (150+ balls!) started downstairs and another mess was made…one that was much easier to clean up! Luke was so cute with his cake. He let us sing to him and blew out his candles on the first try. He was just so cute! Here are a few pics…

So Chris and Julie finally had their baby boy! I’m so excited for them! Julie had a c-section (which was a good thing since he was a big baby!) Let’s see…I believe he was 21 1/2 inches, 8 lbs. 13 oz, and a 37 inch head. We went to visit them in the hospital today. Here are some pics.

Samuel Goodwin Shaw

“Old Man Feet”

Samuel Goodwin Shaw

Grandma and New Mommy

Spencer, (Evie), Emily and Sam

Samuel Goodwin Shaw

New Daddy

We had so much *cold* fun at the BYU football game! We were able to leave the kids at their Grandma and Grandpa’s (thanks Alec and Pat!). We knew it was going to be cold but it got really cold! The game was great and so was the hot chocolate. We all had fun trying to keep different things warm. I gave myself shin splints trying to keep my toes warm! Here are some pics…