Christmas

Christmas this year was AWESOME...for a couple of reasons: 1) Bryson moved back in with us a couple weeks before Christmas so we had him here on Christmas Eve AND Christmas morning. That hasn't happened in a long time so it was definitely a treat! 2) I loved how excited Nick was to give Hailey the gift he bought for her. :) I think he was actually more excited to give her this gift than he was to open his own...how often does THAT happen with a teenager??? :)

 Nick had Hailey close her eyes while he got her present set up.

 TA DA...it was a new fish tank for her fish with a filter and a light. Who is surprised that it had to do with an "animal"? NOT ME! :) This fish is the world's longest living gold fish...it's the one Nick won for his cookies at a mutual activity and has lived FOREVER! He gave it to Hailey awhile ago since she did not have a pet of her own. :) He's actually hoping it dies before her birthday in May so he can get her a beta fish to go in the cool new tank for her birthday. :)

 Hailey was very excited to get these hair coloring "crayons" since she was pretty jealous that we got this kit for her cousin for Christmas. :)

 Bryson asked for money for Christmas so to make it more fun to open I put it in these nesting boxes. You would be amazed at how small you can fold bills to fit in the tiniest box! I think there were 10 boxes within boxes.

 Nick made me this candle at school. He had to go in during flex to make it and they were only accepting a certain number of students for this project so he said he literally ran from one end of the school to the other and was the 2nd to the last student let in to make these.

 Nick and Hailey entertained themselves by taking pictures in the car while they were waiting for Brian and I to come out to go to Grandma's that afternoon. :)

I love Christmas! I love how it brings the family together and causes us to reflect on our Savior and his role in our lives. I love how the kids think of each other and not just themselves. I love the time off of school and work and being in a warm home drinking hot chocolate. And I love getting together with extended family and laughing and enjoying the time together.

Looking forward now to everything the new year will bring!

Recognition Night

When Hailey turned 12 and joined Young Women's she made a goal to complete the entire Personal Progress Program before she turned 13. I have never seen her go after a goal like she did this one and 3 days before she turned 13 she accomplished this goal. That was back in May and on 12-12-12 along with 12 other Young Women from our ward she received her Young Womanhood Medallion. It was an awesome night where she was asked to speak about this accomplishment and I got to talk about her for a couple minutes which I was happy to do. 

These little girls are such a big part of Hailey's life that we were very happy they could be here this night...even though they probably would've been anyway since they are the BISHOP's cute kids. :)

 I know this picture is blurry but we had to get little Lulu in here. :)

 Fancy dessert table!

 Table decorated with some of the things that represent Hailey including the book of faith promoting stories she gathered from friends & family for one of her projects, piano music, swim meet ribbons, basketball and volleyball medals, triathlon medal & basketball shoes.

 11 of the 12 girls that also received their medallions that night...the 12th girl left before we could get a picture.

 Very cool that these two friends could receive their medallions together after we almost lost Janelle to a car accident last year!

 ...silly girls.

 The four of us received our medallions as parents/leaders on the same night which was very cool.

 ...and we can be silly too! :)

Very proud of Hailey and this big accomplishment in her life. Next step is working on her Honor Bee which she has already started.

2012 Iphone Pictures

I have finally gotten around to downloading the pictures off my phone so WARNING...PICTURE OVERLOAD!!!

In July...on his 15th birthday...I took Nick to the DMV and he passed his Drivers Permit test on the first try. I'm now seriously considering writing my congressman (or whoever is in charge of this) and letting them know that I completely disagree with parents teaching their children how to drive. It is taking YEARS off my life!!!! He's a good driver overall but there's still something unsettling about having your 15 year old in control of the vehicle with no prior training!

 Of course we needed to document our dog who is "anti-walk". I believe he's the only dog on the planet that rolls over and plays dead when the harness comes out because he HATES walks!

 Hailey's summer was again filled with early morning swim team and we're gearing up for it again this next summer.

 BFF's - Hailey & Shaylee

 In August Nick received his On My Honor Award and his varsity letter.

 We also had a farewell dinner with Bryson as he left to go to Florida with the Marines for 3 weeks.

 Hailey has been very interested in learning how to do different hairstyles this year and we have spent many evenings with her experimenting on my hair. Then she takes pictures of it with my phone and shows it to me. She's getting pretty darn good!

 Nick, Nick & Jacob went to the Multi-Stake Halloween dance...WOW

 Brian and Hailey participated in the Daddy-Daughter Ballroom Dance evening with the Young Women. They were very fun to watch but have both decided ballroom dancing is not their passion. :)

 Hailey and I kidnapped Shaylee in the early morning hours of her birthday and took her to Ihop...

 Where she ordered soup...at 5:30 AM! :)

 Hailey continued to improve in volleyball and has a killer overhand serve!

 Most Saturdays leading up to November 1st I would drive by the Mt. Timpanogos Temple to check the status of the scaffolding removal leading up to my nieces wedding and updated her on the progress.

 Typical Sunday afternoon at the Morrow house.

 This is the view I woke up to on October 30th when coming out of surgery.

 At the end of November we had our annual Holiday Party at work and the comedian pulled our friend Doug up on stage...he was a good sport.

 Our friend Jeff Dale was also pulled up there. :)

 Graduated to a boot and off crutches!!!

 My sweet friend Chris shared her ottoman with me so I could put my foot up at the office.

 Apparently you swat flies better if you're up on their level.

 Wedding Day for Chelsea!! (My brother's daughter.)

 Piano recital for Hailey.

 Not sure why this picture dropped in out of order, but Shaylee also received her complimentary birthday sundae...at 6:00 AM. :)

Well, I guess I tried to upload too many pictures because some of them did not drop in, but that's part of a year in review from my cell phone's perspective. :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I learned a valuable lesson this year...if you make half the dinner preparations the day before, Thanksgiving Day is a lot easier! I always make the entire Thanksgiving meal every year and we have my parents over. It sounds like a lot of work but I love it! Since I'm still hobbling around in my big boot (air cast) from my foot surgery I was a little concerned about being on my feet all day so I prepped half the meal yesterday and it went fast, smooth and easy today. Plus I had FABULOUS helpers...thanks to Nick for helping me clean up and thanks to Hailey for setting the table and helping with half the food. Also, thanks to Brian who did the second batch of dishes after the meal. Sadly, my dad couldn't make it this year because he was not feeling good, but my mom came and Bryson and his buddy came down. It was great!

I love my family!

Every year it cracks me up when Brian breaks out the new set of surgical gloves to cut the turkey. Heaven forbid he gets his hands messy. It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving though without those gloves. :)

 And I got a big kiss from Nick when he saw the big mound of mashed potatoes I made at his request!

 Bryson entertained Grandma with YouTube videos.

 And Nick apparently felt sorry for the dog being leashed and went over and gave him some attention.

Unfortunately there are no pictures of Hailey because she was the photographer.

So many things to be thankful for...Family, Friends & Faith are at the top of my list. I love my family with all of my heart...they have certainly stepped up the last 3 weeks that I've been down with my surgery and gone above and beyond in meeting my needs and helping with the house! I also love my friends that have taken good care of me as well and called, texted, stopped by, and brought dinner to my family. And most of all I'm grateful for the gospel and my relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ.

Happy October

I LOVE FALL!!!

 I love the crispness in the air, watching football games, seeing the leaves changing in the canyons, and the anticipation of the holidays! 

My "Back to School" display has come down and has now been replaced by Halloween. 

Please take special notice of my amazing display of craftiness as that jar lid is hand-spray painted by me...yep, that might be the extent of my craftiness!

 Another great sign of fall is yummy smells coming from the crock pot. I will also put a special plug in here for one of the world's greatest inventions...the crock pot liner! Quick and easy clean up...just the way I like it, and just the way the kids like it when it's their dish night. :) This is Italian Chicken cooking and it makes the house smell super yummy!!!

I hope you are enjoying fall as much as I am and I'm looking forward to all the cute little neighbor kids coming over in their costumes in 25 days. :)