Meet Rico

Hanna has always loved animals and has always wanted every animal she sees (puppies, miniature donkeys, baby deer, bunnies, chickens, etc).

A few months ago she decided she wanted a chameleon, but then she learned that they aren't very hardy. But she heard that bearded dragons were great pets. So she started saving her money, and she would search the internet all the time to check prices and what equipment she would need.
Six months later, she had saved enough money and hadn't changed her mind about wanting this pet.

So we headed to Lethbridge, went to all 3 pet stores and came home with Rico and a glass cage for him, along with a carton of crickets and worms.

He really is a low maintenance, easy going pet. They say they are like a family dog and they will get to know us and our voices. They also told us to hold him everyday to keep him gentle.

So Hanna feeds him crickets and worms everyday. We even took him to show her class at school.
Because we love Hanna, we have welcomed Rico to our home!

Trip to Idaho/Utah

We packed up and headed to south to visit our family and friends after Christmas.

First stop, Julie's house in Idaho Falls.
We enjoyed good food, playing with cousins, sledding, shopping, going to my cousin's wedding, and the start of the stomach flu. Lucy was sick and spent a whole day in Julie's basement.

Luckily Julie's basement is very fun with the cool wall and the slide!

Second stop, Doug & Emily's house in Logan. Okay, the first stop in Cache Valley was to get my haircut. Austin and the kids went to visit the Summers family while I got my haircut. Then we met Scott & Natalie Ward and their kids for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Our favorite. That night the three other kids were up through the night with the stomach flu. Yuck. So they spent the next day in the basement watching movies while Austin and I took turns leaving. I even went to a K-1 party by myself so we didn't spread our germs. I had a super fun time with my cool friends.

Austin and the girls (who were feeling a bit better) walked to the mall (Doug lives close and it was so warm for December) and then had pizza and watched movies with Doug and Emily.

Next, we headed to Jeanette's house for a New Year's eve party. We had a blast hanging out with the Bennetts, the Whipples and Diana. 5 guys and Jill and Hanna went to a BYU basketball game and then to 5 Guys Burgers for dinner.

The rest of the women and children talked, shopped for food, made food, ate food and talked some more. We did little fireworks at midnight and watched big fireworks all around us, and some really cool floating lights (just like on Tangled).






Sunday we journeyed back to Hyrum to go to Sacrament Meeting at our old ward. Next a visit with Steve and Karma Albiston - we miss them!!

Then we stopped to see Scott & Natalie's new house and then on to Montpelier to spend the night with the Pitchfords.

Next back to Idaho Falls to spend the afternoon and evening with my parents.

One week later, we headed back home. It was very fun to see everyone, despite having the kids with the flu. And in between all of that, we did manage some shopping. Okay, more than a little shopping. It is a little shocking to add up our receipts as we head towards the border. It's a good thing we only go a couple times a year, but we have to stock up.

Christmas

There's nothing like wearing your new pajamas to bed on Christmas Eve.




Still sleepy but excited for Christmas morning.

We had a super fun Christmas morning. Kids are exciting at Christmas.

We got lots of great gifts for Christmas. Thanks to everyone who was thoughtful and kind. Here are the things we got from Santa this year:

Jill got a leather tool set.
Hanna got a camera.
Lucy got a talking dog named Cookie.
Carly got a Baby Alive.
Austin got warm stuff to wear outside (sweater, long johns, etc.)
I got a fancy new camera (yeah) and a new knife set (the ones from our wedding 15 years ago were quite dull).


Since Christmas was on Sunday this year, we headed to church. Jill and I sang in the choir. Jill, Hanna, Lucy and Carly sang "One Bright Star." They did a great job. Austin had to work to keep Carly awake until their song because it was near the end of the program. (I wish I had taken a picture - Lucy and Carly got new dresses).

After church, we went to watch all of the rest of the Nunn family open their presents. Fun. Chaotic, but fun! We enjoyed the afternoon looking at all of the new stuff, reading, sleeping and eating.

On Boxing Day, we spent the day at the rodeo in Cardston. It was fun to have the cousins there. Jill and Hanna did great! Jill placed in the goat tying.

Christmas Eve

Primary Christmas Play

We got a new Primary Presidency in September, and they are energetic (note the President is 70 years old). She decided to put on a Primary Christmas play for the ward party. She gathered the kids and practiced and practiced. It turned out to be so cute with an audience that packed the church.

Hanna was Mother Ewe. She had an awesome sheep accent.

Carly, the black sheep, but really we are just impressed that she did it.




The Sheep

The Sheep ready to enter the play

At the end of the play, Les & Hollis arrived at the church. They came for Christmas as a surprise to everyone (except me and Austin). They had a nice journey from Wyoming to celebrate Christmas.

Christmas Eve
Since it was warm with no snow, sledding was out. First, we went to the Agridome to team rope. Then after lunch we went to Austin's school and played kickball and had soft ice cream. We had a fun dinner at Grandma's and then time for the Christmas Eve program. We had songs and stories and testimonies and an unrehearsed Nativity play.

Mary & Joseph

The shepherds with Chester, the sheep

The Angels

After a fantastic program, Santa came for a surprise visit. He was the best Santa I have ever seen. He studied hard to know something unique about each person, things like that Kaela liks a boy named Benjamin Torrey, that Julia just played the guitar in our program, that Declan rides a horse named Cookie, and that Les wants to get his pilot license. He called each person to his lap and gave them a gift (hat, gloves or lip gloss).

Kaela was laughing so hard, she was crying.

THANKS SANTA!