the 12 months of 2011...

merry christmas! 2011 flew by and in an effort to not repeat the no christmas cards getting mailed out as was the case last year, i'm going for the online version instead.
here's a glimpse into our family's year a month at a time.

enjoy!

january

we always start the year off by celebrating our baby's birthday...only he's not a baby anymore!  caden turned 6 this year and is a fun-loving guy that we love to be around.

february

the month of love...

i love that we are in our house finally
i love that curtis actually let me take his picture
     (even though he had to pull a face)
i love that we can be silly with each other
but most of all, i love all the people in this picture...

march

the reason we ever have treats in the house...

lauren LOVES to cook...well i should say loves to bake. why isn't cooking ever this much fun for me?
(and in the picture, laur's cute friend ellie who we love like one of our own.)  :)

april

road trip to idaho for a family wedding.  on the way home we took a little detour to see the sites from napoleon dynamite (the highlight of the trip for the kids). here's curtis doing his best napoleon impression in front of napoleon's house.  i do have to say i feel so bad for the people who actually live here. there were two other cars that stopped for pictures while we were there as well.

may

this month the bishopric challenged the youth to take part in missionary week. they were asked to try and live mission rules, one of which was no electronics (except church music). curtis was not so happy with this restriction and was very vocal about how bored he was. he had to think outside of the box about how to spend his time and i think my heart was about to burst when i looked outside and saw curtis teaching cade how to ride his bike.  i'd tried and tried to get cade to ride without the training wheels, but cade just didn't want to do it. i guess his big brother had the magic touch cause he was off and going in a matter of minutes!

june

june was a fun month - school's out, summer starts, lauren had a birthday and we had a family reunion in st. george/zion national park.

lauren turned 12 this year, my how the time flies! she's a beehive in church now which she loves and is such a beautiful girl. what a blessing she is in our family. this is a picture at the st. george temple with lauren and her cousin jessica during our family reunion.

july

curtis playing in the sun...one of the few times i actually have a picture of his face. he's really into annoying me by not letting me take his picture - i love when he doesn't notice the camera's out!

august

august was filled with soccer for 3 of the kids and two birthdays. curtis turned 15 and has finally hit his growth spurt, i think he's grown 4 inches and i can't tell if it's him or chip on the phone anymore. i've had to start doubling the amount of food i make for meals and he constantly tells me he's hungry...i never believed people that said how much teenage boys eat until i saw it for myself. the next exciting milestone for him - getting his learner's permit and driving...oh my!

carter turned 9 this year and is one of those people that just always puts a smile on your face and is fun to be around. he is our sports guy and is into whatever sport happens to be in season. he played soccer and football at the same time this fall and well, that was just chaotic and won't happen again. :)

september

be still my heart...we have grass.

we started putting in our yard in april and because of all of the crazy rain we had this spring/summer it's taken this long to finish up! it was so much work and we're still not quite done yet, but looking out the window and seeing green instead of a sea of dirt makes me so very happy!

october

happy halloween!

november

lauren helping pick apples down the street.  she helped me make applesauce the next day and it was very yummy!

we spent thanksgiving in las vegas at wendy and brig's house and had such a fun time. we have so much to be grateful for. family is definitely at the top of the list!

december

we love our tradition of cutting down our own christmas tree. we left with no snow at our house and after a 45 minute drive up the canyon we were in a winter wonderland. the roads were not so much fun, but everything else was great! it's beginning to look at lot like christmas at our house!

we hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful holiday season. we're grateful for our savior and the wonderful gift He has given us all!

merry christmas!

with love,
chip, michelle, curtis, lauren, carter and caden

(p.s. in the craziness of our move i never mailed out an address change. if you don't have our new address and would like it email me (union1993@msn.com) or leave a comment and i'll get it to you!)