Better late than never.

I am way out the the blogging groove right now, but hopefully that can be one of my new years resolutions and I can do better. I'm really late with posting about Christmas, but here it is anyways.

On Christmas Eve we get together with my family and have dinner and a fun gift exchange. This year we went to my sister's house in Gunlock. It was a lot of fun to spend the evening together and the kids had a blast. They are at the fun age where they all get so excited about everything, even new pajamas.

Santa was way too generous with us this year and the kids got a lot of fun things. Ashten told my mom later that day that she got everything she wanted and she wasn't even good. I guess we need to re-evaluate that threat for next year. The fun thing about having kids is that your focus shifts from being excited for what you get, to watching them and being excited for them.


Traxton got this cozy coupe car and he absolutely has loved it. Ashten and Treyson got these wiggle cars and they have also been a lot of fun. Jared and I rode them around the kitchen for almost an hour on Christmas Eve. :)

Jared got this air soft gun and it has brought back his inner child. Some of our neighbor kids have guns as well, so they have wars quite often. Its pretty fun to watch Jared take on the whole neighborhood.

My absolute favorite gift this year was one we gave to my mom. For as long as I can remember, she has said that she wanted a two-seater bike. A few years ago I looked at them around town, but I never wanted to spend the money to buy a new one. One of our seasonal neighbors has a hobby of fixing up old bikes, and Jared talked to him about bringing us one back from Colorado. It was the neatest thing for me to see her surprise when she saw the bike.

I love the Christmas season and all the fun activities that we find ourselves busy doing, and I always get a little depressed when it's all over. This year is no different. January just seems like a gloomy month with nothing really to look forward to. Thank goodness it is almost over.

Early Christmas!

Yesterday my little brother came home from his mission in Argentina. It was such a long anticipated day. We had our signs made and went up to the airport around noon to wait for his flight. All the kids were so cute holding their signs up through the window. For the last six months he has been telling us to get our kids ready to give him a hug when he got home. We tried to tell him that it has been two years and they would probably be afraid of him and wouldn't give him any hugs. The kids did so well. All but the youngest ones went right up to him and hugged him. They didn't even act like they haven't seen him for two years. It is so good to have him home and to hear his spanish accent.


The kids were so excited to show their signs. As soon as we saw the plane on the horizon, they started waving their signs. I'm sure he saw them. :)

Welcome Home Elder Trumbull Bundy!

Hugging the big boys.

There's a few more kids than when he left! Everyone was excited to see him, except for Traxton. Big surprise, he doesn't like anyone but mom or dad.

The picture we took a few days before he left. Wow, look how little they all look.

My Husband the Innovator

Anyone who knows Jared knows that he is quite the handy man. He can build or fix just about anything. This has been both a blessing and a curse. For example, a few years ago our roof leaked, a lot. Jared refused to let me call a "professional" and claimed he could do it himself. After a lot of tension, a tarp nailed to our roof, and a hole in my living room, I think it is finally fixed. Although, I cringe a little every time it rains. Jared has also saved us and many friends and neighbors a lot of money with his handy skills. I had a friend ask me if Jared knew anything about installing water heaters. I was pretty doubtful, but told her I would ask. Randomly enough, he did know how to install it and saved them the installation fee. Jared's famous line is "I could make that", whenever he sees something that he likes. I will admit that I have used Jared's skills to make many things for me. Remember the cows he made for Enrichment.

Well a couple of weeks ago Jared decided that he wanted to make a train to pull behind the 4-wheeler. The kids had seen one of these at Staheli Farm, and were really excited when Jared told them he was going to make one. One thing I have learned about Jared is that when he gets an idea in his head, he has to get busy on it right away. It only took him about a week to get the whole thing put together. It turned out awesome, and lets just say that he is the most liked parent in the neighborhood now.





The kids from our neighborhood, and a few who weren't, were lined up in our circle for hours getting on and off the ride. We had such a fun time.

Seeing how well this little project turned out, and how easy it seemed to be for Jared to make, just reminds me of how lucky I am to be married to such a handy man. Jared works so hard to make us happy and to provide for us. I love you babe.