Gavin showed off some of his handsome clothes today at church! It was so cute to see him in his button-up shirt and tie strutting his stuff.
The kids were thrilled to wake up to a White Winter Wonderland this morning. Even though it shocked the little ones at first, they had fun trudging through the snow with grandma Sharon like little eskimos.
Grandma Sharon figured out a cute way to make a fun & yummy Thanksgiving craft. The kids loved decorating their very own turkey cupcake and enjoyed eating them afterwards. Next we did some fun science experiments with the help of our very own chemist expert, Grandpa Neily. Afterwards we went on some treat runs to Auntie Whitney for cookies at Target and Uncle Steve for dinner and milkshakes at Chick-fil-a. Then we went on a festive drive to the beautiful lights on display in Spanish Fork and Salem. Spencer ended our night with a surprise drop-in visit after a transport to Salt Lake, so we got to spend a minute with him before he headed back home. It turn
ed out to be a very exciting and eventful day!
The kids love to be big helpers! When I try to clean the house they are right there with me, ready and willing to do almost any chore I ask. Shayla loves to try to vacuum the floor, help sort and hang the laundry and do the dishes. She is also great at making her bed with her little blankies and picking up toys. Gavin is learning how to pick up toys as well and loves to try to sweep, do dishes or just transfer piles of clothes back and forth between laundry baskets. He seems to think that if he looks busy he is being very helpful. Eris' favorite chore is cleaning the toilet. Don't ask me why she just loves it. She is also great at making her bed, setting and clearing the table, helping cook and changing Gavin's diapers and clothes. She is a very fun big sister and I look forward to her being our number one babysitter in the next few years. 
Gavin has loved doing somersaults ever since he saw the girls doing them in dance last year. I can never quite catch a picture of his actual roll but here is one right after. Shayla does excellent somersaults and is getting pretty good carwheels as well. Eris has learned how to do a perfect back bend and is close to learning how to flip herself over. At gymnastics yesterday she watched a little 6-year-old doing front and back handsprings and thought it was amazing. Even though she has been nervous about tumbling and flips on the bars, she is sticking with it and getting better every time she tries. Her teacher, Coach Jen, thinks she'll be able to tumble within the next couple of months as she builds her arm strength and her confidence. She is also loving her dance classes; tap, ballet and jazz and her teacher, Ms. Karen, told me she does very well in class. She pays attention and has the type of passion and talent for it that could get her far if she chooses. Eris describes dance as "her life" so I'm sure we'll see some amazing things from her in the future. The kids love to stretch together and Shayla and Gavin usually try to exercise with me when I'm doing my workout videos. We've all seen Shayla and her dance moves but Gavin has some of his own fancy feet that are absolutely adorable!
Reading is one of the most important things in our home. Eris usually reads a full chapter book during the day, some read during school and the rest at home. Her favorites include; The Magic Tree House which she has completed all 44 in the series since summer, Junie B. Jones which she has read 25 of, and currently she is working on Bailey School Kids and Carole Marsh Mysteries among others she randomly chooses while at the library. She was beyond thrilled this morning when she set off to school with blanket, pillow, snacks and 4 books in tow for the read-a-thon being held today. Shayla enjoys participating in story time at the library and loves to pretend to read me stories at home. We usually go back and forth between her "reading" and me reading to her. She has recently picked up on pointing to words and pretending to sound them out, "t-th-the c-ow..." Very cute! Gavin is usually the first kid awake so many times we sit in his room and read together before everyone else wakes up. He loves to look at the pictures and point to the animals, foods, balls, shapes... He can say many of the words including "monkey, dog, cat, horse, bird, duck, ball, banana, apple, candy, cookie"... and is able to point to many other items that he is asked. It's so cute to see him lay back and look at a book, full of interest and joy! If you see Spencer reading it is either the scriptures or a text book. He hasn't embraced the passion of leisure reading as much as the rest of us but has recently been found enjoying reading a chapter of one of Eris' books to the kids during bedtime. I love to read and have been enthralled with the Nicholas Sparks novels recently. He is an amazing author and I thoroughly take pleasure in his storytelling talent. Next up are a couple of the Alexander Dumas novels I enjoyed reading as a kid, "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Man in the Iron Mask."