We had a great New Years party at Shafer and Lindsey's house that was definitely worth a drive to Utah. I didn't get one picture! But it was so fun to be all together and let the kids talk about Christmas together. We lucked out and were able to bring Ava back to Elko for a week! First things first, no cousin trip to Elko is complete without eating at Great Wall.
Raegan spent literally her ENTIRE Christmas break practicing an African song and dance New Years church meeting for a friend whose father is the pastor at the Assembly of God. It was such a big deal! We just had to go watch her perform. I had tried to add some highlights to Raegan's hair a few months ago, but they barely showed up, so I put in more quick blue this time...and it worked. Like, really really well...
She knows lots of groovy tunes now like "Deep Cries Out" (repeat that phrase 100 times) and other catchy songs--it helps when your church has a full band and all the instruments. We stood and clapped along. A little different from our meetings. Ava, Alivia, and Landrie were ready for a quiet sacrament meeting afterwards.
While Raegan was busy with dance and the Assembly of God, Scarlett and Hartman spent most of Christmas break like this
Hartman did get to make a trip or two to Home Depot, and this is his favorite part of the shopping experience.
This boy just LOVES to look identical to his papa. He got a cute (hand me down, shhhh) red dress shirt for Christmas, but won't have anything to do with it, because that's not what Daddy wears. He dresses up like this sometimes, and just waits for Brent to get home to show him that they're twins. And I'm glad we got a shot of our newspapers in the background...a big part of our lives for several years in Elko.
You can only imagine how exciting it was to have Abby show up with her clan to pick up Ava Bave. These kids had a pretty elaborate lincoln log town set up. My kids are in heaven when the cousins are in Elko.
A week later, we were elated to find out that Katrina, Mallerie, Ava, and Riko were coming to stay with us! With Romney home from school, Raegan graduating, Katrina and Romney heading on missions this spring and summer, and all these girls growing up so fast, we knew it was kind of the last chance for a cousin sleepover. We have so many memories of these girls through the years begging to sleep over at each other's houses and making up dances and chants. It made for such a fun, nostalgic weekend. I loved every minute of it.
All dressed up to hit the town shopping. And believe it or not, these girls can SHOP--even in Elko.
Katrina asked me to add layers and bangs to her hair, she looked fab.
Don't worry, they didn't get so caught up in each other's lives that they forgot to keep in touch with distant friends on insta and twitter and facebook...
Hip wars? I can't remember what they called this...
We had to go downtown to see Brent's office, our TBA office, and the Elko-famous polar bear. Riko was amazed! Since it's in a casino and we had all these underage kids, we had casino employees offering to take our photo so they could boot us, but we still got a chance to use Mallerie's selfie stick.
When it was time for the cousins to leave, my girls all put their shoes on to run down the street and chase the van to wave goodbye. Abby's girls rolled down their windos and did the same. I bawled then, and I'm bawling now as I think of so many years that have flown by and so many chasings of vans down the street as the cousins leave. Tender times for sure. Big changes are coming to our big family as we see these girls grow up and leave home and it makes me happy and sad all at the same time. These are amazing girls! I'm so grateful they've had each other to grow up with.
Seriously. Ugly cry.
On to happier, more random things--Brent is shooting guns now and plans to own one. It was inevitable, we live in Elko Nevada.
Scarlett lost her first tooth (well, the first one that wasn't yanked from her mouth that is). So exciting!
I turned 43 on January 6th, and this is the picture I took. It's Hartman eating lunch with me and Brent at Matties. They have a mural of Elko on the wall and gave me a free lunch for my birthday. This is where I needed Mallerie's selfie stick...
I treated myself to a gel manicure for my birthday. I also got this ring for Chrismas/Birthday/20th Anniversary. I thought it looked pretty swell with my mani...
Sophie turned 16! This is the birthday we all wait for. She's so pretty and stylish and has got it goin' on. She ran a red light on her first driving test, and had to take the test again two weeks later but passed with flying colors. This girl is now driving all over town and is always the ring leader with her friends planning events and parties. Happy Birthday, Soph!
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