The Important Book by Lela

(This was our Christmas gift from Lela.  So sweet I had to share.)

The important thing about my mom is she's kind.  She is crafty, she makes us all scrapbooks.  She's also always right, she knows everything. But the important thing about my mom is she's kind.

The important thing about my dad is he's strong.  He builds everything and fixes them.  He will take my sister and I on bike rides anywhere.  But the important thing about my dad is he's strong.

The important thing about Hunter is he's responsible.  He also knows what is right whenever things happen.  He's athletic and encourages me in sports.  But the important thing about Hunter is he's responsible.

The important thing about Wil is he's playful.  He's funny he can make anyone laugh.  He's also weird and a super nerd.  But the important thing about Wil is he's playful.

The important thing about Jon is he's helpful.  He's smart so he can help me with my homework.  He's also musical, he plays lots of instruments.  But the important thing about Jon is he's helpful.

The important thing about Emily is she's special.  She will listen and do anything I tell her.  She's also fun to play games with.  But the important thing about Emily is she's special.

Pine Valley Adventure

One of my favorite things about living in Southern Utah is the weather.  I have never been one who minded the heat, but have not been a big fan of snow and cold for a long time.  I think Hunter stated it best today when he said that he and snow have come to an understanding - It can do what it wants as long as he doesn't have to be out in it.  Unfortunately, snow does not usually cooperate.  So I love Southern Utah, because I can look out my window and see the snow on the mountains where it should be and I don't have to shovel it from my driveway. Then if I want to play in the snow with my children, we can jump in the car and drive to the snow and play.

Driving to snow is what we did today with my parents.  My dad had read about all the snow in Pine Valley and wanted to go see where Pine Valley was.  My mom commented that the Pine Valley Chapel is the oldest LDS Chapel is the oldest LDS still in use.  The drive to Pine Valley is absolutely beautiful through many differing landscapes found here in Southern Utah.  We drove through Cedar Tree Forests and my mom shared a story with my children of getting a tree for her grandma when she was about my daughter's age.  We drove past lava flows and cinder knolls and of course the red rocks the area is known for.  

Pine Valley is a charming town nestled in the Pine Valley Mountains.  It was from this starting point that my husband and other leaders started off with our local scout troop in what ended up as a 51-mile hike.  As we came into town today, my boys and Rick reminisced fondly on that experience.  One of the first sites to greet you as you enter the town is the Pine Valley Chapel.  Of course we had to stop and take a few pictures.  We then drove through the town and enjoyed the mixture of old pioneer homes and more modern constructions.

Unfortunately, the Chapel and Historical Society were closed while we were there, but I was able to find this video tour on YouTube:

Christmas (Scrapbook Project) Wrap-up

Christmas Day has come and gone and all indications lead me to believe it was a merry one at our home.  Merry for me was that I was able to complete my scrapbooking project (In Over My Head) without staying up all night Christmas Eve.  In fact, I was able to get it done in time to finish a few other things, including wrapping presents, before we took off to visit family a few days prior to the big day.  This probably was the worst kept Christmas secret ever in the history of our family.  In fact I think only the oldest was unaware of what he would find come Christmas morning and that is only because he was sequestered at college.

Even though the children knew what was going on, they all exercised restraint and did not peek.  That is everyone but Wil.  He peeked more than once and actually sat in the office with me watching Psych while I scrapbooked.  The hoped for reaction on Christmas morning was achieved as after opening the box containing their scrapbook, each child paused to look through it before moving on to other gifts.  Then they all looked through them again together and commented on the various pictures and their memories of those times.

It was most gratifying, when Jon said I should have ended each book with "To Be Continued..." because they hoped this wasn't the last time I would do this for them.  After I caught my breath at the statement, I thought that at least next time won't be so overwhelming.

(Product Endorsement Section: I used Creative Memories 8X8 Albums with Side-Loading Sleeves. Each book ended up being approximately 60 double-sided pages.  I also ended up with a small Power Sort Box for each child that has one compartment of pictures that did not make it into the album.  I have to say that doing a project like this was made a lot easier with the coordinating paper and embellishments from Creative Memories.  My normal scrapbooking style is usually a mix-and-match approach, but I liked how fast these books were able to come together and how coordinated/similar the books looked at the end by using the same products.  I will still keep my usual style for my other projects, but still use these products for future chapters for this.)