New Year's Day with the Hancock's

We had our Hancock Christmas get-together on NewYear's Day. The cousins did their gift exchange and had fun as usual sharing their gifts. We had dinner together. This year we broke the ham and potatoes tradition and make Hawaiian Haystacks. It was easy and a nice change. We did our usual white elephant exchange and gift exchange with the parents. The kids had fun sledding for awhile until it got dark and they were forced to come in! It was a really fun day and we love spending time all together!

Heather feeding Sadie.
Maggie had fun in the snow too.

Fabulous 40!!!

Yes, the dreaded 40th birthday has come and gone. I feel the same but don't like saying my age outloud, it just doesn't seem right! How can I be 40? I celebrated it a couple of times which just rubbed it in even more. I celebrated it first, while we were in Idaho, with my family. My niece, Hailey's birthday is the day before mine so we celebrate together whenever we can.

Bryce is such a great husband! He planned a surprise party for me at Los Hermanos. When we got there some of our good friends were there waiting for us. They had decorated the table with all of the "over the hill" type stuff like lollipops that said "40 sucks" and crime scene tape that said, "warning: Hot Flash Zone" My friends gave me some great gifts like All Bran cereal, Depends undergarments, wrinkle cream, Beano and old people necessities. It was really fun and made me feel good that they would all come to help us celebrate my birthday. We are lucky to have some really great friends .

Bryce and me, Moores, Walkers, Durrants, Warrens and Heidi R.

Christmas Fun

The kids made this for Santa. Santa spelled "thanks" with the pretzels!

We had a great Christmas morning. Everybody was happy and excited when they opened their presents. Whewwww! Always a worry that somebody will be disappointed. We packed up and drove to Idaho after we finished opening presents. We picked up my grandma and took her with us so the car was very crowded. We had a great time in Idaho. It was fun spending when time with my sister and parents. I also got to see some of my high school friends that I haven't seen for a long time. It was a very fun, relaxing Christmas.

Musical Moments in December

These are some of the musical performances that the kids had during December. I love listening to kids sing! They are so cute. I am really proud of each one of my kids for trying to develop their talents. It takes a lot of courage to perform in front of people. I know that each one felt a satisfaction for doing something that they were nervous and skeptical about doing. Good job kids!

Keaton and his friend Jared performing at our ward Christmas party. This was

Keaton's first guitar performance. He did great and I was so proud of him!

Marlie singing her first solo at the ward Christmas party. She wanted to do it and it was her idea. Everyone was impressed with her confidence and beautiful voice.

Jace at his second grade Christmas show.


Marlie at her school choir Christmas performance.

Jace's Baptism

Jace got baptized on Nov. 28th. Bryce, his father, baptized and confirmed him. It was a really special day for Jace and we are so proud of his decision to be baptized. I love seeing my kids all dressed in white with their dad by their side. The stake took care of the baptism and they did a nice job. It made it nice for the parents, no stress, we got to just enjoy the occasion. We had a lot of our family come to share Jace's special day with him. After the baptism at the stake center we went to our church and had a lunch for the family. We had homemade chili and made frito pies. All of Jace's aunts brought yummy desserts. It was a great day and we are so happy for Jace. We know he will be a great member of the church.

This is all of the family that came to Jace's baptism. Front row: Brinley, Cambree, Connor, Kimball and Jacob. Middle: Great grandma Reynolds, Joshua, Victoria, Jeff, Heather, Rachel Marlie, Grant, Grandma Hancock and Jace. Back: Grandma Johnson, Grandpa Johnson, Uncle Doug, Aunt Lynnette, Sadie, Uncle Shawn, Aunt Missy, Grandpa Hancock, Keaton, Uncle Scott, Bryce, Aunt Katie and Jody.

Jace is Eight!!

Our cute boy Jace turned 8! Every year on his birthday I can't believe he is the age he is. I can't believe he is 8! He is the sweetest boy. He is kind and loving and always wanting to make me happy. He is so easy going and never gives us any trouble. He has been such a great kid and I feel very blessed to be his mother. He had a fun birthday. He was so excited for his birthday this year. His teacher said that he about drove her crazy talking about when it would be time to do his birthday celebration in his class. He has had a new found interest in skateboards lately. We gave him a skateboard (and safety pads). He also wanted some "Tech Deck" skateboard toys . I asked him what he wanted for dinner on his birthday and he chose Barbque Chicken Salad. I was surprised he chose that but he does has very good taste in food. He likes just about everything, especially healthy foods, which is rare for a kid, like I said he is such an easy kid. He wanted a Butterfinger cake, another great choice! We had a fun celebration with Jace and are excited for him to be baptized soon.

Look at that cute face!
make a wish!!!

Pumpkin Patch

We have a family tradition of going to the Red Barn's pumpkin patch every year. This year it was so fun because Melanie and Moe (and Casey) happen to be visiting from CA and they went with us. Shawn, Missy, Brinley, Cambree and baby Sadie went too. It was really fun for the kids to have their cousins come along. We rode the wagon out to the pumpkin patch and wandered around looking for the perfect pumpkin. The kids all liked petting the horse there. It was a warm, perfect fall day!

My little pumpkins!!
The DeLuca patch.

Connor petting the horse.
Marlie helping Casey pet the horse.
Moe "eating" C.onnor

Marlie, Jace, Moe and Connor on the wagon ride.
Shawn, Brinley, Cambree and Missy.