Frankenmuth

If you have never visited the beautiful little village of Frankenmuth, Michigan you need to. What a fun place to be for Christmas. We took most of the day on the 23rd to travel there because of the ridiculous and christmasy weather but we made it. We stayed at the Drury Inn and Suites. On the 24th, we did some shopping and visited Santa at the Bronner's Christmas store. We loved it there....such a magical feeling there. The kids each picked out a Christmas ornament, Mom got some Haribo candy which I love and Dad bought some new trees for his Christmas village. We spent that evening at Aunt Jeannie's home in Saginaw. It was fun to be with his family. We had a white elephant gift exchange and watched a video Paige had made for her parents. It was touching. Jerry's Grandma is not in good health but I think enjoyed being with all her children. On Christmas day we went to Grandma North's for breakfast and enjoyed all the family there. Jerry's Dad has 7 siblings so with all their kids it was quite the party. We enjoyed an awesome German style meal at the Bavarian Inn with another visit from Santa. Uncle Rich and Aunt Diane came with their kids and met as there as well. The food was really, really good. Did I mention the food was good? We enjoyed ourselves. Merry Christmas! The next day we packed and Jerry spent a little time picking up some of his favorites....superman ice cream, kogel's hot dogs, coney sauce and frankenmuth fudge. We headed back to Michigan and packed up all our stuff. We decided to drive to Detroit that night because we were flying out the next day early. Our hotel in Detroit was really nice. Unfortunately we left Lauren's raggedy old baby there. She was sad but hopefully will forget and latch on to her new one. The kids traveled well and we made it safely back to Las Vegas. Andy was kind enough to pick us up. We ate at Baja Fresh and headed home. We were so, so glad to be home.

Santa Claus

So turns out Santa comes earlier in Defiance, Ohio. For those of you who can't wait until the 24th, head to Ohio and he may show up early. The kids were so, so, excited. When we attempted to put them to bed they just kept warning us of the dangers of staying up late and causing all sorts of problems with Santa coming and bringing their presents. They slept until a reasonable hour and we all headed down to the basement together. Of course, the adults had been down there numerous times to check and see if Santa had come. Santa DID come and in a big way. In fact when we were done opening gifts Lauren said, "Everyone else in the world must have been naughty and so we got all their presents!" I think next year may be a big disappointment in the Santa department but they had a great, great time. Merry Christmas Defiance, Ohio!

Suprise Visit

We had an early suprise visit from Santa for the kids. We took Landon and Lauren out to show them Defiance, Ohio and give Grandma and Papa some time with Avery. We went to the mall and got Landon a coat and did some other Christmas errands. We took them to lunch at Captain D's a seafood restaurant and had a great time being together with the kids. When we came home, Santa had made a stop. Landon and Lauren got the presents they had asked Santa for. They were so excited and happy. It was lots of fun. We found Baby Alive to be quite demanding and took the care and concern of not only Lauren but also Landon. By the end of the day, Landon said, "I'm tired of changing diapers!" We had to laugh. Avery was happy with her baby doll as well.

Vacation

We made it to Ohio! We left from Las Vegas on the night of the 18th. Thanks to our friends Holly and Andy for giving us a ride to the airport. We made it there three hours early. We were worried about long lines because the airport had been closed the day before due to snow. Apparently, it hasn't snowed in Las Vegas for thirty years. Crazy. We had a few snow days in St George as well. The kids were dying to play in the snow but I hadn't got their snow coats yet so I promised when they got to Grandma and Papa's they could. The kids did really well on the flight. They slept through most of it. I was so happy they did well and know our prayers were answered. We flew into Detroit and rented a car there to drive to Defiance, Ohio where Jerry's parents live. He was born in Michigan and all of his extended family still lives there but moved to Ohio when he was 11. That's why most of the time he just tells people he is from Michigan. So we got to the airport just after a HUGE snowstorm started. We spent hours at the rental place waiting to get a car....well, trying to upgrade to something that could drive in the snow or we wouldn't make it to Ohio. We finally got on the road and it took much longer to get here because of all the snow. We went between 20 and 40 miles per hour most of the time. We are so glad we made it safely. Grandma and Papa spent lots of time preparing for us and had everything in perfect order. We are having a great time and FREEZING!

Anniversary

Today was also our six year anniversary. We didn't do much to celebrate because of our trip but we were together. I can say I love my husband. I know most everyone can say that but I really, really mean it. I am so grateful to have him in my life. He is truly my best friend. The past six years have been some of the best of my life. I can't imagine life without him or my beautiful children. I count him as one of my greatest blessings. Happy Anniversary!

Reminder

I had an experience today that reminded me of God's love for me and my family. I was running around doing last minute errands to prepare for our trip. I was thinking about some concerns that I have and wondering how things would resolve and if God was aware. I ran out of gas on the way to Jerry's office to get the card to go get gas. As I sat there wondering how things would work out, people came to my aid. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I thought about God sending others to serve and help. I also felt like Gary had something to do with me being watched over and protected. How grateful I was for this experience and reminder.

Tiny Dancer

Lauren and Miss Joleen

Christmas Card Letter

~Highlights of 2008~

JERRY---does NOT have a kidney stone, shoots a buck, gets a street bike, plays softball, teaches the 14-15 year olds at church, builds a huge building with an awesome swimming pool he got to help design, attends multiple college football and Jazz basketball games (thanks to his GREAT job), loves work so much he states, “I wouldn’t come home if I didn’t love you so much!”

KATHRYN---survives the year being a Mom to three kids, starts working out (again), loves teaching the Laurels, works on food storage, maintains the blog and hopes it will count as a journal AND scrapbooking, spends “free” time shopping for deals and considers adding bargain shopping to her hobby list, attends her yearly girls weekend in Park City, loves being a wife and mom

LANDON--- turns 4, starts Primary, attends Little Star preschool, learns to play soccer, takes swim lessons, loves studying space, volcanoes, anatomy and national parks, loves being a big brother and makes peace in our home

LAUREN---turns 3, starts dance lessons, goes to a weekly playgroup, takes swim lessons, loves princesses, coloring, painting and mothering her baby sister, says goodbye to diapers and keeps us laughing with her emerging personality

AVERY---turns 1, smiles so much all of our cheeks hurt from smiling back, starts saying hi, mama, dada and other unrecognizable phrases, starts eating solids, gains weight, claps her hands, becomes mobile and loves life

We have MUCH to be grateful for this year. We hope this letter finds all of you happy and well. We are grateful to know you and have you in our life. At this wonderful time of year we want to express our gratitude for our Savior, Jesus Christ, his life, his mission and his example. We are truly a blessed people.

May God bless you and your family during this holiday season.

Love, the North Family

Santa Claus

We visited with Santa at our ward Christmas party. We had a breakfast this year which was new for us but it was really fun. Landon sang with the Primary kids. It is so fun to watch him perform. Lauren acted a little scared of Santa but did sit on his lap. The funny thing is both the kids told him they wanted something different than what they requested a few months ago! We told them the elves start making the presents far in advance so don't be surprised if they don't receive their newly requested items. We have tried really hard to teach them not to expect too much so Landon made sure he only told Santa one thing. Kids make Christmas so much fun!

Avery's First Birthday

We had a fun celebration for Avery's birthday. The Robb's called and said they would be in Vegas so we made plans to go and see them. I made cupcakes and we took Avery's presents with us. We have not seen them since we lived in Frisco and it was great to see them again. They are such good people. Their daughter, Holly just moved into a new home and it is beautiful. We had a great time and got to celebrate little Avery's birthday while we were there. Avery LOVED her cupcake. She got scared because Lauren blew the party horn in her face. It took quite a while for her to recover. We got her a walker which I think she will really enjoy. Mimi and Poppy gave her a cute stuffed puppy and Grandma Schiess gave her a cabbage patch baby. We love having Avery in our home. She is a wonderful baby and it is so fun to watch her grow up! The Robb's had plans to go to dinner that night so we headed over to Dave and Rebecca's for dinner. Landon and Lawrence had quite the performance with their Star Wars swords. Our intermission performance was done by Lauren and Marie showing us their ballet moves. We had a fun filled day and evening. We are grateful to have such good friends.

Christmas Traditions

We started the first of our Christmas traditions last night. Nickolaus is a german tradition where you put your shoes out on the night of the 6th. If you have been good, you will find candy in your shoes and if not you will get a potato. This year the kids got letters from Santa Claus as well. It is a fun way to start out Christmas. The kids were so excited to see their shoes overflowing with candy. We are also trying to do Advent by doing a little Sunday night singing and telling Christmas stories. We are lacking the Advent wreath but hope to get one for next year. We are hoping this will help us to think more about the Savior and reflect on Christ.

Christmas Party

Things have been kind of a whirlwind with Grandma and Grandpa here. We LOVE it. They are so helpful with the kids. Grandpa takes Landon to preschool and picks him up. Grandma constantly cleans when she is here. The kids love having them here. We have eaten dinner together almost every night which has been great. Jerry was able to help with his Christmas party for work this year. He and I had a "date night" and bought close to 40 gifts for the white elephant gifts. We had a dinner at the hospital and then exchanged gifts. Everyone seemed really pleased with the outcome.

Thanksgiving

We had a really fun Thanksgiving. My Mom and Dad were here. They came down to set up their trailer here for the winter. We are so excited to have them here. Rod came and brought Shelby and Ethan. We are so glad they made the long drive here. Jerry and my Mom did the Turkey and we worked together with Costco for the rest of the food. The kids were so happy to have family here. The meal turned out really good and we had PLENTY to eat. We each went around the table and talked about what we were grateful for. The kids did not want to quit and kept asking us to take turns. We have so much to be grateful for and I loved the opportunity to reflect on all those things. We ate and watched the Glenn Beck conversion story. I was touched to hear of his conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has such a broad sphere of influence and it is amazing to see him using his national recognition for good. For some unknown reason Rod, Jerry and I decided to go shopping at the outlets at 11am. I did get Gymboree pajamas for the kids for under $5 but it was a little crazy. Rod is a maniac shopper and we didn't leave the outlets until close to 3am. We drove by Best Buy and saw lots of people camping out to get the doorbusters. Crazy. So I tried to go to bed but Rod wanted to go to Wal-mart and for some reason I agreed to go with him. I have never seen anything like it. What people will do to get Baby Alive for cheap. I thought for sure we would go home after Wal-mart but Rod drove over to Kohl's. Needless to say we got home around 7:30am. I think I am still recovering from the loss of sleep. We went to Twilight that night. Jerry, Grandpa, Landon and Uncle Rod got to attend a Jazz game on Saturday. They got to enjoy the game from the suite equipped with unlimited snacks. They had a great time. My Mom and I stayed here with the girls and we rented Barbie and the Diamond Castle, painted our nails and had snacks....does it get any better than that for a girls weekend? We were happy to spend time with Lauren and Avery.

Baby

So today a miracle of sorts occurred. Anyone that knows anything about Lauren knows she LOVES her baby. She was given this baby by Mimi Robb when we lived in Texas. Baby has been her constant companion ever since. There have been many times when I have considered buying another baby just for back up and especially when baby has been missing (Once Lauren locked her in her lunch box and forgot. Our life was miserable for one week) but I have never taken the plunge. This particular baby is somewhat difficult to find. I took Lauren to a kids store to look for some ballet shoes. They happen to have not one but TWO of her babies for sale (dirt cheap, I might add) so I bought them both. I feel so much more security knowing I have back up if the original baby disappears. Lauren ran right up and said she wanted to buy the baby so I hope she will adopt one of the new ones. As you can see from the pics.....the original baby is in bad shape. Miracles do happen.

Avery's New Tricks

• found her in the crib sitting up this morning
• sticking her cute little tongue out when you ask her
• clapping when you clap and ask her too.....it is seriously the cutest thing
• saying ma ma more frequently....usually all she says is da da
• pushing up to crawling position more and rocking back and forth
• laughing with the cutest laugh ever...i really need to video it
• saying hi in the cutest sing song voice

Football

This weekend was all about football. On Friday we drove to SLC to watch Nate play in a state championship game at Rice Eccles stadium. Nate did a great job. He had some really good blocks but they did lose the game. Teresa had a party after so we got to visit with Nate a bit. A highlight for Landon was getting to look at Doug's telescope. He was so excited because space is one of his current obsessions. We stayed in Springville that night with the Barson's. We missed Jeannette because she was out of town tending grandkids but sure appreciated Clyde's hospitality. Jerry had an awesome opportunity to attend the BYU vs. Utah game thanks to our gracious friends the Wright's. He had a great time. I was well taken care of in Springville and spent some time with Jill, Brent and kids. Landon had a few mishaps with the treadmill and also an unfortunate accident when he pretended to be a ghost and got hit in the head with a Ronald McDonald doll. We really enjoyed our time together. On Sunday, we met up with my parents and drove back home together. They will be here for a few weeks now and then for January-March. We are so excited.

Primary Program

Landon participated in his first primary program. It was so much fun to watch him. It was definitely one of those rewarding moments as a Mom. He is so bright and works so hard to do his best. I love to hear him talk about the gospel and seeing him sing all the songs made me cry. I am so grateful to be his Mom!

Soccer

Landon had his last soccer game today. He made two goals. He really learned to play well. I started to understand what he was supposed to do and was on fire after that. He was a leader on the team and always wanted to play. He had lots of enthusiasm and I know his coach really appreciated him. We had a great time watching him play and looking forward to next year.

Eleven Months Old

It has hard to believe little Avery is eleven months old! She is becoming her own person and showing her personality. She has started to turn on her tummy so she can face all different directions. She has an opinion about things and is starting to tell us especially when it comes to food. We started her on milk and she is doing great with it! She likes to be entertained and sometimes is not happy when we leave her alone. She is such a cute baby. One of the nurses in the dentists office said she is the perfect baby with the perfect features. We agree! She loves her Dad and always butts heads with him (gently) or buries her head on his shoulder and acts shy when she sees him. Landon still goes to great lengths to make her laugh. We haven't seen any more teeth besides her bottom two pop up but she sucks on her fingers and slobbers constantly. She has her Daddy wrapped around her finger and he has a hard time leaving her in her crib if she cries so he informed me I would be the sole parent who would have to discipline her. She is a darling baby, so happy and easy going. She is a ray of sunshine in our home and brings us so much joy. We love you Avery!

Veterans Day

It's not very often that I think about my involvement in the United States Navy or the fact that I am in fact a veteran. That part of my life although only 8 years ago seems like a dream to me. I served from July of 1995 until July of 2000. During those 5 years of service I learned a lot about discipline, honor, sacrifice, and most importantly God. I've seen many different parts of the world and have spoken with people that lived in those areas. I remember going to Euritria which is a war torn country on the East coast of Africa. When we arrived I noticed that most of the buildings were destroyed by mortar rounds, gun fire, and explosives. The people of Euritria were so happy to see us. They gathered around us as if we were movie stars. We took books to their library and medical supplies to their "hospital". Oh, I will never forget that scene. It was concrete building with rooms opening up to the outside. As we walked around the floors we witnessing medical basins outside the doors with blood and amputations. Blood stained the concrete floors and there were very few clean practices being used. However it was all they had and they were grateful for anything we could bring to help them. Another experience I witnessed was one night as I was walking down the main streets I noticed a hole in one of the buildings that resembled a door opening but only about 3' wide by 4' tall. As I walked by I noticed a person peeking out the "door". As I got a closer look I noticed 10 -15 people in the 1 room 'house' huddled together. The floor was dirt and it looked as though they only had one light in the room and no furniture.

The point I am trying to make is, well I guess a couple of points. First, I am so grateful that I served my country and was able to do a little part in the world to help others in need. Most of the things we hear about the war and military is so negative. But I am here to tell you that most of what we do as a country in other countries is good. War is ugly, I do not deny this. But I feel it is our duty as a free country to help others who have the same rights to freedom as we have. Second, when things are hard and it seems our economy is falling apart I doubt many of us will ever live in the deplorable conditions our brothers and sisters live in other parts of the world. I am grateful to live in this free country and enjoy the blessings I have.

God bless America and God bless those who are sacrificing their lives so we can enjoy ours.

My Veteran

I neglect to tell my husband how grateful I am for his military service in the US Navy. He served for five years as a Navy Medic Corpsman stationed with the Marine Corp at Camp Pendleton, California. Countless blessings have come to our life because of his unselfish service. The most important being he found the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love him and am grateful for his determination to do hard things. Thanks to him and all others who have served our country so faithful and well.

Lauren-isms

Response to something shocking....."What in my heck?"

Response when asked to do something....."I betcha!"

Response when not sure what to say....."Whatever."

Response when Mom attempts to discipline her....."Mom, stop saying that!"

Response when Dad asks her to do something...."I can't hear you!"

Response when she does not want to go to bed..."Mommy, your my best mommy!"

Request for approval, "How do you think of me?"

I am sure I will be adding to this post.....

Staheli Farms

We made it to Staheli Farms but turns out it was closed. Thanks to a nice older man, we still got to go in. The kids didn't know the difference and had a ball. They saw the animals, went down the slide, got lost in the corn maze, rode on the swings and got really, really dirty! We ended the night with a trip to McDonald's playland. It doesn't get much better than that.