Christmas Photos

This was our Christmas p.j. photo. We were ready for Christmas Eve. Our kids are so darn cute. I love it!
This was our Christmas Letter:
Merry Christmas to all our family and friends! We hope you have had a wonderful 2010. *I love getting Christmas cards from family and friends so we can put your family pictures up on our fridge to enjoy all year long! This is what has happened for us this year…
KADE: He finished a big truck project in the spring and when he has a spare moment he is now working on his own truck that he has named, Fuego (fire). Kade is always making new custom ideas for our cars and it is fun to see his creativity. He will complete ten years working at the Wal-Mart D.C. in February. Kade has done a lot of work with our camper this year and we have really enjoyed many camping adventures. We take our bikes with us and enjoy a ride to help stay healthy. Kade is awesome at taking care of the kids in the day, driving in Kari’s elementary carpool, Kya’s Preschool carpool and taking the girls to dance. He tries to take all the kids and Kelli individually on a date each month.
KELLI: I accomplished my goal of running a big race each month, including a 100 mile bike race and finally the St. George Marathon. I did physical things I never thought I could do and it was a great experience. I also wrote another Murder Mystery Dinner about the Civil War and we had a blast playing it with many family and friends. The costumes were so much fun to wear! I got behind on the blog since the middle of October because work became crazy with new extra responsibilities. I am back to my focus on trying to become balanced in life. I am still loving my adult tap class I am taking this school year, but my most favorite thing is to go on adventures with my family! Kade is my favorite person to be with and our kids are very entertaining. I am so blessed!
KARINYA: She is loving First Grade at Dixie Sun Elementary and her Spanish is improving all the time. I love her accent, it is so pretty! She won reflections again this year in dance performance. Kari is taking a Musical Theatre class and she is such a ham in it! The girls all just had their Christmas Dance Recital and it was so much fun to see how they have progressed. Kari is very talented and seems to love dance. She is taking more responsibility at home and tries to help with the cooking. She is our Jell-o Chef!
KYANDRA: She is having a ball in her second year at Watch Me Grow Preschool. She is trying so hard to read and be like Kari. Kya is great with her colors and numbers. Kya is the little Mama of the house, always trying to take care of everyone, especially her little brother. Kya is definitely the fashionista of the family and gives her two bits about your clothes and hair. She changes her clothes and re-does her hair many times a day. Kya is the residing artist of the family and is drawing, coloring or painting in any spare moment she has.
KIERANA: Hooray! Kiera is finally completely potty trained and has become quite the little lady since then. Kiera is our Nightengale. She is humming or singing all through the house and in the car. She is so excited to be in a children’s choir with her sisters for Christmas. She can’t wait to start Primary next month! Kiera aspires to be like her big sisters and be the best big sister she can be for Kolden. Kierana is also a very enthusiastic dancer and practices tap with me all the time. Kiera loves to have friends over with her sisters for dress-up tea parties.
KOLDEN: He is very busy being a boy. Kolden is such a darling boy full of loves and kisses! He has charmed me and I enjoy him being a mama’s boy. Kolden loves anything to do with a ‘vroom-vroom’, ball, tool of any kind and the puppy. Our Christmas present this year is a new miniature wiener dog named Kerchek. Our puppy is like Kolden’s brother because they tease each other with balls and chase each other. Kolden is learning new words all the time and is in the garage as much as possible with Kade. It is so fun to watch Kade and Kolden together!
We wish you the very best this Christmas season and in the coming new year of 2011! I hope you get to enjoy the simple joys of life as we celebrate our Savior’s birth! May God bless you all! With love, The Cheesman’s.

All of the Cheesman's that could went to the Visitor Center. It was wonderful to be there and for the kids to see the baby Jesus and Nativity as well as the Christus. The feeling at the temple is so wonderful.

Christmas Eve we had our traditional Shephard's dinner and I found a Nativity script that was kid friendly. The kids such a cute job playing the different parts of the Nativity.

Kolden must be the cuttest little Wiseman ever. He will pose with that darling cheesey smile all the time lately and we love it! He is such a charming boy!

Grandma Creta bought cute Santa outfits for the little grandkids. Kolden and Livy look so cute in their outfits. I like thie photo because they are looking at each other.

Livy smiles and Kole is a bit distracted.

There is Kolden's charming smile!

We had a bit too much good cheer and Kolden needs a nap.

It was a lovely Christmas! Santa brought the girls pillow pets, as they so politely asked him. He also brought Kolden some cars.

The best Christmas present for me was that my sister, Karla, got her endowments out and all of my siblings and my mom were finally together in the temple. My dad, Sid, was there and we all felt his presence. I loved it! That is how is should be - we are an eternal family! I was surprised because I did not feel as complete as I thought I would, we were missing a few people, like Karla's husband Sam and whoever Chad finds to marry. My heart cannot describe the immense joy I felt with my family together in the temple.

To add to my joy, the following Tuesday my brother Clint married his sweetheart Kathryn in the Temple. I think it was my favorite wedding since my own. The spirit was so strong during the ceremony and I couldn't help but cry out of joy. I know our dad is so proud of Clint and his new Eternal Family, just like we are. I could feel so much love in the room, like from all our grandparents that have passed on. It was so special! When you looked at Clint and Kathryn you could see how happy they are and that they will be so good to each other. I couldn't be happier for them!

Just so I remember them, some of the things the Sealer said were that if we want our children to end up going to the temple and to be married in the temple then we must set the example of going to the temple often. Make it priority that they see. We should take them with us to the Temple, to the Visitor Center, to read scriptures on the Temple grounds and let them feel the spirit at the Temple. I think this is so important to me because I have waited to feel the reality of my Eternal Family ever since my father died. When he died I gained a much stronger testimony of Eternal Families and I know that someday we will be together forever. On my mission I taught and testified of this and looked forward to feeling my family together again. In the Temple when my sister got her endowments out and at my brother's sealing I felt what I had been waiting so long to feel. It was no long just having faith that my family would be together again, but knowing and feeling and experiencing us together so literally that it was nearly as good as my father physically being there, in my opinion. Our physical bodies truly just a vessel for our spirits to be housed in during this life. Our spirits were reunited in the Temple and that is just the best feeling! I must do all I can to help my children get to the Temple so my little family can experience that too someday in the future when the time is right.

Another thing I remember his saying is how to remember our temple covenants when we take the sacrament each Sunday by the markings in the G's. I won't go into detail on this, I think just writing that down will help me remember and if I need more remembering I can just listen to what is instructed at the veil.

Oh, we are SO blessed to have the Temple close and to get to remember and experience those special things that occur at the Temple. It is another testament of God's love for us, His children. I am so grateful, my heart just cannot put it into words, my heart is so full. This is a part of my testimony and I share it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Kari's Christmas Music Concert

This was Kari's 1st grade Christmas music concert. We have been practicing many songs, especially the Spanish ones at home. Kari knows the words well and does a good job. The concert was during school so I didn't get to go, but Kade did with the other kids and Grandma Beth also went to watch and support. Kari did a great job. Kya can hardly wait to join Kari at Dixie Sun next year.

All three of the girls were in the Choir at Church singing a kid's solo. They also sang with the Primary and did a great job. We have such sweet song birds.

Christmas Dance Recital

We have been anticipating the Christmas Dance Recital for months now. We have changed dance studios and we now go to "Desert Edge Dance". I love it because the girls get to particpate in 3 dances (jazz, tap and ballet) to show off their skills. Thier costumes are interchangable for the three different dances. Kari is in a fourth dance because she takes an extra Musical Theatre class and she does a great job! She is a very animated girls and it is very enjoyable to watch.

I love watching all the girls practice and take such pride in their dancing and performances. It really has helped all of them in their grace, discipline and confidence. Dance is so worth it just for that!

Kya and Kiera are in the same dance class this year with cousin Hallie. They are such cute girls. Kiera tries so hard and is constantly practicing her "toe touch". She does it quite well. Kya is more relaxed about it, but loves it too!

It is scary how good Kari is. She is the best in her class in musicality and execution of the dance moves. She does her steps at the right time and with gusto. She is really good and seems to just take it in stride. I rather marvel at how good she is and wonder how she became so good! When she does her long reaches and toe touches she looks like her legs are gracefully a mile long. It is beautiful.

Kolden wanted to be part of the action with the girls. Grandma Beth, Grandma Creta, Grandpa Brian, Ryan, Jenn, Shaye and Braxton all came down to watch. We appreciate their love and support. Karla, Sam and his kids came and watched them dance at the Dicken's Festival the week before.

We love watching our girls dance! We can hardly wait until the next recital in the spring. I am taking an adult tap class and love it. All us girls get our tap shoes on and have 'tap time'. Kolden tries to tap along with us and it is so fun!

Our first real Gingerbread House

We have never had a real Gingerbread house before. I got a kit from the Bountiful Baskets and we decided to try it. The kids took turns putting icing on it and they each had a side of the house to decorate with glutinous candy. You can see from the pictures that we had fun!

What is the purpose of a Gingerbread House? Some may say so you can look at it all Christmas season long and enjoy how pretty it is. At our house it is to EAT! Less than 2 minutes after we agreed we were all done decorating the kids started eating it. The actual ginerbread house - the cookie was my personal favorite. It was completely gone in 4 days. Happy Holidays!

The Rosenbruch Museum and Kari's Pixie Hair

We had an adventure going to the Rosenbruch Museum. We went with Grandma Beth, Chad, Sam and his kids Nicole, Daniel and Clark.

We learned how taxadermy is done and what it takes to create this form of art.

It was cool to see the biodiversity they have placed in this unique museum.

Kolden looks really cool in his hat with his binoculers and ready to investigate different animals.

We had a good time and learned a lot at the Rosenbruch Museum. We will probably go back again sometime.

So - for the 3rd time this year Kari has cut her own hair! She put her hair in a pony tail and cut off anything that wasn't in the pony tail. She had quite the mullet. Kandice Cluff came to the rescue again and did her best to fix the catastrophy. Now Kari is sporting a pixie hair due. Many people tell her how cute it is and we tell them it is not cute because she shouldn't have cut it herself. I told Kari if she cuts her own hair again then I will buzz it off.
She does look a lot like Audrey Hepburn and it is cute, but we are trying to let her know she is beautiful, but it is NOT okay to cut her own hair.
Kari also lost another tooth and is getting a new one in.

The LEO on Wheels Science Expo

At school we had the oportunity to have the LEO on Wheels come with a bunch of physics experiments. There was a community night and I took the kids and invited Karla, Sam and his kids to come too.

Here the girls are playing on the whisper machines. You whisper into the center and because of he way the sound waves travel you can hear what ever is whispered on the other side of the room in the middle of the other curve. Kiera and Kya and playing on this side...

Kari and Clark were listening on the other end.

This bike was showing how energy from pedaling the bike could power light bulbs and the difference in power usage for regular incandecent bulbs and flourescent bulbs.

Here is the roller coaster with different masses of balls to send down the track.

Here is the Ven de Graph Generator that created energy from static electricity. It was lots of fun!

Cottam Uncle's & Aunt's Murder Mystery Dinner

We had finished up all our Mystery Dinners and my Mom called and asked if I would host one more for my Aunts and Uncles that get togeter once a month for FHE, so we had one more. This was our 6th and final Civil War Murder Mystery Dinner. It was very fun, but I was ready to retire for the season. I didn't know my Aunts and Uncles could be so animated. It was fun to watch and they did a great job!
Aunt Linda Cottam Paxman was Mini Minion

Uncle Art Cottam and Aunt Jillyn Smith Cottam were Lieutenant Just and Sally Forth

At the last minute my Aunt Sharon and Uncle Dean called letting us know they were very sick and couldn't come, so some good friends of my mom came to have fun and fill in. I also work with Sharon at PVMS.

John and Sharon Wilson were Private Stub and Patti Pioneer

Aunt Karen Cottam was a representative for President Abraham Lincoln

We ran out of girl parts and needed one more guy, so mom consented to be General Jubal Early. Way to wear that beard Mom!