Grace's Many Faces

Sad

Happy

Silly

Shy

Oh Boy! I've Got Joy!

This fall I joined up with three of the BEST mommies I know to start a Joy School for our little ones. What is Joy School you ask? It is a co-op form of pre-school where the children are taught principles and values that help them to be happy and joyful. Each week (in our case on Tues. & Thurs.) we rotate having school in our homes. It is such a great alternative to traditional pre-school. Everyone lives nearby, it's hands on and a delight to be a part of, and doesn't cost that much.

Grace absolutely LOVES it! It's one of her favorite topics of conversation. She get's so excited whenever it is mentioned. She loves playing with her friends and thier mommies. They've done so many fun activities like visit the zoo, go to the park, visit neighbors, play with animals, play outside, learn and sing songs, make food, tons of crafts, and holiday parties. It's named Joy School for a reason!

Here are some of the snapshots that I have taken this past semester:

When they arrive at Joy School they open their window to show that they are ready to have fun and behave. (They are supposed to shut their window if they misbehave, but Grace is the only one I've made do this. She seems to be a little feistier at home. In fact, her famous quote is, "I pushed Sophie.")

First Day of School
{Sept. 1, 2009}

Joy of the Earth
{Sept. 28th & 30th)

Halloween Parade & Party
{Oct. 28, 2009}

Grace in her Pilgrim hat

Christmas Party
{Dec. 22, 2009}

Rockin' New Years Eve

For the second year in a row we decided to forgo the crowd on Mill Ave. to rock the night away on our own. Warning: If you get uncomfortable seeing others SMOOCH, than this post is not for you.

What a cutie!

BFFs

Braving the balcony weather for the countdown and fireworks.

Jamie & Matt

Jace & Andrea

Jeff & Melanie
(Andrea's brother and soon-to-be SIL)

Jamie, Josh & Corbin

Our family kiss.

Oh no! Looks like no smooch for Kara...

Awe. There ya go!

JHB Gig: Desert Ridge

The JHB played at Desert Ridge Marketplace on December 26th. As always, they were great. If only the weather had been. The cold was directly proportionate to their hotness....so it was VERY, VERY cold! That didn't keep us from having fun though.

Christmas Day

Here was our Christmas Day in the form of a photo recap:

The Mother Load!

Just before coming downstairs.

Grace was grumpy, so we took pictures of Corbin in sensory overload.

Determined not to let Corbie have all of the fun, Grace starts to open presents.

Still grumpy...

I think Jeff was jealous of all the stuff Ally and Corbin were getting and wanted to be Josh and Jamie's kid too.

Jen gets a library from Ken.

Jace and Andrea are happy with their haul.

That is a man who is happy about his popcorn machine.

We gave both Jen & Ken and Josh & Jamie a set of Illustrated Stories of the Book of Mormon. (This series was treasured by the Hunt children)

Finally, our Princess decides to act like one.

After the dust settled from opening presents, Josh and Jamie made breakfast...waffles, strawberries, whipped cream, bacon, eggs, and fresh OJ. Adults became kids again as we played with Grace, Corbin, and their new toys. Nana and Papa watched the little ones as the rest of the grown ups went to see Sherlock Holmes. We also played a silly game of Quelf where the following took place:

(For more photos and stories check out Jamie's blog.)