Mission Call!!!!!

This is my nephew, Hayden. He turned 19 on Thursday. On Wednesday he got his mission call, but chose to wait to open his call until Sunday so that friends and family could be there while he opened it. He's going to Neuquen, Argentina, and goes into the MTC on March 31st! We are so excited for him!!! He's going to have the best time. Hayden is a hard worker, he's super easy to get a long with, and is understanding of the gospel is amazing. I know he'll be a great missionary. We'll miss you Hayden, but we wouldn't want you anywhere else for the next 2 year.

(Neuquen is just west of Bahia Blanca, about half way between there and Chile.)

The Beach!

Jake, Brook, and Summer

Huntington Beach to be exact. The day after we went to Disneyland we decided to head to the beach before we headed back to Las Vegas. It happened to be Christmas Eve and it was beautiful. The kids had a great time playing in the surf, and I just enjoyed taking pictures and walking around in my flip-flops. The sun was shining, it was nice and warm, and I always enjoy the smell of the ocean. Fax and I decided that, if ever given the opportunity, we would love to live at the beach. (I came to this same decision 20+ years ago.) Now I just need the $$$$$$$$$$$ to make this dream a reality. ;) But we enjoyed our time there while it lasted.

The look of pure joy & day-old face paint.

Here's hoping we'll be back soon!

Christmas in Vegas!

After Disneyland, we got to stop in Las Vegas and hang out with the Karpowitz family for Christmas. It was, of course, awesome! I don't have a bunch of pictures from Christmas morning, because we video taped it. I truly enjoyed the sunshine and 60 degree weather. I didn't miss the cold and snow for even one nano-second. I know my kids were kind of missing a white Christmas, but not me.

Summer and Emma asleep on Emma's bed.

Ryne, Jake, and Brook.

Brook and Kate.
Karpowitz stockings from above.
Moulder stockings from above. (blurry)

Disneyland!!

Thanks to the generosity of Fax's sister, Maureen (see above), we were able to visit sunny California and spend a day at Disneyland for part of our Christmas vacation! Sunny, and 65 F. Who could ask for more?

Jake is all smiles.

Brook & Fax

Summer and Ashley
Maureen & Summer, Ashley & Brook
Brook and Summer
Summer with her face paint.
Brook, Jake, & Summer

Brook, Sleeping Beauty, & Summer
(Summer was very excited about the princesses. Brook, not as much.)

Thanks Maureen! And thanks for having such great teenagers to hang out with too.

White Elephant Gift Exchange and Thanksgiving

Here are a few pictures from the Fosse Family white elephant gift exchange. Always a good time!

Fax and his romance basket.
(Notice the "couples jar" from D.I. Nice work Leah!)

Hayden's moose night-light.

Chris and Andy in their respective batman masks.

It was my batman mask first. For a nano-second.

I don't have any photos of our Thanksgiving dinner, but the Sunday before Thanksgiving Fax came home from church and gave us each a different color of post-it note. We each took a while and wrote down things we were thankful for on them and stuck them on a wall in front room. It was fun and helped us to remember all the blessings we have. I especially enjoyed Summer's which were all spelled phonetically. Some of them are pretty funny. We were glad that the Karpowitz family was staying with us, because they got to help out too.

"Mrs. Elliot for not yelling at me on Wednesday." Good stuff!

Volleyball & Pinewood Derby

Brook and her team. "The Bombers"

Brook serving

Brook passing.

Brook played volleyball again this year. She did really well, and practiced her serve in our backyard over and over. On the last game of the season, she got three serves over in a row. We were very proud of her hard work and diligence. Nice job, Brook! She also had Pinewood Derby for the Activity Days girls right after. Here are some shots of her car. Brook came up with the design from the Mythbusters "golf ball car."

Baptism? Halloween?

I know, how lame, right? I'm super embarrassed about how behind I am. But I won't let myself blog Christmas stuff until I blog the other stuff first. So here it is:

On October 31st, we not only got to celebrate Halloween, but Jake and his cousin, Dylan, also got baptized. Here are some photos:

Fax and Jake

Mark, Dylan, Jake, and Fax

Cousins, heading out to trick-or-treat. "MARCH!!"

Gracie, helping herself to some candy.

Brook as a WSU cheerleader

Summer as Sleeping Beauty

Jake as Santa Claus
(A little blurry.)