Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we have a tradition of opening one present and having a little program. This year we missed out on the program because we didn't get back from playing with Russ' family till really late, and the boys needed to get to bed. They were pretty tired, however when the packages came out Evan's eyes lit up and he somehow found his second wind.

Wyatt had a hard time getting the box open, because Mom taped it a little more than she should have. oops.

Evan loves his snowflake pj's and has asked to wear them everynight this week. He also got batman jammies from Nali and Nali man for Christmas and those have also been a big hit.

Christmas Card

As another year passes we get the chance to reflect on our family and friends, and where this year has taken our lives. One of my favorite Christmas traditions is Christmas cards. I love receiving cards updating my family on the happenings of your family. There is no greater joy than cultivating the relationships we have in each of our lives and I’m grateful that your family is a part of our life.

We truly have been exceptionally blessed this year. Russell has decided to go back to school, and is doing great. He is getting his degree in the Native American studies program, loves learning, and so far has enjoyed his classes. I am still teaching aerobics at the college, which I love, and am working in finances for one of the local companies in town. As per usual we spent most of the summer playing softball; we were also able to take in a little more fishing, camping, and

4-wheeling this year.

Evan has had a monumental year; growing in leaps and bounds. He is now 2 and is learning so much every day. This year we were able to do the potty training thing; which went great! His vocabulary is growing so fast, sometimes a little faster than I’d like… meaning we have to watch what he hears now. He is learning his letters and knows most of his numbers, and all of his colors and shapes. He loves nursery, and loves learning about the Savior. We are so proud of him. One of my favorite memories this year was listening to him learn to pray. Nothing melts a mother’s heart like listening to the prayers of her children.

Wyatt Russell Keith is the newest member of our family. On
April 17, 2008 we were blessed with our second child, a beautiful baby boy weighing in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20 inches long. He has tons of dark beautiful hair, and inherited quite a few of his dad’s beautiful features. Wyatt is so much fun and such a good baby. These days he is sitting up, playing, laughing, and starting to scoot on the floor. He has 4 teeth now with more on the way, and he is eating everything he can get his hands on. He loves songs, his brother, cheerios, and hanging out with Nali (Russell’s Dad.) He has such a great relationship with Evan; they are such good brothers to each other. Evan loves to comfort him and take care of him. Wyatt loves the attention from his best play mate.

We hope that this letter finds your family well. I am so grateful for the opportunity we have to celebrate the life of our Savior, spend Christmas with family and friends, and enjoy the sweet blessings that He has brought into each of our lives.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Russell, Jennifer, Evan, and Wyatt Keith

Decorating

After bringing our tree home, it was time to decorate. We ended up cutting the tree almost in half to get it in our house. Evan decorated most of the tree this year.

Evan wanted to start with the candycanes. It was hard for him to understand that they needed to stay on the tree and not be eaten all in one day. He put a clump of about 6 candy canes in a back spot on the tree. About a half hour into decorating we found him hiding behind the tree trying to get the plastic off the candy cane to eat it.

Wyatt and Dad watched for the most part. Wyatt liked playing with some of the toys and books we only bring out at Christmas. He wasn't feeling very good that day and ended up participating from afar.

Evan has been "camped out" under the tree ever since we got it up. He enjoys looking at it and moving the ornaments, changing the lights, and playing/reading the book that we keep underneath the tree.

Needless to say, we were out of candycanes by about the 3rd day of the tree being up. I think for about two days he had a steady flow of sugar and peppermint running through his veins.

The Keith Family Christmas Tree

Growing up... I believed that Christmas Trees came from lots. I knew there was the possibility of cutting one, just never had the opportunity. Since we have lived so close to the mountain I insist that we cut our own. I love the experience, Russ not so much. I'm kidding. Russ likes it but the majority of work falls on him and until this year, we have chosen to cut our tree on the worst weather day of the year. This year was Russells turn to choose our tree.

This year the weather was great. It wasn't too cold and the boys were able to enjoy it, instead of having to sit in the car while dad chopped down the tree in the snow. Evan was so excited to put the "tag" on our tree and helped me pick pine cones for our mantle while dad cut down our tree.

Without having to fight the snow, cutting, loading, and tagging our tree took all of 15 minutes. Which was great because the boys were getting tired and ready to go home for naps.

Frontrunner Train

Okay so I know this will sound a little cheesy, but were from a small town, we don't have public transportation in our town. So while we were up north for our last visit. Evan was enthrawled with the frontrunner trains. We had told him that Jason catches the train to school, and of course he wanted to try it. So when we went to temple square we took the train, and rode trax through town. It was actually really fun and Evan really had a good time.

Wyatt was a little less than impressed, but still had fun hanging out with us. It was nap time, and a little cold to wait for the train. So he was a little grouchy. We bundled him up though, and the train was actually really warm.

Waiting for the train... it was cold.

Evan and Grandma riding the Trax.

Temple Square

While we were home, we did our "black Friday" shopping that weekend but we also took the time to go to temple square and enjoy the lights with the boys and the rest of our family. It was so crowded, but beautiful and you could feel the change in atmosphere the second you stepped onto temple square. It wasn't too chilly and Wyatt managed to sleep through all of it. It was nice to off set our frazzled shopping weekend with something uplifting and it helped to bring us back to what Christmas is really about. I love Christmas time because I can truly feel the love of our Savior and am glad we got to share that experience with our boys.

Jordan ended up carrying Evan most of the way. Evan pretty much got what he wanted all weekend.

One of the cutest things of the night, was that Evan (when he did walk) would try to "blow out" the lights like they were candles. He has been so much fun this holiday season. He is finally old enough to grasp the concept of Christmas and loves to celebrate.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was so nice this year. We got to go back to my house and have Thankgiving with my Mom. Evan loved being with Grandma they were connected at the hip for most of the time. It was so nice to have the help. Wyatt loved playing with Grandma when Evan gave him his two minutes of Grandma time. My brothers had a great time with their newphews, and we just enjoyed being together. Mary Jo and Mike came over, and Turner was there. We just had the usual, Evan helped make stuffing and pies and Russ carved the Turkey. I am so grateful for my family, extended and my own. I love my boys so much and they make my life so much better. I enjoy every minute I have with them; I am so greatful for a wonderful husband with whom I am so in love with. I truly am so blessed.

Thanksgiving

We are so excited to be heading home this year for Thanksgiving. Evan and Wyatt are super excited to see Grandma, and uncle Jordan and Jason. I'm excited to be home but mostly to do some much needed shopping. We haven't been home in a while and it will be tons of fun. We're hoping to hit the lights while were up there. We hope to get most of our Holiday shopping done, and convince Evan that he wants toys for Christmas and not "a little dog." Here are some pictures from our fall that I was going to post last time but the internet was slow so I opted to wait. Hope you enjoy!

The News...

The news as of late is nothing to special, I bet I had everyone going there for a minute. We are just living up Autumn and enjoying each other, as much as we enjoy this time of year. Evan and Wyatt are growing in leaps and bounds. Wyatt is now 7 mo old and has 4 teeth. Thankfully he is not crawling yet; as we have been slacking on babyproofing as Evan gets old enough to semi know better. Wyatt is healthy and finally eating more solid foods. He loves to play peek a boo.
Evan is learning his letters, he loves to sing, count, and play ball with his Dad. He'll settle to play ball with me, but we all know that Dad is much better at the ball thing. I'm getting better though. Since the leaves have started falling, he has learned how to rake them into piles and loves to jump in them. He calls the leaves "bananas," we think it's cute.
Russ is still going to school. I am still working and teaching at the college. We are doing great. We recently finished helping to host the "children of lehi" Thanksgiving dinner. This is always a fun but exhausting event. It takes a lot of preparation including cooking 3 turkeys & and 10 lbs of potatoes. We try to make it a family event, so with lots of hands the work goes by quickly. We are headed home for Thanksgiving this year, which I am really excited about. Mostly to be with my family; but partially I am excited for the after Thanksgiving sales.

Here are some pictures from our Summer. Hope you enjoy!






For the 4th of July we played mid night madness softball, in the volleyball tourney, did fireworks, and went to the parade.







We've been hanging out at the park a lot, Evan has just figured out he can push by himself if he lays on his tummy on the swing.



He is super excited to be wearing a big boy tie. It is the middle of summer and super hot but he insists on wearing his long sleeves so he can wear his tie.



In Navajo culture the person who makes a new baby laugh has to throw the baby and family a dinner. It is a blessing upon the family and baby to help create happy babies. I'm not totally sure about all the stuff that goes with it but Wyatt's grandma Keith made him laugh so we had a party at her house.





This is Wyatt's blessing day.






These are just some fun pictures of my boys just hanging out with Dad. Wyatt is such a happy baby and Evan loves to hold him; for a minute, then he want to give him back.

New to the Blogging Thing

So with much request I've decided to start a blog for our family since we live so far away. This will give family and friends a chance to keep up with the boys while living far away. I'm totally new at this so until I figure it out the blog will be less than cute....to say the least. For those of you whom we haven't talked to for awhile we now have two little boys and reside in Blanding, UT. We LOVE it downhere. Russ and I recently had our second child, I did most of the work, just kidding. With my second pregnancy I was an emotional wreck; so I'd say Russ ended up doing his fair share of the work too. Anyways, on April 17th Wyatt Russell Keith was born. He is so cute with tons of hair. Evan makes a great big brother. Mom and the whole family are great! Wyatt is now 3 mo old and just starting to eat rice cereal, he is growing like a weed. Evan is 2 now and is POTTY TRAINED! For all of my friends out there who have just had there babies, there are about three times in their lives that are super for you; the day their born, the day they tell you they love you, and the day you don't have to change their diapers anymore! All the days are super but those ones top the cake, easy. This summer we've been playing a lot of softball, hanging out at the pool, and trying to just adjust to life with two kids. It is great, I love my family and my life right now; I don't think it could get too much better than this. I hope all of you are well.