Merry Christmas From Our Family to Yours!

2014 has been a roller coaster ride to say the least. We've had lots of unexpected's mixed with lots of blessings. We know one thing for certain, God is aware of each one of us and for that we are very grateful. We are blessed with a beautiful family, a home, a good job, health, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Indeed we are "rich".

As a family we have enjoyed some great outings and trips including camping, stays up at Sundance, trips to St. George to visit my (Heidi) mom, a Hall and a Wilkey family reunion, floating down the Provo river, hiking to Timp cave and other hikes, seeing 5 different plays, and our annual trip to San Diego for Fall Break with family and friends! 

Blain and I keep ourselves busy with 5 kids, church callings, neighborhood activities, and family responsibilities. Blain is still working at Sundance Mouentain Resort, serving in the bishopric, and is always working on something around the house or helping with the kids, dinner, or cleaning. I just do what moms do :) and lots of it.

Once a year I am lucky enough to go on a trip with Blain and this year we went to Boston, probably my favorite city! We also met our friends, the Pages, and went on to see Plymouth, Cape Cod, and Newport RI.

I am blessed to be married to my best friend!!

  

Christian (18)

This has been a big year for Christian! He turned 18, has submitted his application to BYU, is getting ready to submit papers for his LDS mission, he'll graduate the end of May, he got to go to Disneyland with a cappella (I joined him as a chaperone :), he is blessed with 2 jobs - working at Marley's and teaching piano lessons, and keeping up with his ever busy social life!

But the highlight of his year was the opportunity he had to travel with an organization called Trekking For Kids to Morocco to work in an orphanage and make a difference in someone else's life, followed by a trek up Mt. Toubkal, the highest point in N. Africa. On the way home they had a 14hr layover in London so it's like he got 2 trips for the price of one. Thanks again to everyone who help with all the fundraising!!!  

Addy (11)
She is growing up so fast! She is in 6th grade this year and enjoys life as a "big kid". What she lacks in size though she makes up for in spunk and personality. Addy loves to help others and can often be found spending her recess cleaning and organizing the teacher's rooms. She is really good with kids and has started babysitting for others besides me. She also cleans house for a friend once a week as a little part time job. She has tried some new things this year including playing on a soccer team with some of her friends and to her surprise (and ours) she really enjoys it. Addy also spent a week away from home this summer at Camp Big Springs and she told us she didn't even miss us :) Addy is still taking piano and singing in her school's choir. She loves to do girly things and in so many ways she is a mini me.

 

Jack (9)

Is all boy! He loves playing sports, any sports, but he especially loves soccer, football, and skiing. This year he and some of his friends formed a slightly more competitive soccer team, with Blain as coach and they won every game so we're ready for a little more of a challenge. He loves to play with friends, play board games and video games. He is the one that sets the alarm for all the kids to get up every morning at 6am so they can get their jobs done so he can play right after school and homework are done. This year he also started taking piano lessons and we think he even likes it. As the middle child he is the "fairness police" making sure everyone is equal :) He is enjoying 4th grade and has recently discovered that reading can be lots of fun!

Lauren (6)

Is probably our least adventurous, but maybe our most thoughtful and kind. Don't ask her to go skiing or down a water slide, but if you need your back rubbed or a special note or drawing she's your gal. She was on a competition dance team at the beginning of this year, but it was just taking up too much of her time so she ended it on a high note with winning a big diamond award. She is finishing up her 4th year of music lessons and loves playing the piano. You will find her every night sleeping in her big sister's bed even though hers is only 5 feet away and she is "best friends" with all her siblings. She is in first grade and she loves her teacher and her teacher loves her. 

Lia (2)

Is potty trained!! She is our miss talkative-pants. Every week when we pick her up from nursery her leaders say she has told them all kinds of good stuff about our family. She makes us laugh everyday with the funny things she says and does. Example, before prayers we each say one thing we are thankful for and when it was her turn she said "Coney Island" Blahhhh!! She also says some really sweet, tender things like when she saw a picture of Jesus she asked "Is that Jesus? He's so cute." and after sitting on Santa's lap she told us that she sat on Santa's lap and got some cookies and she is going to sit on Jesus' lap someday. Lia is a joy to have in our family even at the age of 2, with all that that includes, the good and the bad :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! We'd love to hear how you're all doing.

2013

2013 has been a great year for us!

As a family we've enjoyed several camping trips with friends and family, some mini-vacations to Park City and Sundance, a Hall family reunion in Moab, UT, a Wilkey family reunion in St. George, UT, and Fall Break in San Diego, CA at a beach house and going to Sea World.

    

 

Blain continues to serve as the 2nd counselor in our bishopric loves it. He is still employed at Sundance Mountain Resort and is now part of the Senior Management team which comes with a few more awesome perks. He is Super Dad and Husband of the Year and it's hard to believe we will be celebrating our 12th anniversary on Sunday.

I was released from Young Women's back in August and I am now serving as 1st counselor in the Relief Society which is wonderful. I am still working with the Cubs Scouts, going on 12 years, and love that too. I am also the secretary for our PTA for the 2nd year now and these are just the things I do in my spare time. I am first a wife and a mother of 5 adorable children. Here's what they're up to.

Christian (17)
Is a Junior this year at Timpview High School and his claim to fame right now is that his football team took state this year and he gets a state championship ring. Let me rephrase that, he gets to buy his ring.

That's him doing the tackling, #41

 It's been a great year for Christian. He has been on several dates and school dances and is having a blast. He is still taking piano and tried out for and made the acapella choir. He still has a 4.0 and hopes to get a good score back on the ACT test he just took. He enjoys skiing, working out, reading, hanging out with his friends and girls, and even spending some time with us :)

Christian's been a good boy this year so he got what he wanted for Christmas, ski stuff.

Addy (10)
Is growing up too fast and she enjoys being a girl...perfume, lotion, fingernail polish, long showers, giving foot massages. She loves to cook, sew, sing (she is in the school choir), watch "episodes", hang out with her friends, take pictures with her camera, do her hair, dress up, etc. If it's girly, it's Addy.

Addy got lot's of girly things for her 10th b-day this year.

But she also enjoys camping, shooting a gun, helping her teacher at school, babysitting, playing the piano, and swimming. She loves to spend time with family and her cousins and is a sweet, caring sister. She is no longer the shortest in her grade, by one other girl. This is a huge accomplishment this year.

Addy and her cousin Emma

Jack (8)
Had a big day this year when he was baptized by his older brother Christian in August. He is all boy and loves to play outside, ride his scooter, play soccer, jump on the trampoline, play night games with the neighborhood, camp, play video games, tease his sisters and snuggle.

August 3 was a very important day for these boys.

 Jack is the boy that sets his alarm for 5:59am every morning so he can get his reading and jobs done before school so that he can play right after he gets home and gets his homework done. He will wipe off your kiss, but loves to rub your back. He hates to wear anything other than athletic clothes including jeans, anything with buttons or a collar, belts and sweaters/vests.

Jack played Spring and Fall soccer, his favorite sport, and Blain was his coach.

Lauren (5)
Lauren loves to do art projects and she is always making us little notes and pictures. All she wanted for Christmas was a color set so Santa got her a big color set "more than I ever wanted" and she is in heaven.

How can you say no to that smile?

She makes us laugh all the time. She says the sweetest prayers and is very thoughtful. She is very smart and loves school (she started Kindergarten this year), crafts, learning, dancing, performing, swimming, giving kisses and playing with friends. She is taking music class that she loves and she tried out for and made the dance company at Center Stage. However, she doesn't love going to dance for 3hrs every Tuesday and I can't blame her.

Lauren at her Spring dance recital

Lia (1 almost 2)
Is a constant distraction during family scripture study and family prayers. It's hard not to smile and laugh and watch her when she is putting on a show for everyone. She has figured out how to crawl from her crib onto her dresser so we had to move her crib so we can keep her in there for a little while longer. She loves to say her animal sounds, count to 3, read books, sing songs, take baths, watch shows, play in her kitchen, dance and eat gogurts.

Lia loves our dog Max more than he loves her. She loves to sit on the kitchen table, yes "on" not "at", she loves to go to nursery and child watch at the gym to "see the kids", she loves to watch and dance to the music video "What Does the Fox Say" and she loves to carry around her baby doll.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas...a little late, and a Happy New Year!
Love, The Wilkeys

2012

Merry Christmas everyone!

2012 has been an eventful year for the Wilkey family. Most exciting is the arrival of the newest member of the Wilkey crew, Lia Morae, born on Feb 23. She is the happiest, best natured baby ever, just what I ordered :). And even though she broke our pattern of boy, girl, boy, girl, we wouldn't trade her for anything now.

Since our family is growing, so is the list of home improvements in order to make room for everyone. Blain has been busy with my list of do-to's which include (but are not limited to): taking out the front closet to make more dining space in the kitchen, which forced us to redo the laundry closet to make room for the stuff in the front closet, which meant new tile, paint and new closet space added to the kitchen, which involved adding a new wall, and we'll top if off (for now) with new countertops and back splash. 

Our family enjoyed trips to both sides of the US this year. First, in July we went to visit Blain's parents in the New England area who are serving a mission there. We got to do things like play at the beach, tour old forts, take a lobster tour, hang out with the missionaries, go see lighthouses, go candlestick bowling, and visit the Joseph Smith Memorial at his birth place. 

We also got to visit our good friends the Pages who live in Vermont. We all drove together to Palmyra, NY to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant. When we got back to VT they showed us all the best "water holes" in the state.

Then in October we surprised the kids and took them to California for a fun trip to Disneyland and to see Blain's sister's family, the Morris'. We had a fun double surprise when my sister informed us that her family would be at Disneyland at the same time, so we met up with them and had a great time!

We've also made 2 trips to Montana. Once for the funeral of sweet grandma Rose Flynn, Blain's grandma, and once for Blain's cousin Julie's wedding. It was great to see the Flynn family. In August we drove to Lava Hot Springs for the annual Hall reunion and enjoyed 3 days of good old fun, Idaho style.

We have continued our family tradition of camping once a month from April to October (weather permitting) and this year we were able to do it each month except Oct, because of our trip to CA. We also have the extra perk of going up to stay at Sundance a couple times a year, which makes us feel like we're rich and famous for a night.

Blain is still the 2nd counselor in the Bishopric. He is still working at Sundance Resort as the director of sales. We have been blessed with another good year and we're grateful for a good job.

I am in Young Women's as the Laurel advisor and I love it. I will forever be in cub scouts. In March it will be 11 years, but I really love it. My biggest accomplishment this year is Lia!

Christian turned 16 and you know what comes along with that. He got his driver license, but no car, much to his chagrin. He hasn't gone out on a date yet, but he's talked about it :). He loves football and got to play this year on the Timpview sophomore team after taking last year off for his knee surgery. He got to go to NYC this month for a birthday/Christmas gift from his grandparents. He went to see "Newsies" on broadway. He is still playing piano and is very good at it.

Yes, those are hot pink high-tops and shirt

 

Addy, 9, is taking dance lessons again finally, I think she likes it. She took sewing lessons and did love that. She loves to play school, sew, sing, paint her nails, crochet, make things out of duct tape, etc. She is now taking piano lessons at the same piano academy as Christian and she has improved a lot.

Addy was a Flapper for Halloween

Jack Jack, 7, is a tender heart. He is a good little athlete. Right now he is playing on an indoor soccer team.  He tried Jr. Jazz basketball this year too, but says his favorite is soccer. He loves to have his back rubbed at bedtime and we enjoy the snuggle.

Jack's first day of 2nd grade

Lauren, 4, is my little helper. She helps me a lot with baby Lia, who is really her baby if you ask her. We hang out and do "school" while the big kids are at school. She is a smarty pants and is always saying the funniest things.

Lauren is also taking a dance class

Lia, 10 months, is almost ready to walk. She loves to smile and has the brightest eyes. She loves to play patty cake, peek-a-boo, and dance to music. She has brought such joy to our family and the kids still "fight" over her all the time. And even though she is not quite sleeping through the night, I still love to see her at 4am with a big smile.

We are so blessed and we are so thankful for this time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior. May this new year bring you and your family peace, happiness

and lots of smiles!