FAMILY PHOTOS

Back in October, we went out to the Salt River with my cousin Wencke for some family photos. It wouldn't have been much out of the ordinary except for the part where I unintentionally dyed my hair BROWN just days before photos. What started as a very stressful event resulted in a lesson on perspective as I embraced the accident. Life is imperfect and often does not go as we plan.

CHRISTMAS TRADITION

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is getting donuts from Krispy Kreme on Christmas Eve morning. This tradition was born years ago out of my utter and complete laziness one Christmas Eve. And it stuck. We go as early as we are able, donned in the previous year's Christmas pajamas with a favorite stuffed animal in hand. The kids are able to pick out any donut they want and we round out the other half dozen with glazed donuts. After everyone has eaten their fill, we stop by the huge Christmas tree in downtown Mesa for a quick photo. It's a simple yet memorable tradition that we enjoy each year - even if there was a bit of rain this year...
BONUS: Our Christmas Sunday photos.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL

I'm feeling like one VERY BLESSED mom. My kids have had some pretty awesome opportunities because of their school, but so far our most recent one takes the cake. Three of my kids currently participate in a program called Fuel Up to Play 60 (or FUTP60 for short). FUTP60 is a program sponsored by the NFL and the National Dairy Council to promote health, wellness, and leadership amongst students - from elementary school to high school. As part of the program, the kids meet together a couple of times a month and work towards different goals to build a healthier school. Their current project: the school garden. Every time they reach new achievement, students participating in FUTP60 are awarded points. So many points earns them different opportunities within the program. And at the beginning of the month, two of my three were selected to participate in the FUTP60's Cardinals Kids Combine (with only twenty other students from the state of Arizona). The kids trained at the Cardinals stadium with one of the teammates, Justin Murray. They ran drills and received advice from the Cardinals Youth Manager, Coach Mo. And they even squared off against the main man himself, Big Red. It was seriously such a treat to attend and act as photographer for the Kids Combine.