Christmas Projects

O.K. I am going to toot my own horn for this post. This Christmas I wanted to make a blanket for Tim's parents and one thing led to another and I ended up sewing 11 different items as gifts for people. It was "SEW" much fun. Ha ha..... pun intended. Though it was fun, it was a TON of work and I spent almost every free minute I had from October until right before Christmas finishing all these projects. I think I will take a little break from sewing even though to my delight I received some great sewing tools for Christmas (Thanks Tim!!!). Which means I might only take a week off. I am all ready for my next project of sewing curtains for the kids new room (sense the baby is coming in about 3 months and is going to take over their old room).

Here is the blanket I made for Tim's parents. The top is all out of old pants (jeans and Pajama Pants). I love it when things that were going to be thrown away can be re purposed for something new. What a GREAT feeling!
Here are the three chef hats and three aprons I made for my kids 2nd cousin, cousin (Sadie) and my girl Emery. I have always wanted to know how it make a chefs hat and after some on-line research I came up with these babies. They were easier than I expected, though still took some time.
Here are the two car mats I made for Trace (nephew) and Kaven. These by far took the longest to make but were very rewarding. Kaven saw me making these and could not wait for me to finish them. While sewing, I had a certain little boy driving cars on it at any angle he could get.
Here is the car mat rolled up when not in use.
And last, but not least. These were by far my favorite thing to sew! They were pretty fast to make too. They are little baby shoes for my baby nephew Aden. I couldn't quit gooing over them.

Anyway, that is all. Thought it would be fun to share some things that I have been up to this Christmas season. It sure made the holidays exciting. I think everyone enjoyed their gifts as well, which makes it an extra bonus.

It's Begining to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Everywhere you go
Take a look at my two and four (yr. old)
Decorating once again
With tractors, cars and pet shops, toys galore.


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Parties at ever turn (Tim's work party).But the Prettiest sight to see
is my family by the tree,
inside our own front door.

A pair of sheets with a pillow (pony), A scooter that scoots
Is the wish of Emery whats best.
(Emery at the Stake PJ Christmas Breakfast)
Planes that will dive and cars that will ride
Is the hope of my Kaven West.
And Tim and hardly wait for the day
When the semester ends again (December 15th).
(Tim and Kaven at the Ward Party. Kaven was a cow for the Nativity)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
There's a party for the Whatcott blend
One for our ward as well
The fancy kinds with Nativities a glow.


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Santa's on his way.
(Tim Kaven, Santa, and Emery at our Village Christmas Party)
And the thing that will get him here
Are my kids with hearts a cheer
With Christ the center of our day.

Thanksgiving and More.

We were lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving in Manti this year at Tim's Grandma and Grandpa Johnsons house. We had such a great time and the food was FANTASTIC!!!
Emery waiting patently to eat dinner at the kids table.

After eating dinner, some of Tim's cousins took Kaven and Emery for a ride on their Rhino. Brady took Kaven for a ride on the fourwheeler, and Grandpa Alan took the kids for a ride on the fourwheeler to the farm and then for a ride on the tractor. Needless to say, my kids were in HEAVEN!!! I even got most my Christmas shopping done with Tim's Mom, Paula. What a great weekend!

AND SOME OTHER RANDOM THINGS IN NOVEMBER......
Kaven and Emery playing in the leaves. Living in the village, they will leave these HUGE piles of leaves around to suck up with a giant hose connected to a truck later. Great times for us because we can play in the leaves without having to rake them up! One of the many reasons why I LOVE LIVING HERE!!
Tim being such a great dad like ALWAYS!

So CUTE!! Emery was into dressing up as a supers hero for awhile. For her whole life, her favorite color by far has always been purple. Then one day she decided her favorite color is red. Though purple is still pretty special. When Tim got home from school she wanted to try riding his scooter (Tim rides this scooter home from school everyday. It saves him SO MUCH time because his classes are up by the hospital and he can ride all down hill. This has been one of the best investments we have ever made. It saves him about 45 min. to get home ) Anyway, Emery jumped on the scooter and rode it for the first time. She now wants a scooter for Christmas.
Nick and Tc in the back. Kaven, Trace, Sade and Emery hanging out one day in Delta. Fun cousins.

My Sister Came!!!

In November my Sister Camrin and her family came to visit us. I LOVE it when they come and my kids LOVED having their cousins here. Thanks for taking time out of you trip to see us Parks!

Ha, ha, I thought this was so cute. This is SO KAVEN!!! He still absolutly LOVES cars (and anything that goes). He will make a road/track out of anything. This was for sure one of the more creative ideas. These are my sisters shoes.

Duncan and Kaven playing with Kaven's cars
Emery and James playing a game on my sister Cami's phone.

We really love being with family and hope that some day we can live closer to everyone so we can see them more. Not to say we are not grateful for where we are right now. :)

Hills Family Reunion 2011

A while back we had our Hills Family Reunion, planned by Erin and my Mom. It was SO MUCH fun. We took family pictures, went bowling, swimming, and had a BBQ all in one day. It was tons of fun and exhausting. Just check Kaven out in one of the pictures. Thanks everyone for making it. We love getting together with family. Sorry I didn't get any pictures of swimming (in the ice cold water) or the Bon fire/BBQ. Great times!!


A few of my cute sisters (Nikki and Jodi).


Emery was actually REALLY good at bowling. It was her first time and she got three strikes in a row without even using the bumpers. It is not saying much, but she even beat me. She was very proud of this, I guess I was too.





All the grand kids on my side of the family, minus Kaven. He would NOT stay in the picture. I guess we did pretty good with that many kids though. I sure love all these cute kiddos! They all have different and fun personalities. So cute!

Boy or Girl?

Cut this cake, give it a whirl, to find out if we are having a ........







blue for boy.......pink for girl........................
it's a ...........................








......................................GIRL!!!!!!!!!

Introducing our new little girl coming around April 9th 2012

We love her so much already!

P.S. Sorry for the sloppiness of the cake. We had an ultra sound in the morning last Friday and were headed to Delta (Tim's family) right after. We decided to announce this news in a fun way as we were packing the car. So, I baked the cake while we were packing, picked up frosting in the store while we were gassing up our car. Then I frosted it while we were driving to Delta. I don't think very many people can say that they frosted a cake while driving in a car. Another weird thing I can add to my list. He He...

In October......

Grandma and Grandpa Hills Came for a Visit.and my mom took these pictures on our walk through Millcreek Park.


It was so nice to have them come see us. We don't get to see each other as much as I would like so when we do get to see each other, it is extra special.

We Hit THREE Different WeddingsMy cousin Kasen, my cousin Austin and my Aunt Marcie. I didn't get pictures at all of them though.

We Had Our Hills Family Reunion (this deserves it's own post)
and We Celebrated Halloween

Kaven was a train engineer. He just LOVED the train that his daddy made for him to drive around. He sure adores anything that goes (especially if it has wheels). This was perfect for him.
Emery was Rapunzel from Tangled. This was the dress I made for her birthday but I fixed it up a little. The wig came from a friend, which worked perfect! I think she looked a little like how Rapunzel looked as a little girl in the movie. What a sweet girl I have!

And here is Kavens' train in action. We took it on the shuttle bus and he rode it all the way through the hospital to get to Tim's Pharmacy Halloween Party (It is the only way to get to his building from the shuttle). It was neat to see the smiles on everyone's faces in the Hospital. We usually see such tired and somber faces when we walk through there. That made it all worth it.

OH and I can't forget what took up most of my time... the Primary Program. It was such a neat experience and a relief to have it over. I have the sweetest kids in our Primary. I have learned and continue to learn so much in this calling, and I love it.