Family Christmas Letter 2013

Once again it seems as though this year has just raced by. We have had many wonderful memories this year, one of which was just a couple of weeks ago when we were in St. George and the snowstorm hit!

Tim: He is busy as ever working as the PR Manager at Blendtec. He enjoys his job and the new challenges that continually come his way! He has had the wonderful privilege this year to travel to Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Japan. He is always so full of energy and optimism! The kids truly love spending time with their dad. I’m very grateful to have him as my husband and as my biggest support. He is an amazing guy and I am so proud of all of the things that he continues to accomplish!

Makayla (9): She is in the 4^th grade this year and loving it! She is about to turn 10. Wow! She is full of personality, just like her dad! She enjoyed the “short” time that she was able to play volleyball this year, but unfortunately her season came to an early end when she broke both bones in her right forearm. She has a love for art and theatrics, and was so excited to get a role in her upcoming school play. She is a good little reader and is very diligent about getting her schoolwork done without being asked. She continues to be the 2^nd little mother, and I truly appreciate her help each day.

Kaitlyn (7): She is in the 2^nd grade this year, and has grown up so much this year! She is such a sweetheart and has shown so much kindness to others. She enjoys school and really loves math! She decided that she wanted to do tumbling this year, and I think she found her talent. She is one flexible little girl and it is so much fun to watch her light up on the gym floor! She is truly such a sweet girl and I also appreciate her helpfulness around the house.

Brinley (4): She is in preschool this year, and I think she truly enjoys the social time with friends! She is our little spark plug. She can be the sweetest little girl, but also the feistiest little stinker. It is fun to watch her grow and see her very fun personality come out! She enjoys spending time with her big sisters and playing with her friends that live close by. She also started tumbling this year and is truly enjoying it. I love spending time with my “little” girl. She is my little helper during the day and always keeps me entertained!

Brayden: It’s hard to believe that he will be 2 on New Year’s Eve. It is such a joy to have a little boy around the house. He is such a happy little guy! I don’t think that I could have asked for a better boy. He is growing so big and learning new words everyday. He gets so excited when the girls come home from school. He loves all of the girls, but has a special connection with Makayla. He loves going anywhere and is very good about getting his shoes and coat for you! I can’t imagine our family without him in it.

I have had an enjoyable year being a mom, it truly is the best job in the world and I feel very fortunate that I get to stay home with our kids! I was taken by surprise several months ago when I got called to be the Primary Chorister, but I really have loved my calling. Our kids keep me busy, but I really enjoy spending time with them. We have had the opportunity to visit many fun places this year, which we really enjoy. Tim and I had the opportunity to go to Italy in October for 11 days, and it was an amazing trip! We took a tour with my family around the country and I’m so glad that we were able to have that experience.

I hope that you are all doing well and have a wonderful Christmas! As this year comes to a close and the Christmas season is upon us. I just want to say how thankful I am for the birth of our Savior and how blessed I truly feel to have the knowledge of the gospel in my life. I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the messages that were shared in the Christmas Devotional this year. One of my favorite lines was from President Monson, “To catch the real meaning of the spirit of Christmas, individuals need only drop the last syllable of the word, and it becomes the Spirit of Christ.” I hope and pray that we can all take some time this year and focus on the real meaning of Christmas!

“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
—Luke 2:10-11

Love,

Tim, Tashina, Makayla, Kaitlyn, Brinley and Brayden Provost

BIG Surprise......

Well, baby #4 is set to arrive "around" Jan. 13th, 2012! Considering we have 3 little girls, I think everyone was expecting another little girl to be joining our family. So, when the baby finally decided to hold still and give us a little preview...... We were a little bit shocked to see a BOY!! The girls could not be more excited to be getting a little brother. Tim and I are excited as well for this fun new little guy to be joining our family ;)

Disney Charades.....

So, just for fun a few nights ago Tim thought it would be fun to act/quote lines from Disney movies and see if the girls could guess them. It turned into the most fun game! Each of us all got several turns to see if anyone could guess the movie. Tims filmed the whole thing on his phone, perhaps I'll upload the videos later. The girls LOVED the game, and keep asking us when we can play it again. I have to say that Makayla is a "mini me" when it comes to movie lines.... It's kind of sad to admit, but if I could remember more things like I can recall movie lines, I would be a genius! With that said, she actually stumped both me and Tim a few times. It's amazing how sometimes the most simplistic games turn out to be some of the best! Ah, the simple things in life.....

Tangled.....

I think this could be ALL of my girls favorite movie. They got to see it several times in the theater, and Brinley watches the trailer for it on my phone at least a couple times a day! I have to admit it that it's one of my favorite movies as well. My older 2 girls think it would be awesome to have hair as long as Rapunzel's.....Not going to happen :)

What we've been up to.....

The girls have loved their "new" toys that they got for Christmas! The scooter is a blast inside the house, since it's a little too cold to do outside right now. I love these girls of mine :)

Kaitlyn is quite the little builder. She found a stash of plastic cups and decided to build herself a castle. What little girl doesn't dream about castles?

All of my girls had birthdays......

All of my girls have birthdays 1 month apart from eachother! Always LOTS of fun around our house during those months.

Getaway to Portland.....

Tim and I decided to fly up to Portland the last weekend in March, and go visit my brother and his cute family! While we were up there we had a surprise birthday party for my sister-in-law Becca. This was the cute gift that my mom sent with us for her birthday. If she wouldn't have wanted it, I would have been more than glad to keep it!!

Brinley thought it was pretty fun playing with those cute boys...very different when she's home and only gets to play with girls..... well except her dad that is.

Here is Quincey giving Brinley BIG kisses!!

Here are their cute little guys, Quincey and Colvin. It was fun to be around these little guys, since we haven't seen them since Christmas.

It was great to spend time with Ben and Becca and the boys. My mom was nice enough to keep our other two little girls with her, and so we only took Brinley with us. Which was great since she is our only child that can fly for free!! While we were up there we also got to hang out with my cousin Jeff and his cute wife Christa. It was great to see them since it has been more than 4 years since we last saw them. It was a great trip and we enjoyed spending time with family, thank you to all of you for such a great time!!

Disneyland ~ where dreams come true.....

Our Hotel was awesome.... it was right next to the park, and it had it's own entrance in. That's what I call convience!! Ever since Makayla's last birthday, she has wanted to go to Disneyland. So, in January we decided to make it happen. This was our hotel room, the kids thought the bunk beds were awesome!

Chip n' Dale were the so funny with the kids, he kept messing up Makayla's hair.

Who doesn't love the carousel??

The girls really enjoyed the jellyfish ride. Grandma came with us to help out with the girls, and it was very much appreciated!

Kaitlyn wasn't so "thrilled" to see Minnie Mouse.

The girls got their gifts a little early into the trip, because it got a little bit chilly

At one of the restaurants we ate at, there was a guy making balloon animals for the kids. What good is a princess if she doesn't have a CROWN?

Tim's sister Jessica, her husband Nic and their little guy Grant joined us on one of our days at Disneyland. It was great to spend some time with them!

If you didn't know better, you would think that Kaitlyn was Jessica's little girl. Yeah.... they look alike.

My brother, his wife, and their little boy also happend to be in Disneyland on the same weekend as us, and so we met up with them and spent the day together. Honestly, who wouldn't enjoy a day together in the Happiest Place on Earth?? It was a really fun trip and we're glad that the girls had so much fun!

Makayla's school Christmas program.....

This was my favorite prop! How cute are those glasses to sing Rudolph the Red- Nosed Reindeer in?

I love how little kids pose between each song. They are all so cute!

What could make Jingle Bells even better..... how about some bells!

The little girl sitting next to Makayla is the grand-daughter to my sixth grade teacher. What a small world. Makayla did such a great job learning all of the songs, of course she did get a "little" distracted by Mr. Grinch. He was sitting in a chair not far from her.

Oh Christmas Tree.....

For FHE last week, we FINALLY decorated our Christmas tree. It's been up for a few weeks, but we just hadn't gotten around to decorating it. The girls had so much fun helping Tim and I put all of the ornaments on the tree!

Gingerbread houses with Granny.....

Here are the girls with their houses!

Kaitlyn "posing" with her Gingerbread house.

Makayla with her Gingerbread house.

The final product! The girls had so much fun at Granny's house decorating Gingerbread houses with their cousins. Thank you mom for ALL of the time you took to bake the Gingerbread, but the house together, and have all of the grandkids over to decorate it! You are such an amazing Granny, and we are so lucky to have you!

How you know you're taking to long getting ready.....

I started drying my hair the other day, and by the time I was done..... Brinley was out! I would like to think that she was just really tired.

How fast 6 months goes by.....

Our little Brinley is growing up too fast. She is started to sit up by herself, and making all kinds of noises.... including da da. A few weeks ago she started balancing on her dads hand! She even got her 1st ear infection this week, but as you can see by her "smurf" jammies.... She is still one happy little squirt! We love this little small fry :)

Halloween Fun.....

The girls had a great time trick-or-treating this year. Makayla went as a Sugar Plum Fairy, Kaitlyn was Strawberry Shortcake, and Brinley was our Pea in a Pod!

Fun in St. George......

For UEA weekend we headed to St. George with Tim's parents. The weather was great, and the kids had a fun time at the pool! They love getting thrown up in the air by Timmy, and jumping in by themselves. Brinley even liked the pool, it was like being in a GIANT bathtub. We always have a great time when we go down there.

A weekend in Bear Lake.....

The girls had a great time 4-wheeling with everyone! Kaitlyn layed on the back of the 4-wheeler and slept the entire time. We also went boating while we were up there, and it was a little chilly went we first got out on the water. Ite warmed up though, and the water was awesome. We are so glad that P.W., and Paula invited us to their Lake House for the weekend. We had a great time, and hopefully we can do it again next summer!