Christmas Projects

Christmas has passed, but I want to post my Christmas "projects" as a record that I actually made some homemade gifts.  It doesn't happen much!  :)

First--Tile Coasters

In the summer, we visited Chimney Rock and bought a tile coaster with a picture of Chimnney Rock on it.  Jason thought it was a great little souvenir, and has looked for tile coasters everywhere we've visited since.  He hasn't found any, so he told me he wanted me to make him some for Christmas.  I'll admit I wasn't thrilled at the prospect, but I found a tutorial online here and it looked simple enough.  Ha, ha, projects never turn out as simple as they appear!  I had many a moment of wanting to give up and throw the towel in!  I made it through and ended up with a set of coasters for Jason, and another set for Oma.  I was really excited about them once they were done!

Jason's set

Oma's set

Second--Doll Bedding

Kayla still loves American Girl dolls and loves getting furniture for her dolls.  Unfortunately, AG doll furniture is very expensive.  I saw this doll bed at IKEA for only $20 bucks and had to get it.  It was rather plain, as you can see.

 

Well, I don't sew much at all, but I made some bedding for that bed and was so excited with how it turned out.  Of course, I wanted to throw in the towel in the middle of this project too as I couldn't even remember how to thread my bobbin or make a quilt.  I was calling my mom continuously.  In the end, I was glad I stuck with it.

 

 

 

Okay, that sums up my craft projects for the past 5 years or so! :)

Merry Christmas!

Hello Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas!  I so love this time of year, but it is going by too fast!  I feel like I haven’t stopped long enough to enjoy it.  I only have one week left to change that, sit by the fire, and read books to my kids.  I will….just as soon as I get my Christmas cards mailed!

This year has been full of new adventures and good times with family and friends.  One of our most memorable experiences was being in the play Our Town.  Click here to see photos and read more.  We also took some fun trips (more here) and spent lots of time with family and friends.  This year has brought its challenges too.  Jason's mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and breast cancer.  We all worried for her and prayed for her and treasured our time with her.  I am happy to say she made it through her treatments and is now cancer-free.  It will make our Christmas time together all the sweeter.

I asked my kids to write their own sum-up of the year.  Of course, I'll help the baby out and type what Tanner dictates.  We'll start with the youngest.

Archer (age 1 1/2)

 

Archer is 1 ½.  He is super smiley and very curious.  He is busy, busy, busy.  He wears me out and fills me with joy at the same time.  I can't wait for his nap time each day, but I love to see him when he wakes up.  Although he often makes my home look like a tornado hit it, I love watching him explore and figure out new things.  There is nothing like the joy and wonder of a child.  It is priceless and I'm so thankful he is in our family.  I can't squeeze or love him enough!

Tanner, age 5
I like to exercise with Daddy in the basement, we do P90X.  I like to draw pictures, build with Legos, math blocks, and all kinds of things.  I like doing school at home.  I like to do reading lessons with my mom because she gets me a prize after every ten lessons.  I think that's enough.   

Hunter, age 11

My year has been very interesting.  I have recently had a sudden attraction to parkour.  Parkour is where you jump off of a wall to get to another wall and run up walls and jump off high edges without getting hurt.  My mom isn't a big fan of it because she thinks it’s dangerous.  I also did my first real play this year.  People actually paid to see it, so I thought that was kind of impressive. My character’s name was Wally Webb, whose appendix burst on a camping trip to North Conway.  I had seven lines and most of the cast said I did my last line the best in the last performance.  I also like legos, steak, ice cream, action figures, and so much more.  I do this cage fighting class called Young Justice on Saturdays at 7 in the morning.  I also like having Nerf wars and other types of battles.  I am so excited yet grateful for Christmas to come.  I am excited to receive things, give things, and spend time with my family. I hope this gives you a little information about me. That’s all folks!



Kayla (age 12)

Hi I’m Kayla LaFroth, and I am a 12-year-old 7^th grader.  This year I did my first real plays.  First in July, I went to a summer camp held by Fauquier Community Theatre’s Miss Jen.  I was really excited when I got to be Annie (more here).  Although it was kids playing the adults and the single performance was free, we had costumes and choreography and it was actually pretty good!  Then I had my first REAL play, the famous Our Town (more here).  After just doing an upbeat musical, it was a drastic transition to a slow paced drama.  I played the part of Rebecca Gibbs, George’s little sister who loves money, and had a blast with the wonderful cast and crew!  I just recently auditioned for Bye Bye Birdie and got the part of Kim’s little sibling (they changed the part from a boy to a girl), named Rachel MacAfee.  I’m excited for the new musical which will be preforming April of 2013.  I guess that sums up my recent theatre life.  This year I am doing the Challenge A program with Classical Conversations.  It is definitely a challenge and it forces me to get my work done.  My teacher, Mrs. Clark, is really nice and does a fabulous job teaching Math, Latin, Geography, Rhetoric, Literature, and Science.  The best part about Challenge is that I get to hang out with my homeschooling friends.  I am interested in politics, only, whenever my Dad and I discuss politics it almost always makes me mad!  I like American Girl Dolls, Squinkies, Beanie Babies, Barbies, and Webkinz.  I guess I haven’t outgrown toys yet!  I have recently  gotten some baby-sitting opportunities of which I am very excited about.  2012 zoomed by too fast!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Kayla LaFroth    

The Parents

Jason and I stay busy with work, church callings, and parenting.  We truly have a beautiful life and we feel so grateful.  We are thankful for the gift of God’s Son and the meaning this gift gives our lives not only at Christmas, but all year long.

May the spirit of Christ be in your hearts this season and throughout the year.

Much love,
The LaFroth Family

Parents come to visit

Another special treat this year was having my parents come visit at the end of November.  Jason took the week off of work so we could all go sight-seeing together.  Some days he stayed home with the kiddies so I could go sight-seeing with my parents without kiddies--what a sweetie.  They planned their trip so they could see our play.  Their visit went by too fast, but we're so glad they came!



Mom & Dad at Montpelier



My poor Dad was always cold in our house...I kept forgetting to turn the heat up.



My wonderful Mom



Grandma and Tanner
 

The Theatre, The Theatre

Make-up and costumes done--ready to go on stage

The last few months of our year were dedicated to the play, Our Town.  In September, we learned that Gainesville Community Theatre was having auditions for the play.  Kayla wanted to audition even though we didn't know anything about it (okay, okay, not everyone is well-versed in Thornton Wilder).  I had no intention of auditioning, but when I got there, it occured to me that I could, so I decided to do it.  However, I chickened out as I saw the other people auditioning.  They were awesome and I felt out of my league!  Fortunately, the director gave me another chance later when he offered Kayla her part.  It turned out that they needed a boy Hunter's age as well, so he joined us too. 

Hunter as Wally Webb

Me as Mrs. Soames

Kayla as Rebecca Gibbs

 It was a really great experience, even though the time commitment was hefty (hence my lack of blogging since September).  Performing was fun, but what I loved the most was meeting so many wonderful people.  I have such warm memories as I look back at the photos of everyone.  It was a growing experience for me too.  I was super nervous at first, since my role was a bit over-the-top and I felt embarrassed about it.  The director was a great coach, however, and he really brought me out of my comfort zone, plus the cast was so encouraging.  They really cheered me on and I had so much fun.  I enjoyed being able to spend a lot of time with my older kids during rehearsals while Jason worked hard at home with the little ones...well, he basically had a party with Tanner every night after Archer went to bed!  Tanner was always excited when we went to play practice. :)

Backstage with Niccy--the amazing, super-talented female lead

 

Hunter backstage

We had a cast party at our house a week after the show ended and it was such a blast.  Tanner asked the cast if they wanted to go down and see our basement.  I thought they would be down there for 5 minutes, but they never returned.  They had a lot of fun dressing-up, storming the castle, and doing a variety of battles.  The mature adults (I include myself in that group) stayed upstairs and just listened to the commotion.  It was great fun and I will miss seeing these awesome people every week.

Sharing memories from the play



Battle in the basement

Niccy & Emily--awesome chickas

Hunter and Niccy

Sir Justin

Sir Marc & Sir Justin

Lady Carolyn--a lovely gal we became friends with

Our really awesome friends from Our Town

Summer Vacations

Shirley Plantation

The year is quickly drawing to a close and I have not done well at keeping my blog updated.  One of my main purposes in blogging is to have a yearly record to print out, so I need to get a few things in here that I've missed.

For most of our married life, our family summer vacation consisted of visiting my relatives in Utah.  We loved this tradition, but as our family grew and plane prices increased, we were not able to do it the past two years.  I have definitely missed it!  However, we were still able to go on vacation together locally and it was great to have time away together as a family.  We visited Colonial Williamsburg, which I always love, Shirley Plantation (a new spot), and we took a week-long trip to North Carolina where we rented a cabin in the mountains and visited Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, and some other sights.


Kayla and Hunter at Shirley Plantation
 

 

 

Kayla--12



Hunter--10
 

Tanner--5

Archer--1
 

Kayla, Hunter, and Baby Archer


Moving on to North Carolina

The cabin we rented in NC.

 





Chimney Rock
 



FYI--if you bring your dog, you can't use the elevator, you have to hike the stairs!



Hiking to Chimney Falls
 



Archer had a grand time playing in the sand at Lake Lure