Merry Christmas 2016!!

(this is a 12 minute 2016 in review slideshow)

Hope everyone reading this has had a peaceful 2016, full of love. We look back on 2016 with gratitude. Here are some highlights:

-Going to the huge Bear Lake cabin for the Potts Family Retreat. Snowmobiling, sledding, watching movies, playing games, going to church & visiting & having fun! 

-The Bargers (Dustin's family & Yvetta) came up from Texas in March for Spring Break & we LOVED spending time with them -  we did the St. George park, the St. George Children’s Museum, the Pizza Factory, Pioneer Park, Zions National Park, the Parowan Gap, swimming, movie night, tubing at Brian Head, lunch at the Brick House, and a birthday dinner bash at our house for Yvetta, Dustin & Camri (16!)

-We also had visits from the Potts, the Simons & the Edwards! & loved exploring Zions, going swimming, and spending time together. We love when people come visit!

-We were SO excited when we learned that the newly retired Potts (Heidi's parents) were not just going to be visitors, but NEIGHBORS! They bought a second home in St. George and we have enjoyed their company so much this year, it's been fabulous!

-We had a fun summer with our daily themes, making crafts, summer treats, hiking, etc. 

-August 3, 2016 was a big day for our family! We welcomed our 6th child, Oaklyn Alice Hamilton into our family. She is so adorable and we are so thankful Heavenly Father sent her to us! 

-The end of October, our family earned a trip to Lagoon by choosing kindness over contention! (we put fuzzy balls into a huge container). We had a great time at Lagoon and are grateful we got to go! We also got to go to the Benson cabin after that & enjoyed our time there, 4-wheeling, playing games, going on the paddle boat & visiting with our best friends :)

Jason: We are so proud of daddy this year. He received a much-deserved promotion to the Admin Operations Specialist job here on the Dixie NF. He's working a bit more, but we are grateful for the extra salary and for his devotion & dedication to our family. He also stays very busy being the Elders Quorum President - he loves his elders and is a wonderful leader. He also is good about working around the house & fixing things, as well as at our rental. What a good daddy & husband he is. We are all so blessed to have him.

Heidi: Heidi spent a good deal of this year being pregnant and then up at night with a tiny one, so productivity was not the highest :-/, but she wouldn't trade it for the world. She read some great books, went on some beautiful hikes, visited with some wonderful people, served in Activity Days with some great leaders & girls,  made a lot of birthday books, and gave birth to a tiny, gorgeous baby girl. She also had carpal tunnel surgery on both of her hands this year & that has helped with sleeping and functioning, especially at the end of her pregnancy. At the beginning of November, she joined the gym & has had fun taking some classes. Her favorite memories from 2016 were Oaklyn's birth and the couple getaways we had - including a couple days in a bed and breakfast in Provo and a night at a hotel in December. In 2017, she's looking forward to the Cedar City Temple completion, hopefully going to Disneyland, and running a couple races with her dad. 

McKinley: McKinley turned 11 this year and is queen of North Elementary school in 5th grade - in Miss Isom's class. McKinley loves everything music - she's taking piano and voice (both of which she is a complete natural at), she's in the ward choir (even though none of her family are!), she is in 5th grade orchestra, playing the cello (doing great!), and she just loves listening to music and singing in general. McKinley continues to excel in school & is looking forward to some more challenging concepts in middle school next year. Her favorite friend is Micaela Adams.  McKinley went to a sewing camp and Girls Go Digital this summer and learned a lot & had fun at both! McKinley's favorite memories this year are being present at Oaklyn's birth, and going to Lagoon! In 2017, McKinley is most looking forward to starting middle school, going to the temple, and Disneyland. 

Ireland: Ireland turned 9 in July and is in Mr. Sahagun's 4th grade class. Ireland loves recess and her favorite friends at school are Mahina (who is finally in her class!), Hannah, and Raquel. Ireland is a great runner & is great at gymnastics as well - she does a backbend kick-over, is SO CLOSE with her middle splits, and is doing great on the bars. She has being doing SUU gymnastics almost all year and loves it. Ireland is a great artist as well & loves to draw fashion girls, animals, and landscapes. She finally got braces this year & looks too grown up! She loves her 2nd cousin who lives in Texas, Kaydence, and is pen pals with her! Her favorite memory of 2016 is Oaklyn being born (she LOOOOVES babies!) and going to the Benson cabin with her great friend Sienna. In 2017, Ireland is looking forward to getting her ears pierced & her goal is to get to Level 2 in gymnastics. 

Kezia: Kezia turned 7 in October and is in 1st grade. This is her first year attending East Elementary's dual immersion program, leaning Spanish. She wasn't really excited about going, but has done SO well & learned so much! We love hearing her sing her Spanish songs and read her Spanish books. Thankfully, daddy knows Spanish & has been a big help. Also - Macie (her friend from Kindergarten) is in her class & she has so much fun with her and her new friend Ivy. Kezia has done amazing in school. For reading she is at a 4th grade+ reading level and is way ahead in math, too, working on her multiplication.  Kezia did soccer in the spring, and their team (Purple Power!) was undefeated again! She did swimming lessons in the summer & did really well & gets to go to the next level! Kezia is a fabulous performer and loves to sing loud and dance loud ;) Kezia's love language is GIFTS - she is constantly giving them, and LOVES when she gets them, too. She has loads of boy crushes :) Kezia's favorite memory from 2016 is going to the Bear Lake cabin and Lagoon! Kezia is looking forward to Disneyland next year and getting baptized. Her goal is to get to level 3 in swimming and tying her shoes.

Link: Link would have turned 4 on November 7th. This year we decided to do something special and send Matchbox cars to all the little boys we could find that are close to four years old. We sent about 30 cars & loved seeing all the #LoveforLink posts, videos, and texts. It was so neat to share his story with them & send them a special car. We still talk about Link every day, share his story, look for rainbows, and anticipate the day we can be with him again.

Noelle: Noelle turned 2 in April and is a simultaneous joy and terror :) She speaks so well, many people think she's older than she is. She loves cars and trucks, puzzles, books, being outside, going for walks, Daniel Tiger, Dora, loving on her sister Oaklyn, her doggie and binki, playing with her sister's friends, and seeing her grandparents.  She also loves drawing on almost anything other than paper, pulling hair, pushing, pinching, screaming, a complete lack of patience, and making messes. She is very familiar with time-out.  Noelle knows how to count to 10, all of her basic colors, almost all her alphabet, and can put together about 40 of the 50 states on a puzzle & knows about 12 names of the states. We love her smile, her energy, and how gentle and loving she is with Oaklyn. She loved Lagoon and all the hikes we went on. We don't hardly have to put her in the hiking backpack - she can go for miles. She moved from the crib to a BIG girl bed - sleeping with Kezia in her queen sized bed - she's had struggles, but has done well! We love our sunrise girl! Noelle's goals for 2017 include being potty trained, and getting rid of her binki. 

Oaklyn: Oaklyn is 4 months old and is the constant center of attention in our family. She does this adorable scrunchy-nose smiles and her laughs are just too cute. She rolls from her tummy to her back and reaches for anything and everything to put in her mouth. She just started solids and so far hasn't met a food she won't eat! Her cheeks get constant kisses and she doesn't get put down a whole lot. She just made this family a whole lot cuter, there's no denying it. We think her favorite memory from 2016 was being born and she (and her mom) are looking forward to sleeping through the night in 2017! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2016!! Love, The Hamiltons