Turning 31

Christmas time also means birthday time! I'll be the first to admit that I love my birthday. Always have and always will. I'm sure I say this every year but I'm lazy and don't want to go check back in the old posts. Birthdays are fun. Why can't we like our birthdays?! When we become adults we all of the sudden have to shut down all the fun a birthday brings?! Well not for this gal! I freaking love it! 

My age doesn't really get to me either. I don't mind getting old. Age is just a number. I can tell you that I am in way better health and more fit in my 30's than I was back in my early 20's! There is no way I would be able to do what I can in yoga now back when I was "young". Again, It's just a number and won't define me. I do have to say that I have all of the sudden had crazy heartburn after certain meals. I'll blame that on old age. Hahaha. Anywho, back to the birthday. 

Dan and I went out the night before to celebrate my birthday. We went and had our traditional dinner and then went shopping at a couple of my favorite yoga stores. You can't eve have enough yoga gear. It was low key and a really nice night out. 

When we got home that night Dan said "What the heck are all those ducks doing in our front yard?!" I was looking for real ducks! hahaha Someone came and put these in our front yard for my birthday. I waited until the next day to take a picture with it. Yogi style... I have a pretty good idea as to who it was but they never owned up to it. So I guess I'll never know! I am grateful for awesome friends who took the time out of their day to do this for me. It  made me feel loved. 

Dan came to yoga with me that day and even sat with me through a mediation series. 

We got ready for the day and then celebrated with cake and opened gifts with the kids. 

Dan always makes my Angel Food Cake with Chocolate frosting. Tradition and I love it. 

Opening gifts! I didn't know what I was getting from the kids this year which is always a fun surprise. Dan lets them go pick out all the gifts so I really never know what I'll get. It's awesome. 

I did know what I was getting from Dan this year since I helped him pick it out. I got a new wedding ring band, that may or may not have come in a little blue Tiffany's box ;) for my yoga practice. This sounds super conceded and bad but my real wedding ring is too bulky and big and it was a challenge to wear when I balance on my hands. (first world problems right?!) Ha! Dan still wanted it to represent a wedding ring so he insisted on going nice with it. Who am I to stop him?! :) :)  I love it! It was a perfect birthday gift! 

We ate cake with the kids and then fed them dinner. 

That night we put the kids to bed and Dan and I ordered food and got caught up on our shows. My favorite thing to do. 

I look forward to this year. A lot of possibilities and goals are set and I can't wait to see what this new year being 31 brings! 

December Randoms

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S! 

What a whirlwind, magical day it is. Nothing is like Christmas and the best part is that it's all month long that you get to feel the magic. It's been a fun filled month with lots of festive activities, fun and trying to be calm and enjoy the moments. 

December 1st our elf arrived with our lego countdown, matching PJ's and a note letting us know he would be here all month long. We started the month off right with our usual pizza and Christmas movie! 

June went to a birthday party for one of her little friends. We dropped her off and went and did some Christmas shopping back in our old stomping grounds. 

Our traditional drive through Highland park was a huge success. One of my favorite traditions with the kids. 

Kate being Kate. She is in her own world and seems to always find hats! And digging through mom's wallet. 

One night for mutual my Mia Maids made snow flakes and wrote messages on them for our local Fire Department. They kept those snow flakes on the whole month! It was great driving by and still seeing  them there. It made the girls feel special. 

Ward Christmas party fun! We had a great time that night but had to quickly dash off to head to Dan's work party. 

Sugar cookies are a must for Christmas time! And Owen is rocking that face! hahahaha 

We realized we had no red food coloring and the kids wanted to be in charge of the colors, so we ended up with some interesting looking icing for our cookies. Then we had squeeze bags for decorating. It made for some great looking cookies! 

All our cookies! They turned out pretty good and all were consumed by friends who stopped by and of course ourselves! 

Dan has made dozens of these rolls trying to get the recipe just perfect. It's my mom's roll recipe and he is determined to make those rolls to perfection! 

One early morning after getting June on the bus, the sun was rising over the hill and was so pretty. Dan is usually with us waiting for the bus to come but he had an early meeting so it was just me. I ran  to the top of the hill and snapped a yogi picture. The sky was so pretty. 

We had some incredibly warm days this month. So warm we spent majority of the day outside and that included lunch! 

Kate mimics everything we do and say. Her vocabulary and sentence structure has gone to a whole new level. It's been so fun watching and listening to her speak. We sing Wheels on the Bus about 20 times a day and that usually happens while I'm preparing dinner or the kids are eating dinner.  June and Kate singing "The mommy's on the bus go shhh shhh shhh". 

The kids live on the tramp. They spend a lot of time outside and I LOVE it!! 

After running a million and one errands one day, Owen asked so nicely to stop and get a Sonic Corndog. I can't ever say no to that sweet smile. His smile holds incredible power, I tell ya. 

Owen spends a lot of time with me in my yoga room and actually does a lot of yoga with me. He practices with me, listens to me teach classes and sits with my while I write in my journal or mediate. He's becoming quite the little yogi. 

One night after Dan got home from work we went out back to our ponds and fed the ducks and geese. 

We celebrated another little friends birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. 

I took June on a little girls night to see The Nutcracker. I had only planned to stay through intermission because I thought for sure June wouldn't want to stay through the whole show, but she LOVED IT!! And we stayed through the whole performance. I was pleasantly surprised. We then went and had a late dinner. 

She loved getting all dressed up and I even let her put on some lipstick. She was in heaven! 

Ginger bread house in the making! We saved all our Halloween candy to make it extra special. It turned out cute! 

We have a pretty rad Chick Fil A. Since the new Star Wars movie was coming out, Chick Fil A was celebrating it with a Star Wars themed night. Dan took the kids Christmas shopping and then went there for dinner. It was so great to get the kids out of the house and I got everything cleaned and ready for the Holidays! 

One night I was videoing Kate and told her to look up so I could take a picture. This was the look she gave me. Hahahaha! 

I was hacked by my Young Women! We went caroling one night and I ended up with a bunch of pictures on my phone. We have such an incredible group of youth! 

Kate LOVES putting on my panty hose stalkings. EVERY MORNING while I'm getting ready, she pulls them out of my sock drawer and brings them to me for her hands and feet. It's so awesome. 

Our school district didn't have school released until Friday before Christmas! FRIDAY!! How lame right?!!? So I said forget that and pulled June out of school. We played hooky and went shopping and had lunch! I know school is so important but they are so little and having fun is important too! 

That wraps up our December! We had lots of fun things we did that aren't pictured like participating in the LDS Light the World campaign, lots of yogi stuff happening this month but saving that for a later post,  late night dinner and a laugh fest with friends, date nights and truly just enjoying being together as a family. 

More to come on my birthday, and our Christmas! 

Lancaster 2017 Christmas Newsletter

Merry Christmas Friends and Family!

     We love you all and hope that you have had a wonderful year.

What a year 2017 has been for us. We look back with smiles on our faces with a year full of change and adventures that kept us on our toes. Our family would like to share what has been happening this year for us. 

DAN: He continues to keep things light hearted around our house. We love him dearly and if you want proof, come to our house when he gets home and hear the squeals of delight from everyone. Wife included! Dan has had a good steady year. He is still “rocking” it as a Geologist (pun intended) at Pioneer Natural Resources. When he’s not busy at work or chasing little ones around, he can usually be found in his record room listening to his latest record that has been added to his collection. His record collection has boomed this year and he’s enjoying discovering new bands and music. At church he keeps up with the 7-8 year olds as a Primary Teacher and doesn’t miss a beat with them.  2017 was a great year for Dan and we can all agree how awesome he is to have around. 

LESLI: It’s never a dull moment with Lesli, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. She keeps the household running and the three kiddos alive with so much love and a little crazy. Life and kids keep her on her toes, but she doesn’t slow down a bit. If she’s not balancing life and kids, then you can usually find her balancing on her head or arms on her yoga mat. She has taken the yoga world by storm and you never know what twisty, upside down yoga pose she will be in next. She loves it so much that she wants to teach it, and is currently in the middle of her Registered Yoga Teacher Training. She will officially be certified the end of January. Lesli has been working with the youth in our church as the 1st Counselor in the Young Women’s program and is loving it. She loves the leaders she works with and is constantly laughing with the girls. Lesli has had a great year and we are so grateful for her never ending energy and her unconditional love and laughter. 

JUNE: Our little lady has had quite a big year with a lot of changes. She continues to be our little rule follower and has that sweet and sassy thing down to a science. June started Kindergarten this past August and turned six this past October. She loves school and learning how to read. She loves the challenge and her favorite thing to do is write stories in her notebooks. June continues her love for singing and puts on performances on a regular basis. She performed in her first dance recital earlier this year and loved being on the big stage. June has done great in her new school and made wonderful friends. We love her little spirit and how helpful she is at home. All in all, She has had a great year. 

OWEN: He’s our little tornado with a huge passionate heart. He keeps us in a whirlwind most of the day, but always has us cracking up with his quirkiness and is literally the best at snuggling. He’s awesome. Owen is on his second year of preschool and turned four this past October. He loves school and playing with his friends. Owen will spend all day in a fort and any little hiding space that he can find. If he’s not hiding then he’s playing with play doh or finding new ways to bug June, but he is incredibly sweet to Kate. He loves to run and jump and really is all boy. He can’t get enough of any small toy, especially Grossery Gang. He always seems to have little toys in his one hand and a chunk of play doh in the other. We are so grateful for his love of life and finding different ways to explore it. 

KATE: Kate’s our sweet heart who is learning the power of the word No. She has grown so much this past year and we can’t believe that our baby is now a toddler. It took her a while, but she eventually started walking and hasn’t stopped since. She is constantly on the move. Kate is talking like crazy with a new word pretty much everyday and is fully aware the power she has over Daddy and Mommy. Kate loves to explore and play with dolls and changing their shoes. She is Mommy’s little bud everyday when the kids are at school and does a great job being the tag along. She is such a light in our life and her little giggles and dimples make life a little easier. Kate has changed so much this year and it’s been amazing watching it all happen right before our eyes. 

RANGER: Our puppy has become quite the adventure seeker and learning how to escape out of the yard. He turned seven this past year and we love our puppy, but he can sometimes be worse than a child. We love his cuddles and having him around to make sure everyone knows that there is someone at the door with his barking. Our house wouldn’t be the same without him. 

OUR FAMILY IN GENERAL: Big changes happened for us this year with the process of building a house and calling a new place home. Selling our old house and finishing our new one was quite the task, but we survived and agreed we never want to move again. Ha! Thankfully everyone has transitioned well and we are in love with the much needed space of the new house and our Community. Moving didn’t slow us down one bit with traveling to visit family in Idaho and Canada. Dan and Lesli then left the kids behind and took a trip to celebrate their 10 year anniversary in Fiji. It was a once in a life time experience. 

It’s been quite a year with a big move, traveling and still living our day to day lives. It’s been an incredible year. One that has been full of much more laughter than tears and giving us full hearts and much to be thankful for. 

We truly hope you have a wonderful holiday season and know how much we love our Savior and all of you! 

Merry Christmas! 

   Love, The Lancaster’s 

2017 Family Pictures

Our 2017 pictures were taken by my dear and talented friend Alison Moreno. We headed to the streets of down town Dallas for a more city feel this year.