Just in case you've been wondering where we've been...

Dear Friends and Family, 12/20/11
This has been a fun-filled and rewarding year. We got together as a family and came up with the “Top Twelve for 2011.”
1. Matt and Heather took a cruise to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean with some friends. We enjoyed snorkeling, kayaking, and eating. We also fed hundreds of fish with dog biscuits. The kids stayed with their cousins and didn’t miss us.
2. Winter basketball is huge Matthew, Scotty, and Dallin all enjoyed playing. . Since Sierra doesn’t play basketball she focused on piano and earned a trophy for getting three perfect scores over three years in a national piano festival.
3. Scouting is also big in our house. Matt teaches the 11-year olds, Heather was a unit commissioner (stake primary president) so she got to participate in an overnight scout event at a nearby church campground, complete with cabins. It was fun to be up there with Matt, Heather, and Matthew. Scott is now a Bear, and Dallin just started and is a Bobcat. Matthew is working on his Star and is hopes to get his eagle in the next two years.
4. The Easter bunny played a trick on the kids this year. They claim to have stayed up all night, but could not find their baskets anywhere. That clever bunny hid all the baskets in Matt and Heather’s room! They also went on an Easter egg hunt in the back yard. Some of the eggs had money, and others had balloons and candy. Scotty cleaned up and found $15, and poor Matthew only found 1 penny.
5. We took an early camping trip to Goblin Valley. We spent three days hiking through Wild Horse Canyon, exploring the park, and shooting guns. Sierra and Matthew climbed through seemingly impossible holes in caves.
6. Matt bought a red 2009 Yamaha V*1100. It only had 650 miles and came with a spiffy black leather jacket with a glow in the dark skull on the back. We had many rides into the canyon, enjoying the changes of each season.
7. In July our cousins, the Wolfenbargers, spent a couple of weeks at our house. We enjoyed many activities and spent a few days up in Bear Lake at Grandma and Grandpa Conder’s cabin. While there, we took a hike to an abandoned mine where we were almost eaten alive by ravenous mosquitoes.
8. August was our big family vacation to California. Matt and Heather attended their 20 year class reunion. Matt and Matthew both thought the highlight of the trip was surfing together. Lucky Matthew managed to stand up on his very first wave! Heather enjoyed a tour through her house she grew up in and exploring the tide pools at Natural Bridges. Sierra, Scotty, Dallin and Nicole liked the Beach Boardwalk. We also loved visiting old friends and family (although we missed a few) and are grateful to the Branson families for their help and hospitality.
9. Our car broke down in Frisco, Colorado, We bought a new car. Two months later, while at Nicole’s soccer game, Scotty played with the gears in the car and rolled it down a hill. The car took out a cemetery fence. This is on the top twelve because it is the first time since potty training that Scotty has done something naughty. He won’t do that again.
10. Grandma Holly and Grandpa Randall came out to visit in October. We had an early Thanksgiving dinner with the entire family and a perilous hike across an icy trail and bridges to explore the Grotto. We enjoyed having time to visit with them, and especially liked the fact that they had the 18 hour drive and we didn’t!
11. Nicole started kindergarten this year. She goes half day and spends the other half helping Heather teach preschool. She is growing up quickly and is a fun, silly, tomboyish girlie-girl who runs around with a tutu while picking up bugs and examining them with a magnifying glass.
12. Dallin was baptized by Matt in November. We are proud of him for being such a good boy. Heather had a bit of a shock at his interview when she was called to be the ward relief society president (serving the women in church).
As this year comes to a close, we recognize that we have truly been blessed. We are grateful to celebrate the birth of our Savior.
Have a wonderful Christmas holiday and a happy new year!
Love the Mendonsa Family:
Matt, Heather, Sierra (14), Matthew (12), Scotty (9), Dallin (8), Nicole (5), Sox the cat, and our three foster dogs: Tinkerbell, Bitsy, and Candy