Merry Christmas

Our family had a wonderful Christmas. All the presents were fun, and we were all together for dinner and breakfast the next day. I even got to see my cousins Nicole and Vincent who I haven't seen in a long time.
One thing that was hard was not seeing my Uncle Leland who passed away this year. He loved giving Christmas gifts, and could always pick out the best present that my kids would love. Lesli did an awesome job anyway!
I need to also say how thankful I am that Jesus was born and that I can have the gospel in my life. What a great blessing!
Here's to a new year and new beginnings!

Boring

David and I have officially hit the grown up Christmas scenario. We bought everything we wanted and are using it already. Probably won't wrap anything up for Christmas day. I always told my parents they were lame when they did it, but here we are doing the same thing. And the bad thing is, I don't regret it. I have become my parents!

Christmas...

For some reason, this year I am all excited for Christmas. I have half of my decorations up already. Hannah says it looks goofy because I have half Thanksgiving, half Christmas. But you can't forget Thanksgiving. I just want to get started. I want to listen to Christmas music. I want my husband to get the lights up on the house. (I do the trees.) I want to go shopping on Black Friday. I want to watch my Christmas movies. I want to go to the craft fairs. Please don't hate me!

Are you ready for some football?

Here is Chase and his awesome little football team. It was his first year playing, and he LOVED it. But the best thing of all was the coaches. We couldn't have asked for better ones. They were so patient and fun, and unlike a couple of the other ones, (ahem, broncos) just wanted the boys to have a good time. I won't tell you who they are, otherwise, you will all want them for your coaches too! ;)

Halloween Bunko again!

I love that I have friends who will dress up on Halloween with me! (miss you Nicole!) We dressed up for Bunko last night and had a blast. Lynnette won for best costume. She's the one in purple. Fun!

Sickness...

Half of Jefferson Elementary is out because of sickness. My kids have caught it and brought it home to Ryan. I sure hope I'm not next. David escaped to Knoxville just in time. What I'm wondering is, once your kids get sick, do you keep them home so they don't get everyone at school sick, or do you send them because if you keep them home, they act perfectly fine? Then there's the whole nursery thing at church...
I get so sick of second guessing myself; no pun intended!

I Rock

When I got up this morning this was on the fridge. I love my kids!

Fall!!!

It is my most favorite time of year! I love, love, love fall. Cool air, colorful leaves, hay, apples, scarecrows, back to school, football, and of course...Halloween is on the way!

School's In!

Is it so wrong to love it when they go back to school? It's like that commercial for Staples where they sing "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" and the parents are riding the cart in the aisle and the kids are moping behind them. I feel like that. I love school shopping, and I love that they are excited to go back. But most of all, I'm just glad to have some peace and quiet. And I feel guilty about that. Yet, here I sit, able to blog without any whining or interrupting and it's great. Is there no happy middle ground for moms?

I jumped!

Just got back from Girl's Camp. What a blast! The girls talked us into jumping off of the rocks and bridge.

Karate Kids er...Kid and Dad

Chase and David have been taking karate, and they had their pictures taken last week. I think they are pretty awesome.

Potty Training

Well, here we go with Ryan's potty training. After the nightmare that we had with Chase, I have been dreading it, but he's actually not doing too bad. David bought him a bag of M&M's, and every time he goes, he gets a treat. He is such a treat junkie that he tries to go all the time! I have to admit, this is the one thing I hate about parenthood. From the minute they were born, I dreaded the thought of potty training. But I'm on the last one!

School's Out!

Okay, it is officially crazy mom season. One day and they are already saying I'm bored! Maybe I should start a camp. Should it be craft camp or chore camp... The first 2 weeks are so hard, but then it seems like they finally figure out what to do. But why does it seem like they want me to figure out their fun for them?

Kids at the park

We had a barbecue at the park for the end of clogging, and I took the camera so I could take some pictures of the kids. They were pretty funny trying to climb the trees.

Happy Birthday Hannah and Ryan

Saturday was Hannah's birthday, and Sunday was Ryan's. Obviously Thomas the Tank Engine was present (no pun intended) for Ryan's day, but Hannah just really isn't into any one thing in particular. She even had me make pumpkin pie for her instead of cake. But we did go swimming at Green Canyon and she brought some friends. Why do they have to grow up so fast?

Clogging Recital

For those of you who would like to come and see me hoofing it on stage, our year-end recital will be Saturday April 25th , 5:00 at Rigby High School.

April Fools!

Every April Fool's I make a fake dinner for the kids. This year it was spaghetti and meatballs.

I see grass!

You don't know how much just seeing that brown old grass in my yard has lifted my spirits! I know we are in for a few more storms, but spring is on the way! Camping, fishing, softball, camping, swimming, bike rides, camping, barbeques, did I mention camping? David and I can get back to arguing over who gets to mow the lawn, I get to plant the garden, see if my new blackberries are going to grow, clean out all the road muck from the cars in the garage, man, I just can't wait. And if by mentioning this, it storms us all in, it is not my fault! Put on your capri's and go to town anyway!

Happy Birthday Chase!

Chase turned 7 yesterday! We took him and 3 friends to Green Canyon on Friday, and then we were going to have a big family dinner on Sunday, but David got sick, so I took the kids and my parents and we went to Leo's. It was way fun. Here he is with his Indiana Jones cake.

"Romantical Dinner"

We had our Valentine's dinner at home with the kids this year, complete with candlelight and flowers. The menu was steak, pasta, salad, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. The kids thought it was cool, and Hannah named it the romantical dinner. She wouldn't let us talk about anything silly like usual, we had to talk about nice things. It was hilarious.

Privacy?

I was cold and decided to take my book and have a bath. David was on the computer, the kids were watching a movie, so I made my move. I turned the water off, reached for my book, and heard tap, tap, tap. "Momma, are you in there?"
"Yes, Chase."
"Can I come in?"
"I'm in the tub."
"I don't care, I want to talk."
"No, I'm taking a break, okay?"
"Momma!"
"Yes, Ryan?"
"Read my Thomas book!"
"Not right now. I'm in the tub."
"You get out!"
"Here, Momma, can you read this from there?" Chase slides a book under the door.
"Chase, where is Daddy?"
"He's on the computer."
"Why don't you ask him to talk or read to you?"
"Because I want you to."
"Momma! Come out! Read Thomas!"
I got a ten minute bath, just enough to warm up. Ain't it fun being a mom?

Sledding

Here we are at the Ucon pit sledding. My dad always takes the kids, and I miss out, so I went this time. I forgot how much I love to sled!

Clogging

I have been taking clogging lessons from Kasandra since September. Who knew this old lady had it in her? She just talked us into going to a competition in Pocatello in March. So, practice, practice, practice. We are doing a disco one to Stayin' Alive. Very fun. We will also do Absolutely Everybody from our Christmas recital, so at least we already know that one really well and could score some points.

Third January in a row...

For the last three January's David has ended up with an extremely painful injury. 2 Years ago it was a broken toe, last year it was a broken nose, and this year... Tadah!

He has 6 stitches in his left hand. I think it is because he knows that our insurance is starting a new year and we have all those pesky deductibles to get out of the way. ;)