MeRrY ChRiSTmAs!

We Wish you all A Merry Christmas! We hope that you know that your love, support and friendship are very important to us! Happy New Year too!

Blog Vacation

I really wish I had something wonderful to post today, but sadly I do not! I have to confess that I LOVE looking at blogs! There are SO many I will never see them all, I know, and one leads to another and another and so on..... I wish I had a cute craft idea, or handmade item or delicious recipe for you all to see. I wish I had some wonderful experience that would inspire my readers to do or be more, but I do not. I am kinda in a funk.... So I probably won't be posting much, but be sure that I will still be out there stalking you and looking and wishing and hoping that I was so much more.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am grateful for a wonderful husband who is my best friend, super husband and great father. I am blessed every day for five terrific healthy, happy kids. I am grateful for the family I grew up in and for all that have been added to it, for all of the extended families too. I am grateful for the family I married into and all who that includes. I am so grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for the purpose it gives me, as well as the chance to be a Forever Family. I am grateful for wonderful friends old and new and for new opportunities that help me learn and grow. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Halloween 2009

Montana

Last weekend I convinced my little sister Diane to make the drive with me up to Montana to see our darling new niece, oh and of course her parents. So we dropped the kids off at school Friday morning and then headed north. We made good time and got there in time for dinner! We held the baby and visited. Saturday we took our time getting ready and went back to hold the baby and do more visiting. There is SO much to do in the little town of Big Fork....we ended up walking down Main street, stopping in a few shops and getting an ice cream cone. Then we went back and held that cute baby. My brother made us a Fabulous dinner that night. Then Sunday we got ready said our good-byes and drove back home. It was a lot of driving, but it was fun to just talk and eat lots of treats. Who'd have thought my big brother would have chosen a Gorgeous place to live and now he has two beautiful girls to take care of! Thanks Mike and Angie for letting us crash your weekend. It was so nice to visit and see you all! Also, thanks Diane for being my buddy and to Erin and Mom and Dad for taking care of the other kids.

Project time

The kids have had various projects going on lately. Brayden had a haunted house competition in his grade. He came up with the plan on how to decorate, and I just helped execute. Reflections were due today and Emma and Alex wanted to participate, so they each did their thing. I think I have said before that I do not like these extra activities, but this time around they didn't bother me so much. Maybe these things get easier as kids get older? Oh, there is a crazy hair day in there too!

TOUCH DOWN!

Brayden made a touchdown! Today was the final football game of the season! He plays left tackle, and the coaches told them if they got ahead enough they would let the line have turns getting the ball. Well, the team was way ahead and B got the handoff and ran it in for a TD! He was much more reserved than I thought he would be! It was the best way to end his first football season! We really have enjoyed watching him play and learn the game! We are proud of you buddy!

HaPpy BiRThdAY HoNeY!

Happy Birtday Lynn!
You are the best husband and father! We appreciate everything you do for us each day! We hope your day is Great!

HaPpY BiRThdAy BraYdEN!

Brayden is 11 today! What a great kid he is! We are so thankful for his wonderful, kind spirit in our home. Brayden is currently LOVING playing football! He is doing well for his first year. He enjoys school and loves to play with friends. He also loves to make up all kinds of games especially hunt and find games. He tries really hard to do what is right and makes us proud every day. Love you B!
(the music is some of Brayden's favorites in honor of his day)

BYU

Here's a shout out to our BYU boys! We are going to be cheering loud for the game tomorrow. GO COUGARS!

New Neice

Yesterday my big brother became a father! We are so glad the baby is here and healthy as well as her mom. Now I have to plan a trip to Montana to hold her!

Best Birthday!

"THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH"
I normally try to downplay my birthday as much as possible, but this year I didn't care. If you go to Disneyland on your birthday, you get in free. All you have to do is show proof of your birthday. So I decided that is where I wanted to be. My children of course were kinda sad, but they are over it. Lynn agreed that it was a great idea! My Super, Wonderful, Awesome aunt Dantzel has a season pass and I asked her to come with me, and my Sister-in-law Erin came too. So, Thursday morning we flew to CA, got to the "Happiest place on Earth" around 10:00 and we just cruised from one ride to the next. We were expecting it to be a pretty busy day, but for Disneyland it was really not busy at all. It was about 100 degrees though. So, I got to ride all my favorite rides: Peter Pan, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones & California Screemin. Plus a few others. We got our necessary Dole whip at the Tiki room. We even had time to sit down and eat a burger and do a little shopping. We were in a rush to get back to the airport and the traffic was not co-operating. We rushed into the terminal and found that the plane we were getting on had not landed yet. So we were just fine. It was a whirlwind adventure and so much fun! Thanks to my family letting me escape for the day!

First Week

Katelyn's ready for 7th grade!

Emma, Brayden, Alex

School started Monday! YEAH! I'm probably the only mom out there that is glad to see the kids back in school. I'm terrible I know!Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my children and enjoy having them around I just miss the routine that comes with school and activities that we all have to keep us from driving each other crazy.
Katelyn thinks Junior High is going to be great! She is taking French and Art along with all the usual classes and she is SO excited. She has friends in most her classes and she really has a great attitude about getting to know other kids. We were really worried about the earlier start time and if she would be able to make it, but so far so good. The other kids have been up and ready earlier too. I hope that it lasts more than this week.
Brayden is in 5th grade and in an interesting class. His teacher only teaches half day and then they divide the kids out between the other teachers for the rest of the day. He thinks it is great because he gets to see twice as many of his buddies and gets to be with two great teachers. He is playing football this year and he LOVES it! I'm so glad, because his dad has been waiting for this day for years.
Emma is in 4th grade and after several years of not knowing too many kids in her class, she knows most of them. Part of that is probably because she has made so many friends along the way. She has MANY best friends, but her bestest is finally in her class. She is a happy girl. She is looking forward to starting piano again and joining choir.
Alex is in 2nd and tells me he has already gotten tickets for being kind and helpful. He has a great teacher who loves to sing. His teacher is the choir director, so we will get to know her really well this year.
Wil has been counting down the "rest of his break" this week. He had his assessment Monday and was sad that he couldn't stay for the rest of the day. He is ready for Kindergarten! I think I will be too, or I may have a major meltdown, we'll see Monday.
As for me, I am looking forward to a few hours that maybe I can catch up with all the things I have put off for too long. I am also going to try substitute teaching this year. The principle of the kids school has agreed to add me to the list there. I think subbing will be a gentle shove back into the world of work, I don't have to go if I have sick kids or other things going on, but I can do a little and get out of the house too.

Summer Fun

We have been trying to stay busy around here. We have been to the pool, to the park for lunch a few times and have played with friends a ton! I was able to take the kids to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house with my mom. It is so neat to be able to take them to the temple and get them excited about going there someday. We also went to Bear Lake for the day with my brother and his family. We had a Great time! The kids played and played, and we all were surprised how fast the time went. On the way home we had to stop and get a famous raspberry shake. This last weekend was Harrisville's Heritage days. The kids all got to ride in the ward float, then we went to the park and met up with friends and had fun doing all the activities we could. They had a Fear Factor contest and we ended up leaving before it was over, because we all were so tired and were a little grossed out. Brayden started football today and is really excited and tired. I think Lynn is just as excited as he is be playing. It is really intense, I hope we can all make it through the season. Lastly, Katelyn leaves for girls camp tomorrow, she is so excited! We have great leaders and girls, so I'm not worried about her, it will just be weird to have her gone for 4 days. I also get to register her for Jr. High while she is gone...deep breaths, I can do it! We are going to enjoy our last few weeks of summer and do as much as we can!

Just an update

Not a whole lot to write about, I'm just tired of seeing that same post.
We have survived the first month of summer. We have done a few things here and there, but mostly we hang out at home having kids going in and out each day. I have been reading a lot, trying to get through some of the books on my many lists! This is the first summer we don't have a big trip planned and it feels kind of weird. We will probably find a few days to go camping at some point. My brother leaves for the MTC tomorrow. We are really excited for him and wish him the best of luck. We celebrated Lynn's mother's birthday on Sunday. She is such a wonderful person. We love her very much.
Now you know we are still here :)
(can't wait for Harry, hence the countdown! My family says I'm obsessed!)

Camping Trip

*yes that is a lizard she is kissing!*

















Last Wednesday we packed up all the gear and kids and headed to the La Sal mountains, near Moab. We went with the 3 other families. We had 11 kids, 6 hound dogs, 3 family dogs, 8 adults and many 4-wheelers between all of us. We were lucky enough to have bribed Lynn's brother into loaning us his camp trailer, which ended up being a life saver. We had a wonderful time visiting, eating, 4-wheeling, and monitoring kids. The boys were able to get the dogs out a few times to look for bear tracks, and they found some! It rained and rained and rained. We were praying that we could leave on Sunday like planned and the sun actually shined for the most of the day, which helped the mud dry so we could all get out safely. So we all made it home for Memorial Day. The kids had so much fun together. They only had a few issues here and there. I was worried that they would get on each others nerves, but they were sad leaving each other. They spent hours making "houses" out of rocks and sticks, pine needles, and other natural stuff. They were so creative and good! We girls had a great time and never ran out of things to talk about! I think the boys wish they could have had more tracking time, but they managed. We appreciate the help in transporting our crew to and from the outing, all the food that was given to them, time spent on others 4-wheelers, and help monitoring them. It was super fun and we really appreciate friends!

HApPy biRtHdAY KaTelYn!

(remember the long hair?)

(her new best buddy)

My first born is now 12 years old! How time flies! She has always been a very independent, strong-willed person. She is a great helper with the other kids, she really enjoys telling them what to do. She LOVES to dance. She has really grown to love it and she really has a fun stage personality. She is SO excited to be in this phase of life. Junior High, Young Womens, and teen clothes and other activities. She is really a very kind child and we love her very much! Happy 12th Birthday!

HaPpY BiRThdAy EmMa!

Birthday girl!

Twilight is what she wanted most, can you tell?!


Yesterday Emma turned 9! Emma was the happiest baby and she is still a happy kid. She loves to be with her family and friends. Emma doesn't like to leave people out and wants to be everyone's friend. She is a great soccer player and wants to be like Mia Hamm. She loves to sing and is often singing or humming while she is doing other things. We love you Emma, you make our family brighter!

Mexican Riviera

Last week Lynn and I went on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. We stopped at Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. They were fun stops. We got to do a little barganing, hiking, walking around and sitting on beaches. It was so nice to just be together eating good food, being entertained by processionals as well as passengers who drink too much. We Love the evening dinning in the formal dinning room. The food is so great and you can have as much as you want. (can you say, two desserts every night :)!) We spent a lot of time on the decks just reading and soaking up the sun. We had a good time meeting new people and experiencing new things. We are SO VERY grateful for those who helped with the kids. They had a great time without us, but seemed glad we are back. It is fun to get away but it is always great to be home. I feel recharged and ready to get back into the swing of things, the month is already filling up quickly and will be really busy. The end of the school year is just a few weeks away. And I have a new calling as Relief Society counselor. This is totally foreign to me, so I will be busy trying to grow up and figuring all this out.

Mission Call

My little brother got his mission call last night. I have teased him that he will probably go somewhere local, just to keep him humble, but I really felt like he would be in Europe......



CONGRATULATIONS BROTHER! We are really excited for you! Thank you for being a good example to my kids, they really look up to you!

Easter

This Easter was a little different. My mother was out of town the week before and we were not sure if she would make it home for her traditional egg hunt on Sat, or for Sunday dinner. My Dad broke his foot the week before, so I got to help get him to various places, so we coordinated what needed to be done, just in case Mom didn't make it home. Anyway, Mom showed up Friday and was here for Easter festivities. She hurt her knee, so Saturday I came over early to help prepare for the egg hunt and do a little cleaning. The hunt was a success, the kids got lots of candy and got to spend time with cousins! Sunday we went to Sacrament with Lynn's parents then went to dinner at mom's and then to Blanch's for another egg hunt and more visiting with family! I tried to make those cute chick pops from Bakerella. (If you haven't checked her out you MUST! She's my idol!)They of course are not as cute as hers...maybe someday! The kids had Spring Break this weekend too, so we went to see Monsters VS Aliens and had our fun teen cousin spend the night with us. It was hard getting up on Tuesday to the regular schedule. I wish the weather was better, I need to do some serious yard work. Also Brayden, Emma and Alex are playing soccer this season and they have only had one practice and one game each. It is just too wet and cold. We will see if they get to play Saturday, they REALLY want to!