MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thanks for all your love and support throughout the year! We love you!

Guess Who

My Cute cousin had pictures at each place setting for Thanksgiving and I thought it would be fun to see if you can guess who is who. Winner will recieve a special something from me! :)

Thanksgiving

This year we went with my family down to St. George for Thanksgiving. We hurried down there to avoid the "blizzard" that was on it's way and we got there safe, with no trouble. Our family got to stay with my Auntie Dantie and her family in a nice house for the week, which included a pool and hot tub. Unfortunately the weather was pretty cold, so the pool didn't get used much, but the hot tub got plenty of use!
On Wednesday we went to IN and OUT Burger and saw Harry Potter 7 part 1, got our grocery shopping done and ended the night in the hot tub. Turkey day started bright and early. I got to assist in making a bunch of the side dishes. I made sweet potatoes for the first time and they were pretty good. Lynn helped my mom make the rolls and they were great. Dinner was a crazy affair with 40 people trying to eat and talk and eat and talk, but it was great! Later we had the annual football game, with no injuries, family bingo and guess the big game score. Friday all cousins that were there got to go to lunch without children. That was a lot of fun to be together. We got Nelsen's frozen custard after lunch and we ended up staying there and visiting for awhile. There were 14 of us and we took up the whole back of the store. People walking in gave us weird looks....That night we had pizza and watched the Jazz beat the Lakers. I have to say we didn't do the Black Friday thing, and I didn't even feel bad about it! Saturday we heard that a storm was going to make our Sunday drive home scary, so most everyone left to be ahead of it, but we needed to stay and clean up the house. So we watched the big U vs Y game...cried a little and then got in the hot tub and watched a movie. Sunday we left early enough that we didn't have any trouble and got home safe. Lynn is great with driving in yucky weather. We are glad to be home and look forward to the next month of craziness. Hopefully we can get all we need to and want to done! Happy Holiday preparing! We'll check back in for updates on all our festivities!



Hot tub fun!

Typical U fan! :)

Team work!

Lovely ladies

TEXAS

The famous cheerleaders!


AWESOME seats!


WHAT A CROWD!


Cowboy huttle!











Lynn and I were able to take a few days and go with a couple friends to the big state of Texas! These friends like to visit a pro game each year and this year it was at the Dallas Cowboys Statium. *For those who don't know, Lynn has been a Cowboys fan since he was tiny. I had no real loyalty to anyone when we married, but I am now a Cowboys fan.* Anyway, we call ourselves fans here in Utah, but we have no idea! The loyalty the people show to their collage and professional teams are intence!
We were able to go to the Texas A&M vs Arkansas game on Saturday at Dallas stadium. It was a fun game to watch and just to observe. Since we aren't fans of either team we kinda looked out of place in our everyday ware. On Sunday we went to the Cowboys vs Titan game. WOW! All I can say is, that place is AWESOME! There were over 90,000 people there! I was there and saw it, but I still can't believe how many people there were. The energy and excitement was surreal. The game was intence and the boys didn't win, but I enjoyed every minute of it anyway! Lynn and the others were a little sadder than I. It was a fun time being with each other and friends. We enjoyed some really good food while there too. We may just have to make another trip back to that stadium and take the kids with us!
Thanks to mom and others who helped with the kids while we were gone!

FOOTBALL

With the wonderful season of Fall comes the wonderful game of FOOTBALL! We are HUGE Weber Warrior Supporters this year, with two boys in the recreation team and Luke on the High School team! We love going to the games and watching them all play! Brayden is playing for his second year and has shown great improvement! He loves his team and coaches and they are Region Champs in their division. Their first playoff game is this Saturday. Alex played for his first year and he has done much better than we thought. He really loved getting geared up each day for practice and for the games. He loves all his teammates and they are all now his best friends. They have won a few games, and improved a lot as the season went on. We are so proud of both of them. Wil insists that he will be playing as well next year. (It will take a LOT to convince me, it's been hard enough keeping track of two players I don't know if I can manage three!)


Our X Man!


Region Champs!

BiRthDaY BoYS!

Happy Birthday to 2 of my favorite boys! They enjoy having birthdays within a day of each other! They get to share the loot too! Here they are playing Madden, a favorite for both! Love you boys!

What's up here

I know it has been a LONG time since I updated and I'm not sure why. We survived another summer. We had several trips to Lagoon and we decided that it was a good investment this year, who knows if this will become a new tradition. We hope to go back at least one more time during the Halloween season. But we have to wait until football season for the boys is over, because that is all we do in the evenings and on Saturdays. They are both LOVING it! Brayden has moved around to a bunch of positions on Defense and Alex is on the line-of course-:) They are half way through the season already. We are all in school now. Yes, me too. Now that all the kids are in school all day, I have a job in the schools as a "lunch lady" at Farr West Elem. I have tried all summer to get into the district and then this position became available and I took it. It's not glamorous, but you can't beat the hours and I don't have to worry about what to eat for lunch. :) So, we have all been trying to get used to the new routine. I'm not sure how you mom's do it all out there, but I am going to try to figure it out. I also got a new calling as the 2nd Counselor in the Stake Primary. I know, it surprised me too! I already love the ladies I get to serve with and I love Primary, so it's a great place to be. The kids are enjoying being back in school and being with their friends, not so much on the homework though. Lynn is really busy which is great, but we don't see much of him and probably won't for a little longer. He is working all alone again which makes the days a little longer, but he is really enjoying it. Well, I think that's about it for now. I wanted to post pictures, but my computer isn't co-operating, so they will have to wait. Thanks for checking in on us!

End of School update

The end of this school year was a milestone for us. We FINALLY graduated from Kindergarten! It only took me five tries, but I did it! I guess technically Wil is the one that graduated and I just got to watch and enjoy and get a little emotional. I love Kindergarten and all but one of my kids had the same teacher. She feels like a good friend as well as a WONDERFUL teacher. She even suggested we have a few more kids, because she has enjoyed them so much!(lucky for all of us-that ain't happ'n!)I was able to go to the Zoo with those kindergartners. Amazingly it didn't rain the whole time we were there. It was a lot of fun. Wil fell sound asleep on the drive home and I had to carry him off the bus because he wouldn't wake up. He is not too sure about starting 1st grade because he will be in the Spanish immersion class. I think it will be a great experience and I think he'll be fine once he gets started. It will be very weird to have all the kids in school all day.
I was able to go with Alex to the Dinosaur Park for his last field trip. It did rain all day there, but we managed to have a good time anyway. He loves trying to figure out how to say all the names of the dinos and learn lots of facts about them. He REALLY wants to have a pet snake. I'm not thinking that will happen. He has found several snakes in the neighborhood and he puts them in a bucket and by morning they are always gone. My heart is never as broken as his!
Emma had a talent show the last week of school so she and her friends came up with a little dance to perform. They practiced about 40 times a week, had costume lists and dress rehearsals even to make sure all went well. It was fun to see them work so hard at something. She also had her piano recital and did really well. She has improved a lot!
Brayden was sad to see the school year end. He really enjoyed his teacher and having other guys to play football with at recess. He is REALLY into football right now. He watches clips from any game and any year any time he can and when he isn't watching it, he's rounding up people to play. He is Anxiously awaiting football season this fall. He is working this summer for my parents as a yard and farm helper. He really enjoys making a little money!
Katelyn was ready for the end of school, but not for the social stuff. She did really well surviving the first year of Junior High. She has made a lot of friends and she got super grades. She tried out for competition dance again and got on the team she wanted! She is SO excited to get to try new things. She is at girls camp right now down in Manti and they are going to the Pageant down there too. She was hoping to have some warm weather there.
For our Family Vacation this year we got season Lagoon passes. I think that it was a good thing for us this year. We'll see what we think when the summer is over.
We are enjoying being on a lazier schedule and playing as much as we want. I've mostly been reading, but plan on tackling a few projects here soon. Lynn has had some time off, so it has been kinda nice just hanging out together. We look forward to many more activities and hopefully many more sunny days too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATELYN!

It's official today Katelyn is 13! Time has gone by WAY too fast! Katelyn is a wonderful young lady. She is growing into a wonderful person. She already has so many good friends, has a growing testimony, some serious talent in piano and dancing, is so smart and she is a super big sister and a wonderful daughter. We love you so much!

My New Life-AMAZING story!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!

Yesterday Emma celebrated her 10th Birthday! She had to start core testing, but she didn't let it stop her from having a great day. She is such a happy person. She loves being around people and chatting. She loves being with her friends or family. She loves to sing in the school choir, is learning the piano and improving her soccer skills. We are so grateful for her wonderful personality, she is so sweet and kind. We love you Emma!

Two new books today. Don't know which one I'm more excited to read!

16 years

16 years ago today Lynn and I were sealed for all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. My great-uncle is Russel M. Nelson of the quorum of the twelve and he was able to marry us. What a special opportunity that was for us. Well, right before we went into the sealing room, Uncle Russel introduced us to Elder Packer, who then turns to Lynn and says "You know, it's not too late to change your mind". I'm sure he was just trying to be funny, but I was stunned. I think my jaw dropped and I totally wondered if this was divine inspiration stepping in to prevent this from happening. (Lynn said that I gave him a dirty look, that wasn't my intention, I was just surprised). Despite that moment, I'm SO glad that we went ahead and got married. We are in more love today than that day. I'm so grateful for a guy who loves me craziness, flaws and all. He is a wonderful provider, husband, friend, father. Here's to many more years of craziness, love, laughter, the good and the bad.
Grow old with me the best is yet to be!

Caribbean Cruise 2010

Lynn and I were able to go with some friends on a Caribbean Cruise. We had a wonderful time. It was so nice to reconnect with friends and each other, getting some sun and just relaxing! In the Grand Cayman we were able to spend some time with some sting rays. It was kinda fun, mostly I just enjoyed watching everyone else. After being with the rays we went to another area and did some snorkeling. One of our guides kept diving down to the bottom and bringing up these huge conch shells. As we headed back to land he cleaned out the shells and showed us all what was in them. Those creatures are gross and big. He let everyone have a taste of some part of it, and I went along with it and as soon as I bit down I wish I hadn't. It was nasty! In Roatan we did the zip-line. One of our friends was very unsure of the whole thing and he did Great! It was really fun and the island is SO pretty. In Cozumel we went on a tour of the island and made a few stops to look at the scenery. We then went to check out the Mayan ruins. The boat got into some rough waves that night and lets just say Lynn and I both had a rough night. The final stop was the Princess Cays. It was a wonderful day. We got to soak up the sun and just relax. What a great time we had with our friends reconnecting and making new memories. We are so grateful for family that helped with the kids, we couldn't do these trips without them.

Swan Lake

Friday night I went with my mom to see Ballet West Swan Lake. It was wonderful! I'm a total classic ballet kind of girl. I loved the chorus of swans! I hate tragic endings, but that is ballet for you. I am so glad I got to see this one. We had a great dinner at Lambs Cafe, I guess my mom and her dad used to go there often, so it was a great rememberence for her. We heard that Front Runner was free for the day, so we decided to take it. It was VERY crowded and on the way home there are not as many trains that run and we missed our planned train by about 3 minutes, so we waited and waited for the very last train of the night. I didnt' get home 'till very late. I think next time we go to the ballet we will drive ourselves. It was a great time with my mom (something we don't do very often). Thanks for letting me spend the evening with you mom,Love ya!

HaPpy BiRthDaY BaBY!

I just have to ask, isn't this the cutest picture EVER!?? :)


Our baby is 6 today! Yesterday he told me that now that he is 6 he is no longer a baby and we need to get rid of all the baby toys. (He was playing with Buzz and a bunch of Little people) Good thing he has already started collecting Bakugan, I guess those are more grown-up boy toys. As Lynn reminded me last night, this is the little guy that has taught me one of the most important things ever! A few years ago, whenever he had a good day he would say that it was his best day ever, I reminded him that he had said that before and he said "Mom don't you know you get thousands of best days!" Love this kid! He is so animated and expressive when he talks. He is very kind and he LOVE dogs and pizza rolls! We love you baby! (that is the last time I can use that one!)

The BIG 8!

Alex turned 8 in January and he could not wait to be baptised! Which actually happened this weekend. He was so excited and wasn't nervous at all. Everything went well and we had A LOT of family there for support! We really appreciate all those who were there and we know those who were not love us too! :) He is a happy boy, now that he is "official". He is a very kind and loving kid. He has a fun personality and keeps us laughing! He loves to play with his Bakugan's, his brothers and his friends. He has a special weekness for other kids that may be left out or ones that don't have many friends. He is a super kid, we wouldn't be the same without him! Love you much!

Christmas 2009

Better late than never, right? We had a great Christmas and it seemed to go by way too fast. We really enjoy spending time with our families during the holidays, the kids can never have enough time together. I got a new camera, but spent all my time trying to figure it out rather than using it. Someday I will get my act together. For New Years we spent the evening with our friends and the next day we got together with the Blanch Family for snow festivities. I decided to join my mom in her annual movie marathon and saw The Blind Side. I HIGHLY recommend this movie! One of the best in a very long time! I joined the fun in time to give rides and I even got dumped off the sled by my sweet husband a few times! (he thought it was the funniest thing ever, luckily I'm pretty padded and I roll well :) ) We enjoyed our break from school and now we are back to the craziness. I am working every day this month and trying to figure all that out. I DEFINETLY need to get more organized!
P.S. The gun with my man is just a toy. I thought it looked so red-neck!