Thursday, December 11, 2008

Merry Christmas!!!


It is hard to believe that another year has gone by. It seems that time is passing so quickly. I was just picking our Halloween costumes a few days ago. This has been a wonderful year for our family and we feel very fortunate. Today I posted my last assignment in the Maters Degree program with the University of Idaho. I will now begin my internship and next spring I will graduate with my degree in Educational Leadership. I will be a certified Principal. I am thankful for the program the U of I offers, it has allowed me to be a mother and a wife while completing my degree. Awesome.

Stormie has grown up so much this year. Kent and I were remembering how badly we wanted her thirteen years ago and how hard it was to get her here. What a blessing she is in our lives. And she is absolutely beautiful even though she is 13 and very much a teenager, sassy and all. Stormie had to have minor surgery this summer on her foot and what a trooper she was! The night of her surgery she had dance practice for the Temple Celebration, she was not about to miss it and did not take one pain killer to get through it. I was so proud of her She spent the remainder of her summer preparing for the Temple Celebration. What a wonderful experience and a tremendous testimony builder. I am so thankful she had that opportunity and I was in admiration of the youth both nights I watched as they pulled together an amazing program in honor of our area and our temple. Stormie is in the 8th grade this year, is a cheerleader and just finished a season of basketball in which her team took second in the tournaments. She did AWESOME! I loved watching her play. She is looking forward to cheering and snow skiing this winter. She plays the violin and piano with ease, I am so jealous! She is a great friend to her classmates and I love hearing about every detail of her day each night. She is a beautiful daughter of our Heavenly Father and I am sure he is as pleased as I am.

Shandler is 10 and in the 5th grade this year. She is so busy and would not have it any other way. She dances with a teacher right here in Declo and loves it. Shandler also plays the violin and piano. She plays the piano so easily and the music comes to her with ease. She loves to play duets with Linda and Linda loves Shandler! Shandler spent the summer wake boarding and tried to gain enough courage for a jump over the wake. A major wipe out kept that from happening more than once. She also had another superb year at the fair, riding her horse. We did have a few battles over riding lessons and pattern practices but it paid off with ribbons and two trophies. She is doing so well in school this year and was the top of her class at the last Parent-teacher conference. Her teacher even complimented her dad and I for teaching her to be such a great listener. .. this flabbergasted me... she has very selective hearing at home. She is anxious for snow this year because she has a new snowboard and is excited to learn a new way of getting down the mountain. Shandler is definitely the middle child, but she handles it well, sometimes better than me. She is a burst of energy everywhere she goes and loves life. We could all learn from Shandler. She is growing up and my little girl is changing before my eyes, I am glad she still likes dolls and barbies. She adds so much to our family and we love her, she has a tender spirit that often reminds me how lucky I was to be chosen to be her mother.

Sayger is our little man. He is soooo funny. We all laugh at Sayger and the many comments he makes to send us into rolls of laughter. He is so innocent and it is evident in his questions and comments about life around him. He loves Taekwondo and is doing so well. He is also reading everything he can get his hands on and like his father, he has a skill for math. Lucky kid! Sayger is also taking piano this year, he has a short attention span for sitting at the piano but he is doing well. He is even playing songs that I recognize not just plunking the keys.
Sayger can't wait for snow on the mountain, he wants to ski and this year when we tried on the ski clothes I was amazed at how much he has grown. He will need new stuff. Sayger has also gained a fascination with fishing and hunting. This summer he caught a 17 inch Bass off the dock in our backyard. He continued to fish all summer and often his pleads for assistance became annoying. He caught a carp one day with his Scooby Doo pole and we had to cut the line before it broke the pole. Sayger is a joy in our lives and being our last child he is spoiled rotten and I will be the first to admit it. He is the light at the end of the day when he snuggles up to me and explains what a great mom I am and how much he loves me. I just wish he would slow down and stay little a bit longer.

Kent is my soul mate and I love our life together. He is a wonderful dad. My children are so lucky. Kent certified in an irrigation training this summer and certified in sales training. He is a great territory manager, even though it requires him to travel like he does. He takes care of everything I need at home and sometimes the "honey do" list is long and complicated. I appreciate how much he jumps in and does when he is home. He takes over the taxi driving and there are many times I come home and dinner is ready. I appreciate his work ethic and owe a " thank you" to his parents for teaching him the importance of a job well done. I am proud of his accomplishments and his example to those that associate with him.

We are looking forward to 2009 and thank our Heavenly Father for the many blessings we have. We acknowledge his hand in our lives and the direct influence of the gospel in everything we do. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and may the best be ahead of you in the new year.
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Tuesday, December 9, 2008

The new YELLOW belt!

Mom, please tie it like Mr. Burgess...
Proud little grasshopper!
Look at that grin!!!

Today when Sayger went to Taekwondo Mr. Burgess was pleased to remove his white belt and present him with his Low Yellow belt. Sayger is so pleased. Kent took him to lessons tonight while I was getting a haircut. As soon as he got in the car he called me to tell me all about it. When he arrived home he was thrilled to show me the new belt so we tightened the belt and took a few pictures. You have to love Sayger's grin right now and yes he is very animated. These are the treasures of children and our lives together!
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Martial Arts Testing


November 21st Sayger had Taekwondo testing. They learn and perfect certain forms and their leader invites them for testing whe he feels they are prepared. This was Sayger's first test. He grinned from ear to ear but when it was time to test and spar he really concentrated. Stormie, Shandler and I were all so proud of him( Dad was in Omaha :0(. He is an official member of HTF, paid his dues and will receive his first belt. Mr. Burgess, Mr. Ottley and Sayger posed for a picture after testing. He loves it and I love the discipline and technique it is teaching him.
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Monday, December 8, 2008

5 Women in Utah....


In October we set the date for a Christmas shopping trip in Utah. We planned a weekend when all of the dads would be home to help with the kids, set the time and made out our lists. We left Saturday at 9:00 a.m. and we headed for Utah. First stop Tai Pan. Brandy and Ellen had never been there and for those of you that have... we spent three hours in that store alone. I should have known our purchases at Tai Pan would be enough to fill the car. But we carried on. Next stop Toys R Us and Target. This began the movement and shuffling of several bags, boxes and two lamps. Next stop Layton Mall and guess what, they were having a special sale in the mall that night and it was open until eleven p.m. Luckily, we checked into our motel and emptied the car before we hit the mall. The next morning we used Lori's expertise packing skills and it all fit. We were amazed! However, we still had a few stops-the Gateway Mall and we all know how it turned out. I was driving but Lori, Ellen and Brandy had bags around them and under their feet. When we got home we talked Jason into a photo, it is literally from floor to ceiling in that car. Breathing room only. We all agreed next time Brandy has to take her suburban. We had a great time, lots of laughter, great bargains and extended friendships. We have already planned for next year! Korena went too but she had to drive her own car because of work issues so she was already home when we stopped for this Kodak moment. I just want to say thanks to the girls I had a great time and I love you all! And a huge thank you to our fantastic husbands for holding down the fort and taking care of the kids while we shopped until the car was full!
Check out my cool shoes-we walked so much, the balls of my feet were killing me so Saturday night while at The Children's Place they had these pink lined crocks on clearance, thank goodness for small feet, they fit and I wore them. You would not believe how many people commented on my cool crocks. Yes, they were all positive. And I will wear them again, very comfortable.
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Friday, November 28, 2008

The tree is finished!


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DECORATING!!!

Christmas is my FAVORITE holiday. You can ask anyone that know me! I love it. The day after Thanksgiving is mine for decorating and my entire family knows that on Friday our home is transformed. I have spent years gathering and working to decorate each room. It is a work in progress but I love it. Kent would like it more if there were less plastic tubs under the house to drag out. However, this year I gave up the icicle lights and he was thrilled... He hates the upkeep of those lights. Last year Kenna and Chip cut us a green tree on their trip to the mountains, it was just as tall as this one, and Kent left before I decorated it. I spent two days putting on the lights and just when I reached the end of and began to plug the lights in I had put them on backwards and had no way of plugging them in. I was sick and cranky! I had to take them off and re-do the entire tree. This year Kent was home to help. We started at 5:30 and finished around 8:40. Putting the lights on a tree this tall takes up the most time. I had a new idea this year and tried it on the tree. The tree turned out beautiful! I love it.
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Thanksgiving

Grandma Great's birthday is the day after Thanksgiving so we had a cake for desert. Sayger helped her blow out her candles.She turned 85 this year. We are very lucky and blessed to still have her with us. We all adore her and she means a great deal to us.
Both of my girls love pumpkin pie...or whip cream with a little pumpkin pie ont he side.
Auntie Brooke, Curtis and Uncle Tom. Whew... we just ate!
Every year we celebrate Thanksgiving at Grandma Great's house. She is my grandma Nola. She makes the best turkey stuffing and everyone loves the homemade noodles in the gravy. We all eat, visit, eat some more, sometimes watch the game, eat and visit some more. The kids all play downstairs, cards and various games. This year was a bit quieter than usual. Uncle Dick stayed in Boise and Dakota went to the Matthews. That's okay. It was still yummy, and less people means more left-overs!!! HA! HA!
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We love the game! Go SHOCK!


Shandler was invited to be a player on a traveling team. The travel between Burley, Rupert and Twin Falls. Her team will play into the month of February. Tim and Lori Henrickson are the coaches and they do such a great job. We went to Twin Falls last weekend to watch her play back to back games. Three of the girls on her team had other obligations, so there were no subs. Shandler and her team mates had to play their entire game. Their only rests were time outs! They only lost by six points and they were all exhausted. They played hard! After the game we went to Sonic for a small snack, I warned the girls not to eat to much, since they were the only players there, I did not want to see them throwing up on the court. They were great sports and I know after this first set of games they will practice differently this next week. GO SHOCK!
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Monday, November 24, 2008

Searching for the perfect tree!

Stormie and I scouting out the perfect tree!
They left me!
We found one and Sayger was eager to help out!
One night we were talking about Christmas and Ryan mentioned going to get our own trees, Jason had just finished an article int he magazine too, so this year we all decided to find our own tree in the mountains that are right in our own backyard. With Ryan, Brandy Nicole,Marty, Jason, Lori and all of our kids we spent the day in the mountains of Almo. We took a huge pot of homemade chili, cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate. Jason took family pictures(that is why we all have matching red on) and we had a wonderful day. Stormie, Shandler and Sayger darted all over the mountain searching for the perfect tree. I like a certain kind so I was being picky. Finally we settled on two, I could not choose. In the end the fuller and taller tree won. Brandy was glad I finally picked one because she likes the same kind of tree so she picked the second one I liked. It worked out perfect. Sayger is such a boy too... he was so eager to cut a tree down, he carried the saw and couldn't wait for us to find the tree we wanted. At every tree he would say "How about this one?" -even if the tree was half dead or dried up.It was a great experience and I know it will live in the memories of my children forever. The weather was perfect and there was just enough snow on the ground for it to look like winter. Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday and traditions are an important part, I believe this will now become a family tradition. Thanks to all of our friends for enjoying the day with us we love you all!
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Sunday, November 16, 2008

Super Hero Ice Cream

While bowling the kids always end the night with ice cream treats. Colton and Sayger chose Super Hero. Can you guess what color it was! THANKS JOHN and BETTY. We always enjoy our time with you!
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Bowling Party

John Charles and Betty Jane were here for their annual visit. We always go bowling with John Charles. He makes it so fun! The kids eat pizza, pop and ice cream. They bowl until they wear John out! It is something they look forward to and the countdown is on as soon as we tell the kids they are coming.
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Stormies #1 Fan!

John Charles and the sign!


Each year we have family come to visit from Missouri. They love to do things with our kids. For the last two years John Charles has come to support Stormie while playing basketball. He even makes a sign and cheers and claps for her. At first she was embarassed but this year I think she was looking forward to it. GOOO Hornets!
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Sunday, November 9, 2008

Out of the mouth of babes...

Sometimes Sayger says the craziest things. He is always so honest, as most children are. The other night we were driving home from the Declo playoff game. Stormie was talking about hanging out with her friends, a few of them boys. Shandler commented, she didn't see what the big deal was with Stormie, why do all the boys hang around with her, I don't think she's that cute! Sayger pipes up and says "Stormie I think you are beautiful, even when you have a zit!" And was as sincere as could be. We all laughed while Stormie thanked her little brother for loving her.

On another note, I don't want to forget this one. Stormie loves the movie Enchanted. We watched it most of the summer. One night I told the kids it was bedtime... all the kids were upstairs in Shandler's room, I hear Sayger jump onto Shandler's bed and in a very commanding voice announces to Stormie "Take me to my bed foul beast!" I have never laughed so hard. Stormie and Shandler both collapsed to the floor in laughter and Sayger stood there in amazement. He had given a command and no one was jumping to attention. He was quite serious!

I hope to blog more comments my children make in their innocence!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Halloween-2008


My children love Halloween! They always have. Sayger was a Star Wars action figure, but the school would not allow masks this year so he paraded with out it. He really didn't like it much anyway, he said it made things blurry. However, the gunwas big hit and I was wishing by the end of the night his dad would have never found batteries for it. Shandler was a little devil, which is sometimes closer than we would like. She was very cute and the costume was darling. Stormie was a Cosmic Fairy, but she was at the Declo play off game and was not about to miss it, she had a Halloween party the next night with her friends and looked adorable. We love trick or treating at Grandma Greats, she has wonderful treats. We also like Grandma and Grandpa Kidd's they treat us well!! We had a very fun packed late night-thank goodness the clocks were set back.
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Basketball-8th Grade


Stormie is playing 8th grade basketball! She is definitely not the girl that started basketball in grade school. She used to be afraid of the other players and the ball too, but not now... She is very aggressive and plays hard. We are proud of her and love to watch her play. Go Declo!!!
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Fall-One of our favorites!


One of Kent's new hobbies is photography. He has a new camera is learning the ins and outs from Jason. I loved these pictures of the fall leaves he took in Oregon when he was there for a Dealer Review. Kent"s job has afforded us many things but it is not always easy being a single mom week after week. I am very impressed and have a great admiration for those mothers that do this daily. My hat is off to you! I know at the end of each week my husband will return and family life will continue. I am very proud of Kent and his ability to succeed at everything he does. I am lucky to have a strong personality and the ability to be independent or this would be far harder than it is. There are often days I shed a tear or two or huff in anger as I take care of something I know he would do if he was here. I do owe a great big THANK YOU to my mother who has been my saving grace on a number of occasions. She helps me transport children, get after school snacks and listens to my complaints.
This is one of Kent and I's favorite seasons and we are so thankful for so many things. We love the area we live in. We have such great friends and family. The mountains in front of us and the beauty of the river directly behind us. We love our children, all five, and feel fortunate to be given the opportunity to have raised them and still be raising them. We are thankful for our good health. A very dear family member has been diagnosed with cancer and is facing the battle of a lifetime. This has flooded my mind with memories and fear for the past and future. We are thankful for our good jobs and especially at this time with what the economy is faced with. I think most of all we are thankful for the gospel, for the knowledge we have and can share with our family. We are thankful for our membership in the church, the ability we have to raise our children with the love of Christ in their daily lives and in our homes.
Thank you for taking the time to read our blog! It means you have taken a few minutes of your day to check on us. It is my way of keeping up with my family as I watch them change before my eyes.
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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

6th Annual Halloween Pumpkin Carving Party!


The kids and their carvings! The shadows kind of hinder the view.
Since we moved into this house we have carved pumpkins the week before Halloween. We usually try to make it a FHE event but this year Kent suggested we have friends join us SO it became a party instead. We have a potato bar, in which everyone brings a topping and Kenna always makes pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. They are YUMMY and consumed in seconds. This year we had a contest between the families and their carvings. It was great fun, especially for the kids. They loved it. My family won the Corny Carver-Shandler's Sponge Bob carving and Competitive Carver, Stormie and the three drawing witch. It was a perfect day, with perfect weather. We all had a great time! This year Kent's birthday fell on this weekend too, so we had a cake that nearly caught the garage on fire-just kidding and celebrated his birthday with our friends and family. Thanks for coming!
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6th Annual Pumpkin Carving Party!

Our baby was not impressed with the pumpkin carving this year. Next year she will be all over it. Aunti Brooke was thrilled to take care of her while Kenna carved.
Connie was busy helping Kali.
Brett soon took over.
Jason taking pictures-Suprise, Suprise!
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