A very memorable Christmas

We have had a wonderful past several days.  And now there are only 3 more days until the wedding!!!!  I'm so excited for the big day.  Needless to say, this will be my last post until the wedding is over. . . I have much to do on my "to do" list, but it's all good and fun.

On the 23rd, the kids all went skiing together and had a great time.  There are three snowboarders (Ky, Cam and Brad) and three skiers. On Christmas Eve day, I made red and green french toast for breakfast, then we all (except for Brad who left on the 23rd to spend Christmas with his family) had a fun afternoon playing games and accumulating points to be used towards the prize table later in the evening.  Jess was the big winner followed closely by Brody.  We played Wyoming Rummy, nic nic, pictureka, look up, dip dip dip, and the clapping game.

We spent an enjoyable Christmas Eve at Tom and Freda's along with every single person in the family except for Brad and Teresa's oldest boy Cameron.  It was awesome to all be together.  We had a tasty meal, then played several fun games.

We were divided into 5 teams.  The first game, we had to be the first to make a person into a "real" looking snowman using one roll of TP.  Cam's team got extra points by using a carrot nose.  Then we had 10 minutes to make a pinewood derby car using 2 candy canes, a hershey bar, some chocolate coins, lifesavers and 30" of masking tape.  Everyone took this task quite seriously.  It was fun to watch them race down a slanted table.  Our team was victorious!  All the kids went in on a flat screen TV for Freda to have in her bedroom.  She was surprised and excited- and therefore shed a few tears!  No one was surprised. . .

We came home at 10 to play our traditional hide the pickle on the tree game, and family trivia.  Ky was the winner on trivia, and Mike on the pickle game.  Santa surprised the family on Christmas morning with surround sound for the family room!  We can't wait to get it installed and start enjoying it.  We had a wonderful time together opening gifts and being together.

Later that morning, we spent several hours at the Skeens with them and Sara and Jaken eating a tasty breakfast and playing 4 square and wall ball in their gym.  I love that they have that gym!  It was so much fun.

It's hard to believe another Christmas has come and gone.  I love this time of the year, and am so grateful that we can pause and take time to reflect on the birth of the Savior.  I loved all the family time and think that spending time with loved ones is the best gift of all.

Party!

We have been so busy the past several days having fun with Kylee and Brody-and lots of other family.  It's been awesome!  I don't want it to end!   I uploaded my pictures backwards, so I'll tell about the most recent activity first.  On Tuesday night, Gary and Nancy had a lovely dinner party in honor of Haley who was visiting from D.C.  It was great seeing and spending time with her.  We enjoyed a sleigh ride, ate a delicious meal, and played several fun games.  The six of us entertained ourselves for awhile having fun taking awkward family pictures.  It cracks me up looking at them- and it was even funner taking them.  Thanks Linny for being our creative photographer!

This one wasn't awkward (right?) but a cute one of everyone.

Kylee, Brody, Jess, Brad and Andy entertained themselves for far too long in the kiddie room at Gary and Nancy's. They had a blast sliding and rolling down this little hill. It was entertaining to watch.

It was nice to visit and catch up on everyone's lives.

Earlier that day, Lindsey gave Jessica a family bridal shower at the Skeen residence. It turned out so great!  The theme was "something blue" and so the decorations, some gifts, most people's clothes, and Jessica's hair reflected that!  So creative and clever! Good job Linny!  We ate, played games, gave marriage advice, and opened presents.  They got some great stuff!  Thanks ladies for coming and being so supportive.  We missed you Carol and girls!

Besides all the DARLING decorations, notice the awesome cake Kylee made!  Didn't she do a great job?  It was sad to cut it up and eat it- but we have the pictures, so we were able to.

Monday night, Ann organized a sisters cookie exchange. We missed Von and Mom for that, but had fun the 4 of us. We met at Bajio for dinner, then went to Ann's to exchange the dozen cookies we brought for each other.  We also made caramels and fudge.  It was a fun night.

The Bundy's came over Sunday for dinner and an evening of games, then Lindsey and girls spent the night and Lindsey helped with some wedding stuff on Monday.

We had a blast Sunday night playing candy bar guessing game, Christmas song guessing game, perfection, memory game, dip, dip, dip, clapping game, signs, sardines, and scum. 

We also ate a tasty meal.

It won't come as a big surprise to hear- with all the activities and fun I've been having the past 3 days- that I completely forgot to turn in Jess and Brad's information and picture for a wedding announcement to appear in this Sunday's newspaper.  AHHHHHHHHHHH!  I'm so mad/sad about that.  We may do one after the fact- we'll see.

I'm sure I'll have lots more fun and memorable activities to report on in the coming week and a half, then I'm afraid it's back to normal life. . . oh wait- that is after my weekend trip to Arizona the first weekend in January to stay with Kylee while Brody's in Brazil for 3 weeks!

Mike, Jake and Cam's Excellent Adventure

Mike and the boys had a grand adventure going to the MNFB game between the AZ Cardinals and the San Fran 49ers on November 29th..   The boys went to their first three classes on Monday, then Mike picked them up, they drove to SLC, and flew to Phoenix.  Kylee was there to pick them up, take them to Glendale for some lunch at her apartment, then drop them off at the game (which is 10 minutes from her apt.)  They loved the game, even though the Cardinals got beat (sad for Jake, happy for Mike and Cam.)  They had a great time.

The next day, Kylee took work off so she could spend the day with them. They all went shopping for awhile at a mall and had lunch, then met up with Brody for some rock climbing.  That night they had dinner and watched a movie.  When I asked Mike what movie it was, he struggled to remember the name of it and came up with "the weather calls for cheeseburgers."  I said "do you mean 'cloudy with a chance of meatballs?'"  Hahahaha  that made me laugh for the rest of the day!

I'm so glad Mike and the boys were able to have this fun time together, and to get to see Kylee and Brody as well.  I hope they remember how great this was on Christmas Day when they have a lot less gifts to open!

In other news. . . it's 6 days until Christmas, and 12 days until the wedding!  I have to say- getting ready for Christmas and planning for a wedding hasn't been as stressful as I would have thought.  So far.  There are still a lot of things to cross off on my wedding to-do list, so the tides could change.  It's been a joy to do it all, and I wouldn't change a thing.  It's wonderful to have Kylee and Brody here now, and to enjoy time together as a family of eight now.

Thanksgiving weekend

What a great Thanksgiving week we had.  It started off on Tuesday with the big 2010 blizzard.  School was let out at noon because the storm was predicted to arrive at 3:00.  Sure enough, by 3:20, it came, and lasted until about 7:30.  Wind, 5" of snow, and white-out conditions made for a fun afternoon!  Mike had a hard time getting home from work, but after that, we all enjoyed staying inside and watching a Harry Potter movie.

On Thanksgiving day,  we surprised the boys with an early Christmas present.  We told them we had to drive to find it, and that they had to be blindfolded (sad for them that they thought we were taking them to pick out a puppy at some breeders house. . .).  We then proceeded to drive around aimlessly for 15 minutes, only to end up back at our house!  We had wrapped airplane tickets along with tickets to the upcoming MNFB game in Arizona between the Cardinals and 49ers.  They were sooo excited!  They had a great time at the game last night, and are enjoying a day with the Hatch's today before flying home in the morning.

On the way down to the Weyerts for Thanksgiving dinner, we stopped at the movie theater where Lindsey and Ryan were attending the 12:00 showing of Harry Potter #7 to decorate their jeep for Lindsey's 30th birthday.  Since the high for the day was in the teens, we were quick about it!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner with the Weyerts, Weyerts and Nelsons.  Mike slaved away all morning making two amazing apple pies!  Jake even got into the action by making a tasty key-lime pie.  That evening, Jess and Brad went to Willard to be with Brad's family, and me, Mike and the boys came home, put up our tree, and watched Harry Potter 6. 

 Cam was asked to play in a Thanksgiving tournament in Brigham City on a team of boys a year younger.  They had won their game the Saturday before in the rain/sleet/snow, so were happy the day after Thanksgiving that all they had to contend with was the COLD.  And I do mean cold- and a frozen playing field.  I don't think anyone was too sad that they lost and didn't have to play the next day. .Prior to the game, I did some black Friday shopping by myself, then with the boys for a few hours.  After Cam's game, we had leftovers with Tom and Freda, then watched another Harry Potter movie-

Saturday, all 4 of us did some good deep cleaning for most of the morning.  It's great to get help from the family and not have it to do all on my own!  I attended a nice family bridal shower in Brigham City with Jessica that Brad's family gave her.  Then that night, we all 6 went to the new Harry Potter movie!  It was great to see it after watching all the movies in past week.  It was a great movie, and I'm anticipating part 2 even more now. It snowed most of the day Sunday, and we were left with another 14-16" of snow by Monday morning.  It was a beautiful, sunny, blue sky day once the storm passed, and I rather enjoyed seeing all the beauty of winter.  It's a great time of year to reflect on my many blessings and the things I'm so very grateful for--- family, the gospel, friends, good health, a free country and so many more.

bargin shopping

There's not much I love more than getting a good deal at the store.  Even the grocery store.  This week Smiths had some great deals, and with the addition of a few coupons, I came away with $100 worth of stuff for the amazingly low price of $33.10!!!  Can you say WOW?  Now granted, most of these items are things we don't really NEED, but when you can get  2 liters of the best soda that's only available during the holidays for 40 cents, wouldn't you get 10 or so of them like I did?  I'll hide them in a cooler in the garage, and forget about them, then it will be a nice surprise this summer when I come across them (that's happened before, and it was great!).

I love getting good deals on clothes, household goods, beauty products, sporting good- you name it. This week at Kohls, I had an extra 30% off everything coupon, plus for every $50 you spent, you got $10 back in Kohls cash. I went with all three kids, plus Brad there on Thursday night to get some needed items, plus a few Christmas gifts.  When we were ready to check out, I realized I didn't have my jacket which I remembered having about 10 minutes before.  So I retraced my steps, but it had vanished.  I've been back three times to check in the lost and found and retrace my steps again.   I wouldn't be that concerned about a lost jacket (although it's a cool one Kylee brought me from Alaska) BUT, my CELL PHONE was in the pocket. . .AHHHHHH  I'm sooo upset.  If it was stolen, whoever has it hasn't used the phone, but no one answers when I call it.  Where did it go?  It's a mystery but I"m not ready to get a replacement phone just yet.  I'm still hoping for a miracle. 

Engagement and Birthday

There have been some very exciting things happening at our home the past few days.  First off, and most exciting, is JESSICA & BRAD got engaged Saturday night!!!  It was so fun to be a part of the planning and surprise.  Since they met at a Halloween party a year ago at our house, Brad wanted to propose at a Halloween Party at our house this year.  So even though this means they'll only be engaged for exactly TWO MONTHS, I think it's so fun that he waited and did it the way he did.  He had her convinced that the ring wouldn't be ready for another 3-4 days, so she was totally surprised.  (This picture is a re-enactment since I was downstairs at that special moment)

 I love that they're in their Halloween costumes!  They were so cute and happy for the rest of the night.  It happened while their friends were out on a picture scavenger hunt, so they had fun showing and telling when they all got back.

Jake celebrated his 17th birthday on the 29th.  Can it be?  We had a nice family dinner along with Grandma Freda and Aunt Stacie, Jaxon and Sidnie.  We excused Grandpa Tom since he had the really great excuse of being gone to the WORLD SERIES game in San Francisco!  How fun for him!  Most of Jake's gifts were candy and gift cards.  He also got a PS3 game.

 Jessica and Brad gave Jake this picture frame full of funny pictures he has taken on Jessica's Mac computer.  That boy can entertain himself for a long time on that thing.  If you know Jake very well, you know he loves to make funny faces.  We've all had some great laughs over what he comes up with.

I am so thrilled to have Brad as a member of our family.  Even though it won't be "official" until December 31st, it's felt like he's been one of us for awhile now.  I love how he treats Jessica, how he's easy and fun to talk to and be around, how well he gets along (and tolerates) the boys, how he enjoys doing what we enjoy doing, what a hard worker he is, how even tempered he is, and how polite, kind and funny he is.  Good job Jess with finding such a wonderful guy!

Harry Potter Trivia

I have a love affair with Harry Potter.  I've read all 7 books many times.  I adore them.  Love the movies.  Love the characters.  Love talking about it with other lovers.  When I was a leader in Young Womens, there were times when the first part of my lesson was devoted to talking about the most recent book or movie (because the Laurel class was full of devotees).  I have to say as excited as I am about part one of "The Deathly Hallows" coming out in a few short weeks (AHH!!!!), part of me is quite depressed about it because it means after just one more movie, it's over and done. Nothing new to look forward to anymore.  So, in honor of the movie coming out in less than a month, I thought I'd share my list of character names that have the same letter for first and last names.  I wonder if JK did this many on purpose?  Without further adeu, here is my list:

*Manerva McDonagall
*Severus Snape
*Mad-Eye Moody
*Dudley Dursley
*Peeves the Polterguist
*Nearly Headless Nick
*Poppy Pomfry
*Dedalus Diggle
*Pansy Parkinson
*Padma Patil
*Parvati Patil
*Luna Lovegood
*Colin Creevey
*Bloody Baron
*Moaning Myrtyl
*Cho Chang
*Gregory Goyle
*Florean Fortescue
*Ted Tonks
*Salazar Slytherin
*Rowena Ravenclaw
*Godric Griffindor
*Helga Hufflepuff
*Bathilda Bagshot
*Gellert Grindelwald
*Peter Petegrew


Can you think of any I've missed?

Fall Break Weekend

We had such a great fall break this past weekend.  On Friday, Me, Mike, Jess, Brad and the boys headed down to SLC to walk around beautiful temple square and shop at the Gateway.  We then headed down to the Romneys to spend the night and the following day. It was so fun to see their "new" house after their 2 month long remodel.  It's amazing!  On Saturday morning, Mike and I joined Rick for a grueling hike to the "Y."  It was a killer, but I"m so glad I did it as it's something that's been on my bucket list for awhile. We then ate a yummy breakfast in their nice, new dining room, then we all 8 went on another hike to Stewart Falls!  This one was much easier, and so beautiful with the fall colors.  By the end of that hike, I was ready to rest.  But that was not to be, as the Romneys then sponsored a fun fall party joined by the Caspersons and Searles.  We had a great time playing kickball, four square, around the world ping-pong, pumpkin carving, and eating a delicious meal.

 

Thanks, Romneys for planning so many fun activities in a short time!  It was fun to be together with everyone! Now back to reality tomorrow. . .

Weekend Fun

My friend Nan and I hiked this gorgeous mountain last week.  I was in heaven!  It was so beautiful.  There's nothing better than being out in nature.  It was a strenuous 10 mile hike that took us about 5 hours. I can't wait for our next one.

The day after the hike, I had a wonderful weekend spending time with Mom, Janet, Von and Carol in Yellowstone Park and Jackson Hole.  Mom had the brilliant idea of taking a trip down memory lane, since Yellowstone is where we spent our summer vacations growing up.  It was so fun go to all the old places and enjoy talking about all the fun times we had.  It was neat to stay at the historic 100 year old Old Faithful Inn.  The weather couldn't have been better, and it wasn't very crowded anywhere.  In Jackson we attended the Bar J Wranglers, and thoroughly enjoyed that.  It was a great get-away made possible by Mom.  Thanks again Mom!  It was so much fun. We missed you Ann.

Yummy produce, fun hike, and good reading

One of the best features of our house, I feel is our backyard, and in our backyard, my favorite things are our fruit trees.  It is sooo divine to take just a few steps, and pick a lovely, delicious piece of fruit to eat.  I also love our garden which Mike so lovingly plants and tends.  Here are some pictures of what we're enjoying right now.  If you're worried that I won't remember you when it comes to giving away the pears and apples, don't be shy to let me know you want some!

Yesterday Jess, Brad, Ann and Trace joined Mike and I on a delightful hike to Temple Fork Saw Mill. The leaves are changing, and I dare say that you won't find a more beautiful sight in very many other places of the world than fall in Logan Canyon. . .

I just finished reading Pride & Prejudice for the first time.  I've loved the movie for years, but never attempted the book.  Now I'm wishing we all talked more like this. . . "we must stem the tide of malice, and pour into the wounded bosoms of each other the balm of sisterly consolation." or "and though she was not very sanguine in expecting it, the application was a something to look forward to." or "no arguments shall be wanting on my part, that can alleviate so severe a misfortune; or that may comfort you, under a circumstance that must be, of all others, most afflicting to a parent's mind." and lastly, the most eloquent way of putting someone in their place. . . "Allow me to say, Lady Catherine, that the arguments with which you have supported this extraordinary application have been as frivolous as the application was ill-judged.  You have widely mistaken my character, if you think I can be worked on by such  persuasions as these.  How far your nephew might approve of your interference in his affairs, I cannot tell; but you have certainly no right to concern yourself in mine.  I must beg, therefore, to be importuned no further on the subject."  Go Elizabeth!!!  I love her!  And I love, love, love the love story between her and Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Labor Day weekend

We have had a really fun-filled Labor Day weekend.  I uploaded my pictures in the wrong order, so I'll start with today and go backwards.  This morning, we ate a delicious big breakfast at home, then went on a fun bike ride along the Logan river trail.  Jake missed out because he had to work on the last day the Aquatic center was open.  He felt really bad about it---- we then joined the Ericksons, Caspersons, Petes and Bundys at the Skeens for lunch and some games and visiting.  We dropped by the Griffin farm on the way home to show Brad around, and came away with some good produce from the garden.  We stopped for a Zeppe galata on their opening day.  We're so excited they're in Providence now.

We had a fun time going swimming to the Logan pool after a hot day of camping/hiking.  It was extra fun that Jake was working, especially when he got to catch the little kids coming down the twirly slide.We had a great time camping with everyone we were with today with the addition of Carol, Tanner and Taylor for a few hours.  Friday night we ate delicious tin foil dinners, and played ultimate frisbee in the pitch dark.  It was a little crazy, but fun.  On Saturday, we played more games, and went for a hike to Rosys mine.

We had a never-to-be-forgotten experience seeing a rattlesnake in real life.  After our hike on Saturday, we were driving back to our campground, and the kids could hear the snake in the rocks off to the side of the road.  We stopped to check it out and take pictures.  The camp host came before long with his shovel, and we got to watch while he wacked the snakes head off and buried it, (since the snake can still bite 24 hours after he's been decapitated!  Who knew?) then he cut his rattler off and gave it to Caleb.  The snake body was still moving for an hour afterwards.  It was quite the show!  The picture below the kids in the pickup is when we first saw the snake, and the one on top is after he'd been tortured.

After such a great weekend, it will be extra hard to get back in the swing of school and work tomorrow!