CHRISTMAS WISHES 2010!

 Christmas Morning....7:00am...yes, I won out this year.  The kids were pushing for a 5:00am wake up time.  But I was feeling tired and WISHING FOR more sleep so I SUGGESTED a 7:00am wake up time and they all lovingly agreed.  So, this is why 3 of the 4 kids are already dressed.  They were up since about 5:00am waiting until 7:00am so they could wake us up...so they got dressed, ready for the day...what sweet, good, kids to wait for us!! And I got my wish of 2 extra hours of sleep!!

Karissa asked for a selection of GAMES and SHE GOT HER WISH!

We've had a lot of fun playing them with her this past week!

Kelsi asked for a SURPRISE..she got an IPOD shuffle,
and Star Wars Books...

...just what she was wishing for!
She reads the Star Wars books to Sam at bedtime...and Sam LOVES it!...so he got an extra wish!

Jacob was wishing for an IPOD TOUCH.  He even contributed $100.00 that he left out for Santa, along with a Christmas pillow he made for Santa.  He got his wish, and is LOVING his present!

Star Wars, yep, that's what Sam wished for....STAR WARS...and 'Dexter', the Dog--Sam's newest friend.

He got a very cool star wars ship, which is 3 times bigger than he pictured it would be----nice surprise for Sam. He also got Mighty Muggs Star Wars General Grievous, 

and a Star Wars Blanket, which just might be his favorite!

Let us not forget, the coolest double light saber for Sam!  

And Bryan got his wish when Sam said:
"I don't want any batteries in it." 

I've been wishing for some sort of jewelry box for some time now.  

I got more than I wished for when Bryan built me
this custom made jewelry organizer
in one of the shelves in my closet.  Loving it!

Bryan was the most SURPRISED when Santa left him
a Blue-ray player...
he's been wishing for that for a while.
He was very happy to get his wish!

We asked the kids to not buy any gifts for us this year, but to either give us homemade gifts or gifts of service.  Karissa made us these cool hats.  Jacob made us gingerbread cookies.  Sam made us a new 'dish job chart', and Kelsi made us coupon books.
WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF OUR CHRISTMAS WISHES!

BUNNY SNOW CAVE

The snow melted...and the awesome snow fort sunk.  Sam still went outside and played all day in the snow again...sliding down the remains of the fort like a slide.  Then, Kelsi brought our bunny, Angel, out to play in the snow, and Angel, Sam, and Kelsi dug a BUNNY SNOW CAVE FOR ANGEL!

FUN SNOW PICS!

Happy Snow Day!

So we finally got some CHRISTMAS SNOW!  What a fun day.  The kids have been having a lot of fun playing in it.  Bryan took the boys on sleigh rides behind the 4-wheeler...and then snow plowed many a driveways and side walks.  Bryan also helped Kelsi, Jacob and Sam build an AWESOME SNOW FORT! FUN TIMES!

Thanksgiving and Shopping--they go together, right?

We had a great thanksgiving dinner--Bryan was GREAT and cooked the majority of it. It turned out delicious--the stuffing was amazing! We really enjoyed the long break and played a ton of games and watched movies, and of course, shopped.

Karissa and I had GREAT, CRAZY FUN at black Friday. We started at 9:00pm Thurs. night and shopped 'til 12noon on Friday! First off, we stood in line for 3 hours to get our trampoline--and we did get it!--we were 2nd in line :) It just got better from there on. We were very focused :) and stuck with our plan---got all we had planned to get, except for the Scooter Karissa wanted at Target---because Target was complete madness. But it all worked out because she found something even better at Smith's, our last stop. We hit Wal-mart a few times...Target, Old Navy, Justice, Kohl's, Roberts, Big Lots, and Smiths.
And I must say, Wal-mart was the most organized and most pleasant. We managed to stand in lines of 5-10 min. or less---we were FAST. Except Target---that was our 1 hour line.

BUT our BEST stop was at Chick-fil-a where we got a COMPLETELY FREE and DELICIOUS breakfast, including the best peppermint shakes! The moment we walked in we were handed coupons---we used them with other coupons I had---and our complete meal was FREE, and they were even kind enough to make Karissa french fries at 7:00am. Chick-fil-a is my new favorite restaurant!

Bryan's now working on building a mini-smoker for us. It's a pretty intense project, and as a sacrifice our vehicles have been out in the cold, snow---but he's been very good to help scrape windows for us and drive kids to school. And Jacob has been having fun shoveling cement---we have at least twice as much cement now! It reminds me of when Jacob used to beg to load the dishwasher because it was so much fun. I wonder how long shoveling cement will remain 'fun'!

THANKSGIVING DINNER 2010

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 2010

We can thank Jacob that we have pumpkins to carve this year.  He was very persistent in asking me to take him to get a pumpkin to carve.  It's been really busy so I kept putting it off.  But he wasn't about to give up.  So the morning of Halloween Jacob and I headed out on a hunt for pumpkins.  And as you might have guessed, EVERY story was out of them, with the exception of Wal-mart who had small pre-painted, over-priced ones.  We bought one of Wal-mart's pumpkins just in case we couldn't find anything else on the rest of our hunt.  Just as we were about to head to more stores, I remembered a garden stand that is sometimes by the gas station...I turned around and headed to the Garden Stand.  Just as we pulled up they were unloading a trailer full of pumpkins--the last load of the season.  Jacob had GREAT FUN picking out the best pumpkins for him and all his siblings--and we got all the pumpkins for under $10.  Needless to say, it made Jacob's day, and I feel that a little prayer in his heart was answered.  We're blessed with promptings and guidance in even the smallest details of our lives.

They all had FUN carving pumpkins!

Sam as Darth Vader.

We almost didn't go trick or treating this year because of Sam's allergies to all the candy.  Then, we had an idea....Sam could turn all his candy in for MONEY.  He ended up with $10 which he gave to Jacob to buy a Star Wars Lego set.  Total WIN-WIN!

Jacob, as 'Smartie Pants' and our designated 'treat passer outer'!

I think Jacob had more fun passing out candy---he spent half the time trick or treating and half the time passing out candy.

BACK TO SCHOOL 2010

WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT TODAY?

When my kids stood at the foot of my bed with big smiles on their faces at 6:00am this morning, I thought it must be Christmas morning. After all, isn't Christmas morning the one time each year, that your kids wake you up with smiles?
Well, after my brain rebooted and I could assure myself it wasn't Christmas...although today may be some close competition...it became clear to my recollection that today is Star Wars Day!

When we were having a random family council about what to do with our last week of summer, the most exciting idea was to have a Star Wars Day. This entails watching all six Star Wars movies in one day. I'm hoping not too many brain cells die, and it looks like it'll be a great way to conclude summer vacation.

Anyhow, the kids get to watch Star Wars all day, and I'm off to meetings at the Preschool. It seems like since the beginning of this week, I've hit overload. There is so much going on in my life and in my brain right now...to say the least, I'm just a bit overwhelmed.

The boys finished their last week of swimming lessons...they did so GREAT! I've loved their teacher this year and so have they--it's been their most positive swimming experience yet.

The girls and I walked the junior high halls helping Kelsi find all of her classes. Wow!--2 in junior high!---next thing I know I'll have 2 in college...time is just flying by!

I did the finalizing of my purchase of a new violin and I love it! I'm so excited...it's something I've wanted for a long time. And I'm really looking forward to taking violin lessons this fall!

We're in quite the mess lately as our bedroom area is in 'ruins' as we're in the middle of a 're-model'...but it's an exciting change. The closets are finished and waiting for me to paint them.. Only problem is that right now is the worst timing possible for me to do something like paint closets! Hopefully, I'll find some time sooner than later.

Well, I'm off to tackle the tasks of today. It's all good...just reminding myself to ENJOY LIFE ONE DAY AT A TIME!

WE LOST A DEAR FRIEND.

March 13, 2009 - July 17, 2010

Our sweet bunny, Oreo, passed away last Saturday.
He was the best bunny ever. We all loved him and we all miss him a lot.

Here are some of our favorite memories:

His favorite place to sit and relax was under our apple tree. When he got loose, the first place he'd always go was under the apple tree. He liked to eat apples too.
He loved to eat raisins, raspberries, and peaches, and dandelions.
He would always listen to us because he would sit and look at you when you talked to him, instead of other bunnies who would turn around and eat grass or dig a hole or something.
He would nod in response to your questions.
We dressed him up in his 'bunny clothes', although that was not his favorite thing.
He would lick you...and give you kisses. He loved us so much.
He was very curious, and lovable, and cute, even though he ate some of our strawberry plants---which grew back anyway.
He was so fun to hold, and he always liked being held.
He loved his bunny mansion, custom built by our dad.
He loved to play at the park, and everyone would come over to see cute Oreo.
He loved to play in the snow--he would dig holes and burrow in it.
He was pretty obedient for a bunny. One time Sam brought Oreo to class for show-n- tell and Oreo obeyed every command Bryan gave him.
His favorite color was green.
As you can see, he was great at posing for pictures.
He was a loyal, loving friend, who brought much happiness to our family.

We are going to plant clovers over his burial spot because we got him in March.
We do not believe in superstitions because he was the luckiest bunny ever, and we got him on Friday, the 13th.
We're grateful we could have Oreo as our bunny.
With love to our bunny,
Bryan, Mindy, Karissa, Kelsi, Jacob, Sam

Blake Reunion Summer 2010

DISNEYLAND VACATION 2010

IT'S GREAT TO SEE!

Jacob is VERY excited to be seeing better with his NEW GLASSES!

Blue and Gold Banquet--100 years!

So the Boy Scouts of America Association is 100 years old and Jacob is 10 years old! Our Blue and Gold Banquet was on the same day as Jacob's Birthday. Each of the boys decorated a cake for centerpieces at the banquet. Jacob had a lot of fun decorating his. The whole night was full of fun and games and balloon making. And Jacob was welcomed into Weeblos!

Jacob with his cake.

AWESOME decorating job Jacob!