Polar Express

Last Friday, the family enjoyed an early Christmas present by going on the "Polar Express" in Heber City. The "Heber Creeper" tries to reenact "The Polar Express" book. Remember, I said tries. Luckily, we had the early departure at 5pm. We were all excited as we walked around the train yard, looking at all the trains and finding our car that we were to journey to the "North Pole" in.



Finally, the train left the yard after all 6 or 7 cars were loaded up and our journey "North", actually south, began. Santa's elves came around with name tags for the kids and asked each child what he/she wanted for Christmas.


Then it was time for one of Mrs. Claus' special chocolate chip cookies and some hot chocolate. After our most tasty snack - NOT - it was time to sing some Christmas Carols and play some games as we made our way further North-actually south! We also read along as a lady in pj's tried to read the book, "The Polar Express." I think she was still "high" from the 70's. For some reason, the train kept stopping and eventually, the lights and heater went out. Come to find out, earlier, when the train was being checked for departure, oil was not added to one of the generators. It was the generator that ran the lights and heaters. NICE!! So, we made another stop to add some oil, then we were on our way north again, actually south. Eventually, we made to the "North Pole" and saw Santa out our windows. Yep, Santa was outside, in the snow, across from the frozen Arctic Ocean (actually it was Deer Creek Res) waving at us. How cool is that? And that was the extent of the trip to the North Pole. But one more surprise was in store for the kids. Santa was too cold out there in the snow, so he jumped aboard the train and rode back to Heber with us! He visited with all the kids and gave each of them a magic bell from the reindeer!
After our amazing train ride to the North Pole-somewhere around Deer Creek Res- we had some dinner in Heber. I highly recommend "Chick's" cafe just off the main drag there. The chicken fried steak dinner is the best and is only $10! Let me tell ya, you eat way more that $10 in food. If nothing else, have a scone! They are the best!! So if you were to ask me if I recommend "The Polar Express" ride in Heber City, I would have to say Yes, only if my kids were around. Please notice that I would be shaking my head "no", hoping that my kids are not watching me. Pull me aside later and ask me for more details. Hopefully, we just had a bad car with really poor entertainment!!

2009 Highlights

Here it is! Sorry that it took so long to put together! There were so many fun pictures to choose from. Wow! What an amazing year we had! I hope you like the slide show and taking a walk down our "2009 Memory Lane!" Enjoy:)

Toby!

I better do a post on the new dog so you can see the little guy. He is such a cutie and a love. He loves to sit in your lap and sleep. He also likes to sit on your feet, he just has to be near someone! I found the little guy online, in West Jordan. I went and saw him last Wednesday, and picked him up Thursday. He spent the night at my Mom's because Cory was out of town and I wanted him to be the first one to see Toby. Friday afternoon, I set Toby on the Cory's computer desk and let the two become acquainted. Right away, Toby licked Cory's ears and head and started nipping at Cory's ears! Later in the afternoon, Toby was introduced to the kids. Tim was so happy. He was, and has been, all smiles since he laid eyes on Toby. I am having one trouble with the new addition to our family though. Toby will only sleep in mine and Cory's bed, and then he sleeps right next to my face or on top of my head. It's like I have a newborn! Toby will never replace Copper; he is our second dog who has brought us a lot of joy and happiness:)

Christmas Tradition!

So, I didn't realize decorating a gingerbread house was a tradition until the other night. In the past, my Mom has helped the kids decorate when Cory and I have gone out. This year, I was home, and my grandmother was in town when we decided to decorate. We buy a kit from the store, usually Costco, and add frosting and candy. The kit doesn't quite have enough candy to satisfy four kids and their creativity! It's so much fun to see the finished gingerbread house! The kids do a great job and have a fun time doing it! Here are some pictures from Wednesday night! Notice how much the kids like candy. The next day, most of the candy was gone!!

Copper

"Life goes on" or so they say! I try to live by those words. However, there are some days that I want to say "Yea, right!" One of those days was this past Friday. I wish I could have frozen Friday morning and skipped right to Saturday, better yet, skipped Friday all together! Our dog Copper passed away Friday afternoon. He was only a year old and we were just 3 short weeks of a year of having him in our family. I keep telling myself that he is just a dog. But for those of you who are dog owners, you know that I am trying to talk myself out of the hurt and great sense of loss that I feel right now. We was a Wright through and through! He is and will be missed a lot!

So now for what happened. Copper went to the groomers Friday morning. Boy did he need a bath and a cut! Around 1:30, we got a call that Copper was at the vet and that someone needed to come right away. Cory went. Copper was already gone when Cory arrived. After Copper had been washed and dried, he started acting quiet and weird. The groomer said he had been good and happy up to that point. She thought he was getting scared, so she picked up and hugged up to try to comfort him. That is when he went limp. Another groomer grabbed him and ran him to the vet just around the corner. The doctor gave him some medicine and tried to get his heart going, but he was already gone. The doctor seems to think that Copper had a genetic problem that caused him to die so quickly, probably a brain aneurysm. Cory said he looked like he just sleeping when he saw Copper. Just that his tongue was sticking out. We decided not to bring Copper home and bury him in the back yard. We wanted the kids to remember their first dog in a good way - happy, playful and full of life! Copper will be cremated. We will not get the ashes, but the vet will send us a frame with a picture of Copper and a bronze copy of one of his paws.

Life does go on, and we will get through this! We just need to remember all the goods times with Copper - like when we left him behind when we went riding and when we went back to get him, he was sitting right were the truck was parked, or how Copper would bark at his reflection in our fireplace and attack the vacuum every time I turned it on. He was so much fun!! We love you, Copper!

Football Champions!

Last night, we attended Tim's football banquet! It was held in a barn, pot luck style. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough room, the kids would have nothing to do, it would be too cold. But, it turned out nice-I left Kelli and Katie home with my mom, the barn was heated and there was plenty of room. Most families left little kids home! After eating all the yummy food, the coaches had each player come up individually and talk about that players' season. It was fun to watch the boys. They didn't know what to do or how to act when being talked about in front of all the parents and their teammates. It was also neat to see the coaches get choked up as they remembered the season! The boys each got a championship trophy for winning the play-offs.


This is Tim getting his trophy and enduring being talked about.



The trophies. The boys' names were on them as well as "Football Champions 2009." Very nice!!


One last picture of the team and coaches! What a fun, amazing football season!!

Addiction!

I am an addict! That is to "In and Out" burgers! Tuesday, after I dropped the twins off at school, I drove by the In and Out in West Jordan. To my surprise, they were open. So, of course, I turned around and had some lunch! Then, on Thursday, I had lunch there again! And today, guess where I had lunch with the kids, Cory and my Dad? Yep, In and Out:) Who can resist a cheeseburger, fresh fries and a Coke? YUMMY!



So, if anyone wants to eat at In and Out, call me!!

Thanksgiving Weekend!

I have to be honest with you all, I DO NOT like the Thanksgiving weekend, that is until this year. As a parent, Thanksgiving is a lot of work! Shopping for the perfect turkey, then cooking the darn thing so it is perfect. UG! Our family lives too far away to visit anyone, so we stay home and think about our family and wonder what fun they are all up to. Maybe I dislike the holiday so much because while I was playing ball at the Y, we traveled every Thanksgiving to different tournaments. We didn't have to cook, we traveled by airplane, and there was always something to do! Spoiled.

So, this year, I had a really bad attitude! That changed quickly Tuesday when I went to visit a friend that I hadn't seen in awhile. Visiting with her made me realize that I have sooooo much to be grateful for and that I needed to sit back and live in the now, not 10 or so years ago!

Thanksgiving Day was great! I got to sleep in, the kids played great together, and the bird was THE BEST!! We had a quiet day, just the six of us and my Mom. While the turkey cooked, the kids played and Cory watched tv, my Mom and I went through the Christmas lights that I later put on our trees. The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was on in the morning and movies were on in the afternoon! Like I said, it was a good day, better than I planned on.

Friday, I got to sleep in again! After the day warmed up a bit, Cory and I took the kids motorcycle riding at Five Mile Pass. When we got there, it was perfect. Warm, somewhat sunny, and very few people around. We found a really neat road up a canyon and headed up that. Unfortunately, the sun went down way too soon, and we had to turn around before we made it to the top of the canyon. Next time we will go straight there! Back at the truck, we had hot chocolate and treats while Cory and I loaded the bikes and gear up. At home, we sat in the hot tub before calling it a night. I tried to take a picture of the canyon we were in, but my camera died as soon as turned it on. Darn it!

Saturday, we got a visit from my older sister and her family. They were in town for Thanksgiving, but celebrated with my brother-in-law's family. It was so good to see them and hang out for awhile. We had lunch together at Red Robin-all 13 of us! Cory and Tim went riding/shooting with my brother-in-law and his 4 boys! That's right four boys and all of them have "D" names - Drew, Dylan, Dakota and Davis! While the boys did their thing, my mom, sister, my girls and I went for some ice-cream and got caught up with life!


Cory, Craig (brother-in-law), Drew, Trisha (sister), Davis, my Mom, and Dakota



Kelli and Dylan on Cory's bike.

Later that night, the kids, Cory and I decorated our Christmas trees! I found some small pine trees a few years back, so I thought it would be neat if the kids each got to decorate their own tree. Cory and I share a tree! The kids really enjoy decorating their own tree!


Our Christmas trees! Don't worry, those aren't presents under the trees. Just decorations!

And to top the weekend off, BYU defeated Utah 26-23! It was a sweet victory! The best part was waking up Sunday morning and seeing a BIG BLUE Y in our neighbors' yard. They claim to be Utah fans, but can you really be a fan if you didn't go to school there? I would say no, but . . . A neighbor a couple of houses down the street had his red U light sign taken down as well. Again, another case of people supporting a school they didn't attend.


Gotta love football rival week!

New Moon!

I totally surprised Makayla Friday night! I had her thinking that she, her friend Haylee, Haylee's Mom and I were all going together to Tim's last football game! I had her wear her "New Moon" t-shirt to school in honor of the movie opening. I also told her that the movie was sold out the entire weekend. So, when Mak and Haylee got in the truck, I handed them the movie tickets and asked them to look them over and make sure the date and time were right for the football game. Mak quickly looked her's over and said, "Yep, 7 o'clock. That's what time the game starts!" Haylee looked her's over too, then started to read out loud with a confused voice and look, "Twilight, New Mo . . . " Both the girls started screaming and jumping up and down. It was the best! I wish I had my camera to take a picture:) Mak and Haylee really liked the movie. I was a little disappointed, but the wolves were awesome, especially Jacob. If I were 18 . . .!

11-0!

That's right, 11-0! Tim's football team went 11-0 this season, winning the championship game this past Saturday! And what a game to end the season! They played the #2 team in our league. The teams battled the whole game. At half-time, the score was only 6-6! A big snow storm came in during the second half. That was heaven sent for our team. The boys played out of their heads. We went up 13-6, then we let Hunter score again, tying the game 13-13! With just a couple of minutes left in the fourth quarter, we scored and made the extra point. 20-13! Hunter was able to get a couple of plays in before we intercepted the ball with 5 seconds left! It was awesome!


This is just after "high-fiving" Hunter. Notice the people in the background all huddled up in blankets. It was beyond cold!


"Celebration Huddle!"

On a side note, my volleyball team had a great night last night. We actually had 6 players and won all 4 games. Life is so good with a great setter and 6 people on the court! We are slowly making a come back, and who knows, maybe we will win the tourney!!

Life!

Just a little update from the last post. Tim and Mak have been off-track (this is their last week off) so life has been crazy around the house. My schedule has been thrown way off, but that is okay. We have survived the past 2 weeks and accomplished a lot. I took this picture last week on the way to taking Kelli and Katie to school. The girls love their older brother so much. Tim is great with the twins. Amazing:)



Friday, I put Tim's bed up on food storage barrels. He loves sleeping "up" and has a ton of storage under is bed now. I also put some shelves up so Tim can display his lego projects. Tim loves legos! He has some really neat sets. So, Tim and I separated all his lego pieces by color and started putting some together. My dining room table has been invaded by legos. At least Tim has something to do this last week of off-track!

Tim's football team played in their first play-off game Saturday. They beat Alta 28-14! So, this Saturday, they play in the championship game against Hunter! What a great season the kids have had:)

Last night, I played volleyball again. It was a repeat performance of last week. Only 5 players, we won 1 of 4 games, and we could have killed the other teams if we had had 6 players. Oh well, hopefully next week will be better!

Fall is here, finally, and the leaves are falling off our huge trees in the back. Raking leaves is a never ending story here. I spent a lot of time last week raking and trimming bushes. Looks like I will be outside again this week. Cory's shop is almost done. Slowly we are putting shelves up and organizing tools. We didn't pass final inspection. Just a few little things have to be done. Kelli and I are both sick, so this week should be a lot of fun. Hope you are all well and enjoying this journey we call life!

Volleyball is Back!

Last night, I started up volleyball again! It felt so good to get on the court and be a part of something that I really enjoy. The last time I played was in June, so I was a little slow getting back into the game. Our team did great considering we had only 5 ladies on the floor and we really didn't have a setter. Luckily, one of the ladies has great hands, so she set. Add to the fact that it's been awhile since we've played and one of the ladies was coming back from shattering her left leg and knee in May. We won only 1 of the 3 games:( They were close games, so if we had had 6 players, we would have done some serious damage! Today, I am feeling not having played for four months. Usually I take about 2 months off in the summer. Tomorrow is another day, so hopefully some of the soreness will be gone. Until then, just smile when you see me limping, holding a part of my body, or forcing a smile. It is so worth it:)

Halloween!

What a busy, but fun day we had! Cory and I went on a "date" in the morning to get things to organize his shop with. Once we get the shop all put together, I will post some pictures. Right now, it is a disaster zone! We also had lunch together! In the afternoon, Tim played in his last regular season football game. His team played the other undefeated team in our league. It was a battle to the very end. But, Tim's team came out on top, 20-12!The team after the game being congratulated by the coaches for being the only undefeated 10year old team from Riverton!

Close-up of Tim after the game. He had some awesome tackles!! Next week we start play-offs! After all the excitement, we went out to dinner with the head coach and his family to celebrate! The head coach happens to be the father of Tim and Mak's best friends, Luc and Haylee! Fourteen of us went to Chili's and had a great time. The food was great! Then we headed home to get ready for "Trick or Treating!" It was crazy trying to get all the kids ready and answering the never-ending ringing of the door bell. We survived and the kids were off with their friends (Luc, Haylee and Sydnee) on the four-wheeler to get some candy! It was so cute seeing Cory ride off with kids on the four-wheeler and behind in the wagon. Too bad it was so dark that I couldn't get a picture! Oh well, I did manage to get a picture of the kids in their costumes before they took off:)


What a frightening bunch of kids! Our neighbors a couple of houses down, had a haunted house for trick-or-treaters to go through. It was a huge hit! All the kids went through, and the older ones went through until 9:30. It wasn't a cheesey haunted house either. It was actually very well done. I screamed a couple of times when I went through! Cory and I finally got all the kids to bed around 11-actually 10 because we set our clocks back. Does that count? And just as Cory and I were drifting off to peaceful sleep, we heard our pumpkins get smashed:(

Cory drove around for awhile, trying to find the kids who smashed the pumpkins. No luck though! I wonder if it was the two boys who rang the door bell, then just stood there and said nothing when I opened the door. I watched them walk away and I didn't say a word. They were probably mad that I didn't through candy at them or something? Oh well, what's Halloween without some pumpkin smashing?

Katie's Best Day Ever!

This morning, Katie came into my bedroom all excited because her loose tooth finally came out!

The morning was going fine when disaster struck. The kids and I were attempting to make some Frankenstein suckers when we heard a thud and Katie started screaming and crying. For those of you who have been in our house, she was swinging between the couch and table on the main level. She lost her footing and took a head dive onto the tile floor.
This is Katie's chin before we took her to the hospital. I took one look at it and knew right away that she would need stitches. It was deep and you could see pockets of fat. I almost lost my lunch!
Here's Katie chilling out at the hospital. Luckily we didn't have to go to Primary Children's. Jordan Valley was able to take care of us. When we got to the hospital, the nurse put a numbing agent on Katie's chin and let it sit there for about half an hour. She is totally relaxed in this picture because the medicine was working and the tv was on! Plus, she missed school.

This is the cut right after injecting more numbing medicine. She cried, screamed and kicked during the first couple of injections. But after awhile, she couldn't feel anything. Thank goodness.

Five stitches later! Actually, it wasn't that easy. Part of the numbing stuff got washed out when the nurse was cleaning the wound. So halfway through, she felt the procedure. The nurse had to re-numb her, finish up with the stitches, and then redo the first stitch. Poor girl, she was so brave.

And this is Katie earlier this evening showing off her best day!

What in the World!

Tim and his friend, Luc, has a sleep over last night. (The kids are off-track for awhile.) I was in the basement watching tv when the boys came down with their pj's like this. I laughed so hard that I cried! Total nerds:) Tim would have a fit if he knew that I posted this picture, but I couldn't resist!

Pumpkin Carving

The other night, we had our annual pumpkin carving FHE! It was a lot of fun! I love the carving packets that you see in the stores. They include patterns that kids can easily copy onto the pumpkin and great tools to cut, scrape and carve the pumpkins. All the tools are kid friendly, safe and work great!

Kelli and Katie copying their faces.

Makayla and Tim copying their patterns.

Makayla getting ready to carve.

What boy wouldn't be excited to "cut" into something?


The end result! Tim's is the scary face at the top. Next is Kelli's happy face. Then Makayla's ghost. And Katie's kitten is at the bottom. The kits this year came with plastic eyes that you put in after you carve the pumpkin. They are really cool. This year, I put orange and purple string lights in the pumpkins. No worries about a flame going out or a battery dying. The only thing I have to worry about this year is the pumpkins lasting til Halloween!

Too Cute!

Just had to share this picture with you all! This was a couple of weeks ago, but it shows how fond Cory and Copper are of each other. This was not "set" up by anyone. I was in the kitchen doing something, probably dishes, when Tim came up to me and said, "Come look at Dad and Copper." So I followed Tim into the living room and found this on the floor. Of course, I had to snap a picture!

Copper was born one year ago today! However, we didn't get Copper until Christmas Eve. What a great gift! The kids love him so much, almost too much at times. Copper is so patient with the kids. He loves to play fetch and run around after people, or from people! Copper especially likes to attack hands and hair! Amazingly, our house survived a puppy. Copper was house trained by the end of January, and has had very little accidents since then. He does like to throw up though! As you can see, Copper has changed a lot since we first got him. We love him through all the change! Happy Birthday Copper!Copper Christmas Morning!Copper today!

Fire Station Field Trip

Monday, Kelli and Katie went on their first field trip. The school they go to went to a fire station in Sandy. There, they learned all about fire safety, including what happens when you call 911, what you should and shouldn't play with and the "stop-drop-n-roll" song. The fire station even had puppets that sang songs to the kids. That was a huge hit! I have to say, I was impressed and learned a few things myself!Kelli and Katie with their class and teacher on the fire truck!Katie and Kelli. Notice how tall Katie is now!Kelli and Katie to the rescue!