Holiday Visitors

We've had a lot of family come in and out of our house since the "holidays" began. At Thanksgiving, my Dad and brother ate turkey with us. During Christmas, we had Cory's Dad and his wife with us. And then there was the big Christmas Eve dinner. The Sunday before Christmas, we had some more visitors. My aunt and her "friend" came for a couple of days. Sunday night, we had a big dinner at the house and the kids got to open some gifts from my aunt. They each got a new article of clothing, some candy and a little something extra!The kids were so happy to finally open a present!
Monday, while the kids were in school, the adults went to the movies. That night, all 10 of us went to dinner at Chili's. Here is my Mom, me, my aunt and my grandma all dressed up for a night on the town :) Do we look Polish or what?
Tuesday morning, the adults had a late breakfast at Village Inn. Then we went back to the house and hung out until my aunt and friend left for the airport. Even though it was a short visit, it was nice to see my aunt and meet her friend. The kids loved the gifts and hearing about the "Christmas Spider!" Still waiting for the spiders to put in the trees :)

Christmas 2010

We had a great Christmas. Around 6:30 in the morning, I heard T&M come up the stairs to K&K's room. They stayed in there til 7, like we told them too! Santa had placed their stockings by their beds, so they stayed busy. Then, I heard the countdown to come and get Cory and I up! It was so cute :) This is what we found when we came downstairs!Mak was pretty excited to see that Santa had come :)
Tim reading a letter from Santa explaining one of his gifts with Kelli and Katie checking things out in the background.
Toby's stocking was full as well. He got some treats and a couple of new toys!
Katie and Kelli in new outfits playing their new DS.
Makayla and Tim playing a new game with Cory's Dad.
Later in the day, my Mom and Grandma came over. Here is my Grandma with her loot. She's just like a little kid opening gifts.
All the kids got skateboards for Christmas. I only got a picture of Kelli and Katie with their new boards though.
And to end the day, we had a fire in the backyard to burn the packages that some of the gifts came in. Maybe this will be a tradition that we do. Next year we'll just add some hot dogs and marshmallows to the event!

Christmas Eve

A couple of years ago, we decided to have our big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve instead of on Christmas day. It has worked out quite well and I am in better spirits as I don't have worry about cleaning up the house right away and getting a big dinner on the table. Now we just snack all day and throw a pizza in the oven if the kids get too hungry. This year was no exception! We invited family over for a ham dinner with all the trimmings - green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, jello, salad, rolls and our "special" drink. It was awesome. And for dessert, I made pumpkin and apple pies and we bought a triple berry pie from Village Inn :) The food was unbelievable, the company was the best and the memory will not be forgotten! Check us out!Rick (Cory's Dad), Annette (Rick's wife), Cory (nice face!), Kelli, Carol (my aunt), Tim, Aileen (my cousin), Carter (Aileen's son), Mak, Mom (holding Toby), Katie, Carol Jean (my cousin), Jordan (Aileen's daughter), Jim (Aileen's husband), and Great Baci. I am taking the picture!

House Make-overs!

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I've been busy doing some things around the house. Well, late Saturday night, I finished! And just in time for guests and Christmas! Just after Thanksgiving, I sold our formal dining room set that we've had since we lived in Boise about 6 years ago. In it's place, I put our counter height black set. This is the only table we have now to eat meals at. The table is on carpet and it takes a little longer to clean up, but it's working and I like it. No more tv to distract our family meal time!The black table use to be in this area, just off the kitchen. Now it is homework/computer central. I bought a couple of table tops, a drawer unit, and computer station at IKEA and assembled it about a week ago. The kids love it, and I love that I can see the computer while I am helping with homework or fixing dinner. I put a rug on the tile floor to soften things up a bit. I also installed track lighting in place of the hanging light that was there.
The turtle tank used to sit on the black hutch in the dining room. As you can see from the first picture, no more turtle tank. I painted an old oak bookcase black, put it in Cory's office where the computer once was, and put the tank on it. Now we don't listen to running water while we are eating dinner (less bathroom trips from the kids too!)
I also got a new table for Cory's office. A couple of years ago, I re-did his office as a Father's Day gift. I attempted to make a table that went behind his desk, between the two bookcases. Over the years, the table has shown how poor of a carpenter I am! So I went back to IKEA for another table top and some legs. It is beautiful! I also re-painted the frame around a mirror and a small table lamp. The mirror's frame was oak and the lamp was gold:( Both were in desperate need of a make-over! I am very happy with the make-overs. It feels good to use every room in the house now and update old furniture!

Christmas Piano Recital

Saturday afternoon, Tim and Makayla participated in an annual piano recital. Their piano teacher started something new about a year ago in that the recitals are held at care centers around the Salt Lake Valley. I love it! It's great for the kids to play in front of not just parents and relatives, but strangers as well. The centers are usually very gracious and helpful and the residents are fun to watch. The say the cutest things too!I thought this was a cute picture of Tim helping Mak find her song. Even though they are brother and sister and fight a lot, they are the best of buds! But don't tell them that :) They really do get along, even though Tim has always had the upper hand. When Mak was learning to walk, Tim, then about 3, would stick his arm out in Mak's way and clothes line her to the ground. Then he would smile real proud and walk away! Tim played "Old West Rodeo" from his lesson books and "Joy to the World." He wasn't use to the sound of this piano, which sounded a little out of tune, so he messed up a little with the first song. He actually loves playing the piano and gets excited learning a new song! He likes a challenge.
Makayla on the other hand, struggles with piano. The week before the recital, she didn't know her Christmas song at all. So, each day, I would sit down with her and we went over the song a line at a time. She played the song beautifully at the recital. This was a learning experience for her. Now, I hope she realizes that she can do anything with a little effort and time! She played "Mexican Fiesta" out of her lesson books and "Silent Night."This is the group of kids that participated in the recital with Becky, their teacher. For the most part, each of them played two songs. It actually went by quite fast, we were there for only 45 minutes from start to finish! I have to take this time to thank Becky for the wonderful job she did, not only with the recital, but in teaching all the kids. She is so patient and kind to the kids! Thanks Becky for your hard work and putting up with my schedule and kids :) You're the BEST! (I really should post the picture I took of Becky, but I know she would "punish" T&M at piano lesson, so I won't. Just know Becky that I have it if I need to use it!)

Toby

Friday night, we noticed that Toby, our cute dog, was not himself. He was very sluggish, hot and shaking uncontrollably. We thought that maybe he was cold, so we wrapped him up in a blanket. That didn't do the trick. Around 11pm, Cory took him to an emergency vet. Toby was checked over in numerous ways and areas. The vet said he had higher than normal bacteria in his stool, thus the cause for the fever and shaking. And, his anal glands were full and needed to be expressed :) The cause of the extra bacteria-something he picked up from the groomer or something he ate.
These are the meds we give Toby everyday. In the box is a fever/pain reducer. The needles consist of a de-wormer. And the bottle has antibiotics in it. Ug, it's like having a baby again, just no insurance to help pay the bill :) Toby is feeling better, but not quite himself yet. At least he is still with us!

Gingerbread House

Every year, my Mom buys a gingerbread house kit for the kids to put together. Last Friday was the blessed day to put the thing together. Since the kids got out of school early and the weather was on the cool side, it was the perfect day! Here are the kids getting started. My Mom divides the candy into equal amounts and the kids get their own bowl to decorate with. Sometimes this solves the problem of who gets to put what candy where, but this year the kids fought over who got to decorate the front door of the house! Go figure :)Katie with her gingerbread man!
Kelli got to decorate a gingerbread man too!
Tim with his gingerbread tree.
Mak was very proud of her gingerbread tree!
Here's the finished house! As always, a great job! But then, how can you mess up decorating a gingerbread house?
And here is the house late Friday night just before I threw it out. We had numerous friends over that afternoon, and all of them "picked" at the house. I guess a couple of them wanted to eat it as well :) No surprise with my kids and their friends!
*I am still in the process of putting together a highlight slide show of 2010. There are so many cute pictures to choose from! It will get done though :) *

Don't Give Up!

Wait, don't leave yet! For those of you that are looking for my 2010 highlight post, it's coming :) Things have been a little crazy around the house. I am in the middle of redoing my eating area. I know, nice timing with Christmas and all, but it will be ready for guests! So, keep checking back for the highlight post! Until then, enjoy this picture of Toby connecting with Flathead, our turtle!

Our Thanksgiving

My Dad and younger brother, Justin, both from the Reno, NV area, joined us this year. They arrived late Monday night and left yesterday. We had a great time together! We played in the snow, saw a couple of movies, played games and ate, a lot:)
Uncle "Bustin" pulling the kids on the trail behind our house.
Tim and Kelli
Mak and Katie's turn.
"Burrr, it's cold out!"
Cory carving our turkey. It was so good!
Thanksgiving dinner: Justin, my Dad, Mak, Katie, Kelli, Tim
My Mom, Cory and I
As you can see from the blog design and music, I am ready for Christmas! Yesterday I put away the Thanksgiving decorations and got out the Christmas stuff! With all the snow we have, I am in the Christmas spirit already! Our trees are up, most of the decorations are out and I am baking more! "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"

Winter Wonderland

This is what we do on Sundays when church is over:) Last night, we got a foot of snow and the kids were dying to play in it! So after church, and some lunch, the kids got bundled up and headed outside. They pulled each other behind the 4-wheeler for awhile until the grass was showing and the neighbors called. That little red 4-wheeler is a loud thing! They played in the snow for awhile, then came in and had some hot chocolate! Oh, the joys of winter!!

Herriman Football

Tim's football season "officially" ended last night with a banquet. Tim, however, did not attend because he went on a scout camp-out. That's okay, because he really didn't miss much. There was a pot-luck dinner, then the coaches handed out team pictures and said something about each boy. Cory and I attended as Cory was the defense coach. Not the best season we have had, but still another season. There is always next year!Tim and Cory. Tim has been so lucky to have his Dad as a coach the past 3 0f 4 football seasons!

RHS Volleyball

Riverton High School Volleyball has "officially" ended:( Tonight was the banquet. We ate dinner, gave out awards and watched a high-light DVD! Oh, how I miss seeing the girls every day. I didn't realize what a huge impact coaching had on me! I love it, and can't wait til next year! Here's my team-what a bunch of cuties!!Thanks girls for the wonderful year! 11-4 - way to go!!
Top row: Madi, Trina
Middle row: Rachel D, Gabby, Rachel M, Mandy
Bottom row: Sarah, Shaylee, me, Monica, Megan, Whitney

91st Birthday!

Sunday, we celebrated my grandma's 91st birthday! She is amazing for 91 years. Three times a week, she gets up early and exercises at her apartment complex. She attends bingo every Friday, goes out to lunch monthly, and walks the stairs to her second level apartment. She is really thriving since she moved to Utah in February. The kids love going to her apartment and cleaning it for her. Of course, she pays them very well. I love having her around too! When I was little we would all her "The Hawk" because when she babysat my cousins and I, she kept her eyes on us like a hawk keeps an eye on its food. She would not let us out of her sight. I find her doing the same thing with my kids to this day! Some things never change:)
Happy 91st Birthday "Great One!"

Motorcycle Riding

This past weekend, we loaded up all the kids and bikes and headed south to Five Mile Pass! The weather was perfect for a day out on the bikes. A few neighbors came as well! Below is our neighbor, Dave Handy, Cory and Tim!

Cory jumping the road! This is the same jump that my brother did a couple of years ago when we went camping with us. He actually jumped the road full of kids!

Kelli giving me the thumbs up to ride:)
I found some mud puddles and took my 4-wheeler through them! Check me out. By the end of the day, you could not tell that I had a red 4-wheeler! My pants and shoes were caked with mud too. It was so much fun:)
Katie and our neighbor, Parker. They loved going through the mud too:)
Here I am going through the mud. Believe me, the puddle was much bigger when I first went through it. I went through it so much that I sprayed most of the water to the sides!
Mak with friends Abby and Ireland. They too liked riding through the mud!
What a perfect end to a super fun day!