Gingerbread Houses with the Blood Kids! 12/26

Another tradition we have is to make and decorate Gingerbread Houses.  We invited the Blood kids over to help us.  They are moving to Utah soon, and we wanted a party with the kids before they left. Paisley, Brylin, Seth, and Jared each picked a side and begin transforming the plain brown into a rainbow of confectionary delights.
The best part of making the gingerbread house is sampling the candy.  Hayley and Paisley had a fun time decorating their own gingerbread persons.
Brant had the most fun sampling.  I think his favorites were the Hot Tamales.  He loved them, and it surprised me because the first time Hayley had  Hot Tamales was when she was his age. After she tasted it she took it out of her mouth and put it in the refrigerator because it was too hot.  
Here is Emilee's gingerbread person.  Notice the smile on both Emilee and the gingerbread person.  They are the same, she really wanted me to see that.
I was able to snap this photo of them.  We really enjoyed getting to know this family.  We love them and wish them much happiness in Utah.  We love you Blood family.  Good Luck to You!

Merry Christmas 2008!

Yes, the presents are fun and it is exciting to see their faces when they open them up.  But my favorite part is that we have them give presents to each other, and when they do, they give each other hugs. Its the one time of year that we insist on it.
A special feeling comes in our home and we have noticed that they share more, and are sweet with each other throughout the day.   I know that one day my kids will die when they see these pictures, but I cherish them and its the way that I want to remember Christmas.
Emilee's favorite present this year was the baby that her grandparents bought for her.  Her birthday is six days before Christmas.  Talk about hitting the motherlode, but she deserves it.  She has to wait a whole year for presents!
Here is the face of joy!  We know that we have succeeded if we can see this face on all of our children.  Such excitement is eye candy and truly a present for us as parents.
My cousin Ray stopped in to watch the fun.  I think he enjoyed watching Matt and I putting things together at a supersonic pace.

Decorating Cookies 12/24

Every year we do a number of things.  One of them is decorating Christmas Cookies.  I remember decorating Christmas Cookies as a kid every year.  My grandmother Doxey, (we called her this because she hated her first name "Edna") started this tradition and it is one of my fondest memories of her.
My kids love decorating cookies.  I am not sure it is for the same reason that I still love doing it.  I would guess the huge amounts of sugar and getting to eat them are the reasons right now that they love this tradition.  I am always surprised the time and effort they take in decorating their cookie, even though they will just turn around and eat it a second later.
This time of year reminds me of my grandmother often.  I am so glad she left me with this tradition to share with my children.  Here Jared is showing off his snowman with extra thick frosting.  We usually like to kid Jared about his eating habits.  I always tell him he would like any food as long as it is covered in chocolate or another sweet thing. 

Emilee showing off her artistic culinary talents.
Tank had to have a bandaid over his stitches until they came out.  I don't think he liked to see them.  Here he is about to take a bite of his cookie.

Samantha had to have a star, but she decided fingerpainting the cookie was alot easier than trying to spread the frosting on with a knife.  Another tradition I really like but I have noticed that many of my friends do it too is giving a new ornament to my kids every year.  The idea is that when they leave they will have ornaments to put on their own tree.  Some years we let them pick them out and other years we have a theme.  For example we bought flag ornaments during 2001 to remember 9/11.

Tank's Accident 12/23

We had put the kids to bed and Tank had a late nap.  Needless to say he was not ready to go to bed.  All of sudden we heard a scream and in comes Tank with blood running down his face. Well those of you with boys know that sometimes it looks worse than it is.  We cleaned it up and then saw the gaping hole and knew that an emergency visit was forthcoming.  So Matt took Tank in and they were able to get right in because of the biohazard issue (blood).  The doctor gave him four stitches and told him that jumping on the bed is not a good idea.  Silly thing is that the song "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" kept coming into my mind.  I guess perhaps some wise mother a long time ago made it up maybe to ward off any future tampolining attempts on the bed.  Crazy!

Emilee is Six! 12/19

We have a tradition in our family when the birthday child gets to pick every meal for the day and also picks the family activity on their birthday.  Emilee decided she wanted donuts for breakfast, and she had tacos for dinner and then we went to Castles and Coasters and played a round of golf.  She was so excited that it was her birthday that she woke up very early.  I told her to come lay down with Mommy while we wait for everyone else to wake up.  We had a great time at Castles and Coasters - we just let the kids play any hole they wanted.  So the game lasted alot longer.  We didn't keep score, we just had fun.  It was great and we will probably be doing it again real soon.
Another tradition we have is that the brothers and sisters build a present castle around the birthday child.  They love this and whats great is that they came up with the tradition all on their own.  I asked Emilee what her favorite part of her birthday is and she said all of it.  I love being able to give them one perfect day.  What is great is that my kids give me a perfect day back for my birthday.  Every year Emilee tells me that I won't have to yell at her at all on my birthday.  She always keeps this promise.  I have one day a year I do not have to get upset or ask a hundred times for something to be done.  They all make sure I have a perfect day too.  I love that.  

Band and Choir Concert 12/2

Both Hayley and Seth are in Band this year.  They both play Clarinet, and they are really good.  Its a good thing that they are good because I look at their instrument and feel lost.  They get no help from me.
Hayley has been friends with Sierra since the 1st grade.  I am so glad they still have chances to spend time together.  If you look carefully Hayley has a bow on her clarinet.  She has done this from the beginning and we think it is adorable and so uniquely Hayley.
Here is Seth after the concert.  He did a great job on his first concert.  The auditorium lights really affected our cameras for some strange reason so I do not have any pictures during the concert.  I will have to work on that for next year.  

Karate Graduation for Seth, Jared and Hayley

Our older three kids have been really working hard.  All three have graduated from white belt to orange belt.  They are so cool to watch, especially when they are breaking boards, and working with weapons.  Seth was first to graduate out of the three.  He worked with both Jared and Hayley and helped them graduate too.  We are so proud of all of them.
Jared was the next to graduate.  They have to memorize a set of seventeen steps.  He did it and also passed off weapons and another series.  Seth was glad to have someone join him in the more advanced class.  Take a look at a roundhouse kick by Jared below.  Watch out Chuck Norris!


Hayley was last.  She joined karate two weeks after the boys, so she worked very hard to catch up.  If you know Hayley you know she does not do well under pressure.  We got there for her graduation and she looked over at me and said, "Mom I have forgotten how to do everything!" I got her to calm down before the judge came in and she did great.  It was funny and so Hayley!

Phoenix Zoo 11/11

Matt had the day off which is rare and so we packed up the kids and took them to the Phoenix Zoo.  The weather was awesome and the kids were very happy to get out of the house and away from homeschooling.  We really enjoyed watching the monkeys and oh yeah the baboons were cool too.
Hayley and Emilee have a very special relationship.  Emilee really loves her older sister and wants to do everything she does.  It is very sweet,  and Hayley is really great about it.  Matt and I joke that the kids listen to Hayley far better than they listen to us.  She will be a great Mom some day.  
Okay here is proof that I was there.  Yes I am usually taking the pictures, but Matt grabbed this one of me as I was packing Samantha to the next exhibit.  Notice the map in her hands,  she carried that map through the whole zoo and kept it safe for a few days more after that.
We had a wild hair and decided to rent the bicycle built for a family.  Matt and I took turns with the kids pumping the bike through the zoo.  We had a hard time at first and then realized that the break was still on.  OUCH!  It ran much better after we solved that little problem.  When Matt and I weren't on, we were pushing in the back to get up hills.  It was fun!  Not sure we will do it every time.
The kids trying to make the bike go, but realizing that Mom and Dad would have to help after all.  

Scout O Rama 11/1

Okay I decided to take all the kids to Scout O Rama this year.  I also took my nephew Kolten and my Cousin Ray (known as Uncle Ray to the kids) came and met us there.  My kids loved it. We arrived at eleven and left at three thirty.  All of the kids had a great time.  Hayley really liked walking across this high rope bridge.  No fear for her, she crossed without hesitation.  She also wanted to climb the wall and repel down, but the line was always too long.  I told her we would take a rain check.   
Seth had alot of fun as well.  He was also able to pass off an achievement and earn a belt loop. He is working on his Whittling Chip Achievement here.  He carved an awesome car, and obviously gets his creativity from his Dad.
Jared also had fun crossing the high rope bridge.  Toward the middle of the bridge it gets very shaky and it is hard to keep your balance.  He became a little fearful, but with some encouragement to just take a step at a time he made it.  He was so proud of himself.  You can't buy that for your child - it has to be earned, and he really earned it.
I let the youngest three cross the smaller rope bridge.  It was very sturdy and did not sway or shake.  They did a great job and when they crossed all the way they knew they had done something extraordinary.  I love seeing that on my kid's faces and hope that I will see it often. My kids loved panning for gold, mini golfing, obstacle courses, learning about first aid, making marshmallow shooters etc.  I could go on but I won't.  It was great.
Sammie loved the go carts and the scouts took great care of her.  She would finish the course and jump back in line.  We finally had to grab her and show her something else.  She loved golfing just as much and played at least four rounds.  Scout O Rama was a big hit and my kids are wanting to know when we will go again.

Happy Halloween 10/31

We had quite the menagerie of characters this Halloween.  We had Hayley - Candy Corn Witch, Seth - Master Chief from Halo, Jared - Bazooka Trooper (Star Wars for those who are clueless), Emilee - Pirate Princess, Tank - Spiderman, and Samantha - Cheer Bear (Carebears).  We had a great time at our ward's Trunk or Treat.  Mom even dressed up this year as the Statue of Liberty.  Sorry no pictures - can't take pictures and be in them at the same time.  Halloween is always so fun and magical, and is definately one of our family's favorite holidays.

Emilee Loses 1st Tooth!

A week earlier Emilee said that there was something wrong with her tooth.  I looked at it and told her that she has a loose tooth.  She started to cry and said that she did not want her tooth to fall out.  I then explained that the tooth fairy would come and give her money for the lost tooth and that a new and stronger tooth would come take its place.  She stopped crying and starting wiggling, hoping she could expedite the loss.
Her cousin Kylie comes over everyday to help me out with the housework since we began home schooling.  Everyday Emilee would let Kylie wiggle and try to pull the tooth out.  Finally after a week and a promise of a special dance if  Emilee would pull out the extremely loose tooth, it happened.  Kylie did her dance and I wish I had a video camera for that, and Emilee had her tooth.  The next day, the tooth fairy was a little late, and in the afternoon I reminded Emilee to look under her pillow.  She carefully tiptoed down to her room and looked in.  She ran back and said that she saw a little light above her pillow and didn't want to scare the tooth fairy away.  She went back later and found money.  She was so excited, and now she has another loose tooth.

Corn Maze 10/17

We went out to the Fear Farm - not for the fear part but for the Corn Maze.  Every year they make a design in 8 acres of corn.  You enter one side and hope to exit the other side.  We gave each of our kids the opportunity to attempt to lead us out of the maze.  In the end we had to have their Dad's help.
We went into the maze with alot of people, but we never saw them again.  I wonder if they are still there trying to find their way out.  We had alot of fun weaving through the maze.  There were even spots were people lost their patience and bolted through the corn stalks.  It was alot of fun and a great experience for us all.
At the end they had the "Cow Train".  The axles are bent and so when the tractor pulled the train it would jerk the kids up and down like a roller coaster.  They smiled from ear to ear. Even Samantha wanted to ride again.

Samantha is 3!

She is my baby and she is three.  I can't believe it!  I love this spunky girl.  We tried to take her to get her portraits done and she refused.  Refusal is a light way of saying she flat out threw a fit.  She didn't have any problem posing for me at home though.
I love this picture of her.  It truly is a reflection of Samantha's personality.  She loves to be funny and she will not be ignored.  She loves to have fun, and looks for the fun on a daily basis.  She never just sits around and she is in control of her life just about every minute of the day.  If I ask her to wait a minute, she says, "I can't do it!"
If anyone ever wonders why we nicknamed her Sassy just look at this picture.  This picture tells it all.  When she is being sassy, she likes to stick her tongue out, blow raspberries at you, or tell you "NO" with a smile on her face.

I really enjoyed watching her this birthday.  She really understood what having a birthday meant this year and it was fun to see her enjoy every minute of it.  She loved opening her presents.  I think her favorite present was a Disco Wow Wow Wubbzy.

She loves animals!  She has 2 pigs she carries with her almost everywhere.  She also has a little skunk that she has named Flower.  She is beautiful and we are so grateful that we are her parents.  She is Queen of our home.  She has her parents, brothers, and sisters wrapped around her finger and she knows it.  Happy Birthday Samantha!  We love you!

Glen River Dam 10/6

As a family we journeyed back up to Utah during Conference Weekend.  Matt's Aunt Jackie had passed away and we went up for the family funeral.  It rained most of the time we were there, and the children suffered from camper fever.  As we were heading home the sun came out.  We decided to stop off at the Glen Canyon Dam and take the "Dam Tour".    The kids really enjoyed themselves and loved learning about the Dam.
We were able to go onto the dam, and take the elevator all the way down to the bottom.  We saw the power generating station, and learned about how the dam is used to generate electricity.  It was very interesting and fun.  We also went to eat at Dennys.  A favorite family treat.  The kids were able to have rocket sippy cups that they have used ever since.

Matt's Trip With Hayley, Seth, and Jared 9/27

Matt took the older three kids up to Utah to see his Aunt Jackie one more time before she passed away.  He was able to do a little sightseeing and decided to take the kids to Timpanogos Cave.  This picture was taken at the start.  Notice unsuspecting grins.  Little do they know, the hike is 1.5 miles straight up switchbacks.  Happily they made it to the top and really enjoyed the tour of the inside of the cave.
Still going strong!  But they have far to go yet.  
This was a great view from the top.  This was taken on their journey down from the mountain.