Good Things Utah!!

Last Monday, being the first day of Christmas break, my mom and sister were out of school (no work). So we had requested tickets to be part of the studio audience for Good Things Utah. All my family came up Sunday night to spend the night at our house so we could get into SLC in time, and boy did we have a full house. In addition to our family of six were four more adults and five additional children, we filled every bed and threw beds down on the floor for the kids...it was a riot! Then Monday morning us girls headed to Salt Lake leaving my poor brother in charge of the nine kids--he's such a good sport:) Thanks Cody!!

It was just starting to snow when we were getting ready to leave the house, so we made sure to go early and give ourselves the time we would need. We had such a great time, we wanted to try and go again on the 30th before school starts up again, but we didn't get our request in for tickets.

My Mom(Peggy), ME, my sister(Racquel), my mother-in-law(Claudia), my sister-in-law (Heather)
Here we are with the GTU girls; Nicea Degering, Angie Larsen, and Christiana Brady.
We all were a little sad that Reagan Leadbetter was stuck in CA and was not able to make it home for the show that day, but we still had a great time and enjoyed every minute of it...it definitely went too quickly.
After the show we headed to Gardner's Village for lunch at Archibald's, YUM!! Then as we headed home we were surprised at the amount of snow that had fallen while we were out playing. There wasn't nearly as much snowfall in the Salt Lake valley as there was further south. When we got back to my house at about 1:00 that afternoon we had gotten about 8 inches of new snow and my sister couldn't even pull in my driveway. Her van decided to just park itself in the middle of the road in front of my house, once again--Thanks Cody for digging us out!!

The Cox Family 2008

Merry CHRISTmas!!

Hello all! It has been a busy year for our family. We would like to wish you the best for the season and a very Merry CHRISTmas!!
Matt graduated from USU this spring with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. He is currently getting his application ready for graduate school at BYU in fall 2009. He is applying to the School of Social Work for a Master’s degree. He still works at Heritage Residential Treatment Center as a unit counselor. He is now currently looking for a job that will increase his experience in the field and pay a little better. It has been a long road but it has been very rewarding. He is currently in the Sunday school presidency and enjoys that calling.
Shantelle is still an at-home mom and loves being there for her kids. She has started a blog that can be found at www.cruisinwiththecoxes.blogspot.com . She tries to keep it updated with our latest happenings and loves reading others blogs too. She cuts hair for the neighbors and works one night a week at Heritage cutting the female clients’ hair. She still loves serving on the Enrichment Committee and now enjoys helping out with cub scouts each week. We celebrated our 13th anniversary this year by going to a movie and then some Christmas shopping. I know, pretty exciting!!
Sydney will be 11 in one month and has been doing excellent in school. Her teacher, Mr. Dias, has been a favorite of hers and she loves being in class. She continues with achievement days and fits dance in when she remembers to go. She is growing like a weed and we love her very much.
Stetson is 9 and is in cub scouts. He played tackle football during the summer and absolutely loved it. He is a great athlete. He also played baseball and soccer. He was baptized on his birthday and is trying to follow Jesus.
Sadie is 5 and she is in pre-school with Mrs. Linda again. She keeps learning sign and is beginning to read. We are very proud of her. She is also in dance and loves playing with her neighborhood friends Brooklyn, Asia and Cosette.
McCrae is 3 and loves to be with mom each day. He watches and follows the example of this brother and sisters. He loves cars and animals. He really likes the movie Cars and was able to potty-train this year so he could get lightning underwear.
All is well with us and we hope this letter finds all well with you too. We have been blessed in so many ways. May the love of the Savior bring peace and solace to you through this next year’s trials and triumphs.

Stetson the Speed Stacker

Backing up to the 10th of Dec. now. The kids' school was chosen as FOX 13's Cool School, so they had many short segments throughout the morning news showing off all the great things about their school. Stetson was invited to demonstrate Speed Cup Stacking; an activity some of the students participate in through the Shark Nets Program.

He's pretty "speedy", and he was so excited to be on the news. But, he was most excited to meet 'BIG Buddah'!

Let's Play Catch Up!!

Well, I'm gonna try at least. This month has been very busy trying to get ready for Christmas and all, and when I do get around to hitting the blog I have so many other fun blogs to read and catch up on that I never get a chance to post my own great adventures. So I'll try and get everything caught up over the next couple of days.

Going back to Sunday, Dec. 7...we went with Matt's parents, and his brother Erick's family to see the lights at Temple Square. It was beautiful, as always. The weather wasn't too bad either, if you look close in our group picture you might see Matt is wearing shorts, although that doesn't prove anything (he wears shorts all winter and is always HOT). We were there the night of the First Presidencies Christmas Devotional so when that got over our nice enjoyable stroll through Temple Square very quickly became busy, crowded, and mass chaos.

This larger than life Nativity scene set up in the center of the reflecting pool was amazing!!

My funny boy!!

Is that a hippo in your pants,

or are you just happy to see me!?!

This afternoon while I was upstairs surfing blogs, the kids were downstairs watching WallE. When I went down to check on them I found McCrae fast asleep, with this Happy Meal toy tucked nice and snug into the waist of his pants. I thought it was so funny and cute I couldn't help but snap a picture of it. And what's the sense in taking a picture if you're not going to share it with your closest friends in the blogosphere?

It's beginning to look alot like......

CHRISTMAS!!!!

Saturday was a long, fun filled day for us; it started with Matt and I planning to attend the temple but when we arrived there we found that it was closed for cleaning. So, on our way back to pick the kids up from Grammy & Papa's house we stopped at the new Smith's Marketplace to check it out and get us an early lunch. It was an awesome store, and the chinese food was pretty good. After we got the kids again we headed to Tanksgiving Point to check out the Art Gallery (a recommendation from a friend who volunteers there), they are currently working on the leaded and stained glass windows for the new Draper Temple. It was amazing to see the magnificent beauty of glass art. They also had a tree made of glass for the Festival of Trees, it was amazing, so if you get a chance you should go check it out!

Then we headed to Fillmore for their Electric Light Parade, we thought it started at 7 pm but about halfway there Matt called a friend and found out it was starting at 6 pm. We made it to Fillmore in great time (thanks to Matt's speedy driving), but arriving in town at about 6:05 only allowed us to see the tail end of the parade. We wandered around the park checking out the light displays and was lucky enough to catch Santa as he and Mrs. Claus were getting in their car to head back to the North Pole. We then went to visit Matt's childhood friend and her family, so that was fun.

Here is a picture of the kids on the fountain in front of the Millard County Courthouse.


And, our run in with Santa. It's pretty blurry but we were being rushed.


These last two pictures are from a park we stopped at in Nephi on our way home. I was very impressed with the amount of lights and beautiful displays there.

Driving around and looking at the Christmas lights is something we did alot when I was growing up, it's one of the many joys I've inherited from my mom. Now we've had a great start for the Holiday Season!!

Fun with Syd!!

Last Tuesday I was able to go to the school and help serve the fifth grade Thanksgiving Feast. It was alot of fun to finally spend some time with Sydney in her classroom. In Wellington I was always spending time at the school and helping out in the kids' classes, but I haven't had the same priviledge here, so it is very nice when I 'can' get there.

The kids were told they could dress like a Pilgrim or an Indian for the Feast and I think Sydney was the only one in all of the fifth grade to actually do it, but she had a great time and loved every minute of it.

All set to enjoy their Traditional Thanksgiving Feast.
They got to try things like Succotash Stew(yum!), Indian Pudding(yuck!),
Bannock Cakes w/ Bear Berry Jam, and Swizzle(not bad)...
I don't remember all the correct terms for all of the things they had to try but there was a Cornmeal Corn Soup that was pretty good, Boiled Eggs which had been soaked in Beet Juice over night, Cucumbers and Onions, Baked Pumpkin and Apples, and hot nuts(which of course were yummy). The kids had to try at least one bite of each item and then rate it on a scale of 1-5. It was interesting learning about some of the things the pilgrims ate for the First Thanksgiving, and it made me very glad for all the yummy things we enjoy now for our traditional Thanksgiving Feast.

Twilight Recap!

So, these are the friends I was so lucky to join in going to the Twilight Movie, thanks so much to Brooke for offering her extra tickets to anyone that might be interested!!

Brooke, Jaime,

Kyra, ME, Ilene

I am so lucky to have become friends with these wonderful ladies, I am going to miss them terribly when we have to leave the 'greatest neighborhood on earth'. I just hope they realize I will probably be showing up on their doorstep quite often, because I just cannot stand the thought of not being around them....they uplift me and inspire me to be better.

I love each of them like a sister!

My New 'DO'

Well, I've had too many people request pictures of my new hairdo, so here you go. It ended up being a little shorter than I orinally wanted, but I'm really liking it.

Soft and smooth look.

Funky and flipped.

When I got home from getting it cut, at about 9:30 Wednesday night, I new it was just too dull and I had to get some color on it. I started with a dark auburnish brown all over, then once that was done I had to weave in a few highlights through the top. Thanks to my dear hubby for helping with one foil I just couldn't see in the crown, I finally got done at about 12:30.

Now I feel like a new woman!!

Christmas Dance Recital

Today was the girls' Christmas Dance Recital. It was fun to go see what they have been working on in dance so far this year. Their dance teacher lives right down the street and has this little show right in her home. It's very sweet, simple and to the point. I love that my girls can enjoy being part of dance and gain the experience of performing in front of people without having to pay out the wahzoo for fancy costumes and all that jazz. They love it, therefore, I love it too!

Sadie and her little friend Brooklyn.

Sadie, Cosette, Asia, & Brooklyn



Sydney

Twilight Premiere!!

Okay, so I haven't read any of the Twilight books...YET, but when I was given the opportunity to go see the movie last night, I jumped at the chance!! I went with 4 other girls from my ward after our RS Gratitude Dinner and I've been waiting all day for one of them to post the picture we had taken there, but I just can't wait any longer...maybe I'll swipe the picture to add later.

Anyway, I just had to say I loved the movie! Maybe it was best to see it before reading the books because I've heard a few people say it wasn't that great. But, I totally fell in love with Edward and the whole story line. I was left aching for more! I'll definitely be reading like MAD as soon as I can get my hands on the books.


So EXCITING!!

So HOT!!

So LOVED it!!

Tagged Again!!

Well, I'm guessing that because I haven't been posting regularly, people think I need to be tagged or something. It's not that I've been ignoring all my wonderful friends here in the blogosphere, it's just that my days have been pretty busy, my nights have been filled with reading and catching up with all of your postings, and I simply haven't had much to say. So, here is my lame attempt at letting you all know I'm still here, alive and well!

Sixes Tag.....
6 TV shows I like to watch:
*For those of you who don't know, we have no cable or dish at our house, so the only channels we're able to pick up are the Spanish channel and the Infomercial channel. At about 4:00 ION Television (the Infomercial channel) plays regular shows so we occassionally watch:
1. MASH
2. Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
3. Family Feud

6 Restaurants I like to eat at:
1. Los Hermanos
2. Olive Garden
3. Chili's
4. Rumbi
5. Cafe Rio
6. The Italian Place

6 things that happened today:
1. Helped Sydney with a homework assignment, then took the kids to school late.
2. Babysat Memphis and played with my kids
3. Found a bag of doll clothes for my friend on freecycle, picked them up and presented them to her (she was thrilled, they'll be perfect for Christmas!)
4. Deposited checks and paid bills, Yuck!
5. Got my hair "chopped off"
6. Colored my hair, then added highlights

6 things I am looking forward to:
1. Finishing my hair so I can get to bed.
2. Finishing Sadie's quilt.
3. Selling our house and paying off ALL debts!
4. Putting up the Christmas Tree.
5. Sewing Christmas PJ's for my kids.
6. Finishing this tag so I can go to bed.

6 things on my wish list:
1. For Matt to get a better job.
2. To sell our house!!
3. To stay in SS 4th Ward.
4. To LOSE 50+ pounds.
5. To be a better mom and wife:)
6. For Matt to get accepted to BYU.

6 people I Tag:
1. Kyra
2. Bonnie
3. Bev
4. Staci
5. Kim
6. Callie

I've Been Tagged....

The rules are:

1. go to your pictures.

2. upload the 4th picture in the 4th folder.

3. post an explanation of picture.

4. tag 4 friends.



This is a picture of Stetson one Sunday after church when Matt and the kids were being silly and trying to see how many grapes they could fit in their mouth. I'm not sure what brought on this perfect shot, but Stetson came skipping into the Living Room singing "Here I Come to Save the Day!!" and we were lucky enough to snap it just in time.

I tag....Tara, Ilene, Brooke, and Jonie.

Frosty, the Snowman...

Winter is coming on us in full force. We got our first snow of the season yesterday, we awoke to a beautiful blanket of white on the ground. The kids were so excited and couldn't wait to get out and play in it. I assured them it would most likely be all melted before they would even get a chance. Which, of course, it was....



But, we went into Grammy and Papa's house tonight to see Uncle Erick and their backyard was still snow covered. It didn't matter that it was already 8:30 p.m., it was freezing cold out, and they were all dressed for bed. They just had to go out and play in it! And, of course, they just had to build a snowman!



I love how easily kids get excited. Their love for life is what keeps me going sometimes!

Halloween is always a fun time for kids and I've always tried to make it a priority to have the best costumes for my kids. This usually involves alot of money spent on fabric and patterns for costumes I get to stress over for a couple of days anyway, and I don't think I've had a full nights sleep on the night prior to Halloween for a good six years, at least. Well, this year we are so lucky to live in a ward and neighborhood that is the best in all the world! One of our Enrichment Meetings in September included a Costume Exchange, so that all those costumes we keep in storage could get a little more use out of them. So, all of our Halloween expenses came to a whopping $5 for a shirt we got from DI for Stetson's costume, and I didn't even have to break out the sewing machine. HOORAY!!


Sydney made a very lovely Geisha Girl, and got to use the pretty Oriental Umbrella she got from the State Fair.


Stetson finally decided on the Phantom of the Opera for his costume two days before the big day, and it turned out to be very cool!


Sadie got the cutest Lady Bug tutu and accessories from her aunt Racquel for her Birthday, which goes perfect with our little Sadie-Bug!


McCrae kept telling me the week prior to Halloween that he was going to be a golf guy, but I just wasn't up to making knickers for him and didn't know exactly how else to pull that one off. We had borrowed a Spiderman costume from a friend for him, but when we were trying to get everyone else ready for the big day he went down to the dress up box in the playroom and brought up our very old Superman costume, this picture was taken before I fashioned a cape for him using some of Sydney's red athletic shorts, which actually topped off his costume quite nicely.


Matt got his costume from our Stake Clothing Exchange back in July, he thought it was the greatest. He loved lounging in this gown around the house, and actually wore it to the pool as a cover up one time...that is when I kinda misplaced it after washing. But, after much searching, I finally found it in the 'junk' room with a few other DI items. I'm so glad I did, it turned out to be a great costume for him.


Everyone else was all dressed up and ready to go, and I was feeling a little left out with no costume, so I ran to my closet and dug out my red gingham shirt, denim overalls, put my hair in pig-tails, threw on one of the kids' dress-up hats, and drew on a few freckles...voila, Ellie Mae!


Here we are at the end of our Trick-or Treating adventures at Grammy and Papa's house, McCrae had had it and will not cooperate for the picture...notice he is now wearing the Spiderman costume. What a fun filled day!


And this sweet picture of Sadie-Bug sums it all up. This is how we all felt after our Halloween shenanigans.

SMASH--the Scary, Hairy Monster!!

**Disclaimer: I debated on whether or not to publish this post because it may gross a few of you out, but I just couldn't resist. So, anyone with a weak stomach who may be reading this, just don't read the last paragraph and you should be just fine!

Meet my monster, Smash
When I look at my Monster, I see a square head, a round body, three sharp claws, and four wheels for his feet.
When I hear my monster, it sounds like screeching wheels, and scary growling.
If you were to taste my monster, it would be like drinking curdled milk and sucking on a rusty nail.
My monster Smash smells like a big old sweaty dog.
If you were to touch my monster, it would feel like cold, hairy metal.

**Stetson, had an assignment for school to make a monster, write up a description of said monster, and draw a map of his monster's neighborhood. He had a lot of fun designing and bringing his monster Smash to life. When we were writing the description for his monster he wanted it to feel hairy, so I asked him how we were supposed to make him hairy. Then the thought came to me for Stetson to go ask his dad (just to be funny!) if we could shave his back for the monster. Matt, of course was more than willing to oblige, and I was stuck with this crazy little idea of mine actually coming to fruition. So we went forward with the shaving of Matt's back, and he thought he was going to be funny and have a big patch of hair off his chest as well, against my advice. Smash turned out to be a pretty cute and hairy little monster. Meanwhile, Matt has been dying from the itch of a freshly shaved chest (not so much back, just chest); hence my advice on not shaving the chest! Anyway, I thought about posting pictures of the shaving but worried that might be a little too gory! You know, body hair just seems so...gross. EEWWWW!!

Hee Haw Farms

Last Friday Night we had the opportunity to go to Hee Haw Farms with Stetson's teacher, Mr. Goodman, as part of a class activity. Of course, when we pulled in to park I realized I had forgotten the camera, so SORRY, no pictures. Mr Goodman got free child admission with a paying adult tickets, so we took advantage of a family pass coupon we had and took the whole family along. Matt, Sydney, Sadie and McCrae enjoyed the Courtyard Activities (i.e...Animal Alley, Hay Jump, Mini Maze, Pedal Karts, Corn Box, Corn Cannons, Boo Junction, Slides--including a 30' Haystack Slide, and much more) while Stetson and I got to go with his class on a Hayride and then through Cornevil Night Terrors. The hayride was alot of fun, especially since I was able to talk with one of the other moms and make a new friend! But, the whole night terror maze was just AWESOME!! We wound our way not only through the haunted corn maze but also into a section of haunted woods with ghouls, goblins and monsters all along the way to jump out and scare us. One of the coolest things to me was the scarecrow which stood so tall above the corn, and then suddenly started coming after us. There were also a number of guys along the way that would pop out of the corn and chase us with chainsaws, one of those times I tripped over someone elses feet and fell with Stetson falling over the top of me. It was a riot!! I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants, and all the kids (Stetson included) were so scared, I think they almost peed their pants too!

My Crae!

Last weekend I went on a GNO and a couple of the other girls were talking about their little boys and some of the things they do. Well, one of the mom's brought up McCrae and said how he is just an angel....and of course I had to agree! I pondered on her comment for a second but all I could respond with was, "Yeah, he is!"
So, I wanted to honor my little McCrae and the good boy he is; he definitely has his moments when I would like to lock him in a closet or something. But, those times are few and far between. I love my Crae boy soooo much!!







Isn't he just the cutest, most adorable, and fun-loving kid you've ever seen?!:)

Halloween Cruise

Last night we went down to Provo with some friends to go on a Halloween Cruise. I was a little surprised to learn that they have been doing this little Halloween Cruise for nine years now, and this was the first year I had heard about it. It was pretty fun, we were all crammed onto the riverboat with a Pirate as our captain. As we sailed along the Provo River there was scarey music playing in the background, halloween lights strung overhead, and over 100 carved pumpkins on display. We were entertained by our captain and two other pirates who jumped aboard along the way with pirate jokes and story telling. Although McCrae slept through the whole thing, it was a fun experience for the entire family. Thank You Sliders for inviting us to tag along, and for the pie and ice-cream afterward. We're so glad to have friends like you!!

Happy Birthday Sadie!

Sadie turned FIVE on Saturday, October 11...we had so much going on that I'm finally getting around to posting about my favorite little bug's big day. The following picture was taken on Sunday when we had some of our family over for cake and ice-cream.



The top ten reasons we LOVE Sadie sooo much...
1. She's always so bright and happy.
2. She's got the cutest smile and most infectious laugh.
3. She gives some of the tightest squeezes.
4. She's got attitude and personality +!
5. She is such a little smartie.
6. She's got a very tender heart.
7. She is a little social butterfly.
8. She's got beautiful blonde hair and it has grown back so cute
from her many chop jobs.
9. She knows sign language and teaches it to all of us.
10. She always reminds us to say our prayers.



In the above picture, Sadie is enjoying her chocolate shake from Chili's. We went in celebration of not only her birthday; but also Stetson's awesome football season, and Matt passing his SSW Licensing Exam. YEAH!!



Sadie opening her present from Grammy and Papa. She is so excited to be five, she tells everyone she sees, "I'm five now!" and this morning when we were getting her ready for preschool she said "I should be in Kindergarten now mom, cuz I'm five."
I had to explain to her just like I did to Sydney at that age that Kindergarten only starts up once a year and she gets to stay in Preschool until it starts again next fall. She was pretty happy to learn that when she goes to Kindergarten she'll be one of the oldest kids because then she'll be turning six.