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