Funny Face...

These are just a couple of fun pics I wanted to share from my last group of photos.

When I was taking pictures of Sydneys new haircut (next post) Sadie just had to have her picture taken too, I love how this shot really shows her personality and sassy attitude.

I also love how cute she looks with pigtails in her hair,

it has taken us a little over a year to get to this point!!

And here's my hunka' hunka' burnin love!!

He's too SEXY for his HAIR!!

Syd's 'SASSY' new do!!

Sydney is always bugging me to cut her hair...she likes it short and layered, and I prefer to keep it a little bit longer and less 'grown-up'. Well, I finally gave in (she is 11 now) and we gave her a new do, which of course is darling and totally fits her personality.

I love all the different ways it can be styled.....

I just had to take a pic of the way it flips out in the back, it just makes me want to play with it!

And Syd's personal favorite....pigtails!!

Sydney's Birthday!!

Okay, I'm really, really late in making this post; since Syd's Birthday was clear back on Jan. 22nd, but as I always say, better late than never!

We invited ShayLee(cousin), and her two good friends from school, Ciara and Megan to go swimming at the community pool for a fun little bithday "splash"!!

After swimming we grabbed some pizza and a movie

and went back to our house for some more fun.

Syd isn't much of a cake lover, so instead of baking a Birthday Cake for her we went for a special treat at Cold Stone Creamery with Grammy and Papa(of course I forgot the camera). Then for her little birthday party at Nana's house we had her very favorite...Cheesecake!!
I can't believe how my Angel is growing up, already 11!! She is very independent, and expects perfection in all she does. She usually doesn't give herself near enough credit for all the good, hard work she does...in this sense she is too much like her mother. I know I expect alot of her being the oldest and I'm very sorry to say I don't tell her enough how wonderful of a job she does. I am so proud of the beautiful and talented young lady she is becoming, she's so good to help her little brother and sister when needed and I love to see how Sadie idolizes her. She is such a great big sister and I can see how deeply she loves her family....well sis, I hope you always know how very deeply you are loved as well!!

PMS....

Q: How many women with PMS does it take to change a light bulb?

Woman's Answer: One! ONLY ONE!!!! And do you know WHY? Because no one else in this house knows HOW to change a light bulb! They don't even know that the bulb is BURNED OUT!! They would sit in the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it out. And, once they figured it out, they wouldn't be able to find the light bulbs despite the fact that they've been in the SAME CABINET for the past 17 YEARS! But if they did, by some miracle of God, actually find them, 2 DAYS LATER, the chair they dragged to stand on to change the STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!!!!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE WRAPPER THE LIGHT BULBS CAME IN!!! BECAUSE NO ONE EVER PICKS UP OR CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!!!! IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE A FOOT DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE!! IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS PLACE! AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON WHO CHANGES THE TOILET PAPER ROLL !! I'm sorry. What was the question?

Matt's mom put this on her blog and I loved it so much I had to share it with all my friends too...it's so sad, but TRUE!!

Matt's Quilt

...a long time coming!!

I started cutting the squares for this quilt probably eight or more years ago.

And now, TA-DA, it's finally finished!!

I don't know who likes it more, ME or Matt!!

It's sooo soft and warm and heavy, it's practically impossible to NOT fall asleep

when you put it over the top of you.

My Girls' Bedspreads...Finally!!

Okay, so a number of months ago I was working hard on these adorable bedspreads for my girls' beds and a few of my friends asked that I post pictures when they were finished. The bedspreads themselves have been finished for awhile now, but I was still working on pillow shams. I still am planning to make a few decorative pillows to throw into the mix and we still don't have bedskirts for them, but at least you get the idea. It all started when we got new beds set up in their room for them, Sydney got a new full size bed, and Sadie got a daybed. So then I got looking for new bedding that would somewhat match and liven up their room with the boring white walls. I ended up finding an ad on KSL with full size and twin size matching sheet sets from Tommy Hilfiger for $35. I figured I could make them into simple but cute duvet covers, until I talked to my mom about my plans. She just happened to have a full size and a twin size chenille bedspread that her friend was going to throw out, and told me I could use them for the girls' beds. But, with boring white walls, I didn't want just plain white bedding too. So I then got the inspiration I needed from my neighbor friend who makes the cutest quilts with chenille blocks mixed in with her other patterned fabrics. They turned out so cute, I absolutely love them. They add so much spunk and personality to my girls' bedroom, and they love them too!!

Sydneys quilt has a somewhat random pattern to it

(as random as my anal side would allow anyway),

and Sadie's all runs diagonally.

I had so much fun with these quilts that I actually pulled out some denim squares that I cut out to make a quilt for Matt probably eight or more years ago, and got the top all sewn together to give to him for Christmas. I just got the batting and flannel for the back of it last Saturday, so when I get it all finished I'll have to post pics of it too. I can't believe how hooked I've become, I just love creating things, especially for the people I love!!

It's been a whole week!!

Yeah, yeah, I know I've been slacking; nothing much to be posting lately. You all know how it is, Christmas and the Holidays are all over and all we are left with are the January blahs!! I rarely leave the house these days, so I spend most of my days lounging around in my sweats, and you can forget about my hair and make-up getting done!!
So you may be asking yourself..."Just what does she do all day?" And the answer is...facebook!! Aside from all the BIG and little mundane tasks and household chores that require my attention, of course.
Some of my blogger friends are already my friends on facebook, but those of you who have not yet joined, "Get on Board!!" It is so much fun, and even more addicting than blogging (I realize that may not be a good thing, but once you start you just can't stop). I have had so much fun connecting and chatting with old childhood friends, High school friends and new Neighborhood friends, it's the greatest!!
So if you are reading this and you aren't already one of my facebook friends, I'll be expecting a friend request from you soon.
Go to http://facebook.com and get connecting, you won't regret it.

Sledding FUN!!

Saturday afternoon we took the kids sledding at a park not far from home. It was so bitterly cold, but we still happened to enjoy ourselves quite a bit. We really had a great time!

Sydney, Stetson and Shay going together in a triangle train.

Syd and Shay with Sadie laying across their legs.

Stetson heading back up the hill.

Sadie, all on her own.

McCrae loved it!!

He preferred going alone, and wanted to hit every bump.

I even joined in the fun for a couple runs down the hill.

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.