Christmas Snow!

More Merry Christmas!

Here are some pics of the kids with their gifts Santa brought. Cole got the electic guitar he has been talking about for months! Noah got a digital camera, which is one of the things on his list! Rylee got a surprise gift from Santa, a snowboard! Jenna got Dora's Talking House like she wanted as well as a stuffed horse with wings (she wanted a real horse with wings, but is happy with the stuffed one)! The other pic is of Cole playing hi snew guitar with Grandpa Gary (I think he is part of the reason Cole is interested in the guitar, now I jsut have to find him a good teacher).

Merry Christmas!

What a great time of year: more time with family and friends, the oppurtunity to give to others, playing fun games and gifts, enjoying the snowy weather, and making & keeping family traditions.
We had a wonderful Christmas this year, we are very blessed and hope you all were blessed with all you hearts desired. We spent Christmas eve morning at home getting last minute things done (luckily shopping was done). Mike's mom wanted me to make sugar cookies for Christmas so the kids and I baked and decorated a few dozen Christmas sugar cookies (thanks for the recipe Julie). It was a lot of fun and I think that will be a new tradition for us. Then we headed up to my parents home in Layton. How lucky we are to have them close again so we can spend holidays and special times together as a family. We all just hung out and ate pizza (a Delozier family tradition) and then opened some presents. The kids had a blast hanging out with their Smith cousins who even though we live 5 minutes away they don't get to spend enough time with. My dad (yes that is him in his favorite tie die shirt) read the story of the Savior's birth to us. I remember as a child acting out the story, I guess we could have done that with all the grandkids, maybe next year. It had started snowing on our way to Layton and by the time we headed homw a few hours later the ground was covered in about a foot of snow. When we woke up on Christmas morning it was blue and clear above the fresh white snow: BEAUTIFUL and PEACEFUL! Luckily the kids let us sleep in a little on Christmas morning, 7:30. Then everyone got to see what Santa had brought them and then we opened presents from each other. Another friend posted on her blog about her boys being so excited to give to each other and my kids are the same each year. Their favorite part of Christmas is drawing names and finding and giving gifts to each other. It makes me so happy to see them so excited to make their sibling so happy, I guess they really do care about each other. After we opened all the gifts they played for awhile before we headed back up to my parents to hang out, eat, and play in the snow. Rylee even went sledding with Uncle Devin and Aunt Karissa and had a great time! We left a few hours later to head to Mike's parents for the annual Christmas craziness! We opened mroe gifts and ate a yummy prime rib dinner and then jsut relaxed for a few hours. The kids all stayed the night at Grandma and Grandpa's (another new tradition that started last year). Yesterday we just took it easy and tried to recover from all the fun of Christmas. We did take the kids to see Alvin and the Chipmunks and to Target to use their Christmas money that was burning a whole in their pockets. Today I need to clean up. Is it just me or does Christmas cause your house to look like abomb went off too? I am not sure how much cleaning up I want to do since we are thinking about putting pergo floors in and I know that if we start the house will jsut be a disaster til it's done. Hmmmm... Anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS to all our family and friends!

Big Announcement!

Mike finally convinced me it was time we increase the number in our family.
So, the big announcement....drum roll.....Introducing the newest member of our family:















Isn't he the cutest thing you have ever seen?!?! We have talked off and on about getting another dog, but just haven't really found the right one until now. This poor little guy was left out in the cold we think to die. Someone found him and he was skin and bones. She took him home and loved him and fed him for a few days but wanted to find a good home for him. Lucky for us Mike was in the right place at the right time and met the little guy (and his temporary mom). We went over this afternoon to see him and I fell in love instantly (and I am really not much of a dog person)! He was so sweet and snuggly (who knows if that will last) and when he put his front paws up on Jenna's chest and started "kissing" her face I knew we were not leaving without him. I mean come on, how could I say no to those 2 cute little faces. Anyway, we don't know how old he is or even for sure what kind of dog he is. We are taking him to the vet on Friday and hope to have a better idea, but for now we think he is about 8 weeks old and probably some kind of boxer mix, maybe pit bull. The kids had no idea and were so excited when they got home from school today. Truman's not too sure about him yet. And I can't believe how huge Truman seems next to him. Now I get to add "potty train a puppy" to my to do list over my break from school. We also have yet to name him. We were thinking we would tak suggestions and let the kids vote. So any suggestions are welcomed! Mike would prefer something from the Simpsons, but we'll see. He is definetly not a Homer or a Bart. Ry's gym coach suggested "Moe" which I kind of like, but please help us name the cute little guy! Oh, he is so cute! Right now he is all curled up at my feet sleeping. There is jsut something about sleeping babies, whether human or dog or whatever. SO CUTE!

Jenna's Preschool Program

Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance (you'd think a girl whose mom just finished an anatomy class would know where her heart is)
Jenna as one of the angels in their little nativity play.
Jenna with 2 of her best buds, Cooper and Braden

We were lucky enough to go to Jenna's little preschool program today and it was so much fun. She has been so excited and talking about it for a couple weeks now. Everytime we hear a Christmas song she recognizes she yells "Mom, we are singing that in our program!" She kept telling me they were going to sing and do a play and have cookies and oh the excitement in her voice! It was really cute, she has a great preschool teacher and a cun bunch of fellow students.

Rylee, the storyteller

The last few years at school Rylee has had the oppurtunity to participate in the storytelling class. Only a handful of students are picked and they get to go to a special class a few times and then share a story with other classes. They get to choose a story and then they have to memorize the story and present it during another class's library time. Rylee knew she was doing her story for kindergartners this year so she chose a Dora the Explorer Alphabet story. She made (with the help of fellow classmates) a paper for each letter with a picture on it and even wore Jenna's Dora backpack. It was so fun to watch her "perform", she was very animated and cute. Way to go Ry!

A Little Bump...

Last week as I was in the kitchen I heard a bang from down the hall that was followed by crying. Noah came into the kitchen holding his head. He had a huge bump almost instantly. I asked him what happened and he said he walked into his room and then turned aroung quickly to leave again and ran right into the door. Oops! It wasn't too noticable since his hair was getting longer. He has been begging Mike to give him a haircut for a few weeks now and Mike finally gave in the other night. I didn't realize how nasty his bump looked until his hair was gone. OUCH!

Sadness

I got a text early Monday morning from my sister that an amazing young man had passed away from cancer. Our families have been friends for years and they are an incredible family. I have been thinking of them the last couple months and even more the last few days. He passed away 2 years and 2 months to the day that my brother Brandon died from cancer. The last couple months as I have thought of this family and the pain and sufferering (physical and emotional) that they must be feeling, I have also thought a lot more about Brandon and our family. There are no words to describe the emotional roller coaster that a family goes through when losing a loved one, especially one so young. I am sure it is different for each family, each individual, but it is just so sad. At the same time there also seems to be blessings and comfort and peace and amazing emotional experiences that again cannot be put into words. Life is so precious...

YEAH!!!

The semester from hell is over! It wasn't really that bad and I realize when I am in the actual nursing program it is going to be even harder and more stressful, but this last semester was CRAZY! for me. My final was not too bad and our teacher posted our grades yesterday and I got an 89 on the final and an A (96%) for the class! I'm not trying to be boastful (well, maybe a little) but it feels sooooooooooooooooo good! All the stress, hard work, long study hours, sacrifices paid off. I also got an A in my Chemistry Lab and my Nutrition class, so I am just waiting to hear about my Chemistry Lecture grade which I am pretty sure is an A as well.
I went to sell my books back and buy my books for next semester the other day. For those of you who have not had to buy college books in awhile, they are not cheap! I was bummed thinking I didn't want to spend any $$ on books right now, I would rather spend it on Christmas for the kids and Mike. Anyway, I went and got $120 for the books they would buy back and then got the books I needed and the total was $121. YEAH! I was so excited!
So now what I am I going to do with all my "free time", which I have realized isn't all that much extra time. Oh, well. I can still read some books I have been wanting to read (I started Twilight today). I am also hoping to get Jenna's room painted before I go back as well. If I accomplish that as well as finishing Christmas shopping and spending quality time with the fam it will be a wonderful break.

It's Almost Over...

This semester that is and I can't wait! I think I bit off a little more than I can chew this semester with school. My schedule seemed so full and crazy but now it is almost over and I am soooooooo glad. I took my last 2 tests yesterday and today. Next week I have 1 final and then I'm done for a few weeks. Next semester I only have 1 class and it is my last prereq. which means in the spring I can officially apply to nursing school. I don't know how long of a wait it will be but figure I will wait until the waiting starts to decide for sure which route I am going to take. For now I am just going to review all my Anatomy and hopefully kick butt on my final. Then, I have to decide what to do over my "break". First thing I need to do is Christmas shopping.....Then I have some books I have been wanting to read, but have not had time for "fun" reading...Then I think I am going to attempt to finally paint Jenna's room. I have had all the stuff to do it for a year or so now and it's time to just do it.....I also will enjoy volunteering at the kids school a little, which I have really missed. I think that should fill up my month off, if I have any extra time I will just hang out and relax.

More Christmas Fun!

All bundled up to enjoy the light parade!
I loved all the lights!
The family favorite was definitely all the VW's
The kids by the newly decorated Christmas tree.

Friday night we made it to the light parade which was so much fun! We all dressed warm and headed out. We arrived just a few minutes before it started and had no problem finding a parkig spot and a good parade watching spot. It was neat to see all the vehicles and floats covered in lights and they passed out candy canes. I think this is one activity that will become a family tradition.
After the parade we went to Shopko so the kids could pick out their ornaments. We decided not to decorate the tree that night though and finally did it lastnight. The kids had fun hanging all their own ornaments and reminising about which ornament was from which year and which child. They also like to see all the ornaments Mike & I have from when we were little. I think the tree turned out pretty good.

Merry Christmas!!!

12 YEARS

Tomorrow is our 12th, yes, 12th anniversary! I cannot believe it has been that long. We have had our ups and downs just like everyone. Lots of struggles to help bring us closer, is what I like to think of them as. We have also been greatly blessed, which I sometimes have a hard time remembering. I am so grateful for Mike and our little family we have created. I am also very grateful for my family and his family (that is mine now too) for all the love and support from them.

Here are just some of the reasons I love Mike so much:

-He is the best daddy around, he loves our kids and so many others (and all babies like him too)

-He will do (almost) anything for anyone, he is very giving

-He can make me smile and laugh even when I am in the worst mood

-He holds me when I cry, and just lets me get "it" all out

-He works hard to support our family, he's one of the hardest workers I know (most of the time)

-He also knows how to play and have fun, which I tend to forget

I LOVE YOU MIKE!!!!!!

What the...

So lately Jenna has been spending extra time on the pot. Not sure why, but she has to go in and take off most if not all of her clothes and then she sits there for at least 10 minutes (even just to pee). She also keeps saying she has to go and then sits forever and a few minutes later goes back and sits and "tries" again. Whatever! Anyway, we were joking yesterday that she was like an old man, (really any man, right!?!?). So today when I walked in and saw her totally nude and just sitting there I handed her the paper and snapped this hilarious pic! Isn't she soooo cute, even if she is a little strange!

Christmas Trees

Our tree from "Santa"
Grandma helping the kids decorate "their" Christmas tree at her house
The kids and the tree they decorated at Grandma Carol's

Mike's mom has a nice Christmas tree upstairs that she decorates beautifully each year. She usually does another, smaller tree downstairs for the kids. We were still out of town for all the traditional Christmas decorating on Thanksgiving and the day after so she saved the tree downstairs for our kids to decorate. They were sooooo excited! We went over Monday night and they had a blast decorating the tree with Grandma Carol while Grandpa Bob made them toast. (That is another story entirely that I will have to post on some time).

Since then they have been complaining to Mike and I that we hadn't bought our tree yet. We told them we would in a week or so. I am having a really hard time getting into the Christmas Spirit this year (another long story as well). Anyway, I am trying to overcome the "mood" that seems to have overcome me. So yesterday morning when the kids got up they were all excited about something......They told us that there was a nice fresh Christmas tree in our living room and they wanted to know who put it there. We told them we didn't know, maybe it was Santa. They were trying to figure out how Santa got a tree into our house and all set up in our stand without us knowing. We had to remind them that Santa is "magic" and can do almost anything. Seeing their faces light up and be soooooo excited about the tree (even without lights and ornaments) helped lift my mood some. Tonight we are going to take them to the annual light parade (which we've never done) and to pick out their new ornaments(which we do every year) and come home and drink hot chocolate and decorate the tree. I think that will help my mood even more.

Devon

Here are a couple pictures of Devon the day after his surgery. We were able to go to the hospital and see him on our way home. The doctors say he is doing very well, and were impressed with how far he is walking already. He is a tough kid with a good attitude so he should heal quickly.

The Dogs

Jenna and Rylee with Cleo. She is a 10 year old pit bull that is the calmest sweetest dog.
Mike & Jack, Cole & Russ, and Jenna & Cleo
One day while we were there Jenna found a quicker way to get in the house and continued to use the doggy door for the rest of the trip.

Cheryl & Jon have 3 dogs so we brought Truman with us this trip. They loved "playing" together. The kids all loved the dogs as well and wanted to bring them home with us.

Skateboarding

Mike was very excited when he learned of a great skatepark that was only 10 minutes from his sisters. We all went one day and since school was still in for the kids there we had the place to ourselves. Mike spent time teaching the boys to skate and even the girls wanted lessons. Actually, Jenna seems to be the most "natural." Mike was very patient and they were all having a great time and no one got hurt so it was even better. After a few lessons Mike was able to enjoy the park himself. He was also able to visit this park a few other times during the trip plus a few others.

Riding the Quad

Cheryl & Jon have 20 acres and a 4 wheeler which makes for a fun time. We took turns taking the kids on rides, they loved it!

Peaches and Bailey, aka the cows

The kids loved living on a "farm" for a week. They fed the cows each morning and even got brave enough to get real close.

Thanksgiving Trip

We spent the last week in northern California with Mike's sister Cheryl, her husband Jon, stepson Devon (17), and the rest of their family (3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 tortoises, a bird, 2 cows). We use to go visit them at least once a year but have not been to their house in over 3 years. The kids were very excited which made for a long, noisy drive. It was nice to get there and not have any real plans. Over the week we went skateboarding, visited friends, did a little outlet shopping, and just spent time with Cheryl, Jon, & Devon as well as each other. The trip got a little "exciting" on Thanksgiving went Devon got hurt playing football and ended up with a broken neck. He was ok, very lucky actually, but spent the rest of our time their in the hospital. He had a 6 hour operation to repair his neck and will have a couple months of recovery ahead, but should be back to new in a few months.

High School Musical

The other night we went to see my niece, Eliza, play "Taylor" in the High School Musical play done by Farmington city. It was fun! She did a great job, they all did!

Overheard...

The boys and Jenna were playing in the boys room earlier and this is what I overheard:
Jenna: "whining..."
Cole (in a somewhat harsh voice):"Jenna, don't ever say you can't do it".
Noah: "Yeah, Jenna, you know you can do it!"

I guess they are listening to me about somethings. I wish Rylee would listen to this advice. She keeps struggling with her cartwheel on the beam at gymnastics. She can do it and has many times, but some days she thinks she can't and can't. I feel like I am saying "if you think you can't you can't" a lot lately.

WEEN in California

Mike & I went to CA this weekend with some friends to see WEEN! We left early Friday morning (4:45 a.m. one of the downsides of flying standby) to catch a flight. We flew to Oakland, picked up the rental car, ate some breakfast, and then headed to Livermore, Mike's old stomping grounds. We visited a couple of his old friends and saw his sister for a few minutes. Then we headed back near Oakland to check in to our hotel and rest a little. Then we headed to Santa Cruz for the first show. We had plenty of time to hang out and did a variety of things to kill time: Mike skated for a few minutes at the local skatepark, we ate at a yummy little Italian cafe, we went to the famous Santa Cruz Boardwalk (more on that in a minute), played games at the arcade, and just drove around seeing the town. Almost everything at the boardwalk was closed because it is the off season. We were bummed, we were hoping to ride the roller coasters. We (everyone except Mike who hates the ocean because it is so cold) took of our shoes and shocks and walked in the water. It was soooooooooo COLD! We didn't care it was fun! The one picture is of my footprint next to Mike's shoe print (we convinced him to at least come down to the water). Mike was glad he came down because while we were by the water he looked up and saw someone familiar walking toward us. It was Dave aka Mean Ween, the bass player for WEEN. We talked to him for a few minutes so that was cool. Anyway, the show was at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium and it was awesome! There were seats all the way around and a huge floor area in front of the stage. It was packed! They played for almost 3 hours and played a good mix of brand new and way old with a little of everything in between.

The next morning we slept in, ahhhhhhhh! Then we headed to The Cheese Steak Shop, one of Mike's favorite places to eat. We have to go everytime we visit. They do make the yummiest cheese steak sandwiches! Then we headed into San Francisco to do the touristy thing before the show. We drove down Lombard St (steep, steep brick street, see above pic) which Mike had never done. Then we headed to Pier 39 one of our favorite spots (Mike proposed to me there almost 13 years ago) to shop and eat. We were hoping to go to Alcatraz but all the boats were sold out. We visited the aquarium there, saw the sea lions, and ate clam chowder. We checked out the water in the bay (there was an oil spill there last week and they were busy cleaning up, but you could see it in the water) and tried to show our friends Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was too overcast. It rained the whole day and we were all pretty wet by the time we headed to the show. Ween played that night at the Warfield, which is an old big theatre/opera house. It was really neat, but Mike was bummed because our seats were up in the balcony and he couldn't go down on the floor by the stage. Oh, well the show was even better that night then the night before. They played about 3 hours again and only played a few of the same songs. They started off with an acoustic set that was incredible! They finished the night with one of their great rock songs, Dr Rock! It was a really fun show! I'd have to say out of the 10 times (yes I know that seems a little extreme) I've seen them this show was my favorite so far! Just to let you know Mike has seen them 13 times now and most of the shows for both of us have not been in UT. We are hoping they come to UT again in the spring though.

The kids (what, we have kids?!?!) stayed with my parents and didn't miss us at all. They went to the park, the children's museum, the library, etc. They asked me this morning when we are going to go out of town again so they can go stay at Grandma and Grandpa's. It's so nice to be able to go and know they are being well taken care of and having a great time, not even missing us. THANKS mom and dad!