A Christmas without Santa!

This year we propositioned our children for a trip to Disneyland and Sea World in California, the catch --- Santa would not be coming this year as a result. The children didn't take much time to unanimously decide in favor of our proposition. The younger boys and I wrote Santa a letter telling him not to come this year because we would be gone. (He did deliver stockings on Christmas morning to our hotel room).

School ended on the 22nd of Dec. and so we headed out the next day despite threats of snow. We stayed the first night in St. George, UT with my parents then hit the road at 5:30 AM the next day (Christmas Eve) strait to Disneyland. Disneyland is a magical place especially IF you have children to share it with. We loved their oohs and aahhs, the comments were priceless. We had a great time together! We had decided this was the best time to go with the possibility of our children leaving the "nest" looming in the next several months. It was. (A word of advice however to my loyal readers - DON'T go on Christmas!!! It is the busiest day of the year and very, VERY crowded!) The weather was spectacular the whole time we were in California. We couldn't get over the green grass and beautiful flowers everywhere.

After spending three days at Disneyland, we spent Sunday going to church in Los Angelos near the LA Temple. We then visited the temple (I can still smell the flowers!) then we headed to San Diego to visit the temple there.

The next day was spent at Sea World. The kids enjoyed the shows and loved interacting with the sea life.

The following day we went to the San Diego Zoo then visited the national cemetery and finally ended on Coronado Island beach where Whitney and I spent our honeymoon. It was spectacular. We watched the sunset together. I should've known the kids would get wet - it's a given when going to the beach even if it is December!

Needless to say, we were worn out from all the walking but the good thing is we stayed trim doing so and we made memories to last a lifetime. The kids were ready to head home. We spent the next night in St. George again, this time visiting with Scott & Sundy and Kerri & Mark (and kids). The weather was great to return home New Years Eve and we made good time so that we could enjoy a family party of games,videos, and toasting in the New Year 2010 with ginger ale.

I must admit that I missed Christmas at home but would not trade this experience for the world. I feel so blessed to have been able to go and am thankful for supportive relatives as well.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's the Final Countdown!

We have a variety of countdown gadgets in our house during this wonderful month of December. There are the usual ones sent home from school - paper chains, glue the ornament on the tree, and color in the picture. The kids have two favorites that are traditional, the life-saver tree and our nativity advent calendar. The problem you run into when you have only two of these and six kids is apparent. Luckily, the teenagers aren't as picky (If it were a money tree or a cell phone minute tree - they'd be well into the competition).

Every year we try to do a number of things to help the kids catch the true spirit of the season. We go to parties, attend concerts, try to drive up to Temple Square, and invite friends over to decorate gingerbread houses. This year seems to have gone by too fast and the weather, although beautiful, hasn't cooperated well.

The kids enjoy re-enacting the Christmas story as found in Luke 2 of the Bible. Here are a few fun pictures of that.
















Now to our favorite family tradition! We have the 25 days of Christmas where, as a family, we sit around the light of a single candle and the Christmas tree and we read a scripture about our Savior and share a story about giving and sacrifice. We sing a song together, pray and blow out the candle. The kids treasure this tradition and we relish the time away from the usual craziness of bedtime and enjoy each other. My sister Kerri also added to that tradition by sewing a banner with 12 little pockets in which are stored little "treats" for the last 12 days of Christmas. I'm so grateful for traditions and for this time of year! I would love to hear from all of you regarding your traditions! In the meantime, Happy Countdown!!

The Giving Tree . . .

Don't you just love the book, The Giving Tree? I love it so much, I translated it into Spanish when I was in High School. Wish I could find where I've filed it!

This is the season for gratitude. I would hope that I can hold such a season in my heart everyday. Some days I'm better at this than others. For now, I will share my most cherished gifts and as I do so, I hear an echo of all of you saying -- YES, me too!

Health!!
A wonderful family - immediate and extended
Freedom
A Beautiful World
An Education
My Testimony of Christ
Forgiveness
and Years and years of experiences which have made me who I am (good or bad)!

Let's also not over-look:

indoor plumbing (and 2 ply TP!)
automobiles
sticky fingers blowing kisses
and these blessed but curse provoking computers!!

November came and is going, going ... go n e ! !



The kids report that all is well. We were able to spend Thanksgiving with Whit's family in Green River, WY. We had a great time. Kaylee, Kendall, and Shannon discovered the fun of crossword puzzles. Weslie, Braden, and Landon felt redemption from having missed trick or treating as grandma had plenty of sweets.
I enjoyed a good book (hoorah! - The Gift by Richard Paul Evans) and Whitney finally got to watch a Dallas Cowboys game as is his favorite thing to do on Thanksgiving. From all of us to all of you --- THANKS for being a part of our lives!!

OCTOBER FEST!!

Oh what do you do in the Autumn time, when all the leaves are . . . red, orange, yellow, and brown???

Just a quick summary again of some of the festivities for October.

We started the month with UEA weekend. I ditched going to the Teacher's Conference and caught up on some bills, school work, and housework so we could go to St. George and spend time with my family. Because it was the BIG marathon there, we couldn't get a hotel so we stayed at my parent's place along with Kerri & Mark and their family (not a very big place - 2 bedrooms). We were literally wall-to-wall people but we had so much fun! Mandy brought her boyfriend Tyler and we enjoyed getting to know him as well. We enjoyed General Conference for our church on television and cinnamon rolls (tradition) along with games and swimming. Quick trip but oh so worth it! We also enjoyed seeing Cove Fort on our way down. (I can now include that in my UT History for my 4th graders!)

We next celebrated Landon's 5th!! I get emotional as I reflect on the circumstances of his birth. Those of you who know us well, know what a miracle he is and why we affectionately call him "chub". He had his McDonald's party as is tradition with all of our children when they turn 5. (HOORAY! - no more McD's parties!!!).


























Kaylee turned 18 the week following Landon!! What an emotional month to celebrate our oldest and youngest within a week! (By the way, she can't really be 18 because I'm not that old!!) We are off to do the college tour this month and then it's scholarships and applications. Any words of sage advice are welcome! Kaylee celebrated her birthday this last weekend by having a Halloween Party here. Whit conveniently was gone to Fresno!









We attended the annual North Logan Pumpkin Walk. This is spectacular! Wish all of you could come and see it. I've included a few pics. Everything is done using squash or pumpkins. They have warm fires, cookies, and displays to fill the park and it's all free.



















We were also able to slip in our annual FHE (Family Home Evening)activity of going to the corn maze. We hurried this year as it was cold! We received a few inches of snow but this week - Ahhh . . . THE SUN!!















Now . . . a picture of the "NEW PUGH" --- It's a Boy! The kids named him Cosmo after much debate. He's a poodle, shitzu mix.

Just a bit of me . . .

Downloading pictures for this entry is just not going to happen tonight, I'm escaping the usual craziness of cleaning, prepping for tomorrow, and finishing up what was forgotten during the day. I thought I would just share some thoughts I have about what I find beautiful in this life (perhaps it will inspire some of you to start a list of your own).

Things that I love:
The patterns found in nature
Hiking to a tall and remote peak
Feeling the wind on my face
Singing a beautiful song
Feeling the rhythm of nature in my soul
Lightning storms in the solitude of night
The smell of the earth after a rain storm
A beautiful garden
The soft fur of a puppy
The vivid colors in the canyon during autumn
A good book that stays in your thoughts for a week
Words of wisdom
A clean joke with a touch of reality
Hugs, hugs, and hugs!
A warm cup of hot cocoa on a cold morning
Anonymous notes of love
Cotton Candy Sunsets
Sitting on the beach and watching the waves lap the shore
Hallmark commercials
A GOOD movie - the kind that makes you laugh, cry, and feel really good all at once
The freedom to make all the choices I want each day
Helping another learn something new
Learning something new
The Harvest Moon
challenging times which help me grow
reading to my children
being with my family

and last but certainly NOT least . . . HOPE!!

Happy Fall Ya'all! Isn't it great to be alive?!!

Yes - I'm still here . . .

So much to share, so little time. My blogging will be limited as time allows so here's a quick top ten for September: (Our computer crashed and we were without one for a week and a half. The kids thought it was the end of the world! Funny, but it almost is! We hadn't run a recent back-up so we lost quite a bit of data. I guess you live and learn!)

1. Braden's 7th Birthday!! He is a joy in our lives. He LOVES to read (I catch him sneaking a book to bed), LOVES to play games, cares about others, and is very cautious.





























2. Weslie's 11th Birthday! She keeps us on our toes. Her hair is her icon, she loves sports, can keyboard faster than a whip, adores horses, and wants to be on the Aggie basketball team someday.





























3. Antelope Island & Dinosaur Park (We went on Weslie's birthday since it was Labor Day weekend).
































4. 68 Grasshoppers - The kids decided to round up the grasshoppers which had infested the garden. They were able to get about this many if not more. WOW!



























5. Hike to the Windcaves (1.8 miles UP! The kids all were troopers on this hike. We climbed over 900 ft in less than a mile! Once we got to the top, the view was spectacular! I have been wanting to do this for some time and am so glad we went.





























6. Whit, Shannon, & Braden visit with Joe & Anna in Green River, WY (brief visit but they loved seeing their aunt & uncle from Wisconsin).


7. Kendall's FIRST formal date (Homecoming Dance!)




8. Marching Band Kick-Off (Parent Night) We love this! Go Skyview!!



9. Hobo season - We're tallying our hobo count again. So far, we've killed 3 in the last week. Actually 2, we kept 1 to take for show and tell. If you haven't figured it out - we're talking SPIDERS! Look these up if you're not familiar with them. They are fast little devils and you DON'T want to get bitten!

10. Parent Teacher Conferences!! This is a bit of a stress as all of my children have them on the same day and they go to 4 different schools (in different towns). I will be unable to attend since I have my own class this year to worry about! ARGH! Go Whit - GO!


And there you have it for the last couple of weeks. I didn't want to bore you with any other details like . . . Weslie's first Basketball game is tonight but it's also pack meeting and Whit is doing a boomerang presentation for another pack, Kendall has MB, Kaylee swing dance, Shannon working, and well thus it goes!

Networking & Multitasking

I have several people ask me how I am able to keep up on everything with the kids, church calling, work, home responsibilities, and extra-curricular activities . . . Well, here's my secret . . . I DON'T!! ARGHHH! Actually, I network and multitask. These are any mother's secret weapon. We find other moms who are willing to help out if we help them and we work out carpools and talent swapping. It works great! Most of you reading my blog know exactly what I'm talking about.

It has been a busy week so I will just post a "cute" picture because the other way I'm able to keep up is - I laugh as much as I can, especially at myself and the things that help me to learn how to be flexible, patient, enduring, and creative.
Whitney reminded me(as I'm typing lesson plans at 10:30 PM) that the journey to becoming a wonderful teacher is a marathon, not a sprint (WORDS OF WISDOM! but either way, it's a run!). He helps out and that also is how I do it!