Christmas Preparations

We started preparing for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving by putting up the tree and getting the house decorated. Kaden and Kenzie both had their band concerts and we attended many Christmas parties. As an annual tradition, we decorated a gingerbread house and made sugar cookies. This year we invited the Shirley's to come decorate cookies with us. What a great way to spend the season...with family and friends! We are looking forward to a special visitor tonight so we will be going to bed "uncharacteristically early"!

Being a mother, the greatest job EVER!!!!!!

So I was blessed enough to go to the hospital to see my friend Stephanie's new baby, Ty. He is absolutely adorable and perfect and it made me reflect on the birth of my own children. Each one was a unique, personal experience that made me part of who I am today. I love each one of my children so very much! They each have their own personalities and special qualities and make my life more enjoyable by their being a part of it. My life is so blessed because of these 3 special Spirits in my home. Is there any "job" better than being a mother and watching children grow, learn and develop? I think not! How very lucky I am to have such a fantastic husband who works so hard for our family so I can stay home and be a mom! This time of year makes me truly grateful for all of my blessings but none more so than my family!!!

More Thanksgiving

The kids table. It's hard to fit all of us in one house!

These boys are so "COOL"! Check out the whoosh hair! They are just anxious for some food and then on to other activities.

Thanksgiving at the Stokes

It's so good to be back in Burley with the "gang"! We didn't feel like traveling this Thanksgiving so we just got together with some friends and their families. It was a really kick back day. Great food, good conversation, lots of Black Friday planning and kids running crazy! The best part about getting together with friends is that we all have kids about the same ages so they are very entertained.

The Shirley's: Dave and Steph

The Stokes: Steve and Sarah

My beautiful Kenzie and darling Valerie. They are such a cute duo!

New Moon Premier Dinner

I'm a girl who likes a good party! What could be better than a New Moon Premier Party? I have to admit, the planning was actually just as much fun as the party! We had the party at Sarah's house (thanks Sarah). We went all out on the decorations and it was a blast! Too bad the movie was a disappointment though. Okay, don't shoot me but, I wasn't a big fan. I love the books but the movies....ugh! The choice of actors couldn't be worse (except Jacob, they actually did good on that one)and the acting itself....oh my gosh! It was still a good reason to party though!

The Lovely Vampires: Marilyn, Sarah, Stephanie and Melanie. I didn't get any good photos of the rest of the group but there were 10 of us in all!

Halloween in Burley!

Oh so cute!

Kaden, the zombie freak!

So, Halloween in Burley goes something like this: We have some neighbors who totally deck out their house for Halloween, even make a Spook Alley out of it so, needless to say it is quite the draw for our small town. We have local police officers who block off the entrance into our neighborhood so all the kids can walk through without a lot of traffic. We have something like 700-800 trick or treaters every year! This year, I sat on the front porch for over 4 hours handing out candy! It's not even worth going inside and closing the door because the stream of ghosts and goblins is so steady. Yes, we knew what we were getting into, coming back to this neighborhood but we love it!

A long drive for dinner!

So after much planning...that didn't come of much, we had an evening out with our husbands. We did make some cute invitations and delivered them at work but our other plans kindof didn't pan out. We still had a great night of laughs and conversations even if we had to drive all the way to Pocatello to do it. We always have such a great time together! Thanks girls, I needed that!

The Shirleys: Dave and Steph
Nice face Dave!

The Stokes: Steve and Sarah

Halloween Fun!

Conner's first Halloween Parade at school! He loved the Mohawk, I'm not so sure!

Kenzie wanted to make a Halloween craft so she instigated this whole thing! She did an amazing job! She is so creative and such a great little mother to Conner, he is soooo lucky to have such a great big sister!

Kenzie's finished Haunted Patch!

Painting and Carving!

So I just couldn't wait to get started on painting our new house! I really HATE painting but I love the feel of a freshly painted room. I must really be loosening up cuz this time I let the kids get involved! Conner got to paint under the desk all by himself! He was SO proud! After falling off a chair and seriously spraining my ankle, I welcomed Kenzie's help! She was a great help too!

We haven't actually "carved" pumpkins in years! I have not felt well enough to tackle the whole project but this year, WE CARVED!!!
Jeff carved out the tops, the kids dug out their own "guts" and we all got to work on the faces! It is so fun making these fall memories, even if the cleanup is a pain!

The Annual Pumpkin Patch

Since our move to Idaho Falls, we missed our trip to the greatest pumpkin patch. This year, we made it back.

Kaden and his friend Brigham got the biggest pumpkins they could carry!

I just love fall pictures, no one is too hot or too cold and usually smiles great! Conner obviously had something more important on his mind!

How About That Swine Flu?

So, I know the swine flu is becoming a real problem but I can't seem to get too rattled about it! It's the flu! It sucks to be sick but is it really worth all the press coverage and scares in the school? I'm not wishing this on anyone and I feel terrible for anyone who gets it but the media makes it sound like Anthrax or something! Keep washing your hands, eat your fruits and veggies and stay home if you're sick! Just my 2 cents worth! (Not worth much!!!)

Decades Day

For Homecoming Week, they had "Decades Day". The stores here in Burley don't have much to offer in the way of costumes so we took a dress Kenzie already had, ratted some Big Hair and called it "The 60's"! Notice the lovely addition of the bandage on her hand. She had some surgery yesterday to remove a cyst. I think it was a little more painful than she anticipated but she still looks great! What a beautiful girl!

Welcome Company!

Welcome to our new Home!!

Our guest room is ready for company and so are we! Hopefully our company doesn't mind sharing a room with all of my scrapbook stuff, this room is doing double duty but I'm happy with the way it turned out! Still needing to paint but that will come in time!

When my scraproom is clean and displayed.....you know I'm ready for some company so who is going to be first?

Dad's 80th Birthday

The smile on dad's face says it all! We got together as a family for my dad's 80th Birthday Party! Thing was, it was a total surprise to him! We haven't been together as a whole family in probably 4 years. He was totally in shock and couldn't be happier when he showed up at the Brick Oven in Provo and the whole family was there! The only one missing is my neice Stephanie who couldn't get away from work to come, maybe next time. I sure hope it isn't another 4 years before we find a reason to get together again!

Me, Susan, Karen, Connie, Dad and Mom

The whole crew modeling their balloons from the Balloon Guy at The Brick Oven

The New House!

So I'm a little behind on our blog!!! That is an understatement! We've had a little bit of a busy summer, then to top it off....we moved back to Burley (in a rush) just in time for school! This is a photo of our new (and hopefully our LAST) house! We love the neighborhood, we love the ward and we love the location! How do we know that? This house is about 8 houses down the road from our last house here. We love the layout of the house, now we just need to make it feel like home to us. We are so glad to be back together as a family. Being apart for most of the week and Jeff commuting 2 hours each way to work just really didn't work out. As much as we loved Idaho Falls and our friends and neighbors there, we are happy to be back in Burley and all together again.