Seven and Sassy

Happy Birthday to Macie!!! She turned 7 on the 27th. To quote grandma Belka "she is all personality." Macie keeps life interesting. She is such a sweetheart and we are so grateful to have her as part of our family. She had a small dinner party. She invited Abby and Kayla and after dinner we all went to the movie Bolt.

One thing she wanted for her birthday was a jump rope. She has loved the e-pet one of her friends gave to her and has spent lots of time playing in that virtual world.

Christmas Trip

We spent Monday and Tuesday prior to Christmas is Disney Land!!! It was such a great time of year to go. They made everything extra special. The decorations, the characters, the parades and shows were so fun. We went with the Stewart side of the family. It was great being there with grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins. Our kids were in Heaven. I lost my first days pictures (long story) which were so awesome because we took a lot of photos and everyone was fresh. My second day pictures are not as good, but here are a few.

Nate, who is a huge Mickey fan loved the characters. We saw so many.

Nate and Macie with their cousin Dalin

Christmas Eve

Macie was so worried about whether she was on Santa's naughty list or Santa's nice list. On Christmas eve 7:00pm she decided to up her chances of the nice list. Right out of the blue she asked if she could clean the bathroom. I found this so humorous. In the morning she went and looked at the presents. She proudly announced that there was no Cole under the tree. I guess her plan worked.

Travis loved this Bat Cave. He seriously played with this toy for five straight hours. Had a movie break and then when back to the bat cave for a couple more hours. It is a sweet toy!!

Nate liked his bike but ultimately wanted the bat cave. Which the boys fought over. Santa learned that brothers this close in age need to get similar presents.

Macie asked for the Camp Rock Barbies and got them!! We had a very nice Christmas. I loved all the snow and the warmth of the house and a cosy fire. We have truly been blessed this year. I am grateful for the Savior and our Father in Heaven's constant care.

Jordan Beet Classic

Last weekend I went with the Larriettes (Kanab high drill team) to a competition at Jordan High School in Sandy. They did really well. Look at those big trophies. We won one 2nd place and two 3rd place trophies. Which is excellent at such a big competition. We ended up staying up north an extra night because of all the snow. I am having a great time coaching drill this year. They are such a good group of girls. Way to go Lariettes!!!!!!!

To be a child

I came into the kitchen one evening after putting the kids to bed and found these three guys protecting the contents of my drawers. I had to chuckle to myself, Travis of course. Childhood is such a fun time, a fleeting time, and kids are very creative. I remember using bread pans as showers for my barbies. I found the below quote on the internet. It was a good reminder to me. Sorry I don't have the source.

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.

Before we know it they will all be grown up and out on their own. Enjoy the journey!!!

Thanksgiving Trip

This year we went up north for Thanksgiving. It was such a fun time. I couldn't choose which pictures to post so I posted all of them.

Macie was in heaven with all her girl cousins. She is the oldest grandchild on my side of the family. They played for days, had sleepovers, painted nails, went to High School Musical 3 and were spoiled by grandma and grandpa. Travis is the oldest boy and spends a lot of time playing with the girls. One night when we put the kids to bed all the girls were laying on mattresses on the floor and Travis was up on the couch. He said, "I am glad I am up here so I am not girl trapped." They all thought that was hilarious. I hate to break the news to you Travis, but it will be like this for years to come.

Here are the three boy grandchildren. Grandpa does a lot of "boy stuff" with them.

Grandma had everyone play Thanksgiving Bingo. She had prizes for everyone, even the adults. We were using hard beans as markers. Travis tried to eat one. Not such a good idea. Every time he had played Bingo prior to this the markers have been edible, whoops.

Travis, Aubrey and Macie sat down for the feast ready to eat an hour before it was time. They wanted to claim their spots early.

Most of my family lives in Northern Utah. I really miss being close to them. My siblings and their spouses are some of my best friends. When we travel up for a visit everyone comes and camps out at my Moms. It makes for a crowded house but lots of fun. One of our favorite things to do is play games. We spent a couple hours one evening playing a dice game called greed.

We had a big crowd for dinner 19 in all. Dinner was delicious. I don't think I stopped eating for three days.

On Thanksgiving morning the guys have their annual turkey bowl. They meet up with our cousins at a nearby elementary school for some guy bonding. It never fails one of them always ends up hurt and they are all sore for days. What do you expect when you play only once a year. This year it was our cousin Ronald the banged up his hip. I thought this was a cool picture of them walking home. Don't they look like studs (especially the one in the middle)?

Left Byron (my older brother) Clay and Aaron (my bother -in -law)

My two little brothers and my Dad.

My mom is a decoration animal. She has boxes and boxes of seasonal decorations. She loves to decorate for every occasion and has thousands of nick-knacks on walls, floors and tables. It was no surprise that the day after Thanksgiving she was ready to get out the Christmas load. Macie was excited and right there to help.

Here is Macie's crazy pose picture. There is always one of these in the bunch. Uncle Jake was helping her put the star on top of the tree when she paused for a pose. That is quite the move. I might use this in one of my dance numbers.

Girls weekend in Vegas

I went on a much needed girls vacation to Las Vegas last weekend with my dear college roomie Trish (right) and her good friend Rachel (left, who is now my good friend). We had soooooo much fun!!! Where to start? The first night after a huge buffet we went to the highly anticipated movie Twilight. After much debate and analyzing we decided we loved it. We agreed that some of the casting was off (Jasper?????Rosaline?????) The next day we did a lot of shopping and site seeing. Saturday night we went to Myster at Treasure Island. It was a great show! Lots of amazing stunts and dancing.

One of the highlights of all my vacations is the food. Here we are at In & Out Burger (a first for me). We also dined at a great Buffalo Wings place and the Cheesecake Factory. I learned so much from these girls this weekend. I came back happy refreshed and ready to be a better mom and wife. Thanks girls for a fabulous time. Thanks husbands for watching all the kids!!!

He is 4 - T

Travis had his four year old birthday (Nov 6). He has been waiting for this day for months. I have never seen a child more excited and thrilled all day long. He loved this batman bike and rode it all over the house. It is so fulfilling as a parent to see your child have such a day. I wish I could guarantee that he could be this happy for all the birthdays the rest of his life. When our children are small we (as parents) have so much influence in their lives. When they grow up, not so much. I just hope I can give them a happy childhood with alots of love, so regardless of what the rest of their lives bring they have that. Children need so much love and attention. I was loved as a child and that has made all the difference in my life(thanks mom and dad).

Travis had a super hero birthday party. He wanted to invite only boys. He did make an exception in my case because I had to make the cake. The all came dressed as super heroes. They had a lot of fun!!! Macie and Abby help me run the party, I couldn't have done it without their help thanks girls!!

Halloween 2008

Here we are getting ready to go out for the evening. Clay surprised us and dressed up too. We went to a friend's house for dinner then off to the trunk or treat at the church. We were home by 7:00. I took the kids trick or treating around our block. Clay stayed home to hand out candy. We only had one family of trick or treaters.

Travis with some of his friends and his pre-school teacher Miss Deb. He loves pre-school!!!

Travis and his best buddy Trent

Much anticipated hunting trip

Clay looks forward to the deer hunt all year long. He has been wanting me to hunt for years. I finally went through hunter safety classes two years ago. This was the first year I drew out. So the question among the extended family was .......would she pull the trigger or would she not. She did! The four point in the picture above was Clay's deer. Mine was a little smaller. A two point. It was a fun experience.

Macie and Travis having a great time on Grandpa's hay stack. Nate wishing he had longer legs. Mom glad he doesn't.

More fun on the farm!!!