December

We finally put our Christmas tree in the trash and the kids were all really sad.  Rhead kept asking why we have to take it down?  The kids had a GREAT CHRISTMAS!!!  Our whole family had a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS with Justin having the whole week off so we were able to drive down to AZ to see sooo much family!!! 

We had everyone there except Jaren.  But we did get to skype with him which was very FUN!!  The kids loved all the activities from going to see FROZEN, to the BUTTERFLY museum, to playing on the trampoline, and playing in the sand at the "Beach"!  We also had a MIRACLE happen.  Brooke was the only one that got sick and was out for about two days.  She threw up a couple of times but somehow we managed to have the rest of the house with 8 kids under the age 5 stay healthy!!  Brooke missed the movie but she can see it when it comes out.  This was the first time our kids had been to the movie theater and they loved it.  Luckily it wasn't packed and the we saw an early showing with free popcorn that helped keep them in their seats!  We have been dancing around the house to "LET IT GO"!  I am ready to get some ballet and modern dancers READY to have a piece choreographed to that song!!  It would be AWESOME  to have some on POINTE and the others MODERN!!!...

Anyways, we just had a great DECEMBER!!  I still can't believe how healthy we really have been.  Maybe because we have had 70 degree weather all month....  But we do need RAIN!  Here are some pictures below of Christmas 2013!  It was such a blessing to be able to have a whole week with family.  It sure is hard living so far away from all our Sweeney cousins.  The best part of Christmas was being able to spend so much time with our DADDY and all our COUSINS!!! 

 Rhead and Eva playing some BOWLING!!!  Lucy was around too.  I think she might have won!!

 Rhead loves the TRAMPOLINE and said this is his FAVORITE!!!  He sure does miss our trampoline we had to sell to move into our rental which has no backyard. 

 Daddy and his tradition of THE GRINCH!! 

 The cousins all got along so well even if they are all GIRLS  (PLUS NOAH!) 

 Poor Brooke.  She was so sad to be so sick. 

 Rhead and Carden absolutely were THRILLED when they opened their COUSIN present and got NINJA TURTLE STUFF!!!! SOOOO COOL!

 These COOL NIGHT VISION goggles were also a BIG HIT!!! 

 Swimming goggles for the BEACH and POOL is a must have!!! 

 The CASTLE!!!  OOOOoooo sooo FUN!!  Thanks NANA and PAPI!!

 The princesses and their FROZEN dolls with Nana's fun horses!

 Cinderella and Snow White!! 

 Another fun tradition is the GINGERBREAD houses!!!  Justin was having a BLAST!!!  :) 

 Emma is a little sweet tooth!!!  She loved sneaking some of the candy off the roof!!!   She is sooo CUTE!!! 

 Butterfly MUSEUM with Nana and Papi!!  Their FIRST EVER 3-D movie!!

 Some neat butterflies I took!

 the BLUE butterfly LOVED Rhead in his BLUE SHIRT!!!! 

 This one seemed to LOVE Carden's golden brown hair!

 Carden loved to capture them with his paper!

 Brooke loved hanging with her BEAUTIFUL AUNT MICHELLE!!!

 We also got to visit the Mesa AZ temple and see JESUS and the LIGHTS!!!

 The BEACH!!!  It was soooo nice!

 Big COUSIN CARDEN holding EVA!

Can't wait till we see you all again!!!  Hopefully this summer!!!  Thanks sooo much for the wonderful Christmas Nana and Papi.  What great memories to remember.  we will have to make a movie about it since there are sooo many more pictures!!!

Delynne Peay We WILL Miss YOU!

This whole day I have been dancing around my house, which Miss Delynne Peay would be doing if she were here at my house with me!  My heart is saddened to find out that a few days ago my BYU dance teacher Delynne Peay passed away due to the flu.  I will never forget my first dance class with her...

It was my Freshman Summer and I took an intermediate or advanced tap class.  I was actually pretty nervous since I hadn't tapped since 7th grade or so.  I had forgotten all the steps and was in this advanced tap class with this AMAZING DANCE TEACHER!!!!  She choreographed a great dance for the end of the semester, which me and Caitlin Carter Wilson (http://caitlinwilson.com/blog/) performed for our BYU WARD TALENT SHOW where Justin SWEENEY was the MC!  It was a memorable summer that I will probably never forget.  I think Delynne Peay made me realize how much harder I needed to work to me great!  From that summer on I think I took a class from her throughout my whole FOUR YEARS at BYU. 

Another class I will never forget is taking Delynne Peay's SPANISH DANCE class!!! It was AWESOME!!!  Honestly this class was sooo fun!!  I wish I had taken it more than once.  It was so FUN watching Delynne Peay teach us how to Spanish dance.  The hands and feet were so detailed and so passionate!

I can't even remember how I got on her 9RB team!!!  It was a MIRACLE and BLESSING because I feel like I grew so much being on her team, which lead to SPAC (the SPRING PERFORMING ARTS COMPANY!)   Our trip to NAUVOO was one to never forget!  Every night we performed across the street from the temple.  Every night we got to run around the temple in the LIGHTS after our performance.  It was a great experience...

I was about to enter the Clinical Laboratory Science major, as I had just received my acceptance letter, but then I had heard from Delynne Peay who told me about a change in the DANCE PROGRAM which made me rethink my future and where I wanted to go!  I was so excited to hear they changed the program and that almost ALL my dance credits would now count!  Then the next year I was also accepted on the Performing Arts Company team (PAC)!!  My goal was reached!!!  Folk dance has changed my life and Delynne Peay played a huge part in helping me accomplish that goal!!  So many hours dancing with her! 

I will never forget the first time I saw the FOLK DANCERS perform at Christmas Around the World my Freshman year and thought I WANT TO DO THAT!!!  Never having a clogging or Irish class I enrolled in EVERY CLASS I COULD which helped me finally be able to perform in that concert!  HAPPINESS!!! JOY!!!  Great MEMORIES with such great PEOPLE!!!  All those words describe Delynne Peay.  I will miss her. (http://m.ksl.com/index/story/sid/28368842?mobile_direct=y#.Utb1twFMlPo.facebook)
 "God be with you till me meet again..."      

30 TODAY!

Yes it is my Birthday today and I just turned 30!!  It is actually the BEST feeling to be 30.  You might laugh but I actually finally feel like a real woman!  I have four amazing kids. A wonderful hard working husband.  I own a van!  I have a HOME (well not really we are still renting)  but we are finally on our feet!  It is the best feeling in the world!

It has been a wonderful fast Sunday.  We also had a wonderful talk in Young Women's on the Godhead.  I believe in God our Heavenly Father and in His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.  Our Heavenly Father loves each one of us.  He sent his son down to Earth to show us the way to return to his presence. The Holy Ghost can be with us always if we are worthy and can help guide us through this mortal life.  I am excited for my new calling in YW as the Beehive teacher.  It will be great being able to learn how to teach by the Savior's example.  The girls are so fun and so talented!

We had an amazing dinner at the van Beevers home.  Grilled chicken and rice with awesome salads!  It was great not having to make dinner on a FAST SUNDAY and my Birthday!!  Then we had cake and ice cream which my kids picked out and Daddy baked!!  It was hot pink cake with purple frosting!!!  So bright and fun!!  It is so FUN being soooo close to family!!!  I still have the dream of living in San Diego but every day it gets harder and harder to ever feel like we could leave all our family that lives sooo close!

We love our neighborhood.  We love biking everywhere.  We love the sun.  The heat.  The parks that are close.  It has been a fun adventure being here.  Wish we could only have the rest of our cousins close!!!!  The other day in the car ride home (just myself)  I was getting soo antsy to be a dance teacher!!!  I just want to start dancing and putting together pieces and having a SHOW!!!  It excites me so much but then makes me nervous because it takes a lot of work and time.  I love being a MOTHER MORE THAN ANYTHING!!!  I don't want to miss that time with my kids.  It sure is fun watching my kids learn and grow.

Tonight the best moment was watching my littlest one fall asleep in between his siblings in the BIG BED while holding his little PERCY the train in his hand!!!!  It is so sweet watching them all snuggle together and fall asleep.  My baby is now 2 and it makes me a little sad that he is growing up so fast.  I do love my FAMILY!!!  It has been A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!