Christmas!

To update, we survived the last week of school craziness. Alyssa played the flute at her school concert and did wonderfully. Amber had her dance recital at a resort and then a nursing home. She was so animated and sang along with all the songs. I hadn't gotten a chance to watch her practice and was amazed at how well she took to it. I think we'll have to do it again next year.

We had Family Home Evening and decorated a gingerbread train instead of a house this year. I thought this would work out perfectly because the way it usually goes is Scott telling the kids not to touch until he finally lets them set on a couple candies and then watch again. He's so funny! So I thought the kids could decorate the back car while he did the engine. My family barely made it through that. We are just not artistic enough. They'd rather just eat the candy and be done with it. I'm not sure this tradition will last.

A couple days later we got some "snow" and they delayed school for 2 hours. You can see how dangerous it would have been to travel in. Alyssa and Amber had a lot of fun licking it off everything.

Christmas Eve was spent at home with our family. We had a little program with the kids reading stories and singing songs and then we read the Christmas story and opened holiday crackers (the kind that snap when you open them). They have little toys in them and hats. It was a nice, peaceful night.

The next morning Scott and I restrained ourselves and didn't wake up the kids like we have every year past and waited until they got up. They got way too much stuff as usual, but most of it very useful. We tore Christian away from the Wii and went and saw Bolt at the movie theater and I made it about halfway before Alivia tried to climb into the folding seat and it ate her so we spent the rest of the time in the hall looking at movie posters. I told her she owed me $6. And then we came home and had friends over for games and hanging out.

We feel very blessed to have a warm home, family who provides Christmas for us, and friends who will hang out with us. Merry Christmas to all!

Songs, Service & Santa

Well, even taking a few days to recover we still managed to fit a lot in. Alyssa had her first piano recital this last week and she looked and played beautifully. I was so proud of her. Then she also had her first parade where she played in the band. Unfortunately, we did not get to watch as Scott took the van keys with him to work and we didn't have transportation. But we did get a picture of her in her cute uniform!

We also had preschool at our house this week and Amber and her friends made wreaths and we took them over to a nursing home. They were so excited to see the kids! It was a really good experience and I think they had fun, too.

Our ward Christmas party was also this week and it was very well attended. We couldn't fit any more tables into the cultural hall. Our kids loved sitting on Santa's lap, except Alivia who screamed as soon as she saw she was headed in his direction. So Daddy had to help.

This week we have a concert and another recital and so we'll write again soon! Hope you are all enjoying the season!

Where did they come from?

Every year we have the tradition of making turkeys and writing things we're thankful for on the feathers. This year I took the picture and couldn't figure out who else had added theirs because there's no way our family has that many turkeys. But no, we really have that many with another to go.

We were so happy to find out we were getting company for Thanskgiving. We can never go anywhere because of Black Friday--we're stuck. My sister Xela and her husband and daughter came down to be with us. Good thing because they got to watch our kids all weekend!

So Thursday morning I was up at 4 a.m. not because I was in a hurry to get the turkey done, but but because I was in pain. My kidneys have been acting up again this pregnancy. By the time we got dinner over with, I decided I better go to the Emergency Room. I thought it would be a quick in and out, but 2 days later they finally let me out. Not only that but they had to transfer me from one hospital to another in an AMBULANCE. I told them I would only go if Scott drove me, but no such luck. It was emberrassing and I can't wait to get the bill for that one. Then my mom got worried and drove down that evening. So at least I didn't have to worry about the kids. Anyway, after much begging and pleading they finally let me go. I thought about having my sister and mom drop off all 4 of my kids for a few hours and then for sure they'd let me out.

Thanks to my family without who we would not have survived the weekend. I didn't get any pictures, but if you go to Xela's blog, she has some cute ones.

And I have found many more things to be grateful for, the major one being good health and good friends and helpful family and morphine. Next year will be more exciting, I'm sure!

The Spoils

Now, I know most of you feel the way I do that Halloween is getting out of control, but every year I am still amazed at how crazy it is. We will have candy until Christmas. This year we had a devil, an unhappy little Indian, a cheerleader and a princess. Not bad for about $20.

I made the kids eat a nice, healthy dinner and then we got dressed (screaming, chasing, getting dressed, makeup, hair, getting dressed again) for Trunk or Treat. The kids had a good time and then Christian and Alyssa took off with some friends and went and got even MORE candy.

Boy, am I glad that's over. On with the next holiday!

Me

So, I got tagged by someone else to say 7 things about myself and so I guess I'd better do it. I am a pretty boring person, I don't have that much interesting about me. Anyway:
1) I love Michael Jackson. It's rubbed off on my kids. Alyssa was watching a video one day and told me she wants to marry him. I don't think so! But you gotta love his music.
2) I love autumn. You can feel it in the air.
3) Everyone probably already knows I love to read. It's my one big vice. Some days the kids are lucky to be fed.
4) I hate that everyone else has cute backgrounds on their blog and I still haven't figured out how to do it yet!
5) My one claim to fame is when I was a baby someone offered a million dollars for me. It was a childless couple that thought I was such a beautiful baby. I bet my parents regret keeping me now!
6) I do way too much for my husband. He would seriously whither up and die without me. But he's just so darn cute I can't help it!
7) One day I want to be a concert pianist.
I told you I'm boring! Everyone I know is crazy busy, but I tag Nicole, Tiffany, Tina, Lisa, and Brandy. Happy Halloween!

Daddy Daughter Date

Scott and Alyssa had their first daddy-daughter date last week and I had to put some pictures up. We had a sock hop for Activity Days and it turned out so cute. We had a bubble blowing contest, a hula hoop contest, a sock contest (Alyssa won the prize for ugliest socks--but she also won the hula hoops), and of course lots of dancing. I just realized I didn't get a picture of the cute couple together, but here are some other ones. Alyssa declared at the end of the night--that was the best ever!

Autumn Days

Okay, so that last post is a perfect example of your brain on pregnancy. I don't think I could have gotten any more random. Anyway, life took over for awhile but I wanted to get our latest news posted.

Scott has started school again and is working towards his MBA online at University of Phoenix. Needless to say, this leaves him with little extra time. And that little amount left is taken up with moves. A lot of people are moving out of our area and he's been doing 1-2 moves a week. Ah, the joys of being the Elders Quorum president.

I have been feeling much better. Thank goodness, so I can chase my kids around. I was in charge of a book club and our ward visiting teaching conference last week and it was hectic; I'm so glad it's over. Today was the first time I've had a chance to sit down and it was so nice to just breath and do nothing but sit on the couch.

Alyssa has been busy with band and school and friends. She expects to play with someone every day. Her piano is really improving and it's exciting to hear her. She has just discovered she can carry the baby around so she is constantly toting her around now. It's kind of nice.

Christian loves soccer. We went out of town last weekend and he begged me to let him stay for his game. I told him no one would be here and he said to give him to someone else so they could take him. He also decided he wants to read chapter books so he is constantly picking up Alyssa's books and plodding through them.

Amber is one busy little preschooler. Between dance, preschool and parties she doesn't have much free time. We got in the car today to go somewhere and she asked if it was to a party, that's how many we've been to lately. Our candy supply is out of control and it's not even Halloween.

Alivia gets cuter and cuter. She is also WALKING. It's awesome to see her getting around. She thinks she is one of the kids and is constantly watching and copying them. I tried to give her a drink the other day, but she wouldn't touch it until I put the lid back on and she screwed it off. She doesn't talk much yet, but she pats my arm or leg whenever she wants something. It's so cute.

Our family went to Scnepf Farms with some friends last week and it was a lot of fun. They had carnival rides and free mini golf, which was fun for the kids. Amber got some tips from her dad. Amber also went to another farm the next week for a field trip and had fun on the hay ride and feeding the animals.

My sister tagged me to tell 6 random things about myself, so I will try to get to those later. Until then, hope you enjoy the pics and you are all enjoying your fall as much as we are.

Surprise!

Well, our photo card broke (Scott said there were teeth marks on it and it was bent, but he thinks everything in our house that gets broken is due to this), anyway, I won't have any pictures for a few days. But I wanted to post that I'm pregnant. Along with the rest of our ward here. I am almost 10 weeks along and due in April.
Christian started soccer and he actually scored a goal on Saturday. It was very exciting. He still has a lot to learn, but he's doing well. Alyssa goes to a basketball clinic and she does about the same as she did in soccer--stands a couple feet away from the ball and bounces. But she loves it! And Amber loves her dance class! She keeps showing me her swan bow. I will include pics next week.
Scott had a day of golf in Phoenix last week and decided that was the last time they'd spend a full day outside in Phoenix while it's still summer. I think next time they'll head north. But it sounds like they had a good time.
I have not been feeling all that great so I'm just trying to keep my head above water. I have always had easy pregnancies, so I guess it's only fair it catches up with me sometime, but I can't wait for it all to be over--already!
Anywho, hope you are all doing well. Until later!

Camping II

This time it didn't even phase me that we didn't have bathrooms. Michael and Lindsey came from Mesa and we went up the "mountain" to spend the night. It was kind of scary at first with lightning, rain and cold winds. But the evening was beautiful after about 10:00 and we had a good time just sitting around the campfire. Amber got a lot of smoke in her eyes and couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Unfortunately, while the kids were playing in our tent, they spilled water all over and our bed was so cold! Scott and I took turns rolling over and keeping the other one warm while we waited out the night. We didn't get much sleep. But the next morning was nice so we took the kids shooting and picked wild blackberries off the hill. Much blood was lost to those plants, but it was worth it that night for the shakes we made!

The girls got to go out that afternoon and I got my first real pedicure. It was, um, fun? Painful? Gross? Remember, we had just gone camping and the lady doing mine had a lot of work cut out for her. Not only that, but I am either in sandals or bare feet. She asked me which spa I had gone to before, because they obviously didn't do a good job. But the results were wonderful. I can't believe these are my feet. Thanks so much to the guys for letting us go and Lindsey for taking me!

First day of school

I keep telling Alyssa that she's in second grade this year because there's no way I have a third grader, but she won't listen to me. She was very excited to go back to school and Scott, who dropped them off, said she was barely out the door before she was surrounded by friends. She is also starting band this year and will be learning the flute. Christian was a little nervous about starting, but he has a friend from his primary class in his class and so he's ready to go now. He will be playing soccer in a couple weeks and I think it will be very good for him. Amber began preschool the next day and has done some awesome things already and loves to play with her friends. We have preschool at our house this week, so hopefully we survive. There are 8 kids this year. She is also starting dance in a couple weeks, so it looks like a busy fall for us. Good thing I like to be in the car!

Alivia

I already posted tonight, but I had some adorable pictures of Alivia I wanted to put up. She has grown so much! She is like a tall, skinny weed. Her legs have fluffed out since the cast came off, but it will be awhile before she walks. She has to wear a brace at night, but she doesn't let let that bother her. She rolls all over with it on. The kids love to play with her now, but she's not a very nice playmate. Her favorite thing to do is scratch them, but they laugh and so she keeps doing it.

We all love her, though, and life would be dull without her.

Summer fun

I haven't posted for awhile because I didn't think anything interesting was happening, but when I was looking through our pictures I realized we've been busier than I thought. When we got back from our trip we went hiking, shooting, and fishing with some friends. It's so beautiful in the mountains it's hard to believe we're in Arizona.

The kids have been doing a lot of swimming, and Alyssa's hair has actually turned green. I was hoping it would wash out, but it hasn't yet. Hopefully it will fade before school starts.

Then we went to our stake pioneer day and the kids had a lot of fun riding on hay rides, playing in the water, eating lunch and having 3 snow cones each. Christian was very worried they were going to cost money, but when they found out the snow cones were free, they went crazy.

Yesterday was Christian's birthday, and I don't have pictures of his party because Scott took the camera with him to work. He wanted to have a Wii party, so that's what we did. He had eight little boys over and they played games and had cupcakes. Easiest birthday party ever. I felt guilty it was so easy.

Scott had the weekend off and school starts next week, so we took advantage of the freedom and went camping. As we're getting in the car I asked Scott if there are bathrooms at the spot he was taking us. He gives me a 'duh' look and says no. I replied I didn't mean showers or anything, just toilets. He just looked at me. Port-a-potties? Nope. As we're driving the two hours away, I realize maybe there's no water. Nope. Good thing we were only staying one night.

Anyway, it was absolutely gorgeous where we were and it didn't matter that we used trees for bathrooms because we had the mountain to ourselves. The stars were amazing and we saw three shooting stars. I can't describe how dirty Alivia got, and you can't really tell from the picture, but believe me, she was.

Hope you are all enjoying the last part of summer as much as we are!

Too much fun!

Pictures say a thousand words so I have a novel this time, but I couldn't help myself. It's been a while since I posted because it took a week to get ready for our 2-week vacation and then another week to crawl out from under the mountain of laundry and yardwork we had and now I can find the computer.

Right before we left Alivia got her cast off. I intended to take pictures of this event, but I couldn't because they needed my help during the procedure. Needless to say, her legs were skinny and scaly but are doing much better now. She didn't even cry too much when they were cutting it off. A couple days later we were off.

We started out our trip spending time with Scott's family (went swimming, out on a date, visited Scott's old ward--no one recognized him) and then headed to Salt Lake to stay with Mike and Nicole. It has been way too long since we've seen you guys! We had a lot of fun at the Church History museum where we got to see some amazing things and they dressed the kids up in cute costumes (Christian was Gordon B. Hinckley and he looked adorable). Scott enjoyed golfing a couple times with Mike and it was nice just hanging out playing games and catching up.

After that we came back to Provo and the Reece reunion started. We had a lot of fun. The kids got to ride Arian's pony, marched in the children's 4th of July parade, we went and saw Wall-E, went to the temple and out to Brick Oven and then we went up the canyon for an Olympics. We hate to say it, but the Thompsons dominated. Scott won the pie eating contest and Christian and Alyssa participated in the ice-cream cone eating contest.

You'd think after all this we'd be vacationed out, but the next day we left for Colorado for the Thompson reunion. Oh, and Scott will be mad if I don't mention that he was horseshoe champion at the Sweeney reunion again. He was disappointed he didn't get a hat, but I was happy with the crisp $10 bill they gave him. Anyway, thank you Grandpa and Holly for the wonderful time we had in Colorado. Grandpa took us to a Mexican restaurant with cliff divers and performers, etc. in Denver and the kids loved it. We also went to the zoo, shooting, on hikes, saw fireworks at a park and did lots of swimming. The kids loved the cabin we stayed in even though it was just a glorified tent. It was also good to see all the cousins and the beautiful country there. It will be remembered for a long time.

Anyway, we're finally home now and have been enjoying the monsoons. It rains just about every afternoon and cools everything down and we have lots of loud thunder and lightning. Also, this morning Scott went outside and found a new friend. A big hairy tarantula. I could really have lived without the knowledge that those things are in my backyard. The kids have named it Doc Oc and it has 2 more days here and then it's moving on.

Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying your summer!

Wow! What a weekend.

Wow! What a weekend. It's been a while since I last posted because I went slightly manic and decided to overhaul my house before company came for Alyssa's baptism. We painted, changed light fixtures, got new curtains and slept very little.

Scott's parents and his sister and her family came all the way from Provo for 1 day to be here. Thanks so much! And to Lindsey for driving from Mesa by herself with the kids. We appreciate all who were able to be there. What an awesome experience. Alyssa looked beautiful in her white dress and everything went well. The talks were really good, and just at her level. Scott threatened everyone with pain if they went over 3 minutes to speak, and we had everything over in about 1/2 hour. And then we had a luncheon with a 6 foot sub and was good except for the cake which was supposed to be white but turned out to be carrot. Alyssa didn't even touch it. Oh, well!

Afterwards the girls went shopping (again--I guess our prices are better than Utah's because we did that a lot) and the guys napped/watched the kids. Then we had a BBQ and celebrated Alivia's birthday. She got her own piece of cake and a bunch of clothes that she can finally wear next week after her cast comes off. We'll definitely send pics of that. I am so curious what her legs are going to look like.

Until then, thanks for everything all of you do. Hope you have a great day and we can't wait to see everyone in Utah next week!

Recent Happenings

The last couple weeks have been fun. Alyssa had her birthday and got her ears pierced. She got one done at the mall and later that night (in the dark) while she was sleeping I did the other one because she was too scared to hold still after the first. So don't look too closely because they're not completely even.

Christian also graduated from kindergarten. Can I just say SO CUTE? The teacher had them sing some songs and then we watched a video of the year.

Then Scott and Christian took off for Fathers and Sons. They didin't get much sleep, but they had a good time. Scott and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary last week. Hard to believe we still like each other so much.

Oh, and for those who haven't heard (which I'm sure there aren't very many out there) Scott wants me to add that he got a hole-in-one. He keeps reminding me that people can go their whole lives and not get one. So his life is fulfilled.

Time to get breakfast ready. Hope you have a great day!