THINGS I LOVE....

Last Thursday I was working at the school in the resource room. This girl that I love to work with started saying,  "I hate reading!" "I hate speech!" "I hate math!" I told her that she only hated it because it was hard for her and she promptly replied "NOT TRUE!" It became apparent that I was not being very effective.

I had an idea. We took out some papers and started to write everything that we love or like to do. It was a competition between her and I to see who could come up with the most things. What do you know? It turned her attitude around.

This is what my list looked like.

I love cookies, especially chocolate chip ones, baking, sewing, singing, playing the piano, talking with my friends, the temple, scriptures, and my family. I love to go water skiing, snow skiing, boating, swimming, fishing, rafting, pretending to surf, snorkeling, body boarding and anything else that you can do in the water. I love to give presents to little children. I love snuggling, going to the beach, watching movies, reading, listening to music, jumping on the trampoline, and swinging. I like to ride four wheelers and snowmobiles but not as much as Aaron does. I love to sit in the sun, weed my flowers, grow a garden and eat all the yummy veggies. I also really enjoy cheese cake from the Cheese Cake Factory, visiting all the wonderful people in my life, taking a long bath or sitting in the hot tub, hot chocolate, taking a bike ride or a hiking. I really love it when winter is over and summer is here. I love flip flops and shorts, swimming suits and beach towells, sun glasses and sun tans. I like to decorate and make things look cute, but only when I have the resources or the time. I love to travel and see new things and warmer places. Shopping is also my favorite and my favorite things to shop for is shoes (because they never make you feel fat). I love kindness, charity, hope and love.

As you can see my list could go on and on.

I do have to admit I wrote things that I hated at the end of my list of things that I love. I did show them to the girl I was working with. The three things were MUSHROOMS, ANCHOVIES, and PICKING ROCK.

Blogging BLAHS

So it appears that I am not much of a blogger. When I am working or out walking Shasta, I think of these pictures that I want to blog about and the witty or funny things I want to say. BUT, it seems that as soon as I get the pictures resized I am done it with. SICK of it, to be more precise. I end up saying corny or cheesy things and having lots of typos that I sometimes get around to fixing. Maybe I should do my best at blogging or not do it at all because it can reflect poorly on us. Especially to all those who are looking at the blog to get to know us better.

Christmas Morning

BEGINS EARLY.....(to see the little people open their presents)

AND THEN WE WAIT......(James and Terea do not let their kids see their presents before all the older people are ready - meaning out of bed. They do this so the older people can enjoy the little peoples' wonderful expressions when they see their gifts.)

This year Aaron and I set our alarms and waited with the kids....

While we were waiting James came in and told Brianna that he killed Santa and had just gotten done with cleaning up the blood. This was her reaction...

 

She brightened up quickly when she was told that he was just teasing. Poor girl....

READY SET GO.... (with everyone in their places and the cameras ready)

 

Great Grandma Violet rushing out with the kids :)

 

 

 She didn't even have to be told which one was for her.

TOLD once AGAIN that SANTA was SHOT!!!

 All MADE BETTER with no more than a PILLOW PET!

Minute to Win It

We usually play some kind of fun challenge game with my family at Christmas time. This year we played "Minute to Win It" games.

Grace and Ariel did a great job of planning it.

We played five different games.

1. Toss the water bottle and make it stand upright.

2. Jump five ping pong balls out of tissue box tied on like a tail.

3. Get a cookie from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands.

4. Pick up a short paper bag with your mouth off the floor while touching the floor with only one foot.

5. Keep five balloons in the air for a minute (the longest anyone did it for was 16 seconds).

 

I only got pictures of the cookie challenge.

Aaron might need to be admitted :).

Then Aaron and I took the game and played it with Aaron's family.

We added hoola hoop and knocking cups off of a chair with a
ball tied on like a tail challenges.

It was definately an 'out of comfort zone' experience for some.

Thanks for playing.

The biggest competitor of all... she went on to winning the competition for her team (Grandpa was her partner) because of her stellar ability to hoola hoop. She went well beyond a minute.

Way to go Rachel!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Aaron and I always love a fresh Christmas Tree.

Sometimes we chop down a tree. It has always been great fun.

However, we feel badly about chopping one down because we killed it.

SO, we began searching out the dead, diseased or short lived one.

Then sometime we buy a tree.

BUT this year we did some new landscaping and had some trees left over that we did not get planted before the snow came. We decided to use a potted tree.

Aaron loved it because it was so easy and it doesn't take up much room.
I'll agree, it is cute.



Kesley Alice

Mitch and Carrie welcomed Kesley to our family early in December

She got jaundice and had to stay in the hospital for a few extra days.

Mitch and Carrie were in glad to family go home.

She sure is a cutie and such a good baby.

Welcome to the family!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The most wonderful thing about holidays is the time we get to spend with our family. For Thanksgiving we spent the first of the week at my parents and the rest of the week at Aaron's. I usually get a picture of the Thanksgiving meal and of Aaron's family but for some reason this year - I did not.

Soon to BE NEW Parents!

We are SO EXCITED for the new LITTLE GIRL on her way.

"My baby and Aunt Erica's shoes! Favorite things!"

Wrestling...

Bridger loves, loves, loves to wrestle. He lays down and rolls around and all over you.

 It might also be one of Aaron's favorite things to do too....

SPIDER MAN

Aaron and Bridger played and played. Bridger is a ton of fun. He is thinks Spidermans is AMAZZZZING.

Here is he flying around shooting webbing... 

Love, LOVE the belly!

Grandma and Jaxxi... this is when the training starts... making Grandma the favorite.

Ethan is  taking his turn at blowing up the balloon.

When one tired of huffing and puffing it was presented to some one else to blow.

Soon it became a very nasty, slobbery balloon.

But that didn't matter, THEY loved chasing the balloon as it flew away.

 
And we cannot forget Emmett.... The happiest baby of all.

He is fun to hold and cuddle. He is starting to scoot around.

He is ready for action and watches big brother Bridger's every step.

All the little feet...

had such a hard time of staying still for a picture :)



I am very grateful for the family the Lord has blessed us with. Aaron and I come from the greatest families.

Hadders

HaDLey WaYNe

On one of my trips home before Thanksgiving I got to go see

Hadley, Jaxxi, and Katie. It was a real treat!

The little wonder of many faces... most often a scowl.

 I have a Hadder's scowl at every age of her life.

I love, love them.

Such a sweetie

always ready to see grandma

loves fruit

gives you a great smile

full of life

loving, fun, smart, and beautiful

OrEo's - apparently a favorite snack... and a dentist's worst nightmare

Bret and Katie take her clothes off when she eats... from what Bret says you know when she is hungery because she'll start to take her clothes off when she wants food.