Merry Christmas to All...

Christmas vacation was tons of fun this year up at Grandma and Grandpa's (a.k.a. Bill and Max) house. We arrived on Saturday evening and just hung out for the night. The next day (Sunday) we went to church with my sister Jill, and I got to sing a duet with her for her program. I can't remember the last time I sang with her, and I forgot how alike our voices sound. After that we went to Lehi and had dinner with Anna and her family and the rest of the inlaws. Anna made homemade turkey noodle soup and fresh bread. Holy cow that was a meal!! She is an amazing cook and woman. I am going to be like her in my next life. We watched the funniest stupid movie afterward. It was Wild Hogs. We laughed so hard and just about peed our pants. It was so silly. I love being able to spend the holidays with my kids and my family but most of all, it is so much fun to have Joe with us. The sad part of the whole deal, was that my MIL Helen got sick the night before Christmas Eve, and so she was sick all Christmas eve day. No one went to her house to spend any time with them that night since she was sick. Well then my mom was up throwing up all Christmas eve night and was sick on Christmas day. It was so strange. They both got better quickly, but Christmas morning all my mom could do was lay on the couch because she felt so crappy. For Christmas Eve, we had a big dinner at my parents house and then the kids all got unwrap a Christmas eve gift from Grandma. They all got a bathrobe and slippers. It was so much fun.
Maddie had her birthday on the 6th of December and had just been in the present mood. She decided that anything wrapped was fair game. She calls them all "my birthday." She thought that she needed to unwrap any gift that she found. We had to hide them but she helped grandma and grandpa unwrap their gifts on Christmas day. It was so cute.
The kids got way too many toys for Christmas and we ate way too much food. I think I may have gained a few pounds, but it sure was tasty. I even got to talk to my darling sister in law Cyndi (hat is on a mission) on Christmas. It was so great to talk to her. She is so sweet!! We had a party 2 days after Christmas with lots of my cousins at my Aunt Kim's church. It was so much fun to see everyone and their kids. Lots of them live far away so we don't see them very often. I'm so glad that mom and Kim put the party together. I can't tell you how much I love my family and Joe's family. I am so blessed to have them!!

Year of Firsts

This year for my Christmas gifts to my friends and neighbors I decided to make candy and treats to give out. My cousin Lindsay came over on Monday and we made caramels, fudge, the sweet chex mix with almonds and coconut and then the next day I made caramel popcorn. I wrapped up the chex or popcorn and then put the caramels and fudge on a plate. I love getting that kind of thing but I have never attempted to make it. Let me just tell you that the fudge recipe is so good. The best I have had, I think. It was a lot of fun to make. Ali and her kids came over (Ali is Joe's friend Mark's girlfriend) and then of course Lindsay and her kids. It was chaos and tons of fun. I was glad that we did it and it was great to hear the neighbors tell me how good the fudge and caramels were. Maybe I will attempt to do it again next year, maybe not.

New Family Pictures

My brother in law Cody took these pictures on Thanksgiving weekend. I thought that they turned out so cute so I thought I would share them with ya!

Maddie's 6th Birthday!

Today is Maddie's 6th birthday! I can't believe how fast time has flown by. It seems like only yesterday our little angel came to us and now look at how old she is!! She is such a joy. I cut her hair last week and wanted to show you all how cute it looks on her and how old she looks with it. This is an outfit that Grandma Max got for her for her birthday and she looked so darling this morning when she left for school. She really is such a joy to have in our home and I wanted to say how much I love my MADDIE!!

New Addition

I don't know what has happened with my blogging lately, but I think I fell off the wagon for a little while. I really am a slacker. We went to Orem for Thanksgiving and had a great time. Joe had the whole weekend off and was able to spend the time with us. Usually when we go up to visit family the kids and I have to go alone because he is always working. It was so nice to get to take him this time. We had dinner at my mom's house with my side of the family. Joe and I haven't had Thanksgiving with them for years, because it hasn't worked out for some reason or another. I was so grateful to be with my siblings and their kids. The grandkids get along so well and its nice to have a big area that we can send them away to play in.
For Maddie's birthday we (mostly Joe) decided to get the family a new dog. Yes, I said dog. Joe has always said that Labs are so good with kids with disabilities and that Seth, Makenna, and Maddie would love to have a dog that they can train and wrestle with. I was worried that Maddie would be afraid of big dogs and we decided that if she could have one as a puppy then it wouldn't be as scarry. So, on Monday Joe brought our family home a new black lab puppy. She is already 12 weeks or so, so not all that small, but cute as can be. Maddie loves her, but she doesn't like her to jump on her. Who does? Makenna has decided to name her Dakota and Maddie calls her Kota. Its cute. She is a lot of fun and I can't wait for it to warm up so she can be in a kennel outside. Right now she is in a kennel in the house and goes out to play when it is warm. Lets hope that I keep my sanity long enough to see this dog idea out. I really do think its great for the kids. I have to think about it that way. I will keep you updated on how well it really is working out.

Ropin Gal

So the kids at Maddie's school do a rodeo day and get to "rope" a cow. Well Maddie got to participate and she got the rope around the cow and won a trophy. She is so funny and loves to show everyone her trophy. These are a few of the pictures from that day.

Fun at the Auditions

Makenna did such a great job at the tryouts and was so brave. As soon as she got up to sing, Kurt Bestor asked her if I was her mom and she said yes and then she told him what she was going to sing. She was great!! I am so proud of her. We got to spend hours in line together and then went to the food court to eat. Its been forever since we have had a mom/daughter night together. It really was a lot of fun. I feel like I did a good job too. These are a few pictures that we took. Sorry the quality isn't all that wonderful, but you can get the idea.