Happy Birthday

To my dad and brother Jeff

Dad is 17(so he says) and Jeff(bottom right) would have been 33 today!
Don't you love the hairdos and the gum in Jeff's cheek and Jarrod's scratched up face!!

FABULOUS!!

Happy Birthday to two great guys!!

1. birthdays

2. photos

3. great memories

Laugh With ME...

because I am not cool or up to date in my knowledge of all the~I don't even know what to call them.

Signs, shortened versions of words. LOL(that one I know), but it wasn't until I was talking to my sister last week that I figured out what these mean...

:) :(

Duh, I know. But I am laughing at myself!!

Laugh with me, it will make you happy!!

I will do some service for you and let you laugh WITH me!!

1. things that make me laugh

2. 4 more days until February break

3. more hours of light outside

Delight

Delight in service and good works.

That is the topic of my lesson for Relief Society this week. I picked more for myself than anyone.


Poet and author Robert Louis Stevenson : “I know what pleasure is, for I have done good work.”

King Benjamin: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

What are your thoughts on service and how do you DELIGHT in it??

(you can leave an anonymous comment)

1. learning

2. church

3. Sunday afternoons

Pants on the Ground

One of my new FAVORITE songs...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMwhl4IrPNc

I absolutely can't stand when the male gender walks around with their pants so low that if you touch them they will fall right off.

Now I know I am not the only one!!(which I know I never was) But I think this song is hilarious!

And yes, I bought the song on itunes!

1. funny songs
2. military men
3. no seminary tomorrow!!

Weekend with George

Curious George that is.

Brynn had the great pleasure of getting to take care of George for the weekend. It was a school project and she loved every minute of it.

She was supposed to go on adventures with him and then tell about it in a journal to share with the class. The journal was started a couple of years ago and it will continue on, so I wanted to make sure one thing got in there! And Toys R Us was not it.....

Brynn got some money for her birthday, so our first outing was a dated with mom and George to Toys R Us. George loved it!! Brynn got some new stuffed animals(that seems to be all she ever wants these days).

George's next outing was on Saturday to Braden's school basketball game. That was not quite as exciting as the toy store, but he still had a good time.
Brynn still took good care of George, made sure his teeth were brushed VERY well.


Our last adventure for the weekend was the one I really wanted to get in the journal because a lot of people will see the journal and we are one of very few families that are members in our whole town. George went to church with us. Actually, he had to wait in the car because he is too curious and gets in to a bit of trouble.
It was an exciting weekend with George, reading his books, watching his movie, brushing his teeth, making sure he didn't eat too many cookies, and mom was glad to see George get to go back to school!!

1. fun school projects 2. sun 3. sleep

More Utah

We got to see Todd's side of the family for a very short visit, but it was fun! The kids are growing so fast, it is crazy!

Kia and Gage!

Luke aka Batman. Luke is a bit like me and doesn't like to have his picture taken, so it became a challenge. I got a couple!

Brynn, Claire and Luke

Batman and Grandpa Hockeypuck

Although our visit was short, it was great fun to see them.

I wanted to go to the bookstore at the Univeristy of Utah so on our way back we stopped in at Grandpa and Grandma Burt's and gave them a bit of a surprise! It was fun because they were not expecting us and I love to do surprises like that! So Grandpa and Grandma had already seen us, but I don't think they minded having to see us twice!

Thanks for spending time with us!!

1. surprise visits

2. sneaky photos

3. cousins

Utah

My sister had her 3rd baby girl on New Years Day and so a couple of weeks ago Brynn and I flew out to try to help and get in a little visit. I don't think we helped too much, but it was fun to play!

We took the girls on a couple of outings.

We went to Classic Skating and rode scooters and played in the bounce house!

We had tokens to play games and ride on the rides!

Grandpa and Brynn tried on each others clothes!

We went to the movie!! Alvin and the Chipmunks! With popcorn and treats.

A fun time was had by all! Didn't spend as much time with the baby as I had hoped for, but she is so little and cute. The pictures of her are on Brynn's camera and I haven't found the cord to get them off so maybe I can post them later!

Thanks to Grandma Sleepover and Grandpa Mustache for letting us stay with them and carting us all around.

We were there for so short a time that we didn't get to see any friends, which made us both sad, but had to make it short if I wanted to go at all. Mom duties were calling at home!

1. family

2. short trips

3. home

The Chuck

of Chuck E. Cheese!

Brynn took a couple of friends to Chuck E. for her birthday.

The pictures are backwards, but I am too lazy to redo them.

Opening her gifts!
Brynn was terrified of Chuck E. She is finally warming up to him after 10 minutes and some tears.

This was the only way she would get close to him~

In the picture is Emma, Sam and Jane

There were 2 terrified at first

Awaiting the arrival of Chuck E.

After she warmed up, she had a great time and she loved the party before she found out Chuck E. was coming for a visit!

We had a blast and loved that it was small!

(Purposely done while my older kids were in school, come to find out, they were quite bummed about it, I didn't think they would care, guess you are never too old for a little Chuck E)

One Advantage

to being sick
is losing 4 pounds.
Unfortunately, once I start to eat again, I am sure it will all come right back on.
Bummer!

1. feeling better
2. hopefully feeling better enough to get my house somewhat back
3. it is almost FRIDAY!!

Hairstyle

This hairstyle has a name. It is called..................wait for it..............

The JENNIFER!!!

Brynn asked me on a regular basis if we have time to do the "JENNIFER".

Let me explain the name. I have a friend that lives in Utah that we all love. Of my kids, Brynn loves her the most. After we would walk the kids to school Jennifer would frequently take Brynn home with her and more often than not, her hair would come home looking like the picture. She loves doing her hair like this and has dubbed the style with our friends name!

Brynn and I miss our friend Jennifer on a daily basis and it makes me smile every time Brynn asks for her hair done like this!!

Here's to good friends!!!

1. friends 2. a new day 3. great church talks

Procrastinating

I am a procrastinator.

I admit it.

I have been procrastinating my blog, my house, phone calls needing to be returned, lots of things.

It's not that I don't want to do them. I do.

I just have SO many other things going on right now that when I get a few minutes, the last thing I want to do are things that need to be done.

I have issues, I know.

I have many good intentions.

When I get distracted or have thoughts that consume me, I tend to be no good.

This week, I have been consumed by Haiti. I was told by a lady at Brynn's school about all the orphans, which I knew there were orphans, I just tried not to think about it. Now it has consumed me and I have sat at my computer for probably an hour today watching all the stories about these poor children. It is consuming me, which then leads to procrastination.

Issues, I definitely have them!

1. admitting
2. my family is safe
3. the weekend

Happy Birthday

5th

Birthday to

Brynn!!!!

5 reasons why we love Brynn

1. she is very funny

2. she is very outgoing

3. she is always up for an adventure

4. she loves her family

5. she is full of and loves life

Happy Birthday Brynn!

Brynn's Christmas Present

Brynn loves Build A Bear and has always wanted to go there and we just never have. So for Christmas, Marissa decided to have her and the boys pool their money for a gift certificate so she could finally build her bear!!

Stuffing!
So excited~she was jumping up and down!

Putting in the heart!

Giving her bear a bath!

I will have to get a picture of the finished product. Brynn chose to make her a cheerleader because the only thing she likes about Braden's basketball games is the cheerleaders and she wants to be one when she grows up!!

Funny side note~Marissa told me at a game a few weeks ago "Mom, you won't catch me dead being a cheerleader!" Thought that was funny!!

1. great gifts

2. a child's excitement

3. funny kids

Christmas

Christmas morning was its usual greatness! Brynn was SO excited, although again, as in EVERY year in the past we had to wake her up.

I had jokingly told the older kids that I didn't want to see them until 7 am and being the obedient kids that they are, I didn't see them until 7 am. I couldn't believe it! I was just joking!

It is always so fun to see the excitement in their eyes!
Opening gifts

Braden, being on the basketball team wanted/needed some new shoes. I bought him a size 12 and they were too small. Had to take them back for a size 13. Hope those feet don't keep growing or we will have trouble finding shoes!

Brynn is in love with cameras. Being that she ALWAYS takes mine, that is one of the things Santa gave her for Christmas. Now she no longer uses mine!!

It was a great day by all. This year I decided to make a blanket for all the kids and Todd, as we were always wanting the same blankets and Todd and Braden complained that they weren't long enough. So, I made 5 blankets. I won't do it again! It took forever. I didn't get Braden's finished, which turned out nice, because Todd and Braden helped me finish his blanket.

We had my cousin over for dinner~ham, and stuff and it was fun to see him.

1. Christmas

2. new blankets(I bought one that plugs in!!)

3. staying in pjs all day

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve was spent in the same way as we have done most of the years we have lived in MA.

The kids act out the nativity and most of them are still really good about it. They change rolls, except for Braden who has the recurring role as Mary's donkey.
Shepards

The Star and the narrator

Mary and her donkey

Good times are always had with lots of good food and company!

1. Christmas

2. GREAT friends

3. good food