Cierra's Class Christmas Party

Abbie got her school Christmas post so I thought I would show you Cierra's. I was able to help at her classroom party. The mom I helped with did a treat and I did the game. I took a box and filled it with mini laffy taffys and wrapped it 22 times. In between every wrapping I had a silly little thing for them to do...spin 30 times, hop on one foot 15 times, make a silly face, drink lemon juice, draw a moustache on your neighbor, tell what their favorite Christmas song is...you know fun quick easy things. The kids had a blast! The last one was tell what one thing on your Christmas list is. Well we had one extra so I gave it to Mrs. Jensen and she had to answer it. One little boy piped up and said...Mrs. Jensen I bet you get tums!!! It was so funny I thought Mrs. Jensen was going to fall off her chair. They also brought little gifts, homemade or not more than a $1, they did boys to boys and girls to girls and passed the gifts to a song like musical chairs. Its so sweet to see the reactions kids get to presents from their friends. It never matters what they get, every single kid loved it! Here are a few pictures of their day! This was the activity that actually got me in the mood for Christmas!

Abbie's Christmas Show at School!

I love the new music teacher at Abbie's school I think he's awesome, his name is Mr. Simon. He was just married this year and his new wife helped out by playing the piano and she even sung us a song. This year their christmas performance was outstanding. All the kids were asked to wear a white shirt and black (or dark) pants. This kids were all very animated and looked like they were really enjoying themselves. One thing I hate about my camera is that in low light the pictures are absoultely horrible! They are dark and most of the time very blurry. I don't know if I need an SLR to fix it, take my tripod with me, or what cuz the lighting in the school gym gives me horrible pictures every time.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

This post is mostly for family so grandpas and grandmas and cousins can see what the kids got for Christmas.

We have had a really great Christmas. So far today we have watched Mamma Mia, The Dark Knight, played Guitar Hero World Tour, a game of Apples to Apples, Mario Cart, cards (Abbie got a card game called rock, its like rock paper scissors its kinda fun), and the girls have been out in the snow to play, Abbie got a really cute new coat and she reports it is very warm! The girls also got a bunch of club penguin stuff so they have been on the computer and now I am blogging and its only 2:30 what a great day!

Our Christmas Letter 2008

Well I finally got my Christmas cards sent out yesterday and I put my blog address on them so I didn't have to print out a Christmas letter. So I thought I would summarize a little bit about our year. This year has been pretty great to us (knock on wood). I haven't had to have any MRI's or anything weird happen. Pretty uneventful and that's the way I like it! From Jan - May life just seems blurred. When schools in it doesn't seem like much happens. Bill and I are still the Webelos leaders and love doing it. There's really not a better calling in the church. Bill did change jobs at Meleleuca. He was Warehouse Manager and is now back in Purchasing as International Forecasting and Planning Manager. My workaholic of a husband loves it and it has made it so he barely even travels anymore, which he hates and I enjoy because I don't have to fix dinner every night! Oh Well! His passion for golf is ever increasing and it doesn't help that my 15 year old has an equivalent passion. Idaho Falls is a very golf friendly community. There are 3 City Courses and a golf pass covers all three. Its a pretty decent deal, so of course him and Jesse have their passes! In the summers Bill is awake every morning at 5am just to golf! As I said Jesse's passion for golf is equal to his dads and its a fun past time for the two of them to share. He turned 15 in November and besides golf Jesse's new interest is Driving! Jesse took drivers ed this past summer and now has his learners permit, he will be eligible for full fledged licensing in February. Most people think I should be terrified, I am a little, but driving back and forth to the golf course almost daily all summer and picking him up after school or before school because of projects...well I get tired of doing it! So I am almost as excited at the prospect of him being able to drive as he is. Jesse is also a great student. He has set a goal to be Valedictorian at graduation so he's working hard to maintain a 4.0 grade point, which with 4 honors classes and Italian its pretty tough. Jesse also finished (sort of) his Eagle project. He just needs to finish up the paperwork and he's got it. I just need a match to light a fire under him! Abbie is now 9 years old. Abbie is energetic, happy (most of the time) and very smart. She is also the hardest for me to understand. Her personality is so much like her dads! She considers herself to be very beautiful and very smart and never considered the possibility that it could be any other way! She's a great kid and tries very hard to do what it right. She is a great listener, I mean she hears EVERYTHING! She loves being in Achievement days at church and has a dance/gymnastics class that she can't seem to get enough of. She's in the third grade at school and wishes she was in the 7th. She is already boy crazy and loves everything a girl could love and can't wait till she's old enough to color her hair and wear make-up! AYE-AYE-AYE!!! Cierra, our youngest, is in the 1st grade and doing a great job. She loves to read, but with a picture book in hand ends up talking about what she thinks the pictures say rather than reading the words in the book. She's definitely a story teller, and a bit of a truth stretcher, but I don't think its meant as a lie, its just to make a story a little more interesting! She also is in gymnastics and she loves it as well, she is a little monkey and loves to climb the walls. You can read more in an earlier post about how much she loves bugs and cooking! She's a sweet kid, very laid back and not really concerned about much other than having a good time. That is a quality we can all enjoy! This summer we took a family vacation to the Black Hills to see Mt. Rushmore. We rented a van and took Bills folks with us. We had a blast! It was one of the funnest vacations we've ever had. There was so much to see and not enough time to see it. I would totally recommend that trip to everyone! Sorry for the length of my letter I always seem to get a little carried away! I love my family and I just want everyone to know how great they really are! We all want to wish you a very merry Christmas and we hope the New Year brings you all the happiness and joy you can handle! God Bless you all!

My Youngest

My little family of 3 kids is pretty much the same as the family I grew up in. Oldest being a boy and then 2 girls with me being the youngest. I loved being the youngest and it has its perks! Maybe that's why I like Cierra so much, I 'get' her. I also know when she's trying to get someone else into trouble when it wasn't their fault too. But there is just something about her. Not that she's my favorite (moms aren't suppose to have favorites), but there is just something about that kid that just makes me smile. Last year when she was in Kindergarten, just seeing her step of the bus caused me to grin, and I couldn't wait to give her a squeeze, actually I still can't. She is just a happy go lucky kid. I think she's either going to be a chef or entomologist (isn't that a person who likes bugs?) In the summers we have many containers lying around that are filled with worms, grasshoppers, ladybugs, crickets, beetles or slugs. And she just loves making concoctions in the kitchen if I turn my back long enough she can put a bowl full of who knows what together and then think its ok to microwave it. I am always afriad she's going to blow us up with the stuff she puts together. But she likes to help (on her terms) in the kitchen. I had a small get together with friends yesterday (I stress small, cuz the twelve hunsky doesn't fit many more than a small group in it!) and she was helping me to get ready. As you can see from the pictures helping is on her terms...Decorate one...squirt of frosting...decorate another...another squirt of frosting. She has a great desire to do things, anything, and learn things any things and all things. She is a very tactile child. She loves to touch and experience things. We'll see if that turns out to be a great quality in her or a dangerous one. I suppose only time will tell!

What a beautiful Sunset!

On Monday night I thought the sunset was so beautiful, I tried to take picture of it. Of course since I don't really know how to use my digital camera they didn't turn out as I would've liked, but this is the one I liked the most I hope someone else saw what I did! Don't we live in the most beautiful world? Just take a minute to stop and watch, you'll be amazed at what you see!

It's December 6th and my first post of the month!

Is anyone else having a hard time getting in the mood for Christmas? I still need to make Christmas cards and I haven't figured out what I am giving my neighbors. Its on my mind all the time! I usually love Christmas and can't wait to get the decorations and the presents out. What is wrong with me? I think I have too much time on my hands, and not enough motivation to get any of it done. Maybe its because I really thought my basement was going to be done by Christmas and we would be able to celebrate it there and I am really disappointed that we ran out of money. Now I don't have very much money for Christmas AND my basements not done! SIGH!!!!! How do you get out of the 'money doesn't make a good Christmas' funk!?! The thing is we're not going to have a bad Christmas either...I don't know what's wrong! Maybe it will SNOW!

Anyway here are some pictures of the kids decorating the Christmas tree!