Christmas

I absolutely LOVE this time of the year, who doesn't right? It's been so fun this past month. We celebrated Kyle's 10th birthday. He got breakfast in bed which was eggo waffles and bacon. He got cupcakes at school and for dinner we went to Chick-fil-a with Grandma and Grandpa G. He got a movie, clothes, new shoes, etc... We love you Kyle!! That next week Grandma Luck passed away so we were off to Utah. She passed away in her sleep one morning as peaceful as can be. Her funeral was very nice, Chris spoke and I led the music. That afternoon Chris was priviledged to give Keith the Priesthood! He was found worthy by his bishop to receive it and it was a very special moment for all of us to witness. I can't wait when we can all go to the temple together! The next day we were supposed to go to Vernal for the burial but it was snowing and bad weather, so I stayed home with my kids (except Sydney) and some of Jessie's and they just played all day. It was so nice I just watched Hallmark Christmas movies and Christmas shopped online in my pj's all day. You can't get any better than that! For Thanksgiving we went to the Moore's house and the kids played and played while we ate and talked. That night Hayley and I braved it out and went black friday shopping at Walmart. Let's just say that it was the craziest black friday I've been involved in. It was so crowded and I had to fight for my items and the lines were insane. But we were home and in bed by 11:30, I like it so much better that they open at 10pm on thanksgiving night. I decorated for Christmas the following day and I love making the house twinkle and sparkle and seeing the tree go up. My favorite part is putting the ornaments on with the family and each kid talks about the memory of where and who gave it to them. I treasure these moments dearly. It's been a busy december. Keith came to stay with us and help us with things around the house, we have been painting like crazy and we are going to put up more fans. He is always willing to help and I appreciate it. Zach played in a soccer tournament this weekend and on saturday night scored both of the teams goals, I was so proud. Kyle played his first basketball game and scored 8 points, I love to see them all excel. Chloe had he dance recital at Fulton and she danced to the Macarena and Michael Jackson she was so cute and I loved seeing her try her best. Sydney has been all about work and school, she is so busy and I hate having her gone for long periods of time but she enjoys making money! We are busy with our callings Chris is ward mission leader and I'm always busy with the YW. Life is good!! This week we celebrate Zach!!

I always feel like I'm calling these- Catch up!

Yes, Yes it's been a long time since I've posted anything and I feel bad. I'm such a slacker! Ok well things are always busy in our house and for our family. Let's see I'm going to sum up the last 10 months quickly. In February we traveled to Utah for Bailey's baptism and it was so fun going to the BYU bookstore and buying BYU sweatshirts for the whole family. We were also able to see a missionary that used to serve here and we had a great time with the Brereton's. My cousin Mallory Sackley came to visit Sydney for a week and they had a great time going out with Sydney's friends and riding the neighbors horse and just being together. They love to laugh and be silly! Mom helped me put up new curtains in my home, yeah! In April my grandma Black passed away so I flew up to Utah with Mom and dad and we then drove to Idaho and stayed at my Uncle Dan's house. We went to the funeral which was nice. Dad spoke and did the best job! We toured around Rupert and saw where day grew up, it was nice to be with them. On our way home we went to temple square and to lunch and then flew home. It was nice to go and honor grandma. For Easter we had dinner with my family here at our house and an easter egg hunt, it was so fun. Sydney played soccer and as always, did well. The boys finished up baseball with CNLL. Our beloved dog Daisy passed away (she got cancer) and so we got another dog. Her name is Lilly she is an Australian Shepherd. She is amazingly smart but very much a puppy and she drives us a little insane at times. Sydney finished 10th grade, ZAch graduated from elementary and finished 6th grade, Kyle finished 3rd and Chloe graduated from Kindergarten. When I went to watch her sing her songs at the school, there was one she did not sing and afterwards I asked her why she didn't and she said that she had already sung that one in pre-school....very stubborn girl at times. Summer arrived and Kyle went to cub scout day camp for 3 days and loved it! Then we went to a resort up in Phoenix for 3 days. We called it our staycation, Chris's work paid for it all and we just relaxed by the pool, swam and ate yummy food. Next year we are headed to Washington DC, I'm so excited about that one. The following week, Zach went to Camp Raymond with the boy scouts and was sick for the first 2 days (Yucky). Sydney and I headed up to girl's camp for the week. Wow what a wonderful and spiritual week it was for me. I thoroughly enjoyed being there with Sydney and all of the girls. I truly feel lucky to be a part of their lives. In July, Jessie and her kids drove down to visit us for a week and we had a great time! We swam, watched movies, went walking, the kids played and played. We watched fireworks for the 4th of July from our Balcony with Hayley and Bill and kids as well. One night I was gone to one of Zach's baseball games when a HUGE haboob (massive dust storm) hit the valley and it literally blew like a huge snow storm would have. It went on for a good hour or so. Let me tell you.....the dust that was in my house from the reservation across the street was unbelievable and the bad part was that Jessie had just finished cleaning my entire house!!! I felt so bad, so yep the next morning we cleaned it again. (Just what she wanted to do on her vacation...) She took Sydney home to Utah with her and she stayed for a week and then flew home, it was weird having her fly all by herself. Well then once again school started and Chloe is in 1st grade with Mrs. Ferber, Kyle is in 4th grade with Mr. Shimizu (Zach had him last year for 6th) and Zach started Jr. High at Santan and Sydney is a Junior at Hamilton HS. Its very surreal for me to think that Sydney will be going off to college soon enough and my kids are just growing so fast and I don't like it at all. I want time to stand still. Sydney had her birthday and she got her first flowers sent to her from Taylor Heyman. We took her to dinner at the Olive Garden, Grandma and Grandpa G came with us too. We also made her breakfast of course that morning. We secretly planned a surprise party for Sydney (we couldn't resist, it's her 16th!!) The friday following her birthday her friend Taylor Williams took her to Skateland and blindfolded her everywhere they went. In the meantime all her friends showed up to our home and when she got here we all yelled surprise and and she was shocked!! I loved her face, she had no idea. The next surprise was we decided to buy her a car, we got her a Volkswagon New Beatle. It is silver and black and is convertible. We parked it out front with a note and hoped she would find it and when some of her friends did they went and got her. She was STUNNED! It was so awesome, she did not expect it and was so happy. Who wouldn't be? So it was just a great moment for Chris and I. We were so happy to give it to her. She got her license the following monday and then life changed. She started driving herself to school ( I had a hard time with that at first), she got a job at Origami Owl at the mall. She works selling jewelry at a Kiosk for a girl in our ward, Bella Weems. She really likes it and they think she does a great job. I'm very proud of her. It was just so weird for me to see her become so independent and grown up so quickly. Then it was Chloe's birthday and we celebrated with her friends and got here a large bouncy water slide for the backyard. For 2 hours they played and then we ate corn dogs and chips and had donuts for dessert! She had Thea, Maya, Abbie, Tricia, Mariah, Peyton Shore, Jillian and Bradley, Katie and Callie. She had such a great time turning 6! Zach decided the beginning of the summer to try out for the Santan Legacy soccer team. Keep in mind he had only play one soccer game in his life. But lo and behold he made the best boys soccer team in the league! He is very agile and quicky and did quite well. So now he has been playing soccer since August. We went to Flagstaff for a tournament, Chloe came with us and it was so pretty up there the weather was great. They won all their games except the last one. It's really fun to watch him play. Kyle is also playing soccer and Chris is coaching him, he loves it as well and scores almost every game! September rolled around and it was time for Homecoming for Sydney, her first school dance. Taylor Heyman flew back home from BYU and took her. They went with Jordan and her date Nate. They went to dinner and then to the dance. She was thrilled that he came down. Well for fall break we took the kids to Cancun Mexico. It was a blast! We left our house at 2:15am and flew to Houston at 5am, from there we flew to Mexico. It was awesome. We stayed at the Barcelo Tucancun all inclusive resort. We had a condo on the beach that had 2 bedrooms and a main living area and 2 bathrooms. We looked right out on the ocean. It was beautiful. The first 2 days we played on the beach and read and swam and drank salt water (boy does that sting the eyes)We rented boogie boards and just played! On wednesday we went on a guided tour to Chichen Itza with Helaman and 2 other couples. It was really cool to see the ancient Mayan ruins and then we swam in a cinote! It's a lush underground natural water spring. The water was refreshing and cool to our sunburned skin. The boys jumped off the cliff into the water and had a blast. Chloe was such a trooper and got in the water as well she didn't care that there were fish swimming in the water around her. We had a great buffet lunch and then headed back to the resort! The last day we woke up and it was raining and thundering and lightening, I was so bummed so the first part of the morning we stayed inside then we ventured out and and played in the pool and read. The cool part about that day was that little sea turtle hatched out of their eggs underground and we were able to hold them for the first time. They were so cute! Friday we headed home and this was an adventure. We left the resort at 4am and left Cancun at 7am, flew to Houston, then flew to LA, had a long layover ( the Yocums were there too coming back from Hawaii) then we flew home. It was a long day! We love Mexico and could go back every year. Halloween--Chris and I went to a 70's skating party at Skateland with friends from the Ward, it was so much fun especially since I actually remembered how to skate. This year the kids dressed up and Kyle went as a ketchup bottle and Chloe went as a tinkerbell fairy. Zach and Sydney are too old of course....We went to our old neighborhood and had dinner in the cul-de-sac with the neighbors and the kids trick or treated, it was a great night to see everyone again. Thanksgiving was at the Moore's this year and it was a nice quiet dinner and we enjoyed their company. That night Hayley and I met at Walmart for our annual black friday shopping, it was super crazy (worse than before). I bought a Shark mop, 2 tupperware sets, a scentsy warmer, clothes. Now it's Christmas time and the tree is up and all the decorations are up and life just moves so fast. I am vowing to do better and write more often. Life is so good and we are happy and so thankful for all wonderful things we have. Here are some random pics throughout the year.

Birthday Party and Driving

So this past weekend we had a surprise birthday party for my mom who turned 60. She definitely doesn't look or act 60, I hope I can be that way when I'm her age. It was so fun to have everyone over to our home and surprise her! We had a family picture taken a few weeks ago and so for her birthday we framed the family picture and then gave her a book of memories (basically told her how great she is :))

In other news we now have 3 drivers in our home....Yes, Sydney is driving! At first it was super scary and gave me a heart attack a few times. But we try and let her drive when we are with her in the car and she does a good job. She is getting the hang of it, and she is so excited to be behind the wheel!

We had valentines day this week. It was fun to give my kids valentines and love notes. I tried red food coloring on the kids eggs, it tasted the same but just looked interesting....Anyway I gave my sweetheart a new tool chest as he needed one badly to clean up his tools that are scattered all over the garage. He gave me a beautiful necklace that I've been asking for and he then had 2 of the young women in our ward come and sing to me ( I can't help falling in love with you) and gave me a rose and a valentine card. It was super sweet and romantic! We then topped the day off with a seafood buffet for the whole family. Life is busy, busy but so good:)

It's about time!!

Well here it is Feb 2011 and I am way behind on my blog. Life just seems to get away from me and time goes by at warp speed and I find myself slacking on my journaling. So I'm going to try and sum up the last 5 months. Sorry if I babble and jump around. Well let's see Zach finished football and we headed right into fall ball for the boys. Zach was in the school spelling bee, he didn't win but it was fun to watch. Kyle was in his 3rd grade Christmas musical as an elf, he loved it and did a great job. Zach turned 12!! He is now a deacon and goes to mutual on wednesdays and is a boy scout. Kyle turned 9 and is in cub scouts and is playing basketball. Chloe is loving Kindergarten and is a little chatty but she is getting better. Sydney is a sophomore and doing well. She has a busy social calendar and loves to just hang with her friends. She received her patriarchial blessing in November which was a very special and sweet night. Sydney is also on the Hamilton Soccer Team and she is one of their captains. Her last game was awesome she got a hat trick and ended the season with a bang!

We had Chris's family down for Thanksgiving this year and it was so fun to hang out with everyone, we are so glad they came. We had Christmas with my family and had a wonderful Christmas eve at mom's and then we had Christmas Day dinner at our house. The kids got lots of good stuff, some of the highlights are Sydney- clothes, new phone, Zach- new phone, xbox stuff, Kyle- xbox games, new bike, Chloe- lots of Rapunzel stuff and a pillow pet. It was so cute, she would run down the hall screaming after she opened up each gift that she loved, it was so funny! Chris's parents stayed with us from the end of November to the end of January. They stay in their really cool RV right in our yard. It was so fun having them here and the kids loved being able to see them whenever they wanted. In January we met up with Chris's sister and her family and my in-laws in Disneyland! It was so fun to go and play for 3 days.

Life has been extremely busy. Being the YW president takes ALOT of time. I didn't realize how much but it's like a part time job. I love it!! But I'm always thinking, planning, and doing something for YW daily. Chris is the faithful 11 year old scout leader and always does a great job. He keeps busy working around our new yard and being with the family. I guess our biggest news is that we moved in October. It was a home that i had seen on the internet and then Chris saw it one day as he was driving around. We decided that we wanted to see it, so we called our trusty realtor (my mom) and she helped us wheel and deal until we got it! We actually lost it twice before it was ours so we had to work hard for this house. It is a home that needs some extra help due to lack of effort on the previous owners part. He let alot of things go so we have been picking up the slack. It has 5 bedrooms , 6 bathrooms, a large loft (which included a pool table), toy room, music room, upstairs laundry, downstairs office and master bedroom. This home could be ours forever if we wanted. I really don't want to move again, I love it here! I will put pics on here soon of the house. Here are some random pics of the last 5 months.