Jingle Bell Rock!

It was a "rockin'" Christmas at our house this year. Santa brought the kids Rock Band 2 for the wii! My headache a few hours into this game made me want to have a little chat with Santa. But the smile on the kids faces, and the hours of entertainment that it provided made me think otherwise. They absolutely love it, and played until they "rocked" themselves to sleep! We also got another storm today, Christmas Day, which brings our total snowfall in the last week to at least a foot and a half! The kids got snow gear for Christmas so we had to go sledding to try it all out. They had a blast...again, THEY had a blast. Brian and I froze in our "not so much snow gear." We are supposed to get another 6" tonight..so maybe we'll have to go out again tomorrow. The kids would have stayed out all day long, had they not noticed they were losing their parents to hypothermia! But don't worry, they all complained that they were "burstin hot" as Tyson' says. Grandpa Wade made our favorite dinner Muchaka...it was as delicious as always. We ended the day by watching the new Gordon B. Hinckley movie. It was a great movie...and everyone went to bed happy. It was a very Merry Christmas 2008!



Getting ready to hit the slopes! It was a VERY white Christmas!



Tyson and Sydney built snow caves. Nice work!



Hang on tight Kylie!



Go Tyson!



Now that is some deep snow!



Taking turns opening presents



Kylie and Sydney jammin! Grandma and Grandpa cracking up!


My apron Sydney made with her hand and foot prints! CUTE!

Tyson's Birthday party was a real "knockout!"

Tyson being Tyson


Tyson 2 min later..and after the blood was wiped away


Daddy makes everything better!


Seriously...Tyson's party was a real knockout! Or should I say Tyson knocked out his front tooth at his party? Here's the story....Tyson decides it would be real fun to go to Jump on it for his party. It is a place with like 50 trampolines all lined up for the kids to get out any energy dying to escape. Last time we went to Jump on it Tyson pulled a muscle in his neck and couldn't move his entire head/neck for at least 2 days after that. But no...he begs to go back. It's his 8th Birthday...the last thing I want to do was ruin his fun...so off we go. We had been there seriously 2 min ( I had taken 2 pictures) when Tyson jumps straight into a jumping block and knocks his front tooth out. Two more teeth are knocked very loose! Luckily they were all baby teeth. Guess it pays off to be 8 and only have lost 3 teeth! He is hysterical and wants to go home. I'm sure it hurt bad...his whole mouth looked beat up! Anyway...the nice people at the place give us a coupon to come back for free anytime...and we headed home and ate cake and ice cream with the cousins and Grandma and Grandpa. Tyson was exhausted after everyone left and he fell asleep at 6:30. Poor guy...I am sure this is NOT what he had planned for his birthday but we tried to make it up to him the next day. I am still not convinced I am ever going back to that place to use the free coupon...somehow that trip will have a injury and end up being anything but free, when we end up at the emergency room!

8 on 12-8-08

I can't believe my baby is 8!! How time flies when you have a energetic little boy to keep me busy!! Today is Tyson's "golden birthday." 8 on the 8th in 08!! We are soo unbelievably lucky to have this little boy in our family. He brings so much joy, energy, love, game cube, and laughter to our home. Top 8 things about Tyson:

1. LOVES wii or any video game available. Favorite game right now is Mario Smash Brothers Melee
2. LOVES sports. Swimming, soccer, baseball, and is starting basketball for the first time this month!
3. LOVES his pets. Especially Ruby. Doesn't like to take care of them...just play with them!
4. Likes to sleep in on school days...get up early on the weekends!
5. Is SOOOOO excited to get baptized. He can't decide who to pick for talks though!
6. Is a GREAT student. I have never heard a negative word from any of his teachers. They all unanimously say he is a joy to have in class. (Don't ask me...I don't get it either!)
7. Never, EVER holds still. I remember when my Dad offered to pay him $5 to hold still for 5 min. It was torture for him!
8. Tyson is a homebody, unless he gets to chose going to Wesley's. Then it is Wesley's every time!

I am Thankful!

Here is my Thanksgiving Post a little early.
I AM THANKFUL:
(in no particular order!)
*My testimony, membership, and knowledge of the true and living Gospel
of Jesus Christ
*My Family that I love, and loves me back
*Good Health for me and my family*I LOVE living Saratoga Springs
*Getting to go to Washington for Thanksgiving!
*A husband that works hard to provide an honest living for us
*Being able to work from home, and that my job has great health
benefits!
*Fabulous in laws that I love dearly
*Repentance, with no limitations
*Family Vacations that we have taken
*Modern Medicine
*Chocolate in all its varieties
*Hair bleach
*Two Beautiful, helpful, and considerate daughters
*One FUN, Sweet, and energy filled son!
*A loving, compassionate, confidence boosting, super fantastic hubby!
*Blogging...so I can keep tabs on my distant family members
*Family members that work for airlines and get us buddy passes!
*21 beautiful Young Women in Saratoga Springs 2nd ward
*Monday night FHE
*Never thought I would say it...but I love living somewhere where we
have all 4 seasons!
*My warm, safe, cozy, small mortgage home!
*My family and friends that love me despite my many, many weaknesses

These are just a few of the things on the top of my head...I could have
spent all day on this blog, and I only had 5 min! I have soo many
blessings, many of which can not be written. I am most grateful for
this time of year to spend with family and friends, and for taking the
time to "Count my many Blessings!"
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

OVERWHELMED!!

Overwhelmed! That is all I can think of to express my feelings right now. Today I was sustained as the new Young Womens President in our ward. WHAT?? ME?? ARE YOU SURE?? Those were the words I said to the Bishop when he asked me a week ago. Needless to say this last week has been sleepless, nervous, excited, and feelings of extreme inadequacy's. I am following a President, whom I have served as 2nd counselor for almost 3 years, and she is honestly the most amazing woman you will ever meet. Colleen Terry....remember that name. She will someday serve on the General Board. I am not kidding! She is an institute teacher for UVU and an incredible woman. There is no WAY I will ever fill her enormous shoes! I am going to have to make my own shoes! I have learned so much from her the last few years, and so I feel more prepared than I otherwise would have. We have an incredible YW program right now, with 22 YW who are beautiful, smart, and very strong. I love them. I am very excited about this new adventure, and know I will be stretched to the max. I am ready and willing, so wish me luck! Here is a picture of "my" amazing girls! The ONLY YW not taller than me is Kylie! The blond behind me is the amazing Sister Terry whose gigantic shoes I will be attempting to fill!

Hawaii!!

Aloha friends!! We are home!! Brian and I went to Maui last week...without the kids! We had a fabulous trip and were so grateful to get to spend some quality time together! We were trying to fly standby...but had some trouble getting to Maui so we ended up buying tickets and it was totally worth it! The real good part about it was that we got to spend the night with Brenda's family after she bailed us out of the Santa Anna airport. It was great to see them all! Some of the highlights of the trip were: 1. gorgeous hikes...we hiked and hiked and it was beautiful everywhere we went. 2. snorkeling..didn't see anything real cool this time...but Brian enjoyed it anyway 3. Cruising the island in our convertible! We loved that thing...it was a great excuse for me to ignore my hair for a whole week! We made it to almost every part of the island throughout the week. 4. Lying on the beach being lazy...I know lazy isn't a word I usually describe myself with...but at times on this trip that was all I could do..just simply be lazy! 5. Brian surfed! He got up and loved it...although he was pretty sore for a few days afterwards! 6. Went to a beautiful red sand beach and ran into a nudist guy. I have a picture for you...but you have to look close! I am sure I have missed a TON of things we did...but I am VERY tired so my brain is on pause mode at the moment. There is so much more to say...but I don't know how to put it into words. We were pretty adventurous on this trip and explored every cave, secret beach and hiked to unknown waterfalls. One hike we went on we tramped through a bamboo forest, crossed a dry river bed, scaled a 12 foot high rock wall...and climbed over a waterfall to get to the next one. It was so fun...although I do not recommend it in flip flops!! We missed the kids terribly, but it sounds like they had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa Wade and Aunt Heather. Thanks guys!! We are so glad to be home...but wish we could still be there. We got stuck in LAX airport on the way home so we ended up renting a car and driving 10 hours home after being up for 44 hours straight. Sounds pretty stupid now that I think about it..but we were missing the kids bad and wanted to see them asap!! We had a great trip! Here are a few pictures...although cameras just don't do the beauty of the island any justice!! Hawaii is about my favorite place to go...but there really is no place like home!

We met up with Brian's parents the last day.



This must be what the Garden of Eden looks like!



Brian getting up for the first time surfing. He was so far out my camera didn't work well. He did awesome though!



Sunset



Red sand beach with nude guy. Look close at him hanging on the small tree branch beneath the larger tree branch in the center of the picture. Yikes!!



Right outside our room



Another Pretty waterfall. Maui is FULL of waterfalls!



Brian enjoying the waterfall



This was one of our adventurous hikes to a waterfall


Dinner at Bubba Gumps with Pete and Jess. It was YUMMY!!



This was right outside our resort the first day we were there. Thanks Pete for the nicest place we've ever stayed in!

First swim meet of the Season

Sydney's 100 butterfly



Sydney 100 breast stroke



Tyson, Mrs. Bradley and Abby



Tyson's 50 backstroke

Today was the first swim meet of the season. Swim season goes from October - Feb...but they do have meets in the summer also. Our coaches only wanted our 10 and under kids to participate...so Kylie sat out on this one...but not willingly! She wanted to get out there so bad. She makes an excellent cheerleader though! I had signed Tyson up for the 50 free and 50 backstroke because there was no 50 butterfly, and that is his favorite event. He had to swim his 50 backstroke in a middle lane with 2 14 year old jr.high kids next to him. They don't compete for ribbons against them, just swim next to them. It was so funny, because when I told him, he said "SWEET! Maybe I'll beat one of them!" This kid seriously has the BEST attitude! He did not beat the 14 year olds but did a great job and got 2nd place in his 50 back and first place in his 50 free. (There was only about 5-6 8 and under kids...but hey who needs to know that?) He beat a kid on our team who is 8 and twice his size! Sydney, as you remember gets a little paranoid at meets, so I sign her up for easy events (50's mostly) so she won't panic. Apparently after I signed her up, her coach decided to change it all and put her in a 200 free, 100 butterfly, and 100 breast...which she HATES!! She got a little upset at first...but jumped in the water and kicked butt! She won her heat in the 100 breast, taking 5th overall, and took 2nd place in her 200 free overall. She was very close to first, and would have taken it if she would have done her flip turns. She said she got so nervous she forgot to do them! There were a lot more girls competing in this meet...probably 12-20 in the girls' events. She had a rough time on her butterfly, which is usually her best, and what she went to state in last year, but she ended up 5th overall. Could have been worse. Her breast stroke really impressed us and her endurance in her 200 free was awesome! She might just be an endurance swimmer after all. I am glad her coach changed up her events without her knowing, she needs to try new things in these meets. Tyson's 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Bradley, and her daughter Abby came today just to watch Tyson. It was soooo nice of her and Tyson was so excited! He was bouncing off the walls when he saw her come in! I was impressed she came and endured...swim meets are LONG even when you have kids in them!! Way to go Syd and Tyson, it was a great first meet of the season!

Tagged!

Jenise, my sister in law tagged me today. Here goes nothing!

I am .......... going to Hawaii in 4 days!!

I want .......... to be able to eat chocolate all day and stay thin!

I have ..........too many things that I try to do each day!

I wish .......... for the economy to turn around NOW!

I hate .......... my kids being gone to school all day

I fear .......... heights!! HATE airplane rides…wish me luck on my trip to Hawaii!

I hear ..........my kids watching haunted mansion

I search .........for my i-pod almost daily. 3 little kids like to “share” it with me!

I always .......... start the day saying I am going running. It happens about twice a week!

I usually ..........am too hard on myself

I am not ......... 5 feet tall!! 4’11”

I miss .........my family in WA and CA!

I love ..........family vacations…working from home

I never ........... am late for anything

I rarely ...........remember I have a heart condition

I cry ............in church almost every week. Drives my kids CRAZY!!

I am not always ........... good about going to the OB/GYN. I have only been once since I’ve had Tyson. He’s almost 8!

I lose .........bladder control when jumping on a tramp!

I am confused .......... when I help Kylie with math homework!!

I need .........to teach my kids to work harder!

I should ..........go finish getting ready for the day!

I dream ........... of children that serve missions and get married in the temple!

K'NEX anyone?

Generous gift from Aunt Becky



Finished Project!



My ever thoughtful sister Becky brought a huge plastic tub full of all these little tiny looking sticks and weird things that were called K'NEX last time she was in town. Holy cow what a disaster! No wonder she lovingly took it from Jackson and gave it to Tyson. Pieces and parts everywhere, I have probably vacuumed up a thousand of them so far. Well...Tyson decided he wanted to build a 4 wheeler. It was so overwhelming that I am pretty sure you need an engineering degree to complete these little projects. Well, I got going on it and got addicted. I could not stop until I was finished. I worked on it until 10:30 p.m. and then all day while working today. I finally finished about 10 min before Tyson got home from school this afternoon. Total of about 8-9 hours on this little baby!I felt like I had just finished a marathon, a tremendous sense of accomplishment! Pretty sad, I know! Here is the finished project. Thanks again Becky...

Mount Timpanogos Caves

Ahhh Fall time!



Enjoying the view on the way down!



Cool stalactites and stalagmites everywhere!



I wish you could see how Beautiful the inside is!



Duck girls!



A little nervous at first! (dark and cold!)



Finally! Entrance to the Caves!



Getting closer!



About half way up the trail




The start of the hike




After an hour of straight jumping!!



What a fun, yet exhausting weekend!! Last night the kids and I (and Kylie's friend Jenaka) went to Jump On It in American Fork. It is a fun place with about 50-60 trampolines all lined up together where you can jump and jump until your hearts content! There is even tramps up against the wall so you can literally bounce off the walls! The kids had a blast...and so did I. By the time they were finished ...they were literally dripping in sweat. I didn't get to work as hard as they did because my bladder wouldn't let me. It was a ton of fun though! It was a little dangerous, in fact they make you sign all kinds of waivers before you go. Then when we got home Tyson started complaining his neck hurt. It kept him up most of the night and when he woke up he couldn't move at all. Even me rolling in bed next to him made him start to cry. We put heating pads on it and gave him ibuprofen. He seemed a little better by mid morning but was still holding his head funny. We had planned to hike Mount Timpanogos today because it was free to get into the caves today. Well...Tyson decided to stay back with Aunt Heather, and the girls and I headed up the mountain. It was absolutely the perfect day. The weather was gorgeous and the leaves were changing. Not completely in fall colors...but beautiful none the less! After an hour hike, 1.5 miles and a vertical climb of 1,065 feet...we made it to the caves! What a great hike...work up a good sweat...but not too hard that older kids can't do it! Inside the caves it is 43 degrees year round. CHILLY! The girls' eyes were like Christmas morning! They loved every minute of the caves...and took it all in. They are so cool inside, at times having to duck and squeeze to get through, and other huge rooms with little lakes. It is amazing that it is all formed by water...tooke 1-2 millions years to form. We had a great day...the only bad thing was I had to use Kylie's $30 camera from Walmart, because Brian still has mine on the hunting trip. Some pictures turned out....some not so much. I LOVE the beautiful mountains we live by...I could spend every minute up there...unless of course it is winter! (sorry I am retarded and posted the pictures in backwards order, from end to start...oops!)