~HAPPY HOLIDAYS~

Ohhhh.....the Anticipation! And like Thanksgiving dinner....it is over in a flash! We had a couple of wonderful family parties. The season would not be the same without getting together with the wonderful family we have. We are blessed to live close enough to be able to do this. How great it is to see how each little one in the family has grown. We even had a couple of new new babies at the party. What a blessing. Trevor and I took the kids to SLC to spend the night and view the lights around Temple Square. We thought we were being tricky and would skip the weekend and hit a weeknight. However, Monday night is probably busier in Utah than any other day of the week. Regardless of the many baby strollers that we had to dodge, we had a great time, had a great meal, swam in the hotel pool, and even did a little shopping. Christmas morning was, as usual, full of excitement and joy!

Again, we are blessed!

Our Kitty (Lucy...aka Meow Meow) LOVES her new bed. Surprisingly, she LOVED each one of her new toys in her little pink stocking. We were all amazed at how much SHE enjoyed Christmas morning...almost more than the kids.

She even got a Zhu Zhu pet....ugh, did I just admit that?

TAG had dance recital in Twin Falls. We all drove down and watched this wonderful Christmas performance that he and his friends put on. It was a nice way to add Christmas spirit to our Holiday Season.

Great Job TAGGART!

Our trip to Utah....

My Baby Girl is getting big....almost as tall, ugh fine.... Almost taller than me!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

From Our Family....to Yours!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a SAFE Holiday Season.

I...WE are very blessed, at this time,

with health, happiness, friendship, peace, and LOVE!

PICTURES...

Some favorite pictures of mine I've taken recently....

Trevor's Play

"Christmas Belles"...so sad if you missed it! Trevor was in a play a couple of years ago and they just finished with the "squequel" (sorry, I'm really excited for Alvin and the Chipmunks coming out on Christmas Day is it?) It was a very humorous play I have to admit. They did a great job. I'm very proud of him for fulfilling his obligations as "Justin, the Preacher Boy." I LOVED seeing him perform! Very talented, I must say!

His parents came down the second weekend and we thoroughly enjoyed what little time we had with them. We had a very fun, relaxing, special weekend with all. They even got to meet our new kitty!

Thanksgiving!

Oh my goodness...so behind. Thanksgiving this year was spent in Boise at Trevor's parents house. Something special about this year...his mom invited about five members of her ward that were single and without family around. Amidst the hustle and bustle of packing, planning, preparing, traveling, getting meals prepared, and eating...we seem to forget the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Being thankful for things we are "Blessed" with. Our health, our jobs, our talents, our friends, and HaVing Family around. It was such a neat experience, not only for myself, but to see our children grasp the concept of "sharing" the experience with others. I think you can "Cherish" what you have that much more if you realize not everyone is blessed to have "each other" so close. It was a very blessed Thanksgiving. The meal was wonderful. The company was wonderful. The experience was wonderful. I am so BLESSED! We are so BLESSED!

We went and saw "The Blind Side", which I LOVED and totally recommend. We also went to our last Boise State game of the year. We all bundled up and actually had a great time. It wasn't TOO cold at 8pm Friday night...Crazy, but worth it!

Recessionista Party

I am new at this....and I feel cyberspace challenged at times....but I'm following this new blog, which has many AWESOME deals and items. It is probably dangerous for me to do this...therefore, I am sharing with any and all of you to check it out. JOIN me in the DANGER!

http://www.recessionistaparty.com/

Halloween Piano Recital

Allysa has BLOSSOMED with piano. Somehow...somewhere.... something happened and she has skipped a couple levels. What a great talent she has and she loves to share it. She has mastered a piece on the piano that I actually FINISHED out my season of piano with. She is marvelous. We are so excited for this art of hers to grow and listen to her practice and practice! I don't even have to hardly remind her anymore...now that is sayin something!

Shelley's Annual Pumpkin Walk

I believe this is Shelley's second Annual Pumpkin Walk. One of my dear friends, Becca Jolley, helps prepare for this. She is extremly talented and paints many of the backdrops and pumpkins. The theme this year was "Let's Pretend." They also hosted the "Trunk or Treat" this year. What a wonderful way to help the kids enjoy a safe Halloween. They asked for a donation of 25 cents or a can of food. This is a happily, easy donated item to help those in need for the holidays. Thank you Becca for sharing your talent with us!

~Leaves Leaves~

Wow...we have not seen so many leaves! And this is only the beginning....but we decided one day to rake the gazillion leaves in the yard. It was a fun Fall activity. The kids actually enjoyed it. Luke had a little rake that he thought was just perfect for him. The kids had fun jumping in the leaves afterwards...this was their goal and reward. Trevor thought he would try....didn't work out so well for him....OUCH!

~Trick OR Treat!~

We spent Halloween in Boise this year. We started the day with a Boise State Football game...now what could be wrong with that! The kids got dressed up and we cheered on the Broncos! Following that we had a great dinner at "Grami's" house and did some trick-or-treating around her block. It was a beautiful night! Lys wanted to be a dead nurse. We joked (although probably not too funny) that she was a nurse who caught the swine flu. Jake and Tag, of course, were "crazy" Boise State fans. Luke....well, of all the things he could have been, he just wanted to be a "scary" ghost. "But not too scary...cuz he doesn't like scary things." That was the easiest and quickest outfit I have every put together. I felt a little guilty, but I'm sure he'll make up for it in years to come.