Christmas Day 2008

We were so blessed this year to have ALL of the kids home for Christmas. Tyler and Kaylee left for Arizona a few days after Christmas but we at least got to enjoy them for awhile. Kaylee has turned out to be a great little cook. We always have TREATS around when Kaylee is in town!! The Wii Fit was a big hit and told all of us just how good or bad we have been this year. In my case it told me way more than I ever wanted to know. I said I don't really appreciate the Wii making me look chunky. Grant said don't worry Mom Dad is chunky too! Thank Heaven for Grant to keep us humble. :) The Love Sac was also a coveted place to be. Here is Grant and Camille.

In keeping with tradition we always have a family puzzle. This year they tore through this 1000 piece Finding Texas puzzle in one day. It was a puzzle of all of the different ways Texas is written in different cities around the State. It is such a great one I plan to frame it and put it in the game room......I know, I know ONLY in TEXAS would you do something like that!! ;)

Carly and her darling jacket. I must say I did a great job on the jacket. It fit perfectly.

Tyler and Kaylee made quit a haul. We were so happy that they were with us this year at Christmas. We sure miss them. Now their Dog Tex is another story!! :) Well Grant loves him....

Blake got a great looking suit AND a legit (as he calls it) Tiger Woods golf hat and club. Here he is looking just a bit like Tiger himself!

I love those two boys......................Steve and Grant Christmas morning.

Grant (Camille looking on) opening his golf clubs from Blake. Boy they are cute and yes they look very LEGIT!

Blake and Missy (my favorite dog...I CAN have favorite pets)

Merry Christmas..... We had a great day together! December 2008!

Christmas Eve 2008

We had plans to have a few friends over on Christmas Eve for soups and breads. We were all ready when the lights went out at about 4:30. People were to arrive at 5:30. I didn't worry too much until 15 minutes later when the power was STILL NOT ON!! We finally called the power CO. who said they knew there was a problem but did not know what the problem was yet! I had company( 20 or so) coming over in 45 minutes and I had NO lights!! Side note.... I have spent the last 6 months getting ready for an emergency and I learned in a few minutes that although I have plenty of food, I can not function with no power. I will be re-thinking my plan!! :) A few stressful minutes and running to get lanterns and.... the light came back on at about 5:45. The night was saved and we had a great night of food, friends, games, stories and crafts.

Here ALL of my darling kids are in their traditional new Christmas PJ's. This year all of the boys matched (they loved that) and all of the girls matched..even Mom and Dad.

Christmas Tree, Christmas Tree, Present 12/21/08

Here is Grant's spin on the old stand by of Duck, Duck, Goose. Christmas Tree, Christmas Tree, Present was a hit for the whole family. The great thing about Grant in our family is that we all tend to be in touch with the "little kid" inside of us! It was a blast to have all the kids home for Christmas!

Honestly now do they come any cuter than this?? Really!!

Today was Grant's Christmas Program at school for his 4 year old class. (Building Block's) Grant could hardly wait for his Mom and Dad to come see him preform! If the truth be know we could hardly wait ourselves. There is nothing like "our" kids that turn grown adults into goofy childish beings....We wave and make funny faces until we realize how silly we really do look... but who cares? After all it is for our kids! I had a bit of a flash back sitting there watching Grant. You may think by viewing this blog that Grant is an only child. Not so because I really do have 4 others ranging from 23 to 4. He is just the only ones that still wants to hang out with us 24/7. As he walked in I had visions of the others on their school day performances. That same old pride and love swelled in my heart just like it did 23 long years ago. I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for this little guy that came to bless our lives. He has been the best thing for our family. I am so glad that the Lord really does know more than we think we do. How blessed I am.

That's my boy...:)

Grant with his class before the big performance.

I am sure he was the most adorable, smartest, well behaved prodigy there!

All- A...Board December 13,2008

We were able to pause for a few hours from all of the hustle and bustle of this crazy busy month and take a trip to the North Pole via the Polar Express.....:) It was a fun night spent with good Friends and Santa himself! Of course now Grant thinks that the North Pole is right up the street and he wants to call Santa almost every day!! The group of kids all waiting to board the train!

Grant and Steve.

Grant LOVES his OLD (old as in no longer... not old as in aged! Ha )Primary teacher Lauren.

It's SANTA.........................!

OH TO BE A KID AGAIN!

Our Friends the Wright's hosted a SWEET gingerbread house decorating party. It was so much fun and what a wonderful memory it will be for all of the kids and kids at heart. Grant's house may not have been the prettiest but I am just so glad that it is still standing!!

Steve and Jeff did this most of the night! :)

Launa's house was a work of art!

I am not sure you can get any cuter than this!

Artiest at work.

My Friend..the "other" Stacy and Beckett.

Nate said..."This must be what heaven is like. Candy everywhere and you can eat all you want and what you want and no one gets mad." If that is heaven than I am there! :)

Grant had a great time and by the time we got home, he was on a sugar overload and was so ready for bed! Oh... Maybe we were ready for him to go to bed!!! :)

Thanks Lauren and Nate for a fun memory!

Thanksgiving 2008..Scottsdale Arizona

I had the great idea that we could ALL be together for Thanksgiving if we traveled to Scottsdale Arizona to my sister LaNae's house. We flew my mom "Rainer Poo" in from Boise Idaho and the older kids traveled from BYU. We drove. What were we thinking? Somehow a 16 hour trip took us 21 hours. We did stop at the Petrified Forest for about 1 1/2 hours but other than that we have no idea where we went wrong. It was a trip that would never end!! All the gang at the Naylor's home. We had dinner one night with Kaylee's family. It was a fun night and the first time we had all been together since the wedding.

Carly and Camille

Blake, Camille, Carly, Uncle Rod and Steve

Rod took us out flying the day after Thanksgiving in his small airplane. He even talked me into flying. I have had a fear of small airplanes forever and would have preferred to stay on the ground. I am happy to say that I did well and I was not even "very" scared. he was a great pilot. It did have my mind running wild as all of my kids were taking turns flying with him. I guess it is a Mom thing to play the "what if game....good thing it is only a game! :)

Carly, Camile and Grant getting ready for take off!!

In keeping with tradition we all ran the Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning in Mesa AZ. Tyler and Kaylee are posing for this picture after they both completed the 10K run. Steve, Stacey, Camille and Blake all did the 2 mile run/walk.... the other die hards ran the 10K.

Carly and Camille

The "fruit" doesn't fall far from the tree as you will see in the next picture!

The "fruit".....:)

Carly ran the 10K also. Dad circled back to run the last little bit of the race with her. No wonder he looks so fresh! Carly said he kept saying I am not going to make it. I think he ran all of 1/2 mile with her! HA

Tyler did a great job and ran the 10K in 44 minutes....He even beat the turkey!! ;)

Carly making a flower arrangement for Thanksgiving to meet a requirement for her Floral Design class.

Dad and Grant at the Petrified Forest. It cost us a ton of time but it was something to see. BEAUTIFUL!! It was so tempting not to bring back a huge rock for the yard or for Blake's fish tank. But a $325 fine and jail time was a big enough deterrent for us.

The largest piece of petrified wood called "Old Faithful".

Grant, Camille and Blake.

Of course the morning we got up to head home I got sick and started throwing up. Within a couple of hours Grant and I had our own sick band. We stayed in the very back of the car because Blake didn't want us up front because he did not want to get sick. I let him think what he wanted but knew he was breathing all of our sick air.....I did get out of driving however. Several hours later Camille was chiming in......We finally made it home at 2AM with 3 out of 5 of us sick.....WE had a great time in AZ. it was just the 40 hours of travel time that was a bit much!! :)

And The Worst Mother Of The Year Award Goes To...... ME!

So.... remember my post a few months back about Grant saving his money forever to by a tortoise? He LOVES this little tortoise named Schoshi (which means tiny in Japanese) Yesterday I thought it would be a great day to let Schoshi out in the back yard to crawl around. It was about 3:30 and Grant and I sat out there and played and watched the tortoise....I got a phone call and came in the house. ...After that had to get dinner and get the house picked up because I was going to dinner and a movie with a friend... Call it Visiting Teaching if you would like! :) Well my OLD mind never thought about Schoshi again.................I got home at about 10:00 pm. Grant had taken a late nap and so when I came home he was still awake in his bed and he wanted me to kiss him goodnight. As soon as I walked into his room I remembered! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH ! I went to her cage and NO tortoise. Grant, did you get Schoshi? No Mom. It was COLD last night and I thought IF I can even find her surly she will be dead. I grab a flashlight and Grant and I headed outside at 10:00 at night. The first miracle is that I found her right away. I am sure it was because she was so cold she could not even move. As I picked her up I felt like I was holding a $100 rock. No movement at all. She was cold and her feet were stiff. Doesn't stiff have something to do with death?? I felt terrible!! I didn't dare let on to Grant that I was sure that his favorite pet was dead. I have to Tell you honestly that we got on our knees and prayed for a frozen tortoise. I warmed her the best I could, and then buried her under her mulch in her cage and put on her heat lamp. About 15 minutes later she started to move!! I was so relieved. One more example that my mind is going fast......Thank heaven for small miracles! Follow up: You know how affected I must have been by my carelessness with this little tortoise. Last night I had a dream that I was watching someones child in the Ward and she came to pick him up the next morning and I did not have any idea where he was. I assumed she had already come and got him. NOW that would be a NIGHTMARE!! I guess the dream put things in perspective for me! :) Go Schoshi go.................

GOOD FRIEDNS, FOOD AND FUN!! Nov. 12, 2008

What a FABULOUS girls night out! Our good friend Dina scored some GREAT tickets to see SARA BRIGHTMAN in concert at the AA Center in Dallas. This was honestly... hands down the best concert I have ever been to. Her voice was out of this world and the staging was nothing I had ever seen. I sat by Beth and we were constantly looking at each other with our mouths open! :) I was moved to tears....maybe I am easily impressed but what a gift she has!! Rebecca, me and Dina. We had dinner at Cold Vines before the concert. Great food but really pathetic service.

Sara looked and MOVED just like a fairy princess. She was elegant and delicate in everything that she did. Check out those shoes!

Angie, Beth and Michelle. Now the ONLY thing lacking at all was the choreography. I of course helped Michelle critique that ( as if I know anything) but I think Michelle may have a job if she wants it!

This was an amazing scene as they were laying down on the ground and this image was reflecting up on a HUGE plexi-glass pane. Did I say that the staging was out of this world? :) If you ever have the chance to go see her...do it! THANKS AGAIN DINA!!

There in a nutshell is the problem!

So listen to this conversation I had with Camille:

Mom: So Cam. do you want to go on a NO sugar thing with me until Thanksgiving?
Camille: Like what do you mean?
Mom: Well it would be no candy, cookies, ummm ice cream....
Camille: Well I don't really eat ice cream that much anyway.
Mom: Well do you eat candy?
Camille: yes
Mom: Do you eat cookies?
Camille: Well yes...
Mom: Well then that's what I mean.
Camille: hummmmmmmmmm..Well... WHAT would we eat then??

Now back to the title.....There in a nutshell is the problem!! I will keep you posted on the progress.:)

STOMP at Bass Hall

OK, so you know I love ..love plays. I decided I would order a set of tickets for 4 plays at Bass Hall. Tonight was the first play. STOMP. I only had two tickets and thought I would offer it to one of the kids but when I asked they both jumped at it. Of course Blake tried to get both tickets so he could take one of his many women (that really do not exist). But when it was all said and done somehow I lost out on both tickets and it was decided that Camille and Blake would go. Although I really did HATE to miss the play (I had heard such good things about it) I was thrilled that they were going together. Blake was sure that they would call him up on stage at some point in the play to "break a move" as he says it.

Camille just called to say they were on their way home and that she loved it. It was Fantastic! Maybe next time I won't be so quick to offer! :) Who knew Blake would even want to go??? Blake practicing one of his moves and Camille hoping he doesn't embarrass her tonight!

The holiday that lasts FOREVER!

I am all for having fun but I was starting to wonder if this holiday would ever come to an end! :) Between the Ward party, the parties at school and the "Real" deal (Halloween) we are dressing up every other day....Grant was a Army man for days. I must say he was the cutest Army man ever!
Grant and his buddy Nathan on Halloween night.

Grant at his school party with his class.

This is a picture of Grant marching in the school parade. We had a great day!