Okay, Here Goes...

So my all time, favorite Christmas movie is "White Christmas". Probably because it incorporates great singing, dancing, acting and I have been watching it every year for 20 or so years. Anyway, this year I was anxious to watch it again because it holds a bit of a different meaning to me. What I mean by that is, for those of you who are not familiar, it is about a couple of pals from the army. Okay, okay, okay, so the reason that relates to our big news is that, no, I am not PREGNANT (which has nothing to do with that show anyway) but, ...Jason is joining the ARMY! He will be signing on Monday for a 3 year term. (If you have dropped your jaw and are wondering why in the heck we would do such a thing), don't worry, we are really excited for this next adventure. Though I am sure there will be some rough times ahead, we feel this is a good direction for us at this time. For whatever reason, we also feel that Heavenly Father needs us to do this, and of course, that clinches it for me.:)

Our next step is Jason going to an intensive training in a few months to become a Human Intelligence Collector for the Army, so don't be surprised if the FBI comes knocking on your door this next year and asks questions about my husband. (They will need to do that in order to grant him the clearance that he needs for this job).

At this point, we don't know how long we will be enlisted but we will take it as it comes. I will continue to update my blog in order to keep in touch. Please keep us in your prayers!!

Changes Coming!!

Okay so we moved the first week in November and are currently renting a place wihin walking distance from the kid's school. We are really enjoying the area and loving the new ward. The kids are all doing well with the change as all of us are getting ready for some much bigger changes coming up this year. Some of you already know but I am going to have to hold the surprise from the rest of you until it's official!:) All I can say is that we have some big changes coming that we have prayed about and are excited for.

Blessings!

I would have to say that one of my favorite things is seeing all the blessings in my life. It is amazing to me how many small and simple blessings we are given everyday. One of our recent blessings was having the opportunity to take out family to stake conference at the conference center to listen to the prophet speak. it was a great conference focused on the importance of regular temple attendance and serving those who need us.

Another recent blessing was finding a place to live since we sold our house quicker that we had planned. That has been a huge stress for me the past few weeks but we have found a place for the mean time that we feel really good about.

The last blessing I will mention is the sale of our home. We felt that it was something we needed to do for many reasons but it is kind of exciting to know that we will soon be open to do whatever and go wherever the Lord needs us to go. These times are so fun and exciting!

We're Moving!!

Well, I guess we are supposed to move. We put our house up for sale last Wednesday and had 7+ offers on it by Monday. I am not kidding, it has been a bit of a crazy week. We are currently looking for someplace to rent right now until we figure out the job situation instead of rushing into buying another home. At this point, our options are wide open though we are looking for something in the Western states. Yes, Arizona pals, we are considering moving back there. We are not sure at this point but we are planning to stay here and rent for a while until things become a bit more clear. This is all a little crazy and a bit sudden but we are up for it and know we have been so blessed and directed to this point.

New Job

Jason and I have decided that it is time to find him a new job. It has been a rough couple of years with respect to that but we have learned so much in the meantime. I feel that everything happens for a reason and that it is up to us to either, let the tough times bring you down or to learn from them: I choose to learn.

Anyway, it is always exciting to move forward and change paths and we have been getting a little gitty thinking about the prospects. We are not making any announcements right now, but we are willing to go wherever the Lord wants us to be. At this point it has just been fun to spend a couple hours together each afternoon searching for jobs while kids are napping.

Aubrey is in KINDERGARTEN!!

Our sweet, little, Aubrey has been so excited to start school and be able to ride the bus with her big brother and sister. So far, she is loving her class and her teacher and she has already made some new friends. It makes me so sad to have her gone but she was so ready!!

Here is her first trip home from school riding the bus. She had so much fun and felt so big. This was her first day, though I had to take her to school in the morning and get pictures, she would have been fine to ride the bus by herself. She did not even seem a little nervous.

(Please excuse these un-edited photos.

Our picture editing program is not working so I

could not crop any of these.)

3 in school and still a full house?

I can explain. The week Sadie and Porter started school, I started babysitting 3 other, little buddies. Two of them I have Mon-Thurs. and one I have on Tues. & Thurs. They are all really good kids and it is helping me to remember what it is like to have a bunch of toddlers again since the ages of the additional children are, 4, 3 and 17 months, not including my own, almost 2 year-old and 5 year old. I may sound like I am a bit crazy, and I might be, but it is working out quite well, and surprisingly, still gives me time to spend, one-on-one with my own kids. All I can say is that Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways, because this has been a real blessing for our family, for which I am grateful.

Girl Talk

I just have to say that I love moments that are not planned when bonding happens. Tonight, I got Sadie out of bed to come and look at some things I had seen on the computer that she might like. Well, we ended up coming to this blog and reading a bunch of the entries and of course had to laugh and giggle about the memories that came back ofter reading. It also gave me a mother's "teaching moment". She had just asked me about keeping a journal and she said she wasn't very good at it so, after laughing and crying about all the memories we read about, we promised each other that we would both be better at writing and recording so that we can keep a record of our lives like the prophets did for us.

Okay, so part of the incentive was for her to show me, and herself that if she can keep a journal for year, then I will let her record on her own, "private" blog. She thought i would be fun to add her own pics and thoughts to it. She's so good at sticking to what she says that I think she'll do great at this challenge.:D

First day of school 2009-2010

WOW! I am going to have three kids in school this year. It makes me a little sad to say but we had all had enough summer and were ready to start the new year.

SADIE'S in 4th PORTER'S in 2nd

Aubrey starts kindergarten this week and Kailey will be home with mom.

They started at a new school this year so we all got ready early and headed over there on the first day to check out the school. It made it nice for pics because everyone was ready.

PIRATES...Aarrggggg!!

Okay, so how bad am I that I actually forgot my blog address because it has been so long.:}



Tonight my kids and I finished PIRATES the Musical. It has been a crazy and busy ride but it urned out amazingly well. I am very pleased, although there are always things that I would do differently, it turned out great. The kids were so fun to watch and I actually was able to get Porter, my..."I never want to draw any kind of crazy attention to myself kid"...to be in it. I still don't know if he really likes it or not but I am glad he tried. I guess I can't have em all. Sadie, on the other hand, was one of the main pirates and did such a good job. She is so cute on stage and just shines. This was her 4th production and she really has gotten better every time. I still think she should have made it into Sound of Music with me, but there must have been a reason. Here are some of our pirate pics. I think we should all be pirates for Christmas this year since we have the shirts! How fun would that be?:D

Too bad we didn't get a pic with Kailey in her pirate garb.

That would have been cute.

Cute!

I was checking out the pictures on my camera and came across this little video. I know that "Father's interviews" should be private, but I couldn't resist. She is getting so big!!

Busy!

I can't believe I let myself get off my weekly blog post so here is a post to say hat I will be posting soon.:)

My kids are of track again which means that it is spring cleaning time and adventure time. We kind of have a give and take deal that if we can get some spring cleaning done one day then we can do a fun activity the next day. So after a long day of sorting winter and summer clothes, we went downtown yesterday to explore the Natural History Museum and had a wonderful time! The city library has a wonderful pass that you can check out every six months to get into 4 different museums FREE for up to 4 people. You better believe that we try to take advantage of that at least twice a year!:)

Okay, so another super fun thing is that Jason earned, what is called, "The Incentive Trip" this year from work. Well this year we are going to Cancun and staying in a really nice all-inclusive for 5 nights! We are so excited!! We would never spend as much money as it is costing them, for us to go ourselves so we are stoked to take it all in and have a blast + for justification, we still have a bit left over that we can use to take our kids on a family get-away this summer! YEA! From what we have seen this far, we have decided that we definitely need to set our work goals high enough to earn the trip every year! Nothing wrong with vacations that work pays for! Now it's time to get our pass ports so if anyone knows much about that, please pass on the info!

Mommy Dearest!

Our computer has been sick for the last week so I was not able to do my weekly blog post yesterday. He is feeling better however and we are so grateful for that!:)

We had a fabulous week last week with my mom in town! We did some of our traditional "mom" visit things like, go to Logan and visit my dad & grandparent's graveside followed by ice cream. Okay, so that may sound like a strange tradition but we have been doing it since I was a little girl and now my kids love it too. Besides that, we really did not do much out of the ordinary besides run errands and stay up and visit, way too late. I love my mom and I am so grateful to have her! She is my hero!:)

"FUN" at the cemetery!?

My kids would say "YES!"

A Little Strange!!

Baby "K"

This cold season has taken a toll on our little family, especially, baby K. However, in the midst of it all, I have discovered something about her. You know those little, nose suckers you get from the hospital when you have a new baby? Well, all of my kids have hated them and used to scream and fuss when they got near...until now. Baby K actually likes it. She giggles after each use and leans forward for more. All I can guess is that it is Heavenly Father's way of helping me forget any difficulties I have had with other babies and preparing me for more! If that is the case, it is working because I think I'm ready for another!:)

Is that SPRING in the air?!

Yippee! Spring is around the corner...we can feel it! My kids and I have been taking in the warmer weather all week and have loved every minute of it!

AAAHHHHH!!

Just bounce'n around, having

fun with the fam!

A "little" woman on a mission!

FREE day at

the ZOO!

Almost little Bob!!
Baby K's was so excited about all the animals, it was hard to brake her away. Though she looks like she is yelling, no noise is actually coming from her mouth, this is just her SUPER excited...have to tell someone look! Hang'n out at our

FAVORITE park!
Pooped, after a fun & busy week!

Smartie Sadie!

Okay, I have to brag on Sadie for a second. Note:(I use this blog as a family journal and want to keep a record of this for her.) Anyway, I received a letter from Sadie's school recently with a certificate for her, of outstanding performance on the Iowa Tests, for scoring in the top 10% nationally!! Yea for Sadie!! We have always known that she is a smart kid but it's nice that she can see it herself too! GOOO SADIE!!! We are so proud of all you do and how hard you try on everything! We are most proud, however, of your growing testimony and faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ! We love you honey!!:)

25 Random Things...

I was hit by this about 10 times on my facebook and I have had a hard time narrowing it down but here goes:

1. I absolutely love having my kids at home to play with during the week!
2. I don't like sleeping under a sheet and have to untuck all blankets and wrap up in them to sleep. (hotel blankets are the worst because they tuck them in so tight).
3. I am a sale-o-holic/ clearence-o-holic & coupon-o-holic. Basically, I am addicted to good deals and HATE to by things that is not on sale or that I have to pay full price for.
4. Along the lines of #3, During the warm months, our family has a weekly ritual of going to garage sales and buying books mostly + other treasures we can find that are a good deal. (I know, it's bad...and, a lot worse than what can be written in twenty random things).
5. my favorite smell is probably the orange blossoms on a warm, Az breeze. I get a little homesick just thinking about it!
6. I rarely get nervous, and would much rather perform, as a character on stage in front of 100's of people than in front of one person.
7. I love theater and music and most everything to do with both and want to continue performing and directing until I am a spunky, old women who wears red and purple.
8. Going along with #2, My sis-in-law gave me a body pillow during my first pregnancy, and I cannot sleep without one now. I like to have one leg on the pillow and one touching Jason to fall asleep.
9. I rarely watch TV but love going to, or cuddling up to watch a good movie with the fam.
10. I love reading good literature. I don't mind the fluff either, once in a while, as long as it's entertaining. (Twilight is a good example of entertaining fluff, to me). "Pride and Prejudice" is my favorite (Good literature).
11. I have a hard time doing something if I can't do it all the way or if it can't be done perfectly! I hate things half done! (I sure I got that from my mom!:)
12. I love school, at the collage level, and would love to get my Master's + someday. I love my brain to hurt every once in a while.
13. I would like to take piano lessons again and learn to play the hymns.
14. The physical part of #12, I love to work-out and have my body ache and be drenched in sweat when I'm finished.
15. I love to dance with my husband. Big Band swing is my fav but I love anything ballroom!
16. I love to be outside hiking, biking, playing ball with the kids, walking, camping with the fam, or whatever.
17. I love to explore, climb trees, catch bugs and get down and dirty like a little kid, with my kids.
18. I love, love, love giving/doing/getting surprises!!
19. I love it when Jason and I have the opportunity to do a session at the temple TOGETHER, because we always catch eye-contact a few times during the session and somehow, that never fails to melt my insides like it did the first time I went through.
20. I am excited to be in the temple with Jason & the kids when everyone is dressed all in white!
21. I love to have family/friends stay at our house, even if it gets crowded. I feel, the more, the merrier! + I love to feed anyone who comes and send food home with them if I can!
22. I believe that good music has the power to touch the soul deeper and penitrate where not much else can!
23. I love decorating/doing anything crafty and learning anything that would fall under either area!
24. I love to laugh and smile but I am a little nervous about the lines that are forming from, what my mom calls, my animated expressions.
25. I am grateful to say that my best friends are my family members and that I am married to my very best friend!!

I am going to tag Jess W., Bev B., Maddy W. Jill B. Z.B.and my az Y.W.(no longer Y.W.) Jen & Anna, I liked that you posted yours on your blogs!:)

The Draper Temple open-house

Last week, we had the opportunity to take our little family to the Draper Temple open-house. It was fun to see how reverent the kids were while walking through and the special peace that came over everyone when we entered the Celestial room. What a wonderful experience and how grateful I am that our children could be with us in the best place on earth. It was hard not to get a little choked up thinking about what it will be like to be in the temple together when we all have a recommend to be there! I can hardly wait!!:)

Though the kids liked the temple, I am afraid they were nearly as excited about the cookies they would get at the end. The sweet sister missionary (above) told us about the wonderful cookies in the reception area after the open-house and asked us if we'd bring her some back. She was semi kidding but the kids just had to take cookies back to her.

It was a wonderful day!!:)

(This was the bus ride back to the church where we parked and

I think this hottie sitting by me wanted to kiss me!?!:D)

On the way home, we saw about 12 deer

grazing in someone's yard.

Texas!! YEE-HA

My honey and I went to Dallas this weekend for a work convention and had an absolutely wonderful time! It was hard to leave the kids but, so nice to get away by ourselves! Here are some pics from our, pump-up the positive attitude weekend! We were spoiled rotten and loved every minute of it!:) Our last night was like PROM! Good, dinner, entertainment and we got to dress up!:) Work buds: The guys look'n good! The ladies during a l-o-n-g awards ceremony starting to get silly!

Off-Track Fun!

Our kids have been out of school since Christmas Eve and just went back today. Though this break was a little long, we always love off-track time because we do lots of playing, exploring and field trips. Here were some of the highlights:

For starters, we spent New Year's Eve with some friends, and had a great time playing games, munching, visiting and laughing!

The girls

The guys

Good

Friends!

This is how everyone should look after being

in a chocolate factory!!

We try to go on at least one factory or business tour every time we are off track and this time , we chose one of our favorites. It was even more fun to have some good friends with us too.

Fun with the family. It's always fun to get some energy out after being trapped inside during the winter!

Cool Dude!

We always love to go downtown and visit the sites around Temple Square! The kids especially love to see the children's museum, statues and ride the TRAX!

The kids love the story about the cricket and the seagulls so we had to get a picture by Seagull Monument this time around.

Okay, so these have to be some of my favorite, recent pics! We have been talking about the temple a lot because we will be going through the Draper temple soon, so I wanted a picture for them to have of the temple! I love how these turned out!:)

I have always wanted to drive up to the castle that is on the hill around Fruit Heights, since I was a little girl and a few weeks ago, my kids and I did it. We decided that it did not seem quite as big and mysterious as I had always thought. We did find a great hiking trail near it though.

One of our last little outings was with some of our neighbors to Backyard Adventures. We loved having the place to ourselves and again, running, and playing and running some more!

Last and best of all, Grandma T came for a few days and we went up to Ogden to celebrate our uncle Paul's birthday with him. We love having our family come to visit and we love the memories we get o make!