NEW YEARS ALREADY!!

I can't believe how fast the past 2 or so months have flown by! We had such a lovely Christmas season! We started out with our anual carriage ride & visit with Santa(it's so nice for the kids to get some time to visit w/ him), then that same evening, we went to the boat parade near my parents house, where Nathan volunteered to lead the crowd in singing Jingle Bells....too cute! Shortly after, we enjoyed Gregory & Nathan performing in the Christmas Pageant at church. Gregory was a Sheppard & Nathan was a cow....it was a great production, and all of the kids did a fabulous job! We hosted 3 family Christmas parties at our house. Our Christmas Eve sleepover with my parents and sister & her husband was a blast...many fun memories were made:) Then came the big Christmas party with all of the relatives from CA(that was not at our house), it was so nice to get to see everyone, and all the kiddos had such a fun time together...many WII playoffs. We rang in the new year at our house with my parents....had a fire in the pit, ate a ton of good food, and enjoyed a lot of football games. It was a great season, and many fun times were had....I'm still working on getting all the decorations down.
A couple of weekes into the new year, and we've started our backyard remodel.....changing it up a bit with a rock/firepit area, new trees & plants & and a new huge wood swing set....still working on that(it came with a 40 page instruction guide)! It will be so nice once everything is done....it's been a fun project....

HALLOWEEN 2010....

I am so far behind with blogging...YIKES!! Anyhow, we had a fabulous Halloween weekend!! It started on Friday night with the school carnival(had fun watching the boys playing all the games), then later that night, I loaded Eli & buddies in the van, and headed to the Chambers of Fear Haunted House! We all had a blast...and it was really pretty spooky!Then on Sat., we had a morning full of carving pumpkins...I bought the books w/ the templates to trace...I think it's easier for the kiddos to draw a free hand pic., and cut it out, but nonetheless, we still had a lot of fun. I attemted to bake the pumpkin seeds, but they were in the oven too long, so they were not too edible. That evening, we went to Grandma & Grandpa's house for a spaghetti dinner (yummy), then we went to a party at a friends house. Had a great time at the party...lot's of great costumes!! On Sunday...Halloween, we went to church, had nachos & goodies/football in the afternoon, then had a pizza dinner w/ G-ma & G-pa before transforming into our costumes. Eli went as a Crazy Doctor, Gregory was Bumblebee the Transformer, Nathan was Dracula, & Jacob was our little Skeleton...Dave was Daddy Dracula, and I was a witch (a good witch:) Everybody looked awesome!! This was Eli's first year to go Trick or treating w/ his buddies, he had a great time!! The young kiddos trick or treated till they couldn't walk any more, and their pumpkins were almost overflowing!

Since then, the boys had school conferences, and are all doing a great job...way to go boys! Last week, Dave & my parents watched the kiddos, so I could go to Vegas w/ my sister, and have a girls weekend...we had so much fun!! Did a ton of shopping, wining & dining, a little playing of the machines...it was great to get to spend time together!! AND, this brings us to this week, the weather is beautiful, so we've been spending a lot of time at the park. Gregory & Nathan are starting practices at church for the Christmas Pageant...can't wait to see them in it...fun times!!

TEEN IN THE HOUSE...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELI!!

Yes, we now officially have a teen in the house!! This past weekend Eli celebrated his 13th Birthday!! We are so proud of him...he is such a good big brother and friend to all, he enjoys going to church, he's very smart, and athletic too...he's growing up to be such a nice young man! We're looking forward to this new chapter of our lives:) His party was a blast! He had it at the roller rink. It was his first boy/girl party (oh my goodness)! They skated for 2 hours, had pizza & cupcakes, and gifts, and his group even got to be guest DJ's for 1 song. After the party the kids came back to our house for kareoke fun & snacks....girls left at 9pm, and then the slumber party continued. They played video games, and watched a movie, but they were all pretty tired by midnight.
We did have a very heartbreaking situation arrise. To make a long story short, we had put all of the gifts & cards Eli recieved, our camera, diaper bag, cupcakes etc. in a rubbermaid box. Well, in the process of leaving the roller rink, the box was stollen!! We searched the whole roller rink inside and out, and to no avail! My # was even in the diaper bag on a permission slip, and no call! We were so upset, but at the same time didn't want to make a huge deal, as the party was still going on, and we wanted him to enjoy every minute of it! Anyhow, we are so thankful for such wonderful Grandparents & friends, as they surprised Eli with duplicit gifts later on Sunday...very thoughtful!!
When I said good night to Eli on Sunday, he hugged me, thanked me for the best party ever, and said it didn't matter about the gifts, he was just happy to be with his family and friends:)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE & GREGORY!!

This past weekend, was a very fun weekend full of Birthday celebrations. On Friday, Dave turned ....well, that doesn't matter:), anyhow, for his celebration, I took him on a date night to a new Irish restaraunt, we had the BEST fish-n-chips! Then we were off to see "The Other Guys"....so funny, great movie!! It was nice to get out, just the 2 of us:) Sat., was Gregory's 9th Birthday! I can't believe he's already 9....he's such a loving, caring, happy, & fun boy...such a special part of our family! For his party, he decided to invite family, and a couple school friends to celebrate at Lake Pleasant. So we got up early, packed up, and headed to the lake. We started with bar-b-qued hot dogs, water balloons & guns, a fish pinata(his theme was sea life), presents, & cake. Then we headed down to the shore for swimming, playing on tubes, inflatable boats, kayaking, and some of the kiddos spent some time fishing. We all had a BLAST, and he's already said he wants to do it there again next year.....FUN TIMES!!

BACK TO THE SWING OF THINGS.....

The kids may have gone back to school, but summer is deffinitely not over, as it's 110 today....I'm about ready for Fall:) The last weekend of summer break(the 7th), was also our 11th Anniversary!! So, we packed up, and took the kids to the Arizona Grand Resort, for a staycation. We chose this resort, because it has an AWESOME water park too. We all had a blast, on the lazy river, wave pool, and the slides were so much fun!! That evening, we had a great dinner at the Rustler's Roost...great live band, and this restaraunt has a huge slide in it, so as you can imagine, the kids went down multiple times. It was a really nice weekend for the whole family!

Then, on the 9th, it was back to school! Eli's now in 7th, Gregory 3rd, and Nathan started kindergarten! It was an emotional start to school, but they all adjusted great, and are very happy with their teachers, and happy to see their friends again. Jacob misses his big brothers, but I am watching another little boy, he's one year older than Jacob, so they have become very good friends, and have a lot of fun together. Tonight, we have our parent meeting for Religious Ed classes for the kids at church, and I've become very involved with the MOM's group at church, so it's getting pretty busy around here....

ALREADY AUGUST!!

Since it's already August, I thought it would be a good time to get caught up on the rest of July. After the 4th, we met up with my parents at Lake Pleasant for a week of camping. Dave & I, and all of the boys(except Jacob of course),got up on water skiis. Gregory was too cute, he couldn't get up all the way, but he squated, and did it for a long time! My Dad pulled us on the tube...Nathan's the true dare devil of the family...faster, faster!!! Eli drove the boat for the first time, and loved it! We all went out fishing, and caught about 3 fish each...the boys were thrilled!! We spent one day exploring the shore, and kayaking. Jacob loves the kayak, as he even fell asleep in it, while Dave was giving him a ride:) Thank goodness my parents have the trailer...one day it reached 118, so the AC was wonderful! It was also nice to come off of the lake, and watch a movie(roughin it). We all had so much fun...it was a great week with the family!

We made it to the movies to see Despicable Me , and Toy Story 3. We've been going to the aquatic center to stay cool, and been enjoying the inflatable pool too. We've been spending time with friends, and family. Dave and I went on an early Anniversary date night last Friday...dinner at Johnny Rockets&we saw Salt....great action movie!! Now, as we're approaching BACK TO SCHOOL, on Monday, we're just about done with our shopping, and we're getting all of the supplies organized and ready to go. To celebrate our Anniversary, and wrap up the summer, this upcoming weekend, we're taking the family on a staycation to a nearby resort...details to come after the weekend:)

THE WAVE RUNNER EXPERIENCE @ LAKE POWELL.....