Kids have been busy.

Nate entered a contest at school called "D.F. Idol". They had to audition in front of judges and lip sync a song. He made the top 3. They had video taped each person so they could play it on the tv system at school. Then each student could vote for the winner. Guess what...Nate won 1st place!!! He lip syncd a song by Phantom of the Opera called "Think of me". Britt helped him and he did a really good job. It was so fun to watch!! He won a 2 ltr bottle of pop, a movie ticket, and 25 dollars!!! Cool! Good job Nate!!

Brooke had her Christmas mini recital for dance last tuesday. All the parents come into their dance studio and watch a small recital. They did a chipmunk song dance, and a High school musical 3 song...The boys are back. She did such a great job and was so cute! After the dances their teacher has them all do the splits each side and then the straddles. If they can do any of these they get a big candy bar. This was the first year Brooke got one! She can do the splits now all the way down. She was so excited! (I took some videos mostly but don't know how to get them on here.) I did take a few pics. Good job Brooke!

We watched the kids decorate their gingerbread houses. They all did a great job. It was fun to see them do different things. Pres helped Brooke with her frosting. She would tell him where to squeeze it on and then she decorated. Even Andrew had fun. He made it all his own by putting his favorite bands on the roof top. I got to sit back and take pics of everyone.

Just want to tell everyone Merry Christmas and hope you all have a great holiday season. We are so excited for Santa to come to our house. Today we are making our Santa cookies and relaxing till dad comes home. Then we will eat dinner and go see Christmas lights. After that we will watch one of our favorite movies....The Christmas Story. Then try to go to sleep so Santa can come visit us! We will update after Christmas! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Good News!

On Monday we took Britt to her Orthopedic doctor appt. at Primary Childrens. She was being seen for her Scoliosis. They took new x-rays of her back, then we waited for the doctor to look at both sets of x-rays, the ones we had taken before and the new ones. He came in and met us and was really nice. He explained everything to us about scoliosis and gave us so much information. Then he showed us Britt's x-rays and explained that she is only at a 20 degree and that she is done growing in her back. So that means her scoliosis won't get any worse!! They like to put braces on if the degree is 25 and she doesn't need to even worry about that anymore! I was so relieved and happy that she is all okay. He told us she shouldn't have any problems from her scoliosis. Wooo Hoo!!! She is pretty happy too!

The meaning of Christmas.

Just a week before Christmas I had a visitor. This is how it happened. I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room, and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out from behind the Christmas tree. He placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out. "What are you doing?" I started to ask him.The words choked in my throat, as I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager boisterous soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple statement, TEACH THE CHILDREN!I was puzzled: What did he mean? He anticipated my question, and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree.As I stood there bewildered, Santa said, Teach the Children! Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that a now-a-day Christmas has forgotten!Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it on the mantle. Teach the Children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind. All the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven.He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. Teach the Children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of that promise.He then reached into the bag and pulled out a CANDLE. Teach the Children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness.Once again he reached into his bag and then removed a WREATH and placed it on the tree.Teach the Children that the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection.He then pulled out from his bag an ornament of HIMSELF. Teach the Children that Santa Claus symbolizes the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December.He reached in again and pulled out a HOLLY LEAF. Teach the Children the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly berries represent blood shed by Him.Next he pulled out a GIFT from the bag and said, "Teach the Children that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift. Teach the Children that the wise men bowed before the holy babe and presented Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We should give gifts in the same spirit as the wise men."Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on the tree. Teach the Children that the candy cane represents the shepherd's crook. The crook on the shepherd's staff helps bring back strayed sheep from the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keeper.He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL. Teach the Children that it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior's birth. The angels sang 'Glory to God in the highest, on earth, peace and good will.'Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulledout a BELL. Teach the Children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of a bell, it should bring people to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return.Santa looked at the tree and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said, "Remember, teach the Children the true meaning of Christmas, and not to put me in the center, for I am but a humble servant of the One who is, and I bow down and worship Him, our Lord, our God."

I wish we could be here this weekend.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyINVjQPqhI

We are sooo excited for the Christmas Season!!

We have our tree up, and our house all decorated for Christmas. We love Christmas and have been listening to the music since the day after Halloween. I just love this time of year. We have been collecting different decorations throughout the years and last year I bought my favorite thing...a Mickey Mouse wreath! I have wanted one for a while but finally found one last year. It is so cute. I took some pics of our house and lights. One of our favorite christmas movies is "Christmas Vacation" with Chevy Chase. It is just so funny. Another is of course "The Christmas Story."

We got up really early on Friday morning to go "Black Friday" shopping. It is so much fun! We love it and we get really good deals doing this. Then that night we went to a night Christmas parade. It was really cool. They had a lot of floats and they were all lit up. There were some with people singing christmas carols. One of them was a christmas tree with someone inside of it making it go down the street. So fun!! What a good way to end our great shopping day!

Santa Claus!!

Our busy weekend.

Last week was very busy. Nate got sick with the flu on Wed. The first performance of his school play. It was called "Princess Tabasco Saves The Universe." He performed and felt yucky the rest of the day. He ended up staying in bed Thurs and Friday from school he was so sick. But he still had to go perform on Thurs night and Friday night sick. He could bearly stand up but he did such a great job in the play. He played a Troll named Max. He looked awesome!! Saturday night he felt sooo much better and actually enjoyed performing in the play. We went Thurs to the play and it was sooo funny! They all did a great job. He had lots of friends in the play too so it was fun to see them all. Great job Nate!!

Sunday morning our Andrew turned 17 years old!!! Holy cow where did the time go? I can't believe he is that old now. Next year he will be an adult! That is scary. We fixed him his favorite dinner and had cheesecake and ice cream. Grandpa came over and spent the evening with us. We got him the new phone he has been wanting, and he got some money from Grandpa. Andrew is such a great kid! I couldn't ask for any better. We get to see all the firsts with him and it has been the best 17 years so far. I hope you had a great birthday Andrew, and just want to tell you how much we love you and are very proud of you. You are going far my boy!

Pres putting the finishing touches on our tree.

Nate's birthday.

On Friday Nate had a special day...his 13th birthday!! He is now officially a teenager. He had a fun birthday. I made his favorite dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread. We had Grandpa over for dinner and cake and ice cream. He couldn't think of anything he wanted for his birthday so it was up to mom and dad to figure out what to get him. We got him 2 DS games and a 25 dollar I-tunes gift card so he can choose some more music for his ipod. He got some clothes too. Grandpa gave him some money and he wants to go to the mall and spend it. He had a great birthday and I can't believe he is 13. Nate is a great kid and I have loved watching him grow up and all the fun times we have with him. Happy 13th birthday Nate!! We love you!!!

Pie eating contest.

Britt when she was done!

Britt and I eating away....

This is the group and our bishop is on the far left side.

Tuesday night we had the chance to go to YW with Britt. It was her YW in Excellence Program. It was really fun. The theme was a hoe down. They had us bring blankets to sit on and we were suppose to dress up to match the theme. They had us first look at all the projects the girls completed and were on display. They did great things for their personal progress! They had handed out a number to each girls family when we walked in the door. She told us we would find out later what they were for....uh oh! So we got number 3. So they set up the tables with peanut butter and jelly and bread and call number 1 people up front. The girls has to choose one parent to come up with them to participate. It was hilarious. The girls were blindfolded and the parent had to tell them where everything was to make the sandwich, then they had to feed it to the parent! It was so funny! I was glad we didn't have #1! Then came #2, and it was an easy thing, wear gloves and make a fruit loop cereal necklace with your partner. So I am glad they are getting easier...then came time for us #3. We had a nice chocolate pudding pie in front of us! So we are told to put our hands behind our back and ready set go, first one done wins! At first I told Britt I was just going to lick the whip cream, and she really wanted to win so begged me to eat it fast with her. So we dug in and went for it. I was careful not to get it all over my face but Britt went for it all, she was covered in pie!! She almost won but we had our bishop racing against us and he won! It was fun and she did a great job! The #4 had one person dress up like turkeys and the other had marshmallow guns and shot their turkeys. It was cute. We all had a good laugh and lots of fun. It was followed with donuts and cidar. What a good fun night to spend together.

Halloween

Friday Brooke had her Halloween Parade at school. Pres and I went to watch it. There were so many cute costumes this year! Brooke was the only Alice in Wonderland!! She was so excited about that. The boy in front of her is in her class and his costume was an eye ball. He even had eyelashes on his head for his costume. It was funny! Afterschool Nate had practice so he was in a hurry to eat dinner and get ready to go with his friends. We did his make up instead of his mask as he liked it better. So off he went with his friends. His goal was to get as much candy as possible. Brittany was a vampire this year, and went with her friends too. Andrew went to his friends house to help scare the kids. So that left me, Pres, and Brooke. We left dad to stay home and hand out candy and we were off trick or treating. Brooke was so excited to go. Everyone loved her costume and would comment on how cute she looked and that she looked just like Alice. We love our neighborhood! The weather was so perfect for trick or treating and we didn't need any jackets or anything! We were so thirsty towards the middle of our trick or treating and came to one of our neighbors houses who always gives out hot chocolate and donuts. Well since it wasn't cold this year they did ice water and chocolate milk. And this year they were making homemade donuts!! They were warm and soooo yummy!! Now we were ready to go do more trick or treating. Brooke had so much fun and I did too. We came back home to dad and handed out candy with him. One of his friends stopped by with their boys and we visited with them. Then we just relaxed and watched some shows. It was a good night. The kids all came home with all their loot. Man they had so much candy. I wish I would have weighed it all!! Nate got the most with Britt in second place. Brooke had a lot too. Here are some pics of their candy. You know there is a "Parent Tax" this year on Halloween candy. So they will be sharing!! Now onto Thanksgiving and Black Friday!! Then Christmas!! My favorite time of the year!! They are already playing Christmas music on the radio!!

Update on whats been going on lately.

Fall Break we went with Tiff and her kids to miniature golf. The kids had lots of fun. Afterwards Britt and Madi played the Dance Dance Revolution and did a great job! Brooke and Abby drove the motorcycles. Then we went for ice cream. Yum. We had a fun time, we always like to hang out with them.
Nate had a halloween party for school and they were not allowed to wear masks. Well his costume the mask makes it all. So instead we painted his face. It turned out pretty good I think. He was happy and that is what counts! They had a spook alley and fun games and lots of yummy food. Lots of fun!!
Saturday we went to our Mainstreet trick or treat. You trick or treat at the businesses. They almost all have someone stand in front of their business to hand out candy to the kids. I took Nate and Brooke and they got lots of candy! They even handed out full size candy bars to the moms! Woo hoo! It was so nice with the weather and we had a good time. Pres and Andrew were at the BYU game and they kept sending me pics of the game and updating me on the score. I missed being at the game. We are going to buy more seats this next year so we can take more kids with us. They had a good time and even got sunburned on one side! And best of all we won!! After they got home we just relaxed and got ready to go to Derik's First birthday party. Sarah was having a Halloween theme party for him. She wanted people to dress up so we did. There was a lot of people there from both sides of their families but it was fun. The kids got to decorate cookies, and they had lots of food and treats. The best part was watching Derik eat his own cake. He was soo cute! Grandpa got a new bike and guess who we saw riding it? The Mad Hatter! What a cool pic! What a great first birthday Derik!