Moki Mutt!

Okay, so I've never written about a certain member of our family and I think maybe its time I do. Let me start with a little story. When Cory and I were engaged, he bought me a puppy. We didn't have a house yet, neither one of our parents wanted to have a puppy in their house and to be honest, I don't love dogs. In fact, I don't even like em! So, I told Cory that he needed to take the puppy back, yes to the pound where he got it. I know. MEAN! Well, after we were married for a couple of months, I felt sort of bad about the puppy and I thought that Cory must really want a dog. So, for Easter I bought him a puppy, Moki. I figured, now he had dog and he would have to be responsible for her. So, Moki turned 11 last week and up until now, I have tolerated her just fine. She is a really good dog. She never barks, or bites and she only comes in our house when its freezing outside (downstairs in the storage room in her kennel, of course) and she's never peed or pooped in my house and she goes right outside as soon as we go get her.

Lately, Moki has changed, she's getting old. Her eyes seem to be going and she moves alot slower. Now here's my problem. I think I love her! Everyday I find myself watching her out the window and felling sad for her. I've always joked about how maybe she could run away or that I wouldn't feel bad if she died. But now that the time seems to be close at hand, I find myself worrying about that stupid dog all the time and I totally dread the day when we have to tell our kids (especially Parker) that Moki is no longer with us. Okay, so after 11 years, I can finally admit it. I like Moki!

Ike!!

We tended Ike for a day last week and BOY DO WE LOVE HIM! He is such a cool little guy. He will be 2 in a couple of months and we are so happy that he gets to a part of our life! I love to watch Brock and Parker with him. They take really good care of him and laugh alot when he is around. We think Alyana and Jason should go snowboarding more often. Thanks for sharing him with us!

A Few Things Worth Talkin' About

Bowling with the Edwards

In the middle of January, we went bowling with our favorite little family. There was no real reason, just for fun.

A Trip to the Cabin

At the end of January we went to the cabin with my family. There wasn't much snow, but we had lots of fun anyway. We spent the entire day on Saturday, sledding! I am surprised how NOT afraid our kids are. When the kids went to bed, we spent lots of time sitting on the couch, just chatting. It was fun to spend time there with them. The Cabin is one of my favorite places to be and it is without a doubt the place where I feel closest to my Mom, Dad and Brother. And I would like to publicly thank Chad for not throwing me in the snow or pegging be with a mean snowball or whitewashing me, for the entire weekend.

Wrestling

Brock and Parker have started wrestling. Parker loves it. Brock could take it or leave it. We have only had one tournament. Brock had to miss it for his Blue and Gold Banquet for Scouts. Parker lost his first match and pinned the guy in his second. Thanks Mom and Dad for taking him and video taping it for us.

Blue and Gold Banquet

So, I'm asking myself, Why have I always made all of the kids' birthday cakes when their dad is so dang good at it? For the Blue and Gold banquet, every Scout and their dad was suppose to make dessert to auction off for a fundraiser. Cory and Brock went all out. I refused to have anything to do with it. They did the planning and the shopping, and the baking and decorating. All I can say is that Cory has officially proven himself as the better cake maker. Looks like birthdays just got a little less stressful for me.This was a fun Blue and Gold for us because Brock earned his Wolf Badge and his first Gold Arrow point. He also earned a belt loop for Chess. He has been working really hard on his scout stuff and we are really proud of him.

Jr. Jazz Basketball

Our kids are playing basketball for the first time ever. They are doing really well for being rookies. Its fun to have them on the same team. This is definitely more Brock's style than wrestling. They both really like it and its been cool to see their improvements each week.

Chess..... REALLY???

Brock and Parker have been participating in Chess Club at school. They wanted to be in tournament that was being held at their school. So, we said okay. I thought "big deal, we can play chess for a couple of hours on Saturday". Okay, little did I know that it would be 6 hours of chess. Its quite a big ordeal actually. They played 5 rounds. They both won 2 and lost 3. I'm not sure if they will want to do another one, but it was a fun experience for them. And, they get a medal!

January went by so fast and I have to say "thank goodness". We've stayed busy and that has helped the winter time be a little more bearable for me. I am so thankful for this time in our lives. Our kids are learning and growing and participating in so much. It truly makes me so excited to see with the next 10 years has in store for our family.

A New Ride

Here is our new ride. Cory is so excited about it. He's like a little kid with a new toy.
Here is Cory's Description: 05 chevy 3/4 Ton white 4 door, 6 inch lift, nice wheels, automated running boards, exhaust, intake, remote start, tint, programable chip, not a scratch, gas 6.0, 35,000 miles. Oh ya!

I resolve to.......

1. Be a better mom. I will play more and freak out less!
2. Be a better wife. I will make sure Cory knows how much I love him EVERYDAY!
3. Exercise for Health and Wellness, NOT weight loss.
4. Get my Young Woman Medallion.
5. Spend more time with my bother. Get ready Chad!

Happy 2010 Everybody. Wish me luck!

December! Here we go!

First of all, I need to clear some things up. I DO NOT hate Christmas. In fact, I love Christmas. I hate the SNOW! My poor kids keep confusing the two and call me a scrooge. I have decided to have a better attitude about the snow, so that my kids don't think I hate Christmas. I will start this attitude change on April 1st 2010. As for right here and now, I hate the snow.

Okay, back to December. We had a fun month. The kids were off track and it flew by so fast. The first part was sort of mellow. Brock and Parker got really sick of shopping. But we finished and had everything wrapped by Dec. 20th. Because, we went to Las Vegas for the BYU football game. We went the Edwards. Can I just say, "we love them"! They are easy for us to vacation with and we always have so much fun with them. We did some shopping, and ate really good food. We took the kids to Circus Circus and the Tournament of Kings. I do want to share my favorite part of the whole trip. We stayed in my parents condo, so we were all in one place. One night we went back and got ready for bed. When it was time for bed, we all sat in the living room and hung out. (kids too) We were all laughing so hard. We told funny stories and jokes and it was fun to just be there all together. Abby couldn't say "Laffy Taffy" for the life of her, it kept coming out "Wacky Tacky" and every time, she would giggle like it was the funniest thing in the world. We love Abby and Haddie and its fun to have friends who love our kids too. Here are few pictures from our trip.

We came home on Cory's Birthday. His family is AWESOME. They were shoveling our driveway when we got home. Then, both of our families came over for root beer floats. I gave Cory a new Slalom ski. I pretty sure he doesn't realize how much he is going to LOVE it!

On Christmas Eve, we went to dinner with my family and went back to my parents house for "piles" of presents. The kids get so excited for this. Grandma Jen always gives them PJ's and they change into them as soon as they open them. Then we came home and got ready for bed, so Santa could come. We gave Brock and Parker DS's which seemed to be a hit. Even better than the stuff Santa brought. Brock got a Rip Stick, some books and some "funny shirts". Parker got a skate board and a Nerf gun and some clothes.

Then, off to Alyana and Jason's house for Breakfast Burritos. I love this tradition. Cory's family has been doing it for years. We opened more gifts there and spent time with Cory's family. Then we came home and were very I wanted to take down our tree and decorations on Christmas night. But, Cory wouldn't have it. So, we did it first thing on the 26th. I've said it before. I really like decorating for Christmas. But, I tell you what!! I love taking it down. My house feels so clean and organized. That is the best part about January.

We spent New Year's eve with Chad and Kim at there house. It was really quite uneventful, but fun. Parker got an ear infection and was pretty miserable for bringing in the new year. Poor kid.

It's a new year and I cannot wait to see what 2010 has in store for our little family.

A Lesson in Humility

I just want to share a little story. Yesterday, we went to Brock's Cub Scout Pack meeting. The parents were having a little meeting while the boys played basketball. When we got in the car Brock said, "Mom, guess what? There were team captains to pick the teams and I was picked last. That doesn't feel very good". I said, "doesn't that ever happen to you?" and he laughed and said "hmmmm, not really." We talked for a few minutes about how that felt pretty crumby, and sometimes there is one kid who is always chosen last. Anyway, the point of my whole story is that, today I am thankful that Brock has been given this lesson in humility. I'm glad he was a good sport and had fun anyway. But, I truly hope that the next time he is a captain that he will stop and remember how it felt to be chosen last and he will pick his team with a kind heart.