Skiing

This is the best I can do right now. I'm having trouble getting all the pictures to download.

Christmas continued........

Matt was so nice to finish up breakfast. Just for the record I started on it the night before so it would be ready to throw in the oven. Katie and Matt were making fun of my cooking skills and told me I should start my own cooking show, "2 hour meals that should have only taken 30 mins". Rude!! What can I say, I tried.

Katie got her 120GB iPod. Geez.......spoiled?


The kids had been dying to try this new Italian buffet Sam and Roger had been telling us about, so we all met there and gorged ourselves on some very tasty food. The dessert bar got way too much attention from all of us. That's my kind of Christmas Eve dinner. No cooking required.

Christmas 2008

This year Matt took the boys to New Hampshire to spend Christmas with his grandparents. They were so excited to go on a trip with Daddy. Due to flight availability we had to fly them out on Christmas Eve, so we did our Christmas together a day early. After a very long flight with several delays they made it to Grandma Ellis's house around 5 am Christmas morning. Owen was all pumped up and ready for Christmas number 2 when they called me to let me know they finally made it. He assured me he was "dead asleep" (his words) for the entire plane ride and wasn't tired. As usual they were great little travelers. They have a fun filled week planned including skiing, a trip to Boston to see where the Red Sox's play (I think they are the most excited about that), and lots of time with their great grandparents they love so much. Although, I stayed home to keep things running smoothly at work, I am excited to spend the week with Katie. We have a fun filled week planned as well..........a whole lot of relaxation and quiet:)

Finally! His own DS.

This interesting creature was on the top of Cole's list. He was very excited about his iDog.



All of the boys got new Nerf guns. Always good for hours of fun with those three.



It's a race! Who can unwrap the fastest?



Owen's tradmark look when he's playing video games. Sticking his tongue out must improve his performance.

Gingerbread Houses

In effort to keep our sanity, Melissa and I did gingerbread houses with the kids today. We are on day 2 of what could be a very long winter break. Apparently the light dusting of snow outside has caused treacherous road conditions. I'm being sarcastic because the roads are totally fine. They seem to cancel school around here if it looks like it might snow. Everyone is going crazy including the kids. The fact that it's snowing in Las Vegas today tells me we have a harsh winter ahead. I belong in California. That's all there is to it.

Cole, Noah, Me, Owen and Lily displaying our masterpieces.


Owen wanted his house to have hair? Strange kid, but we love him.

Isn't she adorable?

Noah trying to eat his before it's finished.

Hey Melissa, I'm updating my blog. Are you happy now? And only one picture of you without makeup. I'm way too nice:)

Thanksgiving 5K

Thanks Sam! This was such a great idea. You smoked the chick in the purple pants! You were the winner of our group. Sorry we didn't have 5 grand to give you.

Melisssssssssa! Thanks for filling in for Katie and making me laugh EVERY day! You're Awesome! Someday you might domesticate me. Maybe. I'd rather continue to let you cook and I'll clean.

It was so great to have Missy in town! You and Kerri are so good to me. Don't forget about us while you're soaking up the sun in Texas.

Ok, I'll just state the obvious and say we look GREAT in our matching outfits! Of course I love having Katie in town this weekend. So much to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving 2008

Halloween 2008

Finally, a pleasant Halloween. I can't remember the last one we had that wasn't freezing, raining, or both. We lucked out this year with beautiful warm weather. Jen and I took the boys around their very popular neighborhood. There were tons of people out. Jon and Elise joined us for a while, but Elise didn't last long. Dallin was Super Y, Elise a ballerina, Cole Harry Potter, and Owen Indiana Jones. Let's just say Dallin attracted ALOT of attention. He was too cute in his costume, but nobody knew who he was. The kids all got way too much candy, but had a great time. A big thanks to Grandma Seeley for working so hard on Cole and Dallin's costumes.

I was kidnapped.........

Really, those girls pulled a fast one on me and showed up the day BEFORE my birthday to take me to my surprise birthday dinner. I was in bed doing homework when they stormed my room singing "Happy Birthday" and swept me out the door. As a general rule, I NEVER blog about myself, but I'm making an exception. Thanks girls. It was definitely a memorable night. And as for how my day went today..........great. I am grateful to have such great people in my life.

"8"

The 8's (tagged by Jen Seeley)

8 TV Shows I like to watch

. House
. Grey's Anatomy (of course)
. Brothers and Sisters
. Fox News
. 24
. Biggest Loser
Only because I'm supposed to list 8 will I list these last 2
. One Tree Hill
. Gossip Girl (brings out my inner teenager:)


8 Things That Happened Yesterday

. Worked
. Was disappointed that I could still barely move after my 1st Bikram yoga class ( I actually think it's a form of self torture, but I did really like it.)
. Bought way too much at American Eagle (there's my inner teenager again)
. Studied
. Got a pedicure
. Tried to get everyones info to register for the 5K (still need yours Jennifer)
. Helped Owen with his homework
. Went to class

8 Favorite Places to Eat

. Panera Bread
. Cheesecake Factory
. P.F. Changs
. Jose Peppers
. Bolings
. Jack Stack
I can't think of 8.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To

. Summer
. Getting a degree
. Owen getting baptized
. Sending my boys on missions
. Seeing Cole & Owen get married ( to someone I hand pick of course)
. Our 5k on Thanksgiving while the men cook and watch all the kids. (great idea Sam!)
. The day you can order groceries online
. Getting life figured out

8 Things on My Wish List

. Free time
. Living near the beach
. Taking the boys to Atlantis or a Disney Cruise
. A shopping spree at Banana Republic
. Tickets to any Taylor Swift concert
. 1 of everything at Crate and Barrel
. Guitar lessons
. A personal chef

8 People I Tag

. Dana
. Bridget
. Margene
. Bree
. Aubrey
. Heidi
. Kami
. Erin Mohler


.

What's been going on.......

Okay, so we've had a lot going on, but I've had very little time to blog about it. October is by far our busiest month every year. There are tons of birthdays, work is crazy, and there are just so many things we like to get out and do while the weather is nice. We are really enjoying having Jon and Jen live so close by and are thrilled to have mom and dad here now. Dad started his new job on Monday and they have been house hunting in their free time. For those of you who have asked, no, they are not going to move into our ward. They are looking mostly in Kansas, but considering Lee's Summit as well. Dad is working for Black and Veatch, so no, he did not end up at HNTB with Jon.
Also, we were all sad to see our good friends (McCullough's) move to Texas this week. It has been exceptionally hard on me since Missy and I are so close. It's a good thing she plans on coming back to visit often.
Last, Owen FINALLY lost his messed up tooth! He came running in after school on Monday saying, "Big news mommy big news, I finally lost my second front tooth!" We called it is "second" front tooth because his adult tooth was already growing in even though the baby tooth hadn't fallen out yet. It looked really messed up. To top off the excitement, he woke me up at 4:30am the next morning to show me that the tooth fairy left him $10! Obviously, the "tooth fairy" didn't understand me when I told him to get change and go put some money under Owen's pillow. Let's just say Cole was a little ticked.

Happy Birthday Matt

In between conferences we celebrated Matt's Birthday. The big 32! Wow, we are getting old. I still get to be younger for 16 more days. Anyway, we all had a pleasant day. Conference, wrapping paper fights, Wii (of course) and beautiful weather. Enjoy the pictures. We miss all of you who aren't here.



For those of you who get such a kick out of hearing all of my gross stories about animals being brought into my house (usually dead, usually courtesy of Sydney), here is a pleasant one. The boys found this adorable baby turtle outside today. They were sooo excited to bring it in a show me. I didn't cringe and even agreed to let them keep it. After discussing the details with Matt, they decided to let it go in the creek so it could have a better life. So there you go, a feel good story about animals being brought into my house. I still haven't forgotten the dead squirrel Sydney put underneath Cole's bed. Ewwwwwwww.

Enjoying The Fall Weather

How to tick off a liberal! Dallin loves coming over because he always gets to try new things. Don't worry, he was closely monitored. He just wanted to fit in with all the big boys.


I know I haven't posted in quite a while, but we just haven't had much going on. This time of year our lives are pretty much all about work and school. We do stop to play every now and then. Enjoy the pictures.

Back to School

The boys are very excited to be back to school. We had a great summer, but it will be nice to get back to our more structured days. Owen is in 1st grade this year and Cole is in 4th. Hard to believe, I know. So far, so good. They have a "nice" bus driver this year, which really means she lets them play gameboy on the bus, they both have class with most of their friends, and Cole informed me today that his classroom has laptops, so all is good in their world. Hope all is well with everyone.

Pond Island

The boys and I had so much fun spending the week on Pond Island. It was such a good experience for them. They had a great time exploring, fishing, hiking, golfing, etc. Notice I didn't mention swimming. They had high hopes of spending alot of their time in the water. I tried to tell them it would be freezing, but they had to experience the chill on their own. They quickly realized it was nothing like California. Owen was very proud of his starfish he managed to get. Out of the millions of pictures Jessica and I took we missed that one, sorry. Anyway, a big thanks to dad for taking us with them. We enjoyed spending time with everyone.

Maine

So, after a very long day of travel, we finally made it yesterday. Despite their excitment the boys did great on our flights, even on the flight that we all got separated. Dan was at the front of the plane, the boys sat together in the middle and I was in the back. They didn't kill each other and traveled like the little pros they are. I read my book and didn't stress. Mom and Brenda picked us up in Portland and we made the 3 1/2 drive to Cherryfield. Seriously, the longest day ever, but it will be worth it. We are heading out to Pond Island tomorrow.


Jessica and Stephanie took us to see Charlie Brown today. It was the first time Owen had seen a live performance and he loved it. Dan and I were impressed with the theatrical talent Ellsworth had to offer. It was actually really good.