Shout out!

Just a quick shout out to my most bodacious brother, Lance.

Happy Birthday to you!

May your day be just as grand as all of your wildest dreams combined!

(think teary)
Love you Bro! :D

Running Club

I know I still need to blog about our wonderful post Christmas Vegas trip but that will be a marathon post and life is still moving right along so I thought I would do something more current instead.





Kiana is our enigma runner extraordinaire. She LOVES to run. Don't ask me where she got it...I can tell you right now though that it's definitely not from me.



She is in the Running Club at our school and every Tues., Thurs. morning she gets to go and run before school. She loves it ....and I'm beginning to disliking it more and more because I have to take her early and it is stinkin' cold out there. Plus my bed is so comfy cozy and why would anyone want to leave cozy. But I know the love she has for it (and seriously this is nothing compared to next years zero hour that I will be even more begrudgingly taking Chase too) so I endure (in my jammies, fuzzy slippers and dare I say...no bra...did I mention it is quite nipply...oops I meant nippy out there.... :)



So far she has logged over 80 miles over the last couple of months. That seems crazy far to me. The fun part for me is seeing the actual races though. Since I'm too much of a wimp to stay and run with her at practice it is fun to see her actually "run like the wind" in the races.



She is the one on the far right in front. I know it's a terrible shot of her but 20 girls all with pigtails in my cameras viewfinder doesn't make it easy to pick ones daughter out. I'm just feeling lucky she was in the shot at all.



They run anywhere from 1 1/2 - 2 miles for the races. They usually run against 3 other schools in the district. So she competes against all the 4th grade girls from those 4 schools. So far she has had two races and has done great. First race she came in 4th, which I thought was fabulous, but she was a bit disappointed because she said she could have run faster. So Wednesdays race she showed us that she definitely could and came in 1st place. YEAH!



I love the shirts they picked out this year for running club. On the front it says "We're the roadrunners(school mascot)...you've been warned!!! And on the back it says "Beep Beep"! Cute huh?




We are so proud of Kiana (and her competitive nature...which does come from me....wait, did I say that out loud?) and know that she can do anything she sets her mind too.



Go Ki Go!

Just Because.....

I was downloading my pictures onto my computer and I found one that really made me smile.

McKenna loves to go around the house and take pictures with my new camera and let me tell you some of the things she has taken pictures of are ummmm...let's just say...interesting. Lots of her baby doll, her toes, herself extremely close up, my legs...you get the idea. Anyway when I came across this one I couldn't help but smile. I love that she unknowingly documented a tender moment for me.


Roses from my honey.

Nope it wasn't my birthday or anniversary or anything fancy like that. He said it was "just because"! I love that he is such a romantic and knows that "just because" is way more tender to me than "it's a special occasion so I should". Now whenever I see this picture that my little 4yr. old took I will remember how much I am loved...."just because".

Christmas Day

All the stress and shopping and baking are so worth it when you see the smiles on the faces of your family Christmas Day!

Santa was the hero again for us at our house. We love that he leaves us exactly what we asked for (no coal) and eats our cookies too.

I especially love the lounging around and playing with all the new games and toys and eating yummy food and stocking treats all day. Then cozying up and watching a great movie at the end of it all. I love the pure joy that this special day gives to my family and I am so sad when it ends. (Apparently at my house this year I subconsciously must not want it to end though because I STILL(check the date) have my tree up...lights and all. It's almost getting embarrassing at this point but who has the time. Especially when I would rather blog instead ;) Jon has only been able to enjoy it on the weekends anyway so I'm doing it for him (right?)).

I would really be naughty and ungrateful though if I didn't express my love and appreciation for my Savior, Jesus Christ because without him and his birth I wouldn't be able to have this wonderful day to always remember what's most important. Jesus is the reason for the season and the giving to others side of this holiday really is the best part. Our family had the opportunity to help others this year and it really felt good. I just wish the feelings we have around the Christmas season could last all year. It is the middle of January and I feel it fading already. Bah Humbug :(

At least I have pictures to help me remember.

It was indeed a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Here we go finally.

I am going to try my best to get some of our holiday events written about before the next holiday arrives. AND because I am sick and tired of seeing that "update blog" line on my "to do" list as one of the last unchecked items staring at me making the guilt cut through me like a knife (woe that was a bit extreme...where did that come from?...seriously am I having blog anxiety?)

Well anyway, on to Christmas Eve. Here is a look at the nicely, took me two straight days to wrap, wrapped presents under the tree before the onslaught of the morrow. And so much for our big talk to the kids about this will be a meager Christmas so don't expect much under the tree bit. There were more presents I think this year than in past years. I'm thinking that was a result of the economy though because I seriously was searching for the best deals around. Those who know me know I am a huge bargain shopper and even I amazed myself with some of the deals I got this year. I started buying early and don't underestimate what cute, cool & fashionable stuff you can get on clearance. I'm talking $1.00 to $3.00 for clothes people. Ask my sister she was there to witness some of my buying bliss. So hence the many presents wrapped under the tree. (Don't tell Chase though I think he thinks all the cool clothes have to be at least $15 or more a piece).

Woe, I am getting way off topic here. Sorry!

We enjoyed a wonderful night with the kids and my sister Robynn's family. With our traditional singing of carols, reading of Christ's birth in the scriptures, opening of jammies and family exchange gifts. It's a really fun night. Oh and I can't forget Jon's famous eggnog concoction (which eggnog isn't my favorite but Jon's spiked version I can really enjoy :)(and I mean spiked in a nonalcoholic way of course:)

Here are the kids in their pre-Christmas, here's what my sibling gave to me, glory.


Then Santa's delicious cookie plate, a sweet note thanking him for all the goodies last year written by Kiana(darn where did I put that...it was pretty cute) and off to bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. Which, by the way, I'm sure they weren't having visions of because they nor I even know what sugar plums are...but it sounds so Christmasy don't you think.

Fun night, good times and way to long of post for just Christmas Eve. No wonder I have anxiety.

Not my original thoughts but if I were to come up with something clever this is what I would want it to be :)

My Wish for You in 2009
May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May your clothes smell of success and cling as well to those around you. May happiness light a fire in your heart and may your tears be those of joy. May the problems you had forget your home address! In other words . . . May 2009 be the best year of your life!!!

Christmas update and all that jazz still to come!