Good to see you again Turley's

This post is for the Turley's. It was so good to see you guys again. I love how Zoe and Caleigh got to catch up and they picked up right where they left off. I think Melissa and I did too. I miss having you guys in Boise but, I am glad you guys are having adventures in California. Melissa you are such a good person and such a great MOM! I love getting your advice and being around you. Plus your 3 children are gorgeous. Lydia is growing so much and I love her cute grumpy face. I wish I had brought my camera to take some recent photos of the girls playing. Next time. Thanks for a fun time at the church.

So there I was . . . just relaxing in front of the TV when the kids yelled, "Hey Mom, come see the kittens."

My Brother sent me an email with this. It was so funny I couldn't believe how hard I laughed. Maybe because this is something Griffin would do. Like when we go to the zoo, he never knows what he's looking at. He's the third child what do you expect.

Snowed IN

Here's a picture for Dispatch. Yes, it was really coming down hard!

Here's some photo's from our extra day in Utah. I would hate to have to drive in this all winter but, the kids had so much fun. Matt and Shannon have a great slop in their backyard so the kids got to go sledding and then build snow forts. It was so fun to watch them and remember the times Boise used to get that much snow. Or at least it seemed like it. Now it just melts by the end of the day so the kids rarely get to go out and play in it. "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow"

Temple Square

This past weekend we loaded up the car and headed to Utah. We wanted to see Matt and Shannon's new house and take the kids to Temple Square. The weather was a little cold and wet but we had so much fun! Temple square was beautiful and I learned that they don't put christmas lights on the temple. I could have sworn they did. Matt and Shannon were great host and the kids had so much fun getting in lots of "family time."
It snowed on Saturday, the day we were supposed to leave, so we ended up staying one more day. Thanks Matt and Shannon, Craig and Gai, and Tracyl for a fun Utah weekend. We will definitely do this again.

A new tradition

I love my friend Danielle so much. She is one of those people you can't get enough of. She is constantly uplifting and supporting me. During the holiday season she paints windows and she is so good! this was the second year she did ours and I am going to miss is next year if we are not in Boise. Maybe I could fly her in just to do my window? Anyway here's some pictures of my cute Christmas present from Danielle. We love Sister Bartschi!

Elliot June

Elliot fell asleep the other night finishing her bottle. So Mike couldn't resist of snapping a few shots of it.

Fa La La La La....

So here's me and the kids making homemade ornaments for our Christmas Tree. We decided this year to do a memory tree. But, first we all trooped out back and sang christmas songs while Mike chopped down the blue spruce in our back yard. Why would we cut down our own tree? Well we figured since this is possible our last Christmas in this house we should do something extra special so the blue spruce got chopped down so no other family could enjoy it but us.

So back to the memory tree, we decided to go through our pictures of past Christmases and pick some of our favorites and make picture frames for them. The kids loved seeing old Christmases and what they had gotten from santa. Griffin even loved his hair in one picture and so a few days later we took him and got it cut to match the picture. The finished it off with some garland of marshmellows and cranberries and the tree looks great!

Happy Turkey Day

My sweet children are so excited for thanksgiving. They love to be around family and friends, I guess most kids do. But, I don't have to deal with other kids excitement. We can't wait to have Craig and Gail and their family in town to help celebrate "Turkey Day". I am also looking forward to Friday shopping, our mall is opening up at 1 am, is that not crazy? (I'll miss you Shannon.) I hope everyone has a safe and happy day. Love you all!

Tag, I'm it!

This is a different tag, so here are the rules:A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.B. Each player lists 6 little-known facts/habits about themselves.C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

first- I'll say I have an ear ache! ouch! I though only kids got these but, I am sitting here with cotton in my ear hoping I am making sense as I write this (thanks, so much, kata) .

second-I am a pig! my house always looks in shambles, I try to clean it up but, somehow a hour later it looks like nothing has changed. I am evening reading a self help book right now on how to keep your house clean. The author calls herself the "flylady" and talks a lot about what is CHAOS-can't have anyone over syndrome. Well, my house is always in CHOAS but,(here's the weird part) I love to organize and feel I am really good at it. Go Figure!

third-my favorite place in the world is Disneyland. I'm sure this comes from my little traveling experience but, I truly love being there. I love all the characters walking around and I love the shops and all the different kind of food. so I am glad we don't live closer or I would probable have a season pass.

forth- I love all of the long boring drawn-out BBC movies. It bugged me at first that when they are filmed inside it looks like someone just set up a camcorder in the corner of the room, but, now I am used to it. Mike bought me the BBC Jane Austen series last year and I have already watched them all multiple times. Mike teased me and asked if any of the actresses were actually good looking but, I love getting caught up in the language and the love stories.

Fifth- I think I was supposed to be a teacher, I love helping out at Griffins preschool and teaching the kids how to hold scissors and watching them build towers. I love working with my twins on reading and sometimes on math(meaning I sometime like working on Math with them) but, I love the "I get it!" moments when you see it all come together and you know you were are part of it. hmmm, maybe someday.

finally sixth- TV is my guilty pleasure. I have a schedule every night of shows I want to watch even if nothings on I try to find something to fill an empty time slot. I do all my night time chores on commercial breaks. I even ignore the phone if a really good part is on. Sorry Mom! I'm sure I should change this about myself and be a more productive person but, I do so much for my family I allow myself this indulgence.

I tag(I only have 2 friends with blogs) Tres and Janessa

giving thanks

I am so glad it is finally November. I love Halloween and I think we did a good job making the most out of the holiday but, I am grateful for Nov. a time when we get to focus on the good in our lives and rest before the craziness of December comes.
I am grateful for so many things in my life right now. No. 1 our family is finally healthy again. after 2 weeks of the flu I am grateful for a night without having to get the clorox out. No. 2 My ability to make choices. I think I have made good choices for my life so far. I like where I am,
and the family and friends that surround me. And last thing I'll say is I am grateful for is the world of blogging. I love learning new things (easy for me since it takes me a while to pick up on things) but this is a fun new way for friends and family to stay in touch and keep up with each others lives. I love seeing all of your blogs and feeling like I went trick or treating in Vegas, or raking leaves with Carter. So keep it up. and Enjoy your November!

Halloween Party at Uncle Jeff's

Every year the kids look forward to going to uncle Jeff's house for a Halloween Party. This year was no different. Jeff loves Halloween and he always makes it so fun for the kids. Walking into his house the month of October, you would think you were walking on set of a horror movie. He really is so creative. Every year Jeff decorates a little differently but, this year he out-did himself.
Meet Jeff's amazing creatures. He built them himself. He has several and has them displayed all over his home and yard. The guys guys in this picture take up his whole living room. He has two other bedrooms dedicated to Halloween. One is a pumkin massacre scene, and the other looks like a haunted parlor with a coffee table in the middle with a book that comes alive.
I wish this picture wasn't side ways but, you can see how tall this guy is.
This guy outside is my favorite. On wed. night he'll be welcoming some trick or treaters.
Yes, his house is even painted green and orange. And the decorations are from top to bottom.
Thanks Jeff for doing all of this. You make Halloween something to look forward too every year. We love UNCLE JEFF!

Halloween Party 2007

Our ward YM/YW do a halloween party every year for the Primary kids. It is so fun for the kids and the youth really step it up and make it a great night. You'll tell from these photo's that I am not a creative mom who sews costumes I do however try to spend the least amount each year. Luckily this year Caleigh and Griffin recycled last years costumes. Gotta love that.
This is Caleigh's "boy-toy" (just kiddening) he asked her to be his girlfriend but she said, "my mom said I'm not old enough for boyfriends, only buddies."
My little witch actually kept her hat on most the night.
My favorite costume of the whole night was this one wore by my friend's (and 1st counselor) daughter Brighton. I told her she had to scream for the picture like KING KONG was really taking her away. Danielle is so creative all of her 3 kids look so cute and she threw there costumes together in an hour. That included sewing time. Watch out Martha!
The Peterson gang heading out for some "spooky" fun. The kids asked why my hair was so crazy and I told them, "If you flew around in the air all day you would bad hair too" so hope that explain the larger-than-life hair.

Congratulations Chris and Erin Head Family

Baby Nathan has arrived! Only 3 weeks early. Erin did amazing and baby Nathan had a hard start but, is doing just great now. So here's the info for everyone.

Nathaniel Kolen Head 7lbs 1 oz. I don't know how long

Born Sunday the 21st around 1pm

Apparently Goirgina (now the only girl with 4 brothers, I feel ya sister) walked in and said excitedly to Erin "Mom, baby Nathan came out!" I'm sure Erin was aware but, what do you expect from a two year old.

Everyone is home now and doing great. This makes number 5 for Chris and Erin. Done? I don't know. They are truly a wonderful family striving to live the commandments and be an Eternal Family.

Good Job guys.

Daddy's 60th Surprise! Party

My first blog has to be about my Dad's 60th party. My Mom asked all of us kids to pull something together and surprise my Dad. It was so much fun and we all spent many hours in front of our computer screens coming up with fun ideas for the 50's theme we picked out. The invites were Awesome (thanks Ryan and Tiff) and I think they raised expectations for the party to be really great. Well you tell me from the photos but, I think we delivered. My Aunt and Uncle came up from Nevada and helped pull off the surprise. Dad didn't even suspect when he walked into the church. So many friends and family came he even had a friend from childhood (Juliano) send him some pictures of the good ol' days and a Happy Birthday message. Mom put together a Shadow Box of some of his Vietnam memories and we had it on display. I think the best part of the night though was the skits that the kids and grandkids put on. We found out Sam is a born actor. The Skits were just a few memories that we thought should be acted out. Dad as a kid throwing cats of the barn roof, Mom and Dad's 1st kiss, Dad signing up for Vietnam, and the Famous Head Family Christmas bush story. It was a fun night and thank you to everyone who helped put it together. We'll be talking about it forever.