Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow!

I am So EXCITED for the Holidays! I LOVE this time of year, because it's just such a happy-Everybody Get Along- time of year. I'm looking forward to time with my kids, my family, and Jo's family. All things I treasure!

I thought I better update everyone on the craziness that has been our lives for the past 2 months. Kaden finished up soccer with an undefeated season! WAHOO! just in time to try out for the school Basketball team. After a little concern...........HE MADE IT! We are super excited about it. I know it adds to my things to do list, but I love to watch my children do the things they love. He also completed his eagle project, and now needs to do all the paper work and Thank you cards. I'm super proud of him! Now when he turns 14 in January, he can just enjoy his time as a teacher, and not feel stressed that he's got too much to do! He's doing great in the 8th grade, and showing lots of responsibility. He has just about caught up to me in heighth, and that's been a little tough for me to take. Sure do LOVE the big guy!

Ali will soon be starting her duet clogging, but in the meantime, she has been ever so busy with her friends and parties, and just growing up. Even her Uncle Matt told me the other day that she was becoming quite a young woman. Ali has a wonderful personality that draws people in. She has lots of good friends, and is looking forward to going into YW in February. She also signed up for Basketball which will be starting pretty soon. She has adjusted well to being in the Jr. High, although it took a little time with some teachers. At PTC all of her teachers adored her, and one even asked me if they could CLONE her! haha funny teacher. Ali keeps me guessing, and I LOVE her for it!

Paige has been loving clogging. She clogs just about everywhere she goes. She had a Christmas performance the other day, and did great, but she sure looked nervous. Maybe now with the 1st one down, she won't be so worried. She's doing great in school too. She loves her teacher, and so do I. She really looks at each child, and makes sure to keep them on track. I love teachers that really care about our kids! Paige decided to play Basketball again this year too, so we are excited to watch both girls play. Paige is a huge help to me, and I LOVE her tons too!

Tyce is my little perfectionist. He cried for 20 minutes one day because he got a 98% on a test. This quality can be both good and bad. Crying about an A was not one of the good moments. His teacher had only fabulous things to say about him as well. Tyce also, is going to play Basketball this year. Preston does not start them until 3rd grade, but a cousin of Jody's asked if we would sign him up in Smithfield so they could get a Preston team together, and be able to practice here. I was VERY hesitant on this one, because 1st grade is SO YOUNG, but Tyce is so excited about it, why not I guess. He's a good boy who also keeps me on my toes, and I LOVE him too.

Danica is my constant shadow. We still coupon shop every Tuesday, and she's not so sure that couponing is her favorite, but she's a trooper. She told Jody the other day that she was a 15 OLD GIRL! I truly believe she thinks that too. Sure LOVE the sassy little woman!

Jody now officially has his Masters! So proud of him. We love having him around more, and he loves that there's less things to stress about. To celebrate, we have decided to go to Cancun again this year with our friends. It may be the last trip to Mexico for awhile because the kids are getting so involved in things, so we are SUPER EXCITED to go! With 4 kids playing ball this year it will be interesting to see if we can handle it all. The good thing is, I think Kaden will be done before the girls start, and I think they will be half way done when Tyce starts. Wish us Luck!

We also recently enjoyed a WONDERFUL visit from Linda and her friend Sue. We love being able to see her when ever we can, and although this was a short visit, we loved having them both, and enjoyed every minute.

The last month has been a little more difficult than the whole 1st year was for me as a RS President. I've seen too much saddness going on in our ward, and I feel a little like I just don't know what to do for people. Thank goodness it is the Holiday season, and hopefully SOME of the joy I feel about the Savior's birth will rub off on the people I associate with. I can't think of a better reason to celebrate! HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!

She's 3, and He's growing UP

I know it's hard to believe, but it's true! My BABY is 3! We had a great day with her. We ALL woke up early to open presents, because Jody had to be at school that night, so that makes this picture even more amazing, to know that this smile is happening SO early in the morning! I love SO many things about Danica. She can make anyone smile. She enjoys everything about life. She's got her whole family wrapped around her finger, and therefore is quite spoiled.

She can pout, dance, sing, and carry a conversation better than most adults, and she's the cutest 3 year old I know! Happy Birthday you beautiful baby girl!

I love this picture of Kaden, because he's smirking at his leader, and this is what he looks like a lot at our house as he is always teasing someone! Last night he had a court of honor, and was awarded 11 merit badges. He now has only 2 to finish up, and his eagle project to complete next month, and the next court of honor we attend will be to give him his eagle. I'm proud of this great big boy. He's working very hard, and loves everything about scouts. He's a great leader to the deacons, and we sure love him!

In other news, Jody has No school this weekend for conference, but then he only has 2 WEEKS left before we are completely done with the masters program! HURRAY for him and all of us for making it the 2 years. Great job sweetie! We're ALL so Proud of You!

Worst Mom Ever!

Aren't they cute? They were born the day before we left to our vacation in Yellowstone. They are quite a bit bigger now then they were in these pictures, so they have now taken over the garage. We can't park in there because one will get ran over, and they have started to use the bathroom EVERYWHERE. I personally have had enough and broke the news to my children that this weekend they are to go and make them a home in the barn.

Paige's reaction was to snap at me about predators eating them, and go to the garage and pout for about 30 minutes. How could a mom be SO awful as to suggest such a thing when they bring your children this much joy................

Come on kids........the barn is the safest place for them. At least there isn't the threat of being ran over out there! Can anyone back me up on this?

I Forgot!

I just forgot to let everyone know that I blogged 3 NEW posts yesterday, not just one. Keep scrolling down!

Our Family Vacation to Yellowstone!

We FINALLY did it! We have been talking about taking the kids to Yellowstone for 3 years, and this year we finally did. We took off late Saturday afternoon, and went to Jackson, we stayed in cabins and the kids LOVED it. (So much that they were up until after midnight that night) This is our adorable children sitting in front of their cabin in Jackson. We left this morning, and headed to Yellowstone to spend the day.

This is in Yellowstone, and happens to be our only picture with all of us together (thanks to a sweet lady who volunteered to take it). We Loved how pretty everything in Yellowstone was. What a way to enjoy what our Heavenly Father has given us!

Here is Jody and the crew. They just happened to sit on the bench in order of age, and I loved the picture. This is, of course, us waiting for OLD FAITHFUL to go off. The weather was PERFECT, warm with a slight breeze. The kids loved walking around to see all geysers around Old Faithful, before driving on.

One of the many stops we made to look at beautiful water falls, canyons, or animals. Sure LOVE these sweet things!

After we were done in Yellowstone, we arrived (very late) to the KOA cabin in Cody Wyoming. We basically just crashed wherever we landed, and rested up for our day in Cody.

We went to the HUGE museum that I remembered as a kid going to. The kids enjoyed all of the cool things this place had to offer.

We all took a picture to see how we compared to the stature of Buffalo Bill, and then my sweet teenage boy picked up his little sister so she could feel tall and proud. I thought this picture was cute!

Here is Jody and me and Danica, sitting outside of the museum, resting up for the trip back to Jackson Hole.

First stop on the way back, was the Buffalo Bill Dam. It was very cool to look at if you aren't a tiny bit terrified of walking or being on things that have nothing below them. Needless to say, everyone enjoyed the view but me! Still, it was a beautiful place to visit.

Our trip back through Yellowstone the second time gave us the up close and personal experience with the Buffalo. They were everywhere, and we loved it. We took lots of pictures, and watched them for quite a while. Other animals we saw this trip were elk, coyotes, fish, birds, but to Jody's dismay, NO bear. For your info, we also got 44 of the 50 states playing the liscense plate game.

After making it back to Jackson, and staying in the same cabins we did our 1st night, we woke up to spend our last day in Jackson Hole before driving home. We went on a very large Tram, that takes you up, up, up to the top of the Tetons. It was beautiful once you got there, and to most of us, the ride up was great too, but not really for me because of that same fear previously mentioned. This is a picture of us waiting to get on the tram and go up.

We took the opportunity of being at the top of the Tetons, to take a few pictures of everyone. Couldn't ask for a more beautiful background.

Kaden

Tyce

Danica

Paige

Ali

And me and Jody

Our next stop was the Alpine Slide, which was a favorite for the kids. It was fun to ride up the mountain on the ski lift, and then ride down this track on a sled. All Danica could say was Go Faster Mom! It was a lot of fun.

Our final stop in Jackson was to watch the shoot our they do in the street every evening, and then we ventured HOME. We had a GREAT time, and are so happy for the time spent together with family, and the memories made. It was a great way to end the summer.

The kids are now back in school, and the boys have started soccer, and the girls will be starting clogging. Back to a routine which is good in a way. It is a little different for me and Danica to have to house to ourselves all day, but we're finding plenty to do. I have started couponing again, which keeps me busy, and Danica now gets to be my shopping buddy. We also welcomed 5 new baby kitties to the crew, and the kids are in love with them. Jody is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with school, he will be done in November, and we are all looking forward to seeing him a little more.

It has been an AMAZING summer, FULL of many adventures and time together. We are truly blessed and grateful for all we have!!!

Bear Lake Family Reunion

We had a family reunion in Bear Lake this year, and Bear Lake just happens to be a highlight of my kids summer EVERY year. This year was No acception. We had lots of fun with cousins, but I for some reason took pictures before alot of them got there, and then forgot to pull the camera back out when they were. BUT, I do have some great pictures of MY beautiful children, and that's what matters I guess. These little rafts are a favorite obviously. Kaden is on the left, Tyce in the middle, and Paige to the right.

This is Ali and Paige. Ali is in our raft, and it's a little bigger but equally as fun! This year the lake was SO FULL that there was very LITTLE beach to play on, so lots of time was spent in the water.

Ali again, just hanging out in the raft.

My kids laugh at this picture, because Kaden looks like a giant in a little boat. He is getting SO big, he has not quite caught me in height, but he is VERY close, and his foot is now WAY bigger than mine. He grew 5 1/2 inches this last year, and gained 25 pounds. WHOA!

This is my cutey batooty Danica, and her cousin Dylan. They are good buddies, and enjoyed the squirt guns for quite a while. We had a great day at the lake, and can't wait until next summer, to do it all again!

Jacobson Vacation

This summer we had a Jacobson family vacation. These are some of our favorite reunions, because there is lots of fun, laughing, and playing. This year mom had many things planned, and we managed to fit them all in, and love every minute of being together. This is all of our kids with my grandpa Murdock. My Uncle Scott broght grandpa out to enjoy a picnic with us at mom and dad's house. It was lots of fun, and we love all chances we get to have pictures with great-grandparents.

We went to the sanddunes this year too. This was probably my kids favorite of the trip. We had lots of relatives come and share in the fun, and we DID have FUN! I might have fallen face first down a dune one time, but the memory of it is already fading!

We got to enjoy the Rexburg water park that is FREE! My kids loved it, even though it was a little chilly out that day. Danica got her picture here, because I had to share a funny she said. While we were at the WATER park, where you are SUPPOSE to get wet, and splash and have fun, she ran up to me and said, "Mom, I almost got wet!" Funny girl, she did finally get wet, and all had a great time.

The playing in the water was followed by a Carousel ride, and my parents bought out one ride, and then proceeded to FILL the Carousel with their grandchildren. I LOvEy LOVe LoVe that we have that many cousins to know and love.

Our sleeping arrangements were many many tents in my parents yard. We did lots of playing with cousins, and this is a fine example of some of the boys showing us their best! Kaden is in the back, and Tyce is in the front. Natalie's boys, and one of Jenny's round out the crew.

This is a favorite past time of the girls. We always have to do a few cheerleading lifts. Ali is on the very left of the pyramid, and Paige is the one being held up, but with her arms down. The others are Natalie's, Shane's, and Jenny's.

I sure am happy for all the memories made, and the chance that my kids have of knowing their cousins. Thanks mom and dad for yet another GREAT family vacation!