Merry Christmas!!!

I have lots to catch up with in blog land...

won't happen for a few days...

until then...

Merry Christmas!!!

Happy Birthday Clay

Today is Clay's birthday, he turned the big 37!!! I can't believe that I am married to a man that is 37...it is kinda scary being that I am only 22, but I somehow manage!

It is funny, because Clay absolutely HATES winter, snow, cold...etc. I on the other hand LOVE all of it...I can't wait for winter to come around. We are complete opposites. I want it to snow on my birthday, and for the last 3 years it hasn't. But, it has on Clay's, and boy does it make him happy :)

Happy Birthday Clay! Hope you had a great day, shoveling our driveway twice, and you parents!!

Happy 10th Birthday, Cayden!

Today is Cayden's 10th birthday, as soon as I get the pictures taken from his "party", I will up load them...

Until then, hope you have a great day Cayden, we LOVE you!!!

Fall In Review...

So, what can I say, blogging is not a huge priority right now. Who am I kidding, it isn't even a priority right now. I haven't updated in a long time, so rather than do 17 posts, here are some pictures of what has been going on in our lives the last few months, hence the name of the post...

There is no particular order, because I am not bright enought to load the pictures in order, so they are completely out of order, but you get the jist.

We carved us some mean pumpkins, Halle free-handed hers, Cayden did a cool skull, and had the perfect pumpkin for it, and Kylee did a cute bat.

We dressed up for numerous Halloween parties, and YES that is Clay and his mean handlebar mustache!!

My sweet Grandma Lee (Gale) passed away from a serious infection. I am still trying to wrap my mind around it. She suffered for so long, and I am sure is so happy now. Her funeral was beautiful, and Robert and my mom and her siblings did a great job at planning it.


Cayden took 5th place in the Pinewood Derby!!! Now for most of you, you would think that is pretty crappy, but last year he was dead last in EVERY.SINGLE.HEAT. So, he was uber excited when he took 5th out of 12!!!


Kylee's team took 1st place in a soccer tournament where they were playing up 1 age level. NOW, girls apparently develop and gain about 20 pounds between 12 and 14, because the girls they were playing against were H.U.G.E!!! WTG Ky!

Harvey Unga just happened to be at Cayden's championship football game, and he was so nice to let us snap a picture of him. He plays for BYU for those of you who don't know. This was the highlight of the month for Cayden!

As you can tell by the sad look on his face, they took 2nd again! They played hard, and had the win until the last 2 minutes of the game, and then it all went down hill from there. He was one sad hombre.

Yep, that is 5 players trying to take down my little guy. He is so tough, and it was hillarious to watch him fight off these guys! (Click on it to enlarge, and notice the weenie in the background wearing sunglasses...what? Under your football helmet...it wasn't even sunny...whatever!)

Look at that stiff arm, that kid didn't know what was coming!

There is nothing cuter that a cute boy in football pads!


There you have it, a jumbled mess of the last few months! Halle was in there somewhere, being the cheerleader for her brother and sister...what a trooper!

A Big Day...

Today was a big day for Cayden, he got his braces on today!!! If you are thinking to yourself how on earth does a 9 year old get braces, I was thinking the same thing! He has lost 6 teeth in the last 4 weeks!!! He was supposed to go in the beginning of June for his next consultation, but as his teeth were literally popping out of his mouth, I called the Orthodontist, and asked if he should be seen sooner. Sure enough he had his appt. last week, and the Ortho commented that Cayden's mouth is as far along as that of a 8th-9th grade boy! So, we made an appointment for today, and here he is!

He looks so cute, and he is so excited, and was really looking forward to it! He will have his braces off before he even starts 6th grade! What a lucky boy! I am so glad that my kids can get their braces while they are younger, and don't have to go through their pre-teen years with them on. He got to choose what color he wanted, and his first choice were Maroon & Gold (in honor of Lone Peak, the local High School team here), but because we have family pictures in the next couple of weeks, we opted for Blue & White (in honor of BYU).

I was so proud of myself, because I remembered both of my cameras, so that I could get a good picture of him. Needless to say both batteries were dead. So, here is the best I could get with my phone!

The "Before" picture...he literally has 4 teeth on the top, and 4 on the bottom!

The "After Braces" shot. He was so excited!

I can't believe that my baby is old enough for braces!

Random - by Halle Parke

Hal: "Mom, Marie said a word of wisdom yesterday."

Mom: "A word of wisdom?"

Hal: "Yeah, she said a bad word, you know one of the words of wisdom."

Mom: "Oh, she said a naughty word?"

Hal: "YES, I told you she said a word of wisdom, and it was the H - E - L - L word!!!"

Me: "That is not good, just make sure you don't say any words of wisdom, ok? You don't want to say naughty words."

Hal: "ok"

A word to the wise...don't way words of wisdom, they are naughty!

Boy I love her, and she makes me smile!

Seriously, I *heart* fall

and, my friends, there are many reasons.

**sweaters & boots

**pumpkin anything

**soup

**my 2 favorite holidays (Thanksgiving & Christmas)

**leaves changing color

**day-light savings time

**my kids sports slowing down

**spending time with my family & extended fam

*****

AND, last but certainly not LEAST...

This, only in diet. They only sell it in the fall/winter months, and it is the.best.ever! If you haven't tried it, I am sorry, go buy some right now. Even if you have to pay full price for it, it is soooo worth it! Look at me endorsing a product, I wonder if they will compensate me for all of my fan base?

In Loving Memory

My sweet Grandma Lee (Gale) passed away on Saturday after a hellacious mattle with RA, or rheumatiod arthritis. She was the spunkiest, sassiest, fiestiest lady I have ever met. She was one of a kind. She will be missed by all, but especially her sweet husband Robert. He took such good care of grandma. He loved her, and spoiled her rotten. They were wonderful for each other, especially after both losing their spouses within a couple months of each other.

I am so thankful that you can be the person now that you once were, free from pain, and suffering. You can do the little things that most of us take so much for granted. I am thankful that you get to be you.

I can only imagine the amazing reunion that took place between my grandma and my grandpa. They had such a love. Something that I have never seen before. He loved her more than anything, and boy if you ever tried to roll your eyes at her (I am sure I did more than once as a teenager), or talk back, he put you in your place, and explained how much he loved her, and that we should treat her with respect. What an awesome example of everlasting love.

I am thankful for the good example of hard work, determination, and attitude that my grandma was to me. I am thankful for all of the times that we drove down to "the beave" to spend time with her and Robert, for all of the times that we used their house as a potty stop on the way too or from St. George, or Las Vegas. We will miss stopping there and visiting. We will miss her goose, the one pictured below with Kylee. That goose was always dressed for the season, or holiday. My kids got such a kick out of the goose, and what "outfit" if you will it was wearing.

I love you grams, and am thankful for you. Give grandpa a big hug, and enjoy your new adventure together!

Robert & Grandma December 2006

Kylee and "the goose" summer 2008.

An ode to my little sister...(well one of them)

Today Emily was up my way and called me to see what I was doing. I excitedly agreed to meet her for lunch, and to stop at a boutique. I don't get out much, I hardly ever see my family, and hardly ever get to see my little sisters (well for how close we all live anyway.)

We met up, grabbed lunch, and then ran to said destination.
We get out of the car, I ask my dear darling sister if she has locked the door.
She annoyingly tells me she has.
We shop for a little while, we are leaving said store, can't find keys.
Emily said no worries, they are probably locked in the car.
I freak out.
She calms my fears by telling me she has a "key pad" on the outside of her door that she can get in with.
Fears calmed.
She looks at the door, locks up, looks into her car, and the KEYS ARE IN THE IGNITION.
Shut the front door.
She did.
She left the keys in the car, doors unlocked, and we were gone for like 30 minutes.
I have never laughed so hard in my whole life.

So really folks, even though she "colors" her hair, she is blonde. Down to the core.

Forget all of these "Why do people...(fill in the blank)" posts she does...

Pshhh. Blonde moment above all others!

Last Call...

Ok, so Shanna must be the only person that wants a semi-home made gift from me. Seriously people, if you won my little "give away" in February, and want your present, please, please, please send me a picture of your family, so that I can print it off, and put your little gift together and send it to you. If I don't get a picture from you, I will figure that you don't want a little of my craftiness in your abode.

Family Pictures and sadness...

Where to begin....where to begin. We got our famly pictures taken a couple of weeks ago, and just got the CD today. I am so excited, and they turned out pretty good. We had some struggles, Halle's shoes were killing her, it was like 250 degrees, and we have a 9 almost 10 year old boy...that can't give a natural smile to save his stinking life! But, we did get a couple good ones!

Here are some of my favorites, and yes we have already told Kylee that she isn't allowed to date until she turns 95. Clay has a plethera of guns, and will use them if necessary on any young man (just kidding...kind of!).

And, now for the sadness. We (I mean I) gave our puppy to another loving home. I haven't been forgiven, and don't think I ever will. My 12 year old won't talk to me, and is very angry. I suck what can I say.

BUT, in my defense, I had no idea what I was in for. We are never home, and she was always in her kennel, and I didn't think that was fair. She is the sweetest dog, but she is a puppy, and is very needy (as far as the potty training), and we weren't home enough to do it. My SIL Sonya had a cute lady from her work that saw her pictures, and fell completely in love with her (can't say I blame her, she is cute!), she picked her up today. They are dog people, they already have 2 other dogs, and they understand what they are getting themselves into. I have already had the stress in my life taken down about 90 notches, so I am much happier!

As a side note, for anyone that has never, ever had a dog, and is thinking about getting one, think long and hard. And then think long and hard for another 10 days, and then go on vacation, and think about it some more. They are so cute, but holy snot they are so time consuming. They are nothing like having a baby. You can put a diaper on a baby, and put them down for a nap, and babies don't lick themselves, and then want to lick you.

I hope that Kylee will one day forgive me, and talk to me again. Roxy is in a better place for her right now, I am a nut job, and this has definately made me realize that I do infact need to be on anxiety medication...FOREVER.

Here she is, in all her glory!

She is tiny, she only weighs 4.9 lbs. She is only supposed to double her size...I guess we'll see, since she is a mutt! Don't worry, we have had her for 1 week, and she had her 6th bath today. See, the OCD again!

Geez...

I found out how to get people to comment on your blog. By posting something like that! Ok, ok, I know it has been forever since I made that little mistake of posting that. It has been one crazy week, work has been helacious (sp?), school work has been crazy, soccer and football are in full swing, and I feel like I am going to have a nervous break down. Just ask my SIL Sonya, she has been my counselor for the last week. Thanks Sonya!

SO, here is the "surprising news", notice how I didn't say exciting, or awesome...?

My kids and husband think that it is super exciting and super awesome, but I am just getting used to the idea. (And no Jessi, I am not getting a boob job, although I could use one, and no I am not sporting a thong, or wearing my hair curly, or shaving my head, or any of the other drastic things you questioned...weenie!) For the last 6 months or so we have been talking about the idea of getting the kids a dog. We already have 2 dogs that we keep at Clay's parents house, they are definatley outside dogs. I am not a dog person, I am not an animal person, I wasn't raised to love, or even like animals. It is my dad's fault. My kids on the other hand, and my husband LOVE animals. We have a horse that we keep at Clay's parents house as well (see the theme here?)

So, we did it. We got a dog. I am/was/still hoping that this dog can help me with a little bit of my OCD tendencies when it comes to my house/cleaning...(meaning learning how to not be so stinking uptight)

She, the kids named her Roxy, is really cute, she is a mutt that we paid way too much for. She is a good dog, she hasn't had 1 accident, is pretty much potty trained, but she is a puppy. My kids love her, they love her to pieces. My husband loves her, me...I am trying to like her. I am trying to be patient with her, but we may not keep her. I know, I know I am a horrible mother, and I am doing exactally what Clay made me promise not to do. I suck. I am having a really hard time adjusting to this, I see other people with their "inside" dogs, and I think..."they can do it, why can't I", and then I remember that I have some issues in my brain that I need to work out (I struggle).

I am nervous about people thinking that it is gross, or judging me (my family), because we aren't animal people, and I am trying to not worry about what people think of me, but that is one that I do worry about. This is sort of turning in to a therapy session as well, sorry.

So, we have a dog for now, and her name is Roxy, and she is really cute, and I will post pictures when I have time to upload them, I just didn't want people to think that I was getting elective surgery, and then see me and wonder where it was?!

Don't leave any comments, unless you have something nice to say.

Surprising announcement coming soon...

You won't EVER.EVER.EVER believe it.

Especially if you know me really well.

And, no I am not pregnant.

Stay tuned.

What we did this summer...

Since I am a super slacker blogger (wow that was a mouth full), and I am busy, lazy, ornery, and hot; I am going to give you, my blog friends, a pictorial review of our lovely summer:

I apologize that they are in no particular order, that would have taken WAYYYYY too much effort!

Enjoy!

Halle's cute hair done my aunt Emily while we were at Bear Lake!

Kylee on her birthday at girls camp with one of her friends. Notice the princess crown!


Kylee, Kenzie, Courtney, and Katie at BYU soccer camp. When they arrived at camp they were split up into "teams", and they were all on different teams. At the end of camp there was an awards ceremony where the MVP of each team was announced. EVERY one of these girls (that are all on Kylee's comp soccer team) won the award! They are such amazing athletes!

A really cool picture that I took at girls camp, it kinda reminds me of the Sacred Grove. It was so beautiful up there.

For FHE one night in the summer we went to Cascade Golf Course and hit some range balls. The kids had a blast. Cayden has a seriously wicked swing!

She's pretty darn good too!

Halle, well, she's cute...what else to say!

Kylee with one of the girls in our ward on her birthday. She had to wear around a sign that said "Today is my birthday". It was pretty cute!

Cayden getting ready for swimming lessons. Seriously there is that "smile" again...uggghhh.

Halle at swimming lessons. Huge milestones were reached this year, she actually put her face under the water and blew bubbles. Swimming isn't one of our strengths!

We went to the open house for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, the kids loved it. We were able to go to 2 temples this year, and they were both within 20 minutes of our house! Way cool!

Hanna, Kylee, Courtney, and Tess (all on Ky's team) guest played on another team for a tournament in Orem. They helped their team win the whole thing! Kylee also got a hat trick in that game! That is HUGE at this age, 1 is rare! She was so excited!

We went to the Highland Fling in the beginning of August. Kylee's soccer team was in the parade, so we stuck around afterward for a minute and Halle got her face painted! She loved it!

Kylee in the parade handing out candy, and stickers, and apparently sticking her chest out as well!

Kylee's soccer team played in a tournament last weekend, and won the whole thing! There was a team there from Colorado that was super tough. I am talking girls swearing and cussing, scratching etc. It was interesting for our girls to experience that. I was so proud of our girls and the way that they played!

Aunt Sonya invited us to go to the Bee's game for her summer work party! My kids look forward to that every year! Thanks aunt Sonya!

Kylee at girls camp. She was posing as the "uni-bomber" apparently.

Katie, Maggie, Kenzie, Courtney, Natalie, and Kylee in the BYU dorms for soccer camp. They had so much fun, except for the fact that Natalie got 2 of her front teeth knocked out, so that put a little damper on it!

There you have it a jumbled mess of our summer, and apparently neither Clay or I were around at all...we weren't in a single picture!

First day of school for Cayden & Halle

Halle, aka snaggle tooth! She looks so grown up here.

Notice Cayden's hand...he won't hug, kiss, or even touch girls, because obviously they have cooties!

The stud muffin himself, with his posed half smile. He does really have a cute smile, when you can catch the real thing!

Well, the big day came and went, and it was as hard as I imagined. I am alone. All day. Until next summer. Yesterday was a teaser day, because Ky had the day off. But today has been the real deal. It is eerily quiet. And, I haven't gotten a stinking thing done (well, except for get my hair colored, and cut, and buy a cute new pair of jeans!!!).

Cayde & Halle started school yesterday. They were both so excited, they had a hard time falling asleep, woke up twice during the night (Halle), and woke up at the butt crack of dawn. Cayden came out of his room fully dressed, shoes, back pack and all...ready for his hair to be done!? He has started to wear it spiked up in the front, and he wanted time for it to dry, so it wouldn't fall down (seriously, he cares about his hair? he is 9).

They both had a great day! Cayden loved his teacher, he has been looking forward to having him since Kylee did 3 years ago. Mr. O is one of the most beloved teachers at the school! Cayden looks so grown up, and mighty handsome if I do say so myself!

Halle had a great day, she was a little nervous, but loved it! She did say that it was long, and I have to agree, especially when she didn't eat a thing for breakfast, and about 3 bites of her lunch. She didn't wan't to be late you know! She loves her teacher, she is new this year, and I was really nervous, but she is wonderful! She gave me lots of kisses and hugs when she came home, and said that she missed me a lot. Which of course made my day completely! She loves school, and loves to learn and socialize, so I am sure it is going to be a great year!

7th Grade, here I come!!!

It's official...I am old.

My oldest baby started Jr. High today.

She looks so grown up.

She wore make-up.

She told me there were "hot" boys in her class.

She sat by one at lunch.

Shoot me now.

It took hours to pick out what to wear.

She walked to the bus stop alone. Without her mother. For the first time. Who cares that it is 1.5 blocks away.
She texted me to say she made it.
Hip hip hooray!

For the record, she had a great time, L.O.V.E.D every single minute of it! I remember 7th grade vividly...scary!

Cranker...

"Mom, I haven't had a cranker in a long time..."

"You haven't had WHAT in a long time?"

"You know...a Cranker...in my mouth, when I eat too much candy..."

"Oh, a CANKER."

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah, and I tooted when I said that!"

Halle conversations are sure to make you smile...!

Really?

Ok, so this is a complain post. Sorry, if you don't want to hear it...stop reading! What happens to your children when they turn 12? Do they forget e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. that has ever been taught to them? Do they suddenly loose all of their brain cells? Do they loose all respect for everything, and everyone? I have a great daughter that just turned 12, and when people told me that they turn into these selfish little monsters, I thought to myself..."apparently they don't know MY daughter, she is such a great girl, so kind, Christ like, thoughtful..."

Then she turned 12, and reality slapped me right smack in the face. She is just like all of the rest of those little self centered terds. I don't ever remember being like that :)!! Lord have mercy on me, and on her, so that we still like each other when she finally pulls her head out!

The end.

I got an award...

I am so honored, my cousin Shanna gave me my very first award!

She gave me this award because I "unprivatized" my blog, and because I make her laugh...naturally! We are from the same blood line...we are all comedians!

Thanks Shanna!

Here are the rules:

1. Put the award on your blog.

2. Include a link to the person who gave you the award.

3. Nominate 6 or more blogs

4. Leave a message on their blog letting them know they have an award on your blog.

So here aer my peeps I am giving this award to:

1. Emily, at: Our crazy cute kids, because she is my sister, and she is DANG funny!

2. Greg & Whit, at: It's always better when were together, because they always have something funny to blog about...dogs pooping on their lawn, guitar hero...it's all funny!

3. Anna, at: Anna can cook, because she has some good cookin' ideas!

4. Matt & Jessi, at: O-town, because they have the most beautiful newbaby girl!

5. Ali, at: Ali's turn, because she has the FUNNIEST blog posts ever. I laugh until I nearly pee every time!

6. Jessica, at: Taste every season, because she is a great cook/baker, and has great recipes I am sure you will want to try!

Well, these are also the only 6 blogs that I read that aren't private, or haven't already been nominated!

Congrats!