California

For those of you don't know, we are currently defrosting in California. We are having a great time seeing friends and family as well as eating our favorite local foods! (No wonder I'm fat!) So far, we have eaten at Jack in the Box (why doesn't Utah have one?), had good Carne Asada, and eaten FRESH seafood from a sweet little place on the bay in Point Loma! There is NOTHING like fresh shrimp and fish made into tacos. We toured the USS Midway museum today. It is a retired aircraft carrier. REALLY COOL! We had fun with Papa Nick (Jon's dad) and Uncle Eric and Aunt Jess (Jon's brother and his wife) and our cousins Kaden and Lucas. It was beautiful day on San Diego Bay. Seeing our oldest daughter Kami, my Grandma and hanging out with my mom (aka NANA) have been great! The kids are having a blast with Aunt Toni and Uncle Carl (My BFF and spouse) and playing with their boys Niklas, Alexander, and Liam. They are also busy spending time with other treasured friends from days gone by. Jennifer and Tiffany (our old neighborhood friends) are with us the whole time we are here. FUN! I will post a few of the million pictures we've taken when I get back to my USB cord at home! DUH me! Have a Blessed and SAFE New Year's!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning at Camp Stanggang was a mixture of gasps, giggles, and flying gift wrap! The sea of garbage created in under 5 minutes was amazing! Everyone enjoyed themselves. In the aftermath, the adults have lazed around the house watching movies and napping while the younger set has joyfully bounced from one thing to the next like ADD cases on speed! We are enjoying the beauty of a white Christmas, and looking forward to a very yummy Christmas dinner.

Cookies for Santa and a diet Dr. Pepper for Santa and Carrots for the reindeer!

This years bounty before the kids woke up!

Kloe's bike and gifts from Santa!

Jacob's bike and gift's from Santa!

Jacob got a helpicopter from Santa!

Kloe on her new bike!
Jacob on his new bike!

Kaitlin was excited to get a new IPOD!

Jared checked out his video camera while the other kids investigate new treasures!
Kloe loves her new dog in a carrier! (The perfect pet!)
Jacob LOVES his helicopter!
The aftermath!

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas traditions include new jammies from Grammie on Christmas Eve. Jared was just billing silly and making mean faces! He is so funny! We also went to see Santa. Kloe didn't want anything to do with him, but she did run up and yell that she wanted a new baby doll. Jacob asked for helicopter. Santa assumed it was a toy he wanted. What he actually wants is a tricycle helicopter he saw in a cartoon. Kayleigh and Jonah had fun with the visit too!

Jonah got camo PJ's

Jacob got Batman

He really likes them!

Kloe got princess PJ's

Kayleigh got Tinkerbell

Kaitlin got penguin PJ's

Our Christmas Tree

Fall play after family pictures!

We had our family pictures taken at Wheeler Farm yesterday. (Thanks Janae) Afterward, we had a great time playing on tractors and in the leaves. Here are a few of my favorite shots!

Thanksgiving

Cousin Tyler had fun outside after dinner!

Grammie enjoyed the day with all but 2 of her grandchildren!

Jon carved the turkey!

Kloe enjoyed drinking from real glasses!

Kami actually made it up at the last minute!

Grammie set beautiful tables!

Jon's brother Danny came from Portland,
and his sister Nicole and her family also joined us!

Thankful it's Wednesday

Today I am thankful for SO much!

1-I am thankful Shanna reminded me about Visiting teaching! Where did this month go?

2- I am thankful Kami is coming home for Thanksgiving! I miss her like crazy and I LOVE having all 7 of my children together at the same time! Can you say Christmas card pictures?

3- I am thankful for Black Friday sales! They really help my pennies go further on a limited holiday budget!

Today's Thanks!

Today I had to really do some soul searching for my daily three. Here's what I decided on....

1- I am thankful for laughter. As a mother, I think there is no sweeter sound than the sound of my children laughing and playing together. Besides that, it just plain feels good. Who doesn't like to laugh.

2- I am thankful for my washer and dryer. I can't even fathom the effort pioneer women with large families had to put forth washing clothes by hand and hanging them out to dry. My daily 2 or 3 loads would be a full time job without my washer and dryer.

3- I am thankful for the people around me that help to influence my children for the better. The old adage,"It takes a village to raise a child", is SO true. How blessed I am to have so many GREAT people in my village!

Bear Lake

We spent the weekend at Bear Lake in Northern Utah. It was really fun and relaxing! We swam and attempted to fish! We even drove to Paris! (Paris, Idaho that is!) We all really enjoyed ourselves with the exception of when a seagull kept diving under water and stealing worms off the fishing lines!