LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!

What a fun couple of days we have had in this beautiful winter wonderland! I really have missed all the white Christmas's I used to grow up with, so I think I have been as excited as my kids about this snowfall. It all started Wednesday evening. I of course had other plans for that night, but John told me to relax and enjoy it, so we all got bundled up and went outside to make a snowman and have a snowball fight.

The whole neighbor hood was out enjoying the snow. We had a hard time getting the kids to come back in for bed.

We got a phone call that night telling us that school was canceled for Thursday because of the snow.

A Snow Day in St. George!

Thursday, the kids were outside almost all day, John took the morning off as well. We had a ball playing outside with the kids. We made a snowman for every member in our family, and still had snow left over in our little front yard. The kids made a snow fort in the back yard as well. Taylor went with his friends down to the park grass and had snow wars and was gone all day. What a fun Day!

A visit with SANTA!

We finally took the kids to see Santa tonight. Trevor was excited to tell Santa about the two trigger gun he wants. I think he was a little scared, but tried hard to be brave. Tyson on the other hand didn't want to be brave. He was excited to see Santa until his turn came up. I feel like a mean Mom, but every kid needs at least one picture of them throwing a fit on Santa's knee! Now we are officially ready for Christmas!

All I want for Christmas is a gun with "TWO" triggers!

This is just TOO CUTE to forget.......

Trevor (my 3 year old son) has not been able to decide on what he wants for Christmas this year. He came to me one day and said that he wanted to take the Christmas catalog with him when he went to see Santa because there were so many toys that he wanted. I had to explain to him that Santa only brings one present so that he will have enough for all the boys and girls in the world. Boy was that a disappointment to Trevor! He has been trying to decide on the one perfect thing for about two weeks now....I think today he found it.

I took Trevor and Tyson in a store today to look at toys and had my fingers crossed that he would finally find something he was really set on. As we was walking down one isle, he saw a toy gun that had two triggers. I can't describe how amazed he was with it. We had to go back about ten different times to see this gun. He has been excited about toys before, but nothing like this.

Tonight when I was kneeling by him listening to his prayer, I found out how much he loves this gun. His prayer started out like a typical 3 year old prayer....thank you for my family, thank you for my toys, help me to be a good boy, etc. The last thing he said was the cutest thing I have heard in a long time.....AND THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME GO TO THAT STORE TODAY AND SEE THE GUN WITH TWO TRIGGERS....AMEN!

I think Santa knows what that little boy wants now!!!!

Family Pictures

I finally got back the enlargements from the family pictures we had taken in October. We went up Beaver Canyon with my family for the pictures. There is a lady in Beaver that has taken our family pictures as long as I can remember and has always done a great job. My mom arranged everything, all we had to do was show up that day.

John loves to harrass my poor mom, so he decided that he would pull another one on her. He wore a ugly, bright flourescent green shirt up there. When he got out of the car, my mom didn't know what to say. She told me and the kids how nice we all looked. John said, "What about me?" My poor mom was trying hard not to be rude, so all she could say was "Well we will sure be able to spot you in the picture". My sister came up to me and asked if John and I were fighting. I couldn't keep a straight face any longer at that point. She thought that John was doing it to get back at me for something. He finally went and changed into his brown shirt. He really thinks he is funny! My mom said later that she knows that the Real Estate business has been really slow and she thought maybe that shirt was all he had so that is why she didn't dare say anything. We all had a good laugh about it anyway.

Here are a few of the pictures.....

I sure have an amazing family. My parents are such good examples to me. My Dad is by far the hardest worker I have ever known and my mom has always been my very best friend. My two sisters have always been my role models. They are beautiful, talented ladies and I am lucky to have them as sisters! I think the world of my darling nieces and nephew as well. I am very lucky to have the wonderful family that I do and to be able to live within a couple of hours of them all.

A SpOOktacular Halloween!

I truly love our neighborhood! We had such a fun time this year trick-or-treating with the kids. It is always so much fun to see the cute kids in our neighborhood in their costumes (and even some of the parents). We have some amazing families in our area. Our kids really made a haul this year as far and goodies. We stopped up at Grandma Houston's to begin our evening. She had made some special Grandpa Clark fudge (peanut butter fudge) for all the grandkids. It was a special touch. I have to admit...I snuck into Tyson's and had a little myself.

John went around to a couple of houses with me until Tyson had enough, and then him and Tyson went back to the house to pass out candy. Taylor has ditched us the last couple of years to be with his friends, and came home with a pillow case half full. Haley and Abbey started out with us, but soon got tired of waiting, so they went on ahead of us. I ended up taking Trevor around with his little buddy Stu and my good friend (Stu's Mom) Jen. Those two boys had a lot of fun together. They were not very speedy, but they had a great time.

Trevor had a trunk or treat at his preschool on Thursday. They were all a little somber...I think they didn't know what to expect.

We started out friday by watching the anual parade at Abbey's School. I stayed after to help with Abbey's class party. I was in charge of the treat. We made a fun "Witches Brew" and Ding-Dong Spiders. I think the kids in her class all had a lot of fun!

As we were getting ready friday afternoon to head out for trick or treating, a strange "man" walked into our house, and gave us all a "fright"! John's sister Sandra had dressed up as a guy she works with. I totally did not recognize her, and it took me a few moments to figure out who it was in my house. John had dressed up like a "tourist" for his work luncheon, so we had to get a picture of them together.

Here are pictures of our kids. Taylor was a nerd, Haley a scarecrow, Abbey a vampire, Trevor a ninja (or as he would say "A sword guy"), and Tyson a monkey. John was a tourist, and I was for a very short time a spider witch.

A Sad Goodbye!

Yesterday was a pretty tough day for me. I was released from serving as the Primary President for almost 3 years. I can say that I truly loved this calling and I love the children in this ward. I didn't think it would be as hard as it was. The primary has been a part of my life is some way the entire time we have lived in this area. I had many children come up and give me hugs yesterday, even some that I was shocked would do so. I hope they know how special they are and how much I truly do love them. I told them I felt like a mom sending her child off on a mission, only I was sending 110 of them at once. I think John is happy to have someone to go to Sunday School with and to help with Tyson now (even though he will be able to go into the nursery in 2 weeks...Great timing!). I told John that I feel like a little lost puppy. Hopefully I will be able to adjust and enjoy my next calling (who knows what that will be) half as much as I have enjoyed this one.

Crazy Hair Day!

This is always a highlight for Abbey. She came home with a headache, but she said it was worth it. Isn't she such a cutie!

A Wonderful Weekend!

We spent UEA weekend up at our Ranch. This is probably our most favorite place to be whenever we can get away. We had an amazing time. Spending 4 days up there, you would think we would be ready to come home, but we were not. Here are just a few of our highlights from our weekend...

1. Lots and lots of rides in the Gator! Yes, our whole family fit!
2. Family hikes!
3. Swinging, and Swinging, and Swinging some more!
4. Yummy Food....Yes including Junk Food Galore!
5. Salamander Pond. Yucky!
6. Deer Hunting....Yes, the deer hunt started on Saturday!
7. Relaxing!
8. Riding the Tractor with Daddy!
9. Lot's of cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and Grandma to spend a couple of days with!
10. Hunting for Fossils of shells and shark teeth! Yes, we found some thanks to Uncle Thayne and Uncle Billy!
11. Watching our kids having so much fun!

New Family Picture

We finally got a new family picture taken. The last picture we had professionally done as a family was when Abbey was Tyson's age. A little past due I know!

Our Little "Super Stepper"

Haley recently joined the "Super Stepper" Dance Team. She and her good friend Lexie are in it together. She worked super hard to catch up and learn the parade routine and was excited to get to perform. A couple of days before the parade, she was told that all the 6th graders were no longer going to dance in the parade. They were in charge of holding the signs. She was quite disappointed. Grandma and Grandpa Baldwin had canceled going to a family reunion so they could come down and watch her. They came down anyway and we still went to the parade. Haley looked adorable even though she didn't get to dance. She did the parade routine for us at home instead. It was a fun parade. We didn't brave the rodeo this year, but we promised Trevor that we will go next year. He really wants to see the "buckin' bulls".

Abbey's Baptism

Abbey was baptized on September 6, 2008. What a wonderful day it was. It started off with the annual Houston reunion at John's sister, Debbie's cabin. Thayne and Miriam were in charge and did a wonderful job.

My parent's and John and Lana's family came down for Abbey's baptism. Stacy and her family were all sick with the flu, so they couldn't make it. Abbey had a lot of people there to support her. It is always special to see the powerful priesthood circle that is there to help in these ordinances. We truly have a wonderful family and feel very blessed. My Dad stood and bore his testimony after the confirmation. That really meant a lot to me.

Abbey looked like a beautiful little princess. We are so proud of her for the good person that she is and the decision she made to be baptized.

Houston Family Reunion - September 6, 2008

We had a wonderful time at the Houston Reunion this year! Thayne and Miriam were in charge and did an outstanding job. Debbie and Kevin were so good to host it at their cabin. They have a beautiful cabin and lots of fun things for the kids to do up there. My favorite part was, of course, reminiscing about Grandpa Clark. We all miss him terribly. He was truly a one-of-a-kind man. Thanks Thayne and Miriam for a wonderful reunion this year.

Summer Fun!

We thought we would have a low-key summer because of Trevor's 4 wheeler accident, but somehow, we have still been able to have a lot of fun things to do.....

Taylor attended his first BYU basketball camp the first of June, and had a great time. He went up with several of his good friends and they all had a lot of fun.

While Taylor was in Provo, Haley, Abbey, Trevor, Tyson, and myself all went to Beaver for a couple of days. The weather is so nice up there, we spent every waking minute outside.

We found a fun couple of days during the middle part of June to spend up to the Ranch. It was the first time Trevor and I had been up there since his accident. We enjoyed walking and looking for horny toads and had a slow easy ride in the gator. Grandma Houston came up with us. The kids had a lot of fun with the horny toads.

June ended with a fun family reunion with the Bradshaw Family (My Mom's Family). We pulled our trailer and fourwheelers and spent 3 nights camping. We had a lot of fun and ate a lot of yummy food (isn't that the best part of camping?). We went for a little hike up to see some beautiful waterfalls. I love camping with my family and look forward to the Bradshaw reunion every year. Only two of my aunts and their families came this year. My sister Stacy and her family came up one day and spent the day, and then my two girls went home with her to spend a couple of days playing with their cousins. The kids had a fun time and that is the most important thing. We can't wait to go camping again soon!

Well that is our June in a nutshell....So far the summer has been busy but fun...July isn't looking much more relaxing, but we will blog that another day! The summer is going to fast and school will be starting before we know it. I am usually looking forward to school starting, but honestly, I have enjoyed every minute of being with my kids this summer. I think it sometime takes an accident where you are afraid that your family might not be the same to make you appreciate what you have. I have the cutest, funest, and best kids in the whole world. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband that takes time to let us do so many fun things together as a family. I also have wonderful parents that I take for granted. It has been fun getting to spend a little extra time with them this summer!