Happy Birthday Boys!!!

Clark turned 19 on February 2. He is such a good kid. It is so wierd to me that he is growing up! I totally remember him as a little boy and playing hide and go seek. He used to fall asleep anywhere. We have found him in the tub, the dryer, under beds, inside toy chests. He would just zonk out. My kids love it when he comes and plays, and he has grown up to be a really good guy!!! I love you Clark.

Nathan turned 24 on February 7. I picture him getting older because he has always been really close to me and my age. He is one of the best guys that I know. He is still single but is going to be the best dad ever (whenever that happens.) He buys Boston all of his action figures and McKentri a ton of clothes. Part of me is going to miss babying him when he gest married, but the other part can't wait for a sister-in-law.

Sterling turned 15 on February 11. He is so great. He just got his permit and is driving. Crazy huh!!! Well he is so much fun. He loves to wrestle nad play games. He is still the sweetheart in the family and we love him very much!!! Thanks Sterling for being part of our family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOYS AND I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!

DISNEYLAND!!!

So, if you can count us all there are 13 of us. Yes 13 of us went to Disneyland in January. It was Scott and I's Christmas present to my family. Jordan is the only one who is missing and that is because he is Elder Redford right now in Chicago. This was definately the best vacation we have taken!!! There was litterally no fighting the whole trip, which lasted 3 days and 2 nights. We stayed directly across the street from Disneyland and had a 2 bedroom suite and then another room. So we had 6 queen beds and 3 bathrooms for 13 people. My younger brothers (Clark, Sterling, and James) have never been to Disneyland and so it just made it that much more magical. My Dad totally changed on this trip and now wants to take a bunch of family vacations!
They were all so good and we actually stayed together the entire time! Everyone was very pleasant. The first day we were there everyone but McKentri, Tyler, Scott, and I went on Indiana Jones and as they got off they got these Dream Fast passes so they could skip 3/4 of the lines on all rides. They said that there were 4 of us who didn't get to go and we got them as well. We also recieved these on the last day we were there. It was just so great. I go to Disneyland a lot and had never recieved these. Talk about lucky!
Here is Nathan with Aurora. He stood in line with McKentri, Kylie, my mom, and myself to see all the princesses. He is such a blast!!
One of McKentri's favorite places to go is to the Bugs Life World. Its called Flick's Carnival. It is meant for little kids but everyone went.
Space Mountain has got to be a favorite for everyone. The all loved it. Even McKentri. They went on every ride there is in Disneyland, and California Adventures except for 3 that were being maintained. We have made plans to make this a yearly tradition!!! Thanks fam for making it so fun to take everyone. (Boston gets to go next year because he will be 4 which is a rule in our house.)

Getting Older

So I recently turned another year older and it seriously hit me that I needed to be a responsible mom and my first priority should be my family. Now this is strange because that is me and has been me for that last six years. I love to play and party with family and friends and would love to have my children stay home from school and play with me all day on birthdays and holidays. However I had this feeling that I shouldn't do that anymore and that it should now become just another day to run kids to school, dance, mutual and everything else. I talked to Scott about it and he says that its fine and that I can continue to do it the way I have. It feels so weird to continue to get older, at least for me, when I have six children ranging from ages 3-15. I love to watch them do things and get older, and other times I want to freeze them right where they are and keep them at that age. So inevitably if they grow up I guess so must I. However I will never want to stop playing with family and friends, and will continue to think that birthdays are another party day where you don't have to do any work and can play from sun up to sun down. I will teach this to my children and hopefully they can have great childhood memories like I did. And so here is to so many more birthdays to come and to have many more parties and yes, to get another year older every year! Bring it on!!!

Up and down and up and down

We have gone sledding three times this year and plan on going every weekend!!! Boston and Ty hate to leave and are so independent that they carry their own sled up the hill and then slide down on their own. They don't want any help either. These are pictures of New Years Eve. Ty also loves his picture taken. This is him waiting to go down and Boston pushing himself to go down the hill. McKentri and Grandma go down together a lot. McKentri is a little more reserved where as Boston and Ty have no fear.
This is Kylie snowboarding down the hill. I think that its an awesome picture of her with the sky and all.
After sledding we went to my mom's and pulled people on sleds and snowboards behind the four wheelers (thanks to Ben my dad's friend) This is Kylie being pulled by Sterling. She biffed it a lot. Later Colette and I were pulling Brigham on a snowboard and hit sheer powder. We were of course in the middle of a turn and therefore we rolled. We flew about 15-20 feet and landed no where near the four wheeler. I have a really bad whiplash but thankfully to my brother Nathan was wearing a helmet. Colette says her back hurts but isn't sure if its from that or sledding down Happy Hollow. (very steep hills that our family loves) After all this our family can't wait until the next trip!!!

CHRISTMAS PARTY'S

For Christmas this year I wanted our family to do homemade gifts and it turned into such a success!!! I let them all pick what they wanted to make and they did it basically all by themselves (except the little ones!) Dallin made Katelynn a purse and it was way cute! McKentri made Aaliyah a pair of pajamas and a matching pair for her doll. The were Care Bear pj's and we have been told that Aaliyah put them on her Care Bear.
Kylie made Sahara a stuffed dog. It is Hot pink and made of fleece. She did awesome. Kylie said that if it becomes Sahara's favorite she would feel way special.
Scott and I had Jim and Shanon. We unfortunately were not able to make our gift, but hopefully Jim and Shanon enjoyed the pajamas and dvd player!
Boston had Avery and got her a leap doll that speaks in spanish and english. We had to stop making gifts because we had to move up the party for some family members who were going out of town. The party was a huge success!!! Josh mad Hayze a spear out of wood at my Dad's garage and Ty made Kimball a treasure map for the boy who says he's a pirate.
On my Mom's side of the family we all love Christmas and love to give gifts to those we love. Its a big tradition to take a picture of those who are giving and recieving hugging. We have a picture of every gift exchange and as much as our family grows and changes that is one thing that stays the same. I love all my family and think that my Grandma has done an amazing job with the children she has raised and the ability to keep our family so close together. Thank you Grandma and Merry Christmas!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!!!

Happy Birthday Ty! Today Ty turned 9 and we are so grateful for him. He is such a joy in our family. He loves unconditionally and can always make you feel better. He likes to give hugs and kisses, as well as licks. He loves Jimmy Neutron, Backyardagains, Super Mario, Incredibles, and Cars. In every movie he likes we all get nicknames. He is generally the sidekick in the movies. He loves wheat free pizza (we call it "special pizza"), popcorn, spaghetti, waffles, and french toast.
He likes his picture to be taken and when it is he likes to pull faces. He thinks its fun to teach those younger than him the alphabet and counting. He was baptized this year and it was amazing. He is the first one to feel the holy ghost and lets you know. He loves to sing and his favorite song is either Praise to the Man or How Great Thou Art. He has an amazing memory and can recite so much for you once he has heard it. His latest thing is to watch movies in French and Spanish. We are all convinced that he is going to come out one day speaking a new language. His favorite person is his older brother Dallin. When Dallin is gone the whole time Ty will ask where Dallin is and when he is coming home. We all love Ty and are so blessed to have him in our life. Thank you Ty and Happy Birthday Luigi!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

I have the most amazing mom in the whole world! She is the most generous, kind, loving, sensitive, self-sacrificing, helpful, un-selfish woman I have ever met. She is my best friend and is always willing to listen. I am so grateful to have been born to her. I hope that when I grow up I can be the kind of mom and woman that she is. She loves to sew, cross-stitch, knit, anything with her family, play in the snow, watch movies, play games, do puzzles. Holidays are a big deal to her. She always goes all out and has always made childhood very magical. My kids have to call her every morning and talk to her. She is the best babysitter and loves to have the kids. She loves December and everything that goes with it. She loves the gospel and serves in so many callings. Her ward didn't have a piano player for primary so she volunteered. She has raised 6 great kids who all adore her and would do anything for her.
She is very creative and cares for others so much that she is always willing to help with anything, even if it means she loses sleep. She loves her husband and is such a great wife.
My husband loves to talk to her because she is very empathetic, and insightful. She is intelligent and loves to expand her mind by reading constantly. I am so lucky that she is my mom and my best friend. She attributes a lot of how she feels about the world and the way she is to her dad. She loves him and misses him so much. She also has an amazing mom and siblings who all love Cathy. Her nieces and nephews have great memories of going out to Aunt Cathy's and she welcomes any of them at anytime. Anyone who knows her loves her because of her warm spirit and amazing personality. Words cannot explain how deeply she is loved, nor can they explain the type of woman she has become. Happy Birthday Mom and thanks for being you!!!