Christmas Celebrations...

We had a great Christmas! Gladys came down and spent some time with us and that was really fun! We got together with the Byers family on Christmas Eve and ate dinner here...

Then we went to the movies and saw this...

Since we don't get together often enough it was great fun and we all had a blast! We even enjoyed the movie pick much to our surprise!

Christmas Day we woke up, saw what Santa brought the girls and then opened presents. The favorite present given to me was this...

And gift certificates to one of my favorite restraunts, here...

And the favorite gift I gave was to Darrell which deserves it's own blog when I get a chance to get the pics on my computer!

After all this we went to my mom's house and did a gift exchange and ate lots of yummy yummy finger foods and appetizers and then we headed to Grandma Marilyn's and Grandpa Tom's for lots more yummy food (I was so stuffed from my mom's I could only eat a my favs at Grandma's and pas so it was cocktail shrimp and lemon jello with cheese for me, YUM-O!) And then the fun white elephant gift exchange! My cousin's boyfriend walked away with the "Pickle" which my Grandpa made about 20 years ago and has traditionally been a "white elephant" since we started doing this several years ago! Hopefully the pickle makes it back next year!

On the 26th we got together again with the Byers family (we totally need to do this more often! I LOVED IT!) The adults (and my kids) went to dinner at Iggy's then headed to Dale and Susan's house for games. We played a couple of really fun name games but I think the highlight of the evening was "DO YOU LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR?" It was hilarious watching everyone run around trying to find a seat and knocking eachother out of the way! I laughed so hard I nearly peed my pants more then once and it was really funny when Doyle spilled his drink all over Gladys and then farted on Shawna (accidentally of course!). Truth be told I think numerous accidental laughing farts occurred this night! It was great!

I'm so happy that we have such great families we can get together with and enjoy spending time with! I love all my family and in-laws and I have been truly blessed with the best!

Happy New Year to Everyone!

Christmas Surprises...

I'm so excited for Christmas to get here! I have the best surprise for Darrell and I've been using facebook as my outlet to talk about it so I don't blab like crazy to Darrell! He has no clue which is hard because he rarely gets surprised! I'm counting down the days! It's also a fun year because Annie and Shawna walked to Jordan Landing to buy Darrell and me presents with their own money! This is the first year they've done anything like that and it's fun to see them growing into such wonderful young ladies! I can hardly wait to see what they've bought us and it's all I can do not to pick up their gift to me and shake it like crazy! Oh please Christmas get here quick!

I'm still loving it!

While doing my latest knitted project I started feeling a bit overwhelmed and a tad insecure about my knitting capabilities but once I put my mind to and decided I was going to actually do it this is what I made...

Shawna Rockin' the Rasta!

THE RASTA BEANIE! It was pretty easy and I can't believe I let it intimidate me! Now onto a beanie and scarf to two little ladies I just love to death! (Hope B and Lo just love what I'm gonna make them! and I hope this beanie fits Brock!)

Panther of the Month...

And the winner is...

SHAWNA!!!

It's so cool to know that out of the whole 7th grade student body Shawna was picked for this honor. We are so proud of our little girl! She is growing up so quickly and is really making us proud! We love you Shawna! Keep up the good work!

(Since everyone knows what Shawna looks like now I thought it might be fun, as well as a little embarrassing, to post a baby pic! Wasn't she just so dang cute?!?!?!)

Black Friday...

I've done the whole black friday things twice. Woke up before the butt crack of dawn, threw on whatever clothes happened to be close by, brushed my teeth and maybe remembered to brush through my hair, and then stood in line until the doors opened at which point I swam through the waves of people trying to keep up with my family/friends while we did our best to get the bargains! One time we had Becky in the cart, standing where the kiddies sit, and dragging Karaoke machines down from the top shelf! Dangerous as heck, but such great fun!

I guess this year is #3 and was a little different. We went to Pocatello for Thanksgiving and the lack of stores and 2 older children made me think sleeping in until 930a and then driving from store to store would be great. Darrell, his mom and aunt all came along for the fun and we really had a great time! Maybe next year (if we're in Salt Lake) I'll drag myself out again before butt crack of dawn, dragging my sister and possibly sis-in-law along since they still have littles to buy for and it's really fun to do black friday that way! We'll see, are you guys up for it? I dare ya!

Thanksgiving 8

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Celebrate it year round!

Thanksgiving 7

Hope your Thanksgiving dinner goes better then this guys!

Thanksgiving 3, 4, 5, 6

OOPS! Went out of town to Thermopolis to visit the in-laws, no computer access at their house and I thought it rude to try the library, although chances are the library there has never heard of the internet either (such a small town!) Here's funny pics for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and today!

Thanksgiving 2

Lets remember that the Indians and Pilgrims put aside their differences to learn from each other and be thankful they did otherwise we might be having meatloaf on Thanksgiving Day instead of turkey and cranberries and pies! YUMMY!

Thanksgiving 1

I thought it would be fun to share a new pic I've come across everyday between now and Thanksgiving so here's number 1...

Hope you enjoyed!

Thankful...

With the start of this wonderful month, where we have such a great opportunity to reflect on what we're thankful for, I just wanted to take a moment to give thanks to all those who mean so much to me!
I am so thankful for my beautiful family! Words cannot express what they all mean to me! Darrell is such a rock! He works so hard to provide for our family and he never ceases to give. I take such comfort to know he is always there for me and our girls. I'm thankful so much for the man he is, the wonderful husband and extraordinary father!
And my beautiful girls, I don't even know where to begin to say how wonderful they are and how blessed I am to have them! Annie is so great to help whenever I need something done. She is such a beautiful young lady and has such a great sense of humor! She thinks of others often, always including her younger cousins so they don't feel left out! She loves to cook and is always wanting to help out in the kitchen. And Shawna is such a sweetheart! She works so hard and even when she has had enough (especially with homework!) she just doesn't want to stop until the job is finished! She is such a hardworker and helps us so much around the house and yard! She is so smart and I am constantly amazed at how she can figure things out that even stump me! She is a beautiful young lady and she loves to make others happy.

I'm also thankful for my parents, they have taught me what a family should be and have shaped me into the woman I am. My mom is such a sweet and beautiful lady! I am thankful for the role model she is for me! She never has a bad or mean word to say about anyone and many times her perspective on things has brought me back to reality! She has taught me what a mom should be and I only hope to live up to her example! My dad, where to start! He is such a handsome man who has shown me what I should expect from my man! He treats my mom with such respect! I'm so thankful that I have his sense of humor, that I can laugh at myself as well as joke and play with others. I'm also thankful for the example he has set in his faith. He has such a strong testimony and I hope he knows that I really apprecaite who he is and his beliefs! I was truly blessed with the best parents in ever! My siblings are also wonderful! I am so lucky to have 2 of the best friends ever in my brother and sister! We get along so well and I love to spend time with them, whether it's talking on the phone or getting together to hang out! They have great supportive spouses and it's wonderful that we can all get together and enjoy eachothers company! They have the most wonderful littles who I can smooch and snuggle and love on since mine are getting big!

I'm also thankful for Darrells family! His mom is such a great, strong and beautiful woman and I'm happy to say she's also one of my best friends! I can truly talk to her about anything, her opinion means so much to me and I hope that I'm doing right by her son and granddaughters! She is such a wonderful mother and has raised 4 of the most thoughtful men ever! I'm also thankful for his brothers, their wives and ALL their kids! We don't get together near often enough but when we do it's tons of fun! I also want to express thanks for Harvey, he's a good Grandpa to our kids, he's a good father-in-law and I know if I need something from him a phone call is all it'll take. I'm thankful that he made it through his bypass and seems to be on the mend! I'm thankful for his wife, Geneva, and that he has someone who can take care of him which helps take the stress off all of us.

I have been truly blessed by the people in my life, but especially the family God has given me! At this wonderful time of the year while we're all preparing for Christmas I just wanted to take a time out and express my gratitude and thanks!

I'm a knit lover

I love knitting! I love the act of making something wonderful with my hands, the feel of the soft yarn moving through my fingers and I love how relaxing it is. I love that it's cold and I can sit in my snuggie while I knit away at something that will keep me warm and cuddly while there's snow falling all around me. I love my new scarf and laugh at my new hat...

You can laugh too! It's funny! I'll probably never wear it again (maybe I'll donate it to the homeless) but I thought it would be fun to post my latest knit projects!

Friends at last...

Pooski has pretty much steered clear of Molly since day 1. She doesn't get excited and happy to play, she doesn't like being jumped on or bitten. She often barks at and growls at our little pup and can usually be found out of Molly's reach on the couch. Today this is what I found...

While Pooski and Molly were both growling the whole time they played tug of war, I think they actually found a game they can both play without getting on the others nerves! Thankfully I think they're becoming friends at last!

Halloweens past...

I thought it would be fun to post some of the pics from our past Halloweens. We're missing the year Shawna was the 3 little pigs (I just couldn't look through anymore pics!) And the year the girls were unicorns. I have all our costumes so if you want to borrow any for this year or future years let me know! See our slideshow below!

Frist snow...

The first snow of the season came today, it was beautiful, cold, wet and I've decided I'm just not ready for winter! Guess I better get ready quick!

Molly isn't sure what to think of the snow either!

Handmade...

Yep, I made this scarf! I'm now a knitter! Can't wait to make the next project, a slouchy hat to go with my scarf! Then some cute Mary Jane Slippers! The options are endless and I can't wait to start my newest hobby and make lots of handmade gifts!

A Weiner or A Chicken?

Molly has fit right into our family! The little weiner thinks she's queen of the castle and does all kinds of things to torment Pooski. She chases Pooski around the house, jumps on her, barks, and lately when Pooski decides to play Molly runs away with her tail between her legs and hides like this...

Yep, that's the dog under my rocker!

Pooski trying to coax Molly out of hiding

Molly waiting for Pooski to leave...

I still see you Pooski, I'm hiding until you're long gone! I see the way you're licking your chops!

MMMM, lettuce wraps and won tons!

Last night for dinner I made these wonderful lettuce wraps...

and these cream cheese and crab won tons...

We invited my mom over and had a great relaxing evening! I should also thank my father-in-law for introducing me to my fryer, it's still awesome even though I don't use it very often! It looks something like this and I highly recommend it over a fry daddy!

If anyone wants recipes I'm happy to share! These came from my wonderful Top Secret 2 cookbook and a won ton recipe I found online somewhere. Delicious!

Pics from this post are not mine, I stole them from the internet, my food looked 100 times better but I neglected to pull out my camera and take pics myself!

YUMMY!

For dinner tonight I made this...

The picture isn't mine, but it looked and tasted as good! It was sooo easy and sooo yummy I thought I'd share...

Applebee's Orange Chicken Bowl

1 Cup Orange Juice

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

3 Tbls Orange Marmalade

2 Tbls soy sauce

1 Tbls veg oil

1/2 tsp minced parsley

1/4 tsp chili flakes

1/4 tsp minced garlic

1/8 tsp dried thyme

1 Tbls rice vinegar

Mix all the above together in a saucepan EXCEPT for the vinegar. Simmer over medium heat about 15 minutes until sauce thickens then remove from heat and add the vinegar.

4 Cups almond rice pilaf (I have the recipe for this but I just used one of those packets of rice like the rice sides or the rice a roni)

20 oz breaded chicken fingers, baked (I just used a cheap brand of kids chicken nuggets)

1 1/2 Cups Broccoli

1 Cup red bell pepper

1 cup slice mushrooms

3/4 Cup sugar snap peas (I just bought a bag of frozen ones)

1/3 Cup shredded carrots

1/2 Cup crispy chow mein noodles

1/4 Cup sliced or slivered almonds

Cook the rice according to the directions on the package. Steam the veggies for about 10 minutes or until the broccoli is tender. While the veggies are steaming, cut the nuggets in 1/2 or 1/4 depending on how big you want your bite sized peices. Put the chicken in the sauce, place rice on the bottom of the bowl, pile your veggies on and then spoon or ladle the chicken and sauce over top. Add the chow mein noodles and slivered almonds and ENJOY!

If you make it let me know what you think!

Thermopolis...

This weekend we spent some time in Thermpolis, WY with Darrell's dad. We went to the Dinosaur Museum, watched Jurrasic Park and ate popcorn, played with their dog Miko and just visited a bit with a couple of crazy old people (LITERALLY! HAHA!) Below are some pics!

Molly...

Over the weekend we visited with Molly again. Here are some new pics so you can see how our baby has grown! She's coming home mid week next week.

She's so dang cute! She was loving it up! She's bigger than her brothers and sisters, she seems to be the one who is exploring everything, her fat little tail wags like crazy when you're petting her and she loves to give kisses (which is ok as a puppy cuz of puppy breath and all but I'll have to break her of that habit quick!) Since the kids have next Thursday and Friday off I think we'll get her Wednesday afternoon and start right away with the potty training and such! Come by and meet our new addition!

OUCH! Sunburn after effects...

So, it's been a couple days since I burned my face giving me the racoon look (if you don't know what I'm talking about look at the post below). Now instead of racoon I look like this...

All dry and scaly! YUCK! I hate this stage of sunburns! Come to think of it they just suck in general!

Great Weekend!

Our family had a great weekend! First the girls and I cleaned house Saturday morning while Darrell worked a little at the store. Then he came home and we hung out and watched a little tv, nothing too noteworthy, just hanging out together was nice. We drove to Park City for the evening and had dinner, walked up and down Main Street then headed home the long way through Heber and Provo Canyon. It was chilly so we got hot chocolate and had a nice drive home. On Sunday Darrell took me for a wonderful ride on the bike. We went up through Park City, ate breakfast at a little place on Main Street and warmed up a bit, then went through Heber, Midway, Wallsburg, down Provo Canyon to Sundance and did the Alpine Loop! It took all morning and part of the afternoon but it was really fun just the 2 of us hanging out together while the kids stayed home and played wii and computer games. After that we went to visit our baby Molly (more pics of her coming soon!) and then went for another ride around the valley, ate dinner at Olive Garden at the District and then came home for a fun movie night! We relaxed most of the weekend with eachother and it was great! The only problem is I can't seem to remember SUNSCREEN! And now I look like this...

Except of course I'm red and white, not black. I either need to learn to apply sunscreen or stop wearing my sunglasses so much!

Have a good day!

Our new addition...

Meet Molly, the newest addition to the Byers family!

She's just a few weeks old so we can't bring her home for another 3-4 weeks but we already just love her to death! Hope my baby girl Pooski loves her too!

Camping with the Byers Fam!!

When Susan wanted to go camping Labor Day Weekend I thought we'd never find a spot! I'm so glad that she didn't give up on looking for reservations! She found a great campground just up Diamond Fork Canyon (about 9 miles up Spanish Fork Canyon) and we had a great time!

We left Friday after the kids got out of school, drove to the canyon, got our camp set up and had a fabulous dinner. Saturday morning we started off with breakfast, hanging out and playing around and then decided to take the 2.5 mile hike to the hot pools and let the kids swim. Unfortunately it started raining a few minutes after we arrived, and the thunder and lightning were frightful so we got all the kids back out of the water, dried off and dressed and then just as we were getting ready to leave it stopped raining (Bummer!) and then we started the 2.5 mile hike back down the mountain. It was still a lot of fun! We saw several snakes and lizards! We got back to camp and had another wonderful dinner followed by roasted starbursts (a new thing Susan introduced us to!) and then got the kids in bed and the adults and kids 12 and over roasted marshmallows! SO MUCH FUN! Really my favorite part of camping was hanging out by the campfire each night for a little bit with everyone, telling stories, playing word games, singing and then after awhile putting the younger kids to bed and staying up with the older kids and adults! Sunday the guys and older kids went target shooting, I stayed back and read my book, hung out in the hammock and just relaxed. And then Monday we hung out a little, cleaned up and came home. We had such a fun time, I can't wait to do it again!

VIEW THE SLIDESHOW BELOW!

My last "Are you in" craft

So I finally finished my last "Are you in" craft! I had such a blast making tutus and this canopy with Becky and Kiersti. I'm so glad that we sisters can get together and have fun doing this kind of stuff and that Bryan married someone we get along with so well! Enough of that, I'm about to cry...

Anyway, here it is, the cool canopy I made for my friend Jenny Warner (of course when her kids play with it I bet it won't be in the bathroom but I don't really have anywhere else to hang it!) I hope Jenny will take pics of her kids enjoying it (HINT, HINT!) and post them on her blog for all to see!

Both projects made were sewing free, NO SEWING whatsoever! I found this canopy in a Family Fun magazine and instructions can be found at familyfun.com and search cool canopy! Enjoy Jenny!

Are you in? Crafts!

Back in March I participated in a blog tag called "Are you in?" where I gave 3 friends the opportunity to win a homemade craft by me! Only 2 responded so those who didn't missed out! I've finally completed the first craft for my friend Jennie (the craft is really for her daughter Makayla). My 2nd craft isn't quite completed, I'm going to work on it Sunday so I should warn my other friend, Jenny, it's a comin'!! Here are some pics ot the tutu I made all by myself! (Special thanks to Kiersti for showing me how to make these!)

This is the tutu I made for M (it's not a bracelet for Shawna!)

And these other pics are of my sister and me being silly, and Kiersti "teaching" us how to make these cute cute tutus!

This was so much fun! I can't wait to get together with Becky and Kiersti to do something like this again! Thanks for a great afternoon girls! I love you guys!