Happy Be-Lated Birthday!

Lex turned six back on the 7th of January. I can't believe she has grown so quickly and she has become quite the little girl. She is an amazing little girl and has been such a joy in my life. I am so blessed to have her. For her birthday, we had a little family party at Silver Bow pizza and then over the weekend my brother Brian came in and we spent the day sledding. Lex decided she wanted a rat cake for her birthday, so that is what I made. She loved the chocolate rats!

Christmas

I know this is way late but I guess its better than never. Christmas was great this year - we had it at my house again, which was nice. Of course it made taking pictures a little crazy because I didn't get a chance to take many. The one really nice thing is that our tradition on Christmas Eve is to have finger foods and open presents - NO big dinners. As crazy as it sounds, its actually really nice. On Christmas Day, the kids and I went to dinner at Shawn's house and then came home early because it started to storm and we were heading for Utah the next day for a quick quick trip with my Dad. Tyse had so much fun playing with his Great-Grandpa Reuben. Grandpa didn't have his dentures in so Tyse was doing his examination. Lex enjoyed sledding while in Utah (it was too cold here in Butte to go). I took some videos, but I'm still trying to figure out how to post videos on here and to work my new digital camcorder I got for Christmas. Its almost too fancy but its so nice to have a new one that works so well!

Opening Inaugural Celebrations

I'm sitting here watching the Opening inaugural celebrations program and realizing how truly blessed we are to live in this amazing country and to have the freedoms we enjoy and take for granted. I'm watching my son dance to Garth Brooks singing and realizing that I have so much to be thankful for. This is also an amazing moment in history. While I may not be extremely political or democrat, I realize that our country has come a long way in electing an African-American president and having a woman run for the democratic candidacy and for a vice-president, had McCain been elected. We truly are growing and maturing as a nation.

I know there are many terrible and difficult things going on in our nation and they are not to be ignored, but it seems that so much of the focus is more on the negative and its so wonderful to see all of the different people coming together and focusing on some positive things. Perhaps, some good may come and perhaps more people will become involved and take a more active role in our communities and in our country, me included, for I know I fall short in this area.

In the time that I have been watching the program, there has been made reference to the Lord in song and also to spirituality in talks; it gives hope that the Lord will not be completely taken out of every aspect of our country. This is such an important event in our lives and its amazing that we can witness it. I truly am grateful for everything in my life.

My Friend Erin posted this so I copied it:

Everything that I have done is in BOLD

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables (do herbs count?)

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung Karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance [not the patient]

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous - Richard Simmons (sad i know)

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

I don't tend to tag people, but if you think it is cool and do it let me know!

Thanksgiving!

I don't think I've ever had a busier Thanksgiving than this year. I am finally in my house and so I offered to cook dinner. I ended up feeding about sixteen people and started the day at 5 am after three hours of sleep. (Tyse is getting sick - poor guy.) With cleaning and cooking, I finally got everything done and sat down to eat at about 3. It was a great dinner and we had so much that food that I actually forgot to serve the stuffing! I had it warming in my roaster and kept reminding myself to take it out before I forgot - needless to say - I forgot. The funny thing is - no one noticed until after dinner was done because we had so much food! My refrigerator is now completely stocked for the next month. It was great being with family and being able to visit with them and to realize how many blessings I do have and can be truly grateful for!

(Thats my aunt and I trying to get the turkey on the platter (it was a fresh turkey too so it was really yummy) and in the background you can see the notorious roaster hiding the stuffing lol! and the other picture is of Lex with my niece Keelie.)

Harry Potter???

Ok, I know that I am a little odd and obsessed but I was thinking that the 6th Harry Potter movie was to be coming out shortly. I have been without TV for the last month or so and have been feeling a bit lost so I got online to read some news and decided to find out when the movie would be coming out. I can honestly say that I was disappointed to see that it would not be opening until July of next year and not in the coming weeks as originally anticipated. I've watched some of the trailers and it looks amazing - I guess I will just have to wait and wait and wait.....

Our Thankful Tree...

I got this great idea from my friend Brenda. For FHE, they did a Thankful Tree and wrote what they were grateful for on leaves and made a tree out of it. So I borrowed her idea and did the same thing with Lex and Tyse. It was so cute and funny to see what they came up with. With Thanksgiving being at my house this year, I thought it was a great way for the kids to start to understand what it means to be thankful for things, people, blessings, etc. It was so much fun to spend some good quality time with my kiddos and to see them and their personalities in full. Here are a few pictures.