Christmas 2008

I've decided instead of blogging all about Christmas, that I'm just going to post some of my favorite pictures. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Around the World PingPong and Ultimate PingPong Smackdown!

James turned 15 on December 19th and had a few close friends over - the ping pong table was, and always has been a fun thing but the boys took the game of ping pong to a new level with Ultimate Ping Pong Smackdown. (Kaylie actually added the "smackdown" to the name). Only teenage boys could come up with a game that inflicts pain on each other and LIKE it! I got a couple of pictures of Around the World Ping Pong but did not get any of the 2nd game. Nor did I think to take pictures of the ping pong ball welts that were left on the boys' backs after smacking the ping pong ball as hard as possible trying to hit another player on the other side of the table. And leave it to Nik to come up with the idea of not wearing shirts so it would hurt more! They all seemed to have a great time and certainly there was no food left in the house by the time 5 teenage boys were through! :) James had a great birthday, he's got some great friends and Mike and I enjoyed having them all around!

Thanksgiving in Vegas

Before Christmas arrives, I thought I'd better get in my Thanksgiving blog! Time is running out, and even though, I'm not nearly as busy as Lia (holy cow, I got exhausted just reading about your goings on Lia! :), I've been extremely busy with work and then four out of five of us got the flu all the same day! Guess who didn't get the flu - Mike! He never gets sick!!! Lucky him. Anyways, we spent the Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas with my parents and sister and her daughters. We had a wonderful time, very relaxing, and all the cousins got along great, which was good considering all 8 stayed at my sister's house! It was much less stressful this year and all the adults got along too ! :) What more can you ask for? I do wish my sister lived here in Utah, so we can spend more time with Erin and Allie - we miss them!

Joy to Everyone!

My friend Jennifer sent this out in an email to share and it was such a pretty song that I had to put it on my blog and share it with you. Read the story behind the lyrics, and enjoy this beautiful song. Merry Christmas! http://www.joytoeveryone.com/

The Simple Truths of Appreciation

For those friends, neighbors, and TEACHERS that have made or make a difference in our lives, and our children's lives, this short little movie is for you. Thank you, Maria, for the difference you made in James' life in 1st grade - for CARING - I will always remember what you did for him, and for me as a Mom, with a child who was struggling and hurting with a move to Utah away from all of our family in Arizona, you touched my heart. You are a wonderful teacher and I want to THANK YOU! To Cheryl, who's had all three of my kids, all of them have LOVED having you as their 2nd grade teacher. You make a difference and they know you care about them. To Cherie and Tricia, both of you have been the best teachers that James and Kaylie could have ever had for 5th and 6th grade. You've both taught them, helped them, challenged them and cared about them! You've gone to their soccer games and piano recitals (and I have the pictures to prove it) and they WILL remember that years from now. It always makes me smile when I see my kids come up to you and give you hugs. How special is that! To Becky McKenzie, the best kindergarten teacher I've ever, ever had the pleasure to know. This world needs more teachers like you, and I miss you. My kids have been blessed by all of you. For your dedication to teaching, for caring, and for making a difference in their lives. Thank you for all of that. And, as an added bonus, I get to call each of you my friend. I'm blessed to have you in my life! (http://www.movieofappreciation.com/)