january in review

calendar quotes:

"i urge you to examine your life. determine where you are and what you need to be the kind of person you want to be. create inspiring, noble, and righteous goals that fire the imagination and create excitement in your heart. and then keep your eye on them. work consistently towards achieving them!" -Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

considering the incomprehensible cost of the crucifixion, Christ is not going to turn his back on us now. -april ensign 1998
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i still can't believe january is over, but it is! we have found plenty to keep us busy (even with our limited finances from christmas) brooke gave a talk in primary and did a very good job...she told me that now that she can read her own talks you don't need to come in anymore-i told her i would always come in and see her! she also finished her first semester in first grade and did very well: all A's and B's and one F on a spelling test, she liked to tell everyone i got an F-i think she thought it was good :)

kelsi kept busy with ski school every friday, she did the snowboarding...i haven't seen her but i am sure she is awesome and she had a blast! kelsi got straight A's in all her classes...her teachers all commented on how organized and on task she is-i love that kelsi tries so hard to excel in all her classes.

kaden also got straight A's and continues to love to learn...he read "the rangers apprentice" series(5 books) in december and "the hobbit" in january and is currently on the second percy jackson book "the sea of monsters"and can't wait for "percy jackson and the olympians, the lightening thief" to come to movie theatre's on february 15-i had to read the book too so i can take him to see the movie.
most of our january has been spent playing in the snow and my kids have been so happy to have enough to play in...
brooke wanted an ice cave "like aunt christy made" i still need a little work-we fit 4 kids in aunt christy's! a silly story: i was shoveling snow one afternoon and it was very heavy so i checked to see if you could roll a snowman and sure enough-so i thought i will build a snowman for my kids to see as they get off the bus...well i start building and as i'm building here comes the bus down the road...i forgot it was early out! well i looked around and felt a little silly building a snowman all by myself-so the bus driver opened the door and i said "oh good, you brought me some play mates!" she laughed and the kids hurried inside and all came out to help with the snowman and it turned into a whole family of snowmen: koy, kaden (harry potter), mom, kelsi (cool in her shades), dad and brooke (upside down-my favorite!)...
kent was out of town so when he got home from work they greeted him-he called the newspaper and they came out and put them in the paper, the kids were all excited except kelsi who couldn't believe that i put her name in the newspaper-how embarrassing!
we went to the snowfest and had absolutely beautiful weather, kaden really wanted to do the polar bear swim but i didn't bring any towels or swimsuits, i teased him he could jump in his undies...he said okay! i didn't let him...
i love that my kids love to be outside even in the cold-they don't get that from me...i am trying to be better.
i took brooke to the beauty school for a much needed haircut- we requested a girl and as we were sitting brooke noticed some boys working there and said "mom, do boys cut hair?" i said "yes" she said "i don't want a boy to cut my hair"-i hope she is always afraid of boys :)
after that a very nice boy named chad came over and said "hi, i'm going to be cutting your hair today" she looked terrified but still let him do it-a big step for boo...oh, the shampoo station-heaven!
this is exactly how brooke looked the whole time-she was so bored and was quickly losing all patience for holding still...*brooke says "remember aunt kara, you owe me a present"
but it turned out so cute! yay! she won't wear it with her bangs to the side like this-but they did cover up her "own hair cut" and it's so easy in the morning.
oh what january fun!

brooke's sign

i love the stage when my kids learn to write on their own and they are just so excited to write: little signs and notes pop up everywhere...
i love that you have to try to decipher the whole thing, it's so cute...i kind of wish we didn't have to teach them the "right" way-this is alot more fun!

december in review

calendar quotes:

"if we are on the Lord's errand...we are entitled to the Lord's help"

-President Monson

"do you want a spirit of love to grow in the world? then begin within the walls of your own home. behold your little ones, and see within them the wonders on God, from whose presence they have recently come."

-President Gordon B. Hinckley

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i started the month out with a fun birthday party for my friend, kris-she turned 40 and seriously looks fabulous...we had such a fun time and i am so thankful that i have such good friends:

a friend is a person willing to take me the way i am but who is willing and able to leave me better than she found me!

then diane got together a gingerbread house decorating day, it was alot of fun...my kids just did them all by themselves-look at koys concentration;
this is all the silly kids and their beautiful houses, i love how they are all so different and they were all pleased with them!
we also of course got to see santa-this was the first year brooke has ever asked for anything-she wanted some make-up.
kaden asked for the fossil fighters game for his DS and some ranger's apprentice books. before he sat on santa's lap he said to me "don't you think i'm a little too old for this mom?" =( never!
koy asked for mario and sonic at the winter games for his DS.
the kids were super excited to get some snow, no they are not worshipping it...they are white washing themselves-so silly!

kelsi had a birthday party with 6 of her school friends- they went to "new moon" and ate at craigo's and squealed all night long...she is now a teenager (13) i hope she stays as sweet as she is now-kelsi really is fantastic, i couldn't ask for a better girl! i love you kelsi cute!

i just loved this picture that kent took of brooke and koy-both in their christmas spirit!

kent was scheduled to work christmas in pinedale, so we decided to go there with him for a little bit. my kids were super excited-it still took way to long to get there for them (3 hours) but they had a blast. we were able to stay with Aunt Christy over night, my kids love their Aunt Christy so that is party enough for them but pinedale also has an amazing aquatic center that we were able to go to for 2 days. these pictures make me so happy-every community should have such a fun (affordable $17 a day for our family) place to go!

they had a big water slide and lazy river and fun toys to play on and then they had a completely separate lap pool which they had a big blow up water toy on, my kids thought it was very fun-you had to swim 25 yards to be able to go in the diving end and brooke, kelsi and kaden of course past but koy touched the side 2 times so they wouldn't let him the first day. then the next day he went to do his swim test and that little stinker-jumped right in the middle and he made it-all the life guards were way impressed but no one was as happy as koy...he still talks about passing the swim test.

they had all kinds of other activities you could do there too-they let the kids go on all the equipment which my kids love running on the treadmills and olipticals, a running lap track inside, playing raquetball, ping-pong, a whole game room and gym but there second favorite thing to do besides swim was the rock wall and it was a serious rock wall...we definetly kept the belayers busy. i even climbed-alot harder than it looks as i tell my kids which grips to grab-and i was totally sweating by the top. brooke climbed the most which is so surprising to me because she is my most cautious child-but they all were great climbers!

then kent was able to come home for christmas eve so we came back to rexburg and had christmas-it was nice to be at home! everyone must have been good because they got what they wanted =) kent opened this gift and brooke asked "what is it?" and i said "wingers sauce" and koy said "weiner sauce?" we all got a good laugh!

here's the end product-everyone happy and a house full of joy!

so Merry Christmas to all and to all a GOOD NIGHT!

november in review

calendar quotes:

avoiding evil is not the same as living righteously!

"time is the property which we inherit from God, along with the power to choose what we will do with it." -Henry B. Eyring

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november-what a great month...i love all the constant reminders to be thankful and i have so much to be thankful for! i was going through my pictures and i came across this one that kelsi took- i love that my kids live in such a beautiful area and that they stop and take time to appreciate it...

koy had his 5th birthday-kent and i took him to sizzler for some shrimp, he actually didn't like it-he says ours tastes way better!
he also wanted some meat, we call koy our meatasaurus...he finished off all of it!
we were all to full for ice-cream but no worries, koy found some great uses for the cones anyways...

koy is always making us smile and laugh, he just can't help but be silly...i love this about him!

he literally wakes up with a big goofy smile on his face and is usually happy all day long...i do have to remind him that there is also a time not to be sillly (FHE, scriptures, prayer, church, stores, etc.) but we are so thankful for koy in our family!

kaden just loves his teacher, mrs. inama-she is always putting together fun little events. they turned their class into a wax musuem...each student had to pick a famous person and memorize a little life sketch: then we were invited to come visit the museum. mrs. inama went around the class and when she would shine a flashlight on each student, they would come to life and give their little sketch...kaden picked Amerigo Vespucci. i had no idea who that was and i asked kaden why he was famous and kaden informed me that he was who showed chrisopher columbus how to get to america-hence america is named after him!(guess i should have known that one) kaden did a great job and i'm so glad he has enjoyable ways to keep learning, and i love that he's not afraid to get all into character...

for thanksgiving this year most of my family met in idaho falls, it was nice not to have to drive very far, especially with kent working. we always have so much fun when we're together...craziness but always fun! we had 22 out of the 25 grandkids there...

this was right before our "turkey trot"-my sister cyndi made all these cute shirts and my sister kara acquired all these very nice nike shorts from the YMCA. we lined all the kids up in ages and they ran to the club house...

then we all got wet! my kids loved all the swimming-they were usually first ones in and last ones out!

we had one sad note-kelsi got sick on thanksgiving day and spent the day with a yucky stomache...poor thing!

we had all kinds of fun activities, i was in charge of a family talent show...which everyone kept complaining about, but then typical of my family everyone still participated and did an awesome job! thank you =)

my mom and dad were a hoot as sonny and cher-singing "i got you babe!" my kids still talk about it...

kaden won the silver aunt jemima award-he played a few songs on the piano and performed some yo-yo tricks...

then we opened a time capsule that we had put together 10 years ago, i totally had forgotten about it! on the box i had written:

kent+ jaci+ kelsi+kaden = together forever!

it was so wierd not to see brooke and koy on there. it was so funny to see what everyone had put in...i put in a binky- kelsi's most prized possesion and a shovel- to remember all those holes we dug in the dirt growing up and to look forward to much more digging in the dirt!

i am so thankful for my family, i have such great memories growing up and i continue to keep having more!

and to end the month, i received my calling in our new ward-relief society secretary...not what i was expecting but what a great way to get to know people!

kaden loves corndogs!

kaden came into the house the other day and said, "do i smell corndog?"

i answered that koy just ate one.

kaden commented, "wow- a nice whiff of corndog can really uplift my spirit!"

He made me laugh as i started to envision:

corndog scented candles and air fresheners!

october in review

calendar quotes:

"i may not agree with what you say, but i will defend to the death your right to say it." -Evelyn Beatrice Hall

the path to happiness-in mortality and in eternity-is really quite simple. "simple" however, doesn't necessarily mean "easy".

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well we started the month out with a wonderful general conference, i am enjoying going back through those talks. the messages i remember most from conference were: the very first talk by Elder Richard G. Scott "to acquire spiritual guidance" about the Holy Ghost...something i am having to work on alot lately. and i also loved Elder David A. Bednar's talk "more diligent and concerned at home" i can always work on our atmosphere at home...and i loved that he said building faith is about being consistent-i don't know if i'm reaching my kids sometimes, but i am consitent in teaching. and i will never forget Elder Jeffrey R. Hollands testimony of the Book of Mormon-very powerful!

i worked 3 days for potato harvest, driving a potato truck...it wasn't too bad-i am horrible at backing up and very slow at a big rig =) i have learned something about myself though, i can work and every job i have had i get compliments on how hard and good of worker i am...but i don't want to work-i love staying home with my family! i am so thankful that i have been able to so far.(i still have my application to substitute in the schools on my counter since august-can't bring myself to fill it out yet!)

my oldest sister had her surprise baby boy-tyden. my koy just loved holding him and has asked numerous times when we will have a baby.
we missed out on picking potatoes with christy this year, but we still made our yearly potato people-my favorite was brookes...
i said, "that is the cutest potato i have ever seen!" and brooke responded, "yeah it has to be cute, it's sirri and sirri is cute!"
we made carmel apples for FHE-they were a hit...

and they helped brooke loose her tooth...

the tooth fairy gave her $5 and she wanted to go to the store to buy some gum. she bought her pack of gum and she returned very excited to me and said, "the store man gave me more money than the tooth fairy"...she got back 4 one dollar bills and some change...what a cheap tooth fairy ;)
we were so happy that the straw maze was open again this year-we went early in the day...

we went through 4 times and had to cheat through this hole all 4 times to get out...

we did go back after 9 when they haunt the maze...it went exactly as i predicted: kelsi-was mad because we had to leave before we found our way out and kaden-didn't like the dark and brooke-left in tears after the chainsaw guy chased us and i learned koy-could run fast. but it makes for some good memories and stories told later!
my brother chad and his wife, heather and their little boy, beckett came up to visit...a long drive from washington and we loved seeing them and are so excited to spend a week with them for swim camp (and so excited that they are going to have another baby).

kaden and i got to go to a very cool show up at the college...the great kaplan (or sometimes mediocre, as he joked when tricks didn't go so well) it was so fun to see kaden in awe at magic tricks and get all his very silly deadpan humor. kaden commented at the end..."i am so glad that he shares his talents with others."

kent started a new project with all his spare time (ha,ha). he is building a much needed new deck and of course it will be fabulous. kent is amazing at designing, working, and making...i'm excited to see the finished project! the kids have enjoyed playing on it at all phases: it's just like a new playground. this night craked me up-they were having races with the cats across the boards...

of course we finished out the month with lots of halloween fun-we had a carnival for pack night, carved pumpkins, went to the rexburg motor sports carnival, the school carnival, and a carnival at the rex...yes, we love lots of halloween fun! they didn't have the carnival at the nursing home this year because of the swine flu. here's 3 of the kids...

kaden's costume was quite the fiasco this year...he wanted to be sora, from the disney game-kingdom hearts. i don't even know where he comes up with his ideas sometimes, he loves being something different and seeing if people know who he is. we looked on line and actually bid on a costume on ebay for $40...alot of money i thought for a halloween costume. well we didn't win the bid and i was floored when i saw what the costume went for, $110-for a kids costume, are you kidding? well we talked about other ideas but he really wanted to be sora, so i made it and it turned out pretty close to the real thing and all for about $20 including the key blade...

it turned out pretty fun to make and i love homemade costumes! and the best part-kaden loved, loved, LOVED it-that makes it totallly worth it!
kelsi surprised me and still dressed up this year-yay! and she wasn't even a football player...

i love when the kids get home from getting all their treats and they dump them all out and sort them all into piles and trade...

at the school carnival we had talked about going to the middle school spook alley, but after the straw maze scare-koy and brooke didn't want to so i told them they could put the $5 into the raffle drawing. koy put all the tickets into the nintendo ds jar, which was the fullest-so i told him you probably won't win. well he won...

he said "i told you i would win mom!" he couldn't be happier-he wanted one for his birthday and i told him he was too young and them he told me he would ask santa for it and i told him that i would tell santa he was too young...what a lucky duck!