Temple Square

John and I took the boys to temple square the other night with some friends. It was fun looking at the beautiful lights and manger scene. To warm up we went and saw the statue of christ which was breathtaking. We also walked over to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. We sat in the lobby listening to a wonderful piano solo of christmas music. After having some yummy hot chocolate we went home. The next day I asked the boys what their favorite part of the night was and they said the jesus statue. Tears came to my eyes of the eventful night and for Jesus to be the center of it. This is what I want my boys to remember about christmas.

Sledding

The boys wanted to go sledding ever since it snowed. They had a fun time going up and down the hill.

Elves?

I received an e-mail from my niece,friend and sister-in-law being elves and dancing. I put our family pictures on as well and we watched ourselves dancing funny dances. We laughed and laughed at ourselves. I think we look cute and who said John couldn't dance.

Mini Snowman!

We made our first snowman of the season. The only bad part was the snow would not pack very well. We ended up making a mini snowman with cool sunglasses and then having a snowball fight. I'm glad we are finally getting snow just in time for christmas.

Centerville Lighting Ceremony

Every year the park in Centerville is lit up with beautiful christmas lights. Tonight was a perfect night for this. It was warm but cool enough for a light jacket. A few local choirs came to sing including the school choir justin and jace are in. Then of course Santa came as all the children ran up to him with anticipation and excitement. What a wonderful night to share with my family and friends from the community.

Adopted Grandparents

Our next door neighbors in our old neighborhood our the boys adopted grandparents. We have a close relationship with them. Carol (grandma) called and invited the boys over for breakfast and listen to the polar express while drinking hot cocoa. It was so special of her and a very precious moment for all of us. This will be something the boys will never forget.

Thanksgiving

I love the holidays especially thanksgiving. Its fun to spend time with my family being grateful for what we have,eating lots of great food and playing fun games. My sister Kathy and her husband Ron drove from northern california to spend the holiday with mom and us. It was fun to sit around and give each other a hard time. Also catching up on whats going on in each of our lives. It was nice for mom to have some company even though she was tired and couldn't do to much. Family is and has always been very important to me. Without family unity whether its immediate or extended would make life quite boring. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! :)

TWILIGHT!!!!!

I know what can I say I loved the book and fell in love with Edward. The movie on the other hand was a disappointment. Why can't directors make a movie according to the book. Is it that difficult. I know they can't fit everything in but come on keep the scenes correct and pick actors that fit the part. The actors Jacob,Laurent and Jasper were a disappointment. There were some great accurate scenes but the Cullen house didn't even come close to what was written in the book. I apoligize to those who loved the movie maybe when I see it again I won't be as tired and might like it better.

Gobble! Gobble!

My cute beehives made turkeys out of cookies. We had a great time eating,talking and more talking. Thanks to my awesome friend Jalene who showed me how to make these turkeys. :)

Singing!

Justin and Jace are in the school choir and they had their first performance Saturday afternoon. They sang christmas songs at the local grocery store open house. Everyone did a great job. I loved the songs they sang since christmas is my favorite holiday.

It's Official!

I'm officially a substitute teacher. I'm very excited about teaching in my sons school. Next year when Jace goes to school all day I can have the same schedule the boys have. Plus earn a little extra money for extra things.

Quick and Easy Dinner!

Chicken Pesto Pasta
1 lb penne pasta, cooked
2-3 cooked sliced chicken breasts (I often bake the chicken seasoned with garlic powder, salt & pepper, or even better when we have leftover grilled chicken)
1/2 pint of cream (or milk)
~1/2 cup of prepared pesto to taste
handful of parmesan cheese
sprinkle of garlic salt
Cook the pasta. In a sauce pan, mix the cream, pesto, parmesan cheese and garlic salt. Heat until warm. Mix pasta, chicken and sauce all together and sprinkle some more parmesan cheese on top. I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. My boys even liked it.

Happy Birthday Jace!

Yesterday was my babys 6th birthday. Jace wanted a ghost cake with black spiderman on top of it. I did my best decorating it to his specifications. We also took jace to Chuck E Cheeses it was fun and he had a blast. I believe every child should have at least one experience at Chuck E Cheeses. Its funny since jace's lucky number is 5 but now he has turned 6 his lucky number is 6. He is quite the funny kid. Happy Birthday Jace. We Love You!!!! :)

Fall Boutique

My friends and I are having a Fall Boutique this saturday. If your interested come on by and visit. There will be lots of fun stuff. :)

Goodbye Halloween

Its sad to see Halloween go with all the decorations,costumes and parties. Goodbye for another year.

My spook is 9 today!

If someone would have told me years ago that I would have a Halloween baby I would have laughed. I wouldn't trade my spook for anything. Justin is caring,compassionate and very dramatic. And of course he likes to be in charge of everything including his little brother. Justin has always been a mama's boy. When I leave and John is in charge justin says "please don't leave me with dad!" I'm grateful to have such a wonderful boy in our family. I love you justin. :)

Carving pumpkins

Headless horseman

Kitty

Scary face

Spider

We carved pumpkins for family night. They turned out great. Can you guess who carved which pumpkin?

Justins birthday dinner

Justin had his birthday dinner on sunday with his grandmas,aunts and cousin. He picked chicken courdon blue,mashed potatoes and rolls for his dinner. We also had cake and ice cream. It was a fun night for everyone.

I can ride a bike!!!!

Jace can ride a bike now. He has tried a few times but has been stubborn about learning. The other day a neighbor boy came over who just turned four and was riding a bike without training wheels. Jace couldn't believe someone younger was riding a bike. So he got his bike out and it took about a half hour and he was riding. It was so cute because the neighbor boy kept saying "You can do it Jace."

Fall Recess

The boys were out of school for two days since it was fall recess. They wanted to go to the pumpkin patch and temple square. We also went swimming and John took the boys to a fish hatchery for fishing. It was a fun vacation for us all.

Spiderman!!

Spiderman was at our house friday night. Jace was invited to a friends b-day party which had a clown and she painted everyones faces. Jace does not like to have his face painted but when she said spiderman he was all for it. He wanted to sleep with his face painted but I convinced him that would not be a good idea. Jace begged me to take this picture even though the paint was starting to come off. Isn't he the cutest spiderman you have ever seen?

Moms Birthday Party!

My mom turned 75 yesterday. I had a small little party with her at the transitional rehab facility she is staying at. This will be my moms last birthday so I wanted it to be special for her. Mom was diagnosed with liver cancer 6 months ago. This surprised us all even mom but she is determined to live as long as she can. I'm glad I have this time to spend with mom (even though she still drives me crazy). It was wonderful to see her spirits high from the gifts and visits from family and friends. This will be a wonderful day she and I will always remember.

Anniversary!

Wow! John and I just had our 13th wedding anniversary! I can't believe that much time has gone by. I must say I am finding more lines in my face and a little chunky on the outside but other than that I feel like 25. We were going to do something exciting but since mom isn't feeling well with liver cancer we decided to stay close to home. John is still my handsome man. I feel very lucky to have him in my life.

My Baby!!

I know I'm one of those proud moms bragging about her kids. It was my babys first real day of Kindergarten. It was sad I can't believe how fast he is growing up. I had to take of picture of him walking home with his big brother. :)

Back to School!!!!

Where did the summer go? I can't believe it is time for school again. Justin is in third grade and Jace in Kindergarten. Of course I have to take pictures of the first day of school. I have mixed emotions about school. One the boys have been fighting more so its nice to have them split up for awhile. The other is I like summer for the fact we can do whatever we want no schedules.

Grammies House

My mom moved from Idaho to Farr West one year ago. Its nice to have her closer where we can go visit more. Justin is close to his grammie and wanted a picture with her. I thought it turned out very cute.

My cute boys

Yesterday Justin decided to earn some money by having a lemonade stand. He is quite the salesman. He made $17 which isn't bad for an 8 year old. Jace also had a friend over Cade they decided to keep justin company. They took our backpack chairs and sat with justin drinking and spilling lots of lemonade. They looked so cute with the chairs on their backs I had to take a picture of it.

An Awesome friend!!

My good friend and neighbor carol came over today and helped me set up my cute blog. Don't laugh those of you who know me understand how computer illiterate I am. I'm working on my computer skills so I can keep up with the rest of my family and friends.

Wow! I have a blog!!!

After much encouragement from friends and family I have decided to setup my first blog. Actually my nephew Wally talked me into it. He said Penny its easy and fun. So I will see if he is correct or not.