Jon's Birthday

Since we were in Idaho 3 days before Jon's 40th birthday, we had a party with his family then came back and had one with my family. The party never ends! Jon's mom got him some fun presents that Maddie and Calli made a treasure hunt for him to find. They were laughing while doing it and the reason why was because they made Jon go upstairs and downstairs 4 times. It was a good work out.

 Have to have an ice cream cake! Peanutbutter Playground.

 All day in Idaho and in Utah Jon would say "It's my birthday so I get to do..." So Maddie got him this balloon.

 We thought the neighborhood should know how old Jon is. As you can see we have NO snow. It was actually in the 60's. Crazy.

 We went to Wing Nutz and had a great dinner of wings, Jon's favorite!

Here's to another 40...50...60 years!!

Christmas in Idaho

 This year we decided to spend Christmas in Idaho. It's a little tricky to bring the presents but we managed to fit everything. For Christmas Eve we had a little program. We started with White Elephant gifts. I actually got new socks and so did Maddie so we did pretty well. There were some beauties! Then Jon's mom had us open her presents which were pajamas. We all got our pajamas on and had Grammy and Papa (Jon's grandparents) tell a couple of stories about Christmas when they were younger. Then we read Luke 2 and let the kids put the characters from the Nativity down. It was a nice evening. Jon's sister Becca and their family came and Jon's brother Michael and their family came. Also, Jon's brothers Tim and Ben. It was a full house. That's how we like it.

 Jon's mom also made us a "Movie Cuddle" blanket. It is warm and soft. The whole back is made out of minky. We got up about 7 which wasn't bad and opened presents. Church wasn't until 11 so we just took it easy, got ready and went to church. Jon's mom was in charge of the choir singing so Jon and Becca both sang in it. It was great!

The next day was beautiful so we went to the Idaho Falls temple and walked around. The visitor's center had different statues from the Life of Christ so that was nice. The cousins really enjoy being together.

Christmas Break

I walked passed the "computer room" the other day and this is what I saw...the backs of 7 boys' heads.

       "Boys, look at me!" Guess Seth didn't get the memo.

 Maddie's funny. She loves to stay busy!! I'm getting tired of trying to think of things for her to do. She was a big help with some neighbor gifts. We took around some paper plates and said "let us do the dishes for you." When Maddie handed people empty paper plates where they're expecting to see treats, she got some funny reactions. "Thanks for the...plates." Then they would read it and think it was great, hopefully.

Christmas Bunny

Maddie REALLY wanted a rabbit for Christmas. So much so that I had to yell at her to stop talking about it! She would follow me around telling me all about this rabbit she found in a shelter that would be put to sleep soon if she wasn't adopted. I told Maddie not to worry, someone would probably adopt her. Well, nobody did. Maddie knew this because she would email them everyday. Then, Jon says that it would be okay to get a rabbit. WHAT?! I knew once Maddie heard that we were doomed. I decided if Maddie could convince the boys to get rid of their lizards and she would share her rabbit with them then maybe we would get the rabbit. The boys agreed right away. WHAT? The boys were getting very tired of feeding them crickets everyday and so was I. So, Jon and Maddie drove to the shelter to get the rabbit. When Maddie walked in and asked about Daisy the rabbit, the lady said, "Are you Maddie?"

 Maddie's room is turning into a rabbit cage. Daisy is good at hopping into her cage to go to the bathroom and then playing in Maddie's room all day while she's at school. If you roll a ball in front of her she dives towards it and bats it away. I don't know if she likes playing ball or if it makes her really mad. Maddie is really good at cleaning her cage often and giving her lots of lettuce and carrots and apples and cardboard. Rabbits can pretty much eat anything. She's pretty cute.

One more belt

Max and David tested for their Oreo belt last week. It's called Oreo belt because...well, you can probably guess why. Now, he does a series of other tests to see if he's ready for his Black belt in March.

 Thought it was appropriate to buy him his own pack of oreos for doing such a good job!

Concerts

 Maddie is in Symphonic Band this year which means she's getting good and she gets to buy a dress. Grandma had to hem the skirt for her because it was a foot too long. She looks beautiful!

Max and Seth performed their songs for the school today. I didn't go because I already got to see them.:) They sing at a retirement home tomorrow and then between each grade at their school concert on Thursday. Then they're done. Fast year.

Westfield Singers/Festival of Trees

Max and Seth sing in the elementary school choir. This year one of their events to sing at was the Festival of Trees. When I saw that on the schedule it made me excited. I love the Festival! It's so beautiful and all the trees are donated for an auction and all the proceeds go to Primary Children's Hospital. It gets me in the Christmas spirit. They were scheduled to sing at 11:30 so Jon and I checked Maddie out of school at 9:30 (we asked Tanner but he didn't want to miss H.S., it's a little harder to catch up.) We got there and walked around and ate sweet rolls and scones.

                                               Here's the "gingerbread house" display.

 The Westfield Singers sounded So great! Max is on the top row right under Mrs. Curtis's hand. Seth is in the front row between the two boys that are a little shorter than he is. They played "Little Drummer Boy" with Boom Whackers, it was pretty cool. They also did a kazoo number. Pretty entertaining.

                                                  Maddie, pretty happy to have a day off.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I forgot to take any pictures over Thanksgiving weekend and it was a lot of fun so I should have. Fortunately, my brother-in-law, Peter took a lot. I just copied them over and somehow put them all on my blog, but that's oaky. We had our Thanksgiving dinner over at Ryan and Melanie's house. They put boards over long tables so all 25 of us could sit at the same table. It was pretty cool. Plus all the kids were at the other end so we couldn't even see what they were doing. I think the kids liked that too. In this picture I'm wearing the red shirt. I think I'm pouring drinks for people although it looks like I'm making a B line for the food.

 Thomas, Max, and Peter. Thomas thinks Max is pretty funny, makes Max feel good to be around him.

 A game of kick ball in the backyard after dinner.

 Eating Krispy Kremes and wearing the hats to go with them.

 I brought the drinks and the "Turkey Gobbler" It's a turkey made out of fruit kabobs. The kids put together the kabobs, it turned out really cute.

 Lyssa loves Zupa's, so when the Krumholz's come to Utah we have to go there. My kids love it too so we don't mind.

 Here's just more pictures of the cousins enjoying each other. It was nice to all be together.

Piano Recital

Max and Seth had a recital tonight. It was Seth's first recital so he was really nervous. We got there a little early so they could get used to playing on a Grand Piano. They both did a great job. The recital was beautiful! Seth said going to Tanner, Maddie, and Max's recitals were the reason he wanted to take piano lessons. Their teacher, Kathy Birks, is amazing!  

Halloween 2011

 The day started with a good ol' parade. The Elementary school had the kids dancing to Thriller as they weaved in and out of lots of parents. There were some great costumes.

 Tanner played computer games with his friends which is normal but then went and watched scary movies. I suggested The Village. They watched it but said it wasn't scary enough. I loved the twist at the end, guess that's just me.

 Maddie was a "Smarty Pants" She also had some friends come over to the house to eat pizza, trick or treat, play games and watch "Psych"

Max was a Court Jester with a scull mask that was super un- comfort- able so he ended up not wearing it. That's better anyway.


Seth was a rotting skeleton, not just a skeleton. He took his mask off for the picture.

For dinner and the party I got  Jack-o-lantern pizzas. We also made home made root beer with dry ice and a new drink that's yummy, apple juice with dry ice. It made a slushy. Dry ice just makes it a fun party!

Just in case the girls didn't get enough sugar today, we made "mummy" cupcakes with m&ms and gum tape. Interesting combination, but it turned out cute.

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!