"wii" NEED One of These

Friday night we went to my SIL's house to have dinner and play the wii. We've never played before and boy was it fun. I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did. We tried out a bunch of different games. We played tennis, boys vs. girls, and the boys won all 3 times. Then DH and I boxed, and I totally kicked his butt!! However, my arm is SO sore. I can hardly believe it's that sore just from a game. I guess it's a good workout. We also did skiing and DDR. I love DDR. We had a great night! It was a night full of good food and good fun!

Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time, I was a dancer. I LOVE to dance. I danced all through elementary, junior high, and high school. I loved it. I also had the opportunity to teach some classes. I did tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop, and lyrical. When I went to BYU I was in a tap company. I've missed dancing so so much. There isn't much opportunity for adults to dance, which is sad to me. In January, I was looking through our city recreation booklet and noticed that they were offering a hip hop class for moms. So, I signed up. It's been so much fun. Too bad the class is only for a short while, but I sure am enjoying it for the time. Hopefully they'll continue to hold more classes for adults. I LOVE it!

Hippo Teeth

The other day we were in the car and the kids asked us if we knew that George Washington had hippo teeth. What? We answered no, but that we did know he had wooden teeth. They were very insistent that his teeth were indeed hippo teeth. When I looked it up on the internet, it said that most people believe George Washington had wooden teeth, when in reality his false teeth were made up of hippo tusk as well as other things. Who knew?

"24"

Last night DH and I were trying to find something good to watch. Right now there is nothing on because of the writer's strike. We've had the first season of "24" sitting in our video cabinet for about a year and have never seen even one episode. So, at about 9:30ish we decided to watch the first episode. Before we knew it, it was 12:45 and we had watched four episodes. We are hooked! I can't believe we've never watched this before, it's just the kind of show we like. Now, we have a lot of catching up to do. I can't wait to see what Jack will do next!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Yesterday my sweet hubby turned 33! Boy are we getting old. We had a very busy day. He opened his presents at 8:00 a.m. so we could head off and begin our day. The kids were so excited for him to open his gifts, which were:

from T - a black and white tie

from M - a shirt

from S- the movie "First Knight"

from J- black socks

and from me - a hack saw, and Utah Jazz t-shirt

Hopefully he was happy with his loot. I feel bad because his celebration was short and then we were busy the rest of the day.

Our nephew got ordained a deacon, so we had to be in Lehi by 8:45. He is the first grandson on DH's side of the family to receive the priesthood. It was a wonderful experience for us all to share together. Afterwards we had a family luncheon which was SO yummy, as usual! I did make 4-layer dessert and we put some candles in it and sang to DH. Then, we let the kids run wild while we sat and visited for a while.

T stayed the night there and we took Sierra home with us. We headed for home at about 4:00 so DH could prepare for a temple prep class that he has to teach. When he got back from that (which no one even showed up for) we had a very healthy corn dog dinner. Then, some friends came over to play cards. It was a nice relaxing evening!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Valentine Dinner

We had a fun candlelight, Valentine's dinner with the kids. They love drinking out of "champagne" glasses, and I found these ones at the dollar store. I had a lot of fun setting the table and getting it all ready for the kids. They loved it! We started off the dinner with a Valentine toast where everyone said what they loved about our family. And, then we enjoyed a yummy steak dinner.

DH and I made a deal not to get each other anything this year. And, for once I upheld my end of the deal, but he didn't. So, now I need to think of something fun to do for him today.

At This Moment

T is growing up so fast. I can't believe that next month he's going to be 10 years old. Where did the time go? He is doing really well in school and is finally getting his work done on time. He is playing basketball right now, which he loves. He is quite the athlete and enjoys most sports. He is also working towards getting his Bear award in scouts. Right now he thinks he's the one in charge. He likes to boss the younger kids around, so we're trying to work on that. I love his big grin and his big hugs. M is my model. She strikes a pose for every picture. She thinks she's already a teenager. I think she'll give us a run for our money. She is on a competition dance team and is loving every minute of it. They start competing next month. She loves school, reading, dancing, playing, and is pretty good at all of them. Normally she is pretty well behaved and will get most of her things done on time. She is our sensitive one. If you even look at her the wrong way, the tears start flowing. She is enjoying activity days and is such a joy to our family.
S is my little trouble maker. I love this kid SO much. He's got such a sweet heart, but is so full of energy. He's finally learned not to hit (thank goodness) and to use his words. Now, we are just trying to get him to use those words with a normal volume. He thinks he needs to yell to be heard. Such fun! He is doing wonderful at school. He has really excelled in reading and is now reading past his grade level. He will start soccer in early spring. He loves to "dress up", play with his dudes, and play with his friends and siblings. He's got a smile that will melt your heart.
And, last but certainly not least my little princess. She is all girl through and through. I can't believe she's my "baby". She's growing up so fast. She loves going Kindergarten and is learning many new things. She just barely started reading and loves it. She has to read to each member of the family every day. She is also in dance and loves it. She likes to play with make-up and even sometimes puts it on minutes before she needs to leave for school, which means we don't have time to wash it off so she goes to school with it on. I wonder what her teacher thinks. She's tall and thin (poor girl). She's gives the best hugs and wants to love everyone. She's gotten quite the little smart mouth lately which makes me want to laugh, but I know I can't because then I'll be in trouble when she's older. I love that girl!

~My SIL took these great pictures!

40 Toes

My favorite little toes!

Should I Be Worried?

The other day we were driving over to some friends' house and the kids said, "Hey, Dad remember when we were driving here before and we saw those naked kids playing?" We both looked at each other wondering what the heck they were talking about. After they did a little bit of explaining we finally understood what they were talking about. We had driven by before and there were two little babies playing on a porch, naked. Then, I told them that we don't look at naked people. And S replied with, "What if it's a hot chick?"

I do have to admit it was funny at first, but WHAT? Where did that come from? Why would a 6 year old say that? And, how would he know to say such things? Should I be worried?

American Idol

DH and I are big American Idol watchers. The auditions are some of the funniest parts to watch. Seriously, I don't know what some of these people think. I feel bad for them when they get rejected, but did they really think they could sing? So, if it was your child and you KNEW they couldn't sing, but they really wanted to try out, do you let them? Or, do you spare them the embarassment but risk having them be mad at you?

Like this guy, really?

Morning Drinks

So, I'm FINALLY losing weight. I've done a few different things, and just recently thought that I might try having a Slim-Fast in the morning. These drinks are NOT good. It took me like 45 minutes to drink one. It worked and I didn't feel hungry, but it was nasty. Now, I have a ton of these gross drinks in my pantry. This morning I put fruit in with it and mixed it up in my new blender and it helped a little. I could at least drink it without gagging.

I'd really like to have some kind of drink, or smoothie, or something in the morning. Anyone have any good recipes or good healthy breakfast ideas?

My New Toy!

A while ago my blender broke. I didn't realize how often I actually used it until it was gone. Yesterday DH and I were at the store and I saw this one, and decided it was time to get a new blender. It's a very nice one, much more sophisticated than my old one that I had for 11 years. It has a cool spout for making smoothies. We made some this morning and they were delicious!

Shopping Fun

Grandpa D. sent us a check for Christmas, but because of mix-ups we only got it a few weeks ago. Over the years we've done different things with the money; family gift, individual gifts, going out somewhere fun. This year we decided to give the each of the kids their own money. They were so excited. We told them they needed to pay their tithing and that they could get whatever they wanted with the rest.



M bought this cute outfit. It says dance! dance! dance! all over it, and of course it's pink! She also got the fuzzy socks that she is wearing. When I told her I wanted to take a picture of her with her stuff she immediately had to put it on and strike a pose. She loves to have her picture taken.



J was quite the bargain shopper. It was so fun to watch her shop around and try to decide what she wanted. She spent a long time looking for the perfect things. She did know right away that she wanted to buy some jelly bellies. She also got some markers and then debated on a notebook, which she later put back because she said she could just use regular paper. She got two pairs of purple fuzzy socks and the favorite find was her snowman sleepers. She saw them on the rack and was so excited. She told me she wanted them because they were so cozy inside. So, then we looked at all the stuff she had and added it up. When I told her she could get all of the stuff and still have money left over, she replied, "For real life?!" She was so excited. So, we went to the check out counter and she paid for everything all by herself. She ended up with 2 pairs of socks, a sleeper, a pack of markers, and jelly bellies for under $11.00! What a good little shopper!



S wanted to go and buy some new toys. He looked around for a LONG time, walking up and down the isles several times, touching things, playing, looking, and looking. He finally decided on a pack of "special force units" guys. They are little guys in uniforms that come with guns and all sorts of fun stuff! Perfect S toys!! We got in the self check out lane at Wal-Mart and he wanted to put his money in all by himself. It was so cute to see his chubby little hands putting his dollars into the machine. He was so proud!

Super Bowl Party

Every year for the super bowl, I try to make a fun cake. I usually make a football shaped cake, but this year tried something different. It's supposed to be a football field with players on it. I think everyone liked it.

We went over to some friends' house for the game. We ate tons of food and had lots of fun, even though the team of choice didn't win.