Our Christmas Tree

Every Year I get a picture of the Kids in front of the Christmas tree. I thought This one was a real cute one!

Colin's 1st Haircut

Before

It was time. Colin desperately needed a hair cut. I waited until I could get a little lock to save. It was definitely long enough, so I thought 2 days before Christmas would be a perfect time. I did it myself and with a lot of Baby Einstein and a little licorice, it came out great!

During

After

What a Handsome little Man!

Snowy Days

We've been having a lot of snow lately and one of the kid's favorite things to do is bundle up and go outside to play.

Of course sometimes one person's play is another person's misery.

The Christmas edition of getting to know your friends.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I think gift bags are a cop out unless you have something really odd shaped.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Right now we have a real tree, but I'm considering getting a fake one in the after Christmas sales. A taller one, one that I don't have to put lights on.
3. When do you put up the tree? soon after Thanksgiving. We like to get our tree on our Family Night.
4. When do you take the tree down? Some time after New years.
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes!!!!! With sprite or watered down with milk if I'm watching my calories.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? A great big doll house that I found out later was made by my dad!
7. Hardest person to buy for? My Mom. She has or can buy anything she wants.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Devin. Whenever I take him shopping or he sees a commercial, he wants something new.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, Thanks to my Mom Several Christmases ago.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. It's easier by e-mail, but I think it's more sincere if you take the time to mail them out.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Not going to mention it because I don't want to hurt any feelings.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Santa Clause, Elf, Christmas Vacation, Frosty, I love them all!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? As soon as I think about it. This year it was October, but I never get done early.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes, but just once.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Chocolate
16. Lights on Christmas tree? Definitely. Colors
17. Favorite Christmas song? All of them as long as they're not too obnoxious.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We usually go to my Mom and Dad's since my Mother in law moved so far away!
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes, Just have to sing the song.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We open 1 Christmas gift on Christmas eve. Sometimes it's PJ's.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Why it has to be so Jam packed with planned activities
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I love to use red next to the green of the Christmas tree. I love snowmen, and prefer gold to silver.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?Ham and Yummy Potatoes!
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A trip to Cancun!


Merry Christmas to everyone! You can do this on your blog if you want. I saw it on a friend's blog and thought I'd share.

Four, Four, Four, Four . . .

I got tagged by my friend Melissa. I hope you enjoy

A) Four places that I go to over and over: grocery store, Target, Library, Church

B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly): John, Dad, Mom, Janice

C) Four of my favorite places to eat: Anywhere Chinese, Applebees, Carinos, Chili's

D) Four places I would rather be right now: Hawaii, Disneyland, Shopping, Delta

E) Four people I tag: Vicki, Andrea, Risae, Tasha

F) Four TV shows I watch: TheBiggest Loser, Jon and Kate Plus Eight, ER, The office

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving this year! We sure did. We spent the weekend at My Mom and Dad's in Delta. We ate and played, and had a great time. Everyone was there except for my sister Monica who lives in Iowa.
On the Friday, we went to some sand dunes near Delta. It was really fun for the kids! They love sand! It was pretty good weather too!
Mom made a Ginger bread house with the kids that they quickly devoured that very day. And we went to see Santa.
Erin asked for a real puppy, and a real camera. I told her she already has a camera, but she clarified it by saying she wanted one that was like mine.
Devin planned on asking for a Dinosaur, but when Santa asked him what he wanted, Devin said "I can't (r)wemembew(r)"

Colin took a good look at Santa and then started crying. Maybe next year when he's not teething he'll care a little more. All in all we had a great Holiday break. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Karate

Well, for the past few weeks Erin has been learning Karate. Tonight was her test and she passed! She will be receiving her yellow belt next Tuesday. Hurray for her! We were a little worried about a week ago, but a good solid week of drilling and practicing has really paid off. I think John and I should earn a Yellow belt too!

Devin has been taking a speech class every Tuesday. He goes for 45 minutes and He loves every minute of it! I try to give him a quiet time before class, so that he's rested up, but last week he came home so tired. He fell asleep in the middle of his snack! He must be doing hard labor in that class ;-)

Computer

Well, our computer is giving us problems lately. Sometimes it just won't do what we want it to. The other day it just would not download the pictures from my camera. But I finally got them on. I posted pictures on the last blog, so be sure to scroll down to see them. Here are some more from Halloween.

We're still here!

OK, so it's been a while. A lot has happened in our house and it's time to get everybody up to date. John lost his job. Yes, it's true. Apparently they brought in a new upper management boss, and he was penny pinching. He didn't like what John was being paid, so he got the ax. He's been out of work for 3 weeks now. So what's he doing with his time?: He's been looking for a new job like crazy. He finally cleaned out the garage from the move. And he's finishing our cold storage room with sheetrock, paint, and shelves. He's been really busy, and I think that keeping himself busy has kept his sanity.


He looks busy doesn't he.

Well, John got himself a job already! He's going to be working for GMAC as their finance manager. (It's GM's bank that they use for financing cars etc.) He starts on Monday the 10th. We are very excited and relieved that he got a job, and we're feeling blessed that he got a job so quickly! He's a little anxious about starting a new job, and about being gone all day. I think he was starting to get used to being home and getting all his projects done.

So, What else has the Doyle family been up to lately. A lot. Devin finished up playing soccer. His team was so cute to watch, cause they just run around and chase the ball. Devin would get so frustrated if he couldn't kick the ball. But one time he got the ball and took it all the way down the field. After that, he never complained about going to soccer again. He loved it!


He was so excited!

My youngest Brother, Richard, got married about a week ago. I hosted a bridal shower for his Bride, Callie, early in October. We had a lot of fun. Callie had to answer questions about Richard. If she didn't know the answer, she had to eat a piece of gum. She got a lot of answers right, but she had a huge wad of gum in her mouth when she was done.

The next weekend, we went up to Wolf creek with my family to a one of my parents' condos. We spent a long weekend up there, because John didn't have any work to go back to. We really enjoyed the time off together. We went to a dinosaur museum, but I forgot my camera, so I still need to get the pictures from my Mom. We also went to Huntsville, and a beach at the reservoir there It was a beautiful day! We had a picnic and played in the sand! What a beautiful day for October! Outside in t-shirts!


The week after that was Richard and Callie's wedding. They had it a beautiful reception center in Lehi. It was a nice ceremony and a great day. Callie and her family did such a great job decorating everything. It was truely gorgeous. My sister Monica drove all the way from Iowa for the wedding and it was great to see her and her kids. Our kids had a great time playing with their cousins. We are all really happy for both Richard and Callie and wish them the best of Happiness.

Last week, we had Monica over to our house for dinner. It is so fun to see her and her kids. I wish they lived closer so that we could have them over more often. Erin and Savannah have become really good friends. When they moved away about 3 years ago, Erin was 2 and Savannah about 4 or 5. That is a big difference. but now, they almost seem to be closer in age.

They sure had a great time together.

This last weekend we spent home. Halloween was fun! We went out trick-or treating for over 2 hours. That was not the plan, but that's how it happened. Because we were out for so long, not only did our kids get lots of candy, but we also didn't give out all the candy we had at our house, so we have candy coming out our ears! I love Halloween!

Saturday we went up to my sister Mindy's for Jana's baptism. We're so proud of Jana. We had a great day there. After the baptism, we went back to their house for lunch and stayed for quite a while. It's nice to be able to do all these family things now that we're back in Utah.

Well, That was a lot. I think I'm going to try to blog more often, so that I don't have blogs go so long.

High School Tag

Well, I've been tagged. Thanks Vicki! It took me a while to get to it, but here it goes.

Senior picture

I actually really like my senior picture. It wasn't half bad!

Graduation, I graduated in 1997 from Delta High School in Delta, Utah.

In this picture, I'm right in front of the stage facing everybody else, 4th from the left (I'm in white). Why, because I was 7th in my class, and I gave the prayer for the graduation; something I was told not to do, but did anyway.

On to the questions:

1. Did you date anyone in your high school?

Yes, I had a couple of boyfriends. No one I was actually serious about. It's just what everybody was doing.

2. What kind of car did you drive?

I don't even remember what kind of car it was, but it was tan, and I only got to drive it for 1 year. before that, my sister drove it.

3. What was your most embarrassing moment of High School?

I did a lot of embarrassing things in High school, but I'm now most embarrassed about a couple guys that I dated. I won't name any names, but they were both way more serious about me than I was about them.

4. Were you a party animal?

Not in the way that most people mean it, but I did have a great time with my friends in High School.

5. Were you considered a flirt?

Most likely, but it was all just in fun.

6. Were you in a band, orchestra or choir?

I was always in a choir: Accapella or Bone Voce. I loved to sing. That's where I decided to get my degree in Vocal Performance.

7. Were you a nerd?

I never considered myself a nerd. Though I got good grades, I was friends with a lot of popular kids and was on the drill team, so I don't think I was a nerd.

8. Were you on any Varsity Teams?

Sports, no, but like I said, I was on the Drill team 2 years.

9. Did you ever get suspended/expelled?

No way, I never even got close.

10. Can you sing the fight song?

dum, dum, dum, dum dum, dum dum, . . . We'll all be true red, always til we're dead. Dear old Delta High.

Everyone sang it the same, I'm not the only on who only knew the last line.

11. Who were your favorite teachers?

I liked most of my teachers, but I don't remember any favorites. pretty lame huh?

12. Where did you sit during lunch?

I do remember we had a certain table where we sat. It was on the right half of the lunch room almost to the back.

13. School mascot?

The Delta Rabbits!

14. Did you go to Homecoming?

Yea, I think I went 2 different years.

15. If you could go back and do it again, would you?

High School was fun, but it's such an insecure time. I liked College better.

16. What do you remember most from graduation?

Probably saying the prayer. The top 6 usually give speeches, and lead the pledge and that sort of stuff, and in years past the 7th student says the prayer. However that year, they decided not to have a prayer for political reasons. Well, I just went up when it was time and did it anyway. I only had one complaint. It was pretty big!

17. Where did you go on Senior skip day?

Lagoon. There really is no other place to go in Utah in May.

18. Were you in any clubs?

Math club!: Can you believe it! Yes, I enjoyed math and took math tests for fun at math competitions for a year or 2 and then I got too busy.

Drama club: I was in one play Cheaper by the Dozen.

Drill team: 2 years!

I also was in 3 musicals. I was very busy, and I haven't even named everything!

19. Have you gained any weight since then?

I actually lost 10 pounds after high school. And then I put it right back on with my kids. I'm up about 15-20 pounds.

20. Who was your Prom Date?

I went to prom with a really good friend of mine, Karl. I can't remember his last name right now, but we worked together at the grocery store my senior year.

21. Are you planning to go to your 10 year reunion?

I lived out of state when we had our 10 year, but I moved back right after. I might go if they have any more. I think I'm over my insecurities of High school.

22. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself?

Don't worry so much about being liked, just do what you like to do.

I tag: Andrea, Melissa, and Rebecca. It takes some time to get all this stuff together and answer all the questions, but I really want to know what you guys were like in high school! Good luck! I can't wait to see your blogs!

Bear Lake

We went away for a long weekend last weekend and had a great time! We stayed at my parents' condo in Bear Lake. The weather was cool, but that just meant more color in the mountains. It was so beautiful!

The first day there, we had John's former mission companion Chad and his wife Jamie come stay with us. It was great to spend some time with them.

We got to drive right out on the beach one day and play by the water. The kids played in the sand. John and I played frisbee, and we had a picnic lunch in the back of our car. It was a great day! Colin loved the sand!

The best part of the weekend was just hanging out together. They had an indoor swimming pool that we visited everyday, they also had a playground, and we watched a few movies together too. It was a nice relaxing getaway for all of us.

On the way home, we stopped at a campground in Logan Canyon for a picnic lunch. The colors in the canyon were so beautiful! The pictures don't do it justice.

Colin's 1st Birthday!

I can't believe it's here already! My Baby's one! What a sweet baby he is. We had a birthday party for him yesterday and it was fun to see him dig into his own cake. I went to the store to look at cakes and decided that I could do just as well on my own.

So this is the cake I decorated on my own. I think it's pretty good! It didn't look so good after Colin was done with it though.

Before . . .

After . . .

Colin is not walking, but crawls really well now, (finally). He's got a great sense of humor, and he loves kisses and hugs. He now says "ah oh" when something gets dropped, and he loves playing one of one with both Erin and Devin (sometimes). When Daddy gets home, Colin only wants him, so I think he's a real daddy's boy. His favorite thing to do lately is throw a hard ball on the tile and watch it bounce. He gets a real kick out of it! Then he'll crawl after it and do it over and over again for up to an hour! That's my Colin.

Happy Birthday big boy!