A little bit of a scare this time

Just checking to see if I still know my email and password. I had to try different several times before I got in so it was a little scary. I would ask if any of you out there know how to change the email address you sign in with so I don't have to remember my really old one but most of the people I follow aren't big bloggers (worse than me and that's bad...LOL!) so you prabably don't know. HOWEVER, if any of you actually read my "update" and know how to change your email address PLEASE let me know!

Ok, I haven't been on here for 11 months now and it has changed so I have a lot of work ahead of me. Why do I do this to myself? I just need to keep up so I don't feel so overwhelmed. I keep thinking maybe I'll skip this year but this is my journal too that I actually make into a bound book and I wouldn't want to miss 2012 since it was a big year for us. Oh wait....maybe I'll just not do it since the world is supposed to end on December 21, 2012. Yes, that's been my excuse the whole time. Okay, fine. Since I know that isn't true I will just get to work. For now, I'm just glad I remember my old email address and password. I feel accomplished for the day so I will call it a day and do some actual blogging another day:-) (unless I can figure out how to do everything pretty quick right now)

Crystal Hot Springs

 
The day after Christmas we usually go sledding or skiing but this year there has not been much snow. The ski resorts have been making there own snow. Soooo, we decided to drive an hour and a half north to a place called Crystal Hot Springs. They are natural hot springs that you can go swim in. It was fun for the kids to go swimming in 30 degree weather. The water slide, however, was not so warm so the kids tried it once and that was about it for them.

 

 
I love how you can see the snow on the mountains in the background. Kinda fun. Glad we got to take the kids here before we move to Phoenix. I'd also like to take them to Bear Lake since we have never been before we leave. Hopefully we will be able to.

 

The next day we left for Phoenix where we attended Nelson's, Dave and my nephew, baptism. So sad to say that we forgot our camera on this trip so we will have to rely on Mike and Riss for pics and I don't think there were very many taken but we had fun hiking and at the park and visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Boden. Thus ends the year 2011. We have grown closer as a family through praying and fasting for many of our family and close friends. We realized that we have truely been blessed and hope that this coming year will bring stability for us and health and hope for many friends and family members.

Christmas Morning.

 
Our family tradition for about 10 years now is to put paper over the entrance into the Christmas room. The kids love tearing through and it stops little peepers from peaking too early. Ready, SET...

 

GO!!!!!!!!!!

 








Tyler with a pretty big suprise...a new iPod

 
and for Ryan's 13th b-day 3 weeks before he got a Dsi so for christmas he got a couple more games to go with it.

 
Meagan and Jenna both got bags to put all their piano and violin music in.

 
Marge came up and spent Christmas Day with us! It was nice to have some family around.

 
Dad (and Ty) got...beer mugs? Actually they are pop mugs for the big football games.:-)

 
Jenna got some more snowbabies (she collects them)...one from Chase and a couple more from Mom and Dad.

 

There were lots of suprises and happy people but I think I got the biggest suprise though with a new iPad. And, yes, I am kinda in love.

Christmas came and went quickly this year and as we look back on 2011 we feel so blessed. We have had a lot of friends and family members that have had trials to face and have had the opportunity to fast and pray as a family and draw closer through the faith that they have had to overcome these trials. We will continue to pray for those struggling with different areas of their lives and will continue to show gratitude for our health, love, Heavenly Father, and family. We look forward to 2012 when we are finally around family! Arizona, here we come!!!!!...as soon as we sell our house:-).

Christmas Eve 2011

 
Christmas Eve, like many years, was spent at the home of Uncle Craig and Aunt Claudia (Dave's aunt and uncle) in Holiday, Utah. After a yummy dinner of many different kinds of soups, salad and rolls we were entertained by some of the children. Some played piano, some sang and some played violin.
 
It was fun to see Kaylee and Meagan play violin together. When Meagan found out Kaylee played they snuck off to a bedroom to practice playing a song together to suprise us. They did really well together with barely any practice. I was impressed. Then they each played a solo too.

 
After we sang some Christmas songs we had the kids seperate into two different age groups and play a game. You roll two dice and if you get doubles you put some socks on your hands and try to get a gift unwrapped with spoons. The gift, mind you, is wrapped with several layers of paper and most of the time the kids hardly got a chance to unwrap before someone else in the circle rolled a double. They loved it! Will have to play this one again sometime:-)

 
While the younger kids played the same game I look over to see Kaylee and Meagan wrestling. It was pretty cute. Kaylee kept saying, "we're frolocking" (sp?). Meagan learned a new word that night:-)

 
Everyone together singing Christmas songs.

 
We hadn't seen Clint and Becca since they moved back to Utah and hadn't seem Clane and Laura in...I don't know how long so it was sun to see everyone again. Especailly because I don't know when we will see them again since we are moving to Phoenix.

 

The highlight of the evening for alot of the kids was seeing Devin's snake collection. He breeds different breeds of snakes and sells them. The kids all wanted to touch one but only some had the nerve to actually do it. Claudia is a very good person to let Devin keep tons of snakes in her basement. Hope she's getting a year end bonus, Devin:-)

Christmas gifts for friends

This year for Christmas we went simple and the kids loved it cause it was simple enough that they did most of it.
 
First we made these easy treats with waffle shaped pretzels, peppermint kisses and m&m's. Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper, place pretzel on them and then put a kiss on each pretzel. Heat the oven at 170 degrees and leave in for 6 min....just long enough to make them soft but not melt). Put an m&m on each one and cool in fridge for 5-10 min (or outside on the back patio if you live somewhere cold like Utah) :-) Then we put them in treat bags and attached this cute little saying to them with a ribbon. Loved the idea...found it on sugardoodle.com :-)

 

While I was in NC I saw this cute "Joseph, Mary and Jesus" statue and knew that it is what I was going to make for gifts this year for friends. Once again....very easy and very cute. The kids really enjoyed painting them and putting them together. We are delivering them tonight with a Christmas carol to each family. Gotta go! Merry Christmas to all!

Gymnastics performance!

The girls have been in tumbling for 2 years now and are loving it and doing great. On December 12th they had a gymnastics performance that they did to the Christmas song "Sleigh Ride". It is fun to see their progress and they did fantastic!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marge wasn't able to make it that night because she wasn't feeling well but one of my dearest, best friend (and old mission companions), Nalene, came to see them. They LOVE Nay! I don't blame them. She rocks like nobodies business!
Good job Meagan and Jenna. They are working on their back tucks and should have it before we move to Arizona!

We have "arrived"

That's how I feel when I make this announcement. Dave has accepted a job as the CFO of the law firm he works with and we will be moving to Phoenix, Arizona sometime between March and June of 2012. We feel this way, all of us, because we have moved an awful lot but we feel like we are done. We will be around family for the first time in our entire marraige and are so very excited about it. When we first came to the kids and told them that we were going to move we also told them that we would wait until the end of the school year so they would get to finish here and wouldn't have to join another school in the middle of the year and they were fine with that. However, now they are all just so excited about being around family that they keep telling me that they just want to move when we sell the house. They are rubbing off on me and getting me excited too. Now, once again, we are going to be trying to sell the house...in a market that isn't very good. We have always been very blessed, though, when it comes to selling our home and because of that I am listing it for sale by owner for a month or two. Even though the kids are excited we are not in a hurry so we will see what happens.
Anyway, Merry Christmas to us! We never have to be alone on Thanksgiving or Christmas again...we hope not anyway:-)

Jen

 
My 16th b-day party. Jen and I used to call ourselves "Wild and Crazy" and we made some shirt that announced to the world :-)

 
I used to tease Jen by saying stuff like, "if I were a man, I'd marry you". This is at a church dance.

 

 
Jen in 2001 when she came to help me out for a month with the triplets. Jen has Jenna and I have Meagan.

 

 

Jen Holding Chase while Meagan and Jenna slept in the background. True friend, bestie to the end!

A surprise visit to my Oldest Bestie!

 
On Decemeber 7th I flew out to North Carolina to surprise my oldest Best Friend for her 40th birthday party. An added bonus was being able to spend time with my family, of coarse. I got to go to Caylyn's school and see her in a school performance with Callie and Connor, spend time with Jocelyn and Fletcher one day, Skylar, Jonas, and Liam another and Tua, Sefa and Pelu (well, kinda Pelu...lol!) the last day. I didn't bring my camera because I only brought a carry on and couldn't fit my camera in the bag or my purse so all of these pics are compliments of others cameras.

 
Rachael helped me plan how I was going to surprise Jen. Jen was already at the club house having a "before" dinner party with her family (which I thought I would be doing this out in front of her house but didn't know she had a dinner party at 4pm). Rachael walked in and told her that she wanted to come down and say happy b-day but that she couldn't stay long because she had to study (she's in school to become a phlebotomist),that she was there early because this was the only time she could come and that she had promised me, because I couldn't be there, that she would play Bruno Mars song "Count on me" as a b-day dedication to her. She started to play it as I waited nervous as heck out in the hall for the second verse to start. I came in singing, "If your tossin' and your turnin' and you just can't sleep at night...I'll sing a song beside you. If you ever forget how much you really mean to me....Everyday I will remind you..." Well, I knew I wouldn't get far and I didn't. I barely got that line out before she turned around....

 
threw her hands up to her mouth in surprise (wish we would have gotten a pic of her face) and started crying. It was so fun to surprise her!

 
"Find out what we're made of....when we are called to help a friend in need. You can count on me like 1, 2, 3 and I'll be there...and I know when I need it I can on you like 4, ,3, 2 and you'll be there....cause that's what friends are supposed to do, on yeah."
I gotta take a moment and tell you that Jen really is the kind of friend that I hope everyone has. Back in 2001 when I had a 4 yr old, a 2 1/2 yr. old and 3 month old triplets Jen quit her job, flew out to Utah from NC for a month and helped me with my babies and the boys. In fact, one of my favorite pics of her is when she was out here helping me with the babies and I took a snap shot of her practically asleep holding one of them. I will post it in the next blog if I can find it.


 
When all the crying was done we sat down and began the fun. I joined the Grigg family for dinner (well, I wasn't hungry but I sat down with them) and got to catch up with all of them.

 
Then the party started and we ate, danced line dances, read the memory wall and listen to a group called "the Gardner sister's" (look them up on youtube).


 
Greg and Jane, and Nate and Amy came down to the party too. We've always considered Jen part of the family.

 
Jen with Rachael (before she took off cuz she really didn't stay for the party and had to study), Angela Morphies (who also came down from W-S for the party), and her hubbie, Mark, who was the only one to know (besides my family) that I was flying in and did an awesome job hiding it.


 
What an evening. I got to spend time with some of my very best freinds...my friends for life (and that includes you, Greg and Nate ).

 

That night I stayed the night with Jen in Concord which is just outside of Charlotte. We stayed up till nearly 3:00 talking (well, she did. I fell asleep just before 2:30 while she continued looking through the scrap book that her good friend, Tamara, put together). The next day we had till 2:15 cuz I got a late flight out so we hung out and talked some more and made a cake with the boys.
I am so glad that I got a chance to show Jen how much she really means to me. This is going to be one of my most favorite memories. I am so blessed to have a friend like her. I love you, Jen!