**First blog of 2009**

This is a random picture of my Great Grandpa O in the military during World War I -- it has nothing to do with this post I just think it's a cool picture and I hate doing a post without at least one picture.

First of all, I hope that everyone had a super holiday break. I had all of my family in town for Christmas and New Years and let me just say that there were no dull moments. I can't believe how fast 2 weeks went by and I feel like I didn't do even half of what I planned to do before the new year.

Speaking of New Years, I really don't like resolutions because they are just something that I will have really good intentions of doing but, like always, I won't do- and yet some how I still make them every year- I came across a typed list of my resolutions for 1999- and the funny thing is that they are something that I would still write down today. Sad.....ten years later and I'm still trying to get the same things accomplished that I was when I was 22, that's kind of scary =o)

But, there are a few things that I would really like to do this year- I want to keep in better touch with all of my friends and family and I really want to be better at keeping my blog up to date- so this is my attempt to do at least one of those things. Even if it means posting something extremely random like a picture of my Great Gramps. hehe

Dale River Ranch Trip

Okay- So I am very bitter right now- I just spent an hour creating a slide show of pictures from our family trip to Richs' company ranch/lodge. I took the time to design it, write comments about each picture and just as I was about to post it, slide.com decided to freak out on me, it froze up and went blank- which resulted in losing all of the work that I had just done. So here is a couple pics from that trip, when I have more time I will create a new slide. Now, just to let you know, this trip was in September- that is how far behind I am at blogging. I am hoping to catch up over the Christmas break....we'll see.

These were the best Christmas presents ever.....Spencer and Kaston.

So, Meagan did a Get-To-Know-You-Christmas edition on her blog and she said that I would be the one to respond, so here it is-

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Whatever is the easiest way to wrap the gift at the time
2. Real tree or Artificial? Love real tree's, but since we moved to Texas, we don't have the Hagman's to help us out and cut one down for us, so now it is fake....sad.
3. When do you put up the tree? The weekend after thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? after new years
5. Do you like eggnog? I love it! but, when I was pregnant with Ireland I became allergic to egg yolks, so unless I want to feel super sick, I stay away from it.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? My international cabbage patch doll from Spain
7. Hardest person to buy for? My Grandpa Gary
8. Easiest person to buy for? My kids
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, a couple of them
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I prefer to mail them, if I get them done and then if I ever get to the post office, I am terrible when it comes to mailing stuff.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?I can't think of anything at the moment
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Christmas Vacation, Elf, the Grinch, A Christmas Story- there are too many to choose from, I love Christmas movies.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Couple of months before Christmas
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I'm not sure
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Waffles and wassail, we do this every Christmas eve
16. Lights on the tree? White lights on both trees
17. Favorite Christmas song? Walking in a winter wonderland
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? This will be our 3rd Christmas in Texas, I'm sure that one of these days we will travel back to Utah for the Holidays
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star on our country/charlie brown tree and an angel on the "fancy" tree as the kids call it
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? open pajamas and a little something else(stuffed animal or a book) on Christmas eve, and everything else on Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The chaos of trying to get everything done,
and people forgetting the real meaning of Christmas
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I like old fashioned, country type decor and ornaments
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? basically the same as a Thanksgiving feast
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? World peace =o) really I would love for my kids to understand what Christmas is truly about
26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Most everyone I know has done this- so if you are reading this and you have not- then get to it!!
27. Who is least likely to respond to this? ?????
28. List a family tradition that you have implemented in your own family? I mentioned it already- on Christmas Eve Rich makes the best waffles (they have bacon cooked in them) and I make wassail (citrus apple cider) which almost nobody but me drinks, and then the kids open their jammies and we read a Christmas book before they go to bed

Happy Birthday Spencer & Kaston!!

My babies turned 6 today. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by- with twins it feels like it went by twice as fast. My mom came into town yesterday- I didn't tell the kids that she was coming so we surprised them when they got off the bus- they were very excited to see her. It was nice having her here to help me today, we went and had lunch with the twins (and Ireland), we took cupcakes for them to hand out to their class- the cupcakes were half chocolate and half vanilla with Bratz and Speed Racer rings on them. After school they opened their presents and then we went to a place called the Studio Movie Grill (it is a restaurant and movie theater in one, you sit in big comfy office chairs and the server brings you anything you need throughout the movie- so fun) We saw "High School Musical 3" the kids loved it!

All in all, it was a great day, I had a much better day today than I did 6 years ago at this time. Having pre-mature twins was one of the, if not the, hardest things I have ever done in my life. To not know if your baby (or babies in my case) are going to survive is the worst thing for any parent to have to deal with. We were very blessed that Spencer, all 4 lbs. of her, was as healthy as any full term baby, but our sweet Kaston was not as fortunate. His lungs were not developed and he ended up having to stay in the NICU for 2 weeks. The doctors told us that if he was born a decade earlier, he would not have lived- scary!!

But, here we are 6 years later, and the two of them are doing very well. They are doing great in school, they have super cute personalities and we absolutely adore each of them very much.

We just love our little Penkie and Kas, even if they are Double Trouble! =o)

The first page is just some fall pictures we decided to take.....at Sams Club. hehe. The kids loved these pumpkins so much but at $7 each I said "NO WAY!" so a picture was a compromise-that way they could remember these pumpkins forever, because you know they may never see another pumpkin that they love so much for the rest of their entire lives...whaaaaaa can you just feel their pain?!?!

About the 2nd page-So at the end of every month the kids school, Minshew Elementary, has Colt Round Up. It is basically a pep-rally of sorts. Kids get awards, sometimes they have special people show up, they have a scream off to see which grade gets the spirit stick, you get the idea. Well at the September 26th Colt Round Up, all 3 of my kids were involved. Ireland is in the Music Makers and they performed, both Spencer and Kaston received the Blue Colt Award ( I have no idea what this award is for) and then Kaston very proudly got the Musician of the month award. He was so happy and he milked the attention for as long as he could. For the whole next week at least a few times a day he would say " Mom, are you so proud of me for being the Musician of the month?" It was cute at first, but it started to get old after awhile, especially when I was about to get upset with him and then he would hurry and ask me it. He is so cute, but he can be a real stinker at times =)

The last page is of the school Walk-a-thon, which was a fun fundraiser for the PTA. It was on the same day as the Colt Round Up- My friend Kristi was in charge of putting it together and she did an awesome job!! Every single kid in the school got a t-shirt, for free I tell ya, and they all looked so cute marching around the field. I was able to help out, it was funny to watch the kindergartners walk in a straight line for the first couple of laps, until they figured out they didn't have to, then they took off like wild fire. The kids had a lot of fun and it was for a good cause- a win,win situation. (the center picture is of Mrs. Paine, she is Spencer and Kaston's teacher.)

Okay, Okay I know that I have been a total slacker when it comes to my blog- but let me explain myself. Besides being a mom to 3 kids, the room mom for 2 classes, a volunteer in many other areas at the school, a soccer coach for 6 little boys, and also trying to keep my house in order.....The main reason I have slacked is because for my birthday (Sept. 18th) I received the Twilight Saga books, and I was addicted- I read any chance I could find, at the school, during soccer practice (Ireland's, not Kaston's- I have to coach his) while making dinner and then staying up way too late because I just couldn't put them down. I know Rich must have thought I was cheating on him with a book. I'm serious, I didn't shave my legs for weeks, because that would take 5 minutes away from my reading- I cooked the simplest and fastest meals possible. My life was completely wrapped up in these books. But I am happy to say that last week I finished them and, oh are they goooood!!! I read 4 good sized books in less than 3 weeks- that has never been done by me before. I can't wait for the movie to come out next month!!!
So after I finished the books I thought that would be a good time to start blogging again- wrong!
We went out of town last weekend (I will blog and post pictures about that trip later) and it was a blast, but when we got home I started to feel a little yucky-
and what do you know-I got Strep Throat!!!
I have felt horrible the past few days- I can barely get out of bed- today is the first time this whole week I have been able to get upstairs to the computer. So this will be the first of many blogs to come- I hope you're ready because I have a lot to blog about.
Stay tuned...........

Double Digit Day!!

Happy 10th Birthday Ireland!!

I can't believe how fast the last decade has flown by. It seems like just yesterday that I was holding my first born in my arms. My little girl was born at 4:32pm she was 6 lbs 11 oz. and 20.5 inches long. My how things have changed...here are 10 reasons I think my daughter is the greatest:

1. She has an awesome sense of humor

2. super friendly

3. very compassionate

4. she is a great helper

5. very smart and artistic

6. she can cook really well- she bakes excellent brownies

7. I love that she is part tom-boy but that she isn't afraid to be girly

8. she is very brave and will try anything

9. Her self confidence is awesome

10. Her smile (braces and all) is contagious =)

Ireland has such a special way of just lighting up a room- she has the type of personality that is just a pleasure to have around, I have always gotten complimented on how well behaved and awesome she is, and I couldn't agree more. I don't know what Rich and I did to deserve such an amazing little girl, but all I can say is I feel very blessed to be her mom.

Happy Birthday Peanut, we all love you very much!!!

1st Day of School at Minshew Elementary

Last week was a very bitter-sweet week for me- The kids started school- which I think is so great for them, the hard part was letting go of my "babies". The twins started kindergarten and I was so sad to see them go- they have been with me since the day they were born and I think that because they were pre-mature I've always been a little more protective of them, and the fact that I know that there will be no more children after them, it made it a little bit harder for me. Most people send their kids off to school gradually, with twins it's all at once. I had such a fear of feeling all alone once all my kids were gone for the whole day. The first day was somewhat difficult but the night before, after the kids went to bed, I cried my self to sleep so that I could get out all of the tears so I wouldn't cry when I dropped them off.
We got to the school, walked Ireland to her locker so we could help her decorate it (with Zac Effron magnets) then we walked her to her class, gave loves, wished her a wonderful day and said goodbye. (She is a pro at the whole school thing now that she is in 4th grade, she was super excited to start).
Then off to the kindergarten hall- I wasn't sure just how Spencer or Kaston would react- they were so brave- they put their backpacks in their cubbies- Kaston's is a "soldier one" as he calls it (camouflage) and Spencer's is Joe Jonas- whom she adores- she is very proud of that backpack- Then they looked for their name on a table, they each found their own name very quick and easy, they both gave me big hugs and kisses- Spencer didn't look nervous at all, she was just really happy and Kaston had a small look of concern but he was very brave and didn't let his nerves get the best of him, I took a few pictures gave a few last loves and left. Once I got in the car I actually felt relieved. I think I was afraid that they would have a hard time with me leaving them, but since they were okay, it made me feel okay.
Now we are a week into school, and there are moments when I feel a little lonely, like I'm missing something, but for the most part it has been pretty good. Going grocery shopping is a breeze & I am able to start a project at home and actually finish it. It's nice to have a routine and I love hearing about the kids day and seeing how excited they are to learn so many new things. As scared as I was for the first day of school, I think things are working out just fine, and- I am getting better at not feeling guilty when I say that having a break is actually a pretty nice thing.

***My Baby Sister, JENSEN, is 16! ***

Happy Birthday Jensee!!

We all love and miss you and wish that we could be

there with you!

I can remeber the day that mom told me that you were

going to be born....Christmas day, 1991.

I was so excited, all I wanted my whole life was a little

brother or sister. Fortunately, I was blessed with a little sister-

God knew that you would be the best for me-

you have been such an amazing sister and have become

a best friend to me. I love you so much and I can't believe that

you are 16, what does that make me, at least 25 =o)

I hope that this day is one of the best days of your life!!

& now that you have your license-

Drive fast & take risks- hehe

(I'll let mom be the one to tell you to drive slow & be safe)