Christmas 2010!

Twas the Night Before Christmas....and after the kids excitedly got to open their pajamas, I ended up with five cuddly kids in my bed with me!!!!!What a special time of year! Spent Family Home Evenings teaching the children about the true meaning of Christmas and giving service to others....and I think all my teaching went out the window at about 7 a.m. on December 25th!!!!!
But, even I have to admit that I get caught up in the excitement of Santa too!

How cute is this little Wild Guy!!!!

Averi was thrilled when Santa brought her Zhu Zhu Pets!

And let me just say that the next time I see Santa, I am going to give him a huge kiss for getting the boys their own laptop!

Even I got everything I wanted! My beloved purse that I wanted so badly, was wrapped nicely under the tree. Since Santa waits til December 23rd to shop for me, I knew there would be no way he would be able to find it! I was also pleasantly surprised to get my favorite Sweet Pea perfume....which Steve replied..."See, I do listen!"

My Double Digit Mister Man!!!!

Ethan turned 10 on December 20th. He wanted to have a party with his friends,and since it has been a couple of years since he has had an actual party, we decided to go ahead and do it!
We came up with a couple of different ideas, like having a sleepover, or going miniature golfing, etc...and then I found what turned out to be the best birthday party idea ever for 10 year old boys!

The Game Store here in town has a party room that turns into an XBOX 360 arcade! Ever child had their own console, with high definition graphics, and they could pick any game they wanted to play!...(as long as the rating wasn't "mature") I know,...sometimes mom's strict rules suck, but the kids still had a blast! Steve had so much fun, that he wanted to go out and buy the XBOX 360 console...(ummmm...sorry honey! but I DON'T THINK SO)

Afterwards, we went for pizza, presents, and cake!

It was such a nice evening, and I love having no cleanup!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Averi's Kindergarden Program

So fun to go and watch Averi and her class perform a Christmas program. She shocked me a couple of days ahead of time, while I was listening to Christmas music, she started doing sign language to Silent Night. It was touching to watch all 120+ kids singing it all together. However,I think Averi's favorite part was the fact that she got a new outfit so she could look her Christmas best, complete with sparkly shoes!

Thanksgiving 2010

We had our traditional Thanksgiving at my parents house the weekend before the actual holiday,so the whole extended family could come together to celebrate. A full house it was!

The Burton,Johnson, Smith, and Facer Families

Cousin Love

The Smith Family

My Brother Matt and Preslee

More Cousin Love

My Three Nephews

Mom time with Reagen

Averi

Poor Wyatt was so worn out from playing with his cousins that he didn't even make it through dinner!

Daddy and Reagen

We had some great food and great company. I love seeing all of my family on Thanksgiving, and look forward to it every year. It had become my favorite holiday. I look forward to our family tradition of walking the neighborhood after eating so much food! This year it was cold and raining in the morning, but that didn't stop Steve and Brady from playing a round of golf! Steve enjoyed himself so much golfing, that I think that will be a new tradition in the years to come!

Gavin's Special Day

Since Gavin turned 8, he had the opportunity to be baptized on September 4th. Steve performed the baptism at the Stake Center, and on Sunday, Pappa confirmed him during sacrament meeting. Randy, Krystal, and Kyra came up to our ward, and it was nice to have Randy stand in the circle for the confirmation, since him and Krystal are like the kids second parents!
Grandma, me and the kids!

Family Photo before the baptism

Pappa, Steve, and Gavin

We are proud of the decision Gavin made to get baptised, and we celebrated afterwards with our tradition at Mauricio's!

Steve and Gavin

First Day of School

Kids are excited to go to Patriot Elementary this year. Ethan will be in forth grade, Gavin in third, and Averi is starting Kindergarten! Hard to believe that I will only have two children at home during the day!

July 2010

So July ended up being a very crazy month for me. I was still working part time for the 2010 Census, and Steve started working insane hours, and traveling a lot, mostly out to the desert. While the kids were out of school and looking forward to our trip to Utah, I still had a huge final to take before we left. It was 40 percent of my grade, and there were two major essays that I was facing. So, the day before we left for vacation, I went over to Cal State Bakersfield, and spent three hours completing my final, each essay ended up being 15 pages written. My arms was numb from the elbow down by the time I left, but I was just thankful to get it done. I decided then that I was not going to do any more school right now, and that I would wait a couple of years before finishing my degree. Hard decision to make when I only have five classes left! Plus, I wouldn't be able to finish it through BYU, and would therefore loose credits when I had to transfer somewhere else.
Some friends asked me what I was learning from working with the Census. My reply, "I have really enjoyed it and it is nice to have a paycheck, but the most important thing I have learned is that a mother of five children, (with a husband who works such long hours), shouldn't 'work'!!!" It was difficult juggling the five kids, work, keeping up the home, and preparing for a final!
I told Steve of my decision about school while we were in Utah, and he was disappointed. Being so close to the end, he thought that I shouldn't quit. But, I told him that someday I would graduate, just not right now.
After a relaxing vacation with family, I came home and checked my grade for the class. I ended up getting a 98% on the final, and a 96% in the class. I was amazed. I think it helped that it was a history class and I loved the information! So, since I accomplished that, I reversed my decision and am going to continue on, and have recently started another class!