Arizona Memories

We love going home to Arizona! We were so grateful to spend the week of Thanksgiving with Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Grandpa and Grandmas. Matt had to stay and work, so it was just the kids and I that made the long, 10 1/2 hour, drive down. I am so lucky to have kids that travel well. Thanks guys! We had so much fun spending time with everyone. Sorry to those of you we missed seeing this time. The trip always goes by too fast. We still shed many tears when we leave. So sad! We love you so much and can't wait to see you all again!

We came down on Saturday, the 22nd, so we could see my stepbrother, Shane, and his little family before they flew back to Illinois Sunday morning. We hadn't seen Rynn since she had been born, so we held and played with her as much as we could. It was worth coming down early!
Rynn is the cutest, sweetest, and happiest baby ever.
This is the Keegan family: Shane, Wynnie, and Rynn. I am so glad we got to spend a little bit of time with you. It was so good to see you guys again!
Karley lost a tooth while we were staying at Grandpa and Grandma Debbie's house.

Karissa had a cute idea to have our kids write their Christmas Wish List to Santa.

They had so much fun reading their lists out loud. They each want some pretty cool things. Santa has his work cut out for him this year!:)

Mailing their letters to Santa.

Later, Grandpa heated his Jacuzzi for us! Karissa, me, and all the kids got in. Matthew, Kynlee, Karley, and Brigg were crazy and kept jumping into the big pool. It was really cold, so they would hurry and jump back into the Jacuzzi, warm up, and go again. Grandma Debbie made us some yummy Hot Chocolate to enjoy! Aunt Kristy joined us in the Jacuzzi after she got off work. Matthew, Kynlee, Karley, Brigg, and Kenzie had fun racing on scooters around Grandpa's cul-de-sac. The weather was so beautiful outside!

We visited the Thompson cousins before they went to Utah for Thanksgiving. We love you guys!

We loved staying the night at Uncle Jesse and Aunt Karissa's house. The kids are eating Drumstick ice cream cones while watching a movie. We all had fun being together! Thanks for your hospitality sister!

Princess Kenzie and Princess Presley showing off their matching Princess pajamas.

After leaving Karissa's we all met Grandmama and Nathan's family at Bounce U for the open bounce session. What a blast! This is a picture of all the grand kids: Matthew, Brigg, Baron, Deacon, Kenzie, Presley, Tate, Kynlee, and Karley. Not an ugly one in the bunch!:)
Kynlee and Tate going down one of the slides. I love their smiles!

Kenzie being a monkey and hanging upside down!

Sweet Presley on her way in to join the gang.

Kenzie and Deacon having fun bouncing together. The girls getting the best bubble bath at Grandmama's. Aunt Natalie washed and styled their hair!:)

It has been tradition for us to run in the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. I love doing it with my Dad and sisters. It rained hard the night before, but luckily cleared up for the race. We all ran at different paces this year. After running the 2 mile course, I had a nice cool down waiting at the Finish Line for the others!:) I was proud of everyone!

Our traditional family picture on Thanksgiving, minus Matt of course. We are nestled in one of Grandpa's beautiful grapefruit trees.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast! We all stuffed ourselves. I loved being with my family. So special! Grandma Nikolaus was down from Show Low...what a treat it was to see her!

It's also tradition to go and see a movie on Thanksgiving. We all went and saw "Bolt" in 3-D. It was so cute and funny! This is Grandpa and the kids looking cool in their 3-D glasses.

Grandma Nikolaus with most of the great-grand kids from our family. They love you!
Sisters forever!

Grandpa had a treat in store for Matthew. He got tickets to the Phoenix Suns game Friday night! Matthew was thrilled! The Suns played against the Miami Heat. Unfortunately they lost, and Steve Nash was out with a bruised thigh.:( Matthew still had a great time, and told me all about the game when he got home.Grandpa and Matthew. He will always remember this special night with you! Thanks Dad!

Natalie and her boyfriend, Jeff, were at the game too. Aw, how sweet!

Matthew (5' 1") is exactly 2 feet shorter than Shaq (7' 1").

Matthew measuring his hand to the hand of his Basketball Idol, Steve Nash.
My Mom and sisters (Natalie was at the Suns game) enjoyed a G.N.O. Friday night. We ate at Texas Roadhouse and then went and saw "Twilight". It was so good the 2nd time around...I loved it! Thanks to Nathan for watching my girls. You're the best!

Grandmama gave the kids an early Christmas present the night before we left. They got the biggest, softest, and cuddliest Teddy Bears you've ever seen. They love them and will always think of you when they're snuggling with them. Thanks Mom!

O' Christmas Tree

Uncle Steve cut down a Christmas tree for Grandpa and Grandma Slider. It's at least 12 feet tall. We had so much fun decorating it tonight! Donna and I wrapped 11 strands of multi-colored lights around the tree. That's a total of 1100 lights! Matt and the kids did a good job of putting on over 100 bulbs. They are all different colors and sizes. It is so beautiful! We are sure getting into the Christmas spirit around here!:)

Thanksgiving Blessings

I love this holiday season which allows me to take the time to reflect on what matters most. I feel that I am truly blessed in my life. I am grateful that the kids and I were able to be in Arizona with my family for Thanksgiving. What a blessing to be surrounded by so many loved ones. We love you!We missed you Matt!

Twilight At Midnight

I was so excited that I got invited to go to the Midnight showing of Twilight last week. It was so fun to be out with girlfriends, even if it meant I would be losing sleep over it! I have loved reading every book and have recently read the first book again in preparing for the movie to come out. Maybe it was a mistake to have it fresh on my mind, because through the whole movie, I kept saying, "That wasn't in the book." My description of the movie is this: You know when you have a really GOOD dream, but when you start explaining it to someone you realize how CHEESY it was...Well, when I was reading the book, I thought it was really GOOD, but seeing it in movie form made me feel like the story was CHEESY. But of course my heart is hooked, so I can't wait to see it again with my Mom and sisters here in Arizona. Now who is being CHEESY!:)

Night Of Recitals

Kynlee had the opportunity to start taking violin lessons. She had the desire and the price was right, so here we go with this adventure. She started the beginning of September and is still going strong. She takes from an 8th grade girl in our Ward, who is being tutored by her Mom. Kynlee is her first and only student. I am quite impressed with the talent that Kynlee is showing so early. She has amazingly caught on quick. I hope that she will stick with it and maybe someday her and I can play together.

Kynlee couldn't wait for her 1/2 size violin to come. This is her trying it on for size. It's a perfect fit! Kynlee is so diligent in practicing. The occasions are rare that she complains when I ask her to practice. Her teacher is always impressed by her improvement each week.Kynlee played 2 songs, from memory, at her Recital: "Rainbow" and "Lagoon Choo Choo". Grandpa, Grandma Slider, and her family were there to cheer her on. She did fabulous! Kynlee with her teacher Becca. She was so proud of Kynlee's performance tonight.

Kynlee had a Dance Recital too. She loves to dance with her friends! This is her 2nd year taking from a lady in our Ward. It is so nice that it's in our neighborhood. She danced to "Bop To The Top" from High School Musical and "Hot Chocolate" from Polar Express. The routines were so cute and their outfits were festive. It was fun to watch her enjoying herself!

Girls Basketball

We signed Karley up for Girls Basketball this season. She loves it and is really good! It is so fun to watch her enthusiasm for the sport. She has practices once a week where she learns about dribbling, passing, man to man defense, and shooting. On game day, she puts what she learned at practice into the game. She is my little sports girl. I love it!

We bought her a little basketball.
Karley on the break away. Go Karley!

This picture shows Karley making a shot! The basket is 8 feet high, which allows her to make shots easily. What a thrill!

We all love watching Karley's games. Kenzie is being sweet and showing her love by sitting next to Karley while she takes her turn sitting out.

Karley gets the ball a lot. Her teammates know that she knows what to do with it. We have actually had parents tells us that she is quite the ball player! It is so fun to see her hustling back and forth on the court. Win or lose she always has a smile, because she had fun no matter what.

I Am A Rock Star

Kynlee had her "ROCK STAR" themed Birthday Party tonight. It was so much fun! We hung up hot pink and black streamers and blew up a bunch of hot pink balloons for decoration. She had all of her friends come dressed up in their best Rock Star outfits. There were some really cute ideas. I taped a roll of red wrapping paper on the sidewalk coming up to the door to resemble "The Red Carpet". Everyone got their picture taken on it. We handed out glow in the dark bracelets and sprayed sparkles in their hair when they came in.

Kynlee striking a pose on "The Red Carpet" while waiting for her Rock Star friends to show up.
She looked so cute in her hot pink dress. It has black guitars all over it. Very Rock Star appropriate!
The girls filled out their Rock Star scrapbook page which included: favorite band, favorite singer, favorite song, etc.. It also had a place for each others' autographs.
The highlight of the night was hours of Karaoke! They sang along with songs from Hannah Montana, Camp Rock, and High School Musical. It took a lot of courage for them to get up and do it. They were great performers!

Kynlee and her friend, Nicole, started it off.

Kynlee and her good friends, Reagan and Paige.

What a silly bunch of Rock Stars! They all had a blast!

I have the best sugar cookie recipe. I cut out stars, hence the theme, and they had fun decorating them.

Kenzie got a little carried away with the sprinkles! I love the thumbs up sign!:)

Kynlee blew out her candle with her noise blower.

Kynlee ended the party by singing "I Got Nerve" by Hannah Montana all by herself. She really got into it with actions, dancing, and attitude. I was quite impressed! I would say that the party was a huge success, because even a couple of days later, the girls are still talking about it.

Birthday Celebration

Kynlee turned 10 years old today! It has been so fun to watch her grow up and develop her sweet little personality. Honestly, she is a treasure and I will continue to enjoy every minute.

Kynlee enjoyed her breakfast in bed...which included: waffles with homemade syrup, sausage, grapes, and juice. Yum! My kids look forward to this Birthday tradition.

Kynlee with her "Big Girl" bike! She has had the same bike since she was 5. She looked like a giant when she rode it, so she was due for something that fit her better. This should last her another 5 years.

Looking good girl!:)

Everyone joined in with riding their bikes.

Kynlee loves her new bike!

Kynlee chose Del Taco for her Birthday lunch with Mom. Four tacos, no lettuce, and a soda is her "usual". Yum! Then I took her shopping at Justice with the Birthday money she got from Grandpa and Grandma Debbie. She had a blast and got some cute stuff! I loved having this one on one moment with the Birthday girl.
Kynlee blowing out the candles on her Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake. She wanted to make sure that Kenzie wasn't sitting too close, since Kenzie likes to beat you to the punch at blowing out the candles!:) Kynlee had them all to herself.

Kynlee got the new Tinker Bell movie. What a smile!

She was so excited to get the new Miley Cyrus CD.

Kynlee loves to color and draw. She will have fun creating fabulous pictures with these cool Blendy pens.

Mason and Mailee gave Kynlee some body spray and lotion. We are so glad they came over to help celebrate.

Grandpa and Grandma Slider got her this sparkly green dress. It is so beautiful!

Dad and his sweet Birthday girl. So cute!

Mom giving Kynlee some sugar. I am grateful that she is not too old for kisses from Mom...yet! I am glad that you had a fun Birthday. Thank you for being so sweet! You are so special and talented in so many ways! You have been blessed with the gift to care for others. It shows with your own brother and sisters. They love you and look up to you. You are a true friend and your kindness makes you glow. You are blessed to have lots of family and friends who love and support you. Always know that I am here for you. I love you Princess!

One Year Older And Wiser Too

Happy Birthday Tim! You are a wonderful Father, Father-in-law, and Grandpa to my family. You always show us kindness and love. Thanks for listening to my kids and complimenting them on their accomplishments. Kenzie thinks you make the best swing pusher. I hope you had a great Birthday. You deserve it. We love you!Grandpa and his cute UT grand kids had fun celebrating his special day! Donna made roast for dinner and Tim requested his candles go on top of a pumpkin pie for dessert. Yummy!

Cool School Project

A few kids in Matthew's class were chosen to make a full body mummy wrap of themselves. I gave my consent to the project not knowing the actual time I would have to put into it. I spent 2 hours in his classroom wrapping each body part separately - legs, arms, torso, butt, shoulders. The wrap was clear packing tape. I put on 3 layers of tape. On the first layer, the tape was sticky side up, so it wouldn't be stuck to his skin. The second and third layer were sticky side down. Matthew said it felt so weird. He was a trooper! After I layered a body part, I cut a seam up the side and took the wrap off. This was Matthew's least favorite part, because he was afraid of me cutting him. Can you blame him? I took the project home to finish it. I taped Matthew's head, and all the body parts back together. Finally, after an hour and a half, we assembled it. It was very time consuming, but I must say that the outcome was worth it. It looks awesome! They will be hung in the classroom for awhile and then it comes home with Matthew. Maybe I'll hang it in his room!:) Matthew enduring the last body part to be wrapped...the head! The scary part was carefully cutting the tape off without cutting his hair. It was a slow process.

After taping all the finished body parts together, this is the end result. Looks just like him...so cool!Matthew showing how light weight it is. He was proud of the end result. It's nice to know the many hours I put into this project was appreciated!