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!

Trick Or Treat

Happy Halloween! The kids really enjoyed their costumes this year. They all looked great! I have to say this was one of the least stressful years. Yay me! Matthew patiently waited for this group picture, and then he was off to spend the evening with his friends. It helps my nerves to know that he has a fantastic group of friends and that we live in a wonderful and safe neighborhood. He had a blast! The girls had so much fun trick-or-treating...their bags got heavy quick. It lightly sprinkled on us at the beginning, but that didn't stop us. The temperature was so nice! We didn't have to bundle up this year! After 2 hours and hitting just about every house in the Ward we called it a night. The kids are already talking about what they want to be next year. I'm glad I have a year to plan. We love Halloween!
Punk Dirt Biker

Dorothy and Toto
Doctor
Minnie Mouse

Trick or treat, smell our feet...

...thanks for giving us lots of candy to eat.