Computer Problems

Well, I have so much to post and would really like to show pictures, but right now we are in the process of fixing the computer and due to the nature of the beast, we can't upload/download any pictures. So yesterday was my birthday and I had a really nice day. It started out with Jessica and Luke making me breakfast in bed (toast with butter and jam, and some applesauce). It was very nice and I was thinking of how wonderful and thoughtful my kids are when they all start shouting that we have a ton of people in the driveway. So, I am thowing on something besides pj's and rushing out to the front door when standing there with balloons, breakfast muffins,some apple turnovers, and singing Happy Birthday are two of my wonderful friends and their kids to wish me happy birthday. Thank you Stefani and Lisa, you made my day for the 2nd time.(The first was breakfast in bed) Most of the rest of the day was just laid back talking to friends and family. Cody had to work so he could have the day after Thanksgiving off, so I made my favorite Chicken Alfredo Lasagna, salad and bread for dinner. Then Cody took me to see Twilight. It was good, but nothing can compete with the imagination. Thank you to all my family and friends for making this a wonderful birthday. (The kids in my primary class guessed I was 26 I am thinking that is a great age to be.)
Sorry, to make this so long but I have another great story(this one needs pictures and we will get them up as soon as we can). When we got home from church today we had the surprise of our lives. While we were gone, someone decided to take their vehicle and run it into Cody's pickup truck which slammed into our garage and pushed the garage door in about a foot and took off. It cracked the stucco on the side of the house, bent Cody's back bumper, scratched up the side of his truck, and we don't
know about front yet because we can't move it for insurance purposes. We spent the rest of the afternoon talking to the cops and filing reports. Talk about crazy. We have no idea who could have done this or why. We are hoping to get it repaired before we leave to Disneyland.

School Days

I just thought I would show you what we do for school, the kids do so well and really like it most days. It is amazing how much they are learning. I gave Eli a unit test for music and I had to look up the answers...he got them all right. Sometimes the teacher needs to study more. Notice there is no teacher? Hummmm, do you think she absent? She would like to be some days, but most of the time she loves school just as much as the kids.
Luke is learning about how plants grow, here is the sunflower he made

Eli is writing a cure for being mean, just like Mrs. Piggle Wiggle

Nikki was studying her history(maps).

Jessica studying for a spelling test.

Our Denver Field Trip

Our trip to Denver was a lot of fun! And the day was perfect, the sky was blue and it was in the 70's. Cody and I enjoyed our time in the Temple. And I always have to stop at deseret book. After that we headed to downtown Denver to see the State Capital Bldg. and the Art Museum. The museum is huge and would have taken several hours to see all of it. It is 6 levels on one side then you take a skywalk to the other side which has another 4 levels. And on every level there is projects for the kids to make and do. We only had two hours, so we didn't get to even see half of it. Every first saturday is free day, so the next free day we will be there early.





We started our morning out with a trip to the Denver Temple, then headed downtown to see the capital and go to the Denver Art Museum.

Trick or Treat

The girls are showing off their stash of candy from the trunk or treat and trick or treating. Not too bad, but still a lot.

Can you believe that pile? The boys candy weighed about 12lbs together, now I am trying to decide what to do with it all.

The girls at our ward trunk or treat

The boys at our ward trunk or treat

Murder Mystery Party

For the last two years Cody and I have hosted an adult murder mystery party for halloween(the weekend before). We love having everyone dress up and we believe we have some of the most creative friends ever! It is great fun, and it is growing every year. Last year we had 30 people and this year was 44. Thanks to all our friends for making it such a huge success...We love you guys. Oh yeah, don't you just love those Can Can girls! I love the Cowboy next to me, isn't he hot!

Nikki's Birthday

Here she is celebrating with just her family on her "real" birthday. She got 2 new dresses, Hannah Montana shirt, and a Ryan doll(from H.S.M.). We can't believe she is now 10 years old. Nikki we love you and are so lucky to have you in our family!!!

Nikki had a couple of friends over for her birthday, she had invited a lot more but because it was a week off of school a lot of her friends were out of town. She still had fun though.

Here is Nikki at her favorite resturant...Red Robin, having her early birthday dinner. She is eating her special bithday dessert after the workers sang the happy birthday song to her. She really liked all the special attention. Can't say I blame her.

Our New Horse

Nikki named him Glory, but after having him for 2 weeks we don't think it fits, you can help us choose a name. Glory is more of a girl name and everyone keeps calling him a girl, so that is why we are going to change it. His name before was Jean Luc but the kids didn't like it.

As you can tell, the kids really like him, here they are with him the day we got his brand inspection. He does really well with all the movement and excitement around him.

Well, here he is! He is a 10 year old gelding who is just great. I have taken him out trail riding and he only has a couple of quirks, but he doesn't spook and the kids can ride him just fine. We have had a couple of small mishaps, but they have been our fault. We are really blessed to be able to have a horse and that he is especially gentle and all around great.