New popcorn popper

Grandma and Grandpa Boulter sent us an old fashioned popcorn popper for Christmas. My kids were very amazed by it. Garrett asked me if our microwave was broken and that was why we were making popcorn in this new machine. Microwave popcorn is the only thing that he has ever known and so this was all very new to him and the rest of the kids. It was very fun to watch and since then they want to use the new machine and not the microwaveable kind. It is a lot more time consuming to use a popcorn popper and not the microwave. I have to say I like the microwave method better but it is fun from time to time to do it the old fashioned way. What a fun gift. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.

Garrett's new tool table

Santa brought Garrett and Blake a new tool table. They spend so much time building things it is amazing. Nice call Santa this was a huge hit.

Jack & Buddy's New Ripsticks

Jack and Buddy got a rip stick for Christmas this year. Buddy was good right away because he rides Faith's all the time. Jack struggled and got a little frustrated at first but after a couple hours of trying over and over again he finally got it down. I think it would take me a lot longer than a couple hours. I would need a couple months. Even then I don't know if I would be able to do it. I would probably break my neck and end up in the hospital in traction.

Josie's New Bike

Josie got a new bike this year from Santa. She is still a little hesitant on it because she isn't used to the hand breaks but she loves it anyway. I thought that she did a great job on it.

Christmas Morning

Santa left everything very neat and organized but by the time six kids got to it it was complete chaos. I guess that means that it was a good Christmas. We have been very blessed this year and are so grateful for everything we have. The magic of Christmas is one of my favorite things about having children. There is nothing better than to see their faces light up when they come down on Christmas morning.

Christmas Breakfast

For the bast 7 or 8 years we have had a big Christmas breakfast for all our family and whomever wants to come. Now that we don't live by family we have the Elders serving in our area and close friends come over. This year we had the Elliott's, the Beckers, Elder McGhan, Elder Kimber, Elder Anderson and Elder Carnahan come for breakfast. We had so much food I thought I was going to die. The kids played games with Steven, Crystal and the Elders and all the adults sat around visiting. It was a very casual and layed back morning. Just the way it should be. Hopefully, we can have family come too sometime in the next couple years.

Garrett's Big Surprise

This is the cutest story ever. So, Wes wanted to buy a jar of pickles for a white elephant gift party we went to. We ended up not getting it and apparently Garrett really thought that Wes wanted a jar of pickles. While we were shopping at Sam's Club Garrett saw the bottle of pickles and HAD to buy them for Daddy. He was so pleased with himself. I think that he was more excited to see Wes open his gift than he was to open his open presents. It was soooo cute.

Christmas Eve

This year we went over to the Becker's for Christmas Eve dinner. Martha was so sweet. She made cupcakes and let each of the kids decorate them. Dinner was amazing and the company was just as good.
Each year on Christmas Eve we each open one present. It's always jammmies that we get to wear to bed that night. Usually, the pajamas end up being too small and so this year I bought everyone a size bigger than what they should be. Of course, they were huge. Apparently, the correct size would have been perfect for each of them, go figure. I think they still looked darling in them though. After we opened up our presents we set out goodies and cherry coke for Santa and put out some reindeer food on the lawn so that Rudolph could find our house. Then it was off to bed for visions of sugar plums to dance through our heads.

Wes' new ASU shirt

Wes got a new ASU shirt and he is sooo proud of it. He thinks that he is pretty tough when he wears it, hence the photo.

Jackson's 10th Birthday

My baby is 10 years old. I can't believe it. The past ten years have flown by. This year we celebrated Jack's birthday a day early because the Christensen's were going leaving town. We went to Chuck-E-Cheese for lunch and games and then came back to our house and the kids played for the rest of the day. It is very difficult for my kids to be separated from Faith and Cole for more than a day or two and so they had to get their fill of Faith and Cole before they left town for a week. Everyone played so well together. It may be worth going to Chuck-E-Cheese everyday. Not that I could afford that. Thanks to the Christensen's and Elliott's Jack had a fabulous birthday with our Texas family.
Jack is growing up to be a great young man. He is very talented at so many things. He loves to sing and is very good at art. He never ceases to amaze me at his ability to play sports. He is an awesome big brother and a joy to have in our family. I love you Jack!! Thanks for being my son.

Neighborhood Visitor

On the 21st our neighborhood had a special visitor driving around on 4 wheeler. Santa came to check up on all the kids and while he was at it he took the kids on a ride in his trailor. It was so much fun!!

Family Photos 2009

My dearest friend Karen agreed to brave another family photo for us and did an amazing job. It is not an easy feat to photograph 8 people, 6 of whom are under the age of 10. However, she always seems to do a fabulous job. I'm sure that it helps that my kids love her. Thank you so much for sharing your talent with our family Karen.

Marshmallow Shooters

Okay, so Karen and I still have not learned our lesson about craft projects. However, I think that we found the best craft project yet. The kids had a great time and were able to do it all on their own. Karen and I cut the PVC pipe and then the kids did the rest. They built their own guns and then spray painted them the way they wanted. I was a little worried about the spray painting but they actually did a really good job. Homerun for Karen and I!!! Finally

Jack on Safety Patrol

At school the 4th and 5th grade students get to serve as safety patrol. They choose students that have good grades and are responsible. Jackson was chosen to serve this last semester. He had to be at school by 7:45 in the morning and would open the car doors for the students to get out in car rider line. He was the cutest safety patroller out there. Then again I'm a little biased.

Gingerbread house time!!!

Every year we make gingerbread houses with the Christensen's. It sounds like a really good idea up until the time we get all the stuff out and there is candy flying everywhere. The kids have a great year every year and so I guess it is all worth it. I will say every year it gets a little easier. A couple more years and I bet they will all be able to make them by themselves.

Putting up the Christmas Tree

How many people does it take to put a nine foot Christmas tree? Well this year it took our entire family, the Christensen's, Crystal Elliott and two elders. We are so lucky to have so many willing and helping hands. This blasted tree is a pain in the behind to put up and I dread it every year. However, once it is up it is so pretty. Now I get to spend the next couple weeks dreading taking it down. Oh well. It's all for a good cause, right?

Snow in Katy, TX

Today we received an early Christmas present. We had about four inches of snow at our house. The kids woke up this morning with a little bit coming down outside their windows but nothing really stuck. By 11:00 it was coming down hard, keep in mind that we live in Texas and so this is hard for us. The ground was covered in white fluffy stuff within minutes. The schools released everyone early due to inclimate weather. I think it was more because they didn't know how to control the kids going crazy in their classrooms over the flurry of snow outside. All of the teachers took their classes out and they all got to play in it and have snow ball fights. Once we got home from picking them up they all made a mad dash to get out of the car so that they could go play. They made a 3 foot tall snowman at the neighbors and had lots of snowball fights and made snow angels. Tonight the Christensen's and the elders in our area came over and we had tortilla soup and cheesy enchilada soup. It was so yummy. The kids don't seem to mind the cold, other than their hands burning. However, I am dying. This is why we live in Texas and not somewhere freezing cold. I have to admit that it was fun for one day but I am glad that it is not an every day occurrence.

Rhino's take 1st place

Grandad and Buddy after the big win


Buddy was very excited about winning 1st place. Check out the size of his trophy.


This is Buddy with one of his best friends Trace. He was the teams quarterback and he is awesome.


This is the 2009 Rhino team. They are a great bunch of boys.

Buddy's team took first place in the championship game. Yay!!!! It was so exciting. Grandad came just to watch Buddy play. It meant so much to all of us that he came. It is something that Buddy will never forget. Buddy had a great game. He was able to sack the quarterback 3-4 times and had several great tackles. He did awesome. I don't know all the details, however, Wes and Grandad do so I will find out and post the correct information. The final score of the game was 14-13. The Bears played a great game but in the end we were able to pull it off. Buddy was awarded the defensive mvp for the season. He loved playing football and can't wait for the all star game in the middle of December.