A very Merry Christmas (Letter)

I was going to send out Christmas cards this year- but then I didn't. I know I am a total slacker. Call it lack of the perfect picture. I know I know it's a silly reason, but it is the reason none the less. Anyways, I thought I would still send out good news to our family and friends. We have had such an eventful year, busy busy busy- but isn't that always the case?

Timothy started his final year of Pre-K this Sept and has just grown leaps and bounds. He can count to 100, he knows all his letters and sounds, he can pick out some words and even knows a little Math thanks to his siblings. My littlest one is almost 5 and I can't believe that! He is such a great helper around the house. We get to spend lots of time together. He is my best shopping partner! Timothy joined soccer this fall season and is such a natural. One game he blocked 9 shots from going in and even led the team to a win! Soccer is in his blood- he will DEFINITELY be returning.

Siera graduated from Kindergarten and is now in FIRST grade. I have to say I almost cried her first day of school. She apparently is a big flirt and has lots of friends- mostly boys- and loves to go to school! She has a great teacher who teaches them all kinds of fun songs. I am amazed at how her reading has drastically improved. Siera decided to test out Soccer during the fall- she had so much fun. It was a blast watching her try to get to the ball. She did great. Who knows what she will do next though.

Savana has moved from 2nd to 3rd grade. She is getting so big. This summer she turned 8 and decided to get baptized. It was so wonderful to have all our family get together to celebrate such an amazing choice. Of course she loved all the attention. Savana is our little drama queen! She loves to sing, dance and she has even started taking piano lessons! She is such a natural musician. I love it. She is in the top of her class at school, and has lots of friends (mostly boys) and loves to make up fun games. Savana is NOT a soccer fan, but she does love gymnastics and does such a good job. Hopefully by the end of the year she will have her back handspring down!!

Tomas is growing up way too fast for my liking. He has entered the 4th grade and is starting to have to write essays, and reports. He comes to right above my shoulder and his feet are as big as mine!! He is a tall kid. He is so natural at everything though. He is GREAT in soccer, does well in basketball, and football. (I for one am glad he just sticks with soccer though) He loves to draw and put on plays. He is now a Weblos in the scouting program and he just loves all the projects he gets to do. He is so friendly to everyone and just has a lot of friends. We are so lucky to have him in our family.

Josh is still working in Wyoming, but finally has a different job. He was hired by SMS in August and had to go to Louisiana for 6 weeks for training. That was difficult to say the least, but we are all looking forward to that not happening again!! He is really enjoying his line of work now. He is the safety technician. He is the one that makes sure the working environment is safe!! How awesome! His schedule changed back to two weeks on and two weeks off- so we are still adjusting to that. We are super excited that he will be home for Christmas this year!!!

He is still enjoying hunting and can't wait for Tommy to be able to join him. Thank goodness he has Rocky (the dog) to go get some ducks with!

As for me, my life is busy always. I started my photography business back in February of 2010 and it is steadily getting better all the time. I am having so much fun learning and growing. This is the best job in the world, next to being a wife and mother! The kids keep me driving to and fro with soccer, piano and gymnastics. It drives me crazy that I can't be in 4 places at once, but we make it work somehow. I am part of the PTA and have been volunteering in the kids classes. It is a lot of fun to see all those kids, and to keep an eye on my own! I am compassionate service assistant in my ward which means I am in charge of getting meals and help for those in need in our ward boundaries. It really has taught me a lot about kindness, compassion and love for those I didn't know so well before hand. It has increased my need to serve others- I find that my life is incredibly blessed in every aspect and I want to repay that by serving those around me. Hopefully these lessons have rubbed off on my kids too:)

Our family is blessed in so many ways. We are so happy to be celebrating the birth of our Savior. We love to learn about Him and find ways that He is in our everyday life. This is our favorite time of year. Not because of the presents, or the lights, but in finding joy in our friends and family, sharing wonderful moments together, and leaning upon our testimonies in our Savior Jesus Christ.

From our family to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Josh, Heidi, Tomas, Savana, Siera and Timothy

A Wyoming Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has been one of our favorite holidays since forever. It's a time for good food, good company and good shopping on Black Friday! This year was different. Josh had to work, and instead of him missing Thanksgiving, the kids and I drove to Wyoming and celebrate the holiday with him. We had so much fun. We played board games, card games, watched movies, and ate yummy food. This is the first year I have ever had to make a Turkey ( too much pressure)- and wouldn't you know it, I picked a chicken instead of a turkey! Thankfully the little grocery store in Wyoming had some turkeys- phew!! I think I did pretty good for my first every Thanksgiving dinner all by myself. I have to admit, I missed all the family, but we really had a great time hanging out with Josh.

Fire Station Field Trip

This year of pre-school has been so much fun for Timothy. He has been able to go on several field trips already; the pumpkin patch, the TV studio, the Dentist and the fire station. Hopefully I'll get other pictures up- but who knows. Anyways, this class was so funny- the poor fire fighters were trying so hard to get them to talk, but these kids were eerily silent. They did learn a lot and had fun, but kept their mouths shut- except for Timothy. Shocking? I know, he started out very quiet, but with a little nudge he was participating and answering questions and climbing all over the fire engine. They gave all the kids cute little fire hats- even pink ones for the girls!

Pumpkin Patch

Every year (well for the last 4 years) we have gone to the pumpkin patch to go through the giant corn maze. Normally the field trip happens on a day when the older kids don't have school so we can all go together, but this year it was just me and Timbo.

He got every question right. Every time I tried to answer the question we ended up going the wrong way, but when Timbo answered the question he was always right! It was uncanny.

The BIG 3-0!!!!

October 22, 2011

This is the year that I turned 30! I still can't believe it and it's been a month already. I can't be that old right? I guess I am. I was dreading turning 30- and I can't really even begin to explain why. So, instead of freaking out, I decided to just embrace it and celebrate it in style. Josh and I, along with my dear friends and family, planned and put together a fancy party. We all got to dress up, and eat yummy food and even do a little dancing. It was such a fabulous night and I had so much fun- it sure made this birthday a little more bearable- just a little though!

I thought it would be fun to see how I got to where I am today

My dear, sweet, amazingly talented BFF (as a b-day gift) took Josh and I's pictures. Just the two of us- wow, it had been awhile since THAT happened!! I don't think I've laughed that hard during a photo shoot, but it was great. She did an amazing job- Thanks Mohna!!

Here are some fun party pictures-- My fabulous cake! It looked amazing and tasted even better!

I think my favorite part of the whole thing was being able to really dress up. I found an amazing dress for an amazing deal, and in my party colors no less:) Then my friend, Heather, did my hair. This was the very first time I've ever had my hair done- nope, not even for my wedding. I tell you what- it takes a lot of work to be pretty. It took over 2 hrs to get my hair to look like that (fortunately it stayed that way for 2 days) There were so many bobby pins- it took almost that long to take it out!! I had so much fun playing dress up.

These are my wonderful friends-Katie, Mohna, Jen, and Janette! We have so much fun hanging out- dinners, craft nights and Twilight movies are our favorite things.

My hubby is so amazing! He helped orchestrate this whole evening, and was so excited about doing something for me- he even rented a tux! He looked GOOD!!! We had so much fun dancing, and laughing and just being able to be together. Thank you babe, for sharing your life with me, and for treating me like a queen! I love you!

Soccer Fanatics

If you know our family you know that we love soccer. Tommy's soccer team was offered the opportunity to walk the Salt Lake Real players onto the field for one of their home games. So, free tickets to the game meant that Tommy, Timbo and I hitched a ride down to Salt Lake with the family of a kid on Tommy's team and we headed to the game. Earlier in the summer Josh took the boys to a game and they had a blast- and so did we. Tommy really loved to hang out with his team at the same time. Here are some of the boys that got to walk the players on the field.

The most expensive snow cone EVER- but he sure loved it!

Tommy and his friends were so funny any time our team was about to score, and they went crazy when we did score!! This is the final score of the game (picture taken during the first 30 minutes!!)

We all had so much fun- I can't wait to go again next year!!

Never Ending Story

Here is Halloween...

This is by far our FAVORITE holiday. We love to get dressed up, the kids always have a costume parade at their school- Oh yeah, we get tons of candy. This year was insane- we got up at 6 and started getting everyone ready, then the parade first thing, then class parties- after school was trunk or treating in 2 places (we handed that candy out), we went to a FREE movie and then Papa came and took the kids around the neighborhood. After all was sad and done we were exhausted, but have no fear we ended up with 5 gallon bags full of candy to help keep us energized.

Just in case you can't recognize what the kids are- Tommy is a Zombie soccer player, Savana is Ginny Weasley, Siera is a bloody Vampire princess, and Timothy posed as Harry Potter. I went as a black widow -Josh had to work this year- first time ever:(











Tommy moving up in Rank...

In Scouts, Tommy has advanced from wolf to BEAR! He works so very hard on his scout stuff. As part of the ceremony Josh got to hold him upside down while I pinned on his patch- He could turn it right side up once he did a good deed at home. He was very quick to accomplish that. One of Tommy's favorite parts was getting to paint his dad's face!! It's priceless I tell you- priceless.

We are so proud of Tommy for working so hard in Scout's- Keep up the good work!


Soccer, Soccer and more soccer...

This was a CRAZY soccer season. Not one, not two, but THREE of my kids signed up for soccer. We had practices for one or two almost everyday, then at least 3 games every Saturday. We all had so much fun cheering each other on. Even though the schedule was insane, I wouldn't trade a minute of it- and well come Spring it will start all over again.

Crazy Hair Day!!!

We love Red Ribbon Week here! Today was crazy hair day and it's one of our favorites. All the kids woke up so excited to participate, but as soon as I did Siera's hair she freaked out and wouldn't stop crying- she wanted it to stay down. I did feel bad for her, but I couldn't take it down without it being a lot worse, so I hope she is doing OK at school with it. the other two- they are crazy anyways and had so much fun getting their hair done!!

See the smiles!!

I sure love these kids and their craziness!!

First Bike Ride

I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything, and trust me I still have LOTS to post, but this just blew my mind, I had to share. Timothy decided he wanted to learn how to ride a two-wheeler, so he went out, with the help of a cute neighbor girl, and did it. This video is only his 3rd attempt. I am so proud of him. All the other kids did pretty well learning to ride, but they were all a little older. He is by far the youngest age to learn to ride a bike. We still have some work to do, but for the most part, he's got it!

State Fair Time

We love this time of year! We love to go to the State Fair and see all the exhibits and animals, eat the yummy food and this year get our faces painted! We had a blast. We especially had fun with the science tent and the funny mirror! Plus, I entered 9 photos into the photography exhibit and won 4 ribbons!! Yeah me!!

First Day of School

I know that I am very behind in this post- forgive me, life has been CRAZY!!! But here it is- THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!! The day that I had been waiting for for weeks finally arrived. The funny thing is- yes they had to put on jackets because they were cold. I just love fall. Anyways- Tommy is in 4th grade this year and is loving it, Savana in 3rd grade, Siera in 1st grade and Timothy in his final year of pre-school. This year is already going by too quickly. There is homework to be done, reports to write, books to read, and we can't forget about all their extra activities as well. But no worries, you'll understand how crazy our life is when you see the next few posts. Here are my adorable kiddos- I just love them and am so proud of them every day!

A new entry

Tommy wanted to create an entry on the blog of something creative he has done. Since he doesn't have his own camera he just creates what he sees with the tools we have at home. I am not biased or anything but I think he is pretty talented!

Sign of the times...

Here is what the moon looked like the other night. We had a couple big fires going, one to the South and one to the West. Needless to say there was a lot of smoke in the air and it turned the sky an eerie red!!

YARD SALE

About a month ago our neighbors had a yard sale. The kids thought it was the coolest thing ever and they wanted to do one. I absolutely hate yard sales (not going, but holding) but I thought if I get some other people to help it could be ok. So, my friend Janette and I, put together the sale. It was a lot of work, but the kids were super excited to help. They set up a little lemonade and popsicle stand so they could make some money too. Unfortunately, because there was a parade that day, they only sold a few glasses of lemonade and a couple popsicles. But Tommy was my hero. He was really trying to get us some customers so he made a sign and was walking up and down the street yelling for people to come to our yard sale. I had to grab my camera- it was priceless! We did ok- but I am NOT doing that again!!!

Summer time

This summer has been so busy and so much fun we hate to see it end. (Well, I am pretty excited) Anyways, we got some FREE passes to Lava Hot Springs from our public library for completing the summer reading program so we decided to make one last trip. We have been 3 times this summer- once with Grandma and Grandpa Gardner, and twice with Grammy Dayle. The first time I was so impressed with the girls because they were so brave going down the speed slides. The second time the girls impressed me further by jumping off the diving boards. They just jumped right off. Siera even attempted a flip on only her SECOND jump ever!! Savana blew me out of the water by just jumping off the high dive after only about 3 regular jumps. This last time- they were doing all kinds of tricks. Thankfully, I brought my camera this time to catch all the dare devil fun we were having.

This is the RED slide- by far the slowest and least exciting, but the only one Timbo will go on- so we all went and I got some great action shots...

Here is Tommy on the high dive. It took FOREVER to get him to take his first jump a couple summers ago, now it's hard to keep him off the diving boards. One day he'll get the courage to jump off the platforms you see above his head!!!
Here are the other kids. Savana is doing a cartwheel off the diving board (video at the bottom). Siera is a little dare devil too- She just goes! And Timothy can't be too far behind of course, he loves to just jump in. Thank goodness I put them in swimming lessons awhile back, it sure has helped A LOT!!

I just love how graceful this little girl is- even on a diving board!!

G3 visit

Grandma and Grandpa Gardner came for an extended visit to celebrate Savana's baptism and just to hang out with us. We normally don't get very long visits so this was a treat. We had so much fun. We had our party after the baptism, then after everyone left we went to see "RIO"- it was pretty cute. Sunday we went to church and then had some friends over for a BBQ. It was super yummy food, and just a fun time. On Monday we were supposed to go to a lake and play on the boat- but we didn't get the boat done, so we went to Lava Hot Springs instead. I wish I would have brought my camera for that because it was so much fun. My dad bought these little torpedo dive toys and Timothy loved them. The girls braved the speed slides with Papa and Josh- Timothy even got the courage to go on the Red slide with a little help from me and Gradma. It was so nice, there weren't very many people there and it was warm and beautiful. But it did tucker us out. One of the other things the kids loved to do was take all the dogs for a walk. Grandpa brought a "chuck-it" that he uses with Duncan and Dakota, but it turns out that Rocky loves it too. So we went to the school grounds and let the dogs play. Rocky was first out almost every time, but eventually let Duncan get the ball. Dakota could care less about the ball- she would just jump around and run interference. It was fun to watch the dogs play and the kids too. The girls ended up painting Dakota's nails- just to make her so pretty. The poor dogs got dressed up in tutu's and bandanas and scarves, even leg warmers. I bet they were glad to go! I think Tommy's favorite part of the visit was building Robots with Papa. They literally spent hours putting together a couple of robots!! I hate that our visits are always so short, but we had such a good time. Thanks for coming to spend some time with us- WE LOVE YOU!!!