Merry Christmas

We were up and ready to open gifts at 6 am! Not to bad I was actually the first one out of bed (not really sure why?I think I have grow accustomed to the sleep deprived, zombie feeling!) Malerie was awake in her bed and Braydon was just getting up, we woke Keaton and Kiley up and had to drag dad out of bed! It is so fun watching the kids come downstairs and see all the gifts under the tree and see what Santa brought them. I love the magic and excitement of kids on Christmas morning. The kids draw names and exchange gifts every year so we let them do that first and then they checked out the stocking action. The girls scored bikes from Santa, and are looking rather sporty on them especially in their cute jammies!! Santa hooked Braydon up with an Ipod touch and Keaton a Nintendo DS and Indiana Jones game! We also hooked the family up with the Wii fit which is one of the funnest games ever. Can you say SPOILED!!!! It was such a relaxing, fun morning. We spent the rest of the morning playing with their new loot and putting things together etc! I made some yummy, homemade waffles with all the fixings which we practically had to force feed to the kids because they were to busy playing to be bothered to eat!

Later in the day we got cleaned up and made our way over to Aubrey's to visit the Wright side of the family and see Missi and her kids and G&G Wright who came down from Utah for the Holidays! We don't see them very often so this was a special treat! Aubrey's house was toys and game central. They scored a wii fit also so everyone had a turn trying to beat the high scores!
Aster spending a few hours with them we headed to Uncle Darins house to have some dessert and see the Perkins Cousins.
What a full day and it truly couldn't have been nicer! Most people are relieved when it's over but I am one of those weirdo's that gets sad. I love the Christmas season, all of the traditions, the special feeling we have in our hearts, the magic, family, everything about it! It comes and goes way to fast, but I guess there's always next year to look forward to!

Christmas Eve

We have been looking forward to our Christmas eve for weeks now. We have discussed and planned our menu. The kids are excited to open their Christmas PJs and watch The Christmas Story like we have for the past few years. I'm not really sure how exactly this became a tradition but everyone (especially Eric who's a big fan!) really looks forward to it! We kind of had a mellow day at home, did some baking and just hung out with each other. After making some last minute deliveries we came home the kids unwrapped their pjs and we got our food assortment ready! This year we had our mini chimis, taquitos, rice, beans, chips and salsa, crackers, meat and cheeses, chips and dip, fresh veggies, and sparkling cider! The kids wanted to go to bed at 8 pm after the movie was over and we said no way. We didn't want them up at 3!!! I think by 9:30 we were all pretty tired and anxious to get to sleep so Santa could make his deliveries!! It was a fun night and it makes me so happy that the whole family values and loves our traditions so much!

Wright Family Dinner

Sunday, December 21

We have been trying to do better to get together for family dinners at least once a month! This month Kory and Leslie hosted at their house. We decided to go ahead and do a nice ham Christmas dinner. It was delicious followed up with pie and ice cream. The best part about our get togethers is watching all the cousins play and goof around. The little boys (Jace, Kyler, Keaton, Garret, and Grant) were having a pretty wicked wrestling/boxing match. It was good entertainment. We also did our gift exchange with the siblings that were here. (We missed our Utah siblings, sorry you couldn't be here!) We played some games which for protection purposes shall not be named but it turns out I'm not to bad of a player!! Becki was able to get this darling shot of all the boy cousins, we are just missing Dyson. That is one good looking group of future missionaries!

Parent of the year award??

Friday, December 19th

Eric and I are hoping to be contenders for the parent of the year award and after this weekend we should have it in the bag!!! Just kidding but we definitely deserve some kind of prize!
One of Kiley's really good friends is moving to Washington and Kiley really wanted to throw her a going away party. Somehow she was able to talk us into it and even convince us to let them invite boys from their class as well. Kiley was very helpful in getting ready and honestly I wasn't sure that very many kids would come with it being the holidays and everything. The party I would say was quite a success judging by the noise level and chaos!!! We had like 24 6th graders at our house for about 3 hours and we were very entertained watching them. Eric had fun teasing the kids, singing, dancing and embarrassing himself and Kiley. The kids seemed to have had a good time but I can't say that we will be doing it again real soon!!!

The day Eric's parents have waited a LONG time for!!

Saturday, November 29th
Russ and Jen are tying the knot today, forever and ever!

The sealing was awesome of course. Jen was a beautiful bride and Russ couldn't have looked happier! I absolutely love being together with family and friends in the temple, there aren't many things better than that. We are so happy for them and the knew life they are starting together.

I stayed after to help Jen G. take their wedding pictures. It was rejuvenating to see 2 people so in love and happy, it's contagious!! The reception was a good time. It was like the worlds biggest family reunion. It was unbelievable how many people were there and how many of them we knew. It is a small, small world. The kids really got a kick out of the Italian Soda bar. I think they went back like 10 times each (sorry!). We had fun dancing, socializing, and catching up with family we don't see often enough! Thanks Russ and Jen for sharing your special day with us and making the holiday weekend so memorable!! Welcome to the family Jen!!
Again I was so distracted that I didn't shoot enough pictures luckily Jen got some good ones that hopefully I can get from her!




After the reception we scooted home and tucked in some really tired little people and one big person and I went out for some for some more girl time. Jen was having a girls night and they invited me along. It's funny because they have all been friends for a long time, they were in young womens together and have stayed close through the years. A couple of them I met through Jen years ago but others I have met through other channels and have become good friends with (again it's a small, small world!) We did some serious laughing and really had a good time I think I called it quits around 2:30am it had already been a sleep deprived weekend and church was going to come way to early! But it was a good ending to a great weekend!

Black Friday Addict

Yes I have a problem, yes I can admit it , and No I have absolutely no intentions of seeking help!!!
I really can't explain what the attraction is for me. It is definitely NOT the crowds, or rarely the "GREAT" deals, or standing in ridiculous lines. It makes no sense whatsoever, but I do love Black Friday shopping. I think for me it is just the tradition of it and I HATE breaking tradition.

This year was a little different with so many stores opening at midnight. So after getting home from the movies Thursday night, I tucked Eric and the kids in and headed up to Toys R Us to get in line (around 11pm). There wasn't a single thing in any of the ads I had to have this year and I vowed to myself not to buy anything that wasn't on my list (No buying something because it was a great deal or because I got up at the crack of dawn so I might as well to make it worth the trouble!) I got in line and waited for Stacey and Rachelle to show up. We worked some team work and charm magic and made it out in 40 minutes which was a miracle considering they had a whopping TWO checkers for a couple hundred customers!!! What the heck were they thinking seriously are times so tough they couldn't afford more then TWO checkers!!
After that we headed to the mall to Aeropostale but got lucky when we found that their were quite a few stores already open. We wandered for a bit till Rachelle and Sydney decided they were to tired to go any further. Stacey ran them home while I hung with Jessica and Janey at B&b works. When Stacey got back we headed to Denny's for a gourmet breakfast. By the time we were done it was about 3:30 am. My original intentions were to be gone for a couple hours but surprisingly I wasn't all that tired yet! We all headed for home but at the last minute I decided to swing by Super Walmart by my house, another group of friends were meeting up there at 4:15 am. Why not? It was really surprisingly quiet, I found a couple things on my list pad for them and put them in my car about the time Jen and her crew go there. I will forever have the image of Jen being buried in a pile of psycho people physically fighting over Xbox systems burned in to my brain. I really didn't know whether to laugh or call 911 because I didn't think she was getting up!! After Walmart we all headed to Target and about half way through that store I finally lost steam and called it quits. I was a little sad not to finish it out but I did pretty good! I climbed in to bed about 8:30 am for a power nap.

I slept for a few hours then got up to get ready to go to dinner at Russ's house. Cecil, Linda and the four brothers and spouses (future spouse) and Jens parents and siblings enjoyed one of the best Mexican food dinners I have ever had! It was fun getting to know Jen's family, Russ won't have any problem feeling at home with them. It was like the two families were cut from the same mold and it made it even better that they knew each other from the past!

Thanksgiving Festivities

(I really stink at this journal keeping business, always a day late and dollar short!)

As an adult you would think I would have better coping mechanisms and realistic expectations but alas I don't. I still really cling to child like ideals of what I "think" or "wish" the holidays were still like. I haven't figured out how to not let life's challenges and struggles cloud my enjoyment of them. They come and go so fast I feel like we don't get the full value out of the time and energy we put in to trying to make them special. I hope before the kids are out of the house I will have figured this little challenge out and just learn to enjoy the moment and just take each year as it comes! and know that it will never be perfect.

With that being said this year was special with wedding excitement. It kind of helped to draw out the holiday magic a little longer. Thanksgiving morning we spent at home peacefully getting ready and puttering around the house. We headed over to have dinner at Uncle Tom and Lorna"s house early afternoonish. Most of the Arizona Thacker clan was there along with the Perkins portion! One of my favorite parts of the holidays is having lots of family around. I really enjoy watching all the cousins having fun together.The boys (Dallas, Dylan, Matt, Mason, Braydon & Eric played basketball) The girls (Kiley, Kelsey, Malerie, Megan, & Kamryn) jumped on the tramp and ran around doing what girls do?? Keaton, Max and Miles just tagged. It was nice to see cousins from out of town. We enjoyed a fabulous feast that could have fed a small army, and some of us ate waaay to much (it wasn't me!) Right before we were ready to eat we got a huge rain storm, followed by some wicked hale. After dinner when we were all to fat to move we just lounged around and visited for a while. It was a nice afternoon with family. Thanks to Tom and Lorna for hosting, it's always more enjoyable when the mess isn't at your house!

Later on that evening Eric and I, along with Darin, Carey, Russ, and Jen snuck out to see 4 Christmas's, it was a good laugh. Every year I vow to be better about taking pictures on Thanksgiving and every year I drop the ball. It seems I'm to distracted to remember!

Twilight fever

Yes we have the fever along with way to many other people. Kiley and I and Stacey and her daughter Sydney went to the midnight premier of Twilight. Not really sure if I was more excited about doing something fun with Kiley or seeing this much anticipated movie ?? Probably a tie? I usually don't have a problem staying up late but for some reason I was exceptionally tired on Thursday, Kiley of course being our energizer bunny did just fine! We got pretty good seats and since we were there a couple hours early the girls had time to make themselves comfy! We had some snacks and enjoyed a good movie. I really wasn't sure what to expect and wouldn't let my hopes up for fear it would disappoint. Kiley loved it I thought it was good but of course a movie NEVER does the book justice!! We both want to see it again (me so I will be more awake and be able to pay better attention!!) Thanks friends for going with us!Love the shirt Sydney!

Not really sleeping!

Soccer Junky

Keaton just played his last soccer game on Saturday. The season wasn't very long but it flew by!! None of our kids have enjoyed playing sports as much as this little guy! He really thinks he is a pro player already or he is trying to learn as fast as possible to be one!! Every game he would entertain us with some knew move he was trying out, side tackles were my favorite!! He was on the ground almost as much as he wasn't. And boy can that kid run, he loves to run!! He had a great coach (Malerie's teacher and her husband) and a bunch of really good kids on his team. To make it even more fun, quite a few of his friends from school were on opposing teams. They would get so excited when they were playing each other. At this age level it is refreshing that the kids just play for the enjoyment of it, there is a little competition but it is a healthy dose. I was thankful for coaches that shared the philosophy that it is about having fun and playing together, not just winning! Normally I am excited for it to be over but in this case I am sad it was a good time!!
I look forward to many more years watching him perfect his skills and ENJOY playing sports!

More thankful

11/24- Being together just being ourselves, goofy, crabby and all!
11/23- Playing Games love, love,love it and can never get enough!!!
11/22- Watching our kids play sports and enjoy it!
11/21- Victoria Secret Catalog (Eric)
11/20- Holidays (Keaton)
11/19- My teacher (Malerie)
11/18- Good food (Kiley)
11/17- Baseball (Braydon)

Thankful ...

Thursday 11/13
GOOD FRIENDS-
We are EXCEPTIONALLY blessed with good friends. I get choked up when I think about it. To know that you have people that you love and you can count on NO MATTER WHAT is the best kind of feeling in the world. I am thankful that my kids have good friends that come from good families and that they are learning how to be good, dependable friends themselves!! It is so important to us.

Friday 11/14
PROJECTS-
I know this may seem silly but we are all happier when we have things going on and are being productive. They are different things for each of us. I am thankful for the different talents each of us possess that makes being productive possible.

Saturday 11/15
TEMPLE COVENANTS-
Today was my future sister in laws bridal shower. You can't help but reflect and reminisce. I am so happy they found each other and made the commitment to marry in the temple and that we get to witness it. It is a good refresher for us to remember our special day and how blessed we are to have made those covenants and the blessings we receive by keeping them!!

Sunday 11/16
GOOD BOOKS
Sunday's are the perfect day to cuddle up with a good book. After church, slipping into to warm, comfy clothes and diving in to a good book. This week is The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck
(you can never go wrong with Glenn). I love to read and so does Kiley. I love that she is such an advanced reader with a good comprehension and we can share books now!! Eric's even catching the fever a little.

Thankful 11/12

Today I am thankful for

*continuous Christmas music on KEZ
*cooler weather (crisp mornings and cold nights = cozy pjs, warm blankets and hoodies my favorite!!)
* Holiday traditions, just thinking about them and reminiscing of past years makes me so happy!!

I am thankful count down

I have been slacking on my OGT's (one good thing) and my I feel lucky list so why not start another one? In the spirit of giving thanks were going to do a daily I am thankful list to count down to Thanks Giving which sadly is not very far away!
Today (11/11)
We are so thankful for the Veterans, past and present! Words cannot express the deep gratitude we feel for the sacrafices that have been made for the freedom we so abundantly enjoy. I get so emotional and choked up anytime I think about it. Monday the kids had an assembly at school that they were so excited about. All four of them expressed how great it was to be a part of, and I am thankful that they realize how important the men and women that fight for our Country are. It was a funny coincidence that Monday night one of my patient's dad is serving in Iraq right now. I told him that every night our family prays for his dads safety and for blessings for their family! I told his mom to please pass on to her husband our thanks and best wishes for a speedy and safe return!

Spirit week

I'm not always a fan of Spirit Week, personally I think most of the themes are pretty lame but we always have fun with crazy hair day. It was a little more challenging with the girls this year because they both have shorter hair right now!Braydon wasn't into this year which was fine with me, one less to worry about!! Keaton is for sure a challenge because he barely has hair! I really tried to talk him into wearing a head band with a bow like babied wear but he wanted no part of it! Later that night (the night before) he said can you just shave my head like dads? Sadly, I actually considered it. I thought it would be pretty funny and I knew it would grow back fast any way! Eric said no way though. Oh well, another time maybe? He settled on this goofy headband, it was the best I could come up with on short notice!! It's always fun going against the grain.

We probably put about 15 or so pony's with a different ribbon in each one in Mal's hair!

Halloween Happenings

First of all can I just say where the heck did the month go?? Halloween came and went so fast my head is still spinning!!! With my orientation falling on the week of Halloween it made for a crazy week. Wednesday we had the ward trunk or treat which was a great turn out! We had a good chili dinner, games to play and of course trunk or treating. It was a good time with lots of friends!

Halloween day was different this year. Keaton was the only one with a class party and it was kind of nice not to have to party hop! They had the annual costume parade for Kindergarten thru 2nd grade and it was blazing hot out!! We had our annual Halloween dinner at the park and trick or treating. It was a good turn out and the kids had a great time. We managed not to lose anyone and ended up with way more candy then necessary! We missed Braydon this year, he hadn't been to Joe's in a couple weeks and opted to go over there for a visit! Kiley had a group of friends over after trick or treating and her friends stayed he night.

Kiley our slumber party girl

Mal the midnight fairy

Mal and Megan

Our "TOOTHLESS" vampire

Our little Entrepreneur

(she has this little ring with a bunch of lanyards she is working on at one time!!)

Last week I received a call from the schools, assistant principal. She left me a message saying she needed to talk to me about Malerie. Malerie really? My brain was in overdrive thinking what she could have done? She can have a temper so maybe someone just pushed her over the edge? Any way after playing phone tag for a couple hours and my anxiety level climbing I finally just went in to the office to talk to her. After sitting down the Asst. Principal tells me Malerie is not in trouble but there was an incident with her and a group of friends that they just needed to make us aware of. Apparently her and this group of friends have been taking custom orders, and making lanyards and selling them at recess. She explained that they had a whole system going. The girls had actual LINES of kids that would place an order for what colors, and length they wanted. There was an order sheet with a price list etc. These little lanyards were quite in demand!! The school wasn't to keen on them selling/taking money from other kids so they just explained to them that this wasn't allowed, but they were not in trouble. The Asst. Principal said all of the girls were in tears and border line hysterics thinking they were in big trouble. It took some serious convincing to calm down!! I talked to her teacher the next day and she was a little disappointed that there little business got the ax, she said she didn't know they were selling them but since they had all gotten involved making the lanyards she hadn't had any problems at recess or with kids not getting along!! Both the teacher and the Asst. Principal offered the suggestion the the girls could maybe have a booth at the schools Candy Cane Lane, where they would be perfectly appropriate to sell. What a good learning experience and very clever girls!

2 for 2!!!

Braydon got his Buck!!

A few thoughts from this past weekend: (this was written by the Dad)

Being the horrible journal keeper that I am, at the very least, I have started writing down thoughts and experiences from hunting trips that I have been on. This past weekend was full of "experiences" for me and more importantly, positive memories for all who were there.

Starting with a fresh elk steak breakfast burrito and ending with a questionable Arby's sandwich (Did anyone else have "problems" on Sunday or was it just me and Braydon?) there was a lot of fun and excitement in between. It is fun to watch all of the kids (I should say young men and women) get excited about tromping through thorns, stickers, dusty, bug infested terrain just for the small chance of possibly being able to see a deer and then maybe have a chance of getting to shoot one. There aren't very many kids that want or even get a chance at having those experiences. They are spoiled and I'm happy for it! I enjoy watching the kids interact with each other and watching the friendships form which I am positive will last a lifetime. Having gone hunting a time or two in recent years, I am sure the boys would agree with me that it was a lot of fun hanging our with the girls this time. Besides the obvious "good looking factor" that they provide, it was fun to talk with and get to know them more and hear what is going on in their lives. I would hunt with them anytime! It was refreshing (we had plenty of non-fresh times on the drive home right Brent? "Guttin-a-deer!"). Brent can explain that one. Having spent the previous weekend with Kiley and Taylor, we (Braydon and myself) quickly learned that there is a time to be serious and a time just to kick back and have fun.
We did have fun! It was educational as well. I never knew I had a "wenis", and then I found out I have two. Who knew! Each time I hear the song "She'll be coming around the mountain...", I will picture myself on that hillside with Mitch, Brent, and Michael, packing Michael's deer our. Thanks Makenna!! Other things I learned; Brent still snores, always carry a rifle (that was a BIG deer Senaka!), watch out for guys in a red truck, it is easier for one guy to drag a deer 150 yds downhill in the dark knowing that the guy in the red truck will be there any minute than it is for two guys for drag one uphill 20 yds in the daytime, Senaka and Kinzie need socks for Christmas (Senaka only has short ones and Kinzie only has one pair which are knee highs!), good luck waking up Conner from a dead sleep, Braydon is camera shy, Michael likes candy before bed, Riahana and 50 Cent are good hunting music, Chalee would consider moving to Nogales, Mitch now has a better knife than me, and the list goes on.

Shooting a deer or not, it was a lot of fun. I had to keep reminding myself that I had a tag as well. Normally I would want to do anything possible to fill that tag but it didn't seem to matter on this trip. When I look at the photos that we took, I can't help but smile. These were truly "good times"!! I can only speak for myself but I am sure the others would agree. I am very pleased with the friends my children are choosing to keep and the relationships that are forming. They have a lot of positive examples to follow which is encouraging. To top it all off, Sunday morning we had one of the best primary programs I have heard in a long time and we ended the weekend with an awesome fireside at our Bishop's house with all the young men, committing them to all serve missions. It was a great weekend.
Eric

I like the number 4

I just found this tag on my friend Nicole's blog. You go to the fourth picture in the fourth file of pictures on your computer! I said if it was a pic I could share I would do it!!
This is what I found! A picture of our FOUR kids on our first ever family Disney trip in March of 2005. Good times. We had such a good time just the six of us. I remember it was perfect weather. The kids were all good ages. Keaton could ride a lot of the rides and all of the kids were just in awe and had such a blast! There really is nothing better than family trips, making new memories and having FUN!!! It wasn't THAT long ago but I can't believe how much they have changed!

Thats Our Girl!!!!

Of course being the children of a father who hunts (understatement) it gets in their blood if even if they don't want it to be!!
After Kiley turned 10 Eric signed her up for hunters ed, which she did without complaining!
Well we all know what comes after that, You start getting put in for the draw!
Kiley got drawn for cow elk up by G&G Perkins in Pine Dale, and also for deer in the Kaibab.
She and her dad had many a conversations about her shooting an elk and it kind of became a rivalry between them. Him teasing her about it and her refusing to do it!! The closer the hunt got the more Kiley started to relent (deep down I know she was really looking forward to it but she wasn't going to give dad the satisfaction of knowing that!)
Eric went out of his way to make sure this would be a fun and memorable experience for her, Kiley invited her good friend Taylor to come along, as well as her brother. I got a call about 5 pm on Friday evening "Mom I just shot my elk!!! You were right it is such an adrenaline rush!!)
Eric said it was a perfect lung shot! I think he was almost as proud as the day she was born?
According to Eric she said afterward ok I shot it now I'm done. Saturday her and Taylor hung with Grandpa P, they taught Taylor to drive the small tractor, went to Uncle Allen's and fed the goats, pigs and bunnies, and picked all the corn out of the big cornfield. Eric and Braydon went with some friends to help them find an elk.
That evening all of them processed her elk and as you can see from the evidence she did help!
I hope she wants to do it again, I thinks its a pretty cool accomplishment for an 11 year old girl!
Thanks for the meat!! ( I was really putting the pressure on her to fill up my freezer)