December.....

December has sped by at warp speed ( I am sensing a re-occurring theme in my posts). As usual the Christmas season has been one filled with rushing around the stores, worrying about the gifts we are going to give, (and get, in the kid's case).....and trying to keep the spirit of Christ as the focus of our holiday season. This month we have wrapped a door in our house - only half way up because of Jiles, needless to say he has the tendency to rip, pull, take apart anything and everything he can. Our tree is now only decorated about 3/4 of the way up, it is a hot mess!!

I digress....the purpose of the door is that each time anyone in our family does an act of service we get to put a bow on the door - it has been fun watching the way the bows get put up. There have been things from purchasing gifts for the Angel Tree in our ward, pushing a lady's car out of a snow bank, fixing a neighbors light, making one anothers beds, or cleaning up the dinner table. Big or little acts all count equally and Ella has been the one who has really gotten in to this. This will be a tradition that will be one that lasts - we are going to spend our Christmas Eve as a family talking about the service that has been performed and hopefully there will be a desire to continue with the service even though the door will soon be back to normal, a white coat closet door.

Morgan attended the Christmas dance at Alta this year - thank heaven there was no need to purchase or worry about a fancy dress - I love the more casual dances. The stress levels go WAY down and I think that everyone has more fun because of it. They spent the day sleigh riding, then off to Training Table for dinner.....good, good times.

Ella's Kindergarten class put on a Christmas program.....she has been singing her heart out all month at home in preparation for the big event. One of my favorites that I have heard her singing is about a 'Fartridge in a Pear Tree' - sometimes I just don't have it in me to correct her. The days will pass that she just isn't quite sure what she is saying, so I am enjoying all her little bits of silliness.
Me and my girl.....

Ella's class did the Hula and sang 'Mele Kalekemaka', and I must admit that girl can shake her hips and do the hula with the best of them. Her dancing skills I am sure come from her big sister Brenna.

Grandma and Aunt Julie joined us at her program. I am pretty sure she felt proud as could be with all of us there supporting her in her short, but very sweet Christmas program.

Jensen has replaced football with basketball for the next few months. He was invited by a friend of ours to play on his team. There are 3 others from his football team and a few boys that he has played soccer with in the past. Jensen has never played basketball....I will be the first to admit that probably going to a super-league was not the best idea, but he is having fun and his team is doing well. Having a sport that is indoors and not effected by the cold and rain is a nice perk also. Still, football reigns supreme at our house as everyones favorite.

My Jiles.....there are so many words to describe him. This last week one of the words of choice was 'straggly' - the boy needed a hair cut. J.D. has taken him one other time, but I needed to get the 'Cookie Cutter' magic. He loved it there. Watched a movie (which he does not do at home, because he will not hold still for long enough) and driving in a little car was super fun for him. The girl that was cutting his hair got such a kick out of the way he immediately posed for the picture as soon as I got the camera out.

A less 'straggly' version of the boy. There was oodles of hair on the floor. I am so glad that he enjoyed the hair cut, it makes it so much easier for next time.

J.D. wanted to do something nice for my family this Christmas. We have stopped drawing names for the adults and giving gifts. We don't have a whole lot of parties that we go to so this year as part of trying to show service he planned a party at Incredible Pizza for the Hackwell clan. Everyone was able to come and the kids ran around like crazy people for 3 hours, eating and playing games. It is fun to be able to spend time with cousins and aunts and uncles and Grandma and Grandpa. Isn't that what the Holidays should be about anyway. Family is all we truly have.

Jensen tried his hardest to add up all his tickets to get the 'big ripper' - he is such a crack-up!! Not many people that I know would let me take their picture while pulling such a scary face.....I am glad that my kids will be silly.

J.D. pulling out all the stops and showing Ella all of his mad football skills (I am not quite sure how many balls actually went through the holes, but Ella was impressed and that is all that matters, right?)

Again, what is up with my kids and the faces that they will pull???? I don't know what else to say.

Jiles is going to be a pro at swiping cards when he grows up. He figured that is how the games worked right away - he is going to rival Ella and swiping my debit card at the grocery store (she even has my PIN memorized......)

Drew and cousin Jake.....they played shooting games and driving games all night - I don't even think I saw them for more than 15 minutes at the beginning while they were eating their dinner. Drew is officially taller than me.....he is weighing more than me as well. Kind of a strange place for a mom to be. When he gives me his big bear hug and the beginning or ending of a day, I have to say...."Please don't hurt me," - I am living with another grown-up. He is a joy to be around. He doesn't get to say alot living with the sisters and brothers that he has. They are all so outspoken and loud.....Drew is my gentle giant.

Aunt Julie and Uncle Bradly with Tater boy....everyone got into the game playing. You know those prizes are spendy with the tickets, you have to get as many as you can if you want anything worth while.

Uncle Trent, Aunt Jill and Aunt Jana

Brenna and Morgan with Aunt Janeen. Morgan and Brenna took their game cards and after they were finished they gave all the tickets that they had earned to Brittyn. She really wanted a Lava Lamp and it was like 1500 tickets.....thanks for the kindness ladies. You continue to make me proud.

Ji-Ji riding the Merry-Go-Round......I laugh when I see the faces he pulls.

Owen, Aliza and Tate

Me and my boyfriend, thanks for the fun night honey!! You are the best!! I am so thankful that he loves my family so much. I am truly a very lucky lady.

Climbing in the Play Place - Gosh, Brenna.....you are so lucky that you still fit up those small tubes!!

The family had a great time. Good Food (well, maybe) Good Friends (a.k.a family) and Fun.

My girls decided that this year that they were going to make homemade gifts for their (yikes) boyfriends. We spent hours going to the fabric store and trying to figure out how to get these blankets sewn for them. I am not a seamstress, never will be, but the experience has been fun. I am glad that I was able to help them out.

The naughty little poot Jiles got himself put in time out yesterday. Morgan thought it would be funny to put him up on the top shelf of the pantry. He thought it was hilarious, and would have stayed - Ella was worried that he might fall. I am glad someone was concerned for his safety and well being, because Morgan and Brenna certainly were not. They love to see how far they can push sometimes.

Equally as frightening as Jiles at the top of the pantry is the amount of junk food that I have in there!! Sugared cereals, potato chips and cookies.....yikes.

So, this was a wrap-up of our December so far. I am positive that there is stuff that I have left out. Trying to stay on top of my blogging is going to be one of my New Years Resolutions.

Basically, I love my people!! I love my life and am thankful for each and every day that I am blessed to be with them.

Time gone by.....

I have not been the best blogger as of late....I keep thinking to myself "when is my life going to slow down??"

We had a Christmas party the other night with our old neighborhood friends.....we were asked to send pictures in of our days in "Cranberry Hill" - those days are long gone. Those are the days where we sat out on the lawn , each afternoon when it was good weather and watched our little ones play while the moms were able to sit and visit. There were no carpools to run, no where that we needed to be. The biggest decision of the day was what we were each making for dinner.

Morgan and I went through boxes of photos last Saturday morning (these are the days long before digital) and we were able to remember our sweet times with little ones growing up. Morgan spent every waking moment she could with her best friend T.J. Murphy, this was their backyard. They were 5 when they met and now they are both turning 18 -
Brenna and her friend Zach Murphy waiting for the bus on the corner just across the street from our house on their way to Kindergarten, what a little peanut she was. That is something that I will always remember about her.

This was one of our outings with the Coveys, Thanksgiving Point petting zoo.

Little Drew with glasses, Wid Covey and Brenna and Mary....those 2 girls have always loved each other.

What a face!! Words cannot describe the way we felt about Drew, our first boy after 2 girls. When he was 3 we found out that our little guy needed glasses. I am sure we could hold some sort of record when it comes to how many pair of glasses that we went through. Drew was a wild child and was chuck full of energy!! We spent more time with him in the emergency rooms getting stitches in his face than I have with all my other kids combined to this day. He has grown into such a mellow kid - a far cry from the toddler that he was.

J.D. was fortunate one year to dress up as Santa for our ward Christmas party. Still to this day it is one of the highlights of his life. He enjoyed every second of it! Morgan knew it was her dad, she sat on his lap and played along.....Brenna was scared to death, we told her who it was and it did not make a bit of difference to her, there was NO WAY she was going to sit on his lap. Morgan was 8 years old in this picture. It makes me sad to see her so small, our first little girl, baptism just around the corner and now we are facing college just around the next corner.Mary Covey, Morgan and Brenna playing dress-up one afternoon.
This picture makes me smile every time I come upon it. Morgan may have been playing only because there was nothing better to do, but the point is, she was playing. Spending time with her sister is something they have always enjoyed.

I loved our days in Cranberry Hill. Those days are a priceless memory. I treasure those times.

This all made me stop and think, my kids are growing at a remarkable speed and I just want to push the pause button on my life.

A championship game, lost.....

Jensen had an amazing season of football this year....they won 9 of the 11 regular season games and then went on to the playoffs, beating one of the teams and then as we have had done to us in the past with Drew, we face Bingham in the Champion ship game and come up short.

The score was 0-0 at the end of regulation time and we went into overtime....dreaded overtime. We had the ball first and were not quite able to make it into the end zone, and then it was their turn. Punching it in for them was like a punch in the stomach to me. The game was just how they should be in playoffs though,....tough, tense and hard-fought.
Jensen got through it just fine. I think it is just as hard, if not harder for the parents at this young age, to watch them work so hard, and truly deserve the win.....
It is always hard to have a season come to an end. You become so close to the families that you are involved with day in and day out for nearly 4 months of your lives. We always make awesome friends, and usually end up playing with at least some of them again the next year. Keeping our fingers crossed. So blessed to have been a part of such an incredible team!!

A season over.....

Another season of football for Drew has come and gone, This has been one of his funnest years since starting football as a little Gremlin. Drew made the Alta A2 team this year....he was most happy with the placement.

Football, needless to say, is one of the highlights of our years...both of my studly sons absolutely love the sport and to top it all of they are both really very good at it.

Drew was able to show his leadership skills on the field again this year by being one of the captains of the Defense. He was the one that the other boys would listen to, he would call the plays and make sure everyone knew what was going on.

Drew sacked the quarterback several times this year, and in the final game of our season stopped Bingham from scoring on the 2 yard line. Right before the half, it was 4th and goal and Bingham was in position to put the first touchdown in the end zone in a 0-0 game.

Everyone on the side lines was on pins and needles, this was the semi-finals, and who ever won today would move on to another week of football.

Drew was the one who stopped the Bingham player from making a touchdown, and then something strange happened....I had a tear in my eye, because that was my boy that saved the play. I have cried several times over disappointment in seasons being over, but this was a first that the tears were over sheer pride and joy in my son.

Needless to say, Bingham ended up scoring in the 12th minute of the 4th quarter, the game ended at 6-0 and Binham will now go on to the finals this Saturday.
It was a heartbreaking loss, and there were tears from the boys, the coaches and the parents. It has been an amazing season, one where Drew learned alot and enjoyed each and every game and practice. It was nice to see him thrive and enjoy football again after our awful season last year.

Drew has been absolute joy to raise. He is respectful and kind. He loves his mom, and is not afraid to show it. I love having him grow taller and taller each day....he has now officially passed me up, and I believe on most days, he weighs more than I do as well. My little boy is not so little any more. I think he thinks it is funny when he hugs me and squeezes me so hard I can barely breathe....he still wants to hug and kiss me each night, praying with him before he goes to sleep. I hope that these days do not pass to quickly.

Halloween and Birthday time.....

Our annual Halloween party all started because of my cute Drew. He and I share a birthday...October 24. I had him on the day that I turned 25....I have always told him that I could never have asked for a better birthday present. He is an incredible boy who I am lucky enough to call my own. I love sharing our day together!!

So because of our birthday's and getting together with family anyway, we decided a few years back that it would be awesome to have a costume party, and year after year, my family does not disappoint!! Everyone comes dressed up, and each year I am continually surprised.

Jiles, my little penguin - he hated the hat part of the costume, so I am glad I got a picture of him in it with a smile on!!

My Mom and Dad, the cowboy and cowgirl, with Grandpa and Grandpa Nelson....could you just die laughing at the top she had on!! Look at the cleavage......

My cute family - minus our dad, he got stuck at the office that night. We all missed him, and he loves this party as well, so it was sad not to have him around for the better part of the night. He eventually got to come home, just in time for a bowl of taco soup and cake and ice cream of course!

Mike and Jill, quite the 80's couple - he even had on eyeshadow and lipstick, and Jill can do a mean Madonna - and their kids, Leah, Jake and Lucas

Trent and Jana, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf/Granny and their crew, Brittyn, Robbie and Beau (the one behind the mask) :)

Brad and Julie, NERD ALERT with his Geisha Girl and cutie pie Aliza and Tater-tot

Corey and Janeen and Owen, aaaargh matey!! A family of pirates.

(Best comment of the night, "Janeen and Grandma must have gotten their chests at the same place....") hehehe!!!

Morgan and Andrew with baby Hulk - this was a last minute costume that they pulled off quite amazingly!! Love the pearly white smiles!

Couldn't resist a picture of the 2 nerds of the night!! I couldn't believe it when they walked in and Jensen and Brad looked like they had come from the exact same mold. The rule is, no one tells what they are going to come as each year, so it is always a surprise. This year these two boys were on the same wave length!! Funny, funny.

Brenna with Vern - she is such a funny girl, I think she likes to make people a little crazy, and one of her ways is by calling Grandpa by his first name, Vern, Grandma thinks this is wrong, and I am pretty sure that is why she does it.....Brenna, Brenna, what am I going to do with you??

Last, but not least.....me and all my favorite ladies!! What would I do without all these amazing women in my life?? I adore each and every one of my sisters and my cute mom as well. We are all best friends as well as family which makes it all the better!!

I love you all. Happy Birthday Drew!!
and Happy Halloween!!