Pinewood Derby

Hunter is our cub scout, we had our pinewood derby last Friday night! The Stephen's have a little tradition of going a little overboard on our cars. We just like to be creative that's all!! Rarely have our cars been actual "cars". I should document that with photos someday I guess. Lots of Packer themed vehicles.
This year was no different. Hunter's car was a Wii remote, we had fun making it and it turned out better than we expected. We had to get creative. The buttons were scrapbook brads, painted white and the + button was actually a tile spacer. In the past, some of our cars have looked good but raced terribly, however the Wii remote actually raced pretty well.


He came in second, just tenths or hundredths of seconds behind first. (It was an "olympic" moment). Of course all that mattered was participating and having fun. I will say, Hunter is a pretty good sport. I say that to praise him because we have had a little trouble in the past with a "sore" loser. Any of you who know us well know who "it" is. (Gosh, I hope he doesn't read this blog.....but whatever, like he doesn't KNOW!!!) We ARE working on that! We love our kids, really! But, this time around, Way to go Hunter!!!!! (and as a parent, aren't we glad THAT'S over) ;-)

New Year's Eve Road Trip

New Year's Eve day I went on road trip to Hayley, ID. My sister works for Murdock Chevrolet and occasionally I help pick up a new vehicle. I got to drive home a new Suburban, now I totally want/need one!!! (I have 5 kids, I NEED one).
So on the way, I took a picture of this as my way of saying "HI NICKI". I had heard she was going to IN after Christmas, (right Nicki?) and wasn't around. Otherwise I would have called on the way back to hook up for lunch or something. Beware, I'm begging for anytime they need a vehicle from there to let ME go.

I'm not a huge fan of Idaho (sorry, ladies.....but wait and let me finish) because I gained a new appreciation for it. We left at 5:45 a.m. (which is the real miracle in this whole story), so it took us 4 hours to get to Haley (17 miles out of Sun Valley...have NEVER been there). That was what.....like 9:45. The point to all this is that we watched the sun rise as we were driving and it was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!!



While talking to one of the salesman at the dealership, he said it snowed mountains on Christmas Eve and it took several days to dig out. By the time we were there several days later, the roads were clear and dry, even though they were still "moving" snow by tractor and dump trucks and we just got to enjoy the view of the blanket of beautiful snow. It was just breathtaking. So, gals, I'm seein' the love. ....EXCEPT....BABY, IT'S ***COLD*** OUTSIDE. If you know me, you know I do not like it cold!!!! I was grateful for seat warmers that day!!!!!
Needless to say, New Year's Eve was a dud for me, I did take a little nap when we got home, but I barely made it until midnight!

Christmas 2008

A long overdue update of the Holidays. I was tempted to skip it and move on, but then decided to post it...and then move on.
Of course the month of December was very busy...too busy, as usual. I really don't enjoy the holidays, maybe it's because the days fly by and even though I'm continually busy I still end up "cramming" so to speak right up until Christmas day and am still in the stores right up until they close on Christmas Eve. I vow at this very moment, that 2009 will be more organized. For our Relief Society Christmas dinner my friends decorated a table (twas the night before Christmas) and at the last minute I made these cute little mice as a table favor. The body is a maraschino cherry with a stem dipped in chocolate. A hershey kiss for the head attached while the chocolate is still warm, and a peanut split in half and positioned at the neck for the ears (of course while still warm). Silver perils for the eyes and a red candy nose and you have an adorable little favor. So cute! They were a hit.

We did the gingerbread house decorating, it's something that makes me feel like a good mom. All good moms do that right? Yep! That's Diet Pepsi in the photo, a girls gotta have something to get her through! :) Apparently SOMEBODY had fun! Hunter!

OK!!! this one was good!
So our GNO ladies had a little holiday get together, not a large bunch, but fun nonetheless. We did a white elephant gift exchange and I was dying for an opportunity to take these!!!

You got it!!! That's right, maxi pad slippers! Attached was this note!

Soft & Hygienic

Non-slip grip strips on the soles

Built-in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh

No more bending over to mop up spills

Disposable & Biodegradable

Environmentally safe

Three convenient sizes: Regular, Light and "Get out the sand bags!"

A real hit with the ladies with a real sense of humor! Fun times!

Of course I have to post Santa pictures. He came to our local grocery store...Noah was adorable, running right up to him with a huge hug.

Cade was not closing in on what he specifically wanted for Christmas, so we listened hard to what he was telling Santa and we got the information we needed. Hunter is still willing to sit on Santa's lap, I'm sad to think soon he won't want to. Cole wouldn't do it, and Taylor would hurt Santa if he sat on his lap. (He's a giant)


The kids got pajamas on Christmas eve, this year I didn't want to do it so much, nobody really needed new pj's but they insisted. It's good for the photo album right?

I always feel guilty saying I'm glad when Christmas is over. I try not to have expectations, but in my mind I guess I still do, otherwise I wouldn't always feel dissapointed. But, that's all packed away for another year, vowing to make next year so much better. I am however, very grateful for the "spirit" of Christmas, and feeling VERY full of gratitude for what we have been blessed with. Now, that I will carry with me all year long!