Big brother birthday shout out!

I'd like to give a special birthday shout out to my brother Chad.

Happy 35th Birthday!

I hope you have a wonderful day. Hopefully you can relax a little too.

Chad has always been the smart one in our family. He was the one that went to "special" schools for "smart" kids while my little brother and I were just "normal". He's still a brainiac and runs his own computer firm. He's a great guy and loves to spend time with his beautiful family. We are so glad he is a part of our lives. He definitely keeps things exciting around here.

Have a great day Chad....We love you!

Body worlds 3...

Tonight was quite an interesting night. We decided to take the older kids to The Leonardo and see Body worlds 3 for family night. I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience this exhibit and I definitely thought it was worth seeing, however, I'm not feeling so great. I think Marie liked it the most because she is a curious, artsy kind of girl and doesn't get grossed out easily. My favorite section was definitely the babies, starting at just 2 weeks gestation. I can't describe it very well, but if you're interested in seeing this exhibit, you have 4 more days to go. 

Warning: It was very crowded and hot!!! 

Awe....back outside in the fresh, freezing air waiting for our car!

New Year's resolutions...

We have decided to document our New Year's Resolutions this year, so we will feel a little more accountable in attaining our goals. We'll see how it goes!

Joseph's list of resolution's

1. Bear testimony two times this year

2. Get Eagle Scout this year

3. 1 page every night in B of M

4. Stay on the honor roll

5. Work out with dad 3 days a week 

6. Focus on quitar

7. Start earning money for a car (can you believe it?)

Marie's list of resolution's

1. Try to do at least one service a month

2. Try to get all 4's for one term

3. Improve tumbling skills

4. Focus on piano

5. Try to eat healthier and focus on nutrition

6. no sugar for 1 week= 1 movie download or 5 songs

Spence's list of resolution's

1. Help with family night

2. Say personal prayers every night

3. Try to get better at tumbling and basketball

4. Learn more primary songs

Hazel's list of resolution's

1. Say a prayer all by myself

2. Learn ABC's all the way through

3. Learn more primary songs

4. dance twice a week

Joe's list of resolutions

1. Read D&C all the way through

2. Read B of M every day

3. Keep journal regularly

4. work out with Joseph 3 days a week

5. Climb Mt. Rainier

6. Save money for a family trip

Julie's list of resolution's

1. Spend quality time with my kids and husband

2. Have family night every week (this one is hard for me)

3. Share my testimony with my kids more often

4. Save money every month for a family trip in December 09' with Joe and kids

5. Prepare healthier meals and teach my children about nutrition 

6. Read more

7. Go to the gym 3 days a week and jog at home 2 days a week (also hard)

8. Try to eat better, less sugar and more greens

9. Try to keep up on laundry (so hard for me)

10. Be a positive influence in the lives of those around me

11. Always be willing and happy to serve others

We've decided these are all really hard resolutions, but we know we can improve on all of them if we try hard enough..... Ready  .  set  .  here we goooooooo!

Special day...

Today was a very special day for my brother Jeremy and his wife Lindsay. They blessed their sweet little baby Asher. He was surprisingly well behaved and perfect during the actual blessing. He looks so handsome all dressed in white. I think he knew what was going on because he seemed  more peaceful than usual... 

After church we drove to the Steenblik's house (Lindsay's parents) for lunch/dinner. They were so generous to open their house to the many friends and family in attendance. We had a great time getting to know them better and nice to spend the day with our family. 

I really didn't take any pictures today because I wasn't in the mood, but I did get a good one of my kids. I love these 4 little friends so much. Thanks for being so good today. 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I'm happy to say we've had a . great . Crazy . wild . fun . eventful . fullfilling . year. Hopefully 2009 will be just as good. This year we celebrated New Year's Eve with a bunch of crazy friends at Tsunami.

We ate a ton of sushi and then topped off our dinner with a gift exchange. 

Bishops

Browns

Welders

Smiths

Coopers

Reyes

After dinner, we stopped in at the Coopers house to see what was going on and........... we had so much fun we decided to ring in the New Year with them. It started out with an innocent game of poker.....

 then, Michelle pulled out her guns and turned on her charm. She and Richelle kicked our butts. I was out after two rounds.....serves me right for playing in the first place!

We ended up in the basement Rockin' out to a Karaoke machine and listening to Will do his thing. He was AWESOME! Hazel was in costume and sang and danced with Marie and her friends. She told us she was Hannah Montana...

Marie with Kallie and Makaela shakin' their thing to "Love Shack" baby!

After everyone had a chance to sing, we ran outside to continue our tradition of lighting the street on fire. It was way cool and everyone enjoyed the rebellious flames......

Another year has come and gone. It seems as though time is speeding up...and up....and up. I hope we can all STOP and enjoy the journey!

Three Cheers for 2009...

Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!