Let It Snow

Saturday brought about 4 inches of snow, so we took the kids to the park to do a little sledding. Most all the parks by our house have a hill, probably for this very purpose. So while the kids took turns sliding down the hill, what was Jeff doing? A little sledding of his own! Turns out they make skiis for airplanes. It was fun, and he gathered quite the crowd to watch him fly his bi-plane. And don't worry, he didn't crash!

Sue's Christmas Party

The care center where Sue is staying (hopefully not much longer) had a Christmas party last week. So the kids and I went over and had a delicious dinner and listened to some high school madrigals sing. It was nice to have a little holiday cheer.

15 stitches

We had a bit of an accident on saturday. Want to guess who the lucky recipient of 15 external (and 4 deep tissue) stitches is?

Yep, that's right. It was Jeff. He was fixing an airplane (RC) and the engine started up, and the propeller cut right through to the bone. I won't even go into the mess he left on the carpet. So he went to the instacare and they fixed him right up! Some people might be a little gunshy after an encounter like that, but not Jeff. He came home from the doctor and went flying. Way to get right back on the horse, honey.

Disneyland!!

Last Saturday, we took our kids to California, and surprised them with a trip to the Magic Kingdom. We went with our good friends the Cotterells, and stayed for 5 whole days! (which guarantees that I don't want to go again for a while.) We are definately a Disney family, even Jeff has been converted, I think. He loves to go with the kids. So we got back early this morning, around 3am (I am still buzzing from the 3 AMPs I drank for the ride home). So while we love Mickey and the gang, it's always nice to come back home.

Josh the HERO!

Josh the super computer doctor saved my computer! So I am back in business! Read below for an update of all that you've missed!

Poor little man

The night before Sue went in for surgery, Ethan was jumping on the couch, and fell onto the coffee table. We just thought he bumped his neck, and like good parents, sent him to bed. The next morning, he was complaining of his shoulder hurting, so I took him to the Instacare. And guess what? He has a broken clavacle. And now that Ethan knows that is the right term, he tells people that he "has broken clavacle-that means collarbone". He will be in a sling for about 4 weeks, but so far, it hasn't bothered him too much. Except when Lauren pokes him and asks "Does that hurt?"

Sue in the hospital

I won't post a picture, because I know Sue would be mad, but after a month in and out of the hospital, she finally had a surgery to remove a blockage from her small intestine. The surgery was a success(an eight and a half hour surgery), and she is recovering. Considering all my mother-in-law has been through, she is doing so well. It's going to be a slow recovery, but worth it in the long run. We are glad she made it through okay. Soon she will be back on solid foods, and out of the hospital. we love you, Sue!

Trick or Treat

For Halloween this year, The girls dressed as witches and Ethan was a Jedi (with a light saber). We had a really fun day, first at the school parade, which cousins Morgan and Justin came to, and then trick or treating all over. We went to go visit Grandma Sue in the hospital, then we went to Jeff's work, then to Grandma Maynard's with all the cousins, then to Grandma Silcox's, then home to our neighborhood. It was raining a little, but a little precipitation can't stop us!!

my Halloween wreath

I had a great idea to make a wreath for my front door. When I thought of the idea, I had a cute, fun wreath in mind, but it kind of turned out not so friendly. Good thing it was a Halloween wreath. Except that I was really busy the week after Halloween and I didn't take things down until the following Friday. So maybe my house wasn't so welcoming. At least I didn't get any solicitors!

Yay for 30!

I am now thirty! It feels exactly the same as 29. Weird! Special thanks to Brynn for taking this picture.

out of commission

my motherboard is broken. and no, that's not code for something else. So that is why there has been no posting lately. But rest assured, as soon as my laptop is fixed, i will be back, so check back!

boys and their toys

Jeff and one of his airplanes. Sadly, this one is no longer with us, but will always hold a special place in our hearts. We go up to the "airport" (an unfinished raod by our house) and watch Jeff fly around with his rc airplanes.

Which witch is which?

Yesterday we went to Gardner Village with our friends Courtnie, Ashlynn and Colby. Here's a picture of Brynnlee, Ashlynn, Ethan and Lauren, with favorite witch hats!

25 more days of my twenties

Let the countdown begin!! My birthday is on the 25th of October and I will be 30!! I can't wait! My friend asked me if I was sad, and I definately am not. This may sound cheesy, but I am ready for a new chapter of my life. In my twenties, I got married, had my kids, bought my first house, and I feel like I did a lot of growing. So I can hardly wait to see what my thirties hold. Bring it on!

Updates

It's been a while so here is what we have been up to:
ethan started preschool. He loves it! He also had a birthday, so my baby is now 4. It is such a great time. We are just at the stage where our kids can go on (almost) all the rides at Disneyland. So we are probably going to go in October. YEAH DISNEYLAND!!
Lauren is still loving Kindergarten. She loves learning to read, and is very good at memorizing the easy readers that her teacher sends home, so she repeats them back to me, and calls it reading.
Brynnlee is rocking the second grade. She has lots of friends and recently started collecting Pokemon cards. I am clueless to this phenomenon. I just don't get Pokemon.
Jeff and I are the same, just doing our thing, waiting for January. I think I am going to look for a countdown clock until we go on our cruise. I can hardly wait!!

One year ago

On the cruise ship, sailing through the Misty Fjords.

Pretty sure this guy was just dressed up as a mountie, I don't think he actually was a mountie. This was in Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
Jeff-preparing to canoe to an island crab bake and rainforest walk.
The view coming into Juneau.

Jeff and I were reminiscing that exactly one year ago, we were on an Alakan cruise. So I thought I'd take a little walk down memory lane. It was a lot of fun, but we can't wait to go on our Caribbean cruise in January.

Lauren's Big Day

Lauren Loves Kindergarten!!

we went to our first day at the big school today. Lauren remembered right where she was supposed to line up. The parents spent the first 30 minutes helping the kids to get settled (though most of the little kids were more ready to say goodbye than the parents). My eyes only misted up a few times (4), and I walked out of class before most other parents. When it was time to pick her up, Ethan and I waited for her out front, and she came running to tell us how much she LOVES her class. Great job, Lauren!!

Happy Birthday, Josh!

Josh's birthday was last Wednesday, so we had him down for dinner and cake and ice cream on Sunday. Happy Birthday, Josh!!

First Day of Second Grade

Well, Brynnlee went to second grade today. She was really excited. She had a new outfit, complete with necklace and bracelets. So she woke up and got herself dressed and ready to go. You'd think that I'd be okay to send her off, but what do you know? I cried on the way home. Can't wait for Lauren to start Kindergarten next week. That ought to be not tearful at all.

Whistling Brynnlee

Brynnlee lost her two front teeth this week, within a few days of each other, and has had a hard time saying her 's' sounds. We all think it's funny, especially when she wants to play "My Sims" on her ds, and I make her keep repeating 'my thims' because I pretend I don't know what she is talking about. Oh, the simple pleasures.

Grandma's Aprons

Grandma Maynard made these very adorable aprons for the girls. I had a hard time convincing them to take them off at night. When they woke up the next morning, the first thing they did was put on their new aprons and come in to ask me for "baking lessons". We'll have to get started right away on that.

Sleepover

How much do we love Morgan?

Cousins are the best! Morgan slept over last week. We never had so much fun singing and dancing and watching movies and not sleeping. Poor Ethan couldn't handle all the fun!

Days of '47

Parades are fun, right? Who wouldn't want to be in a fun, short, (only half a mile)hot, kids parade in Salt Lake City? So the kids and I set off on Saturday morning to be in this little parade in the heart of downtown. We were supposed to be there no later than 9am. Unusually punctual, we arrived at 8:40, and proceeded to find the rest of our stake, near the end of the line (number 56 out of 58 entrants). Waiting patiently for 20 minutes, Ethan finally got bored and wandered off while Mom was handing out official neckerchiefs to the participating adults. Panicked, I ran all the way to the information booth, thinking 'how am I going to find him? Every kid here is wearing the same thing!' (blue jeans and a white t-shirt) Fortunately, Ethan is not shy and told everyone his name was Ethan Michael Bonner, so when I said I couldn't find my son, the girl in the information booth said, "Ethan, right?" PHEW!! So Ethan and I headed back to wait in line again for another 2 hours. Don't worry, it wasn't hot. Oh, wait. Yes it was.

Finally, it was our turn to start walking the parade route. Ethan, tired from his traumatic ordeal (see above), begged me to carry him, so he got to ride on my shoulders. Good thing it was only a half mile long. The girls walked with their friends,(Brynn and Kenzie Stokes in picture above) and helped carry our ward's banner. So we walked the parade, and at the end, they had a fun festival, full of bouncy slides and bounce houses. We didn't go. The kids were disappointed, but to make it up to them, I took them for hot fudge sundaes at Leatherby's, so all in all, it worked out for all of us.

Everybody's Doing It

"Stacie, do you have a blog?" "What's your blog's name?" "Did you put that on your blog?"
So here it is; my foray into blogging. I just want to manage everyone's expectations, I don't think I will be winning any blogger's awards. (Are there blogger's awards?) So thanks for visiting, stop by again soon.