Turkey Dinner!

So, two weeks ago we were invited by the Hunt's house to share Thanksgiving Dinner with them, we have done alot with them; Horseback riding, baseball games, game nights, movies etc.. their middle group of kids are Devin and Kyler's age. Kristy their second oldest daughter is Mckenna's ballet teacher and the Eshelle Advisor (highschool drill team leader.) So we thought it would be fun to spend this special day with them. We expected to have the Moncrief's with us too, but they never came and we never got a hold of them!

We started out with the dinner at 2 p.m.

and then moved on to looking at all the Turkey Bowl pictures that I had taken and made copies of for the Hunts.

After the food, some of us rested,

played games or went on to have a sing-a-long! It was fun to be able to sing with people who enjoy singing since at my house the kids always dread our Sunday or Family night various sing-a-longs. We sang music from Phantom of the Opera, Danny Boy and Amazing Grace. Patrice is an amazing pianist, I mean like professional quality, but ended up putting her piano days on hold to have a family instead, and now has time to spend on her amazing talent and so it was really fun to listen and sing to her playing.

After all the food and fun, Devin stayed and watched Premonition and the rest of us went home to record the New spot about the Turkey Bowl!

A Turkey Bowl and fun times

Happy Thanksgiving!
Today we started out with our 7Th annual Turkey Bowl. Last year was ciaos, there were too many people so we only invited really close friends and with their families in town, we still ended up with 2 games going on at the same time.

The cool thing this year was our games were televised on KCSG. The sports anchor was doing a story on Turkey Bowls and he ended up coming to the High School were we were all playing. It was fun to have our close friends and the family have their 5 minutes of fame! We recorded it on our DVR and I am trying to figure out how to record it so that I can included it as a blog entry!

Everyone had so much fun and I took so many pictures that I have picked out a few of my favorite for everyone to enjoy!


Here are a few of the football players, we invited the Hunts, the Gublers, the Gali's, Andersons and the McCoys to come play with a handful of kids to even it out.


Matt had so much fun this is what he looks forward to more than the Turkey dinner, which we spent eating with the Hunts at their house!


Here are a few familiar faces; Natalie is Devin's twin and she is holding her sister Amelia. But the most familiar is our sweet Mckenna Marie, she played awhile and then thought that it was getting too crazy, so she sat with me and helped take pictures. Since she was hanging around, she got to talk to the camera man!



Here is Brook and Me watching the games, I took about 300 pictures, alot of them are awesome shots! Look at Kenna's awesome Leap! Amelia and her older sister Kristy (Kenna's ballet teacher,) were doing leaps and so Kenna decided that it was her turn to try!



Check out that Catch that Matt made! and here is the Camera Man, Pete!



Amelia, Mckenna and Kristy talk to Pete, the camera guy about the tradition of the Turkey Bowl, Pete also talked to Ethan Gali, Natalie and Cory McCoy, it was a really fun spot on the News.

If you are wondering about the High school sign and the tree it was a very cool thing. As the girls and I were driving to Albertsons, we noticed that this tree had icicles hanging on it and the grass had ice on it. I guess that this is natures way of showing you that we are starting a cold snap! It was really nice weather though while the game was going on and then started getting nippy as the day progressed!
Next up, Turkey Dinner!

Devin Turns 17!

So we knew that this day would come, the year that I remember as the year before I met Matt. Seriously, can Devin be this old?!

Devin spent the weekend we were going to celebrate his birthday with a group of his friends instead hanging out and watching movies at Tyler's house and at Heidi's house. Heidi is why we didn't celebrate on Saturday like we planned! I guess we are finally reaching that point in our lives and his where his friends are more important than we are. Now- don't get so sad, we did get to celebrate his birthday on the Day that he was born!

We ended up having cake, ice cream and a lot of Teenagers over on the day of his birthday date, but it was so much fun listening to them, having them play foosball with Matt (yes, they wanted to play with him!) and just watching Devin interact with his closest buds and buddetts!

After hanging out at our house the kids decided to go Iceblocking. They had a lot of fun!

Oh yeah! Natalie and Brook (the gals in the above picture,) came and decorated Devin's room which he still hasn't really cleaned up yet, but he was really excited about it. They are really good friends to him!

What a mess!

What do Pirates and Murder Mysteries have in Common?

Answer: They can be seen at the Brower's house October 26th!

Okay, so I am really late with this entyr, but I needed pictures and had to wait for them all to upload!

Shiver Me Timbers and Rattle my bones! Welcome to the Salty Sea Dog Ye Mateys!

Come and Join Me, Blackspot Jane, and Captain Ham Hands Joe in welcoming all our many townspeople to the town of Port Royale!

Some one has been murdered- some one is the Murderer come along for the ride and figuare out who they are...

Matt and I have wanted to do a Halloween party for so long, but have never really planned one, so this year we just said "What the heck! Let's do it!"

Then we went to work, we found a great website that had everything planned, scripted and great instructions on how it all worked and ideas on what to wear. It was really so easy, the only hard part was deciding who to invite and how many was too many and narrowing down the guests. We ended up inviting 20 couples!! (yes dad, I can hear you now-I know you think that I am crazy!) We ended up with 28 people coming and it was awesome!

It was so worth the planning and stress of the before Party events (we even incorporated the kids as the servants!). I assigned out a different meal item for each couple coming and then Matt and I provided the main meal item - rib of skeleton and Tremor bodies, mashed brains (only 1 pot w/ oozing brown blood) and a side of creepy corn. Everyone else brought ghoulish dessert, salads, rolls and other types of creepy items that they could imagine! Yummy!

We have so many pictures of all the activites and the set up, that I figuared that it would be better to put it all in a slideshow!

We didn't know what to expect out of our guest for costumes- I thought Matt had a great outfit! But everyone exceeded my expectation! I hope you enjoy all you see!


After all the eating, laughing and sleuthing it came down to who was the murderer and why did he/she kill Merciless Morgan! I had no idea who the killer was because I wanted to be surprised too, it was fun because not a single person guessed the killer (I'm not telling,) and that was very odd.

We had a voting poll for best dressed, super sleuth, richest character (who had the most money left over,) and best played character!

If you have never attended a Murder Mystery dinner you must or throw one of your own it is a blast!!

It was so much fun that we are going to make having a Halloween party a tradition every year! Next year who knows it might be a Masquerade or a Gladiator theme!

Devin goes to another dance- a girl's pref- Sadies.

Another year has gone and this is marked by the fact that Devin has attended his 2nd Sadies since starting High school. This year was a lot more fun for him. The kid all went 4 wheeling, had a picnic and then went home, rested, got ready for the dance and then went and partied!

This Sadies he went with Emily Hesson. She is the cousin of the girl that he was dating, Maddie,(for those of you who have listened or watched Devin text this girl at all hours of the day while we were on vacation that is now over- with alot of drama, so call and ask if you want to know! but it is not a blog entry!)

He had a lot of fun, they danced, snacked hung out with friends and took pictures. I will try and get a group picture posted here soon.

Kyler turns 14!

Well another milestone has been turned over! Kyler is 14! Not only does that mean that he is another year older, but it also means that he will be ordained to the office of a Teacher at church!

Let's start off with his party though, he had about 10 of his closest friends go with him to Snow Canyon State Park to play capture the flag in the Sand Dunes after school on November 9th. It was a great day for this since it was warm (yes, it is November folks- but it was 75* outside) but with a little breeze. They left right after school and played until Dark. After they were finished getting sandy and worn out they came to our house to watch Transformers (they all think that the girl in the movie is SMOKING HOT!! not my words) and sing happy birthday to Kyler.

Kyler's friends ended up giving him some money so that he could buy Itunes downloads for what he thought he was getting as a present from us- An Ipod, but little did he know that he would not be receiving that for his birthday but instead received a aquarium and all the fixings plus 5 fish and another frog!

On Kyler's official birth day we gave him his present, decorated his birthday spot at the table for all his meals and went out for dinner at his requested restaurant: Pizza Factory. Usually, if you go to the original Pizza Factory, they will make a pizza for you in the shape of your birthday years. The restaurant that we went to was closer to home and so we just got pizza, bread sticks and yummy pink lemonade with sprite (it's a Pizza Factory tradition!)

Now, for the Church event:

Last Sunday Devin set Kyler apart as a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood. It was a very short but special Setting Apart. Devin was very nervous, and memorized the words that he needed to say at the beginning. He did a great job! I mean it was his very first time giving a blessing plus setting Kyler apart and he tried so hard to be a good example to Kyler and Mckenna by fulfilling his Priesthood duties.

I was happy for Devin to be able to experience this step in his life because it was another process in the spiritual progression!

I am happy for Kyler because for him also it is another step on his spiritual progression, plus the fact that he doesn't have to be in the Deacon's Quorum anymore and dread going every week during Mutual since he didn't have any fun since they only worked on Scout stuff and as the President of his Quorum he didn't have very much help from his fellow presidency members and felt like he was carrying the whole load. But, might I add- he did a great job of planning, implementing and carrying off all aspects of his calling. His final activity of the Quorum was The Halloween Activity they did for the primary kids which turned out to be a great success because of Kyler's leadership. The YW leaders thought that a parent was planning for a boy and yet, it was just Kyler and his perfected outlook on planning and having fun!

Florida Vacation

Okay, so we have been home almost a month and I have been very remiss at not posting any comments or pictures about our vacation to beautiful, sunny Florida. Maybe, it is because I don't want to be reminded of the sunset, the dolphins or the fact that i only really got one good day to soak up the sun! I miss Florida so much! I mean "I want to soak up the sun!!!"

Florida really was nice in October. I think that it is my favorite month to visit.

But being that i was sick most of the time, it wasn't as fun as it could have been, but that is no ones fault but my own for getting sinus colds and infections- i know what I am suppose to do and should have started trying to take care of it sooner, but how did I know that the altitude would affect my cold?

Sharon, Rich and our family with Mom, Dad and Mary all went to Sanibel to go kayaking and beaching it. It was nice. A funny thing happened while we were at Lighthouse beach. We had a nice reunion with Gary Davis! Then later after leaving to go back to Maderia we stopped at Joan and Rich's house to visit them so that we could reconnect with the whole family and not just Gary. We ended up having a nice chat finding out how Chelsea has grown-up and it felt like we hadn't been away from each other for 14 years!

* just a side note: I may have seemed really grumpy to some of you while we were kayaking and i am sorry about that- i really like to have my way and was hoping that i could ride with Matt and one of the kids, but bugger that didn't happen. Sorry, if it wasn't as fun as it could have been! The beach was fun though.

I loved watching the kids faces while we were at Busch Gardens they really loved the rollercoasters there! It is really nice to go somewhere that is not a repeat of rides that you have gone on your whole life (or so the kids said.) I like the same rides, it is nostalgic and comforting! But my favorite ride was on the train- we saw so many animals and watchin Kyler was really fun. He loved all of what he saw- too bad we didn't want to do the safari that you pay for- those people met the Giraffe's face to face- kyler would have really loved that. But the meerkat's were very fun for all of us and the hippos in the aquariam view pool with all the fish, turtles and birds!
Kyler and Mckenna ended up getting a character sketch done of each other. Devin and I got Henna tattoes. Mine lasted 3 weeks, Devin's 1 day. He went swimming at the Grandparentals pool and the clorine faded it I guess. Sorry about that Dev!

Speaking of the Grandparentals and the Grand Aunt (well as far as the kids are concerned,)they spoiled my children silly. All the girls went shopping and Mary and Mom helped Mckenna pick out clothes (or was it watching Mckenna pick out clothes?) Then they got her a pair of shoes and a fun pair of earring. Later they handed each kid a birthday card with fun money in it. I really think that that was so very very nice and generous of them especially for Mckenna since they had already gotten her something.

I loved being able to hug my mom and dad, looking at them for hours and just taking to them not so long distance! I really miss that. I also miss the dinners out on the clubhouse patio!!

The days at the beach were really nice- the ocean was clear- the dolphins were out in droves, so were the fish and the diving birds!


Here is what everyone enjoyed:

• Mckenna enjoyed everything especially the shopping!
• Kyler didn't enjoy the ocean, but he did enjoy playing in the sand and playing the video games at Grandma and Grandpa's clubhouse!
• Devin enjoyed watchin the Redsox, talking to everyone and learning about life! But I think that he missed his girlfriend Madi a little since he spent so much time texting her the whole vacation :>.
• Matt enjoyed talking to Dad, going to Busch Gardens and playing in the ocean but really missed his own bed and the mountains!
• I loved everything but hated having to take a nap everyday to feel not so worn out in the afternoons!

Here are a bunch of fun pictures of our days in Florida. Some of you get to see these views and sites everyday so maybe they aren't so special but they really were to me!
There are so many that I put them in a slide show, Enjoy!

Halloween and it's many activities!

It 's Halloween and it's also Wednesday so we have had a really busy day with so much fun rolled into it!
It started out with all of us dressing (except Baa Humbug Matt,) for our various schools that we drove (or walk in Mckenna's case,)to.

Here is what the kids looked like in the morning:

I did not get a picture of me- sorry, but I was really cute looking as a Pirate, complete with jewels, white shirt, boots and baggy pants- bummer that the camera i took my SPT didn't turn out (it was the cell phone.)

Mckenna's school held their annual Halloween Parade and then had a great classroom party.
Luckily for me I was able to help out with the games and such. I had told Mrs. Simkins that I would be her Room mother at the start of the year, but then after getting my job, I had to relinquish the role (which by the way, I was bummed about!) But, the room mom that is doing it isn't that excited about being with the kids and so she planned the party and then turned it over to me, so we were both happy! It was great fun! Check out the pictures!

Mckenna's Teacher Mrs. Simkins.

Her costume was so funny because at her backside is a little doggie stuck in her rearend!

Mckenna and her friend Erin posing after playing the Mummy game.

Mckenna and Jordan eating their party treats!

When the kids were finished with their treats and the other mom's went home, I stayed and read the kids scary stories.

After School, I had to take Kyler and Mckenna to the Orthodontist! What?! What kid goes to the Orthodontist? Well, kids that miss their other appointment at the start of the month because they are flying on an Airplane on the way home from Florida. Luckily for them, their braces weren't tightened too much and so they were still able to eat candy!

After we all got home, Mckenna headed out to Madison's house, Devin went out with his friends and Kyler headed to the valley with his friends so Matt and I handed out candy to the Trick or Treaters and watched a Boris Karloff film- Body Snatchers (not to be mistaken with Invasion of the Body Snatchers!) Okay- old movie afficinado's what is the other famous actor in this movie? It was a great flick!

Santa Clara City Streetscape Ribbon Cutting Ceremony!

An exciting event for Matt is coming to a completion today. The Streetscape is done!

Today Matt looks a little taller, he doesn't look so laden down with worries. AND He looks very Presidential- don't you think?

The event had 3 stages, First stage was the refreshments.


So many people (not just residents,) came to the ribbon cutting besides the many people involved with helping complete the whole experience; the Citizen steering committee, architects, landscapers, planners, city employees and 3 Mayors who have discussed, planned and sweated out the entire process!


An Oomppa, Oomppa band completed the Historical feel to the event.


The 2nd stage was the talks, (you know- thankyou's etc...)
Matt gave a talk, former Mayor Drake (who is now a County Commissioner,) and Mayor Rosenberg talked. The best talk of all though came from a resident who grew up in Santa Clara with the last name of Graff ( i can't remember his first name,) he talked about the very early history of Santa Clara, his childhood in Santa Clara and the future of Santa Clara and how the streetscape fits into that future. It was a really great speech!





The 3rd and final stage was the Ribbon Cutting itself. My camera died (it hasn't been acting right since we came home from Florida- yes, it misses Florida too! HAHA) so I have had to depend on other's pictures for this entry sorry!



I would love to show you pictures of the streetscape, and maybe you thought you were seeing some, but all you have seen is the street and Heritage Square (even though it does look nice, it is not the main idea here!) So I will be doing another entry on what the streetscape looks like, It will have lovely Christmas decor though since I am not getting a new camera until November.

The Dynamic Duo

Kyler and Mckenna have been spending some fun times on the weekends doing some really crazy things, here are a few of them.

First is the jam session that they had, where they took turns singing, playing guitar and the drums. It was a hoot!

The next thing that they have done is create a mask for a super hero- how about we have a contest and YOU GIVE THE HERO A NAME, since they didn't come up with one...

Here is the co-creator holding up part of the mask, the other part sits on your head so that you can't see your hairline- smart huh?

**okay so I found this lurking in my drafts- and decided I needed to post it. let's still do the naming of the monster contest- ready?! go!