Happy Thanksgiving! Turkey Bowl & Dinner...Yum!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a little family drama in our world, but our Thanksgiving became one of the best for me in ways of being thankful for the wonderful blessings around me and the people that really love me and watch out for me. I learned a lot. I am so thankful for all my family and friends out there who support and love me. Thank you!

Thanksgiving morning, Richard played in the annual Turkey Bowl Football Game. I thought he was crazy for playing, but I was not opposed to watching him run around in those sexy football pants! (You know what I mean girls!) Anyway, it was a rainy day, but it was fun to watch them. The married guys play the single guys and it's pretty fun. After that, we had dinner at Richard's Aunt Paula and Aunt Vera's house and visited with family. We had picked up Grandpa Hamel and he came along too. I was sad to see that Grandpa was the only one being picked up for a family dinner. The rest of the residents stayed in the home. He had a fun time with us. We sure miss him.

After dinner, we enjoyed the afternoon together. We watched movies and played games and just enjoyed each other's company. I hope all of your Thanksgiving was fantastic and I can't wait to read about it!

My favorite Thanksgiving blessing...



Remember the kiddy table? It's the best place to be!



The boys tried on Richard's stuff before the game...



That's my hot football player...#15!

Happy Birthday Muscle Man Kayle! And Happy Baptism Day!

What a wonderful day yesterday was...We got to celebrate Kayle's birthday, we remembered Richard's mother, Kaye (it was her birthday also - she passed away right after we were married and it would have been her 60th b-day), and my first son was baptized. It was a very special day!

We had arranged to have a private family baptism because we had originally planned to be gone the weekend of the stake baptisms, but it turned out to be a wonderful blessing because his and Kaye's birthday fell on this Saturday and we thought what a wonderful way to spend the day! The baptism was at 10 a.m., so our morning was busy. The night before, we were in charge of the little league wrestling tournament here in Hurricane, so it was a busy weekend altogether! It was a beautiful baptism. Lots of family and friends came out to support him. His Uncles gave talks and were witnesses and his Grandpas gave prayers. He was baptized and confirmed by his Dad and Richard and I were so proud of our little guy.

After the baptism, we had a wonderful luncheon at our home and lots of people came out and brought delicious salads and treats. Later, we took the kids to the movies and had a blast. Sunday, Kayle got to sit on the stand with the bishopric and he loved it. He looked so handsome in his little suit. I must say, he did get a little sleepy up there on the stand...what is it with that place?! All in all, it was a wonderful weekend!

Kayle, I love you, you are my little muscle man. You have a strong body, but a tender heart and I know you will always protect and love your sisters and me. Thanks for being such a good example to your younger brothers and for making my life better. I never thought I would have a son and now I have three wonderful boys! Happy Birthday, son. I love you so much!

Kayle's Birthday Party!

We had Kayle's birthday party on Wednesday. His birthday is actually Saturday, but he was getting baptized on his birthday and I wanted to make his friend party separate for my own sanity and preparedness reasons. He had a great time. I did end the day with a migraine (which I really think anyone would have after having 12 boys jump off couches doing flips onto your giant bean bag and watching them play baseball on the WII), but it was all worth it to see Kayle have such a great time! He had some of his great friends and cousins come and it was a great success! Here are a few from the day!


The cake...Courtesy of Dairy Queen...Yum!



This is what we got Kayle for his birthday...A Star Wars Leapster (Ah the joys of mixing games with education!)



Kayle playing the Baseball Target Throw...



Kayle blowing out the candles...



All the Boys Making a Dogpile! So Much Fun!

When Kids REALLY don't want to sleep in their own room...

So, Richard and I were chatting the other night, and Rhett kept coming in and trying to sleep with us so we finally shut our door. Well, then he would slowly open the door and peek in his little head and tell us the very expected "I'm scared, I can't sleep in my own bed, I miss you, I don't have a friend to sleep with" speech. So then, after tucking him in and convincing him he was okay a few times, we shut AND locked the door. Well, we didn't really hear anything after that, until we unlocked the door to go check on the kids and make sure everyone was warm before we actually went to sleep, and this is what we found...



How that could be comfortable...I'll never know! Bless his sweet little heart!

Happy Anniversary - 9 years and Counting!

I know this is a late post, but things have been too crazy lately to get on my computer much. I have had a hard time keeping up with my e-mails too! Richard and I celebrated our 9th anniversary November 6th. He first surprised me by sending flowers to my work at the school. They were beautiful and I was honestly so surprised (it is a rare occasion). Then, we went up to Salt Lake and worked at the South Towne Expo with some friends and had a great dinner at Tucanos (yummy). We had a great time together and I enjoyed having some time alone with my honey, even if we were working! I wanted to list 10 reasons I love my Hurricane Hottie!

1. He is my very best friend.
2. He is an awesome father.
3. He is an awesome brother.
4. He works harder than anyone I know and never gives up.
5. He is a spiritual rock in my life.
6. He loves to give to others and help others in need.
7. He is smart, strong, and fun!
8. He makes me laugh everyday.
9. He is a talented athlete.
10. He is very very sexy!!!


Happy Anniversary Richard, I love you more than I could ever explain, at least in this lifetime!

Birthday Dinner Fun - Happy Birthday Amanda!

I have been lucky enough to get into a fun group of girls that loves to go out and have a good time! They like to go out to dinner whenever someone is having a birthday for the month and we have a blast! They are so much fun! Amanda wanted to go to Olive Garden (which I was totally for). We gave the waiter a run for his money and he was a great sport! My dinner was brought out late, so in exchange, they brought Amanda a free cake. It was delicious! Thanks for a great night girls!

Wrestling Season Begins...

Here is a pic of the boys at their first wrestling tournament. We had to use our camera to record because our video camera ended up with a dead battery, so needless to say we did not get many still pictures. And...I ended up keeping score at one table because they had a shortage of help at the tournament. It was a crazy day, but the boys ended up with a silver for Kayle and a gold for Ethan. They were so excited!

Happy Halloween!!!

Here are some fun pics of Halloween. The kids had a blast and got way too much candy, as usual, and Rhett even ended up with some kind of stomach thing... It was fun until then. We went around a couple of neighborhoods nearby and then out to visit Grandpa Hamel at the home. He was excited to see us and I'm still not sure if he could tell who I was! He even tried on my hat for fun! What a fun holiday!

EJ's Halloween Party!

I am Ethan's room mom, so here are some fun pictures of his class party. We had a cupcake walk, a goblin dart throw, a halloween memory game, and we made a little candy corn man. The kids seemed to have a great time and I did too!



Did I mention that I dressed up?



Or did you think that this was natural?



Cute, cute kids!

Crazy Hair Day!

Last week was Red Ribbon week, so each day the kids would dress up or do something fun. On crazy hair day, my kids really were into it, so I allowed myself to shave H's into the boys' heads - what was I thinking? I'm not sure, but they loved it, and hey, their heads are buzzed, so it'll be fixed in a couple of weeks when they get their hair cut again.

Pumpkin Carving and Neighborhood Pumpkin Walk!

Every year, our neighborhood throws a little party with a pumpkin walk, a dinner with Laura's yummy chili and rolls, and everyone brings out treats to share. It has been such a fun tradition and the kids really look forward to it. Here are some pics of the kids carving and sitting with their pumpkins. Rhett opted to not carve his pumpkin this year, but wanted these "Mr. Potatohead-like" face pieces to put into his. He was so excited to do his own. I am proud to say that all the kids this year designed and carved their own pumpkins. They all did so great!