Christmas Day

This year was just a great Christmas...I mean, they always are, but this one seemed really fun and relaxing. Nobody was sick...which is huge! The present opening was fun and everyone seemed happy...no fighting or disappointment. There was time for naps, we had all the batteries we needed to get every toy in working order, and we just hung out in our jammies. In the afternoon we hung out at the Clark's, got in the hot tub (which was especially nice because it was like 10 degrees outside!) and had fun with all the family. We just enjoyed being together, perfect! I don't have lots of pictures because I don't like to spend Christmas behind the camera, I just like to be a part of the action and fun...so here's a shot of the kiddos. I hope you all had a wonderful and Merry Christmas too!

One of me and Jake's favorite traditions is letting the kids buy us our Christmas gifts at the Dollar Store. During December they help out around the house and we pay them dimes and quarters here and there. Then a few days before Christmas we take them to the Dollar Store and they pick out the most fabulous gifts! This year Jake got a plunger (from Karlee), a "tickler"/duster (from Audree), "bling" tatoos (from Spencer) and a ball (from Rylee). I got a package of plastic trophys (from Audree...because I'm a winner!), a bath pillow (from Karlee), some toe socks (from Rylee) and a gorgeous handbag (from Spencer). This gifts really make our Christmas!

Welcome Home Sean!

On the 23rd, Jake's brother, Sean, came back from his mission! He served in the Minneapolis, Minesota mission and was a successful and hard-working misssionary there. We were all so excited to welcome him back! Jake was really excited for his return and making lots of plans to get the brothers together (soccer, snowmobiling, hunting, etc!). Anyways, we all welcomed him back at the airport and then headed back to Jim and Judy's for a Christmas party...even Santa made an appearance...it was a fabulous day!

Well, This Week...

This week has been busy with all the usual preparations for Christmas. Every night it seems like we have had one event or another to be at, we have been shopping, wrapping, giving and getting all week. Isn't this just an exciting time of year?? It can definately be stressful, but we are trying to enjoy it and soak it all in. We have really loved all of the wonderful Christmas cards we have been getting the mail...thank you to all of you have sent them to us! It's so great to hear from all the people we love the most! So, here are some of the things we've been up to.

Brooke is in the Wasatch Chorale...which I sort of talked her into about 6 months ago. She had a Christmas Dinner and performance the other night and I went to cheer her on! She did great and we had some serious laughs over dinner...let's just say our Mom would have been a little disappointed with our manners at this nice dinner. Thanks for inviting me Brooke...it's always good times when we hang out together!


Last week was Spencer's 3rd birthday. Really! Can you believe it?? I am in denial that my baby is already 3 years old...he is spoiled rotten around here. So, we had all the Clarks plus Brooke come over for some dinner and cake, Bubba opened his presents (of which, the nerf gun was his absolute favorite!) and then we all PILED into Jim's truck to go through the drive-thru light display in Spanish Fork. When I say piled, I mean there were 16 of us in the back of the short bed truck...3 of us basically hanging out of it! It was a really fun night and I think Spencer enjoyed his birthday!


This picture was taken before me, Jake, Spencer and Audree loaded in there!!


Then yesterday was Audree's big day! Audree had a Pre-School Performance...she sung her heart out! Then last night was her big dance recital...you can see in the pre-school pics her hair was in curlers for the night-time performance! She made us proud at both shows! She is such a dramatic performer that she just kills us at these things!

Our Movie Debut

Last month we were asked to be in a church movie with Jim and Judy. We weren't sure what it was or anything, but it sounded like fun, so we went. We were just supposed to act like our Grandparents were coming over for Christmas. (it was so cute because Rylee said, "We can just act like we're going to Grandma Gigi's when we run into her house at Thanksgiving!") It was a quick 45 minute shoot and the kids did so great! We had to laugh because the kids were supposed to run up to Jim and Judy and give them a hug, but everytime Spencer got to Judy, he would push her away and run up to Jim...he sure loves Grandpa! We were still unsure exactly what it was, but we were told it would be one of those mormon messages on You Tube for Christmas. The video came out today...our part is VERY short and you can hardly tell Jake and I are even there, but if you watch, you'll catch it. So, anyone who is interested can check out our movie debut by copy and pasting this into your browser.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FSQuHDIsVw

Enjoy and Merry Christmas Everyone!

Gingerbread House!!

Brooke called me up this afternoon with a sudden desire to make a gingerbread house with my kids...um, let me think about it...yes, please, come entertain my kids! She came over with this adorable kit and the kids thoroughly enjoyed the frosting, sprinkles and candy that abound with such a project. They declared, "This should be a new family tradition!" with red and green stained fingers and faces. As you can see from the photos, it was a great time...unfortunately, it was a quick activity as we had to head off to karate and gymnastics, but don't worry the leftovers were a perfect "bed-night snack!".

Santa is Here!

We made our annual Family Home Evening trip to see the "Big Guy" at the mall last night. As usual...the line was a little too long, the kids were super excited and the moment passed too quickly! It really wasn't that bad...the kids loved it, of course a couple of them threw "Santa" some curve balls as far as what they wanted...gotta love last minute ideas! Anyways, it was a fun night out capped off by some hot cocoa at 7-11. Good times!

Piano Recital

Karlee has been taking piano lessons for a year and a couple months now. I love to hear her play and help her with her practicing...although, I am not sure she always appreciates my help! She is getting better all the time and the best part is that she really seems to enjoy it!

Karlee had her first recital the other night and she was a star! I was so proud of her because I know how terrifying it is to play in front of people (honestly, it is one of my greatest fears!)...she did great and said it wasn't so bad after it was all over. She played Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Great job, Kars!

Thanksgiving!!

We always look so forward to going to California for Thanksgiving! It's a great escape to the warm sunshine and a great time of year to visit with the family. This year was no exception and the trip was perfect! We enjoyed the warm weather at the beach, then a campfire with smore's on the sand one night. We had a feast with delicious smoked turkey (thanks Uncle Bob!) and orange rolls (it really isn't Thanksgiving without them!). We hit the hot tub, watched some Jazz games and ran a
5K! On the last day there the guys and gals split up. The boys had man time together and tried to go to a "Gun Show" (which was closed) and then hit the bowling alley. The girls got dressed up for a night in L.A. to see the Broadway show, "Mary Poppins"! It was fabulous! We missed Katie, Travis and Bristol, but they even made it back from their trip in time to visit on our last night in town! Here are the pics...





Jake, Shanna and Brooke ran a Turkey Trot 5K...I cheered them on with the kids! Blair wanted to run it too, but Mackenzie ended up sick that day and he was Dr. Dad at home. Karlee and Rylee were stoked to be the winners of the kids race...even though the other kids were about 3 years old!




Grandma and Grandpa Nemrow wanted a picture with their Great-Grandkids at Thanksgiving Dinner...some kids were more cooperative than others!


Here we are all dressed-up and off to L.A....the show was great!


Here we all are together for the last night! Go Jazz!

Strange dream...

Alright, so no pictures for this one, but the story should make-up for that. Last night I had a dream and it was one of those dreams that feels real and it's vivid and clear. This dream was about Jake deceiving me over a long period of time and it was one of those dreams where you wake up with the same emotions and feelings you had during the dream. Here's how it went...

It was winter and Jake and I were chatting in our room. Jake went to change his shirt and I noticed something out of the ordinary...his chest was tan, in fact, it looked sunburned. I decided to confront him, "Have you been tanning?" I said. "Yes." he replied. I was stunned at this revelation! "How long have you been doing this?" I asked. "3 years." He stated without emotion. I was furious hurt and angry that this obvious deception had been taking place for so long. I asked him how he'd been paying for this and he told me he had been taking money from the bank account. I asked him what he did with the kids while he was tanning and he said he just left them in the waiting area. I then realized that he had also told the kids to lie to me about where they were when they went to the tanning salon. That was it...the end of our relationship...I yelled and screamed for awhile and then he left for work. I changed the locks on the doors while he was gone and figured our relationship had been a sham...afterall, he lied to me about tanning all these years!

I woke up from this dream still feeling hurt, angry and decieved...but I looked over and my husband was still the pasty white man that I love. All is forgiven. Aren't dreams wierd?? I have laughed about this dream many times today...I also laughed about Karlee's dream...which she told me about this morning.

Karlee said she dreamt that she went to school and it was recess time. She said she was playing football with her friends and suddenly she realized she was naked...no underwear or socks or anything! Don't you just hate those dreams?? I have had my fair share! Only she thinks that a little skinny dip in Grandma Gigi's hot tub over the weekend is what caused that one. Karlee, you're hilarious!

Bedtime!

This is what bedtime looks like at our house...the kids LOVE when Daddy reads them betime stories!

Snow Days...

It's always a bit of a transition deciding how to spend our weekends once the winter hits. During the summer, we just hang out in the sunshine, work in the yard, ride bikes with friends, go to the park, etc...it's never hard to find something to keep us busy. Today was blizzarding outside and we had our first white-out weekend of the winter. What to do?? Well, I made it out inbetween storm systems to take some photos...but the rest of the clan stayed in pjs until 4:00 in the afternoon. So, we decided to head to the bowling alley for the evening. It turned out it was the perfect escape! Jake and I were impressed with the kids bowling skills...even Spencer had quite the power throw!

The Clark Show

Today Jake and and I had to speak in church and they asked us to get the whole family involved. So, Jake and I spoke on Elder Bednar's talk, "More Diligent and Concerned at Home"...which was one of my favorite Conference talks. The 3 girls sang "Families Can Be Together Forever". The girls were so cute...they were nervous but performed like pros. There were many teary eyes in the crowd...mine were the wettest! Something about hearing my kids sing primary songs gets me all choked up...and this particular songs is one of the worst! I wish I could have video taped it to watch again 20 years from now! Anyways, we all got through it and it felt great when it was all over. Here is a picture of the kids before church...what a good lookin' group!

Mischief

Bubba has a new type of mischief that I just can't explain. We got new barstools, which I always new would be a cause of many problems. So, anyways, whenever I leave the room for awhile (ie. shower, laundry, etc.) Spencer pushes one of the new barstools over to the sink where I keep the bread and destroys. He takes the whole bag of bread and dumps it out, takes a bite or two out of each piece and then just leaves it. What??? Really, I don't get it. I would give him a piece of bread if he really wanted one...but he doesn't ask...he just destroys a loaf at a time. I know I should just change where I store the bread...but it's just one of those old habits that I am having a hard time adjusting. So, here is his latest victim...

Halloween Hullabaloo!

We have had many exciting Halloween activities this past week. Rylee and Karlee had a FREEZING Halloween Parade at school...but you'd never know it from their huge smiles! We had to run directly from that to Audree's Halloween Program at pre-school. She was hilarious! I have never seen such a dramatic 4 year old. She sang loud and did every movement on cue! I LOVED watching her and had tears half from laughing and half from being so proud of her! Here are pictures of the big events!





Today was the BIG day and we got lucky everything fell into place! About a month ago I was thinking I would have Spencer be a ghost for Halloween...so I said, "hey spence, you want to be a ghost for Halloween??" and he replied..."No! I want to be a pirate!!" He was insistent and so I gave in and bought a really cute costume online. It came to our house and I pulled it out of the box and he acted excited until I tried to put it on him...then he flipped out! He REFUSED to put that costume on and for the past 2 weeks it sat on my dresser and he wouldn't get near it. He kept saying, "I don't like to be a pirate, it's scary."

Then we had a ward Halloween party 2 days ago...he could only go if he put on the costume. After some discussion he gave in and luckily hasn't fought it since. I think he looks adorable in it! whew...disaster averted!

Also, Audree hasn't felt very well the last day...just a low grade fever and a tummy ache. I thought it would get worse right before trick-or-treating, but an afternoon nap and a bit of Ibuprophen and she hit the street running. whew...disaster 2 averted!

So, here are the pictures of the kids about to collect their spoils...oh, and Jake and I got in on the act too!