I AM THANKFUL FOR MANY THINGS...

I know Thanksgiving is come and gone but I am so thankful for many things. I am especially grateful for my family. For my great husband that does so many great things for us and provides for us. He works so hard and never cmoplains. I am thankful for each of my 5 children. I love each of them dearly and am so grateful for each of their different personalities and talents. They make my life great and entertaining. I am grateful for my parents that taught me many great things. Especially how to work and to love my brothers and sisters. I love each of them so much and wish I lived closer to all of them. I miss them all dearly! I am grateful for the gospel in my life. It gives me such great direction as a parent and gives me many opportunities to learn and serve. I am grateful to be able to work at this time in my life and to have a job that works so well with my families schedule. I am really enjoying it (Even though I miss spending the days with my little buddy Chase). Chase is really enjoying spending time at Kondas house--to which I am very grateful also.

I am grateful for so many things. This wonderful community that we have to live in and to raise our children. Sorry everyone that doesn't live in Rexburg but this is the best place to live and raise a family. We are so blessed. I hope you all feel that way about where you live. I am grateful for the Savior that sacrificed his life so that we all could live again with our families forever.

Thanksgiving this year we spent by ourselves but we have had such a wonderful time together. We had a great dinner with no turkey. We decided to have BBQ chicken instead and that may become a new tradition. We have played many games and have enjoyed spending time together. We had the whole week off of school due to terrible weather but it was great because I didn't have to work and the kids had no school. We have eaten a lot of great food and made great memories. The kids are all out now with Phil getting their hair cut. What handsome men I have in my life and a beautiful daughter. Tiana and I went out and did some shopping yesterday and it made me realize how thankful I am to have a daughter. Phil and Josh went out Thanksgiving night at 10 to Wal-Mart and waited to make their purchases until mid-night and then were home by about 1:30. Josh and Phil are so much alike. They really like to have fun and love to give gifts. Well that pretty much sums up our week. It was fabulous. Now back to real life!

Are You Ready for Some FOOTBALL?

Josh's team played Rigby on Saturday and they played their little hearts out and they got a "W".

This is Josh running the ball in for a touch down. Nice job Josh!
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FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Well Wednesday the kids started school and it has been very quiet around the house. Chase is very good and keeping himself entertained and I have got quite a bit of house cleaning done. Chase and I take a walk every morning with a neighbor friend and that gives us a good start to the day.



Dallas is in his P.E. clothes because he goes straight to power training first hour so he didn't want to put his school clothes on for the picture.

Dallas is a freshman this year and that just really doesn't seem possible. Where has the time gone? He has power training, office aide, geometry, and all the other required courses. He starts seminary the 2nd trimester. He seems to like it so far. He really loves his last hour class because he says there are 10 of his friends in that class and he loves his teacher. Hopefully she still loves them ALL by the end of the tri. Dallas is also playing football this year and he had his first game last night. He did awesome and he had a touch down and a 2 point conversion. He starts as running back on offense, and he also starts on defense and he plays on special teams and on kick offs. I may have to change that because I don't know if I called them all the right things, but he pretty much played the entire game. He also had an interception. He did get hurt in the last couple minutes so he didn't play then but he feels pretty good this morning. Oh and his team won!


Josh is in 7th grade and has a few of his friends in his classes also. I can't get a lot out of him but he says school is fine. I know he played football on his lunch break so that was probably the best part of the day. He also is playing football and Phil is his offensive coach. They had their first game Wednesday and they won 7-6. It was a close one. He did well and he plays running back and quarterback and he plays all the other things too. They had a few mishaps in the game but they played well for their first one. The parents watching were wondering if there was vaseline or something on the ball. They were having a hard time holding on to it.



Tiana is in the 4th grade and her teacher is Mr. Bitter. This is his first year teaching and Tiana loves him. She is a very social girl and she has alot of friends in her class so hopefully she can keep the talking to a minimum. I know she isn't sitting by her best friend so that should help. She isn't participating in anything right now but wants to start gymnastics so that will probably start next week. She is entertaining and loves to chat and keeps us busy!



Logan is in the 1st grade and has Mrs. Erickson. He has loved the first couple of days and has many friends in his class and has even made a couple of new friends that he has been talking alot about. He is just soaking everything in right now and is fun to listen to. He is playing flag football and Phil is one of his coaches. He had two games this week and did really well. He scored 7 touch downs between the two games. He is loving it and is really fun to watch.



Chase is home with me for now and is probably really bored. He asks quite often how long until the kids get home. He has been very good though and I am glad to have some company. I am currently looking for a job so I told him yesterday he may have to go to day care and after I told him what that was he said he wanted to go so there may come a time this year where he will have some friends around if I get a job. Chase is a joy to have around all day and I can't believe my baby will go to kindergarten next year. I really wish time would slow down a bit. My kids are growing up way to fast. I love them so much and I am so grateful to be their mother.

I hope the kids have a great year and they all learn a lot and have much success in all they do. I love watching them learn and grow and develop their talents.

DALLAS IS 14!

On April 10th Dallas turned 14 years old. I can't believe he is already that old. This fall he will be a freshman and it makes me sad. My first baby is growing up right before my eyes. Dallas is such a great kid. I am the luckiest mom ever!



I just had to put this picture in. This is Dallas with my dad. I have very few pictures of Dallas with my dad so this is priceless. It may be the only picture I have of them together. Dallas loved my dad!
This is Dallas on his first birthday. We had a little party for him and it was a pooh bear party. We had just moved to Logan to our first home the week before.
This is Dallas on his first day of Kindergarten. He loved school and I think he still does. Atleast he does very well in school I am not sure that he loves it.

Dallas has been given many wonderful gifts.

#1-He is very kind and caring. He cares about others and is very soft-hearted.

#2-He is very smart and works hard in school to get straight A's.

#3-He has a very strong testimony of the gospel. He is the one that is always reminding us to say our prayers and read our scriptures. I have walked in to his room many times and found him praying. He is such a great example to me!

#4-He does well in sports. Whatever sport he is in he practices hard and tries his best. He will always give his best effort. He has played through pain but he keeps going. He is a warrior as one coach told us.

#5-He is a good helper. Being the oldest is a hard one I think. A lot is expected of Dallas and he is such a good leader for the younger siblings. They all look up to him and he is a great older brother.

We love you Dallas and we are so grateful you are part of our family. Happy Birthday. I am so lucky to be your mother. Thanks for all you have taught me thus far and for the joy you have brought to me. I love you! Mom

BASEBALL SEASON!

My favorite sport season has arrived and because we live in Rexburg my kids learn how to play baseball inside of a gym for the first couple months of the season. Yeah it snowed here this week and it is still freezing cold. I don't know why I love baseball season so much because you never know if it will rain, snow, hail, or just possibly the sun might break through the clouds for a minute--but baseball season makes me happy! This year all of my kids are playing baseball. This is Dallas's last year before high school ball which blows my mind. He should still be 5 in my mind. So Dallas and Josh are both playing baseball, Tiana is playing softball, Logan is playing coaches pitch and Chase will play T-ball. Phil is helping coach Dallas's team and he is also Logans coach so he is going to be busy. I hope for better weather before next week because Dallas and Josh both have their first game next Wednesday so I am praying for sunshine! Good luck kids--mom will be cheering for ya!

Spring Break!

Well we just finished our spring break on Monday and we had so much fun! A lot of my family came into town and guess what--I didn't take one picture. So sad! WE had so much fun though. Heather and her kids came, Trenton and Maren and their 3 kids came, and Garrett and Jilayne and their 3 girls came and then Jared and I both live here so there was a lot of us. WE played a lot of games, ate a lot of food, had an Easter egg hunt, played volleyball and basketball at the high school gym, swam, and the kids played hard. The older kids also went and played arcades at the Rex. We had a blast. WE are so grateful for everyone that came and look forward to doing it again soon.

Logans kindergarten play!

Logans kindergarten class recently performed a play for the parents. It was a circus and Logan was in the strongest man competition. He did really well. It was so funny because they wore dads t-shirts and put floaties in the sleeves to make muscles. They lifted little bars with balloons tied to the ends. Logan did such a good job acting like it was really heavy. We were all afraid he was going to pass out because his face turned so red--well actually almost purple. He definately is STRONG!

Josh's team wins championship game!

Josh has an amazing basketball team and they did awesome this year. They played in the March Madness tournament in Idaho Falls. THe very first game they played Josh sprained his ankle in the 2nd quarter and didn't play the rest of the game. The next day they played a team from Boise and they all played so well! The Boise team had been killing every team by atleast 20 points. Well Josh's team beat them by more than 20 points. It was so fun to watch. The championship game they played a team from Logan, Utah who had been killing everyone also. It was a really close game but Josh's team pulled through and ended up winning by 2 points. It was the funnest tournament to watch. They just keep getting better every year. They have an awesome coach and all the boys are great friends.

Dallas 8th grade basketball.

Dallas finished his 8th grade basketball season and he did AWESOME! He got to play quite a bit and he started every game. He struggled some with the pain in his knees and feet but he battled and we are proud of him.

My New Years goal for this year was to blog (journal as I am calling it) and as you can see I am not accomplishing my goal. So since it is already February I will try to update what has been going on for the year so far. Dallas made the 8th grade basketball team and has been doing well considering all the pain he is in. He has started every game so far and has played well. He has to ice his feet and shins every morning before school and every night after practice/games. Sometimes he will even call me on his lunch hour and have me pick him up so he can ice. He is being tough and he must really love it to keep playing. We are proud of him. On the day of his first game they didn't have school so he asked Phil to take him to the church to practice his shooting. Before they even made it into the gym Dallas ran into the door and had to go get stitches above his eye. He has had a rough time. Josh is still playing travel ball and is now starting indoor practices for baseball. He is also very busy. The younger 3 aren't involved in much right now so it has been nice.

Phil recently received a promotion at work so he is no longer doing the sports stuff. He is now in charge of the Fitness Center, the Wellness Center, and some other thing they are going to start up. He is very excited, but a little stressed also. It will be a good challenge for him and I am sure he will do well. He is very busy trasferring over to this job and finishing up his other. He is right in the middle of ice hockey so he will be doing that also until the end of the month. We are excited and happy for him!

I am now a advisor in the Laurel presidency and so I have been keeping busy with that. It has been fun to get to know the girls. They are such good girls and we have a lot of fun. This week we made Lasagne with the priests and took dinner to a few families in the ward. It was a great way to serve and had fun doing it. Phil is in the Elders quorum presidency so that keeps him busy also. They are doing a cheesecake social this weekend so I am looking forward to that yummy cheesecake from the cheesecake factory. YUM!

Phil took Dallas, Josh, and Logan to a Jazz game last week and they had a blast. It was Logans first time and I guess he really loved it. They all said he really got into the game and was screaming with the rest of them. I guess they all follow in their dads footsteps. They all love ball and are all very competitive. When they are all grown we should have some pretty good ball games amongst ourselves, and I am pretty sure Tiana will be able to play right there with them. She is learning to love sports too. I guess it is a good thing that I enjoy them too. Our lives would be very boring without ball games!

Life is good and we are busy. I am so thankful for all of my family. My own husband and children but also for my brothers and sisters and their families and Phils family and our extended families. We are so blessed to have such a great family. Even though we don't see family much we hope they all know we love them and miss them. My kids talk about their cousins all the time. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the guidance it gives me and my family and the many opportunities it gives us to serve and to learn. I am so grateful for my life and for my many blessings. We are very blessed!