Keep going down...

FYI...I was really good and I did a few posts today. So if you want to read them, keep scrolling down. I think I deserve some kind of a reward for catching up on my blog posts today. Like maybe a DQ Blizzard, YES!!!!

Kids say...

Today I was at Walmart buying a couple of things. Brooklyn was in the back of the shopping cart playing with something. She then noticed I had put a bag of Cheeto's in the cart and she grabbed them and said, "This is the best day ever mom!" Who knew Cheeto's could make a regular day, the best day ever!! Brooklyn says so many cute things, I need to be better about writing them down. She is so cute!

Jeff's First School Dance

Jeff got asked to the "Sadie's" dance the other day. His first dance. Its hard to believe this time has come. Well, his friend Keeley asked me if she could ask Jeff to the dance and I told her yes, because its just a month away from his 16 birthday. Being a good mom, I cleaned his room so when she came over, it was actually clean! But the clean room was very temporary. She put about 4 inches of shredded paper all over the floor, desk, closet and bed. Streamers from the ceiling and balloons all over. Whats funny is Jeffs friends kept handing him cubes of butter all day. Then in the room was a poster, "Now that I've got us buttered up, I thought I'd POP the question, will you go to sadies with me". He the had to open about 20 things of popcorn to find letters and spell her name. Very cute! Now Jeff is trying to come up with a way to answer her back. Lots of fun! He's going in a big group with friends. Just another milestone in Jeffs life. He's going to have a great time!

Halloween 2009

Who can believe its Halloween again!! Time is flying right by! We had a great Halloween this year! The little girls enjoyed trick-or-treating. Sami was a speed demon running from house to house. Brooklyn however was more concerned with saying "thank-you" about 20 times after getting candy from a house. No joke, people i my moms ward were talking about a little girl who was just yelling "thankyou, thankyou, thankyou...". I think it was the cutest thing ever! Sami was an Angel, Brooklyn was tinkerbell, Rachael was a gypsi and I was a witch. You might be asking yourself, "Who's the big Gorilla?" I'll give you one guess (that's all you'll need!) Yes, it is Serge. He was the big hit for the night. All the trick-or-treaters loved the costume, even the kids!! And, yes, you are right again. That is Serge in the Gorilla suit teasing our dog!! She did not like the costume and she was going crazy!! It was actually pretty funny. So Serge was successful in scaring our daughters (ALL of them!) and our dog! I love Halloween and we had a great night!! We had homemade chili and soups, bread, pumpkin spice cake(yum-thanks Shelly), popcorn balls, caramel apples, sugar cookies!! Wow, it was great! Makes me hungry just thinking about it! Happy Halloween!

Rachael's First Piano Recital and more...

On October 23, 2009 Rachael had her first piano recital. She began piano the beginning of March 2009. Her teacher is Valanne Jepson (Pictured with Rach).
She is a wonderful teacher and Rachael has learned so much. Not only has Rachael excelled in learning piano, but she loves to be with Valanne. She is a great teacher and person!! Rachael's recital was held at the Russon Mortuary by grandma & grandpa Bull's house. Halloween time/Mortuary...clever idea, right! And all the music was "Halloween style". Rachael went up when it was her turn, announced her 2 songs and played them by memory without a single mistake. She was awesome!! (She really was the very best!!) We were all so proud of her! Rachael has also started playing the violin at school in the 6th grade Orchestra. She has found she really likes to play musical instruments! Also, Rach tried for 6th grade student council and made it! She had the opportunity to go down to BYU for a statewide Student Council Conference. She loved it!! Rach is a child who loves life and isn't afraid to try new things! Way to go Rachael!!

Look what I found...

Well I found more pictures of us in the Uintahs. I knew I had taken more pictures. I guess thats what happens when you've downloaded 389 pictures on your computer to use to update your blog. I really need to keep up on this. Someone find me 2 more hours everyday, and I'm sure I'll be able to keep up with all my stuff!! Right!!

Lee Family Wedding

In May, Serges younger brother, Ted, got married. All the brothers and their families came into town for the wedding. It was lots of fun. All the cousins get along so good and enjoy being together. Its like a big party!! Anyhow, Sami was one of the flower girls and Serge and I were in the wedding line. Ted and Marisa were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a woderful day. I wanted to be able to remember this day for Sami. She was so excited to be one of the flower girls. She kept asking me how she looked and I would tell her, "You look beautiful" and she would say, "Mom, I look like a princess!" And yes, she did look like a princess, and acted like one to!!

4th of July 2009

The 4th of July happens to be one of my favorite holidays. I love the parade, the fireworks and music! Its all just lots of fun! This year Amanda had the opportunity to be in the Kaysville parade with her dance studio. It was fun to see her out there!! Kaysville has the best parade. They throw candy and have a BIG water fight at the end. All the people watching the parade have their buckets of water and squirt guns/supersoakers. However, the city has the firetrucks and water trucks. I think the city workers in the parade win every time. Its soooo much fun. And yes, we bring our water guns and buckets of water. My dad & Serge just love this part. Well, everyone does! This is just a great holiday tradition that we enjoy so much!

Uintahs, July 2009--Washington Lake

Every year we take a family vacation up to Washington Lake in the Uintahs. Mom & Dad, Shelly & Eric Wadsworth, and us. Brittany & Danny came up and so did Grandma & Grandpa and Uncle Paul. It's so beautiful up there and the kids have a great time. This year we were well known around the campground because Jeff would take Sadie, our dog, on a "walk". It works like this. Jeff puts the leash on Sadie, hops on his skateboard, and Sadie takes off pulling Jeff around the campground. As you can probably imagine, Sadie gets pretty tired!! We fished, took out the rafts, went on hikes and the little kids "undie dipped". Shelly, Eric and I took all our kids on a little hike around the lake. I'm not real sure why, but the kids decided to go swim in the lake. It was a secluded area, so I guess it looked fun. Jeff, Amanda, Rach & Chandler kept their clothing on, thank goodness, but the rest of the kids stripped down to thir undies and swam. Mostly just trying to get our to a log. I, of course, forgot my camera, but I took cute picts with Shellys camera! We all have a great time together. I look forward to this every year. This is one of our favorite vacation traditions!

The Fair...

Yes...I am finally updating my blog. Miracles still happen! Anyhow, every year our family likes to take advantage of all the "Fairs" that come to town. Yummy, greasy food, strange people, and interesting things to see. But best of all...Funnel Cakes! These pictures are of the kids at the Davis County Fair at the Farmington fair grounds. This is a good fair to go to because its FREE!! The kids love it. Brittany, Amber, Mom and I all took the kids and we had a great time. The kids all were able to get one toy. If you couldn't guess, they all got binoculars. Thomas, with his wonderful imagiation told the kids the "Huns" (from Mulan) were coming and they were preparing for a battle. This was a great memory for the kids. I think their favorite part was the animals and the petting zoo. Oh yes, and the dirt where they could dig and pour buckets of dirt on each other. Good times. I think sometimes I forget that kids enjoy just the simplest of things and just being together. It doesn't have to be a big expense to be fun and memorable.

Sami's Kindergarten Graduation Program

Sami had her kindergarten graduation program on June 3rd, 2009. The class sang a bunch of cute songs and each child had a speaking part. Sami did a great job and said her part with no problems. She was so excited to have her family there. Grandma Bull, Brittany, Danny, Kelli & Josie and Amber, Thomas & Nate and Serges brother from Ohio was visiting for Ted's wedding, so their family came. Nelson, Lauren, Matt, Rachel, and Liz. We really appreciate them coming up from Orem to see her perform. It meant alot to her! Also a special thanks to Miss Shelley, Sami's teacher. She is an amazing teacher and Sami learned so much from her. It's hard to believe that she'll be in first grade next year. Yikes!! Why do these kids have to grow up so fast? I love you Sami!!

Luv 2 Dance Recital!!

Well the year is finally over for the 2008-2009 dance year. The girls had a great year and made many great memories. For some reason I can't find a picture of Amanda, oops!! This was Sami's first dance recital and she did great! She wasn't scared and she was actually sad she only got to dance one time. She can't wait for the next dance recital to come around. She said, "Mom, I want to do that again!" Amanda and Rachael did fantastic of course and both had a great dance year. All the girls loved the dances they did. Sami's was "Hello Kitty", Rachael's was "Express Yourself" & "Start the Party"(this was a recital only dance), and Amanda was in the big show, "Dance Evolution", "Buble" (which was her very favorite), and "Mississippi". Thank you girls for a fun year of watching you dance!!

Sami's un-birthday

Sami had her un-birthday the last week of school. This is of course a very important day because you get to make a poster about yourself and bring a yummy treat! Sami is showing off her poster in this picture, and since her un-birthday, she has asked me every day "how many more days till my real birthday". My usual answer..."Alot".

Memorial Day 2009

This is a day I look forward to all year. Its a great time to be able to visit with all of our extended family that we never see. Last year we had to cancel due to bad weather, but this year was beautiful!! I love this picture I took of grandma & grandpa, they look so cute!! We all had a great time and look forward to next year!

She made it...Two Years Old!!!

On May 23rd Brooklyn turned 2 years old. Where did the time go? She is such a sweet little girl and has brought nothing but joy into our home! Just look at that cute face. Have you ever seen anthing so cute? We just love her way to much. She is full of energy and is constantly dumping out my liquid soap, getting into nail polish, and just about anything else you can think of that is completely messy!! However when she says, "Hi Mama", my heart melts! She has learned her ABC's and can count to 10 and loves to recite her favorite story books. And instead of crying when I put her in her carseat, she asks me "Mama, where we going?". It took me till #5 to get this even-tempered child. She has her moments, but for the most part Brooklyn is just as sweet as can be!! Happy Birthday Brooklyn, your such a wonderful little girl and we love you so much!!

Amanda's Birthday Surprise!

It's hard to know what to get your daughter for her birthday. More clothes, makeup, shoes, music, etc....NO! Amanda had an envelope with a birthday surprise, Taylor Swift Concert tickets for her and Aunt Brittany. Dinner and a concert, sounded fun to me!! Of course there was shopping involved, she had to have something new to wear to the concert!! Amanda and Brittany had a great time and I know it will be a birthday to remember, since the concert was on her actual birthday, May 26!! Amanda is a great daughter with many talents. She loves dance, tumbling, art and poetry to name a few. (I left out boys, texting, friends, facebook...) She has a great sense of humor and a great smile. We love you Amanda!!

"Happy Birthday To You!!"

We had a big family birthday party at our house in may for Lyza, Seth, Kelli, Brooklyn, Thomas, Amanda and Nate. Its amazing that 7 of the 11 grandkids have their birthdays between April 30th and June 1. We had a great time and great food. (There's always food involved!!) Of course, Amanda is the oldest child having a birthday, however, she was the first sitting on the blanket waiting for her gift from grandma and grandpa. She's not dumb!! I know the kids all had a great time!! Happy Birthday to all of you!!! (Amanda turned 14 and Brooklyn turned 2!!!)

Record Runner!!

Well I nagged and nagged and finally Jeff decided to run track his 9th grade year. He had a great season running the mile and the 800. He did so well that he qualified to run in the district finals. Jeffs best time in the mile was a 5min. 5 sec. mile. In the dristict finals, Jeff got 3rd place and finished with his personal best time a 4min 52 sec run. We are so proud of him. He did a great job! And to top it off, he broke the Syracuse Jr. High School record!!! Way to go Jeff!! Oh and yes, he did thank me later!! Now he loves running track. He'll have a hard time deciding to do soccer or track next year in 10th grade, maybe he'll be able to do both. Lets cross our fingers, OK!!

Ready...Set...JUMP!!!

Why is it so fun to take all the couch cushions off, stack them into a huge pile and then jump. Brooklyn and Sami decided to take it to another level and remove the clothing as well. Then at some point, Brooklyn decided "Naked" was best of all!!! You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get a diaper back on that cute bottom!! Life is so great when you are a kid!!

St. George Dance Competition Trip

Our favorite forced vacation is our family trip to St. George. Amanda and Rachael had their dance competition down there and they both did a great job. This is such a fun trip because the whole family comes!! Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa Anderson & Paul, Ryan, Amber, Thomas & Nate, Brittany, Danny, Kelli & Josie and of course us, Serge, Michelle, Jeff, Amanda, Rachael, Sami & Brooklyn. We all had a great time swimming in the pool, eating food, playing at the park, and best of all watching the girls dance at Dixie State College. They did a great job and best of all they had had fun. Thanks to everyone for coming and suporting the girls. We had a great time and best of all made more memories together!!!

Brooklyn and her "Shoes"!!

Brooklyn loves to wear shoes. So much, that she actually wears them to bed. She won't go to bed until she has her shoes on, she even wears them over her pj's. I've never had a child who was so obsessed over shoes. I don't see how this an be comfortable, but she likes it. So here's proof, incase I forget, that YES, Brooklyn wears shoes all the time, even to bed. What's even better is that when she wakes up, their still on.

Valentine Family Dinner

Our family tradition on Valentine's Day is to have a nice family dinner together and play games as a family.(I'm not sure how long this will last!!) This year I made Chicken Carbonara with green salad and garlic bread. It was really good, I'm hoping I still remember the recipe. Everyone loved it, especially Brooklyn, as you can see by the photo. We laughed watching her stuff her little face. While I was cleaning up, the girls watched that movie, A Walk to Remember. Well, Rachael had never seen it and its a pretty sad show. Well, Rachael starts crying and crying, almost hysterical. Then Amanda joins in and then Sami. Let me tell you, Serge and Jeff really didn't know what to do about all these girls crying and so emotional over this movie. Kind of funny. Needless to say, I deleted the show so there won't be another "crying" session. I don't think I could handle it. Well, after the "drama" was over we played the game apples to apples. The kids have so much fun playing this game. Its really a lot of fun. Anyhow, it was a good family memory and I hope we can keep these family traditions going for a long time. It seems our little family is growing up and there will come a day when these kids will have different plans for celebrating their Valentine's Day. Sad to think about, but its coming...