MTC

So Craig's parents and Ryan came for a visit yesterday and we took Ryan (Craig's youngest brother) to the MTC in Provo today. We had a great visit, although it was not nearly long enough, and we were able to go with them to lunch and then on to the MTC. It was kind of interesting just pulling up to the curb and dropping him off, but it was great all the same. Here are some pictures we took with him. He will be a great missionary. Oh, I forgot to mention he is headed to Chicago, Illinois!

Talent Show

Yesterday was a great day, but thoroughly exhausting. Bristee was in the Middle School's talent show. She and her friend Brooklyn sang Party in the USA. They did a great job and I was so proud of them. They practiced hard and there hard work definitely paid off. After that Chandler had a wrestling match at home so the parents all had to help. Chandler did well he is really working hard and you can definitely see that. So we had a great day! Being a mom is fantastic!

Wrestling

Chandler had his first wrestling tournament this weekend, March 6, in Evanston Wyoming. He was a little bit nervous and didn't know what to expect, but he tried hard and did well for his first time. We told him next time he will know what to expect. He wrestled two kids and the second time he was much more aggresive! He'll get the hang of it. He wrestled at 75 lbs. Carsen started out wrestling practices, but he already decided he wasn't very interested!

Packing to go to Nevada

We are so excited to be traveling back to Nevada this weekend. We will be leaving EARLY Friday morning, hoping to have a long time there on Friday. The kids are so excited and most of them have friends house that they will be staying at Friday night. Saturday morning we will be going to the temple with Ryan (Craig's youngest brother) then on Saturday evening our niece Jenna will be being baptized. On Sunday morning Ryan will be giving his farewell talk in Sacrament meeting then we will head back home. It will be a very busy weekend, but hopefully we will get some good time to visit with great friends! We are praying for good roads so we won't have to spend anymore time traveling than is necessary!

I've lost my mind!

It's official I have truly lost my mind! I know that it is no surprise to any of you! I have been following a heartbreaking blog about a little boy named Bronson who drowned in the bathtub, he was revived and is now back home with his loving family. Anyway he spent a significant amount of time in ICU at the Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City. As a result of huge medical bills a loved one has put together a 5K and children's fun run for March 27th, so I have decided to start training and run the 5K and my kids are going to run the mile fun run. I started training today so I don't quite have 5 weeks to train. We'll see how I do! I have roped Craig into running as well as some of my family members! Hopefully I don't pass out or something like that! Anyway my kids are way excited and I feel like it's a great goal! I don't know that I am excited about it though! Anyways check out the blog its stakerzxposed.blogspot.com make sure to scroll down to Feb.1st and grab a box of tissues before you start to read!

Princess Brynlee's Tea Party

Princess Brynlee had her first play date since we moved this Thursday and they had so much fun. The best part of her day was the "tea party!" They played dress up, and kitchen, and babies, and of course they malled poor Shantee (our dog) to death! Shantee is such a good sport with all of the little kids that come to our house. Brynlee is excited to have some new friends and we look forward to lots of play dates to come!

Jr. Jazz has ended for the year!

Carsen and Chandler have both played junior Jazz this year and have loved it. Unfortunately all good things do come to an end and they finished their games this week. The highlight of the season for them had to be going to a Jazz game in January. At one point during the game Carsen looked at me and said, "I think I'm going to be a Jazz fan!" They especially loved the half time show and their snacks. My brother Beau and his son Stadler came with us to the game and we had so much fun! Here are a couple of pictures of my ball players! This week we start wrestling!

Happy Valentine's Day

We just wanted to wish everyone a happy Valentine's Day! We are planning to have a great day. We are taking some plates of goodies around to some neighbors and having some friends over for dinner! Have a great day with those you love!

Sleigh Ride

We had such a phone day today. A friend of Craig's Dave has Belgium draft horses and he invited us out to his ranch for a horse drawn sleigh ride. My kids had so much fun and it was a perfect day for a sleigh ride, it was lightly snowing and picture perfect! Afterwards we went to their house for some hot apple cider and fun conversation. We are so lucky to be meeting so many new friends, we really appreciate everyone's hospitality. After we left there house we went to Park City to do some shopping and went to dinner, then we came home and did some Valentine's Day baking. We had so much fun!!!!

We are out of the hotel and in a house!

Our move has been a long and tedious process, but we are happy to announce we have officially left the hotel and are in a rental home now!!!! Yeah!! Our stuff was officially brought to us on Jan. 26, we left Fallon on Dec. 23, the kids were so ready to have all of their things brought to them. We are settled in and loving it in our home. Now we need to focus on getting our home in Fallon sold! Two houses will not work for long! Anyways on a positive note the kids are all adjusted and love there new rooms. Bristee made a quilt with the help of her grandma and we put vinyl flowers in bright colors on her walls. She officially LOVES her room and we got it all done just in time for a major birthday party for her and her friends. We had 11 girls for a sleepover on Friday, they had a blast! The boys' bedroom is all BYU and sports and they love it, and Brynlee's room is all decked out for our princess. I will actually work on posting some pictures soon! I am somewhat computer illiterate, so I will have to enlist my sister's help for that!

Anyway, we are loving Northern Utah, however, we so miss our friends in Nevada and beyond. Keep in touch with us!

Happy New Year

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We are all doing well here. The kids started school this last week and for the most part did really well. Bristee actually really likes her new school. She is in a middle school here where she changes class each period, she loves it and has made many new friends. The boys have actually struggled a little more and had a couple of rough days, all in all they are doing well. They have also made many new friends. The boys have started playing junior jazz which is there basketball program here. Bristee and Brynlee have decided that they want to take dance and tumbling classes, so I will work on that this week!

We love the people here. Everyone has been very kind and welcoming to us, which we are very grateful for. We also love this SMALL town. Craig and I love the small town atmosphere!

New House

We went on a househunting trip last weekend. Craig and I went alone and left our kids with great friends and family. We really are grateful for such good friends and family here. We are really going to miss everyone when we move. We were somewhat successful on our househunt. We are putting an offer in on a 1905 Victorian style home. It is a beautiful house with lots of potential. We will have to make several renovations, but we are very excited!! We also went to the new offices Craig will be in charge of and met his coworkers. Everyone we met was so nice, it really helped me to be more excited about the move! This week I have lots of appointments with real estate agents, appraisors, inspectors, movers, etc. We are only here for another 8 days, so it will be very busy!! We hope this season finds everyone healthy and happy!!! Season's Greetings

Garage Sale

So because we are moving, I have been working incredibly hard to clean out all of the STUFF we have in our house and get our home ready to go on "The Market!" Each day as the kids come through the door they have been amazed at how much stuff is gone and how empty our house is becoming. I think we still have way to much stuff so after we move my motto is going to be to SIMPLIFY. Anyways, I had so much stuff to give away or throw out that I decided to have a yard sale. It was crazy on Sat. the 5th people started showing up at 7:00 am in the freezing cold weather to buy my stuff. The kids had a great time and did rather well with selling some of their toys and clothes. We sold a lot of our big items, but still had lots of things left, so Daren and Linda decided that they would go ahead and do the sale again this next weekend while we are gone on a househunting trip. Thank You! This time we are going to advertise that it is indoors in a heated garage!!!

Moving

It's official we are moving to Utah. Craig has accepted a promotion and we will be moving to Utah very soon. He starts work the 1st of January so we are leaving Nevada right before Christmas. We will be heading for Utah on a house hunting trip soon! We are excited, yet apprehensive at the same time. We have so much to do between now and then. Anyone want a house?