California dreamin!

Although I am very glad to be home-- we had absolute BLAST in Cali. It was one of those trips where we all got along (very little fighting from the kids) Jon was even a good sport about all the picture taking. We got to do so many things that made such fun memories for our family. I took so many picture so I am going to post them in slide shows according to the day.

So here is day one.

Day two: we were off to Disneyland

Day three we went to have some California Adventures!

Day four - back and forth

Day 5 Universal Studios and driving through town!

Day 6 San Diego Wild Animal Park

Day 7 Sea World and San Diego

I am so grateful to my sweet hubby for making this trip possible and I hope that my family enjoyed it as much as I did. Also Thank you mom for going with us. I hope you had fun and I know we will cherish the memories forever.

California, here we come!!

Ok so the day has come when my kids finally get to use their christmas present! We are leaving for California tomarrow for a funfilled week of Disneyland, Universal Studios, Sea world, the zoo and hopefully the beach and the thrill is in the air! We have been busy for the last couple of days passing out cookies and now it is time to go and relax! I dont know if my kids will even be able to sleep tonight! I know I won't!

We will think of all of you while we are away! Also--big thanks to Brian and Layne for taking care of Trauma!

Stay tuned for pics from our trip!!

trying to catch up!!

I am in serious need of catching up on my blog-- this whole FACEBOOK thing has me all screwed up too.! plus...... BUSY BUSY BUSY!! I want to give everyone a huge {THANK YOU} from Brekyn for supporting her and buying cookies from her. You all helped her reach her goal and she has a huge sense of pride in herself. I am very glad that the pre-order sales are done for now an now we just have cookie booths to look forward too.

What else has been happening.... well I may have mentioned before that I got a new camera for Christmas and i have been learning how to use it-- here is a couple of pics I took learning some new things...

Well Jon has been working hard at both jobs this last couple of weeks trying to earn some extra cashola for our trip coming up. We are going to Disneyland in less than a month now and my kids are not excited AT ALL!! Neither is my mom! (such an exaggeration!!) We have a lot planned while we are in California including going to a Clippers vs Pacers game-- ROW 4!!!! I am super excited! We are also going to Universal Studios, Sea World, and San Diego Zoo. I have not been to any of these places since I was 10 years old (wow that was a long time ago!!) So if any of you have any suggestions about any of these parks-- anything like where to eat, what to ride, anything, please let me know! I want this to be an amazing trip for my kids and I cannot wait to see their faces!

I have been kinda busy lately too making new projects for myself-- here is the latest project Jon and I have both been working on (oh and u too Scott- Thanks!)

I have found new passion of turning trash into treasure! I love it! Sydnie has even jumped on board and loves to help me. I love that we share this passion. This last Saturday was spent with us running around from store to store (DI-- yes the DI) and finding not so beautiful stuff and turning it into art! So take that UGLY picture of a dog and his dead pheasants-(a $5.00 picture- I think the glass and wood alone are worth more than that) sorry to the guy that painted it BTW- take the picture out, paint the frame and for the heck of it, use the same UGLY matte, put in a beautiful picture given to me by my friend Jon because he knows I love Aspen trees and ......... WALLLLAH!!

WOW!! What the difference a little paint makes! And all under $10!! Keep posted for my other finds from my most recent TREASURE HUNT!!!!!

Just another Day at the Office

On Saturday, Jon was on duty at the Fire Station and they had been training on Car Fires and what to do. It wasn't but 30 minutes later (after they had come back to the station and made them some lunch) when a call came out for..... A CAR FIRE!! What a coincidence! So they responded thinking that is would just be something small and they would come back to the station in a few minutes. SURPRISE! This is what they came across when they arrived in scene!

Needless to say, all of the guys were a little excited to play a bit! As Jon would say..."Just another day at the office!" (BTW Jon is the one putting on his hat)

cholecystectomy (pronounced co-lee-sist-eck-toe-mee)

Well after 4 weeks of pain, 2 trips to the ER, tubes down my throat, iv's in my arms, several tests and not enough medication to take away symptoms, I underwent surgery on Monday, January 5th, to remove a small pear-shaped organ that stores and concentrates bile called the Gall Bladder. The gall bladder is connected to the liver by the hepatic duct. It is approximately 3 to 4 inches long and about 1 inch wide. The function of the gall bladder is to store bile and concentrate. Bile is a digestive liquid continually secreted by the liver. The bile emulsifies fats and neutralizes acids in partly digested food. A muscular valve in the common bile duct opens, and the bile flows from the gallbladder into the cystic duct, along the common bile duct, and into the duodenum (part of the small intestine).

Ok so now that you know it's purpose and where it is-- I no longer have mine. I have never really gone through surgery (unless you count a c-section) so I was a little nervous. One of the repercussions from the surgery besides pain from the incisions is the gas bubbles. When they do the surgery, they fill your abdomen full of gasses so that they can complete the surgery. They try to get most of it out but sometimes some of it HIDES! AAARRRGGGHHH! That gas is a bugger too. So with the support of my husband, my family, and some great friends who have really helped out, I am slowly recooping. It surprises me how much you use your abdomen for everything. I want to tell those who have called to check on me, those who have brought me treats, taken care of my kids, fixed dinner for my family and have just cared about my well being, Thank you for everything. I appreciate it more than you will ever know.

New Years 2009

This new years was a little low key. Usually I like to get out and enjoy the company of a bunch of friends.Well this year was a little different. I had not been feeling well for a couple of weeks and really wanted to ust stay home. Scott and Lisa came over to our house to help ring in the new year and played some cards with us. Leslie also came by to say Hi and we taught her how to play poker.

After a few rounds of poker, and a couple rounds of American Idol, we rang in the New Year while watching the ball drop with Dick Clark and enjoying a glass of champagne.

The kids celebrated in their own way at Nana's house and I did get a call at midnight from my mom letting me know that the kids were all asleep. Syd did wake up for a second to tell me "Happy New Years".

The rest of the night we sat and played cards until we were all so tired.

I have sat and thought of all of the resolutions I have for 2009 and also reflected on everything that happened in 2008. I have learned so many things from so many people and I want to take all that I have learned and apply it to my everyday life.

"my chikas!"
Scottie and Lisa

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A New Family Tradition....

The day after Christmas, my family came over and we had "Chinese Night" we made homemade egg rolls, fried rice and sweet and sour. My cousin Hayden and her husband Brent came up from New Mexico with their baby boy Braxton to spend the holidays with the fam so we got to hang out with them. Also Kelly, Boden and Cason came over along with Calvin, Andrea, Nene, Weston, Scott, Lisa and their girls. After we ate dinner, we chowed down on an assortment of yummies dipped in chocolate using my new chocolate fountain that I got for Christmas. Then it was time to play!
Some of us played "Catch Phrase" with the "Catch Phrase Natzi (Calvin)" and some of us grooved down to a little American Idol on the Wii. Not to toot my own horn, but I am the current reigning American Idol and I totally rock!! TOOT TOOT!!

Christmas!

Christmas morning came with much anticipation. I was expecting to get woke up a bit earlier, but I think that nerves made the kids get to bed a bit late. I wasn't complaining though. 8:30 am is plenty early for me. We were very excited about this Christmas morning because Tukar was finally starting to grasp what Christmas was. He saw all of the presents and the look on his face was priceless. He was so excited. Then it all began--paper ripping, boxes being torn apart, presents everywhere!!

Then came to the exciting part of the morning and we had a little something up our sleeves that was kinda hard to keep a secret. Well it started out telling my mom that we were going to take the girls to Hawaii. Well secretly we were planning something else...... After all of the presents were open, there was still a gift hiding behind the tree. Here's how the rest of it went.....

The rest if the day was spent with family. We went back over to Mom and Dad Hollands and had lunch and we all got to talk to the one person in our family that was not there... Elder Travis Big Dog Holland! He is serving his mission in Missouri and this will be the last Christmas he has to spend away from us. He is over his hump day. We did however get to spent time with his "going to be better half" Megan. She is such a QT! I cannot wait til "the" day! We played games including pool and 5 Crowns (a family fave of the Hollands)

Then it was off to my moms house to see my papa and give him his presents. There is another tradition there also. Ever since I was a little girl, I have gotten my Papa both "Lectric Shave" and "Stetson" for every Christmas. So to go along with the norm... we got him some unusual gifts as well. At Cabelas, they had a summer sausage assortment made up of some weird things such as wild boar, alligator, and jackalope (seriously it was rabbit and antelope together). We also got him some canned rattlesnake, alligator, buffalo, and venison. He has always liked trying new and weird foods so what weirder than those.

getting updated

Getting ready for the Holidays........

Christmas sorta snuck up on us really quick this year. December was a crazy month. Between parties, last minute shopping and illness (more to come about that) the month was full.

One of the thing that we did was go over to Scott and Lisa's house and made Christmas candy. Yummy chocolate suckers that the girls got to make themselves. Thanks Lisa. This will have to be a new tradition for us. It was a lot of fun.

Later we exchanges Christmas presents between the our families.

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Sledding.....with the sled

What a better way to take advantage of the snow that we have gotten than to go sledding!! We took off up to the fields by our house for a good time of sledding with the snow mobile. We found an open field and tied the sleds up behind the sled and took off! WHOHOOO!
The girls had such a blast and I decided that I needed to take advantage of the situation too! So Lisa and I jumped on the sled and Scottie took off! After a fun trip around the field, we hit a bump and BOOM! I fell off the back. So I decided that I better make a snow angel while I was laying there!

I cannot wait to go again!

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Christmas Eve with Family......
Christmas Eve has always been a time to spend with family. This year we went to Mom and dad Hollands for dinner, games, and a Christmas program with the entire family. It was nice to spend time with family. Growing up an only child had it's benefits and it's downfalls. One of the things I love about marrying into a large family is the times that we can all get together and enjoy each others company. I love seeing my kids playing with their cousins and spending time with my brother and sister in laws getting to know them. We had a yummy dinner including my mother in laws famous Clam Chowder. The we all sat down and played "Christmas Jeopardy" Ok so here is a question for all of you out there ( I would really like some input back on this one too please)

"How many reindeer are there?"

This was a touchy subject that was discussed and could have been the tie breaker in the game! I have my theories and I would like to know what everyone else's input is.

After we were done, it was time to head home and get ready for Santa to come.
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Getting ready for Santa. with traditions.......

Traditions have always been a part of our family. I have loved passing on traditions from my childhood to my children, and also making traditions of our own. One of the traditions I have passed onto my children is feeding Santa's reindeer on Christmas eve. Every year that is one of the highlights that my kids look forward to on Christmas eve. You take a little oats and mix it with some glitter (to reflect from the moonlight to attract the reindeer). Santa seems to get all of the treats and my kids love knowing that the reindeer get treats too. After all, they are the ones that have to pull the sleigh and it helps them keep up their strength.

Another tradition we have in our family is getting pj's on Christmas eve. You have to wake up in new Jammie's on Christmas morning to open your presents. We always get comfy pants that we can wear all year long.

And of course, there is always the tradition of leaving cookies for Santa. We know he loves chocolate so we left some extra chocolate treats for him too.