Post Surgery Catch Up

Been a bit since I've blogged.  Having my surgery threw everything for a loop for awhile.  It is all getting back to normal though, so it's time to get back to putting my thoughts out there.  :)

Things went well with my foot surgery.  I'm still in recovery mode, but hoping that in the end the pain will be gone.  It does seem to be getting better, so I am very hopeful!  I can almost walk down stairs like a normal person.  Stairs are still one of the most painful things to navigate.  That and standing for longer than 5-10 minutes in one place.  It no longer hurts just to put shoes on, so I take that as a good sign.  I have to say that I am very grateful for my sweet husband and my kids throughout my recovery.  They have taken such good care of me and each other. 

Christmas went well.  Thanks to one of my bff's and my little sis I was able to get all the presents wrapped.  The kids all loved their presents and had a great time putting together all of their Legos.  We have Middle Earth in Legos at our house!  They have had a blast playing with them and I love it.  My hubby got me Merry Christmas Alex Cross by James Patterson, a sketch book, and a drawing kit.  I haven't broken them out yet, but I am really looking forward to it!  I haven't drawn in a while and I miss it.  My mom gave me two notebooks full of family history stuff.  One of the coolest presents ever!  I am enjoying the chance to go through them and read about my ancestors.

Angel had to do a family history project for school.  The notebooks my mom gave me were a big help!  Angel put a lot of work into her project and got the highest grade possible on it.  She learned a lot about her grandparents when she interviewed them.  We're hoping to frame the family tree she made.  We are wanting to print off pictures of different family members back many generations to hang around the family tree. 
A couple weeks ago our elementary school had a mother/son bowling night and a father/daughter dance.  The boys and I had a fantastic time going bowling.  Technically they bowled and I took pictures while cheering them on.  My foot isn't quite up to bowling yet.  After bowling we went out for pancakes and ice cream.  It was a great night!  The next night was the father/daughter dance.  The girls got all dressed up fancy and had beautiful wrist corsages.  They went out to a mexican restaurant with their dad and their uncle, who was Angel's date for the night.  At the dance they posed on the red carpet, went on a horse drawn carriage ride, ate some tasty chocolate dipped fruit, and danced the night away.  I am so glad that we have a school that provides us with these types of activities.  They are truly memory makers!

We've got the Blue & Gold banquet coming up this week, the Destination Imagination tournament for Picasso and Princess the following week, and the first Rapids home game of the season that night.  We're really excited about these things.  I love being able to support my kids in their endevours and spending time with them.

That's my recap post surgery.  Now it's time to help Picasso make cheese quesadillas for lunch as we are spending the day snowed in while the blizzard is blowing outside.  I truly love my life.  It isn't perfect, or stress free, but it is fantastic.

Busy, Busy

We've got a couple extremely busy weeks!  It started yesterday with a newscast.  My kids school was featured on a local news station for having an amazing science fair!  So my kids were all on the news last night.  They thought it was a blast, though they didn't necessarily love all the waiting around beforehand.  Definitely a lesson in patience!  Steve Spangler did the interview.  He is pretty amazing and really knows how to make science fun.  You should check him out!

We've got our normal weekday craziness going on and then on Friday is Phineas & Ferb!  Seriously cannot wait.  Okay....I CAN, but I don't want to.  We bought an extra ticket for my brother-in-law, so that will make it that much more fun!  I'll let you know how the show was on Saturday.  From what I hear, it is going to be great!

Next week is PACKED!  Seriously crazy, at least the end of it.  Mother-Son bowling kicks it off.  I really LOVE Mother-Son bowling night.  Any excuse to spend a night hanging out with my boys is at the top of my list.  Though I may invite my brother as Archer REALLY wants to do some kilt bowling, but doesn't want to do it alone. 

The next night Archer leaves for a Boy Scout campout, in the snow.  Brrrrrr!  It's also the Father-Daughter Dance!  Oh.My.Goodness.  I LOVE the Father-Daughter dance.  It's Princess's first one!  She is so excited.  As it is Princess's first dance, one of my brother-in-law's is going to go as Angel's date.  Angel is quite happy about this.  I bought the girls some really pretty dresses back in November or December.  They get all dressed up, hair, make-up (just a tad), the works.  Then they're going out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant which Angel picked out.  Then they head to the school.  It is amazing I tell you!  Spotlights, red carpet, pictures, horse drawn carriage rides, food from the Melting Pot, and dancing.  I always do the red carpet pictures and I just love it.  The looks on the girls faces is PRICELESS!  The dads/grandpas/uncles/male relative of somesort always look so proud and happy to be there.  Honestly I look forward to it all year!

Then comes Saturday.  In the morning is our Destination Imagination Instant Challenge Day.  It's a day for the kids teams to have a chance to do some instant challenges and get feedback from the judges.  Essentially a practice competition.  Of course Archer will miss this as he'll be camping, but my team will still be there, as will my other 3 kids teams.  It should be interesting!

Then Saturday night....Monster Jam!  What a way to end the week right?  Big trucks, jumps, bumps, noise, and pure adreniline!  It should be a blast!  Can't wait.

Happy New Year!

It's the start of a new year and I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I've been feeling a little melancholy today.  The kids are getting ready to go back to school and our schedules are going to get crazy.  I think I've just really enjoyed this winter break!  These past two weeks have been a wonderful end to this past year.  I just really LOVE spending time with my husband and kids!

Looking back at 2011 it was overall a really great year!  My baby sister graduated from high school.  The kids and I had a great road trip to go celebrate with her.  My kids are all in elementary school this year.  Archer for the last year and Princess for the first year.  I've enjoyed working with Feld as an FFA.  I was able to take photographs for many families and help preserve some memories. 

My sister graduating from high school!

Eclipse

Garden of the Gods

Angel

Archer with a bow in the red/green hat.

Princess

Picasso

X-Wing

Looking forward to 2012.  It started off great.  Since Archer turned 12 the last week of December on January 1, 2012 Archer received the priesthood.  In our church boys receive the Aaronic Priesthood when they are 12.  He is getting so grown up!  That evening we had our families over for a family birthday dinner.  It was just a wonderful night.  We spent time talking, laughing, eating, and celebrating Archer.  Seriously a very good start to the year! 

This year I am looking forward to:

• Destination Imagination (all 4 kids are on teams and I'm coaching Archer's)
• Father/Daughter Dance (Princess's first!  One of the uncles is going as Angel's date.)
• Mother/Son Bowling (Girls get a dance with dad, boys get bowling with mom.)
• My sweet husband and I will celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary.
• Continuing volunteering at the school in the classrooms and with the PTO.
• Family reunion!
• A new niece or nephew being born in June.
• Picasso getting baptized.  (In our church we baptize at 8 years old.)
• A new school year.  (Little freaked out about middle school!)
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
• All the little moments that just melt your heart.

2012 WILL be a great year!  I am sure of it.  That doesn't mean that there won't be ups and downs.  There will always be those.  However, we don't have to let those moments define us.  The moments that define us should be the good, not the bad. 

So here is to a wonderful 2012!