We had a great time last week babysitting Wyatt & Kaylee Hunt for a day. We fiddled around with play dough, played house, and built forts together. I had to post the picture I took of Josh & Kaylee (he was just so happy they came he picked her right up). Wyatt & Kaylee wanted to look like their Dad (Jon's always got a goatie) only the color is a little off.
If you will also notice Josh's creation. He is one crafty boy. When he wakes up in the morning he knows exactly what he wants to do that day. He'll say things like, "Let's make a noise maker, I'll get the beans." Or he'll decide to make bracelets (for the girls of course), puppets, macaroni necklaces, etc.
Well as you can tell from the picture this day he wanted to make a mosaic feeding plate for birds -I'm sure that was your first guess when you saw the picture (he found the idea in an children's art book I have). It was supposed to be made with a real plate and mini tiles & then painted to seal it - yeah, that's just a little too much work for this mother. So we improvised with scrapbook paper, a paper plate, and glue. It's now sitting on a plate holder in the kitchen - he is so proud of it.

Basketball Babes

Quinn had a great time on her "all girl" team this weekend. She couldn't wait to actually touch the ball this year seeing as all the boys were on their own team. Go Girl Power!
Do you like her jeans? Tiffani & I just chatted the night before how we need to let our children dress themselves and not be picky about what they choose. So when Jessi came down for her game in jeans I said to myself, "She's only 7 - let her wear whatever she wants." I showed up at the game & Tiffani says,"What's up with the jeans?" I told her that I was playing it cool and letting Jessi pick her clothes. Tiffani (being the college sports guru) says while laughing, "I would have made her changed." Believe it or not - we both agreed by the end of the game that it hadn't mattered because she only touched the ball twice I think. Here's a great shot of one of those two times. Next game I'll let her wear snow pants if she wants!

Christmas Collage

This was one of my favorite pictures of Christmas Day because Jessi got Josh & Shelby dressed and with the help of Dad, dug out this awesome fort where they had multiple picnics in. We thought it was pretty awesome!
Joaquin was "surprised" with Guitar Hero World Tour for the WII, although he swears it was a gift for the whole family.
It was easy to tell which toy Shelby loved. We used to have lots of bath toys when Quinn was little, but as they were lost or thrown out I've never replaced them. So after suffering through the first 2 years of life using only my measuring cups & spoons, Shelby felt like she had died and gone to heaven with these slides, squirting animals, & strainers.
Josh couldn't wait to use the sleds that Dad got from Santa - the transformers he received should have gone to Dad - we think they're for ages 30 & up!
Jessi instantly loved her "High School Musical" jammies, but when we went to cousin Jayda's for New Year's & she had the same ones, WOW! She is sooo happy!
Along with the pet hermit crabs, Quinn absolutely loved receiving Season 1 & 2 of Eureka (it's about a quirky town with a down to earth Sheriff - we all love to laugh through it).

Jessi the Great

Jessi had her "Christmas" Gymnastics concert last week and we loved it. She's done so well this year that they asked her to move up a class, yahoo! She misses her other friends but is happy to feel so big.

Let it Snow

Josh was so excited about the snow that when Dad came home from lunch he wouldn't let him sit down until they had built a snowman. Little did he know just how big Dad could make that Snowman, it's taller than Dad. Shelby looked out the window and said "It's a monsterman!" Josh was a little disappointed I only had a pink scarf & hat (what can I say, girls rule in our house & Joaquin's never worn a scarf!)

Family Christmas Letter 2008

I love creating our family Christmas card each year. Here's our family shot (Jessi's almost smiling!) & the fun little jingle I sent along with it!

Sing to the Tune of
"Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer"

Shelby (2) loves babies all day
and carries them everywhere.
She hates to be called “hot dog”
as Daddy is well aware.

Josh (4) plays and loves his Hot Wheels,
Golfing, Bikes, and Napa too.
He’s learned to tease like Daddy
Poor Shelby suffers all day through.

Then Jessi (7) tumbles right on by
On her way to gym.
Smiling as her I-Pod blares,
Playing Barbies everywhere.

Quinn (10) plays piano very well,
Basketball’s a favorite too.
Animals are still in first place,
Babysitting’s fun to do!

Well, it's official. My husband believes he is less important than my computer. I have spent the last hour or so reading all my "friendly bloggers" pages and I'm in hog heaven. He looked at me with pathetic eyes & said, "I'm going up to bed, are you coming?" I just smiled and said - "After I upload my Thanksgiving pictures." Needless to say, he wasn't surprised. The funny thing is that he never reads this so I can say just about anything I want to and he'll never know . . . hmm. . . what to say about Joaquin that would make every girlfriend who reads this laugh the next time they saw him. Darn it, I'm not doing well under pressure. I'll get back to that later.
Thanksgiving was just great for us this year. Donna, Jesalee, Amanda, & I split up the meal and all prepared it at our own houses then went to Jesalee's to enjoy. It was so mellow because there was hardly anything to clean up & believe it or not no blood was spilled between Jade & Shelby. WOW- that's saying something. All the kids played & watched "Avatar" so the adults got to sit around and visit for a few hours. Jesalee, Amanda, & I were in tears a few times laughing about the similarities between our husbands - all good things - yeah that's it. It was just a feel good day.

I know Amanda's going to hate this shot, but she is having a baby in less than a month - so I think she looks hot!

I just loved this shot of Shelby making herself happy with all Jade's stuff. She's just a doll.

Quinn, Jessi, & Josh enjoying some yummy "hats" Aunt Amanda made with marshmellows & chocolate. That's just a good combo, isn't it?

Jessi proudly displaying her "turkey" we made at the Bowen's for FHE on Monday. We just love them.

Captivating Cruise 2008

Wow look at those happy people! We had such a great time on our cruise last week.



This was a first for Joaquin & I so of course we were a little nervous. We were able to go with 4 of my sisters & their spouses as well as my parents, hence Joaquin's nervousness. He was just sure I would choose them over him (I should admit that's my take on it). After returning home Joaquin admitted to having a great time though. I tried ever so hard not to call my sisters every chance I could, instead we just bumped into them by the pool or shopping in Mexico. Some of the perks were soaking in the sun, running on their treadmill at sealevel while you overlooked the gorgeous ocean (I know I'm a little warped), ordering 2 appetizers, 3 entree's, & 3 desserts without being afraid of the bill, and being surrounded by people I just love.
The only negative was the fact that we felt like "gluttens." There was just soooo much food & no children to chase or Napa to work off the caleries. I did try lots of different kinds of food like escargot & lobster, but I didn't care for either. I went to a Yoga class in hopes of burning off a few caleries, but honestly there is so much "breathing" that I felt like I took a nap most of the class. Woops.
The boat cruises all night then stops at a different Port each morning. Our first Port was Key West, Florida (great shopping with a Mexico feel to it but no pushy salesmen), Cozumel, Mexico (pushy salesmen from when you walk off the boat), and finally in Belize. We only did 1 excursion in Belize which was an amazing series of zip lines through the jungle. As you can tell from our smiles, we loved it! The jungle really was so dense and I even touched a Boa Constrictor that was just crawling up a tree along the path up to the zip line. Joaquin didn't really want to, big weenie. After the zip line they fed us lunch & then we hiked through the jungle to the mouth of a cave where they gave us a headlamp & and inner tube. We floated through these cool caves & almost tipped over when we tried to kiss in the dark. It sounds romantic but the water was a little too "refreshing" as they called it. We got a good laugh though when they described their "rapids" which basically are just fast water about 6" deep. Wouldn't they die if we took them down Lava Hot Springs River!

A few of my sisters & their husbands did a Book of Mormon tour in Belize (yes we were rebels, hee hee) where lots of people feel that the BOM could have taken place. There's even an island called "Laman" that has recently been escavated & they have found ruins. After walking in the jungle of Belize we can understand how people wandered in the wilderness for years on end. There is just so much vegetation that it's hard to make out which way to go. All in all we had a great time but would love to take our kids with us next time. We just miss them so much when we're not together. What am I going to do when they grow up & move away? I guess I'll always have 1 child though.

Halloween or Bust

We're still working with Josh actually opening his eyes for the camera, but look at those muscles! Shelby was an adorable clown, although the wig only stayed on long enough for this picture. I did try to paint her face but it didn't go over well.


Aren't my girls gorgeous? Jessi wanted to be Superwoman for school then decided on Halloween to be Tinkerbell. Quinn is a Renaissance Princess although she like to call herself a Greek Goddess!

Ok, I have to tell this funny story about my Halloween Costume yesterday. My sister gave me this cute idea of being a "Cereal Killer" with Cereal boxes stabbed with knives (I added the "mullet" wig for fun). I wore it to Jessi's Halloween party yesterday and all the teachers laughed, except one. She commented that I really shouldn't have knives at school - no tolerance policy you know - woops. I just laughed, it honestly hadn't even occurred to me. So if I'm asked to step down as the PTO President this year, you'll all know why. I'm a total slacker parent.