{2012 Relay For Life}

      In three weeks Josh and I will celebrate our 12th anniversary.  We will celebrate with our family and friends at the Relay for Life.....Join our team and celebrate with us or consider making a donation in our behalf....Even a $5 donation can help a cancer patient or their family!! Believe me, you may never know when cancer will effect you or your family!

2012 Relay For Life of Twin Falls ID: Video Page - Celebrate - The American Cancer Society - 2012 Relay For Life of Twin Falls ID

{Cheer Nationals 2012}

     The girls and I headed off to California for a few days for Cheer Nationals...Kamrin was out because of her broken arm, but still tagged along to support her team! We were a bit scared to leave because Josh had just finished chemotherapy and wasn't handling the side effects well.  He was insistent that we go and have a good time together and that we not worry about him.  Easier said than done, but we tried out best.  We are lucky that family and friends were able to help out with Kyler so that we could still go and Kyler was cared for.
     Our trip started off with quite an adventure! My friends car broke down in the middle of nowhere. But, because it was the middle of nowhere there was no cell service. So, I got to walk up the mountain until I could get cell service to call for help.   Everything eventually worked out and we were back on the road again......we pulled into Vegas for some rest at about 3 o'clock in the morning.

After Day 1 of competition we set out to see the sights!  We went to the Hollywood sign....

The Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood........

The stars on Hollywood Blvd.......

Of course Twilight and Harry Potter..................

Kelsie's team..........................

Sisters........................

The girls and their coach :)................................

Kamrin with her coaches..............................

The girls and I at the aquarium..........................

Petting sting rays......................

Petting star fish................................

The girls wanted to go whale watching.....so we were able to go on a tour that left from the aquarium.....Unfortunately, I get sea sick and I didn't know it. A big thanks to my friend who watched the girls while I was sick in the back of the boat alone.  I had the camera and wasn't able to capture pictures of the cool California grey whales, dolphins, and seals that we saw.  I had recovered enough to take this picture toward the end......what a ride!

{Report Cards}

Report Cards came home a couple of weeks ago....Kelsie and Kamrin both received straight A's....

And both girls have brought home spelling tests with scores over 100 for six weeks straight.......I couldn't be prouder of both of them. With our family's crazy schedule Kelsie and Kamrin have become pretty responsible with their homework and studying each week. I don't have to remind them to do it very often. They have definitely earned their scores! We celebrated with a trip to the bookstore and let the girls choose a new book!

{Happy Birthday to Kelsie!!!}

Kelsie turned ten earlier this week....

Since Dad was sick at home we took our party to Gerties to celebrate......We had a great turnout with lots of Kelsie's friends.......

My sister in law helped me whip up the cake of Kelsie's request. I didn't get a picture of the inside but it was black and white zebra striped thanks to the pinterest tutorial! We had a great evening together!! Here's 10 things about Kelsie:

1. She is so much help around the house and especially loves dishes and laundry!

2. She is a hard worker.....

3. She is a good student.

4. She is kind to others and reaches out to those at school that don't have very many friends.

5. She is silly!

6. She loves to read and loves helping out in the school library.

7. She loves clothes and putting outfits/shoes/accesories together.

8. She loves cheerleading and tumbling.

9. She loves pink and zebra anything!!

10. She is full of energy!!

{Photography}

As Kamrin and I were running errands the other day a quick rain storm hit. We saw a rainbow and pulled over to check it out and take a picture. As we looked ahead of us we saw the beautiful rainbow, but behind us were lots of clouds. It was a very cool sight, so we took some pictures.

{The Perfect Christmas}

I spent some time on Pinterest finding tutorials on taking the perfect Christmas tree picture....this is the best that I could do this year. After spending all that time thinking that I had to have the perfect picture, I thought a little deeper about Christmas. So often, we worry about having the perfect gift, the perfect tree picture, the perfect Christmas Cards, and a perfectly decorated home, and the perfect holiday shedule filled with parties and other events. I fall victim to this stereotype myself.
This year none of those things were perfect....in fact most of them never happened. We were lucky that we got a tree up, I only sent half of the Christmas cards, we made absolutely no Christmas candy or cookies, and didn't attend one Christmas party. However, this year Christmas was perfect. Our family was the recipient of so many random acts of service. Our children experienced anticipation and excitement many nights waiting for a "Secret Santa" to arrive and leave a treat or gift. They learned the true meaning of Christmas through numerous stories and videos that were shared with them. They learned how prayers can be answered as they prayed that their daddy would be released from the hospital in time to celebrate Christmas at home with them. We all learned how precious life is and how important it is to share our time here with those that we love the most. We all had a great time doing absolutely nothing besides spending time with each other.
So, this year I am glad that what seemed to be an iimperfect Christmas turned into the {Perfect Christmas}.

{Girls Weekend & Man Stuff}

Last weekend the girls had cheerleading cometition. So we headed to Provo and had a great time with good friends! Not to mention the girls did great!



While we were gone, Josh felt well enough to have a friend drive him and Kyler to the ranch our nephew works on and ride with him on his trap line. It was their lucky weekend because there was a bobcat in one of the traps. They had a great time doing "Man Stuff".