January Blues......WHATEVER! :)

During fall and early winter, there are so many things to look forward to: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the pinnacle holiday: Christmas! And if all the parties aren't enough, one has New Year's one week after Christmas for one last hurray.

And then.......?????

Although the non-stop parties, shopping and sugar has stopped, we have certainly enjoyed our January to this point. Here are some pictures of the day-to-day things which made me smile:

Annual Fondue Night

This event is NEVER missed! I love the tradition of eating cheese fondue each winter with several of my fellow RMs and their families. This year, we ate at our home.

Everybody Losing Teeth
Jaxson's Teeth

Any predictions on how much money we'll be spending on his chompers in the upcoming years?

BOWLING

Dave and I went bowling with Cindy and Aaron. I killed it the first game and bombed it the second. Lucky for me, the high score from my first game crowned me victor of the night!

Kangaroo Zoo

With the cold weather, we headed to the indoors for some bouncing and sliding fun! Carson was with us too which made it all the more fun for the kids. Grandma Barbie and Poppie came to watch the kids too. Great times!

A Visit with MARGO!

I love Margo! She and I were college roommates at Ricks (the former BYU-I). Chance brought us together but we instantly bonded. She and her family made a rare trip from Florida to visit family and friends in Utah so it was incredible to visit with her and see her.

BFFs: Alyssa and Clara

Ohhhhh, this is fun! Alyssa and Clara are really finding little friends in each other. When they come to our home, Taylor is always so cute to dress them up and then they dance around. The only problem is that Alyssa gets jealous of the attention Clara gets from Taylor and will sometimes fall apart or tattle the entire time. But it's all part of creating new friends. :)

Enjoying Christmas Gifts

Barbara gave me the most beautiful jewelry and clip this year, made by our cousin Charayye. I took this picture from my classroom to send to Charayye to let her know how much I LOVE the pieces she created and how much I am enjoying wearing them.

Finally.....the PERFECT Chicken Pot Pie

I've made these for years for dinner for my family, but the other night, when I pulled the pie out of the oven, it looked gorgeous! Soooo gorgeous! And the taste....perfection!

Off comes the inches: back to shoulder-length heaven

I have thick hair envy. I do! I want long, thick, non-break off hair. But I don't have it. And when I do try to grow it out, it starts to look stringy and thin. So last week, after having grown it out for the past year, I had about 5-6 inches cut off the back. And I love it. And it is faster to put together in the morning for work/church. And it looks thicker and feels healthier too.

Dave's Roadtrip to Texas and Arkansas
Dave was gone for 6 days on a business trip while I was left holding down the fort and warriors. We missed him terribly. While in Texas, he made plans to spend time with the Johnstons who now reside in Little Rock. They had the greatest time.

Taylor's Winter Voice Recital

Oh, I LOVE to hear this little girl sing! Taylor has loved singing since she was a little girl and her love of voice continues to increase each and every day! We met at Best of Music for her Winter Recital. It was a smaller crowd but we got to hear her in 2 group numbers and 1 solo. She looked beautiful and sang beautifully! :) Thanks to Poppie and Grandma Barbie for coming to support her.

"When Will My Life Begin?"
Tangled

A Quick Weekend Trip to Idaho

We spent the most splendid yet frigid weekend in Idaho over the 8th of January. My brother was blessing his new baby daughter so we made the trek north for the occasion. The kids and I picked mom and dad up at the airport and enjoyed several hours catching up during our drive to their home. Lucky for us, Justin and Jana arrived shortly after we did with their family so it was a cousins-loaded event! We played "Old Mexico", held the newest baby girl and simply enjoyed each others' company for the weekend. We are so happy for Brantly and his beautiful family!!!

Cowgirl Taylor!

Besties!

My über-adorable niece and her gorgeous mother!

Family favorite: rootbeer floats

Sunday dinner after the baby blessing

My darling niece Zoe! Look how we match!

Mom and dad FINALLY getting their Christmas present from the kids-

Justin and I doing our camera thing....

The beginning of a beautiful southern-Idaho sunset.....

My word for 2012: FOCUS

Choosing a word for 2012 has been a challenge for me again but when I settled on the word "focus", I knew within seconds it was the one for me.

FOCUS

This word is perfect for me for the 2012 year. I am the type of person who takes on a lot each day and has a lot on her plate! Dave and I chose to have four children, each who has strong needs and demands for my constant attention every day. My dedicate myself everyday to meet these needs. I am an educator. I have to bring my best game to work each day so that I can teach what I want to teach: German! I have to work hard to keep a high enrollment (this year, I have 185 students in only 5 classes, enough for full-time but I choose to remain part-time). My church calling is with the Mia Maids in my ward. I teach them and make it to most Wednesday night activities. On top of all of this, I have an incredible husband who works so hard for our family. This devotion to his profession makes me carry pretty much carry the load of family CEO alone.

So why FOCUS?

Because this year, 2012, there are certain areas of my life on which I want to have laser-like focus for the duration of the year.

FOCUS

Family Focus:

I will focus on the individual needs on my children. I want to focus on their strengths and weaknesses. Music, developing talents, progressing academically....all of which will have focus for the kids. We will continue to consistently read. We will focus on playing more games as a family because as my mother says, "A family that plays games together will stay together." :) This focus will bring me the peace I need as a mother so that at the end of each day, the needs of the children will be met as best they could be met.

Physical Focus:

I have made super strides in this area (I have lost 33 pounds in the past 16 months) but I still have more goals to reach. I have two more weight goals to reach: the first, my wedding weight (15 lbs to go) and the second, to be determined at that time at what is healthy and realistic for me to sustain. I want to complete a half marathon in the summer. I want to continue to cook healthy for my family.

Spiritual Focus:

We will read the Book of Mormon as a family this year. We will be more consistent with our Family Home Evenings (the routine-less summers are difficult for us). I want to feel more led by the spirit each day of my life. I will spend more time on my knees pleading for guidance in how to meet the needs of my family.

Professional Focus:

We will reform our online business and pursue it further. We will use this business as a family business so that we are all involved. I will continue to focus on teaching students as best I can AND to teach them life's tools.

FOCUS

This is my word for 2012. With laser-like focus on my children, my physical goals, my profession and work and on the spiritual needs of myself and family, we can make progress in the 2012 year doing the things which really matter and not on the things which seem important.

Now to bed so that I can arise early to Jillian Michaels 30 day shred and spinach eggs...!

New Year's Eve 2011

Usually for New Year's Eve, we have big party plans.....and we have a blast! This year, I was just lazy and didn't want to host a huge party or even attend one: I just wanted it to be a night about being together as a family, playing games as a family and just creating fun memories. And the final night of 2011 turned out just perfect for us!

The Hults came over around 6:30pm for Chinese food and visiting. The kids played together perfectly (this means they didn't fight or argue) and the adults got the fun visiting time together. Around 8:30, they left to spend the evening with some friends who had invited them a few weeks prior to the 31st and so we busted out the games and crafts! While Austin, Alyssa and I played Connect 4, Dave, Jaxson and Taylor used Jax's new pottery machine to make a bowl out of clay. Later we played Twister and finished out the night with a game of CLUE. At 10:00pm, we toasted the New Year (while watching the ball drop in NYC) and the kids went to bed. Ironically, Dave and Alyssa fell asleep around 10:30 while we were playing Clue and Dave couldn't wake up! THEREFORE, I brought in the new year by myself! It wasn't a bad thing: I was able to ponder and reflect on the 2011 and how I want the 2012 year to look.