We started off our Christmas celebration by playing at "Triple Play" in Coeur D'Alene. This is Grandma and Grandpa's gift to the grand kids. We bowl, swim, rock climb, play laser tag and video games all afternoon on Christmas Eve. We had a great time. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!


Best of Friends.

Tyler, Cory and Renden.

Some of the cousins.

Grandpa and Kejia.

Emily, Jody, Jacque and Tina

Tanner and Kinsley

After Triple Play we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house and had a yummy dinner. Then the cousins opened their gifts to each other.


Then Christmas Morning.......







On Christmas day our entire family along with some missionaries serving in the area met at the church and had our family dinner, 3on3 basketball tournament and live nativity.







Then to end the family gatherings we celebrated my 41st birthday.

We came home to our cute new little puppy... a morky poo we named Reggie.

Spring Break in Cabo

We headed down to Cabo for our spring break. We took a 6am flight out of Seattle which meant we had to leave our house at 2:30 am. We were excited to head to sunshine so getting up that early was not a problem. McKenzie's best buddy Megan came with us and unfortunately Chelsie had to stay home. College has its disadvantages.
It was a week full of sunshine. We all had a good time. Troy worked in our yard at the house for the first couple of days, while we all played in the sun. Taco tasting in the evenings is always a hit and this year the boys tried out a new go-cart track. They had a blast. McKenzie, Megan and I crashed the Hacienda Del Mar a few times during the week. It is our favorite resort on the strip. The only bad thing about it is a hamburger is 20 bucks! The pool and atmosphere is worth it. The boys were treated to a round of golf at Cabo Del Sol. Our property manager is a marshall there so is able to take us for free. It is a $350 a round course so they totally enjoyed themselves. We went to church on Sunday. We always enjoy going to the spanish speaking branch even though there is a english speaking sacrament meeting. We went to our favorite surfing beach on the pacific side, but this year the water was pretty chilly. Sea of Cortez side was warm.
Of course the end of the trip came way to fast. We always love going there. Every time we go it feels a little more like home.

Escape to Boise

McKenzie, Cooper and I escaped for the weekend and headed to my brothers house in Idaho.

My brother Nathan's son,Blake, was baptized.


Me and my brother Nathan.

We were able to visit my grandma.

We had fun seeing my dad and visiting his farm. Cooper loved riding the 4 wheeler!

My brother Cody and I.

We stayed at my Aunt Becky's. Cooper loved the breakfast we had for dinner!

My brother Matt and his children, Josh and Jenna.

And of course we can't forget McKenzie's favorite cousin Shelby. These two are very silly girls!

Grammy Pammy and Grampa Chuck were there also, but I some how managed to not take any pictures of them. Sorry!

When we returned home, Cooper had a wrestling jamboree with all the middle schools in our county. He took second place. The match for first place was a very difficult match. He lost by points, but as you can see in this picture, he didn't go down easy!

Chelsie

Chelsie came home on Friday for spring break. I don't know how much of a "break" it will be as Troy has her scheduled at the store to work a 40 hour week. It is nice to have her home though. Track and baseball are in full swing. Tanner and Mac had their first track meet last week. Mac got first in the high jump with a 5'2" jump and Tanner took second in the high jump with a 5'6" jump. They both can jump higher, but it was a terribly cold rainy day. Hard on the muscles. They both are doing the 4x400 relay which is such a hard race. They are both trying to figure out their pace, but Mac's team took first and Tanner's took second. I think they will both do well as the season progresses. Cory is playing baseball and has his first game on Saturday. The weather has been so yucky here, it is hard to get excited about watching a baseball game. Cooper is still wrestling, he has won 3 out of 4 of his matches. Baseball is starting up also. We are all anxious for warmer weather. We head to Cabo in April for our spring break. We are definately ready for the sun! Cory turned 15 a few weeks ago and now has his driver's permit. He actually is a pretty good driver. Tanner turns 18 at the end of March. I can't believe it. Time is flying by.

I feel like to add a new post I need to have a picture with it. If I wait to have pictures, I will rarely post. So I am taking on a new attitude. Post at least weekly.
January flew by, and now we are half way through February. some family "highlights":
Troy and I spent a week in Cabo to check on our house. It was beautiful there. Their economy is really hurting. A lot of hotels are laying off workers, construction projects are on hold and many in the time-share business are going elsewhere. All of that makes it hard to rent out our house on a long term basis, so now we rent it out short term. If any of you want to take a trip to Cabo, "Mi' Casa es su'casa".
The boys have been boarding every weekend. Cory gave himself a concussion on a jump. Now he wears a helmet. I am also getting Cooper one. They make me nervous.
Tanner's basketball team that he coaches won their league championship. That made him feel like he taught his boys something. He is a great coach.
Mac spent all of January grounded. I won't embarass her by sharing why, but it turned out to be a pretty possitive thing. All the time spent at home helped her get her grades up. She finished out the semester with a 3.6 gpa.
I joined our local gym that just opened. I was really dragging my feet about it, but am so glad I did it. I feel great!

We had a long Christmas break with school being closed two days early because of snow. It was a beautiful white Christmas the entire break. We had my niece Shelby here along with Jason & Jody's family, and of course Chelsie. Our house was full of excitement everyday as the kids and some of their friends played in the snow together, played all kinds of games together, went snowboarding together and ate a lot of good food together. What a wonderful way to spend the holiday.
We are now back into the swing of things as everyone is at their own homes and the kids all back in school.

We wish you a Happy New Year!

The "boys" after the annual turkey bowl.