The Pharoah and Chicken Little

Halloween is such a fun time of the year. This year Figaro dressed up as the Pharoah. He loved it. Can't you tell?

Noel is ever the nice and sweet cat. She choose to dress up as Chicken Little. Isn't she cute??

The Pharoah is the perfect costume for Figaro. He already has the personality to go with the costume. Perfectly perfect!

Pretty much we are grateful he didn't claw our eyes out. :)

Jacquie's Birthday!

On October 18th, Jacquie turned the big 1-7!! Yay for Jacquie!! We celebrated her birthday on the 19th. For her birthday, Jacquie flew to Utah and spent the weekend living the life of a college girl with Marissa. She loved it. Pretty much she is now counting down the days until high school is over!

Here are the adorable kids that are still living at home... our house is sure emptying quickly. I remember thinking that they would 'never grow up and leave home' but then it happened way too quickly.

Jacquie always chooses a pumpkin dessert for her birthday! How appropriate when one is born in October :)

This girl has been wanting a nice, cozy, warm flannel shirt! Wow... she really got one!

Here she is with all of her presents :) Happy, happy birthday Jacquie. Are you sure you really want to go away to college someday? I'd be fine if you just stay home with me forever :)

Warm Fuzzies

Warm fuzzies you ask? Well, if you watched conference, Pres. Monson talked about and showed a picture of some warm fuzzies he received for his birthday. Our Stake Primary Presidency decided to give our wards some warm fuzzies so the children could give service and watch their service efforts grow.

I had no idea that my children would be so interested in the warm fuzzies!

I couldn't keep them out of them.

Stay out children, stay out!!

VALLEY!!

Jim, Jacquie, and Judy after the Southwest League Championships. That's a beautiful medal Jacquie is wearing!! It was a tough one to earn. The competition was not easy. They played some really tough matches. We are very proud of her.
Here is Jacquie, her Coach, her singles teammate, and Ellen, Jacquie's partner.
And here they are..... the CHS winners!! They are off to the Valley Championships in Visalia on Halloween!!

On a side note, Jacquie and Ellen have gone to school together since kindergarten. How fun to remember back when they were just little tikes-- I need to find some pictures, I know we have some!!

Good luck girls! We are rooting for you :)

Before and After

Here is Kevin's bed. It happens to be in Riley's room.... it is lucky for Kevin that he sleeps in Texas now..... Mother asks Riley to clean his room quite often. Kevin's bed will still look like this after the room is clean. Riley's philosophy is that a clean room has a clean floor. Everything else goes.

Mother disagrees.

So, Mother signs up to host BYU Ballroom dancers. This was a really smart idea. The BYU dancers slept in Jacquie's and Marissa's room. Jacquie needed a bed to sleep in. I bet you are figuring out Mother's smart idea.....

Yes!! Jacquie needed to sleep in Kevin's bed!

Alas, Riley had to clean it off. He could not put the stuff on the floor, he actually had to put it all away!!

Yay for Riley!!

Happy 17th Birthday Jacquie!

Our lovely Jacqueline is 17!! I can hardly believe that she will soon finish her senior year of high school and move on to the big world!! For her birthday, Jacquie flew to Utah and spent the weekend with Marissa. She has enjoyed her small taste of college life!
Jacquie is an avid photographer and loves taking pictures. Her dream would be to have a sweet camera set up and take pictures all of the time. She has taken some beautiful photos. Scenery photos are her favorite. I promise to post some soon!
Jacquie was a sweet little baby. She slept well and was very happy. Thinking of Jacquie as a baby always brings a smile to my face. While she was just a baby, my mom died. It was such a tough, tough time for me. Jacquie was the sunshine of my life at that time. It was hard to be sad when this sweet baby girl was always smiling at me! I was so grateful to have her to help me get through that time. I'm still grateful to have her! She loves so many of the same things that I love.... shopping being the most important :)
Jacquie is good at everything she does. She has played softball, soccer, swimming, and tennis. She is an amazing girl with unlimited potential. I truly am grateful for her presence in our family. She has always been the peacemaker in our home. She is loved by all that know her.

Happy, happy birthday Jacquie! Your family loves you dearly :)

Life's Lessons

Oh, the lessons of life.....

A recent text conversation:

Marissa: Did AT&T ever mail a rebate check for my phone? I thought I was supposed to get like fifty bucks back.

Mom: You know what- they haven't. It usually takes 6-8 weeks. When did you mail it in?

Marissa: I was supposed to mail something?

Mom:Ummmmm. Yah!!! They started the paperwork for you, but you had to fill it out and mail it in.

Marissa:Oh well, that stinks. I didn't do that. Things were a little crazy I guess.

Mom: Is your bag of stuff still somewhere?

Marissa: Yeah, I think its still in my closet.

Mom: I'll look when I get home.

Marissa: Okay, thanks. You are the best!

**Upon arriving at home, mom relays this interesting and revealing story to dad. He goes upstairs to search the daughter's bedroom. Alas, he finds the rebate forms (all stapled together). But alas--- deep disappointment for the parentals... this form in from the purchase of her old phone. IN 2007!!!! Dad quickly calls the daughter (trying to be patient). He discovers that there is another bag of stuff, he and mom find it.... Finally, the correct form is found, and lucky for the daughter there is still 2 weeks left to mail it in. The parentals mail it in for their daughter, who has hopefully learned that:

Yes, rebate forms must be mailed in to receive the rebate!!!

Who knew??