Ring in the New!

We have high hopes for 2015!  Kids are ready to get back to school (sort of), resolutions have been made (mostly by mom), and Christmas is put away!  Here are some of the things we are hoping for in 2015: Brielle wants to watch more Sophia, be just like her sisters, and do lots of fun activities with her mommy.  Cutler wants to get baptized, get a Kindle, and make baskets in his games.  Jenika wants to go to Hawaii, get strait A's, and learn to learn how to sew stuff.  Bryson hopes that Dallas wins the Superbowl, he wants to put more money into the bank, get his own bedroom (fat chance), and earn money to buy some Studio Beats.  Sierra is hoping to master a back handspring, get a drivers license, and get her Honor Bee.  Mom is hoping for 100% visiting teaching, write a blog post once per week, and take more pictures.  Dad wants to buy a new business, prevent Sierra from dating, and for his kids to do well in their activities.

We are all looking forward to a GREAT year!  We took some selfies to commemorate the start of a brand new year.  Happy 2015!!!

Recap of 2014

2014 was awesome and filled with Bosh style adventure.  Here's a little recap:

January - Jenika reached the big 10.  We celebrated with a big ol' slumber party.  There was pizza, movies, and karaoke.  It was a blast, but my ears were ringing for about three days afterwards.
Mom reached 37.  An old lady for sure!  I celebrated in my favorite way... throwing a party for somebody else! :)
Cutler turned 7!  We took him and a few buddies to play laser tag and eat pizza.  He loved it!

February - Grandma and Grandpa took the whole family to Disney world!  We hit five amusement parks in five days, and we were EXHAUSTED!  It was a blast, and we had so much fun!  Our family's favorite stops were Universal Studios and Sea World.  We just love those roller coasters!  And we loved meeting Shamu  at Sea World and drinking butter beer at Harry Potter's world.

March - Brielle turned TWO in March!  She is just growing up so fast and we love her more every day!  She completes our family!

April - Sierra tried out for cheerleading at Rigby High school and she made it!  She was SO excited and we were certainly excited for her!  Bryson also played on a spring football league and did very well!  He is quite the leader on his team and the boys really respect him.

May - Sierra turend 15.  She is growing into a beautiful young lady and we love her.  I tried to embarrass her at school, but she wasn't as effected as I hoped.  I am going to have to try harder next year. :):)

June - Sierra, Bryson, and Mom went on a Pioneer trek to Martin's Cove.  It was an amazing experience and we grew a lot from it.  We strengthened our testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ and gained a greater appreciation of what the handcart pioneers went through.  Jenika also joined a jumprope team.  She loves it and we are glad she has something that she loves to do.

July - Our annual swim camp was a little different this year... Sierra stayed home for most of it because of DRIVERS TRAINING!  We enjoyed our selves though, and Sierra got her drivers permit!  I cannot believe we have a driver!  Dad turned 39!  We love him and appreciate him so much!  He is the funnest, most awesome dad ever!  We love and appreciate him the most!

August - Mom graduated - again!  I got my Masters in Literacy in Education from Idaho State University!  It was very scary and a lot of work, but I am so glad that it is finished!  I feel very accomplished. Bryson also became a teenager!  He is 13!  Cannot believe he is

September - Sierra started her sophomore year, Bryson started 7th grade, Jenika started 5th grade, and Cutler started 2nd grade.  Another year of football with Shawn as coach and Bryson as linebacker started again too!  It was a busy fall, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

October - Between football, cheerleading, jump roping, violin, piano, and PTO's after school program and book fair and Halloween carnival, I am surprised that we didn't loose a child!, some highlights were a few spook alleys for Bryson, mom, and Sierra, and our annual donut making for Halloween.

November - Thanksgiving was grand, and we cooked up a feast!  We added a new niece to our family, and Grandma Jackson turned 87!  We had a great party to celebrate and many of our friends a family were there.  WE felt just like we were in heaven surrounded by people we love.  This month we also built a fireplace in our basement.  It was a huge undertaking for us, but we LOVE it now!

December - The first week of December (literally right after the fireplace was finished and the Christmas tree was up), the accreditation person came calling to survey our company!  It lasted two days and it was very stressful, but Shawn is the man and we passed with flying colors!  The accreditation company is even using our business as a model for other businesses like ours!
As soon as he left, we raced as usual to take in as much as the holidays as we could fit in.  We just love celebrating Christmas and the birth of Christ!  Some of our favorite parts of Christmas this year were going to look at lights, our company party at Mountain River Ranch, a Christmas program and nativity at our house this year, our annual Christmas Eve party at grandmas complete with a scavenger hunt and awesome gifts, and a Nerf gun war on Christmas Day.  We enjoyed visiting with many family and friends throughout the month and love them all!

February

February started off with a big bang! Well, the second week of February anyway.  My parents took my family (all of my sisters and brother in laws and nieces and nephews) to FLORIDA! It was AWESOME!! We went to Disneyworld - Animal Kingdom, Fantasy Land, Epcot Center, Seaworld, and Universal Studios all in one week.... We cam home exhausted, but with very sweet dreams.  Here are a few pics...

January

January was a full month! We celebrated three birthdays,starting with Jenika on the NINETEENTH.  At ten years old, Jenika is a beautiful red head with a (almost always) sweet disposition and a strong will.  She is tall at 4'9".  She is busy too.  She has been jump roping, and clogging, and she just started playing the violin.  It's hard work, but she is getting pretty good! :)  She loves playing with her friends, watching TV, and dressing up her little sister.  She is doing well in school, and loves to read.  She doesn't love math as much, but she is good at it.

Jenika had a birthday party with about 9 friends.  It was loud, but fun!  They played karaoke, made pizza, played some games, and giggled a lot.  She doesn't like cake, so we made her a rice krispie treat cake.  She got lots of presents, including a suit case, a Kindle, and accessories for her American Girl Doll.  I can't believe that my birthday buddy is already 10 years old!  We love her, and she is a huge blessing for our family!

January Part 2

We celebrated another birthday in January... Cutler's!  I cannot believe that he is SEVEN!!!  He is growing up so fast, and we love having him in our family! Cutler is in first grade, and is learning Spanish! He is a very good student and loves math and reading.  He is very smart and knows almost everything (he tells me everything too, especially when I am wrong - which is always).  He loves riding dirt bikes and playing outside with friends.  He plays the piano, and this year, he played t-ball, flag football, and basket ball.  His favorites include red, Chinese food, ice cream, his baby sister, and playing on the ipod.  Cutler is very extreme.. He is usually either ecstatic or devastated, and he is very verbal.  He likes to talk.

To celebrate Cutler's birthday, we took some of his friends and played laser tag and then we ate dinner at Pizza Pie Cafe.  He wanted an Olof cake and to see the Loves. :)  He got a Nerf gun and a new backpack for his birthday.

Remember...

It is March, and I believe that I haven't shared anything on my blog for over a year.  

Yesterday, my mother gave me a beautiful gift... She gave one to all of my sisters.  It was a book, sharing the story of my older sister, Jessica.  She also had recorded pictures and birth statistics of me and my sisters.  I went home and read the stories, treasuring the words and pictures.  How great it was to have those stories recorded! And I went to sleep, with nightmares, worried that I wouldn't remember the details - or even the big things of the lives of my children.  My life is wonderful today, full of happiness and joy.  Full of the activities and happenings of our family, and I don't want all of this to be forgotten.  Things change so quickly by the days, weeks, months, years... I want my children to understand where they came form.  

So... I have a resolution.. To record the happenings of our family from one week to the next.  To give them and me something to remember these days, because our days and our choices will shape who we become.

Brielle is one!!!

One year ago, I was in the hospital, holding my baby girl (and maybe shedding some happy tears).  Shawn went home to take care of the kids, and I was alone with my sweet, newborn.  (and I was extremely tired!)  All day long today, I have been remembering what I was doing one year ago.  I remember waking up, taking a shower, wondering when I'd have that baby... I remember reading the scriptures, praying (that someday this baby would come), and feeling that kick that broke my water.  I remembered calling my sub, sending the kids off to school and telling them that I was just too tired to go to school (not wanting to get their hopes up), and riding to the hospital.  I remember checking in while Shawn went to set up a patient (the registration nurse couldn't believe that he just dropped me off! What if I delivered before he came back! Yea right!).  I remember watching the baby story while I was in labor, and I remember getting that epidural and thinking that I had not felt that good for 9 long months!  And I remember when our Brielle was born, and how sweet and perfect and beautiful she was.  I remember the kids coming to meet her, and then Shawn took them home.
Thinking back over the last year, I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for teaching me about what was important in such a tender way.  In the last year, I have been able to cook and clean for my family, spend time with my children, serve in callings, and take care of the newest addition to our family.  I've also been able to take a few classes and help Shawn with his.
I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving me just what I needed and reminding me of what was important.  Happy birthday Brielle!  We love you so much!