January 18 - Happy Birthday Jenika and Mom!

Happy birthday this week to Jenika and me!  Jenika turned 11 on Monday and I turned 38!  I know it is cliche, but I seriously cannot comprehend how quickly time goes by!

Grandma Noni was here this week and we enjoyed spending some time with her.

For Jenika's birthday, on Monday, because there was no school, she wanted us all to go skiing with her.  It was so much fun!!  I forgot how much I like to ski! She got a sewing machine for her birthday and she was a little surprised, but so excited!

Sierra had a cheer competition in Rigby this weekend and she did great!  They looked really good and won first in everything (even if they were the only group in their level - haha).  Jenika performed with the little girls clinic and I sold cinnamon rolls at concessions so it was a pretty big day.  Cutler and Bryson both had ball games in IF.  Thank goodness that Shawn is awesome so that we can divide and conquer!

Grandma Jackson was admitted into the hospital last week.  She hasn't been doing well, and Shawn and I went to visit her this week.  They brought her back to the Gables and she has been sleeping a lot.  She woke up and gazed into my eyes.  I felt like there was so much that she wanted to say, and was saying in Spirit, but didn't have the words to say them.  She didn't seem to be in much pain at all and I am glad for that.  We are all praying that she might pass quickly and peacefully... She has missed grandpa for so long and she hasn't really been herself for a so long.  We will be happy for her when she can finally go home.

January 11 - Snow and Parent teacher conferences

Snow was a big part of our week. Jenika went skiing for the first time this week and LOVED it!  She can't wait to go again!  Bryson went snowboarding twice and can't get enough of it either.  The kids were out of school on Friday and it snowed quite a bit that day so they built forts and snowmen all day too.  Brielle doesn't last too long out in the cold, but she loves it while she is out there.

Basketball games for Bryson and Cutler were fun too.  Bryson is becoming quite the basketball player and does a pretty good job out there!  Cutler - well, he has a lot of fun and is usually smiling out there! We hope that he improves with experience! :):) 

PTO meetings, cheerleader mom meetings, pack meeting, and America's hope kept me pretty busy this week!  I love being busy and I love being involved in what my kids are involved in.  America's Hope is so inspirational and the songs and the kids singing gives me hope for our nation. 

Parent teacher conferences this week were encouraging.  I love hearing positive things about the kids and this week I heard it!  Cutler is doing so well in Spanish and all the other subjects too!  Jenika assures me that she is the teacher's pet.... and I kind of think she might be. ;)  Sierra and Bryson both have good looking grades and I am just tickled pink. :)

I don't have many pictures to share!  I've got to take more pics!  But this will just have to do for this week.

First week of January!

Highlights of the week:

Shawn coached a great basketball game on Monday with Bryson as one of his star players.  I love watching him coach and I love Bryson play!  Basketball is a lot more comfortable to watch than football! :)

We bought a new car!  Well, it's a fifteen year old new car, and it's got 218,000 miles on it, but it's new to us, and it will be a great car for Sierra to drive!  It's a stick shift and I am a lot more excited about that than Sierra is, but she is learning how to drive it pretty well!  I am very excited for her to get her license so that she can drive herself to activities and maybe help me out too!

Sierra cheered at 3 games this week and at her first competition on Saturday!  She did a great job and loved it!!  She had her first violin lesson with Joe this week too.  It was a busy week for Sierra!

Grandma and Grandpa bought a new house too!  After 31 years in the house I grew up in, they are getting ready to sell it and move into a house just a mile away next to Melanie and Josiah.  I am feeling sentimental and a little sad about them moving out of our house, but I am so happy and excited for them to start making new memories in a new house!  It will be a great adventure!

For the rest of us, Jenika jump roped, Cutler played basketball, and Brielle played with Gabby and Linlee.  Dad talked to a guy about a new business, and we are all feeling a little nervous about the possibilities of a new adventure too!  Lot's of excitement to start the year off! Ready or not, her we come 2015!!!

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!