A Few of My Favorite Holiday Things

Girl dolls in mouths of Nutcrackers found here,
Wondering if they will survive another year,

Boy growing up whose smile delights me,
These are a few of my favorite holiday things.

Festive sugar cookies we make for our neighbors,
Girl who thinks playing with dough is a favor,

Lining up cracker men with spoons she did bring,
These are a few of my favorite holiday things.

The holding of a strange holiday visitor's hand,

Wondering and hoping he will not misunderstand,

Big Boys who still love the magic Christmas brings,
These are a few of my favorite holiday things.

Bright shining lights that peak through a green Christmas tree,

I wish my little ones could just let the ornaments be,

Family parties we can attend with no strings,
These are a few of my favorite holiday things.

Hope you had a Wonderful Christmas and
Wish you a Fabulous New Year!!

Love,
The Deans

I can still be THANKFUL in December

I am very Thankful...
that when I put up a very large piece of brown parchment paper on the wall and asked the family to write down all the things they are thankful for, they complied. And I really enjoyed reading everything that they wrote.



I am very Thankful...
that we had the opportunity to eat our Thanksgiving meal with the Dean extended family and am grateful they didn't mind when we had to then scurry off to St. George to allow our son to play in a thanksgiving weekend soccer tournament.



I am very Thankful...
that my kids can enjoy different activities and have the privilege of excelling in them as well. Mr. P was very thrilled to win 1st place for his division at this tournament. And it was exciting and fun to watch him and his teammates play.



I am very Thankful...
that Miss M found her girlfriend, aka her cousin, and could enjoy a little girl play time with her.



I am very Thankful...
that we had a get together with my side of the family, since a lot of them live in St. George this worked out pretty nice. We got the chance to play games, visit, enjoy a nice meal, and hoop it up (with the 3 teenage boys). Then, we had a special reading of Elf on the Shelf for all the kiddies given by the eldest of my siblings. It was a great night.

I am just Thankful...
for family all around. My family. The family I grew up in. The family I married into. The memories. The laughs. The good times. Keep them coming!

Halloween 2011

Halloween was disappointing for me this year.

Usually, I really enjoy HALLOWEEN but due to some unforeseen circumstances my Halloween didn't go according to plan.

I have certain expectations for Halloween day or the days leading up to it. Things like carving pumpkins (we even grew our own pumpkins this year), getting a good and/or fun dinner in their tummies before tricks or treats, and getting a group picture and pictures done before dark.

Needless to say NONE of these things happened on Halloween night and it was disappointing, to me. The kids still enjoyed Halloween, just as it came and went. In fact, this year the older three all went out with friends and really enjoyed their time trick-or-treating. So with that in mind I will share with you what pictures I did get.

Garmadon (a character from Ninjago)


Savage Opress (some Star Wars character)


A Princess


and Napoleon Dynamite (my personal favorite).

And missing from this group is the Nerd, who I didn't even get a picture of. Maybe next year I will do a better job organizing my time, or not have so many unexpected things happening or maybe I will just lower my expectations!

Young Men

Yesterday was a celebration of sorts.

We celebrated these two boys, or maybe I should say Young Men, because that is what they are now. How did I become a mother to two young men? When did they transform into young men from boys. How can I keep them from getting so old that they leave my home and begin their own journey in life?

These are the questions to which I have NO answers. I only know that time goes by much faster than I anticipated it would. Especially in these last few years.

One is now officially old enough to attend youth dances ( a fave of mine at that age) and is in well control of his own future by the wise choices he is making and goals he is accomplishing.

The other is now officially old enough to hold the priesthood. A big responsibility and honorable calling in and of itself. He still seems to be in his own world most of the time but I do see him starting to blossom out of it from time to time and I am grateful for the different perspective of living in this world that he shows me.

They are both very different from each other. They share a fondness of LEGOS and a last name but that is about where the similarities end. I am trying to enjoy what is unique about each of them and trying to show my love for them in the way they are most likely to hear it. Which of course is a completely different style for each too.

I love my boys, I mean young men, and was priviledged to honor their request of Ice Cream Cakes (another fave of mine) for this celebration. YUM.

Happy Birthday!

Weekends

Last weekend we escaped to the Cabin. It was very relaxing. I wish we were there again this weekend, but alas we are not.

Too many things going on this weekend like:

Soccer games
Primary Program Practice
Ward Party
Attend RSL Playoff Game
WC Meeting
Primary Program
Ordination
Family Bday Party for two oldest

So instead of being at the cabin, where I got to relax and do nothing, I will just dream of being back there and not having to worry about all this other stuff.

Okay, so we didn't just do nothing last weekend. We finished putting together this puzzle,

and we went to the Corn Maze in Bluebell

where we got LOST in the corn, not really

and the boys took turns shooting pumpkins out of a blaster

and we played around on the equipment.

We also spent an afternoon at the LAKE where these two got the greatest pleasure of throwing endless amounts of rocks into the water.


So I guess I can't say we did nothing last weekend, it was just less stressful and more relaxing than the before mentioned list of things we have to do this weekend.

Out and About

Our Joy School group took a field trip to Wheeler Farm a few weeks ago. It was nice. The weather was nice, the kids were nice and the animals were relatively nice-except for those geese who are the same size as the kids when they stand tall and stretch out their necks AND who chased after and scared our 3-year-olds to try and get the bread they were feeding to the ducks.

Miss M wasn't as interested in looking at and/or touching the animals as she was climbing up and jumping down. This girl is an adventurous climber and jumper. If it looks like something she can climb she will and then she will try to jump off of it.

And speaking of jumping. Look who has started putting on dance attire and slipping on pretend ballet shoes. When I ask her to show me what she does at her dance class, she jumps.

September

Where has September gone.

Probably my most favorite month of the year
and now it is gone.

I was so busy with driving kids to soccer, karate, scouts and helping with all the school projects and homework that September just seemed to fly by. But the weather has been fantastic and I have tried to soak as much of it in as possible before the snow starts to fall!

We had a Fall Family Outing yesterday. As we listened to the last session of conference we drove.
Drove into the mountains to see the beautiful color that appears this time of year in Utah. Then we stopped for a walk at this lovely place called Cascade Springs. Cap't Jack even came along for the ride.

I LOVE family outings. My kids don't always appreciate them but I think and hope that someday they will remember them and have fond memories of all the places we explored together.

I took the chance to get a picture of the gang that I so proudly call mine. And if you don't know them, let me introduce you...

From Left to Right we have:

The newest school kid on the block that decided he was going to collect some leaves for "SHOW n TELL" the next day - Good thinking Bubba.

Mr. Grumpypants, aka preteen, who proclaimed throughout our whole outing that "he just wanted to go home".

The leader of this gang who I like to call Mr. Responsibility, but also the Big Teaser of this gang, (I know this payback from my childhood).

Little Miss M who could get what ever she wants from her brothers, but could also be known as Miss Stubborn when it comes to potty training or doing her hair!

And last but not least, Mr. Soccer, who was so tired from his game the night before that he slept in his uniform and then proceeded to wear it throughout the next day.


Hopefully, this is just the first of a few of the things we can enjoy this Autumn together as a family.

It is Time for...

Back to School

New Adventures

in schooling -

kindergarten & riding the bus.

Is he really old enough?

New classes - Seminary

I am soooo excited for this young man

to be able to attend Seminary classes everyday.

Joy School

I haven't had the opportunity for seven + years,
but am lucky enough to do this with her.

And a DIY Project

A Busy Week/Weekend

Before the boys were found waiting outside for the school bus
or listening for the ringing of the school bells,
we had ourselves a busy week.

P participated with his soccer team in a 3-day Park City Tournament.

T went on a backpacking scout camp with his dad
and a bunch of other 12/13 year old boys.

About 20 rounds of Rummikub, 12 rounds of SkipBo
and one round of Zarahemla
were played around the dining room table.

Miss M and Bubba couldn't wait to ride but then "freaked out"
before enjoying the ride on the "round and round".


J and P got a little too comfortable riding the "round and round".


We saw an entertaining bird show.

P's soccer team made it all the way to the final championship game
of his tournament but lost in overtime,
resulting in a Second Place finish
and a new medal to show for it.


We celebrated Mr. Dean's birthday with a party
and plenty of brownies and ice cream.

J passed off all his Karate moves and earned himself an orange belt.


Bubba took a spin in a really cool car,
that he now wants to buy with his allowance money.


Miss M got a little (okay a lot) scared of Leo the Lion
(the Real Salt Lake mascot)
when he came over to shake hands.


And then we went to the Zoo with Nana and Ally who were visiting us.
Did you know they now have dinosaurs at the zoo?
Big ferocious ones, mean spitting ones-
that cool you off from walking around in the hot sun,
and even baby dinos.


NOW it is time to get ready for Back to School.