Christmas was full of fun surprises this year! One of my favorites is the surprise we got from my new sister in law Kylee (far left) and brother Jayson. My mom always gets everyone PJs on Christmas eve. When we were finished opening them, they gave my mom and dad a teeny, tiny little pair of PJs! They are due to have thier first baby around the end of Aug. And because we all know that this is just the sort of thing Jayson would do as a joke, the cute little PJs came complete with the test, showing positive, in a plastic bag of course AND a note from the doctor! We were all so excited for them! They will be great parents. However, I am warning them now that Kyle and I plan on teaching their little one all the "great" stuff that he so kindly taught our kids! Sorry Kylee... CONGRATS!

Kyson was so excited to sit on Santa's lap. He absolutley loves Santa. He even made a sleigh out of pillows and blankets and had a sack of toys that he delivered to his friends. I don't really think that Copper enjoyed being his reindeer though. The only thing he kept asking Santa for was an "Indiana Jones Whip." He must have been on the good list because Santa brought his whip. He couldn't have been happier Christmas morning. I know that any of you that have had a 3 year old boy are thinking " A whip??? for a little boy??" But rest assured that it is super soft and he has been warned MANY times to not whip his sisters, or cousins, or friends, or the dog, or basically anything that breaths. So far it's been okay......Thank goodness!

Yup, it's the real thing! When Santa asked Kemri to tug on his beard, she couldn't pass up the opportunity! She's a Believer!

Kemri asked Santa for a Nintendo DS as I sadly said goodbye to the days of babydolls. But, to my delight she did ask for a doll this year..... it just had to be a baby boy. She can stay a little girl as long as she wants to! She made sure to confirm this year what tree Santa would leave the presents under. Last year he left them downstairs instead of upstairs like he had in the past. When she woke up she was so upset to see no presents under the tree! She was relieved to see them downstairs. I guess she didn't want any confusion this year!

Even almost 11 year old Kesli had to sit on Santa's lap! She's at that age where she pretends to not want to, but we know that she really does! Kesli was very dissappointed that Santa forgot to ask her what she wanted. She just kept bringing it up even days later, which kind of surprised me, because that usually isn't the sort of thing she worries about. Then we found out why!! Santa also comes to the Christmas part on the other side of the famliy. This time he didn't forget. and her answer..........A BABY SISTER! Funny Kesli! Of course my Dad put her up to it and offered her $5. So when she didn't get the chance at the fisrt party she was all over it at the second. She got the reaction she wanted from me and then ended up with $20 from Grandpa. needless to say she was happy with that. And then she even got the digital camera she asked Santa for. I think there might have been a mix up, because both Mom and Kyson thought she was on the naughty list! Just kidding, she is a great kid.

Every Christmas my sweet Grandma works so hard on our family Christmas party. Christmas just wouldn't be the same without it! I love my cute granparents. They are such wonderful examples.

This was suppose to be our Christmas card this year, but we had a little printing problem, dang Walmart, no I realize they were really busy and short staffed, and somehow our was lost in the shuffle. So needless to say I didn't get them and didn't send any cards this year so I guess this will have to do. I am a little sad, because I know how much I love to get Christams cards in the mail. Posting them on your blog just isn't the same. But MERRY CHRISTMAS just the same to all of our friends and family. We really are grateful to be surrounded by such awesome people. I have loved to get everyones cards in the mail! I know I'm like a little kid but I really do get all excited when I see a Christams card in the stack of all the bills and junk mail! Thank you for sending them!

It's that time of year!

So my little Kemri has been home from school sick for 3 days. This is escpecially hard for a kid who absolutley loves school. When she woke up with a 102 fever and I told her "sorry, no school today" she burst into tears. It's that time of year when you can wash hands, antibacteria everything and somehow your little monkeys still end up with a yucky bug. Being sick just isn't fun. But, I will say I loved all the attention from my mom when I was little and home sick. Kemri certainly has not lacked for attention. My cute neighbor Jen brought her over a sweet little "Get Well" gift, which she loved. Kesli has been so good to get her homework at school, get her "blankie" and her "woofy" for her (yeah, she's almost nine, I'm sure she'll take them both on her Honeymoon), she even brought her home a special prize from the Birthday party she went to. Kyson is just loving having one of his sisters home. We don't ever buy soda pop, except when one of the kids is sick, so she has loved having pop. She gets to lay in mom's bed all day and watch every Christmas movie her little heart desires, eat chicken noodle soup, get special phone calls from friends and grandmas, and once the Motrin kicks in she gets some coloring time. On second thought maybe being sick isn't so bad, well for the kids. I haven't been able to get a lot of the Christmas things done that were on the list for this week, she's just too curious to stay up in bed all day, when she knows mom is wrapping presents down stairs. Hopefully she'll feel better soon, just in time for all the festivities to start.

I've been tagged! Thanks Heather! Except she had to do two tags in one and I'm not really sure where one left off and the other began so I guess I'm doing both also and whoever else is tagged from here on out. That's okay they totally go togehter & it's a fun one.

What is your husband's name? Kyle Thornley Curtis
*How long have you been married? 11 years
*How long did you date? About 2 years
*How old is he? 28
*Who is taller? He is much taller, I can where really high shoes and he still has 5 inches on me
*Who can sing the best? He thinks he can, but it's not hard to sing better than me.
*Who pays the bills? I do
*Who does the laundry? I do ( it scares me a little for him to do it)
*Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does
*Who mows the lawn? We both do. It's a good work out for me, especailly with our old hand-me -down mower, but it gets the job done. ( he can do it much faster though)
*Who cooks dinner? I do, he helps clean up
*Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? For sure Kyle.
*Who kissed who first? He kissed me.
*Who wears the pants? I have a leg in and so does he.
*He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? Anything on the History Channel, The Rookie (a new reality cop show), Dirty Jobs
*You're out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Blue Cheese
*What's one food he doesn't like? Celery & Cucumbers
*What kind of drink does he order? Water or Cream Soda
*Where did he go to high school? Roy High
*What size shoe does he wear? 10 or 11
*If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Guns, the guy loves 'em
*What is his favorite type of sandwich? He loves Subways meatball sub.
*What would he eat every day if he could? Steak , he's definately a meat & potatoes type guy.
*What is his favorite cereal? Raisen bran or Honey Bunches of Oats with peaches.
*What is his favorite sports team? Buffalo Bills, BYU (loves college football), Jazz
*Who did he vote for? He says Obama, but it's just to make his mom mad, really McCain
*Who is his best friend? Besides Me, Casey Warren
*How many places has he lived in? just Utah & he loves it here
*You bake him a cake for his birthday; what would it be? Yellow cake with chocolate frosting.
*What could he spend hours doing? Hunting, fishing, playing basketball.
*What's something cool about him? He was born on the 4th of July, he always thought the fireworks were for him
I tag: Kylee Wood, Haylee Southwick, Kristen Curtis, Andrea Bell , Jenn Brower & Candis Warren

11 YEARS!! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. Kyle and I will celebrate our 11th anniversary this wednesday. I Love that guy! He is such a great dad and husband. He works so hard for our family and puts his life on the line every time he goes to work, but he truely believes in the work that he does and does a good job. He is a prankster by nature! Sometimes I want to punch him when he hides under the bed and scares me so bad it knocks me on my butt! ....But I always end up laughing! And of course so does he. That is something I really love! He always makes me laugh, even (especially) when I don't want to. I love the way he wrestles with Kyson, takes time to take Kemri skiing, and practice softball with Kesli. He is the most honest person I know. I admire him and look up to him. He sings in the shower, DVRs my design shows for me, is a germ freak, loves the outdoors, smiles most all the time, is a very invloved dad, and loves me!! What else could a girl ask for. Happy Anniversary Kyle, I Love You!!!

I love this time of year! Thanksgiving weekend was great. I talked Kyle into letting me put my tree up before Thanksgiving this year. ( We did have to take trip to Cabella's though) But, it was so worth it. I always decorate the West Point City tree the day after Thanksgiving and then come home and do my own. It really does take up the whole day! This year is was so great to come home and spend the whole day with my family. Don't get me wrong, I could do Christmas trees all day and always love it, but not as much as I loved the day we spent together. We didn't do anything fancy, just went to lunch, shopped a little and let the kids show us what they wanted Santa to bring them. Then had pizza for dinner and played Phase Ten, then watched a Christmas movie all snuggled up together in our bed. It really was such a fun day. It's amazing how such a simple day can be so fun for everyone.

I haven't been able to post any recent pictures because Kyson threw my camera down the stairs and broke it, I'm pretty happy about it. So I decided that I would post some picuturese of Christmas' past. A huge part of the fun of Christmas for me are the memories and traditions. This is Kyson with our new puppy last year. All three of of my monkeys begged for a puppy. I think that they had given up all hope of ever having one. Then we suprised them Christmas morning with our little puppy. We named him Copper. Even though he is totally naghty, we love him and he has been such a good thing for the kids. Another fun memory is a tradition we started last year doing "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Each day we focused on something different. We did random acts of service as a family, made cookies, played games, and many memory creating activities. I gave each of my kids a journal so they could write down some of the things that meant the most to them. I'm excited to get them out this year and read what they wrote. This year each of the 12 days will be focused on a blessing. This fun new tradition has made planning Christmas so much fun for mom. I also think it has really refocused our attention on what is really important during this magical time of year.

CHriSTmaS 2007- I can't believe it's been a whole year!

ChRiStMas 2006

ChRiTSmAs 2005, Kyson's first Christmas!

Check out www.shupephotography.com

So I just came across this picture while looking for something else. It doesn't seem very long ago that we were in Disneyland, but really it was just about year ago. It's crazy how quickly the time passes. I guess I really do need to just chill out and enjoy the time I have while my kids are little, even though my girls are not so little anymore. Kyle and I will celebrate our 11th anniversary next month. When I think about how fast the last 11 years have gone it makes me want to hold my babies every second!!

Hey Everyone! I am totally new to this whole blogging thing. Thanks to my friend and neighbor Jen, I'm up and running and lovin it, though I fear I won't get much laundry done today. What a fun way to keep a family journal. This is our little family. We live in West Point and love everything about it. We love our ward and neighbors and schools. We've lived here for about 5 years and don't plan on going anywhere anyime soon. Kesli our oldest is 10. She is our little preteen. She is such a fun kid and blessing in our home. She is a total perfectionist in everything she does. Sometimes it makes us crazy because she is so intense all the time. However, it's a great quality when it comes to school. I've never had to ask her if her homework is done. She is definately an over acheiver. We are so proud of all she has accomplished and her hard work. Kemri, 8, is usually my laid back, content girl, but still a girl. And any of you that have girls know that they can be a little sassy sometimes. Most of the time she is just a joy to be around. We never wonder what she is thinking because, don't worry, she'll tell you everytime, no matter what it is. Such an inocent and honest little thing. She is such an animal lover! We love our little tender hearted girl and love having her in our family. Then we finally have our boy! Kyson is just that, a boy. He loves anything to do with trucks, balls, dinasaurs, super heros,you name it. He just started preschool this year at Jellybean Junction. He absolutely loves every minute of it. He keeps us on our toes all the time. He can be a little stubborn, wait did I say a little, 'cause really I mean ALOT! But, maybe that determination will take him great places one day.