Our New Addition

We have been getting so much snow!!! This is the first time in a long time we have had this much snow before Christmas. And we are loving it!!! We got a foot of snow a few days before Christmas. And then we have had little snow showers over the last couple of days. For Christmas it snowed another 6-7 inches. It was so magical to look outside and see the snow falling.
Keri couldn't wait to build a snowman. Cole and Carson wanted to play with their gifts. But Keri said that her gifts could wait. Her snowman couldn't!!! He's now our new addition to the family. You'll find him in our front yard greeting all who pass by. The question is, "How long will he stay?"

Christmas

Our Christmas morning was awesome!!! We got to sleep in till 8:30am. The first time ever!!! When the kids woke up Cole commented on how good he slept. (Usually he can't sleep at all on Christmas Eve.) Must have been something Aunt Celeste put in her food the night before. :)
It was so amazing to see our children get excited for each and every little thing. We are so blessed and grateful for our little family!!!

Boise State Game

What a close game!!! Boise State lost by just one point. Final score 17-16. What was so hard to swallow was that they led the game 90% of the time. Oh well!! Better luck next time...
Even though their team lost the boys had a blast!!!

SURPRISE!!!

We celebrated the boys birthdays today!!! Carson turned 9 years old on Saturday and Cole will be 13 on the 28th of this month. Wow!!! Pretty soon we'll have a teenager in the house.
As part of the celebration we surprised Cole with tickets to the Poinsettia Bowl on Tuesday!!! He is so excited to spend time with his Dad and Grampy. (Grammy and Grampy bought his plane ticket for his birthday.) I think he is still in shock over the whole thing. He had no idea what we were up to. Hope they have fun!!! Go Boise State!!!!!

Coopers Visit Cooperstown

While we were there our family took a trip up to Cooperstown to see the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was so neat to step back in time and learn about the great men and women that have made our favorite pasttime what it is today...
The kids enjoyed it more than I thought they would. Each of them studied all the exhibits and participated in a scavenger hunt. They gained a better appreciation for the game. And even took an interest in baseball card collecting, just like their Dad.
We even visited Cooper Lane, which was right around the corner.

Sledding at Grammy and PopPops

Want to experience some great sledding? Head out to Pa, hook up some sleds to the back of a 4 wheeler, and go...
Right before we arrived in PA it snowed about 8 inches. The perfect amount to go sledding and have snowball fights with.
Thanks to my parents the kids (and adults) had 11 acres of uncharted territory to explore and sled on.

New York City

Last week our family had the opportunity to go back east and visit my parents for Thanksgiving. All of my sisters and their families congregated to PA for a week long reunion.
While we were out there everyone took a trip to New York City. We went on a tour and saw just about everything. Time Square, Rockefeller Center, Ground Zero, Battery Park, Statue of Liberty, Wall St., Empire State Building, etc....
When we first got off the train at Grand Central Station we were all excited to be there. We started taking pictures and looking at all the architecture. Then I asked Keri if she liked NY and she turned to me and said, "This is the most boring city. I thought there would be a lot more to do. But all we've done is take pictures." She quickly changed her mind though when we walked out of Grand Central Station and onto the streets of NY. There was a feeling in the air that was undescribable.
Our favorite memory of the day was waiting for the tour bus after seeing the statue of liberty and watching Aunt Celeste and Aunt Lizzy fight to get us out of the freezing cold weather. :)

Halloween

Halloween came and went in the blink of an eye. Lots of candy, lots of tricks, and lots of treats. For fun Cole dressed up as a ghost/ghoul and scared some of the kids in the neighborhood. (Most of the people didn't even see it coming.) Next year him and Ledoux want to make it even more scarier. We'll see how much I let them get away with...
Keri ended up trick-or-treating with her friends in the neighborhood. This was the first year I didn't walk/drive with her. She seems to be growing up way too fast.
Carson enjoyed hanging out with his older brother and cousin. He even took off for awhile with his friends...

Keri's Birthday

O.K. I know this was awhile ago but I'm just now getting my act together...
This year we held Keri's birthday party in our garage. The girls bobbed for apples, had a mummy race, a scavenger hunt, and donut relay. It was probably the best birthday party ever. Everyone got a little loud and a little crazy. But that was the fun part. Happy 10th birthday Keri!!!!

Keri's Cheer Routine

Check out Keri's cheer routine...

1st Place

Today was Keri's 1st cheerleading competition at the American Fork Cavemen Classic.
After months of hard work and practice her team took 1st place...

Getting Ready for Competition

Last night Keri's cheer squad got ready for the big competition...
We had a pizza party for the girls and did all of their hair in spiral curls.
It was a blast!!!

Yellow Belt

Carson has now moved up to a yellow belt status in Karate...
He was so proud of his advancement that he has been working extra hard during practices. Notice the two black lines on his belt? Those are from tests that he has taken during class and done well in.
Way to go Carson!!!!

Oh! So Close!

For the past few months Keri has been working really hard on her tumbling passes for cheer. This past week she got really close to doing a backtuck on her own. Check out her progress!!! We are so proud!!! Keep going Keri!!!

Gary Pelkofsky

It is with a heavy heart that I post this blog tonite...
Earlier today my amazing Uncle passed away at the age of 52. A few weeks ago he went in for a simple knee surgery and there were some complications.
Usually I am full of words and things to say. But tonite those words have escaped me. Once again I am reminded of just how precious and fragile our life here on earth truly is. I have spent the last couple of hours looking through photographs and reminiscing of days gone by. And while my heart is breaking, I am deeply grateful for the time I have spent with him and for the wonderful things he has taught me and my family. His life was a gift and a blessing to us all. He will be missed tremendously.
We love you Gary!!! May you fly with the angels!!!

Perfect Fall Day

Our Little House Guest

Carson was so excited when he found this little praying mantice in our front yard. He carried it around with him everywhere he went for a couple of days. He thought it would be great if he kept him as a pet. But we convinced him to let him go back to his family where he belongs.

Cole's Concert

Wow!!! Where has the time gone? It's been quite a while since I've posted. But I'm here now, so here goes...
On August 30th Cole had the opportunity to perform a few songs at the Music School. He sang Surrender and Black Hole Sun. Then he got to sing and play the guitar for Born To Be Wild. Could he be the next big rock star? We think so...

Madison's Birthday Party

Yesterday was the day the kids had been looking forward to for weeks. It was Madison's BIG birthday party. Aunt Celeste put together the best home made carnival I've ever seen. There were booths set up where the kids could earn tickets towards prizes. Balloon races, Ring Toss, Fishing Pond, Dart Games, Penny Pitches, and much more. There was even a clown that stopped by and painted the kids faces. We stayed up late having a blast and celebrating Madison's 6th party. Hip!Hip!Hurray!!!

The First Day of School

It's hard to believe that the kids are starting school again. Cole had his first day of Junior High on Friday. And the other two started on Monday. We all had mixed feelings. The summer was lazy and fun at times. But we are ALL looking forward to getting into a routine and making it through another year.
The house will definitely be a lot more quiet for me. Maybe I can be more productive on my Hillside hours...

The Great Debate

The topic of conversation in our family for the past few weeks has been Cole's old backpack. He has had this thing since the first day of Kindergarten. We debated whether or not he should D.I. it or keep it another year. In the end the decision was made to "use it up and wear it out." I'm not sure if the longevity of this backpack is due to the quality of Northface or because Cole takes such good care of his things. It's probably a little bit of both...
We'll see how much longer it lasts.

Now What?

Over the past few months I have been slowly ordering food storage from lds.org. Also, on the second Saturday of every month our ward cans. It has been a great opportunity for our family to get prepared. But with all this long term food storage I am unsure what to do with it. Right now it just sits on a shelf.
A few days ago I came across this blog on food storage. It is a great reference for anyone out there who has long term food storage they want to use. Check out my links on the side.

Lagoon

Last week we went to Lagoon for Mark's annual company party. We got there pretty early so we were able to get on the rides fast without waiting in line. At first Keri was a little hesitant about the big rides. But after a little coaxing she was having fun...
The best part was riding on the old roller coaster. The kids kept commenting on how old it was because the paint was chipping and the metal was rusting. They joked about how cool it might be if they were on the ride when it stopped working. I didn't think it was that cool...
We validated our passes to come back again within 3 weeks. Wonder if we will...