Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's House

This year we headed to Idaho to spend Christmas with my Mom and Dad. We had a great time and loved being able to share the holiday with them. (It's been over 18 years since I've spent a Christmas with them.) My Mom always works so hard to make sure we have a good time and keep busy.

We decorated a Gingerbread House.

We opened our first gifts on Christmas Eve. I bet you can't guess what they were....

New PAJAMAS!! Of Course!

The kids love opening their stockings.

This is Halle when she opened her IPOD!!!

Some of us flew around the house like Superheros!

They wore these capes for hours. Thanks Grandma for the great gift.

We ate a yummy breakfast!

We ate a yummy dinner with lots of Martenelli's, of course!

We acted very goofy!

We painted ceramic figures.

They turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a wonderful Christmas. We loved spending it with you!

One year...

It's hard to believe it's been a year since my brother Jimmy left this earth life. It's definitely been a difficult year for many of us. We seem to still have a long way to go as far as understanding and coping with it all. It's definitely helped me to have my family around for support.

Last Sunday we wrote notes to Jimmy, attached them to balloons, and let them go from the cemetery. It's a good way for some of us to think of him and also to express some of the thoughts we have about the whole situation.

Today we also had the great opportunity to go to the temple and do Jimmy's work. It's nice to think that he's able to have some more opportunities available to him now. My family ready to head to the cemetery.It was nice to have Sherrie and Mike there with us.Sherri and the girls, with Lauren's friend, Shaunie.Jeremy and Meg with Lexi and Brecken. It may seem kind of corny, but it really is a nice way to think of Jimmy. It is also a great way to express some thoughts and therapeutic to actually write them down.

I hope this next year provides many more opportunities for emotional healing. I also hope that our family will be strengthened as we all try to deal with this difficult situation we've had to face.

Merry Christmas!!

Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you!! Thanks for being a part of our lives.

Wesley, Connor, Rod, Halle, Parker, Julie, and Braden

PReFeReNCe

So I can't believe that I have a child old enough to go to a school dance, let alone a FORMAL school dance! I was so excited when a few weeks ago, Wesley's friend Brittany brought over a jar of Hershey kisses and hugs and a note that said, " I don't want kisses, I don't want hugs, I just want to go to Preference with one of my buds!" As you've probably figured out, Preference is a dance that the girls asks the boys. I have tried to get Wesley to ask a girl to the previous dances, but he has always refused. I think he was so suprised at how much fun they had. I hope this dance will give him the desire to go to the rest.

Where does the time go? My little boy... giving a corsage to a girl!!! They were so cute. I know I embarrassed him with all the pictures, but I just couldn't resist! They looked so cute all dressed up. The silver and black looked so great together. I was thrilled that he didn't have to wear a Tux!

My baby is 4!!!!

We started celebrating Sunday night. Sher made cupcakes frosted with his favorite color BLUE.

I decided to throw him a birthday party on Monday, so that he would have a great Birthday. We decided to go with a jungle theme. He had to have a pinata, which I am so glad he did, it was the hit of the party!

I made him a monkey cake. Of course, he is my favorite little monkey, but the cake turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself!!

So one thing led to another, and we ended up inviting 13 kids to his party! I know, CRaZy, but fun. It took a lot to get them all to gather for this picture, but we got it done. A big thanks to Connor who saved the day! (I had all these great games planned and within five minutes of starting them, the kids all said they didn't want to play them.) Connor took them out back and played "racing" games, which most of them seemed to enjoy. Another big thanks to my nieces, Lauren and Danielle. There is no way we could have pulled it off without your help!!

Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving. Good food and Great company. (Believe it or not, Braden ate that whole drumstick!!)

We did a lot of just hanging out and enjoying being together. There was quite a bit of goofing-off going on too!

This is how Halle spent much of the time. She thought we were lacking in Thanksgiving decorations, so she decided to decorate the walls with her own special decorations!

As always, this is how Rod spent much of his time. He always bakes TONS of desserts. I made the pumpkin, but he made a Baked Alaska, Pecan Pie, and Creme Brulee! They were all so yummy!

Parker CAN dance!!!

I know this is sideways, but I have tried EVERYTHING to get it turned without any luck. I told my Mom I'd post this so that she could see it. I laugh everytime I watch it. I don't know if it has anything to do with all the time we spend at Halle's dance, but he definitely isn't shy about "getting down"!!!

THE WEDDING!!!!!

The whole reason we went up to Seattle was to see Cindi and Rob get married. We cannot express how excited we were. This day had been a long time in the making and we wouldn't have missed it for the world. My kids even gave up their Christmas presents so that we could all go! Rob and Cindi mean so much to my whole family. Parker and Keaton were having a great time waiting for them to come out to the temple. (Parker misses Keaton so much. He asks every day if she can come play. Too bad she lives all the way in California!!! He just doesn't understand why she can't just come on over!)
The happy couple as they come out of the temple for the first time as husband and wife!

Cindi is passionate about the color orange, so it was only fitting for her to have an orange jacket to wear. It had been pouring all day, but the rain stopped long enough for the photographer to take a few pictures. It was still freezing cold. I was lucky enough to be able to follow them around and hold her coat when she wasn't wearing it and fix her train. I was even able to snap a few pictures!!

The reception was great. They had the cutest guest book. When the guest arrived, they had their picture taken and then once the picture was printed, they would put it in a scrapbook and write a note to Cindi and Rob. This picture is of Rod and I with the Cambodian family my parents sponsored when I was 10. They lived with us for a short while. It was great to see Mindy, Chung, Kaing, and his wife Kitty.

The photo booth had things to dress up in if the guests wanted to have a silly picture taken.

When it was time to cut the cake, Cindi had her friends help her put on an apron and rubber gloves in preparation for the cake war! It was so funny!!

I have to say, they kept it pretty civil!

The first dance!

Parker and Jayden had a great time. Cindi had the kids table set up with toys, and crayons, and balloons. It really was a clever way to keep the little ones entertained.

The Daddy/Daughter dance.

Another Daddy/Daughter dance!

Jayden was being silly and wouldn't let me get a picture of him and his Mom.

Mom and Dad looked so nice!!

The wedding was so beautiful. Cindi did a great job. We love you guys and are sooo happy that you are now married for TIME and ALL ETERNITY!!!!

(Sorry to Sherri and Heidi. For some reason I did not end up with a single picture of either of you!)