A busy but Merry Christmas!

Rushing to see what Santa brought....



Enjoying Santa's gifts!

Our Little Ballerinas!

Brynlie and Livy were in a Winter Recital on the 18th, both girls danced and looked so pretty!

New Season, new job!

Can I say it hardly seems possible that Christmastime is almost here! Wasn't it just Halloween? We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hosted this year, my mom and Bill, and step-brother Brad came. My sister, her friend DJ, and all of their kids came too. We had a late dinner, but ate lots of turkey, and ended the night at Grandpa Perkins house for a movie theater version of Polar Express. After a busy weekend of taking Thanksgiving decorations down,and pulling our Christmas decorations out again, I was anxious for Monday to come, for the kids to go back to school,and for our lives to be back to normal. Brad started a new job on Monday at the INL, (Idaho Nuclear Laboratory), we are excited for the many opportunities that await him! He works Monday through Thursday, and gets every other Friday off. This job and the flexibility will be such a blessing to us. Grandpa Jon starts chemo and radiation on Monday, and he will need help from the kids getting to and from appointments, and help with meals and around the house. With Brad's new job he will be able to help his dad, and spend some qualtiy time with him. We are praying that Heavenly Father will keep him with us as long as possible. I have faith that we will have longer with him than doctors have said. Please keep him in your prayers. Also, I will be sending Christmas cards out next week, so PLEASE e-mail me your address(onala@cableone.net)!

Go Cowboys!

Our little flag football team, named the Cowboys, (of course), ended their season 1 and 5. YEAH!!! They won their last game, considering most of the team is in kindergarten playing against sometimes 3rd graders. Each game they lost by less and less, but they finally figured it out the last game! Brad had so much fun coaching these little guys, and I think they had fun too. Ryker is such a little baller, and even got a touchdown! What a proud moment, I even cried.

State Swimming Championship+

Here is our swimmer Jayce at the Idaho State High School Swimming Championships. This is the 1st year Skyline High School has qualified for state. Brad drove Jayce and 7 of his teammates to Boise over the weekend, and Jayce beat his all-time score by 20 seconds in the 200 free-style race! We are so proud of you Jayce!

Trick-or-Treat

The kids had fun trick-or-treating, and of course, got way too much candy! It was a beautiful autumn night, until the next night when it snowed! Livy won 2nd place in a costume contest in her age group of 0-5 year olds in a group of about 50 kids, she was so proud!

Such a hard decision...

Tonight for FHE we went to the Pumpkin Patch. The kids all had their own ideas of the "perfect pumpkin". After a lot of contemplation, they all picked just the right one to take home to carve.

10 years ago....

Our little girl Brynlie Sage was born. She was 7 lbs. 14 oz, born on Friday October 23rd, 1998 at 7:26 p.m. She was born with a room full of people anxiously awaiting her arrival (dad, 2 grandma's, 1 grandpa, 1 great grandma, and 1 aunt). I can't believe it's been 10 whole years, but she has brought so much joy, happiness, pride, and love into our family! Happy Birthday Bean, we love you so much!

Changes!

We are experiencing changes in our lives right now. Our world outside is changing from the green and warm summer, to a beautiful autumn landscape. This is my favorite time of year! The leaves are falling, and the air is crisp. Our apples are ripe, and the kids are eating so many apples they are getting sick. I am going to try and can applesauce, pie filling, and dehydrate the rest. Another change is Brad is no longer with Clockwork, whom he has been with for the last 6 years, as they got a new CFO and he decided to eliminate the IT Department and decided to outsource. They gave him a nice severence package, as well as our insurance for a few more months. We saw the writing on the wall, it has happened to so many people we love who have worked for the company, so I guess our turn was coming, it was just a matter of time. Now that the shock has worn off, we are seeing so many blessings and opportunities come before us. I didn't realize how much the kids and I needed him around, but it has been so nice having him here ALL the time. We know Brad will find another opportunity, and many have come up, we're just trying to make a wise decision, and what's going to be best for our family. In the meantime, he has been taking some programming classes, and brushing up on his computer skills. We are all really proud of him, and are so thankful we are here in Idaho.

Back to School

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone, and the kids are once again, back in school. I have 2 high schoolers, 1 jr. higher, and 2 grade-schoolers, and 1 pre-schooler. Just think in 2 more years I will have kids from college to pre-school. As much as I love having the kids home during the summer, it is nice to have some peace and quiet during the day. At least, until after school, yikes, here is where it gets crazy. Mondays Livy has dance and Jayce has swimming. Tuesdays,Brynlie has dance, Jayce swimming, plus Jaidyn, Jayce, and Daxton have mutual. Wednesdays, Daxton has his football games, plus he has practice Monday, Tuesday, and Thurday. Wednesday afternoons Ryker has flag football practice, and Saturday games. Thursday Brynlie has dance, and I don't think we have anything going on Fridays. OH, I just remembered, Jayce has swimming practice from 6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m.,on Friday mornings. In between all those practices I am running Jaidyn to the gym and to work, thank goodness she gets her drivers license soon! So people wonder what stay at home moms do to keep themselves busy???

Vote in our baby name poll

I know we have awhile, but are tossing around names for our baby girl. As you know Brad and I don't stick with traditional spellings and names, but here are a few we are thinking about.

Wynter Grace -Wynter not only is this baby going to be born in the Winter, but I think of a dark haired girl when I hear this name. I just like Y's in names, and I like the way it looks spelled with a Y. I also like names having to do with nature. Grace is a family name, my mom's favorite aunt was Grace, and she was a role model for her. My mom and I have always told each other to "have grace" when we are having problems. Is it too close to Ryker though?

Paisley Alizabeth- Paisley I love the spelling, and all 3 of my girls have i's and y's in their names. I think Paisley Perkins sounds so cute, and think of a little spunky, out-going little girl. Alizabeth, I just like the spelling, kind-of like Alyvia.

Violet Alizabeth (?), -Not sure of the middle name, but I do like the two together. Any suggestions? My favorite color is purple, and if she is born in February, she'll have a purple birthstone. I could go crazy with this one. My other girls kind-of have names that have do with color (Jade, Sage, Ivy), either in their first or middle names.

Dahlia Grace (?)-Dahlia is Brad's favorite name, not sure why but it is growing on me, and it is a shade of purple too. Not sure of a middle name, but Grace sounds cute with it doesn't it.

Here are other possibilites for either a first or middle name. Please give suggestions....
Irelyn, Gracelyn, Brielle, Arabella, Arwyn,

8 Days in Southern California, glad to be home!

We just got back from an 8 day trip to Southern California. We had all 6 kids, plus Jaidyn's friend Jake. We spent 3 days in Disneyland, 2 days in Vegas, coming and going, 1 day at the beach, and 1 day in Hollywood/American Girl Place again. Brad also worked a few days in Cali, and 1 in Vegas during this time. We crammed a whole lot of activites, and a ton of traveling in to this time, but we are so glad to be back in beautiful Idaho Falls. I'll post pics when I figure out how, or when my dear friend Shannon helps me (wink-wink)!

It's a Girl!

At least that's what the ultrasound showed. I am only 15 weeks, but it was pretty obvious she wanted to show us that the girls will rule our house. We are so excited, especially Livy, who told me all along that the baby is a girl and she needs a "pink hat and boots". As soon as I figure out how, I will post pics. Just wanted to share the happy news!

WOW, timed has passed!

I am bound and determined to keep up my blog like my dear friends Shannon and Mical. You guys are awesome, and both of you I miss very much!

It is now the end of July, and we are enjoying the gorgeous summer here in Idaho. The kids are out of school, and we have been busy coaching 2 teams. Ryker's t-ball, and Brynlie's softball. The season just ended, and it was bittersweet, I had so much fun getting to know all the sweet kids on our team. I will give a quick update on each of our kids. Brad's travel has settled down some, he usually leaves town 2 times a month for 4 or 5 days. The rest of the time he is working out of his office which is only 1 mile away! It is so nice to be back in Idaho, I can hardly believe it was almost a year ago that we left Las Vegas!

Jaidyn- 16 years old. She is working quite a bit at a hotel here in town as a hostess. It is nice she gets to bring tips home, and save her checks. She has her learner's permit, and suprisingly is a good and cautious driver. She has a "friend", named Jake, and he's going away to college at Utah State the middle of August, I'm sure both of their worlds will fall apart, because they have been inseparable this summer.

Jayce-15 years old. Jayce was nominated and won History Student of the Year, by his teacher Mr. Morris. We are so proud of him. He is still very interested in the fine art of duct tape and cardboard armor creation. He has converted his cousins Beau and Cole, and now friends Cameron into the hobby. It really is amazing how detailed and historically correct he makes things. He is trying to work his way up from cardboard to leather. He has been busy this summer scouting. He recently finished a 50 mile backpacking trip with his scout troop!

Daxton-12 years old. Daxton still has a thing for his "hair". He now has the "swoosh" from front to side down to a science, and has the girls ooing-and ahh-ing over him. He went to his first year at scout camp in Island Park, and earned 4 merit badges, and was very sad to leave. He will be starting grid-kid football in August, and finished a season in Cal Ripkin baseball off with a bang and was the star player on his team playing shortstop. He will also be starting his first year of Junior High in August, and will be taking all honors classes. I wish school was that easy for me growing up!

Brynlie-9 years old. Brynlie has had a busy summer playing her first year of soft-ball. By the end of the season, I think she grew into her long legs and used them to her advantage. It was so fun being one of her coaches, and listening to 15 giggling 9 and 10 year old girls twice a week. She is such a good sister, especially to Livy. She is always playing house with her, fixing her hair, and taking her for walks in the wagon. She also has turned into quite the little baker. I am not a big dessert person, and Brynlie has her Daddy's sweet tooth. She has made so many yummy treats for us!

Ryker-5 years old. Ryker is our "baller", and tells us he likes "all the balls, soccer ball, baseball, football, and basketball." He is very competitive, and loves "to win". He will be starting kindergarten this August, and already knows all the letters, sounds, and puts sounds together to make words. He is our baby boy, and still says the cutest things. Brad has gotten him addicted to playing World of Warcraft. He loves putting characters together, and changing their armor. He doesn't have the slightest idea how to "really" play, but he enjoys himself when he's on the computer.

Alyvia-2 years old. Livy will be having an "Ariel" birthday soon, and she has grown up so much in the past month! She decided in one week she didn't want to wear diapers anymore, and that "nannies" were for babies. She has done really good with potty training, and I don't think she has had an accident in 2 weeks. She had bad fight with our patio table, and the table won! She mashed her 3 front teeth in, and cut her mouth up pretty bad. Our dentist has been pretty conservative, and it looks like she will be loosing her 2 front teeth the day after her birthday. She asks me everyday if the baby is coming, she is so excited to be a big sister!

"Lucky"-EDD 2/7/09. Yes, we are having "lucky" #7. We don't know lucky is a he or a she yet, but it's split pretty evenly between the kids who wants a boy, and who wants a girl. Jaidyn, Jayce, and Daxton want a boy. Brynlie, Ryker, and Alyvia want a girl. Mom and dad don't care either way, nice and healthy is all we want. Thank goodness my morning sickness has subsided quite a bit, and I am just entering my 2nd tri-mester. So far everything has gone great with the pregnancy, even though I will be of "advanced maternal age" on September 5th.