I am Thankful for Many Things, but this year having my family all together was my favorite

This past week has been crazy yet wonderful. Jon's sister Amber came and stayed with us for a week. It was really nice to have a full house for the Holiday and for the cousins to get to know each other better. We took them up to the Deep Crick property and went 4-wheeling, had lunch, and roasted marshmallows. It was really fun, then on Thanksgiving day we all went to my Mom's house and ate a wonderful dinner. My family is full of amazing cooks and all the food was homemade and fabulous. Then we had a "Dan in Real Life" experience with a talent show. We had a lot of fun doing, "Toodie Taddie, Toodie Taddie, Toodie tah tah", reciting jokes, listening to Billy play the guitar, and singing along. Ryan played and sang a song he composed Then my Aunt Leanne came up with a great idea for us to reenact our cheerleader days, so we did a great Thanksgiving day cheer with her, my sister, a family friend, and I. "Go, Fight, Win, Thankgiving". After all this excitement, Thanksgiving couldn't be complete without the 4-wheelers, horse rides and of course the Texas vs. Texas A&M football game; and just when I thought the evening was over Whitney and Ryan got us tickets to go see "Twilight" at 9:00pm. It was my second time seeing it. Ok, so I am a trekkie for Twilight, I love it. The best is hearing all the girls in the theater giggle and squeal. So after that long day Jon decided to wake up on black Friday at 4:30 and go Door busting. Nope, I didn't go with him, he got some cool stuff though and was back in time for us all to wake up :) Then I took off with my Mom, Wendy, and Leanne to go to Gardner Village for some shopping and playing. It was very enjoyable. So after giving you the log of the day I'd like to post a few things I am thankful for:
MY SAVIOR-Husband-Kids-Extended Family-Smiles-laughter-Joy-Peace-and Kindness.
I read a wonderful quote today that was simple, yet powerful to me. It said
"Kindness Matters" In a world where everything from our looks to our inner desires are being picked apart, it is good to remember how a kind word or work can lift and lighten the load. I am incredibly thankful for the kind people in my life either close or just passing by; and I pray that I can be a kinder person in the future. We love you all. Have a wonderful Holiday Season with much thought of the Savior and what he brought to this world. A Whole Lot of Kindness :)

I just might be crazy!!! (RED)

Ok, so the post title has nothing to do with the BYU rivalry going on this Saturday. If anything it is a tribute to the "Twilight" movie coming out on Friday. I died my hair red??? I've been wanting to try it for a really long time; I finally did and now I am trying to decide if I like it. So here is a picture.

I do have to write about a cool experience which testified that things don't happen by coincidence and that the Lord really does have a hand in our lives. First of all we took the 3 little rascal girls back up to there mom and dad in Montana. We absolutely loved having them and the drive went considerably well. It just took 12 hours with all the stops. We helped Wendy settle in a little bit and enjoyed spending time with brand new Austin and seeing them. Then Jon was absolutely ecstatic when Bret offered the big screen t.v. to him. So he had to find a way to get it in the Durango. With a little disassemble they finally got the hatch to close. YEAH!!! Thanks Wendy and Bret and also thank you for the great example you are to us.

On Sunday we ended up driving home through WY instead of ID so that Jon could visit his home town of CODY. We drove past his old house and the mail box still has there name on it; I heard a ton of stories about road rashes, fishing, camping, hiking, friends, and the George Dairy Farm. Then we went to the church and although it was already over when I walked in to go to the out-house ;) A nice young man asked if I was looking for something. So when I walked out I told Jon that someone he might know was in there. We all went back in to find Adam George. His best friend from the Dairy Farm was the nice young man. Jon and Him caught up and then they invited us over for dinner. It was a wonderful Sunday meal and so kind for them to invite us in on such short notice. Thank you Heavenly Father for letting them stay after church for no reason at all so we could meet up with them.

Hope you all have a great week. Rah-Rah rah,rah,rah GO C OOOOOOUUUUUUUUU GARS!!!!!!

A fun Week!!!

This past week Jon and I got to go on our first date in three months! It was so nice. My mom and dad took all five girls for the afternoon and I got to plan the date so guess what we did? Of course we went to I Fly in Ogden and went indoor skydiving. It was really awesome. I went skydiving back in high school which was absolutely awesome and memorable, but I would have to say this was pretty close to the experience other than the jumping out of the plane part :)

Then the next night my mom and I took Makenna and Faith to Disney on Ice. It was a well needed trip for Makenna and I. With 5 girls in the house she has been feeling a little neglected and so we got to bond and she was all smile's. She even got to shake Mickey's hand at the end because we sat front and center. Talk about Spoiled :)

Tomorrow we leave for Montana to return the girls to there rightful owners :( We are excited to have them closer though. We should be hanging out a lot more often. Wish us luck on the drive that we won't get stuck in another snow storm.

Having Fun With The Cousins and Late Halloween

So I know I am a little late on the Halloween post, but I had to give Jon his glory post!!! We had a decent Halloween. The girls were reluctant to go trick r treating this year; Makenna's shoe didn't fit right and Autumn kept getting mad at me because she wanted to eat the candy right after the person gave it to her instead of heading to the next door. I think next year it is definitely daddy duty!! After wearing there costumes for so many parties they were kind of sick of them for Halloween, "Go Figure?" But we set up a cool display out front with the candy and visited with my Awesome neighbor Charese since my entire family was gone. Thanks for inviting us over :)

So; this past weekend we have been watching my nieces. There moving from Louisiana to Montana so they are with us while my sister and her husband unpack. We are having a blast and it is great for the girls to get to know there cousins better. So far everything has really been great other than the amount of dishes that accumulate. They wake up put dress up clothes on first thing, play, and play, and play randomly eat then I put all 5 of them in the bath tub, I don't know if any of them really get clean, but they are happy. After such a long day of play that can't help but conk out in slumber all in the same room!!! It is so nice that they love each other.

We also had a fun BYU party on Sat. with my cousins Troy and wife Emily and Tyler and Beccah along with Whitney and Ryan and Billy and girlfriend and his friends. It amounted to a big win and the girls loved all the attention.

So here are a few fun photos. Love to hear from you!!!! Marie

Jon's Post "Hunting"

My first Pheasant hunting trip. I was able to go with all the Wall Brothers to South Dakota and go Pheasant hunting. We stayed on a farm in the middle of vast fields. The Pheasant population was booming this year. We were able to limit out every day (six birds a day). I also had some fun picking off prairie dogs. I got a little scope bite when the gun kicked back and I had my eye too close to the scope. It is going to leave a little mark. The second morning of the hunt we were pushing through a small gully. My father-in-law and I had both shot birds. I was closer to my dad's bird so I went to go retrieve it. It had rolled off the bank into a stream. I grabbed onto some willow branches and reached down the bank to see if I could reach the rooster. I was reaching feathers when the branches broke and I fell into the creek head-first. The creek was about three and a half feet deep and had a little-bit of ice on the top from the light freeze the night before. It sure woke me up. It was a great trip and too much fun. The best part is we are giving all the 160 birds we shot to a homeless shelter. I can't wait till next year.