Our Holiday Trip

As you can see from the other smileboxes, we had a GREAT vacation. We left for Las Vegas on Christmas morn. The kids had a great time with their gifts and playing with their cousins. It was just a great, laid-back day. The next few days we just hung around and saw family. Nathan got to go golfing with his Dad, Grandpa and Mark. They had a great time! Mom and Dad Mann graciously let us use one of their vehicles for the week so we had our own transportation while we were there. $500.00 in rental money, but because you've always taken care of our cars, I've never had to "experience" the CAT buses! Tricia and Aaron were out of town the exact same days we were in town, so they graciously let us use their house. It was fun to be there and the kids loved watching their movies! Nathan and I weren't Seinfeld watchers, but thanks to them, we've now seen season 1 and half of season 2! Thanks Hegjis!
We also took family pictures with the entire Mann family. Poor Sears...I think we spent three and a half hours there! It was nice to get to spend that time with everyone...we got to see Connie, Tim and the kiddos.







Friday night, Nathan and Jen got to leave the kids and get out fo a night at the Rio. Mehdi and Missy not only gave them the room, but also were the designated babysitters. How we will ever repay them , I don't know. We had a blast just being by ourselves and enjoying each other without the familiar pitter-patter.
On Sunday, Chris and Natalie blessed Max, so we spent the day with the Yorks. He is a cutie!
Then came New Years and our trip to California the day after. Mom and Dad York graciously let us borrow the van and Jason and Missy let us borrow DVD players, all of which made the travel time VERY enjoyable! We stayed at the same hotel we stayed at last year. It is so nice to have a room with a kid's suite...highly recommend it! The first day at Disneyland was spent with Crystal, Justin, and Jake. We all had a great time, and we took great advantage of the knowledge of seasoned Disneyland veterans. Thanks guys!
Despite a rainy forecast, we spent the next two days riding rides, watching parades, and avidly seeking autographs in the books that Jen made for the kids. Our kids are BIG parade fans, and caught every parade we had the chance to see. Kassi also made it her personal mission to get all of the autographs that she could, even if it meant braving the rain to get to the princesses. Actually, we only got rained on once (the second day) and it was in the evening as the kids were getting tired, so it really didn't hinder us at all, but the forecast did (we believe) keep the park numbers down, which we were happy about.
The third day, we ate a brunch at Goofy's Kitchen, which was a definite highlight for all of us. The cuisine was all you can eat and featured everything from PB & J pizza to Creme Brulee French Toast (they had regular food too!) Not only was the food great, but several Disney characters walked around and greeted the kids, signed autographs, and danced around. It was a lot of fun.
Another exciting event of our last day was Trevor's "magical moment". We were on our way to catch the Main Street Electrical Parade and we passed by Star Tours. There was no line, so Jen offered to take the kids one more time, as they had enjoyed it twice already. Trevor took her up on the offer and in they went. As they were walking up, an employee asked how many were in their party. Jen replied that it was just the two of them, and he told them to follow as he sped toward the "loading area". The employee then shuffled other people in the line into one area and told Jen and Trevor to pick a row for another ship. Trevor picked the front row. As they were boarding, the employee told them that they like to create magical moments at Disneyland and this was to be Trevor's magical moment. He then told Trevor that he was going to get to fly his own ship (which holds about 50) with nobody else on board. He then closed the doors and Jen and Trevor got the whole thing to themselves! You couldn't have wiped the smile off Trevor's face for anything!
We just thoroughly enjoyed all of our time out west with everyone. Thanks to everyone who helped with cars, meals, babysitting, good times and everything else. We have the greatest family ever. We miss you guys and are already planning the next vacation. Disneyland in December, anyone? :)

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Ringing in the new year...

We had a great time ringing in 2008! A few of us got together at Mom & Dad's condo and partied kiddie style! The kids played, danced an sung (you go Sami & MJ!) the whole night long. They got to celebrate New Years three times, complete with countdowns, party blowers, confetti guns and lots of noise outside! One for Texas (for the York clan, of course), one for Utah (for Connie's family and Brookie's Nana) and one for "Las Vegas" time! The party didn't miss a thing - except that we forgot to break out the bubbly! The kids had kept us so entertained that we didn't even think about it! It was just great - we love to see the kids smile...

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Christmas 2007

Make a photobook - it's easy!

We love these things!

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Snowball Fight!

Trevor's feeling better so we thought we'd have a little fun!

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Our Anniversary & Other Doings...

Our 9th anniversary was on November 28th. We celebrated with the whole family. Partly because it was on a Wednesday and partly because Trevor was ill. We wanted fondue so we went to Crate and Barrel and bought a fondue pot. Once we realized how much work would go into it, we decided to just go out! We hit The Melting Pot and boy were we glad we did! They had a promotion going that was just great. If you bought a $100 gift certificate (that could be used that evening) they'd give you 4 $25 vouchers to use during the year! We ended up doing that and got a *free* meal for our anniversary! It was nice because the kids got a few things for them, so we didn't have to share our fondue!!! The kids had a great time "cooking" and dipping their food. If you ask them now who wants to go, they all say "me, me, me, me, me!!!" Nathan- I love you so much. It's been a wonderful 13 years, 8 months and 20 days! You've always treated me with so much kindness, respect and love. You make me feel special and I wouldn't be me without you!








On Friday, November 20th Kassi had another 6 weeks awards assembly. She was on the "A" honor roll, again! You'd be a little surprised what it takes from a first grader to make it on the "A" list! Good job, J! That same day, Trevor had his Fall Carnival at Kinkeade. Nathan, Ashlee and I went to help out. We took groups of kids around the school to enjoy all of the activities. Trevor was in my group. The kids had a fun time. Let me tell you, Ashlee can hold her own with the "big kids!" Her attitude goes a long way when it comes to playing with bigger children!





The next day, Saturday December 1st, was a busy day. The kids had a nursery/primary activity in the morning. Then Kassi had a dance rehearsal in the afternoon - dance things always go long! (the picture is at the rehearsal) I was busy running to all of the activities and trying to put together costumes the rest of the day. Then that evening was the Ward Christmas party. Kassi and Trevor were involved in the Nativity scene (hence, the costume making). Kassi was an angel and Trevor was a sheep. They did very well in their parts! They looked so cute, too!

The next day, Kassi danced in the Nutcracker Suite party that her dance academy put on. There were little tributes to the dances that are done in The Nutcracker. Kassi's class did the Chinese Tea dance. She looked so cute. Of course, we forgot our camera. They had the story of The Nutcracker read by a story teller, and to put it mildly, Trevor is obsessed with Nutcrackers. He loves to look at them and for a week straight, begs to buy any nutcracker that he sees. The crazy things kids latch onto!!!


Nathan had a WIPS (Work In Progress Seminar) that he had to do on Monday. He worked many hours on compiling all of his data and finishing up experiments. He did very well. He got a lot of compliments from his superiors! That's always nice! He's looking into finishing up a few more projects and he's pretty much ready to start writing his paper. His estimated date for graduating from Graduate school is this next June or July. Go Nathan!

This last Wednesday, Trevor had a field trip. They asked me to come and help chaperone. I happily agreed! We went into Fort Worth to the Casa Manana theater and watched "Frosty the Snow Man." It was fun for the kids. After the play we headed back to Running Bear park and had lunch. The kids enjoyed the nice weather and got to play on the toys for close to an hour! Nathan had been watching Ashlee at home, so they came to the park to join the fun! Like I said, Ashlee can hold her own with the big kids! The only time she got a little upset was when her finger got stepped on by the slide. Other than that, you'd have thought she was a preschooler!









Later that night, Ashlee went potty on the big girl potty for the first time! Yea, Ashlee! She got a princess cell phone that she picked out weeks ago. She was very excited! When we got everyone ready for bed, we discovered that Trevor had a fever. He wasn't acting too sick, but as the night progressed, so did his temperature. He's still running a 103.6 fever so I'm sure we'll be off to the doctor's office tomorrow. Trevor's also fallen in love with the Be Kool patches. His fever is staying high and he's loving the relief they bring. We used these last year and loved them. Now, Trev's addicted to them!





On Thursday, Mommy and Ashlee got our hair cut. This was Ashlee's first cut and she did okay. She didn't move too much but her face did show her true feelings! hee, hee!



Like I said, Trevor's been ill but we've gotten some things done around here. We finally got our lights up outside and we're doing the tree today. We made salt dough ornaments and the kids got to paint them this afternoon. As soon as they're dry, they'll get to hang them on the kids' tree in the family room!

It's been awhile..

There's lots that have been going on the last few months, but thankfully the trials that came are gone and the blessings that followed can still be felt! September was a crazy month due to having to live in a construction zone! It really was crazy. We ate on the kitchen floor for a few weeks, and some nights we didn't have a bed to sleep on, but thankfully, it's done! The kids were just as excited as we were to have our house back!

October left our heads spinning with our rash of bad luck, but it's over too. Our home was broken into, the windshield cracked while washing the car (in 85 degree weather mind you), Nathan got a ticket from a constable(!) and we were told that our loan that we signed to have the work done wasn't at all what we thought we were signing. In fact, what we signed was a bunch of papers that said if we didn't have $33,000 worth of proceeds from the house when we sell (in approx. 2.5 years) that they'd foreclose on the house. Anyway, lots of prayers later, the city softened a little and offered a compromise that isn't fair, but better than the mess we were in. Thank heavens!!! Truly, we couldn't have gotten through this trial without the love of our friends and family. It was a really bad few weeks for all of us but the love and support we felt from those who checked in on us really meant alot. You know who you are. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

We do have to add that we had a very nice Halloween. Kassi was a diva cat, Trevor was a pirate and Ashlee was a cute pumpkin! Nathan went as a washing machine and I was a few loads of laundry. We had fun! The weather was perfect for "trunk or treating" and we enjoyed our traditional Chili's dinner afterwards!













But, on to the good stuff. Life is good. We're happy and continue to try and pull through the commitments we've taken on! Last week the kids had the week off of school for the Thanksgiving holiday. We celebrated well! That weekend, Mom and Dad were in town. They sacrificed a lot (a nice 39th anniversary and 61st birthday) to be here to support Nathan and I through the end of the housing debacle. I kept telling them that it was a really busy time to come, but boy am I glad they were here. One of the things that meant the most to me was that I was so sick to my stomach on the day of the Housing and Human Services board meeting that I just couldn't/didn't want to go. Thankfully I didn't have to because Dad took my place and went with Nathan. On the same day we had Enrichment and they were a huge help to me getting ready for it that night. Seriously, it wouldn't have gotten pulled of on time if they weren't there to help me. Oh, and Mom's just the best. When she went to pick Kassi up from school on Thursday at 3:00 p.m., she found out that Kassi needed a turkey shirt by 6:45 that night. Yes, another thing that night! Anyway, boy did Mom pull through. Kassi was the best (not because she was the only) turkey in the program. Her teacher got the biggest kick out of Kassi's shirt. Thanks Mom!!!

Trevor had his first talk in Church on Dad's birthday. Dad wrote the talk and Trev nailed it on Sunday. He was really excited to do a good job for Grammy and Wawa. Both Kassi and Trev were excited because they got to sing a happy birthday song to Wawa in primary. The sad part was later that day when we had to say good-bye. They hate it when visitors leave. So do I, though. It's so nice to have someone come visit you and bring a special presence to your home.

On Monday we went to the drive-in. It's always fun to go. We saw Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium and Fred Claus. Both movies are okay.

On Wednesday we got great prices (not seats!) to Disney on Ice "Finding Nemo". It was a lot of fun. Our friends, the Astles went too. I think the kids had more fun playing with them after the show then actually watching the show - but hey, we're good parents to pay money (for the tickets) to have them be excited about something that's always free (playing with friends). I mean, who normally gets to play with their friends in an arena? Come on! Totally worth it! (YEAH RIGHT!!!) Okay, so I'm exaggerating a bit. The kids really liked the show and we all had lots of fun finding Nemo!

On Thursday, we had been invited to a family's home who live in our ward. They made everyone comfortable and we all had a lovely time. Dinner was great. We were about 45 minutes late (we called to warn them) because Ashlee wasn't feeling well and it slowed our progress on our dishes. I'm sure they didn't believe us though. When we got there she perked right up and ran around with the rest of them. After dinner, it snowed for a bit so we let the kids run outside for a few minutes (like 2 - it was freezing!) and took a few pictures. It's always makes your heart sing when you see snow fall from the sky. There's just something special about it....
Later that night the kids had a sleep-over at our house. Caroline, Elliot and Mei spent the night. We also had a sitter spend the night so that Nathan and I could go shopping the next morning. It was a fantastic idea to have the sitter and I'm totally doing it again next year!


On to BLACK FRIDAY--
It was a blast! I went last year with friends and it was great. I went this year with Nathan and it was wonderful! We conquered the sales! The only disappointment was Kohls. They opened at 4:00 a.m. and we got there at 4:02. The stuff that I wanted was gone, already!! We did, however, save $50.00 on a knife set! We haven't gotten knives since we were married 9 years ago! I better watch my chubby fingers!

So we left around 3:45 a.m. and got back home at 12:00 p.m. We hit Kohls, WalMart, Target, had breakfast at IHOP with the Astles, then off to Costco and Toys-R-Us. We had a great, great time. The only hitch, which didn't end up being a big deal, was that Ashlee had to come with us. She spiked a fever about midnight the night before. When we went to give her medicine before we left, she woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep. Let's just hope she doesn't remember what we bought come Christmas morning *wink,wink!*


If you've got a second, click to see the York kid's elved!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9606164060