Some memories of our Mama

Today we wish to share some memories of our Mama. We want this day to be about her life and the joy that she brought to each of us.

1. We were coming home from a Curtis family reunion when Mama saw a bird. She thought it was a crow but it ended up being a golden eagle. We then enjoyed watching it fly.
2. Mama always had the dish towel over her shoulder and we could never find it to dry our hands because it was with her.
3. Mama liked to eat things that were burned or very crispy.
4. Karmen and Mama sounded exactly the same so sometimes we could not tell who was talking.
5. Mama liked to put lots of lotion on her feet and hands.
6. Mama's laugh is pretty.
7. Mama's smile is pretty.
8. Mama's favorite ice cream is Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia.
9. Mama made the best pot pie and fat noodles even though she did not like either of them.
10. We enjoyed it when Mama would just sit down with us and talk.
11. We liked it when Mama read to us...which was often.
12. Mama didn't like us to have the Internet or tv so instead we rented movies.
13. Mama's hair is pretty.
14. Instead of saying a bad word Mama would say Doodlebug.
15. Mama made the best waffles.
16. Mama would make a funny noise when she scratched behind her ear.
17. Mama liked to eat pickles and Doritos together.
18. Mama liked to take us to the park and library all the time.
19. Mama liked children's books.
20. Mama sang some special songs to us when we would go to bed. One of them was "Telephone Operator" and the other one was a sad song about two teenagers.
21. Mama liked to sing "Did You Think To Pray" to us and when she would get to the part that talked about being weary we would fall down as if we were weary.
22. When Mama would put us to bed at night we would ask her tons of questions so that she would not leave the room...even ones that we knew the answers to.
23. Mama sometimes would do a funny dance with her feet and we would laugh at it.
24. Mama liked to cook and cooked the best things.
25. Mama won a state price for her chili.
26. On our birthdays mama would put candy all around our room and our bed and tied balloons to our bed so that we would see it when we woke up.
27. Mama always said that she was 5'11" even though she was really 6'.
28. Mama loved to listen to book tapes when we traveled or during quiet times at home.
29. Mama loved to read murder mysteries.
30. Mama loved to read the Book Of Mormon.
31. Mama was part of a book club with some of her friends.
32. Mama would only drink water if the glass was completely full of ice first. If it was not she would send us back to fill it up with more ice.
33. Mama loved to drink water and very rarely drank anything else.
34. Mama loved boiled peanuts and would have people bring them to her when they came to visit.
35. Abraham liked to get a chair and bring it up to the counter to help Mama cook.
36. Mama liked to give us lots of hugs.
37. Mama and Abraham liked to sing songs in the car when they were running errands.
38. Abraham and Mama liked to roll around on the ground together.
39. Mama and Olivia played games together while the girls were at school.
40. During the summer when Mama was having quiet time we would watch a movie and have a Popsicle.
41. During the summer we would go to the school with Abraham in the stroller and us on our bikes.
42. We would take walks with Mama and our dog Lincoln.
43. It was mama's idea to name our dog Lincoln because we already had an Abraham.
44. We liked to take Sunday walks.
45. Mama liked when we would pick wild flowers for her. She would put them in a vase and keep them for a while.
46. Mama's favorite music as a teenager was Duran Duran.
47. Mama loved to listen to the music from Le Meserable.
48. Mama wore sweat pants or pajama pants with a t-shirt around the house.
49. Mama always wore her hair up in a bun.
50. Mama never took off her shoes. She always had tennis shoes on.

WE LOVE YOU MAMA!!!!!

Braces Faces

Look who has braces!! Jayd and Chancey got braces in October and already they have made a big difference!! Each time they go in for a check up they get to choose new band colors. Right now Chancey has blue & silver and Jayd has caribbean green & yellow. Of course they are soooo patient and already talking about when they can come off...but they have at least 18 months still to go. Keep up the smiling girls!!!

Today I Am Two!!!!

Today I turned 2 years old and it was quite a day for me. First I got all dressed up for Church and my mom took a picture of me. I think I looked pretty handsome. After church dad made my birthday cake and I was so excited about having cake that I sat in my chair even though I was so tired I almost feel asleep there. It's a good thing that our Bishop came over and gave me a birthday cookie because I got to eat that while I waited for my party to start.

This evening Grandma, Grandpa and Andrea come to visit me for my birthday party and I finally got my cake. Dad didn't think I knew how to blow out the candles...but I sure showed him. As soon as they gave me my cake I blew them out. My presents were great too. Grandma, Grandpa and Andrea gave me books and Elmo slippers. I loved the books so much I didn't want to see my other presents. Mom, dad, Nana and Papa gave me more animals to go with my new jungle set. I love animals so I'm excited to play with the lions and monkeys!!! I also got a great card from Grandma Jacqi...thanks Grandma!!! Today was a great day. I wish I could have shared it with each of you.

Christmas with Karmen & family

Tonight Karmen, Rodrigo, Joaquin and Ezekiel came over to celebrate Christmas. It was lots of fun to play together and we are so glad that they are now living near us so that we can see them often.

Sledding With Dad

This morning we woke to about 8" of new snow. The kids were excited to have dad pull them on their sleds down the street with the 4 wheeler. They all bundled up and went outside to have fun. Matt connected 2 sled together so it could hold 4 of the kids at a time. He would also put kids on the 4 wheeler to ride when it was not their turn on the sled. All the kids had such a fun time....and Matt did too. At the end of each ride Elijah would cheer and then say "again". They were out there for a good 2 hours and by the time they came in they were all frozen but they had a great time. The kids can't wait to go out again. Enjoy the slideshow of pictures I took.

Grandma Jacqi coming for a visit

We are so excited to announce that Grandma Jacqi is coming for a visit!!!! She will be arriving on February 10th and staying until the 19th. We miss her so much and can't wait to see her!!!

Merry Christmas

Today I have felt so blessed to be part of this family. What a beautiful day it was as we celebrated our Saviors birth. We told the kids that we would get them up as soon as the little boys get up...which usually is sometime between 6am and 6:30am...but the one day of the year that we were waiting for them to wake they didn't and we had to wake them at 7am. Here are the kids sitting in front of the tree before we opened presents. Elijah is afraid of the flash on the camera so always squints at pictures and I have no idea what Justin is doing to the poor dog. This is Elijah's first Christmas that he remembers so it has been really fun with him the past month. He is constantly saying "Christmas" although all he knows about it is that there are two trees in the house, lots of decorations and more treats than any of us need. He was so cute in opening his presents. He loved his new cars and trucks.

Abe couldn't wait to get going on opening the presents. As a 4 year old you would think that he would remember that all the presents were not for just him under the tree. He did not have a lot of patience as we were opening all of ours. He can't wait to watch his new Scooby Doo movie. Olivia was excited to get an ipod shuffle so she can listen to music like her big sisters do. Of course we got her the color of pink. She also got a baby doll with clothing, play swing and car seat. She has yet to officially name her yet but so far I have heard Daisy and Rebecca.

Lilah has earned money this year and bought her own ipod shuffle so she wanted an idog to go with it. She has carried it around with her all day as she has "fed" her idog music. She also got a petshop day planner which has also been carried around all day as she has played games on it.

Chancey wanted an ipod shuffle too so she got one with an idog. The idogs connect to their ipod's and it plays their music like a speaker so now they can listen to their music with ear phones (when mom has had enough of listening to all the music) or they can listen to their music on their idog speakers. She was definitely happy with her Christmas.

Jayd has wanted her own digital camera for a long time and this Christmas we decided to get her one so she would stop using ours...which broke last month because of all the kids playing with it. She immediately was taking pictures of everyone and we have created her own pictures area on our computer now for all her pictures. Maybe she will be our family photographer now.

Justin had seen a Book of Mormon time-line poster at Brother Frost's house (a friend from our Ward) and has been obsessed with it ever since so Bro. and Sis. Frost gave one to Justin as a gift. How sweet they are to him. Another favorite gift was a rip-stick which he has been wanting for a while. Now he just has to learn how to ride it and walk the dog at the same time. :)

Matt and I had such a fun day watching the children open their gifts and we know that we have been blessed so much this year. We are so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and for his example in our lives. We both know that He has been their for us when we have needed his help. Our children are a blessing in our lives and although the home is crazy with all nine of us, it is filled with love. We are grateful for our extended families. Their strength, support and love has been such a blessing to us this past year. We hope that all may have a joyous new year!!!

Christmas Eve

Our family enjoyed many activities for Christmas Eve. After dinner we played games and then read the Christmas story and the children dressed up as angels, shepherds, wisemen and Mary. We also made and ate sugar cookies. Thank you again Nana for the costumes!!!! We love our Christmas Eve traditions. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

All the kids.

Jayd as Mary.

Chancey as a shepherd.
Lilah as a shepherd.
Abe as a shepherd.

Justin as a wisemen.

Olivia as an angel.

Family Christmas Dinner

Sunday the 21st we had Christmas dinner at Bruno & Heidi's home. Also there were Kris, Christopher, Brielle, nana & papa and our family. The kids sure had fun playing together. At one point the kids decided that Matt was a camel and they all piled on him: Justin, Lexi, Bruno IV, Abe and Jayd in the background.

Here is Abe and Elijah on Papa's lap. I guess Papa was tickling Abe a little too much.

Here is Nana and baby Brielle.

Cookie Making Time

Each year the children enjoy making neighborhood treats and this year was no exception. This morning Jayd made chocolate covered prezels and this afternoon Elijah, Chancey, Jayd and Livy made sugar cookies. We plan to put the treats together and hand them out tonight for Family Home Evening.

Dale...new member of the family

Welcome Dale to the family!! He is early Christmas present that we got in November. He is a chocolate lab/german shorthair mix. He is about 3 years old and wonderful with the kids!! We knew a puppy was out of the question and Dale fits just perfectly with our family. Hope you can all meet him soon!

Olivia turned 7

Olivia turned 7 years old on December 1st. Unfortunitely our camera was broken and we just got a new one so enjoy her beautiful smile. Olivia is enjoying 1st grade and doing very well with her reading and is enjoying math. Of course her favorite subject is recess.,...she is a social butterfly and her teacher says she is nice to everyone. We love her so much and love having her as part of our family!!!

Lilah in Holiday Concert

Lilah joined the schools choir and they performed their holiday concert this week. She did a great job and really looked cute!!!! The choir practised 2 times a week for the past 2 months and she had to get up extra early those days in order to be ready for school and still join the family for scripture study. We are so proud of her efforts.

Gingerbread Houses

Lilah and Abe both made gingerbread houses at school today. They both did a great job!!!

Trying to start this again!!!!

So it's been a while since I have written and now that I am starting to understand the blogging world just a little more, I've decided to start updating about our family. So tomorrow....ya I said tomorrow, lol... I'll be adding some more pictures and info. It's just too late in the day to start. See you then.

Joining the world

This is my first time blogging...so bear with me as I learn what I am doing. Hope you all enjoy seeing our wonderful family.