Dad's B-day & Party Time...

We waited and had our annual family Christmas party after Christmas so Jake and Courtney could be here. We ended up having it on my Dad's 69th Birthday. We had some great laughs, good food, and lots of fun.

I of course annoy everyone with always wanting pictures. I keep telling them that someday they are going to appreciate me for it:)

All of us kids with Mom and DAd

All of us kids with our spouses

We had a great time celebrating Dad's birthday. Tara made his AWESOME cake.

I have been blessed with an amazing family!!

Girls Night Out...

Tara had a great idea that we should have a girls night out while Courtney was here. So we headed to Pinetop to dinner and to watch 'We Bought A Zoo'. It's been a LONG time since we have had a 'Tenney' girls night out. Chantel was the only one not able to make it and we missed her a lot! I have been blessed with amazing sisters-in-law!! Lets do it again soon Ladies!!!

Lauren, Kalee, Tara, Courtney, and Jami

Cynthia and miss Brielle

Me, Gay, Mom, Kalee, Courtney, Jami, Tara, Melanie and Cynthia!!

Merry Christmas...

We had a wonderful Christmas!!

We started out the day with opening our stockings and our new church clothes...

After that we went to our Tri-Ward Sacrament meeting. It was a great meeting and was a special occasion to be able to partake of the Sacrament on the day we celebrate our Savior's Birth. The 3 bishops had asked my dad to be our speaker and as usual he did a great job. I always love hearing my dad speak and share his Testimony!

We were mean parents and made our kids wait to open their other gifts til after church...

The kids lining up to come in the Family Room

Amelia showing off her pink gun and the a pic of what the family room looked like after the BOMB when off!!

Paul trying out his new bike and Michael super excited about his legos!

We had Grandma Colleen and Auntie Diane come join the fun and they had a blast helping Princess Mallori open her dress-up stuff!!

Maron had more fun playing with paper and boxes than anything. Good thing she didn't notice she only had 2 gifts under the tree:)

Miles with his Super Man/Spider Man stuff on...this kid kills me! Caden and Morgon showing off their gifts...all Morgon wanted was a Lantern so he could see to walk to the Slade's in the dark:)

After we spent some time cleaning up we headed out to Grandma and Grandpa Tenney's to open our stockings there and to have dinner with my family.

Just Chillin!

Cousins having some fun!

Jami and my Dad

My mom opening her gift from us kids...a locket with pictures of my dad through the years in it!

We hope ALL of you had a Wonderful Christmas like we did!!

What It's ALL About!!...

It's about Shepherds & Angels...

It's about Angels that sang...

It's about More adorable Angels...
It's about Three Wise Men (or women)...

It's about a Donkey, Joseph and Mary...

It's about the Baby Jesus...
It's about being with Loved Ones So Dear...

I always dread our Annual Christmas Pageant before hand, but am always SO glad we do it afterwards. Nothing better to get the Christmas Spirit going than watching your children and nieces and nephews acting out such a Sacred story!!

We also made sugar cookies and gingerbread houses with Grandma Tenney. The kids LOVE this. I am so grateful for a mother who really knows what's important (even though I think it's a little much some times:)

Oh Christmas Tree...

I LOVE our annual Christmas Tree Cutting expedition!! I have to admit that it makes me sad that it isn't quite what it use to be. It use to be that all of us siblings and my Uncle Joe's family would go and this year there were only 4 of us sibling! But the feeling is still the same. It has meant more and more to me as I have gotten older.

I have been reminded over the past few months of what life is all about and how precious it is. BIG thanks to my parents for always being willing to go out days before and scout for trees, and for always putting our family first. I have a lot to live up to!!

Our family being goofy!

The kids hanging out with their dad and Grandpa by the fire

Kimi and Rory...it was great having them there with us!

My amazing parents!!

With Grateful Heart...

Just wanted to say how grateful I am for so many things in my life! I am grateful for my husband and my children. I am grateful for my parents and Brandon's parents. I am grateful for my siblings, especially my sister. I am grateful for good health. I am grateful for good friends. I am grateful for my challenges that make me stronger. I am grateful for the simple things in life. I am grateful for my Testimony of my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for my Heavenly Father's amazing plan. And the list goes on...

Halloween...

Better late than never right?

We had a great time with our annual trunk-or-treat at Aunt Jami's!! Glad Halloween only comes once a year:)

Morgon our Frog and Amelia our Fairy

Michael our Bat Man!

Maron the CUTEST little skunk EVER!

Caden our Pirate

Mallori our Adorable little Lady Bug

Eva our yearly Witch!

Paul our Roaring Dragon!

Zach as our Bumble Bee!

Porter decided he was too old to dress up and would rather help pass out candy, Miles changed costumes 100 times so I ended up never getting a picture of him actually dressed up, and Tristen is too old to go trick or treating:)!!

Recharged....

I'm bummed I don't have any pictures, but this weekend I had the great privilege to once again attend a TOFW. Some years have been better than others and this was one of those better years. I came home recharged and ready to BECOME that which my Father in Heaven has always intended me to be. I'm sure I will fall short, but here is to trying!!

Big thanks to those ladies who made it all that more special! Nothing like good shopping, good deals, good food, and good friends!!

I am extremely grateful for the Testimony I have of who I really am and that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me.

Fall Break = Quick Trip

We decided at the last minute to surprise our kids with a trip to Utah to see Brandon's family over Fall Break. I spent all day last Wednesday trying to pack for 14 people without my kids noticing. I finally finished packing at 2:45am and got the kids up at 3:00am to head to Utah. We didn't tell them where we were going and none of them even came close to guessing where we were heading. Porter finally clued in when he saw the 'Welcome to Utah' sign:) Even then they had NO idea that Grandma and Grandpa Martineau were there waiting for us!!

Miles and Brandon at our first potty stop!
This stop was the first of many times we would have people's jaws drop as they watched us unload the van:) I love seeing people's faces!!

On Saturday Grandma and Grandpa Martineau had a great idea to take the train from Ogden to Salt Lake. I've always wanted to take the kids to Temple Square and to tour the Conference Center! We had a Great time and the kids were very well behaved.

The Gang Waiting for the Train

Little Maron ran a fever the entire time we were there but was still a good little girl (well except at night and the fact that she didn't want to go to anybody but Brandon an d I)

Our kids and Brandon's niece, Adi, with Grandpa and Grandma Martineau outside the Conference Center.

Our Family at the Conference Center...I guess it was a bit bright for some of the kids:)

The Salt Lake Temple is still one of my favorites. It was neat to take the kids to see the Christus! We had a set of sister missionaries that started talking to us and the kids LOVED them! One of the sister missionaries actually had all of the kids' names memorized before we left:)
On the Train

More of the train ride

After church on Sunday we went for a drive up Ogden Canyon and went to a lake up there to let the kids play for a bit. It was ABSOLUTELY beautiful since all the trees were changing colors.

The kids playing and trying to skip their rock further than their Dad's...they just can't ever seem to beat him:) The little girl bending over is our niece Marly...I HAD to snap this pic!!

Grandpa and Miles are pretty good buddies! The picture on the bottom left is of Aunt Dusty dipping Porter's head in the lake (which he totally deserved:)

I HAD to capture this too!!

Uncle Caleb, Uncle Russ, little Lyla, and Aunt Chelsea & Joy

We had a great time visiting Brandon's family. I have been blessed with amazing in-laws and we love getting to see them every chance we get (which isn't near as often as we would like!) We also got to go see Brandon's Grandma Martineau who isn't doing well at all. We were sad to say goodbye as we are sure it would be the last time we got to see her here in this life!!