Family Pictures

Family Pictures!  My very good friend, Kerri Dame took these last week.

I love the way she captures color!

These were bloopers thanks to Ashton and Lainey, but I think they're funny.

If you live in the area and are interested in pictures, give Kerri a call!  

Twilight- Girls Night Out

Well, the clock turned back a decade and a half last Thursday, or so I behaved because I was out 'till past 3:00am to see the premier of the new Twilight film with my friends.  My friend, Melissa actually reserved a party room at the Nampa Garrity Theater and somehow rigged it to reserve the first two rows of seating in the Breaking Dawn midnight premier.  We didn't have to wait in lines (which I'm not a big enough fan to do) and we got the best seats in the theater!  Sounded like a slam dunk to me.  Melissa is awesome.  She makes everything funner.  She made us each a little veil to distinguish us as the VIP guests and had us all do a white elephant gift exchange in the party room with cake in honor of Bella's wedding. We got a tour of the theater on our down time waiting for the movie to start.  It was silly good fun just being with 36 women all around the same age!  Kind of helped raise the median age of everyone in the theater that night ;-)

(Local radio guy working there that night asked to be in our picture.)

I carpooled in with my sister-in-law, Amber (on my right below) and her friend, Amber (left).

(She also happens to be Brielle's new piano teacher!) 

 We stopped for dinner on the way and got a pic. with "Edward" who was part of another Twilight party, a group of women eating there that night.

 On our theater tour with our friends Sarah and Pam.

The party room.

This cracked me up.  This was a gift from the white elephant gift exchange!  

Brye was set for movie snacks!

Waiting for the theater to fill up and the movie to start.

I wasn't too crazy about the movie.  But I enjoyed the experience.  Rolled in about 3:30 or so.  And managed to be up bright eyed the next morning for my CrossFit ladies!  

All in the name of good fun :)

 Taking it easy with the kids the next day.

Service, Shopping, Silly, and Shootin' Hoops

It's been a great Saturday today.  For starters, it was absolutely beautiful out and quite a bit warmer than usual.  We spent the first chunk of the day around town doing community service (raking leaves) with friends from our church and a few individuals from the Ontario Nazarene Church.  The city police dept. gave us our assignments.  Everyone broke into 4 groups and our group did 5 homes. The service was for widows, elderly, and the ill.  One sweet little old lady stood on her porch, hair in curlers and all, and cheered us and thanked us throughout the project.  So cute. 

It was a lot of fun.  Our kids were deprived of raking as we don't have mature enough trees to shed enough leaves to rake!  Ashton said today that he LOVES raking leaves.

The kids got to jump a few times in piles before cleaning them up.

After raking leaves, Brielle and I drove to Nampa to a nice little family owned decor. shop called Graples.  It's more like a big warehouse/building stuffed full of decor. than a "shop".  And its prices are usually considerably cheaper than other stores.  It's only open on Thursdays, with three exceptions.  Three Saturdays a year, they are open to debut the decor for an upcoming holiday.  Today they did the Christmas debut.  People were waiting in line outside in the cold up to two hours before it opened today!  By the time Brielle and I got there, it had been herded through over and over, but we still found lots of cute things to choose from.

I can't say enough how excited I am to have Brielle for a shopping buddy.  I've looked forward to this for 7 years!  She's old enough to really enjoy taking her along.  She has a great eye and often has better taste than me!  It was a pleasant afternoon shopping and going to lunch with her today.

In the evening, Brielle had her friend Emerson (Emmy) come over to play.  

These two love to giggle!

They are hilariously silly and fun to listen to.

They have a good time together.

In the mean time, Todd cleaned the garage and put a light on the basketball hoop.

And... in the meantime... I blogged :)

We did catch the Boise State game today... thirty five home wins in a row came to an end today.  They actually haven't lost a conference home game since 1998.  It was sad to watch.  I feel bad for my little nephew, Jayden, whose parents paid big bucks to take him and two friends to that game for his birthday.  They haven't let the fans down in such a long time.  We had to order pizza for some pick-me-up comfort food :/  And a few more treats on the side...  they better not lose any more games- my stomach doesn't tolerate pizza!

The kids are in bed...  Off to watch a DVD with Todd!

Hoop Dreams

The "Stice Team"  has a hoop!  Woo hoo!  This has been a dream of Todd's for a very long time.  Todd's been working for a few weeks now on a concrete court with the help of friends, and got the hoop up this weekend. 

The first few shots made on it:

Brielle, lowering the hoop. 

She made her first three attempts!  Woo hoo!

As parents, I think it's always exciting when we see our children discover an interest.  Finding something they really like and want to learn more about. Brielle and Ashton are wanting to be out there shooting hoops constantly now.  Whenever we're gone and headed home, they say they can't wait to get home so they can play basketball.  They love the daddy-time they get when Todd gives them something to work on or plays with them.  They both had this immediate thrill with it all.  Ashton really struggled making shots at first, but he stood out there in the cold and told Todd he wasn't going inside until he made a shot.  He finally made his 50th.  Made Todd proud to see his calm determination, having no doubt he'd make his first shot eventually! 

One of the many things I love about Todd is his incredible patience.  For date night a few months ago, we used my church key and Todd taught me to shoot hoops in the church gymnasium.  No one was there and I felt the pressure off to be able to just listen to Todd's instruction and calmly attempt making a basket.  My parents don't play basketball and any instruction I had ever had was in front of a team or class which intimidated me too much to ever get anywhere with it.  Todd stood there on our date night and rebounded the ball for me over and and over for an hour and a half.  He coached my form and encouraged me until I could make a lot of baskets in a row from several different positions.  Maybe it sounds silly, or seems small, but I don't give myself that kind of patience.  Or anyone else for that matter.  One of those small but significant experiences where someone reminds you that you are important and special without really meaning to.  Heaven knows our kids won't get good at basketball from my help, but they have a very good mentor in their daddy.

We debated whether or not to put the basketball court out this late in the year or to just wait until Spring.  But with Brielle starting her first season of basketball soon, we thought any amount of time practicing now would be all for the better.  And at least it would be set and ready the moment winter let up.  But they don't seem to mind the cold.  It snowed this week and they were still out in their winter attire shooting and dribbling and loving it.

Super Saturday

 We did our first "Super Saturday" in a long time!  The Relief Society puts this activity on here and there as a way to make great crafts at a deal with so many people doing each one, and they make great hand-made gifts for Christmas time.  I was in charge of the wooden crafts.  There were several vinyl letter options for signs and blocks that made up a words.

 

Another station made bead-decorated serving spoon handles.  They were so cute!

 Another one did mini photo album/tins.  The fold out kind and they were made in Altoid tins.  Small and simple, but super cute.  Great for carrying around grandchildren's pictures in a purse, etc.

Name-etched pyrex pans.  Annie sporting her great smile!

 

Tutus and rice bags.

We also had scripture bags and crochet flowers for hair pins/bands, or clothing decorations.

It was tons of fun!  I have lots I want to do now that I've seen all the crafts in action!

Also on Saturday, was my friend, Jeannie Harris' baptism.  It was so special.  Every baptism is.  But when it's someone who hasn't had the gospel in their life their whole life and making a covenant with God to follow Christ is something very new to them, it's such an incredibly sweet experience.  I love to see their transformation and sit in awe at their beautiful new testimony.  It requires changes, sometimes big ones.  It's an expression of faith and repentance and it takes humility, obedience.  And it all just makes me bawl when I get to witness it.  I'm so happy for Jeannie.  She has been a kind friend of mine over the last few years, living here, and I love her.  I am so proud of her.

I left the baptism with a full heart.  Sometimes we get in our routines of worship and study and take for granted the sheer joy and the beauty of a plan of God- to come to Earth and learn and grow and fall short and need a Savior.  And that He actually fulfilled His role and saved us from sin and suffering and death.  That all the truths necessary to return to live with our Heavenly Father again, and to have eternal families there with Him, are not only upon the Earth, but at our fingertips.  I am grateful for scripture, knowledge, the Holy Spirit that leads and guides me, a prophet that God speaks to and reveals direction for all the world... to guide us in our endeavors and the needs and challenges of our current day in age.  I'm filled with gratitude that my Father in Heaven loves me and sees me as I would be.  He molds me each day as I strive to follow my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I know that without my Savior, I am nothing and have no chance.  He is my truest friend, my example, my solace.  I am grateful for wise parents who taught me to love my Savior, to desire to know Him and learn of Him, and to joy in serving Him by the way I choose to live my life and love my fellow-man.  I'm not a fanatic, I'm not in a cult, and I'm as Christian as they come.  

 

I never want to over step my bounds with my friends and am sensitive to not sharing any more than they want to hear.  I respect all religions and share with them a brother and sisterhood of worshiping our Savior.  But if any friend ever told me one day how disappointed they were that over the years, I didn't ever care to share about my faith and kept it to myself, or that they didn't feel invited, I would hang my head in shame.  Please know you are invited.  I attend church at 1:00 on Sunday and you are welcome there any time to come and listen and see what it's like.  If you live far away, I'd be happy to locate The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints there for you.  And I am always happy to answer any question or talk about my faith if you'd like to learn more about it. 

Jack-O-Lanterns

They got their wish!

They finally got to carve their pumpkins.

Left to right: Brielle's, Lainey's, Ashton's.

Brielle and Ashton drew their own and Brielle wrote out Lainey's.