Christmas Lights

Here is a shot of the house!

Christmas Lights Are Hung

Well, we finally worked up the motivation to put the lights up this afternoon. We worked on cleaning the house this morning, and headed out after lunch.

This year we decided not to put the lights on the roof line, and instead decorated the trees and hedges. The deer are staked to the ground so anyone with a sense of humor won't be able to introduce them to each other.

Happy holidays!


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What a day!

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and we had a wonderful day! The weather was perfect; the food was plentiful & delicious; the company was great; the games were fun and the day was truly one to be thankful for. Below are some pics for you to enjoy!

Cute Kiddos

Tyler, Mia, Aubrey, Bella, Sophie & Hannah

Balloon Animals, Pictionary & Pigskin

Poppy kept the kids {both big & small} entertained
by making balloon animals and hats!

Our adorable {and smart}, 5-year-old niece drew this
picture of "GOBBLE". I guess we left out the direction

that no words or letters can be used! Too cute!

Uncle Zach & JTS playing a little football
in our gorgeous fall weather!

The natives were getting restless waiting for the turkey!

My oh my, we love pie!

Aunty Em LoVeS Nana's famous shredded apple pie!

A sick turkey

It has polka dots because Mia wanted to make it look sick.


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Making turkeys

Bella and Mia are making turkeys to help decorate Nana's house.


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I am thankful for...

Justin; a large, loving family-both near & far; four daughters that always keep me entertained; my parents; a roof over my head; a warm bed; the best friends ever; our zoo (aka Harry, Frasier, MacGregor, Finn, Fat Ivan, 3 fish & 2 frogs); a life, that no matter how crazy it seems, is full and rich; Rock Springs and the opportunities it has afforded our family; our upcoming Thanksgiving meal; Meme; Meemaw; Grums; vacations; and, Wyoming - an awesome place to live. Most especially, I am thankful for this life, it's right where I want to be!

I am thankful for...by Mia

I am thankful for turkey, chicken & steak (obviously, she's a meat eater). And I thankful for getting to hang upside down too. My pets, even Ivan. I am thankful for my mom and dad and sisters.

I am thankful for...

... A close and loving family;
... A good job that puts food on my table;
... The things that my kids say that make me smile;
... Thanksgiving Day football;
... Maggie's deviled eggs;
... Four furry dogs;
... Beer;
... Green bean casserole;
... Wyoming;
... A warm bed and flannel sheets;
... Warm summer evenings;
... Cold December nights;
... Maggie;
... America;
... Two sets of supportive and loving parents;
... Grums;
... An occasional day off;
... Today!


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I am thankful for...

I am thankful for my cell phone because when I am bored I can either text or go on youtube to watch numa numa guy. And when I take my cell phone to school I have something to do on the bus and on the way home when I get picked up. I am also thankful for my dog MacGregor. (fat-pat.) When I go to sleep I know I'm safe when he is at the foot of my bed. The last is my friends and family. because they love me and listen to me when I am sad. These are the things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for...

I am thankful for my family because they love me. I am also thankful for shelter. I am thankful for the food I get to eat.

I am thankful for...

I am thankful for my grandparents!!!

I am thankful for gymnastics!!!

by bella spicer

Mono's the word...

MONO. Seriously, I didn't know that you could even get that if you weren't sixteen! Guess what!?! You can and I have {with a sinus infection on the side}. Yep no more complaints of "I am so tired today" from me because being tired has taken on a whole new meaning. For the last 6 days all I want to do is sleep, in fact, it's darn near all that I do do. You would think I would be so well rested, but guess what...I am tired, STILL! Thank goodness my mom came up to rescue me so that my children can have some semblance of a functioning mother figure and so that my husband doesn't feel totally abandoned.

I love my mom!

So, I haven't been feeling great. OK, mild understatement, I have been feeling terrible for about 8 days now. Mom to the rescue! I love my mom. I love that I can call her and give her my pitiful sob story about how I need help and I LOVE that she comes! She's such a wonderful example of what a mom is and the kind of mom I want to be. She has helped us ferry kids, made dinner, grocery shopped and she's here for the week! The kids love having her and just having her here has made me feel better. So today, and always, I am so thankful for the love and strength that comes from family!

Regrouping on Sunday Night

We made it to Sunday night, but not without a casualty; Maggie had a flare-up of her ulcer, which put her down for the weekend. I played Mr. Mom for much of the weekend, shuttling the social butterfly Isabella to her various sleepover parties and trying to keep a lid on things.

Our friends, the Yeends from Laramie, were in town this weekend and we had a nice dinner last night with them. Their daughter Mackenzie and our Hannah are great friends, they spent every waking hour together.

Finally, Finn the pound puppy was having some "issues" related to his recent neutering procedure. Dr. Zancanella told us that he was not leaving it alone and we needed to put the lampshade back on him for a few days. Finn has now been running into walls, the backs of our legs, etc. since Saturday morning with the bucket on his head. It is sad, but kind of funny. He has to keep it on till Tuesday.

Busy week coming up - SLC on Tuesday, then back on Friday for the WWB fall board meeting. In between, lots of work stuff and things starting to get busy with holiday concerts and recitals.

-JTS

Party in the usa

This weekend I had two sleepover parties. One was a spa it was fun. After that I had to take a nap. It was not fun. The end by Bella Spicer

My Awesome Weekend

This weekend I got to see my best, best, best friend Mackenzie. It was awesome because we played monopoly and I was so close to winning, but she had to buy one last place. Anyway, we had a sleepover and in the morning her sister fell off the top bunk. Then we were all laughing so hard. Also in monopoly she cheated by taking all the money, but she didn't get all of it. It was so funny!

Happy Veteran's Day

I wrote a letter in honor of Veteran's Day and it was published in the Rocket Miner, our local newspaper. It also had a picture on it of a girl holding a flag saying "I'm proud to be an American." Here is what my letter said:

Dear Veterans,
My name is Sophia and I am in 4th grade at Sage Elementary. I would like to thank you for fighting for the freedom we have now. I know you've been through wounds and lots of loss of many people. The whole country thinks it was brave. But now we have the right to say "we are Americans and we are proud of it." We'd like to thank you for that.

Thank You,
Sophia Spicer

I wrote this story because one day in October, at school during free write, we had to write something based on a picture we were shown. It was of a man rock climbing. Yesterday I saw that story and I wanted to write another story. When I started writing this is what I ended up with.

The Unsuccessful Sticker Chart

So, Mia has some sleep issues. At the ripe old age of four and a half years old, she rarely stays in bed all night and I don't mean to imply she gets up once in a while. Oh no, we are talking she is up numerous times, so many that you lose count. Her reasons for getting up are as numerous as the times she gets up. She needs a drink, she needs to go potty, she has a blister, she had a bad dream, there is too much light, her nose hurts, there is too much dark, she wants her stuffed animals moved because they are scaring her and my personal favorite, she needs her back scratched! After trying many things {ok, after making some idle threats}, we decided to devise a chart the emphasized positive reinforcement. A sticker chart. Each row has four boxes and for every night that she stays in her bed all night, she earns a sticker. After four stickers, she earns a prize. Her prize of choice, a shake. Great, I thought! So easy! She's excited about it and agreeable to it. The first four nights go off {basically} without a hitch. She earns her first "prize" and everybody is feeling happier, because everybody is getting more sleep. Fast forward to today, week three of the flopping chart idea. I am looking back at those four, glorious, short-lived nights of sleep longingly. Mia has informed us she "has a great idea!" Hmmmm, I am thinking. "How about I stay in my bed all night when I am 5. That would be great!" She says it so excitedly. That is, until I realize she seriously thinks that it really is a great idea and one that she apparently plans on seeing through. Almost every night, she climbs into our bed, throws off the pillows on Justin's side of the bed and proclaims that "she is getting her side of the bed ready." She has also informed me that it would "great" if we {as in me and her} could just sleep together every day from now on and daddy can sleep in her bed. Well, at least I can "rest" assured that I am so loved!

A Needlessly Bad Road Trip to Laramie

Bella, Mia, Hannah and I took a trip to Laramie today to see our friends the Yeends, as well as to see the UW-BYU game. We left around 7:30am, swung by Starbucks for bagels and hot chocolate, and hit the road.

When we arrived in Laramie, Mia decided that she wanted to stay with the Yeend kids rather than go to the game with me - I was a little disappointed, as I thought it would be fun for her to get a little bonding time with her Daddy without her Mommy being around, but a little relief knowing how high-maintenance she can be. Kevin and Keaton and I headed off to the stadium lot and a little tailgating with the Pivics.

Flash-forward two hours, and the beatdown has begun. And went on for the next three hours (we left with a quarter left to go, something I rarely do). I picked up the kids and we headed back to the Rock.

Flash-forward 190 miles (of a 200-mile trip), and I managed to drive up on a Wyoming Highway Patrolman; not a good idea to cruise up to one of these guys when you're going Mach 5 and not paying attention to the guy in front of you. He slowed down, I slowed down, he headed for the side of the road, I headed for the side of the road, and the ticket was on. The girls have been present for enough of these that they know the drill - hide the weapons, hands up, etc. We did have a minor fracas in the backseat as Bella and Mia fought over a "stolen" cowgirl hat while the Trooper watched. I received my ticket, we drove the final 10 miles, and I was promptly narc'd out when we walked in the door.

So the final score was: BYU 52, Wyoming 0, Justin 1 ticket and a pounding headache.

We survived...even Harry!

Well, Halloween blew in and out of here like a hurricane! Four school parties, 5 additional parties and one Trunk-or-Treat event later, I am thankful we survived! After a crazy winter storm that arrived the week of Halloween, it ended up being a beautiful night to trick-or-treat and that is a rare event in Rock Springs. This year we had "Fancy Nancy" (a character from a popular series of books) complete with her sidekick "Frenchy" (aka Harry in a tutu, pink toenails and headpiece); Dorothy (who refused to keep her hair in braided pigtails); Disco Dolly and a very sassy Juliet. Can you believe the girls are already thinking about next year's costumes!?! I keep kindly reminding them that we have just barely recovered from this Halloween and asking if they could just let me survive the ensuing holidays before we fret about something a year from now!

very rood sub by Bella Spicer

today we had a sub she was very rood and she yells a lot but i didn't get in trouble but it was not fun in fact i wonder if she is hear tomorrow i don't want her hear nither mrs. borrders i just hope they are not hear tomorrow the end

by isabella spicer