Christmas Eve 2008

Soup & Bread Bowls with My Sisters, Brothers-in-Law

And Nieces & Nephews

This Was a Special First for This Year!

A Visit From Santa!!

What a Special Treat - Thanks Santa!!

Little Nephews & Nieces

Lot's of Smiles

Special Talents

Re-enacting the Nativity

Such Special Memories to Cherish!!

And. . . .Opening One Present Before Bed!!

New PJ's!!

And. . .that's what my Christmas Eve was like this year!!

New Hats

We gave the kids new winter hats and they were thrilled!!! It never ceases to amaze me how such a simple thing can bring such happiness.

They played with them for about 40 minutes - they made up games and silly hat styles. Then they wanted me to take pictures. So, I snuck in a video and had to share it. They are pretty still because they thought I was taking a picture. Just had to share cause it made me laugh (hope it makes you laugh too!)

Honorable Mention!!

If you know Zac you know you can almost always find him drawing or writing stories to go along with his art work. He has become quite the little artist. This year the theme for Reflections was "WOW!!" how easy is that. I told him to turn in one of his pictures because whenever he shows them to anyone (including me) I always hear the same response, "Wow! That is so good Zac!!" So. . .needless to say, he turned in one of his most recent and favorite drawings.

He did a great job, he got an award for honorable mention and I thought it was definately worth mentioning too!!

Great job Zac - keep it up!!

Thanksgiving 2008

This Thanksgiving was different then any I've had in the past. It ended up being a lot of fun and we had some great times, but it was really different. Sometimes, it's hard to know when to change traditions and start new ones. This year seems like it was just the beginning of changing traditions for me.

First off we had Thanksgiving early. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law Mandy & Steve were able to come in to town the Saturday before Thanksgiving (which we really were so excited for!!) so, that's when we had Thanksgiving Day - it was so nice to be all together as a family for the holiday - it was quickly apparent that it didn't matter that it was before the actual holiday. The point was everyone was together to celebrate it (well, except for Kendal that is (we missed him) - it always seems like someone gets sick).

So. . . on Thanksgiving Day we had finger foods and smoked turkey sandwiches and just hung out with each other. This time Kendal was there but Gpa Quick ended up having to work and of course Mandy and Steve had to go back home. It was still great to get together and hang out, just different once again.

It didn't stop there, then on Saturday my sisters and I decided to get together and Rose's house and play games and have left over turkey sandwiches and veggies. It ended up that we were able to stretch the holiday to include everyone. It was fun.

I learned that traditions can change and still be really fun - you just have to get your mind around it. I am definately a creature of habit, but it can be taught!! :)

The other thing that made it extra different was missing my parents around, that is really tricky. In one way I tried hard not to think about it, because it made it feel sad, but in another way it was good just to remember those fun times together, cause that's some of the best memories I have.

Overall - Thanksgiving is such a great start to the holiday season, it helps you to stop and remember all the things you should be thankful for each day!!

Family, Cousin's, Good Food, a Home, Laughter, Children, and the Gospel pulling it all together !!

Tagged Again!

This tag (from Jen) was to post the 6th picture in my 6th folder. It's one of the boys at grandpa's house in the corn rows it says it was saved November 27, 2006 - how about that!! That's just two years ago. Wow how time flies ! ! !

Then I'm suppose to tag 6 people too. If you wanna play look and see what your 6th picture in your 6th folder is too and play along.

Happy Thanksgiving to All!!

Shark Teeth - ooh ha ha!!

For about two months now we've been telling Hayden that he's got SHARK TEETH! I don't remember this happening to any of my other kids - so I had to post it for memory sake! In case you can't see it very well he has two rows of front teeth. Permanent teeth in the back of course and baby teeth up front.

Just after I took this picture on Saturday - November 1st we pulled his front left one out he was so brave (I dont' even know how it was staying in - or how he was eating for that matter). But he finally gave in and all it took was a twist of the dental floss and a tiny pull - he didn't even flinch!! We love you Hayden! You are getting bigger every day. But you'll always be our little boy!

Halloween 2008

Halloween was a little bit different this year, but we made some fun changes. First of all Zachary got to go trick-or-treating with his friends this year. Wow that was such a big deal and I think he really had a blast!! Look how scary he is! Jeff told him it's his last year to go trick-or-treating. I'm not sure if I agree with him. How old were you when you stopped going trick-or-treating? I think I was probably in High School before I stopped. I can't ever remember my parents taking me around to go trick-or-treating either - I guess my sisters did that.

Josh and Hayden got to go trick-or-treating with their friends down the street which was fun. They had a blast walking around with friends. Jeffrey came with us too. It was a beautiful night. Just great weather - which was so nice - it's been so cold the last few Halloweens that I can remember - so this year having great weather was a treat!

After a couple streets, we all were invited over for Chili and Scones - yum!! Thanks Brad & Brianna, it turned out to be such a fun night!

Yes on Proposition 8 in California!

I feel so passionate about this right now. If there is anyone who has friends in California - or friends that have friends in California - please have them share this too.

YES ON PROPOSITION 8 in California
You've been tagged. PLEASE READ THIS no matter what state you live in.

Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt children. If gay marriage remains legal, public schools will put it on equal footing with traditional marriage. Children will likely receive “age appropriate” information about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages.

Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches. The court’s decision will inevitably lead to conflicts with religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about marriage and family. Over time, greater acceptance of nontraditional marriage will be demanded of all people. This could impact the ability of any religion to teach and practice its beliefs. Including adoption agencies.

A YES vote will not hurt gays. In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits.

For your information:
On Friday, October 10th, 2008 a first-grade class took a field trip to witness a lesbian wedding in California. Click Here for the article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

A father in Massachusetts was frustrated when his twin kindergartners were taught about homosexuality at school by the teachers. He insisted he be notified in the future before such things were discussed so he could pull his boys out of school.He was taken to jail. Click Here for the story.

A Catholic adoption agency In the UK closed their doors because of the Government's new homosexual equality laws. The Equality Act forbids discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the basis of sexual orientation. The law was forced through Parliament last year despite past Prime Minister Tony Blair's recommendation that Catholic adoption agencies be exempted from the rules. Click Here for more info.

Earlier this month judges in Conneticut overturned the state law (just as the judges in California did) to legalized gay marriage. This is not just an issue in California. We voted years ago to keep traditional marriage as the only marriage recognized in the state of California, 4 judges overturned our vote…and we need to fight back. That is what this Proposition is about. This is happening everywhere and the leaders of the church and others have warned that the outcome of California’s vote will affect the way the other states vote. So PLEASE…even if you don’t live in California, put this on your blog or email this on. The internet knows no state line. You know contacts in California that I don’t…and so do your friends. Please pass this on as it could eventually have an effect on everyone!

"Occasionally discouragement may darken our pathway; frustration may be a constant companion. In our ears there may sound the sophistry of Satan as he whispers, "You cannot save the world; your small efforts are meaningless. You haven't time to be concerned for others." Trusting in the Lord, let us turn our heads from such falsehoods and make certain our feet are firmly planted in the path of service and our hearts and souls dedicated to follow the example of the Lord."
--Thomas S. Monson

Click Here for excerpts from the Broadcast given by Elders M. Russell Ballard, Quentin L. Cook and L. Whitney Clayton.

A good resource mentioned in the broadcast: www.preservingmarriage.org

October 27th: Last day to apply for “Vote by Mail” Click Here for info.

November 4th: Election day. Polls close at 8:00pm. Vote by mail must be received by this time and can be hand delivered if necessary.

YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED...Here's what you do:
In the broadcast we were asked to "go viral on our blogs, etc" by Elder Ballard. This is my way of going viral. If you feel this is an important issue I ask that you copy and paste this post...and post it on your blog. PLEASE keep it at the top of your blog through November 4th. which you can adjust each time you post under the "edit post" option. The internet knows NO STATE LINE. You know contacts in California that I do not...as do your friends and their friends...and so on. Please do this. If not for your own children and the effect it could have on them some day...for mine! After you have posted this...email this to your contacts and TAG all your blogging buddies to do the same. THANK YOU!

PS: I have gone public for the next month...so anyone can copy and paste this information.

I'd Like to Introduce you to a New Friend!!

Being that the weather is getting colder - we knew we had to bring our little lemon tree inside. So as we were placing it down in our garage - Jeff says to me - "oh, wow! Look at that - that's a big spider!!" Of course I freaked out and couldn't believe my eyes.

So I just had to share the pictures with all of you. So you could enjoy seeing our new friend!! I've since looked him up online and think he's a cat-faced spider - harmless to humans - so I guess we're okay to let him hang out for a while. Although he does give me the hee-bee-gee-bees everytime I happen to glance his way. YIKES!!!

Zac is 12!!

Zac it's really hard to believe that you have turned 12 years old!! We are so happy that you are worthy to be a Deacon - can you believe it?!! I can't wait to see you passing the sacrament. What a great example you are to your brothers. You are such a great son!!

This year Zac's birthday fell on Saturday. He told me that he had the best birthday ever. We took three of his friends to the Mummy Movie and then out to dinner - they had a blast. It was so much fun to see him goofing off with his friends and acting so much like tweens (note to self - in case I forget the term later - between 12-16 years old) - I could barely stand how old it made me feel. He is growing up so fast - teenage years here we come!!

On Sunday we invited Grandma and Grandpa Quick to church with us so they could be part of Zac's big day. Getting set apart as a deacon is a big deal and we are so happy for you.

Thanks Gma & Gpa Quick for changing around your schedule so you could be there with us - it meant to much to us.

Zachary you are growing up so fast and you have been such a great example to your younger brothers. I love you so much!!

Here are my love ABC's for you this year. You are an Artistic, Bright, Clever, Diligent, Exemplary, Friendly, Gentleman, Happy, Invaluable, Jovial, Kind, Lively, Mellow, Novelist, Optimistic, Polite, Quizzical, Respectful, Silly, Terrific, Understanding, Vigilant, Wacky, Xenial, Youthful & Zesty young man. We love you so much!!

Crazy Eights!!

Okay so I've been "tagged" to the Crazy Eights Game (thanks so much Val - it's so exciting) - so here it goes!!

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch:
1. Friends (I know-it's so sad - only re-runs now - why did they stop the show? Seriously!)
2. The Medium
3. Eli Stone
4. Desperate Housewives
5. Ghost Whisperer
6. Extreme Makeover HOME Edition
7. LOST (I know, I know - I'm lost too, but I'm still wondering what the heck is going to happen!)
8. Samantha Who?

8 Favorite Places I Love To Eat:
1. Olive Garden
2. Chili's
3. Rumbi's Grill
4. Village Baker
5. Café Rio (oh this is making me so hungry now)
6. Johnny Carino's
7. Chick-fil-A
8. Wendy's

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. I discoverd a new zit - lovely
2. Started my period - even better!
3. Day started looking up when Jeff asked if I wanted to take the Porsche to work :)
4. Got a call from the kids that they missed the bus - hmmm - lovely!!
5. Got to take my kids to school and they made me smile :)
6. Decided to get a Chef Salad from Village Baker for lunch - it was a fabulous choice (oh yummm - I think I'm still hungry)
7. I heard the stock market fell another 678.91 points
8. We looked at the cutest house!! I wonder if we can afford it - so cute!!

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Fridays and the Friday treat
2. Going Home from Work - ahhhhhhhh!!
3. Holidays - when I don't have to work
4. Vacations in Hawaii
5. Driving the porsche with the top down :)
6. Hugs from my boys
7. Smiles from my little neices & nephew (Cali / Kali / Quinton)
8. Reading new posts from all of you

8 Things I Love About Fall:
1. The clothes
2. The crisp cool nights & mornings
3. Changing fall leaves
4. General Conference weekend
5. Thanksgiving
6. Leftover turkey sandwiches - yummm - guess I'm still hungry
7. Pumpkins!
8. Halloween

8 Things On My Wish List:
1. Trip to China
2. Vacation in Scotland
3. A passive income
4. That my boys will go on a mission
5. And that they will all be married in the temple
6. Molly Maid Service shows up at my door and tells me, "You just won free maid service for a year!!!"
7. That the maid service also cooks fabulous healthy meals every night!
8. Granddaughters

8 People I Tag:
1. Troy
2. Jen Stark
3. Kathleen
4. Rose
5. Trudi
6. Jenn Butterfield
7. Mandy
8. Maryann

We've Adopted ! !

Wanted to introduce you to the new family addition!

Our new Boxster Porsche! Isn't she cute!!!

We've been so busy it's taken me some time to post the new pictures, but here they are finally! It's been an easier adjustment then I thought. There is definately a different feel in our home now that she's here. We've all felt it - there just a great feeling of joy. We've also felt a lot more relaxed now that she's around. She gets along with the boys so well. They just love her! They have taken such great care of her and they don't even mind it when we ask them to play with her !! I think the decision to adopt her into our family has been such a great idea - we've adjusted to her very quickly and I think she really likes us too. I must say she's quite spoiled!!

You're welcome to stop by anytime - or I'm sure we'll be out and about real soon !!

14 Years!

Can you believe it?!! It's been 14 Years now that Jeff and I have been married! I'm so happy and grateful to be married to such a wonderful man. We have had quite the ride and I'm sure it's just the beginning. Right now we are on the summit looking over at a beautiful view and the future looks bright!



We met nearly 16 years ago at the Singles Branch (that sounds so Cliché) President Davey was our Branch President then and he's our Stake President now. We dated for a while then we broke up, I went out with my "return missionary" figured out I wanted to be with Jeff more and so I got back together with him. Then he broke up with me, dated his "returned missionary" (a girl and many others from the singles branch I might add - we teased him that he started at the A's and almost made it to the P's). He told me that he compared every one of them to me, so we got back together and this time it stuck.



Since then, we've had three handsome and smart boys! They keep us reaching new goals and trying to stay up with what's "in" and cool! We've had two condos and currently live in Herriman. Jeff and I have made it through a lot together. Lots of jobs, self employment, school, car accident, back injury, unemployment, nearly broke, more school, Graduation, Employment again and now things seem to be going along at a steady pace and lookin' up! Yea!!



Through it all he's been the love of my life and I'm finding that I love him more and more. It's amazing how that works. He's been such a blessing to me and I don't know what I'd be without him. All I know is that I'm better with him in my life.



Happy Anniversary! Love you!!

All About Me (Cindy)

(I saw this on my sisters blog and quickly followed the rules - now that you've read it you have to follow the rules too! I look forward to seeing all of you complete the answers!)

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends. Copy then change all the answers so they apply to you, then post on your blog. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:45am (and it was still dark - something's so wrong about having to wake up in the dark).
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Cinema? Who says that? It think it was Wall-E for Hayden's b-day party
4. What is your favorite TV show? Re-runs of Friends
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Granola bar and yogurt drink
6. What is your middle name? Marie
7. What food do you dislike? Shrimp
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Queen - Greatest Hits
9. What kind of car do you drive? Most recently, a Boxster Porsche (oh-ya!!)
10. Favorite sandwich? Turkey Avacado at Kneeders
11. What characteristic do you despise? Insincere(ness)
12. Favorite item of clothing? Designer Jeans
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Scottland
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Right now that would be American Eagle
15. Where would you retire to? Haven't stopped to think about that yet, somewhere away from the hustle and bustle
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? 36 - it was just 5 months ago
17. Favorite sport to watch? Basketball
18. Furthest place you expect someone to look at this from? Texas
19. If you had a superpower, what would it be? Invisibility
20. When is your birthday? May 11
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Can't I just say afternoon person?
22. What is your shoe size? 6 1/2 sometimes 7
23. Pets? Nope - too lazy
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? I've been married for 14 years tomorrow (and Jeffrey has a Porsche)
25. What did you want to be when you were little? A Singer
26. How are you today? Fabulous
27. What is your favorite candy? Boston Baked Beans
28. What is your favorite flower? Calla Lily
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? October 7 (tomorrow - my 14th Wedding Anniversary) 30. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? it use to be Mint Chocolate Chip but now it would have to be Caramel Cashew
31. What are you listening to right now? Nothing (it's fabulous - and it's only 9:30 amazing!)
32. What was the last thing you ate? Shephard's Pie
33. Do you wish on stars? Yes because when you do, your dreams come true
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Purple
35. How is the weather right now? 46.4 outside and 73.8 inside (pretty nice - love the fall)
36. Who was the first person you talked to on the phone today? Jeffrey
37. Favorite soft drink? Rootbeer
38. Favorite restaurant? Olive Garden sounds good right now
39. Real hair color? Brown with shades of auburn and silver
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? A Wind-up Record Player
41. Summer or winter? Summer
42. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? White Chocolate
44. Where was your last vacation? Orlando, Florida with Jeff's Family
45. When is the last time your cried? Sunday during General Confrence
46. What is under your bed? Dust bunnies and an old ironing board cover
47. What did you do last night? Made-out with Jeffrey in the Porsche
48. What are you afraid of losing? my family
49. Salty or sweet? both
50. How many keys on youur key ring? one more ;)
51. How many years at your current job? 3 years 10 months
52. Favorite day of the week? any day that's a holiday
53. How many towns have you lived in? 3 (Sandy, Midvale, Sandy, Herriman)
54. Do you make friends easily? I'd like to think so

How Much is Too Much ! ? ! ? !

Okay. . . so, on the subject of homework - seriously - how much is too much ? ! ? ! My sister Pam was telling me how her kids were needing a lot of help with their homework lately and how she was having such a struggle with it. She said that she finally told them, "I've already been to highschool and worked very hard for my grades, thank you very much - I really don't want to do it again!"


Well . . . . . for me, it all started when I pulled my kids out of school to go to DisneyWorld I figured I needed to help them with catching up because they had a lot to catch up on - and I did. However, now they have decided that they need me to go through every little thing with them and so they wait until I get home before they even do their homework. So, by the time I get home I start with each of them - Zac is the best but he has the most homework - right now anyway. I have had to try and figure out sixth grade math again, and am very embarassed to say that I don't remember how to do it - he doesn't have any instructions on his page of how to do even one of them. When I ask him if he can bring the book home so we can go through some of the instructions together he acts like I'm crazy and tells me he doesn't have a book. I asked him if his teacher goes through examples on the board with him - he says well he goes through about two with us - then he tells us that he's challenging us to figure it out on our own when I ask him questions. SERIOUSLY - does a teacher expect a kid to figure it out on his own when his paper has no examples and no instructions on it and they don't have a book to refer to either - PLEASE!!!


Then we start with Josh - he has spelling (which he hates it's like pulling teeth to get him to go over the words and practice spelling them out). Next he has reading comprehension (not too bad for him - I, on the other hand, always hated those things). Then he has a home work sheet usually just wants to do one side - I don't blame him! It has math, geography questions & sentence structure exercises. Then he has to read for 20 minutes and then he has to record a little message about what he read. This is usually about 1-2 hours later.


In the meantime I'm trying to fix dinner. Next off is Hayden's homework (remember he's in first grade). He has spelling words to practice (which he's not a big fan of - plus he doesn't really know how to read well). Then we are suppose to read for at least 15 minutes (which means I read to him and he has to pick out the words he knows on each page). Then he has a math packet which consists of two pages double sided he will do at least one page a day. Then he also has a making words sheet I try to get him to fill in at least three each night. Then he has another activity with spelling - he must do at least two each week - he's pretty slow with the whole writing thing so I break it into four nights half a page a night. Then he's suppose to practice a poem so he can pass it off, and finally he has site words that he is suppose to review each night. Okay, so all of that is at least another hour.


So, then there is usually just an hour before they go to bed. I seriously am worn out by this time and I'm feeling really frustrated about my new routine. Then you know I'm suppose to clean up the dinner, do a batch of laundry, clean up the house - which is usually trashed and then read the scriptures to them, before they go to bed.

Last year seemed to work out great. They would come home at 4pm they would read for 20 minutes, do their homework sheet (count it one homework sheet!), review their spelling words and by the time I got home at 5p their work would usually be done - all I had to do was review what they were stuck on and make sure they were "getting it."


So, I ask you again, how much is too much?? How much help are you suppose to give them? How much are you suppose to do with them, and how much are you suppose to have them just do? I'm being torn. I want to be a good mom and encourage them to get their homework done but I don't want to continue with this new routine every single night!!! It's like Josh said to me, "Mom why do I have to do homework anyway? I've already done all this stuff at school - why do I have to do it again at home?" How do you respond to that?

Family Trip to Florida!

We took a fun family trip to Orlando, Florida! We left on the 4th and returned on the 11th of September. So, we were gone for 8 whole days, 6 of which we spent at the parks. We went to all of them. Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, back to Magic Kingdom again and one more time at Epcot. Just a little note to self "5 days would have been perfect." Like Grandma Quick kept saying, "It's a lot of work to have so much fun!"

We were so glad that Jeff's mom & dad could come with us - we traveled together there and back - it made things just that much easier - it was so nice. Then we met up with Jeff's sister & hubby and their cute family when we arrived. We stayed with them for 2 nights in their 4 bedroom condo and for the rest of the nights we had our own 3 bedroom condo. It was so much fun to see them again. They live in Houston, TX right now and so it was a real treat to be on vacation with their adorable family.

It was also fun seeing the definate and real difference between boys and girls. Girls are so fun and . . . well . . . girly - I liked getting to know my neices better like that - and having more girls to hang out with was just a blast!

On the way home we asked the kids, "Okay so what was your favorite part of the trip?" To which they quickly replied - "Swimming." Isn't that nice to know - next year maybe we'll save a bunch of money and go to the local swimming pool :D

The only thing I can think of that would have made it better is if you were all there with us.

Happy Birthday Pam!!!

Here's a shout out for a big Happy

B-day to Pam!!

I hope your day was filled with fun moments!!

I for one - cannot believe that you are already 39!!!

You'll have to let me know how it feels to almost be 40 ? ? ? ! ! ! !

- Love you bunches ! ! ;)

Hayden's 1st Grade Hair Cut!

It was time to cut Hayden's hair. When I told him it was time to give him a hair cut he asked me, "Mom, can I have it spikey this time?" I said, "I guess so, but are you ready to do that? It's going to look a lot like Zac's. Are you ready?" He enfatically said, "YEP!!" So, I did it and here are the results!!



Here's our Hayden Buga-Boo! BEFORE the hair cut













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Here's the hair cut

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Here's the smile!! Look at his big brown eyes and his SMILE!! Can't resist that smile - although I really miss his hair already!! He does look like such a big boy now and he is so excited. He kept saying, "Mom, you know what?! I don't think they are even going to recognize me. Do you think they will recognize me?"

JACK JOHNSON!!

Here's a shout out for Jack Johnson!

Isn't he hot??

Y Y Y Y Y

Okay, so first of all, I totally know and fully admit that I'm a geek girl!! I've never been to a concert before - EVER ! !

So, when I got an opportunity to go with a few friends to see Jack Johnson perform at the USANA Theater (Monday night August 18th!!), I couldn't pass it up!!! - I knew it was time to do the concert scene!! I had the best time!!! The USANA Theater is such a gorgeous venue and it was so relaxing. I just absolutely LOVE Jack Johnson - his music makes me feel like I'm in Hawaii - so it was the perfect mix!

Here's a few snap shots of the geek girls at the concert - GO GREEN!!