Random thoughts

I decided to do a quick post of all the random thoughts that have been floating around in my head lately:
1.) Carter started Drivers Education on Monday and I am in shock that I am a soon to be parent of a 16 year old child. YIKES! I still feel like I'm in my 20's (maybe early 30's) but life has lately been throwing it in my face that I'm NOT! Not to mention he is lifting weights that are heavier than the average 5th grader and it's no big deal! It's amazing!
2.) Chan lately has been busier than a one armed paper hanger! (thanks for the quote Dolly Parton!) He has been working hours that have made me feel like a single Mom- FOR REAL! I will admit that at one point I threw a minor temper tantrum but it was just because I MISS him! I am so used to having him be involved in everything right along with me, but I've had to just buck up and deal with it! And I have to say I couldn't be more proud of him and the work he is doing- he is really amazing!
3.) Working has been a very different experience this year. After voicing a LOT of suggestions last year our Vice Principals who we work with have really changed things for the better! They implemented a lot of our ideas and added some even better ones and things have been working SO MUCH better! I am also working with some amazing women that I get along very well with and that certainly helps too! I have learned how to do some great things on a computer I never knew how to do before and that feels so good! But the biggest shock for me was getting the Staff member of the month in October. Such a surprise but so nice to be recognized for doing good work!
4.) I know siblings are different but Will really shocked me this year! When I started working at the school last year Carter NEVER came anywhere near me unless he absolutely HAD to. But Will on the other hand comes in to see me EVERY day that I am there! He comes in and says hi and gives me a hug or a rub on the back and he NEVER cares who's around. I just love that about him! And my nephew Dakota is the same way! Sometimes he even brings me treats! I just love that!
5.) One of the things I am the most glad I took on over the last year is (believe it or not) PTA! I have made some awesome friends that I may not have met otherwise and we have started going out every month or so to dinner, movies or whatever! I have enjoyed EVERY minute with these women! They are all amazing Mom's and have fun personalities and I have learned something from each one of them! I am sure we will be life long friends!
6.) Sisters.... there just isn't anything else like it! I am SO grateful for my sisters! They make me laugh when I want to scream and let me unload when I feel like I'm going to cry! I look to them as examples because they are amazing women! I am so blessed to have them in my life!
7.) Is it strange that a yummy drink can make someone happy? My usual drive is to the corner Chevron for a 32 ounce diet Dr Pepper- it just makes everything better!
8.) For someone that grew up around pianos and piano lessons I sometimes have a hard time telling Brianne to practice. I know she needs to, but I also remember how much I HATED doing it, so I have a hard time telling HER to! But tonight Brianne sat down (on her own) to practice and started to play songs out of the Primary songbook. It was slow going and she got some notes wrong, but I was SO PROUD of her! Even Carter made a comment that she was doing pretty good! Her suggestion was that she should play the birthday song on the piano for our family birthdays and we could sing- LOVED it!
9.) Something I am especially grateful for? Technology!! I can't imagine my life without it! Some comforts for me online lately: checking my kids grades/assignments, paying for their school lunches, finding a new iphone case for $3.00, buying movie tickets, planning my Young Women lessons, writing on my blog, catching up with friends on facebook, helping find answers to homework questions and much much more! And my new favorite tech item? I would have to say Words with friends and Scramble with friends apps on my iphone! It's SO FUN!!
10.) Blessings abound in my life and even though these are all "random thoughts" all of them come down to this one word... blessings. I am blessed to be a Mom, to have a fantastic husband and kids,to be a part of an amazing extended family, to be a member of my church and be able to serve, to be an active member in my community, to have great friends that lift me up, to have a job, to have access to technology that makes my life better, and yes even to have a yummy drink that makes me smile. ALL blessings and how grateful I am for ALL of them!

Girl Time

A couple weeks ago I surprised Brianne and took her to see "The Glee Concert" put on at our high school by the choirs and jazz band. Brianne is a MAJOR Glee fan and I knew she would be all over it!!
We got there very early but it ended up working out because we got AWESOME seats right by the stage.
They sang a bunch of songs that they sang on the show and the finale was awesome! There were some VERY talented kids there! In this photo you can see one of Carter's best buds Dylan!
The biggest reason I wanted to take her is to show her what SHE will be doing in just a few short years! She is so talented in the singing department! I just KNOW she'll be up there stealing the show! It was such a fun night! Can't wait to do it again soon! :)

17 Years!

On December 29th 2011 Chan and I celebrated our 17th anniversary! Hard to believe! All of these years have been wonderful too- each year brings new challenges but we are such great friends that we are always able to take them in stride. I truly cannot imagine my life without him in it! This year was the first year in a LONG time that we didn't celebrate out of town. Instead we ate a yummy dinner out at our favorite restaurant call Bonsai followed by a movie. My favorite date night! The best part about celebrating our anniversary is realizing that there are MANY MANY more to come! I'm looking forward to 50 and MORE! Love ya babe!

Shooting with Dad

When the kids were on their winter break Chan took the boys to go shooting at a gun range. They've been talking about doing it for quite a while and the boys finally called him on it, so he made the plans and took them out!
They took our shotgun, handgun and .22 and the boys were able to try all of them. In our house we feel it's important that we all know how to shoot, especially since we have the guns in the house. Brianne and I are next to go and I am so excited! (Brianne, not so much, but I'm sure she'll like it once she tries!) Way to go boys!

Christmas 2011

Christmas morning is my favorite! I love watching the kids come into the room with excited faces to see what was left out from Santa, but this year it was even MORE fun since Santa wrapped everything!
It didn't take long and the kids were ripping into all the items Santa left. Every little thing was wrapped so it took them a few minutes, but they loved everything!
Santa brought Brianne a karaoke machine that she was wanting!
He brought Will what he wanted too... 4 days up on the mountain at Brighton Ski resort in the Snow Blitz ski school!
And Carter was thrilled with Santa since he brought him a new ipod Nano! :)
There was a couple other semi-hand made items I did this year too! I bought an apron from Lowes, painted it with a white base and then hand drew the Nerf logo and his gamer tag and he has an instant dart holder for his Nerf wars! He loved it!
I also made a playbook for Carter. He spends a TON of time writing down football plays, so I went and bought some scrapbook paper that was football themed and created this book for him. He was excited to put the ones he's already drawn in there! I also made a portfolio for Brianne's art and forgot to take a photo of it! (Bummer) But I got some scrapbook paper with peace signs and bright colors and made this one zip portfolio look cute! It said Brianne's favorites on it! So fun!
This year Carter's favorite gifts were "duck" related! (Thanks Grandma Panko and Pa Boo!) He has become a big Oregon Ducks fan! He would LOVE to play for them in the future, so we'll see how it ends up!
Will had lots of favorites, including these new gloves for snowboarding! But the topper had to be his new Under Armour hoodie from Grandma Panko and Pa Boo!
This was Brianne's face when opening one of her favorite gifts- it was from Grandma Panko and Pa Boo too! It was a TON of art supplies! Everything from her own art pencil set to scrapbook papers! She was in LOVE!
Then it was off to Chan's parents home to open gifts for the kids there!
We had our usual breakfast of sausage fondue and then went to the basement to get started!
The kids had fun opening their gifts and it was so fun to watch Myles and Sophie open their gift, then have their Mom and Dad open it so they could play with it! It was a lot of work for Brooke and Mark!


It was a wonderful Christmas for all of us. It's such a special time of year and this year was even a bit more so. With all the changes that have gone on this year in our family- I think this Christmas we were able to come together even more. I know that this Christmas will hold a special place in my heart and I hope that the spirit we found together this season will stay with us forever! Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve this year Chan's Mom Kathy came up with a new idea! She decided it would be fun to go to all of our homes (Chan and his sisters) and see our decorations and have appetizers/dinner as we go. We all loved the idea and our house was first up! Myles LOVES playing with Nerf guns at our place!
Chan made some amazing brushetta (from scratch of course) and we all just nibbled on that, chatted and looked at the decorations.
It was nice to just have time to visit with one another! It's been such a busy few months! This is Kathy and Dakota
My goofy guys! I got this shot and another one that was creepy, so this was the BETTER one!
Annie and Gerardo
Papa, Will and Brianne
Brooke and Mark
Then it was off to Annie's house! We went downstairs to see their newly remodeled basement, ate some yummy appetizers, played a bit of pool and talked some more! Brianne and Sophie were having fun!
Carter enjoys playing pool!
Then it was our last stop- Brooke's house! This tree was one that used to be at Tom and Kathy's house, but they gave it to them this year and I have to admit it looked GORGEOUS in their house! It fits much better there!
At her house we had our dinner of lasagna, salad and bread sticks. It was soooo yummy!
Here's the kids munching on their grub!
After dinner Tom mentioned he wanted a photo of their family and I was happy to oblige! It turned out so great!
Tom and Kathy in their Santa hats! So fun!
Then it was time for Christmas Eve gifts..... hmmmm..... I wonder what it could be???
That's right JAMMIES! Christmas Eve wouldn't have been complete without jammies! :) Vladimir and Duke jumped in for the photo too! I have to say that we enjoyed the "traveling Christmas Eve" so much! It was a great idea and we all decided it's our newest tradition. After Chan's Grandma (Mema) passed away we've been struggling to find that one idea that would stick and THIS year was IT! Can't wait to do it again!
We got home in time to get the photo of the kids in their jammies, clean up a bit and got the kids to bed so Santa could come. He actually decided to wrap EVERY item this year including the items in the stockings! And it was in his own paper too! That Santa is so clever and fun! Can't wait for Christmas and to see all that paper on the ground!