2012...

Happy New Year! No pictures.... surprise. We really did ring in the new year in style, though. Really!! We had our traditional sparklers and poppers celebration. Then cookies and hot chocolate. Then we played RockBand until midnight. FUN! really, it was. - Moving on - -

Tommy won 2nd place at the district science fair on a project he did 98% of the work for by himself. In fact, he got quite miffed when I 1. reminded him about it 2. tried to offer suggestions. DRAMA, anyone?! ;) He did a really great job. He titled it "The Tetris Effect". He tested different age groups/sexes to see if the video game Tetris will, in fact, improve your reaction time. (As we all know, the claim is that video games improve your eye/hand coordination and reaction times. yah, right! ) According to his project, though, the game can help improve your reaction time! WHO KNEW!!

NERDS RULE!!

Tommy and his friend, Riley. They both won 2nd place.
Tommy also won an award from the American Psychological Association. STUD!!

O, Christmas ...

Christmas this year (2011) was a whirlwind of fun and excitement... SO MUCH fun and excitement, in fact, that we decided not to take pictures of any of it.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I seriously need to figure out some way to surgically implant a camera somewhere on my body. Perhaps my forehead. Otherwise, there will be no proof for my poor children that they actually had a childhood. As a side note: I like it when Christmas falls on Sunday. I didn't when I was young - - but I do now. I suppose it happens about the same time you stop dreading General Conference?!

Our tree

I am currently charging the video camera in the hopes that we actually did capture SOME sort of memorable moment. Possibly two memorable moments? *sigh*
As another side note: This Christmas season was CRAZY. I literally had one full-blown anxiety attack, complete with tears, along with a dozen other minor attacks. Moral of the story: I am NOT a good working mom. I was banking quite a few hours as The Fancy Flower Girl - helping the Newgate Mall deck themselves. Plus, trying to fit in quality family time, PLUS trying to assist Santa. Plus, trying to accept the fact that I'm no longer a Primary worker. I'm seriously not cut out for it. And, we'll go ahead and blame the lack of pictures on that ;) HECK, I don't even have pics of most of the work I did @ the mall. Again, how do we prove it even happened?

..... come to think of it.... it did just seem like a bad dream.

thanks...

My Aunt Becky ROCKS. For many reasons. Including, but certainly not limited to, the fact that she brings her camera to family functions!! YEAH! What would we do without her?

Parker and Aunt Becky - I'm pretty sure they're mocking me and my hair. ;)

Rachel and Katie

Anna, Grandma Smith, and Sara

Anna, me, and my mock worthy hair ;)

most of the boys...

Rachel and Robert - such an angel.

Sara and her Turkey - again, thank you Aunt Becky for providing the entertainment AND the documentation!

making turkeys... Parker's roommate joined us, unfortunately I've already forgotten the boy's name.

The next day, we got to do it all again with the Morgan side of the family. I have no pictures. Why? Because Aunt Becky wasn't there! DANG IT!

Joey turns 11...

Joey, being the sweet kid that he is, decided to appease his mother and NOT choose a cake for his birthday candle holder!
Instead, he chose a giant chocolate, chocolate chip cookie! The perfect way to celebrate turning 11!

He received MANY new rubber duckies for his collection, including this one from his good friend Ted!

He has almost 100 ducks now - kind of looks like a poultry invasion in his bedroom...

he also got some new scout stuff (as he has officially graduated from Cub's with FULL honors! He earned EVERY pin possible as a Webelo!)

He also got $ Money $, which is really all he wanted!
Life's good when you're 11 ;)

punkins...

Carving the Halloween pun'kins...

ew.

I would now like to show the amazing picture of the finished products....
oh, wait. we don't have one.
FAIL.
(seriously, what is my problem? Who doesn't take pics of the halloween pumpkins?)

We finished out the night with a game of Don't Eat Pete, and a Candy Walk (similar to a cake walk, but with the more enticing... candy!)

This, however, is the only picture of that.

FAIL.

Again.

Good thing my kids will have all these picture memories from their wonderful childhood to look back on and reminisce ... *sigh*.

Soccer biz...

For whatever reason, my boys like to play the positions in their respective "favorite" sports where the balls come flying at them. RIGHT at them.

Not gonna lie, it makes me cringe every now and then!

(at least Joey, as baseball catcher, has protective gear!)

Tommy: aka The Keeper
(because, apparently once you're out of AYSO, it's not cool to say "goalie")

Occasionally, if Cross Fire is far enough ahead, the coach will let Tommy play
a different position. He then tries AS HARD AS HE CAN to score a goal, as he does
not have the opportunity to be on that side of a goal very often.

He came very close to passing out/puking after one such game because
he'd been running so fast and hard for so long! He scored a goal, though!

*Confession: I am not a fan. Of soccer. oops. ;) But, I am a fan of Tommy, so I sit through most of the games, still trying to understand "off sides" (I get it in football, if that helps?!) and still trying to understand WHY in the world you'd want to run that much. willingly. without someone chasing you. ? Plus, I got a killer tan line last summer, so I suppose it's do-able for a little while longer ;)

day 2, revisited ..

I found a stray pic of Sara from her second day of preschool.
My eyes got this weird, misty wet substance in them as I realized how quickly she's grown up just this past year.

Even her HAIR has grown.

*sigh*