The McDonald Family!

TIME FOR SUMMER!!!!

2010-09-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

GRACIE!!
The two STUDS??

MIMI LOVES her FOOD!!
Caroline and Davie in the pool

A few of the 90 or so friends that showed up for Kenzie and McKay's birthday bash!

Kenzie and McKay's birthdays are just a day apart. We threw a huge combined party for them. It was a blast. Happy Birthday guys! We love you both!!
Kenz turns 18...UGHHHH!

Caroline loves her big sister!

FAMILY IS THE BEST!!

Playing in the stream at Spring Haven

SAWYER!!!!

Katie, Olivia and Mia

Hillary, Jason and Davie. (Jason you forgot to open your eyes! haha)

Some of the family at SPRING HAVEN. One of our FAVORITE vacations ever!

Jumie, Heidi, Katie and Mia

Kenz and the girls from the neighborhood

Mom and Kinnley on his 15th birthday
We love cute Taydon

Cute CHLOE
Now there's trouble!

Kristy, Poppy, Grammy and NikkiLittle Lacrosse manCutest cousins ever

Summer has come and gone and we are left with many fun memories of the Summer of 2010. We've had lots of pool parties, sleepovers, vacations and super late nights. I am pretty sure that not a day went by when we didn't have friends or cousins over to swim, which inevitably would lead to a sleepover. That's what Summer is all about though! These are just some random photos from the past 3 months!

More Pictures of Graduation

2010-09-21T21:44:00.001-07:00

Kenz and a few cute friends!

With Grandma Jan and Grandpa Brent

It's official!!

Kenzie Graduates!!

2010-09-21T21:32:00.001-07:00

I Can't believe that my baby is GRADUATING. Where has the time gone? We are so proud of Kenz and the amazing example she is to her siblings, cousins and friends. We have been so lucky to have such a great daughter that we don't have to worry (too much) about. We are so blessed and lucky that she has such a good sense of right and wrong. We are even more blessed that she knows exactly what she wants to do and is determined to accomplish her goal of being an amazing Orthopedic Surgeon. Here's to the next 14 years of college! Wish us all luck! We LOVE you Kenz!!

KENZIE'S LAST DANCE

2010-04-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Kenzie is at her last Junior Prom tonight. Where has the time gone? She went with cute McKay, they make such a great couple! The next big event in her life will be graduation. WOW!!! I swear Mark and I are not old enough to have a daughter graduating! Kenz and all of her friends looked absolutely gorgeous. Have a great night girls!!

Caroline gets baptized!

2010-04-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

Caroline finally turned 8 on March 18th. She has been so anxious about her baptism and it is finally here! "Poppy" (grandpa McDonald) baptized her and Grandpa Brent confirmed her. It was a great day with tons of family and friends to support her! We love you Liney!!

The Whole Family!!

2010-04-14T22:34:00.000-07:00

This was taken during Caroline's birthday celebration at school. Not the greatest picture of any of us but at least you can see how big the kids are getting!

Let's celebrate Liney's 8th birthday at school!!

2010-04-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

Cassie and Ashley asking Caroline questions. They are two of her very best friends!!
She got to play her violin for the class!

Mrs. Cahoon is such a great teacher. Caroline absolutely loves her!!!

The class is being very attentive as Caroline tells about her pictures

March 18th Caroline turned 8! Wow, she is getting so big! She got to make a poster about her family and all her favorite things. The whole family got to go to her classroom and watch her tell about her poster.

Caroline loves basketball!

2010-04-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

Caroline has played basketball for 2 years now and she loves it! She is taking after Kennedy and holding nothing back! She has a darling team with lots of friends. They are a great team!

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Kinnley absolutely loves lacrosse! These are some photos from his winter league. His team ended up winning the entire division. Good job boys!

LACROSSE!!

2010-04-14T21:54:00.000-07:00

HALLOWEEN!!

2009-11-22T22:39:00.001-08:00

2009-11-22T22:12:00.000-08:00

HALLOWEEN

We love Halloween at the McDonald house! This year was no exception! Here are a few of the costumes and events of this Halloween season!

Summer Vacations!!

2009-07-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

Davis dancing as we sing Happy Birthday to his Daddy

Caroline and Brooke "Surfer girls"

Brooke and Liney playing in the waves

Crazy kids!

Grandma Taunnie Olivia and Kinnley

Grammy and Poppy

Kids on the boat

Kennedy and Liney

Kennedy and Mitchie

Kayli and Jeremy

Kayli and Jeremy WIPEOUT!!

Kayli and Cassie SUPERMAN!! Jeremy, Mr. Cool!

Buddy

Jayden and Kinnley

Mitch, Coy and Coleman

Coy and Coleman

Coleman and McCoy see you later alligator!

Coleman and Coy HOLD ON! Kennedy bombs away!!

Kennedy and Chloe

Kinnley Skim boarding

Mia, Nerd,Caroline and Katie

Liney and DaddyGrace and Chase

Blow Harder Jason, there's a lot of candles on that cake!!

Kennedy...A what?

Caroline...A goof!

Wierdos

Surfer boys

Holli, Grace and Heidi digging for sand crabs

Kinnley and Hunter waxing the board

Kenz and our cute friend James from Connecticut

I'm so HOT I SIZZLE!!....

Holli Kim and Heidi

Davie and Daddy

Holli and Heather catching some rays!

Kimmy and Sawyer

Sawyer playing in the sand, you better watch out Davie!!

Davis digging in the sand

Hillary, Jason and Davis

Kim and Sawyer

Bailey and Kennedy the next girls to join the circus!

Anthony

Brooke, Chase and Caroline, sandy kids!

Heddy, the next Baywatch girl?

It has been way too long since I have updated our blog. Summer is flying by and I thought I would bring you all up to speed on the McDonald family. We have just gotten home from a great trip to Newport Beach with the Scharman family. We always have such a fun time. It is truly one of the best trips we ever go on. This year everyone except Haley and her family, were able to be there. This meant tons of kids and tons of chaos. Isn't that what a family trip is though?? If chaos is how you measure the success of a trip, then we definitely got straight A's!! We love to hang out and play on the beach, the kids love playing in the waves, and of course you have to experience a blazing hot day at Disneyland, to make the trip complete. This year there we were able to enjoy the youngest kids that were to young to really enjoy the beach last year. Davis and Sawyer absolutely loved the beach and the water. Anthony didn't really love the water, but he had a great time playing in the sand. It is so fun to see the babies loving the ocean and experiencing the annual Newport vacation. I can't wait for next year to roll around so we can pack up and head back down!!

We also had the chance to go camping with the McDonald family. We always have so much fun camping and playing with our McDonald cousins. It is so great to spend some quality time with Grammy and Poppy as well. This year we went up to East Canyon. Holli had to work the night shift and Mark had to be to work early the next morning, so we left the kids to camp with their cousins. They had a wonderful time. (at least our kids did, you'll have to ask Shannon, Nikki, Grammy and Poppy if they did though) We spent the days on the lake waterskiing and riding on the biscuit. How no one gets hurt is beyond me. They get pummeled by the waves as they crash and jump over them on the biscuit. The crazy thing is that they just keep begging for more! We love getting to eat Poppy's yummy dutch oven dinners every year. He is the king of the dutch oven!! We love getting to spend time with all of our family and creating such wonderful memories that will last our lifetimes!

Where are you?? Oh I know,.....you're on facebook!!!!

2009-05-11T06:50:00.000-07:00

I took this picture of Holli and told her I was going to put it on her blog so I decided to add a few others!!! Haley

Our little models, Kennedy and Caroline

2008-11-09T20:37:00.000-08:00

Kennedy and Caroline were ready for church amazingly early today so we decided to take a few photos before we left. Aren't they just so cute. Caroline kept coming up with new poses and wanted more and more pictures taken. Is this a sign of things to come?

EEEWWW it's Halloween!!

2008-11-09T20:12:00.000-08:00

Halloween is always a huge event at the McDonald house. At least it is for Holli and the two younger kids. This year was no different. We had a great time dressing up in our costumes and trick or treating and having fun all night. Some of us even had more than one costume to choose from. We had a great time at the annual Scharman Halloween party at Grandpa Brent and Grandma Jan's house. It was complete chaos as always but once again we have wonderful memories we will cherish! Hope everyone had a safe night and made a killing on the amount of candy you all collected!!

Raking leaves at Grammy and Poppy's house

2008-11-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

We decided to spend our Saturday raking leaves as a family. We spent a total of 6 1/2 hours going to three different houses and working out fingers to the bones. The kids each put some serious effort into it and everyone was a huge help. We are proud of how hard they all worked. The yards all looked great when we were finished with them!

Carving Pumpkins!!

2008-10-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

We had our Annual pumpkin carving with Grandpa Brent and Grandma Jan tonight. We had so much fun. Grandma Jan was a serious trooper to have tons of kids with carving knifes and pumpkin "guts" flying everywhere in the house! Can you say total chaos? We have a few serious Michelangelo's in our family. We had some great sculpting and carving to create some amazing jack-o-lanterns!! Thanks grandma and grandpa for the Halloween memories!!

A NEW SCHOOL YEAR!!

2008-08-26T22:33:00.001-07:00

School has officially started! The kids all started the 2008-2009 school this morning and they were all very excited! Kenzie is a junior at Highland. I can't believe it! Where did the time go? She is dressed in her Pep Club uniform, isn't she cute? Kinnley is starting the 8th grade at Hillside. One more year of junior high and then off to high school. SCARY! Kennedy is in Ms. Zane's 4th grade class at Dilworth and is SO excited. She is with tons of friends andwill make many more. Caroline is starting 1st grade. I can't believe my baby is in school ALL DAY LONG. WOW!! Seriously where have the years gone? Here's to a fabulous school year!!

First Day Of School 2008-2009

2008-08-26T22:14:00.000-07:00

2008-08-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

Our sad attempt at fishing!

2008-08-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

This summer has flown by and with me working, we haven't had much of a chance to do many fun things as a family. I decided that I would take the kids for an afternoon of fishing and fun. We went and bought new poles and lots of bait and headed up to Mirror Lake. It was going to be great! Going to be, is the key phrase here! The kids, all except Kenzie, were very excited and couldn't wait to use their new poles. We made it to Kamas and stopped for ice cream and homemade fries, always a must, then headed up the canyon. We made it to the lake and unloaded the car. We started to get the poles rigged up and discovered a few problems. One new pole was missing part of the reel and another new pole was jammed and broken. We were down to just one new pole and the trusty SpongeBob pole. The third new pole kept getting tangled and jammed when we would cast it so we gave up on that one. Who would have thought that the $14.99 SpongeBob special would have been the best rod? Well, we took turns with the only pole that worked and had no luck at catching "the big one." What a bummer. Notice Kenzie in the picture, she managed to sleep the entire time and miss out on all the excitement. Actually, she didn't miss much. Just a frustrated mom putting worms on the hook only to watch them fly off as the kids tried to cast the rods a little too hard. After a few discouraging hours the kids were done and we decided to go home. It wasn't quite the action packed afternoon I had planned but oh well. Maybe I'll get an "A" for effort!

Violin Super Stars!!

2008-08-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight the girls had their annual gazebo violin recital. They all did such a great job! Kenzie has taken violin now for 8 years and is an exceptional violinist. Kennedy has taken for about 4 years and is now in Suzuki book three. Caroline has taken for about 9 months and has finally passed off "Twinkles" Hooray for her! We are very proud of our little violin girls!!

2008-07-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to get a chance to go to Cleveland for Ali's baptism! The kids have all had a chance to go visit once before, but, this will be my first time. We have had a great time. We have eaten way too much . Brandon seems to always be cooking up some huge meal. Our first night there we went to the famous Mitchell's ice cream! Yep, it was as amazing as we have heard! We all felt a little sick but boy was it worth it! Ali got baptized on Saturday. It was a great day! She looked very pretty in her white dress! She was very excited and we were so happy to be there. We have stayed around the house and played and played! The kids love catching "fire bugs" at night and watching the bunnies that roam freely. There are even deer that live in the backyard. The kids are amazed by this. All we have at home are cats and dogs roaming the streets. I think we have ripped off! Sunday we went to church and then to Cracker Barrel, (did I mention its a little hick -ville here?) where Haley an Brandon live it is beautiful with big homes and huge yards, but on the outskirts of town....let's just say overalls and a few less than a full mouth of teeth are the norm! (I'm kidding!) Kenz met a girl named Taylor and they made cookies today and went to see Mama Mia. She seems to make friends wherever she goes. She's not my shy Kenz anymore! We will attempt to go home tomorrow, the kids aren't very happy about that but, we have lessons and chores to get home to. We are off to Spring Haven this weekend so we need to catch up before we leave again. Congratulations Ali!! We are so proud of you and so happy that you turned 8 so we could come and visit!! Oh , by the way, while we have been here Caroline lost her very first tooth!! She was a little scared at first, but now she love sticking straws through it and talking funny. The tooth fairy brought her $5.00 we told her that she usually only brings that much on the first tooth, hopefully a dollar or two for the ones to follow!

Ali's baptism and our trip to Cleveand

2008-07-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

Stranded in Hawaii!!

2008-04-27T22:37:00.000-07:00

We decided to take the family to Hawaii for Spring Break this year. It was suppose to be fairly low key and simple. Boy, were we wrong. Mark and the kids were all going to leave on Wednesday morning, because that was the day the flights looked the best for standby travel. Kenzie invited a friend, Ashley Anderson, to come with us and use a buddy pass. Wednesday everyone but Kenz and Ashley got on. This was our first experience traveling with buddy passes, we never would have thought it would be so difficult! Wednesday the girls missed two flights, no big deal we'll just come back tomorrow. Thursday once again, they missed the direct flight and then probably three or four flights to LA. No big deal, we'll try again tomorrow when Holli could fly with them. After missing the direct flight Friday we decided that Holli and Kenz should go on their own and have Ashley stay home to keep trying to get on the direct flight. After missing four more flights to LA we made it on thanks to a kind pilot who gave up his seat for us. Yahoo!! We were on. Our flight landed in LA and the connecting flight had already boarded and had cleared the standby list. Kenz and I were on and in first class but, we were still sitting on the incoming flight. Mark was in Hawaii watching everything from his computer and called to tell us we had to sprint not jog to the gate or we would be stuck in LA for the night. Holli left Kenz on the flight from SLC to get the carry ons and ran to the gate. When I got there they told me that they had given our seats away because we were no where to be found. For some reason, the people that had been given our seats were still there and were so generous and gave them back. We had bearly made it!! We were so lucky, but we were on our way! Ashley kept trying to get on the direct flight each day to no avail. Finally, Tuesday she and our cousin Hunter made it on!! We were so excited, we didn't think they would ever make it. Our other cousin Marcus, ended up coming over as well. He made it on Wednesday. His mom, Mark's sister Kristy, also works for Delta so he has flight benefits too. We had such a fun time! We snorkeled, swam, surfed, ate, shopped, played in the sand, hooked up with our friends the Koelikers, and just had a great time. Then came time for us to try to get home. Flights looked good on Thursday night so we packed everyone up and headed for the airport. Nobody got on either one of the flights that night, no big deal, we'll just try again Friday or Saturday. We really hadn't planned on coming home for a few days anyway. Friday, we decided to try again, nope, no one got on. Saturday we tried again, nope, didn't get on. Sunday, tried again, no one got on again. We couldn't figure out what was happening. Finally, it made sense. Aloha Air had stopped flying that Thursday, so there were hundreds of stranded passengers who were being protected on Delta. Thus, taking OUR seats. We tried again Monday, and Tuesday and didn't make it. Finally flights looked wonderful for Wednesday. We would finally make it home. We went to the beach Wednesday morning and played on last time in the ocean. The waves were exceptionally big that day and it was a little breezier than normal. We even had the thrill of watching whales jump right out of the water. It was amazing to see! We didn't think much of it, just another day in Hawaii. WRONG! We went home and started packing for the seventh time when there was a knock at our door. It was the cleaning lady for the condo. She informed us that there was a hurricane coming and we needed to prepare. All I could do was laugh. A hurricane? You have got to be kidding!! She told us not to worry because the last time this happened the airport was ONLY closed for four days. NO, no, no, I was freaking out! This could not be happening. We had to get home! We finished packing and I told Mark that we were just going to go to the airport and check it out. We did and things actually looked okay for us to still leave that evening. We hung out in the city for the next few hours and went back to the airport. The hurricane didn't seem to be a problem and at about 10:00pm we were on the plane to LA. Not 30 minutes into the flight, you hear the pilot come on the intercom and ask for any medical people to come to the front cabin. I was dying. Half the family was in first class and I was sure that someone had gotten hurt or worse. Mark came and found me in the back and said that a man had collapsed right at his feet and they were working on him. At this point all my unsympathetic mind could say was," they had better not turn this plane around and take us back to Maui." I know, how rude, I was just so done. I was desperate to get home. Luckily the man was okay, and they didn't need to take him back. We made it to LA, where everyone but Hunter and I made the flight to SLC. We stuck around and made the next flight, a few hours later. Now we have been home for three weeks and I could use another two weeks stranded in Hawaii. Our trip ended up being 15 days instead of the original nine. Talk about a crazy and eventful Spring Break! We won't be going to Hawaii next year for Spring Break. That is for sure!!

Junior Prom for Kenzie

2008-04-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was our first experience at the McDonald household, with Junior Prom. Kenzie went with a very cute boy named Zach Gardner. We have known the Gardner family for years. Mark even grew up with Zach's mom Shelly. We were very excited that he had asked Kenz to go with him. For a girl, other than being asked, the most important part of Prom, is what she will wear. Kenz and I looked and looked and didn't find much that we loved. One day last week, I got off work early and decided to take Kenz to LA in search of the perfect dress. (Gotta love those flight benefits!) We had a whopping four hours to find the dress. We flew into Burbank and headed right for Beverly Hills. All Kenz could say was "why don't we live here?" Let's just say she was in heaven. We looked in some ridiculous stores like Chanel, Juicy, Tiffany's, Ferragamo, Fendi and Donald J PLiner. I must say I was a little more concerned with finding Sprinkles, the cupcake store, in the beginning. Once I had conquered that I could focus on the main task. We ended up at Saks Fifth Avenue, and were determined to find something. After searching and only purchasing perfume, I found it. There was one lone dress on the rack. It was Kenzies size and the color she wanted. I grabbed and took it to her in the dressing room. She put it on and fell in love with it. We had done it, we found her "perfect dress!" She looked very pretty and had a great evening with Zach. A group of the girls came over and got ready together. They all met for a brief minute at Sam's house to take photos together, then dispersed to their own homes to be picked up. It was a great evening for Kenz. Thanks Zach for a great night!!

Still friends after all these years!

2008-02-21T22:50:00.000-08:00

Almost eighteen years after being out of high school, and we are still close as ever. We aren't able to get together as often as we would like to but we still manage to keep in touch. It takes a new baby, a wedding, a birthday or in this case, a Christmas Dinner. We still try to see each other as much as possible. Between the eight of us pictured, we will have a total of 30 children after Nicole and Angela have their babies in March. Wow, I can't believe it. Weren't we just in high school last year? We can't possibly be that old. We were missing a few friends that evening but they were there in spirit! Old friends are always the best friends! I love you guys, what would I ever do without you all?
Julie Haight, Debra Knowlton, Holli McDonald, Sarah Howe, Nicole Grada, Angela Kotter, Angela Fletcher, Natalie Gleave

Team McDonald

2008-02-21T21:25:00.001-08:00

We have two amazing basketball players in the McDonald home. Kinnley and Kennedy have been playing on a couple of great teams this past season. They both have managed to get quite a few baskets and have had a great time playing and getting better with each game. We are proud of you both!!

Valentine's what? A date?

2008-02-21T20:37:00.000-08:00

We did it...we broke down and let Kenz go to the Valentine's dance at school. We have told her that she could go to Junior Prom if she gets asked. She doesn't turn 16 until the end of June but we thought we would cut her some slack and let her go in May. Steven had to go and ruin that for us. He asked her to go to the dance with him a few weeks ago. We decided after having a discussion with him, that we would let her go. WOW, I can't believe that she is getting that close to dating! How scary! They went with a big group of good friend and they had a great time. They went to dinner, the dance, sleigh riding and to a friends cabin to watch movies. She rolled through the door five minuted before her curfew, and slept way into the next afternoon. Steven is a cute boy and we all really like him! He made a great "first" date for Kenz.

Present and future Highland High cheerleaders!!

2008-02-21T20:08:00.000-08:00

Most friends and family know that Kenzie is a cheerleader at Highland high this year. She has had a great time and it has been an amazing year for her. Caroline's latest aspirations is to follow in her big sister's footsteps and be a cheerleader as well. The HH cheerleaders had a cheer camp for the little girls. They taught them dances and cheers and even how to clap like a true cheerleader. Did you know there is a right and wrong way to clap? Well, just ask Caroline and she will give you a lesson in clapping properly. They got to perform at halftime at the varsity basketball game a few weeks ago. This was a possibly the biggest highlight in Carolines 5 1/2 years. She was so excited she could hardly stand it. We are in for some major cheer leading drama at our house!!
This past Tuesday it was the final basketball game of the season. It was against East, the main rival school of Highland. Since long before Holli was even at Highland, this game has been called "Freak East." The intent is to dress as freaky as possibly. This year was no exception. The student body pushed the freaky envelope as far as they could. Kenz and her cheer friends dressed as freaky and out of control and definitely scared me! (Even scarier was Kenzie's bathroom when they were finished. Can you say black and white paint, spray on glitter and major hairspray? Oh, it was a mess...) They had a great time and as always the Highland Rams came out with a MAJOR victory! Go rams!

My how time flies...

2008-02-21T19:22:00.000-08:00

I guess it is about time that I update the blog. My sisters are getting very impatient and are about to send nasty messages so I had better get with the program and get a new post. I can hardly believe that it has already been two months since Christmas. Therefore, it has been two months since my last blog. Life has been a little hectic at the McDonald household and sorry to say but, the blog has taken a back seat. The family dynamics have changed a bit... Holli started working and Mark has been playing the role much more, as Mr. Mom. I think he secretly is loving it! He has been doing carpools, homework, church, a little cleaning and has even been seen helping Caroline bush her hair and find a matching bow! Holli's job is with Delta Airline's and the family has more than benefited from it. Mark's other job lately, has been the McDonald family travel agent. He has been taking the kids all over the US, using the airline benefits as much as possible. In the last two months he has taken the kids to Hawaii twice and Palm Springs for the weekend. He has been to Vegas three times and the kids have all flown to Cleveland, to visit Aunt Haley for a weekend sleepover. They have yet to feel guilty about leaving their dear old mom home to work so they can all play. I find this to be extremely rude!!! Actually, I have enjoyed the peace and quiet and have been able to get a few things done around the house. Who knows where in the world this weekend will take them. Keep checking out the blog to see where they wake up. Maybe Costa Rica, Argentina, Mexico or maybe back to Hawaii. The possibilities are endless!

Christmas Morning!

2007-12-25T21:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! We woke up this morning right before 7:00. The kids were so anxious to see if Santa had come and what he had brought them. It is amazing how many hours it takes to wrap everything and it takes just moments to rip them all open. The kids had a great morning and they each received many great gifts. We had everything from skies and boot to an accordion and Polly Pockets. It is quite interesting have kids from 15 to 5 years old. Talk about different needs and wants. It is quite sickening that I can get Kenzie one pair of jeans and with the same amount of money, I can get Caroline and entire Christmas. Wow teenagers have expensive taste! My best gift was an amazing camera. As soon as I figure out how to hook it up to the computer I will blog more about the rest of the day. The other pictures are all on that camera. I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas!!

Scharman/Samuelson Family Christmas

2007-12-23T19:28:00.000-08:00

Tonight we got together with about 50 of our favorite family members and had our annual Christmas Nativity night. We started with soups and salads and lots of yummy desserts. After our stomachs were full, we moved on to fill our spirits with the "sounds of Christmas," or family talents. We were entertained by Grandpa Brent's annual Christmas poem which he and Grandma Jan actually sang this year. He created a great tribute to the upcoming presidential elections. Of course ending in a plug for "Pres. Romney." With the president and vice-pres of BYU in the family, we are bound to get numerous cheers, talents, t-shirts and comments (all under our breath of course) to promote the Univ. Of Utah. I must say Pres. Samuelson takes all the ridicule with a good attitude, we all know deep down he and Jan both cheer for the Utes. They just pretend to like the "Y". They have to, their job depends on it -haha. The kids had a great time playing instruments and finally getting to dress up to re-enact the birth of Jesus Christ. This is the first year in many that we haven't had a real baby to play Jesus. All the babies could walk this year and none would sit still long enough to play Jesus. This is a night that we all look forward to. It is a great way to teach the children of the birth of Jesus and it helps us to put a little more meaning to the Christmas season. We are blessed to have such a wonderful family with such a strong knowledge of Christ and the sacrifices that he made for us all. What a great night we spent together as a family!!

Jingle Bell Rock

2007-12-13T22:23:00.000-08:00

Caroline had her Kindergarten Christmas program tonight at Discovery. She has looked forward to this big night for a couple of weeks now. She has been very eager to "surprise" us with all of her songs. She would start singing at home and suddenly stop herself mid song, and say "I can't sing that, it's a surprise." She did a fabulous job and sang her little heart out. Last week we made a quick run to Target, to grab a few things. We were walking past the clothing and she yells out "stop the cart" at the top of her lungs. I stop and turn around to see (what she thinks is) the most beautiful red velvet dress with white fur on the collar. She instantly informed me that she absolutely HAD to have it for her program. I tried my hardest to talk her out of it. Guess who won in the end? Of course, it was Caroline. I could definitely could have done without the Santa dress but, she thinks she is the most gorgeous girl in the world in it. I just couldn't burst her bubble. It was a great program with all of our Christmas favorites!!

16 years of total and complete bliss!!!

2007-12-12T19:21:00.000-08:00

Well maybe not 100% complete and total bliss but definitely 16 years of something major! On December 10th Mark and I celebrated our 16 year wedding anniversary. Can you believe it? That is quite a long time. I think that it is a huge accomplishment. Especially considering all that Mark has to deal with. What a man! He puts up with way more than his share of grief and complaining and whining from his dear old wife. I am truly blessed to have him in my life!!

Look at your own risk...You have been warned!

2007-12-07T20:50:00.001-08:00

So, I just went up to get something from Kenzie's room. What in the world did I walk into? I think that there may have been a natural disaster of sorts. Surely a tornado has hit my home. Quick someone call Red Cross or at least the clean up committee! (oh, that would be me) I am not sure if I should laugh or cry. This is my darling daughter McKenzie's room? People always say she is so organized. Obviously that organization doesn't filter into her room. How she sleeps there is news to me. There is no telling what might be living there with her. Tomorrow is Saturday and I know she plans to spend it skiing. Well, I have news for her...the skiing will carry on without her. Looks like it will be a fun filled day spent searching for the carpet. I know it is under those piles of clothes somewhere. Check back tomorrow for pictures of the scoured room. I mean really!!!

Go Rams! Go Kenz!

2007-12-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

I just was looking at Kenzie's cheerleading pictures. Over the past year or so she has really changed. I can't believe that in just a few short months she will be driving (finally legally) I haven't blogged much about her so I thought I should include some pictures of her. I can't believe I have a 15 1/2 year old daughter. Life is certainly interesting at our home these days. Does anyone know of a good all girls boarding school? haha

Finally!

2007-11-29T20:27:00.000-08:00

Caroline has taken violin lessons now for just over three months. At her lesson yesterday she was FINALLY allowed to pick up her "real" violin. We have been going to lessons to learn how to stand properly, hold the bow, where you can and cannot touch the bow and violin and how to look at the violin once it is placed correctly. She has been learning on a cardboard violin and using a stick that mimics a bow. She still doesn't use her bow instead she plucks the strings. However, this is some major progress for her. It is a happy day at our house! She now plays "Pop Goes the Weasel" over and over and over. I personally can't wait until next week so we can hopefully have another tune to add to her list. Way to go Liney!!

Could it be true?

2007-11-26T19:44:00.001-08:00

You won't believe who has finally cut his hair...drum roll please...
Yes, it is true, Mckinnley has chopped his long hair off. He no longer
looks like a skater dude. Isn't he so handsome? You can actually see his
beautiful blues. He hates pictures so these are the best I could do.

Caroline goes crazy!!

2007-11-25T13:10:00.001-08:00

Don't ask me what got into Caroline today but she has been completely out of control. Jumping around, making crazy faces and being a total goofball. She started dancing and posing and told me to take some pictures of her, here they are. The pictures don't make her craziness seem quite as bad as it was. I think we had better lay off the caffeine for a while!!

Oh how we love the Caribbean!!

2007-11-24T17:22:00.000-08:00

Last year for Christmas, my mom gave the entire family, all daughters, husbands and children, a cruise to the Caribbean. After waiting 11 months it was finally time to go. We got home last Sunday after an absolutely amazing week. We spent 4 days on the ship, one day in St. Maarten, one day in St. Thomas and one day in Princess Cays. The highlight for the kids definitely had to be snorkeling while in St. Thomas. They all got to be very good at it and they all had a blast. While on the ship we were constantly busy doing fun activities. A few of the good times included: Holli jumping in the pool fully clothed within the first few hours of getting on the ship (of course it was a contest), swimming, tanning, shopping, reading, EATING, going to kids camp, hanging out with 12 cousins, watching movies on the 300 foot screen each night, dancing for raffle tickets, Haley and Holli being hypnotised and we can't forget the casino and BINGO. Holli won a jackpot of $1,250.00 playing bingo, it's not only for old people! Did I mention eating? We ate and ate and ate. We weren't even hungry and we still ate. It is impossible to pass up the ice cream bar each afternoon and the pizza, cheeseburgers, fries and room service that are open 24 hours a day. Can anyone guess who gained the most weight? Now that is a contest I wish I hadn't won. Unfortunately, I am quite sure that I did. Oh well, it was totally worth it! We pretty much ran the ship. You can't have that many Scharman/Soderberg girls together and not take control of things. Let's just say we created a little chaos and it was always exciting when we were around. I am pretty sure that the Caribbean Princess will never be the same! Thanks Mom for a wonderful vacation and all the fabulous memories that we will cherish always! Let's get the next trip on the calendar!!