Taxes, skinny jeans and Mickey!

I can hardly believe that 2010 is almost over! I just received notice from my accountant that my taxes (for the business) need to be in to him by Feb. 8th!!! I haven't even started them yet! This next month is going to be filled with checking reconciliations, end of year business expenses...and the most dreaded...1099s, W2s and W3s. Ick, Ick, Ick! I had better never die (not that I'm planning to) because Casey has no clue how to do taxes for his own business. He'd be lost without me :) Anway, as I said before, our week has consisted of taking down Christmas and playing "Epic Mickey" on the Wii. If you have gamers at home that like Disney, this game is amazing. We went to the mall the other day and Casey scored a playbook that helps them get through the game without missing anything. We also bought him a new suit. He's down to a 32 waist from a 38. I bought him some "skinny" jeans for Christmas. He has taken a while to adjust to wearing them. He' s used to baggy jeans from Costco. He looks really, really good in them though!

Finally, I thought I'd post some family pics. We got them taken at Sears this year and I think they turned out mighty fine! Happy New year everyone!

2010 final pages

So, my kids got some new games for christmas for the Wii. By far the favorite was "epic Mickey." Casey played that game for 4 hours last night. He had just finished tithing settlement for the year and he came home and had some "me" time with the Wii. The girls have been playing far too many Wii games...but it has allowed me to take down Christmas decorations, clean my house from the Christmas mayhem and sit down to finish out my 2010 Scrapbook. With this final page, I'm ready to put it all together and order it! (I just have to raise the money to pay for it :)

Finally, here's our last week...only one more to go!!

Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas friends! We had such a wonderful christmas eve and Christmas day. I know I'm quick to post these but I promised my mom she could see the gifts that she bought my kids. (My parents send us money each year so that we can pick things out that the girls really want or need.) First off, last year's Nativity scrapbook page somehow didn't make it into my 2009 scrapbook so, I just popped the 2010 pics into the layout and there you have it...instant scrapbook page:)



These pictures are completely out of order. Casey has always wanted an RC car and now that we don't have carpet in our house anymore, we got him one. He was very happy!

Charlotte's FAVORITE gift was her new guitar. (thank Grandma and Grandpa Millar!) Jillian received a beautiful necklace with a music note and a "J" on it from her Grandma Walburger. She's been wearing it proudly all day.

Again with grandparents' cash, Jillian got a Harry Potter "The Burrow" Lego set. We've been working on it all day.

You might say that we had a Lego Christmas. Allison also got Legos.

and so did Maggie. Why the interest in Legos? Their cousins (the Boorens) who live just around the corner have a whole drawer full of Legos. My girls LOVE to go over and play with them.

Lydia had a completely "Princess" Christmas. Her big gift (also from grandparents) was the disney Princess Castle. She was pretty excited!

here's Casey reading the annual letter from Santa Claus. (Delivered on Christmas Eve) It was very long and cute. Santa does a nice job writing it each year.

with the letter came a pair of pajamas for each girl. Pamela Farley (Their family joins us for Christmas Eve every year) made each of the girls a new scarf.

Am I glad Christmas is over?...yes indeed. I love the focus on the Savior and family but I am so tired after it's all over! I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

Christmas is here!

I can hardly believe that Christmas Eve is tomorrow. Why exactly do we make ourselves so darned busy during this season. I'm sure if the Savior was here He would probably tell us to slow down, do the bare minimum and focus on what's really important. I tell myself that every year and yet, every year I over-buy, over-schedule and over-do. I hate that I feel this great relief when Christmas is over. It shouldn't be that way. Any suggestions on how to "pull back" and make Christmas more about Christ?

another week

14 year old suit!!

Yesterday Casey, in his quest to find a suit that actually fits him now, pulled out an old suit from the back of the closet. He brought it to me and said, "Check out this double breasted suit...where did I get this from?" I burst into giggles and said, "ummm, that's the jacket you wore at our wedding reception." He didn't believe me until he pulled out the wedding album. Anyway, he wore it yesterday. I made him take a few pictures before he went to bed last night. :) Also, I hit 20 lbs today! WAHOOOOO! (Okay, that's the last weight loss post for a while...I'm sure it's rather boring to you all. :)

Recital

Hey everyone! The girls had their semi annual singing recital yesterday. Their aunt charlotte is their teacher and ordinarily, it's a small enough group to have the recital in her living room. Aunt Charlotte is so good that she now has nine students! We used the Relief Society room at the church and it was packed! The girls did excellent! We were so proud of them. !

Here's our girls with their amazing aunt!

here's the video. Ignore the horrible children that drove me NUTS through Maggie and Jillian's performance. By the time Charlotte's turn came up, uncle Jared had removed child number 5 from the room.



On the weight loss front, Casey wore his suit that he got MARRIED in to church today...with room to spare! UNBELIEVABLE! As for me I finally hit 19 lbs today. Only one more to go and I hit the magic 20. Not that 20 is where I'm stopping but to me, it means that I can really do this! 20 is a big number for me. I haven't been able to drop 20 lbs since before children so I'm thrilled. I went to a party the other day and everyone was congratulating Casey on his astounding weight loss. One of my dear friends, (Lindsay) who knew that I was also losing weight came up to me and said, "I want you to know that you are looking really good too. Everyone notices Casey but you are doing awesome!" (Or something like that) I was so thankful. Casey's new look is so darn dramatic. I sometimes get discouraged because I've been working so hard and no one has really noticed my 19 lb. loss. I think there's a few reasons for that. First, I had ALOT more to lose than Casey. Second, his seemed almost instant while mine has been a long, hard slog. My ultimate goal is to get to reunion season and have family notice BOTH of our weight loss, not just Casey's. Don't get me wrong, I'm over the moon over Casey's new look. I am bursting with pride for what he's accomplished. I just sometimes wish that women could loose weight like men can!

Focus on Christ

I can't believe it's December already! On Sunday we went to the annual Creche exhibit at the Stake Center and I swear it felt like we were just there a few months ago! It's amazing how fast one year goes by!

This year in primary we've been doing a life study of the Savior. We finish this month and for the grand finale, I'm putting together a slideshow of the Savior's life set to music. Each family in primary will receive a DVD of the slideshow so that they can review what we've learned with their families. I am so thankful for this project at this time of the year because it has caused me to completely focus on Christ. I have been scanning pictures into my computer from our copies of the Ensign and other sources. I am amazed at the talents of some of these artists to portray the love of the Savior in their artwork. When I look at some of these pictures, He seems so familiar to me...like He's right at the surface of my memory. I think that's because these pictures make Him look just like I think He should look like. I wish I had a talent like that but since I don't, I'm glad that there are those out there that share theirs.

Here are two of my favorites! (I apologize for not knowing the artist.)

anyone with little girls has to love this one right?


Finally, here's our last week of craziness:

Oregon

My kids were complaining the other day about why we live in a state where it doesn't snow. I grew up in a place where it snowed ALOT in the winter time (Spokane) and I have to say, I don't miss it. Sure, it would be nice to have a white Christmas just once. It would be nice to have a snow day that lasts a little longer than noon before it all melts. But, I do not miss the icy driving conditions or shoveling driveways.

I was doing some scrapbooking catching up and just happened to complete 3 Oregon layouts. They reminded me of all the reasons that I love living here.

1. the Beach! The best place on the planet as far as I'm concerned!



2. Fall in Oregon. It is so darned gorgeous and it lasts for a REALLY long time. Utah's fall is so quick...blink and you miss it. I love the varying colors that take 3 months to turn at different times. (and we love the Portland zoo)




3. This is where my husband grew up. I love doing things with my children that he grew up doing. (Even if they're quite lame...just read below. Do any of you have the same relationship with Enchanted Forest that I do?)





So, next time my kids ask if we can move to a "snowy" place, I'll remind them about how blessed they are to live in this great state. (Even if it's really rainy and really liberal :)