Happy Holdiays from the Grovers 2010

I got some cards out in the mail this year but not nearly enough and I am sorry to those who didn't receive one personally. You are in our thoughts, memories and photo albums. I haven't been great about blogging each event because i focus on scrapbooking them but our year has been full of family vacations, birthdays, sporting events, drama, art and oh so much more. Happy New Year to you all!

Great Wolf Lodge

This year we started a new tradition for Christmas. It began last year but this year we implemented it as a family---Christmas Vacations for Christmas! Over the past few years I have become a bit disenchanted with the expectations of people when a gift is being given- the idea that a gift has to be on a list and if its not I am suppose to supply you with a receipt...anyway for the last couple years we have been contemplating not doing "big" gifts for the kids and this year we decided to begin the tradition. After Christmas last year we let the kids know that Santa Claus is still coming but that we would no longer be buying gifts for them...instead we were going to create fun family memories beginning with a trip to Great Wolf Lodge. They were so excited and continued to be excited all year long. As they day approached they couldn't think of anything else and when we set the date it was real...a day to countdown too! December 13-14, 2010 and even better Uncle Joe and Aunt Gretchen wanted to join us. The more the merrier....so here are some highlights!

The kids couldn't get enough of the slides...for the really big ones we had to climb 92 stairs to the top...those were the only ones the kids wanted to do so we must have climbed up 40 times. You do the math....my calves were killing me the next day---definitely a work out. Nicholas couldn't do the "Howling Tornado" due to height issues but he could do the River Run---it was by far his favorite because they played Rock music on the way down..If you could have seen his face. He would assume the position of "safety" as we left dock...but as soon as he was out of sight of the enforcers he would turn around put his hands in the air and rock out the entire way down. David and I couldn't help but smile big every time we made the trip. It was also fun because we could go down as an entire family. Even the kids after all was said and done when asked what their favorite thing was said in unison, "the river one because we could all be on it together." The howling tornado was a drop off in the dark and it definitely made your stomach feel as though it was flying... We kept saying we wish we had brought a waterproof camera because those photos would have been priceless.

It was fun being in the kiddie areas with Trevor and Andrew- to see the joy on their faces as well as see Andrew take his first trip down the slide. He swallowed some water but it was well worth it. Trevor was so excited everytime the water waves would come up to his feet...he would kick his feet and smile the whole time. Memories should be shared and we had fun sharing them with Uncle Joe and Aunt Gretchen.

Would we do it again? Definite Yes! We went at an off time - during the week when school was still in session and there were no lines, no waiting and lots of room to relax. The rooms were fantastic...even the cheap ones- which is where we stayed. We brought our own food for breakfast and lunch and left the facilities to eat dinner. It was a great memory and we are looking forward to next years new memory---Disneyland.

Halloween Festivities 2010

Last night we were invited to a Halloween Party- of course we would not have missed it since some of our greatest friends were also to be in attendance. The theme was spiders and those in charge sure delivered on the decorations. It was amazing!







































































I am not much of a person to dress up but David is and so he has been looking for months. We don't have a huge budget so the ones he really wanted were out of the question but we did decide on this





















We played games like guess how many spiders in the jar, who can jump the spider the furthest, charades, and guess the famous person. The food was plentiful and I must say my noodle salad was amazing... Oh, and I forgot the eat the donut on a string the fastest...that is a classic and always fun no matter what age. Socializing is of course the most engaging for me and there was plenty of it. I just love having a group of friends that make life fun and enjoyable. Take a look at the group of us...



















I have to have an honorable mention because one of my friends had a meeting she needed to go to and was therefore not present for the group picture... so here she is along with her husband.

We were glad to have her there even for the short time it was.

Thanks to all those who planned, provided, decorated and made this night possible. We had a great time and look forward to next year.

Flag Football Season

Xander has started playing flag football and I must say I believe he has found his sport "passion" I have never seen him so engaged in a sport in all his almost 10 years of life. He is a different kid on the field. My cautious "sweet boy" becomes this aggressive...well I don't even know what to call it. But I love watching it. I am engaged in the game. He has played two games so far and he has made 2 or is it 3 touchdowns. Now, its not tackle, and I am still not sure how I feel about him playing tackle but for now I'll just enjoy this. Here are a few highlights from his first game...thanks to Uncle Joe and Aunt Gretchen who came and also some highlights from his second game thanks to Uncle Rick and Aunt Bonnie who came to that one.





1st game Highlights
and now for the second game highlights...





Now I know I am a mom and leave it to mom's to boast of their children's talent but I have to say he is the best kid on the team...he's quick, he's intent, he's engaged, he's cute (I can say that) and he loves playing. Now baseball is up there but even then he doesn't light up the way he does playing football.

It's Halloween Time

I am trying to get better at blogging again....I do have the time I just don't make it a priority. But we had a fun time for FHE this evening....for the first time since having kids I felt we could handle carving pumpkins. We have over the years colored, drawn, painted and did whatever we could to pumpkins but never have we attempted to carve them, with real tools. We invited our friends the Brown's over, and also had our friends the Baxter's. We had dinner first and then began carving. Here are some of the captured moments as well as the results of our attempts. I must say that I believe we actually did a good job for it being our first time.


This was taken so that people in the future would know I was there.


Nicholas didn't really want to put his hands in the pumpkin- he thought it was gross.


Natalee was just happy to be doing something with art...


All the girls cleaning out their pumpkins


Xander was so excited to show off his completed pumpkin- he and david worked hard on it.


All the boys...


Brown Family Pumpkin


Baxter Family Pumpkins


Our family pumpkins...completed! Aren't we just awesome.


Here they are all lit up in the dark...Pretty Cool, huh!



Happy Halloween to our family and friends!

Fall is here!

Yikes! The summer just passed us by and I must say I am bewildered by time and how quickly it gets out of reach. We had such a great summer, we didn't travel too far but we traveled more than usual and we made such great memories. I am so grateful that the kids are growing up and becoming more independent. They still need to know I am there but they can function in public without my constant hand holding and without being attached to my side. It is actually kind of freeing and makes family trips much more enjoyable for all of us. This summer we got to travel to Pacific Beach,
Spokane, and Cannon Beach/Seaside and of course made our traditional trip to Ohanepecosh. We took lots of pictures, made lots of memories, bonded with family and friends and vowed to go back to each of these places at some point. The only trip we were sad not to be able to make was to visit our friends in Walla Walla.

We so wanted to go but did not budget as well as we should have and consequently had to make some cut backs. We hope to make up for it sometime this year. As we came to the end of our summer, exhausted yet fulfilled, we discovered how much we love to discover new places and are so excited to realize that we are finally at a point in which we feel we can pursue our traveling dreams. In fact we have decided for Christmas instead spending our hard earned funds on "stuff" we are going to save for family trips. This year we are going to Great Wolf Lodge and the kids are super excited (Aunt Gretchen, Uncle Joe, Andrew and Trevor get to go with us) Next year is in the works and we will be taking the kids to Disneyland. Its so fun to see and hear the excitement on the kids faces as they speak about our upcoming trips. So after the summer came to an end with our one last trip to Ohanepecosh
we settled
back into the routine that was seriously lacking during the summer and I think we are now getting into the groove of school, piano, homework, practices, and all that goes into having kids and staying busy.

I must say that things changed dramatically for me this year in that ALL the kids are in school all day. It has been FABULOUS! I get so much done and I still have time to do some of things that I WANT to do. My biggest goal this year is to get my house organized and things in their place. It has been so hard to do with the kids at home constantly taking things out of their place as soon as I clean. It also entails having to purge, which is not going to be easy and then having a place for those things I can't quite part with yet but may need to down the road. I also plan to paint every room in the house by the end of the school year. The other thing that I have wanted to do for a very long time is build shelves in our old, tiny, coat closet. I have been asking for a year or longer and it finally was accomplished last week. yeah...thanks to David and I working together as a team to get it done.

I also had the extreme pleasure of saving, looking and searching for a piano this year and recently we were able to purchase a very nice, used but well taken care of, piano from the nicest lady on Craigslist. I really have been praying we would be able to find a piano that would fit the needs of the kids as well as my extreme desire to learn and play the piano.I have been looking for the past year and when I found this one for sale it was as if we were meant to be. Everything came together in a short period of time and within a few days it was mine!

Thanks to many family and friends who made it possible.

I have also been doing a lot of studying of books that help me to understand the gospel more, historically and symbolically. I love gaining knowledge that helps me to have a greater understanding of how the gospel works and further solidifies the testimony I already have. It's amazing how it all works together to testify of our Heavenly Father and His plan of Happiness for us, His children and of His Son, Jesus Christ, His atonement and sacrifice for us. I love it all. It brings me great joy. It gets me through the difficult times and helps me overcome the weaknesses I have, just by knowing that by having faith in Him- I can become someone far greatter than I am today.

My family is a blessing to me and the things I learn daily from serving them, helps me to understand the love my Heavenly Father has for me. I love that my children teach me, love me and have patience with me. I am thankful for my husband who does the same for me on a far greater level. We learn together and love together. We are constantly learning to be friends and every day I love him more. I am looking forward to creating new memories with each of my family members and choosing to be with them for eternity.