SIXTEEN

     Yay!  Grateful for hair and sometimes for getting rid of hair.  Jaxon has been growing out his hair for quite awhile.  Alissa has cut it for him once, but I think he decided that keeping it looking good long is harder than just growing your hair out.  :)
     He liked that it was getting curly and really did look pretty cute in the back - not as good in the front, but still not bad.  It drove Jared crazy most of the time and I have to say I like it better when I can see his handsome face. :)

I really do think the curls are cute - who knows where he got them from.
 I guess my bros  have curly hair.

     Here you can see Jared decided to have some fun cutting - Jake and Jainie especially found it entertaining and Jaxon was a good sport to let everyone laugh at him.  We decided to see how he would look with a mohawk.  :)  Not my favorite look.

It definitely got a bit long.

     I didn't get an after picture, but it looks MUCH better.  :)

FIFTEEN

     Good friends.  Jainie and Matt have been good friends since birth - they each go over to the other's houses whenever possible.  In fact, if I can't find Jainie, she is over at Celeste's (Matt's mom).  It is great, I am glad she feels so comfortable with other people.  There was a time, about a year ago, that she would rather be following Celeste around than me, that was a bit rough.  :(  Matt also feels very comfortable here and whenever he shows up, he and Jainie start playing and have a grand time.

One day I found them downstairs watching a movie all happy and snuggled up.

FOURTEEN

Well, I have been waiting for #14.  I thought it was only appropriate that my fourteenth blessing be my eldest child, Jaxon, as he just turned 14 - yep, 14.  I can hardly believe it myself.  It is such a bitter sweet time for me.  I still remember the day he was born - November 12 - 9lbs 3ozs, 20 inches long.  He came out screaming at us all and then promptly whizzed on the doctor.  :)  He loves that story.  He has been full of it ever since then.  

He is growing up so quickly, there have been many days that I have thought, "Oh, if I could just raise him to be a good, decent, happy human being who tries to do the right and helps other people I will be successful."  It has at times been a struggle, I can't tell you how many times he ran away from home - too many to count.  He really likes to tease and cause those around him stress most of the time, well, family anyway.  But, they tell me at school he is great and most people think he is relatively quiet - ha! he really isn't.  He definitely likes to push his limits.  However, he is maturing so much - turning into such a good young man.  He helps me so much whenever he knows I really need it - he is such a blessing to me.  Still, how has he grown so much so quickly?  It baffles me how swiftly the time goes and I wonder, "Have I done enough?  Will he make good choices and be a good example when I am not around?"  He is getting to the point where we really enjoy talking with each other.  He is very logical and if I can give him good reasons for things, then he understands and tries harder.  He is extremely intellectual and thinks about everything - how and why.  And, he can figure out how to fix just about anything.  When he was about 11, he took a computer apart and then reassembled it - making it so only he knew how it worked.  Whenever I can't figure something out, I give it to him and he fixes it for me.  

So, his birthday was on a Saturday and he didn't know quite what to do with himself.  We brought him breakfast in bed, of course.  A new recipe I tried - french toast made with croissants with a banana syrup - it was YUMMY! Plus, bacon, hot chocolate, and a Jamba juice drink.  He loved it.

Then, he just played downstairs on the Wii for a few hours while his dad went to work.  We let him choose if he wanted to invite friends over to watch movies or invite friends over to play basketball but he just wanted to hang out with the family.  He did have a basketball game at 10 - which he played really well in.  He has been playing post this year and is awesome.  Josh had a game at 2:00 so we went to that as well.  After we got home , he was dying to open presents so that came next.  

This is a card Jainie made special for him - you can see she is thrilled.

And, this is a special book that Josie, Jake and Jainie put together for him - with pictures and everything - Josie is a really good sister.

Yep, he loves the Yankees and wanted an official fitted hat.

Jared had a Priesthood Leadership Meeting at 4:30 so while he went to that the rest of us went bowling - Jaxon knocked down 9 pins 6 different times - he dealt with it really well and was still happy at the end.  He did get a spare and a strike later.  

A bunch of crazies.  :)

Then, Jared and I took him out to dinner - Wingers was his choice and he ordered steak, of course, no expense spared on your birthday, I guess.  It was nice to spend time one on one with him - like I have said, he really is getting to be quite a nice young man.  (And, I have to say, I am really glad he is a bit shy so he doesn't want to hang out with girls as much as most of his friends do. :)  That will come soon enough).

All in all, I think he had a nice day.  And, the next day, he was ordained to be a teacher in the priesthood.  It was so special and I am so glad he is making good choices.  Both sides of grandparents got to be there, which was wonderful. 

Afterward, we went over to Gpa and Gma Oldroyd's for dinner for his birthday.  Gpa and Gma Thalman took him out the next weekend for some birthday fun.  He is lucky to have such great grandparents and that we get to live by both of them.

He got tickets to the UofU vs. BYU basketball game - Josh is excited too because he tags along with whatever Jaxon does - they are pretty good friends.

Some other facts about Jaxon:  

1.  He LOVES to read - he reads everything, he hated reading until 5th grade when it   

     finally clicked and off he went.  He is definitely one of the best readers at his school.

2.  He LOVES sports - baseball is his favorite, he loves pitching and 2nd base.  He played

     a bit of 3rd last year as well and did a great job - stopped a couple balls with his shins

     - OUCH!  He also loves basketball - he is a wonderful rebounder.  

3.  He is growing rapidly.  He passed me up a few months ago.  He has grown about an

     inch since his birthday - no kidding - he is now about 5'11".  He wants to be the tallest

     Thalman - right now his dad is at 6'0".  He just might make it.

4.  He likes to act tough but is still just a kid at heart.  He still likes playing with his 

     siblings and loves legos.  He really doesn't like being by himself too much so a sibling 

     is usually with him.

5.  He was so excited when he started growing armpit hair - gross, I know.  It started last

     year - he won't let me take a picture of it.  :)  Yep, I like to embarrass him.

6.  His favorite foods are still venison and shrimp.  And, his favorite color is orange 

     because he learned that orange is the color of flirtation.  :)  Good thing he is too shy to

     flirt much.

7.  He LOVES sweets - he almost always has a hidden stash of candy somewhere - I find

     garbage wrappers everywhere, under couches, behind toys, in his sheets, pockets, etc.

8.  His hands are huge!  I think they are almost as big as his dad's.

9.  He is a sweetheart and really tries to help others even though sometimes it is really 

     hard apparently.

10.  He loves hunting and fishing and wishes he could go more.  Since he can't, he plays

      video games as much as I will let him.  And, he gets very irritable when I make him 

       turn them off, he would play all day and night if I let him.

Happy Birthday Jaxi - we love you more than you will ever know!

THIRTEEN

Talents.  Today I am grateful for my talents and the talents of my children and the talents of others.  Definitely one thing I try to teach  my children is that everyone has talents - no matter who or what circumstances they are in.  Just because one thing comes easy to you and not as easy to someone else, that doesn't mean you are better than they are.  On the other hand, if you have to work hard at something and someone else doesn't have to try at all, that doesn't mean they are better than you.  That is the beauty of people - we all have strengths and weaknesses and if we can appreciate each other for those, then we will live in a better world and we will be better individuals.

Josie, Joshua, and Jacob all take piano and they had their recital this year in November.  It was actually quite refreshing - fun to go when nothing else is planned - it was on the 6th.  They each did a great job, didn't need their music, and were brave to get up in front of so many people.

Jake was up first - actually 4th in the recital - but he was sooo nervous!  It was crazy, he was flipping around, crying, insisting that he didn't want to play or do any piano anymore.  He has usually loved going to piano.  I have decided that he is VERY bashful - he does not like people looking at him.  I had to walk up with him/ drag him and then stand by him for both of his songs, which were: "Two Black Cats" and "Mary had a Little Lamb."  This was Jake's first year of piano so he had only taken for a couple of months.  He liked it when it was all over - that is when this picture was taken.  His piano teacher gave him his own piano bag that she had sewn, which he thought was awesome.  What a kid!

Joshua was quite a few numbers later - this is probably his 4th recital - he played, "Minuet" and "The Medallion Calls" from "Pirates of the Carribbean."  He did a great job!  He was nervous too, but definitely displays it in a different way.  He sat on the front row by his friends and deals with everything internally.  It amazes me how different each of my children is in so many ways when they have all been raised the same way.

Josie was 2nd to last - she played, "Minuet in G" by Beethoven and "Popular" from "Wicked".  It was great!  She practiced really well the last couple weeks before the  recital - she was definitely the most prepared.  It was great.  She just sits and waits her turn and gets really giggly when she is nervous.

We were lucky to have our whole family there and Grandpa and Grandma Oldroyd and Grandpa and Grandma Thalman also came to support us.  I wish I would've snapped a picture, I have been a bit too complacent with picture taking lately.

They all did a wonderful job and I am so proud of them - I remember how hard it is to get up and play in front of so many people.  Jaxon quit playing about a year ago, it was and is sad - he was getting pretty good but I just couldn't handle the fight any longer.  I hope someday he will come back to it.  I love the piano and the accomplishment you feel when you finally get a song down you have been working on.  :)

TWELVE

SHOES!  Yep, very grateful for them.  I love shoes so does Jared, so it is no wonder that the kids do as well.  We were cleaning out the garage (not done yet) and found about 7 bins of shoes!  Crazy - too many shoes.  So we went through them and gave 2 big black garbage bags of shoes to the DI and threw 2 garbage bags of shoes away!  So, now we only have shoes that fit, one bin of boys shoes to grow into, one bin of girls shoes to grow into, and one bin of cleats - yep, full of baseball cleats - what does that tell you?

Anyway, these are shoes I was throwing away because they are shot but they were the girls favorites, so I had to get pictures first.

These are obviously from when Josie was a bit younger - probably Kindergarten/1st grade - they are too little for Jainie already.  She wore pink shoes pretty much EVERY day - and they ALWAYS matched her outfits - yep, she is girly too.  :)  Wouldn't trade her for the world.

You can see these are all "princessy shoes" - first her Cinderella slippers - yep only one left and you can see it is trashed!  The Alice In Wonderland shoes - which have been clasped and unclasped so much the clasps are broken!  And, her favorite, Ruby Red Slippers that Gma O brought her from the Smithsonian when she was about 2 -3 - she wore those constantly - there are hardly any sparkles left.  Oh, sweet memories.

ELEVEN

So grateful that I am pregnant again.  Not that I feel that great, but I am excited to have a new baby, it is about time really.  I am a nervous Nelly this time though - I just found out a friend lost her baby at 25 weeks - yikes!  I am 23 weeks.  So, every time the baby moves I think, "Yes, things are still going well."  Hopefully I don't have a heart attack from stress before this baby comes.  :)

This is the day of the ultrasound - yes, we know what "IT" is.  But, we aren't telling everyone til Thanksgiving so stay tuned for updates. :)

Oh, and I wasn't 23 weeks in this picture, I am a bit bigger now.

TEN

This little girl is such a organizational wonder.  She organizes everything!  When we got home from trick or treating, before she ate any candy, she organized it into piles so she would know exactly what she had.  I thought it was too cute.   

I really cannot say how awesome it has been to have her home with me in the mornings this year, we visit about everything.  In fact, about a month ago she told me when she was at one of her friend's houses playing - a boy.  They decided to get married and then kissed on the lips!  Can you believe that?  I asked her, "Why did you kiss him?  You know you aren't supposed to do that."  And, she said, "Well you and dad kiss all the time."  And, I replied, "Yes, but we are married and love each other."  And, she said, "Well, we were married and we love each other."  And, then she rolled her eyes at me - can you believe that?  Are we in trouble or what?  I think I did finally convince her that she shouldn't be kissing boys - fingers crossed.

She is very girly and was so excited that for Halloween we put her hair in her very first bun - you can see how full and beautiful it is.  :)

What a girly girl!

NINE

So grateful Jake has such a great friend and cousin in his class this year.  Jake and Emma are both in Mrs. Crane's 2nd grade class - they are the best of friends and play together every day - pretty much every recess.  They get together and take notebooks outside and draw pictures - Jake's are usually some sort of army or war pictures - I am not sure about Emma's.  They also liked to look for bugs and worms, when the weather is better.  They are really good at letting other kids play with them as well, which I think is very important, everyone isn't as lucky as they are, to have a great friend in class.  It has been great for Jake and it is making our school days MUCH better.

I also LOVE how Jake doesn't have any front teeth - I keep telling him he needs to sing "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth," he won't do it.  And, now they are coming in!  As of right now, he only has 8 top teeth.  What a fun stage.

EIGHT

     Not necessarily Halloween, but that Halloween is over.  :)  Don't you love my enthusiastic spirit this year?  There are a few things I love about Halloween.  Every year, my mom makes a special Halloween dinner for all the grandkids.  She puts a lot of thought into it and the kids love it - they don't necessarily eat it, but they do think it's lots of fun.  It is always nutritious so they get something good before all that candy.

 So these are obviously the worms - and worm excrement.  :)

 

Grandma hid a skeleton in pieces outside so the kids all had to go searching to put the poor guy back together.  Isn't it a beautiful Halloween day?

Jaxon, who doesn't dress up anymore, actually loves this dinner, although he doesn't look like it in this picture.  You can see we had coffins with RIP on them and bones as well.

She really does do a great job, it is always fun and this year Grandpa participated as well and taught the kids the Monster Mash - he dressed up as a pirate - wish I would've snapped a picture.  As soon as we were done with that, we headed out to trick or treat at aunts & uncles, and great Grandma's before heading to Richfield.

This year the kids didn't really care what they were for Halloween - which is good because I didn't have the energy to put into costumes anyway.  Jainie decided on Belle, as long as she got new "secsessories - shoes, gloves, a crown, and julie (jewelry)."  Josh barely decided to dress up because I made him - so he is once again a Yankees ball player, this year Derek Jeter.  Notice he wouldn't even put eye black on this year.  Josie was a house elf - we thought about ordering ears, but it never happened - her socks/leggings were the best and you can see she decided to wear Luna's necklace.  Jake decided a couple days before to be a viking and he looked pretty sweet - wanted a sword instead of an axe however - whatever makes you happy.  Jaxon was gone to basketball practice or we would have put him in the picture anyway - without a costume.  Sometimes growing up stinks!

After we met back up with Jaxon and dad, Josie went off with friends, Josh and Jake went with friends and I sat there thinking, "What now?"  Jaxon volunteered to hand out candy so Jared, Jainie and I went on our own.  It was like a date - so fun!  I think Jainie loved it - having that one on one time with both parents.  It was great.  We later met up with the Henderson's and Jainie and Matt went together for a block or two and loved it.  It was too dark for a picture at that point, however.  That is the other thing I love about Halloween, I think it is fun to have the whole neighborhood outside enjoying cute kids and visiting a bit with each other.  We should do that part more often - without the teenagers and scantily dressed people out trick or treating.

Around 8:30, we all got back together to head over to Gpa and Gma Thalman's.  The boys used to go out with Garrison and get lots more treats, this year Garrison nor the boys were really too interested in that.  Anyway, here is everyone together.  I think this pic is funny because Allie is screaming and if you look at Josh and Jake they are both looking at her wondering what is going on - Jainie and Josie only want to get a good picture and Jaxon could care less about it all.  It is definitely going to be a change for us all to have a baby in the house again.  :)

All in all, another great Halloween - still I am glad it's over.  

SEVEN

     Grateful my computer is working today!!!  The internet hasn't been working and the wireless part still isn't.  Luckily, Jared knew how to hook it up to the modem, which will do for now.  Whew!  I didn't know I relied on it so much.  What would have I done on Black Friday or Cyber Monday!

SIX

While I'm on the topic of vacations, I love vacations with my sweetheart.  It's been awhile since we got to go on one, but they are awesome.  Not too long, then we miss the kids too much, just a couple days or so.  It is nice to reconnect with nothing else to focus on or drag our attention away.

This is when we went to Seattle - Andy & Brooke were there part of the time as well.  And, Gpa and Gma, of course.  We stayed right on a body of water and went swimming with the seals as well as lots of canoeing - this was relaxing afterward.  Yes, our farmer tans are really that bad! 

FIVE

We had Stake Conference, which was a Regional Conference this weekend.  It was great!  Jared and I went to the adult session Saturday night, which was nice.  The speakers were great and Jared and I had time in a church setting to sit and enjoy each other's company with no kids.  So peaceful.  Anyway, all the talks were on the temple.  It was a great reminder of how we need to love the temples more and attend more regularly.  I do admit I always enjoy it when I go.  

So, this is MY temple :), the Manti temple.  It is where I took out my endowments and where I was sealed to my sweetie.  This is Lindsay, on the day she took out her endowments.  So beautiful and white everywhere!

FOUR

I am so grateful for family vacations - they are very difficult but oh, so worth it!  These are from November 2009 - our trip to CA.  We went to the zoo, the temple, Universal, and Disneyland.  It was great!

THREE

Grateful for strong muscles!  Not mine, unfortunately.  Today, Jared has torn all the boxes apart in the garage, there are a LOT!, to find my maternity clothes.  Wouldn't you know it, they were in the very bottom, very furthest back bins.  He'd already looked for them twice.  Thanks for being persistent sweetie.  :)

     This pic was this past summer, it was his first attempt at wake-boarding - pretty good, eh?  He has only skied a couple of times, he's a quick learner.

TWO

     Grateful for Grandma Leila - today, the 4th, is her birthday.  Unfortunately, she is in the hospital.  I need to do better at going to visit her.  I can't find a picture that I want to post of her, so I guess no pic this time.  :)

ONE

Grateful for these 2 chuckleheads who keep me on my toes at ALL times!