Sophie Bophie

Sophie turned 15!  Yay for Sophie.

 A Sunday birthday is very relaxing, but not necessarily a friend day, so Sophie got some friends over Saturday night to party.  Sophie is THE party planner for her group.  She is the one who organizes, plans, and invites everyone to everything.  One mother said to me recently, "I'm trying to figure out what my son would be doing if your family hadn't moved in!  Sophie is the one who gets everything going!"  She knows how to party!

She looked cute at chuch...she planned this whole outfit around the scarf she's wearing given to her by a nice boy in the ward.  She says he doesn't "like" her...but he went shopping with his mom to buy her a scarf!  Very nice.  Raegan decided to spice up the birthday photos.

Sophie is also a rising star in the Forensics department at Elko High School.  She's the only Freshman to move up to varsity because she has placed so high for her events.  She won first place at one of them...again.  And she's headed to Berkeley, California bright and early tomorrow morning for a big 4-day event at UC Berkeley.

We had to get a photo with the trophy because they only keep them for a day, and then they are displayed at the high school.  This girl is a rock star!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!

Christmas 2013 has already come and gone.  Didn't we JUST do this???

 We have been debating getting rid of two beds downstairs so that the girls have more of a "friend room" instead of a bedroom with a couch.  They were so surprised Christmas morning to see 2 couches, an ottoman, a fireplace/entertainment center, an area rug and some new decor for the basement!  We ended up spending all afternoon taking down and setting up the new space and then we all piled on the new couches for a movie.  It was great!  Some friends had invited us for dinner and we were glad we had turned them down.  We had our new family room, some Papa Murphy's, and eachother.  It was a great Christmas!

So exciting waiting to get upstairs!

Just Dance 2 and 2014 were hits with everyone


Christmas is the time of constant performances and concerts.  We saw Romney and Raegan dance, Alivia sing and play violin, Landrie's 3rd and 4th grade choir, and the Choraliers.  

The Choraliers perform constantly during Christmas time.  I was glad my 3 girls happened to be standing near each other at the elementary school for a picture!

The boy won't pose...ever.

Landrie had to chose a famous historical character to "become" for her Night at the Living Museum and they were all set up at the Northern Nevada Museum.  We had never been there before and it was pretty neat!  And Landrie was a beautiful Jane Austen.

Landrie is such a sweetie, she's always very sensible and never prideful or prejudiced at all.

Christmas is a great time, but so BUSY.  I feel like we're just constantly running and trying to keep up with everything!  This year seemed even busier than normal.  Between performances and my work and Brent's work and callings and keeping up with all the kids, I found myself wishing I could focus more on the reason for Christmas, the SAVIOR.  I kept trying to do this, but it was just extra hard this year as I felt like I was behind in trying to pull off another holiday for a big bunch.

The Saturday before Christmas I had big plans for Brent to take the kids to a movie and lunch and the library and bowling and anything else they could possibly do in Elko so that I could spend some much-needed time getting "things" done at home.  Time was ticking!  That morning my good friend had asked me to sub her paper route for one day while she was out of town watching her son on the EHS basketball team.  It happened to be a snowy, icy day....one of only a few we've had this winter.  I got up early, drove to her house, got the papers, and started walking.  I fell down HARD on like the second house, but found myself feeling grateful I didn't hurt too badly and got up and kept trudging along.  A couple of streets later as I walked up a driveway, I fell again, and this time I instantly noticed my wrist was very sore...I even had to lay there for a minute before I could get back up.  When I did I kept going, but could tell my wrist was pretty bad.  By the end of the route it was throbbing.  I got home and needed to run on a couple of errands before sending Brent and the kids off for the day, but after one store I realized I was on the verge of tears it was hurting so bad and decided to head home.  I felt so frustrated!  How was I going to pull everything off that I needed to do that day with my wrist so sore?  How could this happen so close to Christmas when I still had so much to do?  I was bawling as I drove the short distance to our house, and then a thought hit me:  I had been praying to think more of the Savior and all I could think about was that he suffered for ME.  He even knew what a sore wrist felt like and the frustration I felt because of it!  He is aware of me and everything I am going through.  I spent the day laying around with a throbbing wrist, trying to figure out if it was broken or not. 

I ended up at the Ward Christmas party that night with a makeshift brace I had bought at the dollar store.  The RS President hurried home and grabbed a real brace that she had and it felt so much better!  I went into a classroom with Brent and a bishopric councilor and received a sweet blessing that helped me to know it would heal and that I'd be able to do what I needed to do.  I feel like I had a miracle healing!  By Monday it was okay enough that I was able to get many things done, and we ended up with a great Christmas together as a family and a much needed reminder of the Atonement and how huge a part of my life it needs to be.  I think I needed a badly sprained wrist to help me enjoy the real Spirit of Christmas this year.  And I did!

Peace out

Hartboy

Our baby is FOUR!  We call him "boy" and "brother" and sometimes Hartboy because he's not yet a MAN.  See?  He does this thing where he sucks his thumb and curls his ear to tuck it into his head.  He sits totally content for long periods of time as long as he has the thumb and the ear thing going.

 This boy is my BABY, in every way.  He is getting bigger, but I can still get him to sit "cozy" with me and look at books or watch TV.  I love to kiss and love on those cheeks!  Brent says I'm ruining him, but what boy doesn't need to feel love from his mama for Pete's sake?  He's my sweetie little cutie boy. So far he's okay with me calling him that.

He was SO excited for his birthday!  He kept saying he wanted Great Wall (chinese take out in town) for his birthday.  On November 19th, Raegan came home for lunch and we walked in for some Chinese food.  Hartman got mad and said, "WHY are we HERE???"  I said, "This is Great Wall!  The place you've been talking about!"  He said, "I don't want to eat HERE..." We realized that we've only ever eaten Great Wall food with him at home so he's never seen the restaurant.  He ended up with a few bites of fried rice but was happy to just go home with me and read books and eat a donut.  And now that Scarlett is in school half the day, it's just me and the boy a lot!  I love it.

This is one cutie, sweetie boy.

19 years and counting...

THIS guy, he's a great guy.  He turned the big 45 this past summer.

He really is Superman.  No kidding.

Brent is busy.  He works loooooooong hours driving and "delivering salty snacks" as he puts it, to the people of Elko and Battle Mountain.  Any chance he gets, he loves to sleep and lay on the bed with a tv  remote in his hand.  I tell him all the time how thankful I am that he works SO hard to support our large family.  We were at the temple doing sealings in the fall, and the sealer shook our hands after we were done and said to Brent, "You're a working man!  What do you do for a living?"  Brent is always having troubles with his hands with this job, they get SO chapped and dry and cracked.  In the car I asked him if it bothered him that he was asked that question.  He said, "No!  I'm proud of it!"  And I'm proud of him!

One of Brent's dreams has been to star in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" as Adam Pontipee.  When he heard that the theater company here in Elko was going to put on that very play, well he went to try out.  They told him after he got the part that it wasn't even a competition...they knew he was Adam the second he stepped on stage.  

Well, this began hours and hours of rehearsals and song and line memorization, and all added to his long daily schedule.  But Adam was committed and determined and he did it ALL.

When we were called into the Stake President's office during the rehearsals and President Shumway told Brent he was the new Elder's Quorum President for the ward, he tackled that calling head on also. We have lots and lots of inactives in our boundaries, so there are many visits to make.  Oh, and get this...he felt inspired to call the two husbands of MY two councilors as his councilors in his presidency. They are great couples in the Elko 3rd Ward.

We also have a huge Interfaith Creche Exibit that our Stake puts on every December.  Brent was asked to be in charge of the choirs for this event.  No biggie.  Just more practicing.  He was a pro!  He led the music for our ward choir also and got us ready to sing for the event and for the Christmas program, and had special Sunday night rehearsals for the entire stake.  He chose one of our favorite pieces, "What Sweeter Music" for the Stake choir.  It was beautiful!  I almost couldn't sing as we performed because it sounded so great and the words about the Savior's birth are so beautiful.  He even made his well-known chocolate chip cookies for practices to keep everyone coming.

Well, folks...he did it all!  And very well.  He kept the salty snacks moving, he led the choirs, did an amazing sacrament meeting program for Christmas, and was the star of the show in 7 Brides.

Checking out the local girls for a WIFE

Romney was not chosen, thankfully...

Sobbin' Women

Bless Your Beautiful Hide

"How 'bout it?  How 'bout marryin' me?"

The girl who was going to play Dorcas had an injury kind of at the last minute, and they ended up asking Romney to play Dorcas. She was great! She stepped right in, learned the lines and dances, and looked so cute up on stage.  She wasn't crazy about her "boy", so thank goodness the marriage was fake and he was able to leave for a mission soon after closing night.

Did I mention that the second or third night of the play was mine and Brent's 19th wedding anniversary?  Well, it was.  I went to every single performance, and it was especially fun to see Brent kissing another girl on our anniversary.  But don't worry...it's nineteen years, but we're still counting.  I'm hoping he's got better plans for our 20-year this November.

We were thrilled when Brent's parents and Scott, Tami, Andrea, and Kristin all agreed to drive to Elko to see the play.  Isn't that the nicest???

It was so fun to have them here.  Andrea has been in the same play several times, and realized she had worn the EXACT SAME dress that Romney wore for the play!  Crazy.

I didn't get a photo, but I was already feeling so grateful for Brent's family driving all the way to Elko to support him, and then I walked in for the matinee on Saturday to buy tickets and there were MATT and ABBY!  They woke up that morning and decided to drive to Elko to see 7 Brides.  The sweetest, nicest gesture ever.  They didn't have time to dawdle afterwards and were coming back in a week for Thanksgiving, so only stopped for a few minutes then headed back to Heber.  Thank you so much Aarons and Gouldings and Bocanegras for supporting!  It was great to have you here.

To sum up:  I am married to Adam Pontipee.  He's awesome.

PS.  Brent's little black Honda that has 250 thousand miles and that we just recently poured a bunch of money into, stopped working.  We think it's the clutch.  Because of that, we are down to two cars.  Brent did what he had to do, and started taking the scooter to work at 4am every morning.  It's pretty cold at 4 am!  This is what he looks like coming home.

THANKSforGIVING your time to travel to Elko!

We were thrilled when some of the family suggested that instead of US traveling to THEM, they would come to Elko this year for Turkey Day!  It was a party from the second everyone arrived.

 The weather happened to be beautiful Thanksgiving weekend so the kids played outside almost non-stop.  We went to dinner with the adults almost as soon as everyone arrived, and left all the cousins here to feast on mac n cheese.  It was also great to catch up with Dylan at the restaraunt and the next day over Thanksgiving dinner.

This is one of those times where you forget to pull out your camera and take constant pictures, but we had SUCH a great time!  We went to the California Trail center, we saw the largest polar bear every killed at the Commercial Casino, the five sisters shopped Black Friday till we dropped right after clean up on Thanksgiving, and we ate and ate and ate.  We were so sad when the caravan finally left for Utah!  Thanks again for coming to Elko for Thanksgiving, Geertsens, Bocanegras, Taylors, and Taylors.  We loved every second of it!

Our good friends, Mandy and Mason Simons offered to let our whole gang stay in their house for a few days while they were in Idaho.  To thank them for saving us so much money, I decided to re-decorate one of their bedrooms.  Cade and Ashley were great to stay an extra day to help and to make a masterpiece to hang on the wall in a poster frame.  It tied in all the colors perfectly! To say that this house is in need of some re-doing would be the understatement of the year...here are a couple of before and after photos:

 BEFORE:

AFTER:

The Simons got home sometime Sunday afternoon and said they were shocked and so happy with the room.  They brought over some cookies and we hoped that any damage that might have been done to the house was forgotten...

We are so grateful for our family and for the great time we had over Thanksgiving.  It was a holiday we'll fondly remember forever!