Snow Fun

Christmas break is a great time to play with the kids, and so we played outside in the snow with them. 

I think Alexis thought about throwing that snow in her gloves at me, but lucky for her, she didn't!

 Yes, we have 3 slides in our back yard. We believe in showing off our wealth!

Eli, Mackenzie, Jordyn, and Alexis

Daddy and Jordyn.

Isn't that pink snow suite cute on her. She liked the snow but had a hard time getting around in her boots.

Christmas with the Heath's

Another year has come and gone and what do we do? We gather with the other HEATHen's that live around here and we party. We live near Jared's three brothers, and technically, his parents, though they are out of the country for another month and a half, and so we get together for a Christmas party every year.

This year Jared's younger brother and his wife, Dusty and Megann, hosted. We debated on whether we should have the party at Jerry and Betty's condo, but in the end, we thought, when you have a party when mom and dad are away, you have to leave it cleaner then when they left it...how can you get cleaner than immaculate? So we opted for Dusty and Meg's house, which is still immaculate, but they have kid toys there.

We had the traditional soup and rolls combo.

Here are some of the kids, enjoying their potato soup.

Benji, Mackenzie, Alexis, Libster, and Lainy-lou.

Later we had some beautiful music by Libby and Joe. Jordyn stood there by the piano fully enjoying the music.

Jordyn then enjoyed a ride from Libby in the baby stroller. (Actually, Megann got this picture just before Jordyn started freaking out about being pushed around.)

After dinner, we opened presents from each other. The kids then get together for a grandchild picture so that Jerry and Betty, who are on a mission, can see all their baby's babies together.

(Jordyn started crying when I tried to sit her down on the couch, so I ended up having to hold her. So, disregard the person hiding behind Jordyn and Libby.)

Mackenzie, Alaina, Benjamin, Luke, Eli, Joey, Lilly, Alexis, Jordyn and Libby

The favorite present of the night was Chad and Dez's gift to Dusty, push up thingy boppers. All the kids wanted to try it after him.

Here is Alexis getting some help from me so that she didn't hurt herself.

Thanksgiving with the Marshall's

This post is kind of late but I still wanted to fit it in so that when this year is done, I have enough content to make another blog book but just of this past year. (Thank you to Cassidy for letting me steal these pictures from her blog. I didn't pull out my camera for some reason, but I am glad that she took these.)

This year for Thanksgiving we spent a quiet day at home with our friends, Shawn, Cassidy, Elle, and Elijah. They are some awesome new friends of ours. We met about 6 months ago by pure luck. They've become great friends and I am so glad that they live here instead of in St. George where they use to live. They weren't going to be able to go home to their families so we invited them over. We had a blast!

My manly man, Jared, is carving up the turkey. I am surprised he didn't get his power tools out for the carving because I was sure that he was addicted to carving with power tools after the whole pumpkin thing, but he stayed traditional.

How Tasty!

(The turkey I mean, though Jared is too!)

The kids and Shawn were enjoying the veggie tray while waiting for the delicious, but simple Thanksgiving meal was being prepared.

 Jordyn and Elle, who is 1 month older, were having fun playing on these bouncy balls. We didn't get a picture though of Elle, she wouldn't look our way. (Notice the nice orange marker colored all over Jordyn's ankle. Naughty!)

 My super awesome friend, Cassidy, holding her super cute baby boy, Elijah. He was born back in October, so the poor girl had to move to a freezing cold place like Idaho, find a new OBGYN, and try to meet new people. She was so desperate, she ended up with me. Sucker...you can't get rid of me now!(That may sound stalker-ish, but don't worry I am not. Mwhahahahaha.)

 I was in attendance during the whole thing. I was just comforting my sorrows with the bottle when Cassidy caught me in the act.

After we started dinner, we went around and said what we are grateful for, besides the obvious, which we did state that we are very grateful for our Savior and the gospel, Eli mentioned his toy cars, Kenzie said health, I said Jared and modern appliances, and I know that Jared, Shawn and Cassidy said stuff but I can't recall what. That is what you get for putting off posting, you forget stuff.

We played games and watched movies the rest of the day. I'd say it was a successful Thanksgiving day!

(no alcohol was consumed during the making of Thanksgiving dinner....or anytime afterwards!)

Ward Christmas Party

We had our ward party this past week in a barn. It totally reminded me of when I was young and we would go to barn dances in Bonners Ferry. It was so much fun and just being in the barn with friends and family and music just made me feel like home. A great feeling to have during Christmas!

The theme for the party was "A Cowboy Christmas". I thought it was weird when I heard it and kind of thought it would be a lame party but it was far from it. We had so much fun. I am so glad that we went!

We had delicious soups provided by the Relief Society and entertainment provide by the whole ward. We were asked to write out cowboy poems. Some were hilariously funny, some were short and sweet, and some were risky (I promise mine was not!). It was great to hear both young and old share their poems.

They had little saddles that the kids could sit in too.

Lexie really enjoyed riding on the saddle too. Again, another reason why it felt like home. We had horses on our family's ranch when I was really little. Just the little touches can touch somebody for good, even saddles.

It was super cold outside but we couldn't pass up the hay ride. After this picture was taken, they passed out blankets and little bells. We huddled together and sang Christmas carols throughout the ride.

There was also a sleigh ride. Two little ponies pulled us around. The kids really enjoyed this ride.

We also did the Virginia reel dance and Cotton eye Joe dance. Jared and I were the last couple to go through the Virginia reel and every other couple just grabbed each other's hand's and trotted down the isle but of course Jared and I couldn't do something so normal...we did the running man down the isle to cheers from the audience. It is always fun to be silly amongst friends!

I hope that you all are able to have a great Christmas season amongst your friends and family. We are blessed to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love my Savior, I love my family, I love this season where there is love and kindness pored out in abundance. I wish the spirit of Christmas lasted all year long. Let us make a bigger effort to carry this spirit all year long!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Decking the Halls and Letters to Santa

We started the tradition like a lot of other people to put the Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving. We have two trees that we put up, both are artificial, but still good trees. We put them in front of our windows so that you see both of them at night. That is the extent of our Christmas decorations that people can see from outside. Growing up, my family and I would have a competition whenever we drove somewhere. We would count houses that were decorated and see who who get the most. But more often then not, we would end up with the same numbers because we would point out every decorated house to each other. We especially liked it when we would be heading to the church building for something and could see houses way up on the hills all decorated. We counted any kind of decoration we could see, including the Christmas tree inside someones house. If you could see it, it counted. Thus, you can see our two Christmas trees that we put up because we open all the blinds at night so that you see two twinkling trees.

We are piecing together the big tree that goes in our downstairs family room. Jared and I were able to score this tree for only 5 bucks at a garage sale during the summer. If you are ever thinking of getting an artificial tree, get one from a garage sale. You will save hundreds and get a really nice tree.

 More pictures of us putting the tree together, branch by branch. Eli "reading" the directions off for us. Each section is color coordinated, so it isn't that hard.

 Another picture to prove I helped.

 We sat the kids down and had them write out their wish lists for Santa. We explained to them, that though they may have a big list of things they would like to get, sometimes Santa gives just one of the things on that list or something completely different, but that they are each good kids and Santa just gives what he thinks you will use and like the best in the long rung. (However, Jared and I are pretty sure we know what Santa is bringing the kids for Christmas and so we guided the kids to come up with that certain wish and put it on their lists. So, I think we are covered. )

Santa scored some pillow pets at the San Diego swap meet. (I wonder if he was there when we were there?) They were brand new and there were exactly four of them, perfect for each of the Heath kids. The seller lady said they were 10 dollars each which is totally a score since they are normally 20dollars each at the store. So Santa said he would take all four, but, would the lady take 30 dollars for all four pillow pets. Deal, the lady said. Just after that, a gentleman asked the lady if there were any more pillow pets left. No she said, those were my last, sorry! Santa and Mrs. Claus were tempted to sell one of their new pillow pet purchases to the gentleman for a small hiked up price...Jordyn is little enough that she won't even care if she got a pillow pet, they thought, but in the end, they decided to keep all the pets and give all the sweet Heath kids one for Christmas.

Utah Olympic Park

When we were in Park City, we took the opportunity to visit some of the places where the Olympics were held back in 2002 in Utah. We were lucky to go when a competition was going on so we got to seem some of the athletes in action.

This picture is of the K12. The skiers would ski down this steep slope and then go off a ramp and fly. If you look closely, you can see a skier landing near the first black dash.

They were also running the Luge. That is where you have just one or two people on this little sled type thing going down the Bobsleigh track. It was crazy to watch how fast they were going by. The competitors were reaching speeds of 70-80 mph on that little sled. Scary but awesome!

We got lucky and caught a picture of the guy going by on his Luge. Our camera is slow to go and so we didn't think that we could catch one in the picture with us. Obviously we weren't ready for the picture but who cares, you get to see the guy wiz by on the track.

This was one of the Curling stones used in the 2002 Olympics from our USA team. It was super heavy. I think curling would be really fun to do. It is called "Chess on Ice".

Me on the Luge sled.

It is amazing to me how 4 grown men stuff themselves into a bobsled. I felt really crammed and I was only sitting with my little kids, not grown ups.

I am really glad we took the time to see the sights at Utah Olympic Park. It was very cool. Even the kids were entertained as we went through the museum. Definitely a place to come and see if you are in the area!

Jared and  Kids holding onto the Olympic Torch.

Broken Computer

My computer has been broken for about 2 months. So enjoy my newest posts. There are four of them and more to come. Don't be afraid to comment on all the posts if you dare!

Park City Trip: Part 1

After returning from our trip from San Diego, Jared really wanted to go on another trip. He was trunky to leave again after only two days of being home. He found a condo in Park City, Utah, that the whole family could go to. He liked the idea of going to this condo because we were able to leave the Saturday before Thanksgiving, stay until Wednesday, and still go home and have the rest of the holiday to rest and relax.

Jared's brother, Chad, and his family ended up getting a condo at the same place. Having them there made the trip way better than it would have been.  We enjoyed spending time with Chad and Des and our kids love to play and hang out together.

 The best and worst thing about the condo was the pool. It was great to go to the indoor pool every day. The kids really had fun and Lexie learned how to swim better. Jordyn loved blowing bubbles in the water, and Eli sat on the stairs and waited until Daddy would act like a boat. By the end of the trip, he was brave enough to jump into the pool and grab hold of Daddy.

 Mackenzie and Alexis cheesing it up in the pool.

 Jared taught the girls how to dive too. Most of the time it was a belly flop but once in a while they would get their heads in first. It was fun to see them try.

The last night, after we went swimming, we went back to our condo and started feeling itchy. REALLY itchy!  We figured that we just needed to shower off all the chlorine. We did.

Alexis broke out in a major rash that not only itched but burned. We all needed help so Jared went to the store and got some Benadril and anti-itch cream. Finally....some relief! The next day, when we checked out, Jared noticed the pools was taped off with the yellow caution tape. Nasty! What did we swim in?

We won't be returning to that condo!

Halloween Costumes

Our Halloween costumes this year. Lexie asked to be a witch, Jordyn had to wear the chicken costume (Now every one of our kids has worn it.) Kenzie dressed up like an Indian, and Eli was a pirate. Can you guess what Jared was?

Here's a clue..."I'm a pretty girl jogging down the street, or, I'm your gps and you haven't updated me, or, I'm your blind spot."

Yup, He's Mayhem.

While taking the kids trick or treating, he kept jumping onto people's cars from our ward and they would yell out, "I've got insurance!" He had a lot of fun with his costume this year. It was easy to do to, we just too a dark colored lipstick and smeared it to look like bruises, and he put a butterfly bandage on his eyebrow, and then took flour and dusted his black suit, voila, Mayhem!

 I dressed up like a mail order bride. Once we were married, I could take the veil off to reveal my true beauty. (I had on fake snaggle teeth from the pirate costume.)

We give away Heath candy bars to people who come to our house. We only bought two bags and had a half of a bag left over. The kids, however, came home with 4 times that amount each, and it is good candy too! Not the nasty Tootsie rolls and such, but candy bars of all kinds. Jared and I charge a candy tax on our kids. This season of weight gain started out with candy of plenty!

Surprise Trip to Washington

The weekend before Halloween, my siblings and I took a trip up to Washington to surprise my sister and her husband, Shavonne and Derek, when they blessed their first baby, Samuel Robert Wood. We all have been waiting a long time for them to have special baby of their own, so when my sister, Kim, suggested that we drive up and surprise them for the baby blessing. We all jumped on board.

Warren and Kim drove up from Utah to my house, then we took my van and picked up Sharon and Nancy. Jamie flew into Washington from a business meeting in New York, and Ian and his wife were already up their visiting. 9 out of us 10 kids were there but sadly we missed having Shaina with us. We stayed at my sister Rebekah's house.

(This was a picture of us crammed in my van on our way home from our trip. Jamie and Nan are in the back, then Sharon and Kim are in the middle, and Warren and I are in the front. We had to sit on our bedding and cram stuff in every nook and cranny, but it was a blast!)

 There is a store along Interstate 90 called the 50,000 silver dollar store. It use to be the 100,000 silver dollar store but for some reason it went down. I don't know if it got robbed or sold some silver dollars but whatever, it is still a cool little store with all sorts of knick knacks and MMontana memorabilia.You have to stop by whenever you travel that way and you can't miss it! Seriously, you can't miss it, they have advertising signs each direction telling you, "Only 60 miles till you reach 50,000 Silver Dollars, " then 30, then 10, then 2...you get the picture.

Sharon, Kim, Warren, and Nancy holding up 50,000 with their hands.

 While in Spokane, we went to a pizza place but the pizza was so gross that I won't even give it the honors of naming the place. However, it was great to hang out with family. Mom and Dad drove in from Newport, about 45 minutes north of Spokane, and spent the weekend with us kids at Rebekah's house.

 When it was time for Shavonne to show up at Rebekah's house, we all hid in the bedroom. Shavonne came in and was told to put coats and stuff away in the bedroom. When she opened the door, we all yelled, "Mazel Taff!"(Spelling?) She seemed speechless and confused, then she started crying and said, "You all made it!" It was a great surprise!

 We played games, watched movies, and held baby Sam. It was a great trip and I am really glad that we could celebrate Sam with Shavonne Derek. He is a special baby who came to a very well deserving Mommy and Daddy! Congratulations Shavs!

Halloween Pumpkin Carvings

This year, like most years, we carved some pumpkins. We grew thses pumpkins in our garden. Not much else grew, but pumpkins did, even in places that we didn't plant them. We we had enough to do two pumpkins each and still have plently left over for our neighbors who we share the garden with, plus more on top of that.

We let each of the kids clean out and draw the faces on their pumpkings.

Alexis enjoying the slimy pumpkin guts.

 We started out cutting with a knife but then Jared thought, "I have something that works a lot faster." He ran out to the garage and brought back in his jig saw. What normally took us a couple hours to do was done with in 30 minutes, cutting the tops off, cleaning the guts out, scraping the lining, drawing the faces, and then cutting the eyes, ears, and noses out of each pumpkin took seconds rather than minutes. Jared was real tickled with himself for figuring out that power tools are a better way to go when carving up pumpkins.

 Eli would not touch the guts.

 Kenzie loved playing with the slimy seeds and stringy guts though!

 I ended up cleaning out Eli's pumpkin for him. He thought it was gross that I jokingly was eating the guts.

 Even Jordyn liked cleaning out the pumpkins. Jared would scrape up a whole bunch of the guts and then she would reach in and pull it all out and put it in the trash.We put the bib on her to try and keep her from getting too sticky.

 The finished products. We took glow sticks and put them in the pumpkins instead of candles. It was cool because they glowed pink and blue and red, and yellow.

 I took a potato peeler and peeled off some of the orange skin of the pumpkin and then drew on and painted our families faces onto the pumpkins. Then I took felt and string and made our hair and hot glued it on.

Eli, Kenzie, Courtney, Jared, Alexis, and Jordyn.

(I think Jordyn's looks a little like Dora the Explorer.)

Sorry these posts took forever for me to do, my computer was broken for a long time.