One Warm Thanksgiving!

The gang: my mom, Syd, Uncle Randy,
Aunt Cheryl, Jason, Summer,
me, Ty, and my dadWe enjoyed an 80 degree Thanksgiving!
We went to my parents new house in
Laguna Niguel (The Fosters Resort and Spa),
in Orange County. It is amazing! If you want
to see it, check it out here on my mom's blog.

We played soccer, football, and volleyball
on Turkey Day. We proved that Volleyball is
not our sport, although it was fun!!!

We hit Legoland the day after Thanksgiving.
The weather was cooler and we had a great
time. Summer likes hanging out with her dad
and doing the freaky rides. I like to hang out with
Ty and my mom...they are more my speed!
Thanks for a great CA trip, mom and dad!

KFC with Kade!

Tonight is the night we have been
waiting for! After over 2 months,
we got to see Kade and his family!

Kade Backus is an awesome family friend
who was hit by a car while riding his bike.
If you need a refresher on his story,
click here. He is AMAZING!!!

Kade and Summer are true friends. They
went right back to the way things were...
although they were texting each other
from across the table (that's a new one)!
They got to hang out for over 4 hours
and they never stopped flirting!!!

Mason and Ty acted like they never
said goodbye! It's a good thing we knew
everyone in the restaurant...they were
a little wild, but sooo cute!!!

Cali is as beautiful as ever. She is such
a sweet girl, unless she's attacking her
brothers. She can hold her own!!!

Alec Backus is impossible to take a
picture of! I tried many times and this
was the best one I got. Teenagers!!!!

It was great to see them, but
now we will miss them even more!!!
We'll have to head to Utah to visit them soon.

Soccer Season Ends :0(

Summer's team Benfica ended up
being a really strong team. They had a
rocky start but ended very strong!

Sydney's team ended up being undefeated!
As the coach, I must say that is a really
good feeling. Syd really found her powerful
kick and scored 3 goals from the fullback
position (which isn't very common).

Ty led his team to victory. He scored at
least 2 goals every game and he was the
one to watch on the field!

All in all, it was an awesome season!
We all look forward to next year!!!

Judges Comments

Sydney's Audition

Last night was Sydney's big night.
She auditioned to become the Sedona
Sunrise Superstar! It was set up like
American Idol Auditions, but they
don't tell you if you make it that night.
The 20 that make it (3 nights of auditions)
will get a phone call in December and the
eliminations start in January.

The room was set up with a stage up
front, three cameras recording her, and
an audience full of people. Mrs. Goodman,
Sydney's 4th grade teacher, was there to cheer
her on, too. SYDNEY WAS AMAZING!!!
I finally got it up on YouTube. This is a
short version...keep in mind it is a cappella and
the sound isn't the greatest. She is on key the
whole time and amazing! Check it out here!

Our Service Project

Our Ward (which is our local church family)
has asked that each family donate a blanket
for the needy this year. I decided to keep it
simple and kid friendly by doing a fleece blanket.

We chose a fun polka dot print and a solid
pink. We knotted the 2 sides together
and...we got a cute, comfy, & soft blanket!

Ty was the most talented 'knotter'.
He definitely did the most work...
even if we had to redo all of his. :0)

It was so soft, I had to fight all of them off
afterward. We hope it keeps someone feeling
warm and loved this winter. Now,
what shall we do next?

Sydney's Audition

Sydney is auditioning for Sedona's
version of American Idol on Wednesday.
She is singing Taylor Swift's 'You Belong
With Me' a cappella. She is really excited
and we know she will do great. It is open
to everyone from 8-80 years old.
Good luck, Sydney!!!

Balloon Time Giveaway Winner!

Sydney picked a winner for our
Balloon Time Giveaway!
The lucky winner is....

Mom2anutball!
Congrats! I love her post name!
I should have been Momto3nutballs!
Thanks for the great giveaway,
Balloon Time!!!

Honor Roll

Since the kids had school off for Veteran's
Day, we headed down to Phoenix for the day.
While I went in the temple, Jason took the kids
through the Visitors Center and they did some
modeling for him. :0) After that, we headed
to Target and daddy spoiled all the kids.

Back to reality, the girls had their
Honor Roll Assembly today. Sydney
missed High Honors by a small fraction.
To get High Honors you need straight A's.
Sydney had one B+, which still qualifies
for Honor Roll...good enough for me!

Summer and Savanah were two of the
smarties in Jr. High. Way to go girls!!!

The picture below shows how few actually make
Honor Roll in Jr. High. Amazingly, only 3
of them made High Honors (all girls).
Summer says that's embarrassing,
but I say she gets to go to college
for free. WooHoo! Keep it up, Sum!!!

I'm so proud of my girls!!!

Balloon Time Giveaway!!! (NOW CLOSED)

I am so excited to get to offer this
to all my readers! Balloon Time
contacted me and they want to
offer one of my readers a
FREE BALLOON TIME KIT!

They are promoting their 'Put a Face
on Fun' contest. You simply submit a photo
and enter your child to win a spot on their
packaging and $1,500 toward their education!
Pretty cool, right!?!

Now, here is my entry. It may not be
the best photo I have ever taken, but I love
the joy on this kids face. Isn't my son
Balloon Time Modeling Material!?!
I thought so!!!Entering to win the Balloon Time Kit
is so easy! It is valued at up to $29. I
got mine at WalMart for $19.99....but
it was free with the voucher they sent me.
The winner will receive a voucher, too.
There are 3 ways to enter!Leave a separate comment for each entry!!!
1. What would use the Balloon Time kit for?
*Tell me in one comment
2. Tweet about the contest and the giveaway
They are @BalloonTime on Twitter
*Leave a comment that says 'Tweeted'
3. Subscribe to Celebrations e-newsletter
by clicking here
*Leave a comment that says 'e-news'

Easy, right!?! 3 chances to enter for 1
awesome prize! Don't forget to enter their
photo contest, too!!! My kids
will pick a winner Friday
(November 13th) .
Good luck!
Winner has been chosen!

Kade is coming to visit!!!

Kade is our superhero! He is doing
so well and we get to see him! We are
so excited to get to spend the evening with
him and his family. 2 months have passed
since the accident and he is doing great!
You can read his story & updates here.

Trick-or-treat

Dummy me, I left my camera at the
Parrella's after the Halloween party.
Luckily Amy saved the day and brought
me it today. So, better late than never!

I cannot believe the one full-body
shot I have of Ty is out of focus! :0(
He was the cutest cowboy sheriff ever!!!
He got 4th place in the costume contest!

Summer even looks beautiful with her neck
and forehead cut open. I love those blue eyes!!!

Our piece-de-resistance was our very
own KFC chicken. Sydney was the hit
of the night. She won 3rd place in the costume
contest, but I swear the judges must not
have realized it was a homemade costume.
They must have assumed it was store-
bought because it is so cute!!!
Humble, aren't I!?!

We got the feet idea from a
Martha Stewart baby costume.
Kitchen gloves...too funny if you ask me!!!

Liza and Sydney had a ball. We took a hayride
to uptown and never saw them again. Luckily
Ty still enjoys hanging out with his parents!
Happy Belated Halloween!!!