Sledding behind the 4-wheeler!

The amount of snow that came down while we were in Idaho was unbelievable! Instead of packing up to go sledding somewhere else, Brett and Brian pulled out the 4-wheeler and just hoooked the sled to the 4-wheeler and pulled the kids around the neighborhood. They had a blast and were almost frozen solid by the time they came back in.

SOCCER LIVE!

For those of you who haven't seen the girls play here are some rough cuts of one of their games. Jade wanted me to make sure and note that she had a hurt foot for her game so she was running a little funny. The song that the video is set to is Stronger- the kids like it because they think they are pretty tough stuff when they are playing. And actually they are pretty tough chicks- I've seen them get a ball to the face, the gut, the back, they've fallen down, but they always seem to get back up and keep on going!! Plus they do have a great coach who has a necessary cameo in the video. - Thanks Mike for caring about the girls! They are a lot of fun to watch!
Check out the size of the girls they are playing against. Toward the middle end of the video you see Cambrie running next to a girl who is almost double her size! Note that I did slow some stuff down, but I did not speed anything up- so they really can hustle when they want to!! Jade is #5 and Cambrie is #3
Make sure you stop the music down below in the red column so you can hear the videos music!!

You've got to love the Disney Channel

While the girls were watching Hannah Montana with their Dad, a Cheetah Girls video came on, suddenly they all jumped up and started dancing along. Who said TV wasn't interactive!
Make sure you stop the music down below in the red column so you can hear the videos music!!

Trimming The Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree has never been one of fluff and stuff- which was awkward for me because growing up we always had a Charlie Brown kids tree, that we could do what ever we wanted with, and then my Mom had "Her Tree" which always had white lights and decorations that were practically perfect. So when Brian and I got married and only had one tree for obvious reasons, we had homemade ornaments and some that his Mom had given us, that were his when he was little. I thought we did it this way because we were starving students and couldn't afford anything else. It wasn't until later that I discovered that this is the kind of tree Brian wanted to have. He pointed out to me that this kind of tree had meaning and sentiment to it. This year I truly caught the feeling and meaning of our eclectic tree. As the kids pulled out the different ornaments that we have collected in years past, Brian would tell them the story of when or how or from who we got that particular ornament. They thought it was so cool that we still had ornaments that Brian had when he was a little boy. It was also neat to hear Brian tell the kids about his Grandma Stacey, because the glass ball ornaments we have used to be hers. They also learned that the candy canes represented the hooks of the Shepard's. It was a great opportunity to teach the kids about many things. Of course their favorite ornaments were the ones that had their names or pictures on them. I saw the pride they took in placing a piece of "their lives" on our "family tree". It was a fun activity that we all did together! Now although I love the look of the elegant trees, I look forward to trimming our tree again next year and being able remember family and friends and the good times we all have had together.

Performance Time at the Evans

When our girls get together with the Evans kids, you can almost always count on a performance of some kind. On this particular night the kids were in rare form. They put on a medley of Christmas songs, as they so appropriately sat beside the Christmas tree. Even though Colby didn't know any words, when he saw the camera come out, he knew where he needed to be. I love that the kids are creative and uninhibited, well at least most of the time... They always keep us on our toes!

Pictures of Kaydin

Since we haven't seen any pics of Kaydin I took about 105 pictures of her, while I was at Janell's. Here are a couple of my favorites, although I don't think any of them show how perfectly precious she is! That you just have to see in person!-Love, Jess

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE TOUR

Can I just say that Jayleen and I saw the best show ever!! Jayleen, myself, my friend Holly Kroutil and her friend all rode to Oakland together, where we met up with the Taylor Clan. Jayleen and I sat about 13 rows back from the stage and it was awesome!! It just made me want to get up and dance!

It was crazy to see these people in person! I have so much respect for how they can move their bodies- it looked harder in person than it did on t.v. And everything that was hot on t.v. was hotter in person. My favorite dance that they performed had to be Hip Hip Chin Chin with Lacey and Danny. WOW!! SAUCY!! Anyway it was a lot of fun! I will be there again next year for sure!

THANKSGIVING DAY!

It was so beautiful outside on Thanksgiving! The air was crisp, but is was sunny and warm. Most of us were hanging out inside when we started to wonder where Brian went. Finally and much to my surprise and delight we found him outside starting to put up the Christmas lights.


After seeing how nice it was outside a few of us decided to join him. Colby was chomping at the bit to help his Dad- or maybe he just wanted to climb the latter, either way he was wanting to be Daddy's right hand man. Then when Aunt Honey got back from her run with the kids, they wanted to ride the "Green Machine" around. The girls were showing off some of thier gymnastics, and Papa thought he would show off some moves as well. Yep he moved right on down to the ground and then couldn't get back up. Smooooth! We were all impressed. The mind is willing but the body... well... it's got a mind of its own, right Papa? It was fun to have family at our house for Thanksgiving. We got an extra surprise when Nana was able to be there, because she was on call for the airlines and was so sure she would get called in, but we were blessed that she ended up not having to go in to work! It was a great holiday!

FHE Tennis

For FHE this week Brian thought it would be fun to take the girls to play tennis. - I guess once a week is not enough for him! The kids loved it. I really enjoyed seeing Brian take the time and patience to work with the kids on their swings and serves. I know they love the one on one attention as well. He even had Hailey getting a few hits. I loved that as soon as he set his racket down to help one of the girls, Colby would make a B-line for it and start dragging it around trying to swing at something, what were not sure, but he was trying. I was also cracking up that as soon as the kids saw me bring out the camera they would stop and pose. It took a few pics before they got the idea that I wanted pictures of them playing, not just standing there with the racket. But of course I thought the poses were cute too.

I have to say I love my family- I have the greatest husband and kids in the world, now I may be biased, but I am totally entitled to be! I love that we can do just about anything together and have a great time doing it! Check them out in action!! They are getting better too!

Would you like to dine with us?

After a long day of soccer we decided we needed some grub and neither Karen nor I felt like going home to cook, so we hit the "Elephant Bar" with the Garcia-Young clan. The service was great. The kids had their own table and the adults had their own. The waitress was attentive to the needs of everyone. Yes even the kids-... but look what a disaster they can make. They were actually fairly well behaved and happy, and yet the mess must be inevitable. I think Colby really enjoyed sitting with the big kids, at least for a while. He was kind enough to help just about anyone finish up their meal. What can I say the kid can eat and he enjoys it too. After instances like this I reminded of how valuable babysitters are! Like I said they were good at the restaurant, it's just.... well a picture says a thousand words right?... I did like seeing them have fun with their friends, and we had a good time with our friends as well!

SOCCER- Last Day of Rec Season/ First Day of Indoor

Here is Cambrie playing soccer(#3). My friend Karen and I coached the team this year- much to Brian's dismay... but it was a lot of fun. And I learned a lot as well! Karen is a great coach! (Thanks for teaching me too Karen!) Anyway, I was so proud of Cambrie, she was aggressive and persistant, and one of the smallest kids out there, which only helped her get away with a little more pushing than others, since her hands were down near most of the girls waist and legs. I was impressed with what a fiesty little thing she was!

"The Pink Cheetas" what a name huh? What can I say... we let the girls pick. We really had a great team this year! It was so fun to get to know all the girls. I really enjoyed each one of them. They all worked hard which isn't always the case, and I think they had fun too. We were lucky! I actually really enjoyed being so involved, I just don't know that Brian would feel the same.. ha/ha - But that wasn't the end of our soccer day...................

NEXT- comes Indoor soccer- the last game of our outdoor rec season was also on the same day as our first indoor game. The cool thing about indoor is Jade and Cambrie are both playing this year. They technically are on different teams, but they have the same coach, so they practice together and work together. Thier first game was against each other though... that was interesting! It was a great game! The final score was 4 to 6. They both played really hard! I was so proud! I have to admit my favorite moment was when Jade and Cambrie went head to head for the ball. It was just the two of them duking it out, and they were sort of pushing each other back forth and Cambrie got mad and finally yelled "JADE STOP IT" I couldn't help but laugh. They might as well have been playing in our backyard! Teams will come and go, but you'll always have a sister to go head to head with! Aren't families great!

The girls had lots of support for thier first game. Not only was our whole family there, but Nana and Papa made a special trip out to Turlock to see them play as well... yes we play in Turlock 35 min. south of where we live.. crazy? Yes! The things we do for sports. I think everyone enjoyed it though. Just check out Colby's face! Hailey was trying to be helpful as well- ha/ha

I've Been Tagged

Ok- I think that it is a little crazy, but I am new to this blogging thing and I know I wont hear the end of it if I don’t comply so……. Here goes. I was tagged by Kristin Skinner so if I tag you and you want to complain- head to her web site listed on my check out these sites list, down on the right. 6 Things huh? OK here goes…

1- I have OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder- not clinically diagnosed but definitely recognized by all those who know me very well. When I start into a project or an idea, I have a hard time focusing on anything else. I somehow get blinders on and go full force, at least until I burn out.- Which sometimes doesn’t take very long. Hey they say that recognizing the problem is the first step right?

2- Next- I relate to Kristin very well in the way that I also cannot stand to be breathed on. I can’t handle any hot breath around my face, especially my ears- no whispering allowed!!! For me personally I can’t stand anything warm on my face- not breath, not the heater in the car, no blankets – nada!!!! Keep away!

3- I love creative things- Scrapbooking (digital and otherwise)- Making videos or short home movies- making vinyl signs. There is something in the creative artsy fartsy process that I just really enjoy. There are just never enough hours in the day.

4- I am sometimes known to have radars for ears. If you ask my husband or my brother in law Brett, they could tell you the best way to get my attention, is to whisper my name as if you didn’t want me to hear, or like you were trying to talk about me without me knowing. I sometimes have a hard time focusing on a conversation when I am in a crowd, because I am drawn to listen to all the conversations going on around me. Being a little on the nosey side doesn’t help the situation either.

5- To address the remark Kristin left when she tagged me… I do tend to have my fingers in way to many pots. When embarking upon a new project or adventure, I feel confident that I can accomplish the task or job, I just forget that I can’t do them all at once- (although I still may try) Part of that is my weakness in saying no- A friend once told me I have the word “YES” written across my forehead. I know I need to work on just saying NO. When my schedule is totally overloaded and someone calls and asks for a “quick” favor, I somehow seem to say Yes- as Brian is shaking his head at me. When I give deadlines for orders, I seem to always take the last minute orders anyway and then I put myself in a frenzy trying to get everything done.- For those of you reading this don’t even try it, I have made a new commitment to just say NO!

6- Last but not least I love all things organizational!! Especially office supplies! I love pens, binders, paper, file folders, labeling and color coding things. I relate to the line from “You’ve Got Mail” where she talks about how excited she gets over the bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils. That gets me all excited too! I love organizing things, but I like having all the gadgets to it with. I sometimes feel like the most disorganized person in the world, but when I organize a room I get so much satisfaction out of it. If only I were the only person using the room after I organized it, I know it would stay perfect (right?), but (lucky for me) I share my home with 5 other children- oops- 4 and a husband.(j/k Brian) I know that I am probably the worst one, but again recognizing the problem is half the battle right?

Now I guess I am supposed to tag 6 people- I don't know very many people with blogs, so here's what I got. I will tag Liz Evans since I over the phone I just made sure she started a blog for her family and I know she has lots of fun quirks that she can share. I will also tag Natalie Cann, because it would be fun to hear more about her since I have known her since jr.high but not seen her in years! Plus she just had a new baby she can talk about. I will tag Trisha Heffner, I know she is one of those amazing people who can do anything... I will let her tell you about her "hobbies". I also tag Debbie Miles, I know she will have neat things to share, because she never ceases to amaze me with her stories!! I just hope she remembers her blog address! And.. I can tag Karen Garcia-Young, because I just found she has a blog! Yeah it's catching on!! Now if I could just get my family to do it! Last but not least I will tag Brian, hoping he will comply, check back later for 6 specials about him- If he doesn't do it, I may have to do it my self!

The rules: Player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and posts a comment letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read their blog for the rules.

HALLOWEEN

Thought I would share with you some of our fun pics from Halloween night. Jade was a pirate, Cambrie was a Geisha Girl, Hailey was Snow White, and Colby was the Green Monster.

The kids had lots of fun trick or treating with their friends. Some of my favorite pictures are the last 2 where Colby was sitting in the middle of the street going through a candy bag and then the one below,where he was reaching with everything he's got to get to Cambrie's Candy bucket. He is at that fun age, mischievous but fun.