The World According to Wilson

KATELYNN'S 15!

2010-03-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

Katelynn at 9 months. I love this picture. Chubby cheeks!! She loves the beach! She loves anything outdoors!

This was taken last month by her friend Aly. So pretty!

That infectious laugh!

Doing what she loves:)

Our Sweet Girl is growing up.

Well I've been the terrible blogger as of late.....but we had a birthday!!!

Our Sweet Kate is now 15-years-old. Wow! Time flies when you're having fun! We had a rough start with Katelynn. Her health was fine, but she was a beastly child until the age of five. I think Kindergarten cured a lot of her monster issues. I used to be terrified when she woke up in the morning....afraid to talk to her....afraid to look....she was not a morning person. But she had such a sweet smile, and her voice was so cute.....just watch out! The beast would rear it's ugly head at any given moment. I love to tease her about those monstrous days. She's soooo sweet now that nobody believes me:)

Some things I admire about Katelynn:

She's the hardest working teenager I know. Always studying, helping in the kitchen, running, dancing, but........never cleaning her room:)

Kate started running last summer and completed her first 1/2 marathon in January. We were so proud of her. She battled sore knees, hot weather, cold weather, early mornings (she doesn't like those), and bad shoes (dumb mom didn't believe she had bad feet that needed extra supportive shoes to the tune of $110).

When Katelynn makes up her mind to do something, it's done! She doesn't let fear, fatigue or anything keep her from her goal. It doesn't matter what time it is when she goes to bed, she will study her scriptures because she made up her mind to never go to bed until it's done.

Such a funny girl. That infectious laugh keeps us all laughing. She sees the humor in everything and sometimes can't stop laughing! She's always smiling. Love her smile:)

It's so nice to have Katelynn around the house. Most Thursdays, when I'm teaching dance, she will cook dinner. She will poke her head in my class and ask what's for dinner, and by the time I'm finished, she has it on the table. She does Caroline's hair better than I ever could. She can tell when I'm tired and will offer to warm up my dance class so I can grab a quick snack or sit down a minute. She's such a blessing!

She has one addiction......gum! Never leave your chewing gum unattended with Kate around.

Katelynn has such a funny routine. She will start out doing her homework, then she's at the piano, back to homework, then the computer, back to homework, grabbing a snack, back to homework, stealing my gum, and the whole process continues throughout the night. When I try to tell her to focus, she will say, "I'm sorry. I have ADD!"

So Happy Birthday to my Sweet Katelynn. She will be able to get her drivers permit in six months and she can't wait. But No. I will not be purchasing a new car. You better hope Braeden's car lives. I love you!

Caroline's Baptism

2009-11-28T20:23:00.001-08:00

Caroline's Baptism went very well. We weren't sure it was going to happen when she woke up Thanksgiving morning with a fever, body aches, tummy ache, headache, cough and stuffy nose. Her fever broke Saturday morning and she was running around the house all day, so we decided to go ahead with the baptism. She was the only child in the stake getting baptized so our whole family was able to participate in the program. Collin said the opening prayer, Tom spoke on the Holy Ghost, I spoke on Baptism, Katelynn played the piano and Braeden baptized her.

It was a beautiful meeting and we're so proud of our baby!!

Sweet Caroline.

Caroline and big brother Braeden!!

In their white clothes.

Katelynn practicing before the meeting. I startled her with the camera :)

Caroline and her friends.

Our family

Family with Grandma and Grandpa Bolton

It's Great to be Eight!

2009-11-14T21:52:00.001-08:00

My baby girl turned eight-years-old yesterday.

I swear it was yesterday when she looked like this.

I love her toes and her cute little tongue sticking out in the picture:)

Caroline is always full of energy and has crazy ideas.

She's always leading our family into doing some strange

game or activity that she makes up as she goes.

She's always moving and dancing.
She and Braeden have a lot of fun together.

She's always ready with smile:)

She's our fun little party girl who keeps us laughing!

She's smart and sassy,

full of hugs and snuggles,

loves to be a mama's girl,

has dad wrapped around her finger,

and brings us so much joy.

Happy Birthday Caroline!

We love you!!!

Caroline's Ear Piercing Experience

2009-11-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

I told both my girls they could get their ears pierced when they turned eight-years-old. I figured by then they were old enough to take care of their ears and might not be as careless with their earrings. I realized the other day that Caroline's 8th birthday was coming up and she had not mentioned earrings at all. So I asked her if she was interested in piercing her ears and she exclaimed, "YES!!" I asked her if she was sure, because she hadn't mentioned it at all. She replied, "Well, you told me I had to wait til I'm eight, so I didn't ask again." That didn't stop Katelynn from asking a thousand times before her eighth birthday!!

We didn't have school yesterday and her birthday is Friday, so we took Caroline to the mall for the ear piercing experience. :)

Caroline's last picture without earrings.

She's sooo excited!

Waiting and watching the lady prepare the piercing gun.

Getting a little nervous.

First ear...... Now she knows it hurts a little for the 2nd ear....

Looking in the mirror at the finished product

and feeling a bit relieved.

HOMECOMING '09

2009-10-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

Braeden and KimThe ladies: Elizabeth, Sarah, Danika, Taylor and Kim
The guys: George, Tyler, Braeden, Trevor, Jared and Dylan

Braeden, Trevor and Dylan

Braeden and Kim

Homecoming Braeden's senior year. Wow! I'm feeling old. The kids had a great time. They ate dinner at Jared's house. I was there grilling the steaks. They saw the Ultimate Variety Show at Planet Hollywood, then they went to the dance and then topped the evening off with Cosmic Bowling at Sunset Station. Can you imagine these kids bowling in prom dresses and tux's?!

Happy Birthday/Anniversary!!!

2009-10-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

Wedding AnnouncementHaving fun for camera in front of Salt Lake Temple
The wedding party!

Tom loves playing with the kids

A snowman every Christmas...if there's snow

After the trek. Spring Break '09

He was such a cute baby!!!

Opening gifts

Tom turned the big 43 yesterday. We went to dinner on Friday and then to Kohle's to buy much needed shoes and a shirt. Last night we had a family dinner and opened a few gifts. The kids gave him gifts that reflect all the things they steal from their dad, which drives him crazy. Katelynn gave him a pack of gum, which doesn't even come close to repaying all the stolen gum in the past. The boys gave him dress socks because they are always taking his socks and throwing them in their own dirty clothes and then never bothering to wash, fold or return them. And they gave him his own special bottle of water. Tom takes great pride in his water. He freezes it and when it has just the right amount of ice in it somebody (his name starts with a B and rhymes with Aiden) drinks it!! We all got a good laugh. I don't think they will stop with the burglary though.

I also didn't blog about our 20th anniversary last month! September 14th was the big day. I can't believe how quickly time goes by. It seems like we were on our first date just yesterday!

Happy Birthday and Anniversary Honey! You make me laugh, especially on those long days when you unbutton your white shirt and do your best Michael Jackson yell while pulling your shirt off! You give the best family home evening lessons, even though you think your kids are not listening and your wife has dozed off (not so much since the marathon:). You jump in and help out with dinner and cleaning when I'm busy. You know how to deal with the kids, especially pre-teens, when I'm really to lose it. Your Tuesday morning adult religion class gives me the boost I need every week. And you always know what I need (usually a back rub:).

I have a wonderful family and a wonderful life thanks to my amazing husband!

I Love You!!!!

Karsen Mery

2009-09-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

www.karsenmery.blogspot.com This blog was created for my cousin's nephew. It's so sad and sweet. Keep them in your prayers. Thanks!

MARATHON!

2009-09-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

At the finish line!! Almost there. Please don't puke!!!

At mile 25. I love my family!

In the hotel before the race. I hardly slept that night.

My amazing running buddies hung this before I left

for Utah. I love you Jenna, Tracy and Julie!!

After the race with Katelynn, Collin, dad and Caroline.

Mom and Tom were behind the cameras and Braeden

had to stay in Vegas for club tryouts.

I did it! After months of early morning, dark, cold then extremely HOT, and windy training, it's finally over! It was sooo hard, but amazing. It's a physical, emotional and spiritual experience that words cannot describe. It was so cool and beautiful in Logan. The best part of the race for me was to see my family at mile 25. As soon as I saw them my pace quickened and I started to cry. It's so emotional to see them cheering you on. And then to see them again at the finish line was incredible. I didn't cry at the finish line because I was doing my best not to puke! I became extremely nauseous during the last 100 yards. It took everything I had to keep running to the finish line without throwing up in front of all the cheering spectators. I felt better after finding a tree to collapse under. After lunch and a nap in the car, I was feeling pretty good. My right foot and left achilles have been giving me trouble the past month and they screamed at me during the last half of the marathon. They continue to punish me today, but it was all worth it!

Thanks to all my family and friends who trained with me, gave me advise on injuries (Dr. Jenna), asked me about my Saturday long runs, sent me texts, voice messages, and emails up to the minute I left for the marathon and sent congratulations when it was over. I love you all!!!:) And the biggest thanks to Tom who helped and supported me through it all. I love you honey!!

Soccer and Scouts

2009-09-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

I let Caroline take some pictures and she, somehow turned off the flash.

I was just telling Braeden that the last time he pinned me in scouts,

he was shorter than me.Collin looks so thrilled!!!

The Giant!

So Cute

Caroline played in her first soccer game yesterday. Caroline said, "We crushed em!" Final score 8-1. We haven't been to a soccer game in years and it was much fun! Braeden has been giving me a hard time for not signing Caroline up for sports. He thinks it's a shame for a girl of her size to be singing and dancing. You will see by the pictures that she is quite imposing on the field!:)

We also had a Court of Honor a few weeks ago. It's the first one in about three years, so Braeden had many awards. We just need an Eagle project to be approved and completed. It's such a pain to get that kid to just finish the darn thing!!! Collin is moving along quite nicely as well. Maybe he'll get his Eagle before Braeden!

My marathon is in six days. Only four more days of training, which will be a combined 17 miles of running. I can't wait!!!

Tomorrow is the big 20th Anniversary for Tom and I. Wow! We're old! I'll blog more about that tomorrow.

Back to school

2009-08-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous first week of school. Caroline

found out, just days before the first day, that she

was accepted to a magnet school. This school is

for the Arts, which is perfect for my little drama

queen. She has to ride a bus, but it's totally

worth it. The first thing they did on the playground

was teach the kids a dance!
Collin and Caroline

He's in the 7th grade and she's in 2nd.

Braeden and Katelynn are out the door before

6:00 and they're still smiling!!!! This picture

cracked us up cuz he's so tall the she's so short!

This was Braeden's last first day of school! Where

did the time go? I swear I just took him to Kindergarten!

Kate's excited to be a freshman at the Academy, where

she's majoring in dance. They are sad not to be attending

the same school, but she couldn't pass up this oppurtinity.

She's also playing volleyball for her zoned school. This

means I get to make the 20 minute drive, everyday, to

pick her up from school and race her to volleyball practice.

We'll see if I'm still standing by the end of the season!!!

7-11

2009-07-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

I Love 7-11! How many free Slurpees
did you have yesterday?

Collin Becomes a Youth (turns 12)

2009-06-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

Collin turned 12 this weekend. He nervously passed his interview with the Bishop and Braeden will ordain him next week. He and five of his friends went to "Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix" for a party on Saturday. They rode go carts and carvival rides along with playing arcade games, eating pizza, cake and ice cream. The most disturbing part of the party was driving home. The Beyonce song "All The Single Ladies" came on the radio...at which point all six of them squealed and said, "Oh....leave it here, we love this song." They all began to sing like little girlies the words, "All you single ladies....all you single ladies.....if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it...if ya like it then ya shoulda put a ring on it...whaaa aa oooo whaaa aa oooo oooo whaa aaa ooo." Very disturbing for dad, who perfers classic rock to "hip hop." He got camping stuff, clothes and cash.

Okay! I'll blog myself!!!

2009-06-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

The month of May is insane!! In just two weeks time we had 2 choir concerts, 2 school dance concerts, 1 band concert, 1 piano recital, 7 volleyball games, extra dance rehearsals for my recital, father and son's, etc.... I just try to hold on and enjoy the ride. Here's a few highlights:

This cool picture was given to Braeden at his volleyball banquet. He had the most kills in a single match with 27. In that game he had 27 kills and 21 digs! He had the second most kills in the season with 239, the most digs with 249 and received The Hustle Award!
We went on our annual Memorial Weekend trip to Palisades State Park. I decided to allow the kids to bring a few friends. We ended up with seven children!!! Braeden brought Brig and Trevor. Here's the skinny, white boys fishing!

Coming back from a round of golf.

Rachel, Colllin, Brig, Brae and Caroline Making s'mores.

We always have to go hunting for toads! No luck this year.

Katelynn and Rachel hanging out in the trailer!

Caroline, Collin, Kole, Drew, Bryce, Haley and some kid I don't know. They loved swimming to the floating dock and jumping off.

Caroline received the all around student award for her class. Notice how tall she is!! It's so neat to see her friend Cole back to school and thriving! He's the cute boy in glasses.

Collin is trying not too look too excited before his band concert. But he really ended up liking it!

Braeden's car was decorated by some classmates before his volleyball team went to State. His team took 1st in Division, 2nd in Region and tied for 3rd in State. He was also named in the NorthEast 1st Team.

Kate is just finishing up Middle School! I can't believe my little girl is going to high school. She has been accepted to Las Vegas Academy in dance! She's soooo excited. This is before her school's Semi Formal.

Ummmmm.....how to describe this one......well I never thought I would have my son ask me to help him zip his skirt before school!!!! This was for the powder puff football game, where the girls are the football players and the boys are the cheerleaders. What's scary is that he's actually pretty good!!!!

So much has happened and so little time to write. It's good I have great friends who break into my blog and update for me. Thanks Carla.

The last day of school is tomorrow. I will then have a senior, freshman, 7th grader and 2nd grader. I'm too young for this!!!!!

Ms. Jolynn's Dance Recital '09.

2009-05-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hello. Carla here again. For the sake of the Wilson posterity I decided to take over Jolynn's blog again. In fifty years we wouldn't want them to think all their family did was celebrate birthdays and nothing in between. So I present to you the dance recital of '09...

First up is Caroline. Sweet Caroline. Ever the entertainer. Now, I'd like to say that this recital isn't all about Caroline but let's face it, she demands it. And quite honestly, she deserves it. (keep in mind that my daughter is also in this recital and i'm ok with it) Caroline just has that natural gift to entertain and frankly, the crowds love her. This year she did a little rodeoin' and some car washin'....

Next up is Katelynn. I've got to say, I think she did her very best to outshine her younger sister this year and she just might have done it. Not only did she come out and preform two amazing dances but she also choreographed a dance for one of the younger classes that was just amazing. She's definitely a natural....

All in all, it was another great recital put on by Ms. Jolynn and her crew. It's very obvious that the girlies all love her. Of course I'm sure that candy she gives them at the end of each dance class helps but still. So thanks Ms. Jolynn for all that you do for our girls. We all love you!!

By the way, Jim & Ann....we missed you and that free dinner Jolynn promised you'd take us to after the recital!!

This Blog Has Been Blognapped.

2009-05-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. This is Carla. I've taken over Jolynn's blog cause she's so busy she just can't keep it up. I know what you're thinking...sitting around all day while all her kids are in school watching soaps and eating bonbons. No, really, she's busy. Anywho, I thought since she doesn't often get to share things going on in her children's lives, I'd update on at least one of them. Braeden is just finishing up his volleyball season for the year. I was lucky enough to go to his last game before playoffs start and snap a few pictures of him. Let me share them with you...

This is where they were doing london bridges falling down( i thought that was a weird pre-game activity but it seemed normal to everyone else so I didn't say anything)...
Then they prepared to do the rockette kicks...
Finally it was on to the game. Here's a mad serve by the boy...

Another fine serve...

I think this was between games and he was doing the hokey pokey(he's serious about putting that right leg in)...

This was an observation of mine during the game (scary right)...

And a few more shots of his mad skills...
I gotta admit, the boy is good. I'm assuming that's a Bolton trait. After all, you saw the picture of his father. Good luck in the playoffs Braeden. And no matter what happens, you're still such a pretty boy.

I now turn this back over to Jolynn. I believe there's a birthday in June so maybe we'll get an update then.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2009-04-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

These Two........
Used to always fight right around this time of year. I always thought it was sad that they were arguing around dad's birthday and Easter. I can still see mom throwing those Easter eggs at dad! They were very entertaining. But then one day they made a beautiful discovery.........an accountant!!! You see, dad's birthday is April 15th! The Old Fart turns 65 today. He can now, officially, use the senior citizen discount, even though he's been using it for a while now! I missed blogging on mom's birthday, March 7th. Let's just say that dad married a MUCH younger woman!!! She looks much younger =) Happy birthday and belated birthday Mom and Dad! I couldn't have asked for a better childhood. I'm only slightly scarred from those fights around tax day!!!! ha ha
Thanks for all you do for us! You're the best! WE LOVE YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!

Kate's dance concert.

2009-04-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwXH73FVFDU

somebody posted this on youtube. It's Katelynn and Rachel. It's not a great video. Kate's in the yellow shirt.

No birthdays. Just an update!!!

2009-04-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

Caroline on her new bike!
Braeden and Megan at Sadies

Katelynn's 14th birthday

Collin before his band concert.

I think they're tired after a day of sledding!

Collin

I love the look on tom's face!!!

Dad loves rubbing it in that he's a Cougar Fan!

The leaning snowman with Tom and Caroline

Braeden's new Letterman's Jacket.

Okay. It's not any body's birthday, but I thought I'd do a little catching up. Here's a quick catch up of our lives over the past few months. First of all, I forgot to mention that Collin got his Arrow of Light last summer. Hopefully I still have the pictures from our computer crash. It was an awesome night. Brother Huntsman put on quite show.

November: We actually went to Utah for Thanksgiving and had a great time with the Bolton's and Wilson's. It was the first holiday without Tom's parents, who are serving a mission in Boston, and it was quite strange without them. We spent Thanksgiving with my family and Friday with the Wilson's. It's always so nice to be with family. The kids are so much fun!

Katelynn and I went to Tracy Jensen's one night and learned how to bake pies. They were delicious! My kids new favorite pie is pecan.

December: Katelynn choreographed an awesome dance that was performed at her middle school program. You can catch it on You Tube. You find it by typing in K.O. Knudson Dance, then scroll down to find Katelynn and Rachel, The Show. She's the one in the yellow. I'll try to link it on this post, but I'm not sure how.

The kids had their first snow day. I don't even remember a snow day in Utah. It was crazy! On our side of town I think we got a whole three inches, but schools were cancelled and all the snow melted before 9 a.m. Tom and I just kept shaking our heads and saying, "wimps". We went to Utah for Christmas and really saw snow!

January: I turned the big 40! Katelynn and Caroline performed in Aladdin Jr.

February: Braeden was asked to two Sadie Hawkins dances, Las Vegas High School and Eldorado High.

March: Caroline finally learned to ride a bike. Braeden's volleyball season started and he's doing great! I will try to keep up on the articles in the paper and post them as well.

Katelynn was accepted to Las Vegas Academy. They have an amazing dance program and the school is top notch. She auditioned in January with about 200 other girls. She's so excited. I can't believe she's going to be in High School next fall!!!! Kate was also cast as Gabriella in High School Musical, which she will perform this summer with Hollywood Kids.

In January I let Jenna Rhoads talk me into joining her fun little running group in a 10 mile run. Yes. I am crazy!!! I've never ran much more than 3 miles, so at about 3 1/2 I was done! Since that day I have worked my way up to over 12 miles. I usually run Tuesdays and Thursday and then Saturday is the big run. I actually look forward to Saturdays and I've never felt better! We're going to try to get into the St. George Marathon. See what happens when you turn 40!!!!

2009-03-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

Playing with Tom's camera phone. Halloween

Singing in her choir concer.

Posing on top of the pyramid with dance friends

Today is Katelynn's 14th birthday. So here are fourteen things about Kate!

She has an infectious laugh. When she laughs, we all laugh. Although it’s because we’re laughing at her laugh!!!!

She has always had a love for music. When she was not even a year old, she would climb on the piano bench and pound on the piano until she fell off the bench. I used to have to put bean bag chairs on either side of the bench to break her fall. It was soooo cute! Now she sits down and plays beautiful music.

She loves to dance. When Katelynn dances, I can’t keep my eyes off her. She is so graceful and beautiful. Her first dance class was about two months before her 3rd birthday. She cried when she had to leave!

She can sing too!!! That’s something from the Wilson side of the family. For as quiet as she is in school and around others (certainly not at home) she can happily stand up in front of a crowd and sing.

She’s a Disaster!!!! Her room is a nightmare! She couldn’t keep it clean if her life depended on it. When she was a preschooler I would threaten to throw away all her toys if she didn’t pick them up. One day she walked in her room to clean it, looked at the mess and said, “Just throw it away.”

She’s a great friend. She will never let a friend down. If she’s asked to hang out with somebody and a better offer comes along, she will not take it and happily hang out with the first offer. She doesn’t like it when girls talk about each other and always looks for the best in her friends.

She’s too honest. I always trust Kate to tell the truth. She even took a B in a class last year because she forgot her reading log when it was due and wouldn’t quickly make up a new one (like most everybody else in the class). She said she would rather take the B and be honest.

She’s forgetful. She forgets her phone, or to charge it; her lunch; her dance clothes; her homework; what time she is supposed to be somewhere and what she is supposed to wear; where she put her book, homework, her shoes, her head! Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

She’s a great sister. She and Braeden are the best of friends. They love to hang out together and they are always talking and laughing. She is a wonderful big sister to Caroline; always doing her hair and letting her sleep in her room when Caroline wants to have a sleepover. And, most importantly, she’s pretty tolerant of Collin. That’s quite an accomplishment!

She loves to read. Kate has always had her head in a book. It’s amazing how many books she has read in 14 short years.

She is an amazing writer. I’m sure it has a lot to do with her love of books. She writes such creative stories. Her 2nd grade teacher used to tell her that she was going to be a writer and her 5th grade teacher used to ask Kate if she would dedicate one of her books to Mrs. Thompson!

She’s LOUD!!! Her teachers always talk about how quiet she is in the classroom. But at home and around her friends, she has the loudest, booming voice.

Two words: Night Owl! She could stay up all night. And when she was a baby and toddler, she did!!! I really don’t remember much about those years…….I was too tired!

The most wonderful thing about Katelynn is that she knows she’s a daughter of God. She is obedient, modest, valiant, virtuous and such a wonderful young woman. I always find her on her knees praying, or reading her scriptures. She really does strive to be the best she can be.

I’m so glad to have the opportunity to be Katelynn’s mom. I think I am learning more from her than she learns from me.

Kate, you are a beautiful young lady and I love you soooooo much!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLINE!

2008-11-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

First day of school Posing in new clothes!

Received an award for being a good friend to

classmates in October.

The tooth fairy responds!

Conversations with the tooth fairy (August)

Caroline and Brynn. Gotcha!!!

Gracie, the limbo queen!

I think she likes the boots.
Caroline and Devyn
Sweet friends.......til middle school (ha inside joke!)

The next girl band!!!
Oh how I loved my "Sassy Class" You should see

them dance!!! (May '08)

Caroline and Mia cooking up some sweets! (Aug)

Okay so you don't think I'm terrible for missing Caroline's birthday, I haven't been able to blog about it because my computer won't boot. Ugh!

Our Sweet Caroline turned seven-years-old on November 13th. Time flies when you're having fun! Caroline is the Spice to our family. She's full of energy and spunk. She remembers everything you say, do and wear and will give her opinion about it! She's an amazing singer, dancer and performer. If there is a spotlight she will find it (really...you should have seen her find the spotlight when she performed as an orphan in Annie two years ago). She loves cooking shows and wants to be the next Rachel Ray. She's a natural leader, of course it helps that she's a head taller than most! She's fun and creative and always having conversations......mostly with herself (it's very entertaining to watch)! She's my little side-kick and doesn't want to grow up cuz then she will have to leave mommy. I keep telling her that when it's time for her to move out of our home, she will be more than ready and very happy to go! She's full of hugs and kisses and loves to snuggle with me and read. Our family has been so blessed to have Caroline as our little caboose. WE LOVE YOU CAROLINE!!!

She had a Camp Rock birthday party. It was very fun. The party was on Tuesday because we had no school. On Thursday her school was having a family picnic at lunch time. So Tom and I had lunch with Caroline at school and I brought cupcakes baked into ice cream cones for her class. Thursday evening Nana and Papa Bolton came down from Salt Lake. We had dinner, opened presents and to top the night off we caught Brynn and Cindy Hardy after they put a bunch of birthday notes to Caroline on our front door! It was sooooo cute!!!

The only pictures I can post are the ones currently in my camera, which are her party and some pix over the last few months. I'm hoping to get our computer fixed so I can retrieve all my pictures. Yikes!

HALLOWEEN

2008-11-02T17:49:00.001-08:00

This was Braeden two weeks ago for the "Bone Game"
between Vegas and Rancho....a 54 year rivalry! What a loot!!!!

Before trick and treats with Jensens.

School Parade

Carving pumpkins in a swimsuit!?!?

Halloween came and went so fast my head is spinning! We had a ward party on the 25th, which was lots of fun. We are now in a new ward. Our boundaries were realigned and the Christy Meadows ward is no more (sniff, sniff). We are now in the Mtn. Vista ward, which is wonderful! Caroline was very sad when all this occurred and I didn't understand it until Gay Whinery pointed out that Caroline was born when her daddy was the bishop of Christy Meadows Ward and she pretty much owned the place. Poor Princess Caroline's Kingdom is no more.

Anyway, back to Halloween! We had school parties, dances and parades on Oct. 30th cuz there's no school on the 31st due to Nevada Day.

On Halloween we spent the afternoon at the Jensens. The kids went swimming and played during the afternoon. We then ran home to carve pumpkins, then back to the Jensens for trick or treating. Braeden was surfing in California over the weekend. Greg Jensen took the boys to their place in Del Mar. I received text messages saying, "Weather is perfect. Waves are awesome. Having a Great time!" So we missed him over the weekend, but he's coming home tonight. Katelynn was with us for a short time, then off to a party. So it was Collin, Caroline and friends for trick or treating. We had much fun and I'm glad it's over. Now if I can just stay out of their candy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOOD NEWS!

2008-10-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

Just checked my account online and the money has been returned to us!!! Yeah. I get a date tonight!!! Now it's just the inconvenience of Tom not having a debit card for a week or so......is that such a bad thing? Hmmmm. Tom not having ability to get money except through me....this is good news!!!!

Theme of the week..."Stealing"

2008-10-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

My goodness. What a week. It all began when the seven-year-old girl, who lives behind us, stole Caroline's ipod. It was an old Shuffle that Braeden gave her when he upgraded. She had her Disney songs on there. The ipod was in her bag, which was in the back yard. Isabelle is always climbing the wall to play with Caroline. So she told Caroline that she sold the ipod to her brother. When Caroline asked for it back, she said her brother wouldn't let her have it back. So, last Saturday I had to go to the front door and ask for the ipod that Isabelle sold to her brother for $20. They said they would return it when they found it. The ipod was returned by tossing over the back wall. We found it on Sunday in the grass of our backyard. This was, of course, after the sprinklers had washed it and there were no headphones. The real kicker is when one of the other neighbor kids said, "Well, she found it" to which I replied, "When you find it in Caroline's bag and in her backyard, it's stealing".

Let's go to Monday when Collin went to basketball practice after school and someone broke into his gym locker and stole his cell phone. I deactivated the phone and then looked up his records to see a call was made at 2:50, which was right in the middle of practice. Every time Icall the number it goes straight to voicemail. So I will continue to call 702-205-0263 everyday until somebody answers.

Okay. Wednesday is the worst because a child was stolen. Caroline's friend, Cole Puffinburger, was taken from his home because, it appears, his grandfather stole millions from a Mexican Drug Cartel. The police found gramps in California this morning, but still no sign of Cole. How do you explain this to a six-year-old child?

Just when you think things can't get worse in a single week the bank calls. "Did Thomas spend $466 in clothing at a store in Texas? And did he attempt to buy another $600 in clothes in NYC?" Tom hasn't spend that much on clothing in the past twenty years combined!!!! Shut down his card!!!! Luckily the bank became suspicious and didn't allow the $600 purchase, but we are out $466 for at least 10 days while they conduct a fraud investigation. Ugh!

At the end of the week I begin to wonder where I can find a cave to move my family for the rest of our lives, but then I remind myself of my many blessings. The person from the bank apologized for the money that was stolen from my account to which I replied, "That's okay because tonight all of my children are home and safe." I hung up the phone, read scriptures with my family and in our family prayers we expressed gratitude and prayed the Lord would bless and comfort Cole and his family. As this world becomes increasingly wicked I find peace in knowing I have the Gospel of Jesus Christ; I have the Priesthood; I have the Holy Ghost to comfort and guide my family. I am so richly blessed.

Homecoming

2008-10-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

Braeden's first Homecoming was October 4th. He asked a very cute girl named Danica. They do Homecoming a bit different nowadays. It's an all day event. They started with an early morning breakfast. They all met at Jared's house and the guys cooked breakfast for the girls. Then they went riding ATV's. Which almost turned out to be disastrous when Braeden and Danica rolled theirs. That evening they all met at Melissa's house for pictures and the limo picked them up and drove them to the Venetion for dinner. The limo was a Cadillac Escalade....very fancy! After dinner was a gondola ride then back to Braxton's house for dessert and a movie. Did they actually go to the high school and dance???? Ah....no. Apparently that's not cool.

The kids had a great time! This was Braeden's third date. I can't believe my child is dating now!!! I'm too young for this. Tom's not.....but I am!

Happy Birthday Tom!!!

2008-10-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

Tom's birthday with Mom! Cute baby! I've always loved the picture on the left and the one on the right is because of the shirt he's wearing!!
This picture is for grama and grampa who just sent Tom a Red Sox hat from Boston!!!
February 1986!

It's Tom's big 42nd birthday today! At breakfast, this morn, I mentioned to the kids that 42 years ago today, dad was in Germany! He was at Mt. Potosi from Thursday morning until 6:30 Saturday night with a bunch of Scouters for Wood Badge. So, by the time he arrived home he was too tired to do anything. Today has been a day of church service. So when he arrives home from meetings tonight, we'll have dinner, cake and ice cream to celebrate his day.

The kids and I made a birthday card which mentions 42 things we love about dad. I won't list them all, but here's a few:

2. Nobody knows music like you!

3. You Rock at Rock Band!

6. You patiently help us with our homework.

10. You take up too much time in the bathroom when you take the DS or Game Boy with you. 13. You're a great example to us and show us how to serve the Lord and others.

16. You would rather be with your family than anywhere else in the world!

19. You are the best snowman maker.

21. You're the most fun dad in the swimming pool.

22. You freak out when Katelynn grabs your big toe!!!

28. You give the best back rubs and foot massages. Mom loves that!!!

32. You try not to get mad when fixing broken things around the house!!

40. You work very hard for us.

42. You are the best husband and dad a family could ever have!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!

Wilson grandchild #32

2008-08-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

The latest addition to the Wilson family arrived Saturday night and she's a beauty. They're just a cute little family. Congrats D and K! We wish you didn't live so far away. We hope to see y'all next summer.

More the EFY than meets the EYE!

2008-08-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm. I think there' s more to EFY than
just spiritual experiences. Now I know why
it was "Soooooo Awesome"

Summer Fun

2008-08-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

Kate swimming at grandmas
Caroline and Koley!

The old roller coaster!!

On the train with daddy!
The "after picture"
The "before" picture

Okay. Since I'm almost at the bottom of Carla and Jen's list, Carla suggested that I update the happenings of my little cuties! That's for you, Carla!!!

Our family has been apart for over three weeks. Braeden left for Volleyball camp at BYU on the 20th, just a few hours before I got home from New York. His team won the final tournament, which was pretty cool. He and Trevor spent a few days at grama and grampa Bolton's house, swimming, golfing and playing basketball with cousins. Braeden was most excited to take over the place as tallest cousin and he's going to enjoy it while it lasts, cuz it won't last! He just hit the six foot mark. It's crazy to think that he was 5'5" at the beginning of last summer. He then went to EFY in Cedar City. It was great to hear his stories of fun times with new and old friends, good classes and spiritual experiences. I also learned what COW means....crush of the week!

Katelynn went to Utah to hang out with cousins and grandparents for 10 days. She had a blast going to Lagoon, parties, High School Musical, more parties, a baptism, a museum, more parties, swimming, sleepovers, manicures and did I mention parties?!

The rest of the family joined Katelynn in Utah on the 6th of August and it was nice to have everybody back together. We had a great time at Lagoon. Braeden and Katelynn even rode the Catapult, which is a crazy ride that even costs extra. The are in a ball that is shot about 200 feet up, like a sling shot. It's crazy!!!! Caroline is big enough for all the crazy rides, but doesn't care for them, so Tom and I took turns taking her around. I must say that after a few hours of spinning in circles, I was beginning to get sick! I prefer the fast moving, upside-down crazy rides that last a few seconds and you're done!

The rest of the trip was spent swimming, hanging out with family, eating, celebrating Steve's birthday and joining Jim, Kym, Taylor and Lauren at church, where Taylor was advanced to a Priest. It was great seeing you guys!!! We were going home after lunch at Kym's house and we forgot that we had Crystal (Kate's dog) with us. We couldn't just leave her in the car so we called Jim and asked if we could leave her in the back yard. Jim was worried that she might jump over the fence, but I assured him that the fat dog can't jump that high. Well apparently the fat dog can squeeze through the fence. After two hours at church and Kym's house we went back for the dog and found her sitting under a tree in the front yard. It was pretty funny to just pull up, open the door, dog jumped in and we drove away!

We're now home and preparing for school to start. I'm getting ready to start up dance lessons and Hollywood Kids. Tom's busy with seminary registration. Braeden has been working for Greg Jensen as a runner for his law office. It was pretty funny when he called me on his first day and said, "I'm Lost". Collin is gearing up for middle school and Caroline has been in swim lessons. SUMMER HAS BEEN FLYING BY!!!

New York City!

2008-07-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

Can you believe this is Central Park? Can you
believe I took this picture?
Jessica Elmer and I at Young Frankenstein!
Jackie, Cheri, Pam, Nicole and Jessica in front
of 2 of the billboards of shows we saw.

A early walk through the park with Nicole, Pam and Jackie.
The whole gang. Dinner at Bubba Gumps.

I just spent five fabulous days in New York City! Eight of us went to a Broadway Teachers Workshop where we learned much, ate much, played much and walked even more.

The workshop was incredible. It took place in the rehearsal rooms of the Hilton Theatre. I learned a dance from the dace captain of Young Frankenstein, and then watched her dance in the show. We met and learned from actors, composers, choreographers, music directors, writers, stage managers, casting directors from broadway shows such as Wicked, Legally Blonde, Rent, South Pacific, Spring Awakening, Grease, Phantom of the Opera and oh so much more. My favorites were composer Jason Robert Brown, Emma Hunton from Spring Awakening and Max Crumm who plays Danny in Grease. They all sang for us! I went home and downloaded Jason Robert Brown's song, "Someone to Fall Back On" it is soooo beautiful.

We saw five shows! Legally Blonde, Young Frankenstein, A Catered Affair, 39 Steps and South Pacific. They were all soooooo good. We also had the opportunity to go to the front the the theater after Young Frankenstein, a Catered Affair, and 39 Steps where we had a post show discussion with some of the actors, writers, managers, etc.. Harvey Fierstein was my favorite!

We had a backstage tour of the St. James Theatre with their stage manager and the stage manager of Phantom of the Opera. Very Interesting.

We also took in a few sights, went to the temple and spent a couple hours in Central Park, which isn't nearly enough!

It's great to be home. I missed my family, but after a few hours of bickering children, I was ready to go back!!!

CLEAR THE ROADS!

2008-07-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

Braeden's wheels!!! 4th of July!!
Caroline and Tom lighting fireworks.
Collin was soooooo into the 4th!

It's official. He has a license to drive! Braeden passed the test on the first try, yesterday. When he asked if he could go to his friends house (which is a 20 minute round trip drive) I said YES!!!!! GO FOR IT!!!! He drove himself and Collin to scouts. I also sent him on a slurpee run! It's awesome! Although, when I get the first insurance bill, it won't be so exciting.

Happy Birthday Braeden!

2008-07-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

"Muscle Beach" with friends in Carlsbad. March '08 Family trip to Park City, Utah '04.

Our excited family after Braeden's team won the State
Championship in Volleyball!

Learning to walk. Remember that cute blond hair?!!! Sledding with cousins Adrew (bottom), Taylor (middle), Braeden (middle), and Tyler (top). SWEET SIXTEEN

I can't believe Braeden is sixteen! He will be driving next week! That is if he can hold onto his license long enough. He's lost his permit once, along with his wallet and the money inside, and last night he lost the key to his car. Aaaahhh the joys of teenagers.

Watching Braeden grow has been an amazing ride these past sixteen years. I have always said that I'm thankful he was the first. He's a terrific big brother. He's helpful, kind, sensitive and he really doesn't torture his siblings. He has always looked out for everybody and I have stories, too numerous to tell, about his kindness (besides, he'll kill me). High school has been fun! He has amazing friends who have soooo much fun together and they are all great kids!

We wanted to have a big 16th birthday bash but we ended up doing Braeden's favorite things instead. Braeden loves the ocean so we took his friend Trevor and met Brig in Del Mar, California for a few days of play in the ocean. Tracy, Brigs mom, reserved the outdoor barbecue at their apartment, which is on the Pacific Coast Highway, and we had a birthday dinner and swim after an afternoon at the beach. The boys did some boogie boarding, skim boarding (no surfing this time), played a little volleyball, hung out and played their guitars. It was wonderful. Oh, and the temp never rose above 77 degrees. Sometimes I really hate Vegas!!!!

I kept leaving the camera in the car, so I'll have to get some pictures from Tracy. She got some great pictures of the kids, especially Caroline, who now loves boogie boarding. You could hear her squeals of delight each time she caught a wave! Sooooo cute!!!!

Anyway, Happy Birthday Braeden. We love you!!!!!!!!

Catch Up!

2008-06-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

Braeden and I going for a ride!
Brae, Kate and Papa. Pops is bending his knees to make Brae look taller.
Kisses goodbye from Deke and Lisa.
Bryce, Caroline and Drew at the lake. Too cold to swim!
Tom, Caroline and Collin packing to go home. We have the dinky tent trailer for our whole family while my mom and dad have their imposing motor home for two in the background. Okay. They did let Braeden sleep on their pull out couch, which was most helpful. Thanks mom and dad!

Since I didn't blog for several months, I thought I do a little catching up.

Every year my family goes to Palisade's State Park, near Manti, Utah on Memorial Day Weekend. We love it there. We camp, golf, fish, play games, swim (depending on the weather), and laugh together and at one another! We love this trip and our kids would never allow us to miss it.

This year was a bit cold and there was no swimming, so we decided to try something new and rent ATV's. It was a blast. I should have taken the camera with me because the views on the trails were incredible. At one point I could see the Manti Temple.

Also an update on the home formerly occupied by Earl. I'm healing nicely. In fact I'm going a bit stir crazy not being able to do much! I'm now just feeling a bit stiff, especially when I'm sitting too long. The big milestones overcome: coughing, sneezing, going to the bathroom (ooooohhhh that was scary) and laughing. Katelynn nearly caused a relapse when she caused me to laugh so hard, I was doubled over in pain. She came into my room while I was watching an episode of Ellen (I had enough of HGTV. In fact I've had enough of TV all together). Anyway Ellen was playing a game like the Newlywed game, but with mothers and daughters. The question was: What was the most embarrassing thing you ever caught your mother doing? A. Making Whoopie B. Getting drunk at a party C. Telling a white lie. Well Katelynn looks puzzled and asks, "What's making whoopie? Is it when you catch your mother farting?" It still makes me laugh. I love her innocence. In fact I was laughing so hard I never did answer her question. May she stay so sweet and innocent!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLLIN!

2008-06-23T09:10:00.001-07:00

Love that smile!
Love that smile too!
Since he was a baby he would play catch with anybody.
One of my favorite pix! They look like they like each other!
Playing a little Rock Band with Jake, Jake and Trevor

Collin turned the big 11 on Saturday. I can't believe it's been 11 years. Collin was the cutest baby and toddler known to man! I can say that cuz I'm his mom. He has the best smile with those dimples! He's my only brown-eyed child. He could get away with murder. I still remember the day I told my mom, "He's not cute and he's not funny anymore!" Okay. He's still cute and funny, but he's trying very hard to always look cool. Collin has a great sense of humor and if you listen, you'll catch his whit. He's sweet, sensitive, smart, talented, just don't tell him cuz it will embarrass him. He can keep his cool under pressure (you should see him pitch when there are a bunch of screaming parents on the opposite team) I'm so proud to be Collin's mom! And, yes, he can still get away with murder!

GOODBYE EARL!

2008-06-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

Okay. Now before you read this go down to the post published before this one and open it up. When the song starts, minimize it, then you can read this post.
Let's talk about "Earl". "Earl" is the golf ball sized "mass" that appeared in my groin area (just above the bend in my leg). I was feeling some pain on Saturday night, March 15th and then found Earl on Sunday morning. Not something you like to discover just minutes before you have to leave for church. I talked with Rick (isn't it great to have a brother-in-law to call when strange things show up in your groin?) Rick diagnosed me over the phone with a hernia. Makes sense since I had been sick since the middle of January and my ribs were still aching from coughing for two months.
My doctor was out of town for Spring Break, of course, and I didn't want to wait another week to see him, so I called another doctor (big mistake). This doc says, "Ooohhh! Das biiiig! It's not hernia because I can't push it back in." Okay. It wasn't pretty when he tried to push the sucker back in! Anyway, he says it's my lymph node, and "let's be honest. It could be cancer." Thanks Doc. I'm feeling much better now! He sends me to a surgeon, but I can't go until next week cuz we went to the beach for Spring Break. Try keeping that off your mind for a week!
The surgeon agrees that it's the lymph node and puts be on an antibiotic for a week. I take it easy and it goes down a bit. So the surgeon says, "Let's wait another two weeks and see what happens." Meanwhile I can't even look at Mandy's blog and everytime I look at my kids I start to cry.
Well this is where faith, prayer and the temple come in. Tom gave me and blessing, which said that I was going to learn some patience and other things the Lord wants to teach me. I went to the temple and had the sweetest experience I've ever had. I learned great lessons that day and I came home feeling like everything was going to be fine.
To make a long story short, the doctor finally decides "Earl had to die" and wants to schedule surgery right away (he doesn't agree with me that it's a hernia). He said he would remove the "mass" and have a biopsy on it. I just hated the word "mass". Well this was right before my dance recital and Hollywood kids performances, so I had to put the surgery off for another month. Finally I go in for surgery on Wednesday. It's scheduled for 12 and the doc had an emergency. So they finally wheeled me in for surgery at 4:40. It was kind of scary since I had never had any surgery before. But everything went well. I woke up to the doctor saying, "It was a hernia". The nurse told Tom it was a big ole hernia. Rick's such a great doctor. He can diagnose over the phone!!!
I'm doing fine now. A bit sore but feeling better every day.
GOODBYE EARL!!!!!!!!

In honor of Earl.

2008-06-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmewmUvDlTQ

A Great Night For Ballgames

2008-04-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

I arrived home from Hollywood Kids at 6:30 only to smell the dinner which was not quite ready and quickly fix the boys a sandwich before their games. I dropped Collin off at 7:00 and quickly ran to Braeden's church basketball game. They are in a tournament and were scheduled to play the toughest team. It was a great game. Our boys played hard and only had six players. The other team had about ten players to send in fresh legs. The score was 54-54 in overtime with seconds on the clock. Our team inbounded the ball to Braeden, who quickly turned and shot a three-pointer. As the ball was sailing toward the basket the buzzer went off and then SWOOSH!!! The crowd erupted! The team went crazy and picked him up and his mama couldn't help screaming for joy! He scored 26 points.

I congratulated Braeden and quickly ran to Collin's baseball game. In the final inning Collin was pitching. He had caught one fly ball, picked up a grounder and threw another kid out at first and had the tying run on third when he struck out the final batter! Another happy ending,

It was a great night for ballgames. Sometimes you're the hero and get the big win other times you're not so fortunate.

We arrived home at 10:00. I helped Katelynn with her homework til 11:30 and then had to start a new day at 5:20 a.m. Sheesh. No wonder I don't have time to blog!!!! hee hee

More fun news...Braeden was moved up to the varsity volleyball team and is playing in La Jolla, California right now. Katelynn and Caroline are at birthday parties and Collin and Tom ran to the store. I think this is longest amount of alone time I've had all day! Wooo hooo

Carolineisms

2008-04-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

I know it's a shock that I'm writing right now. I have about three minutes to share a cute story about the crazy things Caroline has to say. Today is the 40 anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King and it reminded me of what she said on MLK day in January.
We had the day off school and work and Caroline suddenly piped up and said, "Oh yeah. It's Dr. Abraham Lincoln Jr.'s birthday today!" We all started to laugh and so she said, "What? He had a dream!"
There. I did it! I blogged for the first time in over two months!

fun pix!

2008-01-03T12:40:00.001-08:00

Our first family picture since Collin was a year old!
Kate and Kole
Caroline, Drew, and Kate
Everybody who is crazy!!!

Braeden and Tom.

December Daze

2008-01-02T22:58:00.000-08:00

Caroline and cousin Kaleah
Braeden enjoying his growth spurt and sizing up to Andrew
Katelynn playing some Christmas songs
Collin getting a new phone at Phase I
Kids and "Frosty"

Well. We made it through December.....barely. It was hard to get into the spirit of Christmas when all I did was run from one activity to the next. But we did get away to Utah and had a very nice, white Christmas. It was very cold and white. So we did all the winter activities: sledding, ice skating, snowman building, snowball fights and Braeden went snowboarding. We do Christmas in phases. Phase I is our own family in Vegas. Phase II is Santa. Phase III is the Wilson family, and Phase IV is Bolton family party. Here's a few pix of the family.

Happy Birthday Brooke!!!

2007-12-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1552077057
Hey Brooke!!! Here's a special something we cooked up for your birthday. I know how much you hate it when people give you birthday gifts in Christmas paper or Christmas cards, soooo this one's for you!!!
Love ya,
Jo

Concerts, games, recitals!!

2007-12-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

Caroline posing with her picture on Santa's lap
after Eldorado concert.

Elementary school Christmas Concert. Love the enthusiasm!!
Concert with the Eldorado choir.
Katelynn playing at the piano recital.
Oops. I thought this was Collin.....it's so dark. Anyway, we'll just pretend it's him!!!

Since the first of December we have attended 10 different events.....dance recitals, basketball games, piano recitals, school concerts and so on. We only have six to go before the end of this week!!! Oh, and lets not forget hosting the teacher luncheon and two classroom parties!! And I wonder why I'm feeling frazzled.
The choir at Eldorado invited some kids from Caroline's elementary school to participate in their program. The choir sang a beautiful song from the movie, "Prince of Egypt" and the elementary choir joined in, singing in Hebrew. Caroline and a few other girls were chosen to sing a part of the song. You should have seen her trying to hog the microphone! Really.....where does she get it?!!!! Off we go to see Katelynn participate in the Youth Choir Concert tonight!!!!! SAVE ME!!

The latest

2007-12-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

The holidays are always so crazy. There's never enough time to accomplish everything I would like. I did accomplish one thing this year that rarely happens.......family picture day! I made the whole family get up on Saturday morning and get ready. They all grumbled, but did it. I hope they turn out okay. We are a scary bunch! We came home and took a few pix in front of the tree. Stinkin Braeden is getting tall!

Kate and Collin had their piano recital Monday night. They did a great job! Katelynn is always sooo nervous and Collin is cool as a cucumber. Maybe it's because he really just doesn't care!!

The Hollywood Kids website is up and running and accepting new students (cross your fingers). We have signed a lease on our Northwest location and will start building two studios, a stage and a vocal room. We're in the Desert Saints magazine too. So spread the word, post us on your blog, tell your friends, tell them to tell their friends and so on and so on..........aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

What's there to blog about anyway!!!

2007-11-18T15:35:00.000-08:00

We met the Jensen's in Del Mar.

Okay. I'm pathetic. But, really it's been insanely crazy around here. Hollywood Kids is expanding. We are opening a huge studio in the Northwest. The studio will be more than 3000 sq. feet. With 2 dance studios and a stage. We've hired 3 drama teachers, 3 dance teachers, 2 voice teachers, 1 tumbling teacher and a makeup artist, who will teach a fun class on stage makeup! We've scoured all of North Las Vegas, and then some, to find the perfect space, only for it to fall through. We've met several Real Estate Agents. But it looks like we have another space that will work. We have an official website http://www.hollywoodkidsacademy.com/. It's almost ready to begin registering students. I still have to put my bio on there. Yuck. Margie and I will not be teaching out there, but we will still have Hollywood Kids Sunrise at Margie's house. We are working on 101 Dalmations for the kids and High School Musical for the Teens. I've been working hard to get everything choreographed. It's been quite a process! Exciting and SCARY!

We went camping last weekend in Carlsbad, California. What fun!!! Our campsite was on a bluff, overlooking the ocean. It was so neat. The weather was perfect. All we did was play on the beach. After church on Sunday we visited the Mormon Batallion in San Diego. It was cool cuz Tom has a great, great, great.....grandpa who served in the Mormon Batallion. We enjoyed the ocean and went boogie boarding. Braeden and Collin did some surfing as well! Sooo Fun. I can't wait to go back.

It's hard to believe that I have made three new posts today. It's more than I can say for Jen and Carla. I haven't heard from them in days! Jen's kids are even out of town. SLACKERS!!! Just kidding ladies! The craft show was wonderful!!!!

HALLOWEEN

2007-11-18T15:21:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what I think about this costume either. She was
some sort of evil ballerina.
Supergirls Rule!!!!
Collin's found this talking head. Creepy

Halloween was a blast! The parties, parades and trick or treating were much fun. I have a picture of the three youngers, but I haven't received the only picture of Braeden from Tracy Jensen yet. Although, I don't know if I want to receive that picture. Brig found costumes for himself and Braeden. Brig was Flash Gordon and Braeden was Batman. The only problem was the Batman costume was a little large, so they thought it would be funny to dress as Batman in his later than prime years, and stuff his costume with a pillow. He didn't have a mask, so we painted it on and his lighter hair didn't quite fit, so they found a black wig made of yarn, which was in two braids. I'm not sure what to think of his costume.

BIRTHDAYS

2007-11-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

Here's some birthday wishes I missed. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lisa Bolton, who turned the big 40 this year. She still has her sanity in spite of being married to Derrick and handling all of Whitlee's one-liners and left hand turns with style!!! ha ha Seandra Wilson also turned 40 and was thrilled to exit the 30's, only to have surgery shortly after! Happy and speedy recovery Seandra!!! Happy Birthday to Mindy Birch, who is still a spring chicken and turned 29 this year. Lisa Swain is 40 and holding!!! Happy Birthday to you too!!!!

Last, but certainly not least, Caroline turned Six-years-old on the 13th of November! We had a fabulous birthday on the beach in Carlsbad and then had a party with her friends yesterday. I can't believe my Sweet Caroline is six!! She has brought so much joy to our home. There's never a dull moment with Caroline around. I think I could publish a book of Caroline Comments.

Happy Birthday Whitlee!!

2007-10-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

Whit, age 8. Rodeo Queen!
Whitlee and Katelynn.
Whitlee and the "Brown Braeden" the next time she saw him, he was blonde and she didn't like it! She wanted the Brown Braeden! Cute dance picture!
Whitlee, Caroline and the poor sucker who got his ears pierced!!

Holy Cow!! Whitlee is 18! Sorry I'm a day late, but here are a few of my favorite pix and memories of Whitlee.

Famous one-liners:

Run Forest!!
I can teach you how to make a left hand turn!

Nobody this good looking should feel so sick.

Where's the Brown Braeden? I like the Brown Braeden!

C'mon. You're an adult now and you can make your own decisions. I think you should get your ears pierced. (And he did!!!!)
I'm dating a boy who is a twin. I call one brother "Lazy Eye" and the other "Dumbo Ears". I then asked, Who are you dating? She replied, "Lazy Eye"

Oh Whitlee. It has been a fun-filled 18 years. Just watching you grow up has been a great source of entertainment. I look forward to many more years of your great stories around the dinner table.

Love,

Auntie Jo (AKA "Aunt Doe Doe")

Happy Birthday Tom!!!

2007-10-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a few of my favorite "Young Tom, or Tommy" pix!

Camping at Valley of Fire

2007-10-08T20:38:00.001-07:00

Wow! Two posts in one day. Maybe that will make up for going two weeks without a post. Last Thursday we loaded the van, hitched the trailer, packed some food and headed out to Valley of Fire. We camped, roasted marshmellows, hiked, played games (Tom is the Champ of "Pretty Pretty Princess) and enjoyed some time with our family. It was sooo much fun!!!!
We hiked a big rock right above our campsite. So here's a picture of our trailer with our shadows above.
Yes. Braeden really is THAT TALL! The dog was the biggest chicken of the bunch. There were a few times we had to carry the big baby!!
The rock climbing is AWESOME!!!!
Braeden found a friend!
Really. Tom came with us. He just had the camera most of the time!

Stake Play

2007-10-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

Yeah!!! It's over!!! The quad-stake plays were last week and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Our stake did The Wizard of Oz. It was really cute. The munchkins were darling, especially those "Lolipop Guild" boys. They wore shorts with long socks and had their hair slicked to look like Alfalfa (sp?). Caroline was pretty darn cute as well! It was a lot of work, but fun. There were days I called those little munchkins "Sugar Filled Cherubs". In the end it was well worth working with such great little munchkins!

Happy Birthday Derrick!!

2007-10-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Derrick!! You are my favorite brother. The reason you're my favorite is because I have no other. I like this picture. It captures the affect you have on people! Lots of love from your sister who still has emotional scars from believing she was adopted!

Happy Anniversary!

2007-09-14T11:32:00.001-07:00

18 years ago we began our journey together.......

....it hasn't always been easy......we've had our up's and our down's

.....we haven't always agreed on everything, but we always work together....

....we work hard, and we play hard.......

....together, we have brought four wonderful children into this world....

....and through it all, you have always made me laugh!Happy Anniversary Tom! I love YOU!!!

WHAT TO WEAR!!!!

2007-09-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

Okay. I need any opinions about what to wear to my reunion. Vote for the best blouse and don't look at the dorky face with my eyes closed!

20 years

2007-09-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to go to my 20th High School Reunion. (Shut up, Chuckie!!!) So, does anybody have ideas on how to lose 10 pounds in 6 days? The only idea I have is to catch a nasty stomach flu! I don't know what to wear. I know what not to wear, which is everything in my closet! I went shopping for clothes, but all I could find was a "body enhancer" aka girdle. It's supposed to smooth the waist, hips and thighs. It actually works pretty good. I wore it yesterday and it hides all the rolls, but after three hours of church I couldn't wait to take the sucker off. I thought my eyeballs might pop out! Any ideas on how to pull myself together for this one? (Really. Shut up, Chuckie!!!)

Perspective revisited

2007-09-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

Kate and Collin were trying to get on my last nerve a few days ago. Same old stuff.....Collin can't open the frozen orange juice can.....or do anything I ask.......and Katelynn is constantly looking for some foreign object in her food, water, ice, bowl, cup, spoon, everything that's about to be put in her mouth. Really, you should see her at the dinner table....it takes forever to finish a meal. So, instead of throwing my hands in the air, or yelling "WHYYYY" and wondering where I went wrong, I just laughed and took picutures. Enjoy our disfunction!!

Perspective

2007-09-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

A conversation I had with the lady behind me in line at Office Max.....While waiting in line with my arms loaded with another $100 worth of school supplies and printer cartridges, Katelynn holds up a package of sticky notes.....
Katelynn: Look mom.
Me: Yeah. Do you need those?
Katelynn: No. I just think they're cute!
Me: Put them down and get over here, NOW!
I then turn to the lady behind me:
Me: They're killing me.
Lady behind me: Yeah. My 16-year-old son got his 15-year-old girlfriend pregnant and they hid it from me.
Me: Oh! I'm sooo sorry.
Lady behind me: Then they both dropped out of school. My son is working at McDonalds and he thinks he can support a child on that!
Me: Uh.....oh.....uh......say.....uh......Katelynn......how much were those sticky notes.........

Diet Woes

2007-09-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's diet:
Breakfast - Oatmeal, peach, orange juice
Snack - Protein Bar, water
Lunch - Pita bread wrap w/ turkey and veges, water
Snack - Sunflower seeds, sugarsnap peas, water
Dinner - Outback steak (I ate about 1/2 of it), veges, shrimp on the barbie (3)
Evening snack - Peach smoothie made with lowfat yogurt and peaches (finished about 1/2 of it)
Come home at 10:00 and find that Katelynn baked cookies.........
10:05 - one cookie
10:10 - one cookie
10:15 - one cookie
10:20 - 1/2 cookie
10:25 - the other half
Okay. Start over tomorrow
Story of my life!!!!!!

J.K. Rowling is my Hero!!!

2007-08-31T12:27:00.001-07:00

Anybody who can inspire Collin to read over 4100 pages this summer, deserves a medal or something....wait, she got lot's of cash for her efforts!!!!! Anyway, I'm so proud of Collin!!

How am I supposed to turn that stinkin picture right-side-up?!

Also. The picture of Kate's new haircut didn't show up on the last blog...so here it is!!

First Day of School!

2007-08-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

The alarm rings at 5:10 a.m....... and we're off!!!! The first day of school was great. Caroline walked into Kindergarten like she had been there a hundred times before....wait.....she has been there a hundred times before, just not as an official student. Collin says, "Mrs. Thompson Rocks!" Katelynn was thrilled her bus was on time; and Braeden said that everybody commented on his recent growth spurt.

Tom's first day of school wasn't as smooth. When he arrived at Vegas High seminary, the power was out. So there were a bunch of kids hanging around the building when I dropped Braeden off. We had a wicked storm the night before. I think I jumped out of my skin a few times when the thunder hit.

I accomplished a whole trip to the grocery store, and cleaned out the fridge before I had to go get Caroline. Kindergarten Sucks for moms!!!!

The girls had their hair cut after the first day of school.....cute, eh?

Summer is OVER!!!

2007-08-26T17:44:00.000-07:00

Well it's over....sniff, sniff (that's coming from the kids). I, on the other hand, am planning a parade to celebrate the end of summer!!! All moms are invited! We'll march down the street, banging pots and pans (what else are we going to do with them), sing a happy song and maybe do a little breakdance....I mean breakfast!

Anyhoo, I thought I would reflect on the highlights of the summer. It goes as follows:

Braeden spent a week at BYU basketball camp in June. He then spent another week at EFY, which was also at BYU. This was followed by a few days at volleyball camp at UNLV. He spent many hours at Vegas High practicing with the basketball and volleyball teams. He read a few good books, mowed a few lawns, played tooo much Guitar Hero. He then topped off his summer with a trip to Southern California with his friend Brig, where he learned to surf!!!! Oh yeah, and he grew three inches.....crazy!

Katelynn spent four weeks at Hollywood Teens Summer Camp, which I helped teach! It was only two hours per day, so don't think we're that crazy! She also spent a week in St George attending the Tuacahn Musical Theater Camp. She was instrumental in the changing of an age-old family rule of NO SLEEPOVERS.....EVER!!!! Therefore she had a few sleepovers this summer with her friends. She and her crazy friends dressed up for the opening day of Hairspray! She also survived her first Girls Camp!! It only rained everyday!!

Collin finally decided to read the Harry Potter books, after years of saying, "Why should I read it when I can watch the movie". He began reading Harry Potter 1 on July 21st and he finished Harry Potter 7 on August 24th. He read 4100 pages. I found myself saying, "Collin....I can't believe I'm saying this, but please put that book down and go play!!!" Collin's summer began with baseball. He made the All Star team and had a lot of fun playing in 115 degree heat, while the rest of us watched and prayed they would lose, so we could all go home!!!!

Caroline was a little fish this summer. She learned to dive off the diving board! She has no fear. Meanwhile she turned into the Coppertone Baby! Notice the cute butt shot on Lisa's blog! She also spent four weeks at Hollywood Kids summer camp and loved every minute of it!!!

Tom and I had a short getaway to Arizona with all the seminary teachers in our area. I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time! I survived teaching dance classes for Hollywood Kids summer camp and Girls Camp.....did I mention the rain?! In June we took a trip to Palisade's State Park, where we fished, golfed and enjoyed the Bolton family. We then spent some time in St. George with the Wilson's where we hiked, swam, played games at all hours and saw a show at Tuacahn! We had one last night of freedom, last night, so we went bowling, out to dinner and then Cold Stone!!!!

It's been a great summer.....and now bring on the 5 a.m. alarm clocks, bus stops, making lunches, piano lessons, dance lessons, Hollywood Kids, basketball, volleyball, baseball, homework, carpool, Kindergarten, class parties, holidays and all other craziness that will happen during the school year!!!!

Basketball Bliss!

2007-08-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

Tom and the boys decided to go watch the USA basketball team play at the Thomas and Mack last night. They bought nosebleed seats for $10 and were waiting for the game to begin, when some guy with an official badge, walks up to them and offers them courtside seats. The seats were insane! You can't get any closer! They were $909.09. Here's a few pix from the game. So after they got home from the game, it was on ESPN. The boys were right there on the court! How cool is that!!!

St. George with Wilson's

2007-08-08T22:36:00.000-07:00

Okay. It's taking a while to get used to this. It just took me fifteen minutes to figure out how to create a new blog!!!!

Anyhoo. We had a great trip to St. George with the Wilson family. We stayed in a condo with Scott and Rick's family, which was full of many teenagers!!! I haven't survived on such little sleep since college!! We played games all night, hiked Zion's NP, saw My Fair Lady and Katelynn's performance with the musical theater camp, swim, swam, swum and ate much!!! We sang Happy Birthday to Brianna at midnight, who is now 17. I just had to smash twinkies in her face, in memory of her 13th birthday. The kids had so much fun with cousins, they didn't want to come home. Thanks Wilson's!

My First Blog

2007-07-30T21:28:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh!! I have a blog!! Jen and Carla made me do it! Now I need a picture. I think I'll borrow one from Jen and pretend one of her cute kids belong to me!!! Okay. I found a picture of Collin's All Star team! He's fourth from the left, between the two boys wearing batting helmets.