Christmas Programs 2007

Santa was at Jacksons preschool performance. Did you ask yourself "Where are the girls?" I did. Have they gotten too old to sit on his lap? Maybe!

Jackson was adorable singing "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause".

I have to appologize for the girls photo. None of theirs came out because the lens had "stuff" on it. Sorry girls!

Who Says You Cant Golf in December?

If you live in California, you are lucky enough to be able to golf in December. The kids like going to the local golf club - it's small and best of all...cheap! I'm sure the next Tiger Woods is somewhere in our pack!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a nice, relaxing day. After waiting all day for Aunt Lisa and Mom to get up here, we got to eat. Thanks a lot guys! JK








Jessica can't wait to eat...Nicole and Lisa, lookn' good!



Marks turkey was delish! Sorry, Mark, no photo.
I'm starting to think that Mom didn't want her face to be in any pictures. Whats the deal Mom?

Oh, there you are!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

Soon after Thanksgiving we started decorating for Christmas - our favorite time of year!

We decided for adventure this Christmas so we went to cut down the family Christmas tree. The kids had lots of fun searching the hills for the perfect tree. The best part was hearing the kids yell "SAW". It was a fun day!

The family looked good for halloween this year. I especially like how Mark gets into it!

I felt a little like Martha Stewart carving our name into the pumpkins...I thought it was a nice touch!

No he wasn't a robot for halloween!

Last week Austin had the wonderful opportunity of having a 72 hour EEG. What fun this was!! He did a great job considering that one of the electrodes on his forehead had been burrowing into his skin. I felt bad when I saw the open wound that turned into a huge scab and goose egg. For three days I had told him to "get tough" and not cry about how his head hurt. I won't be winning any mother of the year awards soon. I thought his doctor was crazy when he said that Austin could go to school. Does he not see what Austin looks like. Apparently when his doctor was in first grade no one ever made fun of him. Silly doctor! We see the neurologist on the 27 of November for results.

Sacramento Temple

The weekend after Disneyland Greg, Tara, Kim and Lisa came back to town and we all went to the Sacramento Temple together. It was an exciting weekend! To top it off, Greg finally got to bless Layne and Doug blessed Rhett at Mom's house. I love my family -- my own as well as my extended. They are the best!!

(Doug, Amy, Mom, Lisa, Me, Kim, Tara and Greg)

Happiest Place on Earth

The kids and I took a trip down to Disneyland in mid October. What made the trip so special was that Uncle Greg finally returned to the states from Iraq. And is there a better way to celebrate than a trip to the happiest place on earth.

Jackson and Austin love playing with their cousins. (Liv in green, Maren as Snow White, and Reece in orange.)

Lisa, Greg, and I liked the Nemo ride as much as the kids did!!

Nicole and Jessica loved their time getting pampered just like princesses. (The design each of them picked tells the story of their different personalities. Nicole picked simple whereas Jessica picked bright and sparkely. I thought that was funny.)

Here is the newest addition to our family. Nicole and Jessica talked me into getting a hamster. Leah is her name. Okay, I have to admit that I like the hamster. What will it be next! So far so good with the little rodent. We have only had one mishap so far. Nicole accidentally stepped on her and thought she had killed her. The two girls came running down the stairs screaming as though someone had lost an arm. I asked what happened and Jessica said, "Nicole stepped on the hamster and she cracked!". All I could think of was that now we had a paraplegic for a pet and I was going to have to somehow make an apparatus that Leah could pull herself around on...something like a cart with wheels. Well, to make a long story short, the hamster was just in shock and after about 10 minutes she was back to herself. I never knew having a rodent for a pet would give me something to talk about.

First Day of School

August was an exciting month for us. All four kids went to school! Wow, now what will I do. Nicole started fifth grade. Jessica started third, Austin began a full day in first, and Jackson goes to Preschool three days a week from 8-12:45.

Christmas 2006

Last Christmas the whole family came into town. It was lots of fun having all my brothers and sisters here. Talk about too many gifts. My mom and dad's Christmas tree was packed full of gifts. Greg, Doug and Lisa stayed with Mom and Dad while Kim and her 5 children stayed at my house. We had a gingerbread decorating contest for the adults. Of course, Mark and I won! Each of the 11 grandchildren decorated a box car which ended up making a very long train. The sugar intake on that night was crazy!! Grandma had it all under control. The guys played and played ping-pong. I want to say that even my Dad got involved in one game...then of course he went back to the couch for some R&R. We took family photos in Folsom. That was an experience. The Dent family just keeps getting bigger and bigger. (Kim has 5 kids, I have 4, Greg has 3, Doug has 2 and Lisa is in holding pattern till Mr. Right shows up.)

Summer Vacation 2007

As soon as summer started to get going we had lot of fun days on our boat. I can't tell you how much joy I get watching my kids have a ball on our boat. My cheeks still hurt from laughing and smiling watching them. We spent most of our summer days on the lake. I am still frustrated over the fact that Mark can wake board (on his very first try) and I can't seem to figure it out. I'll get it sooner or later. Our favorite place to go is Lake Clemintine. Just a 15 minute drive from our driveway to the boat ramp. It's close and has a beach the kids love to play on. It's also nice that I can pack the car, the ice chest, and the kids then get the boat in the water and Mark joins us at the lake after work. We've also spent a few nights there camping. Lots-a-fun!

We also spent just over a week in So. Cal. We spent most of the week on Pacific Beach in San Diego. Mark and the kids had a great time riding the waves, skim boarding, and searching for dead jellyfish. I sat under the EZ-Up trying to get rid of a bad case of pneumonia, darn it. Mark was great though, he'd carry the ez-up to the beach every morning so that when we all got up we could have a nice spot on the beach. Uncle Mike, Aunt Donna, Lee and Ricky also came to visit and spend some time with us. Austin loved all the quality time with his cousins playing wiffle ball and smash ball. One of the best parts of San Diego was that our hotel room was just about on the beach itself. We could run up to the room to go potty or jump in the pool to wash off the salty sea water at any time.

After our week on the beach, we met Uncle Jimmy and crew at Lake Elsinore. It was HOT!!! The kids had a blast on Jimmy's boat. (That's Jackson jumping off the boat.) It was great to see everyone and the bar-b-q at Jessica's house was a great way to cool off after a day on the lake. Thanks Jessica. The house is beautiful!

Mark sustained an arm injury on vacation trying to wake board. He doesn't even know his own strength. He tore the tendon that holds his bicep down. He ended up having surgery to fix his arm. It included surgical rope, two holes through a bone and screws. OUCH! He's tough though. He didn't really complain about it. Well not too much. He has started physical therapy and should be good as new in three months.

My Dad

The summer of 2007 started off terribly sad. My dad lost his 8 month battle with liver cancer June 9. He was a wonderful father and friend. We are all still trying to get used to the idea that he isn't here. Time, I'm hoping, will ease the pain but we will never forget his loving ways. I miss him.