Christmas 2008

We had a nice quiet Christmas at home this year just the way we like it. We had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of ham and cheesy potatoes. The kids and I made sugar cookies for Santa. The kids opened their Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve and then it was off to bed. No one went to sleep until after 10pm. Emma and Jake woke up a little after 7am and were ready to go see what Santa brought so we headed downstairs. Matt tried to wake up Brandon at 8am with no luck. I tried later at 8:30 and he was so excited to see if Santa brought him a Diego toy. Which ends up being his favorite gift. I think he was most excited about the candy in his stocking. Emma says her favorite gift was her new books and a foot massager Jake gave her from the dollar store. Jake says his favorite gift was a word find Emma gave him from the dollar store. Maybe I will just shop there next year exclusively. They also liked the Smartglobe Santa brought them as well. We didn't leave the house for 2 days. We stayed in and enjoyed playing new games, watching movies, relaxing and eating leftovers. Surprisingly we have more pictures of decorating the tree and Christmas Eve than we do of Christmas day. We had a nice holiday and really enjoy the Christmas season this year. Unfortunately it seems to go to quick every year.

Great quote for the new year

I came across a quote today that I really liked and thought I would share it with you all. "The best way you can live is with your eyes forward and head up so you can see other people's needs and not yours." I hope everyone has a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Bad timing for a snowy day.

So after our trip to Disneyland we were ready to head home. We had Matt's sister following us home. We soon realized the 15 freeway to get out of California was closed due to a freak snowfall. So we decided to go another route and headed towards Arizona to go up the 95. Well we had left Disneyland at 3pm and ended up in Laughlin at 11:30 pm because the 95 was also closed due to snow. So we stayed the night in Laughin and woke up the next morning and saw all the semi-trucks still on the side of the road. Obviously due to the road still be shut down. So we went to the buffet for breakfast and then headed back to our room. We then noticed the semi-trucks were gone so we ran to our cars and headed for the 95. Yeah it was open and we moving right along and then suddenly we were stopped. We ended up being stopped for 2 1/2 hours on the road. What the heck? We still don't know why we were stopped. The traffic going southbound was moving but everybody going north was stopped. Once the traffic got going we were home in 1 hour. The whole trip was very annoying. The funniest thing though was that school was cancelled for a snowday and by the time we got home at 3pm there was no snow to be seen. Glad to be home. These are pictures of the kids bored out there mind in the backseat during the 2 1/2 hour stop and pictures of the snow on the 95.

Disneyland Photos

Yes I realize that the 1st photo is sideways. I can't figure out how to fix it once it is already published. So just deal with it and turn your head.

Christmas trip to Disneyland

We went to Disneyland on December 15-17th. The first day it was pouring rain all morning. We did get on several rides as the lines were very short. The second day the weather was a little cool but not raining. The lines were still short which was awesome. We also went to a few shows that day in California Adventure. The last day was miserably cold, rainy and windy. We were only there for half the day which was the original plan anyway. We did have fun with Matt's family and enjoying all the fun things Disneyland has to offer and especially at Christmastime. Brandon and I watched 2 parades together. Emma and I wathced the fireworks and the fake snow fall on Main Street. We were able to get a few more autographs and pictures of some Disney characters. Jake was able to meet some Star Wars characters. He thought meeting Darth Mal was pretty cool. Brandon loved seeing Woody, Sully and Hanny Manny. Emma and Jake were having fun going on all the big kid rides with their cousins. Yeah for Disneyland!!! BOO for the weather!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Matt's family. Everyone came except for Matt's older sister Calli and her family. We missed them not being there. We had lots of food to eat and eat and eat. We played pool and the Wii most of the time. It was a fast and quick trip for everyone but we are glad they were able to come.
The day after everyone left we pulled out the Christmas tree and all the decorations and put the Christmas music on and got busy. Brandon put the star on the tree this year. He continues to remind us daily that he put the star on the tree. We even got to hang our stockings over the fireplace this year because we finally have a fireplace!! Brandon even found his stocking and thought is what pretty cool. (Please note picture above). The kids also have their own tree to decorate with all the ornaments they have either made or were given. They had fun decorating the tree with out any help from mom.
This month is already going by to quickly. The new year will be here before we know it. I hope we can all take some time out from our busy schedule this time of year, to remember not only the birth of the Savior but also his marvelous life. Merry Christmas everyone!!

Please excuse the mess!!

Alright I am doing my best to make my blog a little cuter to look at and I am obviously having some difficulty. So, please excuse the mess until I have figured out what I am doing. If anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated. I have been trying to get a background etc. from "cutest blog on the block", I got one, which is the one you see and then I tried to get a new one with no success. Also how do I change my header. Also what is with the little tools on the side of my blog next to certain headings? HELP!!!

My birthday weekend and then some

My 35th birthday was last Friday, November 7th. Yes I feel old. Thank you to all who sent cards, called or wished me happy birthday. For my birthday my sweet new friends here in Las Vegas went to lunch with me. Then it was the Enrichment Night's craft night. I went to that and made my awesome crafts and ate everything you could think dipped in chocolate from the chocolate fountain they had. All the sisters at craft night sang Happy Birthday and totally made my day. I went home and then ate a piece of my Sam's Club chocolate cake I bought for myself. It was awesome. I did share with my family.
Saturday we went to the air show at Nellis Air Force base. We were there most of the day and had a great time. Brandon just kept saying "airplane, airplane" over and over again. He was beginning to remind us of the guy on the show "Fantasy Island" (Does anyone remember that show?). It really was fun and the weather was not to bad. Matt and Jake were in heaven. They kept teling me all kinds of info I either didn't understand or didn't care about. I would post a few pictures of the air show but I refuse to sort through the 500+ pictures Matt took. Yes that is correct, 500+. The one cool thing that happened is that we were there so late that we able to meet one of the pilots from the Thunderbirds. Unfortunately I forgot to get his picutre. I was so mad when we left. Everyone had a good time. I am sure we will be going again next year.

I....

I Am: a wife and mother
I Want: patience
I Have: a wonderful husband and children
I Miss: my mom
I Fear: losing my husband or kids
I Hear: Jake turning pages and a TV.
I Search: for self control
I Wonder: what the future holds
I Regret: wasted time
I Love: my life
I Forgive: usually
I Ache: for my mother
I Always: hug my children everyday
I Try: to keep a clean house
I Am Not: patient
I Seem: busy
I Know: the gospel is true
I Feel: blessed
I Dance: with my kids
I Dream: everynight
I Give: when I can
I Listen: not enough
I Sing: to my kids
I Laugh: a lot
I Can't: do math
I Write: in a journal
I Cry: when the spirit touches me
I Sleep: on my left side
I Am not always: happy
I See: not very well (contacts)
I Need: to have a better attitude apparently
I Should: count my blessings more often.


Let's hear from you now....Natalie, Danica, Fontana friends and anyone else up for the challenge.

Halloween

In case you cannot figure out what the kids dressed up as I will tell you. Brandon is a monkey or more specifically Curious George. Emma is an Indian Princess and Jake is S.W.A.T. man. On the 30th we went to the school carnival and had a great time. Right after that was the ward trunk or treat and the kids got lots of candy, especially Jake. Friday, Halloween, we drove to Richfield, Utah to visit with Matt's family. The kids were able to dress up one more time and go trick or treating around grandma and grandpa's neighborhood. We had a fun weekend in Richfield.

Citizens of the Month

Emma and Jake were chosen as the citizen of the month for the month of October. Each class picks one student for citizen of the month. It was kind of fun to have them both chosen in the same month. There was a little assembly for all the students chosen at the school. Brandon and I went to that and we were able to get a few pictures.

Brandon and the pumpkin patch

Brandon went on a little field trip today at a pumpkin patch. There was a bouncy house, a bouncy slide and animals to see. He had fun with the animals and in the bouncy house but the bouncy slide was his favorite. He even climb the huge ladder and went down the rather large slide all by himself. Every time he went down the slide his arms were straight in the air and you could hear him giggling and saying "weeeeeee". It was so funny. He even got to take home a little pumpkin of his own and was very proud of his pumpkin. He was so excited to show Emma and Jake when they got home. He kept taking the pumkin off the counter and just walking around with it.

President Summers

Emma was running for Student Body President of her elementary school last week. The vote was last Friday and she found out this morning that she WON!! She is so excited. She even beat out 2 other 5th graders. Her first official duty will be running the student council meeting Tuesday morning. I am sure she will have other duties and she will love all of them. Her campaign slogan was "Vote for Emma Summers and school won't be a bummer." Yeah for President Summers!!

Jake's 7th Birthday

Friday, October 17th was Jake's 7th birthday. He wanted chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. So I made them in the shape of a "7". He thought that was pretty cool. He opened his presents before school becasue Matt had to go to CA for the day and would not be home in time for our little family party. I took treats to his class to celebrate his birthday at school. He wanted turtle cookies (a Summers' family recipe) and smarties. So that is what he got. We ordered Pizza Hut stuffed crust pizza for dinner and had banana splits for dessert instead of cake. Then we watched "Indiana Jones 4". He seemed to have a really good day.
In honor of Jake's birthday I thought I would list a few reason why we love Jake so much.
1. He has an awesome laugh.
2. He has a great sense of humor.
3. He loves to learn new things.
4. He loves his little brother (except when he is in his room uninvited)
5. He loves his sister (except when she is too bossy)
6. He has a great imagination.
7. He likes to help out and go the 2nd mile.
8. He loves church and learning about the gospel.
9. He loves to cuddle. (which is a plus in my book.)
10. He loves to give hugs and kisses for no good reason.(another plus in my book)
Happy Birthday Jake Matthew Summers

School Daze

Okay so the kids had a great first day at school except for all the crazy traffic. I guess that part would involve me more than them. Anyway, Brandon seemed to survive the day without them. The school is brand new and so the sidewalks are not complete. So the school has been providing buses for all kids even kids that are in walking distance like Emma and Jake. So we have been taking advantage of that situation. I walk the kids 5 houses down and they get on the bus. I haven't been having to worry about all the traffic at the school. However, yesterday they had to change buses (long boring story). My kids got off the bus and said the bus was disgusting and had naughty words written all over it. They then proceded to spell out every naughty word they saw. Long story short, I drove them to school this morning. The traffic was not bad at all. Hopefully it will be okay this afternoon.
Emma has a man teacher who she says "is very strict but in a good way". Jake has a really cool teacher too. I am pleased with the school thus far. I don't know how your elementary schools work but here they have what are called "specials" . That would be music, art, P.E. and library. They get to attend each of these once a week (P.E. twice). All is well in elementary school in Las Vegas. One less thing for me to worry about now.

We made it to Las Vegas

Okay so we are finally all settled in. We (Emma, Brandon and I) left Thursday morning the 4th to get our keys to the house. Matt and Jake stayed with the movers in CA and left about 3pm to drive our toyhauler full of stuff to the house. We unloaded the toyhauler and headed to a hotel one last time. The movers were supposed to show up on Friday at 8am. They came at 2pm. They had all of our things in the house or garage by 5:30pm. We were all so sick of packing and traveling etc. we just kind of took a break for awhile. By Saturday night everyone had a bed to sleep on and the kitchen was mostly put away. I even made dinner. Sunday was Stake Conference so we will be checking out our new ward this Sunday. Matt's mom Susan came down Sunday night and left Wednesday morning. She was a huge help with getting things put away and organized. She also helped me pick out things for the bathrooms and the boys rooms. As of right now everyone has furniture but Emma. We gave all of her old furniture to D.I. when we left. She will be getting some soon though. School starts on Monday. We will let you know how that goes.

The big move to Las Vegas

So in case you haven't heard we are moving to Las Vegas, NV. Why Las Vegas you might ask? Matt's job is transferring him there to start another office. We have mixed emotions about the move. Well, at least I do. I will miss all the friends we have made here in Fontana and the ward here is great. We are excited about the move for a few reasons. We will be closer to our family in Utah. We get a bigger house. The kids like that one because now they will all have their own room. Finally, we will be moving out of California. We move Thursday Sept 4th. If I haven't already given you our new address, ask a friend or relative who knows us.
Now that I have figured out how to post a message my newest thing will be to learn how to post a picture. So when we get all settled I will post some photos of our new house.

The Kid's Piano Recital
May 24, 2008

This is Jake's first piano recital after only 2 months of piano lessons. Notice how much Jake enjoyed bowing at the end of his songs.

Emma also started piano lessons 2 months ago. She is also taking cheer/ dance class. Emma has had quite the weekend. She won student of the month at school on Friday, performed at her piano/ dance recital on Saturday and will sing a solo in Sacrament meeting later today. It has been an Emma weekend.

Emma's Cheer Class

Emma's Choir Concert

April 3, 2008

Brandon Starting His Motorcycle

March 24, 2008

Brandon thinks he can ride a motorcycle.

Glen Helen Raceway

San Bernardino, CA

March 08, 2008

Matt, Jake & Emma went to the ATV Nationals on March 8th, 2002 at the Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA. Emma and Jake were able to meet one of the professional racers, Doug Gust. Doug Gust is one of the biggest names in ATV racing. They were pretty excited.

Both Emma and Jake want to go back to Glen Helen to ride the Pee Wee track on their quads.

Stoddard Valley, CA

March 01, 2008

We went to Stoddard Valley, CA to ride and camp this weekend. We all had a good time. Jake did over 50 laps on the track on Saturday. Emma is getting used to her Honda 90. Brandon had a good time riding in the Rhino watching the kids ride.

Jake

Emma