Cute Pictures and Tis the Season....

Here are a few cute misc. pictures

TIS THE SEASON.....

To play in the snow:

We got a little bit of snow a few days before Christmas and the kids we're so excited. They couldn't wait to get their snow gear on and try to make due with the little bit of snow that we had. Our driveway and yard is slighty sloped, just enough for some sleds to coast down slowly. If you know my kids they are not extremely brave and so our little slope is perfect for them. A couple of days after Christmas our almost 60 degree weather melted away any snow that we had so we went from snow boots, coats and sleds to flip flops, short sleeve shirts and bicycles.

To get new pj's on Christmas Eve:

The kids were so excited on Christmas Eve. I thought for sure that they would still be awake when Santa stopped by but they all were sound asleep about 15 minutes after their heads hit their pillows. We even had to wake them up at 6:30 on Christmas morning! Jake and I couldn't believe it! When we were kids we remember it taking forever to fall asleep and tossing and turning all night long, then wanting to get up to open presents as early as 4 a.m. We will enjoy this while we can, I'm sure that there our upcoming sleepless Christmas Eve's.

To welcome a new niece and nephew:

Jake's sister's, Cherish and Sunny, both had their babies. Sunny had a baby girl, Hailey, on Dec. 27th and Cherish had a baby boy, Rylan, on Dec. 29th. My kids are excited to have more little cousins. Hopefully we will be able to see these sweet little additions to the Crosby family soon!

Rylan

Hailey

Trip to Idaho

Jake had a week off from work and being the good guy that he is watched our kids so I could fly out to Idaho to see my new neices, Sadie and Mya.  My sister, Valerie, had twin girls on November 17th (almost one month early).  They both weighed  4 lbs. 11 oz when they were born.  They had to stay in the hospital for 3 weeks due to complications that come along with premies but they are doing very well now.  

It was so fun to get to spend some quality time with my family.  I was able to get my Christmas shopping done, went to a movie with my mom and sisters, played with my nephew Max, and held the twins a lot.  I thought that helping my sister out with her twins would satisfy my baby craving but it only made it worse! They are so fun to cuddle with and that baby smell gets me every time!

Dance

Brooke had her dance recital tonight. It started at 6:00 p.m., but I thought it started at 5:30 so we had quite a long wait.  At least I got a good front row seat.  Brooke looked a little nervous at her practice this afternoon but did a great job at both the practice and the recital.   She is growing up way to fast.

Brooke after her recital

A little clip of Brooke's practice dance. She is in the middle. This practice one will have to do because it was too dark in the auditorium when they performed their actual recital for a good recording.

Kennady and her friend Clara doing some dancing of their own while we were waiting.

Thanksgiving

Although we were not able to visit family this Thanksgiving, we made the best of it and had a few families from our ward over for dinner.  We had quite the house full with nine adults and eleven kids.  After dinner some of us played games while others watched football.  Then later that evening the ward missionaries stopped by for about an hour.  It was good to have company. I was not very adventurous this year and missed out on the Black Friday sales. We got some good deals on Saturday though and we didn't have to deal with the crowds.   Today we put up our Christmas tree and decorations.  (Just a side note:  Our walls are not painted yellow, or yellowish green. They are a tan color, so either I need a new camera or a lesson on taking good pics!)

Pretty Princess

Lately all that Kennady wants to wear is her silky "pretty princess" dresses and necklaces.   It is so fun to watch her dress up but at the same time it drives me crazy.  For instance, when I have to be somewhere and it takes me twice as long because it is a fight to change her out of her dress ups and into warmer clothes.  Also, when we are at home her little cheeks are red from being hot because she has on layers upon layers of dress up clothes.  Kenna would love it if Santa gave her a "pretty princess" dress for Christmas but I heard he is running low on them. 

Halloween

On Wednesday we decorated our trunk and dressed the kids up in their costumes to go to our ward's trunk or treat at the church.  They had a lot of fun and got way too much candy. 

Halloween night was a different this year without Jake and Tyler around to livin' things up! They left for a hunting trip when Tyler got home from school today. They were sooo excited to go pheasant hunting tomorrow in Dodge City with one of Jake's good friends from anesthesia school. We missed the boys, but us girls know how to party hardy too!

One of our neighbors had a Halloween party so we went to that for a little while.  Then we went trick or treating around our neighborhood with our friends, the Cleveland's. (They were our neighbors until they moved just a few months ago)

Meet Kennady's boyfriend, Joran.  He is our neighbor and is so cute with Kennady.  He is always trying to hold her hand and gets so excited when he sees her.  He gave Kennady not one, but four pieces of Halloween candy!

Brooke trying to keep her stash away from Kennady.

Can you tell what Halloween candy is Kenna's favorite?

Corn Maze

Jake's mom was able to come and spend a few days with us this last month.  It was great having her here to spoil the kids and to be able to show her around Manhattan. While she was here we went to a pumpkin patch here in town.  There was a hay ride that took us out to a corn maze and then once you got through the corn maze you arrived at the pumpkin patch.  We got lost in the maze and were the last ones to make it out on the other side to the pumpkin patch.  Is an Eagle Scout allowed to get lost like that, or for that matter a born and raised country girl?! 

Which way do we go???

Jake and Kennady making the most of being lost.

We made it.....finally!

"T" picking out his pumpkin

 Where's your pumpkin Brooke?                                                

Looks like Kenna found a good one!

The hay ride back...SMILE Jake.

Polly

Drum roll please!................and the winner is POLLY!  Thanks to all who voted and helped us decide.

  I must admit that I was the one who was having the problem accepting the name Polly. Not because I didn't like the name but because we didn't even really get the chance to think of any other possibilities.  The first 10 minutes we had the puppy, Brooke thought of the name Polly. I just wanted to discuss other options and Belle was another name that Brooke liked.  I just wanted to make sure that is what we wanted to name her because hopefully we will have this dog for many years.  The past couple of days we had all started calling our puppy Polly and now I think it is a perfect name for her.  It fits her.  

The great debate!

No, I am not talking politics. I am talking about something much more important. What should we name our new puppy? I will not name names, but some of us like the name Polly and some like the name Belle or Bella.  So help us out with our dilemma and vote for the name you like best.

She is an eight week old Vizsla. Ever since we had to get rid of our last dog, Eddy, the kids and Jake have been wanting another dog. I spotted this one in a pet store last week and thought she was so cute, but couldn't bring myself to tell the kids and Jake about her. Then we all went to the pet store today and to my surprise she was still there. So, here she is!

It's great to be eight!

I can't believe that I have an eight year old! It makes me feel so old. Tyler had a pretty good birthday. After school we let him open his presents. We gave in and got him a skateboard, along with a few other things for his birthday.  He was really excited to ride his skateboard. Jake and I were just sure that he wouldn't even be able to stand and balance on it.  I guess we underestimated him because he caught on to it very quickly and has loved riding on it every day after school. 

Tyler was baptized last Saturday. He was very excited but once we got to the church I could tell he was nervous. He did so good and was so cute. Before we went to the church we gave him some new scriptures and he has been reading them and marking in them every night.  After his baptism I asked him how he felt and he said "I feel all tinglely". He had a smile on his face all day long. He has such a sweet spirit about him. I love this kid!!!

Tyler's first soccer game was last night. They ended up winning 2-0. I actually can't believe that either team made any points. They all just stand around and look confused. They have had a couple of practices and good thing there are some more to come. I just like having Tyler play so he can get in some good exercise and have some fun with other boys his age. His soccer team is unique because five out of nine of the kids are LDS.  Two of the boys are in our ward and two are in the other ward. It's a small world because one of the boys from the other ward is Zach Williams, (Clay and Sara Williams boy). Jake went to school in Kanab with Sara so they were able to catch up a bit while we were watching the soccer game. 

1st day of school

Today was Tyler and Brooke's first day back at school.  Brooke is in Kindergarten and Tyler is in 2nd grade this year. Brooke was very excited about going to school and Tyler didn't want to go back. It was only a half day today so they got back around noon. They both said that their teachers are nice and that they had a good day.  Everything went great, except when Brooke forgot to bring her backpack with her when she got off the bus.  She was hysterical when she realized she forgot it, but good ol' mom called some people and it will be on the bus waiting for her in the morning. 

Wedding Day Tag

Andrea tagged me a couple of weeks ago and I have finally given up on trying to scan my wedding photos so I could show you all one. So, here it goes(without a picture of my wedding day)!

1)What date is your anniversary?

April 25, 1998

2)Where did you get married?

Idaho Falls Temple

3) Who proposed and how?

Jake showed up at my parent's house Christmas morning and proposed in front of my family in our living room. I was so surprised and excited that I had another present to open!

4)How long were you engaged?

4 months

5)What was your favorite part of your wedding day?(and it can't be your husband)

It was fun having our pictures taken with family and friends after the ceremony on the temple grounds. 

6) What would you change if you could?

I would definately not get sick with the stomach flu on our wedding night and I would have not cut Jake's lip with my new acrylic finger nails when I was shoving cake into his face. I was sooo embarrassed!

7) Wedding colors?

Purple, purple and yes more purple

8) Remember anything special about your wedding ceremony?

No, I was too busy staring at Jake with a perma grin on my face. 

9) Were you clean or messy when your cut your cake?

Messy, hence the bloody lip.

10) Where did you go on your honeymoon?

Las Vegas

I tag Cherish and Shalean

Our vacation, full of family and fun!!

FAMILY PICTURES

Jake unexpectedly got 10 days off of work so we took advantage of the opportunity to go visit our families in Utah and Idaho. We first drove to Idaho and stayed there for a few days. It was great for us to be able to see my family especially since I had not been back to see them for 9 months. We had fun riding 4 wheelers, riding in the tractor, feeding my sisters minature goats, having a cook out down in our pasture, and all the fun stuff there is to do on a farm. We had a lot of fun and it was great to see everyone, including my grandpa who is almost 91 years old.
We then headed for Utah to see Jake's family, who we hadn't seen since Thanksgiving. The kids had a lot of fun playing with their cousins, sleeping in the tent trailer and catching butterflys with nets that grandma gave them. Jake's sister, Cari, had her twins the night before we got to Utah so we were able to see our new nieces, Presley and Hadley. They are so cute and thankfully there were no major complications with their delivery. When Cari and Phil got home with the babies we were able to go see them and while we were there all the guys went to play paintball in the mountains next to their house.

On the way back to Kansas we stopped to see Jake's sister Cherish and her family. We were able to stay with them one night. The kids had fun playing with their cousins and it was fun to see where they live.

In all we were on the road for a total of 38 hours and as you can tell it took it's toll on us. This is a picture of us driving back home to Kansas. Although it was a very long drive the kids did great on the trip, thanks to gameboys, a portable DVD player and a 2 year old who sucks her thumb.