Christmas Fun

Well, another Christmas come and gone. It was a great day filled with presents, laughs, family, christmas stories and FOOD. I feel as stuffed as I felt on Thanksgiving! The ingesting of two million plus calories actually started on Christmas Eve. We started the day by heading to Dennys to have breakfast with our pals, the Novakovichs. Then, after skipping lunch because we were still so full from breakfast, we had our traditional dinner of Belgian waffles piled high with fruit and "whup" cream (as Aleah calls it) and ham on the side at Grandma's. On Christmas morning we always fix a scrumptious spread of scrambled eggs with ham, peppers, onions and cheese, along with hash browns, fresh pineapple, toast and oj. You throw in the chocolate and what not found in our stockings that we munch on all day and then our next meal is a huge turkey dinner! You'll find me on the ellyptical tomorrow for two hours! And then an hour on the treadmill.

Don't mess with a girl and her chocolate!!

Cooper enjoyed his first Christmas. He got a nice, big, comfy bed that he loved immediately. We figured he'd be into everything as we were trying to open presents, but he just crawled on his new bed and went to sleep. That's my boy!

It was a LEGO Christmas at our house this year. We did the same thing back in 1996, but I think this year surpassed that one. Rob and the girls are crazy about legos so we added 24 sets to our collection of about 120! They had a blast opening them all to see which ones they were getting. Now my dining room table is completely submerged in legos, as well as the floor and sideboard table. Next, it will probably spread to the living room and then the hallways. I draw the line at my bedroom!!

The snow continues to pile up. We've now had about 55 inches or so and set a record for the snowiest December on record. With the 8" of new snow we received last night, we decided we had better shovel off our deck if we wanted it to remain attached to our house. So straws it was and Rob and Lexi drew the short ones. Whew! That was one job I was glad not to have to do. But Dad, being the smart one he is, told Lexi to shovel the stairs while he worked on the deck. It didn't take her long to figure out why he assigned her there - he could throw the snow over the railing right on top of her! She didn't think it was too funny but the rest of us were busting a gut, watching through the window! It's always great when we can laugh at Lexi's expense. haha

Record Snow Fall

Wow! We've had 26 inches of snow fall in 36 hours and it's still coming down! School was cancelled for Aleah and McKenna. They were thrilled because they just didn't think it was fair that they had to go to school when Kaylyn and Lexi were sleeping in. It's great to have Kaylyn home for the holidays, especially with all this snow. A mom is never truly at ease unless all her children are tucked in safely at home!

So what does a family do when school is cancelled for the day and everything is shut down? We had a Cookie-baking, Lego-making, Movie-watching day, of course! Kaylyn and Lexi got all of our Christmas cookies and treats made. And even though the kitchen was a complete disaster afterwards, mom didn't mind cleaning it up because all the hard work was done. The BIG lego sets came out today so I suppose I won't see my kitchen table and coffee table for at least a week. And try keeping a puppy from trying to eat those little pieces! Cooper thinks we put them there for his enjoyment. Star Wars seemed to be the theme for the day: star wars lego sets and movies. We were determined to watch all six movies but only made it through two. Oh well, the night is still young!

Rob finally got tired of all the girls asking him how much snow was on the deck so he waded through to measure. As of 3pm it was 26" and still snowing. We set a record in Spokane for total snowfall in one day - 19". But in this snowbelt we live in, we got a lot more than that. Because it's been so cold (in the teens and below) the snow is light and fluffy. Thank goodness because that's a lot of snow to shovel. I went out last night and shoveled about 9 inches off the driveway (it really stinks having such a big driveway in the winter) and by the time I was done 45 minutes later, there was already an inch on it again. So today, I boycotted and Rob and the girls shoveled. And because it's not supposed to get above 20 degrees for a week, it's definitely going to be a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!

Cooper is cursing us for bringing him to live in snow country. He's thinking that somewhere like St. George or San Diego would have suited him just fine! Just when we thought he was getting so big, we realized that he's just a little squirt in a whole lot of snow! We had to shovel a pathway so he could get back to his relief spot or he wouldn't have been able to get out the garage door! You could barely see the top of him as he ran down the path. He's still trying to figure out what this white stuff is. He likes playing in it but can't understand why it makes him so cold. Or why he can't breathe when he sticks his head in it!

You can barely see the top of Cooper in the back yard!

Thanksgiving 2008

Family, friends, puppies and lots of great food!! It was a great day. We had Grandma Jenson, Grandma & Grandpa Plumb and the Novakovichs over to enjoy the day and help eat our 22 lb. turkey. We missed Nick, who is serving his mission in Nova Scotia. It was great to have Kaylyn home for the weekend. We have so much to be thankful for: family, friends, gospel, puppies (I think), good health, beautiful country, food, loving Heavenly Father and our Savior, just to mention a few things. We look forward to the upcoming Christmas season to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

The puppies played and played and played, when they weren't sleeping. They are starting to mellow out a little more when they get together. Carli is pretty fiesty and sometimes Cooper just doesn't know what to do with her. He's such a lover he doesn't want to hurt her. They really are very careful with each other (despite what the picture shows!).

Kaylyn enjoyed getting to know Coop better this weekend. However, she is probably looking forward to getting back to school so she doesn't have to take Cooper out to do his thing anymore! Just wait til Christmas break!



Cooper learned how to go down the stairs this week. What an intimidating task for him. At first he would just sit at the top of the stairs and look at us like "I'm waiting for you to pick me up!". Then he started trying them for himself. The first time he got half way down and had to take a nap! Such hard work. Now he's doing pretty well until he reaches the bottom and wipes out on the hardwood floor. He really is a good boy and I love to just sit and cuddle with him.

BFFs have dog BFFs

It's only fitting that best friends have dogs that are best friends, isn't it? The Novakovichs got Carly, also an english mastiff, a few days before we got Cooper. We scheduled a playdate the other night and got them together to play. It was hilarious! At first, they were a little apprehensive - you know, gotta do all the sniffin' stuff! Then they started playing and chewing on each other's ears and chasing one another. Two hours later they were exhausted! Boy, did they sleep well that night. It'll be fun watching them grow up together.

"My tail tastes pretty good. Can I try yours?"

"Let me whisper 'sweet nuthins' in your ear"

Coop got his first bath yesterday and I don't think he thought it was that great. We put him in the tub and it was all Rob and I could do to hold him in there. It's a good thing we're starting when he's only 25 lbs. Could you imagine trying to hold a 200 lb. dog in the tub? I think he'd be bathing us! He'd better get used to them baths real quick. He also had his first vet check-up and got a clean bill of health! He practically licked the vet to death! He's such a lover.

"I'm outta here!"

"This is sooo humiliating!"

Meet Cooper!

This is Cooper. He is an English Mastiff puppy and the newest member of our family. He's going to be a big boy - he's 9 weeks old, weighs 26 lbs. and is 14.5 inches tall. His dad, Dude, is only 13 months old and is 33 inches tall and weighs about 175! He's still got another 40-50 lbs. to put on. Mom is pretty big too at 145 lbs. She reminded us so much of Molly. It's been almost two years since we had to put Molly down and we decided we were ready for another gentle giant. Rob has always wanted a big male mastiff and we know Rob always gets what he wants! I just can't wait 'til Cooper can flatten him. (heehee)

Since it's been 11 years since we had Molly as a puppy, we had forgotten how much work a puppy is. Actually, we hadn't really forgotten, that's why it took us 2 years to get another one! But Coop had a great first night last night and slept 7 1/2 hours. We finally woke him up at 5:30am just to ease our minds! As he gets used to us, he's getting more and more fiesty (as fiesty as a mastiff can get) and more inquisitive. We can't go anywhere without him following.

He's just so darn cute though that all the work is worth it!

"I sure hope I grow into these paws one day!"

Cooper discovered his tail and chased it for a while.

Then he got tired of chasing his tail and thought his foot tasted pretty good!

Five minutes of play requires at least an hour and a half nap.

Lexi Receives All-League Selection

Good news and bad news. East Valley lost their first round state playoff game Tuesday night. It was a heartbreaking loss in overtime, a game that could have easily gone either way. It brought the Knights season to an end but capped a great year. Lexi and Morgan, our stellar midfielders, were both selected to the GSL All-League team, a first ever for two EV players to be selected the same year. Lexi was disappointed with the loss but excited for the all-league honor. Her body can now begin to heal from the long, grueling season. She has become reaquainted with her boot, which she'll have to wear for 3-4 weeks. No more soccer for her until March (Kaylyn, too!) Their indoor soccer buddies are anxiously awaiting their return in March!

Rob's sister, Mary, came for a short visit last weekend. She's always worth a few laughs!! We had a bonfire at Jim and Jill's one night, roasting hot dogs and making s'mores. Yum! We had to really huddle around the fire because it was cold! Recounting old stories and telling jokes kept us all laughing! It was fun.

Whitworth slighted!

Well friends and family sometimes it's tough in the wide world of sports. It appears that the Whitworth Women did not receive an "at large bid" to the NCAA tournament. By all logic and reason they should have easily received the invite to the tourney.......and I thought the political season ended last week!!

Even though Whitworth finished the season 2nd in conf., 2nd in region and ranked 12th in the nation the NCAA selection committee didn't think that that warranted an invitation to the season end tournament.

In spite of losing three key starters before the first game the Whitworth women put together a fantastic season of soccer!!! Their record this year 15-4-1.

Needless to say we are all excited for the 2009 season as Kaylyn will be returning!! We appreciate your support and interest through the season.

REGIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!

Wow! What an exciting week for soccer! Lexi and her East Valley team are going to STATE and Whitworth is going to the NCAA tournament again! Or least they should be - they need to get an at-large bid because they took second in the conference but that's what's happened the last two years.

East Valley started their regional playoffs as the #2 seed from our league. They beat North Central in the first round and then had to face West Valley-Yakima on Wednesday. WV Yakima has long been a thorn in EV's side since Kaylyn was a freshman. They had beaten us two out of two times but third time is a charm, right? We drove to Yakima to face them on their own turf. Ten minutes into the game we scored. We outplayed them the rest of the first half but could not get the ball in the net a second time. After half, they came out with a vengeance. It was all we could do to hold them off. They had several shots that were way too close. Then we started picking it up again, but they weren't going to lay down and die. It was a fight until the very end, with us being victorious, 1-0. It was the LONGEST game of my life! I swear the clock was counting backwards! But boy that win felt good.

So then it was back to Spokane to meet Shadle Park today, who had upset Mt. Spokane on Wednesday. During the regular season, we beat SP in a shootout. (A shootout takes place after a game ends in a tie and two overtime periods fail to produce a goal. It's one on one shooting against the keeper and after 5 shots, whoever has the most shots in, wins.) I absolutely hate shootouts! My nerves cannot take them. So, we met them again today and guess what? It ends up going to a shootout!! AAAAGH!! All I kept thinking was please don't let it come down to Lexi's kick! She would be the #5 shooter. We both made out first shots, we made our 2nd but our keeper stopped theirs. We made our 3rd and they missed. Our 4th went in so it was over. Whew - Lexi didn't have to shoot. This game was for seeding purposes which means we are the #1 seed going into State playoffs and get to host the first round. We could end up meeting SP again in the 2nd round of state. But we are the REGIONAL CHAMPS!!!!! That is a first for EV. Congratulations Knights!

We'll find out on Monday if Whitworth gets in to the tournament. They will play next weekend in Tacoma. We are really glad that Lexi gets to play here on Tuesday instead of having to travel to the coast. The next round would be here also. It's a loser-out tournament from here on out. If EV plays here on Saturday, we'll leave after that game to head to the coast to watch Whitworth. Crazy, I know - and Kaylyn is not even playing but you can't keep us away. Rob and I watched their game yesterday in the pouring down rain! That's dedication! Pirate fans thru and thru!

We also have something special we are getting in Tacoma next weekend. More to come on that later!!!

Fall in the Great Northwest

With Fall upon us, there's pumpkins to be carved, leaves and pine needles to be raked up, sweaters and coats to be dug out of storage, and (most importantly) post-season soccer games!

East Valley girls soccer is the #2 seed going into Regionals which start Saturday. They will be playing North Central again, whom they beat last Friday 4-1. From here on out, it's loser out. The game last Friday was the last regular season game and the seniors were all recognized. All 9 of them!! It seems like just yesterday we were doing the same for Kaylyn. It's hard to think that we won't have EV soccer a part of our lives for at least five years. Come on McKenna, grow up, would ya?!

It's a great bunch of seniors who are very close and have played together for a very long time. In fact, most of them have played together since they were eight! Thanks for the memories, Lexi! We love you!

For Family Home Evening last night, we invited the Novakovichs over to carve pumpkins. You should have seen it: pumpkin guts were flyin' all over the kitchen! And there was a lot of "Yuck", "Gross", and "It's slimey!" But in the end, there were some fine looking pumpkins that are ready to sit on the porch and greet trick-or-treaters.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!