Things I am thankful for....

I sitting here listening to my kids wrestling and laughing and I am thinking about how blessed I am...
I am thankful for:

Chocolate chip cookies...
Bear Lake...
snow...
band-aids...
telephones..
legs that work..
Alex's freckles...
running shoes..
the best..best friends...
even better family...
that the sun rises each morning...
toilet paper..
colors..
holidays...
my kids laughter...
peace..

It has been one of those days and I am sitting here seeing all these things and stuff that I am surrounded by that make my life easy, fun, and simple!

Valentines Day~

Here it is in a nutshell!!

Chad and Sami went on a daddy/daughter date.  It was a stake activity with a "cowboy" theme.  Sami loved it.  She got to paint Chad's nails and thought it was great!  Yes, she decorated her own hat!

We made sugar cookies... Look at that hair in the background!

And we ate sugar cookies!

We had a fun dinner of appetizers and fingerfood.  I bought Chad some sushi!

I made all the kids and Chad a "Valentines" jar with treats in it.  They also each got a little surprise from me, because I love them soooooo much!

Then Chad came home and surprised the kids with a new Wii game and a bunch of thoughtful little gifts.  He was so nice and so so thoughtful... What a great surprise!

This by far was my favorite Valentine I got this year.  Do you see how Alex loves me more than "innyfeen".  (anything)  I am so so happy.  My life is so good.  My kids are so great.   Chad is so kind.  I love my life!  Happy Valentines Day!!

Books~

It all started when I was a little girl and my mom read "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn."  I was addicted.  She always told us about her wild adventures growing up in a little town in Idaho.  She was animated and a great story teller.   I had a vivid imagination and would go along with her, actually in the story.  I realize that as I have grown up I still love a great story and still have a vivid imagination.  So, when I read I usually feel like I am in the story.  I sweat and worry with the characters.  I cry over their heartaches and glory in their triumphs.  I have all these emotions and feelings that just fall out of me when I read.  It is almost as if I am their really having all these experiences.  When in actuality I am in the comfort of my own home, usually eating chocolate. 
Their are a lot of things I love about reading.  One of them is the actual action of reading a book.  I love to hold a book and feel the cover.  I love to smell and turn pages.  This probably sounds weird, but I love to read books.  I think it is great for my kids to see my reading.  I can learn a lot from reading.  Reading, just flat out makes me happy.  So tonight I thought I would share a list of some of my favorite books.  I  listed only a few romances because, as my brother would say "they are a dime a dozen."   The books on my book list are dear to my heart. They have made me laugh and cry.  They have inspired me and taught me valuable lessons.  They have given me the giggles and made me so happy I was giddy.  So without further ado, here is the list:

The Book Thief                                                                 Glass Castle
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane                       The Help
Candle in the Darkness                                                      Thorn Birds
Fire by Night                                                                     The Morning Gift                 
Unbroken                                                                          Princess Academy
The Kommandants Girl                                                      Poison Study  (series)
Book of a Thousand Days                                                 Comanche Moon (series)
Shanghai Girls                                                                    Follow the River
Half Broke Horses                                                             Twilight (series)
Hunger Games (series)                                                       Gone With the Wind
Letters for Emily                                                                 My Enemy's Cradle
The Work and the Glory (series)                                        Undaunted
Pride and Prejudice                                                            Katherine
These is My Words                                                            The Davinci Code
Memoirs of a Geisha                                                           The Secret Life of Bees
The Notebook                                                                    A Town Like Alice
The Other Boleyn Girl                                                         Quentins
Tara Road                                                                           Austenland
The Red Tent                                                                       One Thousand White Women
The Bean Trees                                                                    Star Girl
Cold Sassy Tree                                                                   Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
The Fire and the Covenant

That is a great list of books.  As, I am reading this I keep thinking of other books I love.  I am so so thankful that I can read.

~Public Schools~

Dear Public Schools,

I just wanted to write you a thank you note.  I really appreciate all the things that public school has done  for my kids.  They are learning and growing.  They are having experiences, life experiences.  My kids may have a teacher they struggle with or friend problems, they may have too many kids in one class or not enough funding.  But I really appreciate the public school systems and how they are teaching my kids about life.  They are teaching them that life isn't fair and that you have to deal with people whether you get along with them or not.   I think these are invaluable lessons.  I also want to thank the school for a great speech program that has specifically helped our family.  I want to thank them for the school lunches and the clean buildings.  I want to thank them for teaching my kids to read and write and to believe in themselves.  I want to thank them for having contest and parties and even student body elections. 
I wanted to thank the first grade teachers for pushing their kids to read.  In fact, if they read 100 books by the 100th day of school they got to make an ice-cream sundae out of their principle.  The first graders worked their guts out to do this.  (I know this personally)  In fact, I feel like I should have been able to squirt some of that whipping cream on the principle for "listening" to 100 books being read.  Anyway, I am so thankful for school.  I am thankful for all the teachers that put so much time and "heart" into teaching.  I want to say thanks to the principle who let 90 or so first graders put: fudge,caramel, marshmallows, whipping cream, chocolate chips, and cocoa all over her.  She did this to help them  and encourage them and to make school fun.  So dear public schools and teachers, again, thanks so much for all you do!

Love,
Rachel

I love to see all the happy smiles with random teeth missing!

Holy Fudge

Alex is loving this!!

Ms. Waddell, Butler Elementary Principle

January randomness

 Is randomness a word?  Here are a few of our family highlights this month! 

Sami learned how to make brownies.  She loves to make them and they really are delicious!

God bless Alex!  I don't even know what to say about this picture, other than, welcome to my world!!

Playing "operation" together.  She is such a great sister to her little brother.

Defense!  We have been to several Jr. Jazz games.  Alex is a great basketball player!  He seems to love the game and is starting to really understand how you play!

I have been trying to teach Zach how to jump off the couch and land on his feet, not his knees.  This was a cool shot I got of him.  Yes, we are still working on this little exercise!

No, Alex is not stoned... He lost a tooth.  He is not on pain meds... Just really photogenic! :]



Notice the matching Sponge Bob Jammie shirts, they wore them for 3 days in a row, awesome!  Alex is helping Zach build a spaceship out of boxes.  I LOVE to see them create things and spend quiet time together.  They are becoming best friends.



Zach sitting in the "spaceship."

Alex sitting in the "spaceship."

Here is a great picture of Chad screwing around with the kids.  He was making fun of me because I wanted a picture of him and the kids on his birthday!

Wow, they are thrilled to have their picture taken.  Happy "Freakin" Birthday Chad!!  :]

Sami tried out for Student Council Rep for 3rd grade and she won.  This was her speech.  This was the second time she tried for this Rep position.  She was so happy.  I thought her speech was so sweet.  She wrote it all by herself!

a face only a mother could love... can you say naughty

She is so big and mature and nice.  I love her guts!!

This has been a great month.  We: lost a tooth, learned how to jump off the couch, learned how to make brownies, won student council rep, watched and played jr jazz, had a birthday, played games and spent time together.  All in all it was riveting....  I LOVE MY LIFE!!