He's doing what?

So now that Ethan if 14, he thinks he is a man now, who does man things.  Here he is during his first shave.  I think Brock was more excited about it than Ethan.  Afterward Brock came up to me and wanted me to feel his upper lip because he has hair growing there too and will need to shave soon too :0)




Ethan is also growing like a weed.  I can't keep in pants or shorts for that matter.  We need extra long around our house.  Here is Jeff standing on the bench to get a good measurement.

That top line shows that Ethan is now 6 feet 2 1/2 inches.  Ethan loves being tall.  Now if we can only get him to play basketball.

Ethan

So, Ethan is 14 now.  He has been 14 for a while and I'm finally getting to the blog.  Ethan is a great kid and a wonderful example to his younger brother and sisters.  He is always trying to make good decisions and is very kind and considerate to those around him.  It is not unusual to find him talking or helping someone younger to him.  We are constantly amazed at his memory and his ability to understand all things spiritual. I can't believe he went from this:

To this:

We are thankful for this great kid with a wealth of knowledge and fun personality.

Hayley

My beautiful Hayley has turned nine.  Hayley is truly a wonderful child.  Everyone loves her.  She is kind to all around her.  Hayley loves art projects, daddy/daughter or mother/daughter days, dancing and activity days.  She is one I can rely on.  I told Jeff once that if you want something done you should ask Hayley.  She heard me say that and said "Hey, is that why I get all the jobs?".  She doesn't get all the jobs but she gets the most important ones :)  Hayley is beautiful and strong and can beat her brother and his friends in an arm wrestle - don't tell him I told you though.  Here is a look back at Hayley.
  

We love Hayley!!

I'm finally finishing up my Christmas posting

I know, it's almost Valentine's Day but better late than never right? We had a great quiet Christmas. No sickness and no drama = good times. Here are the kids making their way up to the presents our traditional Christmas train, youngest to oldest.

The boys were soooo excited to get ipod touches this year.

The girls are looking cute in their new skirts from grandma.

I think this picture exemplifies how we all felt this Christmas.

Even though 2010 brought more challenges than normal, we also recognize the many blessings we have been given. We are so thankful for our family and the love we share with each other.

Look what happened while we were at the Temple!

This is too funny. Paige put both hands into the end of this craft she brought home from school. Can you say "Chinese handcuffs"? Sad but funny.

Christmas Follow Up - part one

I know, I know, I am way behind. So here is my makeup session.

Jimmy visited us two more times before he had to return to the North Pole to help Santa with Christmas.

Hey, check out these hot chicks I found!! I can’t believe I have been here two days and I hadn’t met them yet - you guys should have introduced me earlier. We’ve been having a lot of fun cruising around. I hope we didn’t wake you.

I heard a lot of giggling with that one. They thought it was so funny. The girls were wondering how he got their dolls.

Thanks for the cookies Friends!! This will be my last day with you. I have to get back to the North Pole to help with Santa’s big night. I really had a great time. I hope you don’t mind if I come back next year. Keep a look out for me and have a Merry Christmas!!

We also went to Temple Square with Kristy and Tom's family.

(Look at these fun fonts!! I didn't know I could do this)

Jimmy!

In following the J and C Meibos tradition we thought we would invite our own elf to join us this Christmas. He arrived yesterday. His name is Jimmy. He came late to our house but we hope to have lots of fun with him. This is how he arrived.



He had this note:

Ethan, Brock, Hayley and Paige - My name is Jimmy the elf and I have come bringing some holiday cheer. Each morning look for me and see what I get in to. I am usually good because I don’t want to be on Santa’s naughty list but sometimes I just can’t control myself. There are so many fun things to do and places to explore in this new place. I stay up all night so in the morning please put me to sleep under the Christmas tree– my favorite place to sleep! I found these with your name on them and thought I would bring them to you. Don’t open them yet, wait for Christmas eve, maybe they can be a pillow for me.

Today we found him like this.





With this message.

Hey guys!
Since there wasn’t much snow outside I thought I would make my Christmas snow angel in here. I hope your mom doesn’t mind if I borrow some sugar. She can probably still use it to make cookies, I took a shower tonight. Don’t forget to put me to bed. I’m wiped out!

The kids are having a blast with this. Paige read the first note about 5 times and asked lots of questions. When she was in bed she kept asking if Jimmy was still under the tree :)

Just Smile!!!

We tried to get a quick family picture the other day. I don't know why everyone had to make so many funny faces. They will love these when they get older. We were able to finally get a couple decent pics though.

Blizzard

Recently we were supposed to be having a blizzard. It ended up being much tamer than expected. The kids loved it. They couldn't wait to get outside.

This is about as spooky as we get

We are not into being too scary around here. My black cat and witch looked pretty cute to me.


Brock wasn't going to go trick or treating but last minute he and his friends decided to go. Brock was a last minute cougar fan - I know, big stretch.



We actually did get one creepy picture. Here's Jeff goofing off for a picture at our Halloween party.



We hope everyone had a great Halloween!!

Fall Soccer

Few, we survived!! Soccer this year was quite busy. Having 3 kids playing and a husband who had to work most Saturdays made for some very crazy days. All of Paige and Hayley's games were at the same time except for two. Brock's games were at different times but overlapped some. I am glad the season is over now but we sure had fun watching those three run their hearts out. They all did great and improved this year.

Paige Brynn

I can't believe my baby just turned 7. It makes me feel old. It seems like just yesterday I brought her home from the hospital and then was quickly surrounded by the rest of my gaggle (I know gaggle refers to geese but I just like to use that word). I felt so overwhelmed then. Four felt like a lot of children. I am so glad that Paige joined our family. She is a special girl.

Paige loves poly pockets, anything girly, tomatoes, hanging all over her family, and playing with Hayley and other friends.









We love Paige!

Croutons

Our family likes to enjoy a good crouton every now and then. The kids like to just eat them out of the bag. This time Paige wanted some and I told her she could only have some if she had a salad. Here is her idea of what a salad is. One piece of lettuce on a pile of tomatoes.

We all got a big kick out of this. Silly Paige.

First Day of School

I know it took me a while, especially since today I went to our first parent-teacher conference, but here are a few pics of their first day. You may notice that I am missing a child. The ever allusive Ethan had to be at school at 7 am and mom was not up and ready for pictures yet (not that Ethan would have let me take a picture anyway).





They appear pretty happy to go.



They are all ready to hop in the car with the neighbor boys.






Even though I didn't get a couple pictures of Ethan's first day of school I did get one at his summer band concert. He even had a solo in the concert that we didn't know about.