Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas from Omaha, Nebraska!

Brrr it’s cold here right now.

We were spoiled with a fairly mild summer and long fall, but now Winter is here and it is very cold!! I think I am ready for a big snow storm. Last Christmas we were snowed in and it was GREAT!!

This year has gone by so fast. We have been very blessed with health and happiness. The picture was taken in Park City, Utah this summer as we celebrated my parents 50^th Anniversary.

Here is what we’ve been up to…

Megan turned 5 in April and was very excited to start Kindergarten. I was thrilled as well, although it was a bit tough to get into my own routine. One that didn’t involve dragging Meg along or making sure she had play dates lined up. She would ask me every night what we were doing the next day. She transitioned very well into Kindergarten. She loves it and is doing very well. We have only had one bump (so far) and that was when she got stitches. She and her friend were playing with bungee cords in the back yard, stretching them from one end of the slide to the other and it slipped out of her friends hand and hit Megan right between the eyes. She was very lucky! The first thing she said to me was, “I DON’T WANT STITCHES!!” She knew right away, maybe it was all the blood. Anyway, she didn’t want to go tot school because everyone would stare at her. Megan is so funny and is a delight to have around. She keeps us on our toes as we try to remind her who is boss! J

Jenna is 8 and was baptized in September. She is in third grade and absolutely loves her teacher. Jenna loves to draw, listen and sing to Taylor Swift and is constantly wanting to play and have sleepovers with friends!! She is going to give us a run for our money as she gets older. Drama is her thing. Funny that she has always seemed to be dramatic, but as she gets older the dramatic events become even worse!!! I am not sure we’ll make it to the teens. Jenna has really improved with her school work and loves to read. She has continued to be the peacemaker in our family (at least when she wants to be). She is so sweet and is a great big sister.

Tyler is 10 ½ and continues to surprise us with all that he does. He loves school and fortunately he has never struggled much. He is in EY (Excellence in Youth) Program in school that challenges him in Math and reading. Earlier this year (end of 4^th grade) was inducted into the NEHS – National Elementary Honor Society. They meet once a week and plan activities and service opportunities to do for the school and community. Tyler is 100% boy. If it’s a sport, he needs to watch it and play it. This year he played outdoor soccer. He’d love to play tackle football, but the league here only has games on Sunday. Tyler loves cub scouts as well and has almost earned his Weblos badge. He is a great kid and we love to have him around.

Justin is doing great! He too had a bit of an exciting year. He was given a more challenging calling at church which takes up a lot of his free time (EQ Pres). He does a great job at it. He also had the opportunity to change jobs this year. He was at Deloitte Tax for 3 years. He is still doing tax work, but it is at a company called Gavillon. No more busy season for him (US). YEAH!! During his time off between jobs (2 weeks) he was playing soccer and tore his calf muscle. What a way to spend his vacation before starting the new job. He was on crutches for 2 weeks and he will tell you they are not any fun. Then he graduated to a walking boot which he wore for a few more weeks. He is all healed up and doing great!!

Kari, (I can’t write about myself in 3^rd person) I am doing well too! Still staying busy with my church calling. I have done a “great job” adjusting to being home with-out Meg!!!! I will say that I am not as productive with out her here. Who would have thought, no kids = less productivity. I don’t understand it, but it’s true. I have been working more though and I am sure that has a lot to do with it. I have also started a new hobby….quilting. I made a denim quilt in August and now am working on three surprises for Christmas. That is the main reason why I haven’t gotten Christmas cards out this year. Too many things on my plate I guess. Oh well. I love my life.

We are so blessed to be alive. We have wonderful friends and family in our lives.

Thank you to all of you who have been in our lives at one time or another. We truly love you and miss you (if you are away).

We love the gospel and our Savior Jesus Christ.

Please keep in touch!

Justin, Kari, Tyler, Jenna & Megan

8316 Decatur St.

Omaha, NE 68114

402-572-6581

justinrs@cox.net

Happy Halloween 2010

Happy Halloween 2010

The kids on Halloween. We had three days to celebrate. Too bad I only got one picture. Tyler dind't know what he wanted to be until my mom sent a package with the Hershey's bar costume in it. We were so glad we could end our search for his costume. Jenna's costume continued to evolve. First it was just a Vampire, then it became a Princess Vampire (with teeth), but in the end she decided on Princess Vampire (without teeth). Megan's costume was the easiest... Jenna had been a cat a few years earlier and we had it all!!

Jenna and Tyler posing with their pumpkins.
Not sure why Tyler's face is so contorted (silly boy!).
They had a lot of fun carving, but not so much fun cleaning out the seeds.
Megan did not want to carve her little pumpkin.

Tyler's pumpkin. Not sure what it has written on it.

Jenna's pumpkin. I love her pumpkin's eyelashes. Such a lady!

SPOOKY!!!

My First Quilt

My First Quilt!!
I can't believe I finally got around to using my old jeans. I have had this tote full of old jeans, both kids and adult sizes just waiting for the day when someone would inspire me and help me to get this accomplished. My mom surprised me and bought some red bandanna material which went well with a pair of Jenna's jeans that I wanted to use the pockets and designs on the bottom of her pants.

Here is the center of the Full size quilt. I arranged the designs from the Jeans and pockets so we could use the pockets if needed.

Here is a close up of the binding, which I lOVE!!! Thanks to all my friends who helped me with this. You are truly inspiring.
Now...for the next project. Tyler wants one made out of football teams.
We'll see what fun I can have with that one.

Horses vs. Cats

My friend, Brenda, took us to see her horses. It was a nice stable out in the country on a gorgeous night. Inside she showed us where the horses stay and how to take care of them. She got out her horse, Maggie. The girls are shown here brushing her.

She was so big. It's been a long time since I've been around a horse and this is the first for the girls. They were a bit timid at first, but warmed up as time went on.

They are getting a lesson on how to clean out her hooves. They declined the offer to help.

Since the girls were afraid, I had to show them how it was done. It's been some 20 years since I've been on a horse. It was fun, but very intimidating. I may have to go try that again soon. I was reminded of an experience in which a close friend (whose name I will not say) had a very comical yet scary experience on a horse some 20+ years ago in which she was riding on the side of the horse along a trail. The saddle was falling off.

After Jenna saw me doing it, she got the courage up and let Brenda lead us around the arena. She was a bit scared, but I am so proud of her for doing it.

Next, we went to the neighbors to see Eli. Eli looks just like Black Beauty.
Long mane. Hairy feet. Absolutely gorgeous!!

Then the girls decided they were done and ready to go find all the cats that were in the stables. I am not sure how many there were, but they were in heaven.

Jenna took this picture of a mother cat who was hiding with her little kittens.

I found one and Jenna was able to hold it briefly. It was so adorable. Almost made me want to take him home. Almost...

Jenna took this picture while I was off riding Maggie.

Megan's Uh-Oh!!

The day after school pictures...Megan was outside playing with her friend. I was in the basement and heard Meg crying. It didn't seem like an urgent cry, so I didn't rush up. But when it continued to go on, I decided to go up and find out what was going on.
I reached the top of the stairs just as she did. She was covered in blood from head to toe.
The first thing she said was, "I DON'T WANT TO HAVE STITCHES!!!!!"
She and her friend were playing with a bungee cord. They were trying to stretch it from one end of the slide to the other. Megan was hit when it slipped out of her friends hand. She had a welt where it wrapped around her right eye. She is so lucky it didn't hit her in the eye.

It was pretty obvious that she needed stitches, so I took her to my work (and our pediatrician) just to be sure before devoting my next 3 hours to an ER. Sure enough we needed them. We headed up to Urgent Care and got "ZAPPED." It's a gel that is used to numb in certain places instead of using needles. It takes about 45 minutes to work, but SO worth it. It was a much more pleasant experience. 3 stitches and 1 1/2 hours later, we were on our way home.
The picture above is the day I took them out. She was so proud because she didn't cry like Jenna did when I took her's out. Ha Ha!! Silly girl.

The scar should continue to disappear....I hope.
Jenna has a similar scar,but hers is in the middle of her forehead and is really hard to see.
They both got 3 stitches on the forehead at the age of 5.

Jenna's 8th Birthday and Baptism

Jenna's 8!!
It's hard to believe she is this old. She is such a joy to have in our home. Her personality and fun nature makes our home such an interesting place to be.

Jenna and Justin before her baptism.

Jenna's Cake
She loves LPS (Little Pet Shop)Jenna's friend Lily made some confetti and dumped it on her head.

The girls ate pizza, made sun catchers, painted rings and had cake and ice cream.
Lots of fun when crafts are involved. It was so fun!!

Jenna got her ears pierced. She is showing off her new earring holder. It was filled with earrings. Now if only the 8 weeks would go faster so she can change them.

Jenna's best friend Abbie

Thank you Jenna for 8 fantastic years. We are so proud of the choices that you make and the sweet girl you have become. You are such a great daughter, sister and friend.
We love you so much!!

The First Day of School - 2010

The First Day of School

I can't believe it's here. The kids were excited, although the older ones wouldn't admit it.

Tyler starts 5th Grade with Mrs. Houser.

Jenna begins 3rd Grade with Mrs. Lima

Megan starts Kindergarten (yes I said it!) with Miss Salisbury

Megan was so excited to start school.
Here she is standing in front of her locker.

I think Megan was ready for me to go. She just sat down, put her drink next to her and started to work on her puzzle. For those of you who know Megan can attest to her "fussy-side." Well, she did not show it at all today when dropping her off. She was a CHAMP! No fussying. No clinging to my leg. No tears. I on the other hand could not get out of the school fast enough! I have been so excited for this day and now it has finally come and I am sad.
On to life's new adventure....

Temple Square

After our adventure in Park City, we took the high road and went through Salt Lake to get home (to Provo). I am not sure my kids have had the Temple Square experience so we decided to take advantage of where we were and do it. It was a hot day and the kids didn't last as long as we would have liked, but we did it.

Megan is being the example and posing for a picture. This is so not like her. She (as you will see soon) is not one for getting in and smiling without some tears.
Here we are resting in the shade and having a snack.
I love the flowers all over Temple Square.
They are so beautiful!!
Here is Justin giving Megan a pep talk. As you can see she is not willing to sit close to her sister for this picture. She was hot and hungry. We tried to explain if she would cooperate, we'd be done a lot sooner.

Summer 2010

We took our usual trip to Utah, but this one included a few special events. The first being my 20th High School reunion. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures (I didn't want to carry my camera around with me). It was so much fun seeing so many familiar faces. Although Justin didn't particularly enjoy it, I still had a great time and do not regret attending!! The second big event was to celebrate my parents 50th Wedding anniversary. They did not want a big party, but instead wanted to get us all together to spend a few days in
Park City, Utah.

Since we were able to get everyone together, Dad took some pictures of us all. A professional came later to take the "real" pictures, but these are the ones my dad took.
My family
Bert & Sherice's Family
Brent & Kim's Family
All the grand kids with Mom & Dad
I love this silly picture. It was the best!!!

These pictures are of us at Jordanelle Reservoir. We had 3 jet skis which were lots of fun. It was a beautiful day on the lake.

The water was really cold, so Megan enjoyed watching the others from the shore. Ashree took her on a the jet ski, but we couldn't get her to go out again. Too Cold!Tyler swimming with his cousins: Shelby, Madison, and McKenzie.
Nanie and Papa hanging out with Meg in the shade.
Justin and Ashree being pulled by Brian (Justin's cousin). Great times!!
Justin getting Jenna ready to ride.Braxton celebrating victory. Hannah was pitched off!

We stayed in some condos there in Park City.
Here are some random pictures of the fun had by all.
Waking up with cousins readily available was awesome!!
Jenna and Megan sitting with Shayla.Breakfast!
Nice face Ash!!Bert and Sherice making Pancakes.
We did all the cooking in Mom & Dads's condo because it was the biggest. We split up the days and took turns cooking.Megan loves her cousins. She wouldn't leave Housten or Brennon alone.
Here she is getting loves from Housten.Bert with two of his beautiful girls, Madison, 11 (left) and Shelby, 9 (right)

We went to the park to play soccer and volleyball.

One night the girls went to see Twilight: Eclipse at a special preview (awesome by the way) and the boys stayed back and had ribs. Tyler Loves Ribs!!
Here is another picture of them all eating such a "manly" meal!!The kids loved the pool. They would have gone swimming 24/7 if we'd let them.
The start of the pool pictures:
Megan and Brennon in the hot tub
The "Bun-head" table is ready!!!
This is our favorite game.
Tyler wanted to have a ping pong tournament, so he recruited the players, made a bracket and saw it through.
McKean was the champion.
Tyler wanted to have a ping pong tournament. He signed up the players, made a bracket and saw it through to the end. McKean was the winner!