Word to the Wise

Make sure you are clear, undeniably clear when you explain to your 4 year old that their mouth is numb (after leaving the dentist office) and that they need to be very, very careful. Because they might just not quite understand the severity of the situation and innocently bite a hole right through their lip!

Thanks to our wonderful dentist he gave us some helpful medicine to keep it from causing her to much pain after the numbness wore off!

Happy New Year!!!

I can think of no better way to celebrate the New Year than with a

NO Adults-Grand Kids ONLY New Years Eve Party!!!!!

The festivities consisted of Twister, a Play dough sculpting competition, Glow in the dark hide-n-seek, Mario Cart competition, DDR, Puzzle put together, Fireworks, Screaming so loud you wake the neighbors and of course lots and lots of food!!! Followed by a sleepover and a french toast breakfast in the morning!!

Here they all are (or at least the ones who managed to stay awake until midnight) with their hats, horns and noise makers ringing in the new year!!! Thanks Mom & Dad it was great to be able to have a New Years Eve party with our friends!!!!! And even better being able to sleep in after staying up until 3:00 in the morning playing games!!!! Hope you two get some sleep after the party you guys had!

Christmas Time!

My kids hate when I make them stand by the Christmas tree for pictures

because it always takes us 20 min. because Davin will not cooperate, this is honestly

the only picture where he even looks decent!

Here we were able to get a normal smile, I guess because it is genuine, he was truly excited about getting his first BB gun!

Skylar got her baby and a new 4 wheeler, we had a hard time keeping up with her before, now that she has her own wheels it is really going to be tough!!!

Rylie is at the age where clothes have replaced toys and after a long talk with Mr. Clause, Mrs. Clause was finally able to convince him that she needed a "for emergencies only" (yea right) cell phone! I was as happy as Rylie was for this gift, I can't tell you how many times I have given her my phone only to realize I really feel naked without it and who is she suppose to call when I don't have a phone for her to reach me! (now you all know my side of the argument)!!!

Ashton got a new bike it was all she really wanted, good thing she is such a good girl!

Party Party Party!!!!!!

Nana & Papa Jacks Christmas party!!!!

All the grand kids sang the Nativity song and opened one of their favorite gifts, the matching Christmas PJ's!

Finally it was time for the long awaited Elf hunt. Where all the kids get their hats on and start looking for clues that have been left by Nana's elf. The hunt takes them all over the house and eventually to the magic spot where the Elf left them each a present! This picture has all of my parents Grandchildren in it except for my brother Aaron and his wife's kids, who live in Iowa. They were busy celebrating not only Christmas, but the birth of their new twin girls (on December 22) making a grand total of 5 under 5 and all girls, yeah we were all wishing them the best of luck!!!!!!

The Johnston Family Party!

It is always the best party ever when you-know-who makes a surprise visit.

The Ekins Family Party!!!!!


This new game was a hit with the kids!!! It started as a HUGE ball of toilet paper and the kids passed it around hoping that as it crossed their lap they would unravel a prize. Everyone came up a winner with tons of candy, prizes, toys and trinkets!



Let's Make A Deal, hosted by Grandpa Ekins is always a family favorite!!!
You just never know what you will end up with. This year Rylie gambled and came home with a purple Easter egg she was hoping was filled with some money and it was a shiney new penny! Oh well ,there is always next year!!!!!

Grandma Toni's Party!!!!

It is always fun to go to Grandmas house because we usually only see this side of the family once a year!!! We always play a giant game of BINGO where there are so many prizes the kids come home with "rustley" sacks full of everything from hotel shampoos to Christmas decorations to candy to card games!!!! Every year Grandma gives all of her 22 Great Grand Children hoodies or sweatshirts which they all love!!!!

Christmas programs!!!

I love all the hustle and bustle the holiday season brings! And getting each kid to their right performances on time with the correct costume, and accessories just makes it all the merrier!

The Willow Elementary Choir performed Christmas Around the World. They practiced before school, so I am really glad Ashton loves to sing because she is not a morning person. I was a little concerned about how this would work out but the days she has chorus are the only days she will get up!!!!

(Here she is with her two cousins Brecken and Tate)

Rylies Christmas piano recital was the first informal piano recital we have ever been to. However, in the Spring they are doing a Carnegie Hall Spring Concert where it will be a black tie event for everyone, even the spectators. So in contrast her teacher had a casual Christmas performance. Rylie is quite the little pianist!

Skylar's dance group had their Christmas program. She was also able to perform around the town for the seniors! I don't know what we are going to do with her, she was my last hope of having a dancer in the family. But she was far more concerend about the little girl next to her not standing on her sticker than she was about doing the moves. And as soon as her program was over she said "Did I do good? Now can I go back to gymnastics?" She said that she doesn't like dance because "All you do is stand still and move one thing at a time!!!" I will get her on the list for gymnastics again I guess!!!!

As you can clearly see from these photos Davin loved going to all the practices, dress rehearsals and performances. I asked him if he wanted to take is coat off and he answered "No, I am going to be the first one out of here!"

TIN IS IN!!!!

At our house anyway!!!! Rylie got braces on December 2, 2009! She was actually excited and had been counting down the days until we could officially call her the
"BLING QUEEN"

She is a patient of Dr. Horsley who I would just like to add is amazing, and his office staff is absolutely wonderful!!! They make having braces so much fun! Rylie also got to pick out a cool

t-shirt the day they put the braces on. It was fun for her to wear it to school the next day and break the ice for her new shinny smile she was sporting!

Do you work on Sundays????

Rylie got a gift certificate to get her nails done for her birthday and Skylar was with us

when she went to redeem the gift! So I thought instead of worrying about Skylar terrorizing

the innocent women at the shop who are there not only to get their pedicures and manicures but also to enjoy a few peaceful moments away from kids. I decided to let her get her nails

done also, just to keep her busy. She is super hyper and never slows down so I really

did not know if this would even work but to my surprise...

she did not move a muscle!

She sat so still I even had to convince her it was OK to turn her head for the picture.

So my only question now is...

Will this lady join me in church next week and work her magic on Skylar during sacrament?????