Christmas with the Self's

We had a small, but good Christmas this year. Santa gave the girls "Littlest Pets", and Stevie got the Transformer he wanted. Jennah FINALLY got the desk she has been begging for, you can see it in the backround of the shot of Kirstie and Stevie (Steve and I worked to fix up a desk I got for $10 at a 2nd hand store), I gave Kirstie my old MP3 with some extra music on it just for her, and Stevie got Kirstie's old bike, fixed up and painted just for him! Steve, of course, got tools, and I got a Cricut...best scrapbooking invention EVER!!

I think one of my favorite things about Christmas is watching my kids being so concerned about what they are going to get or do for others. I hope it is something that they will carry into their everyday lives...not just at Christmas time.

The Nativity

We had a small group this year, just the Lunt's and the Self's (and my parents, of course). Matti was Mary, Jennah was Joseph (we were short on boys), Noelle was a donkey, Kirstie was a angel, Owen and Stevie were Wise Men, my sister Lynnette had to fill in as a shepherd, because Stevie changed his mind and wanted to be a wise man instead. Paisley was just Paisley...she loved the little baby Jesus, and just wanted to hold him. (Baby Jesus was a "Little Ricky" doll that my mom got when she was a little girl).

Christmas Jammies!!!

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents house. Our family tradition is to open one gift that night, (which is always P.J.'s), and then followed by a pajama parade. I had to include a picture of my niece Paisley in this...she is just over one year, and is just so adorable! Stevie insisted on getting a cross-eyed picture...what is it with my kids and their funny faces?!?

One decade...

I can hardly believe Jennah is now 10 years old!

Here are 10 fun facts about our beautiful girl...

1. She LOVES to read. She tells us all the time that she just can't go to sleep unless she reads first. Sometimes it becomes quite an obsession for her, and we have to tell her to cut back a little...something I never thought I'd have to tell one of my children.

2. I've probably said this before, but when she was born (via C-section), the doctor that reached in to pull her out said (almost yelling), "this baby is breach!!". Well, it turns out, it was just her incredibly chubby cheeks that he grabbed, thinking it was her little behind. After the Dr's and nurses realized what happened, they all burst into laughter. She came into this world at a mere 10 lbs. 6 oz. One of the nurses told me "you just gave birth to a 3 month old".

3. She is a very caring and compassionate little lady. One example is when she came out of the movie "Up" she was in tears because of all the sad things that happened in the movie.

4. Her passion for writing is equal to her reading. If she's not reading, she probably has her notebook out, creating another unique little story.

5. She has basically taught herself to play the piano. As anyone who has tried to teach piano to their own children knows, it's next to impossible to teach them. Because we can't afford to pay for a teacher, I have shown her the basics, and she has taken it from there. Something I was never motivated to do at her age.

6. She is really into "The Littlest Pets". That's about the only thing she asks for lately. (I'm just glad they take up such little space!)

7. She makes friends easily, and all of them are her "best" friend, even the one's she has had to move away from. Another example of her compassion...she loves them all equally!

8. She is very artistic and creative. She loves to draw pictures to go with her stories, and also loves to make things for her friends, such as friendship bracelets.

9. She loves to laugh, and make others laugh (notice the cross-eyed picture above). She'll try to come up with her own jokes to tell, just to get someone to smile...even if her joke doesn't make any sense...if you laugh, regardless the reason, then her mission was accomplished!

10. She doesn't like cake, candy or most anything sweet. If you notice in the picture, it's cheesecake...the only cake she'll eat. The only candy I've seen her enjoy are Tootsie Rolls, and Sour gummy worms, even then, she'll only eat 1 or 2 at a time. (I wish I had that "problem")

We love Jennah and all the love and creativity she brings into our home!

Getting to know the Self's...Christmas style :)

Got this from my cousin Barbara's blog, so here goes...

1.WRAPPING PAPER or GIFT BAGS? Mostly wrapping paper. When we run out of paper, we break out the bags.

2.REAL or ARTIFICIAL TREE? We have the saddest fake "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree I've ever seen, it sheds more than a real one. If we could keep a real one from drying out to soon then we'd definitely have a real one. (you just can't beat the smell!)

3.WHEN DO YOU PUT UP THE TREE? Usually the day after Thanksgiving.

4.DO YOU LIKE EGGNOG? Yep!!! I had never tried it until I met Steve. I've been hooked ever since...on both :)

5.FAVORITE GIFT AS A CHILD? This is a tough one...my parents were amazing gift-givers. I guess I would have to go with my violin, since it still looks almost brand-new and it's gotten the most use.

6.DO YOU HAVE A NATIVITY SCENE? Yep...four.

7.HARDEST PERSON TO BUY FOR? Steve. He has to be VERY specific about what ye wants (usually tools) Otherwise, I usually screw it up

8.EASIEST PERSON TO BUY FOR? Stevie!!! My little boy is so easy to please...we could give him underwear and he'd be excited. (wait...we DID do that once, and he WAS excited!)

9.EMAIL OR CARDS? CARDS- We usually send out a family newsletter through the mail. But due to lack of funds this year, I think we may be going the e-mail route.

10.FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE? That would HAVE to be "Elf". I've seen it more times than I can count, and it still cracks me up :D

11.WHEN DO YOU START SHOPPING FOR CHRISTMAS? After Thanksgiving, but NEVER on Black-Friday.

12.FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT DURING CHRISTMAS? My mom's delicious cinnamon rolls, and orange sticks

13.WHITE LIGHTS OR COLORED LIGHTS? White Lights

14.FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONG? Breath of Heaven - Amy Grant's version

15.TRAVEL FOR CHRISTMAS OR STAY HOME? Stay home. I hope to never travel at Christmas time again!

16.CAN YOU NAME ALL OF SANTA'S REINDEER? Uuhhh...can I sing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?...absolutely

17.ANGEL OR STAR ON TOP OF THE TREE? We have an angel, but I wish it was a star. I'm still waiting to find the perfect one.

18.DO YOU OPEN PRESENTS CHRISTMAS EVE OR CHRISTMAS MORNING? Both. We open Christmas jammies Christmas Eve night, then the rest Christmas morning.

19.MOST ANNOYING THING ABOUT THIS TIME OF YEAR? Cranky kids that don't fall for the "you better be good, or Santa's not coming" trick.

20.UP EARLY OR SLEEP IN? Up early...we're a family of early risers! Sleeping-in would mean getting up around 7 or 8

21.ARE YOUR GIFTS FROM SANTA OR MRS.CLAUS? Santa! I've never even heard of getting gifts from the Mrs.

22.DO YOU TELL THE CHRISTMAS STORY? EVERY YEAR - Of course, costumes and all! It wouldn't be Christmas without it

23.DO YOU LEAVE COOKIES OUT FOR SANTA? Only if the kids remember.

24.FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TRADITION? Hanging the Christmas stockings hand-made by Grandma "Pete" (we're REALLY going to miss her this year...and every year to come), and watching the kids act out the Christmas story Christmas Eve night, then opening our Christmas jammies!

Whew, all done...now it's your turn!

My new most embarassing moment...

Last night was our ward Christmas party. My sister Laurie and I were asked to put together a couple of musical numbers. We decided on our old stand-by "Star Bright" with my dad playing guitar, and for the other number, I played "Away in a Manger" on my violin with Laura accompanying me on the piano. Because I HATE tuning in front of a crowd, I tuned my violin before the program started, and tucked it safely away until it was time to play. Just before playing, I quietly plucked the strings to make sure I was still in tune...everything was fine. The song was going well, then halfway through, it happened...the lowest string (G) slipped out of tune WHILE I was playing (something that has NEVER happened to me before, even in private, but now I had the entire ward there to experience this "first" with me). Because most of the notes were played on that string, there was nothing I could do but stop and re-tune it. The worst part, it wouldn't stay. It felt like an eternity before I could get it to stay in tune and continue the song. I just wanted to crawl in a hole and die! To make matters worse, after it was all over, Steve lovingly pointed out to me that I was BRIGHT red...niiiiiice. I'm so glad the whole ward was there to share in my embarrassment :P

Because 1 month is never long enough...

I just HAD to put my Christmas music on here "early". I can never get enough of it in just a month! If you have any favorite Christmas songs that aren't on my play list, please, please, PLEASE let me know. I'm always looking for more :)

Halloween

Jennah was a 50's girl, Stevie couldn't make up his mind what he wanted to be, so I decided that he was going to be Batman again. Kirstie was a little ballerina kitty...totally her idea, I only made the costume.

And I was....SUPERMOM!!! (notice the "tool" belt...complete with 1st aid kit, toys, crayons, baby wipes and anything else you might need in a mommy emergency!) My amazing mother embroidered the logo for me.

Steve was the cockroach guy from "Men in Black"...nice huh?!?!

Another proud moment...

Friday, Jennah got a P.A.W.S. award for honesty. I don't think she'll ever stop amazing me! All the students that got awards that day...

(and yes, in case you were wondering, the principal is wearing P.J.'s and slippers. It was his Halloween costume)

For anyone who was wondering...

...does it snow in Snowflake?
YES IT DOES!!! And we LOVE it!!!

Proud...

This morning, Jennah's school (Snowflake Intermediate) held their 1st term awards assembly. They gave out awards for perfect attendance, honorable mention, Principals list, and Superintendent's list (the last three were for academic achievement). Jennah was awarded with none other than............drum roll please.....
*
*
*
*
*

Just look at the percentage, and yes, it's for ALL subjects! I don't think I ever got that high in just one subject when I was in grade school, let alone all of them at the same time!

What was even more amazing, was the amount of students that received awards. I'm definitely proud to be a Lobo, and even more proud to be Jennah's mom! She is simply amazing!!

What are your thoughts?

School pictures came in Tuesday. Stevie's is definitely a keeper, but Kirsties, we're not sure about. It's okay, but she's doing her silly "nerd" smile that she does quite often when she's trying to be silly, or is just nervous. What do you think, should we take a chance with re-takes, or stick with this one?

On the positive side, one thing I do like about this picture, is that you can see her eye color really well. Most people think her eyes are brown because they are so dark, but (in my opinion) they are the most beautiful and unique dark hazel :) Mr. photogenic...I don't think this boy ever takes a "bad" picture.

Jennah's pictures won't be in until tomorrow, so I'll (hopefully) have hers up then.

Giddyap!

Friday was "Cowboy Day" in Stevie's kindergarten class. He of course, had to go all out, head to toe. He even has spurs "that jingle jangle jingle"!

Enjoy the cuteness that is Stevie!!!
Of course, the photo shoot wouldn't be complete without a "cool cowboy" pose.

Love, love LOVE this boy!!!!!

Hooray for 80's Night!

Tonight for our Young Women's activity, we had 80's night. We have an AWESOME group of young women, and we had a blast sweatin' to Richard Simmons! It was fun hearing the girls explain how they came up with their lovely outfits. I'm so glad Yvette had the courage to break out the "fat suit". She provided us with some great moments...I just wish we would have thought to bring a video camera...darn it!

Here's the whole gang minus two (we were taking pictures) sisters... Cara & Hannah, and a friend they brought along for the fun

...and my totally 80's outfit...thanks to my sister Lynnette (who never throws anything out)

...and a kiss good night...

Kirstie's new pet

Kirstie found this yesterday while playing in my parents yard. She has affectionately named it "Goldy"...not sure why. Any guesses as to what kind of caterpillar it is?

I know this picture is blurry, it's just to show how BIG it is!

I think I need a tissue...

I know all kindergartners bring home something cute on their first day of school, but this one is by far my favorite... (If you can't read it, just click on the picture.)

Out of the mouth's of babe's

So, school started this Monday...HOORAY!!! It all went well, but I was not able to talk to my kids to see how their day went, because I had to work that day. So yesterday I was able to have a nice little talk with all three to see how they were liking school so far.

Kirstie, of course, had little to say other than her teacher is nice, (which, by the way, she has the SAME 2nd grade teacher in the SAME classroom that I had...how cool is that?!?!) and that she played on the playground. (Ya, she's a wealth of information when it comes to talking about school :-/).

Stevie was so excited, and just LOVES school! On the ride home from school, he said very enthusiastically, "I met ALL my best friends today!!!" I'm so glad I have at least one outgoing kid.

Then Jennah, my sweet, sweet Jennah...only she would say what she did. Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely THRILLED that she enjoys school and learning so much, and am amazed by her everyday. When I asked her if she had a good 1st day of school, she just sighed and said, "the first day wasn't very much fun, because we didn't do any..." (......wait for it......)"studying". Now, the question is, what am I going to do with all my free time?

Anatomy of a knot-head

Just got this picture of Stevie off my niece's facebook page. This is a much better picture than the one I took...read on...

As you will see in the next post, Stevie had a little accident just after we arrived at the Lyman Lake. These pictures really don't show just how HUGE the knot was. It was AT LEAST two to three inches in diameter, and stuck out so far, that he looked like a cro-magnum man. Easily the largest knot I've ever seen!

This is the first shot he'd actually let me take. He was so upset, screaming and crying for at least 10 minutes straight, after it happened. The swelling had gone down a little by the time I took this picture. If you click on the picture, you can see a little better just how big around it was. My brother Brent said that he most likely burst a blood vessel in his head, and that explained why it was so squishy too. The morning after...the height had gone down, but the swelling had spread across his for head, down his eye, and bridge of his nose. I wish I could have taken a decent profile picture, he looked so weird this day...nothing like my little boy!

By the third day, the swelling had gone down some, but now he's starting to get a shiner.

This is how it looked this morning, still a little swollen, and very black. When he looked in the mirror, he just laughed and said, "mommy, it looks like I'm wearing make-up!"

I'm so glad he's okay, and has a good sense of humor about this whole thing. I'll be even happier when he looks like my sweet little boy again!

1st official...

L. Eugene Webb Family Reunion at Lyman Lake!!! The family just hanging out on the "beach". L to R: Suzie, BreAnne, Melanie, Nathan, Dad, Roxy (Tyler & Jenn's dog...coolest dog EVER!!) Delsy, & Raymond. in front: Jackie (Logan's dog), Natalie, & Kirstie.

Stevie the water-dog.

We arrived at the lake around 5 P.M. Sunday evening. My parents reserved a private camping area, and it was just right for our family. There was lots of parking for all our cars and RV's, a building complete with a fridge, bathrooms, and shower...MY kind of camping!

Our first mis-hap happened after being there not even two minutes. The little kids were playing in the building, Stevie was just running around, and Owen was swinging around on a pole, when they collided head-on. Owen was left with not even a mark on him, while Stevie had an instant enormous goose-egg. Then the next day, Steve and Stevie went out on the water on the 3-man tube. Just as they started picking up speed, the tube flipped completely on top of them (we're still not sure why that happened-as anyone who knows, they don't flip easily). Luckily, Steve was already holding on to Stevie, so he just had to worry about getting out from under the tube. It was a few very tense moments for all of us, but thankfully, they were both just fine, just a little shook up. Later that day, Kelton walked into something, and cut the corner of his eye. If he'd been just a fraction to the left, it would have cut his eyeball. Yet again, we avoided a catastrophe. We had a great time, and even with all the little accidents, the kids can't wait to go back! Jennah, Matti, and Stevie

Suzie and the teen-age girls Lecia, BreAnne, Marissa, & Delsy, just chillin'

Kirstie THOROUGHLY enjoyed her time there...being the adrenaline junkie she is!

Stevie on the jet-ski with Uncle Brent. He liked it until Brent decided to splash the older kids, and got Stevie soaked in the process.

Kyle seems a pretty reserved kind of kid...until you get to know him. The little kids LOVE to play with him, as you can see here, and he plays right back. Guess that's why they love him so much.

Some of the "oldies"...Raymond thought it'd be funny to look like he and Steve were having a heated argument, hence the "angry" face.

This is Logan with his dog Jackie, who kept licking him in the face. Not thinking he would actually do it, I dared Logan to stick out his tongue...I should've known better. Logan will do just about anything on a dare!

Happy Birthday to my little man!

Yesterday was Stevie's 5th birthday. For some reason, the night before his birthday, Stevie said he didn't want it to be his birthday. We decided to avoid any conflict and go along with him, knowing that he would change his mind in the morning. Well, he didn't, and at 6:30 in the morning he came to my bedside with a sad little face telling me that he didn't want today to be his birthday. The only thing I could think to tell him was "okay, I guess we'll just forget about your birthday, and take your presents back to the store". He left the room for a few minutes, then came back to me with the SADDEST face I've ever seen, big crocodile tears saying "mommy, I want it to be my birthday!". So I told him to go back to bed, pretend to be asleep, and we'll come sing "Happy Birthday" to him. I swear the kid must be bi-polar, because his whole attitude changed, and, thank heaven, he was my happy boy again!

Jennah's gift to Stevie was to big to carry into his room, so she decided to try and trick him by giving him an old dictionary...of course he didn't fall for it, he's no dummy! Jennah had decided to give Stevie her old desk, and worked hard to clean it up to make it like new for him. I was so proud of her for this! That night we invited all our family close by to come over and celebrate with us. We had YUMMY homemade tacos with all the fixin's, and then went outside for cake and ice cream.

Then it was pinata time! Steve and I just couldn't bring ourselves to pay $20 for something that was just going to get destroyed, so I went on-line and got instructions to make a pinata. It was so easy and CHEAP! Definitely worth the price, nothing says fun like bashing in a super-hero's head right?!?

More pinata fun...

And of course, some of our wonderful party-goers, it sure was a fun night!

I can't believe my little boy is 5...time sure flies!