Off to TEXAS we go!

I think people are probably starting to understand now why I haven't posted in a while. There was just too much. But now we are on the last leg of our trip and it is here in Texas where are journey ended, minus the plane ride home. Texas is the new home of my brother Matt and his wife Angie. They only moved their a few months ago, but have made their home so beautiful. Matt and Angie went through 11 years of "Med stuff" so that Matt can finally start his job as a Neuro Radiologist. Angie has been amazingly supportive through all the years and I admire her and her willingness to support her husband in his LOOOOONG med route. Matt is a great Guy, just like all my other brothers. We tend to Joke that he is my mom's favorite, but if he is it is only because he is awesome. He took off two days of work to be with us, which really meant a lot to me. He also spent a lot of time with just John, making him feel really welcome. I love Matt. He is a great guy. See what I mean. He took time with all the kids, but I think he especially liked getting in some good uncle time with my kids. While I was there I looked at him in his Jeans and T-shirt, and couldn't help but think at how normal he looked. Becoming a Neuro-Radiologist hasn't gone to his head and I think that is pretty cool. One of the fun things we got to do with our Texas cousins was go to a little farm that is in there ward, and ride ponies and see different farm animals. This is Dallas on Matt's shoulders. He is the cutest little guy. From his sweet voice to his fantastic smile. I hadn't seen him since he was 3 weeks old. He didn't disappoint. He is a cutie! We had a great time getting to know our cousins, aunt and uncle. Angie runs a fabulously magnificant house for having 5 little guys. She is a great mom, and I love and admire her enthusiasm. Thanks for letting us come and stay! We love you.

*Christmas Time*

There is of course a Horse Museum in Lexington, and it has an amazing drive-thru light show at Christmas time. So we went and saw the beautiful lights and then sat on Santa's lap. Grandma and Grandpa spoiled all of the kids and got them each one of these cool light wands. It is so nice to have grandparents around. Noah asked for a Nutcracker!?! What boy asks for a nutcracker? Micah asked for a Brabie. Typical girl. Deeken just wanted to get out of there. This is Kevin and Debbie's six kids! They are all so cute and have such different personalities. Debbie is an amazing mom, who loves her kids and just takes things as they come without stressing too much. She is awesome. We LOVED staying with them. Our Kids had a great time! Thanks Kev and Deb for having us.

Riding the Range

Here we actually got to ride a horse. We all wish our kids got to ride more, growing up as we did, but right now it just isn't possible. This is my brother Brian and his beautiful daughter. He is such a great dad! His patience is so enduring, that when he does raise his voice it is a big sigh of relief because you realize he isn't perfect. He is such a good man. Someone asked me once how it was possible that we were brother and sister, I am, well, not quiet. Brian is very quiet. I wish I was a lot more like him. He is a wonderful guy! I love this picture of John with our kids. He is a pretty amazing man. He tries so hard to be the best that he can. These are our favorite moments...laughing with our kids. Well this is my brother Brian's family. They are so cute, and always look like they could be the models for a magazine. I love their little family. We miss getting to live by them and have our boys play together all the time. This was right before they were leaving so I wanted to snap a picture. I am so glad they flew all the way from Utah to have Thanksgiving with all of us!

Gobble! Gobble!

Thanksgiving was a real treat for me, to get to have 3 of my 4 brothers with all of their families in the same spot was awesome. This cute little turkey hat was courtesy of my sweet sister-in-law Haydee. She gives an amazing amount to make sure the kids have a good time. And this was before the actual dinner...bring on the Turkey nap. We got a little bit of pin-the-tail on the turkey in. To bad nobody was watching Deeken. He pretty much ate the marker. Deeken did kick back a little on the Spartenelli's, but who wouldn't after that marker. Grandma and Grandpa made sure he got something good to eat. This is my oldest brother Brett. I am really proud of him too, although he thinks I am not. He works really hard at his job as a professor, and his students love him. He gets little worldly acknowledgment for all the work he does(like most teachers). His family is his heart and soul, and he would do almost anything for his girls. I love this picture, because like I said before Brett works really hard at all he does, he gets pretty stressed out at times, but when he starts to laugh, especially with my kids, it makes my day. I feel like they are getting to see the brother I know and Love. Here is little Mason. By the end of the day he was exhausted, and he didn't even eat the turkey. John was trying so hard to keep him awake, so he would sleep for his mom later, but he couldn't do it.

Bring On the COUSINS!

After getting to spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa, we got to Drive down to Kentucky to see some of out Hyde cousins. My parents mission is quite broad in the area it covers. My brothers home happens to be in their mission, so they got to come with us for Thanksgiving. My brother is a horse vet for some of the big farms in Lexington. He does a lot of the breading work. So we got to go see some of the beautiful, yet very expensive studs that many lucky Mares get to breed with for a humungo price. Although you can't see him well, this is Kevin helping Noah. I have to say I was quite proud of my brother--and proud to be his sister. You can tell he loves his job and is very knowledgable and good at it. I am really glad he choose this career path. He was going to be an accountant--Not a bad job, but I am sure the job site would have been no where as beautiful or fun to visit. These two were very fast friends. They hung close together the whole time and created mischef of one kind or another. These guys weren't innocent all the time either, but harmless enough. They had a great time together too. Alright we got the cousins, now bring on the Fun!

Missionaries in Michigan

It was 10 and a half months since I had last seen my parents. I know that might not seem long, since they are a mission, but that is definitely the longest I had ever not seen them. It was so GREAT to see them. I bought these tickets clear back in July. I was so glad when the time came to go. Here are some of the highlights. As my dad put it, "IF you promise to build it they will come." My kids had a great time at Build a Bear. Even Deeken, my parents insisted on getting him one. Noah loved this bear when we visited the "B a B" in Portland for a preview. He hadn't changed his mind by the time we got to Michigan. The Spidey outfit was a bonus! Here is a great example of my stubborn daughter. I so tried to stear her towards something that didn't have a holiday theme to it, but the harder I pushed the more she wanted it. If you ask it's name, Micah will respond, "Rudolf." And Noah will quickly add, "but it doesn't have a red nose, Micah." She isn't deterred! Now this place was a sight to behold. It is thee largest Christmas store in the world. I much preferred the large (3X as big as Park City) Outlet mall we visited before and after this, but this was good too. This by Farr had to be the best part for me. Watching my parents get to spend Quality "hang out"time with Grandma and Grandpa!