Holiday Card

This was our family Christmas card we sent out this year. I tried to get one out to everyone but some addresses weren't correct and some I just didn't have. Of all the ones I sent though only 3 came back (I think I got a dozen or so last year). The fun thing I loved about this years was in the background of the words I had Tarl's art, I think it looked awesome.


This year has been full of awesome experiences, lots of learning, achieved goals and fun times.

Kalyana (5.5)-started Kindergarten and says her favorite parts are riding the bus and recess. She started reading (complete books) this spring and is now above grade level. Makayla loves this too since she now gets double the bedtime stories (some from us and some from sister). She began piano lessons in the fall and had her first piano recital last month, she did great! In Oct, Kalyana went to Virginia to visit Aunt Heather (with mom and grandma). We visited some cool historical sites and even got to swim in the ocean. She draws really well and we have been very impressed with how much detail and attention she puts into each drawing. With help from dad she even makes her own animations.

Makayla (3 in Jan) –loves to dance and sing and recently has been dancing everywhere we go (in the aisles at church, grocery store, etc). She is our dress up queen; constantly changing clothes several times a day. Makayla is super funny and silly and keeps us all laughing. She enjoys talking on the phone and will talk to anyone who will listen. This summer we did a ‘Mommy and me’ swim class. She loves to play pretend with her sister. She also loves to go to the library story/puppet time. Her favorite part about Family Home Evening is to lead the music.

Tyce (17 months)-is everyone’s little buddy. He started walking the end of Sept and loves to climb on everything. He got his first tooth in Oct and is now up to four with two more fast approaching. He is always smiling and is the happiest baby ever. He loves to laugh and we all enjoy doing everything we can to get him to. He has more hair than sisters did at his age (he’s already had 3 haircuts), but you wouldn’t know it since a few months ago Tarl surprised me and shaved Tyce’s head while I was out of town. I wouldn’t recommend doing that. Ever. Haha.

Debbie- I have enjoyed documenting my family’s doings this year with our blog and plan to print it into a book at the end of the year. I also enjoy dabbling in Photoshop. I set a goal to read 100 books and made it to 106 in one year (I even won an ipod shuffle from the library for their summer reading program). I have really enjoyed volunteering weekly in Kalyana’s class and being on the PTA. I have been incredibly blessed with a fantastic group of friends. We have enjoyed monthly parties, lunches out, movies, and this summer about 25 of us went to Washington on a girl’s trip. Two things I love; meeting friends for lunch and coming home from the gym. :)

Tarl-draws like it’s nobody’s business. He is incredibly talented and recently put a few of his creations on the web (see below) for people to buy. He enjoyed another fantastic Halloween with fun decorations and a great costume and is always looking for gory things to add to our collection. He is currently in round 6 of a string of interviews to become a deputy sheriff. (I know, extreme career change. He’s hoping to still be able to do art part time.) He loves taking the kids out on dates and takes his lovely wife out on almost weekly dates which she REALLY enjoys. At church we teach the CTR 7 class and it’s been fun to teach the kids and be involved in the Primary.

Our family has enjoyed many game nights, movie nights, and parties with great friends! As a family we love to play games and Xbox together and the kids love craft time. We’ve taken many trips to the park and a few trips to the zoo. This summer we also went to Capitol Reef for a family reunion.

We are grateful for our eternal family and feel blessed to know that we will be together forever. We are grateful for the gospel and the peace we feel from it. We are grateful for our Savior and his love. We wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Happy Holidays!

Family Calendar

For the past three years I've been making my family (my parents and sisters) a calendar. Here is last years, and here is this years:

Wrap Up

Christmas eve day I got horribly sick and spent the day moving slow trying to get the house clean and the fun ready for Christmas. By early evening I had been laying in the fetal position on the bathroom floor for too long so I had Tarl give me a blessing and was able to actually finally get some sleep (I went to bed with the kids at 7pm).

I was so sad that we weren't able to do some of the fun the plans on Chrismas Eve but luckily it didn't seem like the kids cared much and I'm already looking forward to next years joy.

Our Christmas tree and stockings. One of my friends Diane (she used to be my ward sports director when I was in Young Womens) made these adorable stockings for my family.

We all had a great Christmas. By the morning I was feeling about 80% better and the kids couldn't wait to see what Santa had brought. Kalyana and I woke up at 4am but we waited until 7 for the rest of the family.

Tyce was more into this year and immediatly took Makayla's shopping cart and enjoyed the morning pushing that around. Makayla didn't mind much since she decided she got to open Tyce's presents since he didn't really get it just yet.

By the end of the day the kids were pretty tuckered out. Kalyana fell asleep all wrapped up in her chair and Makayla is on the floor near the top of the picture. (Oh and for the record, yes my tree is only decorated near the top. Tyce still enjoys taking off the ornaments. I'm hoping by next year I'll have a fully decorated tree.)

Loving Memory of Grandma

We got a call last Thursday morning that Great Grandma (Tarl's gma) had passed away earlier that morning. Just a few days before that my mother-in-law was visiting with her and realized she was so unresponsive she probably only had a day or two left. (She's had kidney failure for a few months plus a few other ailments.) The whole family held a family prayer (in many different locations) at 8pm in her honor.

Fern and her husband Elwin had 10 children. I have to double check my numbers but I believe she had 42 grand children and 69 great grandchildren. That's over 120 in 3 generations directly from two people! The even more amazing thing is all of her children are members of the LDS church and I can only imagine a huge (if not complete) percentage of her grand and great grand children are too.

Grandma Fern was born October 29, 1928 and passed away on December 18, 2008. The funeral was held on today, December 22. Tarls dad gave an amazing talk on faith and the atonement of Jesus Christ. At the end of the services all the grand and great grand children sang Family's Can Be Together Forever. It was such a sweet experience to be surrounded with all the loving family and feeling at such peace that grandma is in a better place.

(I finally got a hold of a copy of the obituary that was in the newspaper.)

POCATELLO - Fern Lucille Romriell Anderson, 80, longtime Pocatello resident, passed away Thursday, morning December 18, 2008, at Caring Hearts Assisted Living Center. She was born October 29, 1928, in Onyx, Idaho (South of Inkom), a daughter, and the youngest of thirteen children of Walter R. and Mahala Estella Cutler Romriell.
She attended school in Inkom and graduated from Inkom High School where she participated in the band and was also a cheerleader. In her younger years, living in Onyx, she enjoyed riding horses and playing in the Portneuf River which was nearby.

On July 18, 1947 she married Elwin H. Anderson in the Idaho Falls L.D.S. Temple and then she and Elwin lived up Pocatello Creek Road at the Anderson Dairy.
She enjoyed dancing, camping and was a great seamstress. She helped her husband in the family business as a bookkeeper for Rocky Mountain Dairy and Anderson Topsoil. She also enjoyed camping and spending time with her children and grandchildren which were her greatest joy. She was a member of the LDS Church and had served in various callings including Relief Society President, M.I.A. and in the Primary. She was also a faithful visiting teacher. She was loved by her family and friends and will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
Fern is survived by her husband, Elwin H. Anderson, Pocatello; three sons, Clark Elwin (Tracy) Anderson, Chubbuck; Keith Harry (Katrina) Anderson, Pocatello; Kelly Walter (Teresa) Anderson, Tyhee, Idaho; seven daughters, Linda (Kent) Hansen, Pocatello; Nancy (Philip) Crockett, Syracuse, Utah; Cheryl (Hayden) Lambson, Pocatello; Sheila (Allen) Griffiths, Pocatello; Karla (Phillip) Jones, Orem, Utah; Yvette (Merlin) Miller, Chubbuck; Lisa (Javier) Vargas, Highland, Utah; a brother, Earl (Edith) Romriell, Chubbuck; 62 grandchildren and 89 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, eight brothers and three sisters.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, December 22, 2008, at 11 a.m. at the Highland LDS Second Ward (2925 Michelle St. off of Satterfield Drive) with Bishop Rick Poole, officiating. The family will receive friends on Sunday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Manning-Wheatley Funeral Chapel, 510 N. 12th Ave. and Monday, from 10 to 10:45 a.m. at the church. Interment will be in Restlawn Memorial Gardens.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Manning-Wheatley Funeral Chapel, 510 N. 12th Ave. Fern's family would like to extend special thanks to the friendly staff and friends at Cottonwood Cove where she lived for three years. Also we extend "Thanks" to Caring Hearts, Darren and staff. Our special gratitude goes to Riley, Kristen, Brittany and staff of Creekside Hospice, for the loving care of both our Mom and Dad. Online condolences and memories may be sent to the Anderson family at www.manningwheatleyfuneralchapel.com. Published in the Idaho State Journal on 12/22/2008

We made a last minute trip up to see Tarl's family this weekend (more about it in the next post). My mother-in-law's birthday is Christmas Eve so they've started having her birthday party (a Prime Rib dinner) the weekend before Christmas so more of the family could come. We have the dinner at the church house since when the entire family get together there are 32 people and it's just a little roomy for dinner and the kids to play.

We also wanted to squeeze in a family picture since the last one we took was 4 years ago and is missing about 15 people. (I'll have to add that later because I myself am excited to see how it turned out.)

Doran and Meggan have been gracious enough to host our family. The girls have had a great time together. Kalyana and Makayla had their first sleepover (the cousins all slept in the playroom) and loved it!!

Family Sledding

With the crazy snowy weather this morning Tarl suggested we get the kids all bundled up and head out sledding.

The kids were VERY excited until we got to the top of the hill and both the girls chickened out so Tarl and Tyce went down. Tyce didnt think all the cold wind was nice so he screamed but the girls weren't fooled, they saw how fun it was.

We got some hilarious video of the kids going sledding and when the get to the bottom Makayla is giggling and Kalyana screams, "That was awesome!!!" After about 30 minutes Tyce was getting cold and ornery so I took him back to the car to get warm while the others stayed out a while longer.

Kindergarten Sings

The Elementary School had their annual Christmas show today. (Kudos to them. They had all the classes at different times so the parents could just come to see their own kids--and so there would be enough parking.) Other than the terrible storm this morning the concert was great. The kids sang about 8ish songs Kalyana even got to hold the 'a' in the S-A-N-T-A song.
Grandma came down to see the show and visit her old stomping grounds (she used to teach there 30 years ago). Afterwards we treated Kalyana to lunch at Wendy's.

Candy House

I got to go to Kaly's classroom today to take pictures of the kids making their gingerbread houses. They used milk cartons for the inside (what a good idea so they don't collapse!) and they each brought a bag of candy to decorate.

I have, have you?

My friend Jenni tagged me. Kinda fun to see what I've done (the blue stuff).

1. • Started your own blog
2. • Slept under the stars
3. • Played in a band
4. • Visited Hawaii
5. • Watched a meteor shower
6. • Given more than you can afford to charity
7. • Been to Disneyland/Disney World
8. • Climbed a mountain
9. • Held a praying mantis
10. • Sang a solo
11. • Bungee jumped
12. • Visited Paris
13. • Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. • Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. • Adopted a child
16. • Had food poisoning
17. • Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (I’ve seen it in person!)
18. • Grown your own vegetables
19. • Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. • Slept on an overnight train
21. • Had a pillow fight
22. • Hitch hiked
23. • Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. • Built a snow fort
25. • Held a lamb (I’ve held a lambSON)
26. • Gone skinny dipping
27. • Run a Marathon
28. • Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. • Seen a total eclipse
30. • Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. • Hit a home run
32. • Been on a cruise
33. • Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. • Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. • Seen an Amish community
36. • Taught yourself a new language
37. • Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. • Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. • Gone rock climbing/repelling
40. • Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. • Sung karaoke
42. • Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. • Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. • Visited Africa
45. • Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. • Been transported in an ambulance
47. • Had your portrait painted/sketched
48. • Gone deep sea fishing
49. • Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. • Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. • Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. • Kissed in the rain
53. • Played in the mud
54. • Gone to a drive-in theater
55. • Been in a movie
56. • Visited the Great Wall of China
57. • Started a business
58. • Taken a martial arts class
59. • Visited Russia
60. • Served at a soup kitchen
61. • Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. • Gone whale watching
63. • Got flowers for no reason
64. • Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. • Gone sky diving
66. • Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. • Bounced a check
68. • Flown in a helicopter (How about a two person airplane)
69. • Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. • Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. • Eaten Caviar
72. • Pieced a quilt
73. • Stood in Times Square
74. • Toured the Everglades
75. • Been fired from a job
76. • Seen the Changing of the Guards in London(I've seen the guards there though!)
77. • Broken a bone
78. • Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. • Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. • Published a book
81. • Visited the Vatican
    

I dont know if you gals play tag but I'll try it: Heidi, Olivia and Cami

Another Winner!!!

Congratulations!

Enough to Play

Singing at the Party

This evening was our ward Christmas party. It was alot of fun and they decorated it SO well and we had a great ham dinner.

Our family was asked to sing in the program so we sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Kalyana's piano teacher also asked her to sing a song with her (she was singing a few and thought it would be cute to involve her) so she got to sing Away In a Manger with her.

In the video I also included Makayla dancing. In the front of the room. Makayla is generally so shy and reserved in public (at least when people are looking at her) but this evening she completely came out of her shell and was running around with other kids and putting on her own show.

New 'do

(A before and after shot)
I have wanted to get a bit of a change for a while so I finally just made the appointment and did it. I wanted to be more blonde (fix my highlights, maybe add more), get layers around my face and add some sweeping bangs. Once there we also thought it would be fun to change the length so I cut off 4 inches.

To be honest the idea I had of my bangs was a bit different (I was hoping to get something more like what my friend Jill or Sue have) but I'm really happy with how it turned out anyway and I think I really like it. Plus Tarl says he loves my new look so that is good too! The only deal now is trying to learn how to style it cute with all the new layers and lengths I have (I got it cut yesterday so this is the first day I've tried the new style).