Christmas 2009

Is Christmas over already?  It seems just like yesterday I was planning my lists, thinking I was on top of the game because I was starting in September.  Now, I only got about 2 things on that list before I put it down in order to procrastinate it until early December but I had good intentions. Anyway, Christmas was wonderful this year.  The kids were so fun, they helped put up the tree, they helped wrap presents and they were in good spirits for most of it too. 

Our Christmas started early like it usually does with the  Burrell Christmas Party.  We had a festive mexican fiesta with Chimichangas (thanks Erin for the Awesome recipe.)  It seemed like everyone liked them.  We missed Brian because he had to work and we missed Dianna because she is now living in St. George but we had a houseful of  people anyway.  We had Grandpa Burrell read the Nativity Scene while the kids acted it out, with a little help from the more adventurous adults.

After our Reading of the Nativity, Guess who showed up?  Jolly Old St. Nick, (Santa Claus)  He brought fun presents for everyone and when he left, Nick was so desperate to se his sleigh, Shawn and Savannah had to hold him back.

My mom got all of the Grandkids matching PJ's this year.  So cute!!!!

Christmas day was so fun at our house.  Nick woke Shawn up at about 6am and then proceded to count down every minute until 7am when it was time to get up.  We had a blast opening presents and then my parents came over to see what we got.  After that the Burrell's came over for a late brunch.

We had puppies this year that we sold so we spoiled the kids as well as ourselves.  Shawn got a bluetooth for his phone (much needed), I got a Barnes and Noble Nook (an electronic reader), Savannah got a guitar (tourquoise of course) and Nicholas got a set of Air-Soft guns (both a handgun and a rifle.)  We had a blast with all of the surprises from Santa Claus.

After Lunch we packed up our stuff and headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Simisters.  My dad passed the torch and had Shawn read the Nativity this year.  The kids were so cute in their costumes.  I want you to notice the Zhu Zhu pet as baby Jesus.  We had a touching moment when Tony read a beautiful letter that Grandma Hendricks wrote to us.  We had alot of food and fun and ended Christmas day with family that we love.

 Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Let it snow, Let it snow, LET IT SNOW!!!!

It's just 3 days till Chistmas and we are getting a big storm.  A BIG STORM!!!  Yeah!!!  So what do we decide to do???   We head over to Daybreak Elementary for some much needed time out in the snow with some friends.  I mostly stayed warm in the car, but I was able to get a few great pictures.  This last week has been very busy with me working, me shopping for Christmas and the kids being stuck at home so this snow has arrived at a great time.  They definately got most of their wiggles out before we came home for some hot chocolate.  I say most of their wiggles out because even though savannah is just laying here watching TV, Nicholas is throwing a ball up and down the stairs (which is against our rules) while I am typing this.  I am ignoring it for now, but as soon as I am done the ball will be tossed back up to the playroom:)
Anyway, with just 3 days till Christmas, I am hoping it keeps snowing for a while.  I just love a White Christmas.

R U Kidding Me??????

So these are the shoes that we bought Nick for the start of school.  4 months ago.  Shoes are supposed to last more than 4 months.  He came home last week and informed me that he needed a spare pair of socks to take to school?  Why, I asked?  Because I need to put them on after recess.  Why, I asked again?  Because my shoes have holes in them and my socks keep getting wet.   I took a look at his shoes and about had a heart attack.  These pictures don't do it justice but he not only has holes in the bottoms of both shoes but the seams are falling apart on the tops of the shoes and the insides of them are completly worn through.  You would think that this would happen with less expensive shoes but not with etnies.  Anyway, we went and bought him new shoes, after saying R U Kidding Me???? about 50 times.   Boys!!!!!  Gotta love em.

The Pinewood Derby

Shawn is still the Cubmaster in our ward, but even if he weren't, The Pinewood Derby is one on the highlights of our year. This year the church was packed with families ready to race. (It's very competitive.) We had a great time cheering on our favorite cars (Nick's and Savannah's cars were awesome.)  Both kids did pretty well on their races.  Best thing of all is that we had a great time.  Here is a poem that pretty much describes our fun night. 

The Pinewood Derby Prayer

Hey Lord, we ask you to draw near,

and bless the boys who gather here.

This is the day they've waited for,

their blocks of wood are blocks no more.

Plastic wheels and dime store nails,

Become the stuff of sporting tales.

of finishes too close to see,

you're here for every victory.

You bless the winners in their joy,

but there's another kind of boy.

whose handiwork is blessed by you,

because his hands tried something new.

You smile upon the crooked wheel,

the paint job done with boyish zeal,

the splintered car, the sloppy glue,

you love the work that your sons do.

But there is one here in this place,

who shows the greatness of your grace.

He is the boy who hasn't won,

but when he hears the starting gun,

he's there to cheer his fellow scouts,

his are the loudest victory shouts.
And when his brother's haven't won,

he's just the one to say "well done,"

you've tried your best and you've had fun,

there are more races to be run.

And so dear Lord, we hear you say,

upon this happy Derby Day,

"Remember, whether best or worst,

Remember, you are brothers first."

"Tweens???? for Halloween"

So I think that I finally figured out that I have tweens. I mean, I knew that Savannah was a tween, or at least getting close, but on Halloween Night when both my kids took off with their friends.....without Shawn or Me, or any parents for that matter, I realized that Shawn and I have become OLD!!!!

Savannah was a Robber and Nicholas was a Gangster. The group of friends is Lacey-a mime, Savannah-a robber, Drake-a prisoner, Alex-Batman, Nick-a gangster, Brysen-a dead prisoner, and Colton-a Police officer.

My little Entrepreneur

So the other day Nick and his friend Drake decided that they were going to make some money. They asked Drake's mom if they could pull weeds for $10. She said yes, they pulled weeds, she gave them the money and we thought that was the end of that. No way. Now Nick and Drake came and asked me if I could drive them to the store. I said "how come?" They said that they wanted to buy some ice and cups for the snowie machine that we have. Again I said "how come?" We have ice in the ice maker in the fridge. I said that they could use our ice. They said that they were going to sell snowies on the corner and they wanted to buy ice and cups for that. So I drove them to the store and they got their ice and cups. We got home and they pulled out the snowie machine, our camp table, an extention cord and all of our snowie syrup. Now they didn't think that they needed to buy syrup, because we already had that, but they HAD to buy ice--which they could have gotten free....go figure??!!?? I didn't think that they would even make the $10 back that they spent. Boy was I wrong. They made $14 the first day and $14 the second day. They paid Drake's little brother Brysen 19 cents for helping and they split the rest. Holy Moly. In two days they each came home with $14. Awesome. Let's hope that this is a prediction of the rest of his life. He will be loaded.

Daddy Daughter Activity Days Event

Hiking to Donuts Falls up Big Cottonwood Canyon. When Kathy asked me if I was interested in taking Savannah up hiking it was like asking me if it’s easy to beat her dad at a game of foosball. Of course. It was a great time. She had a good time hiking with her friend Lacey up to the base of the falls. Once we arrived we enjoyed a quick dinner (sandwiches & chips) and then a few of the dad’s helped their daughters climb the rocks up to where the water falls thru the opening rock, hence donut falls. Savannah and I were the first to make the climb. As you get to the top portion of the falls the area opens up and reveals a small cavern (the water falls from the top) with a shallow pool of water. It was great to see how excited Savannah was that she was at the top and how proud she was that she made the final portion of the climb. It is slippery and fairly challenging in areas. Savannah made the comment “I am like you dad. I’m a good climber too”. I have the best girl ever. Love--Shawn

The Super...Simister...St. George Labor Day Weekend!!!!

So I was sitting on the couch, watching the news and I heard the weatherman say that another cold front was coming in, maybe even some snow. I turned off the TV, turned on the computer and decided to blog about something much, much better than "a cold front, maybe even some snow:(". I decided to blog about St. George. I know that I talk about it a lot, but I LOVE it. I mean LOVE it. This Labor Day, we all went down to St. George to celebrate the holiday together. It gets a little crowded but it is definitely worth it. The more the merrier. So our weekend started out with a picture in front of the Condo. It's amazing how much our family has grown. There are 15 of us Simister's now. Crazy.

Saturday we spent in the pool. I mean the whole day. It was gorgeous and sunny and most of all, WARM, with no cold fronts coming in. I think I hate winter. After a fun filled day in the pool, Mom and Dad took us all out to dinner at Golden Corral. It was so good. I love Buffet's. When we got home we got the kids ready for bed and Mom, Charayne, Camille and I went for a walk over at what we call the Big Park. Guess who we saw there? Madison Clymore. OK, really Aunt Wendy called and told us that Madison would be there with her friends doing some ice blocking down the hills so we decided to crash her party. We had a chance to have a turn down the hill. It was a blast. Walking out of the park, there were frogs jumping everywhere. Charayne caught one and I thought, if she can do it I can do it. I caught a baby frog and held it in my hands for a few minutes. He started moving around though and I adjusted my hands and he jumped out. I never could get him back because he jumped into the rocks. We brought the other frog home and let the kids see it the next morning.

On Sunday we started the day out with Family Pictures. Aunt Wendy was our photographer and Madison was her assistant. They were very professional:) After pictures we went down to the Brigham Young home for a tour. By the time the tour was over, the little kids were ready for a nap. (as well as some adults.) Shawn and I packed up our bigger kids and went over to "The Crack" so the kids could climb through it. Shawn decided to pass this time since he wasn't quite sure he would fit, and I passed because I am very claustrophobic, and its getting worse with age. Small places are not my friends.

We ended our fun weekend with a picnic at Pine Valley Reservoir. Uncle Tom and Aunt Wendy and their kids joined us for dinner. We had fried chicken and salads out on the dock and then the women and some of the kids took a walk around the lake. Half way around we found out where the water for the lake came from when we ran into the river that made us turn around and go back the way we came. After our "half-walk" we let the kids do some fishing. It was amazing. They were pulling out fish after fish. Tony caught the best one though. (See photos at the bottom to see his amazing catch.)

Our Super...Simister...St. George Labor Day weekend was fun filled and exciting and I can't wait to do it again. Love---Kathy
The Simister's in front of Mom and Dad's C0ndo in St. George Utah

The kids having a great time at the pool

Grandpa and Nick....Awesome

I know, it's not very attractive, but I had to show you all how happy I was to be in the pool:)

Grandma and Alana

Charayne and Kelton and Camille and Lincoln

All Bathed and ready for ....Play???
The kids checking out the frog that the moms caught while visiting Madison at the park last night.

The ones who started it all....Mom and Dad
The Simister Family

The Simister Grandkids, Savannah, Kelton, Rylan, Alana, Jaxson, Nicholas and Lincoln

Savannah and Kelton, the oldest and youngest grandkids

The Adults

The Burrell's

Shawn in "The Crack"

Savannah and Nick in "The Crack

The Brigham Young home in St. George Utah

The Simister's in front of Brigham Young's Home

This is the tree in Brigham Young's yard that got split in half by lightning

Pine Valley Reservoir

This is the dock that we had our Picnic on

Rylan, Savannah and Alana during our awesome hike Jaxson showing Lincoln and Alana his fish he caught

Bridger caught a fish
So did Nicholas

And so did Rylan

And I think so did Logan

"Tony's Big catch of the Day"

Lincoln thinks this is hilarious