ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!!!

WHOEVER COINED THE PHRASE "A SNOWBALL'S CHANCE IN HELL" HAS NEVER HAD TO SHOVEL MY DRIVEWAY! IF THEY HAD THEY WOULD KNOW THAT SNOW DOES JUST FINE IN HELL ON CERTAIN WINTER DAYS IN UTAH!

THIS IS THE VIEW FROM MY FRONT PORCH...NOTHIN' BUT WHITE!!

IT TOOK ME 45 MINUTES TO SHOVEL HALF OF ONE SIDE OF THE DRIVEWAY.

YES, IT IS THAT DEEP.

ANOTHER 45 MINUTES LATER I FINISHED HALF OF THE DRIVEWAY. BAD NEWS IS THAT THERE IS MORE ON THE WAY TONIGHT. I GUESS I KNOW WHAT I'LL BE DOING TOMORROW TOO!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRYCE!!!!!

I threw Bryce a surprise birthday party on Friday. It was hard to be sneaky! I told so many lies to try and and pull the whole thing off. I decided to give Bryce a party because I had no idea what to get him for his birthday. So because I knew I was going to fall short of getting any impressive gifts I thought I would give the gift of time and effort (and stress). I took the kids to grandma's to stay for the night so the house would be kid-free. Everyone that I invited came and it turned out to be so fun! I even surprised Bryce! He called from work and was going to get home too early, before the guests would be here, so I had to try and stall him. I told him to pick up a pizza for dinner and some movies. That still wasn't going to be long enough so I told him to go check out a sale that JC Penneys was having. Well that kind of backfired because he ended shopping too long! Everybody was waiting for him for 45 minutes after the party was supposed to start. We are so lucky to have wonderful, fun, fabulous friends! Thanks to all of them for coming and helping me celebrate Bryce's birthday!

I am a Martha wanna-be. I wish I would have had more time to make some fabulous appetizers. I just didn't have enough time to do everything I wanted to do but I think it still turned out okay, nobody went home hungry!

Chocolate dipped Strawberries! Yum...

Homemade Double Chocolate Orange Cupcakes, soooo good!!

Latest Photo Shoot

DALLIN

Can you say, "Bad Idea"?

When we let Rusty in the house this morning he smelled sooooo bad!! (like Phoebe's song from Friends, anyone remember "Smelly Cat"?)He has gradually been getting stinky, it happens every winter for some reason. Well today we got to the point of no tolerance! Bryce insisted that he gave him a bath. I told him that I thought it was a bad idea but he said we had no other choice. We actually did it once last year and he handled it better today than last time. Don't get me wrong, he was not happy with us. People shampoo didn't quite do the job, unfortunately. Bryce washed him thoroughly 3 times. He smells better but still not appealing. I can luckily report however that no blood was shed and we think Rusty has forgiven us because he's been begging for attention as usual.

My Favorite Tradition

Christmas cards are definitely one of my favorite holiday traditions. I get so excited to check the mail everyday to see if there are any cards. I look forward to hearing from friends, especially the ones who only keep in touch through Christmas cards. I wish I was better at staying in touch with people throughout the year. I guess that's why I love to get the Christmas cards, it reminds me how much I miss people and how grateful I am for the part they have had in my life. Every year I get a card from Bishop Anderson. He was my bishop at BYU for a couple of years. He interviewed my for my mission papers and was a part of that transistion in my life. He is an amazing person and I feel so blessed to have crossed paths with him. He wrote to me on my mission and still, 19 years since I was in his ward, sends me a Christmas card every year. My mission president, Pres. Walker and his wife still send a card every year too, 16 years! As I look at my door this year I realized that the people's faces I see are really my life long friends. A few friends from high school, a few friends from BYU, a mission companion, an investigator, and a couple of my current neighbors. My card list changes a little bit every year. I have moved around a lot and made friends wherever I went. I have figured out how to tell who really cared about me and valued my friendship, I look at my Christmas card door. I mailed 65 cards this year, I only have 25 on my door. This is how my list changes every year. If I haven't heard from someone (card, email, phone call, etc..) in two years then I take them off my list. I figure if they care about me then they would try to keep in touch too.

My friends and family are my greatest blessing. I love to get cards at Christmas and hear from all of the special people that have blessed my life.

New Year's Day with the Hancock's

On New Year's Day we finally celebrated Christmas with the Hancock side of the family. We had to wait awhile to be abe to coordinate everyone's schedules. It was a fun day. The cousins exchanged gifts and the adults played the annual white elephant games. Shawn and Missy gave the best white elephant gift ever! They gave a positive pregnancy test to announce that they are expecting a baby! I am so excited for them!! (and for me to have a new neice or nephew!) My niece Heather (16) is the one that opened it and she wasn't sure what it was. The rest of us couldn't see what was in the box so when she showed us it was such a surprise! Good job Missy!

The kids (and Bryce) all went sledding on a hill in grandma's neighborhood. It was so cold but the kids didn't seem to mind! They had a lot of fun.

Cambree, Victoria and Jordyn watching the action from the top of the hill.


Jace catching a little air!!
The whole bunch!
Left to Right: Jeff, Brinley,Joshua, Keaton, Jace, Jordyn and Connor,
Victoria and Cambree, and Marlie.

Bryce talked Connor into going down the hill with him. He would only go if he could ride with Daddy! Bryce is such a good dad. He is the only adult that would go out and sled with the kids.
What a stud! I guess nowdays I should say "hottie" (to sound like I know what is cool.)

Marlie getting some air! She is the most daring and adventurous of all of my kids. Go figure... my only girl is the most fearless and adventure seeking.
This is grandpa and grandma Hancock's house with their Christmas lights.

Merry Christmas!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008

Every Christmas Eve the kids open there present from Grandma Hancock. It's not a surprise, they know it will be new pajamas. So here they are in front of the tree wearing their new pajamas.

BEFORE......

AFTER....

Jace with his pinball machine.

Connor in the middle of his pile.

Yay! BATMAN!!!
Marlie with her Littlest Petshop animal and new boombox.
Keaton is now an official teenager. He cares about his clothes and is wanting "brands". Great. I was hoping he would never care, no such luck.
Connor got this Spiderman ski mask, he looked so funny! He LOVES it!!

THE BIG SURPRISE!!

The kids have been wanting a Wii for a long time. I have been strong and steadfast in my resisting the begging and pleading. I said that we would never have any kind of video game system. Keaton started asking for a Playstation when he was about 7. He's almost 14 now so I held out for 7 years! Several friends have told me how much they love their Wii. The physical activity involved with using the Wii is what helped me change my mind the most. Anyway, the kids were so surprised when they opened the last present under the tree. I think Keaton was in shock for most of the day. He kept saying, "I still can't believe we have a Wii". So far I don't regret getting it. It has actually been a good leverage tool. They'll do anything to not lose their privilege of playing the Wii.

Ice Skating and Caroling

We did a lot of fun things this month to celebrate the holiday season. Bryce had a work party at a place called Noah's. It had different rooms with games like pool, wallyball, ping pong etc, On the roof there was an ice skating rink. Keaton had been ice skating before but for the other kids it was their first time. Bryce spent his time dragging them around and holding them up. I wasn't in the mood to sprain my ankle or break my wrist so I watched on the side lines! Connor didn't want to risk it either so he and I slid around in our shoes. Keaton's friend Devin came with us. He plays hockey so he had no problem with the skating.

CAROLING
We also went caroling with a lot of our friends in the ward. We went around to a lot of the older couples and widows in the ward. We all brought treats to give to those we went caroling to. It really was a lot of fun. Even though it was cold and we were walking through snow and ice the mood was warm and loving. We haven't gone caroling as a family before so it was a new experience. I hope it will be a tradition for us from now on. I loved seeing the faces of people when they saw us all there singing for them.