{2012 - Year In Review}

For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
                                                                ~T.S. Eliot

 

2012 turned out to be a pretty nice year for our family - We are blessed.

January 

 

 

- Brittany was 5 months pregnant and her little belly was starting to grow.

- I put one of my favorite Motto's up on a wall in my house - Love it still!

- We went to our niece's wedding in Twin Falls and saw much family we hadn't  seen in quite awhile  - so nice!

- Trent, who loves to cook, learned how to separate eggs like a pro.

 

 

February

 

 

- Katie and Kevin's 1st Valentine' Day

- I began teaching the CTR 8 class this year - what a great bunch of kiddo's. #getting them ready for Baptism

- Apparently I am dating Batman!

- Dr. Suess' Birthday coming up - Big celebrations and quotes at the school.

- We went and saw Mitt Romney speak when he was in town. #shouldabeenPres

- Valentines day decor - L O V E

- Trent has target practice from a tree with his BB gun.  #kidyourgonnashootyoureyeout

 

March



March was a busy and exciting month.

- I went to a Conference in Salt Lake City and while there got together with a bunch of blog friends for a super fun dinner!



- Brittany's cute baby shower with a girly Dr. Suess theme was in the middle of March.

 - We took our 3 boys to Disneyworld in Florida and Universal for a week during Spring Break and had a B L A S T!!!!  So much fun and so many memories!  I also got to meet a dear blog friend and her very nice husband while visiting Florida! #wanttogobacksoon!

April

 

- Ryan graduated from BYU with 2 degree's and honor's and I had kind of a crazy drive getting down there on time for the graduation.

 

- Brittany was so lovely in her 9th month of pregnancy.

 

- Baseball season started for both boys (and Kurke the umpire).

 

- Taylor went to Prom.

 

- The Easter bunny still delivers for Trent!

 

 







-  The best thing happened on the very last day of April and that was the birth of Eleanor - We love her!

May

 

- In May I stayed at Brittany and Jaxon's for a week to help with the baby and help take care of them, cooking, etc...Kurke made it home from England to meet his new granddaughter.

 

- Mother's Day was special. #largestboxofcandyever!!

 

- Trent turned 12 and became a deacon.

 

- Trent also discovered just how much he loves being an Uncle.  For all of us the baby loving just kept on going.

 

 

June

  

- In June Eleanor was blessed and we had a wonderful celebration at the Higgs home.  Eleanor's cousin Ada who is 1 day younger was blessed at the same time.  Very special.

- Baseball continues with Taylor pitching.

- Trent planted flowers in the backyard.

- Taylor got his first job at Edwards Theater.

- Also in June I had THE BEST time with my bestie friends in Georgia!  It was my first time to Georgia and I loved it!  Spent 10 days enjoying it all!  #readytogobackagain#misstheM's

 

July

 

July - ALWAYS - our most packed month of the year. 

 

- We snuck away to Spokane for a few days to watch Taylor play in a tournament there.  We also got to visit with our good friends the B's and enjoy the 4th of July.

- Not pictured - My Dad and Rache'l moved to Idaho from Branson.  27 family members in the driveway when they drove up to greet them and help unload the truck.  It was unloaded in record time - about 35 minutes!  #unloadedwithlove

 



 

-  I think part of the reason Girls Camp is so fun besides the girls, the activites, the laughing, and the crazy is that it is so colorful, I mean look at these pictures! We had a blast cooking for the girls at Girls Camp this year and being a part of all the fun and activities!!

#girlscampisdabest

 

 



-  We had a fantastic time in Lake Tahoe at our Family Reunion!

#when'sthenextone!

 

August



 - Smore's in the firepit a favorite treat + boys just like to play with fire.
- A visit with Farmor and Grandpa.
- Pretty flowers in our backyard - Butterfly bush and Black eyed susans.
- The end of the baseball season for both boys.

September

- Time Out For Women
- Ward Campout at Sagehen
- MHS Football
- The Youth started practicing for the Cultural Celebration
- Trent receives his Scout Camp merit badges

 

 

- Taylor was crowned Homecoming King at the Homecoming football game and went to the dance with about 30 other couples.  Fun times!  #heissuchagreatkidlovehim#funsenioryear

 

October

- All the kids came home for my birthday and Conference.  It was a fab weekend.  They made me a sweet cake!

 

- Toured the Boise Temple at the Open House and also worked at the Open House later in the month.



- Eleanor was a cute little Sock Monkey for Halloween and her Grandma was a little bit scarier.

- Had a fun party for my Primary kids.  #theyearneditbybeingsogood

November

 

- Enjoyed the Youth Cultural Celebration and Temple Dedication

- Weekend in California for Jason's Baptism

- Blessed with a long and beautiful Autumn

- Enjoyed Thanksgiving with our family

 

December

 

- Ellie, Ellie, Ellie - Making each day Merry and Bright!

 

- Parties and fun and Gingerbread - Oh My!

 

- My handsome sons

 

- Great big Christmas surprises!

 





{Les Mis The Movie - Or Not...}

I LOVE Les Mis...The broadway show!  I first saw it 25 years ago in San Francisco on the very first U.S. tour and it was literally LOVE - LOVE LOVE LOVE!  I bought the soundtrack and sang it daily for a year.  I love the story, I love the voices of the Original Broadway cast, I love the music - It is
FAN-Tab-Ulous - which is why it has been around for so long.

A couple months ago we got tickets and saw it on stage once again in Boise - Not quite as fabulous as San Francisco and the original cast but still, oh so lovely, and still remains a favorite of mine.

Tonight our family went and saw the movie version which came out yesterday with Hugh Jackman and Ann Hathaway.  It was OK for me - I give it 3 1/2 out of 5.  There were things I really liked about this movie version but there were many things I did not like as well.

I think if you are someone who has never seen the show on stage you will probably really like this movie version.  But for me not so much because I have seen the real thing and loved it and these voices do not match the immense voices of the Broadway Stage and the New York or London casts.

So here are the things I liked:

-Hugh Jackman - He was terrific as Jean Valjean, and he has an awesome voice - but he is stage trained so he was a natural and he delivered!  Also, his makeup was awesome going from slave to respectable citizen/mayor.

-Young Cosette - Wow she is a talent.  She can sing and act and I thoroughly enjoyed her performance.

-Marius - He was Fab! And, as a bonus, I thought he looked like Joseph Smith - LOL.

-The older Eponine - Loved her voice and performance.  I wish she would have played Fantine!

-I loved seeing everything big on the screen.  With any Broadway show that you love you are wishing for more detail and a movie definately fills that in.  It is not easy to re-create 1800's France - they did a great job, especially with the details (the sewer almost made me barf). 

-Going hand in hand with that was the AMAZING cinematography.  I loved how they filmed it.  The close up shots, the pans, Javert walking along the roof ledge of the building(s) - it was a fantastic job - the cinemetographers should win awards!

-I thought the supporting cast was super good.

-I love that so many people are seeing Les Mis for the first time and being exposed to, and loving this amazing story!  Many of these people might never have seen it in their lifetime if the movie wasn't made and that is a good thing!

What I did not like:

-Did NOT love Anne Hathaway's voice, but I already knew that from the clips I saw before the movie was released.  She cannot belt it the way it needs to be belted - I didn't believe her (songs/emotion) so that was a huge dislike for me.  I was glad she was playing Fantine and died (is that harsh) so I didn't have to listen to her anymore.  The star power here was not worth it to me.  I could not see Fantine with Anne playing it - I could only see the actress she is and other parts she played. 

-Russell Crowe - Good actor but not in this movie - he had NO passion. Looks the part of a soldier - SUCKS at singing.  The whole movie I just kept wondering why he was hired for this movie - surely there could have been someone...anyone, better.

-Amanda Seigfried - KILL ME NOW!!  I'm sorry, when she opened her mouth it sounded like a high pitched Snow White and I couldn't take it, it had me cringing Every.Single.Time.  It is a good thing the guy playing Marius had such a strong and great voice or I might have just went out to the bathroom during their scenes. 

Overall the star power did not work for me.  There are 4 huge parts and 3 did not fill the bill in my eyes.  Which is a shame because the rest of the film was great.

Other:

-The Thenardier's - Sacha Baren Cohen and Helena Bohnam Carter - They could not sing worth a twit (speaking most of their songs and relying on the supporting cast) but they were stinkin' hilarious and I loved the make-up so I kind of had a love/hate relationship with them, but overall decided they were a good choice.

I actually don't feel like I want to see this movie again.  I'm glad I saw it once.  It was OK, but I'm going to stick with my Broadway CD.

{December Happenings}

Everything I do is for my family and the people in my life I care about.  I feel like I live to make them happy, see them smile, make their dreams come true.  It is satisfying for me and it is what drives me to do all the things I do.

Christmas is no exception.  Every year I start planning the next Christmas in January. 

It makes me feel good to know that others enjoy the things I do also.   I LOVE decorating for all holidays and especially Christmas.  I love when my older kids come home and say things like, "now it feels like Christmas!".

I love hearing my kids friends say how much they love to be in our home.  Trent has a new friend this year and the other day Kurke overheard him say to Trent that he really loves being in our house, especially at Christmastime, because his mom and dad do not decorate or bake and they didn't really even want to put up the tree this year, but being at our house made it feel like Christmas for him.   Wow.  It made me a bit sad for this sweet little boy, but also very happy that he could come to our home and be surrounded by Christmas!!

This year we had several events at our house during the month of December and it was soooooo fun for Kurke and I! We love sharing our home with our friends and ward family.  I am so grateful for a wonderful husband who is my dedicated partner in everything we do - we got the house ready together, many times this month! I know I can always count on him.

I got this new Santa face this year and I have to admit I love the traditional Santa and his big pink chubby cheeks!  He's sparkly too - And we all know about things that sparkle!!

We had the Relief Society Christmas party here and it was so much fun.  I loved the Theme "These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things...".  The RS ladies did such a wonderful job.  They are all so talented.  They had the cutest decor on the food table, their song was sooo fun (and they had blue satin ribbons on),  and they had a sweet little "brown paper package all tied up with string" as a gift for each one of us.

We all brought something that was our own "favorite thing" as a gift exchange item and it was wonderful to learn more about all the women who came and what they enjoy in life.  There was a lot of chocolate - ha ha.

 

Relief Society Christmas Party
Kurke took these panoramic photo's with his phone - Now that is a great feature. 
Whoooo Hoooooo!

 

~ ~ ~

 

The next party was our Bishopric Christmas party.  What a blast!

In the past we have always done a dinner with just the adults but this year we thought it would be fun to have all the families over for a night of fun.

 

It was so much fun to have a whole bunch over kids running all over our house and having a great time together, eating and joining in the games. 

 

We did a Snowman Relay and it was a crack up.  We had 5 teams and a pile of supplies including rolls of toilet paper, a variety of hats, mittens and other "decor".  We ended up with some pretty cute snowmen and snow women!  And it was harder than it looks to get that toilet paper "snow" around your snowperson. to stay on.

 

Socializing, cute kiddo's and, of course, Kurke found a baby and she is a cutie - Our friends new granddaughter - so sweet!

 

One of our FAVE - Minute To Win It - games is this one where you start with a cracker or cookie on your forehead and you have to be the first one to wiggle it down your face, using nothing but your face, and get it into your mouth in 1 minute.   Can I just say HIL-A-RIOUS every.single.time!!  These are the pictures to prove it!  And, oh man, the kids really got into this one too! 

 

Our winners included Trent Gray, Laura, both of the Weekes with Heather getting it in a record 7 seconds - WOW!

 

 

We played a few other games and we also decorated Gingerbread houses. 

I had such a great time making Gingerbread, eating gingerbread, and putting together the houses for about 10 days before the party.  I also made a bunch of Gingerbread men for the kids to decorate as well.  There was a house for each family, a bunch of frosting and candy.  I loved watching the teamwork and they turned out beautiful.

 

Overall I give this party a thumbs up and I can't wait to do Gingerbread again next year at some point.
We have such great families in our ward and I am so happy we can call them friends!

~~~

We had the youth over twice during the month once for a planning meeting for next years combined activities and then on another night the Young Women came over for a little party and the end of the year DVD.  I had so much fun putting that together and it seriously made me cry.  We have such wonderful Young Women and leaders and all the fun they had during the year, the service they gave was just great.  They ended up wanting to watch it 3 or 4 times. 

The night before they came over I decided to do another batch of gingerbread men so that I could wrap them and give them out to the girls.  I enlisted my families help for decorating.  Kevin and Katie were already home from school and Dad and Rache'l came over and along with Trent and his friend Austin, we all decorated cookies and had a ball.  I never knew my family was quite so creative but I did know they were funny.  We had the "ugly sweater cookie - hilarious" and the two headed gingerbread monster (Katie is holding those), and there is a close up of Dad's "swimmer".  Actually pretty clever to pull one leg off, turn it sideways to make it look like it was swimming and the swim cap is sooo cute - ha ha!   

The girls loved the cookies.  I had put them in a basket but they wanted to take them out and look at them all before they chose.  It was a fun night.

 

This is our picture from The Mall Game this year.  We were given some very unique hats - They definately were calling out for a picture :-D