Christmas with Family

The Olsen cousins



The Neus cousins


We had a great Christmas again this year! We are so thankful for family and that everyone lives so close! We spent Christmas Eve at the Olsen's. It's been a family tradition for years to meet at grandma & grandpa Olsen's house for a Mexican dinner, acting out the Nativity with cousins, and opening 1 present. On Christmas morning, after opening presents under our tree, we headed over to great-grandma Peterson's house for breakfast. We get to visit with extended family that we don't see too often (with this past year being the exception because of 3 funerals in our family). After breakfast we headed back home to play for an hour or two before heading over to the Neus family party. Again we get to spend time with cousins, eat, and open presents. Fun! Then we wound up the day back at my parent's house for dinner and opening the last of the gifts. It was completely exhausting - but so much fun!

Merry Christmas!

I've gotten a little behind on posting to my blog this past month! We've been soooo busy! Things are slowing down a little now that school is out, the Nutcracker is done, and we're taking a break from dance for 2 weeks. I finally was able to catch up on my laundry, all of the beds are made in the house, and the house has been dusted and vacuumed from top to bottom. Hooray! Now Santa can come!

We had our Christmas Performance at AZ Desert Dance last Saturday. I had all 5 of my kids dancing this year. It was pretty cool! I love our Christmas show - especially the Nativity for the finale. It always gets me teary eyed! It's nice to be reminded of why we celebrate this season.

I sent Hunter over to my grandma Peterson's house today to help her get ready for Christmas breakfast. I'm so glad that he gets to spend time helping his great-grandma. It's good for him. It's good for me, also. (For some reason our house is always quieter with the boy away!)

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

Gingerbread Houses

The girls had fun decorating Gingerbread Houses this year! (Hunter didn't want any part of it.) It was a great time (ha! ha!) and my counters are still sticky! We're making memories to last a lifetime! (Isn't that why we do these things?) I hope you noticed how white trash my kids look in these photos. School's out so why would we need to change our clothes or brush our hair?

Chloe's haircut

Chloe donate 10 inches of hair for Christmas to Locks of Love. Isn't she just the cutest thing!?

Mom's 60 Birthday

We had a surprise 60th birthday party for my mom a few weeks ago. We were so glad that so many of her old friends were able to come! It was nice seeing everybody. She was truly surprised and that made it even better! I wish I had the time or was creative enough to list 60 of my favorite things about my mom. Sorry!! But she is great and I love her a lot! I hope I'm as great as she is when I'm 60!!

Sommer's Personal Narrative

My Cousin Matthew - by Sommer Neus

My baby cousin Matthew has a hard life right now. He was fine when he was born but then things went wrong.

When he was born I was so happy! I couldn't wait to see him. My mom went to see him the day he was born. My mom took some pictures and showed me them. He has reddish brown hair and is very tiny.

The day I heard he was in the hospital I couldn't believe what I heard. My aunt told the doctor that he wouldn't eat at all. When Matthew had trouble breathing everyone was worried. The doctors quickly put him on a breathing tube.

When my aunt told the family he had a virus my mom asked her what the virus was called and she said Meningitis. The doctor said it was very dangerous and could be deadly.

A few days later when I came home from school my mom gave me some good news. She said that when she went to see him in the hospital he was moving and kicking. The sound that he was moving was the best news since Matthew was in the hospital. She also told me that he didn't need a breathing tube.

My cousin is getting better and better each day and I hope he will get out of the hospital soon.

Nutcracker

It's that time of year again! Sommer, Sydney & Chloe are all in the Nutcracker this year. They have been rehearsing since the end of September and are excited to perform for the next 4 weeks! Sommer & Sydney weren't double casted this year and have to be at all 17 performances. Luckily for Chole, she only has to be at half of those!

Sommer is the "Drummer". She asked me if she should smile on stage or not. I told her, "Of course"! Then she told me that she dies from being stabbed by a giant rat. We decided that smiling wasn't appropriate this time.

Sydney is the "Gingerbread Cookie". She is a crack-up in that suit! She can only move sideways because it's so bulky and awkward. So the whole time she's just hopping around the stage sideways until she gets her arm torn off by a baby mouse. It's quite comical! All of those ballet lessons finally paid off for her - it takes a great dancer to hop around the stage in a cookie costume!

Chloe is a "Doll". She is the Chinese doll. She gets to wear pants and mom is very happy about that because I don't have to worry about runs in her tights since her legs are covered. She is on stage when the cannon goes off and it scares her every time! That's her biggest worry - the loud boom! She does a great job and is constantly smiling!

It's been a lot of fun for the girls to be able to perform in such a great show! This week they're at the Chandler Center for the Arts and after that they will be at the Mesa Arts Center until Christmas. If you go, be sure to look for that Gingerbread Cookie - it won't disappoint!!

Twilight

Daena, Mom, Kristen & Me waiting for the movie to start!


Kristen & Me (notice my big Diet Coke - I drank it all - then had to go to the bathroom during the baseball scene!)



Yes, they are all ditchers! Sydney, Hunter, Sommer & Ivy


Well I just couldn't resist seeing this movie after I had read every book in the series (in record time). The twins & Ivy have also read Twilight. So we decided to head over to Harkins on the Friday morning it was released. The kids wanted to go to the midnight showing but we talked them out of that!! My mom actually got a substitute for her kindergarten class - which is something very rare. We all had a great time!! (I am soooo glad I didn't bring Brian along. He wouldn't have like this movie at all - and I would have heard about that for weeks and weeks.)

Gilbert Days Parade

Sommer


Sommer, Sydney, mom, Chloe, Sawyer & Lauryn - Yee Ha!



Getting drinks after the long parade!

Lunch at Oregano's! (Notice my 52 oz. Diet Coke in the picture. Yes, I did drink all of it myself!)

Our dance company marched in the Gilbert Days Parade this year. What fun! We had a great time and were able to bring Sawyer along with us. Her mom and dad have been at the hospital for about a week now with their sweet baby, Matthew, and it was our turn to have Sawyer stay with us. We met grandma and grandpa Olsen after the parade at Oregano's for lunch. Yummy!

Halloween 2008

One of the master classes - taught by Gus Giordano's daughter. Super fun - jazz dancing the way I remember it!


We brought 30 dancers (holy cow!). This picture was taken after the Friday night show.



Me, Leah, and Amanda (one of our dancers) enjoying some yummy food at the Macaroni Grill!


Of course, there aren't any pictures of my children in this post. That would be for the simple fact that I wasn't with my kids this year for Halloween. I had every intention of being a great mommy and taking them trick-or-treating. I even had a dinner planned and family invited over. But the night before Halloween I received a phone call from one of the teachers I work with who informed me that she had fallen down some stairs. She hurt her knee and couldn't attend the U of A Dance Workshop and asked me to go in her place. Of course, I was conflicted. I had chosen not to attend the workshop this year due to the fact that it was over Halloween. Also due to the fact that Sommer and Sydney technically could go - but are still a little young in my opinion - and I didn't want to take them. (Waste of money, mostly. And they wouldn't appreciate it. And would probably complain that it was too hard. And complain about being tired. And hungry. And wanting me to buy them souvenirs.) So I had chosen not to go. Next year I told them.

But anyway, I was given this awesome chance to go and decided that I should. I'm glad I did. It was so nice to be able to be "me" again - for 3 whole days. I took a ton of classes. I learned a lot. I was able to get to know some of the girls I didn't know too well. (I had to room with 3 of them). I got to hang out with some of the moms that came up with their girls. I was able to laugh and dance and push my body to move in ways it hasn't in quite a few years. I was reminded that I am in fact, 37. My brain doesn't work the same as it did when I was younger. But I had such a great time! Next year I'll take Sommer and Sydney. They'll have fun! And I did miss them!

You Gonna Eat All That?

I love that my kids can now feed themselves. I think it's great that my baby, Lauryn, can pour herself a bowl of cereal. It really makes my mornings a little less stressful. Sometimes. This is what I found Lauryn eating for breakfast this morning. She couldn't reach the small bowls so she got this Tupperware bowl out from one of our lower cupboards. It worked. Good thing milk is on sale this week!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

This is the newest Neus! My sister-in-law, Carrie, had this sweet little boy this morning. They named him Matthew Evans Neus. He has a full head of hair - something my babies never were born with! We're so happy to have another boy in our family. So far we've got 11 girls and 5 boys. That only leaves 6 more boys and we'll be even. (You'd better get on that, Michael and Sandi!) And whatever - dosen't Carrie look great for just going through 14 hours of labor? We love you guys!!

Today was also my dad's birthday! I met him and my two brothers, Ryan and Kyle for lunch at Oregano's. David and Todd dogged us. Something about having to work. I wouldn't know about that. Anyway, we had a great time! It's always fun when Ryan's buying lunch. Happy birthday, dad! You're the best! I love you!

Happy Halloween!

This is definitely one of my all-time favorite dance classes! I would rather not teach combo classes- it's much more fun teaching older girls. But these girls all started with me at the age of 2 and have continued on with me again this year. They are such cuties! We decided to wear our Halloween costumes to class tonight. Fun, fun, fun!

Kaylee, Sommer, Noelle, and Sydney went to a party last Friday night. It's hard to believe my girls are old enough to go to parties! They had fun - but called me to come get them at 9:15. They didn't want to stay to 10:30. Instead they all came over and had a fun sleep over at our house. We ended up going out on Saturday morning to a few garage sales in the neighborhood. They all found some cute clothes at bargain prices! It's so nice that they have such great friends!

7 Random Facts About ME!

Okay - so Kristen tagged me. This is the first time I've been tagged and it's for 7 random facts about myself! Get ready - these are going to be GOOD! (Not really.)

1. I love licorice. Twizzlers. I'm addicted. And M&M's.

2. My favorite time of day is 9:00 P.M. That's when my house is quite. It's me time. Usually me and Brian time. The kids can't come into my room after 9:00 unless they're sick. I am officially Lainie - not mom. It's great!

3. I still can't believe that I'm a mom to 4 girls. It's just weird. And twins.

4. I can't stand the sound of ice "clinking" in a glass.

5. I can do the splits. And a cartwheel.

6. I was a Sign Language Interpreter and can still sign a little.

7. When I grew up I wanted to be a mom and a dance teacher. Really.

I tag Kristen Neus, Katie, Carrie, Ivy, Courtney, Nicole & Julie

Fall Break

For fall break this year I packed the kids up and headed up north to Brian's parents house in Eagar. We spent the week riding horses, riding quads, reading books, playing games, doing puzzles, watching movies and generally just being lazy. We took up two friends, Bethany and Ashlee Williams, and had such a great time! My sister-in-law also took her kids up and stayed with her parents. We were able to spend time with her boys, also! We really love spending time up at Tom and Sue's house. Life moves a lot slower up there - and it's great not to have to rush around. I forgot my camera, which is probably a good thing! We tend to migrate to our "white trash" side when we're up there. I don't fuss with the kids clothes or hair. They do get a daily bath - but that's about it as far as grooming goes. Lauryn looked like an orphan most of the time. I was nice to get home though, we missed Brian!

We came home on Friday because the girls had a rehearsal on Friday night for the State Fair. We spent a few hours on Saturday in lovely Phoenix, Arizona. It's always fun to perform at the State Fair. I have fond memories of dancing there! Everything went great with the exception of one of Chloe's costumes. I forgot to pack the leotard that goes with one of her costumes. She was crying - upset. And it was all my fault. Anyway, we found a hot pink cami that we thought would be a great match. It was. The only problem (which I figured out as she was on stage) was that there was no "bottom" to this hot pink cami. She had a short little skirt covering her bum, but it really didn't help. Every time she moved we got a flash of her cute bum (which was covered by tan tights and a pair of fishnet stockings). It was pretty bad. I couldn't stop cracking up. And every time she looked over at me all I could do was give her the "thumbs up" sign. What a trooper! One day she will laugh, too.

So You Think You Can Dance Tour

Two of my dancers, Topaz and Felicia, sat right below us!


Mom, me, and Kristen getting ready for a great show! (What's up with mom holding onto her purse like that? We were in a locked suite with four other people and she still couldn't let go of it!)

Chloe, Kaylee (one of my dancers) and Lauryn.

We were able to go see "So You Think You Can Dance" at the Glendale Arena. It was such an awesome show! We never missed a show all season and were so excited to be able to see our favorite dancers perform live! They didn't disappoint! Unfortunately, Sommer and Sydney were away at Science Camp and couldn't come with us! Maybe next year, girls!!

Science Camp

Sommer and Sydney headed off to Science Camp for 3 days! Wow - do I miss those girls! We dropped them off at the school yesterday morning at 5:30. They were soooo excited to go! I don't think they slept much the night before - and they were up at 4:00 in the morning to "get ready". I'm not sure what they needed 1 1/2 hours to "get ready" for, because they've been packed since Saturday. I hope they're having a great time and can't wait to see them tomorrow!

Ouch!

Sommer fractured her toe this past week! Our school had a "Reading Under the Stars" night and Sommer had to be there for Student Council. When they were cleaning up, a table fell on her foot and broke her middle toe. This is not exactly what Sommer needs at the moment. She just got an acceptance letter to dance in the Nutcracker again this year - with practices starting this weekend. And she has just begun her pointe classes (which she absolutely loves). She will have to stay off of it for at least a couple of weeks. We will go to see an orthopedic doctor next week and find out exactly what we need to do. There really isn't much of anything they can do for broken toes. She has to wear a little "boot" and stay off of it as much as she can. But other than that it just has to heal itself.

Sommer has gotten a concussion at school, dislocated her knee at school, and now we can add a broken toe to her list of injuries from school. And she's only half way to graduation!

Migraines

This has been how I've felt the past 2 1/2 days. I had an early appointment with my doctor this morning for some new meds and hopefully I'll get past this insanity!! My house is completely thrashed and I look like death warmed over. I can't stand to be sick - especially with a headache!

Fantasy Football

It's time for Fantasy Football! I love this time of the year! For those of you who don't know - I have four brothers. I grew up basically the only girl in a house full of boys. (My little sister didn't join our family until I was 13.) It was so great to be included in the backyard baseball games, boxing matches, basketball games in the driveway and soccer matches played at the elementary school. Now I'm lucky to have awesome brothers who include me in their Fantasy Football League! I've done okay for the past few years - but this year I'm gonna cream them all! Watch out, boys!

Darn Cat!

Looks like Chloe has some of my genes after all - the great "allergic to cats" gene. She spent the night with one of her friends and came back to me looking like this. I thought somebody had punched her in the eye. We figured out it must've been the 3 cats they have in their house. Thank heaven for Zyrtec!

Curls

I love Lauryn's curls! Everyone asks me where she got them from. Me. I hope she loves those curls as much as I do! What a cutie!!

Mac-N-Cheese

For those of you who don't already know this - Hunter is a very picky eater. Thankfully, he does like to cook for himself. Mac-N-Cheese and scrambled eggs are his specialties. Oh, and toast. I usually don't let the kids have options at dinner time. They eat what the family is eating or they go to bed hungry. (I know, pretty mean, huh?) Well I gave into Hunter's pleadings for "yellow death" last night and let him cook for himself. This is what it looked like. Yummy!!

17 years!

Brian and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary this weekend. It's so hard to believe it's been so long! I couldn't have married a better person. Brian is so awesome and such a great friend to have! I can't imagine life without him and I can't wait to see what the next 17 years bring!! I love you, Brian!!

Jesse McCartney & Jordin Sparks

The girls, my mom, and I went to see Jesse McCartney & Jordin Sparks in concert last night. What a blast! Chloe was on her feet for the entire concert. At one point Jesse McCartney pointed up in our direction and Chloe seriously thought he was talking to her. I could've died laughing! I love the picture I caught of all three girls in synchronization dancing along with Jordin Sparks! They loved it when she sang her song "Tattoo". What a fun night!

1st day of school!! (YEAH!)

We thought kindergarten would be fun! It's been fun for the last 4 kids we've sent! Apparently Lauryn has some attachment to Brian and I and she was not too excited to leave us just yet! The school didn't call for us to come pick her up so hopefully she's been okay. I'll find out in another hour!

So everybody has asked me what I'm going to do with all the time on my hands now that all my kids are in school. If you can think of something to keep me busy - let me know. I'm planning on napping, going out to lunch every day, watching Days of Our Lives and shopping. Something like that.