For those of you who know me well know I have never been a fan of country music. It gives me a headache. It has since I was little ...country music = big headache. HOT Sun blaring through my window + country music = Migraine. (j/k I don't get migraines but feel like this would cause one). I am not a fan of the whininess, twanginess, or drawls BUT one show has caught my attention..

Get ready for this...they have Dee Snider, Carni Wilson, Julio Igelesias Jr., Diana DeGarmo (of american idol fame), Sisqo (if you know thong song -you know him), Maureen McCormick (yes apparently Marcia Brady can sing) and get ready for this......BOBBY BROWN!!!! All vying to be the next big COUNTRY music star...there, I said and you heard me..COUNTRY music star. Okay. All I had to hear was Bobby Brown and I am all ears. He is a train wreck. Though I do have a soft spot for him cuz I was known to bust a move or sing along to "Every Little Step" or "My Preogative", and who doesn't love a little "Tender Roni". Am I right ladies?

The DVR is set to record and this our new late night entertainment. They aired the premier last Friday and Carter and I are hooked. These stars have to transform themselves into a country music singer.. I mean write their own songs,play the guitar, work on the farm, etc. The guy who teaches and judges them is John Rich. I don't know who this man is but apparently he is big in the country music world...big enough that he wears fur coats all the time. (pimp daddy) Anyway, we were laughing and are intrigued by the concept. I guess their goal is to reach a more diverse audience. I have a feeling we are in for some good laughs.

p.s. I know there are some of you out there that love country music so I apologize if I offended any of you, but we embrace each others differences, right? :)

Our beloved prophet Gordon B. Hinckley passed away last night January 27th at 7:00pm. He was 97 years old. He is one of my favorite prophets because of his wit and sense of humor. I love anyone who can laugh at themselves and find humor in all situations of life. He had that gift and shared it not only with the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints but with the world. He was a man of God and shared his love of God and will to do good for all people in all lands. He was respected and loved by everyone who met him. I have had the quote "In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured" on my blog because it reminds me to enjoy and savor every moment of life, the good and the bad. He seemed to do that. He was full of humility and grace and accomplished so much by dedicating his life to the Lord.

When we heard the news my heart sank a little and the mood at the house was somber. We heard the news around 7:45pm last night. We were at my parents for Sunday dinner and a neighbor called and told us to turn on the TV because President Hinckley had passed away. We quickly turned it on but could not find any information. Carter searched the internet and there was not any reports yet. Shortly after, there was a break in the programming announcing that indeed President Hinckley had passed away. I grabbed my cell phone and started calling our family that lives out of state. It seems at that very moment other LDS families had the very same idea. It literally took 5-10 trys dialing the number before I could make the connection because all circuits were busy. I was even trying on two phones to see which one would pick up the signal first. It truly shows how many people loved him and were touched by his life.

It is quite the winter storm outside my window today. I love to watch the snow fall and love the quiteness the it brings. It has given me time to sit and reflect upon what I can do to be more Christ-like and to bless the lives of others. I feel so grateful to be a member of the LDS church and for countless blessings I have received because of it. Today, I sat with my two younger ones and watched an interview he gave in 2003. The reporter asked what advice he would give to the youth. He responded " Hang in there and stand by your ideals. Fight for the good and live the right way, shun the evil it won't lead anywhere. Your future lies in the living the values that have been proven through centuries of time. If they will cling to those values, the values of their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, they will be happy and their lives will be productive." What great advice. After hearing him say this Kennedy ran up and hugged the TV and said he is my favorite prophet. What a touching moment.

I know his life has touched many. Last night, Carter and I stayed up late watching the news coverage and seeing how the young people gathered at Temple Square and at his apt building singing hymns as a memorial to him. Students at BYU gathered at the building that bears his name (the Alumni building) to sing and reflect on his life. This continues today as most college and high school students are wearing their sunday best to school today in honor of him. What a great and exemplary man he was. We love you President Hinckley.

These are some of my best girlfriends from my old neighborhood up North. We decided to hold our annual gift card exchange after the holidays this year. We were missing a few of them (sigh) but carried on just the four of us. I must say it will go down as one of my favorite nights together. Let me premise these pics by saying that this little gathering didn't even get started until 10pm. After munching on appetizers of all sorts we broke out Guitar Hero. After an hour of playing we found that Kara is up and coming, Chels is still a newbie,I still need practice, and Stephanie rocks !!! (Chels was able to capture some of her moves, she takes it seriously..don't mess with her. j/k Steph we love you!)





After Guitar Hero we decided singing a little HSM would make us happy. Here is Steph explaining how to choose characters and Chelsea is warming up the mic.

Chels could not resist mimicking the sweet HSM moves while Steph belted it out on the mic. She was quite good and could not understand why she was not rated an A++!!We became sillier and sillier as the night went on. Sidenote Chels- you know they are filming HSM 3 here soon maybe you could be a backup dancer?? Just a thought.

As it was now 2am and we were beyond silly, Kara really wanted help on how to shake her booty Beyonce style.


Chelsea was more than happy to share her vast knowledge of the Hip Hop Abs dance moves and now I am seriously contemplating buying that workout. ;) Impressive.



We ended the night by trying out my self-timer on my camera and showing that we all are truly Guitar Heros!! (however, i did discover that i need help in pulling a rocker face...just not quite what i had thought it would be) Thanks girls for a memorable night!!

Baptism

The first weekend in January Alex had the opportunity to be baptized. I could hardly believe the day had finally arrived. It seemed as if it were yesterday that I had her as an infant in my arms. I remember thinking what a precious and valiant spirit she was and could hardly believe that I was chosen to be her mother. Now that she is eight she is turning into such a beautiful young lady. She radiated with beauty as she entered the waters of baptism. She was baptized and confirmed by her dad. It was an emotional day for me. I was reflecting on my own baptism and all the blessings and joy I have experience due to that one decision; and realizing that my little girl is growing up and growing up in a blink of an eye. She is such a good girl..obedient, kind, respectful, smart, responsible..I couldn't ask for more. Maybe that's why I get so emotional thinking that she will not be my little girl forever. I want to enjoy every little moment I have with her because I am finding that time passes faster with every year that goes by.

The baptism program was presented by the stake with a talk about baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost and taking on the Savior's name as we do our own. After the confirmation Grandpa Larry gave a talk on the Fourth Article of Faith which is "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost" and he explained to Alex that these are the steps we take when we decide to commit to living a Christ-like life. Mykee & Alex then sang the song "When I am Baptized", Carter bore his testimony and then Mykee sang "I Know My Father Lives". It was a day that I will always treasure. Thank you to all our family and friends that traveled out that snowy day to take part in a milestone she will always remember. We love you!

Dove Commerical

One of my dear friends from Arizona entered the Dove Cream Oil Body Wash Commercial contest. Copy and paste the link below and be sure to then RATE it 5 stars, so she can win! You can also leave comments for her too. Best of luck Melissa!! Did I mention she is the mother to triplets?? What a woman!

http://dovecreamoil.msn.com/Gallery.aspx?pID=253404

New Years Day

The past two years for New Years Day we have gone to Soldiers Hollow with some of our neighbors to tube. It is a blast!! You just grab your tube and they tote you up the hill..no climbing necessary.








Syd found entertainment in fastening herself to the chair in the lodge. :)

Snowboarding

We love to snowboard though we don't get to go as often as we would like. This year Bryton wanted to learn so he and Carter hit the slopes. Bryton used my board and I asked him if he cared that it was pink...his reply "Pink is the new Black". LOL. He is such a cute boy and of course he did awesome (all the skateboarding comes in handy)!!! He picked it up rather quickly and made his dad so proud!


In just four runs he had it down...take a look

New Years

We had a great New Years..Carter and I met 10 years ago on that very night so we wanted to celebrate! We left early in the evening w/ Marni & Landon (sorry Marni the pic I took turned out blurry) to go out to dinner and movie then joined all the kids and Hezzie and Joe back at our house to play with them and bring in the new year together! It was alot of fun, complete with fireworks and all!

When we were leaving the movie theater Carter ducked down behind this movie poster to make me laugh. Mission accomplished.

The Claw

All the little ones gathered round for Bryton to get them a piece of candy with the claw.

Christmas Again

This time for Bryton & Mykee. They came up for their week visit last week. We miss them so much already.

Carter found this gift especially for Bryton. Since he was a little kid he has loved the claw machines whether it be at the grocery store, walmart, or del taco he wanted coins to play it. He is actually really good at it and won a Strawberry Shortcake doll for Kennedy. Carter saw this at the store and knew who needed it. I love this pic of him laughing. He was more anxious to rip that open and start using it than he was the video camera we gave him. :)


Mykee loves Aeropostale ...between both families I think she ended up with 10-12 shirts. Everything Aeropostale. :)


She was also excited to get this MP4 player. Carter loaded videos of her sledding and the production she and alex starred in a few years ago "A Cold Christmas". I might need to blog that one. :)

Christmas!!

It was all they wanted it to be!! So fun!

Family Christmas Party

We get together with all the Forsey's the Sunday before Christmas. We eat lots of great food, Santa pays a visit and we have a white elephant exchange. This year I think Carter was most excited about the white elephant gift he received. See video below. :)
Janae & Steve

Syd loving all the food!

Papa & Kenny

Alex and her moose ears

Carter enjoying his white elephant gift!