Side By Side!

January 11th marked me and Darren's 17th anniversary! I surprised him by planning a special weekend get away, and he surprised me by taking Monday off so we could have the day together! As I reflected on the past 17 years--the moves, the births, the deaths, the smiles, the tears, the worries--all of it--I was reminded of some words of advice given to us on our wedding day! The words come from a song--and the song starts--"oh, we ain't got a barrel of money" (nope, I checked and there is definitly not a barrell of money hidden in the basement!) "maybe we're ragged and funny"(yep--I'm ragged, and Darren is funny!) "But we travel along, singin' a song--SIDE BY SIDE!! Don't know what's comin' tomarrow, maybe it's trouble and sorrow" (sometimes it's a broken car, sometimes it's a nurse telling us there are TWO babies, sometimes it's just an ordinary day!) But we'll travel the road, sharin' the load--SIDE BY SIDE!" What a great adventure we have been given--these past 17 years that have become our life together! As we sat side by side in the temple last night I realized I was in my absolute favorite place with my absolute favorite person. So whatever lies ahead we will meet it together--hand in hand--side by side!

My top 10 list for the 2008 Holiday Season--

10. Being off of work for 17 days, and having Darren home for 10 days in a row!
9. Laughing at my kids as they tried to be "secret" elves!
8. Snow, Snow, and more Snow!!!
7. Reaching our family goal to finish the Book of Mormon this year!
6. Our Colorado family filling our house with joy and laughs!
5. Fighting the crowds and the snow with Alex as we shopped on Chirstmas Eve!!
4. Mario Cart---I think I may need help--I am addicted!
3. The Vegas Bowl-despite the loss, we had a great time with great friends!
2. Alex reading " The Last Straw"--it's cute to see a 16 year old boy tear up at a good Christmas story!
1. My mom suprising us with a Christmas visit! Thanks for the memories mom!! We love you!

A Birthday Surprise--Sort of!!

My sweet husband made some secret plans to take me to " The Roof" restaurant for my birthday. The restaurant has spectacular views of temple square in Salt Lake. We had a great time, even though I spoiled the surprise! Darren hates that he can't ever keep anything from me! We felt like such adults--we had to dress up and make reservations and everything!! Our great friends Ryan and Kristie came with us. I ate so many shrimp I thought I might start turning pink!! Yum, Yum!! Thanks babe, for a great birthday celebration!

A Birthday Surrounded By Good Friends!

Our women's church group, put on a program about the ten virgins for our Christmas program. The performance happened to fall on my birthday, but it was such a treat to spend the evening with such great and talented women!! Happy Birthday to me--even if I was a "foolish" virgin!!

An Attitude of Gratitude!

Most of you who know me, know I work at our local elementary school. Most of you who know me, also know I do not mind working, but of course I would rather be home. Well the absolute best thing about my job (besides the children) is the people I work with. I have been able to meet so many wonderful people, and I am so honored to count them among my friends. Well one of these wonderful people issued a challenge on her blog--a thankfulness challenge! This is something we probably all think about when November rolls around and then are sorry we did not do anything about when December comes! She is posting one thing she is grateful for on her blog every day for the month of November. Of course you don't have to post it, you could write it in your journal, or on a post it, or in toothpaste on your mirror if you want!! I chose to post mine, because I want my children to see the things I am most grateful for. I am really going to try and individualize mine--hence the first thing on my list!! Have fun with this--and Happy Thanksgiving! Nov.26 I am thankful for "wise" and "foolish" friends!

Cassidy's Cheer Competition! Her Team Did Not Place, But I Have Never Seen Cass Look Like She Was Having So Much Fun! She Looked Great!!

The Only Thing Scarier Than Halloween--Is Halloween at an Elementary School!!

The Office Staff Thought We Would Dress Up Like Our Second Job!! For Every Phone Call We Answer We Put On At Least One Band-aid!!

What Do You Get When You Cross a BYU Cheerleader, a Ninja, And a Big Fat Baby? Halloween at the Forsyth's!

We're In The Play-Offs!!

Wednesday night could have been Connor's last game of the season, but after double overtime his team won the fight and made it to Play-offs!! Connor had three touchdowns, the last one being in the second overtime--which tied the game up again!! Barker saved the day and scored the extra point which kept us from triple overtime!! That is the first time I have seen Connor cry because he was happy! When I tucked Connor in that night he told me that when he thought they might loose he started to look forward to getting his life back, ( I can relate!) but is way excited to go to play-offs!! He ended the official season with 17 touchdowns in 8 games, and mom ended the official season with a sore throat from screaming, and high blood pressure from double overtime!!! WAY TO GO SPARTANS!!!

Opening Day Gift

Written by :Alex Forsyth
This year Alex drew a deer tag for the central region of Utah. He had the opportunity to go hunting with his dad and grandpa. They went on the mountain above Alpine to see if they could see any bucks and not do a lot of hiking, well it ended up being a lot of hiking. Well they hunted for a good 3 hours and weren't seeing anything, but Alex wanted to go over one more ridge and see if there were any deer. Well to their dismay they didn't see anything, however on the way down they heard something on the bottom of a canyon and hurried to get into position in case there was a buck. Tim (Alex's grandpa) saw this buck first and declared it a big one so without hesitation Alex dropped onto one knee and shot him. The buck took only a few steps. It was a good experience to hunt with his grandpa and dad and couldn't be happier with this buck. "momma always said life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get"
-Forrest Gump

Putting Down Roots!

This month has marked the longest we have ever lived in one place! It is so exciting to finally have a tree in our yard big enough to actually have leaves that will change color in the fall! Someday this tree is going to be really big, and I will have swings hanging from either side for my grandkids to swing from! Watching this tree grow and thinking about the time we have spent in this home has left me feeling so grateful. I love when I go to church I can look at so many different people, and remember serving with them in one calling or another--I love that the neighborhood kids I worked with when they were in kindergarten still remember me even though they are in 3rd grade now! I love that my kids get mad when we go to Smiths because I always see someone I know, and have to stop to talk! I love that I remember Candace Gibby's ( our neighbor) 13th birthday party, because her and her friends kept us up all night--and now she is a Sr. in high school! I love that when we moved here Alex was still in Primary and now I watch him bless the sacrament on Sunday! I am not usually one to like change--but I guess I do not mind things changing, as long as I have some constants around me--like friendships, and memories, and children and trees growing up!

Game Day!!

The long awaited day finally dawned!! Our first game as a family!! All week forecasters had been predicting snow and rain and COLD!!! I kept the faith and knew we would witness a miracle--and for once I WAS RIGHT!! It was on the cold side, but who notices that when you are on your feet cheering the whole time!! It was so fun to see the wonder in our children's eyes!! A BYU game, and we were actually there!!!

The Day May Have Been Cold--But Our BYU Spirit Kept Us Warm!

Oh--What A Sight!!

Final Score!

Our First Sleepover With Noah!

My sister finally decided to let us begin to pay her back for all the times she has helped with my kids over the years!! We got to keep Noah overnight so her and Troy could get away for Troy's birthday! We had so much fun--except I did not know what to do when I needed to get in the shower--how I ever handled two babies is totally beyond me!! Here is a look at all the things Noah helped me with throughout the day!!!!

The Gate Will Not Stop Him From Getting Down Those Stairs!!

Noah Is Such A Big Helper--He Helped Me With The Laundry!

He Helped Me With The Dishes!

We Even Did A Little Grocery Shopping!

All Good Things Must Come To An End!

Thursday night Connor's football team had their first lost of the season! Connor had two touchdowns--one of which was called back because of a penalty--but for some reason his team just was not playing like the Saratoga Spartans we have been watching all season! Because of their 5-0 record up to that point-they are guaranteed a spot in the play off's! It was a hard night for Connor--but Darren said he thought it was an even harder night for me!!! At least BYU had a victory on Friday--it wasn't the shut-out I wanted, and they did not play like they should have--but a win is a win, and we will take it gratefully!