Monday, November 17, 2008

Chaos, Chaos, Chaos

Caitlin perfoming with the LHS Pionettes at their dress rehearsal performance. Caitlin is 2nd row on the end! The really cute one!
Ouch! No pain no gain! Caitlin doing her thing at her drill performance. Caitlin is the end dancer on the front row. It is fun to watch her, she shines!
Caitlin....she is so cute and has such a great time performing with the drill team! Catilin is still on the end on the front row.


Hannah looking good! She is absolutely the most adorable and energetic cheerleader in her group. Mac's Gym had their annual "Friends & Family Night" performance this weekend.

Hannah with Grandma & Grandpa Thomas at her cheer performance! She was thrilled to have them attend so she could "shake it up" for them!




Why is life so chaotic? I think I increase the chaos in my life all by myself. If there is no stress or chaos or madness, I create it! It is how I accomplish things and stay productive, otherwise I would just sleep or something like clean my house. How boring is that?! Time has flown by, it is already the middle of November and Thanksgiving is next week! I love the upcoming holiday season, it is my most favorite time of the year. Thanksgiving is a time for family and remembering our blessings and being together. Christmas is family and just pure magic. A time to reflect on our Savior and his life and example and improve ours. A time to enjoy the magic of the holiday and watch the children delight in it. I am so grateful for my beautiful family and for the joy it brings to me when they feel the magic of the season.

We have been so busy the last couple of weeks. Courtney got a job at Rue 21, a clothing store that is close to home and pays pretty good. Now, if she can save her paycheck instead of buy more clothes with her "killer" discount. Caitlin is her usual busy self, she received her first report card of the school year and she managed to maintain her 4.0 GPA. Good job! She had a performance for friends and family last week with the drill team. They looked good and almost ready for the upcoming competition season. Hannah had her "Friends & Family Night" with Mac's, her cheer gym. She has been ready for weeks and so excited to show off her team's competition number. She looked great and so did they team. They pulled of every stunt flawlessly and looked so sharp and energetic. She did a beautiful tumbling pass with her "high" back handsprings. I worry, she flies across the floor mat because she is tumbling with speed and height. She says she needs the height in order to do a triple! Nonetheless, she was so cute and smiley and thrilled to have her grandparents attend just to watch her show off her "stuff."

It was the annual Sadie Hawkins dance at the high school. Courtney had a great time with her date. She and her friends planned a great and fun time. There were about 20 couples in her group. They had a "paint" war planned prior to the dance and then they went directly to dinner and the dance, all covered in the paint. What a mess! They had paint ball wars, paint ball balloons to throw at one another, paint filled squirt guns to battle with and simply painted one another with brushes. Each couple wore a matching set of sweats and then they put on shower caps with safety goggles. Unfortunately, Courtney got into the paint war prior to putting on her shower cap. She had lots of ammunition in her hair before she got on her protective cap. We spent all night last night getting blue and red and yellow paint out of her hair. I think we will have to get it cut to help eliminate the damage, but it was all worth it, she had a great time! The dance theme was "Survivor Jungle," they looked the part in the paint covered clothes. Including the smell, they stunk all night long. Caitlin attended the dance, dateless, oh the humiliation, because the drill team was in charge of the dance. She had to decorate, help with treats at the dance and then tear down the decorations afterwards and clean up. It is not fun when you have to wait until your 16th birthday to date....she has the "meanest" parents ever! But she still had fun and got to dance with Courtney's group as long as she could stand being with them....they were all really STINKY!

So much to do before Christmas arrives...anyone willing to shop, decorate, bake, wrap and/or plan festivities for me is invited! I am willing to negotiate just about anything! "It's the most wonderful time of the year......" it truly is!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Thomas Family. Everyone had a great time! The parade at Lehi Elementary school was fun...for me and the kids. I love seeing all the fun and original costumes. There are some very creative super moms out there who make some incredible costumes. The kids love walking up and down the halls, showcasing their costumes. The older girls wore their costumes to school. Caitlin had to dance "Thriller" for the student body at the school's assembly. She was the Zombie, creature, dead thing all day and all night long. She is so cute in her black tutu and striped socks. Courtney went as "Hannah Montana" to school. She looked just like her, except more beautiful! She could not endure the hot and long blond locks anymore so she dissed the Hannah Montana look for Hermione, her most favorite Harry Potter character, to enjoy the eve's events. She had to rummage through the costume box to find something that worked...I guess Hermione did! We went to the church party and "trunk-or-treat" (the congregation members park their cars in the parking lot and open their trunks for the kids to walk by and get the treats). The older girls had a party at the Zunkowski home and Hannah went trick-or-treating with her friends. Bowen went to a few houses in the neighborhood and was very content to watch "scary" movies with mom and give out candy to the kids.

The pumpkins were carved the night before Halloween and Bowen and Hannah did such a great job. They turned out so cute! We ate taco soup with chips and snacked on donuts and candy all night. My favorite costume was a little two year old guy dressed as "R2D2" or "R2R2" as he called himself. He could barely walk, but well worth the sacrifice to score the treats! The weather was so perfect, light sprinkles of rain and warmer temperatures. No snow or wind or hail or sleet. The kids did not have to cover their costumes with heavy parkas, they were able to show off their pretties this year!

I was a pirate...longing to find Orlando Bloom or Johnny Depp, but my ultimate Eric finally arrived after the state playoff football game. The Vikings beat Brighton and are off to the quarter finals this Friday...so joyous was the event that Eric was a football coach all night for Halloween! Hope your holiday was scary and fun!

Hannah & Tongue at the Halloween Parade!


Bowen at the school's Halloween Parade!


Hannah Montana Courtney Who?!


Hannah as the Queen of the Nile....Cleopatra never looked so good!


Ooooh, Bowen is so adorable....he is giving serious competition to Harrison Ford.


"Aaargh"....the pirate mom is ready for Halloween fun!


Hermione (Harry Potter), Zombie, Indiana Jones & Cleopatra all ready for the Halloween Eve's events!