Cookies, Cookies and more COOKIES!!!

For Valentines day the kids gave cookies out to everyone in thier classes instead of candy....it was fun and a good idea, but it took awhile and thank goodness Grandma Hoskins snatched up little Mara from us to save my sanity. I love sugar cookies but making them can be a real Pain!!!

HaPpY vAlEnTiNeS DaY

We had such a fun Valentines Day this year!!! The kids got new Valentines shirts from Grandma Dede and Me....they were so excited to wear them to school. Payden at first was a little embarrased at the phrase on his shirt but as soon as his pre-school teacher saw it and liked it I think that he changed his mind and liked it too. I was trying to get pictures of the kids in thier shirts and these cute hats that I had ordered through a friend but as you can see they just turned out pretty goofy....I dont know though everytime I see them I like ar them even more because they are so candid!!!

See Ya later Bish's and Hola Costa Vida!!!

Well one of the things that this New Year has brought is a new job for Shayne. He is going to be the Asst. Manager of the new Costa Vida opening in Pocatello on Monday, January 18th. He has been training and hiring and getting the returaunt ready for the past 2 weeks and is loving the change. He is excited for the store to open and maybe in the next couple of months our lives will be back to normal. We are looking forward to all that this job has to offer and the potential for opportunities down the road. Make sure that if you are in the Pocatello area that you stop in and see him. They are located right by Chili's in the Costco parking lot!!!

Goodbye 2009....HELLO 2010

We had such a fun New Years at Grandpa and Grandma Hoskins with all the cousins. We laughed our heads off playing balderdash...and barely finished in time to celebrate the New Year. Autumn and I drove all over trying to find long stem glasses for everyone and finally found some at Walgreens....oh the fun that the two of us have sometimes!!! All the grandkids except Mara spent the night and had a fun time. We had to wait till the next day to do the bonfire because of the wind but enjoyed it none the less. We are excited for this New Year and the changes that will be happening soon. Hope you all have a wonderful New Year filled with fun and suprises.

Merry christmas & A Happy New Year

My sister designed this Christmas Card for us to send out, but I could never get it to work because of the size it was formatted to be. Eveyone ended up getting a Costco (plain jane) christmas card and I was a little bummed. So I thought that I would post it on here for everyone to see. She took all these photos as well...luv ya Liz and think that you are one talented lady.

Under our Tree

I and my family like everyone else look forward to the Christmas Season every year. It is always pretty laid back since we don't have to travel at all living within a few miles of everyone. I have had the goal of trying to simplify things the past couple of years and decided that Christmas was one of them. We decided that there would only be certain things that the kids got for Christmas and that was it. I really dislike the feeling that after Christmas I have to totally revamp our toy closet to fit everything in... Plus by the time you get gifts from Grandpa's and Grandma's and every one else it is a tad overwhelming. Since we started this last year I felt more at peace with this season and a lot less stressed. After all, Christ's birth should be the center of the season and not how many gifts are under the tree! We had a enjoyable Christmas with my family and were excited that Liz and Eric could come visit even if it was for only a few days...bummer!!! We are looking forward to visiting them in the next few months to see thier new house. The kids always look forward to heading out to Grandpa and Grandma Hoskins house to see thier cousins and find out what everyone got from Santa. We exchange gifts eat good food and definantly never come home hungry on Christmas. Shayne's mom gave us a challenge for this next year to write in a notebook 5 things that we are thankful for each day. I haven't been very good at doing this but, love the idea. As we celebrate the year to come let us always be thankful for what we have, we have so much and there are so many with little or nothing. We hope that everyone had a safe and fun Christmas!!! The Hoskins Family

Our Gingerbread Villages

Grandma Dede had the kids over this year to make gingerbread houses. It was fun to see how they decorated thier houses. Payden had a lot of animals in his yard and Paige had lots of rock paths and a stream. This is becoming quite a fun tradition that the kids can look forward to each Christmas Season.