Miracle Happen for McKay!

My little brother and his family continue to see blessings when it comes to their son McKay. Since McKay has become too big for my sil Tauna to carry, they have been trying to get a van that has a ramp. This story tells it all. He is so special to our family. Check out the article about this most recent miracle.

http://www.standard.net/live/features/147815/

Click on Matthews picture for a picture of the family with the "new" van.

Our Frugle Halloween

Usually we go all out for Halloween but this year we followed the old adage, "Make do or do without" ~kind of. In years past we have dressed up as a family but we decided to let everyone just do their own thing since we have enough costumes to outfit the neighborhood. The girls each bought wigs (as did I) and I purchased Eric's Fester robe at Savers in the used section for $10 along w/ his $2 swim cap. The rest came from digging in the "trunk" just like I use to as a kid.

Here is Alicia & her crew. She is the first one with the tatoos & black lips. I heard you should dress up opposite of your real personality & I think she did just that!

We had the priviledge of having Superman, Superbaby & Spiderman (my brother Jim & kids) join our forces. Adam & Rich are the storm troopers. Benny is Darth Vader and Tommy is a Power Ranger. It was so hot the 3 year olds started striping down after a half hour of running from door to door. We have never had such a warm Halloween. Even with the rain, it was warm!


At our 4th annual Halloween Party Uncle Fester & I (Morticia) were joined by Cousin IT, Lurch the Butler, and even Eddie from the Munsters showed up. So it was only appropriate to have a family photo.
I brought the host some beautiful rose stems but Uncle Fester was having a hard time lighting his bulb. I guess he didn't spend enough time in the electric chair before we left.

Emily had a real "teenager" Halloween. She left about 4:00 w/ costume in hand (therefore, no pictures) and spent the night with friends in Ogden trick or treating for King Size candybars. She returned home the next morning at 10:00. This was her treat since we usually only have "late-nights" in our family.

It's Winter??

I think the photo says it all. That is one big snowman from an early storm! Benny could hardly wait to get out in all that white stuff this morning. Tommy joined him and got the "kit" to decorate him.

Going to the Dark Side

While enjoying the BMX ESPN games at the Energy Solutions Center we came across Darth Vader, Annikan & storm troopers. We rode the front runner to SLC and then trax to ESC. This is the way to travel for a family night out.

We were surrounded by pretty scary people and I'm not talking these creatures from the Dark Side. Let's just put it this way, if Emily ever asks to go to an event like this it will never happen. I have never seen so many skanky little girls (holding "free hug" signs), gages the size of donuts in the ears & creepy people.

But the Star Wars characters made the night. We couldn't pull Tommy away. He even got their autographs. They stood and stared until we dragged them away. The other highlight was standing at the end of the course and Tommy getting high fives from the racers. He was loving it!

Ok, for the other dark side....

Yes, I converted. I have never, ever not been blonde my whole life but thought this fall I needed a little change.

Birthday Bashes!

I officially have a teenager! Emily turned 13 this month and celebrated at the Beauty College. She invited 6 friends (all that can fit in our car) & they got "up-do's" and their nails painted. Afterwards we headed to a little ice cream shop on main street and had shakes, sang Happy Birthday and opened presents.

This lady that is doing her nails is also the one that did her hair. Emily was the first in her chair and the next to last to leave it. The lady had no idea what she was doing and I found out latter that she was telling Emily her hair had too many layers to do a cute style. Emily does her hair cuter than this daily. I was fuming when Emily was telling me the things the lady was telling her. But sweet Emily told me it was ok b/c at least all of her friends got cute styles. So the girls had cute do's and we had to show them off

Alicia decided to let her friends vote on which party to do and they chose ice skating. I'm telling you, this is the way to go. Take them skating (or whatever), take them for ice cream and take them home. What an easy, fun, relaxing party. These girls had a blast. They skated for almost 2 hours while I read a book and froze my hiney off. Then they each got a banana split or shake and were as happy as could be. This is such a cute age and Alicia really knows how to pick her friends.



I love my girls! They are such great helpers & a blast to hangout with. I was really blessed when my girls came first. They are wonderful big sisters & their little brothers admire them. My siblings think my boys will be warped for life for all the times they are "dressed-up" in make-up, nail polish or dresses but just look at my little brother Jim~ he turned out all right, and he was the cutest little girl ever!

I love you Emily & Alicia. Thanks for being in our family!

Sibling Squabbles

So they are off to school. My days of peace & quiet are finally here. I now have a teenager in Junior High & the three elementary kids seldom complain when I have them walk to school. Carpooling is the best thing ever invented. I only have to drive once a week to the Junior High and I have carpools for all three days of dance & tumbling. Piano, scouts and Activity Days are all within walking distance. The twins play so well together. We just make sure all of the Tommy's toys are put in the proper place by 3:30 each day. The few messes of the day I can live with.

I have it made!

So why the heading??? I thought I had it made. All my kids are in pairs. The girls are 2 years apart, the boys are 2 years apart & the twins have each other. They all have a buddy, just the way I always wanted it for my kids. Last night after a day of "revenge" and squabbles, I looked at my husband and threw up my hands. Maybe my sil has it right. She was just saying that she heard that siblings that are too close in age just fight all the time. She is closer to her sibling that is ten years older than any of her other 5 siblings (although this is not the case in my own situation).

So was I kidding myself when I decided to have all my kids close together so they would always have a buddy to play with on Sunday (since I felt so bad for my best friend who always wanted to play on Sunday because she didn't have a sister), or so they would always have a riding buddy at Lagoon? Yes, these may be shallow reasons for why I had my kids so close together but I concocted these ideas in my youth & they kind of stuck with me. But after days of soap on a toothbrush, breaking up not-so-friendly wrestling matches, threatening soap in the mouth for unkind words, toilet papered bedrooms and who knows what else I am starting to question what I have got myself into.

Yellowstone Road Trip

Whoever put the words, "Yellowstone Vacation" together in the same sentence has not been there with the Stucki's. I truely believe that this was a "road trip" in every sense of the word. Waking up at dawn, driving from sight to sight and getting to bed late (we can blame the late nights on the Olympics) is not my idea of a vacation. The kids were wonderful & enjoyed it more than I would have at their age but I was truely sleep deprived. Those of you who know me best know I am a crab when I don't get my rejuvenating sleep.

We spent a big part of our first day in Yellowstone looking for bears. After realizing "if" we were lucky we would only see them through a telescope, we ended up spending $50 to go to a museum for an hour to see a bear up close. After all, we had promised the twins & Tommy that we would see bears or some kind of wild life all the way up just to keep them excited.

The in-laws were our personal guides.

We hit Jackson during rush hour??? It took us forever to just get into town with the rest of Yellowstone. That night we went to Bar J's. The food was good but the entertainment was a little much for the little ones & both girls weren't feeling too good so we had to bail early. Tommy couldn't wait to get his cowboy hat and whatever Tommy wants, he gets, and whatever Tommy gets, so do the twins!

Eric is already talking about next years trip. All in all the trip was a bigger succes than I could have hoped for but next year I'm heading to Cali to bask in the sun and never leave the beach except for a day or two at DisneyLand. Now that sounds like a "FAMILY VACATION"!