Christmas Morning!

Merry Christmas! We woke up this morning right before 7:00. The kids were so anxious to see if Santa had come and what he had brought them. It is amazing how many hours it takes to wrap everything and it takes just moments to rip them all open. The kids had a great morning and they each received many great gifts. We had everything from skies and boot to an accordion and Polly Pockets. It is quite interesting have kids from 15 to 5 years old. Talk about different needs and wants. It is quite sickening that I can get Kenzie one pair of jeans and with the same amount of money, I can get Caroline and entire Christmas. Wow teenagers have expensive taste! My best gift was an amazing camera. As soon as I figure out how to hook it up to the computer I will blog more about the rest of the day. The other pictures are all on that camera. I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas!!

Scharman/Samuelson Family Christmas

Tonight we got together with about 50 of our favorite family members and had our annual Christmas Nativity night. We started with soups and salads and lots of yummy desserts. After our stomachs were full, we moved on to fill our spirits with the "sounds of Christmas," or family talents. We were entertained by Grandpa Brent's annual Christmas poem which he and Grandma Jan actually sang this year. He created a great tribute to the upcoming presidential elections. Of course ending in a plug for "Pres. Romney." With the president and vice-pres of BYU in the family, we are bound to get numerous cheers, talents, t-shirts and comments (all under our breath of course) to promote the Univ. Of Utah. I must say Pres. Samuelson takes all the ridicule with a good attitude, we all know deep down he and Jan both cheer for the Utes. They just pretend to like the "Y". They have to, their job depends on it -haha. The kids had a great time playing instruments and finally getting to dress up to re-enact the birth of Jesus Christ. This is the first year in many that we haven't had a real baby to play Jesus. All the babies could walk this year and none would sit still long enough to play Jesus. This is a night that we all look forward to. It is a great way to teach the children of the birth of Jesus and it helps us to put a little more meaning to the Christmas season. We are blessed to have such a wonderful family with such a strong knowledge of Christ and the sacrifices that he made for us all. What a great night we spent together as a family!!

Jingle Bell Rock

Caroline had her Kindergarten Christmas program tonight at Discovery. She has looked forward to this big night for a couple of weeks now. She has been very eager to "surprise" us with all of her songs. She would start singing at home and suddenly stop herself mid song, and say "I can't sing that, it's a surprise." She did a fabulous job and sang her little heart out. Last week we made a quick run to Target, to grab a few things. We were walking past the clothing and she yells out "stop the cart" at the top of her lungs. I stop and turn around to see (what she thinks is) the most beautiful red velvet dress with white fur on the collar. She instantly informed me that she absolutely HAD to have it for her program. I tried my hardest to talk her out of it. Guess who won in the end? Of course, it was Caroline. I could definitely could have done without the Santa dress but, she thinks she is the most gorgeous girl in the world in it. I just couldn't burst her bubble. It was a great program with all of our Christmas favorites!!

16 years of total and complete bliss!!!

Well maybe not 100% complete and total bliss but definitely 16 years of something major! On December 10th Mark and I celebrated our 16 year wedding anniversary. Can you believe it? That is quite a long time. I think that it is a huge accomplishment. Especially considering all that Mark has to deal with. What a man! He puts up with way more than his share of grief and complaining and whining from his dear old wife. I am truly blessed to have him in my life!!

Look at your own risk...You have been warned!

So, I just went up to get something from Kenzie's room. What in the world did I walk into? I think that there may have been a natural disaster of sorts. Surely a tornado has hit my home. Quick someone call Red Cross or at least the clean up committee! (oh, that would be me) I am not sure if I should laugh or cry. This is my darling daughter McKenzie's room? People always say she is so organized. Obviously that organization doesn't filter into her room. How she sleeps there is news to me. There is no telling what might be living there with her. Tomorrow is Saturday and I know she plans to spend it skiing. Well, I have news for her...the skiing will carry on without her. Looks like it will be a fun filled day spent searching for the carpet. I know it is under those piles of clothes somewhere. Check back tomorrow for pictures of the scoured room. I mean really!!!

Go Rams! Go Kenz!

I just was looking at Kenzie's cheerleading pictures. Over the past year or so she has really changed. I can't believe that in just a few short months she will be driving (finally legally) I haven't blogged much about her so I thought I should include some pictures of her. I can't believe I have a 15 1/2 year old daughter. Life is certainly interesting at our home these days. Does anyone know of a good all girls boarding school? haha

Finally!

Caroline has taken violin lessons now for just over three months. At her lesson yesterday she was FINALLY allowed to pick up her "real" violin. We have been going to lessons to learn how to stand properly, hold the bow, where you can and cannot touch the bow and violin and how to look at the violin once it is placed correctly. She has been learning on a cardboard violin and using a stick that mimics a bow. She still doesn't use her bow instead she plucks the strings. However, this is some major progress for her. It is a happy day at our house! She now plays "Pop Goes the Weasel" over and over and over. I personally can't wait until next week so we can hopefully have another tune to add to her list. Way to go Liney!!

Could it be true?

You won't believe who has finally cut his hair...drum roll please...
Yes, it is true, Mckinnley has chopped his long hair off. He no longer
looks like a skater dude. Isn't he so handsome? You can actually see his
beautiful blues. He hates pictures so these are the best I could do.

Caroline goes crazy!!

Don't ask me what got into Caroline today but she has been completely out of control. Jumping around, making crazy faces and being a total goofball. She started dancing and posing and told me to take some pictures of her, here they are. The pictures don't make her craziness seem quite as bad as it was. I think we had better lay off the caffeine for a while!!

Oh how we love the Caribbean!!

Last year for Christmas, my mom gave the entire family, all daughters, husbands and children, a cruise to the Caribbean. After waiting 11 months it was finally time to go. We got home last Sunday after an absolutely amazing week. We spent 4 days on the ship, one day in St. Maarten, one day in St. Thomas and one day in Princess Cays. The highlight for the kids definitely had to be snorkeling while in St. Thomas. They all got to be very good at it and they all had a blast. While on the ship we were constantly busy doing fun activities. A few of the good times included: Holli jumping in the pool fully clothed within the first few hours of getting on the ship (of course it was a contest), swimming, tanning, shopping, reading, EATING, going to kids camp, hanging out with 12 cousins, watching movies on the 300 foot screen each night, dancing for raffle tickets, Haley and Holli being hypnotised and we can't forget the casino and BINGO. Holli won a jackpot of $1,250.00 playing bingo, it's not only for old people! Did I mention eating? We ate and ate and ate. We weren't even hungry and we still ate. It is impossible to pass up the ice cream bar each afternoon and the pizza, cheeseburgers, fries and room service that are open 24 hours a day. Can anyone guess who gained the most weight? Now that is a contest I wish I hadn't won. Unfortunately, I am quite sure that I did. Oh well, it was totally worth it! We pretty much ran the ship. You can't have that many Scharman/Soderberg girls together and not take control of things. Let's just say we created a little chaos and it was always exciting when we were around. I am pretty sure that the Caribbean Princess will never be the same! Thanks Mom for a wonderful vacation and all the fabulous memories that we will cherish always! Let's get the next trip on the calendar!!