Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

This year for Thanksgiving my parents came down from Utah for the entire week. My kids and I were spoiled. Shiloh and I even went and saw a movie together and didn't have to pay a babysitter- yeah. BTW the movie "AUSTRALIA" is awesome and I highly recommend it. Here are some pictures of our wonderful feast and treasured grandparent moments!

Everyone asks what one of our food traditions is and here is our famous one. We wrap our turkey in bacon and it comes out delicious. (Notice that some of the turkey is missing due to it being ate while cooking!) Other's are: my mothers homemade rolls, the Howards Frozen Lime Dessert, and . . . . . .

Here is the rest of the grub- we attempted new mashed potatoes from the Ledbetter family- thanks Rita they were a hit. I wish I had gotten a picture of my pies- I tried a new fancy top and it came out pretty good.

Here is the table before we ate!

Emma made this turkey at school to place next to the one we ate.

Here we are finishing eating!

This year we officially invited the PIG! Despite his age I believe he ate more than I did, and continued to do so over the next few days.

Grandpa and all the grand kids watching the game!

We pulled out all the Christmas stuff the day after Thanksgiving, and I managed to put up most of it. Just as a side note- I did not fall off the ladder this year or get stuck on top of the roof and have to call for help. Ryan is so excited for the coming holiday and for his next meal!

Pizza Hut- Book it!

I can remember being in 1st grade and starting the Book-it program. We had to read a certain number of books each month and then we would get a certificate. The first certificate got us a button and a pizza and then pizza and a sticker to go on the button for subsequent visits. Now 22 years later my daughter is earning her Book-it. How fun that some things remain the same. Emma "read" 30 books in October and I took her to lunch on Wednesday after school- way to go EMMA!!

Instead of a huge ugly button Emma received a neat pencil and a bag clip!

Happy Birthday Michelle!!

A big shout-out to the best sister in the universe! Hope you had the best birthday in the world! Sorry BYU lost, but you gained your 27 comments YEAH! We sure love you- from all the way down here in Arizona. Hope your next year is awesome!

Twilight Party Bus!

After I physically had to remove my children from the van, I put 6 women in my Odyssey and comfortably drove an hour to Prescott. We ate at Outback Steakhouse and then drove to the New Harkins Theatre in Prescott Valley where we "stood" in line for Twilight. CJ, Julie and I hid in the bathroom until the enormous line began and than we snuck in and got the best seats available! It was awesome!! (I will be honest the books are much better, I believe the screen writers could have done a better job.) After the movie we went outside and took pictures and goofed off. I didn't walk into the door until 11:20.

Alicia, Emily, Julie, Tori, Julie, Kelli, CJ and Lindsay

In the theatre

Aren't we excited!

It was such a fun girls night; good food, good friends and just good fun!

We make scary vampires!

Desert Dual

BYU VS. UTAH

Despite the terrible score we had a wonderful time!

Making the homemade rootbeer!

The true blue cake- blue and white cake inside too! Colton, Sterling, Sean, Emma, Luke, Daicy in the back is Ryland and Skyla Missing is Ryan and Gabriella Watching the game! Kara, dkl;, Bill, Grandpa, Shiloh, Brett and Dan

We had a BBQ, games, treats and cake for all!

Everyone had cougar pride, but Gabriella took home the prize!

Thanks everyone for coming!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Happy Birthday Grandma! I have the most wonderful mother1 Yet, I am the world's biggest slacker when it comes to birthdays this year; sorry this is soooooo late. She had a rotten day of being sick, but her birthday dinner was good. Yay! Hope you have a wonderful year and everything you wish for. Thanks for always being there for me and making the sacrifices you have over the years- it means the world to me. Love ya, Julie BTW in the past two and a half years this is the only picture I have of you- we need some more!

IPOD Excitment

Wow! For years now I have wanted an Ipod but never bought one because a stubborn side of me wouldn't let me and we didn't have the money. As a reward for exercising for 6 months I bought an Ipod shuffle. This $45 gift has made me feel as if today was Christmas, the thrill that went through my spine when the FedEx truck pulled up could have powered all of Arizona. My hands were shaking when I opened the box and my kids (who were hanging over my shoulder) couldn't believe that Mom had bought something for herself and not for them. I even had Apple engrave my name on it for free. I am so excited- can you tell! hehe Now I just need to figure out how to use it- which will be a blast. Here are some pictures because I want to remember the day I received my first Ipod- b/c I have a feeling there will come a time when my children will look at me and ask, "What is a CD, Cassette, DVD, and Blu-ray?"

It's so small and so cute! Look at the package so pretty!

I put the penny here so you can really see how small it is.

It has a clip so I can use it to exercise with. Even the directions are teeny!

HOW MUCH FUN IS THIS!

Funny FHE

I've decided my family is random!! We had a Family Home Evening on Sharing- Shiloh presented a wonderful lesson, Sean helped make great cookies, and Emma prepared a fun activity. This activity was to draw a picture of someone sharing. Here are the results:

I drew a man giving his wife flowers in the middle of the ocean!

How romantic.

Emma drew a friend sharing an epet with her. Then for some reason they were able to go up a flight of stairs to heaven. Notice her name at the top- they really do drill that into them.

Sean drew a cave and told me to draw Emma (who was in the dark) giving back his car.

Yet the winner would go to my husband! At first glance you would think they were pirates, but after looking closely you realize they are just two people who have each lost an eye. They then share one together- notice the detail on the shared eyeball.

Hopefully you laughed as hard as I did that night!

Gravity Boots

This morning at the gym I watched Michelle (friend) put on gravity boots and pull up on a bar and hang upside down. It looks so incredibly fun and so I went over and talked to her about it. She then let me try it. After about 5 minutes of trying to get up (and looking rather ridiculous) with many laughs from people around me, my friends and even my bishop- I finally succeeded!! I expressed a very loud woohooo. It felt so wonderful on my back and really worked my stomach muscles! I think I might actually attempt it again sometime.

Here is what you strap to your legs! (Like Ski Boots)

It has a metal hook on the back that you put over the bar!

After just one work out- this is what I look like! hehe Apparently the military likes them too!

Wouldn't this be fun to watch :)

I've decided to get one at home and each morning while I read my scriptures I will hang upside down- what do you think?

Young Women's President

Growing up I always loved my Young Women's program and the leaders, yet I always thought they were older women trying to fit in and be young. My eyebrows still raise up when I think of some activities they did! Well two weeks ago I was released from being the 16-17 year old Sunday School teacher to being the Beehive advisor in Young Women's. (12-13 yr old girls) I was really excited, but with Stake Conference last weekend today would have been my first week and lesson. Instead the Lord decided that He wanted to change my calling to Young Women's President. WOW! What a huge responsibility!

So, today I looked back at the YW leaders I had and think "they weren't old and they were just acting themselves, because everyone is young at heart!" Hehehe I find it so funny that your opinions and feelings change so quickly when you put on other peoples shoes. I am so excited to serve in this new calling and am looking forward to getting to know the girls, going to girls camp, and helping them in any way that I can! I just hope I have the energy to keep up with it all!!

One-Word tag

1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Where is your significant other? kitchen
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? sacrifice
5. Your father? humble
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? psycho
8. Your dream/goal? Europe
9. The room you’re in? warm
10. Your hobby? Exercize
11. Your fear? Dark
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy
13. Where were you last night? church
14. What you’re not? flexible
15. One of your wish-list items? piano
16. Where you grew up? American Fork
17. The last thing you did? Drove
18. What are you wearing? jeans
19. Your TV? smugged
20. Your pet? kitchenaid
21. Your computer? new!
22. Your mood? good
23. Missing someone? yes
24. Your car? needs gas
25. Something you’re not wearing? make-up
26. Favorite store? A scoop above
27. Your summer? HOT
28. Love someone? All
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? morning
31. Last time you cried? Friday

Woohoo!

It passed with flying colors! How exciting- it was fun to watch all my friends picketing out on the street corners. Thanks to Monica for being so passionate- it was fun to watch her enthusiasm! It's always exciting to watch the votes come in- even if they don't go my way. I always feel very patriotic and proud of our country for participating in voting. At the same time it's so sad that so many people don't vote and don't care. They will see the light one day.

30 DAY NOTICE!!

Alright after much persistence from my husband I have decided to go private. As of December 1, 2008 I will no longer be public, if you would like to continue viewing my blog and keeping in touch with me or my family you will need to do one of the following:

1. Talk to me (not very reliable, but if you persist it will get accomplished!)
2. Post a comment and tell me so
3. Email me and let me know: jhoggard@gmail.com

Sorry for the inconvenience, but my husband has some "substantial evidence" and is defending his side as well as any lawyer out there (plus I do feel good about it.) Thanks for understanding- Julie