2009......

I cant believe we are again standing on the end of one year and the beginning of another. This year has held a lot of great things for our family. We have loved being in our home another year and making changes as we go. We redid the front yard last year and made a new garden area and we are excited to keep up with that this year. We also rearranged the laundry room to add shelves, moved the kids into the bigger room and up into bunk beds, and are in the process of making our storage shed more efficient with shelves and electricity. We are excited to see what progress we can make this year! On our list of potential projects are a wood burning fireplace, electricity to the chicken coop, and a new kitchen floor.
The kids have grown so much this year. Emilee has taken to Primary and loves going. She is excited to have friends to see each week. She has also been working at home with me and is more then ready to start kindergarten this year. We have been focusing on simple math and reading. She is more than willing to learn and is always asking me when it is time to read. On the recommendation of a friend we bought Learning to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and are pleased with the progress she is making. Em also got glasses this year and has been good for the most part with wearing them and keeping them safe. She is proving to be a great little helper and will be missed while she is at school! We assigned her some simple chores to do around the house and has been great about getting them done when reminded. This year we decided to forgo Ballet but she will start piano lessons with her Grandpa Allen and is very excited. She would sit all day playing notes on the piano if I would allow. I know she will excel at it and am grateful that we has such talented Grandparents to learn from.
Jake has grown up so much as well. He is starting to be an independent child like Emilee that can do it without help but is also quick to snuggle and give hugs and kisses. Jake has also been learning and is working on counting, colors, and letters. He is ready to learn everything Emmy knows and is her biggest fan! He is quick to bring a smile to everyone around him and likes to be like his Papa. We bought him some pants the other day that look like a pair of Wills pants and he informs everyone that his pants are just like Papas! He loves cars and planes and has told us that he is going to be a pilot someday.
Will is getting ready to go into his last semester at Boise State. It will be a hard and trying semester. He will continue working at Best Bath as the plant scheduler as well as taking a full load of up to 6 classes. But we can handle anything for a semester! We are very grateful that Best Bath has been so good to us over the last 5 years and very patient with Wills school schedule. But we are excited to see this school part of our life close and find where we will go next.
This year we decided to try and expand our family so I had my IUD removed and am now expecting. It was a couple of hard months with lots of morning sickness but things have been looking up and as we are moving into the second trimester I have been feeling a lot better. I am almost 16 weeks along and we are expecting June 19. The kids are eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new sibling and are having fun guessing what it might be. Emilee wants a sister, no surprise there. Jake at first wanted a monkey but has now moved on to wanting a sister just like Emmy. As for me I am happy as long as the baby is healthy regardless of the sex. We are excited to see what the future will be like as a family of 5.
Our extended families continue to grow and we had the privilege of welcoming Cache Kent Green and Claire Ann Hurst to our family this year. Its nice to know that our kids will have cousins to play with around the same ages! We are grateful for all of our family and try to see them as much as possible. We have taken several trips to Pocatello this year to visit the girls and hope to be able to continue in the future. The kids love all their Aunts and Uncles and we are so fortunate to have such patient siblings that put up with all their energy and craziness.
We hope that everyone is blessed this holiday season and that the new year finds you healthy and happy! Happy New Year!


Will, Cassie, Emilee, and Jake Green
Nov 2009

My Christmas Project

This Christmas I decided to try and be crafty and made "church friendly" potato heads that I had found on a blog. I loved them cause they were made of felt and quiet enough for the kids to play with while in Sacrament. I made one for Jake and then some for my nieces and nephews. There is also a pocket on the back that you can store the pieces inside.



I was a little worried though that they might not be age appropriate for Emilee since she is kinda past the potato head age. She will play with them but I wanted to do something different for her.
So I made a pattern and made her some felt dolls with clothes. I loved paper dolls when I was little and thought this would be a little more durable.







and it wouldn't be complete without a bronco outfit!



The nice thing is it will be easy to add clothes. I am planning on making some more for her birthday next month. Both kids loved them and I was able to get the fabric at a great price with Joannes coupons. They turned out super cute!

I also still have the patterns if anyone is interested in making some, just let me know.

Christmas Day

Emilee woke me up around 5 and told me that Santa had come. She couldn't figure out where our stockings had gone though. I had them hanging on the curtains in the living room and we took them down and put them on the couch once they were filled. So we went and peeked and found them and she looked in the top and found a bronco pom pom and a polly pocket. She told me Santa had brought her everything she wanted. Apperently the presents under the tree were just extra! I made her go back to sleep til Jake woke up and then we went to town!







The kids had a great time opening their presents and seeing what Santa had brought.



or in this case, Nana and Gpa Jim



Jake kept telling us he wanted a crocodile. Not sure where that came from but we were able to find one at Toys R Us and he loved it!



Em loved her Polly Pocket Cruise Ship. Everytime we asked her what she wanted her reply was "Lots of Polly Pockets." We were able to get this one at a day after Thanksgiving sale for $20.00.



Should of figured a Blu-ray movie would lead to Wills after Christmas Blu-ray player! We were able to find one on sale at RC Willeys and decided to go for it. And we love it!



I am not sure why she is so sad. I don't think she wanted a picture taken she just wanted to play!
After we were done opening gifts the kids played for a while and then Uncle Beau came and got them for breakfast at Gma Nitas. Will and I went over a few hours later and had dinner with the family. After eating the kids and Uncle Mike amused themselves with a box they found at Gmas



Em is inside the box.





Dad read the Christmas story and then we opened presents.







Jake was quite excited to get his Buzz and Woody poster from Aunt Liz and Josh.









The kids had a great time and enjoyed all the presents they got. Hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas holiday!

Christmas Eve

This year we spent Christmas Eve with the Greens, and the kids put on a nativity play for us. It was really cute, something Will used to do with all of his cousins. Emilee and Logan were Mary and Joseph and Cache was baby Jesus.





Perry and Will were the inn keepers



Jake and Dan were Shepherds and Ruby was the Angel.





We had a great dinner and fun watching the kids open presents. Emilee was excited for Santa to come and when we went to look at Christmas lights on the way home she was worried he would pass our house before we could get home and get to sleep.

Claus and Paws 2009

This year we took the kids to the zoo again for the Claus and Paws day. It was so cold but they had a great time looking at the animals and with so many inside animals and activities we were able to get warm every now and then. We met our friends Paige and Zadak there and walked around with them and their daughter Ava.

We really enjoyed the Africa area with the cool animals. The kids really liked the Giraffes and the lions. The zoo gives the animals treats in big wrapped boxes and the kids liked watching them open their presents.









The area also had lots of displays showing the difference between living here and living there. They had a jeep like you would use in the desert and a hut like they live in in remote areas.







Will demonstrating the bike.


The kids really liked the African instruments.

There was also a Carousel that the kids rode on.





The slides were also a big hit with the kids. We did limit the amount of times they could go down them with the cold weather. Which they weren't to fond of but I was cold!





Of course one of the biggest hits was the Penguins. We visited them twice before we went home. Emilee had to take pictures with all of the display ones too.





Jake kept saying he was at Happy Feet! He even danced for us.












Emilee is ready to be shipped somewhere warm!



Jake liked to let the tiger bit him.



This was my favorite animal, the Elephant Shrews. I thought they were really cute.



My kids of course were really happy posing with the animals but ran screaming from Santa so yet again I have no pictures with the Claus of Claus and Paws. But all in all it was a really fun chance to get out and enjoy the day with Will, who for the last few weeks has all but disappeared as he is preparing projects and getting ready for finals next week.