Christmas Wrap-up

Christmas is over. Part of me is really glad to have it over and part of me is kind of sad that it is. I'm glad that the craziness is done but I really enjoy all of the running around and especially the season of giving and doing nice things for others. I just wish that this feeling would continue for the rest of the year! We had a great Christmas, really quite relaxing which was nice. We had our Banta family party on the 23rd so that left Christmas Eve with just our little family. We had our traditional breakfast with friends at Cracker Barrell, and then later had a great time playing games and watching Christmas movies. Ken's favorite movie is "It's a Wonderful Life." We watch it every Christmas Eve or Christmas day and it makes us cry everytime. I really do have a wonderful life. We are so blessed to have a wonderful family and friends and to have everything we have every dreamed or wished for. The kids are great and I couldn't be happier. Kaitlyn was thrilled to get a new stereo for her car, lots of clothes and the best surprise for her was a ticket to Wicked! (Mom is excited too:)) McKay loves his new Rockband 2 game and hasn't stopped playing it for 4 days! I think he has a future! He was also surprised with a 4 game Jazz Ticket package. Needless to say, he was thrilled! Lexi loves her new Barbie house and accessories and all of her new Webkinz. I am very excited with my new camera stuff (a new lense, flash and camera bag big enough for all of my stuff ) and a Willow Tree Nativity. Thanks Santa! Ken got a new wedding band and a print for our office. Now for the rest of the week we are just going to relax and enjoy our time off. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and enjoy the rest of the season....it will be over before we know it!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends! I hope that this holiday season brings you all the joy and happiness that you deserve!!!

It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Christmas!!!

Ok, so I know I am a horrible blogger...but I just changed my layout so I feel better. I will add more pics later..I promise. I have been sitting at my desk for 3 hours filling out Christmas cards! I am done though and I just need to put on the stamps!!! I really hate doing cards but I love getting them so I do it anyway. I am finished with my shopping almost and haven't wrapped one present! Hopefully tomorrow night I can hide away and finish up s I can relax for a while. I LOVE this time of year and I love the hustle bustle of the season! It is just so much fun, even though it is chaotic!! I guess I love chaos:)

One Reason I Love Conference Week!!

Ok, so I really do love to listen to conference! I love the messages we hear from the leaders and the council that we are given. I have to confess, however, that there is another reason that I love conference week! It is the semi-annual Memories scrapbook warehouse sale!!! I have an addiction, it is true. I LOVE to buy scrapbook supplies! I used to love to scrapbook but now I just take pictures and collect supplies (who has time to sit and scrapbook??) I always go and I always buy! The sale runs Wed-Friday the week before conference weekend. It is a tradition of mine that I love. I really don't need anymore but I can't resist! Ok, so this looks like a lot of stuff but when I went (which was the last hour of the sale) and everything was BOGO! I couldn't resist! So I bought a bunch of cute stuff for my sister and called her and told her that I had her Christmas present already! I got rub-ons, ribbon, embelishments, stamps, albums, storage items etc. I got all of it for $75....not bad since if I would buy it full price at Roberts it would be at least $350! Anyway...this is one of my hobbies and I love it! If any of you need some cute stuff, come on over, I'd love to share (since there is NO WAY I will ever use it all!!!)

Trying Again:)

Ok, I am going to try this again and add some more pics of my other children..yes I have 2 more kids, it just seems like I am always posting pictures of Kaitlyn. Maybe that's because she is involved in so much that I take lots of her lately. McKay and Lexi are really cute too:) McKay was just selected last week to be a 6th grade peer leader. That means he gets to help with school activities and show new kids around the school. I think it is kind of like a student body officer except he was selected by the teachers instead of being voted in. He is doing AWESOME at school (straight As) and is so good about getting all of his homework done without being asked. Now if I could just get him to clean his room as diligently as he is about homework. Lexi is on a comp team for dance again this year and loves it. She is still into Hannan Montana anything and knows the words to every song she has ever sung. I hope Miley Cyrus comes back to Utah in concert! Lexi has really developed a love for reading and is reading all of the time. She is such a fun kid to have around! Friends are really important to her and she is always planning "late night" activities for her and her friends. It is a riot to have them around and watch them be so girly! Ok, enough about my cute kids!

Blogging Loser continued

Ok, so now it is confirmed that I am the blogging loser. I don't know how to add more pictures on my other post so I am adding another post....it won't let me add more pictures!!! I don't know what is up. So I'll end this dumb post and try again later (hopefully not 3 months from now!)

I am a blogging loser!

I have decided that I am a blogging loser. I really don't enjoy blogging on my own blog, I just like reading everyone elses blogs. But since I haven't posted for like 3 months, I decided to at least post some pics of some activities this summer. We finshed the yard the first part of July and had a fun summer with grass instead of dirt! We really didn't do a lot this summer except let the kids play with friends and hang out. I had lots of good intentions to get my scrapbooks all organized and I think I only did like 4 pages all summer. But we had a busy summer nevertheless. I'll try to give a brief update on each of the kids. Kaitlyn had a very busy summer! She went to EFY the week after we came back from Georgia. She also went to Girl's camp and Youth conference. She spent lots of time cheering and has had a blast. She went to cheer camp and had an absolute riot! We had team pictures taken at Hazen this summer.....really pricy pictures but they did hair and make-up for all of the girls and did a real "photo shoot". Kaitlyn's pictures turned out so good that I had to buy the blasted CD with all of them. I have included a few of them for you all to see.

McKay was seriously the party man this summer. He had more sleep overs and "late nights" than I can count. There was always at least one or two boys here this summer hanging out. I am so grateful for his good friends! He has got some great ones! McKay played baseball this summer and went to Webelos camp. He was excited for 6th grade and is loving it so far. He was selected to be a peer leader for 6th grade and is loving school.

More Georgia Pictures

Ok, I'm a Slacker!

Ok, I know that I am a slacker when it comes to blogging. I have good intentions and then I get sidetracked with life in general. The kids and I finished school on May 23rd and on the 24th we left for Georgia. We had an amazing vacation and it was great to see Ken's sister Terie and her family. We went to an Atlanta Braves Game on Memorial Day, went to Stone Mountain (a civil war battle site), and then went to Savannah for two days. We even made a little side trip to Hilton Head Island, SC just to say we had been there. We also went to Tybee Island, GA and visitied Fort Pulaski, another civil war site. Kaitlyn went to Especially for Youth the week we returned and we have actually had a week without any huge commitments. I have been trying to "organize" my scrapbook supplies that have been boxed up for the past year since the move. I think I have a serious illness with collecting stuff. Now I just need to start scrapbooking again! If anyone wants to come over, I have lots of room and lots of stuff you can use!!! Ken has been working on the yard and I think we will be ready to start the sprinklers in a week and hopefully we will have grass by the 4th (that is my hope anyway!) I really want a yard! The dirt pile is not as much fun as grass! I'm not sure what we will do with our time once the yard is done! I posted some pics of the trip so you can see how pretty Georgia is!

OK, OK, I know it has been a long time!!!!

Ok, so I know it has been over a month since I blogged last. I should be folding laundry and scrubbing my bathrooms but instead, here I sit updating my blog site. I am afraid no one will lurk anymore if I don't get on the ball! Thngs here at the Banta home have been crazy as ever. I swear May is every bit as busy as December anymore! Here are some pics to prove the insanity! We have had induction ceremonies for cheer, National Jr. Honor Society, Jr. High Awards Night, piano recital, dance competitions (we took first again :)) and dance recital on Saturday. Not to mention fieldtrips, work, cleaning and church stuff. And in the spare time we Ken is trying to work on the yard to get ready for grass. We finish school on Friday and 23rd and then we board a plane for Georgia to visit Ken's sister. Then the fun actually begins! We are going to a Brave's game on Memorial Day and then we are off to Savannah for a couple of days to play at the beach. It will be way fun and pictures will be coming! Well, that's it in a paragraph about our crazy month!!!! Have a great day!

Kaitlyn

Here are a few of the pictures I took when Kate made cheer on Thursday. I decided to do a quick blog about my oldest daughter, Kaitlyn. Most of you know her but for those of you that don't...here's a bit of info:) Kaitlyn was born on Nov. 12, 1993. She is 14 and in the 8th grade at Sandridge Jr. High. She is a very outgoing and friendly girl! She started talking at the age of 9 months and hasn't stopped since! Kaitlyn loves to dance and has been dancing since she was 2 1/2. She is currently on the Show Team with Studio 48 Dance. Kaitlyn loves her cell phone, texting, Dr. Pepper, Jamba Juice, strawberries, reading, hanging out with friends and watching movies. She does not like germs, roller coasters or sloppy joes. Kaitlyn is a great student and loves school. We lover her very much and we are so proud of her!!!

Gold, Brown, White...Scorpions Let's Fight!!

Ok, just a quick note...Kaitlyn made cheer! Yeah!!! Man what a stressful day! I was a mess. She was fine but I was SO nervous for her! We had to wait outside the school (no parents or friends were allowed in the school) until all of the scores were added. They brought all of the girls into the big gym and handed them an envelope that said whether they made it or not. She came out of the gym and ripped it open. I had wanted to take pictures but thought I would jinx it if I had a camera in her face. When she saw the "congratualtions" across the top of the paper she started screaming and jumping up and down. I was so relieved! 12 girls out of 21 made it. The current cheerleaders took them to dinner at Chili's and made the new girls stand out on Riverdale Road doing cheers until 30 people honked. It was SO fun to watch! I am so proud of her. I will post some pictures tonight...I left my camera at home and I am at work right now...so I need to go!!! Thanks for all the suport and well wishes!!

It's Been Awhile!

Ok, so I know that it has been almost 2 months since I last made an entry. It has been really crazy around our house, not really an excuse to not blog, but my free time has been pretty much eaten up with construction, family, and running kids to their various activities. Lets just give a brief update, and I will add pics later! The basement is about 80% finished. All we have left to do is put door knobs on the doors, paint and put on the sliding closet doors, grout the tile in the bathroom and set the finish. The marble guy will finish the counter tops and window sills next week sometime and then Ken can set finish and have the shower glass doors installed. Oh, and the rock guy needs to rock the fireplace. Whew, it seems like a lot left but compared to the beginning, it isn't really that much left. Kaitlyn was in the school play the last week of February. She did and AWESOME job and in my opinion, stole the show! She has been busy this week with cheer clinics and tomorrow is try-outs for 9th grade cheerleader! Good luck Kate! I kept busy this past few weeks getting things ready for Ken's parents 50th wedding anniversary dinner. We had a family dinner last Friday at Maddox, complete with a DVD of family pictures that I did. It was A LOT of work but it was worth it! I got to see lots of pictures that I have never seen before. We had Easter dinner with all of the Banta family at our house and enjoyed seeing my nephew Cameron who just returned from his mission to Birmingham England. So that is a quick update...I will add pics later and let you all know the results of the cheer tryouts!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day everyone! It has been a busy few days with Ken gone to Colorado. The kids and I spent the evening eating heart-shaped pizza and watching movies with a friend of mine who is here from Washington for a few months doing and internship. Ken sent me a boquet of beautiful red roses and some chocolates! I sure have missed him. I am so grateful for all that he does to help around the house and with the kids! I realize more everyday that I can't live without him! Lexi woke up on Thursday running a fever and coughing so she had to miss her Valentine's Day party at school! She still isn't feeling well tonight. I sure hope she gets better soon. I am so grateful for my kids! They bring so much joy to our lives. I have posted just a few pics for fun. I love my little munchkins! (and the big one too:)

It's February Already!

Ok, I can't believe that it is almost the middle of February already. Things are so crazy around here lately that time is just flying by. The sheetrock guy finished the walls this weekend and Ken started hanging doors tonight! He is going goose hunting (with his business partner Jeff and a salesman that they work with) in Colorado on Wednesday so the construction in the basement will have to wait for a week. McKay has been busy playing basketball and his team is 5-0 for the season so far...go Destroyers!! Lexi and Kaitlyn are getting ready for the dance competitions to begin next month and Kaitlyn is getting ready for "Footloose" starting the 25th. She has been working very hard for this so everyone will have to come and see her! She is also performing for the district solo and ensemble competition on th 26th. She is singing a duet with her friend Fallon. Whew!!! Needless to say it has been a busy month for us. I love it though. It is fun to see the kids so involved in activities and I love to watch. I guess you could say that I am a pretty proud mom!

Still New at the "Blogging"

Ok, so I am not good at this blogging! It is much easier for me to work with "real" paper on my scrapbook pages and make it look cute...I can't figure out much but I will keep playing with this. I am determined to make mine look as good as some of the other ones I have seen! (Well, maybe not that cute but at least I am trying, right??!) I haven't taken very many pictures lately so these are the most current ones of the kids that I have taken that weren't just snap shots. The basement is coming along nicely. The sheetrock was delivered today and the guy is supposed to start hanging it tomorrow!!!! I am hopeful that we will be done by the end of March! We had fun this morning watching Kaitlyn and Lexi on Fox 13 news. Their dance team was on the morning news with "Big Buddah", he is a reporter that travels around and does different spots each morning from different events. I think they were doing it to promote So You Think You Can Dance that airs next week?? Who knows! Both girls were on and had their moment of fame. We have had parent teacher conferences this week and have been busy with that. Well, I'm off to run again...hopefully I can play around with this and do better.

About us...

I decided to start a new blog..especially since I couldn't log on to my last one for some reason! So I am starting over. I have had fun reading some new blogs and wanted to try again. I haven't figured out how to make it "cute" yet but I'll figure it out! So....just an update..We moved into our new house in West Haven in August. We have been busy getting adjusted to a new ward, school, friends etc. The kids are pretty settled and enjoying life again. Kaitlyn is 14 and in 8th grade. She enjoys school, friends, text messaging, dancing, and singing. She is one of the leads in the school production of "Footloose". She plays Wendy Jo, Ariel's friend...if you are a fan. McKay is 10 and in 5th grade. He enjoys sports of any kind, watching and playing. He is playing basketball and his team is 2 and 0 for the season so far! He plays point guard. McKay is a master at video games. He thinks it is fun to play his dad because he usually wins! He just started piano lessons last month and is doing great! Lexi is 6 and in 1st grade. She loves school and friends. She still enjoys dance, coloring, playing with her dolls and playing with friends. Lexi just lost another tooth tonight, with the help of dad! Ken has just been put in as 2nd couselor in our new wards' bishopric. Needless to say, he has been in a lot of meetings this past month! He is trying to get our basement finished in his spare time. We will hopefully be ready for the sheetrockers to start next week. I keep busy running our three children to their various activities and friends. I am in the primary presidency in our new ward and that has kept me busy lately. Well...that's just a quick update for everyone. I will try to post some pics of the new house soon!