Our Turn

This year was our first attempt at hosting Thanksgiving dinner. Our family finally got tired of us free loading off them all these years and decided to invite themselves over. Aimee and Tony's family stayed with us for the weekend and Grandma and Grandpa Rooks came over as well. Chef Tony sent a recipe for the turkey to make sure it would be worth the trip. The turkey turned out great, but we had a bit of a disaster with the fireplace. We had a nice fire going until smoke starting pouring back into the family room. It turned out that the chimney cap was never installed after they finished building the chimney, so a bird decided to build a home in the flu. It took a few days for the smoke smell to go away but at least nothing was damaged.



Rooks - McClellan turkey bowl 2008



"Strategery"



Grandpa Rooks and Jack

Ben is 9

Is there anything besides football that is important to a 9 year old boy? For Ben's birthday party they watched football, played Madden NFL, did skills tests, and, of course, played football. We had to put a quick stop to the tackle game --- there were enough injuries with just 2 handed touch! They particularly enjoyed taking a bat to the football pinata --- remnants of which Ben made into a stylish hat (as seen in picture above).



Boys at Ben's party, most of which were on his optimist football teams.

More Cowbell

The band 'More Cowbell' made it's debut at the world famous Gem County Island Complex this fall. For tour dates and ticketing information contact your local music store or select-a-seat outlet.


Mark laying down the cowbell with Mike (aka Garth) on guitar

Clay slapping the bass while Shon plays one of his signature solos

Tagged Part 3

Tagged in 4's

In this tag you are supposed to choose your 4th picture in your 4th folder and write a brief description. This is a shot of Kate modeling a wig from the halloween costumes. The video of this moment is even better with her dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller".

Tagged Part 2 (Thanks, Amber)

7 Things I Can Do:

1. Play the piano
2. Play the organ
3. Spell anything
4. Decorate
5. Make it through new home construction without going crazy
6. Sing
7. Make lists

7 Things I Can't Do:

1. Cook
2. Draw (stick figures are about all I can manage)
3. Sew
4. Run fast
5. Ride roller coasters
6. Keep up with Jack
7. Anything involving computers

7 Things That Attracted Me to Shon:

1. His sense of humor
2. His taste in music
3. His mad kung fu skills
4. His intelligence
5. His innate coolness
6. His charming personality
7. His generosity towards me

7 Things That I Say Most Often:

1. No!
2. Because I said so
3. I don't know why
4. Meg!
5. Ben!
6. Kate!
7. Just a minute

7 Celebrity Admirations:

1. John Denver
2. Bono
3. Dwight Schrute
That's all I can think of.

7 Favorite Foods:

1. Homemade bread
2. Chips and salsa
3. Milkshakes
4. Fish tacos
5. Crunchy chicken salad from Artic Circle
6. Little hamburgers from McDonalds
7. Pie

Tagged Part 1 (Thanks, Christina)

10 Years Ago:

1. We'd just moved to Cleveland for dental school.
2. Life was simple with only one child.
3. I was babysitting during the day to earn extra money.
4. We lived in a third floor apartment with no parking--lots of fun with a kid, groceries, etc!
5. We had a frequently drunk landlord, who liked to knock on our door in the middle of the night.

To Do List:

1. Touch up the paint in our house.
2. Organize all of the kids' artwork, report cards, etc. (this very well may never happen--it's been on the list for the past 11 years).
3. Plan Ben's bday party.
4. Plan Thanksgiving, which means I have to either learn to cook really well right away, or just pay someone else to do it.
5. Laundry (always!)

Snacks I Enjoy:

1. Cookies.
2. Tootsie Rolls.
3. Fresh bread and butter.
4. Fresh raspberries.
5. Pastries.

Places I've Lived:

1. Provo, Utah
2. Ontario, Oregon
3. Cleveland, Ohio
4. Logan, Utah
5. Fruitland, Idaho

Places I've Worked:

1. BYU custodial--the 3am shift!
2. BYU dorm cafeteria.
3. Potato Growers--I actually worked in potato fields.
4. Water Conservation--once again, I worked in the fields.
5. Centennial Apartments

Pet Peeves:

1. Bad grammar.
2. Anything overly sentimental.
3. People I don't know well who knock on the back door--that's what the front door's for!
4. People who take up two parking spots.
5. Chewing with mouth open.

Things I Enjoy:

1. My new house.
2. Being alone.
3. Reading.
4. Playing the piano.
5. Concerts.

All Hallows Eve

The reaper, ballerina, football player, & witch


Which is rounder, Jack's head or the pumpkins?


Ben enjoyed kicking the rotten pumpkins at the pumkin patch --- no surprise.

Dad & Jack on the hay ride

Perdum's Pumpkin Patch

Another birthday

Can you believe our little Meg turned 11 this past week? We had plenty of pre-teen drama around the house with all the girls running around.

Fairy Princesses

Happy 5th birthday Kate! She had a "fairy princess" party with her little friends on Friday and then celebrated her birthday on Sunday with her family and grandparents. Fairy costumes, sugar overload, and lots of presents --- pretty much heaven for a 5 year old girl!

Soccer Weather?

Last week the weather for Meg's match against Boise was sunny and above 80 degrees. This week her team traveled to McCall where it was windy and below freezing. They managed to beat McCall 3-1 dispite the cold with Meg scoring 2 goals and 1 assist.

Firsts...

Meg is our first kid to get braces (but unfortunately won't be the last). She is really enjoying the expanders that were put in this past week.

Will he ever really walk?

Yes he can! (at 17 months)

Fall Sports

The kids are back in action. Meg is playing in a competitive soccer league with the team BC United "Lightning Strikes". So far they are 1-1. She scored two goals in their opening game but was shutout in the second. Ben is in his second season of optimist flag football. He is the quarterback this year and has scored three touchdowns in his first two games. His team won their first game but tied their second.

Ben on his way to a TD

Numero Ocho

Jack is still just a fan

New House

We finally completed construction on our new house and moved in a few months ago. We love having space. Our old house felt a little snug with four kids. Now we can go for days without seeing them :)

Our Kids

Cowboy Jack
Jack's new ride

Our ballerina, Kate

Ben won the pinewood derby (he broke his arm and dislocated his elbow playing football)

Meg would not be thrilled to see this posted

Dinosaur Park with Cousins