The Six Kepharts

I can't believe the year is almost at an end. Christmas went by way too fast. With the new house under way, I felt like we just skipped over alot of December. Things didn't get done, but I think we will survive. Here's some pictures from the last week or so.Our snow day. We actually had a sled.Cecil Family Christmas party. We have to have them in a church, we are so big.


Construction under way at at the new house. It's going to look great.

Besides the inches of snow and school cancellations, we are excited about more changes in our life. I mentioned those "changes" in a previous post and how they were going to make Brandon and I very busy. I thought it was funny how many of you thought I was pregnant. That would only make me busy :)HA!.... We aren't expanding our family, but we are expanding our living space. We bought a new home. Well, it was built in 1975 and it looks like this. Yep, it was a foreclosure that was gutted by the previous owners. So, have no fear, we won't be moving any time soon. We have quite a bit of renovation to do. We are hoping to be moved in by March 1st. And sadly, it is out of the ward. It's only a few miles away, but in another ward. Today, Brandon's talented crew did this.

That is the hole in the roof where a hideous fireplace used to be. It was more like a mountain in the middle of the kitchen/family room. I'm a little nervous about the snow that was dripping into the house, but Brandon reassured me that it would be fine. Cabinets have been ordered, floors are on their way, so...stay tuned for more pictures of the remodel.

I'm pretty sure we seem crazy for doing this, but we love it. As previous recipients of the Henderson Beautification Commision Award (for our last house remodel), we are excited to have this fun project to work on for the next few months.

I'm famous!!!! Not really. A friend from our old ward writes for the Henderson Home News Blog. It's called Hometown Henderson. She approached me a few weeks ago wanting to feature me (and my handbags) on the blog. SURE!!

Here's the link:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/home-sweet-henderson/2008/dec/10/homemade-handbags-make-excellent-addition-your-war/

He is in his closet, sitting on the shelf. He hung his shirt on a hangar and buried his legs under pillow. I looked for him, but didnt' see him.

I can't believe I got Wilson a sweater. He recently got a major haircut (he was matted) and I thought he might need some warmth. I never thought I would have a dog with a sweater.

In the first 15 minutes of the show, the Divine Miss M dropped 4 f-bombs. That's right, 4!! I was shocked. I couldn't make myself even clap for her. Despite the potty mouth, the show wasn't even that great. There was an act with wheelchair dancing. It was really dumb. So, I sat there not happy just waiting for her to dissapoint me again so I could get up and leave. Lo and behold, she did it again! We left before the show was over. I hope she saw me walk out.

As soon as I got home, I jumped on line and got her address. I'm going to write her a letter! This is what it will say:

Dear Bette,

I attended your show recently in Las Vegas. I want you to know that I was deeply offended by your language during the show. I completely expected to see you shine. I was anticipating hearing some of your amazing songs. Instead, I heard language that made me very uncomfortable. I know that the audience that night was full of local educators and also some children. I feel that that kind of language was very inappropriate for that audience. Nowhere on your website, does it say that your show is inappropriate for children. It even say "children under 2 are free". I would be embarrassed if I took my 3 year old daughter to your show. I understand that this is Vegas, but an early performance (7:30pm) shouldn't contain the foul language that your show contained. I have seen many shows on the Strip, but none of them dissapointed me the way yours did. I'm very sorry that I have now lost a bit of respect for one of my favorite singers.

Sincerely,

A dissapointed fan

After leaving the theater feeling dissapointed, we drove down the Strip. All I saw was evil! I hate going down there at night. I love being sheltered in Henderson. As we drove past the Flamingo, I saw this on the side of the hotel:

Maybe there is hope for the Las Vegas Strip. I might go see this one. They probably won't swear.

I had to post something new just to get that pregnant picture of me off the top of my page. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I put that one on there.

Yesterday, I helped set up at the craft show (see right). Lots and lots of great things. If you want to get some christmas shopping done this weekend, stop by.

I am in charge of the PTA Fall Carnival at the kids elementary school this weekend. It's alot of fun to plan, but it's no fun the week before. So much to do. I have alot of great help, thank goodness. Let's just say on Sunday, I'm sitting on the couch all day (after church, and choir practice). It never ends!!

Then Thanksgiving, then my kids are on track break, I haven't got one Christmas present yet, and party after party in December. There may also be some changes in our family which would make Brandon and I very busy. Maybe I should change the title of this post to Busy Busy 6 weeks.

I always said I couldn't wait to be a busy Mom and be involved in lots of things. So be careful what you wish for.

My family has many, many birthdays in November. Today is Cody's 9th birthday. He thinks it's pretty cool that his birthday is also Veteran's Day. He doesn't think its so cool that he now has to share his birthday with his new cousin that was born this morning, Harbor Ashby Cecil. I'm sure he'll get over it. Here I am, 7 days past my due date. I was huge! I was finally induced at midnight, taken off pitocin after 12 hours....nothing. I got up to walk around and my water broke in the hallway. Instant pain.....epidural....... nap....... birth at 5:56pm. Cody was my biggest baby at 8lbs 6oz. He was a very hairy baby ( and, no, I didn't have ANY heartburn.) They shampooed his hair before I even got to hold him. We were so happy to have Cody in our family. It took over a year to get pregnant with him, so we were very anxious for him to come.Happy Birthday Cody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!We took advantage of the long weekend at went to Sea World, San Diego Zoo, and Wild Animal Park. We were on our cruise for Mason's birthday, we had to go somewhere for Cody's birthday. Oh, there were 2 lion cubs at the Wild Animal Park that were celebrating their 1st birthday today, too. They had a pinata in their habitat. It was cute.

AHHHHHHHH! I'm double digits today. Take a guess at which ones.

Grandma and I on our birthdays in 1980. I was 5, she was 64. Today my Grandma turned 92. She was born in 1916 in Silver City, Utah. She has been in Las Vegas for most of her life. Still to this day, she never misses anybody's birthday. Each of her 11 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren always recieve a phone call on their birthday. She sings her special birthday song, which she learned in Primary. So today, I took my kids out to see her and they sang her birthday song to her. She is getting pretty frail, but today she looked amazing. She was smiling and laughing. It was wonderful.
Grandma with Sydney and Olivia (niece) - July 4, 2005

I am usually pretty good about Halloween costumes. I tend to get pretty creative and sew great costumes or at least coordinate store bought outfits. This year we must have been busy because the costumes were put off until the last minute. Oh well, the kids still had fun.Mason as "Jack Sparrow". He was going to be Nacho Libre, but remembered you can't wear masks at school. So, he picked a costume out of the "last year's" box.
Cody was supposed to go camping with a friend over Halloween, but it got cancelled at the last minute. So...on Wednesday night, I was at Savers and Walmart looking for this costume. A boxer! We forgot to give him a black eye!
Sydney, the "cute" witch. She made sure everyone knew she was a cute witch. The hat kept blowing off and the broom was falling apart, but she was still cute.

Dallin had a costume. He was going to be Slash (the guitarist). He wore his costume to school, but then helped the scouts at the Trunk or Treat so he didn't dress up. He must be getting too old.

Surprisingly, the kids candy is almost gone already and I didn't eat very much. Yeah!

I read a statistic that the average person gains 10 pounds between Halloween and Christmas. That is not going to be me!

I filled my gas tank with less than $100. (I have a big car.) I paid $3.07/gallon. That was very good news.

Check out http://handbagsbynatalie.blogspot.com/ for some new fall styles. Please try to stop by the Black Mountain Rec Center next Saturday the 18th, and say Hi. Cody in his football gear.Sydney signing songs at football practice. She is an amazing lyricist/composer.

I love conference weekend! Not only do we get to hear great talks by Apostles of God, (which always seem to relate to me right now), we get to sleep in and be lazy all day. Our wonderful kids got up early, as usual, but they let Mommy and Daddy sleep in. Then, to make the morning even better, they made us breakfast! We came downstairs and conference was already on and our food was on the table. Brandon's was even low-carb for his current diet. I got Egg Beaters (healthy eggs), bacon, toast and grapes. Cody did the dishes (only the ones they used). It's days like today that I need to remember...so when I have grumpy Mom days, the memory might help. Thank you Dallin, Cody, Mason and Sydney. We love you!

I have always said, "Never pay full price." I am truly a bargain shopper. Here are a few of the treasures I've found at Savers.

Little girls black boots $9.99
I thought they were a little expensive, but Sydney is going to be a witch for Halloween and these are perfect.

Play Kitchen for outside $7.99My new serger. $29.99 *All accessories included.

Does anyone know how to work a serger?

The end of September brings.....

...Halloween Decorations. This spider is the kids' favorite Halloween decoration. It falls down when it senses motion. So if you come in our front door, bEwAre!!!

...and

...Wild Game Dinner. Brandon's co-worker, Rick, hosts a Wild Game dinner every year. Last night was time for it again. This year's menu included: Lobster Macaroni, Moose Meatballs, Elk Chops, Ostrich steaks, Kangaroo Pot Pie, Wild Boar, Greek Turkey, Pheasant Stew, Rocky Mountain Oysters (not seafood), Buffalo, Sweet Breads (not what you think), Halibut, Shrimp Ceviche, Wall Eye, and Mashed Potatoes. I tried the Pheasant, Wild Boar, and Ostrich. Not a fan!

(Our actual dirt!)

Everyone should be jealous of me. I have the best calling in the best ward...EVER!!! Today was our Primary Program and, me, being the chorister, worked really hard to get to this point. The primary kids sang their hearts out. They sang louder than in any of our practices!!!. It was definitely one of the best programs I have ever seen or conducted. The songs were great this year and even though I thought I would be sick of "I Am A Child of God" by the end of the year, it still was the highlight of the whole program. The Senior Primary sang the descant part written in the songbook which has an awesome harmony. Then a few kids sang the 4th verse in Spanish and then all of the kids sang the chorus in Spanish. It moved me to tears (and that rarely happens.) What a wonderful day!!!

Ok, so many of you have said the "The Office" is one of your favorite TV shows. Brandon and I had never seen it, but have heard alot about it. Flipping through channels last night, we stopped on The Office. We decided to watch for a few minutes to see what all the hype was about. IT WAS SO BORING!!!! IT WASN'T EVEN FUNNY!!! WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL? WE DIDN'T GET IT.

Thanks, Becky for the tag.

8 Favorite TV Shows
*Alias (no longer on)
*Biggest Loser
*Oprah
*Signing Time (PBS)
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8 Favorite Restaurants
*Jason's Deli
*Olive Garden
*Carraba's
*Sweet Tomatoes
*Chevy's
*IHOP
*Marie Callendar's
(I don't have very fine taste)

8 Things that happened yesterday
*went to Boot Camp
*had a PTA meeting
*watched nephews
*ordered food storage online
*tried to take a nap
*made dinner
*took Cody to football practice
*went to Middle school open house

8 Things I love about fall
*cooler weather
*apple cider
*my birthday
*sweaters
*colorful leaves
*wearing fall colors
*sport season for my kids
*start of the holidays

8 Things on my wish list
*my dream house being built
*my family always being healthy
*losing 20 pounds
*my kids to pick up after themselves
*no car payments
*Brandon's dreams of financial wealth to come true
* a camping trailer
*another cruise

That wasn't too bad. I really had to think.

Well, I think I'm done recovering from our week long cruise vacation. I think I'm caught up on sleep and the ground isn't moving anymore. Laundry is done and I'm ready to blog! Our family, and Grandma and Grandpa Cecil, went on a 4 day Baja Mexico Cruise. Yep, we took the kids out of school for a week. Here's a picture getting on the ship, when the kids still liked being around each other. Mason and Grandpa Cecil celebrated their birthdays on the ship on Tuesday. We got dressed up and ate in the fancy dining room. We realized we need to teach the kids some manners.Our first port of call was Catalina. We rented golf carts and explored the island on our own. FUN!!!! Brandon got a little crazy on his golf cart with the boys, but they enjoyed it. The boys went snorkeling in Descano Bay and we did some shopping. The cruise ship was anchored off shore so we had to take a small boat ashore. It was very interesting how they just opened up a door on the side of the ship and we hopped in a small boat. Our next port of call was Ensenada Mexico. It was as ghetto as I thought it would be. The kids thought it was amazing that they were in another country. They got a Mexican soda and we hopped on a shuttle bus (with an insane driver named Meno) and drove really fast to La Bufadora, a blowhole. The blow hole was pretty cool until I got drenched by it. We bought some crappy souveniers (Nacho Libre mask, luchador wrestling guys, guitars, a bull whip that wasn't allowed back on the ship, and some leather sandals) ate some tacos and headed for the horseback riding tour.

Thursday was spent all day on the ship. We swam, hung out by the pool, had ice cream cones, played mini golf, had ice cream cones, launched water balloons, had ice cream cones, and sent the kids to the Camp Carnival while the grown ups ate in the dining room again. Our waiters all week were Igor from Macedonia and a girl from Serbia that talked in a deep voice and was kind of scary.

We ate "new" foods, saw Vegas-style shows every night, stayed up late (10:00pm), danced in a night club, played the slot machines (Brandon made me do it), and had an amazing week. The 24 hour buffet and all-you-can-eat ice cream was definatly the highlight for the boys. I think Grandma and Grandpa are going to need some time to recover from us, but we are glad they came. I thought it was funny that my dad and I kept ordering the same foods. We are more alike than I thought. I would highly recommend this cruise for your next family vacation. We were all kind of sick of each other on the way home on Friday, but we are better now.