Must be Santa...or is it??? & the Family Christmas Party

The doorbell rang last night and look who was there.  Is it Santa or the Grinch...not sure.  He brought some yummy treats and filled our home with laughter.  He is hilarious.

Burningham Family Christmas the party was held at our house this year.  The real Santa comes every year and this year no one was disappointed.  Even though it's a bit crowded, it is such a good time to have everyone here.  With the exception of my sister Jody who I'm sure watched from above, her son Josh, my niece and her husband Skylar, all were here.  We have an awesome family and are looking forward to celebrating my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary in a couple of weeks.  I think maybe we should do this monthly.  It was a lot of fun. 

Santa trying to tell Bridger that Bountiful High is the best, Bridger would not have anything to do with it, he is a true Wildcat. 

Caleb and Santa.

Bridger and Bree going to the Christmas Dance.  Thanks for being a good sports and letting me take some pics. before you left.

Boring is Good!

Every year I send out Christmas cards.  For several years I did a family newsletter as we have several friends who live quite a distance and it was the best way to update them on our lives.  Each year it was fun to see the changes of the boys and what they had been doing for the previous year.  Each year Wayne and I pretty much stayed the same, with the exception of growing older and getting a few more gray hairs.  Well, this would have been a good year to write a Christmas letter and I negelected to do so.  We had a lot of challenges and growing experiences this year, and personally, I'm hoping to go back to the same old newsletter of before. 

If you're a follower of our blog, you know that this year we:  Had an appendititus with a week long hospital stay, change of employment after 22 years with the same company, had a car stolen from the school parking lot - during school lunch, have new transportation, put a new roof on our home, had another earn his Eagle rank in Scouting, and a few other issues that have helped us to realize what is truly important in our lives.  Through all of this we were reminded that we have wonderful family and friends who love and support us.  It truly has been a year of growth for  us, and to be quite honest one that we are only too happy to say goodbye to. 

So, I guess all those  years I thought our letter was a bit mundane and perhaps boring, I'm so hoping that next year's letter goes back to just that.  Boring is good, I will remember that and not wish for things to write in my Christmas letters again.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ready for everone to come and eat.  Amazing how long it takes to get ready and only a matter of minutes it's over.  It was so yummy!

Now we are all decorated and ready for Christmas.  I love this time of year, but seriously wouldn't mind it was a bit warmer outside.  If it's going to be this cold, bring on the snow!

Going Private

I really hate to, however have been getting really weird comments from Anonoymous people. So, I guess it's time. Please email me your address if you want to keep up with what we are doing. It makes me sad to think there are weirdo's out there who have nothing better to do than stalk blogs and leave comments that are inappropriate.

So, let me know. Happy to add one and all, but need to know.  I will keep it as is until the first of the year.  But, please keep following...we love all of you!

Be-Leaf it or Not!!!

I love the Fall. However see these leaves they all must go somewhere. Guess where they go...yup, our backyard. Funny thing is, these do not belong to us. Seriously, if 10 leaves fall 8 of them land on our side. These are beautiful, they give great shade, but they have more leaves on them than one family should have to rake. I am grateful to my boys who complain very little about raking them up. When they start to fall, they all fall in about three days. It takes about a week to gather and bag them all up. Thank heavens for young, healthy men to aid in the clean up. I love them all, the boys that is, not necessarily the leaves. They also give me a little scare of one day falling on our house or yard. I think they need to be trimmed, but once again, these do not belong to us.

Still raking, this is the fourth day.

Almost done.

Here's a few of the bags, this really doesn't do it justice as to how many they get. Last year it was 28 bags. Holy raking, Batman!

They'll all survive...or will they...stay tuned.

In the Leafy Treetops takes on a whole new meaning. In fact, Caleb found an awesome bird's nest. I hope they come back next year, I love to hear them sing good morning!

Finally an Eagle!!!

Today was the day. Stetson had his Board of Review and was granted his Eagle. So, sometime in the next few weeks we will have a double Court of Honor and both he and Bridger will be awarded their Eagle Rank. Bridger has actually had his for quite awhile, but wanted to wait for Stetson to do the Court of Honor togeher. Now, I just have to convince him he still wants to do this. Way to go, after many years of hard work, service and dedication you can soar. We are so proud of both of them. Definately one of those "Pay Days" my dad always told me about.

Dressing Up...well almost

Bridger was invited to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance...they went as gangster's.

Wayne and I were invited to a Halloween Party on Saturday night. These are friends of ours that always have a party, but it's almost always during the hunting season. This year was no exception, however, with Bridger going to the Sadie Hawkins dance this freed up Wayne to be home for the party. We had so much fun, and as you can see, Wayne is not a fan of dressing up. This is him going as a deer, way to go...needless to say, we did not win for best costume. After reading the comments, I needed to clarify. We didn't have a costume. Wayne took off the deer ears as soon as we got there, and I was just wearing a pair of scrubs. I did have a mask and a stethoscope, but didn't have it on in the picture. I know, you're saying very creative. I love Halloween, and usually dress up as a witch, but decided if Wayne was going to be lame, so was I.

Happy 18th B-day Alex & Halloween Dress Up

Caleb ready to go the Halloween Party at the church. Gotta love when he chooses something so easy to come up with...we have tons of camo!!!

My mom and dad, Alex, Cindy and I wishing Alex a Happy Birthday. Love you tons Alpha!

Many of you know that I had a sister that passed away from cancer 11+ years ago. When this happened her cute kids were only 6 and 4 at the time. A couple of weeks ago, her oldest, Alex turned 18. They had a party to celebrate and me, my parents, my sister Cindy and her husband and my nephew were all there. This was a bittersweet day for me. I had a hard time thinking back to when we were all there at the hospital awaiting her entrance in to this world. Who knew that she would only have six short, very short years to enjoy her mom's company. It is times such as these that make me miss me sister Jody more than ever. Jody would and I'm sure is so proud of the young woman her daughter has become.

We love you Alex. Happy 18th B-day. I'm sure your mom is smiling from above.

Yellowstone National Park

UEA was this last week and the boys were out of school on Thursday and Friday so we decided to head to Yellowstone. It was a great trip. It was also General Conference weekend and what better place than one of the best scenic views of our Heavenly Father's creation to listen to our prophet and apostles give messages of encouragment and testimony as we drove through the park. It was so much fun to be together as a family, driving in beautiful country, watching wildlife, snow, fire, elk, buffalo, deer, mountain goats and we even saw two black bears. I hope we go again soon. Fishing the Madison River. The grandview of the waterfall that we saw from a vantage point that we had never been to before.

It was cold, the tetons were covered with clouds most of the day and then drifted with fresh snow.

Beautiful scenery to take in.

This is where you can go and see fish as the river bubbles up from Henry's Lake. Truly breathtaking...looks like a calendar photo.

In Mammoth, the elk live in the town. This is one of several that call this place home.

Here's the picture of the waterfall, without the boys in front of it.

Stetson in a Stetson. I wish we could have bought the sign to hang in his room.

Feeding the fish with the .25 fish food. The fish are 2-3 feet long...amazing.

Taking it all in. We didn't even watch movies as it was too much fun looking for the wildlife.

Totally Violated and the Pictures to Prove It...

They took the battery, the air intake valve, the air filter, the catalytic converter

The stereo, the inboard computer, his pencils (what the) broke the ignition column and steering column.

Last Wednesday Bridger's car was stolen from WX's parking lot. Hard to believe you say...yes. I would have never thought it would have happened to our family. We got a call at 11:45 p.m. that they had located it, abandoned and stripped of a lot of items. When we arrived at the scene, I really felt like this was an out of body experience. We had to have it towed to our mechanic located in WX. It's amazing to me to know how someone can come in and take all sense of peace and security in a matter of about 20 seconds. Darn jerks anyway.

Those of you who know Bridger, know he has worked extremely hard to pay for this car by himself and get it to where it wanted it.

Seriously, things really need to start heading uphill in our lives or I am thinking about running away and not telling anyone where I'm going...Ok, I'll tell Wayne and the boys. We'll be fine...I should have never put that quote on my blog of, "tough times never last, tough people do." I'm tired of being tough!

A month of Changes

Caleb showing off the fish he caught on the stream.

Stetson, ready to go to the Homecoming Dance.

My darling niece Morgan returns from the Spain Malaga Mission.

This past month has been one I do not wish to repeat. I had several changes in major areas of my life. I decided to change careers after 22 years, was released after serving as Primary President for just a few weeks shy of four years, and traded in my Expedition that I had driven for over 9 years. All of these changes would have been fine, if they came one at a time. But, I decided to do them all within a month of each other. I am a fan of consistency and do not do changes very well. However, I have survived and am moving forward and most days even smiling:)

First Day of School & New Ride

Caleb pondering if this really is where he wants to be...

Ready for 5th Grade...can't believe my youngest is there. Where does the time go???

Off to Woods Cross together. This reminds me of when they used to walk to elementary together. No carpool this year. Life is great!

Stetson first day of High School.

Bridger a Senior, hard to believe.

A very sad day, the last ride in the Expedition. I have to admit, tears where shed. I have driven this truck for 9+ years. Carpools, car seats, vacations, etc., etc., I was sad, but it's time.

Here's what is now in our garage. 2006 Toyota Sequia. I probably won't be sad for long. I think I've had too many changes this month. But, onward and upward.

A Week of High Adventure and Great Fishing

Wayne works with the Teacher's Quorum and this year for their week camp they went backpacking to the WinRivers. This is a hike where you take all that you'll need for the week in a backpack and carry it in. The hiked eight miles in to get where the best fish are. They had a great time and actually this was a return trip for Wayne. He went two years ago with Bridger and the quorum.

They caught way too many fish to count. And, had a terrific time. What a great dad and leader for these boys. We and they are so lucky.

Such a beautiful place to be and enjoy all of Heavenly Father's creations, and catch so many fish

One of the many that didn't get away. They sent many back to the river, that's part of the fun.