Sledding and McCall

This weekend we went to McCall for the weekend minus Katie, Clint, and Max. It was fun. We went sledding, watched movies, swam, and the boys went snowboarding at Brundage. It was a great weekend together as a family. Thanks for coming everyone!

Dad
Jeff chilling on his snow hill watching the action

Dad wiped out

Ryan and Kiley

Dad and Kade

Kiley, Kori, Kari

Mom

Ryan

Kiley

Kenzie hated the snow- she spent most of the time in the car

Jack didn't care too much for the snow either

Jeff buried

Jeff all bundled up

Coyote Killer

CAUTION: THE FOLLOWING IMAGES MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL VIEWERS! PLEASE DO NOT SCROLL DOWN IF THE SIGHT OF WOUNDED ANIMALS OFFENDS YOU!!!

LJ celebrated his graduation by going hunting. He killed his first ever coyote! He was very excited. Way to go LJ! :)

The mighty hunter and his prey
The prize

Waiting to die

Final moments

Graduation

LJ and his friend Matt Score
Me and LJ

The graduate!

Graduation

LJ graduated this summer from Boise State with a Bachelors of Health Science. Boise State does not hold a summer commencement so he had to wait to walk until December. Friday, December 19th he walked. As much as I dislike graduation ceremonies, I was proud to be there and see him walk! Congratulations on all the hard work LJ! And thank you to all of our friends and family who came to support LJ!

Brad Pitt in Boise??

Wednesday morning I came into school and my friend Kathie was just excited as can be. One of the teachers at our school catered a dinner the night before for Frank Marshall- the produced of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Frank was in town to do a showing at the Egyptian as a charity event. Frank swore that Brad Pitt was flying in on Thursday at 4:30 for the premiere. Needless to say, Kathie and I were going downtown to try and se Brad Pitt. I called my sister-in-law Anita and of course she wanted to come as well and invited our mother-in-law. We got downtown at 3:30 and parked ourselves in front of the red carpet bound and determined to see him. A few others heard the same rumor and came to see, but Brad never showed. My 5:30 our toes were numb and the movie was starting so we made our way back to the parking garage and left. No we did not see Brad Pitt- but it was a fun adventure anyway and a great chance to hangout with the girls!!

Anita in line with others
Anita on the red carpet
Me and my pose
Me and Brad
Anita and Brad

KURT IS HOME!!

Monday, December 8th for the first time in over five years, all of the Overall boys were home at the same time. LJ's brother Kurt returned from his mission to Mexico. It was a joyous occassion. I thought my mother-in-law was going to die when we found out his plane was delayed. And then to make matters worse, Kurt decided to be the last one off the plane! So there we all stood watching the last people trickle past the security gate and the anticipation grow by the minute. His brothers graciously greated him with pizza and an energy drink and then we headed back to Nampa to get him released. Welcome home Kurt- welcome back to the Clan.

Kellie, Peyton, Rick, Jake- waiting
LJ and Braddock

Everyone patiently waiting

Peyton, Matt, Jayson, LJ and Jake- the brothers without Kurt

Jake, Jayson, LJ

More waiting- Jayson, LJ, Anita, Rick and Kim

Brenton and Brailie

Anita, Rick and Peyton

Kurt and his energy drink

Kurt brought back some fresh tortillas with him- they look like a pair of granny panties

Kurt and Jake- they have not seen each other in 4 years

Hugs all around

Jayson hugging Kurt

Father and son embrace

Kurt hugs Brailie

Mom always gets the first hug

4 Places I go to over and over again:
1. South Junior High
2. Gold's Gym- gotta love getting sweaty
3. Idaho Education Association Building
4. My parent's house

4 People that e-mail me regularly:
1. Other teachers
2. My friend Debbie
3. Naudia
4. Parents

4 of my favorite places to eat:
1. Chilis
2. Taco Bell
3. Taco del Mar
4. Applebees

4 places I would rather be right now
1. Oregon Coast
2. In the mountains- Montana or Elk City
3. Washington D.C.
4. Alaska- always wanted to go there

I tag-Kristen, Terrie Beth, Terrie, and Cindy

San Jose

Last week I went to San Jose for the National Council of Urban Educators Association annual meeting. I traveled with 5 friends from Boise. We had a great time. We went shopping at the Great Mall in San Jose, walked around their Christmas in the Park, attended some GREAT training sessions, and learned alot about what is going on in Education Associations around the country. On Saturday after our meetings were over, we traveled into San Francisco for the day. That was an adventure. We took the light rail from our hotel to the Caltrain station. Rode Caltrain to the station by the SF airport, caught the BART into San Fran and then rode the trolley down to the wharf. We didn't have very long there, but I had never been so it was still a treat for me. We flew home tired on Sunday. It was fun for all!

The sea lions off Pier 39
Alcatraz

Me at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant on Forest Gump's Bench

At the banquet-Emilie, Andrew, Shannon, Me, Jason (from Oregon), Kathy, Andy (Oregon)

Shannon, Me, and Emilie with NEA (National Education Association) President Dennis Van Roekel

Thanksgiving and Football

I love Thanksgiving!!! We got up early that morning and braved the freezing weather to play football with LJ, his brothers, Kody, my cousin Matt, Anita's cousin and his girlfriend, and some of LJ's high school buddies. It was awesome! They actually let me play with them and I wasn't the only girl. :) My team lost, but it was still fun anyway. After the game we ate way too much at Rick and Kellie's house at 1:00pm. We headed over to my parent's house about 3:00. We had dinner there at 6:00pm. I ate way too much, but it was still a fun day.

I am grateful to have family close by and be able to see all of them. I am grateful for a wonderful husband and our great home and our two dogs. I am very blessed and I love living in Idaho!!

The boys
Me and Anita's cousin, Dustyn

The group huddled waiting for the others to arrive