If you like omelets...

then you have to try making "Ziploc" omelets at home. First, a BIG thank you goes out to Grandma Thornock for sending me the recipe, thanks :) All you do is get a large freezer Ziploc, break 2 eggs and put inside. Close the top so you can shake and mash with your fingers until they are mixed well. Add your favorite ingredients. (Chad and I put green onions, bacon, tomatoes, and cheese in ours.) Close and shake again. Make sure all the air is out of the Ziploc. All you do is put it in a pot of boiling water for 13 min. exactly. You just cut the bag or open the top and it slides out beautifully. Chad and I were amazed at how light and fluffy they were, and ohhhh so good. You have to try it!

Our first visit from the...

Tooth fairy happened this past week. Keaton started telling me his tooth was "wiggly" and kept playing with it. Of course Chad started to tease Keek when he found out, saying that he could yank it out for him if he wanted, which I could tell scared my poor little guy. So I told him to wait and in a couple of days it would fall out and sure enough, it did. Thursday morning it fell out and that night when I was at Aerobics, Chad helped Keaton put his tooth in a little envelope and under his pillow before he went to sleep. It was so cute to see him run towards his room that next morning fast as lightening, when I asked him if the Tooth fairy had come. The Tooth fairy had come and had left him one dollar and 2 quarters in place of the envelope. (What a nice tooth fairy, huh? :) He was so excited to show Chad his treasures when he got home from work. (And Sam was beside himself with jealousy. He kept touching all of his teeth, seeing if they were loose :) Chad asked Keek if he wanted to give 10% of his money to our Bishop for tithing and Keek got really excited about that. Sunday morning before church I had Keek help me fill out a tithing envelope. I let him put the money and slip inside and write his name on the outside of the envelope. The cutest part was that he kept telling me that he had to put the envelope in his shirt pocket. Chad always puts our tithing envelope in his shirt pocket before church, and I guess Keaton knew it. He was sad that it didn't fit like Daddy's did, but he got over it and held it in his lap during the Sacrament meeting. The whole time he sat by me and asked if it was almost over. He just couldn't wait to give it to the Bishop. Keaton is such a good boy and I was so proud of him. I hope that this will help him grow a testimony of paying his tithing at an early age and make him want to continue to do so in the future.

A Brand New Year

There isn't a better way to start out a new year, then to get together and catch up with old friends. Chad and I were able to go out to lunch with Sara, her hubby Pete, and their sweet baby Hailey before they flew back to Virginia. Sara and I cheered together in Junior high and have been good friends ever since. We have managed to get together only a few times since she has moved, so it was a real treat for me to see them and chat for a few hours.

At the start of a new year, I can't help but look back and be grateful for all of the wonderful things that have happened in our family this year. Here are just a few highlights I'll remember:
- My first trip to Portland, to see Chad's Grandparents.
- Taking the kids to the Rexburg, Idaho Temple open house.
- Chad and I's first trip to Hawaii.
- Keaton playing his first year of T-Ball.
- The boys loving their first year of swimming lessons.
- Finally getting grass in our backyard, Wahoo!!
- Trading out our Suburban for a minivan (wait, maybe that's a bad thing :)
- Keaton starting Kindergarten who is now Cute Mister Smartypants.
- Sam starting his first year of Preschool (which gives nice breaks to his Mama).
-And probably the best thing of all, da da ta da-
Sam getting potty trained! That's 2 down and 1 to go!

Looking ahead, here are a few things that I am looking forward to in 2009:
- A weekend trip to St. George, just me and Chad.
- Another year of T-ball, swimming lessons, with maybe adding soccer lessons for Sam and dance lessons for Emmi.
- Completing the deck, and landscaping in the backyard.
- Finishing my medical transcription training and getting a part-time job, working from home.
- Now, this is NOT an announcement right now, but maybe we'll be adding our final baby to the mix.
- Start working on finishing the basement. (That's more like wishful thinking)

Whatever does happen, I am excited for a new year, and all the experiences it brings. How about you? What are you looking forward to?

A Very Merry Christmas

I know that I am super late posting these Christmas pictures, but let me explain. See, we have had a virus on our computer and had to wipe it clean and start all over again. So, I just barely got my computer back. We had a wonderful Christmas at our house and got to see lots of family too. On Christmas Eve we got to go to my Grandma Hess' house and sit on Santa's lap. Emmi had a hard time with Santa this year as you can see, but the boys loved him!This is a cute shot of while we were waiting for Santa. Left to right, my brother-in-law Rob (I wish he wasn't so hidden), Nephew Tanner, Sam, my sis Erin, and Keaton.All of my Grandma Hess' 10 Great Grandchildren were there Christmas Eve. We were lucky to get them all to sit still for a minute. Left to right: Lauren (Jeff and Ab), Brightyn and baby Dax (Katie and Donovan's), Carson (Nate and Shelby's), Halley (Katie and Donovan's), Zach (Nate and Shelby's), Tanner (Jeff and Abby's) and Sam, Keaton and Emmi (Mine).Here we are listening to Grandpa "B" tell us the story of Jesus' birth before we open presents. That's my cute Mom sitting with the kids.Lauren and Emmi showing Abby how excited they are about their Cinderella dolls.Emmi's face was just priceless after she opened this big beagle stuffed animal from Uncle J. It really is as big as she is, but she still drags it around with her anyway.Sam and Tanner sporting their new Hulk jammies and "Hulk Hands" that Grandma and Grandpa gave the boys for Christmas. They wouldn't put those things down!Emmi cried and cried until we gave in and made the boys let her wear their Hulk Hands. I snapped this picture just after Em went over and popped Damma for no reason. You can tell my Mom was surprised!Christmas afternoon we went over to Chad's Mom and Dad's house and finished out the holiday. Kim gave the boys remote control trucks. Here is Chaston and Keek taking them out for a spin in Kim's dance studio.The boys again and their trucks with my niece Mccall down playing in the corner. Kim gave the girls very nice babydolls.Sorry, this is a little out of order, but this is Christmas morning. And this year more than any, it looked like a tornado hit by time everything was opened, (so don't mind the mess :). Emmi just loved the kitty that Santa brought her. This is her giving her kitty a kiss.Papa surprised her with another "baby".The boys got Star Wars toys and lots of transformers, so I say that they made out pretty good! It was another year that Chad waited to go shopping until Christmas Eve. He was gone for hours, but he spoiled all of us rotten, (especially me) so I can't complain. We hope you all had a great Christmas too!

Our Family 2008

These are some of the pictures that were taken at our photo shoot with Lindsay, (that I had mentioned in my last post). Even though I got quite a lot of funny faces from the boys, I got sweet pictures. These are my favorites. Thanks again Lindsay, you did such a great job!

Help! How do you...

teach your kids how to smile for the camera?? Or is it just a matter of making them laugh? Just recently we got family pictures taken by my good friend Lindsay (Child) Stevens who is amazing at what she does. And to her credit we did get a handful of beautiful pictures (above is one and I will post the good ones soon), even though my boys were pulling faces. No matter what we said or did, these two wouldn't give Lindsay a decent smile. At first I thought that they were being stubborn, but I am starting to think that they don't know how when asked. Do I make sense? If any of you mothers have any help please share!!

The Hunsaker Clan 2008

I know that Thanksgiving Day usually means turkey and all the trimmings, but at the Hunsaker house it also means family picture time. This year was no exception. Before we were able to stuff ourselves on all of the delicious food, we headed out, kids and all to take some snapshots. We decided to pay homage to the Fam's favorite football team, knowing that the men would be delighted not to dress up; (I joke with Chad that BYU paraphernalia is the only thing he wears anyway). Yes, we are quite aware that our team did lose this year, but we still love them. The first shot above is Kirk and Kim and the grand kids.

We are saying, "Go Cougars!" Notice what my boys (on the right) are doing in this picture, they make me smile.

Another one of the whole clan. I don't know why I'm laughing and I don't like myself in this one, but everyone else is so cute, so I swallowed my pride and posted it. (I just barely realized that I am also the only one wearing a white shirt in the picture. Oh dear! It's the only BYU shirt I own :)

The kids. 3 boys and 3 girls. My favorite is the little cheerleader in the middle:)

Daddy trying to steal a kiss, but Emmi has a mind of her own.

Just my three little cuties.

Uncle Tyler trying to get her to smile.

Sorry, I have a lot of Emmi on here, but I just couldn't resist her in the uniform, piggy tails and shy pose. She is my sweetie.