Christmas Chaos at the Sobeks

It looked as if Santa's elves decided to throw all their extra wrapping paper and bows in our family room, because by 7:15a.m. our house was a disaster! Needless to say, the kids had a blast, and loved everything they got. We heard not one "peep" for most of the morning as all the kids headed in their own directions to play with their shiny new things. I was hoping for a nap, but I had some baking/cooking to do because some really good friends invited us over for Christmas dinner. A good time was definitely had by all! Our kiddos had no naps, so after the festivities at the Gilbert's the kids settled down for hopefully a long winter's nap (aka quick to bed=sleeping in time for Mommy the next day!) Here are some pictures from yet another chaotic but pleasurable time at the Sobek household. Happy New Year everyone!!
This first bunch of photos are from Christmas Eve, my children did not want to take pictures, so as you can see, there aren't any good ones of all 4 of them looking at the camera...

This one is after about ten attempts..someone is getting upset, can you guess who?

Here she is full melt-down and all....

This was after I told her she could open Julia's present if she smiled for me...

This next bunch is from Christmas afternoon at the Gilbert's. They have a beautiful backyard with lots of leg room to stretch out and enjoy yourself in!



This is one of my favorite pix. David captured..it is as if the whole world is passing her by and she could have a cared less...


If you are wondering about the band-aid, she wanted one about three days ago, put it one needlessly, left it on too long, and now she actually has a boo-boo there because of it!


I promise I am ABSOLUTELY up to no good!!!!

I love these next two pix. also. They are my little Ave teaching herself how to swing....

Uhhhh Babe?? Do you have a question or concern you would like to ask me????

These last two are for your enjoyment only. I was riding a bike, and actually kind of forgot how!! It has been way too long..needless to say I did not fall, but it was scary at times all the same!

Christmas Parties Galore

Josh's class had a Christmas party and they sang some cute songs. Here are some pictures ffrom his last day, he is as animated as ever!

First, they played musical chairs to the sounds of Christmas music...

This is the class playing pin the star on the Christmas tree (His teacher is spinning him)

Here they are getting ready to sing...

Here is the first one of Josh and his musical talent...




Here he is enjoying the goodies..so cute!!!

The girls also had a Christmas party and Santa came and surprised them. This is the first time they got to see him, so I was really curious to see their reactions...

These two ladies are their wonderful teachers, Ms. Josephina, and Ms. Aunite Beth...



This is my two little ones waiting ever so patiently for Santa to arrive....


Here is the man of the hour...

At first Audrey was soo excited to see him, BUT......


Once he got up and personal, trying to shake everyone's hand, she refused! Covering her eyes and all!

Avery was one of the only 3 children that would sit on his lap from the class, but she would not take her fingers out of her mouth to save her life!


Trying to get a picture with my girls....

Well I hope everyone enjoys the Holdiays with friends and family, and remember the reason for the season!!

Gingerbread House

Josh had his annual Kindergarten gingerbread house event a couple of weeks ageo. I am pleased to say Daddy got to go this time. Here are some pix from the event:

Here is the final project...

On another note, Hailey got placed permanently on JPO at school. She is no longer an alternate. This whole week she had to wake up early and stay after school to do it. Way to go Hailey! We are very proud of her!

Josh's Famous Last Words

Lately Hailey and Josh have really been getting on each other's nerves. (Ok, and definitely mine too!) So I have recently thought of this little "game" if you will of where they have to stop what they are doing (usually yelling at each other) and say something nice about the other person. This usually calms them down and gets them thinking. Well Josh started for once and said something nice, and Hailey vice/versa. Then Hailey says "mom, how about you? can we say something we like about you?" I say "sure". Josh steps right up and says "This is easy, Mom gives us expensive things when we're good, OK things when we are OK, and she spanks/yells at us when we are bad." I said "Josh that wasn't necessarily a compliment", and he says "Sorry Mom, but if I got more of the expensive stuff I would have nothing to fight with Hailey or the babies about!" I didn't know whether to laugh or be upset. All I know is he definitely is paying attention, even if I think he isn't! Hopefully he will learn one way or the other to BEHAVE!!!!!

FHE Fun

Tonight for FHE we decorated the Christmas tree. The kids had a lot of fun. I got smart this year and bought some plastic balls, so no broken glass everywhere! also this past weekend David was able to decorate the outside with lights all a'glow. He even braved the higher part of the roof, just over the girls' bedroom. Way to go Babe!

Here is some pix. of our family fun...minus David unfortunately he had to work. We ended the night with Home Alone 2 and some homemade popcorn from my mom's Christmas gift she gave me last year. Happy Holidays!

Unfortunately my car is blocking the bushes where there is a netting of lights over them.

FAMILY=THANKFUL

My girls are doing great in Pre-School, Josh is soaring in kindergarten(academically any way), and Hailey is becoming such a beautiufl young and vibrant lady. I am so tahnkful for my Husband who works so hard for us, to keep us afloat and happy financially as much as possible. I really feel blessed. One of my favorite things I still get is "homemade" crafts from the kids. The girls now have started, and it makes me smile from ear to ear knowing they are so proud of their work. I love my family and am so grateful you guys are in my life=-)
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

See if you can you tell whose little hand is whose!

Josh is learning about "The First Thanksgiving". He had to put together a book describing it for his family. They also learned two songs about the Pilgrims.(Sorry it is a little blurry)

This last clip is of Joshua singing...

Laie Hawaii Temple

Today was the temple re-dedication, and President Monson, President Eyring, Quentin L. Cook, and Elder Walker from the seventy were all here speaking at the temple. It was a great and humbling experience to know that my "little" two hour contribution of time helped make fellow members and on-lookers have an enjoyable experience at one of the most beautiful places on earth. My family and I went through it on Veteran's Day, and it gave me such a sense of security, and warmth to know I have another place I can come to in a time of need. President Eyring's talk I think I loved the most because he named three things we should always do/remember when going through the temple. Gratitude, Light of understanding, and to feel the love of God. It is always up for interpretation, but I especially thought about the Light of understanding and how it applies to myself in that to have a greater light and knowledge from within, I need to have a better understanding of the scriptures and the Lord from the inside out.

President Monson is one of my favorite Prophets (besides President Kimball) because he almost always relates a story or a personal thought to his talks. This time he opened with "Temples are built through trials, tears, and testimonies." I loved that! I am so glad that Hailey and I got to go together to share the experience.

When our family went on Veteran's Day, I decided to TRY and get some photos of us in our Christmas clothes to put on our Christmas card we send out. Well, as you can see above Josh went from bad to worse when it came time to look our best. The kids actually did great through the temple and even for the video, but it was almost 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and they hadn't eaten lunch, and even though I promised them all McDonald's..it was to no avail. They were done! So here is what I got much to my dismay, and yet I will always remember that at least we did it together.

This is actually my favorite pix. I took. David is right in front of these three holding Audrey

5th Grade Science Fair

The fifth graders at Hailey's elementary school had a science fair this year, and Hailey (to my surprise) was really excited about it. She chose her topic (with the help of her Dad), and after 6 weeks of experimenting and watering, she won 2nd place! We are so proud of her accomplishment! They had judges come around and ask questions. It had to fit into 3 sub-divisions/categories. If it met the criteria for the scientific method, if the Hypothesis was clearly stated and/or had the proper research to back it up, and finally if it was followed through by data analysis/and conclusion. Each class had four winners, 2 that went to District, one "WOW" factor winner, and a Kid's Choice award winner. Hailey won the "WOW" factor for her class. (Meaning they "Wowed" the judges with either the experiment in itself/or with the data they collected,etc.) Plus, the added A+ for the assignment didn't hurt either=-) Here are some pictures from the night. Oh! I almost forgot to say what it was on...Her hypothesis question was" What is the effect of two different light sources on plants?" She did Florescent lighting and sunlight. The results actually were quite interesting, the ones under florescent light did not grow "up" but rather in width,(to catch as much light as possible. One of the plants actually started to grow to the side!)Plus, not peppers or chili's grew on them at all. The ones outside grew straight up and grew three chili's on one plant, and a little green pepper on the other. Way to go my Hailey bug!

This is Hailey and her teacher Mrs. Rios.