Its Christmas Time!!!!

Can you believe that Christmas has come and gone already??? It seems like we wait forever for it to finally get here, then all of a sudden its over. I love the Christmas season (minus the snow). I love the lights, the decorations, even the shopping. I always put up my tree the day after Thanksgiving so the season can last longer. We even had out lights up BEFORE Halloween! So here's a few pictures I managed to take of my holiday...

I got to cookin' like I always do (extra hard this year considering I'm not supposed to eat this yummy stuff anymore). I made yummy pecan tarts, gingerbread cookies, and pretzel/rolo goodies. Then I made gift bags of popcorn with seasonings to give away. It all looked so good, I hope it tasted good too.....

So every year we try to cram as many people into out house as we can. I don't know why we do this and not move to a bigger venue, but whatever. So with everyone in the living room, I try to find people to hand them their gifts. It is pretty crazy!!! Then the wrapping paper fights begin and it becomes a mad house. One thing though...I wouldn't change it for the world. This is my family, I love all the craziness and mayhem!! What would I do if I didn't have this to drive me mad?

Its fun to see people you don't get to see often, but its hard because you don't get to really visit and sit & talk much. I can't believe how large this family has gotten in the past few years. We were missing some people too. I'm just so happy to welcome new people into this wacky family and to get reacquanted with others who've been her awhile. I just don't like the clean-up afterwards. Where are my helper elves when I need them?

So my sister Christy gave everyone a Million-Dollar bill as her gift (they were fake). People got such a kick out of them and Tucker ended up with like $5 million I think. If only......

I'm so thankful for so many things. I have a great family, my health, a home, a job, etc. This Christmas was a great one and I appreciate all that I was given and thank everyone. Christmas has now come and gone, and now we begin a new year. I hope it is full of fun and adventure, and all good things for me & my family. I love you all and wish you a very Merry Holiday and an even better and joyous New Year!!!

WHaT I'M thAnkFuL fOr.....

I can't believe that another year has gone by and it's Thanksgiving again. There are so many things that I am thankful for in my life. My number one: my family. They are always there for me, supporting me, loving me. What would I do without them?? I'm also thankful for my health, my home, my friends, a job, movies & music, hugs & kisses, and ice cream (ha ha).

Just like every other year we had many come to dinner. I think we ended up with around 23 people that came for dinner and a few more for dessert. We stuffed ourselves with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, ham, yams, green beans, vegetables, and jello (not me...its gross). Then we ate even more when we had pie for dessert....all my favorites.....pumpkin, pecan, caramel apple, chocolate cream, and cheesecake. I love having family here but I sure do hate the clean-up.

For some reason (I'm mean) I like to get pics of people while they're trying to eat. There's something to be said about a picture with a fork in your mouth or food on your face. I just like catching people unaware and putting the pic on the internet.

Little Cathan loved the pie. Grandma Gayla couldn't feed him fast enough.

The little kiddies had a lot of fun running around and playing on the stairs with Uncle Josh. The stairs became a new toy to them. After all of their fun they were so tired they needed a rest on the floor.

Seeing Thanksgiving come and go is kind of bittersweet for me. I love this Holiday so much and look forward to it. But then all of a sudden its over and we quickly move on to the next holiday. I just wish we could spend more time on the things we're thankful for. And spend less time at the stores.

HaLLowEeN cAmE & WenT!!

It's that time of year again, the time where we can dress like freaks and its okay with society. I actually love Halloween for that reason. I love any reason to dress up in a totally random character and be that person for one night. I couldn't narrow it down to one costume this year so I had a costume change half-way through the events. I rented a costume for Halloween night but in the meantime I had another costume....as the devil. On Friday night before Halloween I was invited to Jamie & Taime's place for a party. So I donned my Devil-Lady costume and off I went....

I met up with my Zombie-brother Kelly where he got a little "close" with someone at the party. I think they make a great couple and I heard it could be serious.

I put on my costume for work on Saturday morning. When I got home to prepare for the next party, I met up with a tame kitty that I like to call Mom.

Ryker was our first Trick-or-Treater of the night. He came as a cute Train Engineer. He just liked all the candy that was put in his Thomas the Tank bucket. Then all kinds of people showed up....we had Vampires, bunnies, monkeys, clowns, and pirates. We don't discriminate at our house...everyone is welcome!!

Candace the Pirate-Godess!

I changed into my Bat-Girl costume when the party started. I have never worn a "real" costume before so I was excited to be a Super-Hero for one night. I was a little self-conscious of showing a tiny bit of skin(my arms) but no one knew it was me anyway...Duh, I was Bat-Girl!!!

Cupcakes I made with body parts.They were yummy...I heard.

All my buds!

This is the pics of the A-Team. We can take on the world with our unique abilities. We can control all things Bat, Redneck, Vampire, and Train. Who else in the world can offer that in one crew??

I love spending this crazy night with my family eating yummy food and treats. Such great times!!

IT'S PUMPKIN TIME!!!!!

Do you know what the best thing to do is on a cold and snowy night a few nights before Halloween?

You need to make a big ol' pot of homemade chili to heat you from the inside out to start then carve a few pumpkins. Since it was so dreary outside, my mom and I decided that tonight was THE night. We cleared the table off and let the carving begin. I am not a, shall we say, creative type person. So instead of making my pumpkin cool or scary...I made it cute! I carved flowers and polka dots. What can I say, I'm such a girl. To make matters worse I pulled out the paint and made it colorful too. My mom knew what she wanted but couldn't carve her pumpkin so I did hers for her. They both turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself.

We are not the most artistic or talented of pumpkin carvers, but I had a great time spending time with my mom and that's what makes it a great memory to share.

Ryan & Janette's Wedding!

My nephew Ryan married his beautiful Janette last night. They went through the temple that morning and had a luncheon at their church that afternoon. The reception was at a place in Sandy called Noah's. They reserved the large baquet hall and it was so beautiful. They served a mexican feast and authentic mexican drinks (YUM!). After dinner the dancing began.

Ryan & Janette started the festivites off by groovin' on the dance floor. Then they grabbed their parents for a dance. And took turns dancing with their new in-laws.

The floor was then open for anyone to dance. Cassidy, Julie, and Tucker headed for the floor to "Get Down". Cass took Ryker out to dance and he didn't know what to think, but he did it. I eventually headed out to the dance floor to dance with my two best guys....Tucker and Ryker. Let me just say one thing: I DO NOT DANCE! I have zero rhythm and make a fool of myself but I had so much fun dancing with everyone. I danced with my cool nephew Jared, with Cassidy, with Candace, and Joni even got my mom out there for the Macarena. The dancing went on until late in to the night.

In the Mexican tradition they do this dance where the bride & groom stand on chairs, join hands, and make an arch. Then all the women in the room take their shoes off (better traction), grab hands, and dance around the whole room and under Ryan & Janette's arms. It got really crazy when it was the guys turn. They got faster & faster going around the room. Chairs were overturned, and people had to hold on to Ryan & Janette so they wouldn't fall. But it was so much fun to be a part of and learn about their traditions.

Another tradition they did was when people pin money to the bride and groom for a dance. It was so cool to see all the money pinned on them as they danced around the room with the people who love them. My favorite was watching Ryan dance with his guy friends.

Ryan & Chelsea took me up to the top floor of the reception center. The cool thing aboutNoah's is that its a center that can have multiple uses. It has a requetball court, karaoke, a movie screening room, 2 billiard rooms, and an ice skating rink on the roof. Chelsea liked the billiard table ('nuff said).

This was the funnest wedding. I had such a great time and loved dancing with my family and taking pictures of everyone. But most of all, I am so happy for Ryan and Janette. We are so excited to welcome her in to the family with open arms. Congratulations to them and best wishes for a wonderful future.

Can Anyone Say CORN MAZE????

You know what is so great about fall coming on? Not the cold weather and not the getting dark really really early, but the fun of a good old CORN MAZE!!! We decided that we were tired of doing the same old boring stuff and thought a corn maze would be a fun adventure (thanks for the great suggestion Taime). So me,Tucker, Cassidy, Kelly, Jamie, and Taime trecked all the way to the land of Syracuse to see what we could do for some fun.

When we got there they had this cardboard cut-out of Jason and some of the group thought it would be fun to get "attacked".........guess they're into that kind of thing.

Side Note: I made them do it!

We decided to start on a journey into the maze and see where it would lead us. We started in one maze and our goal was to make it to the bridge that connected to a second maze. We made it (eventually) after many wrong turn, circles, and dead ends. We crossed the bridge and entered into the "Edward" Maze ( I will explain below) and tried to find the exit. After wandering for what seemed like many many hours (20 mins.), we found out that the exit was back on the OTHER side of the bridge. How were we supposed to know that I say???

We finally made it out after about an hour and a half. We Survived!!!!!!! What was cool about this maze was that it was cut into the heads of the guys from Twilight.

That's Right!

We walked around in Edward Cullen & Jacob Black's heads. Jealous??? (jk)

Outside of the maze they had all these cool home-made slides made from haystacks and tubing. Once again I watched everyone do it while I sat on the sidelines and took pictures with which to blackmail them.

It's what I do best!!

I loved watching the sun set over the corn stalks. It's so beautiful and majestic. But my favorite part of it all was who I spent the time with. I love getting a group together and having fun. We worked as a team to get out of the maze and had a great time doing it. My family is the best!!

Me with Tucker, Kelly, and Cassidy

Family Pictures!

So here's some pictures from our Haacke family picture day. The day actually turned out to be a dreary, cloudy, rainy day. I was so worried about how the pics would turn out. I think they turned out pretty good. This was the first time we've had almost everyone in one place in 7 years. We were still missing a few people but we had most everyone present.

Check them out:
All 12 children

Cute pics of Mom & Dad

Group photo of everyone

The way our family REALLY is...Wacky!

Girls vs. Boys

(Majority rules with the girls)

My nephew Ryan is getting married to the cutest girl!!! To welcome Janette to the family we decided to throw her a bridal shower. I found out that her colors for the wedding were going to be purple, black, & silver.....and I went a little over-board with my color scheme for the shower. I seem to pick a theme and then go wild, I'm crazy like that. My first idea was one I heard from my sister & I decided it sounded like a fun and unique idea. I went out and found some cute scrapbook paper and made a wedding cake out of pieces of paper folded into pie shaped pieces. You then fill them up with candies and at the end of the shower they can be your party favor to hand out. It turns out pretty cute but Ihave to say it was a lot of work.

Check it out:

My next order of business were the invites which I did in the same colors. In a funny twist of fate they were similar to the actual wedding invitations. I then decided that I wanted to have a dessert party, no food, except yummy fattening goodies. I called in the troops and sent out my orders for the best desserts. We had mini cheesecakes, dessert pizza, macaroons, and eclairs. I pulled out my chocolate fountain and we had a chocolate "bar" of treats to dip (pretzels, marshmallows, graham crackers, fruit, and gummi bears). Last but not least we had sherbet served in the peels of real fruit. For example, we had coconut sherbet in a coconut shell. Can you say delicious?????

As we were eating Joni received a "pretend" phone call from the bakery who was making Janette's cake. Joni had to tell her that they could no longer make her cake and that she was going to have to do it herself. So in front of everyone, and with no recipe, Janette had to "create" a cake. It was really funny to see her add ingredients from scratch. Then we had her set the oven, time it, and decorate the cake. She added frosting and a bride & groom of Anakin Skywalker & Padme. The cake was only about an 2 inches thick and had very little taste but it was a lot of fun.

We then opened all the gifts and the best part was seeing Janette get embarassed and start blushing when she got a few "sexy" presents.

We gave everyone the opportunity to write down why they would want to be a part of our crazy wacky family. We got all kinds of reasons: some serious, some sweet, and some downright funny. Whenever she needs a reminder she can pull those cards out and read how crazy & silly we really are.

I am so excited for Ryan & Janette. I wish them love and best wishes as they start their life together. We are so excited to welcome her into our very large but very loving family. Congratulations!!!!