MY, HOW TIME FLIES!!!!!

Well, here we are in March 2010. I'm thinkin' Facebook took over my life. I keep in touch with people there.
O.K. I'll see if I can catch you all up.

Grayson had just turned 10. He is in the 5th grade and plays the Alto Sax in band. He loves to read the books his teacher has been choosing for Book Club. He loves to draw, play with his D.S., air guns and ride his bike.
Hailey turned 8 in May and was baptized and confirmed by her dad. He was very nervous, but he did such a great job! Hailey is in the 3rd grade. She has lots of friends to choose from. They change daily because there is ALWAYS girl drama. Her teacher loves Hailey. She is a very big help to her each day! She started taking piano lessons in November and loves it! She loves her piano teacher, Kristen. She is moving right along in her books.
Summer went quickly and Analeigh turned 3. She's a ball of fire! Everything she does is BIG! She throws big tantrums, she laughs a lot and LOUD, she talks LOUD, she changes clothes at least 3-4 times a day because she "got it wet with wata (water)"..... She's very strong willed and I am grateful because it will be good at a later time in life (I keep telling myself that). She has quite a large vocabulary for a 3 year old. I give credit to her dad for that. He loves words. He looks up every "new" word he hears. If he doesn't know the meaning, he looks it up. (I'm trying to teach my kids to do that. They're not quite as enthused yet.) Last night, Analeigh told me I was hilarious. We were just playing a silly little game and she was having such fun!
Sarah turned 6 in September. She's a KINDERGARTENER. She is reading and doing math just like her brother and sister! She loves her teachers! She and Hailey equally love being outdoors. You can always see one of them carrying one of our cats around or laying on the floor with Nakita. Any time we hear the cat getting mad and growling, we have to tell Sarah to put it down.
Jeff is working a lot at Madison Memorial Hospital as one of his shifts for work. He has also been able to get some shifts doing security for Okland Construction. They are doing the new construction at BYU-Idaho - a new auditorium that will seat 15,000 and adding onto the Manwaring Center.
I am still working at BYU-Idaho for Security & Safety. The name has been changed from Police and the officers are now Security Officers. It was changed in October 2008. The Safety office was moved in with us and we have some fun people to work with.
We are moving along in live just like everyone else... quickly. The months seem to fly by.
We are looking for a new home. We grew out of our home a long time ago and as looking for something a little larger...okay, a LOT larger. It's fun looking but I'm ready for action!
I'll keep you informed!
Happy Easter to everyone!

IT'S SPRING???? Or is it?????

This is probably the MOST confusing year for weather. One day it's blizzarding, the next, it's 50 degrees, then it's snowing again! How fair is that??

The kids just take it all in stride.

Let's see.....it's been way too long since I posted. I guess I'll start with Christmas. Yikes! that's 4 months ago.
We had a nice Christmas. My favorite part is my family getting together at Mom and Dad's on Christmas Eve. This year we did it at Michael and Ruth's house. It was great. Mom discovered some costumes and the kids re-inact the Christmas story. Michael was the narrator. Danielle's husband, Jason, was Samuel and the kids were Joseph, Mary, wisemen, animals, etc. Then, we have the gift exchange. It was a fun night. I love getting with the family. It's been so great having Michael and Ruth and their family close. I know that they miss California, but it is so good to have them here. We missed them at all the family stuff just as much as they miss their friends that are still in California.
The kids had lots of fun the next day opening their "way too many gifts". We were very blessed by friends and family. Someone did "Sub For Santa" for our family this year. They had gifts for everyone. I wish that I could thank them personally because it was such a sweet surprise. Those people will be blessed as well.
I had to work a lot of really crazy shifts for the holidays because our student employees were gone for the break, but it all seemed to work out. There have been a lot of changes in our office.
We are no longer Campus Police. The police authority has been removed from campus and we are now Security & Safety. 5 or our police officers went to work for the Rexburg City Police. We miss them. 2 full-time dispatchers are no longer there and it's just 2 full-time dispatchers left. The rest of the shifts are covered by students. I have been made Dispatch Supervisor/Office Assistant. It's been a very busy transition for all of us. My friend Patricia has been helping. I couldn't have done a lot of it without her.
Sarah started pre-school at Adams Elementary in January. She absolutely loves it! They built a new school in Burton and they have moved the pre-school out there now, but they are very excited to be in a brand new school. Two girls from our neighborhood are in her class. Lilly Hodges and Payton Fullmer. Their moms take turns taking the girls to class and I pick them up when it's over. One day, I showed everyone what a really great mom I am. I forgot to pick them up! I was mortified. They were none the worse for wear, thanks to the great teacher they have. She just said that I had forgotten that it was a school day, but I was on my way. Geez!

Jeff recently had knee surgery and is recovering very quickly. It was quite a day. We started out in the surgical center but Malignant Hypothermia (an alergy to anesthesia) runs in one side of Jeff's family and we had to be transferred to the hospital instead. He had to be observed for 6 hours following the surgery. He was VERY happy when they finally said he could go home. He says his knee tells him when he's knelt too long. It still doesn't really care to be knelt on much yet.
Grayson's 10th birthday was yesterday. He turned 10! He got a brand new bike and just can't spend enough time on it. We were supposed to celebrate with family on saturday, but he has strep. He got a shot....thanks to Dad, and is feeling much better now.
Hailey is getting ready to be baptized on June 6. She is so excited. She is also excited because it's her 8th birthday and she FINALLY gets to have a birthday party. She's been planning it for 2 months. She is upset because it's not a boy/girl party. Geez~I can hardly wait 'til she's a teenager.
Analeigh is 2. Need I say more? She is growing and learning by leaps and bounds. Her brother and sisters can't keep up with her (needless to say neither can Jeff and I). She refuses to be left behind on anything her siblings do. She's a smart one. She's the only one of my 4 kids that have figured out that if you want to go somewhere with mom and/or daddy, you'd better be ready. When she finds out we're going, she rushes around getting dressed or getting her shoes and coat as she's saying,"Can I come?" I know I don't tell any of my family often enough, how very much I love them. I am so blessed by a good husband and 4 beautiful kids. I love them so much!
Well, I guess it's time to end this and learn how to post the photos. I'll be contacting Ruth and Jill very soon to get their assistance. I didn't realize I was so computer illiterate!
Love to all who are reading this. Thank you for all the love and support you give me each and every day.

We love the Hills

Hi, this is Jill. I'm the in-law to Donna and proud aunt of the Hill kiddies! I busted into the Hill blog and have pasted some pix I have of them. Don't mind me while I brag a little, too! :)


Jeffrey Grayson is a boy after my own circumstance. The oldest child, followed by several of the opposite gender. Also the oldest (of this young generation) of cousins. He has maintained his masculinity despite all the dolls and pink in his house! Good job, Grayson! He is very analytical and is a thinker! His talents are emerging in the sports area of his hobbies. He is generous and caring of others. His sisters are lucky to have such a nice boy be their big brother! His cousins are more than thankful to have him as an older cousin.

Hailey Jo has a fun personality like her mom. She is a tease but is also really good with the kids! Hayden adores her and they seem to have a bond like no other. I think its mostly because Hailey pays attention to and plays with him. Who wouldn't love someone making you feel special?!

Sarah Elizabeth is the quiet, cuddly, sweet spirit of the family. When she smiles, it's genuine and lights up the room. She likes to be right up in the action and is very motherly to Analeigh and her dollies. What a sweetheart!

Analeigh Paige is the highlight of our family. The youngest grandchild with a wit like her dads that makes her really fun to play with. And...just TRY to stay grumpy when you get a hug from her or hear her laugh!!

These two are a hoot to be around! Between Jeff's foreign accents and quick wit, and Donna's contagious laugh and fun personality, one can't help but love them!

The most appreciated thing that they've given to us is their time. They are always supporting us in whatever hairbrained activity or procrastinated birthday celebration that I can come up with. I sure love you guys and am glad to call you family!

It all started when...

Well, here I am...FINALLY starting our blog page. Everybody has one you know! If Ruth can do it, then so can I. (Sorry Ruth!)
Since I will be sending this to people who know us, I won't bore you with early details, I'll just start with today. I go to work from 4-8 am (dispatch) and then come home, get the little girls off to day-care (if needed) and then go back from 10-2 (office assistant). On Mondays, I go directly to Scouts, where I am the assistant Wolf leader. Jeff is on the day shift right now, so he works 7 am - 7 pm. He gets the kids up in the morning and Christina, our nanny, gets them on the bus at 7:30 and waits for me to come home at 8. When Jeff's home, he gets the kids on the bus and then gets the little girls breakfast and GETS to play with them ALL DAY! It's a crazy schedule but we do what we can!
Grayson is in 4th grade. His teacher is a "long lost cousin" and he thinks that's really cool. He really likes school and gets good grades. He is on a wrestling team right now. I just learned that the wrestling season goes into early spring. He is supposed to wrestle his first tournament on Saturday. He's a little nervous and wants to "just keep practicing".
Hailey is in 2nd grade and loves school too. More than that, she LOVES to sing. She sings all the time. And, since big sisters are "all that", her little sisters are always singing too. They take after their mom in that respect.... I LOVED to dance! Hailey is a very pretty girl. She's 7 going on 13 and sometimes scares her mom and dad because she wants to be grown up NOW! She and Grayson are members of Kid Corps. Grayson plays the snare drum and Hailey is playing the tenor drum and "flourishing". IT IS SO FUN!
Sarah is 5! She missed the school deadline by 5 days so she gets to start pre-school at Adams in January. She is very excited to go to school. She loves to dress up as a princess and sings and dance. She's a sweet little girl and gets her feelings hurt easily ( a little too easily) sometimes.
Analeigh is 2. HOLY COW! She's a busy girl! She has to be just like her big sisters and she does (literally) EVERYTHING they do! She is, however, her own person and likes to have some "ME" time with her baby. She talks to her and rocks and sings to her. Just the other day I heard her say,"Be good. Mommy spank you butt". Hmmmmm. Where in the heck did she hear that???? Then yesterday, we were on our way out the door and she kissed the baby goodbye and said,"Have nice day. Be good, love you too". That, she gets from me. : ) I don't have time to attach photos right now but I will get that done as soon as I have time to sit and figure it out. It's time to go for now, but I will return. Love to all!