Christmas Greetings!

To all of our family and friends, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I did not get a chance to send out Christmas cards this year but we hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas full of great memories and a New Year that will bring you all happiness.
This past year has gone by quickly. We have had our fair share of heart ache and our fair share of great joy. I am greatful that I have my family close by me, the love of a wonderful man, two great children and wonderful friends that are there when we need them. I have many things to be thankful for and I am very blessed that my Heavenly Father is by my side and hears my prayers. With our him I would be lost. To him I am very greatful for the blessings that he has given me. Thankyou to all our family and friends for all that you have done for us.

Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year!

With all our love,
The Shumways

The Messiah

This weekend my friends Bekah(left), Jenni (right) and I performed in our communities Messiah. We have been practicing for the last two and half months to get it perfect. I have never sung in the Messiah and I will admit that I have never heard it either. I know shocking isn't it. I sure am glad that my friends talked me into singing with them. I had a great time and I'm sure we will do it again.

Here is a picture of my friends being funny. It was taken just before our performance on Sunday night.

The finished product!

Our finished tree. We had a great time decorating our tree. Neil did a great job picking out a tree that fit perfectly into a corner so we have plenty of room for all our family and friends. We love our tree and the smell is fantastic. Devan actually loves the tree now that it is decorated.

Oops! We found our Christmas present

For Christmas this year Neil and I decided to get the kids a kitty. I had gone down to out local animal shelter and found our new kitty. She is so friendly and really pretty. I brought her home today and hid her in the garage hoping the kids would not find her and then we would surprise them on Christmas morning. It's only two weeks away, I could have done it. Right? Anyway Devan came home from school and the cat was going crazy in the garage. He says "Mom! I hear a cat. Is there a cat in the house?" I tried to play it off that the cat was outside or at the neighbors house, but he new better. He went to the top of the stairs where you can really hear the cat. Before I could even stop Kami she was down the stairs, flings open the door to the garage and out comes the cat. Of coarse my kids start screaming from pure excitement. I called Neil to tell him "the Cat it out of the bag", literally. The kids have found their Christmas present. I think he was just as excited about the cat as the kids. We were a little sad that we could not surprise them on Christmas morning, but seeing their faces was priceless.

A real Christmas Tree!

This year we went up into the Uintas to cut down a real Christmas Tree. We headed out with our friends Ryan and Devin Howell and their three kids to find the perfect tree. There was plenty of snow but it was very warm outside. We hiked around for about an hour before we found the perfect tree. At first Devan did not like it but after it was decorated he loved it. We love to look at our tree and the wonderful smell it brings into our home. I think we have a new tradition to look forward to in the years to come.It took Neil only seconds to cut down our perfect tree and then about 15 minutes to drag it back to the truck. We sure had a great time and look forward to next year to do it again.

Black Friday Shopping

I have never been shopping on the day after Thanksgiving before. This year Natalie and Julie were going so I decided to go with them. We got up really early,(3:30 early) and stood in line at the Mesquite Walmart for over an hour. Of coarse we wore are P.J's shopping(Luckily it was not that cold, warm compared to Evanston weather).We were hoping to go back to bed when we got home. When they finally opened the doors everyone just ran in, hurrying to get to the items they wanted before everyone else. It was a lot of fun, all the excitement of getting the best deal. Shopping with Julie and Natalie was a lot of fun. Maybe they will do it again next year?

Thanksgiving!

Turkey Trot!

On Thursday November 25th, Devan ran in his schools Turkey Trot with all of the other 1st grade students. This is Devan with his friend Nova.

On your mark, get set, Go! All the first grade boys getting ready to run. Devan is the third boy from the left.

Look at him go. The kids started out in the front of the school, ran around to the back, cut across the playground and back to the front. When we saw Devan he was getting pretty tired, but Neil and I cheered him on and he ran the rest of the way. He may not have won a turkey but he is a winner just for trying. Good job Devan, you are a winner to us!

Devan's award

Devan was so excited when he received an award at school for exceeding in his studies. We are so proud of how far he has come this year. He loves to help his teacher and he is everyone's favorite when it comes to needing help with math, writing and reading. His teacher knows that if she ever needs help Devan is always right there to lend a hand.

Halloween

Devan went as Peter from Narnia. He chose this costume because of the sword. Typical of boys right?
Kami chose to go as Little Mermaid. I tried to persuade her into choosing something other than a princess, since she is one every year. But see where that got me.

The kids had a great time trick-or-treating at the stores on main street down town. They also got to visit their dad at work, where of coarse they received candy. Later that evening they went to our wards trunk-or-treat, receiving even more candy. They have enough candy to last them until next Halloween. And the holidays are just beginning.

Pumpkin Carving

We had a great time carving our Halloween pumpkins with some of our friends.

Murder Mystery Theater!

This year for Halloween a friend of ours wanted to have a Halloween party. So we all got together and had ourselves a Murder Mystery Dinner. We all got dressed up as characters from the game and proceeded to act out the game. We had so much fun acting out a role that is so not like ourselves. The game took place at an Archaeological dig sight and we were all guest until the host is killed and one of us did it. Each round of the game revealed new information on each character and we all tried to eliminate who did it. In the end the victims daughter Tara Sunder did it ( played by Bekah Hughes).

Witches Fest 2008!

Jenny(sister), Stephanie(sister-in-law), me, my mom

My sister and I have started a tradition where once a year we get together with my mom and my new sister-in-law and we go to the Witches Fest. We love it. We get to dress up in our "witchy" costumes, which mine and Stephanie's will be better next year since my mom is making us our costumes. But we wear our fun hats. We head down to Gardner Village where we eat, drink (water) and dance the night away. And sometimes we even buy something. Its a great night to get out with the girls and have a good time. No kids allowed, Neil gets them.

First Day of School

Since we are still new to blogging I am posting some pictures that were taken a few months ago that I wanted to share. Hope no one minds.

On August 25th Devan set out for his first day of school as a first grader. He was very excited to see some of his friends from last year. Just look at that smile. He is in Mrs. Moore's class and he loves it.

Here he is at school. Ready! Set! Here he goes!

Happy Birthday Kami!

We have lost a tooth!

On the way home from Lorin and Janice's house on Sunday Oct 12th, Kami and Devan were eating some of the apples they had given us. Kami yells out that she has a tooth that has become loose. Neil and I didn't even know she had a loose tooth. We were so excited that we pulled the truck over just so we could wiggle her tooth. All the way home she played with her loose tooth and she wanted nothing to do with Neil's ideas of how he pulled his teeth (via string and a big pull). By monday morning it was bugging her so badly that she ate another apple and out popped the tooth.


Once again, I was so excited for her that we drove down to Neil's work just so we could show him. Devan is so determined to eat lots of apples so that he can loose a tooth too.


Kami with her baby tooth in a bag and the apple that pulled it out. Yeah!

Camping in Wyoming

We went camping somewhere close to yellowstone on September 12th with our friends Chad and Rebekah Hughes and their son Eric. The boys were ready to do some hunting so the kids and I tagged along. It was really fun until we were to get ready for bed. Then it was freezing. It was sooo cold that it was hard to breath. Let me tell you that was one long night. My friend said it wasn't that cold. Ok, so maybe I am a woose, but it was misserable. Neil even said it was cold and he has camped out in some pretty cold temperatures. At about 5:00 a.m. the boys set out to do their hunting while the rest of us just waited for the sun to come up and warm us up. Later that day the kids, Bekah and I all took a nap. The boys hunted!

Poor Devan he was so cold. Even with a sweater, coat and his blanket he was cold. After a while we all snuggled up around the camp fire to keep warm.

Our friend Bekah and her son Eric sitting around the camp fire trying to keep warm.

Chad rustling us up some grub. Mmmm.....yummy!
Sometime around 9:00 p.m. on Saturday we headed home. It was a three hour drive back to our home. At one point we were so tired that we pulled over to sleep and then drove home. It never felt so good to be back in our own beds with the heater on. You read right, our heater is turned on. In September!

Kami with a camera!!!

Kami loves taking pictures. She sometimes helps herself to the camera. These are some of her latest. We don't know where Devan got his moves but they sure are funny. He has some great poses. Kami took some more of Devan posing but this one was the best.

This picture trips Neil out. He says it doesn't look like Kami but more like pictures of Denna when she was younger. What do you think?

Kami took this picture of our shadows while we were waiting for Devan's bell to ring on the first day of school. She's quite the little photographer. She has an eye for cute pictures.

What a cute couple, does anyone know where to find these cute people. Kami set up this picture, she even posed us exactly how she wanted us.

New to blogging :)

We just set up our page...we are traveling now due to recent family events. When we return home we will get some photos added and list some history.