Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Christmas 2010

Christmas was somewhat of a whirlwind around here.
As much as we'd rather just stay home for Christmas, we decided to make a quick trip down to the valley on Christmas day to see our Grandparents.  Adam and I are so blessed to each have a set of Grandparents that are still very much a part of our lives, so we wanted to spend some time on Christmas day with them.
After an early morning at home enjoying wonderful Christmas presents, we drove down to my cousin Jared's home to gather with my extended Burk family.
Every year my Grandparents make and serve a wonderful Christmas brunch to all of their Children and grandchildren, and great grandchildren. As usual, it was a delicious feast and I loved visiting with my family.
The Gurr's  were able to have a little reunion with Grandma and Grandpa Gurr on Christmas night at Adam's sister Heather's home.  It was great to see so many Gurr cousins and aunts and uncles. And of course the grandparents.
We stayed the night at Heather's home, then after attending church, and visiting a little at my parents home, we headed back to Tayor.

Here are a few pics. of Christmas morning highlights....







As you can see we had a very merry Christmas. We hope you did too!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Taylor Elementary Christmas Concert

On Wednesday Dec. 15th. Taylor Elementary once again threw political correctness out the window and held it's annual CHRISTMAS concert!   Love It!

Eliza was given the honor of getting to participate in a special group song. They sang "I'm so Glad It's Christmas".

Her class then sang "Christmas in Killarney".

Sarah looked so cute dressed as a little poor boy while she sang "Little Drummer Boy" with her class.


Caleb's class sang "Christmas for Cowboys". Caleb even got to be one of the three kids chosen to show of some "trick rope" skills.

I enjoyed all of the songs that night. So many classes sang about the birth of our Savior.  I'm grateful to live in a community where Christ is the biggest part of  the Christmas celebrations.


Sunday, December 12, 2010

Lucky 7



Seven years ago I became a mother to three of the most beautiful, talented, intelligent, witty and FUN kids on the earth.
Adam and I LOVE them so much and are grateful every day for the joy they bring to our lives.





For their birthday this year they each got new "Sunday" Clothes and.....Drum roll please....ZHU ZHU PETS!!!!!!! YAhOoO!! SO FUN!! They are enjoying their new "pets" immensely. And I am enjoying the fact that their pets don't poop, or run behind the refrigerator and chew holes in things.



                                                   
                                                             HaPpY BiRThdAy Eliza, Sarah, and Caleb!

We Believe!

The kids got to visit with Santa at the ward party.
"He had a REAL beard!"


Saturday, December 11, 2010

Razor Ride

 Our sweet neighbors (the Andersons) brought their Razor over so Adam could  take the kids for a ride on it.


I wonder if they knew he would do this....


 

or this?


or THIS !?!?


Sunday, December 5, 2010

"All I want for Christmas Is......."

                                                                             My two front teeth!

Decking the Halls



We've been busy here at Gurr-een acres decking our halls and making our home officially "festive"!
Our tree this year is covered in homemade ornaments.
 Last year we made the snowmen, gingerbread men and pine cone ornaments.




This year we added the Dried Oranges and the popcorn garland.

I love how the oranges look like stained glass.


We made the popcorn garland out of some beaded garland that we already had. The kids really liked helping with this project but it was a very messy one, and Caleb won't be picking up another needle anytime soon.

I love the end result... A tree the kids and I are both happy with. (oh, and Adam likes it too, but he's not real picky anyway.)



After we got the tree done, we hung the stockings. (With care, of course.)




Here are a few more pictures of what Christmas looks like in the Gurr home......





Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010 The Good, The Bad, and The UGLY!!

We spent Thanksgiving with the Quists this year in the small AZ mining town of Bagdad where  my sister Lydia and my brother Paul both live with their families. We all made the pilgrimage there for this year's feast.

The Good:
 The trip there was great. The car ran good, we got snowed on in Flagstaff (always fun for the kids).
We had a wonderful feast with everyone. Neither home would comfortably seat 30 people so we used the LDS church building cultural hall. Plenty of room, and plenty of great food!!
The kids all had a blast playing with their cousins. I had fun playing games with my siblings and crafting with my sisters. We all watched Pumpkin Chunkin' on the science channel at Lydia's house that night, and I'm sure I burned enough calories from laughing that I canceled out the calories from all the pie I ate.
We went on some fun buggy rides. There are tons of fun trails around Bagdad. Adam wants to go back soon to do more exploring with the Ranger.





The Bad:
I love Black Friday shopping. Unfortunately the nearest town with shopping is an hour and a half from Bagdad. I missed all the great deals this year.  I was able to find a couple gifts on-line, but it's just not the same.

The UGLY :
My niece got sick on Thursday night and by Saturday 11 family members including all three of my kids were sick. REALLY sick!! I've never seen a flu bug spread so quickly in my life.  We had a LONG night on Friday, and we ended up having to cancel our trip down to the valley to visit the Gurrs.
We did manage to make the trip home without anyone getting "sick" in the car, but the bathroom at the Walmart in Winslow may never be the same.

And there you have it. Thanksgiving.  We'll take the good, we'll take the bad. We'll take em' both....But we could do without the UGLY!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Family Pictures

We had Family Pictures taken a few weeks ago.
I just wanted to post some of our favorites.








Monday, November 8, 2010

TRY Athelete


On Saturday morning, before the sun came up I found myself pushing my bike with is newly greased chain towards the tennis courts at Central AZ College. I had just checked in, got my packet, put on my ankle timer band, and was going to park my bike and "set up" . There was a big sign on the tennis courts. It said:
"ATHLETES ONLY"
I thought to myself "So where do I go?"
The thing is...I am NOT an athlete. My entire life I've been labeled as "a musician" some times "an artist" and "creative". But "an athlete"? NEVER!!  you see to be an athlete one needs strength,coordination, skill,  and a competitive nature.  I happen to be lacking each of these key characteristics.
 But, there I was, pushing my bike towards those tennis courts about to participate in a triathlon sprint.
"Today,  I will TRY to be an athlete."
I decided to do this triathlon about a year ago as means of getting my self in better shape. I  wanted to set a healthy example to my children, especially my daughters. I wanted to show them that being healthy doesn't have to mean crazy dieting, and being skinny. It means being strong, and able to endure physical challenges.
I knew that at some point I'd want to quit, and not do the tri.  So, I asked my Sister Lydia to do it with me. We encouraged each other, and challenged each other. We also decided to get our younger sisters on board because after all... "misery loves company" right.
I set up my bike in a "prime" spot and nervously looked around. "Why is everyone around here so skinny?" I thought. Don't these people eat? The gal setting up next to me kept rambling on about what a fun "little" race this is. "Oh, you're just gonna love this little race." "These little  events are just so great!"
If she said "Little" one more time, this Big girl was going to sit on her.
Luckily before she had the opportunity, I spotted my friend Athene! I had no idea she was participating in this thing! It was her first time doing a Triathlon as well so I felt a little more at ease.
I didn't see Lydia until just before it was time to line up for the swim, and I didn't see Angela (my youngest sister) until she was swimming. She and my sister Amanda were a team. Angela did the swim, while Amanda did the bike and run.
I felt very comfortable with the swim. Swimming has always been the one athletic thing I've done pretty well.
It took a little longer than I'd been practicing at, but I was still pleased with how I did.
The transition to the bike took a little longer than I thought it would, but once I got peddling, I felt great and actually enjoyed the ride. It helped to have some fun music playing in my ears and Adam gave my bike a tune up, so it worked perfectly!
The final event was the three mile run. I knew this would be by hardest event. I am not a runner. So I walked. Fast. In fact, at one point the girl "jogging" next to me asked why my walk was as fast as her run?
I guess having long legs can be very beneficial in a foot race. :)
I did run part of the time. And I was able to run (well, it probably looked more like a shuffle) the entire last 1/2 mile. And I actually beat my best practice time on the run!
 I loved seeing Adam and the kids cheering me on as I crossed the finish line!
I've already decided to do the triathlon again next year. I know I can do better, work harder, and improve my time. Maybe I'll be the one telling the poor girl next to me what a fun "little" race it is.
Then again, maybe not.








Sunday, October 31, 2010

Brag Time!!

My "Green Gators" had their last soccer game of the season yesterday and Guess what......
They were Undefeated!!! Not only was the Green Team undefeated but EVERY game was a complete shut out! That's right, not one team scored on them. GO GREEN GATORS !!!!

alluhgator2