A Merry Christmas & Happy Anniversary

The Summers' family blog has had a major catastrophe! Our digital camera broke, then was "refurbished" and then broke again, so we have had to use our old film camera! Can you believe it? I know, pull out the tissues, because we have to wait to see our pictures. However, we finally figured out how to get our videos uploaded, so for your viewing pleasure is Sam's YMCA Preschool Christmas program. Sam did such a great job, and it really makes being a parent so much fun to see your kids perform.

This past week we've been celebrating Christmas here before we leave. Santa, being the nice fellow that he is, made a special trip to our house yesterday and brought Sam and Jack several toys because they have been such good boys. Sam asked for a Big Mack Truck from Cars (when he told this to Santa, he laughed because he thought Sam meant a Big Mac hamburger!) and Jack got a big red wagon!

Shawn and I are also celebrating 6 years of marital bliss!! Yes six years ago today he and I were married. I love that I can honestly say that I love him more today than I did six years ago and that I'm grateful everyday for being married to such a great guy! We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a safe Holiday season. We are so excited to get to go home for the holidays this year and can't wait to see our families.

Happy Birthday Shawn

In leui of Saturday Soup, we are going to celebrate 28 things about Shawn! (And our camera broke so Saturday Soup might not be too exciting anyways!!) So here it goes.

1. Shawn Kelly Summers was born 12-12-1980 in Rexburg, Idaho.
2. He wears an 11 1/2 size shoe.
3. He had a full beard by the time he was a freshman.
4. He LOVES Chocolate - in fact for cake this year he'll be having brownies with chocolate ice cream, topped with chocolate fudge!
5. We met playing softball for a city league and it was love at first sight!
6. He graduated from BYU with a Bachelor in Visual Arts - yes he is an artist and an amazing one at that.
7. He loves football, especially BYU football and I without a doubt find him on the computer checking stats right after a game is over.... obsess much?
8. He has a nervous habit of scratching his head!
9. Shawn's TV land idol is Doug off of King of Queens, that would make me the mean wife Carrie.
10. Shawn is a perfectionist even when cooking he measures things to the exact amount and creates these masterpieces out of sandwiches.
11. Shawn took me on our 3rd date to Jackson Hole, WY in a red corvette and we went and got old time photos. The first and last time he saw me in fishnet stockings!
12. Shawn grew up on a potato farm in Idaho, and to this day loves the smell of fresh dirt and crisp autumn days and nights.
13. Shawn served his mission in Venezuala and speaks great Spanish. WHile on his mission he was kissed on the cheek by an investigator (yes we have this on film). He about died!
14. Shawn worked for about 2 1/2 weeks at one of those phone survey places when we were first married, and then quit because he couldn't bear going back there again. He then got a job working on the sprinkler crew on BYU, which he loved because he was able to get dirty and goof off all day!
15. Shawn can pretty much do anything he puts his mind to. He has landscaped our yard, put up our chair rails, built Sam a barn, and made an imitation wainscoat in Sam's room. I love this guy!
16. Shawn always and I mean ALWAYS has two things on him - gum and chapstick. He can't stand bad breath or chapped lips.
17. Shawn has an unending memory and mountain of knowledge when it comes to movies, actors, and actresses. He knows the names for the most random celebrities you can think of.
18. THe first time Shawn tried to put an IV into another person, they passed out and started to have seizures, um scary!
19. Shawn's favorite music group is Aerosmith. He knows every song, every album, down to release date, etc. We went to an Aerosmith concert in Denver and watched a 50 year-old Steven Tyler do a front hand spring onto stage!
20. Since we've been married we've vacationed to Florida three times, Las Vegas twice, Philadelphia, Chicago, cruised in the Carribean, and have hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim!
21. Shawn's dream vacation is Maui - one day we hope to get back there!
22. Shawn and I both love to cook with dutch ovens; he's quite the gourmet chef when it comes to charcoal and fire!
23. Shawn's laugh is contagious - really watching a movie with him is one of the best experiences in my life, I laugh at him laughing.
24. Shawn has fished for Salmon in Alaska and snorkled in Hawaii.
25. Shawn is really a goof ball, he has such a funny sense of humor and finds the smallest things funny, which is good because I'm far too serious for both of us.
26. Shawn is the best father. He loves his boys and his boys love him. I think its because they think that he's a buddy and I'm the mean parent.
27. Shawn is my best friend, my hero, and a my knight in shining armor. He even watches White Christmas with me every year, and watched Gone with the Wind while addressing our wedding announcements.
28. Shawn is the most kind and patient person I know. I feel so lucky to have him in my life, because he makes me want to be a better person. Happy Birthday Shawn! We love you!

Summers Sons' Saturday Soup

Christmas has finally come to the Summers' residence! I am a full believer that Christmas celebrations or decorations don't occur until after Thanksgiving - so Monday when we returned from Denver our house was transformed with Christmas decor and music filled the air!
Meet Marty our Elf on the Shelf! Sam doesn't seem to be as intimidated at this as he should be!

We did everything that day and by late afternoon Jack was so exhausted that during tummy time he crashed on the floor!
Lately the boys have been hanging out in my bed while I get ready and today Sam and Jack were laying by each other and Sam says, "Mom Jack had a booger but its okay - I got it for him!" What a good helper! Sam and Jack have really started to interact well these past two weeks, and Jack will just stare and smile at Sammy and it makes Sam so excited. I love these two little guys.
Sam went to a super fun birthday party at Pump It Up (has big blow-up toys)and had a ball. We are going to miss all of our little buddies we've made here.
Friday Shawn and I hosted a Christmas party with a bunch of our friends out here. We had such a fun time, and I hope they all did too. Unfortunately I failed to take many pictures but here are a few.
Thanks Javien for taking the picture!

Lately Sam has been really into growling at people, especially adults that talk to him, to Shawn and I's horror! At first it was kind of funny, but now it really is getting old. Does anyone have any suggestions in teaching him to use his manners (he does have them)???

Thanksgiving Weekend

What a fun Thanksgiving we had! We headed over to Colorado were we met up with Shawn's family. His sister Brigit hosted all of us at her house, and we had a great time. Thanks Brigit for being the hostess with the mostest! Sam had a fab time playing with his cousins and attempting every night to have a sleepover. The food was great and we stuffed ourselves full and then headed out to see Bolt, which Sam thought was sooo cool!Jack was very popular amongst his girl cousins who loved and held him pretty much all day. We took some family pictures and got really cute ones of the boys that we'll be using for our Christmas card. Thanks Mic for taking the pictures, we love them. All in all it was a super fun and relaxing Thanksgiving, I even scored on Friday without having to wake up super early! Who could ask for more? Kelly Summers Family
Here's some pics of us ski diving! It was so fun, especially when the instructor took me up and did all these cool spinning moves. I have a video, but trying to upload it took too long, so here's a picture of Shawn and I. I took this pic of Jack, and died laughing! He's too cute.