About Me

The best word to describe my life in the past month is ... overwhelming. We just moved to Prosper, Texas (a northern suburb of Dallas). Getting the kids settled in school, Chris set up at his new store, and the house put in a semblance of order has been a 24/7 job! It's been 3 weeks since we moved in, and I can almost stop saying, "I know it's in a box -- somewhere!"

Anyway, when I needed a break last night, I went online and looked at my friend Kathy's blog. She issues a challenge to create a photo mosiac "All About You". Here's the rules:

The rules of the game:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image. (I cheated and looked until I found an image I liked!!)
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker. (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php) Then upload or copy the completed mosiac to your blog.
d. If you're reading this, now consider yourself tagged! It took a while, but it's a lot of fun.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your Flickr name (or other online name)

Here's my answers:
1. First name -- Kristie. I love gerber daisys, especially red or bright orange.
2. Favorite food -- Chocolate. Anything dark and rich.
3. High School -- Olympus High School. This is a photo of Mt. Olympus in Salt Lake City.
4. Favorite Color -- right now it's lime green and deep red.
5. Celebrity Crush -- Steve Burton, aka Jason (from General Hospital ... I know ...) I'm a sucker for blond hair, blue eyes and great abs!
6. Favorite Drink -- Starbucks hot chocolate (non-fat with sugar-free vanilla and no whip cream)
7. Dream Vacation -- I have 2 actually. The one in the photo is Tahiti. The sand, the sun and the crystal blue water! The second is Italy. Tuscany, Lake Como, Capri and the Amalfi Coast. Both would be even better with friends along :)
8. Favorite Dessert -- Creme Brulee. You've got to love custard and caramel!
9. What I want to be when I grow up -- Physically Fit. It would be great to be a nice piece of work instead of a work in progress!
10. What I love most -- My freedom!
11. One word to describe me -- Pensive. Very, very, pensive!
12. Flickr name – kristiecummings. Original, huh! Nothing turns up when I search my name, so I just chose a photo I liked.

Anyway, thanks for the break from reality, Kathy! This was fun to do, and I hope you all have found out a few things about me you didn't already know.

We're so excited for Dad & Mom

They were just called by President Monson to serve as Temple President and matron of the San Antonio Temple! This temple is very special to them and to our whole family. While they were presiding over the Texas San Antonio Mission from 2001 to 2004, the San Antonio Temple was announced. My parents helped coordinate the plans for the temple and were part of the ground breaking. Each member of our family (our kids included) wrote their names on a rock that was put into the foundation of the baptistry, along with rocks from the local primary children. Also, Debi received her endowments in the San Antonio Temple.

We are especially excited that they will now be only 5 hours away from us!! YEA!! I'm not sure who is happier about that, our kids or grandpa and grandma. :)

Here's the announcement from the Church News this week:



Marion Darryl Woods, 60, Winder 10th Ward, Salt Lake Winder Stake, called as president of the San Antonio Texas Temple, succeeding President A. Ray Otte. President Woods' wife, Anne Rees Woods, will serve as temple matron. President Woods, currently serving as a gospel doctrine teacher, previously served as president of the Texas San Antonio Mission, stake and ward Young Men president, high councilor and bishop. Retired president, CEO, and owner of a candy company and a mortgage company, he was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Lewis Wesley and Helen Hunt Woods. Sister Woods, currently serving as a Relief Society teacher, served with her husband as he presided over the Texas San Antonio Mission, and as a ward Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary president and temple ordinance worker. She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Stanley Davis and Helen Deon Gaddie Rees.

A little glimpse of Tyler

I figured it was about time to update our blog. Especially since the kids are, oh, 6 months older than they were last time I posted! Oh well, I will freely admit that I am a work in progress, and this is just another area that can only improve! For the next few days, I'll try to post something about each of the kids.

Today I thought I'd post a picture from a couple of weeks ago of me and Tyler. He has always been my active child, with endless energy and a very creative imagination. He comes up with unique things that crack us all up each day. He's only 3, but has the spirit of a much older child!! Yesterday he announced to me that I needed to find a school for him next year so he doesn't get bored. He also watched Meghan have a crisis a few days ago, and asked me, "Why do girls always have cows?" Our house would be much quieter and much less exciting without him!

Tyler has been in pre-school 2 days a week since January. He loves school and loves thinking he is as big as his older brother. His teacher and primary teacher tell me what a great child he is and what a pleasure he is to teach - and how obedient he is. This never ceases to amaze me. At home he is constantly into EVERYTHING! I don't think my mom really believed me until she spent a week with him in November. If he wants something or wants to do something, he finds a way. Whether that means climbing up INTO my upper cabinets in the kitchen to get a treat (he is a candy hound and can find it anywhere it's hidden in the house) or tying a blanket around his neck and jumping off anything he can find while announcing he is a superhero that can fly and will catch all the bad guys. But the best part of having Tyler as my youngest is that he loves to climb up on my lap or lay on my bed and watch shows with me. He gives the best little hugs and always makes us all feel happy.

Halloween

Two posts in one day!! How amazing - at least for me. Actually, I probably would have procrastinated this one too, except I'm going into the hospital for surgery tomorrow and want the peace of mind of being caught up on all the fun stuff!

The kids each picked out their costumes this year. These were taken at our ward trunk-or-treat last night. Enjoy!

Tyler, Spencer, Kelsie & Meghan at the ward fall festival.



Tyler as a bumblebee. He loves making the buzzing sound and has a cute little lisp as he does it.
Spencer really wanted to be a doctor this year. He tells us that when he grows up he wants to be a real doctor. He goes back and forth between a brain or heart doctor and a dentist!


Meghan was really excited to be a Notre Dame cheerleader! They could use all the help they can get this year.
Kelsie decided to wear a costume that used to be Melanie's when she was 10. She is a California Raisin - and even learned the song! (one of her favorite parts of the costume are the sunglasses that used to be Grandpas in the 80's!!)

Back to School

Here are some photos from the kids first day of school. I can't believe how fast they grow!!


Spencer & Tyler on Spencer's first day of school.











Spencer is in pre-K at Sugar & Spice pre-school.


Tyler is enjoying his time in "Mommy School" this year. He is my sweet and very smart handful!





Kelsie & Meghan on the first day of school.






















Meghan is in 2nd grade at Crestview Elementary. Her teacher is Mrs. Price








Kelsie is in 5th Grade at Crestview Elementary. Her home room teacher is Mrs. Meador. This is Kelsie's last year in elementary school!

Summer Wrap-up

I thought I'd wrap up our summer vacation to Utah with a few of our favorite photos and memories. We rode the alpine slide and coaster, went swimming and shopping, played with friends and cousins, and had a great time with our Grandpas and Grandmas! It all made for a fun summer.

Kristie, Ruth, Margaret & Kathy had a good time catching up with each other. It's the first time in a long time that we've all been together. We spent an evening at Ruth's parents talking and the next morning getting manicures and pedicures together. It was really fun to be together again, even if it was only for a short time!



One funny moment of the summer was when I went to leave my parents house to go to Ruth's. My mom was out of town, so I had to wait for my dad to return from a business trip to leave the house. (I didn't think it would be wise to leave 4 sleeping children home alone.) When he got home, I asked him if he would listen for the kids while I went out. He looked at me and said, "But it's 11 o'clock at night!" To which I replyed, "And I'm 35!" I guess parent never really stop worrying about their children, no matter how old they get!

Kelsie & Meghan had fun with their cousins Henry and Leah. We were all together with Grandma Cummings at Moroni's wedding. It was a really nice night.

Kelsie & Meghan with their best friends Everett & Matthew made these signs for their big High School Musical 2 Premiere party. They planned everything by themselves. They came up with the menu, made assignments and hosted the party. It was a huge success! Their menu consisted of: Burgers a la Buzz (thanks Grandpa!), chips and salads, blue punch with umbrellas in the cups (like Sharpay drinks), and eclairs and sugar cookies for dessert.

This is the other sign the kids made for the party. This sign welcomed everyone as they came in the door -- along with the soundtrack playing all throughout the house and on the back patio (thanks Grandma!)

Tyler, Meghan, Spencer, Clayton, Annie, Kelsie, Everett & Matthew enjoying their High School Musical 2 party.

After dinner we watched the premiere!! Joe, Kristie & Grandpa figured out how to show it movie theater size on the side of Joe's garage while we all sat with chairs and blankets on Buzz park. We had tons of people come watch it with us. It was a great way to end a fun summer vacation!

Finally . . . some photos!

I finally took some time to sit down and post something. Thanks to friends and family who have some great photos of their own families on their blogs, I finally decided to step up and set up ours. It only took me 6 months of procrastinating to get it done!

My hope is that it does not turn into a blah, blah, blog, but just a few photos and info about the kids, since they're the ones ya'll really want to see and hear about anyway!!


These photos are of the front of our house. I'm proud of our green thumb in getting all these to grow! I'll bet you can't guess what one of my favorite flowers is ...

... maybe daylillies!!



















The kids have all had fun playing with their cousins this summer. Tyler and Brendan (Jeff & Melanie's) are only 3 weeks apart, and have so much fun together! We have to fit as much cousin time in as we can when we're together since we live about 2,500 miles apart.

Spencer, Kelsie, Meghan, Brendan & Tyler having fun!



The Woods men all went to Alaska in June. Chris, Jeff, Mike and Dad are all holding the biggest fish caught on the trip. An eighty pound halibut! Notice that Chris has the biggest smile - since he's the one who landed the fish!


Kelsie, Kristie and Meghan have had fun hanging out together this summer. It's fun to have girls to shop with and who get as excited about a pedicure as their mom does! We've also had fun learning all the words to the new Hannah Montana 2 cd. Next on our agenda is planning our big premiere party for High School Musical 2. If any of you are going to be around, come party with us at Buzz park on August 17th!


Spencer played t-ball this year for the Grasshoppers. He was a great hitter and played 3rd base, short stop and catcher. His team won trophies at the end of the season!
Tyler is our adventurous (to say the least) child. He tells me that when he grows up, he wants to fly a rocketship and an airplane. His favorite jammies are his rocketship ones. He likes to jump off the dresser with them on! I wouldn't be surprised to visit the ER a few times in this child's lifetime!