House in Texas

This is the model home in McKinney Texas that we have a contract on. The landscaping will have to be redone when they convert the office back into a garage and have to make a driveway.

Beach

This is a "beach" swimming area in the neighborhood. (There is also a regular pool)

Park across the street from the house

Bedroom 3

Bedroom 2

Bedroom

Game Room

Media Room

5th bedroom/exercise room

Right now the room is staged as an exercise room, but we'll use it as a bedroom.

More master bath

Master Bath

More master bedroom

Master Bedroom

More of the family room

Family Room

Patio

Backyard

This is a big backyard compared to most that we looked at, but it's still pretty pathetic. My saving grace is the huge park that is in the frontyard so my kids can go play ball.

Kitchen

Stove

Dining Room

Office looking out

Office

Zachary's 8th Birthday

Here is a slideshow from Zach's 8th Birthday. I know I e-mailed photots too, but some of them bounced back so I decided to go ahead and post a slideshow. The birthday party and the baptism were both wonderful.

Summer Memories

I started to make this slide show in the fall. I had so many problems trying to get it done, that I finally just gave up because I has spent so much time, just to end up losing it all. When I decided to try to do another slide show today I thought I would give this one another try. I know these are now 6-9 months old, but I still thought you would enjoy them. I'm looking forward to summer again!

Vacation to Smugglers Notch, Vermont.

We took a vacation a family resort called Smugglers Notch in northern Vermont in mid June. The kids ended up missing their last week of school since we had so many snow days added, but at this age that didn't matter. We had heard great things about this resort and it lived up to it's reputation. We had a fantastic time and enjoyed lots of different activities, all at the resort. They had family activities every evening like games and relays, a magician, karaoke (which none of my kids were brave enough to do)kids dance party, etc. They had numerous heated pools and water slides, so even though it was cloudy several days, we were able to still swim since the water was warm. Phil's mom was with us so we had a great time with her and played games in the evenings. We were able to do a greater variety of things since she could stay home with Jonah while he napped, or do something with Malia and Jonah while Phil and I took the boys to do something for older kids, like learning how to do geocaching. One afternoon Phil and I went on an adventure which included crossing over a river on a loop rope bridge, repelling down into a river and then wading across and rock climbing back up the other side. It was a beautiful location and we really enjoyed it. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures because we couldn't take our camera and wade across the river too well. The kids took a tennis lesson, which I think they really enjoyed. As you can see from the pictures, we did a segway tour. They really are very easy and super fun to ride. I don't think they came close to changing the world as we know it like they touted, but still a great invention. Too bad they're still so expensive. The weather wasn't the greatest, but it worked out ok. We had a couple great days and those were the days we spent at the water park all day. Have you ever tried to do your grocery shopping in the dark? After we got there Phil and I went into town to do the grocery shopping for the week and it was pouring rain. The Power went out while we were shopping so we had to do a lot of it in the dark. When you're in an unfamiliar store, that can pose a challenge. The power came back on before too long so we were able to get finished and actually see what we were buying. I think (ok, I'm absolutely certain) Jonah's favorite part was the resort shuttle bus that we used to get around rather than driving everywhere. He would get so excited about it. The other kids loved the fact that they had a TV in their bedroom and watched lots of Red Sox baseball. Oh, the simple pleasures in life. Speaking of simple pleasures, on the way home we stopped at Ben & Jerry's. We've been there before, but when you're so close you take advantage of it. We also stopped at Joseph Smith's birthplace because even though we've been there before, the kids are young enough that they didn't remember much. So all in all we had some adventure, some relaxation and lots of fun.

Seth's 9th Birthday

We had a pool party for Seth's 9th Birthday. We had it at a friend's home because they have such a nice pool. Fortunately they heated the pool for us since we haven't had a lot of really warm weather around here. It was really fun and everyone had a great time. I think it was the easiest party I've done.

March is the month to party!

Here are some photos from Jonah's B-day, Zach's B-day party, and the Murder Mystery party that Phil and I attended. Unfortunately we didn't really get much as far as photos at Zach's party. I guess we were too busy directing the chaos. We got video footage, but that doesn't help for this slideshow. Hope you enjoy it.

THE NEVE 2008 GALACTIC REPORT

This year's newsletter is dedicated to Star Wars fans – our house is always full of them!

WillbeTwo Kenobi (Jonah) – Jonah is the joy of our galaxy. The “dark side” cringes because this Jedi brings light wherever he goes. He easily makes friends and wins admirers, drawing comments about how happy he is. With three older siblings, he's determined to be a big kid. In reality, he's a tiny squirt and has the doctor scratching his head as he still hasn't hit 20 lbs. He's always on the move and loves to be wherever the action is. His vocabulary is starting to expand to keep pace with his personality!

MASTER Yoda (Malia) – Spunky little fireball (must be a Rasmussen). Despite her short stature (4 yrs old going on 16), she's confident that she should be calling all the shots. The bravest of souls seeks shelter if she feels “crossed”, which is the most potent weapon against the “dark side” of the force. Malia enjoys her weekly Jedi Council meeting (aka...playgroup) where she's right at home with three boys in her group. Ironically, this tough Jedi Master never leaves home without a tiara on her head, play jewelry on her fingers or around her neck, and loves anything to do with princesses. Ahh shucks.

Darth Sillious (Zachary) - Zach loves to make any type of creature in the solar system laugh. His gentle nature and sense of humor really helps “lighten” certain situations. Watch out though because he can quickly change sides, especially when he hasn't had enough sleep. In order to sharpen his skills with “the force” he excels in First Grade, plays soccer and baseball, and participates in Karate. Even though he can't take a “Star Cruiser” or an “X-Wing” to school, he's quite happy riding the bus.

Can't Chewabacca (Seth) – Soon after the holidays, Seth will have to have seven baby teeth pulled from his mouth (orthodontist recommended) in order to make room for his permanent teeth. We hope over the holidays he enjoys “chewing” all he can. We hope that early action now will prevent future problems. When Chewie is not traveling the universe or protecting his friends, he can be found breaking a sweat at any of the following: baseball, basketball, soccer, karate, cub scouts or piano. While it can be hard picturing a Chewabacca playing the piano, he's picked it up well.

Princess “Grey”a (Taralee) – Dealing with epic battles between the divisions of the force at home, this Princess has earned more than a few (...psst DON'T say anything...she's still 29!) grey hairs - much to her dismay (we keep telling her she looks more distinguished, then we sleep outside for awhile). Training Jedi's is no easy feat, and leaves little time for much else. Princess Greya is involved as a den leader for cub scouts, throws neighborhood renowned birthday parties, makes homemade jam and salsa, cooks amazing cuisine, maintains a blog, and is really close to a breakthrough on cold fusion.

Jobba in the Hut (Phil) – Phil still works from home, sequestered behind the moon of Endor (his office in the basement). He's not getting much exercise during his stairway commute to work and might start tipping the scales at galactic weights. The benefits are out of this world, as he has lots of interaction with the most important people on the planet. When he does leave his cave, he enjoys coaching soccer, baseball and basketball. He can also be found meeting with the Jedi Council (aka, the High Council).

We hope all is well in your sector of the galaxy, may the force be with you in the coming year!

Love,
Phil, Taralee, Seth, Zachary, Malia and Jonah Neve