Neeley Family Blog

  Just caught this adorableness on our walk into school this morning. Brylee decided to share her umbrella. :)  

We just got a little snow storm around here!!! The kids and I were super excited.  We do not get very many snow storms in the winter, so this was a special treat.  It came in on a Thursday. Brayden and Brock actually had to dismiss early from school because the snow started falling just before lunch time and they were worried about the build up by the end of the school day.  They got a snow day of Friday.  NO SCHOOL!!! The snow lasted through the weekend and even into the next week.  Monday was again a snow day with no school. Tuesday warmed us up and we were able to get back to a normal routine for the rest of the week. Rogue was in heaven! She is such a snow dog!!! We did not have the proper "snow gear" for the kids to be outside playing, but we made due with other clothes. :) The pick up line getting Brock from school. A little photo progression:               All in a...

Brayden is again showing off his skills and trying to become the next Portland Trail Blazer. He started basketball in January and will continue until March.  Brock had initially said he wanted to play as well, then changed his mind and backed out of it. Brayden's team this year is made up of 1st and 2nd graders.  It is a district team, so there are kids from several different schools on his team. So far, he is demonstrating his competitive side and being the usual ball hog, but really is working towards passing and being open for passes from his teammates. He always plays hard though and wants to do well.  He enjoys it and now has started trying to use some NBA skills he has learned from his video game on the court! lol    

We took a trip to a local Christmas Landmark- Peacock Lane.  It is in Portland.  Every house on the lane decorates with Christmas lights.  Several do amazing things! I had not been since I was younger.  I had wanted to take the kids in the past couple years, but we just did not make it. We had a clear, dry night and took advantage. :)

Brayden worked for several weeks on his songs for the Winter concert.  He practiced at home and was happy to give us a preview every so often of what his big night would be like. It was a pretty packed house by the time we got there, so I could not get as close of seats as I would have liked.  So please don't judge the photos.  I did what I could. Brayden is in the middle under the boy in the blue shirt. He has a grey plaid sweater on.    Brayden even was picked to play an instrument that night for one of their performances.  He did an excellent job!       The kids invested lots of hard work and it turned out really well.  The music teacher Mr. Noyes is really great at creating a whole performance with the kids. 

For the second year in a row since we have lived here, the Operation Santa Claus comes thru the neighborhood.  They come to collect canned goods, toys and money to help local families in need.  The fire trucks come through and Santa waves from one of the old fire trucks! How cool is that, huh!?! It was a super cold night, but we were able to make it again this year. Here is a video for your viewing pleasure :). We donated a bag of goods and the kids got candy canes from Santa's helpers.  It feels good to help some others during the holiday season and we enjoy the bonus of seeing Santa another time! :)

You know Christmas is coming when you have to start helping out on the Kraus Tree Farm! We usually are out at my parents house for a couple weekends to help with their tree farm.  This year they are only doing two weekends and mostly it is people that they know that come out to get trees.  Lots of friends and family and a few people that just happen to come across their property. I make wreaths to sell out there too.  There is always hot cocoa by the fire pit and lots of conversation, tractor rides and of course tree cutting! Here's hoping your holiday season is merry and jolly!!!

Well this late Fall, early Winter has been a busy time for me in the craft department. I signed up to help Brock's class do their auction art project.  Thank goodness I enlisted the help of a couple other moms in the class, cause one is super talented and painted a good portion of the project! We gathered some ideas from Pinterest and put our heads together to come up with this: Each leaf is hand-painted by one of the students in Brock's Kindergarten class. The mom painted the background...she is an artist and does some paintings to sell.  Another mom cut out the leaf shapes from the kids painted pieces of cloth and I sewed them onto the canvas.  We also used the kids finger prints at the bottom to create flowers and I wrote their names next to each stem.  I think it went for over $800 at the auction! Not bad. :) I also made this diaper cake for one of the teachers at Brayden's school who was going on maternity leave.  I bought supplies at Target an...

In December, the boys started basketball.  This year Brock is old enough to play as well. So we signed them up to be on the same team.  It is a K/1/2 group of kids.  They practice for about 30 minutes and then play a scrimmage game for the remaining 30-45 minutes.  It is really fun to watch them.  Brayden is completely driven by his competitive nature.  He is very focused, means business, keeps track of how many baskets he scores, and is a bit of a ball hog!  Brock is just so happy to be playing.  He has fun, smiles a lot, tries really hard, makes some shots and passes to his 'friends' on the team.  I have only recently been able to make some of the games (retail work + holidays = little time off on the weekends) :(.  But I did manage a few photo shots and Brad and I got some videos too. Enjoy a look!!!  

The kids are soooo ready for Christmas!  They started their lists for Santa before Thanksgiving.  They wanted decorations up right after Thanksgiving (I think this is the earliest we have gotten them up before).  Brayden made a chain countdown at school.  Each morning he pulls off one link and is counting down the days till Christmas. We got our tree the first weekend in December.  We of course, went out to my parent's house and picked out our perfect match this year.  The boys also chose a small tree for their room (as they have done the last couple years).  We made a trip to see Santa before he got too busy and left to return to the North Pole. Waiting in line.... And....Brylee wanted no part of sitting on Santa's lap or even getting close to him.     We have added a new family tradition of Elf on a Shelf.  If you have little ones, you really should have an elf.  They are so much fun! You get to name your elf, ...

A horse really is a horse, but he can also be a very loyal friend.  We just had a loyal friend pass a way this week. My mom's horse Zane recently got sick.  After tests, medications and multiple vet visits it finally got the better of him.  He was fighting it with all he had and there were a couple days that looked as though he was going to pull through, but he body could not handle whatever infection or blockage he may have had.  Zane was a healthy 20 year old.  In horse years he was mature, but horses can live well into their 30's.  My mom and dad bought Zane when they were still married.  I remember them bringing him home late at night with my dad's cousin Dale and his wife Tina who had also bought a horse that day.  Zane was 2 years old at the time and unbelievably frisky.  I thought to myself I am NOT getting on that horse! He was young and had little training.  My mom had bought him for her.  After my spending some time r...