Twister

Today was the first day of the kids Christmas Vacation and all ready they are bored so we got out the tried and true fun game of twister. So watch as my kids twist and turn in this classic game

Happy Birthday!

Brians B-day was on December the 5th we celebrated at home with Pizza Hut stuffed pizza and chocolate chocolate cake. Our good friend Ann Helms came over the help celebrate. His gifts included a back scratcher, a blue teddy bear, a huge mug for him to drink out of and a package of straws.

Busy,Busy,Busy!

No pictures for this post. I just wanted to let everybody know what has been going on in our lives lately. I have started a new job on top of my day care job so I am busy. I now work for an online company called Alpine Access that is based in Denver Colorado. They outsource call center work so I currently am assigned to AAA Emergency Road Service in the Cleveland Ohio area. I answer the phone for people that need roadside assistance and do everything over the phone and the internet.

Brian is still working at Zobo tv and is happy with his job. We have switched wards from York back to Rock Hill because we weren't happy with some stuff that was going on in York and I have to say that we made the right decision. I was not wanting to do it at first but some of the stuff just wasn't right and Brian wasn't happy and it came down to him going inactive or switching wards. We have been back in Rock Hill for a month now and I feel really good about our decision and of course Brian is very happy about that.

As a result of our switching wards the kids have had to do two Primary Programs this year. In fact Corbin's comment to the Primary Program in Rock Hill was Oh man We just did one of these I don't want to do another one. The had their program on Sunday and Brandon and Elista did a good job. Corbin as a result of a bad haircut due to the dog and fleas was kept home from church on Sunday. We took the boys in to get their haircut on Saturday and the lady wouldn't finish cutting Corbin's hair because she found some fleas in his hair. All we can figure is that he was playing outside with dog before we left the house and the fleas jumped on him. So his hair looked all funny because she had cut the top but not the sides. Brian took him Sunday afternoon to finish the haircut after we had scrubbed his head to make sure there were no more fleas but I was not having him stand up in church looking like a mullet gone bad. Poor kid!

Well thats it for now I am working and I keep on getting calls.

Put Your Petal to the Metal

Friday October the 12th we went to the Busch Race at Lowes Motor Speedway. Brandon got us in free because he was in his Scout uniform. The Race as always was amazing!

I know the video is not good but I wanted to capture the noise and also the people around us since the fans are a big part of the racing experience. The first video is the green flag and first lap and the second is later on in the race.

There is nothing like NASCAR racing or maybe it is just me. The noise, the sights, the smells. I must be infected with the some bug that my father was because I love it. And as that week was the 5th anniversary of his death I could think of no better way to remember him.

Cousins

This weekend we went to the Concord Mills Mall with Todd, Nick, Rob and Rob's daughter Jewel who is now five. He also has a son Jayden who is 1. We had a good time but we missed Nelda but we should see her in a few weeks for Thanksgiving. I also put some pictures in here of the Elista in the dress that Grandma Clark made her.

Brandon, Elista, Jewel and Corbin.



Look at these two gorgeous girls.

The Haas boys with Nick in the middle.

Grandma Clark is so talented she made Elista a beautiful dress and Elista love's it. So we put her hair up in curls and dolled her up.

A final shot if Brian and Corbin. I love behind shots and they look so much alike it is just cute to capture big and small.

Catch Up

I have been busy the past month getting the kids ready for school and trying to get this online job with Alpine Access so I apologize for not posting very often anyway I am going to try and cram this months pictures in with this post.

This first picture is of Grandma Nelda. We made a Sunday trip to Albemarle about a month ago to go to church and to visit with Nelda since we hadn't seen her for awhile.

This is Todd and Nick who also came to visit that day as well.


Here are the kids being silly.

The week before school started we made a quick trip to Beulaville, Nc to visit with Kevin and Mindy. It was also a birthday present for me since Mindy payed for the tank of gas to get there. Thank you Mindy! This picture is of the kids at a rest stop we stopped at to have lunch.


This last is Brandon right before he started Middle school on August 21st.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

How many of you have finished the last Harry Potter book. If you are from my family I suspect you finished within a day of getting it but that is only because we all love books. Myself I picked the book up at at midnight July 21st and stayed up till 7 Saturday morning to finish it. I read it straight through with no skipping to the end like a lot of people did. Anyway I just wanted all of your thoughts on the last book. Did you like it? Was it what you expected? Here are some pictures of Brandon, Elista and I at the Books A Million Harry Potter Party.

I enjoyed the book and was quite happy
with the ending. I was really expecting Harry to die and was pleasantly surprised. The only thing I wished was that they had finished school. I realize they had to look for the Horcurxes but I missed the school atmosphere of the other books. I loved the battle for the school in the end though. The whole Elder Wand thing was a bit confusing but I liked that Harry didn't actually kill Voldemort because Voldemorts curse rebounded off the shield that Harry put up. All in all it was a good ending to the best books to come around for a long time.

We're Back

After a long wait that involved getting a new computer, actual internet access for the house and figuring out that my camera just needed new batteries we are back into the world of blog. I am sorry this has taken so long. Here are some pitures of the kids to tide you over until I get some new posts published which include Harry Potter and Brandon's favorite thing Pirates of the Caribean.

Elista's Birthday

Elista is 9 years old. I can't believe it. Anyway we celebrated her birthday last Tuesday at our favorite eating establishment The Golden Corral (or the feeding trough as mom calls it). We eat there almost every Tuesday because kids eat for 99 cents and my Brian can't refuse a good buffet especially one that serves steaks.
We usually go there with our neighbor's Rob and Karen and their kids Collin, Conner, and Mackenzie. Here is a picture of all six kids.
This is Rob and Karen.


I hate pictures of myself but here is one anyway along with Brian. Someone made the comment that we have been married long enough now we are starting to look like eachother. Does anyone agree with that?

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosHere is video of Elista opening her presents. She got some jewelry since she is all about accessories and The Littlest Pet Shop game. She also thanks her Grandma Bear for $5 and Grandma Donnelly for sending her a card.
So I'll end with a huge smile from my 9 year old daughter.

Auditions, Camp Thunderbird, and Elista Haas the Racing Wonder

It has been a busy week in the Land of Haas starting with Tuesday March 27th. In Rock Hill there is a festival every spring called the Come See Me Festival with lots of fun stuff. This year they are doing something new called Be A Broadway Star that we had Brandon audition for last Tuesday. He sang Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. According to the judges last week he did very well but they ended up not selecting him for one of the fifteen spots they had. Bummer! If any of you have heard Brandon sing you know how talented he is. I guess it was a good experience for him but we are still disappointed that he can't share his talent with Rock Hill.
The next morning Wednesday the 28th Brandon journeyed to Camp Thunderbird for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning. This was his first trip away from home so I was a bit nervous about how he would do. His whole fifth grade class went.

This is him loaded down with all the stuff he had to take.

Friday he returned and he'd had an awesome time. They had ziplines, canoing, hiking, basketball, and cabins to stay in. His first words to me were I want to go back. I am so happy he had a good time.

Now on to the racing champion. On Saturday we went to mini-racing. These guys race around in go-karts with race car bodies over them. It is called stadium racing because they set up these cool banked tracks in stadiums. It was pretty neat and as with all racing in gets the Donnelly blood boiling in my veins.

Some Donnelly blood must have filtered down to Elista as well. Before the race the kids were down in the pits getting autographs from the drivers and an official aproached me and asked if Elista wanted to compete in a Big Wheel challenge. She said yes. They had two heats and then one main event with the top two from each heat moving up. In her heat their were four kids racing and the announcer went over to all of the kids and asked all of their names and where their were from. Well the other kids just kind of mumbled into the micorphone and Elista very perikly said I'm Elista Haas and I am from Rock Hill, Sc. So they raced all the way across the stadium and Elista won! The announcer came over to talk to her since she had won and he asked how she had won the race and she said clear as day, "Its because my Grandpa Bear used to race." She raced again in the main event and got second place and she got to keep her big wheel and a cool trophy. She also picked the no. 20 bike because her daddy likes Tony Stewart.

Of course we can't leave Corbin out. He didn't have quite the week the other two had but we did get a picture of him with his baseball and glove. So that is the end of this long blog.

Home Sweet Home

A lot of you have been asking what are house looks like so I thought I would post some pictures for you. Our house is 1500 square feet with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a bonus room that could be used as a small bedroom. We have a large covered front porch, a back deck, and a shed in the back yard. We have attic space all the way across the house. We are also on an 1 acre of land and we are back off of a main road so I don't have to worry about the kids getting flattened by huge trucks. The two windows to the right of the porch are the master bedroom and the two to the left at the front is the boys room. The living room and small bonus room are between them.

A view of our driveway.

This a picture of my little Mazda MPV van and the basketball hoop.
his
This is around back of the house. The window to the left is the master bath and the door next to it opens into the laundry room. The small window in the window is right above the kitchen sink and the sliding glass door is the dining room. The window on the right is Elista's room and the 2nd bath is between the kids room.

This is our shed.

This is the backyard looking from the basketball hoop.

This is the front yard looking from the driveway.

Puppies and Basketball

This is for Jimmy. Being the wonderful Aunt that I am I promised him months ago I would send him pictures of our puppy Emily. Here she is at 7 months old. She is a very active puppy. She loves the kids and to dig holes in our yard. She also likes to rip apart her stuffed animals like Norbert the dragon from Harry Potter but we love her anyway.

Emily on her favorite chair.

Brian took some pictures of the boys playing basketball on Wednesday while Elista and I were at Activity Day girls. As you can see we are having very warm weather hence Corbin and no shirt.

Dribble! Dribble!

Can Corbin make a basket?

He shoots! He Scores!

Video Test

Here is our first video test


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On the Shores of Lake Wylie

Ok bear with me blog is driving me nuts since it won't let me post the pictures and text the way I want it to. So the format looks stupid but oh well. Anyway we had a lazy Sunday since it was stake conference and we were heathens and didn't go. We went to Lake Wylie instead. Lake Wylie is about ten miles from our house and the spot we visited today has a little beach that you can go swimming at for $3 a carload. It was cold and windy but we had a nice family day. After we left the lake we went looking for easy sheet music for Brian to play the piano for Brandon's Broadway Star audition. I had ordered a karoke cd for him to sing with but it sounds just awful, add that to the fact that Brandon's voice has changed slightly and he can't hit some of the high notes anymore so we are in quite a pickle for this audition since everything he tries to sing is slightly to high for him or to low if he tries to drop an octive. Any suggestions anyone?



Elista with a purse as always.


Brandon trying to stay warm




Corbin's not sure of the tiny beach.



A family picture.