Thanksgiving in the Caribbean!!!

This is definitely the way to spend thanksgiving. If I had my way we would do this every year! It is really relaxing to just sit out by the pool everyday and have someone wait on you, then when your hungry head on in to the buffet! We had a great time!

We spent the first two days running around Disney World. You really need a full week to be able to see this place, it was huge! The castle looked really cool at night decorated for Christmas.

Baylee and Charlee on the ferry from St. John back to St. Thomas. We were the last ones on the boat!! We tried to get in as much time as we could at our second home! And we were so excited to take the kids and Lacy's family to St. John so they could get a taste of the place we love so much.

Playing in the water on St. Martin.

Our little boat on the pier at St. Martin.

Where else can you ice skate,

play nine holes of golf,

and do a little boogie boarding!!

Kade in the pirate parade through main street on the ship.

Cole on our first formal night. This about sums up his whole attitude in the dining room!

Can't be a good cruise without hitting the ice cream machine! We had a contest on the last day to see who could build the biggest and prettiest cone, Bay won! She even beat both her aunts :)

Sunset!

The bus ride back to the airport, doesn't everyone look way excited!

Grandpa

Last weekend we went to Salina for my Grandpa Allen's 90th birthday. It was a lot of fun to see all my cousins, aunts, and uncles. I have such a great family, I just wish we could spend more time together. But my Grandpa is still just as amazing as I always remember him. He drove himself and his new wife to the party. I think that is pretty impressive itself! But as everyone was talking about memories they had with him, he remembered everything! He talked about his life with my grandma and taking care of her for 13 years because she had alzeimers. And he also talked about his new wife and how happy he is. He totally deserves it! It was funny told us that when they talked about getting married they decided they would both go have physicals and if everything was okay with them they would get married. My Grandpa has always been such a good example to me of hard work and commitment. He was a farmer his whole life, and just an honest good man.

So much has been going on I don't even know where to start!

First, I did something I thought I would NEVER do. Travis and I rode in a 30 mile bike ride in St. George on saturday. I know for most people that is no biggy, but for me that is huge. If Trav hadn't been there with me I would have never finished the entire thing. The hill from Washington into Hurricane is HUGE and I thought I was going to die. I so would have turned around at that point without Travis there with me. But it was actually a lot of fun (minus the part I thought I might die) and I want to work up to doing longer rides. I learned so much about myself during that ride. I learned I am a total quiter but also that I am stronger than I think. And I learned that when I get to the point I can't do anymore, Travis is always there to help me. It was a fun weekend, with great friends that are total inspirations to me to get better and ride longer! (although I don't ever see riding up Snow Canyon in my future :)

For other news, Tori officially quit gym. It is a bitter sweet day at our house. She has done gym since she was 1 1/2 and has been doing competitive since she was 4. It is going to be so nice not spending 14 hours a week at gym, but we are really going to miss watching her compete. She has never really had a normal childhood because she has spent so much time at gym so this is going to be an adjustment for her. But she is really happy with her decision, and she isn't totally done she is going to keep doing a tumbling class and we will see what else the future holds.

Baylee ran for student council and won. My mom spent an entire Saturday here helping us make signs, and Baylee definitely had the cutest ones in the school! She is going to be the 6th Grade Representative. We aren't really sure what that all means, but we are so proud of her for putting herself out there and trying something new. She was so funny, the day after we had hung her signs up at school she came home and told me all these people she didn't know were telling her hi and even knew her name! She didn't put it together that her picture was all over the school and they were recognizing her from that. She is doing great in Middle school, I obviously spent the summer worrying about it for nothing.

Injuries

It has been a tough week on feet at our house! Tori crashed on her scooter and we thought for sure she had broken her foot. Her and I headed to the emergency room. My wonderful mom met us there and took Cole. I don't know what I would do without her! No matter what, if I need her, she is there the second I call, love ya mom! Anyway, turned out to be just sprained and they sent us home with a set of crutches. It has put Tori out of competing until January though.

Then on Monday Cole was trying to get a popsicle out of the freezer and dropped a package of frozen meat on his toe. We went to the dr. yesterday because the pressure just wasn't releasing and they burned a hole in his toenail to relieve it.

Our house is not a safe place to have your left foot these days :)


Oh, and just as a side note.... My sadness at being all alone a couple of mornings a week is GONE! I have a new found love of actually getting things done alone :)

My baby is not a baby anymore

Today was Cole's first day of Preschool. When we got to school he tried telling me he didn't need me to walk in with him. Little does he know he still needs me! Well... maybe it's me that still needs him to need me. It was hard dropping him off. How did he get old enough for school already? We are blessed to be in Mrs. Purcell's school. I know she will love him and take care of him.

Back to school already???

You know in about May I was so excited for school to be out because then our lives would slow down a little and I would be able to get so much done. Things like working out every day and going to the grocery store! Well here I am the last saturday before my kids go back to school, I don't think I worked out more than 3 times the entire summer, and I haven't seen the inside of a grocery store in weeks! Why is it that the "grass is always greener on the other side" theory is always so true for me? I am thinking how sad I am my kids are going to be gone all day again, but also now I can get everything done I need to do everyday! Ha, this time I am going to out smart the "grass" theory and just realize our lives are crazy busy and I never have time to get everything done I need to.

I truly am sad school is starting already. I love having my kids home, and not worrying about homework! And I especially love we get to sleep in (my kids don't even roll over until about 9:30 in the morning now!) But I am also excited for the new adventure of a new school year. Baylee is beginning a new phase in her life and I am so excited for her. She is an incredible person and I know she is going to do great in middle school. Tori and Kade both have great teachers, and they both have a lot of friends in their classes. I LOVE our elementary, we really do have the best principal in the world. And Cole is starting his school career in the absolute best pre-school ever. We have been so blessed to have all 4 of our kids attend Mrs. Purcell's school. She is a loving, kind, beautiful woman who has been such a blessing in our lives. I just hope she is ready for Cole, cuz he's nothin' like the other kids!

Today we decorated Travis' seminary room. He is really looking forward to teaching seminary again this year. He is such a great example to our family of service. He loves the gospel and he loves working with the youth. Seminary has been a really challenging calling for him as well as us but it has been a huge blessing in our family and I am so glad he gets to do it again this year.

So, whether we are ready or not here comes another school year full of homework, projects, and hopefully lots of really great memories! Oh, and I totally intend on being super organized and making to the grocery store at least once in the next week or so :)

Our Summer

Kenny Chesney Concert in Salt Lake

Tori's gym camp at SUU

Time Square

Travis's uncle's pet deer at Lindsey's wedding

St. Anthony Sand Dunes

Yellowstone

Waiting for the 24th Parade

Manti Temple

Wow it has been quite the summer! The end of June we went to Lake Powell for a week and stayed with Cindy on her houseboat. It was a ton of fun and Kade learned to ski, and the girls learnedc to wakeboard. No prettier place in the world to learn to ski and wake board than Lake Powell!

For the 4th of July we went to Salina and let the kids experience a good old fashion small town 4th. They had a lot of fun doing the races and watching the parade. Then Tori and I spent a week in Cedar City staying in the dorms for her gym camp. It was a great camp but I am way too old to stay in dorms!

On the 22nd of July we went to SLC for a Kenny Chesney concert and for the 24th "stuff" with Bob and Espi and their family. It was a ton of fun, the kids loved the concert and the fireworks and parade were a lot of fun. Then we left from their and went to St. Anthony sand dunes in Idaho for a week. It was so nice up there! We went to Yellowstone on Sunday and saw lots of cool stuff (including cute Mckinley Johnson from our ward!). Then we spent the rest of the week riding and playing in the water. We left Friday and went to Salina for Lindsey's wedding and finally made it home again on Sunday August 2nd. Travis had bought airline tickets and tickets to Broadway before school ever got out and he was going to surprise me and take me to NYC on the 14th, but Wednesday night he got a reminder email from the airline that our flight was actually for the 7th! So we emptied our suitcase from the sand dunes (yes I am kinda slow about that!) and repacked to go to NYC! Travis swore he would never go there so I was shocked. It was an awesome weekend, we did tons of fun things and we really liked the city. The people were all really nice, which we were shocked about, and the subway was fun get around on. We went to a Yankees / Red Sox game, saw Wicked on Broadway, saw the Statue of Liberty, went to the top of Rockefeller Center, and walked a million miles around New York City!

Overall, we are way ready to be home for a while. But we had an incredible summer and did some awesome things! WE are so blessed to get to do all we do :)

FHE

Travis had a really great idea for a family home evening activity. He brought home the water truck, a couple rolls of plastic and invited a whole bunch of friends from our ward. We went to the park and made a gigantic slippin' slide. The bubbles are from the dish soap that helped us go faster. It was a really fun night, and we can't wait to do it again!

Not sure what this says about me but I went from super long hair. The longest of my life.

To super short hair, the shortest of my life!

A crappy ending to a great weekend!

Not to start on a totally negative note, the 4th of July weekend couldn't have been any better!

We went up to good ole Salina for all of the festivities, on Friday night we headed over to Aurora to go to their games and to watch the fireworks, they put on a pretty good show for a small town! We were able to be around my cousins and aunts and uncles!

Saturday we went over to Salina and went to the games and the races at the middle school, and we ran into a lot of people that we knew and it was fun to see a lot of old family and friends. Then of course over to the City pool for the races, then on to the parade and the rodeo and fireworks in Salina.

On Sunday we decided to grab a bucket of the KFC and head on up Salina canyon, we went up to Brown's hole and had a little picnic. It really was pretty up there it was really green! I don't miss living in Salina, I really like living here in Vegas, but I really miss the mountains! To be able to be up there again and have so many memories come flooding back by seeing a road or a place on the mountain. I really miss that!

We decided that as long as we were up that far that we would just take the road all the way over to Fish Lake and come home that way, when we got up on top of the switchbacks, Lacy spotted three bull elk grazing out in the open, we got some pretty good pictures that I will have to post later!

We ended up in Cedar City to pick my truck up and I decided to stay there last night instead of coming home late, Lacy is staying in Cedar with Tori, she is going to a gym camp at SUU this week.

So I got up this morning and headed to St. George for some appointments then me and the three kids headed home, we got home and opened the garage door and was greeted by Oliva our dog, who was suppose to be in her kennel, so I already knew that she had to of left us some crappy presents in the house, because she wouldn't be able to get back outside, and of course she did! Then I noticed that someone had opened the freezer before we left and there was blood and all sorts of crap leaking out of the door on the freezer! It had been left open all weekend!

I knew Kade was the last one in there before we left so I went off on him and proceeded to clean the mess. Kade came out a few minutes later crying and brought me a picture he had drawn, it was a picture of me and him, this was him telling me he was sorry. What a crappy dad! I felt like one of the presents Oliva had left us! So we cleaned up the whole mess together, good thing that the garbage guys were late today, because we had a whole freezer full to throw out, there was nothing that we could save. Even the rhodes rolls had risen in one of the bags and was about ready to explode!

Again my kids showed me today that they are truly a lot better than I am! I am always learning from them. I Love them very much, and I know that they love me even when I am a jerk to them!

Lake Powell

We had one of the best times on the lake that I can remember. Bay, Tori, and Kade each tried to do something new at the lake, rather than just being pulled around on the tube, even Lacy tried to wakeboard on this trip, but I won't post those pictures, yet!

Kade after throwing a fit and telling us that he couldn't do it. After he got up he was trying to jump, throwing the peace sign, and goofing off. He did great!

Lacy reading her book and chillin.

We took a hike above our boat and found a really cool canyon that was really pretty at the end of it.

Tori and Lacy on the back of our boat.

Who says that the heaviest rock falls first!

Baylee not being outdone by her cousins!

Kade's first cliff jump.

Cole did a lot of hanging out in the water with his noodle and being a nut.

Tori on her first try on the wakeboard.

Baylee getting ready to take the plunge!

Baylee on her first try! She picked it up so easy!!

Memorial Day 2009

For Memorial day we headed down to California.  We went to Disneyland a couple of days, then went and stayed in Huntington Beach for the rest of the time!  We really enjoyed just hanging out by the pool and down by the ocean.  

We also went to a Dodgers game, Kade is a big fan of the Angels, and the rest of us like the Dodgers.  But it was Kade's night the Angels beat the Dodgers, it was a fun game with lots of hits!

Huntington Beach, they were having a huge volleyball tourney!

Kade was one of the few Angels fans in Dodger Stadium!  He was really excited that they won! And he couldn't get enough of teasing his Uncle Mark that they won.

Thank heavens for my Blackberry so I could get some work done!

The kids road everything, and Disneyland is a lot more fun without a stroller!  It was the first time ever going that everyone could ride all the rides and we had a blast.  The kids were really brave so Cole wouldn't get scared and chicken out riding.  Except Tower of Terror, Cole and Lacy had to walk off that one while the rest of us rode it.