Temple Square

We took a few days over the Thanksgiving holiday to visit family. This is our traditional "Happy Thanksgiving" "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year" visit! :)

While we were there we rode Trax (INTERESTING EXPERIENCE!) to see the lights at Temple Square. We hadn't seen them for about 4 or 5 years so it was a great experience for our kids.

Here are the kids (and their cousin Cayden) waiting for Trax. They were very excited!

Here are the kids at the reflecting pond (so cool!)

The fam

LET THE HOLIDAYS BEGIN!!

1st Gymnastics meet

Alexis has been taking gymnastics on and off for the last few years - and we decided to go ahead and let her compete this year. She did really well at her first meet!!

For her age group she placed 3rd on bars and floor, 4th on beam and 6th on vault. She then placed 3rd all around! We are very proud of her.

I didn't get many good pictures since they don't allow a flash camera, but you will get the basic idea :)

All Hallow's Eve...

We had a great Halloween!! The weather was tame and so our witch, Harry Potter and Twix bar took off for a bit of trick or treating.

I was lucky enough to walk with Bry while she went door to door. She thought it was FABULOUS. Her little hands were frozen and her bucket was completely full by the time we got home.

Brylee the witch

Harry Potter Ethan

Alexis aka Twix

TRICK OR TREAT!!

Alexis' music program

Alexis' 5th grade class had a Halloween music program this year. It was the 1st program at the brand new school!

Alexis auditioned weeks before the program and was given a speaking part. She memorized it and did great!! We are so proud of her (as usual!!)

"Pumpkin Patch"

I feel horrible....I feel terrible....and yet, I feel PROUD!! I love, love, love going to pumpkin patches but with my favorite place (Linder Farms) raising prices so you basically have to pay to even drive by - we decided to grow our own pumpkins this year!

It was fantastic. We ended up with 10 pumpkins, picked them, and carved them!! So proud of us. The kids thought it was a great time too. Definitely something fun and different to do.

Here's our "patch"

The carving commences...

Brylee wanted her pumpkin to have a "mad" face. Here she is imitating her pumpkin..

And...for some crazy reason I didn't take a pic of the rest of the carved pumpkins, but they were fabulous. You'll just have to trust me....

Top of Utah - #4

At the end of August I ran HALF MARATHON #4 of the year (One more to go to reach my goal - woot woot!!)

I loved being back in Logan and (I know) I love to run! Love it. I'm crazy.

I also loved that my husband, kids, sister, in-laws, sister-in-law, and niece were all at the finish line. How cool was that? Not to mention that two of my bro-in-laws ran the race as well.

Time was 01:53:07.7. Not my best time, but not horrible. I'll run it faster next year :)

Tie Dye Shirts

I wish, wish, WISH I was crafty. However, this is about as good as it gets. Thane's mom gave Alexis a tie dye shirt kit for her b-day so we went to town on the white t's. They actually turned out pretty darn cute for not knowing what we were doing :)

ALEXIS IS 10!!

Alexis turned 10 on October 8th! Can't believe we have a double digits girl. Where has the time gone?


She got spoiled (as usual) but even more so this year as we got her a cell phone. (I know - GULP.) She has been babysitting for us though and is very responsible and mature so we decided she could handle it :) She had NO idea and was very surprised and pleased - can you tell from the below pics? So far, so good. She loves it and hasn't become annoying with it YET!!

Cheesecake instead of birthday cake this year. I bought her trick candles and they completely did NOT work, I was so bummed!!

10 fun facts about Alexis!

* She always tries her very best

* She is a GREAT big sister

* She may as well BE a book she loves to read so much

* She has a killer front handspring

* She is extremely self motivated

* She is stubborn (in a good way, most of the time!)

* She has a tender heart

* She is a rule follower (I lovingly refer to her as my "RF")

* She tries hard to Choose The Right

* She loves the color orange, ninjas and chickens!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG GIRL! I think you are terribly amazing. I'm so glad you are mine :)

BSU boys

My boys were lucky enough to get invited to the BSU game this past weekend (THANKS MIKE!!) Excellent seats and a win make for a great combination. Boise is ALL about football right now so the games are a good time!

P.S. Love that my honey is sporting the big A hat (go Aggies!)

Ethan's baptism

On Saturday September 24, 2011 E was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! We are so proud of him and his decision to get baptized.

He was so lucky to have lots of friends and fam come to support him on his big day. One of my favorite memories will forever be Brylee's face smooshed up against the glass watching E get baptized. I don't think he realizes it, but he is already a great example!

I can't believe he is 8 and growing up so fast. We are so happy he is part of our family!!

We are out of otter pops..

The last otter pop has been consumed. That can only mean one thing: it's time to go back to school.

Alexis was super excited and proclaimed that she "didn't sleep at all because she was too excited!" She made her bow that is in her hair the night before!

Ethan was also excited, but a bit nervous because all of his best pals are in a different class :( We are looking forward to all the new friends he is going to make!!

I can't believe it. 5th and 3rd grade. I am getting so old - and even more frightening - so are they.

Here's to a great school year!

Bry's new look

Rounded up Brylee, Alexis, Ethan, Ashley, Kristy, Cayden and Kaysha and took a trip to the mall to pierce Brylee's ears!!!

She is adorable!! And she loves them :) And she didn't cry at all.

Cute girl!

Alpine Slide and Lagoon

I can't believe how many years I lived within 45 minutes of Park City and have never done the Alpine Slide!! So....we decided to fix that and cross it off the bucket list.

My sister brought her cute little Cayden and Alexis and Ethan both rode their own slides. I decided (after some convincing from my sister) to take Brylee with me and she LOVED it!! She cheered the whole time and kept telling me to go "faster and faster!" It was super fun and definitely a must do in Park City.




Alexis, Kristy and I also did the zipline. The WORST part definitely was having your feet up on the gate before they release you.



Since we have season passes to Lagoon we also had to stop by there a couple of times. The kids always have a blast, even Brylee rode a coaster and the boats (about 10 times!)





I don't want summer to END!!

24th of July Celebration

We just HAD to head to Utah to celebrate the 24th of July!! It was a really, really, really fun time.

Scratch that. It was a really, really, really fun time EXCEPT the drive there and back. Between potty breaks, accidents, accidents, accidents and a low-fuel panic attack, I may never drive there again. :)

So...it was a good thing we had a fun time!!

Started off with a big old party at my parents house. Water slide, snocones, cousins, fireworks all make for a great party!! My parents pulled out all the stops and the kids had a grand, grand time. I love that they are making these memories that will last forever.

Bry with her cousin Kaysha.

Snocones!!




BBQ - always tasty!



Uncle Kurt braved taking all the kids down the waterslide!



We got to do lots of fun fireworks this year due to the new Utah laws! We did parachutes out in the park - the kids had fun chasing them down! Bry was THRILLED to get a pink one!





The 4 mom's got to chase a parachute too....guess who caught it?!? YOURS TRULY!! :)



On Sunday we decided to take a little hike up Rocky Mouth trail to see a waterfall. The hike was a little more than we bargained for with 5 kids, but we had a good time. The water was freezing!!

Time to go home.....fun place!!