Spring Break!

It was time for a break! We needed to get out of the everyday hum-drum and do something #1 FUN and #2 Warm...so St. George was the perfect remedy! And....since it snowed 6 inches on the day we left made it only that much better when we finally reached the sun! We played, we hiked, we ate great food, saw beautiful sites, watched great movies, took long naps and played baseball everyday with the boys. It was a little piece of heaven. Lizzy and Dallas were fabulous hosts and up for anything. We loved wearing shorts and feeling warm! We are now more energized to go on with "normal" life~ and looking ever forward to our next "break"...come on summer!
(video highlights coming soon....enjoy my other new posts in the mean time)
 

Easter 2009

Well, waiting for anything when you are a child is just pure torture....but to wait through church before searching for your easter basket is quite painful! But I love to watch the agony....just a little bit! When we finally returned from church at 12:00 the search was on.....baskets were found, eggs were collected, and candy was eaten. The Bunny brought books this year and even Trey received a novel.....he loves nothing better than to carry around books that he can't possibly read and pretend that he is reading. So he was tickled pink to see that he received a "big boy" book, too. And just for fun, since Nate and I wanted in on the action, we hid some really fab science kits. So they had a little extra searching to do....but so far it has provided hours of entertainment. My favorite was watching Trey spend hours trying to excavate his dinosaurs. The goggles were worth every penny! Happy Easter....now if the weather would just cooperate!
 

Easter Egg Madness!

The Annual Cedar Hills Easter Egg hunt is always a chance for great entertainment! Picture this....hundreds of kids+hundreds of eggs=about 32 seconds of pure madness! The little ones were roped into a small corral. Parents were not allowed in and the babies just wandered around picking up an egg here or there, looking at each other, and crying (of course!)
It proved once again to be a good time, even in the rain!
 
 
 
 

 

Utah Flash!

It was Basketball Heaven Friday night for 4 little boys at the Utah Flash game. Utah Flash is the league under the Utah Jazz. It was high scoring, high energy, and we all had a super great time. We even polished off an entire bag of kettle corn (my favorite!). The boys have become their new biggest fans and each took home a souviner ball for the everyday pick up games in the basement. We didn't buy one for Mason...which ended up being the most traumatic event with lots of large crocodile tears and pouty lips. Poor baby! It was almost to the point where we went back to get one more. But....he has gotten over it....and things have settled down. Plus his brothers can't resist his tears and just have to share to stop the crying!~
 

Oh and one more party.....

Preston had one last hurrah with Aunt Lizzy...who celebrated her birthday just a day before Preston. We had to take advantage of one more chance to have cake and ice cream!!
 

 

 

Presto is 7....part 2!

You remember when you were a child and your birthdays seemed to last the whole week? Well Preston's actually did! Every year we let the boys choose if they want a birthday party or a date with mom and dad. This was Preston's first year to choose a friend party. We invited 10 of his best pals and had a football bash. Nate had all the boys running relays and trying his best to get some of the energy out....not much success! Then we fed them everything under the sun....hot dogs, popcorn, soda, cake, icecream....the works~ and sent them home happy. Preston was in 7th heaven! It was a fun day!
 

Oh thank Heaven! Preston is 7!!

Which means that he only has to wait ONE more year to be baptized and join the Cub Scouts! He is counting the days already~ We celebrated Preston's birthday "Fiesta Style" and then did some miniture golfing. He really enjoyed it! He is such a sweet and fun little boy. He is such a deep thinker and a great helper. He is always so willing to help....especially with Mason. We are so proud of you Preston and feel so lucky to have such an amazing boy in our family!
 

All is well!

We have had an interesting month in the health department! Uncle Dave got an awful staff infection in his pelvic bone and was on the brink of disaster before the doctors found out what it was and were able to help him. It just so happened that while all of this was going on Marquelle had all of Sarah and Landon's children for the week while they were in Florida. So when things got a bit crazy, we got to keep all of the little cherubs. The boys stayed home from school to play and help! Needless to say, we had a lot of fun! I thought these photos of the little munchkins devouring the popcorn were too cute not to share. I think they ate over 3 bags! Little piggies! And just to let you know...Uncle Dave is doing well. He has to be on an the mother of all antibiotics by pic line for 6 weeks....but we feel so very grateful that he is ok! Marquelle waited so long for you....and we all think the world of you...so you better stick around!
 
 

Sledding Heaven!~

Winter just isn't winter without a cabin stay and some really great snow! We had both when we spent a fun weekend with my family the beginning of January. The snow was absolutely gorgeous! The weather was absolutely freezing! And we had an absolute blast! Now if we could only invent an easy way to get the monkeys in and out of the snow gear in a quick and painless fashion.....we would attempt snow more often! LOL And is all that hard work really worth it for just one run down the sled hill.....and then the inevitable, "I'm cold!"?? The older monkeys are getting to where they can fully dress themselves and play outside for long spurts....what a lovely thought! I assume that one day I will miss getting them into their gear for an entire hour before we venture out to play. Hmmmmmm.....Actually that might be right up there with diapers. I might just never, ever miss that. We shall see!
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 

 

Pinewood Derby!!!

Do I really have a child old enough to be competing in the pinewood derby? If they had their own way they would have all been competing!! Oakley spent hours sanding, painting, and stressing about how fast this car would be. He painted it blue and white.....go cougars! He dreamed of winning the night before. I was doing my best to keep his feet on the ground but....no luck! Presto and Trey Man were no help.....and absolutely SURE that Oaks would have the worlds fastest car and were fully prepared to cheer him to victory~ On the first run Oakely's car came in last out of 4. His flushed cheeks became even more flushed! He looked like he had been punched in the stomach~ Preston and Trey, however, were in worse shape. I wish that I had a video of their faces. It was the most heartbreaking kind of priceless that you can imagine~ I will try to remember how much they love each other on those "not-so-loving"days! Well they all pulled it together for round two and became the best little fan club for some of Oakley's good buddies that were doing well (they will jump on a band wagon...LOL). Well Oaks did a little better the next two rounds but not enough to compete. They allowed the boys to vote for the favorite car before the race began. When they gave out the ribbons Oaks was on the edge of his seat in hopes that maybe, just maybe, there might be a ribbon for him. Well....we found out that boys in Utah co. really like BYU and they reserved the coveted Blue Ribbon for his "BYU" car! That made his night! He was so proud of his car~ And we were proud of the way he took the defeat in the race. It was the first of many pinewood derbies to come and I think we will always look forward to it! Win or Loose~!
 

Getting ready for the DERBY!

 
 

Dinosaur Madness~!

I am so excited! Picasa FINALLY has a beta program for MAC!!!! That means that I no longer have to edit and crop and size and sharpen all of my photos for the web.....AND .....I can blog much more often because it is soooooooo much easier! HURRAY! Here are some photos from our last trip to the dinosaur museum. We took Becca and Levi with the girls along~ The Monkeys had a ball as usual.....
 

Disneyland 2009

So YES! Disneyland is the Happiest place on earth!! We surprised the boys with a 5 day trip to California...3 of which we spent hopping back and forth in the parks! The Monkeys were in Heaven! It lived up to all of it's magical expectations and we are already for a return trip! Trey was very apprehensive the first day but about midway through day two he grew his wings and there was no stopping him! Mason was absolutely jolly the entire trip. And Oaks and Preston rode every ride with Nate and then again with me that was too "scary" for the little boys! We loved all the bonding time and holding hands and snuggling up on the rides. It was family vacationing at it's best. IT was a riot....on the edge of your seat excitement for days on end. The weather was 80 degrees and sunny the entire trip! We wore ourselves out in pure jubilation and came back home with smiles that are still going strong. (not sure why some of the photos are clear and others look fuzzy?? Hmmmmm)

Merry Christmas to YOU!!

Well I made it through my first super duper busy photo season and realized that everything else in my life was put on the back burner....Yes I still have to post for halloween, Oakley's Birthday, etc. etc.etc.....
So for all of you who check in faithfully, please be patient new posts are coming but I have to get through one more week of lots of parties and fun and then I will be back on the wagon. But for now...here is our yearly Christmas card. Some of you may have already seen it but here it is for those of you who have not....you can click on the photos to see them bigger!
MERRY, MERRY, CHRISTMAS!!!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Soccer Season!!

Whew! Busy soccer season this fall....with 3 boys playing!! It made for very interesting Saturday's to say the least! But we really enjoyed watching them play and cheer each other on! Oaks played on a huge field this year with real positions and huge goals. He was always exhausted after every game but it was so fun to watch! He likes to score and defend.....but I think he prefers scoring! Preston was just on fire this year....and was bound and determined not to let the other team score diving in front of many potential goals. He might have a future as a goalie~ But he couldn't help getting involved on the other end of the field as well! He is a good little team player and passed so well! I loved watching Oakley and Preston cheer Trey on! Trey was a man possessed on the soccer field. I think it certainly helps to have a competitive edge that he gets from the two older monkeys. He was always keeping score and shooting us a finger count of how many goals he had scored....nice! Time to work on humility....LOL Here are some of the photos....don't miss the expressions...(especially trey's)