McEwen Family

Back to school

2011-10-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

School Year: 2011-2012

The night before school started Kennedy carefully laid out her whole outfit

and so did Kobe

They are ready for school to start and so am I.

Kennedy Chase is now a First Grader

and Kobe Burke is a 2nd Grader

and this little man is still in preschool

YIPPEE for school!!!!!

The Party!

2011-10-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

The Festivities.....

Birthday presents

Followed by cake and ice cream

For Kobe's birthday party we played glow in the dark dodgeball at the church. It was so much fun! I think this is one of my favorite parties that I have thrown. It didn't matter the age of the kid, every one had such a great time and nobody wanted to leave.

We had glow in the dark dodge balls and every kid wore glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces.

Eight is Great!!

2011-10-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

Kobe turned 8 in the beginning of August.

We were so lucky to have all of my family here to help celebrate.

Kobe was so excited to have all of his cousins at his birthday party!

On the big day...

We started the morning off with presents and donuts for breakfast

BB gun!!

Watch out Kade and Kennedy

His very own fish tank to put in his room!

Happy Birthday Kobe! I can't believe that you are 8. We love you so very much and are so proud of who you are.

McEwen Family Reunion

2011-10-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

This past July we had our McEwen family reunion up at the cabin. As always, we had 3 full days packed to the rim with fun.

Even Kade couldn't handle it......

Kobe knee deep in the coldest water I have ever felt! But it didn't stop all of the kids from playing for hours in it. Crazy kids!!

I love summer watermelon faces

This is the only photo I got of Kade looking at the camera with his eyes open. He is such a turkey when it comes to taking pictures.

Three pregnant mamas all in a row!! Jaime, my SIL was due in 10 days, I was due in August, and Bo, my other SIL is due in November.

Family Photo!

Every year we do a variety show. This year we did 2 skits.

Kade did ninja moves

Kennedy sang It's a Grand Ole' Flag. She requested that I hold a flag up.

A trip to the cabin isn't complete without a little fishing.

The whole weekend Kade collected "weapons" and piled them high in his fort.

Every year Grandpa gives silver dollars to anyone who catches horny toads. Kobe, Kennedy, and Kade all caught more than one!

We had everyone at the reunion except Jace and Callie. We missed them and hope that they will be there next year.

Until then.....

Sweet 16...oh wait! I mean 6

2011-09-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

On June 25th this pretty girl turned SIX years old!

This year she requested a TEA PARTY.

With REAL tea cups, not fake ones.

Thankfully, Tai Pan did not disappoint and I was able to find REAL tea cups.

In the clearance section even!

Kennedy approved of them and the party planning began...

FIRST....the invitations

Put your etiquette to the test and join us in your Sunday best. Have with us a cup of tea and celebrate the 6th birthday of our dear Kennedy.

Next....on the big day we decorated the table with sandwiches, fruit, cheese, pink lemonade, licorice, carrots, ranch, and of course, CUPCAKES.

Each girl had a reserved seat at the tea table

Starting with first things first....decorating our party hats for the tea party of course

FLOWERS

RIBBONS

BRACELETS

NECKLACES

all help make the look complete

PRIM and PROPER

All ready to put our etiquettes to the test

Lunch was TRULY delicious!

Lunch was followed by etiquette 101....walking properly while balancing books on their heads

Chin up

Head straight forward

shoulders back

back tall

walk slow

Then on to opening presents

The girls played "pass the tea pot."

Whoever, had the tea pot when the music stopped got to give Kennedy their gift for her to open.

Blowing out the candles!!

THE GUESTS

Alyssa

Ciara

Faith

Averi

Sammy

Sydney

Happy Birthday our dear Kennedy, who lights up our life and is one of the most fantastic people I have ever met. How blessed I am to be her mother. She has taught me more than I could ever teach her and she is such an example of Christ like love. She is just so beautiful both inside and out and a true, true princess.

Summer happenings....

2011-08-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

School got out June 9th and the very next day we took off to Utah to my niece, Taylor's wedding. We spent a few days there and then continued our trip to Wyoming to spend a week at Yellowstone National Park.

Surprisingly, at Yellowstone we had a lot of fun and did so much outdoorsy stuff. Justin and the kids were in heaven. I had a great time too. We fished, rafted, rode four wheelers, saw lots of bison, went to Old Faithful, and did a lot of sight seeing. Wow! It was beautiful.

It was so relaxing and so nice to spend time with Justin and my kiddos. While we were there we had no cell service or internet service so it was just us and nature. Pure joy:)

My kind of vacation normally consists of a beach, sand, and water so this was different yet very enjoyable!!

Taylor on her big day

Family picture:) This is how they did their guest book. Everyone who came in took a picture.

Some geyser, not Old Faithful

So many bison on the road. We waited in traffic for so long because they were always walking in the middle.

Way back in June.....

2011-08-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

So behind, trying to catch up.

Kennedy graduated from Kindergarten. She loves Mrs. Barton and so do I. I cried like a baby at her graduation. I know that I can go visit Mrs. Barton in her classroom but am so sad to not have her again. Kobe and Kennedy both had her. She is the best!

Kennedy loved Kindergarten. She met one of her best friends, Alyssa, who is going to be in her first grade class.

She is so excited to be in first grade with the same teacher that Kobe had.

2011-06-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

Just in case you are wondering.......

I am STILL pregnant!

and will be for the next 9 weeks.

2011-05-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

3 months

5 months

6 months

Only 3 more months to go!!

Easter in Bunkerville

2011-05-13T14:49:00.001-07:00

The Easter bunny had no problem finding us at grandma and grandpa's house in Bunkerville. He left a puzzle as a clue so that the kids could find where their baskets were hidden. The sneaky little guy left them in grandma's garden outside. Once the baskets were retrieved and ripped apart to find what was inside the egg hunt was on.

Several Easter eggs later...

Complete with overflowing baskets, too much candy, trinkets that were thrown away within a week, fun new movies, a yummy ham dinner, and a mom who ate enough of the candy to make her sick we enjoyed the rest of the Easter holiday with family relaxing and just being together.

Happy Easter!

Spring Break

2011-05-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

During spring break our family and some good friends spent hours loading our cars with bikes, tents, food, camping gear, and possibly the kitchen sink just to spend two days camping. Why is it so much work to go camping? I love to do it, but man, by the time we were all loaded and on our way all I wanted to do was hit my bed for a nice long nap. Instead, I opted for half sleeping, part drooling on my pillow in the front seat.

Cathedral Rock outside of Panaca, Nevada was where we were headed. About 2 hours away. Just enough time to try and get a little rest before we were back to work unloading the car and setting up camp.

The campsite was beautiful and the weather was great. A little cold at night, which made it perfect to sit by the camp fire with hot chocolate.

We spent two stress free days....

Digging in the dirt.....

Climbing hundreds of rocks.....

racing around on bikes.....

taking turns riding in the razor....

and climbing tree after tree.

Camping was just what we needed. No cell phones, no TV, no computers, no kids fighting (almost). Just us, friends, and nature.

A great combination!

BUGZ!!

2011-05-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

Last year in Kindergarten Kobe was in the BUGZ play. He was a horse fly. This year Kennedy had the same teacher, Mrs. Barton, so she got to be in the play too.

She made one cute little lady bug.

She fits the personality of a sassy little lady too.

PERFECT FIT!

Kennedy with friends before the show started.

During the show.

Kennedy and Alyssa

One of her best friends.

The play was adorable of course. All of kids did a great job!

Baby ???

2011-04-11T14:31:00.001-07:00

GREAT NEWS!!!!

We are having...........

A BOY!!!

OR A GIRL.....

We don't know because we are not finding out:)

Stay tuned till August to see what lucky #4 is.

But here is a little sneak peek...

2011-04-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

On St. Patrick's day a leprechaun snuck into our house and made a complete mess looking for gold. He sure was sneaky!! He came through the back door and left a trail of rainbow colored skittles wherever he went. I don't think he found what he was looking for, but he did leave the kids a box of Lucky Charms for breakfast, more treats, and a note for each kid behind. Maybe he felt guilty for leaving such a mess. Hopefully we will catch him next year!

2011-04-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

In February Kobe was awarded Mustang of the Month at his school. Students who show great citizenship and are great examples to others receives the award after the teacher recommends them. The award is then given to the student by the principle and vice principle at a small assembly.

Way to go Kobe!

We are very proud of you!

2011-04-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

DANCING

DAUGHTER

DATE

DADDY

A special night to remember. Justin picked up Kennedy at our front door with a rose and escorted her to a Valentine's Dance at the local Recreation center. Afterwards he treated her to ice cream and a short trip to the mall to the make up counter (her favorite place) to have makeup applied. She came home all smiles and giggles and talked about it for days. Now she just has to wait another 10 years before she can date anyone else besides her dad.

2011-04-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

You better watch your back cuz my kids are gangsta!

Basketball Season

2011-04-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Kobe played basketball for the first time this winter and loved it.

He played with great friends.

Had a great coach.

And had the BEST cheering section!!

WAY TO GO BULLDOGS!!

Can I just get blogging about December over with already!!

2011-03-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

Finally, the last post about December and then I can actually move onto the new year.

But not before I highlight this little man's birthday.

Kade's big day was December 30th.

He grew from the terrible twos into the big kid threes in just one day.

He woke the morning of celebration to a room decorated in his favorite color....blue.

Then he enjoyed pancakes that were dyed in none other than the color....blue!

Don't ask why he is feeding the doll. Maybe he was practicing being an older brother:)

Once dad got home that night and after dinner at Chuck e' Cheese, because that is where the birthday boy wanted to go, he finally got around to opening presents.

A new bike.....YEAH!!! Which he LOVES, except for the fact that Kennedy is always stealing it away from Kade to ride it herself.

and other fun gifts.

But wait! It's not over yet......

Because the next day at the family New Year's Eve party we had Spiderman cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to Kade, which he did not appreciate very much and told us to "STOP SINGING" throughout the whole song.

Did we really sound that bad?

Look at his unappreciative face....

Happy Birthday baby boy!! You light up our lives with your hilarious personality, willingness to do and play anything with your brother and sister. Even if you are a punching bag for Kobe and a dancing mermaid for Kennedy, you always do it with a smile. You continually make us laugh with your goofiness and pure adorableness. I honestly can not get enough of you and wonder sometimes how you endure so many kisses and cheek squeezes that I inflict on you daily......what a good sport you are. You truly were meant to be a younger brother because you just go with the flow and smile along the way. We love you Kaders Roland!!

Christmas morning....

2011-02-28T16:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning 2010.......

Coming around the corner smiling and laughing already......

Kade refused to stay in his pajamas and got himself dressed.

Kade elbow deep in his stocking....

Faster, faster Kobe......open it faster......

"Just what I always wanted!!!" Kennedy would exclaim after opening every gift.....

The after math........

Thank you Santa!

Christmas Eve....

2011-02-28T15:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve 2010.....

The Stockings were hung.......

or more like laying on the couch. Santa hadn't quite got to my empty stocking yet:)

And the house was clean and quiet all ready for Santa....

but before all that could happen Santa had his little elves secretly deliver new pajamas to be opened and worn on Christmas Eve.....

Then the reindeer food was happily scattered in the drive way.....

And one last note to Santa was written and signed by all three before the cookies and milk were ready to be set out......

Finally off to bed.....and one by one after much laughter, giggles, and peeks out the window they EVENTUALLY fell asleep extremely excited to see what Santa brought them this year!!

December happenings....

2011-02-02T13:32:00.000-08:00

Like everyone else we had a very busy December. Very busy, but very fun and exciting!! We had party after party.....school parties, church parties, family parties, and even Kade's birthday party! I don't think there was a night that we didn't have something planned. Also, in December, I found out I am pregnant and due in August and on the same weekend that I found out I was pregnant I also got called to be the Young Women's President in my ward:)

Our December was very eventful, memorable, and spiritual. I think that I am still trying to recover 2 months later.

Pictures from the McEwen party....

This year we did a hat exchange with the siblings.

Then the Bevell party.....

This year it was EXTRA special because my sister Sonya and her family all came from Oregon and spent the weekend in Las Vegas so they were able to come.

Sonya was the lucky one to get the best white elephant gift ever. I am still laughing when I think of it. My mom gave it to her. It is a Christmas sweater with dolls sewn on the front. If you can't tell what they are doing they are skiing. Yes, those are individual dolls on the front equipped with wired ski poles. Oh man! It was hideous!!

Kade had his Christmas Preschool Program...

The entire time he just stood and stared at the girl next to him.....didn't move, didn't sing, just stared. We were laughing so hard!!

More christmas to come........

2011-01-14T10:12:00.000-08:00

Justin and I's marriage has officially outlasted our toaster.

We got this toaster as a wedding gift.

Almost 10 years ago.

It has been used almost everyday since.

Near the end (the last 6 months) this is how it looked and this is how we used it.

Hey, it still made great toast so why not use it?

Thank you to Justin's grandma who got me a new toaster, with 4 slots, for Christmas so I could finally put this poor thing to rest.

To the garbage can it went!

Farewell.....

California trip continued.....

2011-01-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

Can't forget about the beach.

It was November so it was FREEZING and raining.

But hey, we had to take advantage of the beach so we just wanted to stop by for a few minutes to sit in the sand.

But as you can see our plan didn't stick.

The kids and Justin were in the water within minutes.

And of course each one of the kids fell in the water and was completely soaked from head to toe.

I was happy to stay on the shore and take pictures.

I was FREEZING just looking at them!

Disneyland 2010!!

2011-01-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

Disneyland was awesome as usual! The kids had a ball....the parents did to. Justin’s favorite ride is Space Mountain. Rachel’s favorite ride is Hollywood Tower of Terror. Kobe’s favorite ride is BIg Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. Kennedy’s favorite ride is the Teacups. Kade’s favorite ride is Monster’s Inc. We met many of the Disney characters, watched the parade, danced with the princesses, screamed on the roller coasters, waited in numerous lines, got soaked from Splash Mountain, enjoyed the fireworks, ate cotton candy, and laughed until our cheeks hurt.

We even had the most wonderful opportunity to meet up with the Musgrave's in California and hang out with them for 4 days. Brittany and I had a glorious reunion:) I was more interested in talking to her than riding the rides. It was so great to catch up and spend time with such great friends. ALl of us, including Justin, have truly missed them. Justin was happy to walk around the park with Bill to keep him company and not have to listen to Brittany and I talk non stop for 4 days.

I think Kobe was more excited to see Gage and Jake than he was to go to Disneyland.....it was a toss up. But having Gage and Jake at Disneyland with us was the best thing that could have possibly happened:)

Kennedy was scared on this ride.....hence the pouty face

On the last night at Disneyland Justin and Bill took the kids home so Brittany and I could have some BFF time. We went on some rides and then walked over to Cheesecake Factory where we stuffed ourselves sick and talked like we see each other every day. Man, I miss her being around!

This was Brittany's first time on Tower of Terror, which is my favorite, it was worth every second. She was scared out of her mind and I couldn't stop laughing.

This picture was taken moments after Kade escaped and disappeared for at least 10 minutes. 10 minutes seems like forever when you are mixed in with a sea full of people at Disneyland. Nothing I would want to repeat any time soon. I think I had a mini heart attack. Notice the death grip I have on his arm?

Kade not too thrilled about us making him pose for a kiss:)

California Screaming!!!

Our first time on the Toy Story ride and by far the longest line was waited in....but worth the wait.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-12-03T14:54:00.000-08:00

For the last couple of years we have decided to skip the "pumpkin patch" in the casino parking lot to go to a real farm and pumpkin patch in St. George.

It is so much fun.

We spend hours there doing all of the activities they have for the kids, plus, the pumpkin patch, the hay ride, the petting zoo, and the corn maze.

This year Grandma and Grandpa McEwen were able to join us which made it even cooler.

Some of the favorite activities were the redneck trampoline, the horse carousel made from tires, and the ball shooting gun type thing.

The petting zoo was stinky and dirty as always, but even I couldn't get enough of the llama who was trying to kiss everyone.

Ok, so I made sure I didn't get close enough for it to touch me, but I did have some laughs.....from a distance.

Waiting for the hay ride to take us to the corn maze

Kissing llama

The lucky pumpkin picked to come home with us

Bonding with Dad

2010-12-03T14:40:00.000-08:00

Before it got too cold outside Justin and Kobe took the opportunity to go camping.

Just Dad and Kobe.

The two of them alone with the coyotes, rattlesnakes, and tarantulas. They went desert camping so I know that these desert friends weren't too far away.

I was more than happy to be at home. I love camping but this time around I was glad to stay home and let them have their bonding time.

Kobe was in heaven and Justin too.

They had a lot of fun together.

They were able to do everything that is required when you go camping.....build a fire, eat tinfoil dinners, star gaze, hike, sit by the fire, sleep uncomfortably in a tent, eat donuts for breakfast, and pee outdoors.

What boy doesn't like that?

I am sure that moments like this Kobe will always remember.....and Justin too.

They are already looking forward to the next campout.

St. George Marathon

2010-12-03T14:33:00.001-08:00

Oh! Yeah! Did I forget to mention that back in October Justin ran his 5th St. George marathon? Well, he did:)

He trained and ran with my sister in law, Robin. It was her first and she did a great job. Justin did awesome too.

We were all there to support them and the kids loved cheering on their dad.

Way to go Dad! We are all so proud of you!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-30T19:47:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween we had a......

Scarecrow.....

Snow White.......

Spiderman......

and a cop and robber.

Trying to catch up....

2010-11-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

Off to school for a new year.....

Kade heads to Preschool

Kennedy heads to Kindergarten

and Kobe heads to 1st grade

We look forward to an exciting year ahead of us

And mom really looks forward to a little bit of free time

Sisterly Love (part 2) IN OREGON!!

2010-11-11T16:33:00.000-08:00

1 car

5 kids

3 adults

1 7 year old

1 5 year old

2 2 year olds

1 7 month old

1 30 year who acted like a 4 year old

2 "crazy" moms

(at least by the end of the trip we were)

3 states

5 car seats

18 hours of travel time

2 weeks of cousin time

20 (probably more) different DVD movies played

1 potty incident

4 puking incidents

2 blow outs by baby Chase

100's of snacks

100's of great conversations

(when we weren't interrupted)

100's of wrappers on the car floor

1000's of "mom", "mom", "mom" from the back seats

Too many fights to count

Too many stops to count

Too many "what were we thinking" moments to count

and....

LOTS and LOTS of tears

(from both kids and adults)

And that was just the car ride.....

But when we got there it was ALL worth it. Plus we had two weeks to re-coop and regain our sanity before the long drive home.

At Sonya's house waiting our arrival was Crystal, Baylee, Brody, Sonya, Kris, Kali, Sarah, Kole, Stella, and Kash.

From then on out we had so much fun the time went by too quickly!

My sister Crystal and her son Brody

Outside roasting marshmallows and eating way too many cookies

Crystal and Baylee

The fire pit where we spent many nights. The way we were dressed you would think it was winter outside....nope...it was August.

mmmm.....smores....

Best buddies

Diana, Kris, Kobe, Sarah, Kole, and I on the boat gearing up to go crabbing

Two peas in a pod Kennedy and Stella

Building sand castles at the beach

Kobe learning to sand board at the sand dunes

It actually got warm enough to shed some layers of clothes

The girls doing what they do best.....playing dress up and with make up

Kade

Ha! These pictures make me laugh every time I see them. Such cheap entertainment!

Blake

Sonya

I am sure she will appreciate this picture of her on my blog:)

Kole

I absolutely love to visit Oregon. Every time I go we have so much fun. It is a great vacation for me because my kids play the entire time and they only talk to me if they need something. I spent a lot of time reading, playing card games with the girls, and just sitting around relaxing. We did all sorts of fun things....went to the sand dunes, the beach, the park, sight seeing, picked tons of blackberries from Sonya's backyard (YUM!), and much more. We got there just in time for Kole's baptism too. That was such a neat experience and we were happy to be there. It was especially great for Kobe since he will get baptized next year. It was great for him to be able to see his best cousin friend experience it first. I think it made Kobe that much more excited for his own baptism.

I love spending time with Sonya. She has definitely been a huge influence in my life. I have always looked up to her and her great example. I truly admire her for her dedication to the gospel. She loves it and it is very apparent in her life and home. She is the type of person that when I am around her I feel like I am always learning something new. She has been a great teacher to me throughout my life. I love that she is not a complainer, because I sure am. She just takes life with a grain of salt and exercises true faith. She is a lot of fun to be around and is always making me laugh....like crying because I am laughing so hard. She is really laid back and I learn a lot from her as a mother and a friend. She has always been a great running partner and I hope that someday we can run another marathon together. It was really hard for me when she moved away from Las Vegas, but I now see that it was the best thing for her and her family. I can tell that she has really progressed and changed (for the better) because of the move. However, I do miss her and love her so much and really wish that maybe someday we will live near each other again....I can always wish can't I?

Also, a little shout out to my partner in crime during this whole trip......Diana. She sure was a trooper. The car ride was EXTREMELY long but Diana made the dreadful seem doable. She is so much fun to talk to and be around. She really is one of my favorite people. I just love her! We had some great conversations and laughed plenty....she laughs at my jokes:) She is such a good friend and I feel totally blessed and extremely grateful to have her as my sister in law. My brother scored....of course she got the short end of the stick:) I hope that the experience was good for her so that MAYBE one day when it is out of her memory I can talk her into doing it again. She really was great and I am so happy that she came with me. She made the trip even that much more fun!!! Plus, it was awesome gaining up on Riley.

Sisterly Love...

2010-10-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

This summer was full of sisterly love. First, my sister Tara visited at the end of July for 3 WHOLE WEEKS!!! I was so lucky! Then she got whisked away by her fabulous husband to Mexico so her kids got to stay and play for another whole week.

We had so much fun and I LOVED having her here. She is funny...has a GREAT sense of humor, beautiful, spunky, outspoken (in a good way), a great listener, trustworthy, a great shopping partner, full of great stories, stands up for those she loves, takes no crap from anyone (which I think is great, cuz I am a pushover), is extremely fun to sit and talk with, selfless, a fantastic mom, and so very much more....I could go on forever. I just love and admire her. Not only is she an amazing sister she is also a tremendous friend.

We spent hours talking, laughing, eating, reading, swimming, and just lazying around. I miss her terribly when she is not here and wish she lived closer. I adore our relationship and really look up to her. She also ROCKS at Just Dance:)

Kennedy LOVED having her girl cousins around because it meant HOURS of playing dress up, doing hair, painting fingernails, and applying makeup. She had so much fun and was sad when they were gone.

Tara, my mom, and Lacy (my oldest sister)

2010-10-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

Kobe turned 7 way back in August. His birthday was quite eventful.

The night before he had all of his cousins spend the night for a very loud and crazy sleep over.

The next morning, on his birthday, donuts were served for breakfast.

His birthday party for friends and cousins started at 3pm.

Justin and I took all of the boys to the movie theater where they loaded up on treats.

We then brought them home for pizza, cake, and presents.

Kobe wanted a G.I. Joe cake, I hope I did it justice and pleased the birthday boy.

After two long days of birthday celebrations and a messy house it was nice to get back to normal.

Kobe is......

so sweet

loving

intuitive

sensitive

sporty

jokester

active

very shy

fun

quiet

man of little words

compassionate

smart

handsome

friendly

daring

Kobe loves....

movies

T.V.

Wii

swimming

climbing

camping

his dad

teasing Kennedy

building forts

wrestling with Kade

drawing

sharks

his friends

toys

star wars

school (kindof)

yogurt

french toast

pizza

riding his bike or scooter

taking walks with the family

grandpa and grandma's cabin

his cousins

The guests: Riley, Nick, Jayce, Noah, Joe, Trevin, and Kaden

Sugar overload in the morning

Waiting for their donuts

Family Reunion

2010-10-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

swains creek. utah. mountains. rhino riding. hiking. cabin. family. july. fishing. scavenger hunt. laughter. great food. love. talking. cleaning the fish. catching horny toads. fresh air. beautiful. 3 days. sitting by the fire. perfect weather. off-roading. talent show. dancing. more laughter. singing. jokes. hot chocolate. s'mores. candy. sparklers. memories. so. much. fun!

Words describing the family reunion up at the cabin.

Kobe caught and gutted his first fish.

2010-10-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!!!

KADE JUST MIGHT BE THE DEATH OF ME.

Kindergarten Graduation

2010-10-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quick flashback........

Kobe graduated from Mrs. Barton's Kindergarten class this past July.

He loved his teacher.

He learned so much.

He excelled in his school work.

He loved recess.

(but what kid doesn't)

He made lots of great friends.

He opened up more to others.

He gained more confidence in himself.

He loved working on the computers.

He always got to pick from the treasure box at the end of the week for good behavior.

He was a good friend to others.

He was sad to leave his comfort zone.

BUT....

He was ready to move on.

He was ready for First Grade.

(At least I hope so since he has been in 1st Grade for over a month:))

Kobe was SO sick of pictures by this point

2010-09-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

On June 25th this little miss turned 5 years old. We had our work cut out for us on that special day since she told me everything she wanted to happen at her party.

Kennedy sat beside me on the couch while I took notes with my pen and paper.

She carefully named all of the guests that were to be invited. Kobe was not on the list.

After a little persuasion she finally allowed him to come to her party, but not as a guest, only as my helper.

The theme: Moon and Star party

The decorations: 1 big shiny moon with lots of stars hanging from the ceiling.

Activities/Party Games: (this list was long)

Play outside, take turns riding her bike, pillow fight, sprinklers on the trampoline, jump on the trampoline, play in my bedroom, do each others make up---but not the boys, paint nails--also no boys, watch a movie--a movie that everyone would like, play tag, play games, go to the zoo, go to the park and run, eat a star shaped cake, and my all time favorite.....catch butterflies.

What birthday would complete without catching butterflies?

This was Kennedy's ideal birthday.....

This is what ACTUALLY took place on her birthday......

We woke up to eat birthday pancakes that were dyed pink, to match her favorite color, upon request.

Had her favorite dinner with the family, Grandma Sharon, and Bill who was crippled and parked on the couch:)

Homemade breaded chicken strips

mashed potatoes

broccoli

watermelon

Ate yummy cupcakes.

Opened presents

Swam at Black Mountain Pool with mommy, daddy, Kobe, Kade, Uncle Riley, Aunt Diana, Blake, and Chase.

On Saturday we had a friend birthday Barbie party.

She decided that she wanted a Barbie party after all.

We played games, ate cake and ice cream, opened presents, and ran around until parents came to claim them after an hour and a half.

She woke up to her door and room decorated with everything pink!!

Turning 5 was not so bad after all.

She does LOVE being center of attention.

I just hope that we exceeded her expectations.

We never did get to catch butterflies.....

However, we did have a lot of fun and I hope that it was as memorable and special to her as it was for us.

Happy Birthday my sweet, sweet girl!

Kennedy's Spring Dance Recital

2010-09-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

This little miss had her first recital with Lori Day, her dance teacher, this past May. Kennedy was doing ballet for a while and wanted a change so she started taking dance from Lori and loved it. Lori is so sweet and grandmotherly. Kennedy loved her instantly.

The recital was very entertaining and a lot of fun to watch.

Kennedy did such a great job and even remembered to smile during her performance.

Now that dance is over for the summer Kennedy wants to try something new....gymnastics.

I guess it is all about what she wants and not what I want.

I would love for her to dance for forever but after 2 years of it she is ready to move on and try something new.

Gymnastics it is.

Until I can persuade her to go back to dance.

The end of our vacation

2010-09-07T14:03:00.001-07:00

Bill and Brittany left on Friday afternoon and we weren't leaving until Sunday afternoon so we had a few days to fill.

We went to the movies, walked around the mall, went out to dinner, lounged by the pool and beach for hours, and read till we fell asleep.

The end of our vacation was drawing near and we were both sad and excited. We were sad to leave this little slice of heaven and excited to see our kids again.

Cancun is beautiful, the ocean is breathtaking, but the company was the best part of it all.

Like I said from the beginning vacations are glorious!!!

Cancun Day 4

2010-09-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, Day 4 of Cancun, we decided to take a ferry to the nearby island, Isla Mujeras.

The first thing we did when we got there was rent ourselves a golf cart so that we could tour the small island. Our golf cart was extremely fast going at a speed of about 25 mph:) I probably could have got out and walked beside it. Oh well, it was definitely better than walking.

We first started out touring an old mansion that a sailor built to impress the woman he loved. The ruins were neat to see and the gardens were beautiful. However, the most entertainment came from watching Justin and Bill try and fail many times to catch an iguana. The island had SO many iguanas EVERYWHERE. After about an hour of attempts they finally caught one. The iguana was not very happy to say the least.

We each took turns driving and stopping to see the tourist attractions along the way, and of course we made time to stop and get ice cream.

After dinner at a ma and pa shop we headed back to the ferry for the long and VERY hot ride back to the mainland.

Once we were back at the hotel we went directly to the pool to cool off.

Today was our last full day to spend with Bill and Brittany before they headed back home to Las Vegas.

We had an amazing and memorable time with them.

I can't wait to do our long awaited Europe trip with them in 3 years.

Ruins from the mansion's garden

The famous iguana

Day 2 and 3....

2010-08-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

On day 2 Justin and I were still luggage-less, which meant swimsuit-less, but thanks to Brit and Bill we borrowed swimsuits from them and hit the beach and the pool for majority of the morning/afternoon. We read, we ate, we drank sugary, fruity drinks, we dozed in and out of consciousness, we swam in the pool, dipped in the ocean, but most importantly we tried to stay clear of the ONE and only 65 year old lady who confused the nice family friendly resort as a topless swim pool....Yikes! I guess she didn't get the memo:)

Earlier in the day we had made arrangements to go on a "jungle cruise" on wave runners and go snorkeling.

After getting all set on our wave runners we followed our tour guide through the "jungle", which ended up being a bunch of sticks and bushes in the water. Made for a good laugh.

It took us about a half an hour through the amazing jungle before we reached our snorkeling destination.

Snorkeling was beautiful and fun in the clear blue water. I saw some crazy Caribbean fish, my favorite was the black and white striped ones. Unfortunately Bill lost his wedding ring and we couldn't find it but on the other hand I did find someone's missing earring on the ocean floor:)

After about an hour Brittany decided to get out and sit on the wave runner. Soon after, people started to crowd around something in the water. I could tell that whatever it was it had to be exciting because the Mexican tour guides started speaking a million miles per hour in Spanish waving their arms at their tour guide buddies to come see.

In the meantime, Justin and I were about 50 feet from Brittany still in the ocean when she gets this horrified look on her face and says "Don't move, I think it's a shark."

Of course Justin is enthralled and instantly darts toward the crowd and leaves me as a lone soul stranded in the ocean.

If you don't know I AM TERRIFIED OF SHARKS!!!! Big or small! I immediately start panicking and screaming for Justin, who ignores me and continues to swim so that he can get his closer look. You would think I was about to get attacked by Jaws when Brittany says, "Never mind it's a barracuda."

Really, a barracuda?....my frightened emotions stopped as quickly as they started.

I also had to see the barracuda so I too swam over to the crowd of people to see the fish.

It was definitely a sight to see with it's gnarly teeth.

After reprimanding Brittany for scaring me to death and Justin for deserting me in my time of need we got back on our wave runners and went back through the "jungle" to go home.

With our fingers crossed we returned to our hotel hoping to find our luggage...which we did. It was a joyous reunion! We showered and headed to dinner where I experienced the most interesting fajita I had ever come across. It included cooked cactus, which was pushed ever so politely to the side of my plate where my daring husband decided to try it, and of course, liked it. The day was fabulous, the dinner was fabulous, and the night was fabulous. So far our vacation in Mexico was fabulous!

Day 3 we headed on a tour bus to Chichen Itza to see the Mayan ruins, which is now the 8th wonder of the world.

Along the way we stopped to see an underground cave full of water called a cenote.

It was so hot and we were sweating pretty badly with the humidity that we couldn't wait to swim in the cave water. That is until we saw the water.

The place was awesome but no way was I getting in the stagnant bath water (that is what it reminded me of) that tons of people were swimming in. The cave was dark, the water was dark and who knows what was beneath you. Even Justin passed on swimming.

We did get to cool off a little because with the cave underground it was much, much cooler.

After sharing some coconut water from a coconut we got back on the bus and continued on our way towards the ruins.

The back of the bus yeah!

Walking down many, many stairs to enter the underground cave.

YUM! Fresh coconut water

After our lunch stop we finally made it to ruins.

They were beautiful and much more intriguing than I had imagined.

Even though it was disgustedly hot and humid, and I get A.D.D when I am uncomfortable which made it hard to focus on what the tour guide was saying, I still found it very interesting and fascinating....along with the souvenir shopping.

The ruins were spectacular!

At dinner the night I was almost attacked by a shark:)

Cancun...Day 1

2010-07-31T21:25:00.001-07:00

Our flight was a red eye that flew to Phoenix to North Carolina and then down to Cancun. We were late arriving to Phoenix so they just put us on another flight that left there and would fly straight to Cancun. That sounded good to us except we would have to spend the night in the freezing cold airport. We half slept on the uncomfortable chairs while the cleaning people vacuumed around us in the middle of the night. By the next morning we were exhausted and dirty feeling but ready to get to Mexico. Needless to say I don't remember much of the flight there because I was drooling all over Justin's shoulder while unconscious.

I think this was taken right before we conked out.

Once through all of the endless lines at the airport we waited and waited for our luggage. After all the bags were claimed we realized that ours were not coming. A little panicky at this point we find out through customer service that ours bags are in North Carolina and won't join us until the next afternoon. I wasn't a happy camper, but I guess it could have been worse. However at the moment I didn't see it that way because with the combination of hardly any sleep and just wanting to get to our hotel with no more delays I started crying and complaining. I can be a little dramatic sometimes. Justin told me that if I was going to complain about this our whole vacation he was going to leave me at the airport. He was half joking.

Once we pulled up to our hotel Brittany and Bill were already waiting for us. I hugged Brittany like I hadn't seen her in years and told her all about our luggage hoping she would give me some sympathy....she did not fail...that's what friends are for. She was on my side and wondered how life could go on:)

After we took our little belongings up to our room we jumped on the local bus and cruised, nearly dying in the process, to Wal-Mart. Mexican bus drivers are CRAZYY!! We figured we should stock up on bottled water and snacks. We spent like 2 hours there because, well it's Wal-Mart. We walked through the store and laughed and laughed. At one point I was doubled over trying not to pee my pants and crying because I was laughing so hard at a Brittany story....one that I can not repeat:)

After we had our fun we decided to head back. So with Wal-Mart bags in tow we dropped off our stuff and hit the beach, in our traveling clothes of course. It was dark so we just relaxed out on the beach chairs and talked. Then we separated and went to bed. All I could think about was how much fun this was going to be and I was right.

2010-07-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I DID FOR A FULL WEEK IN CANCUN, MEXICO

WITH NO KIDS

NO WATCH TO TELL TIME

NO SCHEDULE

NO EXERCISING

NO WATCHING WHAT I EAT

(but lets be real cause we all know I don't do that anyway)

NO ALARM CLOCK

NO ERRANDS TO RUN

NO KIDS....did I already mention that?

NO MEALS TO COOK

NO GROCERY SHOPPING

NO RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER.........

THIS!!!!!

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.......AND WHATEVER WE FELT

LIKE.

VACATIONS ARE GLORIOUS!!!

MORE TO COME ON MEXICO.......

Shelby's Wedding

2010-07-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

In May, my niece Shelby....yes my NIECE, got married. I am getting old! Well, she is only 18 though. I need to throw that in to help my case:)

The wedding was beautiful and it was great to spend time with my sister and nieces who came from out of town.

Even though she is WAY too young to get married she still looked beautiful

Kade refuses to look at the camera when I try and take a picture of him....even though it is frustrating it makes me laugh when I look at the photos.

One of the few pictures that exists of me....I always seem to be behind the camera:)

Kennedy loves her cousin Ciara. She is always begging to play with her.

T-ball Party!

2010-07-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Way back in May Kobe finished his first season of T-ball. Of course we had to go out with a bang and have an awesome party at the park with hot dogs, chips, watermelon, dessert, and trophy's all included:)

Here is Kobe receiving his trophy from coach Luke. Kobe really liked Luke a lot and we thought he was awesome!

The whole team---THE CUBS!!

Kobe loved Tball and is very excited to move up next year, hopefully he will get to be on a team with his friends.

So far, this has been my most favorite sport to watch. I love baseball!! Maybe because I understand it:)

80's Party!!

2010-06-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

Recently our ward had an 80's party and it was so much fun!! I have not laughed so hard in a long time as I looked at all of the creative outfits. Our ward is serious about this stuff. Justin even grew a mustache to match his mullet.....gross!! There were punk rockers, madonna look a-likes, 80's preppies, hair band groupies, flock of seagull look a-likes, the 80's mom look a-likes, the Cure look a-likes, the Miami Vice look a-likes and so much more. The hair, the make up, the clothes, the pegged jeans, the memorabilia that was used for decorations....such as, pop rocks, rubix cubes, 80's baseball cards, etc were all so great. We did 80's pop quiz and had a dance off, which I won by the way with my sweet moves to Vanilla Ice:) 80's is one of my favorite decades...even though I was too young to really capture all of its magnificent essence I still appreciate a little flash back now and again.......

Don't we look rad!

Preschool Graduation

2010-06-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

Back in May Kennedy graduated from ABC ETC and is now off to Kindergarten in the Fall. She is ready to move on and so am I....three days a week in school just isn't cutting it anymore for her. She can't wait to be at the same school as Kobe, go every day, and learn to read. Next year I will have two kids in public school and Kade in preschool. Does that mean I actually get some free time to myself? Wahoo!! Soon I will beable to grocery shop ALL BY MYSELF. I can almost feel it! Congratulations Kennedy we are proud of your accomplishments!!

Can this be any blurrier? Sad to say this is the best one I could get.

BUGZ!

2010-06-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

A little while ago Kobe's kindergarten class, along with 2 others, had their spring program. It was called BUGZ and was one of the cutest things I have seen in a while. Kobe was a horse fly and his line was..... "I am a horsefly and I will hurt anyone who with me tangles." He is so shy so for him to say this in front of all those people was a breakthrough. He did great on all of the songs until he saw Justin and I watching him and then he got all shy on us and tried not to crack a smile while he sang. He is so funny:) They did 2 performances, one in the day for the student body and the other one at night for families. I helped with both by painting faces and getting kids dressed in their costumes. The whole show was ALOT of work for the teachers and students but definitely well worth it.

Easter...

2010-05-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

Can I still blog about Easter? Or have I waited too long? That is how I feel these days. I have so much going on that it is hard to keep up. Sometimes I think it would just be easier to forget about it and not take the time to blog, but I definitely feel that it is important to "journal" all of these memories so that my family and I can someday have some sort of recollection of them. So even though Easter was a month ago it seems like yesterday.....

Easter 2010

I love Easter but am not fond of the whole Easter bunny tradition

However, since I am such an outstanding, fun, and loving mom who never yells at her kids I must follow tradition

Also it really is great to see the excitement on the kids faces as they tackle over each other to find the next egg.

This year I was smart and color coordinated their eggs with their baskets so they searched for the eggs that matched their baskets.

Yes, I know.....I am a genius!

No fighting

No saying "he got more than me"

No nothing

Just pure excitement

They went about searching for their own eggs and then hurried to the trampoline to open as many as possible and eat as much candy as could fit in their mouths at once.

I hate candy

I am so sick of candy

But that is beside the point

This year the Easter bunny honored my request of "Please do not bring very much candy, only a little will do."

Thank you Easter bunny for actually listening to the mother who really does know best.....or who is just really, really sick of candy around the house

After they discovered the Easter baskets full of fun loot and finished the egg hunt it was time to sit and relax or fall asleep in front of conference.

Conference was really good

Very uplifting

Justin can not tell you the same thing because I think he fell asleep in the first half hour

I on the other hand am proud to announce that I stayed awake for the whole thing

I can proudly announce it because I think it might have been the first time:)

I made about 100 homemade crescent rolls for the family dinner

Didn't mean to make so much but just got a little carried away

But nobody complained

Everyone in my family came to my house for Easter dinner and man was dinner good

I love Easter

I love my kids and how much they love the Easter bunny even though I don't

I love that I live near my family so we could celebrate Easter sunday together

I love that Easter fell on Conference weekend

But most importantly I love and celebrate the TRUE meaning of Easter and the tremendous effects it has on my life.

Happy Easter!

How do they come up with these things....

2010-05-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

The other night when I went upstairs to go to bed this is where I found Kade sleeping. In our linen closet with adorable zebra print rain boots on. Hey, I guess that a closet full of blankets and sheets looked just as comforting to him as his bed did.

This is how Kobe likes to relax and watch T.V. He piles up anything and everything to make a very high tower and then sits in it. The higher the better. Oh, and it has fallen over many times with him in it:)

Colorado cont....

2010-04-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

Day 4: (I know day 3 and day 4 are backwards, just don't feel like fixing it)

We packed our backpack, snacks, drinks, and extra layers of clothes (along with everything else) and headed to the Denver Zoo. This was our first time to the zoo so we had such a great time. The kids loved it, Justin loved it, grandma Cori loved it, and I loved it. So it is unanimous....we will be returning to the zoo again soon.

Kennedy's favorite was the giraffe's.

Kobe's favorite was the snakes and rhino.

Kade's favorite was.....well, everything, esp. the snakes. We had a difficult time getting him to move on, he just wanted to stare at them.

I have to say that my favorite was also the snakes....they just fascinate me (as long as there is a plate of glass between us I don't mind staring at them.)

My least favorite thing was the $20 hamburgers and hot dogs that we ate for lunch.....

We stayed the whole day. We got there when it opened and left right as it was closing, which was perfect because at that point it started to snow hard.

Thank you zoo animals for agreeing to live in such constricted living conditions so that we can come around and stare at you. My kids and I truly do appreciate it. We will see you again soon.

Day 3:

On this day we spent a lot of time in the snow before we headed to see our friends who used to live in Vegas but recently moved to Colorado. We went to their house, dried off, talked, laughed, and ate.....of course ate:)

Yes, Kobe did throw this at me:)

Colorado Trip

2010-04-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

In March, while Kobe was on track break we decided to take a family vacation to Colorado to see Justin's mom (Grandma Cori).

Day 1:

We left Monday morning and spent the day in St. George with grandparents and Justin's brother Josh. Then we took a little cat nap at Josh's house and left at around 12:30am. We drove all night through a snow storm and made it to Colorado Springs early afternoon. We spent 5 days there and it snowed almost every day. Even though it was cold we loved it and the kids had a great time playing in it. Colorado is beautiful and we had SO much fun! We had a great time visiting with family and doing and seeing all sorts of fun things. We are looking forward to our next trip there.....maybe next time it will be in the summer when it is nice and warm outside instead of freezing.

Day 2:

We took the kids to the Dinosaur museum in Woodlands Park.

Kade ran around like crazy because he was so excited to see all of the dinosaurs.....he loves them:)

He could have been our tour guide with all of his high pitched screams and pointing, running from one dinosaur to the next.

Kennedy's highlight was story time and touching fossilized dinosaur poop. (ok so that was my highlight watching her touch it and then seeing her face when we told her what it was)

Kobe's highlight was the shark area and the kid's art area.

2010-03-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

Lately........

Time has flown by....

We have been busy.....

Busy with the norm most of the time,

But very busy....

What have we been busy with?

T Ball

Dance

Kindergarten

Preschool

PTA

Church

Family

Friends

Chores

Grocery Shopping

Vacations

Birthday Parties

Homework

Tumbling Class

Mutual

Errands

and more.....

Busy with the norm....

But couldn't be happier.

Since we have been M.I.A. on the blog lately, here is proof of life....

a family hike through the tunnels

Kobe's 1st season of T-Ball

Here he is at his first game.

The coach gives the game ball at the end of the game to a player who plays extra hard and shows great sportsmanship throughout the game. Kobe got it the first game and was so excited. He has it neatly placed on his bedroom shelf for all to admire.

His team are the Cubs.

13 boys, between 5 and 6 years old.....can't get any cuter than that.

We hatched our own butterflies

From caterpillars to butterflies

The kids loved to watch them develop and carefully noticed any changes occurring.

Once they were ready to be released we let them loose in our backyard.

Spring Preserve

On a "no school" day we went with friends to the Springs Preserve.

Lots of cool things to check out and lots of fun!

L-A-Z-Y (who me?)

Did I mention I spent a lot of evenings parked on the couch wrapped up in a blanket drinking hot chocolate? Favorite thing to do during the winter. Oh yeah, and I spent way too many hours watching my shows.....don't worry, Justin was parked on the couch right next to me eating his ice cream.

Time well spent

I had to take a picture of the kids playing with these blocks because these are the same blocks that all of my 11 siblings and I played with growing up.

I would build the most elaborate barbie houses with them.

I even drew on them

a stove, a refrigerator, a TV......all for the barbie house.

My artwork is still on them.

Now I own them and my kids play with them EVERY day.

Talk about solid

They don't make toys like this anymore.

These blocks are over 30+ years old.

Shop til you Drop

Took a girl's weekend to California for much needed R&R time with my bestest friend.

Had a fabulous time and came back a happy mama!

Cabin Fever

Spent a weekend at Grandma and Grandpa McEwen's cabin.

This was the first time the kids have gone sledding.

We had so much fun.

Kobe asks all of the time when we get to go back.

Hopefully soon.

The End.

Kade's Birthday!

2010-02-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

On December 30th Kade turned 2.

What we did on his birthday to celebrate:

Ate birthday pancakes after blowing out the candle

LOVED his birthday gift from mom and dad. Now he rides it all over the house and screams when anyone else tries to.

Ran around crazy at Chuck e Cheese

Cant forget about the cardboard pizza, candy, and cupcakes that we ate with family and friends.

Happy Birthday Kade!

2 BIG reasons why we LOVE Kade:

1. He tries SO hard to do EVERYTHING that the older kids do and most of the time he is successful. Even though he is 2 he can keep up with Kobe and Kennedy pretty well. He RUNS everywhere he goes, I mean everywhere, it is funny to watch. I always know when he is coming because I can hear the pitter patter of his feet running down the hall.

He loves to dress himself in Kobe's clothes.

There are two problems with this:

1. They are way too big, so they drown him.

2. He doesn't just stop at one shirt or 1 pair of shorts. He just piles and piles them on. One day I took off like 5 shirts and 4 shorts that he was wearing.

Infact, in the pancake picture above he is wearing Kobe's boxers over his diaper...that happens quite often.

2. He kisses and kisses and kisses me and I LOVE it. Can't get enough of it. I love watching how his little mind works, he is so smart. I just love his personality....most of the time he makes me laugh, and sometimes he worries me:)

A few extra: He is afraid of NOTHING. I learned this at an early age when he was climbing UP slides and on counter tops before he even turned one. He is such a dare devil and will try anything....as long as the older kids are doing it he thinks he can.....and will.

He is very defiant and will stand up to Justin and I...I know, not a good thing.

One time Justin told him to get out of the kitchen (he was "raging") and picked him up to move him and Kade came right back and stood in front of Justin glaring him down. So Justin picked him up and moved him again and he came right back and stood in front of Justin. He was not going to give in....he definitely stood his ground. I can only see this same scenario happening when he is a teenager....scary.

When he has his mind set it takes a whole lot of effort and bribing to change it. He is bound and determined to do things HIS way....it can be exhausting.

Nicknames:

Kader tots

Kader aders

Kaders

Hulk---one minute Kade is sweet and charming and then the next minute (when he is mad) he will start throwing a complete raging fit. He will spit out his food, take off his clothes and throw them, rip or try and brake anything that is in his way. I can't tell you how many homemade art projects that Kobe and Kennedy have made that have been torn by him. He punches, kicks, spits, and screams.....then it is over and he is back to his normal self. Don't worry, we are trying to work through it:) Kobe and Kennedy just know to stay clear when he is "raging."

We love you Kade!

You add the SPICE into our lives.

One of those days

2010-01-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

It's been one of those days

They don't come as often as I would like

But on these days my heart bursts with motherly pride, fulfillment, and true joy

When I feel so incredibly blessed to call them mine

When I really do love their ages and instead of wishing for time to speed up I am wishing that time could stand still

No whining....

No crying....

No tattling....

No fighting....

No complaining....

Today they played well together....

Today they did kind, thoughtful things for one another without being asked....

Today they shared....

Today they listened.....

Today they obeyed....

Today reminded me of why being a mother is the most cherished job on earth

These days I wish never ended.....

Yes....It's been one of those days

Christmas....

2010-01-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

A few of our many highlights.....

Spending lots and lots of family time together:)

Family program with special guest this year...Grandma Cori:)

McEwen family party. Our themed gift exchange this year was games. We had a great time, I look forward to this party every year...even if I never win any of the game prizes, I have such bad luck:)

Christmas Eve.....putting food out for the reindeer

Eating a christmas eve breakfast dinner in our new pajamas and watching The Grinch with cousin Blake

Christmas morning, coming down the stairs to see what Santa brought

Not quite sure what's going on.....or he is still tired

Opening stockings

Let the unwrapping begin...

Christmas dinner at Justin's Aunt Tami's house

Grandma Linda, Aunt Pam, and Cousin Mandy

Jordan, Bo, Mark, and Marnie

Family Pictures 2009

2009-12-28T21:30:00.000-08:00

The Polar Express

2009-12-11T13:46:00.000-08:00

excitement, giggles, wondering, silly, snow, arizona, mountains, train, mrs. clause, santa clause, letters, presents, bells, believe, family, experience, joy, spirit, december, pajamas, christmas, 2009, carols, cookies, cold, rudolph, hot cocoa, blizzard, reindeer, north pole, memories, love, magic.

Some the many words that described our trip to the Polar Express

Waiting for the train to arrive

boarding the Polar Express

Finding our seats in car G

Ready to burst from so much excitement

Just like in the book, all the kids on board wore their pajamas

Catching glimpses of the snowy, night sky

personal deliveries

I am telling you this was the REAL Santa....he looked so good. Santa handed each kid a bell like in the story. In the story, if you believe in christmas than you can hear the bell ring.

While on the train we were served hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies specially made by Mrs. Clause, heard the story of the Polar Express, sang christmas carols, saw the North Pole out the train window, and personally handed wish lists to Santa himself. It was a magical memory that I know my kids will never forget.

To top it all off, IT SNOWED LIKE CRAZY!!!! While we were there it started to snow and never stopped. It supposedly snowed 2 feet that night. We almost got snowed in but decided to leave. It took us 3 1/2 hours to travel over the mountains, going 25 mph. But we made it home safe and sound and would do it all again! The snow made the whole experience even more memorable and magical.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T17:16:00.000-08:00

On Halloween we started the night by going to our ward's Trunk or Treat/carnival and dinner

We got a lot of candy...

After that, we headed out to the neighborhood with my family and got even more candy...

Kobe was the white ninja from G.I. Joe and Kade was an indian

Kennedy was a pirate

Most of the gang (cousins) out trick or treating

THE END RESULT!!

Now that is ALOT of candy

Notice I took out all of the chocolate and put them into separate jars? The kids will never know:)

Corn Maize

2009-11-02T17:04:00.001-08:00

After the kids played at the farm we took a hay ride to the corn maize. It was great at first, then one by one the kids didn't want to walk anymore, so Justin had to alternate between carrying Kennedy and Kade on his shoulders. We could not find our way out and all we wanted was our warm car and food:)

Eventually, we found our way

At the end when Kobe led us out

Kade was getting tired, all of us were, it was a very fun, but exhausting day

Family "Daycation"....part 2

2009-11-02T16:29:00.000-08:00

Our next stop was Staheli Farms

(I realized this is downloaded backwards...oops)

At the farm they had a ton of stuff to do, the kids did not want to leave.

Some attractions were,

the petting zoo...

the rope swing....

Kade tried the swing with Justin's help but still ended up with a face full of hay

the seesaw...

the "bumpy" slide that landed in corn kernels....

the tire horse ride.....

the dirt mound.....

and so much more.....