Moss Family

Merry Christmas

2011-12-19T16:50:00.002-07:00

Merry Christmas 2011! We hope you stay happy, healthy, and warm with your loved ones this season...and reflect on what it really means to be together celebrating CHRISTmas!
Love,
The Moss'

Do you ever?

2011-11-09T17:16:00.003-07:00

I know it's been a LONG time! This year has nearly come and gone with only what 4 posts on this blog? Is it just me or is it a lost art? I need to find my niche again and get back to at least weekly blog posts. After all, it is our family journal/photo album! Do you ever get so busy and so run down with your to-do list that you procrastinate some things but get ahead of yourself in other things? For example, I created, ordered, picked-up and stuffed our Christmas cards and wrote our Christmas letter already.... but haven't found out about the paper goods for the ward activity I'm in charge of for Saturday. I know, where are my priorities? I'll get back on track, SOON! I promise. Until then, here is a cute picture from our most recent photo shoot with Heather Telford Photography.

Legacy

2011-07-24T15:03:00.009-07:00

It's amazing how 1 woman, Muriel Bywater....

...who had only 4 children (her youngest son,Kim, not pictured)...

...who had 17 grandchildren (Cody not pictured)....

...who then had (and are still having) 38 great-grandchildren.

All those descendants of Grandmother are so grateful for her legacy and her example. Especially in her 90th year of life! That's one good looking group of relatives whom all began with just one person.

The process continues to repeat itself.
Families are amazing, aren't they?
Here are Tom Heal's descendants:

Stephanie's Johnson's descendants:

Christie Pearce's descendants:

Kim Heal's descendants:

Grandmother Bywater's legacy is a great one. So, my sister and I decided we needed to celebrate her, especially as she approaches 90 years this September. You see, my sister Mandy and I married cousins and got lucky enough to be considered two of Grandmother's descendants by marriage. Mandy organized the group gift: a personal history book of Muriel's life from her childhood to today.
It's beautiful and it has messages from each of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. In order to gift her with this book we decided to have a birthday BBQ for GG and surprise her with all but 2 of her family members. After we captured the moment with family pictures, we had a potluck BBQ and a few gifts...and lots of fun.

Deagan enjoyed the desserts.

We're pretty sure Grandmother loved it too...

...the book and the family, the food, the fun and her beautiful legacy.

I guess we can never underestimate the power and influence of one wonderful person, and one beautiful life legacy.

Quick Update

2011-04-25T15:37:00.005-07:00

I KNOW that I am SO far behind on my blog...and I DO intend to catch up, slowly.

For now, here is a quick update about what we've been up to:

Watching our fruit trees bloom! We went from the winter grays to the Spring greens, pinks, purples, and whites. Popcorn is popping all over our front and backyards! We love it!

Setting up the backyard for spring/summer entertainment, (i.e.- BBQ's, outdoor play). Jeff & Dick put together the trampoline that's been sitting in the garage in a box all winter and you would have thought it was Christmas all over again.Watching cousins play Spring Competitive soccer....and playing a little soccer ourselves.

The older boys finished up Spring swim lessons in March. Corbin and Quinton were in the same class this session. They had so much fun together! They can't wait to go to 7 Peaks this summer.

We have been planting flowers, playing in the dirt, riding bikes, taking walks, family runs, park play-days and more....
It has certainly been a WET and COLD spring here, so we have to squeeze in our outdoor play whenever we can. Needless to say, we can't wait for summer!

Happy Valentine’s Day Holly Dolly

2011-02-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

Holly I just want to write you a quick note letting you know how grateful I am to have you in my life. From the first time I saw you on our blind date you made my heart skip a beat. To this day my heart still skips a beat for you. I love you very much Holly and I am so very excited to be with you for All Time and Eternity. I found this poem and it says everything I want to say but better. I hope you have a Happy Valentine’s Day Holly. I Love you,

Jeff

You changed my world with a blink of an eye
That is something that I cannot deny
You put my soul from worst to best
That is why I treasure you my dearest love

You just don't know what you have done for me
You even pushed me to the best that I can be
You really are an angel sent from above
To take care of me and shower with love

When I'm with you I will not cry even a single a tear
And your touch have chased away all of my fear
You have given me a life that I could live worthwhile
It is even better every time you smile

It so magical those things you've made
To bring back my faith that almost fade
Now my life is a dream come true
It all began when I was loved by you

Now I have found what I am looking for
It's you and your love and nothing more
Co'z you have given me this feeling of contentment
In my life something I've never felt

I wish I could talk 'til the end of day
But now I'm running out of things to say
So I'll end by the line you already know

"I LOVE YOU" more than what I could show

Jeffrey

2011-01-24T17:26:00.003-07:00

Just wanted to wish this handsome guy a special
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
today.
We're trying to spoil him as best we can because he spoils us most of the time.
He's the greatest friend, HUSBAND....

...DADDY, playmate, entertainer, caretaker...

... and hard worker. Did you know he just ran his first marathon last weekend... at age 31?
He did.

Anyone who can do that has a HUGE heart and lots of endurance. We sure love him... and we're glad to call him ours. Happy Birthday Jeffrey!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T14:07:00.003-07:00

I love that Christmas Eve was on a Friday this year.... PERFECT!
We enjoyed a delicious turkey/ham dinner with all the fixings (and dessert) at Jeff's sister, Haley's home. Her husband was the masterful chef. Afterward Jeff's mom and step-dad gifted us with their presents. Ironically, Quinton has been SMITTEN with Frosty the Snowman (the classic cartoon) this year and Grandma TeeTee gave him a singing Frosty! He loved it...and even slept with it that night!

Along with Frosty, Quinton also got a recordable Frosty the Snowman book. The voice reading the story is his Great-Grandmother Bywater (Heal), aka 'GG'. That was a special treat for the whole family.

Corbin got a new soccer ball... since he lost the one he's used the last 2 seasons. The boys were happy. That's the one thing I love about children... they are so grateful and appreciative of simple gifts.

Jeff & I got a new set of Nutcracker mugs and a matching, darling 'Little Drummer Boy' cookie jar in the shape of a drum.

Jeff's mom also made these cute winter photo collages for all her children with pictures from our annual sleigh/snow party.

I took it right home and hung it up.

Once home the boys couldn't wait to open their Christmas Eve gifts from mom and dad...

They always get new pajamas--and they know that, but a gift is always a surprise and they were excited for new jammies!

Then it was time to prepare for Santa's arrival! We hung the stockings and wrote a note to Santa on his cookie plate.

Of course, we had to taste test Santa's snickerdoodles and peanut butter cookies before leaving some for him....

Then it was off to bed!

Snow fun!

2010-12-21T16:14:00.004-07:00

The night after the Festival of Lights outing we woke up to TONS of snow!

Who knew you not only have to shovel your car and driveway but also your trash can!

What do you think.... a good 6-7 inches?

A winter wonderland for sure.... it just calls for you to play in it doesn't it?

Well, we did! This was Deagan's first time in the snow this season and he wasn't quite sure what to do at first... until I gave him a snowball.

Of course you have to eat a snowball... right? Well, when you're 1 you have to eat, or at least taste everything you can get your hands on. Even if it's freezing cold and makes your face turn red.

Eating the snow is Quinton's favorite winter time activity. Each time it snows Corbin and Q both ask for a cup of snow to eat. They love it. When Quinton walked outside the back door, he didn't make it far because there was a lot of eating to do....

Corbin on the other hand, isn't as interested in eating the snow as he is in playing in it.

He had his heart set on making a REAL SNOWMAN! He asked me to show him how to make a snowball... so I got him started and he kept rolling it and rolling it...

We tried to get Q to help us heap snow up around or snow figure.... but he was still hungry apparently.

Finally, we turned our snow mound into a SNOWMAN with a head, some York Peppermint Patty eyes, a carrot nose, and a scarf.
Corbin protested though because he wanted him to have a hat and mittens as well....
So, we found a matching set in the closet as well as some pinto beans for a smile.... and wadda know... A REAL SNOWMAN!

Who says the snow isn't fun? (for a few hours...)

Festival of Lights

2010-12-20T16:30:00.001-07:00

Spanish Fork has a really great light display:
The Festival of Lights.
There is a great variety of displays put to Christmas music, with new additions each year.
Our boys enjoy it because on top of the holiday cheer and all the lights, we allow them out of their seat belts and they get to help dad drive around...one time for each boy.
I guess this is Q's face of approval this year.

Corbin and I approved of the fun night too.

Deagan.... LOVED it! Can you tell? Thrilling!

Here are a few of our favorites from 2010:
The Ice Castle

The Nativity Scene

The animated signs

The Polar Bears

Of course they like the North Pole House with Santa Claus inside but that picture didn't turn out. This year it was especially neat because it snowed the whole night!

Moss Cousin Gift Exchange

2010-12-19T17:03:00.002-07:00

When all but 2 Moss-side cousins were in town a week before Christmas it was the perfect opportunity to have a cousin gift exchange at Grandma's house. Corbin was so excited to pick out gifts this year for his cousins and his brothers and was actually interested in watching others open their gifts for the sake of giving... I know, a true sign that he's growing up. The cousin gift theme this year was "game/activity". Here is Corbin tearing into his Yahtzee game from Sammy...

....and 2 tickets to the ASU v. U of U game here in SLC in October. Now that those 2 teams will be in the PAC 12 together, it should be an interesting match-up. Not sure who was more excited for that gift-- Corbin or Jeff?

Deagan was all about the bows and paper this year, but as he got better at ripping into his gifts...

... we think he caught on that there was fun inside the paper too! So easy to please.

Dylan enjoyed his I-Tunes gift card. Fit for a 16-year old boy.

Carson enjoyed his electronic card game.

Quinton couldn't get enough of his Toy Story Memory game.

It was a great get together because as soon as the kids all opened their gifts they kept busy and quiet playing while the adults got to visit for a bit. Merry Christmas to all!

Ho Ho Ho!

2010-12-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are one of those strange families who wait in a long line at the mall to see Santa Clause. It's another great indoor, free activity to do in the winter and our boys were all at a good age this year to enjoy Santa instead of scream at him.

Corbin had a great conversation with Santa about his behavior and his list. Quinton listened in and Deagan tried to figure out who in the world was holding him.

After all Christmas is all about the children and teaching them to BELIEVE right?

Shocking News!

2010-12-17T16:18:00.004-07:00

I'm sure you all heard this sad about the Provo Tabernacle Fire going up in flames. It was a sad, somber, day here in Provo. We could see the huge plume of smoke for miles around... so of course my boys were enthralled and wanted to get a closer look at the action. We parked the car and sat watching the fire and police men and women doing their jobs. After about 10 minutes Quinton shouts, "Mommy look! There is a fire! See it?"

I guess he was so taken with the ladder trucks, fire hoses, caution tape, firemen, and police personnel that he completely missed the whole FIRE! Do you see the flames?The sad thing is that this fire started sometime in the middle of the night...and it was still raging at 12 noon the next day because the roof collapsed and everything underneath it kept the fire ablaze longer than it needed to be.

It is probably the oldest building in Provo and housed original artwork and architecture. It is a sad loss, but there were some pretty incredible stories that came from the ashes. Such as this 2nd Coming picture of the Savior. A small Christmas miracle.
Check out THIS footage.

Preschool Christmas program

2010-12-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

Corbin...just might have been the cutest elf we saw all season!

Here is a short clip of his Christmas program... can you hear Corbin?

PHOTOS!

2010-12-14T14:47:00.004-07:00

So, what do you do with all your photos?

How do you store them? How do you share them? Better yet, how do you remember all those precious moments and milestones in your life? I'll admit, I haven't been very good at it since I became a mother.... and it KILLS ME! I wish I had more time, resources, creativity, organization, etc. to better use, keep, record, store, and share my pictures of "our moments." I've never been much of a scrap-booker and I like my memories to be functional, reflected on often, and displayed in a classy way in my home.

ENTER: Shutterfly.
Have you heard of them?
They are a fantastic company who helps those, like myself, use and remember life's precious memories in such creative, fun, and useful ways.
Last year I created a family WALL CALENDAR like this one and gifted it to my parents for Christmas. They loved it.... and I loved seeing it on their wall when I visited their home.

I also really like the idea of turning your photos into CANVAS WALL ART. My mother-in-law just did this in the entry way of her home and it makes it look and feel so cozy!

Someday I really hope to make a yearly PHOTO BOOK of the year's pictures. This would act as the family scrapbook/journal and I KNOW my boys (and Jeff & I) would enjoy perusing them every now and again as the years pass. I think they make great gifts for friends and family of all ages.

Of course, they offer a HUGE variety of PHOTO CARDS for all of life's special occasions. In the last 7 years we've celebrated a lot of birthdays, graduations, births, weddings, moves, and holidays. These beautiful photo cards are the perfect thing to announce these happy milestones.

So, if you have any last minute shopping you need to complete for those that are hard to buy for, go to SHUTTERFLY.COM and have a blast creating a darling keepsake gift for somebody special.

SLC Temple Lights!

2010-12-11T14:23:00.001-07:00

The Salt Lake City Temple Christmas Lights are one of those family outings you just HAVE to take if you live in Northern Utah. Although young our kids love to see the large nativity, temple, lights, reflection pool, etc. on Temple Square. We told them to find their favorite lit tree to take a picture next to. Here was Corbins':

Here was Q's:

We met up with our good friends, the States and their boys... they are always a riot to hang out with. It's funny to think we played with them on the beaches of Kauai and now we're tromping through SLC winters together....

The boys loved standing under this red tree and looking up. Of course Quinton wouldn't cooperate in this picture.

The reflection pool is always beautiful, but especially at winter with its floating lights and floating nativity pieces. I think we witnessed at least 3 engagements at this very spot that night.

Corbin really got into the nativity story this year. It excited him to see it displayed this way.

Documentation that I was there. We were so glad it was like 30* warmer this year than last year. When my parents came with us lat year it was 12*. This year it was about 40*... much more bearable.

Standing at the Conference Center with the SLC Temple behind us.

The States and their little boys.

We like this family tradition and hope it holds up for a few years to come!

Ipad anyone?

2010-12-09T16:14:00.003-07:00

Have you ever heard of Gourmet Mom on-the-Go? Mandy (the blog author) is a fellow mommy of 3 and she's celebrating her 3rd birthday over there at Gourmet Mom. She's got some really great ideas and fun twists on how to get into the kitchen with your kids and how to stay around the dinner table with your family. Her recent Mixed-up Snowman Snacks are a darling treat to giveaway as gifts to friends and neighbors and they're SO EASY! So, go check her out.....

Oh yeah... she's also hosting a giveaway right now. For an Apple ipad. In case you were interested.

Christmastime is here...

2010-12-06T14:19:00.003-07:00

As soon as we returned from our AZ Thanksgiving trip the boys were begging for Christmas decor. Corbin is at the perfect age to "get it" and to really help. Of course they love all the Father Christmases we have and they got to choose where to place them this year.

Corbin was happy to decorate his very own tree in HIS room! It doubled as a great night-light for the month of December.

This little nativity is perfect for re-introducing the meaning of Christmas at the very beginning of the season. Corbin was old enough this year to handle the fragile pieces and he set it up just right. (Regretfully I didn't get a picture of it, but after he set up the entire scene Corbin placed about a dozen tiny presents all around the baby Jesus. I LOVED discovering that little surprise.)

This year we made our own advent calendar. Corbin was a great help.... as you can see.

There is a new Hobby Lobby store in Orem and we found these great little paper mache boxes with lids. We painted them, numbered them, stuck magnets on the backs of each box, and placed a Christmas-story-themed scripture, activity, song, and treat in each one. It made breakfast time really exciting and meaningful each morning until Christmas.... and it turned out pretty cute too to adorn our fridge.

Jeff and I have had an artificial pre-lit Christmas tree for about 5 years but it is too tall to fit in our current home so we went with a real tree this year. Besides our kids are at that age when they really enjoy going to pick out the tree, help water it, help vacuum up all the needles, and enjoy the smell of evergreen. (Maybe when they're teenagers and don't care as much we'll keep with the fake tree.) Home Depot had a great selection during the first week of December... we found our tree!

Jeff had it fresh cut, bagged, and tied it to the roof to haul home... it brought back memories from my childhood doing the exact same thing at some random tree lot with my family. So fun!

Once we got it home we had a Ward Christmas Party to attend so the trimming the tree had to wait until the next morning. The boys didn't mind. This was Corbin's year to place the star on top. Mind you... our 1 year old helped half the glass ornaments to migrate half-way up the tree. It was a beautiful tree nonetheless.

And now... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here....

Arizona Thanksgiving

2010-11-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

After a month of counting down the days.... the time finally arrived...

...to celebrate THANKSGIVING in Arizona!
Each day Corbin tore off a paper link from his chain and we turned it into a feather for our "Tom" the thankful Turkey...after each of us wrote down what we were thankful for each day in November. It was fun and made the month pass quickly and with much gratitude.

We left on Saturday morning, November 20th IN THE SNOW! The boys were so excited for the long road trip... (that didn't last longer than 2 hours... :)

Once we finally arrived (thanks dad), we were so glad to get out of the car, stretch our legs, and see our family!

The cousins came over to grandma's house A LOT to visit.

Most of them couldn't believe how big Deagan was.

Scotland and Deagan are only 6 weeks apart and they were getting reacquainted... with much love.

Corbin and Samantha had to size each other up....

Grandma and Grandpa taught a great Family Home Evening Lesson, meanwhile Mandy was in the hospital delivering baby Megan Sabella. She made her debut in the nick of time early Tuesday morning.

The cousins enjoyed getting spoiled with loads of snacks at Grandma's house....

...the boys kept entertained in the castle....

...they were brave knights of course... and brave knights sword fight!

The day before Thanksgiving we enjoyed a trip to Grandma's "big kid school" for lunch.

Deagan took it upon himself to feed Scotland.

On Thanksgiving day Mandy and Megan made it to the feast (straight from the hospital) and therefore all my siblings and their families made it to the big dinner. It was a large table of food!

Deagan even caught on quick to the traditional cran-raspberry toast after the long prayer.

Quinton got a piece of the turkey leg... and loved it of course.

Corbin dug in as well.

Deagan LOVED sitting in his own seat, feeding himself a wide variety of food... with a little help from Aunt Katie and cousin Alyssa.

These two kept toasting and "cheering" until their drink was gone!

After the feast the men did dishes. I captured it from behind just to document that it really happened... ;)

Most of the cousins snuck off to watch Home Alone on Jeff's computer while the adults watched football.

It was a wonderful week of our favorite things.... family, food, sunshine, football, and fun!

Phoenix Children's Museum, Megan, & LIGHTS!

2010-11-27T15:28:00.004-07:00

I think one of the best kept secrets in Phoenix is their Children's Museum. We've been there 2 or 3 times and it still enthralls our children... of all ages. The Saturday after Thanksgiving we decided to see what was new at the museum... and sure enough we were not disappointed. In their front room there is a brand new, creative climb-on, 3-story fort! The kids LOVED exploring it... and so did Grandpa!

On one end of the structure there is a large boat with legs sticking out the bottom. The kids knew what to do...

Help me out mom!

A 2-year old and tunnels of all shapes and sizes. What's not to love?

Beware of the "dog house"!

The gigantic winged bathtub. We all fit! Talk about a family-sized tub!

At the very top is the rocket ship with garbage can engines and car door wings. So clever.The 2nd floor car wash is always fun to ride through...

....over... and over.... and over

...and over again! Corbin thought his passenger was his cousin Eizley, but it was a total stranger hitching a ride. Hence, her disgusted face in this picture.

Dallin pulled Corbin thru... and got a real kick out of it apparently!

Miss Eizley sitting under the fort her cousins were building above her in the fort room.

Deagan building his own fort... of sorts.

The cousin fort was a work in progress.

All that climbing, riding, racing, and building wore Corbin out. So, he built himself a nice place to rest.

The boys got in a good foam sword fight, of course.Jeff and Q ganged up on Corbin... and finally got him good! (Those big brothers get what's coming to them sometimes.)

The noodle forest. Deagan loved it.

The spider flinger was a hit.

Adam and Eizley venturing thru the noodle forest.

The daddies, Dusty, Jeff, and Adam. It was fun to hang out with them since my sisters couldn't make it to the museum. Here's the proof they were there.... doing a good job supervising.

Kylie relaxing in a hole.

Q found the xylophone made of old wrenches. He was actually pretty good!

Corbin practicing to be a future Pine-wood derby champ.

"McQueenton" doing his thing.

The adult couch... aka lounge.

Dallin and Quinton hitting the rode together... after Dallin filled Q up with gas first, of course.

If you're ever in Phoenix with children you've gotta take a morning or afternoon and check out the Children's Museum. It's really a lot of fun.

Later that evening we visited the Heals. Little Megan is such a doll. I made a modby wrap for Mandy for her shower and hadn't gotten a chance to show her how to tie it. (It's actually totally wrong in this picture.)Look how tiny she looks with her little pink head. So cute!

Maybe someday I'll have a daughter of my own... I just couldn't get enough of Megan. Even thought they don't do much there's really something more precious and different about holding a baby girl. So glad to be an aunt of a niece again!

On the way home (our last night in AZ), we had to take one last drive around NOPAL CIRCLE. It's the Christmas Light capital of Mesa... just down the street from my parents. It's been a hit for years! I've had lots of memories walking around this cul-de-sac. Now, my own boys look forward to it! Besides, who doesn't like hanging out the car window?

See Santa and his reindeer crossing the street?

Wow... sometimes it feels like a blur to walk by these homes.

See the fire pit? These homeowners sit outside around the fire each evening and welcome and wave at all their fans!

Each home has it's own theme. This one is my favorite. It's a log home/cabin theme. You should see the garage. SO CUTE!

What's fun about a lot of these homes is that I grew up with a lot of the families too so I know the personalities and creative talents of those who make the light displays.

This home always has something custom-made and new.

Wouldn't it be fun to gather around like that each night... in 60* LOW temps?

The Harely Davidson Santa house.

The tropical Santa house.

The True Meaning of Christmas house.

The airline Santa house.

Of course, I had to get a picture of the large saguaro cactus with lights on it... and a deer running through the gravel. This is so AZ. I love it!

The next morning we drove home through Vegas. We loved the new Dam Bridge. The ride was nice, sunny, and fast... until we hit St. George. From there we were in a white-out blizzard and it took us 7.5 hours to get home!

Corbin was so excited to go outside the next morning in his snow gear to play in the backyard.

Welcome back to Utah!

Thanksgiving Preschool Program

2010-11-18T16:42:00.001-07:00

Corbin attends Bee Ready Preschool in Provo. It's in his teacher's home and it's adorable. He learns so much and is usually eager to go twice a week. He's also got a great memory for information of all kinds... including song lyrics. (If only you'd seen/heard our Ward Primary Program in Sacrament Meeting.) Here's his cute class during dress rehearsal:

Here's a cute rhyme:

Here is a cute song, kind of:

Fall Leaves...

2010-11-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

Are so fun!

Halloween!

2010-10-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

The Monday night before Halloween we carved our pumpkins as a family. It's a much anticipated event that seems to climax really quickly after this point:

Mostly because using little sharp knives to cut big fat pumpkins is not real user-friendly for 4, 2, and 1 year old hands or for their attention spans.

But, Corbin was into this year and helped as long as possible....

....until the camera looked like more fun and he began taking pictures of the massacre from his perspective. In his defense, he DID pick one of the most intricate and complicated designs in our book so it did take me a while to finish his.

The pumpkin line-up on the front porch.

Corbin (& mom's) bat:

Dad's custom-designed 'Y'. Of course.

Quinton's happy little Jack-O-Lantern:

During the week of Halloween the boys enjoyed the ward's Fall Festival, costume parties at preschool, Spooky Storytime and the costume parade at the library, and Trick-Or-Treating at Jeff's office. They were busy and well-practiced for the big day.
Saturday the 30th (the day we trick-or-treated here in Utah) but it was snowing... so we made sugar cookies inside a nice warm house.

Corbin rolled out and cut about 80% of the 60 cookies we made. He's my handy little side-kick!

Once the cookies were cooled we trekked over to Grandma TeeTee's. On our way the sky was ominously black and we saw lightning and heard thunder for miles in all directions. About 5 minutes after making it in the house with our hoodlums and all the STUFF.... a torrential downpour began and postponed our Trick-Or-Treating for about an hour. Grandma had pizza and the cousins were there to entertain so it wasn't too bad making the kids wait. Here was this year's line-up: Corbin- aka Darth Vader, Quinton- aka Buzz Lightyear, and Deagan- aka a little monkey. Oh and Jeff and Holly as the proud parents.

It's really nearly impossible to get a decent picture with 3 kids on Halloween night. Isn't it?

By the time the rain stopped there was hail piled up like snow everywhere and it was FREEZING COLD! I walked to a few houses with the group of kids just to snap a few pictures. It's hard to see because the clouds made it so dark.... not like last year!

Deagan wasn't quite sure what all the fuss was about but he was snuggly warm...and that's all that mattered!

The boys had a blast collecting candy with Carson, McKenzie, Tanzynn, Ty, and Krew. They jumped in puddles and were thoroughly soaked and cold by the time they made it around the block and back to grandma's.

Buzz Lightyear was so cold but was too proud of his wings to take them off and bundle up! The costume we bought didn't come with wings and he really wanted to fly (to infinity and beyond, right?). But we waited too long to purchase them and they were sold out everywhere we looked. So, I got crafty and made them out of cardboard. Not too bad, right?

When the kids returned they had Hot Chocolate and decorated their sugar cookies.

I mean really, who doesn't need more sugar after Trick-Or-Treating?

Mmmmm.... Aunt Nichole told Q to lick the knife.... and he didn't have to think twice about that one! It was a fun night that only topped off a fun-filled Halloween week!

1 year old!

2010-10-26T13:28:00.009-07:00

Little Deagan Jeffrey is 1!

We can hardly believe just 1 year ago we met this sweet boy... and brought him home......to join our family...
....and now he is the birthday boy, sitting, standing, taking steps, talking, eating real food, and such a little monkey! Birthday boys get fun things like hats...

....birthday cards in the mail... (kisses!)

...and money!? Lucky 1 year old!

We call Deagan our little monkey for several reasons:
1) when he started to crawl he only scooted around on his bum... like a monkey does, but don't worry he DOES know how to crawl on hands and knees and trades back and forth constantly.
2) he LOVES bananas. really. loves. them. If he sees one he'll beg (and scream) until he gets a bite. 3) he climbs on everything! He climbs our kitchen table chairs like they're ladders. His favorite chair is the rocking chair and small kids chairs. He climbs on top of them and stands on them and then makes monkey sounds and faces.... it's darling really. So, since he hasn't been commercialized by Disney yet we decided to run with the monkey theme for DJ's 1st birthday.

Here's his birthday shrine. The sign, annual silhouette profile, his hat, onsie, monkey, and birthday cakes! He's one happy kid. (I'm bummed this is the best picture we got of the cakes....)

Birthday boy with daddy.

So excited about his new Buzz Lightyear car.... which Quinton (who will be Buzz for Halloween) thought was for him. DJ knows how to keep up with his big brothers though... and he fought for his turn.

Singing happy birthday.

He wanted to touch that candle.... or maybe it was the cake.

Mmmm.... his first grab at the cake was one of the eyeballs which was a York Peppermint Patty. Nice.

Not sure which was more fun.... feeding himself a squishy, sugary mess or eating cake for the first time?

So good!

Look at those baby blues....

After about 5 minutes of delighted indulgence we took the cake away for fear he'd be sick. He then discovered his hands and bib had cake on them too and tried licking them clean!

And then the sugar-induced coma set in.

So, Jeff bathed him... another favorite activity for the birthday boy. (see a few posts below)

While the birthday boy was out Corbin became the camera-man and documented the guests. There was grandma tee-tee and baby Mac.

Tanzynn.

Haley (& Cole) and baby Mac. Can you tell Corbin prompted them to snuggle the baby?

And Grandpa Dick, Colton, and Tykert were there as well. After they left Deagan enjoyed playing with his new toys...

...but he couldn't keep his eyes open long. It was one good celebration and I still can't believe he's a toddler now.

mmmm... warm jammies!

2010-10-06T13:50:00.005-07:00

Not sure about where you live, but here in Utah Fall nights are pretty chilly! The other day we got lucky and accidentally found a sale on warm winter jammies and slippers! My boys were so excited to find pajamas with their favorite characters on them.
Here's Lightning "McQuinton":

And SpiderMan (I think he kind of looks like the little boy on Polar Express in this picture):

The two of them were so happy to get into these new jammies the other night after their bath... and then have a photo shoot to show them off.

Deagan doesn't have a favorite character... he doesn't really tune into TV yet, but we did find his hand-me-down winter jammies from his brothers and he loves them. He is our little snuggle bug, by the way. Here is what it's like trying to get a picture of all kids:

Look at me:

Say "cheese":

"Keep your eyes open!":

Oh boy:
(Deagan does this every now and then... he puts his legs straight out and holds his breath, raises his eyebrows, shakes his hands, and then yells really loud! It cracks us up!)

Ok.... this as close as it gets. We have 2 smiles, and only 1 set of eyes closed. We'll take it. Their sure cute any way they come. Especially when they cuddle right up to you all warm in their new winter jammies!

All dry!

2010-10-06T13:29:00.006-07:00

As I was sitting in the office typing an email the other day I heard the dryer door shutting over and over again. All 3 boys were awake.... and I thought they were playing outside so I went to investigate. This is what I found:

As I walked up Quinton yelled, "Hi Mommy! I all dry!"

Of course it scared me that they were shutting each other in the dryer... so I supervised their play for a bit.... and had to grab the camera. They were pretending they were in a dark cave.... and they were being so brave to explore it all alone. Deagan loves to watch his brothers so he was really confused when they suddenly disappeared!

Then.... PEEK-A-BOO! Out crawls one of his brothers and he would laugh hysterically. It was at least a good hour of entertainment.

Until Deagan was so upset... and then I realized it was because he wanted in too!

Right, the third boy in the 3 ring circus.... he can't be left out! Once I put him in the dryer he was checking it out. He found the light and the vents and the door hinges, etc. I love how natural their curiosity is.... all 3 of them!

After a good "round" of dryer fun I gave a short warning speech about the dangers of playing in the dryer without adult supervision.... and they got it, but boy was it a fun afternoon while it lasted! Anyone else's kids ever done this?

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

2010-09-30T15:33:00.005-07:00

The cutest boys in the tub.
Deagan LOVES the water. A little too much we think. Just look at that face!

I mean, watch this:

Did you catch that? Here's another one:

(I apologize for the awful censor job... I tried. I know my boys will hate me when they're older for that.)
Quinton also loves the bath still, as you can see from the clip above. Especially since his first season of swim lesson is over and he know enjoys the water instead of fearing it. Q loves to blow bubbles, splash, kick, and swim. Fun bath toys help too.

Seems like whenever I start to run the water Quinton comes running and Deagan comes scooting (his version of crawling). Corbin is now at the age where he is beginning to prefer showers over baths. Which is fine.... because 3 boys in a tub makes for a full tub! (And usually leaves a nice ring of dirt around it too.)Bath time is often one of the most fun and relaxing times of the day for these boys. Even if it does leave Deagan a little water-logged; but that's what you get when you're a little fish!

Ward Campout

2010-09-30T14:34:00.004-07:00

Jeff and I have a great ward. Our Activities Committee knows how to put together a fun camp out with great food, fun, and entertainment. The end of August is a beautiful time to get outdoors in Utah. Kelly's Grove is far enough away from home.... but not too far-- and its a gorgeous location just up Hobble Creek Canyon. We got there just in time to put our dutch oven dessert together before a yummy BBQ dinner and then the kids enjoyed running around in the trees and the river with their friends. There were also water rocket launches and a water balloon launch. The "big boys" aka- DADS, got in on that action as well.

Quinton followed me around with the camera and was quite the poser. Here he is standing on the bridge, right in the middle of the water balloon launch.

Q insisted I take his picture next to this sign. I guess he wanted to be sure we knew he was there... at Kelly's Grove Church. Pretty cute little smile though.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was the dutch oven desserts. Several of us were split up into teams and competed against each other much like Food Networks' Iron Chef. We all had to make a dutch oven dessert with peaches as the main ingredient. My peach cobbler with crumb topping won the award for the tastiest dessert. I was very proud considering my competition and my amateur dutch oven abilities. There are some mean cooks and bakers and dutch oven camp chefs in our ward!

Of course Hobble Creek Canyon is where Jeff's aunt and uncle live (right off hole 16 of the golf course) so Jeff took the boys on a "nature hike" and came back with his uncles 4-wheeler. Corbin and Quinton's friends thought the 4-wheeler was pretty cool and they played on it for quite a while..... which thankfully kept them out of the cold river water!

My 3 boys catching a ride on the 4-wheeler with their good friend Evelyn as their chauffeur.

Even at 10 months it's evident Deagan is ALL BOY. He loved the 4-wheeler and squealed in delight to play on it.

Once it started getting dark we gathered around for some fun games and entertainment. The adults and kids got in on a great "Minute-To-Win-It" game... in which the females dominated. Tasks like picking up sized paper bags off the ground with your teeth and placing them on a table were A LOT harder for the men and boys to do than the women and girls. Interesting.

A lot of the games LOOKED a lot easier than they were. Such as this sucking up an M&M with a straw and placing it on top of a vertical straw. That is tough!

After the games there were Paper Bag skits and songs before camping out. This camp out happened to be the weekend that I hurt my back and thus we didn't end up camping out, much to our boys' dismay and disappointment. Apparently we missed a really great breakfast the next morning, but we didn't mind sleeping in our nice warm beds and getting a full night's sleep.

Especially this little boy. It would have been much too cold camping in a tent next to the creek for Deagan. Maybe next year.

GOAL!

2010-09-29T15:23:00.006-07:00

Corbin was so excited to play soccer again this year...especially in the 4-year old preschool league. That is a sure step above last year's "Start Smart" soccer where the kids basically do workshops and learn drills with their parents = no real games. Although 4-year olds are not that great at the skills and strategy of soccer, they are still entertaining to watch! Corbin is #3....and he's become a great little dribbler and an awesome defender! He's scored several goals this season and his last game is tomorrow night!

Listening to coach.

Taking his "breather"/water break. He still cheers his teammates on even when he's not on the field. So glad he's learned to be a good team player/sport... and not just the "star" of the show.

I'm pretty sure Quinton is just as excited, if not more excited for Corbin's soccer games as he is. The first game I literally had to hold Quinton back from running in the game. He's so ready to play next year. He has also learned to be a good cheerleader for his brother's team.

Deagan, on the other hand, loves Corbin's soccer games for a different reason.
The cones.
"Go Corbin!" (We're pretty sure that's what he's saying here.)
Peek-a-boo!
This is one of Deagan's classic faces. The "crusty" is what we call it. When we do or say something he doesn't like he gives us the crusty. Such an expressive kid.
We're sure proud of our big Corbin. This was the season that sure helped him develop into a little athlete. As I type this he's playing soccer in the living room.... even though he knows that's against the rules. "But I'm practicing for my last game tomorrow mom.... I'm gonna score a goal for you!"

Okay Corbin. I'll be happy to cheer you on. GOAL!

mmmm....summer harvest!

2010-09-29T14:37:00.006-07:00

We are so lucky/blessed to live in a beautifully landscaped home where our landlord not only does all the work, but also lets us harvest the fruit trees! All year we've been watching the changing trees in the backyard and anticipating the summer harvest. We actually planted our own tomatoes (roma and grape varieties) this year and they make a great afternoon snack when the boys are playing outside.

Our plum tree turned out a TON of plums this year.... compared to ZERO last summer! I wasn't sure what to do with all those plums so I gave a bunch away. Next year I'll probably bottle them?Then there was the peach tree. MMmmm....just looking at those peaches made me salivate.

The tree wasn't pruned properly last season so it started looking like a weeping willow tree by the end of August. By the middle of September the peaches were PERFECT so I got out the bucket and the ladder and put the boys to work!

The boys didn't mind one bit. They love to help... and they love to climb the ladder.

With Quinton's green shirt and peachy-colored cheeks he was near-camouflaged in that tree!

Corbin picked most of the peaches. He was a good inspector, checking each and every peach to make sure there were no holes or bugs in it.

He picked them and sorted them to perfection!

The Saturday after we harvested our peach tree my Relief Society held a canning day. About a dozen women gathered in a nearby backyard and we bottled all our own fruit. I bottled 12 quarts of peaches and made 2 dozen 1/2 pints of peach freezer jam.
Just yesterday I picked 6 zucchinis out of our garden and pureed all of them. I now have 20 cups of pureed zucchini in my freezer for all kinds of zucchini baked goods through the winter.

The summer harvest has been good to us so far.... and we're not done yet. We still have broccoli, cauliflower, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and almonds to harvest. The term "year's supply" has certainly taken on a new meaning. We're hoping all this produce will last us a full year and that we get the same great harvest next summer!

Library + Stories = LOVE!

2010-09-29T14:08:00.004-07:00

We frequent this building weekly....and have done so for over a year. The Provo Library. [Which was the original BYU Academy... where my grandpa attended college!] My boys LOVE this place.

They love the parking garage where their voice echoes when they yell "ECHO!" They love the outdoor "Canopy Capers" story time there in summer where they sit on a blanket under the tent, eating their lunch and watching a puppet show and listening to several stories. They love the weekly story time with all it's themes, songs, puppet shows, letter cut-outs, and coloring pages. They love to run around the children's library and jump into the "pit" and climb on the "couches" and type on the kids computers. The love to sit (and sometimes climb on) their "friend" statue at the entrance of the Children's library.

They love to help me check out the books and use the library card. They LOVE Mr. Dallin, one of the story-tellers..... and they really LOVE the books and movies we check out there every week!

Hence, I LOVE this place as well. I love how just the smell of a library takes me back to my childhood... and to good literature. I love that the Provo library has so many activities for my children and has helped me instill in them the love of good stories, learning, BOOKS, and libraries! What memories do you have of your childhood library?

splash park!

2010-09-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

When we found out Spanish Fork has a new park... and a new splash pad we knew we had to dash down there before our last warm days were gone! The last Monday in September we took the boys to check it out and it was pretty fun!

Although the air was still warm, the water was cold (like always in Utah) so the boys were playing dodge the water instead of deliberately running through it.

There are splash parks like this all over in AZ but my boys hardly remember them. Looks like Q's white belly needed a few more hours in the sun this summer! ;)

Water boxing???

Deagan was fully content to sit on the grass with Grandma TeeTee and Grandpa Dick and observe.

I helped him get his toes wet, but he didn't really like the idea.

As the sun started setting Corbin preferred to dry off on the nice, warm cement before bundling up in his towel. I totally remember doing this poolside as a child.

We can't wait to return to the splash park next summer for some more fun!

meta-morph-osis

2010-09-21T14:03:00.005-07:00

For Corbin's birthday he got a special present from Quinton.
A Butterfly Garden.
We sent in for the live bugs and both boys have LOVED watching and participating in the whole
META-MORPH-OSIS process. I think we have all learned a lot. When the "bugs" arrived they were fuzzy caterpillars (not sure where those pictures are, sorry). We watched them eat, eat, and EAT for about a week and then one day they were all hanging from the top of the cup they came in. Soon they turned into chrysalis'!

Corbin was so excited to see that it was "working"! We received 5 caterpillars, but only 4 made it to the chrysalis stage. One died somehow... but it was a good teaching moment... and the boys were fine with it.

The chrysalis' literally hung around for about a week and then one Sunday after church we came home and they were BUTTERFLIES! Corbin got to stay up late and feed them flowers, oranges, and sugar water that night. He also made a Science Journal (like Sid the Science Kid-PBS show) and after he'd observe them each day he'd draw pictures of what he saw.

These butterflies were painted ladies and these pictures don't show off their beautiful colors.... or their long black straw-like tongues they drank with.

After a week of feeding and observing the butterflies we convinced Corbin that they really needed to be released. He really didn't want to let them go. So one afternoon he asked me if we could free his butterflies....

so we did!

But, not after one of them kept landing on the grass and coming back to the tree above our heads. I told Corbin it was because she was saying thank you and she didn't want to leave him.

He liked that idea so he decided to catch her and give her a proper goodbye.... A kiss for his painted lady butterfly!

Then she flew away....
Needless to say the boys are very interested in all kinds of bugs now and are catching them. Like worms, Rollie-Pollies, grasshoppers, etc. They are also very observant and happy whenever they see a butterfly flutter by.... because they know what kind of metamorphosis they've been through!

Great Grandparents!

2010-09-21T13:58:00.006-07:00

About 2 months ago Jeff's extended family here in Utah put together a dinner schedule for Jeff's grandparents. They are getting into their upper 80's and Grandpa has had a double knee replacement. They do not drive anymore and therefore do not get around as easy. The dinner rotation is such that each family brings in dinner or takes Grandmother and Grandpa out for dinner once each month. Needless to say, it has been a good thing for us, them, and our children. We all get to share in great food and conversation from some very wise and special people. We joined in on a dinner at Chuck-A-Rama with the Christensen's and GG.... and they got a very special escort to their car afterward...

One evening we took in dinner, ate with Grandpa and GG and then stayed for a fun visit. I love how Deagan is checking to see who's holding him here.

Our boys have learned that time with Grandpa and GG is special...and they really enjoy visiting their home and playing with their blocks, hearing songs and stories from GG, and getting treats, toys, and tickles from Grandpa.

This post couldn't be more timely because just last week Grandmother tripped on a rug in her basement and took a hard fall, fracturing her pelvis. She is now in a Rehabilitation Center for daily Physical Therapy. We hope she'll only be there for about a month, but we know regardless their life has changed.

Isn't it funny to see the hand of the Lord in our lives? We got to spend a lot of time with Grandpa and GG recently and just 3 days before her fall she had these photos taken with her twin daughters (my MIL).

She is lucky she didn't break her hip and that her prognosis is good. We are so grateful for such GREAT GRANDPARENTS in our lives!

let it begin...

2010-09-16T14:24:00.005-07:00

Fall.
It is defined by shorter days, cooler nights, colorful leaves, garden and fruit-tree harvesting, back-to-school, and of course, college/BYU FOOTBALL!

Even though we are season ticket holders again, we decided to take advantage of the free Fall practice/scrimmages at the stadium before the season officially started. I'm not sure who was more excited, Jeff, our 2 older boys, or Nick (Jeff's cousin, the BLUEMAN sitting behind Jeff).

It was a HOT day in the full sun, but we enjoyed watching the scrimmage nonetheless. The Heaps/Nelson QB rotation kept things exciting for sure!

It's not that often that you get to sit and walk this close to the field... unless you're the BLUEMAN! These 3 thought they were in heaven for the morning.

Corbin has that same helmet at home (his Halloween costume last year) and couldn't believe the size of this one draped in the stadium. I think that is the "size" of BYU football at our house this Fall.

BYU Football's #1 fans! (In my book, anyway...)

We're looking forward to a great season, full of lots of changes.... read more HERE.
RAH-RAH, RAH-RAH-RAH, RAH-RAH, RAH-RAH-RAH
GGGOOOOOOO COUGARS!
Besides, "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6
Right?
So, let it begin....

park picnics

2010-09-16T13:54:00.003-07:00

Parks. Just the mention of that word at our home immediately excites our boys. Combining the park with food.... now that is the best idea EVER! We love picnics and we love parks. Especially parks with lots of playground space, plenty of grass, and big TALL shady trees.

Corbin is always wary of strangers or his little brothers trying to steal his cheese sticks though...

Aren't these the cutest faces?
PBJ-smudged 4 year old face.

Our happy 2 year old.

Our mischievous little 10-month old....upset that he can't open mom's water bottle.

Quinton has always been a little agile kid. He started crawling and walking, jumping and climbing before either of his brothers did. Here he is on the monkey bars.... a part that the other children (older than him) struggled with, but of course he had no apprehensions....

...until on the way down. Our own little monkey for sure!

D loves grass. He's also decided his preferred mode of mobility is scooting around on his rear end. He'll get on all fours and rock back and forth and army crawl to nearby objects he wants to pick up.... but when he really wants to go... he scoots!

After a nice picnic lunch I started cleaning up and throwing trash away. When I looked up to find my older boys they had disappeared from the playground. [heart drop!] After a 360* scan of the park I found them clear across the field by a large tree digging for bugs with sticks. I love their adventurous spirits and curious minds.

This particular park has the greatest double slides. My boys love to race/do everything together. They really are best brother friends.

As well as very competitive.

On your mark, get set, GO!

Corbin: "You didn't count mom!"
Darn! I'm beginning to think the serenity of the park will never be the same again with these boys! :)

Argh! Matey!

2010-08-07T15:05:00.006-07:00

Corbin anticipated this PIRATE PARTY for weeks!

As a 4-year old this was his first friend party and he (and I) had a blast planning and preparing for the big day. Here is Captain Corbin with his treasure chest.... just before it was stolen and hidden for the party. (Thanks to cousin Kimball for the great costume!)

The captain with his ship!

Walking the plank...

...they were so good at it they walked it forward, backward, sideways, and with an eye patch on!

Parrots, ear rings, eye patches, sashes, bandannas... who says boys don't play "dress-ups"?

Taking the pirate oath...

Making oceans in a bottle, argh!

On a treasure hunt.... for clues and TREASURE matey!

At the "bermuda triangle" Ty gave orders: to basketball isle!

After several stops the pirates finally found the treasure chest....and the TREASURE!
That's a good looking crew of pirates!

When all the treasure was unearthed a ship sailed into view...

...and some of those pirates wanted to jump on board!

Turns out the ship tasted pretty good with a side of ice cream...

Corbin was pretty wiped out after the day's activities. He was one happy captain, tho his face didn't show it. It was certainly a day to remember. We sure love our big 4 year old!

Corbin is 4!

2010-08-05T15:10:00.002-07:00

August 5, 2010
My oldest son turns 4 today!
It seems to be a milestone of sorts.... nothing big really, but yet he's not a toddler anymore...
so this IS a big deal. My little man is growing up so fast and is now more of a real boy than a toddler. We always decorate the night before when the kids are asleep....and set out the presents and the annual silhouette picture.

Corbin was so happy to wake up and see that his birthday countdown chain was FINALLY at his big day! (Except the even bigger day is his pirate birthday party yet to come...) He skipped breakfast and got right to opening presents before dad left for work. A live butterfly treehouse. (I love his real grin in this picture...with those cute little cheeks.)

A remote control jeep! (This is his that's cool, but I can't show too much emotion face.)

A remote-controlled race track!

Corbin and Quinton spent ALL morning playing with that race track (after mom spent 45 min. assembling it.) Dad made the day and came home from work early to play with the boys. (I love Deagan in the background doing what he does best....getting into EVERYTHING! That cute little mess-maker.)

Just when we thought the day couldn't get any better 2 packages arrived in the mail. One from Grandma and Grandpa Larson and one from Mandy, Dusty, and Kimball Heal.

Of course, there were still preparations to be done for the pirate party...and Corbin was such a good helper to paint all those parrots.

Quinton can never be left out!

There was no twisting the arm to get Corbin to stuff his treasure bags... Look at all that booty!

We ended the big day with a birthday dinner at Panda Express....Corbin's choice!
As a 4-year old Corbin has really become such a balanced kid. He still loves books and stories and we read EVERYDAY. He is starting to sound out simple words and can thus read simple books. He can count to about 39 by himself and will count all the way to 100+ if you prompt him on the 10's (i.e.- 40, 50, 60, 70...etc.) Strange thing is he can count by 10's to 100 by himself. He has also learned to write his name, play pretend, use the mouse on the computer, play soccer (his 2nd season), ride his bike better (still with training wheels), and explore nature. He loves to go on bug hunts, help me in the garden, observe birds and animals, go to the park, go to the library, playgroup, primary, and preschool at Ms. Roper's. He's recently taken a liking to playing with friends...at their house. He likes to go to Michael Jones', Evelyn Jacobsen's, Sarah Simmons, Julian Anderson, and Chloe Bryant's house. Corbin also loves playing with ALL of his cousins (near and far.) He's not the biggest eater but prefers fruits, veggies, and breads over meat. (Totally opposite of Quinton.) His favorite treat right now is BYU creamery chocolate milk (like his dad) and In N' Out Burger's strawberry shake that his Grandpa Dick introduced him to. He loves to be the big brother and play and boss around Quinton and hold and sing to Deagan. He's got a fun personality, still cuddles with us, is such a smart kid, and we just know our home and life would not be the same without him. Sure love ya Corbin!

true love

2010-08-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been in love? I mean SMITTEN? Like all you can think about, talk about, play with, eat with, sleep with is the object of your affection?
Well, Mr. Quinton LOVES Lightning McQueen. Really. He does all those things. Except he affectionately calls him "meetming queen".
So, the other day when we were shopping for Corbin's birthday Quinton found this:

.... and could not leave his side.

That's what happens when you're in love!

What toys were you in love with as a child?

Sleepy Head

2010-07-30T16:16:00.001-07:00

This big guy thinks he's too old for naps now. So, instead of fight him I allow him his "quiet time" in the day when his brothers are sleeping....and then we insist on an 8pm bedtime.

Sometimes, he's so tired he falls asleep before his head even hits the pillow. You ever been THAT tired? :)

sweet summer!

2010-07-29T21:05:00.006-07:00

Here is a sampling of our daily adventures:
slip-n-sliding...

Corbin's form is much improved from last year.... OK, so his confidence in general has improved. He has figured out that if he takes his rash guard off he can go much further and faster!

Of course, when you're done playing in that COLD hose water, you gotta lay out to dry!

For the boys' summer birthdays they got a trampoline. Jeff actually set it up while we were in AZ for cousins camp {by the way, I finished that post below if you haven't seen it yet}, so that when we got home they had this GIANT SURPRISE in the backyard.

Needless to say they love the trampoline and so do mom and dad. Hours of healthy entertainment right there. Even Deagan likes it!

Our raspberry and strawberry bushes always provide a yummy afternoon snack on a warm day. [Not sure what this new pose is of Corbin's... must be a phase?]
So far we've made 2 batches of strawberry freezer jam! YUM!

Peas are a yummy addition to a chicken stir-fry.... or just to snack on.

Every Wednesday my boys enjoy attending Stake aerobics/Zumba with me because afterward they get to do kids yoga! Look at that strong Tree Pose.

The Warrior Pose is a favorite too.

What is a summer without a trip to the pool/waterpark? We are season pass holders again at 7 Peaks, and since it's just up the street we find ourselves there about 2-3 times a week! We've got some great color, met up with lots of friends, and Corbin has ventured out onto some of the bigger slides! Quinton is still content to hang out in the splash pool and the shallow part of the Tadpole Pond. I'm sure next year I'll have 2 slippery fish going down the slides.

Mmmm... breakfast for dinner is always fun, especially with smiley face chocolate chip pancakes. [I know, mother of the year, right? Hey, there are raspberry eyes and egg hair there too!]

Poser. I love Deagan in the background... that boy loves to eat. Just as much as his brothers did at that age.

Slip-n-slides, trampolines, water parks, fresh berries and summer veggies, yoga, and creative meals have kept our summer sweet so far. What sweetens your summer?

Pioneers!

2010-07-24T08:21:00.001-07:00

We began our Pioneer Day celebration with a little culinary crafting in the kitchen. MMmmmm... Homemade strawberry jam! Corbin helped me whip up 2 batches of this freezer jam- some berries from our yard, some from Costco. Those pioneers would have been jealous of all my kitchen tools... and a freezer, but also glad that we didn't BUY jam, but used our own crops!

This year we BBQ'd with Jana and the Bath Family. Jeff's former, late step-father's posterity. We see them about once a year and it's always fun to catch up. The kids grow so much from year to year. Quinton and Brinley found their own size chairs to lounge, I mean play in, while they waited for the hot dogs to cook.

After dinner and conversation... and after it was dark. We broke out the fireworks. I think we were all mesmerized, especially Deagan.

There's just something about fire and explosions...

Corbin and Q stayed put for the first 15 minutes.

...then ran around with all the kids in an attempt to stay awake.

Until the firework finale. How do you miss that?

After the finale, we were all just about wiped out from all the food, fun, and fireworks.

It's so fun to visit with family and friends and feel like no time has passed at all. Thanks Jana and family for the fun Pioneer Day evening!

Spanish Fork Fiesta Days

2010-07-23T07:59:00.001-07:00

Spanish Fork is the place to celebrate the 24th of July... aka: Pioneer Day. I mean who wouldn't enjoy a little fair food, shopping, rodeo, and entertainment to commemorate the Pioneers? Grandma & Grandpa invited us to their town for the event and we had a yummy fair food picnic on the grass before the boys picked out some fun rides. The bell boats were a hit for them....

But not as much for us. Listen to those bells...

For some reason this noisy ride was longer than any of the others too.

Deagan liked all the sights and sounds of the Fiesta Days.

Quinton picked out a motorcycle ride, of course. Look at those wide handle bars! He loved it!

Corbin picked out the fun house "ride". He had to climb all over this structure and once he was at the top...

He slid down this long slide to the bottom. Just his style.
We enjoyed the fun night out and the boys now know the meaning of a FAIR in July in Utah: food and fun rides!

now I know my ABC's...

2010-07-20T15:47:00.004-07:00

I just love when I see the "lightbulb" go on with my kiddos. Corbin has always been an early bloomer when it comes to communication, letters, and words. He loves books and stories and watching LeapFrog videos that teach about vowels and consonants. Well, just last Sunday before church he started putting words together with "glue" (=vowels). A simple consonant, vowel, consonant word... then he sounded the letters out and read it fast and couldn't believe that he'd read a word.... all on his own! So, I made about a dozen words for him on the fridge....

Before I knew it he was reading a bunch of self-made words! (I apologize about his choice of a pointer finger. We haven't made issue of it yet to correct him and hope it doesn't offend anyone.)

Of course, now Corbin has a lot of teaching to do.... Quinton won't be left behind!

Fabulous 4th of July!

2010-07-05T14:06:00.001-07:00

WARNING: Lots of pictures!

First of all, I love the 4th of July! Aside from being so Patriotic, its a fun, family holiday and Provo really knows how to celebrate family and country.... let me tell you! I was impressed. Due to the 4th falling on a Sunday this year, the Provo Freedom Festival was spread across the entire weekend. We tried to take advantage of living in the heart of the city and got in our fair share of all the action. Here's a summarized recap of the Fabulous 4th, 2010.

My sister Mandy rolled into town Friday evening and met up with us at the Freedom Festival in downtown Provo. Our boys LOVED seeing Kimball and Jim & Shelley (and Mandy, Dusty, Scottland, Cory, and Emily too). We enjoyed Navajo Tacos, BBQ sandwiches, Lime-Rickey's, live entertainment, a few fair rides, and a little fair-style shopping. Unfortunately our boys didn't last long and we left before it was even dark. (6am balloons come early.)

Saturday morning we started the day at Bulldog field watching the hot air balloons go up. This is one of Jeff's all-time favorite traditions (bc his uncle used to own a balloon and Jeff was part of the crew.) Our boys have learned to love watching the balloons too and this year didn't disappoint. When we first arrive (after finding a park and fighting the crowds for a good spot), it always looks so calm and serene. The balloons are flat, the people are quiet, and the sun isn't quite up yet. But then.... when the winds are right the 1st balloon begins to inflate and things get louder and taller...

This HUGE Coca-Cola balloon is much larger than the average balloon (120 feet tall). We were standing right at the top of it and were amazed to watch as it kept growing, and growing, and growing.

Unfortunately, the winds were too strong and the balloon kept swaying and tipping too much.... and collided with its neighboring balloons. It was quite comical actually watching the crowds running and screaming (like something out of Godzilla) as the balloon came crashing down.

Coke called it quits on that balloon so we found another spot to sit and watch as other balloons started inflating. We met up with more cousins.... Corbin just loves little Lincoln.

Michelle is a devout balloon watcher too and she's teaching Lincoln the right way to celebrate the 4th!

This was a miracle.... a picture of our whole family.

Coke had another "regular" sized balloon they put up, and AF Bank's pig was there along with Smokey the Bear and several other colorful balloons.

Lift off!

After the balloons I enjoyed my first experience with Magleby's French Toast with Cream and Strawberries = HEAVEN! Thanks Michelle for the recommendation. Later, we enjoyed more visiting with more family at Uncle Tom's. These little guys were all born within 3 months of each other. (L to R- Deagan Moss, Lincoln Burgi, Scottland Heal)

That evening we headed to the top of the Utah County building's parking garage to save prime seats for the Stadium of Fire's firework show. These boys are too cute together and couldn't stop running and racing cars .

Hanging out in the back of the car, waitin' for the show.

Oooohhhh-Aaahhhh! Just far enough away that the fireworks were still cool and not scary!

The whole group watching the show....
(kinda strange that we wore hoodies and bundled up in blankets to watch 4th of JULY fireworks)

One happy mommy!
I love watching the fireworks next to the mountains with 2 little boys on my lap.
(Last year it was 2 boys on my lap, 1 in utero, watching fireworks over the ocean.)

Sunday evening we hosted a hot dog roast in our backyard with more family.

Dusty entertained the little boys with intermittent fireworks in the street by our house.

The new trampoline kept the big boys entertained (as well as the spectators).

After most of the fam left we finished off the fireworks. Q loved seeing the fireworks so close but wasn't so sure about holding a sparkler by himself.

These 2 little cousins were deliriously entertained.
Can you say, "Dear in the headlights?"

Cory & Emily are so fun. They gave rides to the kids on their nice, new Vespa!

You can tell when Quinton starts to fade.... he gets loopy!

Sisters! So glad I got some of my own family to come visit for such a fun holiday.
Happy Birthday USA!

Before calling it a night we had to lace up Jeff's running shoes with his timing chip. He started training 2 months ago for the Freedom Festival 10k.... and he wanted to be ready!

At 4:45am Monday morning, Cole and Jeff went down to the County Building to reserve a huge spot for the family for the Grand Parade.... then came home to get ready for a 7am race start time. They are good guys... or just nuts! They ran the 10k together, a small little jog for Cole who runs 50-milers! It was fun that the last leg of the race went right past our house on 9th East. We got to sit on the front law and cheer! (and watch all the crazy 4000 runners and walkers, and more balloons pass overhead, and see floats and carriages start to line up for the parade.)

His goal was to finish the 10k in 1 hour flat. He finished in 1: 04. NOT BAD! He's our hero!

Next, it was on to the Grand Parade. Can I just say... ZOO! You'd think it was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the hoards of people and the crowds of overnight sleepers that camp out to see this parade. It's insane, really... and kind of fun! This was the view behind me, the family of on-lookers...

The view in front was impressive. It's not quite the 4th of July without seeing one of these. Between those that fly over the Stadium of Fire show and this, our boys have found a new love for jets.

And what is a celebration in Provo without BYU? This was another favorite for our boys, I mean who doesn't like cougars and cheerleaders on the 4th of July?

Still so proud that he ran a 10k. That's my man!

See, we have real, unpaid fans! (No really, this was strange. I guess they have the same names as us and like to walk around proclaiming their love for each other in crowded places.)

Pirate Island made a strong showing. Another local favorite.

After a long, crazy, entertaining morning/weekend. We finished the day with another family BBQ at Haley's. What a fun 3 days...really? We packed that all into 3 days!? Wow.

Let's do it again next year. Who's in?

Cousins Camp

2010-06-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

The annual cousins camp this year was held at its traditional place... the Scow Cabin, the very place I grew up having cousins camp with MY cousins! It was so fun to take my kids to the cabin to make some similar memories I have from my childhood. My mom was so nice to come drive the long 10 hours to AZ with me. It was quite exciting this time around because we drove right through a WILDFIRE in FLAGSTAFF, AZ. Look at that!

Corbin was worried about his Kit Kats melting....

Can you imagine if that was your mountain home in the smoke? So sad. This Chevron station where we stopped to fill up got evacuated just moments after we left... and we were lucky to leave because the highway was being closed in both directions as we drove through town!

Once we got to Mesa we had a day or 2 to play. We took advantage of a fun Gilbert splash pad.

And made sure to see our cousin Samantha. It's always fun at her house!

Aunt Jessica couldn't believe how BIG Deagan is! Such a happy kid too!

The kids enjoyed a homemade spaghetti dinner, playing, visiting, and a movie all in 1 night.

We were also sure to get in a good swim in Grandma's pool. It's always a hit!

Corbin can never get enough of grandma's pool. He's really missing it this summer, now that he's a fish!

After a nice morning swim and some lunch we packed up and headed up the mountain to Pine, AZ. We made sure to stop at the Honey Store in Pine for some local, flavored honey. MMmmm!

The littlest campers survived the 1.5 hour road trip up to the cool Pines.

Grandma got the fun started with a smiley face ball fight. The kids LOVED it.

The moms/sisters got dinner underway... beans and wieners followed by homemade honey butter and scones. Nothing says summer camping like that, right? Makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

Day 1 layer of dirt comes off.... with a cousin bubble bath of course!

Mr. Dallin had finished nearly half the kids puzzles in the game room by the first night. He's awesome!

Day 2 began with a nice hike down to the dry creek bed. The kids were in search of a rock for a craft later in the week. We found plenty!

There's nothing like a walk down a dirt path in the forest... with your cousins!

A walk at the cabin is never complete without at stop at the Ray swings. Those tire swings are hit... and help you feel rejuvenated after a long, hot walk. This is brotherly love right here:

...and this is puppy love. Dallin's BeBe (therapy dog) is his pride and joy!

Landon loves it when his littler cousins come around.... He is suddenly the big guy! He's such a sweet kid and such a great helper!

You know, there is something about swings that makes you feel free like a kid again....

So, you bet I did my fair share of swinging. I loved hearing Deagan's little giggles as we swung.

Three of my 4 siblings. We missed our youngest brother, Jesse, who was working in the South. Maybe next year? Who would've thought that when we were running around with our own cousins 20 years ago... that we'd someday bring our ow kids here to do the same with their cousins!

Cousins Camp is never complete without a "treasure" hunt. Here is grandpa helping Q read the next clue.

The treehouse! Should have guessed. The treasure is always hidden in the treehouse!

Some of the fun treasure... punching bag balloons!

One fun thing about Cousins Camp (for the kids and adults) are the movie nights on grandpa's HUGE projector screen!

Staying up too late is fun but hanging out in the morning in your jammies with all your cousins is pretty fun too!

Grandma & Grandpa read lots of classic stories to the kids this year. Each morning it was a new book. The kids enjoyed the story time.

The BIG dining room table and the large group of family. So fun!

All the kids were a great help raking all the pine needles to prevent fire danger. (a yearly cabin chore we've all experienced.) We think Q got the hang of it... he's officially trained.

Corbin got pretty good at raking and gathering sticks.

Many hands make light work.

Snack time! One of the CC traditions is that each child brings a treat to share. This was Corbin's snack: ants on a log after a morning of hard work.

Craft time! Prayer rocks with grandma and grandpa!

Lunch picnic on the deck outside.

After lunch one afternoon we had a cherry pit-spit contest off the deck. Who do you think won?

All the cousins with GG Larson... in their bright YELLOW CC shirts!

TThe front "porch" swing is a classic cabin feature... and pastime.
Aren't these boys cute?

Quinton's snack time. After our "hike"/walk one afternoon he was so excited to hand out his snack to all his cousins.

Landon is such a good cousin... he made sure Quinton made it all the home after our hike. He didn't want anyone left behind.

Quinton was quite a trooper walking all over the forest. He needed a little more help than some of the others... with those little legs of his. Grandpa was happy to help.

Of course, a stop at the swings helped us finish our hike.

Swinging with my nieces! I miss these girls and they are getting so BIG!

Who says you can't have a Mary Kay microdermabrasion party while camping? GIRLS NIGHT OUT... after the kids were all in bed. (kind of.)

Fast Forward

2010-06-29T13:38:00.002-07:00

I know I've said this before but after a 6 month break from blogging I have decided to return. Really. I am really going to try to blog again because it is our family journal and all our family far away really loves to keep up with us this way! So, bear with me. The task is just too daunting to start from where I left off in January so I am going to skip that....FOR NOW.... and just keep up with the current events. Little by little I will add a post from the past 6 months. So, if you want to see any of those you'll have to scroll down and find them yourselves. You'll be amazed, as are we, how much our boys have grown in half a year. So, thank you friends and family for the welcome back!

Father's Day

2010-06-20T15:29:00.004-07:00

I have always claimed that I have the best dad EVER! It's true. He's everything a little girl could ask for in her daddy. He's always been my ROCK. He's got the best laid back personality and yet has a way of expecting great things of his children. He's kind, caring, compassionate, fun, patient, adventurous, spontaneous, helpful, hard-working, strong, sensitive, and loves me unconditionally. I've always known that. When it comes to a father, he's simply the complete package.....and over the years as our relationship has changed and evolved he's gotten even BETTER! We still have the best, enlightening conversations and he still teaches me a ton! I love to watch him with my own children now as the GRANDPA, because I can see the same admiration for him that I had as a child. It's like having a 2nd childhood watching my kids with my parents. Needless to say, I love my dad. Now that we live far away we truly treasure our visits together, and so do my boys. Happy Father's Day dad! Sure love ya!

We love you grandpa!

I always said that if I could ever find anyone like my dad to marry I'd be a lucky girl. Well, I'm one lucky girl! Jeff is the best husband and father to our children and I'm pretty sure our kids feel the same way about their dad that I do about mine.
To celebrate him this year we gave him a long-awaited Whalen fire pit for the backyard. We all gathered 'round it for a fire.... and s'mores, of course!

See, they want to be just like daddy!
The boys picked out some new SPECIAL running socks, shoes, and water belt for Jeff to support his new hobby of running. (His first race will be the Freedom Run over the 4th of July.)
We also made him a poem with hand prints for his work office.The s'mores were pretty good too, just ask Q! My mom got to join us this year for an early father's day celebration because she helped us drive to AZ the next day for Cousins Camp, which Jeff was unable to attend.
I'd say I've got some pretty special men in my life... and hopefully with all of their help we'll raise some pretty amazing sons!
Happy Father's Day to all of you dads and fatherly figures!

Q is 2!

2010-06-09T08:30:00.001-07:00

Our little Quinton turned 2 on June 9, 2010. He is such a joy to have in our family. I just love this age. To celebrate, Quinton woke up to find a brand new bike and helmet! Exactly what he wanted!

After everyone was awake he opened all his presents from his brothers and mom and dad.... all by himself mind you, because when you're two you can do LOTS of things by yourself. In Q's words, "No.... I do it!"

Quinton was very kind to hug everyone and say thanks for all the gifts. Such a sweet boy.

I like to sit with the boys on their birthdays and show them pictures of them as a baby and how they've grown over the years. They love it as much as I do.

After all was said and done we decided to really party, 7 peaks style. Just the 4 of us (daddy was at work) walked the 2 blocks up the hill and spent a few hours in the pools at the water park.

Even Deagan enjoyed the sun and water.

Corbin has come a long way from last year... he had no inhibitions about getting in the water alone without floaties.... as long as he could stand. Thank you to swimming lessons.

The following Saturday we had a family BBQ complete with a Lightning McQueen cake, of course. If you know Quinton you know he's in love with "Queen". Here is the cake...

Here we are decorating it while Quinton took his nap.

McQueen in process....

McQueen all done.

The birthday boy approved.

He thanked me profusely. It was adorable.

Blowing out his candle. We had to do it a few times to get the picture....he didn't mind a bit!

He absolutely LOVED this special present from Great Grandpa Bywater's collection, a car of course!

More hugs for the great-grandparents.

Corbin was so good to help his brother open all his gifts... he kept telling us that his birthday should be first because he's OLDER! Such a rough concept to grasp. For all they know Corbin and Quinton share a birthday!

After saying goodbye to our guests Jeff and I came back inside to find our big boys already cleaning up for us....

There was plenty of cake that just couldn't go to waste!

That night, we found these 2 Supermen sleeping together again in Corbin's bed. I love that they are best buddies.... 2 years and counting.

I really can't believe Quinton is 2. It seems like he's grown up so fast and now he's suddenly the middle child. He is sure a rough and tumble boy with a huge heart and a giant soft spot. He loves to run, jump, kick, climb, slide, swing, and box and yet he's our biggest cuddler and really enjoys just sitting and looking at books. He entertains himself so well and loves to eat! Quinton loves to do anything his big brother does, but can also sit and play with (or hold) Deagan. He's such a happy boy and our family sure wouldn't be the same without him.

a Federal Agent in the fam

2010-05-19T15:11:00.005-07:00

Jeff's younger brother Cody got hired with the U.S. Border Patrol and left for training just after the first of the year. We enjoyed a nice going away party for him up in Park City with lots of family and my boys loved it.... so we took lots of pictures.
Grandma Pearce loved holding little Deagan. (He was 2.5 months here.)

Uncle Colton, as always, loved tickling and picking on his nephews...

Julie has this fancy recliner chair with a table and my boys LOVE it! As well as those cookies that they each had 3 or 4 of.... when mom and dad weren't watching! Deer in the headlights Corbin? Isn't Grandma Pearce so pretty?
Grandpa Dick and Uncle Steve rough-housing with the boys. In all actuality the big boys are just trying to keep busy in the name of keeping the younger ones busy.

Silly Grandpa...

And there he is.... Uncle Cody with little Deagan. What's funny is how much those 2 will change during the next 4 months...

Quinton is just like his dad....a ham!

**Post-Edit FYI: Now that Cody is home from basic training and graduation he's all cut-up and Deagan is much bigger and sitting up! But Cody has a few more weeks of Spanish class before he goes to Texas for more training on the Southern Border before being stationed in Blaine, Washington for the rest of his career. Good thing he learned Italian on his mission...so he can learn Spanish and then French on the Northern U.S. Border! Sheesh!

Brothers need each other....

2010-05-06T16:17:00.002-07:00

These 2 boys have a brotherly bond that's formed in a short time....
Whenever Deagan hears Corbin laugh he comes alive. Whenever Corbin hears Deagan cry you can be sure Corbin will be at his "rescue" to sing to him or talk to him or tell him a story or give him a toy. It's pretty cute.

Quinton and Corbin are pretty good friends too. There was a time when Quinton and Corbin both had a hard time falling asleep in January. Finally one night they were silent and we went in to check on them and Quinton had crawled out of his twin bed and into Corbin's Queen.

They slept that way all night.
Sometimes, brothers just need each other...

My Apologies!

2010-04-19T14:11:00.003-07:00

To all my family and friends who used to peruse here, I apologize. I have quite obviously neglected my family journal, aka-blog. As I attempt to "catch up" please be patient with me. I will slowly get it back together, but know this: our lack of blogging by no means translates into our lack of life. We've been busy.... so check back soon for some fun updates! :)

Annual Family Snow/Sled Party

2010-02-03T14:28:00.001-07:00

Each year Jeff's family has a fun winter tradition: The SNOW PARTY!

Most of Jeff's siblings and cousins head up Hobble Creek Canyon to his aunt's house where there's this great snow packed sledding hill....

...and the kids and adults alike have a blast sledding, tubing, snowboarding, and sitting around the warm fire.

My boys were at the perfect age this year to enjoy the fun.

The 4-wheeler loads up as many people and tubes, sleds, snowboards as possible and heads up the hill...

Dylan getting a good ride down the hill...

The twins warming up by the fire...

The parade of tubes hanging on for life to get hauled up the hill.

There's me trying to get as many pictures as possible of all the action....while holding the baby. If I didn't multi-task I'd miss it all! Most of these pictures were taken by Heather Telford Photography. This was her 2nd time at our Snow Party and she got some great shots! Thanks Heather!

The day of the party was January 3, 2010 which also happened to be Jeff and I's 6th wedding anniversary! We took our turn to play on the hill as well. Corny, I know but this picture pretty much sums up the last 6 years.... the ride of our lives!

I know I'm partial but my kids look pretty cute in their snow gear.

Cute Q, such a poser.

Corbin hitching a ride on the front of the 4-wheeler...

The adults huddled around the fire, drinking hot wassail and hot coco to stay warm.

Brandon & Nichole, Jeff's oldest sister.

Grandpa Dick basking in the sun at the snow party.

The twins. Aunt Stephanie and Christie (my MIL). You'd never guess they were turning 60 this year, would you?

The hostesses with the mostest(ess)... Steph and Ed. So glad they allow us to invade their log home every year for the fun.

The toy rope with all the cousins.

Awe.... somebody took a spill! Look at those tears. He was fine 5 minutes later when we put him back on the 4-wheeler.

The Christensen's (minus Ty and Tanzynn). Cute little family.

After about 50 rides down the hill some of the kids had had enough so we went inside for some lunch: Dick's family recipe chili and all the fixings. MMmmmm...that warms you up quick. Deagan loved all the attention during lunch.

This little boy has eyes like his brothers.... I love it! He's getting so BIG!

Of course no party is complete without some Guitar Hero, right?

It was a great day in the snow. Thanks to Ed, Stephanie, Christie, and Dick for all the fun...until next year!

A New Year

2010-02-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I are lucky to have such great friends nearby who are in the same stage of life as us, i.e.- married with young children! Ryan and Breanna were gracious to host a house full of kids and crazy adults on New Year's Eve and we're glad they did because it was a fun way to ring in 2010...for us and our kiddos! We enjoyed lots of appetizers, a yummy dinner, and tons of great snacks before venturing outside in the cold to light some fireworks!

A great perk about Utah is that fireworks are usually readily available most any time of the year.Aren't they pretty? Kids loved them... and the dad's enjoyed the piro-technics as well.

After warming up we got all 7 kids in their jammies and lined them up for a photo-op. Pretty cute kids. Can't believe there are that many already!

My boys are usually such hams... especially when they get to hold their little brother.

By 9pm, I think we had all the kids laying down to watch a movie in Hayden's room. Too bad they weren't all asleep by then.... that came an hour or 2 later.

Once the kids were out... the REAL fun began. You never know what will go down when the 6 of us get together.... party hats everyone?

There was plenty of food, drink, Wii games, board games, conversation... and laughter. Always laughter with this bunch!
By midnight it was certainly Out of Control! Since none of us are used to staying up this late, we got a little loopy.... and strange things started happening.Like this...

.... excessive happiness...

... and picture taking...

3 High School girlfriends.... 10 years later. I think the years have been good to us girls!

Did I mention that we laughed...

a lot? Right about midnight Lindsey's youngest tore open the door of the room he'd been sleeping in and started sleep-walking in to the living room...and ran right into the side of the couch. It was one of those late night events that becomes 10x funnier because of your lack of sleep.

If only our kids could have seen us... cause we're really not all that different from them when we play... and it's comical.

It's been years since we've actually stayed up to celebrate the New Year. Thanks to the Thomas' and Bodells for a fun night, and CHEERS to a 2010 that's as full as much fun as New Years Eve!