ELLINGSON

Jr. Jazz

2012-02-05T15:46:00.009-07:00

In November Kyson started basketball. This is the first year that he is old enough to play. I love that it goes all winter long and gives him something to do while it is cold outside. He has come a long way from the beginning of the season. It has finally clicked. I love watching him play I hope that it is one that he wants to stick with.

Daddy Time

2012-01-16T21:17:00.002-07:00

The last couple of months Rob and I have decided that we wanted to take turns giving the kids their own Daddy and Mommy time. The kids have loved it. I went first but didn't take any pictures. Kyson and I went and saw Cars 2. Then later that week I took Camree to the Sweet Tooth Fairy, we got cupcakes and went and picked out some fabric to make her dolls scarves. Rob took Kyson to dinner and the Grizzlies Hockey game. He actually went with a bunch of Fathers and sons in our ward. They called it "Manrichment". Hahaha!

Of course Camree was sad that she couldn't go so Rob took her the next day for her Daddy time. They went and got her nails done and then went to lunch. Both kids LOVED the time they got to spend with their Dad. I love that we are doing this I think it is so good for them to have one on one time. Plus we have to take advantage of them wanting to do this, before we know it they will be all grown up and won't want to hang out with us anymore!

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T20:55:00.007-07:00

This year because of all of the kids we couldn't go out and party so we decided to have our own party. Everyone came over to our house we ate, lit fireworks, played games, counted down the New Year and had a good time.

My little pyro couldn't wait to light the fireworks.

You can't bring in the New Year without sparkling cider!

Poor Daddy didn't make it to midnight. He must be getting old;)!!! Ever since his accident about every couple of months he has a night he just crashes and tonight was one of those nights.

Camree tried so hard to stay awake too but ended up falling asleep at about 11:00 on the couch. Kyson on the other hand stayed up with me and gave me my New Years kiss. I have got to take advantage of that as long as I can. I hope he will always want to kiss his Mom. We have had such a busy, fun, exciting year and have made a lot of happy memories. I can't believe how much my family grows up each year. Happy New Year! Let's see what 2012 will bring us?????

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T14:24:00.025-07:00

The kids woke us up at 7:30 ready to go and open presents! They had to wait on the stairs while Dad got the video camera ready.

I think someone is happy Santa found us.

It is fun having uncle Jr living with us. Kyson helped him open up all of his presents.

Camree and her doll had matching pj's.

After opening presents we headed off to meet Neema and Papa at church. The whole fam was there, it was fun being together. This year we made all of the girls matching skirts and the boys coordinating ties for Christmas Sunday. They all looked so cute!

Kyson finally has a boy cousin on the Featherstone side and we found out there will be another one too. We are so excited!

It didn't take long for the kids to get back in their pajamas. We ate eggs ala golden rod for breakfast and then it was time for more presents!

My siblings always do a white elephant gift exchange and Rob got that hat. Kyson was so funny he thought that it was so cool and wore it around all night. He does look pretty cute in it.

Later we went over to GG's and Great Pa's for dinner. The day was busy and full of family, food, more food, and presents. I love Christmas but I have to admit I love when it is over. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T21:19:00.003-07:00

On Christmas Eve we went to Neema and Papa's for our annual Christmas Eve party! The kids have been counting down the days they are so excited for Santa to come.

The kids opened up their Christmas pj's.

Camree and Kyson got snuggie wraps this year too.

We have decided that now that there are more grandkids we are going to act out the nativity every year. We still don't have enough kids yet so we made the boys fill in. Daddy played a wiseman.

Kyson and Camree played Joseph and Mary.

Jaxon was the perfect baby Jesus.

We had the best Christmas Pageant ever!

And ended the night with flaming snowballs!

We made it home just in time to get in bed and fall asleep before Santa got to our house. Kyson even saw him in the sky coming our way!

Christmas Card

2011-12-20T15:10:00.001-07:00

This year I decided I was going to make my own Christmas card using photoshop. Auburn taught me some of the basics while she was here and we started working on my card. We didn't finish it while she was here so I was going to try and finish it on my own. Ya that was not going to happen so Costco will just have to do. Maybe by next year I will have taken some classes so that I can design my own. Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Dance Recital

2011-12-16T16:14:00.005-07:00

This year we ended up switching Camree to a different dance studio. I wasn't very impressed with her old studio so we decided to send her to AED. She is taking a jazz, ballet, and tumbling combo class and loves it. So far so good I feel like she has already learned more this year than she did all of last year. She danced to Jingle Bell rock and did awesome not to mention she was the cutest one out there! Good job Camree we love you!

Kyson made sure we had flowers to give to her after she danced! He is so cute!

Christmas Programs

2011-12-15T23:44:00.001-07:00

This year I had to miss both of the kids Christmas programs. I had told a friend that I would work for her not realizing it was the day of their programs. Luckily Dad was in town to go and see them. Once they knew Dad was coming instead they didn't even care that I wasn't going. I was still sad that I missed it but Daddy videoed it for me. Good job guys!

Family Party

2011-12-11T16:26:00.002-07:00

On Sunday we had Kyson's family party at Neema's and Papa's. He was a lucky boy and got to celebrate his birthday three days in a row! Waiting in the "chair of honor".

He wanted a peppermint ice cream cake. So I made one with Oreo crust and hot fudge to go on top. Mmmmm it was good.

After presents Neema and Papa gave us one of our Christmas presents. Growing up at the beginning of December my parents would read us a story about a family who had a manager. To help remember the true meaning of Christmas they would try and fill the manager up with hay by Christmas Eve for baby Jesus. Every week you draw names and every time you do a nice deed for that person you get to put a piece of straw in the manager. We loved this tradition. So my Mom made each of us our own manger and gave us a copy of the story which is now actually a book. We read the story to the kids and now it will be one of our Christmas traditions. I am so excited thanks Mom and Dad.

How cute is that!

Planet Play

2011-12-10T22:49:00.001-07:00

On Saturday Kyson had his friend party at Planet Play. The kids had tons of fun they ate pizza, dessert pizza, ice cream, played laser tag, went bowling, played video games, opened presents and then it was time to go. They could have played there for hours. The best part about it was that I didn't have a mess at my house to clean up after! The party was definitely a success!

Seven

2011-12-09T22:31:00.001-07:00

I can't believe Kyson is seven! I feel like he has grown up so much this year. He is sweet, kind, handsome, smart, athletic, happy, loving, tender, a tease, but most of all he is just a good kid! His birthday was on Friday so he woke up to his room looking like this and then had to go to school. He took mint/chocolate candy canes for his Birthday treat. Every year on their Birthday we let them pick where they want to eat dinner. He chose McDonald's for the third year in a row! After that he wanted to make ginger bread houses. Happy Birthday Buddy we love you!

One!

2011-12-04T21:26:00.010-07:00

I can't believe my baby is one! She is growing up so fast. We have loved every minute of her first year of life! Right now she is; crawling everywhere including stairs, not interested in walking at all, has eyes that sparkle, loves her brother and sister, waves bye bye, has the cutest little giggle, knows how to say, Momma, Dada, baba, hot, uh-oh, and hi, has figured out how to play with her tongue and spit, likes to feed herself, drinks out of a sippie cup, and still has the cutest chubby thighs you have ever seen!

It was so cute Camree wanted to match her at the party. These girls are definitely Daddy's girls!

She would have been perfectly happy just eating the wrapping paper.

She loved everyone singing Happy Birthday to her.

At first she just kind of poked at the cake so I handed her one of the dots and that was all it took. She went to town after that. She would have eaten the whole thing.

I love this picture because she looks like this half of the time when she is done eating. She is so messy! Happy Birthday Presley! We love you so much!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T22:03:00.006-07:00

I can't believe how nice the weather was this year for Thanksgiving. The kids loved it and couldn't get enough of being able to play outside. Kind of reminded us of our Arizona Thanksgivings.

The boys even went on a motorcycle ride.

I have so many things to be grateful for! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Max

2011-11-20T20:50:00.001-07:00

Max is getting so big. Everyone loves him except for me. One day I will love you Max when you are not a puppy and don't drive me crazy!!!

Taste

2011-11-19T20:42:00.002-07:00

After I sent Kyson off with Papa all of the girls went to Taste. It was so much fun being there with all of my sisters and Mom.

We love you little D. Because of nights like this we WILL find a cure!

BYU Football Game

2011-11-19T20:09:00.001-07:00

Daddy was out of town so Kyson got to go with Papa to the BYU football game! Papa even got him a BYU beanie to wear at the game. Kyson had so much fun, thanks Papa!

Jaxon Gregory Smith

2011-11-08T17:16:00.002-07:00

We are so excited he is here! He was born on November 7th, weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 21 inches long. He is so stinkin cute! Makes me want to have a boy.

The kids were so sad that they couldn't go see him at the hospital so as soon as they were home we had to go over so that they could meet him. Welcome to the family little Jaxon. We already love you like crazy!

Halloween

2011-10-31T15:35:00.013-06:00

We started off Halloween going to Kyson's school for their Halloween costume parade. The girls came along before Camree had to go to school.

Later that night the fam came over for dinner and trick or treating. The weather was awesome this year. Warm enough that we didn't even have to wear coats!

The whole trick or treat gang. We met up with some friends and the kids had a blast.

The four older boys were running circles around the younger kids. They couldn't get to the doors fast enough. They ended up staying out for about an hour longer than the girls with the Dads.

By the looks of it I think they had a successful Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-30T21:04:00.002-06:00

This year the kids wanted to draw their own faces to carve out of their pumpkins. They hated cleaning out the pumpkin seeds because they said it felt gross! They did a great job now our pumpkins are ready for Halloween.

Bath Time

2011-10-29T20:49:00.000-06:00

This weekend we babysat Chloe for Chris and Breanne. We put the two of them in the bath and I couldn't resist taking pictures. They are too stinkin cute naked! Love these two and love that they are so close in age.

Trunk or Treat

2011-10-26T20:41:00.001-06:00

This year is the first year that our ward has done a trunk or treat. I was so sad I couldn't go because Camree had the flu. Luckily a friend took Kyson so that he didn't have to miss out too. When Kyson came home he shared some of his candy with Camree because she couldn't go. Such a sweet boy and awesome werewolf! Let's hope Camree is better by Halloween.

Fall Leaves

2011-10-23T20:28:00.008-06:00

This year we made it up the canyon a little late to see the fall leaves. There were still trees with leaves but a lot of them had already fallen off. Kyson and Camree had leaf journals that they wanted to get leaves for.

Poor Camree started getting sick on the way. She only made it a few steps then wanted to go back to the car. Rob took her back and I took Kyson and Presley on a hunt for leaves.

Kyson was having a blast it was too bad Camree didn't feel better he could have hiked around a lot longer!

Back to the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-20T23:42:00.005-06:00

Kyson was feeling left out that he didn't get to go to the pumpkin patch with Camree so I told him we would go back during his spring break.

The kids picked out the rest of our pumpkins and had a great time enjoying the awesome weather!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-18T23:31:00.003-06:00

Camree's preschool class took a field trip to a pumpkin patch in Orem. It was really fun, there was the pumpkin patch, corn maze, playground and a light display.

At the end all the kids got to pick out a pumpkin to take home.

Sarah's Baby Shower

2011-10-15T23:16:00.001-06:00

On Saturday we had Sarah's family baby shower at Chris and Breanne's. We did a sports themed shower which fits Sarah perfectly. She loves sports just as much as a crazy sports fanatic man! We even had to have the BYU game on during her shower!

Baby Jaxon we are ready for you to come!

Cousins in Town

2011-10-13T22:33:00.001-06:00

My kids have been so excited and have been counting down the days until their cousins got here! Dave, Auburn, Lilly, Cannon and Benson decided to come and see us during their fall break. The kids get along so well and had such a good time together. We went and let the kids pick out pumpkins to decorate.

Rob drove the kids up the canyon so that they could see snow! They don't get to play with it much in Arizona.

We went and found the witches at Gardner Village.

We even had a campfire in the backyard and roasted s'mores.

But most of all we had so much fun spending time together. There were even some tears shed when they had to leave. Thanks for coming and visiting us we can't wait for next year!

Mini Char

2011-10-07T22:30:00.001-06:00

This year Camree did the mini char clinic again. She was so excited for it and kept asking when she got to dance on the football field. Drae was old enough to do it this year too. I only got pictures of them practicing inside the gym. Rob stayed home with Presley because it was cold and rainy so I had to video instead. Oh well the pictures never turn out that great on the field anyway.

Waiting to go out onto the field.

All done. Camree did such a good job, even with it being so cold and rainy, she didn't even care she just danced her little heart out!

Football

2011-10-06T21:34:00.001-06:00

This fall was the first season that Kyson could play flag football. I have been so excited for him to play, football is my favorite. I am secretly hoping that he loves it! It was so funny at the beginning of the season if they didn't get the ball they didn't have a clue what to do. By the end of the season it all clicked and they were blocking for each other. Kyson is super fast if he could just learn how to cut through the defenders he would be deadly!

All bundled up to watch her brother.

Even though it was the first year for half of the kids on the team the Raiders were undefeated! Way to go Kyson!

Ouch!

2011-10-05T21:23:00.000-06:00

Poor little Camree fell out of the car on her way home from play group. She wacked herself pretty good but was really brave. I wasn't even there when it happened! So glad that she is ok and only has these battle scars!

Tracy Aviary

2011-09-29T11:04:00.003-06:00

Camree got to go on a field trip with preschool to the Tracy Aviary. They are learning about birds so they got to go and check them out.

Little P tagged along.

Look we are flamingos!

Date Ride

2011-09-24T16:53:00.002-06:00

Breanne, Chris, Mom, Dad, and Rob and I all went on a triple date to the alpine slide and zip line up in Park City at the Olympic Park. It was nice weather so we drove up on the bikes. I never even knew that they had an alpine slide and zip line there. It was so much fun!

We went the girls on one side and the boys on the other and went who we thought would go fastest to slowest so that we wouldn't slow anyone down. Ha we should have had Mom in front of Breanne because she caught her! We always knew she was on the wild side!

We ended up upgrading so that we could go on the big zip line that was at least twice as long as the other one maybe even more!

The line for the zip line was about a 45 min wait so we took turns walking around up top while the others stood in line.

Some things never change my Mom was freaking out because I was standing on this. She thought I was going to fall off.

Yes this is my Mom and yes she is seriously wearing this! Breanne and I were laughing so hard when we saw that she kept it in her hair after we got off the bikes. Mom nice real nice!

Finally it was our turn to go! I smoked Rob! We had such a fun time it was the perfect date!

Jog-A-Thon

2011-09-21T10:53:00.001-06:00

Every year Altara has one big fundraiser the jog-a-thon. The kids collect money for the run that they will do. Presley and I came along for the run. Kyson was awesome he ran almost the entire time and stay up at the front! I had to try and keep up!

Good job Kyson!

Snaggle Tooth

2011-09-20T21:46:00.001-06:00

I had to get a picture of this sucker. The more it got loose the more it turned into a snaggle tooth! It was time to get that tooth out of there! Bring on the pliers. And yes we really did pull it out with pliers.

All done that is one big gap caused by three missing front teeth!

Thirty Six!!!

2011-09-17T17:13:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Babe! We still love you even if you are turning into an old man!

My Dad is how old???

Park City

2011-09-11T16:52:00.001-06:00

Every year Dr. B treats all of us to a weekend in Park City. This year we stayed at The Hotel Park City. It was so freaking awesome! This was the view off of our deck. Soooo pretty!

Not to mention that we had our own private hot tub on our deck where absolutely nobody could see us! Let's just say this is our new anniversary spot.

My parents watched the kids for us. It was so nice to just get away and relax in piece and quiet. Thanks Mom and Dad!

That night we all went to dinner.

The whole staff.

I love the girls that I work with we have so much fun together.

All the Hygienists! It is kind of funny people sometimes mistake us for each other.

Just me and my friend! Love her! Thanks Dr. B and Melissa for the awesome weekend we had such a good time!

Soccer Girl

2011-09-10T17:05:00.003-06:00

This year Camree decided that she wanted to play soccer. At first she didn't want to, "She just wanted to dance," but changed her mind when she found out all of her friends were going to play. She looked pretty freaking cute in her soccer outfit. She also informed me that she didn't have to wear any bows because you don't wear bows when you play soccer!

I think the only time she actually kicked the ball was when she did the kick off. Is that even a term in soccer???? It is the one sport I don't know much about.

Good job CC you are one soccer girl!

First Day of Preschool

2011-09-06T23:46:00.005-06:00

Camree has been waiting for this day ever since Kyson started school. She was so excited to finally go back! Only one more year and she will be in Kindergarten. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. Now with both kids in school it is just going to be me and Pres at home. What will I ever do with all of this free time........ha who am I kidding two and a half hours goes by way too fast! Have fun at school little miss pretty!

St. George

2011-09-05T23:19:00.011-06:00

Over Labor Day weekend we decided to go to St. George to get away! The kids were so excited they love when we get to stay at a hotel. We did lot's of swimming.

Check out the rolls on those thighs!

One night we drove to Vegas ate dinner at CPK and Rob entertained the kids while I shopped at H&M. I had one huge pile of clothes shopping for three kids. By the time I was done with them I was too tired to shop for us. Oh well.

Yep that is a scorpion in his sucker so sick! This was one of the things Rob bought the kids to entertain them while I was shopping.

Camree has learned to do the mermaid hair flip! We had such a fun time with our little family. It was the perfect getaway!

Boating

2011-08-27T16:22:00.001-06:00

Daddy is still out of town so the kids and I went with Neema and Papa to Utah Lake for a quick boat run to make sure that their boat got fixed. It was a hot day so it felt good to cool off in the lake!

We had a lot of fun but we missed Daddy!

Sky Diving

2011-08-25T16:04:00.001-06:00

So my sister Mikelle is completely insane and decided that she wanted to go sky diving! Rob was out of town again so the kids and I decided to go and watch her!

Waiting on the runway for Mikelle to land. It was perfect she jumped right as the sun was setting and she lived!!!!

First Grade

2011-08-23T20:56:00.005-06:00

Today Kyson started first grade! I can't believe it! Like last year I thought I was going to be excited for him to go back to school but I wasn't. Especially because he is going to be gone all day. The day was really long and seemed like he was gone forever but I am sure that won't last! Kyson loved every minute of it, thought that it was a little long, but loved it! Watch out first grade here comes Kyson!

Lake Powell

2011-08-21T16:20:00.006-06:00

What is better than waking up and having breakfast in your swim suit! Oh I love Lake Powell! We all love Lake Powell and have been waiting all summer for this trip. I can't think of a better place to spend our last week of summer!

We had an awesome beach this year with lot's of sand the kids loved it.

Even the babes enjoyed playing on the beach!

We did a lot of tubing! I am surprised that Camree wasn't scared, she actually loved it!

Kyson caught a baby catfish with his hands. I couldn't believe it and then I saw that he was missing half of his fin.....that made a little more sense. He still thought that he was pretty awesome.

A few minutes later he caught a craw fish???? I think that is what they are called?

Camree was even brave enough to ride the wave runners!

P Rae was not a fan of her life jacket. Squished her poor little cheeks like crazy!

Then Kyson caught a frog! He was in heaven catching all of these little critters!

We had to hike Sand Mountain! Kyson and Camree made it all the way to the top by themselves! Rob stayed on the boat with Presley.

Papa helped them carve their names at the top to show that they made it!

The babes played in the sand at the bottom in their twiner swimsuits thanks to Aunt Breanne buying two of the same suit in different colors!

Then the boys went cliff jumping. This is the first year that the water has been high enough to reach the foot holds to climb up and jump. Kyson went really high and made me nervous! He jumped from were Rob is standing and actually ended up going even higher! He is getting so big and so brave!

Check out Presley's tan compared to Aunt Mikelle!

Kyson learned how to drive the boat!

Rob wake surfing.

Mikelle showed the boys how it was done. She was the only one that could ride the wave!

Mmmmm that sand is good!

We ended our trip with this awesome sunset! Once again we didn't want to leave! Thanks Mom and Dad for another year of memories!

Lagoon

2011-08-13T22:53:00.010-06:00

This year we went to Dynatronics annual Lagoon day again. We decided to leave Presley home so that we could enjoy the rides with the older kids. We had a lot of fun but it was sooooo HOT! We couldn't wait to get on the log ride so that we could cool off!

We had a great time and the best part was that Kyson was tall enough to go on almost all of the rides! I finally have a roller coaster buddy! The kids lasted all day, we finally had drug them out of there about a half hour before they closed but they would have stayed all nigh long!

More Swimming

2011-08-10T22:34:00.006-06:00

With this being our last week of summer at home we decided to fill it with fun! Swimming with friends has been one of our favorite things to do this summer. We seriously can last at the pool for 4 hours. We bring a lunch and Presley will take a nap in her stroller. The kids love it and I do too!

Back to School Already......

2011-08-09T22:31:00.001-06:00

I can't believe it is already almost time for the kids to go back to school. We are going to be in Lake Powell next week so this is our last week of summer at home. We took the kids to lunch and then came to the school to have them all find a meeting spot and walk their new route to the back of the school, so that we don't have to fight all of the cars this year! The kids had fun but we are not ready for school to start!

Cowabunga Baby

2011-08-06T21:53:00.003-06:00

My kids have been begging to go to Cowabunga Bay ever since it opened. I know I am a total slacker but we finally made it there and the kids loved it! Kyson was running up the stairs and couldn't get on the slides fast enough. Camree well she wasn't as excited, it took Mom pushing her down a few times(I am so mean) until she finally realized that the slides weren't scary and that they were fun. We went with the Warrens so the kids had a blast together.

Camree was afraid the big bucket of water was going to fall on them. That's weird she was scared of something......

Cowabunga Bay we will definitely be back next year!

Dutch Oven Dinner

2011-08-05T17:57:00.001-06:00

Rob has been out of town this week so I decided to go with my parents to their ward camp out/dinner. We just went up for the dinner because we all know how much I love camping. The kids had a blast!

Silver Lake

2011-07-30T16:43:00.003-06:00

This weekend we decided to head up and enjoy the mountains with the Crooks. We picked up KFC drove to Silver Lake and had a picnic. Since when did KFC get so expensive???? Not very good food for the price, no wonder we haven't been there for a long time! Next time we will be getting Cafe Rio and it will be cheaper! Then we hiked around the lake.

After that we drove to Guardsman Pass. Camree did not want to be in the picture because she was afraid she was going to fall off the edge! Ha, she is such a chicken!

We ended the night with snow cones doesn't get any better than that!

24th of July

2011-07-25T15:43:00.000-06:00

This year the 24th of July was on a Sunday so we celebrated it on Monday. We met some of the fam at Black Bear Diner for breakfast and then went to GG's and Great Pa's for a BBQ and fireworks. Kyson couldn't get enough of the fireworks this year.

Camree on the other hand was such a chicken I could barley get her to stand here for the picture because she was afraid the fireworks were going to get her.

Usually we head over to Butlerville Days to see the firework show but it was raining this year so we decided to see how well we could see them from Grandma and Grandpa's front yard. It was kind of nice we were able to have the kids in their pj's ready to leave when the fireworks were over.

Luckily the rain just sprinkled during the firework show and we were able to see them perfectly from the front yard!

Father and Kids Camp Out

2011-07-23T14:46:00.002-06:00

This weekend was the father and kids camp out. My kids have been so excited for it they have been counting down the days! Rob drove up with a couple of friends and they stopped and got dinner on the way.

In the morning after breakfast they hiked to Donut Falls.

I am so glad my kids have such a good Daddy! They had so much fun and can't wait for next year.

Swimming Lessons

2011-07-21T20:29:00.001-06:00

This year we ended up having the kids take lessons from my Mom's neighbor. We got to pick the time and everyone that was in the class, it was awesome! Kyson's lessons were first. They could all swim so they worked on their technique and diving.

Camree played in the little pool with Drae while she waited for her turn.

Little P just chilled in her car seat.

The two boys with their girlfriends! It was only the four of them in their class.

At the end of their lessons they got to play on the slide and jump off the diving board.

They also got to hang out in the hot tub while Camree had her lessons.

Then it was Camree's turn.

It was only Camree and Janie in their class.

By the end of lessons Camree was able to do a front and back float, grab a ring at the bottom of the pool in 4 ft. of water, and most importantly swim!!!!

Both kids did so good this year. Camree learned to swim and Kyson improved his swimming and also learned to dive. Tyler was an awesome teacher and the kids loved him. I hope he teaches again next year.

Swimming

2011-07-13T20:45:00.000-06:00

Presley had her own little pool to play in today thanks to Corie! She loved it, such a good idea!

Look at all of those rolls! I LOVE her little body in her swimsuit.

It was so funny the girls didn't want to take a picture but I told Camree she had to anyway so she said, "Fine then I am going to look really mad!" Hahaha!

Happy as a clam I am going to have to get one of these! Thanks Corie, Caleb, Janie and Gwen for coming swimming with us!

4th of July

2011-07-04T16:12:00.003-06:00

This year we had such a fun 4th of July. The kids and Rob decorated the squirt car for the neighborhood parade. Camree was so funny she wanted to wear her visor upside down so that it looked like a tiara instead. She is so girl!

I can't get enough of these chubby thighs!!!

Then the fam came over for a BBQ and fireworks.

Kyson was in heaven he is such a pyro!

We finished the night off with some homemade ice cream yum! Happy 4th of July!

Southern Utah Motorcycle Ride

2011-06-24T21:10:00.002-06:00

This year for the boys annual motorcycle ride they decided to ride through Southern Utah. They rode for 2 1/2 days and hit Bryce Canyon, Escalante Staircase, Hells Backbone, Scenic Highway 12, and Capitol Reef National Park. There were 19 riders in all.

The boys had such a good time. They were so funny they were like little kids in a candy store. I am so glad that they get to do this every year thanks to my Dad and his Harley obsession!

Dancing Queen

2011-06-16T15:30:00.001-06:00

Camree has loved dance this year and did such a good job at her end of the year recital. She struck this pose all on her own!

Kyson was so cute he wanted to make sure that she got flowers!

Good job my little dancing queen mommy is so proud of you!

Pool Time

2011-06-15T14:09:00.002-06:00

Now that school is out we are going to be spending a lot of time here!!!

Presley isn't so sure that she likes it but by the end of the summer she will!

End of Soccer Season

2011-06-11T23:37:00.002-06:00

Kyson loved soccer this season. It is his favorite sport to play. He is super quick and aggressive so it has been fun to watch him. If he ever got intimidated by someone I would just tell him you are bigger than him and then he wouldn't let anyone push him around! Ha!

Love this picture such a little stud!

All sweaty after the game.

Damon and Kyson the two Mvp's of the team!

Last Game of the Season

2011-06-09T22:49:00.001-06:00

So far baseball hasn't been Kyson's favorite. I will be Curious to see if he plays it again next year. He still had fun and we had fun watching him! I forgot my camera so we had to take pictures with the video camera. They turned out ok. Better to have crappy pictures than none!

Good job Kyson!

Meet Maximus

2011-06-08T22:27:00.000-06:00

7 days! That is how long we lasted before we had to pick up this little dude! I was totally fine not having a dog for awhile but Rob on the other hand couldn't handle it. You can see who won, because now I get to take care of two babies! A real baby and a puppy! Good thing he is so cute! We decided to try out a boy this time. Male boxers are supposed to be less aggressive towards other dogs and that was Brighton's only downfall and I did not want to deal with that again.

Welcome to the family Max! Everyone is so happy you are here and well I am sort of happy..... Wish me luck!

Last Day of Kindergarten

2011-06-07T16:52:00.001-06:00

I can't believe that Kyson is done with kindergarten!! This year has flown by! I am so proud of him he has learned so much. It is crazy to me the difference of what they know from the beginning to the end of the year academically. He went from not knowing all of his letters and sounds to reading at a first grade level! Good job buddy you are so ready for first grade!

Kyson with his first grade crush Livey!

His end of the year award was for writing more books than anyone in his entire class! It's time to play because school's out for summer!

JCE Family Reunion!!!

2011-06-05T15:49:00.000-06:00

This year we were in charge of the reunion so we decided to have it at a cabin in Heber, Utah! We stopped and got lunch on the way. We were a little worried trying to fit all 28 of us into one cabin but we had so much fun and still loved each other when the reunion was over.

We played in the snow.

Had a game of Family Fear Factor.

Weren't competitive one bit!

Built a fort.

Explored around the cabin.

Went to lunch and shopping in Park City.

Had a silly string fight.

Fixed food.

Laughed.

Had a treasure hunt.

Went on the Alpine Coaster.

Painted rocks.

Took pictures of the original JCE fam.

Had one of our great, great, great ancestors return to start our campfire.

Sang songs.

Ate s'mores.

And almost lost our minds! We had so much fun and can't wait for next year!

RIP Brighton

2011-06-01T10:15:00.001-06:00

The day we have been dreading for a couple of years finally came. We had to put Brighton to sleep. Her poor hips just couldn't take it anymore. She made it 10 years which is really good for a boxer. She was such a good dog and we are going to miss her soooo much! Now she can run like crazy in heaven with Bronco, Cody, and Junior. Yep she out lived all of her boyfriends!

I think Kyson gave her all of her grey hair! He tormented her when he was a toddler and she was so good she never snipped once! She would just sit there and take it. Then as he got older Brighton could always count on Kyson to run around and play with her. But in the end her hips just couldn't keep up anymore!

This little boy is going to miss her.

Luckily with three kids at home and a husband that travels I didn't have time to be too sad. It is now that she is gone that I miss her and realize what a good dog she was. I don't know if we will ever be able to replace her.

She also had to endure Camree beating up on her when she was a toddler. Although she wasn't quite as bad. She could always get loves from Camree.

Daddy is the big softy! Brighton was his baby. It has been hardest on him he really loved her.

Thanks for being such a good dog Brighton girl we are going to miss you!

Six Months!

2011-05-30T16:07:00.000-06:00

I can't believe Presley is 6 months old! I know I keep saying this but time is going by WAY too fast! I was lucky enough to have my sister in law here when she turned 6 months to take pictures for me. Love, love these pictures. She captured her little angel face perfectly!

At 6 months Presley is; rolling over both ways, smiling all the time, starting to actually laugh, has figured out what her tongue is and is sticking it out all of the time, started eating baby food, can't sit up by herself but is getting close, lights up when she sees her brother or sister, has the chubbiest thighs you have ever seen, and is still the best baby ever! Mom and Dad love you so much little Presley Rae!

Last day of Preschool

2011-05-26T12:08:00.003-06:00

Today was Camree's last day of school. We went to the park for a Teddy Bear Picnic! They put on a little program for us.

Camree with Miss Sue.

Good job Cc we are so proud of you for finishing your first year of preschool.

Later that day Kyson got hit in the head with a bat. Yep you heard right! Luckily he was ok and was only left with this goose egg on his head!

Drae's Dream Team

2011-05-21T11:40:00.002-06:00

It is that time of year again for Great Strides! Drae's Dream Team was huge again with over 100 people that came out to walk! Suzie and Daniel are so lucky to have such a huge support system. We made the kids their own t-shirts this year that said my cousin needs a cure. Still brings a lump to my throat when I say it. We love our Drae!

The kids brought their scooters and rode them for the walk this year. Kyson made it the whole way!

Debbie and Jade came all the way from Atlanta for the walk. We love you guys!

Drae's Dream Team raised over $12,ooo!!! Suzie and Daniel did such a good job with the fundraising and are model parents to anyone who has a child with Cystic Fibrosis. They go above and beyond with everything with Drae. She is so lucky to have them! Thanks to everyone who came and supported our family. With all of your help we will find a cure for "Sixty-Five Roses!" Live, Love, Breathe, Drae!

I Want to be Like Rapunzel

2011-05-11T11:09:00.000-06:00

That was the excuse she gave me for cutting her hair! What Rapunzel's hair is long so why would you cut yours shorter? "I cut Rapunzel's hair and then I cut mine." Awesome! We have been trying to grow her hair out and she goes and cuts it! Good thing we have Aunt Breanne to fix it!

She ended up cutting off about 5 inches to help try and blend the bangs Camree cut.

Pretty awesome when your hair dresser comes right to your house. Good thing she could come over because Camree had dance Pictures that day.

All done and ready for pictures. Such a pretty little thing!

I have to admit I LOVE her hair this length. I think it looks so cute on her.

Thanks Aunt Breanne for fixing my hair!

And Bubba lost another tooth all in the same day!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T16:17:00.000-06:00

Being a Mom is better than I ever imagined! I love being called Mom and I love these kiddos more than anything! They do drive me crazy every once and a while but it is soooo worth it!

We also had Camree's family party on Mother's Day. She was so excited to have her party at Neema and Papa's house. Birthday cake round two.

I can't believe my baby girl is four!

Do you like our wrapping paper?????

Then it was Mom's turn. Do you think she liked her present?

We made her cry. Mission accomplished! I love my Mom. When I was young and we would get in a fight I would tell her, "I am never going to do that when I am a Mom." Now that I am a Mom I want to be just like her! I love my Mom in law too she obviously knew what she was doing because look at my Rob. They don't come any better! Love all of the Mom's in my life and am so grateful I am one too!

BaSeBaLl

2011-05-05T22:54:00.008-06:00

This spring Kyson decided he wanted to play baseball and soccer.

He looked so cute in his baseball pants!

Standing on first base. He was so excited he got a hit!

Coming in for the run!

Playing outfield. Good job Kyson Mom loves watching you play.

Ooh-la-la.....

2011-05-02T22:34:00.002-06:00

Look who's Turning four! My sweet little Cc! She woke up on the morning of her birthday to her room decorated! She was so excited for her birthday this year!

Later that day we had her friend party. She wanted a Fancy Nancy birthday party. She is such a girly girl so I knew this party would be perfect! This was her invitation. She came with me and helped pick out the paper for it.

Kyson stayed home from school so that he could help out with her party. They had to eat lunch on the kitchen floor because the table was all fancy for her party!

Camree couldn't wait for her party to start!

Even Presley got fancy.

When the girls got there I read them one of the Fancy Nancy books. Then we had a relay race to get the girls all fancy! Now that they were decked out ready to go we had to see who could walk the most proper by placing a book on their heads!

Then it was time for some fancy food and Birthday cake.

After cake each girl got a plain purse and got to make it as fancy as they wanted! We then played pin the jewel on the tiara. We had to give it some bling, bling!

Last Camree got to open her presents.

All the girls left decked out as fancy as can be! Camree LOVED her party and I have to admit I had a pretty good time planning it. Happy Birthday Camree! We love you!

5 Months Old

2011-05-01T16:02:00.001-06:00

I can't believe this little munchkin is already five months old! Time is going by way too fast!

I can't get enough of you little miss Presley! We are so happy you are part of this family!

Hee Haw Farms

2011-04-27T23:17:00.003-06:00

I heard from a friend about this farm and how they have all of these baby animals that you can hold. I knew my kids would love it so a few of us headed off to Hee Haw Farms!

The first thing the kids wanted to do was hold the baby animals. This little goat was the sweetest thing.

Camree loved this little goat and kept asking if we could take it home.

They had pony rides.

Camree was too scared to ride on the real pony so she rode on a swing one instead.

They had this giant slide that they made on the side of a big dirt hill. The kids LOVED it!

Hay Jump.

Camree did not want to jump off the hay she just wanted to crawl around on it instead. She is so funny she is such a chicken right now.

And of course we had to go back and see the baby animals one more time before we left. The kids had a blast! We will definitely go back again.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T22:54:00.001-06:00

Looks like the Easter Bunny found our house!

Finding Easter eggs.....

All decked out in their Sunday Easter Clothes.

Ha, so glad I realized her bow was on top of her head before I took the picture. Oh well, Rob was still at the church so I was on my own!

My three cute kiddos. I feel like it is so hard to get a picture of the three of them together so we just take what we can get at this point.

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you had a great day. We did!

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-22T16:47:00.000-06:00

The week after we got home from Arizona Rob's cousin invited us over for dinner and an Easter egg hunt.

Hunting for Easter eggs.

We dyed some eggs too.

Thanks Adam and Emilee for having us over we always have a good time!