Halloween 2011

 Taryn the skeleton in the school Halloween parade.  As much as I am involved at their school, this was the first year I went to the parade.  I never knew about it before.

 The pumpkins we carved.

 Getting all of the seeds out.

 Thor in the school parade.

 Our BYU cheerleader ready for school.  She loved being able to wear makeup!

 Reina was Tigger by day and a BYU cheerleader at night.

 A good friend of mine has one little boy Reinas age and then twin toddlers too.  We took the kids to the grocery store to trick or treat there.  Her boys were such cute little knomes.

 I made soup in these pumpkin bread bowls before they went trick or treating.

 This was our trick or treating crew.  Lots of kids from our neighborhood including Conway and Phoebe as Captin Hook & Tinkerbell.

 My 4 cuties.

The loot, with Aaron making sure that it is not poison. :)

Fall Break 2011-The Westgate Park City

Every year in the fall, my kids have two days off for fall break.  Lately, whenever we travel, we always go to San Diego to visit family.  Don't get me wrong, we love going there, but we wanted to go somewhere close that felt like we were truly on a vacation.  My friend Dara and I had been talking about going on a trip with our families together, so when we found a great deal at the Westgate in Park City, we were thrilled that they wanted to join us.  The rooms were tiny, but we still had a blast. 

 Reina was obsessed with the blow-dryer in our room.  Whenever we were in the room, this is what she was doing.

 You might be wondering what is in the picture below.  Well, the rooms all had kitchenettes and the maids left an oriental rice bowl in our fridge.  So we started the rice bowl war with our friends the Jakins.  First we left it by their door with a note saying they had ordered it from room service.  We had put whipped cream on top.  Then they brought it back with something added to it.  This rice bowl war went on back and forth for hours and some of the things that were added were:  mustard, bread, bananas, teddy grahams, a coffee fitler, a water bottle and other things.  It was funny and Aaron says it was the best part of the whole trip!

 The bowl progressed into notes being sent along with it.  The Jakins sent the note below in the words of Justin Bieber.  So funny.

 The bowl got truly disgusting.

 The sad part is that my camera never left our room, so I didn't get any pictures of our friends.

 We had a great time.  The kids were in and out of the pool.  They have the biggest pool in Park City and half of the pool is indoor and half is outdoor.  The weather was absolutely beautiful while we were there.

One of the best parts of our couple days there, was that Dara & I would get up every morning and go walking.  We are dorks and even had matching sweatshirts from the outlets.  The scenery was beautiful and I loved walking with her.  A couple other fun things we did was on the 2nd night the adults went to dinner and the kids got pizza in the room while we were gone.  Their kids are older than ours, so they babysat & we took Reina with us to eat.  Since the resort had kitchenettes, they cooked one meal and then we did another.  Thanks for going with us Jakins and let's do it again!

Welcome 2012

It is now 2012 & I have a ton of pictures to post, but wanted to journal a litlle update.  This year I would like to update my blog more on the little things that happen day to day that I don't want to forget.  The last few weeks have been somewhat of a blur of trials and immense blessings.
In Novemeber we drove to San Diego and had Thanksgiving with at Aarons sisters house and had a great, quick four day trip.  It was great to see eveyone and enjoy the warm weather.
We decided to spend Christmas with my family this year for the first time in 8 years.  We usually have Christmas at our house, but I really wanted to go home and we spent last Christmas with Aarons parents.  I am so glad I did.  As we drove down there, I got a call that my Grandma was in ICU.  She had pnemonia and ceptic posioning and they didn't expect her to make it through the night.  Aaron dropped me off at the hospital and it was hard to see her, but I was so glad I was there.  She hung on for a week and peacefully passed on December 30 early in the morning.  I am so grateful that Aaron took the kids to his moms and I got to spend 3 precious days with her before she went.  Monday, I will fly home for her services.  She will be dearly missed.  Who else has an 85 year oold Grandma that loves to discuss American Idol?
In other news: AARON HAS A JOB!!  Such a relief and blessing.  He will be working for an awesome firm (and has already started) with great benefits and it is a wonderful opportunity.
I am sure 2012 will be a great year for us and full of trials and blessing that come with life.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sweets plays BB!

This fall, Taryn played Basketball!  Taryn is a great runner and really learned a lot and enjoyed herself!

Taryn passing to her friend Brinley

 Taryn and Brinley were on the same team and had a lot of fun practicing during playdates!

She was a great sport and still her silly self making plenty of funny faces to us on the court.  Great job sweets, we are proud of you!

A few more pictures.......

 Reina loves it when Daddy makes her have crazy hair in the bathtub.  He has done this for all of the kids and they love it!

 Reina enjoying her 80 year old birthday dinner of scrambled eggs & oatmeal!

Daddy helping her roller-skate!

Reina is 3!

Reina turned three back on October 15th.  She wanted a Yo Gabba gabba cake but we couldn't find one anywhere, so we headed to Costco and she picked out a rainbow one instead.  We had a few close friends over last minute to celebrate with us having cake and ice cream.

Making a wish

Reina doing her crazy eyes.  She has been making this face since she was a bout 18 months old, and it cracks people up.  She is entertaining and funny and we are so lucky that she is in our family.

My 3 year old and I

Opening Presents

Reina and PJ

 A couple of days before her birthday, my friend Jennifer and I took Reina and her son Phineas to the Hogle zoo.  I had never been there and it was really nice just taking Reina somewhere exciting.  We had a lot of fun.

Reina is a character.  For her birthday dinner she got to pick whatever she wanted to eat.  The 3 older kids were asking her if she wanted McDonalds or pizza, or anything else that they wanted, but she was insistent on having her favorite foods.  Scrambled eggs, oatmeal, yogurt and prunes.  Yes, our 3 year old eats like an 80 year old.  Her favorite shows are Yo Gabba Gabba, Dragontales, My Big Big Friend, and we are currently having to moniter her addiction to the I-Pad.  She has been potty trained for almost 6 months and she runs all over us since she is the youngest.  She loves to talk and sleep in our bed and we absolutely LOVE her!!  Happy 3rd birthday Reina!

32

My favorite kids

Recently, I turned another year older.  It was nice because my mom was in town (we took a picture, but it was on her cell) and so Aaron watched Reina and the other kids were in school and my mom and I got to enjoy some lunch and shopping without kids along.  I really enjoyed it!

 The Ice cream cake that Aaron and the kids got for me. 




Making a wish

We went to In N Out for dinner with my good friend Devan and her kids and husband.  Aaron got me Toms which I have wanted for a long time, so I picked out the black sparkly ones and I love them.  A relaxing great day.  Turning 32 was no big deal.  I feel healthier in my 30s than I ever did in my 20s.  I have so many blessings and am grateful for the exciting life that I live.  I am truly happy.