Colorado Gropps Blog

Concrete

2011-11-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I can't seem to get pictures to load on here, so I will just tell what is going on.

We have been on a break for a month with the house. The VA required soil testing, which took a month to get back.

Now the soil is good and we are rolling again. Last week, before Thanksgiving, they poured the footers and stem walls. This week they will be putting in the plumbing and finishing the foundation. Hopefully they will start on the frame at the end of the week.

I will come back next week with an update and hopefully pictures.

New House

2011-10-15T19:52:00.001-07:00

So, it has been six months since my last post.

Long story short, Kyle got the Chief Pharmacist job and we are staying in Cortez forever.

So, we decided to homeschool (that would be another post) and to build a house.

We found a great piece of land (3.5 acres) outside of town with great views in a new subdivision.

They broke ground last week, but it has been slow going due to VA inspection problems.

Here is the view of the La Plata mountains from the house.

Here is the flattened parcel where the house will be.

They are digging the footings.

They are laying gravel for the driveway.

All the footings are dug. The lines are dug and laid for the plumbing, phone and electricity.

We are waiting on the VA inspector so they can pour concrete. The framing was supposed to start next week, but now we aren't sure.

I will try to post each week to show the progress on the house. They originally told us we could move in by Thanksgiving, but with these set backs it might be December.

Updates

2011-04-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't updated this blog at all this year.

We moved into our rental house while waiting to find out if we are staying in Cortez or moving somewhere else.

Here are some random pictures of things we have done in the past few months:

We went sledding @ a friends house.

Cole had his eighth birthday.

He got new scout stuff for his birthday.

Here he is in his new cub scout uniform.

Kyle and his brothers in Spanish Fork when we went to see Jim's new baby.

Cole's baptism.

Here are the cousins together for Cole's baptism.

Cole and Kaleb enjoying warmer weather while riding bikes around the house.

That is what I have today. That catches me up until the beginning of March. I will make it back sometime this week to get me all caught up.

Thanks for keeping in touch!

Christmas Day

2010-12-25T10:03:00.000-08:00

After all the presents were opened and all the wrapping paper was cleaned up, we had a big Christmas breakfast to start the morning off right (bacon, eggs and caramel sticky balls).

Then every one went off to play with their new stuff.

Cole and Landon went to play with their new wii games together.

Kaleb went to go watch is new movie.

Then they decided to put their Star Wars Legos together. That was harder than it looked on the box.

Dad played Wii Resort basketball.

and I went off to my computer to look at the pictures of the day and post them here.

Today we plan on staying in our pajamas all day, play with our new games, watch our new movies and snack on goodies and leftovers from yesterday's party. It is going to be a great day!

Christmas Morning

2010-12-25T09:53:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning the kids woke us up early (but not until it was light outside) to open presents. Here are a few things they opened (not in order).

All the boys got a keyboard to share. We are going to have them take piano lessons next year.

Kaleb was excited about his new church clothes.

Each boy got a new wii game and movie.

I got the fablehaven book series and hunger games book series.

Kyle got this scout's cookbook and super mario wii game.

Here is Landon with his wii game. The boys also got clothes, games, books, candy and legos.

Landon made this at school for us. It is a poem and his handprints made into an angel.

Landon's stocking stuffers.

Cole's stocking stuffers.

Kaleb's stocking stuffers.

We all got lots of good stuff! We are super grateful for everything we got and all the blessings we have in our lives.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-25T09:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve during the day we had a couple of families over to eat a Christmas dinner and play games. Then we went and participated in the Live Nativity at church.

After we got home from church, we let the boys open one present. They got sleep bottoms and underwear. Here are their new sleep bottoms.

There were tons of presents under the tree, including used skis for the kids.

After they changed into their pajamas, we sang Christmas songs, read the Christmas story from the Bible, played Monopoly deal and had egg nog. Then we sent them off to bed. It was a great day!

Christmas Eve Nativity

2010-12-25T09:41:00.000-08:00

We participated in our traditional Live Nativity at church on Christmas Eve.

We love this tradition because it helps us remember what Christmas is all about.

Kyle and I were Mary and Joseph.

Landon was a wiseman.

Kaleb and Cole were shephards.

The kids really enjoy this tradition. We get to dress up in fun outfits and see the real sheep and a donkey near the manger. There was no snow on the ground this year, which was alittle unusual. Most years I would be upset about that, but considering that we move in 2 days, I will be thankful for the warmer, dry weather.

Sold!

2010-12-25T09:38:00.000-08:00

We closed on our house Wednesday, Dec 22.

It was very satisfying to see the sold sign out in front.

Now it is time to move out and move on with out lives. We aren't sure exactly where that will be yet, but we are feeling blessed to sell the house so quickly and easily.

Snowman Building

2010-12-22T19:29:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the boys building several snowmen in the backyard.

They are great snowman builders! We haven't had much snow this winter, but they enjoy it when the get it!

Landon's School Christmas Program

2010-12-18T11:35:00.000-08:00

Landon had a school Christmas Program last week.

They sang songs and got to wear pointy hats.

This was all the kindergarteners in the school. They were so cute!

Afterwards they had hot cocoa and Santa came to visit. It was a good evening.

Our new home

2010-12-15T21:27:00.000-08:00

This is our new rental house. It is a cute little place just south of town on 2 acres.

It is alot smaller than our house now, but it will be sufficient for our needs for now. It is 3 bedroom, 2 bath with 2 living areas. It also has a big shed out back to store the rest of our stuff.

Our little house on the prairie (for now). We move in Dec 27.

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-15T21:22:00.000-08:00

For this FHE, we made Christmas sugar cookies.

The kids love frosting cookies and putting sprinkles on them.

Kyle humors me while I take pictures.

They love to eat them even more.

Yummy.

I think this is their favorite FHE of the year.

Christmas Lights

2010-12-15T21:16:00.000-08:00

Even though we are moving out 2 days after Christmas, I still wanted to do alittle decorating.

We just put lights on the porch and in the yard this year. We didn't put any on the roof because we would have to take them down so soon and we didn't want it to be in the snow.

I still like how it turned out.

Here it is during the daytime.

I like the bows on the porch.

These are new this year. I think they are cute.

Decorating the Tree

2010-12-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

We usually decorate the tree the day after Thanksgiving, but since we just got back from Texas, we did it for Family Home Evening on Monday.

The kids love looking at the ornaments and picking out their favorites.

Kaleb wanted to wear the santa hats while decorating the tree.

Dad always puts on the star.

I love the pictures with the glowing lights. It feels so warm to me.

Here are the boys with their hats on in front of the finished tree. This will be the last time we celebrate Christmas in this house. We moved in Christmas Day 2006 and we will move out 2 days after Christmas 2010. We sold the house and will be moving to a rental until we find out what is happening with Kyle's job.

Snow!

2010-12-15T21:00:00.000-08:00

The last hour of our trip home was slow going because of a snow storm with very icy roads.

The kids got up early to play in the snow before school.

Landon loves to play in the snow on the trampoline.

So does Cole.

Cole's snow angel.

Happy snow angel!

Homestead Fair in Texas

2010-12-15T20:50:00.000-08:00

We went to a homestead fair in Waco with Da and the Holloways.

The kids got to see farm animals like cows, goats, and chickens.

They even got to hold some baby chicks.

Kaleb and Landon got their name printed on bookmarks with an old print shop printing press.

Kaleb had fun playing with cousins, especially David.

Jessica enjoyed watching the animals too.

We learned how to make many things on your own and how to be self sufficient. It was an educational day.

Thanksgiving at the Gropps

2010-12-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

We had our third Thanksgiving Dinner @ Da's house in Waco.

Cole helped make the appetizers.

Here are all the cousins at the kids table.

The adult table. Maycie seems to jump from table to table.

Baby David loves Meme's rolls. We had an amazing dinner and several days of fun with the family.

Charlie Brown on Ice

2010-12-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

While at the Gaylord Texan, we went to a Charlie Brown Ice Show.

The ice sculptures were amazing. They were based on the cartoon Christmas movie.

This was a real ice slide you could slide down.

I love this amazing ice nativity scene.

Here are the boys in their jackets. Everyone is given a jacket at the beginning of the show because it has to stay 9 degrees inside to keep the sculptures from melting. It was an amazing show and the boys liked it too.

Visiting the Gaylord Texan

2010-12-13T15:40:00.000-08:00

Also with Grandpa and Ann, we visited the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, TX.

It is such a fun place with tons of stuff going on.

The kids posed for pictures for me and met santa.

An elf made balloon swords for the boys.

The three musketeers. We took bets on how long the swords would last.

The decorations inside the lobby were magnificent.

That was our first time to visit the Gaylord Texan. I would love to go back in the summer and see what they have going on there.

Thanksgiving with Mamaw and Papaw

2010-12-13T09:38:00.000-08:00

We ate one of three Thanksgiving Dinners at Mamaw and Papaw's house on Tuesday with Grandpa and Ann.

Landon ate lots of turkey, cake and icecream.

Ann got this cool turkey ice cream cake for the dinner.

Here are my handsome boys in front of Mamaw and Papaw's house.

Here are Mamaw and Papaw Slate. They are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this year. That is amazing!

The boys love to try to beat Papaw at checkers, but they never do. We had a great time with family and we were glad we got to see them while we were in Texas.

The Trains @ North Park

2010-12-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

Our next stop was to visit Grandpa and Ann for a couple of days.

One of those days we went to see the big train set up at North Park Mall.

The boys really enjoyed the display.

They had scenes set up from all over Texas and the United States.

And a big train going around a Christmas tree.

I don't think boys ever grow out of trains.

I love this fall scene. It is my favorite season.

It was a fun place and the boys had a great time.

Trip to Texas: Mimi's house

2010-11-30T12:08:00.000-08:00

Our first stop on our trip to Texas was to Mimi's house for 2 days.

While we were there, Christi and her kids came by to visit. The kids had fun playing together.

They enjoyed petting the horses and looking at the other animals.

Landon likes to ride on David's old saddle in the house.

Mom letting some hay out for the goats.

Cole helped feed the goats and take the buckets out. We had a great time at the ranch and was glad to see Mimi too.

First Snow!

2010-11-30T12:01:00.000-08:00

We had our first real snow before Thanksgiving this year.

I love how the house looks under snow.

It wasn't a ton, but enough to get excited about.

The boys made snow balls on the way to school.

We had do dig out all the snow gear and get bundled up for school.

Kaleb threatened to hit me with the snow ball, but he didn't.

Winter has begun in Colorado.

Cortez Swim Meet

2010-11-30T07:16:00.000-08:00

The boys competed in their first swim meet this month.

Kaleb getting ready to go.

The pool before the meet.

Kaleb and Cole in the same heat.

Kaleb doing the back stroke.

Landon getting help to the blocks by his coach.

Landon getting his info written on his arm by coach Sarah.

Cole helped with the call board when he wasn't swimming.

Kaleb helped with the timer.

Cole got his info on his arm. He swam 2 events and a relay.

The boys all did great at the meet. They are great swimmers and we are so proud of them.

Halloween

2010-11-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

The boys had a great halloween! We went to two parties and got lots of candy.

We didn't even need to trick or treat on Sunday because they already had so much candy.

We did pass out candy for a little while, and then we hid out in the basement and watched movies the rest of the night. It was so fun!

Landon was Zorro.

Cole was GI Joe "Snake Eyes".

Kaleb was a ninja. It is no coincidence that they all are dressed in black with swords.

Pumpkin Carving

2010-11-17T07:35:00.000-08:00

We carved our pumpkins the Family Home Evening before Halloween.

Kyle worked on one for the both of us.

The boys all picked out the designs they wanted and worked hard on their pumpkins.

Kaleb and his pirate pumpkin.

Landon pulling out the seeds of his pumpkin.

Cole posing for the camera as he cuts the top off of his pumpkin.

This tradition is one of my favorite FHE's we do all year.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.

I just love the Hauser's pumpkin patch. It is so beautiful there.

This is one of my favorite places in town.

Here the boys are posing for the camera. They love picking out their pumpkins at the patch so we can carve them later.

Kaleb took this picture of Kyle and I.

Here are the boys with their pumpkins. It was a great day!

Selling the House

2010-11-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

We are putting up the house for sale. We have several places we are looking at to transfer, so we thought we should go ahead and put the house up for sale.

It took me over a month to get the house ready. Alot of cleaning, organizing and getting rid of stuff. Lots of painting too!

I will miss this house. It is our first home to buy and we have had alot of great memories there.

Here is the listing:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/638-Alameda_Cortez_CO_81321_M23433-98132

Fall pictures

2010-11-16T14:26:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics I took while we were hiking:

3 handsome boys!

Landon.

Kaleb

Cole.

Geo-Caching

2010-11-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

Kyle got a new GPS device recently. Along with that came a new family hobby: geo caching. Geo caching is where people set a little treasure box for other people to find using latitude and longitude.

There are sites all over the globe. Some of them are harder to get to than others.

On our camping trip we found 3 caches. When you find a cache, you log in the book, take a treasure and leave another treasure for the next person.

The boys really love this modern day treasure hunting. They love to see what is inside the box and figure out what they should leave for others.

It is a fun activity for the whole family. We even bought a container so that we can set up our own geo cache as a family.

Fall Camping

2010-11-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

We went camping up in the mountains over the weekend this October.

I just love to see the changing leaves and snow on the mountains in the background.

Our campsite was beautiful and we were the only ones there. That night we found out why: it was really cold at night.

We took a scenic hike on the mountains edge so we could see the changing colors of the valley below and the snow white mountians in the distance.

The boys were semi-cooperative when I asked them for pictures.

We had fun that night. We cooked hotdogs and roasted marshmallows.

The next day we drove around the mountains and found a few geo caches. It was a great weekend!

Kaleb's 9th Birthday

2010-11-16T14:00:00.000-08:00

Kaleb celebrated his 9th birthday with a quiet party at home.

We took him to the store and he picked out a new bike and helmet with his birthday money.

This new bike is much better than the old one. It was too small and got ruined in the snow last year.

We had Star Wars cupcakes as a family and he picked chicken nuggets for his dinner. It was a great birthday!

Homecoming Parade

2010-11-16T13:54:00.000-08:00

The boys participated in the hometown homecoming parade this fall.

One of my webelos scouts got to carry the flag for the parade.

All the boys got to wear masks and beads and throw out candy.

Landon.

Kaleb.

Cole.

It was a fun, small town moment.

Spokane

2010-11-16T12:28:00.000-08:00

We went to Spokane, WA on one of the mornings when we went to Coeur d'Alene, ID.

We saw the Spokane Temple.

We went to Riverfront Park in Downtown for a little while. These running statues were pretty fun!

It was such a pretty day and all the flowers were still in bloom.

The gondola wasn't open yet, so we took a hike down to the falls.

The falls were pretty and cold.

Spokane is a great city. I hope we get to go back there sometime for alittle bit longer.

Trip to Coeur d'Alene Idaho

2010-11-16T07:55:00.000-08:00

We took a trip to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for Kyle to have an interview for a transfer for work.

My camera did something funny and erased the pictures I took. So these are just a couple I took with my phone. It doesn't do the lake justice.

It is such a pretty place.

The kids enjoyed playing on the beach. I would love to go back there one summer for vacation.

As far as the job, we don't know if he got it or not yet.

Fall Harvest

2010-11-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful garden this year and therefore I had the biggest harvest yet.

Tomatoes.

Cucumbers which I canned into pickles and dill relish.

I used the tomatoes, jalepenos, green onions from the garden to make about 30 quarts of salsa.

I got about 10 pumpkins out of the garden, in various sizes. They make for great decorations. Not sure we will be eating them.

I also got lots of zucchini which we ate, froze and made into bread. Yummy!

I hope to have such success next year!

Mesa Verde with the Robertsons

2010-11-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

On Labor Day weekend, the Robertson's came to visit us. On Saturday we went to Telluride, but my camera battery was dead so I didn't get any pictures. Sunday we went to church and hung out around the house. Monday we went to Mesa Verde (Kyle had to work) and I got lots of fun pictures.

Here is the whole gang together.

We had to climb up and down the huge ladders to get to the ruins on the tour.

We saw lots of ruins, petroglyphs and other fun stuff.

The boys enjoyed the time spent with cousins.

Even the babies listened to the speakers and were pretty good on the hikes too.

It was a wonderful weekend. We love seeing family and having them visit.

Cole's first tooth loss

2010-11-15T15:04:00.000-08:00

I am catching up on the blog this week. I hate to get so behind because it takes me several days to catch up.

Cole lost his first tooth the day after the first day of school.

He was so cute! He is getting so big!

Lost Pictures

2010-09-15T19:26:00.001-07:00

I am having some computer problems and lost atleast a month of pictures. I still am very upset about it, but I can't do anything about it. Let's just say I hate Windows Vista and am upgrading to Windows 7 (and eventually a Mac).
Here are some scrapbook pages I did recently. Besides the first one, they are made with the missing pictures (mostly back to school).

Cole lost his first tooth:

First day of 3rd grade for Kaleb:

First day of Kindergarten for Landon:

First day of 2nd grade for Cole

Hopefully I will get the pics back, but if not I have these pages to save. Maybe if I had been better at updating the blog we would still have these pics on here. Live and learn.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2010-09-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

Mine is doing wonderful this year! Everything is growing like crazy! We have had alot of rain in August, which has helped.

Look at all that green!

I have a ton of banana peppers.

Lots of green beans too!

I canned salsa, green beans and dill relish so far. All that yummy homemade canned food. I love harvest time.

Out on the lake

2010-09-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

We took the canoes and some other boats out on the lake with some friends one weekend. Kyle loves the canoes (he borrowed from the boy scouts).

He could stay out there all day.

A lazy day on the lake. It's summertime!

Cole went out with a friend of ours fishing. He caught a couple of small fish, but threw them back.

Landon took a ride with me on the canoe and then in a friends paddle boat.

Here is Cole fishing from shore. He loved it.

What a great summer day at the lake!

Waterfall hike in Telluride

2010-09-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

We took the Webelos on a hike up to the waterfall in Telluride, CO. It was a nice hike and a beautiful day for it. Kyle, our friend Michelle, and I took the boys on the hike for their Outdoorsman Badge.

Group picture before the hike. You can see the waterfalls in the background.

Michelle took our picture in front of a smaller waterfall on the way up to the top.

Here is the waterfall. We ate lunch here and the boys played in the water. We have had alot of rain, so the falls were pretty strong and underneath was pretty muddy.

Another group picture, this time in front of the falls at the top of the hike.

I was so glad the weather held out and we didn't get rained on. I would recommend this hike to anyone. It was a great day.

Trip to Ogden

2010-08-02T12:55:00.001-07:00

We took a trip to Ogden, UT a couple of weeks ago for Kyle's work. We spent several days in Odgen at the hotel, swimming and going to the park. Also while in Ogden, we went on this crazy hike up to the waterfall at the top of a mountain.

Here are me and the boys overlooking the Ogden Valley on our way up to the waterfall.

It was hot, so Kyle gave the boys a dip in the river.

It was a hard, up hill hike, but I finally made it to the waterfall. It was beautiful and cool and so tiring.

After Kyle's work conference, we went up into the mountains to camp and hike. We found this great spot to camp and went on a 8 mile hike through the forest.

We found this great spot to play in the river on our hike. It was refreshing and the boys had a blast in the water.

At the campsite, the boys set up their tent and we had some yummy campfire food. We stayed in camp 2 nights and then headed home. It was a great week with the family.

a Day at the Pond

2010-08-02T12:43:00.001-07:00

We have spent several days this summer at a our friends the Smith's pond. They have a great pond on their property with a trampoline, paddle boat and little beach to relax on with the family.

Cole had a great time at the pond.

They had lots of their friends there and spent the whole afternoon playing in the water.

Everyone that goes out there has to wear a life jacket.

The kids liked to jump off the trampoline into the water. They also enjoyed the paddle boat and catching fish.

On the other side of the pond, in the trees, was this buck that was watching over us while we swam. This is really zoomed in but it was kinda fun to see him over there.

We had so much fun at the pond! It was a great summer day!

Landon's 5th Birthday

2010-08-02T12:33:00.000-07:00

We had a big birthday bash for Landon's 5th birthday. We had a Toy Story 3 theme and 13 kids showed up.

The birthday boy had a great time with the hotdogs and cake and ice cream.

He got lots of fun gifts.

His cake wasn't so cute, but it tasted yummy.

We had water games including water balloons, water guns and a slip and slide.

Landon really enjoyed the water games.

It was a great party! Happy 5th to my baby!

What's going on this summer?

2010-08-02T12:22:00.001-07:00

Here are a few odds and ends pictures from things we have done this summer.

We got a cement walk poured by the front door and a sprinkler system in the front yard.

Kaleb has participated in several scout outings, including this one at the Anasazi Heritage Center. As the Webelos leader, I have participated in outings with the older cubs too.

Kyle took some boy scouts on a bike ride from Cortez to Durango (50 mile ride). He had been wanted to bike this road for awhile and felt a sense of accomplishment when he finished.

We stayed with Jim and Candace while in Utah for Kyle's half marathon. They have a beautiful new home in Spanish Fork.

Kyle and his cousin Adam finished the utah valley half marathon. This was a big goal that Kyle had been working on all spring. I was so proud of him.

What a great summer!

Our Garden

2010-08-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

We expanded our garden this year by 3 more boxes (9 total).

We planted tomatoes, 2 colors of green peppers, banana peppers, jalepeno peppers, green beans, cucumbers, pumpkins, onions and squash.

Here is what it looked like when we first planted.

and a couple of weeks later.

This is the banana pepper plant. We have already harvested lots of banana peppers, jalepeno peppers and one squash. I think I will get enough green beans this week to eat for dinner.

Gardening is so fun and great when you have the right climate. I love it!

Playing at the pool

2010-08-02T10:55:00.001-07:00

During the summer, one of our favorite places to go is the local outdoor pool. The boys are great swimmers and enjoy the water.

Here is Cole in the water. He loves to swim in the deep end.

All of the boys love the slide. Even Landon can go by himself on it now.

Kaleb loves diving off of the diving board too.

Landon has been taking swimming lessons and is very comfortable in the shallow end now.

We try to go to the pool twice a week when the weather is nice. It is a great way to spend a summer afternoon.

Catching up!

2010-08-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I have updated the blog. I am going to try to do a few catch up posts before I get to what is going on now. After school got out for the summer, we spent May and June on the baseball field.

Kaleb and Cole were on the Dodgers team together. They had an undefeated regular season.

Landon was on the Rockies tball team. He is learning fast how to hit and throw. He really enjoyed playing ball like his brothers.

After the regular season, the Dodgers played in the tournament for the championship, but lost their first two games and they were done. They are really getting good at baseball and had fun playing on the same team.

With baseball over at the beginning of July, we had the rest of the summer to keep ourselves busy with other things. More on that in the next post.

Our Trip to Texas-Lynnae's House

2010-04-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

The next few nights we stayed with Kyle's sister Lynnae in Bryan. The first full day we were there, it rained all day. So we decided to go to Grand Station-an entertainment place for kids. We went bowling, played laser tag, glow in the dark mini golf and arcade games.

My hand was hurting after 2 bowling games.

This was the first time the kids had gone bowling. They really enjoyed playing with their cousins.

Kyle beat us all (of course). It was a fun filled day of food and games. Luckily, we will have better weather the next several days of the trip.

Our Trip to Texas-Grandpa & Ann's House

2010-04-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

We spent one night @ Grandpa and Ann's house in Forney. We took the kids to the park down the street to play for awhile.

They really love the climbing things.

What a bunch of monkeys!

We also played at the house. Here are Kaleb and Ann playing checkers.

The boys also played Wii with Grandpa.

We had a nice visit, even though it was short. We love visiting family!

Our Trip to Texas-Dallas Zoo

2010-04-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

We went to the Dallas Zoo with Grandpa and Ann on Sunday afternoon.

I love this picture of Kyle and I:

Kaleb was drawing a turtle in the children's area.

Landon is almost as tall as an Emperor Penguin:

Here are the boys at the zoo entrance:

We waited in a long line by the petting zoo so the boys could each ride a horse.

They all enjoyed it, even though they only got to go one time around.

It was a beautiful day for going to the zoo and we had a great time with Grandpa and Ann.

Our Trip to Texas-Mamaw & Papaw's House

2010-04-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

Our first stop on our trip to Texas was 2 nights @ my grandparents' house.

The kids love playing with their great grandparents.

Landon enjoyed playing outside in the same rock garden I played in as a child.

Here is their house.

Kaleb and Cole enjoyed trying to beat Papaw @ checkers and connect four.

Landon helped Mamaw take birdie (the dog) for a walk. It was a nice day, although still alittle cool.

We enjoyed seeing the Slate's and visit with them. While there we were there we shopped in Mesquite and saw Alice in Wonderland in 3d. The kids LOVED that!

Watching the Olympics

2010-04-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

After our difficulty watching the Super Bowl online, we decided to get an antenna for the roof so we could watch the Olympics. It was so fun to watch all of the winter sports.

I really enjoyed the skiing, ice skating and snowboarding.

We are really trying to find a way to go to the Summer Olympics in London 2012. If we can save the money and find someone to watch the kids, we are definately going!

Music in the Park-Moab, UT

2010-04-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

While in Moab, we found this city park that had outdoor musical instruments.

The boys thought this was really fun.

Drums, xylophones and more. . .

Too bad we don't have something like this closer to home!

It was a great distraction from the cold. Lots of fun!

HIking in Arches NP

2010-04-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

Kyle had President's Day off from work, and was really anxious to get out and hike. The weather said it would be warmer (atleast the 40s), so we decided to drive to Arches NP in Moab, UT (about 2 hours away from home).

When we got there, there was still alot of snow on the ground.

The kids weren't really up to hiking in the snow, but after the drive we told them they didn't have a choice. It was cold and windy, but it didn't snow on us.

There is something cool about snow in the desert. It was beautiful. We hiked to landscape arch, which is hard to see here because it blends into the background.

Here are my boys in front of the arch.

It was a nice little vacation for our family. Even though it was cold, we had fun together.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-04-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day! We got a babysitter for the morning and went to the Monticello Temple with our ward and then lunch. Kyle's dad is in town with his girlfriend, so they went with us. It was a wonderful day!

Super Bowl 2010

2010-04-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

We watched the Super Bowl at home, just us. It was really snowing heavy outside, so the kids went out to play in it.

Cole was still grounded, so he had to watch his brothers build a snowman from his bedroom window.

Kyle and I watched the game and had lots of snacks. We had the tv connected to the internet, which kept having problems. Not the ideal watching experience, but it worked okay.

We didn't really care who won, but it was still fun to watch.

Cole's 7th Birthday

2010-04-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

Cole celebrated his 7th birthday February 5th, 2010. He got in trouble at school the day before and then again that weekend, so we didn't celebrate his birthday until the next week (when he got finished being grounded.) That night though we went to a basketball game at the local high school and had fun.

Cole got some great gifts and hopefully learned some lessons the hard way.

Happy Birthday Cole!

Cross-country Skiing

2010-04-13T12:04:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I have a lot to catch up on. I will start where I left off in January. . .

Kyle and I went out to our friends (the Partington's) home to go cross country skiing. Ang went out with us. It was the first time any of us had cross country skied, so we weren't sure what to expect. It was more difficult than I expected, but we had fun and enjoyed the pretty winter day.

Snowshoeing

2010-01-23T09:19:00.000-08:00

Our family went snowshoeing with the cub scouts on MLK Day last monday.

Here is our family pic. We had so much fun.

Kyle relaxing in the snow.

Here are the cubs and all the other boys that came.

Landon, Cole and Dad on the hike.

And here is the guide that taught us how to wear the shoes and led us through the forest.

We really enjoyed snowshoeing and may have to get some shoes for our family.

MLK Peace Walk

2010-01-23T09:09:00.000-08:00

We participated in a Peace Walk around the park with Landon's preschool for MLK day.

There was snow on the ground but it was sunny and pretty warm.

We had a big group for the walk.

It was fun and educational for the kids.

Some of the kids made peace signs.

Peace. Love. Joy.

New Years Eve 2009

2010-01-23T08:53:00.001-08:00

So we spent New Years Eve at home this year.

We had lots of snacks and goodies.

We watched Harry Potter 1 & 2. Cole and Landon fell asleep during one, so we put them to bed and started two.

Kaleb made it through both movies and stayed up past midnight. He was so excited!

Welcome 2010!

Christmas Day 2009

2010-01-22T12:11:00.001-08:00

So Christmas day was spent opening presents and playing with new toys.

Here are some of my gifts.

And the book I got for Kyle.

Landon and his gifts.

Cole's new sword.

Kaleb's goodies.

Then we had a big Christmas breakfast.

And we played some card games the kids got in their stockings.

Kaleb played with his sword outside.

Landon loves to ride his new scooter outside, even if there is snow on the ground.

And then we watched a Christmas Story on our new flat screen (& blue ray) that we got ourselves for christmas. So much fun!

Christmas Eve 2009

2010-01-22T11:59:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I am alittle behind posting these. We had a wonderful Christmas. Christmas Eve we spent at home. We made and frosted christmas cookies. We played games and watched movies.

Yummy!

The boys opened one present before bed-their new sleep bottoms and underwear.

And here is how the tree looked before we went to bed. Nice and peaceful.

Kids School Christmas Program

2009-12-30T07:20:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures and videos from the kids' Christmas Program @ school:

Cole with his teddy bear for the song.

Video of one of Cole's songs.

Kaleb with his class.

Video of Kaleb's class singing.

The kids were so cute and did a great job singing.

What happened to December?

2009-12-30T06:49:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pics of the things that have been happening this month:

First, I forgot I hadn't posted any pics of our new "grown up" furniture that we got in October.

Mindi and her family came to visit us for the weekend on their way home from Thanksgiving in Wyoming.

This was our Christmas present to ourselves. I think I posted that we switched our playroom in the basement to a movie room. So for our present we got a new tv and blu-ray player for the movie room. We love it!

Santa came to visit Cole's school and gave away books.

Kyle took the boys skiing. They got the ski rentals for the whole season as part of their Christmas present. They took lessons the first day and were really good at it.

I took a weekend trip to Texas to see my little brother Dustin graduate from college @ Texas A&M University-Commerce.

We participated in the live nativity at church again this year. It is a nice way to remember the reason for the season.

Snow Day!!

2009-12-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

Today is a snow day for us. No school (but Kyle still had to go to work.) The snow started yesterday morning, and by the time the kids got home from school it was several inches deep.

(some of the pics are fuzzy because I kept getting snow on the camera lens).

Landon went out first, before his brothers got home, and explored the backyard.

Landon catching snowflakes on his tongue.

Jumping on the trampoline.

and swimming on the trampoline.

When his brothers got home, Landon asked them to help him make a snowman.

Cole helped Landon make a snowman with a big ball on the bottom.

Here is their snowman.

Kaleb made his own snowman.

Then it snowed all night.

When the boys found out there was no school, they wanted to go play in the front yard.

They made snow balls.

Here is a soccer ball Cole found out there.

Kaleb was working on making some snowballs to start a snowball fight.

And here are some videos from this morning:

what a great day to stay inside and have some hot chocolate!

Decorating the Tree

2009-12-08T10:05:00.001-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving we put up our Christmas tree and decorations. We decided to put it downstairs because there wasn't room in the front room with the new furniture.

Kyle pulled his hamstring Thanksgiving Day in a turkey bowl game, so he sat down and handed out the ornaments while the boys put them up.

The boys enjoyed looking at all the ornaments and putting them on the tree.

Kyle had to get up and put the star on. It is tradition.

Here is the finished tree. It is pretty small, but we have had it for several years now.

Here are my cute boys sitting in front of the tree.

Let the Christmas Season begin!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-12-08T09:44:00.001-08:00

So for thanksgiving we went out to the Derrick (Andrea's Dad's) Farm and had a wonderful time!

Kyle made Meme's rolls.

Here is the farm. Little farm house.

The boys like to watch the cows.

Wide open spaces out here. It was a nice day and you could see the snow on the mountains in the distance.

Here are my boys and Andrea's nieces. They had fun playing together.

The boys love going to the farm because they can play with the bows and arrows.

They all shot pretty well. This was Landon's first time and he loved it.

I stayed inside with the food and Emma. She is Cory's little girl and so cute.

After dinner, the kids watched a movie on the big screen and the adults played BUNKO. It was fun and crazy. We had a great thanksgiving and are thankful for such wonderful friends and family we have to surround ourselves with this time of year.

Trip to Denver

2009-12-06T21:47:00.001-08:00

So we had our second trip to Denver to get Cole's check up. He got a clean bill of health and we had a fun little vacation.

Here are the kids in the hotel room. They got some new books on this trip.

We went and saw the Denver LDS Temple.

We spent most of the day on Friday at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. They had so much fun stuff there, and I took tons of pictures.
Here are a few:

TRex as you come into the building.

The kids enjoyed the space exhibit.

And the hands on exhibit.

More hands on (looking for dinosaur bones).

Animal Exhibits (from all over the world).

and of course the dinosaur exhibit.

On our trip back on Saturday we got a ton of snow dropped on us over Wolf Creek Pass. Not where you want to be when the snow hits. It was scary (luckily I wasn't driving). We didn't use the chains we bought (just in case), but it took us longer to get home.

We had a nice little vacation, but I think we will stay on this side of the mountains until spring is in full bloom!

Veterans Day 2009

2009-12-06T21:19:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Veteran's Day by attending a program at the Elementary School.

We flew a flag out in our yard.

Here is Kaleb's part of the program.

Here is Cole in his part of the program.

A guy that works at the school talked to the kids. He is a former Marine that served in the Korean War.

There were several veteran's there to enjoy the program.

And here are some videos from the program:

It was a great day and Kyle was even able to see the show because he had the holiday off work.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-08T20:23:00.001-08:00

So it is mid November and I just realized I never posted the Halloween pics, so here they are:

Yes, that is Kyle with long hair. He passed out candy in his "old man winter" costume while I took the kids around the block. Halloween is CRAZY in our neighborhood, so we start early before it gets dark.

Landon aka Iron Man

Cole aka Transformers "Bumblebee"

Kaleb aka an alien

They got lots of candy. Here is a pic of them at the kitchen table, stuffing their faces with candy.

It was a good, fun night for everyone!

I looked out the window and what did I see?

2009-10-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

Snow before Halloween!
I was so bummed when I saw the snow this morning. Snow is alright from about November to February, but besides then I could do without. Fall is my favorite month, and it looks like it is going to be a short one. I hope this is just a fluke and not a sign of things to come.

Here is our house with the first snow. The roads were still clear, so that was good.

These aren't the pumpkins we carved, thank goodness. We kept those in the house.

My wood pile. I guess I won't be making a fire tonight.

Kyle just barbequed last night and now look at it.

Here is the car. The kids wore their snow gear to school, even though I was pretty sure we wouldn't get much snow the rest of the day. I was wrong! It snowed all day-- big fat flakes!

We are expecting more tomorrow and then hopefully it will go away for a month or so. I really don't want to take the kids our trick or treating in the snow. Yuck!

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-28T14:27:00.001-07:00

So for family home evening this Sunday, we carved our pumpkins that we picked at the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago.

Cole doesn't mind getting gooey.

Kyle helps Landon carve his.

Kaleb was really getting the hang of it this year.

Here is Cole's pumpkin (he had a little help from dad too.) the incredibles.

Here is Kaleb's pumpkin that he did almost all by himself.

And here is Landon and dad's.

And here they are all lit up. Hopefully they will make it until Saturday, so we can put them out for the trick or treaters.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Soccer pics

2009-10-23T10:10:00.001-07:00

I found this post that I had started a while back and didn't realize I hadn't finished it.
Anyways, for the month of September and most of October we spent 4 nights a week at the soccer field.

Kaleb and Cole were on the same team. They played well together most of the time and are both really picking up their game.

This was Cole after blocking a shot while playing goalie.

What was new this year is that it was Landon's first year to play. So now his brothers got to take their turn watching him play after all those years of the other way around.

He really picked it up pretty fast, although some of the bigger players intimidated him. Of course he has watched his brothers play, so that should be some advantage.

This was his angry shark face they were making during practice.
I don't have any official pics, but as you can see they are all pretty athletic.

I don't know if Kaleb will play next year (the next step up in levels), so we'll see. The older boys will not be playing in the spring because of baseball, but hopefully Landon will.

Annual Pumpkin Patch Visit

2009-10-18T13:31:00.001-07:00

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch just outside of town this weekend. I love it out there because it is so quiet and peaceful. It is also beautiful with all the orange pumpkins against the mountains in the background and blue sky.

I got a great picture of my boys with the pumpkins.

So handsome!

Kaleb with his pumpkin!

Cole wanted to prove how strong he is by carrying his pumpkin.

Landon posing for the camera as always.

Chris and Les came with us too.

They enjoyed trying out this old tractor. What tough guys!

I love this pumpkin patch and this family tradition. Next week after Kyle gets back from his work trip to Alaska, we will carve the pumpkins!

Kaleb's Baptism

2009-10-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

Kaleb had his baptism last night. We had several visitors in town for the event: Chris (Da), Great Uncle Les, Uncle Jim and Aunt Candace.

Kyle performed the baptism and Chris performed the confirmation. It went well and we had a dessert reception afterwards at the house.

I can't believe I have a child old enough to be baptized! Amazing.

Kaleb turns 8

2009-10-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

My oldest child is eight years old! I can't believe it.

For our gift, I painted his room and we got him this bed spread and blanket for his room.

We had a birthday party for him and some friends on Saturday.

Here is his Star Wars cake.

We had a great party and he got some fun gifts.

Also, with this birthday we decided to retire his baby blanket. It was getting pretty worn out and he didn't use it much anymore. We wanted to preserve it for the future. So now he has his new Star Wars blanket on his bed to take it's place.

Kaleb will be getting baptized on October 17th. He is very excited about it.

Chicago Day 3

2009-09-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to putting up pics of our last full day in Chicago.

Kyle had training in the morning, then we picked up a Cubs game in the afternoon.
We got there late and the Cubs lost, but it was still fun. Wrigley field has a lot of history behind it, so it was great that we got to go.

These are statues of iron legs in Grant Park. They are really tall and cool to walk through.

This is the building where Dr. Richard Kimball got his man in the Fugitive. I love that movie and there are landmarks of the city all through the movie.

This huge statue was cool too. I always thought it was a painting and didn't know it was a statue.

This is the Chicago river. Every hour this water shoots across it.

That night we took a sunset cruise down the Chicago river and into Lake Michigan. My night pics are kinda blurry, but it was a great experience. Chicago is a fun city and I am glad I got to go with Kyle on his work trip.

Chicago Day 2

2009-09-16T20:13:00.001-07:00

Day 2 in Chicago-Thursday.
Today we took things a little slower. We woke up a little later.

Here is our hotel for the first 2 nights.

We took a walk through Lincoln Park and around the area. When we got tired we hopped a cab back to the hotel.

We spent the afternoon at the Museum of Science and Industry. Kyle really wanted to go here because they were having an awesome German UBoat exhibit.

This is U505, which was captured in WWII by the US and is the only one we have in the U.S. We took a tour inside and then learned all about its capture and what life was like inside during the war. Scary stuff.

After dinner, we went to the Art Institute of Chicago for the evening. Kyle just had to pet the lion!

It was dark at the museum when we got out. It was a clear, gorgeous night.

Also, that night we switched hotels to one closer to Kyle's training, which was by the airport. On Friday he spent the whole day in training and I spent the whole day in the hotel scrapbooking on my computer. It was wonderful! If you want to see what I got accomplished, just go to www.scrapmommaof3.blogspot.com for by digi scrap blog.

More about our last day in the next post.

Chicago Day 1

2009-09-14T15:15:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pics from our first full day in Chicago. They are kinda in random order and these are just the highlights:

Navy Pier. We strolled the pier, shopped and rode the ferris wheel.

Buckingham Fountain.

Willis (formerly Sears) Tower. On the observation deck on the 103rd floor there are 3 boxes that you can step out into made of glass. While you are in there it feels like you are floating that high up. When you look down, all you see is the buildings and river below you. Freaky!

The Bean in Millineum Park. Cool statue that reflects the buildings around it.

The Art Institute of Chicago. Nice museum, but art museums aren't my favorite. I like the lions in the front.

The "L" Train. We rode on the elevated train/subway all week.

Uno's Pizzaria. Where deep dish Chicago Style pizza was invented. It was yummy but took 45 minutes to bake.

So we were going non stop all day and tried to fit in as much as possible. It was a great day!

Back from Chicago

2009-09-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

Kyle and I went to Chicago last week while my mom watched the boys. Kyle had a training session there for work, so we went a couple of days early to see the sights. We got back last night and I have lots of pics to post. Hopefully I will get to them soon.
Anyways, we're back!

Landon's first day of school

2009-09-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

So, Landon started his second year of Preschool today. He has the same teacher in the same room with most of the same friends as last year.He was excited about starting and didn't even look back as I left. What a big kid!

Here is his teacher Kristin. As I said, he had her last year and Kaleb had her for 2 years also.

I went to help with lunch today, so here is a pic of him eating his lunch.

And playing on the playground. Riding the bikes is his favorite thing to do out there. He goes round and round the track (sidewalk).

So, today was my first day of peace and quiet for a few hours. I went and worked out at the rec center, did some laundry, took a shower and worked on the computer. Not really exciting stuff, but it was nice.

First Day of School 2009

2009-08-31T18:37:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day of school for Kaleb and Cole. They were so excited and decided to all wear their new star wars shirts on the first day.
They all got cool new clothes, backpacks, lunchboxes and lots of school supplies.

I got Landon in the picture too, but he doesn't start until Wednesday.

Kaleb is starting the 2nd grade. He loves reading and math and is excited about learning.Cole is starting 1st Grade. He has really gotten better at reading over the summer and has the same teacher as last year (she moved up). He is also excited about staying at school all day and getting to take his lunch.

Here are the brothers walking home from school on the first day. The school is right behind our house, so it is really nice that they can walk together.

As for Landon and I, we went to the rec center, grocery store and several other places by ourselves today. He will be in preschool in the mornings, starting on Wednesday, so there will be lots more quiet around here soon (peace at last).

What are we doing now?

2009-08-30T15:14:00.001-07:00

So, what have we been doing since we got back?

We have been fixing things up around the house. We had a garage sale to get ride of some stuff and then bought more stuff.

We painted the playroom, moved the living room furniture down there and are calling it the movie room now.

We moved some of the toys to the craft room, so now it will be the workout/craft/toy room. Since I do digital scrapbooking, I don't need all the space for crafting now.

We bought new bookshelves for the living room. We also bought new leather furniture for that room, but it won't be delivered for another 3 weeks.

We moved the chairs around in the family room to face the stove, now that there is no tv in there. We plan on adding more bookshelves in that room so it can be a library.
We also added a new ceiling fan to our room. We have needed that all summer.

Landon made his first official visit to the dentist. Actually all 3 boys went, but this was his first time.

My garden is growing like crazy:

I have tons of zucchini, my tomatoes, bell peppers and squash are growing like crazy too.

I don't know why all my pics are sideways.

Here is Cole playing with our rabbit Peter.
We have a new playground in town. They tore the old one down because it was dangerous.

The kids love it. It has a climbing wall which is really fun.

Is this called a tilt-a-whirl?

Landon loves the swings too.

So we have had a busy few weeks since vacation. School starts tomorrow and soccer starts next week. So I guess that means summer is over and it is time to get back into the routine again. Yeah!

Down in Waco

2009-08-30T14:45:00.001-07:00

Okay, I know it is taking forever for me to get these posted, so I thought I would just do one long post about the 3 days we spent with Kyle's family.
Thursday: we got there really late at night because we picked up Jim & Candace from the airport in Dallas and their plane was really late.

Friday: we hung out at the house and played with cousins. we also celebrated Emma's first birthday (Kyle's youngest brother's first baby).

Here is Emma and her mommy Andrea.

Here is Mindi (Kyle's sister) and her new baby David.

Here is Kyle's grandmother with baby David.

Emma wasn't sure about her birthday cake.

But she finally got into it.

Here are the cousins sitting in the backyard eating hotdogs for the party.

Saturday: we all went to Lake Whitney to go tubing, swimming and cliff jumping. The water was low, so they couldn't do much cliff jumping.

Baby Emma lookin cute in her beach hat.

Doug in his boat out on the water. We took turns going out in it and in the tube.

Kyle carrying the tube for tubing. He and the boys went out this time. I just rode in the boat.
Kaleb loves the water and the boat.

Sunday: we went to church with Kyle's dad and then hung out around the house the rest of the day.

Cole loves the scooter.
Keaton was great with the boys. He played with them most of the time. Here he is pushing Landon in the car.

Kaleb, Becca and Cailyn playing together. What's wrong Cailyn, too hot?

The adults came out to watch the kids play red rover. The adults played at first, but it was kinda dangerous because the kids wouldn't let go when the adults ran through.

Here are Jessica, Maycie, Cailyn and Kaleb playing Red Rover. They had a blast eventhough it was hot out there.

So, I finally finished the pics from the trip to Texas. We had a great time but were glad to get home and back to cooler temperatures.

2009-08-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

While in Dallas, Grandpa and Ann took us to the circus at the American Airlines Center.

I hadn't been to the circus since I was little and I knew the boys would enjoy it.
My pictures came out horrible. My favorite part was the elephants.

We ate cotton candy, which the kids quickly found out they didn't like. Their favorite part was the motorcylces and tigers.

The whole thing was amazing and exciting.

An elephant painting a picture. What will they come up with next?

Off to Grandpa & Ann's house we go!

2009-08-20T16:14:00.001-07:00

We spent 3 days at Grandpa & Ann's house. We brought our Wii games because Grandpa has a Wii at his house.

We went to a pool down the street so the we could beat the heat one afternoon.The boys love to swim!

It also wears them out so they sleep better at night. It was so hot that they couldn't just play outside for very long like they can at home.

We also went to the new spray park in town. They loved playing in the water and keeping cool.

It was wonderful! We went here 2 times during this visit.

In the same park they have a new regular playground as well.

They would go play over there and then when they got hot they would go back to the water.
It was awesome!

Here is grandpa and the boys on the morning we left:

We had a great time on our visit. I wish we lived closer so we could see each other more than once or twice a year.

Visit with Mamaw and Papaw

2009-08-15T08:52:00.001-07:00

We went to visit Mamaw and Papaw (my grandparents) on Monday after leaving Mimi's house.

We ate a wonderful lunch that Mamaw prepared and then sat around and played games. The kids love playing games with Mamaw and Papaw. Here Kaleb and Mamaw are playing Chinese Checkers.

Kaleb was determined to beat Papaw at checkers, but after a couple of games he got mad and gave up. I used to sit and play checkers with Papaw when I was younger and he never let me win either.

Landon likes to play with the old toys they have there. I used to play with this little house and it's pieces when I was little.
Here is Landon and Papaw with their dog Birdie. Birdie is good with the boys and gets excited when they play with her.

Here are Mamaw and Papaw and the boys. They love visiting their great grandparents. I'm glad we were able to go this year.

Visit with Mimi Bennett

2009-08-14T09:58:00.001-07:00

Our first stop in the Texas tour was to my mother's (Mimi Bennett) house in Bonham.

She has a farm with goats, dogs and lots of stuff to get into.

The boys liked checking out the goats. We couldn't play outside too much because it was just so hot!

We went to visit Grandaddy and Dolores in Dallas. We hadn't seen them since I was pregnant with Landon (who was grumpy and didn't want in the picture), so I am glad we got to visit this trip.

The rest of the time the boys just played around the farm and watched movies inside to stay cool.

We had a good visit. Next year maybe we'll be able to come when it isn't so hot!

We're back in Texas!

2009-08-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

When you see these signs in a rest area, you know you are back in Texas. We stopped overnight in Amarillo on our way to see family in Texas. Since it was just me and the boys, we couldn't drive through all the way in one day.

In Amarillo we stopped at a park for the boys to get out of the car and play for awhile.

We all needed the break. I miss Amarillo. It was a great place to live.

What a great start to our trip!

I give up!

2009-08-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

I haven't written on here in 2 months because life keeps going, I keep taking pictures and I keep getting more and more behind on this blog. So I decided to stop obsessing and just start over from here. So let me just tell you what we have been doing this summer and then start with pictures from now.
We have. . .
been going to the pool atleast once a week.
celebrated Landon's 4th birthday.
been keeping up with the garden.
playing Wii and board games.

We went. . .
to Boise for Grandma Gropp's funeral.
camping in the rain.
to Scout Camp (us for one night and Kyle for the whole week).
camping in Durango and by the Dolores River.
to Provo, Ut for the fourth of July.
to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house in South Jordan, UT.

and this past week we were in Texas visiting family. That is where I will start the pictures again. I am going to try to get better at this again. It will be easier when school starts at the end of the month.

We have had a great summer and now that it is winding down we are ready for school to start again.

Our Garden 2009

2009-06-23T20:49:00.000-07:00

We planted our garden at the end of May. We planted tomatoes, bell peppers, squash, cucumbers, little pumpkins and strawberries.Here are the plants we got from the store. The rest we planted from seed.

Landon really enjoyed helping to plant the veggies.

Cole was a great helper.

Dad was in charge of the planting while I took pictures.

Here are how the first 3 boxes looked. Kyle built 3 more boxes the next weekend and planted seeds in them. Hopefully I will take some more pics once you can see the plants in them.

Spring Baseball

2009-06-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

We spent almost every week night for the past 2 months watching ball games and practices. Kaleb is really starting to get the hang of the game. His regular season is over, but he will be starting a championship tournament next week with his team as the second seed.

Cole has done really well with t-ball this year. Here is his team photo. His season is over now.

At the end of the season they were playing with the coach pitching instead of the tee. Cole loved that so much and can really hit the ball.

Our first year of baseball is going well and I think we will definately do it again next year.

Catching up

2009-06-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I haven't posted in awhile. Alot has been going on in the past month. Lots of baseball/t-ball, school is out, Kyle's birthday, several camping trips and planting the garden. Not in that order. So I will try to play catch up the next couple of days with pictures.

Happy Birthday/Mother's Day to Me!

2009-05-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I forgot to post that my birthday was on Friday. Happy Birthday to me! I spent the day relaxing after a crazy week! It was wonderful! We got fast food for dinner, so I didn't have to cook. Kyle made me some devils food cupcakes that were delicious.

My birthday gift from my boys was the complete series of Friends on DVD. Since we don't have television anymore, I was so excited about this!

Today was Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all of you! I woke up to breakfast in bed! My present from my boys was:

this digital photo frame. This is something I have wanted for awhile. I put a bunch of pictures from our trip on it for now. It is awesome. Kyle is going out of town tonight (after work) for a scout camp school, so my Mother's Day is pretty much over. Short and very sweet!

Have a great day!

Opening Week for Baseball/TBall

2009-05-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

The boys have been going to practices for a month, but now they have started their baseball/tball games.

Kaleb is playing in the Micros (machine pitch) baseball for the Dodgers.

His first game they won 10-8.

This is his first year, so we are just trying it out to see if he likes baseball or not. We'll see.

Cole is playing tball for the Rockies.

This is his first year too.

In tball, pretty much everyone just gets several chances to hit the ball off the tee. And since no one can catch the ball once it is hit, almost everyone gets a homerun or triple. It is fun to watch.

So with both boys in baseball/tball, Landon and I are pretty busy watching games or practices almost every night of the week. Game on!

Our NYC Story: Day 9

2009-05-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

Now it was time to go home. We left at 6:30 am NY time and were supposed to arrive in Albuquerque about 12:30 NM time.Here we were above the clouds.

We had an hour layover in Chicago. They have the whole thing dressed up for their Olympic bid.So we get on the plane and take off. Then about 10 minutes later the pilot comes over the loud speaker and says he is turning the plane around and we are going back to Chicago because of an engine oil light that won't go off. So we spend another hour in Chicago and arrive an hour and a half late to Albuquerque. Boy were we glad to be home!

Our NYC Story: Day 8

2009-05-05T14:49:00.001-07:00

Friday May 1st:
Our last full day in NYC. We slept in and spent the afternoon in the Bronx.
We ate at Mario's italian restaurant. It has been there since 1916 (I think) and was mentioned in the book "the Godfathers" that the movie was based on. It is in Little Italy of the Bronx, which is bigger than it's Manhattan counterpart. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was cool too.
Then we watched a movie (XMen Origins: Wolverine) while we waited for the 7pm Yankees Game to start. The new stadium is really nice, although the rain was not.

Here is the inside of the stadium.

We sat way at the top in the cheap seats, but luckily they were covered. I think we had the best seats in the house because they were dry.

Great game and a great day (except the weather). A Great End to a wonderful anniversary trip.