Memories made.

More than anything I wanted for Christmas was to be with my family. I wanted to be in my home, singing Christmas songs around the piano while my mom played the piano, making myself sick on fudge, reading my dad's creative poems to find my gift, and to be around the ones I love most in the world. I got to do all of those things and more and I feel like my cup has been filled and is running over!

Ge down on the floor playing with the kiddos!
Decorating sugar cookies with the aunties!
Cousins meeting for the first time!
A whole lotta Laughter, Love, & Craziness!
Silly boys!
Warming up in the hot tub!





The children's Christmas wishes came true too!

Drew got more train tracks. Ian got a new blankie, just like his old one he lost, made by our Christmas Angel Aunt Marilyn. He was so excited to find it stuffed down in the bottom of his stocking. It is the ONLY thing he asked for.


Owen received not only a Thomas the train set, but he also can now be Thomas!

Grandma made Mya a beautiful picture to hang in her room with all the information on it from when she was born. I treasure this too!

It was a wonderful Christmas spent making memories with family and remembering the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

A White Christmas

Kenny's Christmas wish was for a white Christmas, not only for him, but for our boys. He wanted them to be able to experience all the fun of SNOW!!! We couldn't have his Christmas wish come true if we were in California, so we packed up our bags and started in on a two week vacation to Colorado and Kansas! We decided to drive instead of fly so we could spend time with both families. I was very nervous to be in the car with our kids for four long 10-12 hr. days, but they all did marvelous. We only watched one movie each day and the rest of the time was spent playing new games like mile marker and the alphabet game. It was a trip Kenny, the kids, and I will always treasure.

Sledding down a hill on top of dad was a blast!
Finding a mule deer in the pasture was....interesting. The head traveled with us to KS for Uncle Ty!
Digging tunnels in the snow with cousins burnt lots of energy!
Snow, kinda bland, but still devoured by Drew!
Skating around on Ice with Grandad!

We had so much fun experiencing a white Christmas, but I sure was happy to return to sunny California.

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

In between buying presents, wrapping, making yummy treats, decorating the house,and attending several parties, there is the task of sending out the Christmas letter. Since I have started blogging, I have put Kenny in charge of the letter. Of course this is one of the last things to be checked off our "to-do" list for the holidays. A picture needed to be included this year since we didn't have one last year due to running out of time. Luckily, thanks to a last minute request (BEG) to my ever so talented friend Darcy, we have some amazing pictures! Huge thanks to Darcy for squeezing us in between all your photo shoots this weekend.

*There are more photos of Mya, not because she is the most adorable, because she's not (hehe), but Darcy took them for her 3 month pics.

These big boys sure do love their little sister!

Our letter will be sent out soon!

HO, HO, HO

On Friday night we had our annual church Christmas party. The boys were excited because they knew Santa would be coming. I was a little nervous of how Owen would react to Santa, but to my surprise he LOVED him. He went right up to Santa, climbed in his lap, and said, "Thomas." After his turn he kept going in the "exit" door and walking up to Santa and just staring at him. He was mesmerized by his countenance, or maybe he was just trying to figure out why Santa sounded and kinda looked like one of our good friends Mason! Drew asked for more train tracks because I guess our huge tub of train stuff isn't enough. He said he wants a million pieces so he can make a ginormous train. Ian asked for his blankie, which has been missing now for three weeks! He has prayed for it and now has only one request for Christmas, his blue and white cloud blanket he's had since he was a baby. I'm really hoping his Christmas wish comes true, or we are going to have one really sad little boy on Christmas morning.

Owen just looking sooo cute!
Santa and the boys! After I got this picture someone asked me where Mya was and I am sad to say this, but I completely forgot about her! So I then felt guilty and woke Mya up so she too got her turn to meet Santa for her 1st Christmas.
Isn't she just so precious!

As we left the church that night we looked on the roof for Santa's reindeer, but it was too dark to see them. Maybe next time.

Let the Games Begin!

Drew running in the light blue shirt and Ian standing in the far back just watching!

Today marks the boys first day of playing a real basketball game! It wasn't as fast paced and it didn't come to them as naturally as soccer, but fun nonetheless. The team ages range from 5-7. Luckily we were able to sign Ian up even though he is still four, since he will be turning five during the season. However, maybe not such a good idea. We missed the one and only practice because we had a Christmas party, so as we arrived for our first game today I was a little nervous for Ian. He hasn't really ever played before and doesn't have the interest for the game like Drew does. I was hoping his height would make up for his skills, but much to my surprise Ian and Drew were the shortest kids on the team! Drew loves basketball and was running up and down the court, dribbling, shooting almost every time he was given the ball (we will work on that), and made two baskets. Ian....lets just say he needs ALOT of practice. The coach had to constantly tell him where to go, to watch the ball, to dribble the ball, to put his hands up....etc. The coach at one point told Ian as he demonstrated, "To dribble you have to bounce the ball up and down!" Every time Ian put his hands up in the air he did wiggle his little fingers, which coming from a mother who was a cheerleader, he did have great spirit fingers! They were both fun to watch and I look forward to seeing their progress over the season. Practices twice a week will surely help. I hope!

And the BEST Uncle award goes to......

Drum roll please, Uncle Gabi! Ian has become a little obsessive with sending letters in the mail to Catherine's new husband Gabi, to the point where Gabi feels like he has a stalker. Ian will color or scribble a picture for him, throw in some money (only pennies I think), write on the envelope his name, randomly place a stamp on the envelope, and beg to go to the mailbox. One day he sent out three letters to Gabi in one day! In almost every letter he sends he asks for Gabi to send him money and to write him back. Now I don't understand why he has chosen to harass Gabi because both Grandma and Ge have sent him letters and money, plus have more money than the newly married, struggling through law school guy, but for some reason his letters keep being sent to Uncle Gabi. Every night Ian runs to the mailbox in hope of getting a letter from Gabi. He has even called him and told him that he needs to send him one, but almost every night we have had to tell him that he didn't get any mail. His response, "Gabi is not a good mail sender!" So last night I opened the mailbox and what did I see? A letter addressed to Ian from Uncle Gabi. I handed it to Ian and he said, "Is this for me?" He quickly opened it with so much excitement and exclaimed, "This is so Awesome!" Gabi had made his day, week, month! Gabi sent Ian a Transformers coloring page, a coupon for pizza, a sweet note, and a check for $5.00! I told him he needed to call Gabi and tell him thank you and so he did, but when he called him he said, "You are a stinky Pete and can you send me $100 next time!?" Ian is such a character, but so is Gabi, really they are like on the same level, that is why I think Ian adores him so much. Thank you Gabi for being such a fun uncle and for making Ian so Happy!


So just as I pushed the publish post button Ian came up to me with $260.00 I had hidden, obviously not well, and said, "I need an envelope because I need to send Gabi some money!" He was very mad when I took it from him and told him to go find some coins. I'm going to have to start checking his envelopes before he seals them!

Season 1 Comes to an End :(

Drew and Ian's first soccer season has come to an end. I am a little sad about it because we have all had so much fun watching their excitement and improvement in their first team sport. They had a great season and loved being apart of a team. They were awarded trophies and a medal at the end of season pizza picnic. They loved having both sets of grandparents and aunties there to cheer them on at a few of the games.

So one season down, but ready to try our hand at another sport. Basketball season starts in a week and Kenny could not be more excited! He actually wanted me to sign them both up to play not only in our town, but the town next to ours so the boys could have double the practice and games. I vetoed the idea very quickly. I might have to have the "Don't live your dreams through your children" talk. So stay tuned for future posts on how our little basketball players are doing.

Owen and Dogs

So today Owen had some very close encounters with dog. Not actually the four legged furry creatures, but with what the furry creatures produce. I noticed his shoes while at the park covered in something brown. Not only was it on his shoes, but it was also on his legs and hands! I made Shawn Patterson smell it to confirm and yes it was indeed dog poop, not mud. I spent the next twenty minutes wiping down Owen with a baby wipe and using a stick to wipe dog poop out of his shoes. DISGUSTING!!! We got home and I immediately slipped his shoes off in the garage. The boys then ventured into the backyard while I nursed Mya. Kenny comes in for lunch, looks out the back, and asks me why Owen is outside with no pants on. I reply that I don't know and go back to Mya, thinking, I'll let Kenny deal with this one. He goes outside and Owen announces he went pee-pee on the tree, excellent I think in my head this is why I love having boys, I don't have to take them to the bathroom. Then Kenny notices our dogs licking at something in the grass, he goes closer to the unidentified object in the yard, looks down at it and starts yelling at the boys, "Who pooped in the grass?" Owen starts shaking his head up and down and announces, "I poop in the grass!" So then I spend the next twenty minutes bathing him in the bath, again cleaning up poop! I guess in Owen's world if dogs can poop in the grass than why can't he. So lets all do our part people and clean up after our animals and I will try to do the same for my son!

Weekend Getaway!

I love yearly when it is time for Kenny to go and get his continuing education credits for the year. It is always a fun excuse to use it as a mini vacation for some family fun! Last year it was Hawaii...sigh... I do wish I could say that we went there again, but this year we stayed close to home, since I still do not feel 100% after my c-section. So this year we went to San Diego and had a fantastic time. We have been to San Diego now several times, since it is so close to us, and have done Sea World, the zoo, and the wild animal park, so we tried to find some new exciting things to do while there. Here are some of our favorites:

1. Our hotel - we stayed at the Embassy Suites and I can not tell you how much I love there breakfast in the morning! Omelets, made to order, pancakes, sausage, donuts...YUM! Of course the boys loved the fruit loops! When we first arrived at the hotel I took the boys into the public bathroom while Kenny checked us in and it smelled like vanilla. Drew took a deep breathe in and said, "I love this place. I think they have a Cold Stone in here!"

2. The seals - Kenny loves going to La Jolla and seeing the seals. Its amazing seeing so many of them just sleeping in the sand and being so close to them. Mya slept through her first seal experience.Kenny and the boys watched the seals climb up on the nearby rocks as they swam in the big waves.


3. The point - we drove down to the point and toured a real light house and looked at tide pools. The boys, Kenny included, about gave me a heart attack with how close they were standing next to the edge of the slippery, big, rocky, cliff. The waves were so large that the water was splashing up and getting us wet.



4. Trains, Boats, Bikes - we did it all! We took a train from downtown inland to a Cheesecake Factory. That was the boys favorite part. We took a boat to Coronado Island and went on a family bike ride along the coast. That was my favorite part!
I couldn't stop smiling at how we must look to the people walking by us. This bike could fit up to 8 people! I definitely want one for home, but man was it a workout. Kenny of course did most of the work and was really feeling the burn! He doesn't want one...
5. The Cupcakery - this was the cutest little store I have ever seen. Yes you pay over $3.00 a cupcake but how can you resist when they look so cute. Owen loved trying to feed his to the seagulls.
We had a fantastic getaway and I think Kenny learned some new things too at his conference. I can't wait to see where we go next year. I really am hoping for Maine :)

Halloween 2009

I love Halloween, however this year I wasn't really on the ball. Decorations did not even go up until Kenny brought them into the house a week prior to Halloween and costumes were decided the day before the festivities were to begin. Drew wanted to be Darth Vader, so that one was easy because we already had the costume. Ian wanted to be Spiderman, but our Spiderman costume was too small and due to last minute shopping, we were unable to find one for him. So he went as Obi One Kenobi, whoever that is! I was told it went along with Star Wars, which I have never seen, but I thought how appropriate to go along with Drew. It was even super cheap, which is one benefit of last minute costume purchasing! I do feel bad because Ian kept coming up to me and saying, "Mom who am I?" I promise to do better next year! Owen wanted to also be Spiderman, so he got the costume out of our prop box and was easy to please. Mya was a flower, thanks to my mom getting her a costume. I was a witch and Kenny, well of course he wouldn't dress up because he is too mature for things like that!

The Aunties are Here!!!!!

Carol and Cat arrived on Sunday and the boys could not be more happy! They love their aunts because they are given so much attention and play monster with them. Ian was ecstatic about their arrival because grandma Summers gave the boys a gingerbread house to decorate, but told them to do it with the aunts. It was on the top of the "to-do" list and has now been completed and nibbled on.
So here is the picture of the box that I told the boys they could use to help them decorate the house.
Here is the Finished Prodcut!
Not quite like the picture on the box, but it was their first time putting together a gingerbread house! This is what a craft done by 2,4, and 6 year old boys looks like.

Drew and Ian hard at work.
Owen just really liked eating all the candy!
The construction crew!

The Family Help Continues....

My parents departed and Kenny's parents arrived. I am so grateful for them coming out to help us after my c-section. It was so nice to have them here and so nice to have the extra hands. I'm not sure how I am going to do this mothering thing by myself. I have been so fortunate to have such supportive family. Currently, Mya is doing great! She has gained a lot of weight and now even has some rolls. She continues to be smothered/loved on by her brothers and is easy going. The older boys love to hold her, but continue to call her a him. Owen continues to call her an it. He always says, "I wanna hold it. I wanna tiss (kiss) it! So toot (cute)!" We do think she is pretty cute! I love having a girl! After 4 c-sections the recovery has been harder after each one. I am still sore, but getting stronger each day. I can't wait to feel like myself again, so I can "mother" my four children.

Grandpa Summers meets Mya
Loves from Grandma Summers
A mighty miracle occurred while Grandma was at our house. Do you see that leafy green being placed in Owen's mouth? Owen, our only child who would not eat fruits and vegetables, was converted over this week to a fruitatarian while grandma was here. I was truly amazed as grandma told Owen to open his mouth and Owen obeyed. He didn't really seem to enjoy the whole vegetable experience, but he chewed and he swallowed upon grandma's request! Truly a hallmark moment in my eyes. He now eats carrots, broccoli, green beans, salad, and some fruits! I'm not sure how long it will last, since grandma has returned home, but I now know it can be done, even if not that enjoyable.

Three Generations of BYU Fans!

Drew and Ian got to go to their very first football game while grandpa was visiting. How fitting that their first football experience was going to a well loved, by dad and grandpa, BYU game. BYU played San Diego in San Diego so it was a perfect game to attend. The boys loved going to the game and are now true BYU fans themselves. BYU won which made it even more spectacular! I'm glad they were able to have this experience with their grandpa summers and Kenny.

After a week and a half of Kenny's parents being here we now move onto Kenny's sisters being here for another week and a half! I can't wait!