{On the Go}

Drew loves nothing more, than being outside hiking and climbing!  However, he hates it when he is having to be told to slow down or that we are stopping to take a break.  This makes it hard for him to hike with the whole family because he often gets very annoyed with Owen and Mya.

Kenny got off of work early and Ian and Owen were off playing with friends, so Kenny took advantage of some one on one time with Drew and took him on a hike up Stegosaurus rock.  Drew loved hiking with his dad and I'm sure Kenny told him all about his hiking adventures on the Monument from when he was a kid.

 Drew looking down over the Grand Valley.  The Grand Mesa and the Bookcliffs are in the background.

 Independence rock is behind Drew.  Drew loves living next to the Colorado National Monument!

We have lots to explore!

Drew has started collecting snake skin!

He finds them on hikes and brings them home to put in a jar.  This is a boy who loves being outdoors in nature!

*The funniest thing Drew said this year:  After he looked at a picture of hunters with all the pheasants they shot laying at their feet he asked Kenny, "Do they HATE nature?"

He will never be a hunter and I am ok with that!

{Mya's Birthday Celebration}

Yesterday Drew turned 10 and today Mya turns 4!!!  I love getting to have 2 days of birthday celebrations in a row.  Its hard for me to believe that I spent 6 years being pregnant, nursing, or dealing with an infant.  Those times were hectic, but some of the happiest days of my life!  I love being a mother and am grateful for the sweet babies the Lord entrusted me with.

 Mya is my little Princess!  I am so glad that I finally had a little girl to help balance out the craziness in our home that comes from having boys!  She is smart, kind, beautiful, and so important!  She is sassy and can definitely keep up with the boys, but is very tender hearted.  She loves to be in control and loves to play mommy.

 We always start the morning with a special birthday breakfast!  She requested donuts!  She definitely has my sweet tooth!

 She was so excited for her birthday and couldn't wait to open presents!  Anytime we went to the store she picked out at least 10 things she said she wanted.  (Drew is at the age where bunny ears are hilarious.)

 She wanted a new back pack for preschool.  

 Pink fuzzy slippers to match her pj's and a new book!

 Annoying brothers and princess puzzles!  She loves to put puzzles together and she and grandma do them together.

 Seriously, this girl has to put up with so much from her 3 older brothers!  I think she is more mature than the 3 of them combined!  Again...so grateful for a girl at the end!

Grandma and grandpa introduced Mya to I-hop which has become her favorite place to eat!  We went there to celebrate with pancakes and ice cream!

We started our day celebrating and we ended it celebrating! 

Mya picked out her funfetti cake mix, sprinkles, and candles.  She and grandma made it together.  

Mya, I hope you always remember how wonderful I think you are!  I enjoy all the time we have to hang out with each other and for our special "M&M" (Mom and Mya) time we share!  I love jumping on the trampoline with you and listening to you giggle the whole time we jump.  I love watching you with baby Penny and how you say, "I am going to be a mommy soon and you the grandma!"  I wish I could keep you 4 forever, so that I can always twirl you around the room and snuggle you to sleep!   You will always be my little girl!  

xoxo ~Mom 

{Happy, Happy Birthday Drew}

Today my oldest, Drew, turns 10 years old!  Since this kid started walking, I swear the years have flown by!  He is such a remarkable young kid and I am so proud of him.  He brings me so much joy and I am grateful to have him as my son!

Drew understands the importance of starting the day off with a healthy meal.  Every morning he requests eggs, homemade wheat bread, and berries for breakfast.  If I try to give him cereal he gets grossed out!  I appreciate he likes healthy food.  He is my kid who doesn't care for sweets and can eat several plates full of vegetables.

Drew bleeds blue and is an avid BYU fan!

His dad brain washed him well!

When we moved here the school started selling yo-yo's.  They have become very popular and Drew has really taken a liking to them.   We bought him this one after he played with it at the toy store and he even purchased another one with his birthday money.

I went to the school to eat lunch with Drew and brought him his #1 favorite food right now.  Nacho cheese Dorito taco's from Taco Bell.  He eats at least 3 and thinks they are pretty fabulous!

Birthday Shoes!

Drew HATES to shop and throws a fit if I make him go into a store, reminds me of Kenny still today!  He was in desperate need of shoes and I needed to measure his foot, so I dragged him kicking and screaming to the shoe store.  I told him he could pick out any pair he wanted and that I would take him to Cold Stone if he would just cooperate.  He ran right up to these shoes and said, "I want these, lets go!"  I reminded him that he probably needed tennis shoes for hiking and p.e., but he didn't care.  I forced him to buy tennis shoes too and told him that he could have both pairs, since he liked these.  We went to ice cream afterwards and told him, "I would love for someone to force me to go buy 2 pairs of shoes and reward me with ice cream for doing it!"  He thinks his shoes he picked out are cool and I couldn't agree with him more!

I loved getting to eat lunch with my birthday boy!  I think he is such a cutie and I adore his freckles!

After we ate, I joined in with Drew and Ian for a little football!  I only got the ball thrown to me once and I missed it, so after that they looked past me, so I just took pics!

Drew plays football everyday now at recess and as we go around the table at night during dinner discussing our favorite things about the day, he always responds, "Football!"  I watched him play and I think he is pretty good!  He has had a few interceptions and touch downs.  He is small, but boy is he speedy!  We might have a future BYU football player on our hands!  :)

Ian's team made me smile!  They kept huddling and discussing their next move!

Drew doesn't like cake and wanted some ice cream sandwiches.  I love how easy this kid is! 

Drew received this shirt in the mail from Aunt Cat and Uncle Gabbi.  Now that he lives in Colorado he has to become a Broncos fan to fit in!  He was very excited about the shirt!

 Drew, I love you more than you will ever know!  You are my sweet angel and I am grateful for the wonderful example you set for your siblings.  Your dad and I couldn't have asked for a better son!  You work so hard at all that you do and have so much fun energy!  I love to watch you hike and out on the soccer field and basketball court.  Playing tetherball against you is one of my favorite things to do together, however, I am sad that you can now beat me!  You are a great pogo stick jumper, bug catcher, and map drawer. I hope you love being 10 and I give you permission to stop growing now!  I love that I am your mom!

    xoxo ~Mom

{Service}

In the Book of Mormon, we read in Mosiah 2:17: "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God."  I love this scripture and feel strongly that it is important to teach my children to serve others.  I know that the Lord blesses us when we serve.

A woman from our new ward, Sister Gunderson, got into a serious bike accident.  She bruised her spinal cord, leaving her unable to use her arms and legs.  We have been praying for her recovery and I was hoping to find some way in which we could help their family.  

On Sunday they announced that Sister Gunderson's, garden needed weeded, and vegetables picked.  I jumped at the chance to go and to take my kids there so we could serve her family.  We went for Family Home Evening to her home and the kids had a great experience learning about a garden and felt good about being able to serve.

Owen dug potatoes up and was shocked that they came from under the ground!

The boys favorite part was picking the carrots!  

I can't wait to grow our own garden some day and to have so much yummy produce right out my front door!  

{River Trail}

According to Kenny, growing up in Grand Junction as a child was the BEST!  He had wonderful friends that he spent a lot of time with and who he still keeps in contact with today.  He and his friends grew up being outside.  When they weren't out hiking, they were riding their bikes, or going on weekly walks along the river trail.  He and his church friends would meet there every Sunday with their dogs and let the dogs play in the river.  Kenny is trying to relive his childhood for our own kids!  He wants our children to grow up being outside playing, rather than sitting in front of a tv.  I couldn't agree with him more, so we are bringing back the tradition of weekly walks along the river, with the dogs of course!  

Shelby, Cassie, and Leo hit the doggy jackpot when moving here!  They went from a small back yard to 6 acres of land to play on.  However, once the cold weather comes, they might miss sunny Califonia!

The beauty all around us here is breathe taking!

Drew never likes to stay right on the path and ventured down and discovered a waterfall!

Owen likes walks when he gets to play around in water and mud!

Ian had to fight the urge to not jump right into the water!

I am grateful for the time my kids are getting to spend with grandparents!  

 Leo, didn't love the water much, but Shelby and Cassie love to swim!  Drew threw a stick out to Shelby and the current took her out pretty far and I thought she was going to drown right in front of my kids, but Kenny kept saying, "She'll make it!"  She did finally get to the side, but it was scary.  Kenny then told me that he had to go in and rescue his black lab Duchess when she was a pup from the current!  I now have a healthy fear of the rushing Colorado river!

Ian started a rock collection and learned about the different types of rocks in school.  

Its safe to say, that the walk along the river trail was a hit for our kids and I look forward to many more walks with them there!  Now I just need to convince our walking partners, the Pattersons, to come from California to walk with us!

{Showing Off}

My parents played such a huge role in helping us be able to purchase All Pets Center and we will forever be grateful for all they did for us.  We were excited for them to see the practice and to see the town that we now call home.  We loved showing off all that Grand Junction had to offer!

My parents stayed in a hotel the first night, so we went to their hotel to swim.

Mya got to swim with granddad for a little bit, before the boys got a hold of him!

The boys hung all over my dad like he was an older brother!

My Dad showed them who's boss!

We spent two days touring the downtown Main street area.  It was fun going into all the little shops.  My dad was taken back a decade or two as he walked around a record store and was shocked to see pipes being sold there.  We probably came out of the store a little more happier than before we went in!!!

We met a new friend:

Mya wasn't too sure about him, but he sure was a pretty bird and he liked to be shown off!

The main street was filled with vendors and Ian fell in love with the long boards.  He now is requesting one of these for Christmas!

He had fun showing off his newly acquired skills!

Mya loved going for a roll!

The main street shows off "art" next to the stores. 

Ian and Owen's favorite downtown art display!

Our Bishop from church, owns Hart Music, so we went in there to play!  

We definitely jammed in that store for quite awhile!  The kids liked to show off their musical talent!  I couldn't get my kids to leave, until I told them the toy store was the next shop!

The toy store was just as much fun as the music store!  Getting Ge to leave this store was difficult!  Each of the kids fell in love with toys at the toy store and now have a lengthy Christmas list already!

Our next stop was to the candy store, which I can't believe I did not get a picture of.  It was like an old time candy store and the kids loved picking out candy from wooden barrels.  I came home with a bag full of taffy!

We called it a day after spending 2 days shopping downtown.  Its a great area and I can't wait to try out more of the restaurants.

We left the main street area and headed up to the Mesa where my parents got a room up at Powder Horn ski resort.  It was so beautiful and peaceful up there.  We had fun feeding the chipmunks peanuts and by the end of the week they were eating nuts from my dads hand and off my moms flip flop!

We celebrated Drew turning 10 and Mya turning 4 a little early.  Ge surprised Mya and Drew with the toys they wanted from the toy store downtown.  They were so excited to have a cinderella lego set and a new marble run to add to our collection.  

We played games into the night...and

swam in the huge bathtub!

We woke up to play more games and then went out and hiked around the beautiful Mesa countryside.

I have such fabulous, fun parents!

We loved being outdoors and I quickly grew to appreciate beautiful Colorado.

We found several red mushrooms and told the kids they found where the Smurfs live!

Owen and Mya believed me :)

Drew, in his element!

  We hiked along a beautiful trail around a lake.  The kids practiced skipping rocks.

Owen, our non nature boy, really started growing a love for the open outdoors!

Mya found the perfect stump to watch the canoe on the lake.

The whole day we were hiking, Ian kept saying he wanted to catch a fish.  Well unfortunately we didn't have any fishing gear, so we told him he would not be able to.  However, anything this kid sets his mind to, he usually accomplishes!  He found a string with a hook on it in some rocks and made his own little fishing pole out of a stick.  Sure enough...he caught a little fish!  We were very proud of him and he couldn't wait to show off his fish!

We played so hard while Ge and Grandad were here that we officially wore Grandad out!  He fell asleep on this picnic table after our lunch.  This is grandad's second picnic table nap that I know of!  His previous picnic table nap was in California at the park by our house.  I guess we tend to wear him out and he has to escape some how!  

We had such a great week with my parents and were sad to see them leave.  I am grateful that we live closer to them again, so we can spend more weeks together playing!