BYU 14 - OK 13

So months ago Kenny started the planning of a "guys + Connie" trip down to Texas to go watch BYU play Oklahoma in the brand new billion dollar Dallas Cowboys stadium. He wanted all his friends from Grand Junction that he grew up with to meet him there, watch the game, drink a lot of Mt. Dew, and stay up late playing video games. He decided to include the dads as well and they all ended up having a great weekend. Never did Kenny imagine BYU ever defeating OK, but it happened and it made for even a more memorable weekend.
The Grand Junction Gang
They really did win!
Kenny,with his dad and sister Connie. His dad is a huge BYU fan and has held season tickets for over 20 years! Kenny said he was "a little" emotional about the whole experience.
The most AMAZING Football stadium ever, according to Kenny! Notice all the red in the stands?!

So you might be wondering how I fared with Kenny gone all weekend and being about ready to burst.....LUCKILY.....

CAROL CAME TO MY RESCUE! The boys adore her and she was great to fly all the way from Denver to help me out. I cannot thank her enough!

Mingling with the Rich & Famous

Living out here in CA we have had the privilege to be among some very famous people, or should I say dogs!

I was hoping for tickets to the premier, unfortunately it didn't happen! We did get this nice poster instead....I am so proud of my hubby.

Its official....

I'M A SOCCER MOM!!!!!

I don't know who is more excited, Kenny or I, that our boys are on a soccer team this year. I truly do love being the mom to little boys and even though we now have practice and games weekly, I couldn't be more happy to watch them. They just look so dang cute in their little cleats and I can't wait for the first game to see them in their uniforms.

Drew, in my opinion, is a natural! He takes after his dad!
Ian, not quite sure what he is doing with his hands, but couldn't look cuter!

First Day...First Grade!

I really cannot believe that I have a son old enough to be in first grade! I am amazed how quickly my children are growing up. Drew was excited about going back to school because he now gets to play on the "Big" kids playground. He was very brave. I was most nervous about him eating lunch there. I spent a lot of time finding him the perfect lunchbox and packing him a good healthy lunch...and he didn't eat it! He was too excited about going outside to play that he decided that lunch wasn't really all that important. When asked about his day, his response, "It was fine." I can't wait to have a girl that will actually "talk" to me about whats going on in school. He did say today that he likes his teacher and his favorite thing to do is go play outside...surprise...surprise!

Drew hard at work on his first day of 1st grade!

First Day's Celebration at McDonald's!

Summers Family Vacation

We had a great time vacationing in Grand Junction. Its always fun to be around family and the great outdoors. They boys love going there and exploring in the fields around Kenny's parents home, taking ditch rides in the old blue truck, and waking up every morning to a yard full of deer. This trip did not disappoint them. Every morning Kenny took the boys on a different hike, would bring them home in time for lunch and then off for swimming. I unfortunately am very big at this point in my pregnancy, plus have been having extreme back pain, so I did not get to join in on the fun hikes and bike ride down by the river. I was lucky to have Dr. Dan Babbel, a good family friend, have me come down to his physical therapy office and confirm that I have 4 ribs popped out of place. That explained the back pain. Luckily they popped back into place, but continue to pop out again. I can't wait for this baby to get out!
Here are some highlights from our trip:
Hiking: boys burned tons of energy and loved exploring.
Making trails with Grandpa in his fields while looking for deer.
Devil's Kitchen Hike

The boys LOVE swimming, so we went almost daily to the pool. The White family, Kenny's neighbor and close family friends, had a pool that they let us swim in several times. We even had the Cases meet us there for a pool party! We always love seeing them while we are in GJ.
This year we decided to try out the public pool. Ian, who is fearless, ran to the 300ft slide and without a second thought slid right down. Kenny had to "help" Drew down the first time with a little push, but Drew loved it and the minute he came out of the water took off running for the stairs to do it again. Both boys then proceeded to jump off the 10 ft. high dive and to do twists off the low boards. I was a little surprised that my 4 and 5 year old were so comfortable with the diving boards.
Owen from the front...and Owen from behind!

Drew coming off the slide.
Ian braving the high dive.
Ian coming off the slide in all his glory!
Drew seeing how many twists he can make in the air.

The aunties and new Uncle Gabi were also a highlight of our trip. My boys are still talking about them and were even singing a song about Gabi smelling this morning as they got ready for church! They are fabulous with the boys and I cannot thank them enough for all their help. One morning we woke up and I went into the boys room and discovered Ian missing. I went upstairs and found him sleeping in bed with Carol! She was great to continue having slumber parties with the boys! She is very popular with the 5 and under crowd!

The last night we were there the aunties and cool uncle Gabi decided to all have a slumber party in the living room. The boys fell asleep before the lights even went out, but they loved it and can't wait to do it again!

Wrestling Uncle Gabi was also a big highlight of the trip!

Way to Go Owen!!!!

My to-do list before our little girl arrives is quite lengthy. Not only do I have to get her room all ready, buy her clothes (this requires a lot of shopping and $), but I have to update all the boys photo albums, scrapbooks, finish remodeling our 1/2 bathroom, and potty train Owen. I am quite pleased to announce though that I can check off my list...potty train Owen! We always potty train our kids when they turn two, so when we returned from our vacation we said "good-bye" to diapers and "hello" to big boy underwear. He has done great with only a few accidents. However, one was a very sticky and messy disaster as he decided to poop in our upstairs loft and then proceed to walk in it and down the stairs. Luckily he did this right at five o' clock and daddy had just come home and was able to help with the clean up. Besides that mess it has been smooth sailing. I'm just so thankful I won't have to deal with two kids in diapers. Unfortunately, we will continue to fill up the landfill and pay for diapers for our newest one.

Potty training in process....Day 1. He loves to watch "Choo-Choo," otherwise known as "Thomas the Train" while working his magic! Hey whatever works.
Our Super, Silly Big Boys! They just finished running around in the sprinklers in their underwear, at least they weren't completely naked!

Family Summer Fun!

We just returned from an exhausting, but wonderful vacation to Colorado, Kansas, & Missouri! First we flew to Denver to see Catherine and Gabi get married. The ceremony was beautiful and Catherine and Gabi could not have looked more happy to be husband and wife. The boys all got to wear matching zipper ties and Owen LOVED his. By the end of the evening he was wearing Drew and Ian's ties too.

The Bride and Groom with all their nieces and nephews.

We jumped on a plane for Kansas the morning following the wedding to meet up with my family for an Elliott reunion in Branson, MO.
Here we all are, soon to have two more babies to add to the group.

While we were there Owen turned 2 years old, so we celebrated his birthday with family. He loved his gifts of a new pool ring, water guns, and water balls and used them all in the many hours spent down at the pool.


We spent two hot days at Silver Dollar City. Carmin and I, who are both very pregnant, spent hours trying not to go into labor as we hiked up and down hills, in the heat, for hours pushing strollers with kids. We did "hide out" in the taffy store, which was air conditioned, with our sleeping kiddos in hand and ate a lot of taffy and talked. It was wonderful...when the husbands came looking for us we snuck to another store so they couldn't find us!

The boys are obsessed with trains right now, so they all loved riding the train around the park.


Ge is a big kid at heart and adores her grand kids. She had a bigger smile on her face than the kids as she hopped along on the frog!
Grandad and Ian flew around on Dumbo, he gets sick easily from rides, so he was a trouper to ride this with Ian.
We surprised my parents with a dinner out on a ferry boat down the river. We dined on pizza! The boys even got to steer the boat!


We spent one morning at a fish hatchery where the boys got to feed the fish and then went hiking.
Owen let us know that he would definitely prefer walking rather than take this ride on uncle Ty!
Drew, Jace, and Ian hiking in Branson.


The Elliott men are known for their savy card playing and Kenny loves joining in. Unfortunately, he lost to an 8 year old!
While the big boys were playing games the little kids were too! Ge had bags full of prizes for them to choose after they would win. She sure does know how to have a fun time.


Ge's one request for the whole trip was to Ride the Ducks with the older grandkids. Drew and Ian were ecstatic to get their duck calls and to go on this adventure.
They got to ride around town quacking at people then go into the water.



We had a marvelous time with family and love the memories that were created. We can't wait to see everyone again soon. Thanks Ge and Grandad for making our reunion so much fun...we can't wait for the next one!