Much Thanks!!!

I cannot even begin to thank my parents enough for flying to CA to watch Drew, Ian, & Owen while we vacationed in Destin, FL. Like always, the boys had a marvelous time with Ge & Grandad. They keep asking when they are going to come back or when we will fly to their house. Not only did my parents do a great job of caring for the boys and taking them on fun adventures every day, they also did many "projects" around my house. I can now cross off my "daddy please do list," all of the things that have accumulated from when he was here last year. My mom, aka Ge, did a marvelous job adding some decorations to my front living room, or what we like to call our "garden room!" I adore my parents and feel so blessed to have them apart of my life.
Ge and Ian making cookies.
Grandad and the boys watching the movie "Tom & Jerry."
Making forts
One of many projects.


Not only does my mother have a great reputation with her own grandchildren, but she is loved by her "adopted" grandchildren as well!


I know it is not easy keeping up with my three boys, so thank you mom and dad for taking such good care of our most prized possessions. I appreciate all that you did for the boys and all that you did around my house. I feel truly blessed to have you as my parents! I love you.

Destin, Florida

Unbelievable!!! Is the first thing that pops into my mind as I reminisce about Kenny & I's first get away together. Nine months ago we started planning a trip with four of Kenny's good friends from Grand Junction and BYU. We decided upon Florida as our destination spot and quickly started researching on what we could do there. We rented a nice big beach house. We flew out on Saturday, leaving the kiddos at home with Ge & Grandad, and had a 5 day dream vacation.

We spent hours talking and catching up with everyone, but also spent some quality time playing games, relaxing, and eating...a lot!
The games:
1. Football on the Beach - which was not only played by the men, but also included all the wives as well.

2. Agent orange - this was a game played everyday in the pool. It consisted of a pink ball trying to be kept in the air at all times. Sometimes mistakes were made and everyone would turn their back on the person who "dropped the ball!"

3. Sardines - yes, some people might think that this is a child's game, but we had a pretty intense game that no kid would have been able to handle. I was even very scared for my life at times during the game. We shut off all the lights in the house and one person would go and hide, while the others waited outside. Then as people found the hiding person they too would hide. Stephanie definitely outsmarted us all and found the best hiding spot. It took us about twenty minutes to find her. Way to go Steph!!!

4. Ping/Pong & Around the World - Hours were spent playing in the rec. room. We all had fun racing around the table trying not to get out, so that we wouldn't have to be struck with the ping pong on our tummies. Erik had two of the worst battle wounds from the ping pong, courtesy of Dan and Kenny.

The Group: Ben & Laura (Iowa), Sarah & Dan (Missouri), Erik & Stephanie (Arizona), Kenny (California), & Darrin & Darcy (Colorado)

5. Mafia - some would disagree, but Laura & I rocked at this game!

Relaxation:
1. The Spa - the ladies spent a whole day being pampered at the Spa. I indulged myself in a Mud Wrap, which consisted of a man named Ian rubbing mud and algae all over my body and wrapping my in foil....It was absolutely Divine! I also had a Four Handed Massage where I was rubbed down with oil by two people instead of one! I will never go back to a two handed massage again.

2. The Beach - the sand was like powered sugar and the water was so warm. The only drawback was the jellyfish, which stung us all.
The ladies, minus Sarah...plus Ben!

The Activities:
1. Shopping - we spent a lot of time at the outlets

2. Wave Runners - this besides the spa, was one of my favorite things to do. Kenny and I actually each got our own. We had so much fun going over the waves.


3. Go Carts - we rode around on a big, wooden track. I tried with all I had to catch up to Laura, but just didn't make it in the end!

4. Snorkeling - the boys went out almost every day to snorkel. We were all a little afraid for their lives after we were told that where they were going to snorkel, they needed to watch for alligators and sharks! Hence the spears!

5. Riding around in style!

Overall out vacation was amazing! I love all of Kenny's good friends and especially their wives. I can't wait to carry on this tradition and vacation together again in the next two years.

Happy Birthday Drew!

Five years ago today I gave birth to our first little boy, Drew! I am amazed by how quickly these last five years have flown by. He brings so much joy to our family and is such a sweet and tender hearted little guy. I love him dearly and look forward to watching him continue to grow and mature.

He had a busy and fun day today. First, we celebrated his birthday at his school. He was excited to get to wear the "Birthday Cake" hat while his classmates sang to him. He chose to pass out Super Hero popsicles for his friends and presented his teacher with a new book for her classroom.


That evening we had a small birthday party for him at the park with his closest little friends. He wanted a fire truck on his cake, so I tried to deliver.


He loved all of his presents and we spent a good hour playing with each new toy when we got home. It was like Christmas morning in our living room for Kenny, Drew, & Ian! A few of the things he received were: a fire man costume, a Darth Vater Costume w/ light saver, lincoln logs, Berenstain Bear books, Narnia Catapolt and men, Ninja turtles, and a camera! Thank you to all of our family and friends for helping Drew celebrate turning 5! I love you Drew. Mom

Owen the Great!

I absolutely love toddlers and that is just what my little Owen has become. He is no longer my little baby, but my walking, talking, getting into EVERYTHING little boy! He loves to be the center of attention, as all 1 year olds do, and he easily recieves that attention from all of us. He is the happiest, most easy going little boy ever. He loves to eat, especially brocolli, cauliflower, and spinach, and has always gone to sleep without a fuss. He adores his older brothers and imitates everything they do. He is my big helper around the house. He likes to help me wipe the table, sweep the floor, and do laundry. He helps by pulling out every washcloth and towel from the drawer, spreads the swept up piles all over the floor again, and takes the clean clothes out of the dryer and returns them back to the hampers of dirty clothes! His favorite word is "Uh-oh," which he says alot as he points his little finger in the direction to anything that has fallen or broken. Owen's sweet little spirit reminds me daily of how blessed I am to have these three amazing boys and makes me hunger for another one!

Sleep Tight

I came home today after doing some shopping to find Kenny, Drew, & Ian disassembling the boys' beds. I asked them what they were doing and the boys, who were bouncing off the wall at this point, beamed as they told me that daddy was making their beds into bunk beds. Kenny told me that I took too long at the store and he got bored, so he needed something to do with the boys. I guess reading books or playing a game would have been too easy. Our original plan was to put the beds into bunk beds when the boys were older. I've been told that the recommended age to sleep on the top of a bunk bed is 7. Well, I guess we will just throw our 4 year old up there and see how it works!

Drew announced that he was going to sleep on the top bunk tonight because he was 4 and Ian was only 3. Kenny told them they would take turns every other night sleeping on the top, which means they will be taking turns sleeping on each others sheets...gross.

During dinner Ian said he was tired and ready to go to sleep. This just proved how excited he was to sleep on the bunk beds. There was a lot of excitement before going to bed and the boys repeatedly had to climb up and down the ladder to say good night to one another. It was rather sweet when Drew said, "Mom, can I come down the ladder to say good night to Ian?" He came down, gave Ian a hug, and said, "I love you, have sweet dreams." It about melt my heart and I realized how happy I was for the bunk beds!

Kenny's Plan *Lets have another boy, get another set of the same matching bunk beds, and have them all sleep in the same room! A Bunk Room! I think he really needed a brother growing up!

Battle of the Brothers!

Drew and Ian had a very interesting and heated argument today. As they were both eating breakfast Drew out of nowhere said, "Be nice to my sister." I replied, "Drew you do not have a sister, only brothers." He answered, "Yes I do, Sila is MY sister!" To which upset Ian and he started yelling, "NO Sila is MY sister!" It kept going back and forth this way for quite awhile.

Both of the boys love their good friend Sila. We actually joke that Ian is going to marry Sila because they already argue like any good husband and wife. They are both what you might say as "spunky" in their own way. Maybe we are wrong, they probably won't get married because Ian will always think of Sila as his sister! I do think the boys need a sister, so if Kenny isn't able to make that happen for them I guess we will just have to adopt Sila!

Ian, Sila, Drew, & Mese
Can't you see the family resemblance?

Ian's First Day of Preschool!!!

Ian has been asking since Drew started preschool two years ago, when it was his turn to go to school. Everyday when I dropped Drew off, he too would want to stay and go to school! Well, today Ian attended his first day of preschool and was just thrilled to be going.



Ian's favorite part of the day was playing playdough and playing with his good friend Tanner Harris. When it was time to go home he said, "I am just going to miss Tanner so much." Which is hilarious because they just spent the whole day before playing together.

When I picked him up I asked his teacher how he did and she told me that he was really shy at first. I was like, "seriously?" I have never been told by anyone that Ian is shy. He is my spunky, loud, outgoing child that never sits still. Oh well, I'm sure he was only shy today, I'm sure he'll make up for his shyness by next class and be twice as exuberant.
And yes, while my two older boys were away learning, Owen was peacefully taking a morning nap and I had 2 1/2 hours to myself! I was actually a little weirded out by how quiet it was in our house. I did successfully dust, vaccum, clean windows, and pick-up toys in the loft. Oh how grand my life is!