Knowlton Notes

September 2011

2011-11-20T16:20:00.001-08:00

This month started with Maycee's baptism. She had been waiting for so long to be baptized. It was a really spiritual meeting and she was adorable. We had lots of friends and family over for sandwiches afterwards. Grama and Grampa Knowlton and Aunt Sarah were able to come for the baptism and spend a few days with us.

After a nice, spiritual morning we all went to the fair and rodeo. Never my favorite atmosphere, but always an experience. The kids rode a few rides, we ate greasy food, then we went to the rodeo.

August 2011

2011-11-18T13:29:00.001-08:00

Deryk took a beginner soccer class every Saturday in August. He just loved it and kept saying he already knew how to play. And somehow he really did understand it. He was very proud to wear his shirt he got at the class.

The kids played in the little pool a lot this summer. One day I was out watering the flowers and a cute, little snake came out of the flowers. The kids wanted to feel it so we caught it. They took turns holding it and then it ended up in the pool and had a nice swim. They named him Quarterback (not sure why) and he even came to visit us a few more times that month. (I'm assuming it was the same one - strange.) Great entertainment for the kids.

Shaylee enjoyed taking a cooking class and a sewing class in 4-H this summer. She modeled her skirt at a fashion show and was able to go to district to model also. She was awarded the grand champion at the fair for her sewing of the skirt and got a blue ribbon for her cooking. It was a busy and fun 4-H time!

Maycee is now 8!! She is growing up and was so excited to be eight so she could be baptized. She had a family party and chose to go out to eat at Burger Stop. (they have great shakes there)

July 2011

2011-11-15T08:41:00.001-08:00

Maycee wanted to try playing on a softball team, so she did that for 6 weeks and LOVED it. She learned quickly and had a fun time at every game! Even the one when the wind was blowing so hard that everyone was sitting/laying on the ground so we didn't get picked up and blown away.

We had a really fun time camping at Birch Creek on the Friday and Saturday before July 4th. There was still snow on top of the mountains with a lot of water running in the creeks and my favorite - wildflowers everywhere. The kids love hiking and exploring at the City of Rocks and riding the 4-wheelers.

Deryk turned 4!! I can't believe how big he is getting (and how smart). He had a fun birthday and wanted a mud cake with bugs and worms. What a cute little guy who is so full of adventure and life!

Deryk got a foam rocket launcher that they were all playing with outside at his birthday party. That is why they are looking in the sky.

Deryk, Maycee, and Shaylee took swimming lessons again and they all loved it. Shaylee did a survival float in her clothes and had to take them off in the pool and tread for several minutes. Deryk wasn't fond of water in his ears, but ended up doing great and was blowing bubbles and putting his head under by the last few days. He also kept getting kicked out of the pool for splashing and randomly hitting the other kids. The teacher, Cindy, just loved Deryk and couldn't get over his gorgeous eyes and eyelashes, so he didn't stay in trouble for long. Little stinker!!

June 2011

2011-11-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

Another piano recital - Shaylee and Maycee both did great with their songs. And they played a duet together this year. They love having their Grama as their piano teacher!

Josh and I were able to go on our stake trek "Live the Legacy" as a Ma and Pa. We had eleven children plus a baby (doll) that we had to bury along the trail. It was an amazing experience that we will always remember. I still laugh at some of the things our children did - those teenage boys kill me!

My Favorite Day

2011-05-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

I just love Mother's Day and feel so blessed to be a mother! I like to take a picture of me and each of my sweeties every Mother's Day. Deryk is in the middle of a hugging phase and loves to randomly squeeze me as hard as he can. (and it is usually a little painful.)

March 2011

2011-04-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

We did a few fun things in March that I wanted to put on the blog. It seems like I am so tired lately and barely get things done that I would like to, so this will be short and sweet:

Shaylee had her recorder concert. She has been practicing a lot at home and in the car. Yes - the car was a bit confined for recorder songs, so that was quickly banned. She did a great job and takes her music very seriously.

Shaylee and Maycee played their piano songs at the Music Festival. They both did really well and came home with Superiors.

We went to Utah for our spring break. One stop we made was the Bean Museum at BYU. Haven't been there for many years and it all looked very similar as the last time I was there. Deryk kept striking these funny poses and stayed there until I would take his picture. He also managed to touch every animal he wasn't supposed to.

We went to a fun park that the kids loved. Thankfully Utah had some sun for us while we were there. Still waiting for it here in Twin Falls...........

Josh had ANOTHER birthday. He just can't believe how old he is and often forgets when he is asked. Had a fun little party with another experimental cake that was much yummier than it looked.

Deryk just loves reading books. (Shay and Mayc love books, too) I usually read to Deryk every night, but had to take a phone call. When I came back up to read - this is what I found. So adorable and only little for such a short time.

I had to document this and have proof this actually happened. It is a rare thing to see Deryk asleep during the day. Josh - not so much. He can sleep any time if given the chance. I thought it was so cute to see my two guys conked out together.

10 Years!

2011-01-13T16:46:00.000-08:00

It doesn't seem like 10 years ago yesterday that we got a call telling us a birthmom had chosen us to be her baby's mom and dad. And she had already been born that morning! I cried for 2 whole days from so many different emotions, while we quickly got as many things ready as possible. We didn't have any clothes, diapers, bottles, or other baby basics. And we just had to get her in our arms. It was so exciting and nerve-wracking! I still cry when I think about it too hard. :) We are so blessed to be entrusted with such an amazing spirit that Shaylee has and be able to be parents to her forever. Happy 10th Birthday, Shay!!!

The cake - don't look too closely or you might notice it is collapsing.

The gifts - fun clothes, National Geographic magazine, lots of earrings, and a Young Ambassador concert.

The candle blowing - everyone helped.

The pierced ears - Shay only cried before they pierced them (from fear), but it actually didn't hurt when it happened. :)

Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T09:46:00.000-08:00

What a fun Christmas we had this year! The kids were so excited about everything. And Deryk understood what was going on. We had Christmas Eve dinner at Mom's (yummy noodle soup) and came home to open pj's, read the real Christmas story in the scriptures, and watch a movie. We watched Ramona and Beezus - cute movie!

New pj's

Pillow pets - thank goodness Santa pulled through with these. That is all the kids really wanted from Santa. Those darn commercials are good!

Deryk got a remote control 4-wheeler, so he plopped down in the box and lounged in it while he drove his 4-wheeler around. Cute little guy!

Just had to show how great this Harley jacket is. Else gave it to Deryk and he loves how the leather feels. He is so cute in it! He wanted to go outside and ride his motorcycle tricycle, but since it's been sooooo cold - that hasn't happened yet.

The Before Christmas Fun

2011-01-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

Seems like every December is full of extra craziness. But it all seems to be the fun kind. Here are a few pictures of some of the things we (the kids) did before Christmas. (Kath - this is for you!)

Got the Christmas decorations up. Deryk spent a lot of time on the piano looking at the village pieces we have, which were all displayed on the piano. He HAD to get really close to them to see all the details, but did great at not touching them.

Shaylee and Maycee had a school Christmas concert. Shaylee played the recorder with all the 4th graders. Maycee sang 2 songs with the 2nd graders.

The girls also had a concert for their TaVaci singing group they are in. It was all Christmas songs and they all did so great! Shaylee did a little solo (almost died several times the day of from nerves) and it was beautiful!

We always go up the Rock Creek Canyon to see the Christmas lights. Seemed kind of strange without snow this time, but Santa was there and the kids just love that funny camel at the end. Get to feed him carrots and pet him. He is quite cute in an ugly animal way. :)

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

So this year the kids decided to be a vampire, Snow White, and a witch. Deryk is still loving vampires - his jack-o-lantern even had to be a vampire. He went around trying to scare people all night. And laughed at himself when they were scared. Maycee kept telling people that it was really her, Maycee, because she thought nobody would recognize her. And Shaylee ended up not feeling well and is still sick. It was a fun weekend! Thankfully Halloween is only once a year!

The Adventures of Deryk

2010-09-30T14:26:00.001-07:00

This picture says it all. Deryk is so full of sneaky, interesting ideas and experiments lately. Every time I turn around there is another "mess". He is a little tornado that never stops. It's no wonder I'm wanting to go to bed at 8:00 every night. (I wouldn't trade it for anything) :)

Josh found a frog in our driveway and brought it in for me the other night. (I just love frogs! Something about them are adorable to me.) We put it in a jar so the kids could see it the next day. Deryk wanted to play with it, so we let it out in the back yard. He spent an hour trying to catch the frog and gave up. Cute!

I ran upstairs to check email for a minute and came down to Deryk making a "tomato and banana soup". That's what he called it. He had climbed onto the counter with a big bowl, put the bananas I had ready for banana bread and the 8 tomatoes from our garden and mashed them all together with some tongs. He was very serious about it. Thankfully I managed to divert his attention later on so we didn't have to eat any of it.

Back to School

2010-09-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

School started a few weeks ago. Finally getting pictures up. Shaylee is in 4th grade with Mrs. Garrett and Maycee is in 2nd grade with Mrs. Coleman. They both love their classes and school! Deryk has adjusted to the girls being gone, but he was sure lonely for a while without them around.

Maycee's 7th!

2010-09-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

Maycee had a great birthday! She was mostly excited because Grama came home from the hospital on her birthday and we had her party at Grama's house. (My mom had both knees replaced and is doing "remarkably" well, according to the doctor.) Mayc wanted a shooting star cake this year, so this is what we came up with in a very short amount of time due to everything else going on. She still loves Polly Pockets and Littlest Pet Shop and can sit for hours playing with them. Maycee is such a thoughtful little girl and always wants to be making a new friend or help someone. She loves to read and teach school to Deryk. Her bright, dimply smile can make anyone else smile back. We are so lucky to have her in our family!

More Summer Stuff.......

2010-08-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

Deryk's first swimming lessons. He loved the diving board by the end of lessons!

Maycee swimming across the pool.

Shaylee working on freestyle.

Had lots of fun cousin times this summer. Jake and Kennedi were here for a week full of fun stuff!

Eating at Taco Bell.

Swimming at the city pool.

Deryk's 3rd B-day

2010-08-01T19:04:00.001-07:00

Our little Deryk isn't very little any more. He had a fun birthday and loved all his presents. He brings many smiles to my face every day. Example: today I was attempting to rest/take a nap (never happens, but I can try). The phone rang and Deryk quietly opens my door and whispers, "Mommy, the phone is calling!" We are so blessed to have him in our family!

He wanted a football cake. (frosting would not stick to the sides for some reason)

Lots of great helpers when he opened presents.

Cheesy grin!

Blowing out candles.

Playing with his new monster trucks.

Freida Manning Reunion

2010-08-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

We had SO much fun at the reunion! Took home lots of amazing memories.

Paddle boat at the pond.

Zip line across the pond. Should have worn a swimsuit. Got wet at and on the end!

Rode horses. Shaylee loves doing this!!

Did a lip sync to "Dig a Little Deeper" from Princess and the Frog. Maycee was Mama Ode, Deryk was Ray the firefly, I was the crocodile, and Josh and Shay were the frogs.

Kids doing some painting and crafts.

Lots of beautiful wildflowers - not good for allergies. :)

Summer so far......

2010-08-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe just one more month of summer fun before school starts! Here are some of the things we've been up to so far:

Piano recital. Maycee's first one. They both did great!! She accidentally broke off some flowers that were there and thought it was funny for some reason. :)

Deryk was so excited to finally get his "big boy bed." He has done great with the transition and has never gotten out of bed yet after we tuck him in for the night.

Western Days parade.

Had a ward party where the bishop was voted to kiss the pig. Josh came in second place so he was lucky enough to hold the pig. I think he would have rather kissed the pig than hold it. Very stinky!

Vampire!

2010-05-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

So Deryk has a huge obsession with Scooby-Doo right now and loves to watch all the movies. We even found one at the library that he hadn't seen yet about aliens and "the gang." He knows all the monsters (the Creeper, Frankenstein, Vampires, the cyber virus, etc.) and loves pretending to be all of them. Right after I tucked him into bed this is what I heard:

Haircuts

2010-03-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

Shaylee and Maycee have both wanted to donate their hair to Locks of Love, so last week we got their hair cut way short and gave their hair away. Shay wasn't sure if she would have enough, but she did because she went so short. They both look so adorable! This was our excitement on spring break along with going to picnics and enjoying the warming weather. Now I have to figure out how to fix short hair again......

Featherville

2010-02-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

We went on an overnight snow getaway last weekend. Josh got a dispatch to do some plumbing work for Sears in Featherville (apparently no one else would go there), so we thought that would be a perfect excuse to go along and have some fun. My aunt and uncle were so generous to let us use their cabin up there. Thank you!! It is a beautiful place to be able to regroup and get away from the every day things. We just played in the snow, watched movies, and went swimming at the hot springs pool. Since it was cold outside the hot water at the pool had a lot of steam floating around it. You can barely see us through the steam in the picture. I wish all pools had this feature so you can hide behind it. :) The kids loved the weekend and didn't want to leave. (I didn't either!)

Shaylee is 9!

2010-01-31T15:06:00.000-08:00

I am a little late posting Shaylee's birthday. She had a fun week and is definitely acting like a 9-year-old. Actually, it could be a 12-year-old because of the attitude issues. I'm not sure I am ready for it all. :) We had a fun family party on her birthday and then she had a friend party on Friday. It was a pajama party with games, nail painting, a movie, and treats. Eight silly girls running around for 2 1/2 hours. They are cute! I'm not too sure Shaylee was happy about her cupcakes at her friend party. They ate pizza and then I said, "Oh, I forgot the rest of your dinner." Then I brought out the spaghetti cupcakes. They all looked at me like I was insane (which I could have been at that moment) and then they giggled a few minutes later. It was great! Shaylee is an amazing girl and we are so blessed to have her in our family!!

Scary Santa

2009-12-08T10:47:00.001-08:00

Deryk is still not liking Santa this year. He was really brave until it was time to sit on his lap. Then he grabbed the candy cane and was outta there. Mission accomplished. Then he ran around stabbing his candy cane into people until we left. He cracks me up!

Thanksgiving!

2009-12-03T10:24:00.000-08:00

What a fun long weekend we had! Lots of family time, a few fights between the kids, and yummy food. What else could you want? I am truly thankful for my wonderful family and extended family. I was able to learn a little bit how they really feel about me while playing "What If." :) We truly miss those that we aren't able to be with on holidays. And I am grateful for the gospel and all the blessings it brings to my life. Thanks to Aunt Marge for gracefully hosting so many people again this year. Here are a few pics of the weekend.

Halloween Fun

2009-11-04T14:37:00.001-08:00

We had a fun Halloween! The kids dressed up as Pocahontas, Minnie Mouse, and a dragon. It was fun to carve pumpkins and have Shaylee do her own this year. Thankfully she didn't cut herself. :) We did our usual: eat pizza, kids go trick-or-treating with Josh, Mel passes out candy, and then we have hot cider when it is all over. And it was so nice not to have snow or rain to trick-or -treat in this year! Now we have way too much candy around here. Might have to throw out a few pieces every day when nobody is looking.

Where did October go?

2009-10-25T15:28:00.001-07:00

It seems like this month has gone by so fast, yet it also seems so long. Probably because the kids have all had a turn at being sick. Too bad it wasn't all at the same time. Don't know if it was the H1N1 or not. Maycee had the hight fever, stuffy nose deal for a few days. Shaylee and Deryk had the stomach flu. That is never good with a 2-year-old. They can never make it to the toilet. :) I covered our family room and hall with towels and wouldn't let him come downstairs. Poor little guy. Hopefully we are all done being sick for a long while.

We had a great visit with Shayee's birthmom, Janae, the last weekend of September. She is adorable and has an amazing family. It was so great to see her! Shaylee has been telling everyone about it and showing her picture around.

Haven't done anything else very exciting. Just playing at the new park (which IS exciting in Twin Falls) and keeping up with school and piano. Now to get ready for Halloween.............

We had an early snowstorm that the kids had fun in!

Fair Time

2009-09-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

We went to the fair this morning. Walked around all the buildings and finally found Shaylee's dinosaur that she made at school last year. And she also had a painting on display from Art in the Park. We saw all the animals, got lunch, and the kids each rode 2 rides on our way out. (nothing like throwing money away :) Deryk thought he was the coolest person in america on the motorcycle. He loves them. And he had fun driving the little car. Maycee chose the Tornado and a roller coaster. Shaylee chose a fun house and the Zipper. The Zipper didn't work out too well. Thankfully nothing came out of Shaylee's mouth but the loudest scream I have ever heard. And apparently I am getting old because I went with her and its just not the same as it used to be. Took me a minute to get my footing when I got off. :)

My Little Garden

2009-08-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

Mmmmmmmmmmm......... We had the best meal from the garden today! I love this time of year. Corn on the cob, creamed peas and potatoes, and sauted zucchini and summer squash. I've never seen a two-year-old go crazy on a corn on the cob like Deryk did. He loves it and licked the cob clean!

First Day of School - 2009

2009-08-30T17:19:00.001-07:00

The girls were so excited to go to school. (one of them was actually VERY nervous) They both like their teachers so far and being back at school. Maycee is in first grade and is going all day now. She didn't like the lunch at school, so she takes a peanut butter and apricot jam sandwich every day and couldn't be happier. Shaylee is in third grade and is very bored with the first week. Hopefully the reviewing won't last much longer!

Maycee is 6!

2009-08-30T17:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Maycee is 6 years old! She is such an adorable little girl. She had a fun day with the family. On our family party years (even # birthdays) they get to choose where to eat out for dinner. She chose to go to Golden Corral. Not one of my favorite places, but she loved it and we had two "kids eat free" coupons, so that worked out well. Then we had a little family cake, ice cream, and presents party with Uncly Austy, Aunt Kim, and Aspen. All Maycee wanted for her birthday was a webkin. That was easy! Maycee, Shaylee, and Josh slept out in the tent that night after we played games and star gazed for a while.

Summer Fun 2009

2009-07-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

We've been doing lots of little fun things this summer, trying not to spend any money. The girls took swimming lessons and loved it. We spend a lot of time in the backyard playing in the water and using Deryk's little pool. Deryk got stung by a wasp last week on his arm. He didn't really cry, but he was REALLY mad at that wasp! Now we have to explain every bug he sees as a good bug or mean bug. And a lot of our time has been spent feeding the three kittens. The mommy cat decided to run right under our tires as we pulled into the garage and that was the end for her. So we bottle feed the kittens 4 times a day. They should be ready to eat on their own this week. (whether they like it or not) :)

swimming lessons

little pool

wasp sting

orphaned kittens

Deryk is 2!

2009-07-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

Deryk loved his birthday! He had no idea what was going on, but he blew out his candles and was excited to have presents. Such a cutie. What happened to our little baby?

Short Camping Trip

2009-07-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

We went on a one-night camping trip towards the end of June. It was so beautiful on Friday and then the clouds came in that night and we headed home by noon on Saturday. So much rain!! It was a fun time, though.

family

Kids hiding in the tall grass

Josh and Deryk laughing about something.....

Waiting in the cabin to see if the rain would stop. It didn't.

Wedding Week

2009-06-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

Last week was a crazy, fun week in Utah at my sister, Monica's. Three of her daughters had big events going on, so we stayed for the whole week. Katelin graduated from high school and will be heading to BYU in the fall. Way to go, Kate! We missed her graduation, but the next day we made it for Kelsey's first time through the temple. She went to the Draper temple and it was a really neat evening. The next day was Collette's baptism. We played all day (Josh took Deryk on the scooter for hours and Deryk had the time of his life, but really wanted on the motorcycle) and went to the baptism late that afternoon. She was so adorable and excited to be baptized! Josh came back home that night so he could do church stuff on Sunday and get back to work. He discovered we had some baby kittens in the garage. We knew this was going to happen, but didn't expect it quite yet. This was probably a good thing we were gone for several more days so they could grow a bit and not be injured by children/Deryk. They are so tiny and cute. The girls LOVE them! We will be giving them away in a couple of months if anyone is interested.

Sunday night the girls and all the cousins went down to my niece's house in Payson and had a sleep-over. Deryk and I went to visit my cousin Brittany and her family for a while. He loved having some boys to play rough with. Monday and Tuesday were spent doing flower prep for the wedding. When we went to pick up the flowers at the wholesalers I was so thrilled to be in a huge flower cooler again. Something about it gives me a little rush of adrenaline. :) Tuesday the girls went with some cousins and Uncle Roger to Lagoon while I worked on flowers. Everything turned out great after a couple of flower tragedies, but what's a wedding without some unexpected problems along the way? Kelsey and Danny's sealing was beautiful. I am excited to see the pictures at the temple because it was the hugest downpoor and hailstorm ever. Lots of great memories! Now we are home and getting back into a schedule and trying to enjoy the summer. If it would ever stop raining.........

Riding the scooter for hours.

New kittens

Riding a pretend roller coaster since I wouldn't be at Lagoon to take pictures.

Kelsey and Danny Lambourne outside Draper Temple

Some wedding flowers

Graduation Day

2009-06-03T08:45:00.001-07:00

Maycee graduated from kindergarten yesterday. She was so adorable! They each had to say in the microphone what they wanted to be when they grow up. Maycee wants to be a superhero and a teacher. She has been practicing all her powers to make them stronger so she can save people when she is older. :)

May 2009

2009-05-31T19:34:00.000-07:00

I am way behind on the blogging thing, so hopefully I can get caught up in one posting. Our May has been busy and fun. I've spent lots of time this last year with Maycee's kindergarten class and I was able to go on a fieldtrip to a farm with them and eat lunch with Maycee for her first time in the cafeteria. Have to practice for the big 1st grade. Her class has the funniest little characters in it and I will truly miss going in every week to help with math. At the farm we went to they had animals just roaming all over the place. Chickens, turkeys, ducks, rabbits, dogs, and goats. Deryk happened to love this little pygmy goat that was just his size. All of a sudden the goat butted Deryk right in the stomach. Deryk was a little shocked and mad at that darn goat. He just stood there and glared at it like he wanted to tackle it down and teach it a lesson. It was so funny to see his face!

Shaylee did great in her piano recital. She always gets extremely nervous (sick to her stomach), but does an amazing job and loves the feeling when it is over. She loves taking lessons from her Grama. Shay is excited for school to be out in 3 days, but also sad. She gets so attached to her teachers and has a hard time with change. But we have a fun summer ahead that will help her adjust.

We got the garden planted and have signs of plants coming up! Can't wait for August to have some fresh veggies. We left a little corner for Deryk to dig in since he's obsessed with dirt. So far all the little plants are still there. We'll see how long that lasts..... :) He loves to wear this bike helmet around the yard. So funny!

We have been to the cabin twice this month. Once to help clean up and prepare for summer. We also had a fun bridal shower for my niece, Kelsey, that day. She is getting married next week and I get to do her flowers. So exciting! Hopefully I remember how to do them. And the second time we went to the cabin was for the annual Manning family reunion on Memorial Day. It was a gorgeous day and it was great to see people we only see once a year. However, that same day was also kind of not-so-fun. Deryk was happy as could be all morning and then started slouching and wanted to be held while he moaned and wriggled around. He got a really high fever, but no signs of anything else. Poor little guy. He was not happy. And then we went on a little hike and ran into a herd of goats that were up there eating. They sometimes come onto the property to eat down weeds and pretty much everything in sight. Three of the goats followed us for about a 1/4 of a mile while the dogs tried to herd them back and the goat herder tried to carry them back, etc. They really like us for some reason. One of them decided to bite onto Maycee's arm and got a good kick to the side by me. But it still stayed by us. Maycee had four raised teeth scratches down her little arm and was very upset. Apparently we have problems with goats in our family.

We stopped by the cemetary in Oakley to see Daddy's grave. The girls love to see it and bring a flower and a special rock they have chosen for him. They still miss their Grampa. Don't we all?

Oh, and my favorite part of every May is Mother's Day. I am so grateful to be a mom! That is what I have always wanted to be since I can remember and my kids' birthmoms made that possible. I want to thank them again for making me feel so complete and have these amazing children to raise. I usually hate putting pictures of myself up, but I like to take a picture every Mother's Day with me and each of my beautiful angels. So here they are......

So we have had an eventful month with a lot more excitement coming soon in June. If anyone wants to take a few minutes to teach me how to do a slideshow, feel free to email me or call. I would love to figure that out.

Funny Family Videos

2009-04-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

For some reason we used the video camera a lot this weekend and caught a couple of funny and/or cute moments. Mostly Deryk because he seems to crack us up so much lately. The video with the family doing Easter eggs had us laughing all weekend. I was taking the picture and everyone was saying cheeeeeeeeeeeeeese and then I realized I was taking a video instead of a picture. That's one of those that might not be funny unless you were there. :)

The Park

2009-03-16T16:54:00.000-07:00

We bribed the kids on Saturday and told them we could go to the park if they did all their chores and helped around the house. We saw some friends while we were there and Deryk had a fun time with their little car. He pushed Benson around in it for a while. The other picture is so funny because it shows a typical moment in our family. Deryk loves to pull Maycee's hair for some reason. Maybe its because she likes to stick her face right up close to his and bother him?

Draper Temple

2009-03-16T16:36:00.000-07:00

We drove to my sister's in Sandy last Friday to see my niece, Katelin, dance in her senior dance concert. She did so great! What an exciting time for her. This was the day before the last day of the Draper Temple open house, so we went to see the temple. It is very beatiful! Josh had to work, so I just took the girls and my nieces, Kennedi and Collette, to the temple. Deryk got to stay at Monica's so people didn't have to hear him yell throughout the temple. :) We had to drive home after the concert that night because Shaylee had her piano festival on Saturday morning. Thankfully my mom was with me to keep me awake. She's really good at that. We got home at 1:30 a.m. and she had to be there at 10:00. Shaylee did so great! She got a superior and was so relieved to have it all done!

Is it Spring yet?

2009-03-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

It was about 45 degrees a couple of weeks ago and the sun was shining, so it seemed like the perfect time to let the kids go out and play for a while. I was so excited to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen while they were out playing. I asked Shaylee to try to keep Deryk out of the garden area because it looked really muddy. Well, it lasted not even 10 minutes when I heard screaming. I looked outside and Deryk was stuck in the mud, facedown, and couldn't move. Shaylee was trying her hardest to get him out and Maycee was jumping on the trampoline as if nothing were going on. I got him out of the mud and stripped him down outside. He was not a happy little guy and he was freezing! We are ready for warm weather!

Shaylee's Baptism

2009-02-05T21:31:00.001-08:00

Shaylee was baptized last Saturday (Jan. 31st). It was such a neat day and she was just glowing through the whole thing. She loved everything about it and said it was the best day of her life so far. It was wonderful to have so many family members and friends at the baptism. Shaylee truly is a little angel and we are so blessed to have her in our family. (The sun was extremely bright in the family picture, so most of our eyes are almost closed.)

The Life of an 18-month-old

2009-02-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

Deryk is starting to talk a lot and his first real word was bubble. He says it so cute and I got a little video clip of him saying it.

Deryk also decided to give himself a bath the other day. I heard the water running and went in to find him sitting in the bathtub with all his toys and his clothes on getting all wet. He was very upset when I took him out and couldn't find anything wrong with it. He loves taking baths! Never a dull moment with an 18-month-old around.

Winter Fog

2009-01-21T10:57:00.000-08:00

It seems like I wake up every day and it's still night time because of the fog we've had for over a week now. We did get a glimpse of the sun for a few hours yesterday, which was so nice. Apparently I need a Vit D supplement quickly. This is the view from our back door every day lately.

We had so much fun getting some exercise at the hop-to-it place we have now. I suddenly turned into and child and couldn't stop laughing on the slides and fun obstacle course. It's nice to have a place to play indoors in nasty weather.

Shaylee's B-day

2009-01-15T09:07:00.000-08:00

Shaylee had her 8th birthday on Monday. She was the giddiest girl in the world all day! I took donuts to her class at school and she chose to eat at Subway for dinner. (she loves their turkey sandwiches with every veggie on it.) Then we went to Grama's for the cake and presents that night. This year was a family party year, so it was nice and low-key. Shaylee is mostly excited for her baptism in a couple of weeks. She's been talking about it for a year now and can hardly stand to wait any longer! Now she gets to come to Activity Days with me. (I'm the Activity Day leader.) She seems so much older all of a sudden. Time is going way to quickly for me lately.......

Abe Lincoln

2009-01-11T15:20:00.000-08:00

The school the girls go to is Lincoln Elementary. (yes, the same school I went to many years ago.) Strange how everything seems so small at the school, when at the time it was so big. Lincoln was celebrating it's 100th birthday on Friday and the kindergarteners sang a couple of songs at the birthay party that night. They had Abe Lincoln beards and his hat on. So these are my three little Abe Lincolns. The kids had the best time trying it on and telling me all about Abe's life and how he died and every detail you can think of.

Happy 2009

2009-01-02T20:53:00.000-08:00

Its hard to believe 2009 is here. My goal for this year is to have some sort of family history because I've been terrible at writing in my journal the last few years. So this blog is now our family history. Hopefully I can figure out how to use it and keep up with it. :)

We went snowmobiling with Austin on New Year's Day and had so much fun in the snow. The girls could have stayed all day playing and sledding. Deryk threw the biggest tantrum so far in his 17 months when we left because he wanted to stay on the snowmobiles forever. He loves them!! The kids and I left Josh and Austin to do some real riding while we went home and took down Christmas decorations. Josh and Austin both came home bruised and sore from their "fun" day.