Adams Family

My brother's wedding

2011-10-20T21:55:00.001-07:00

My youngest cute little brother got married on October 13th to such a beautiful girl, Amelia. We all love Amelia so much. She has been a great addition to our family just as they have been dating for the past FOUR years and it's nice to officially add her to the family! My kids are so excited to have a new aunt! But...about my brother...he is such an amazing kid. He has been through a lot in his life. At the age of 4 (actually the day before his 4th birthday) he was diagnosed with Leukemia. It was such a hard thing to watch him go through. Tyson has always been so special to all of his siblings but after watching him go through Leukemia he holds an extra special place in all of our hearts.He has always been so loving, kind, compassionate, and genuine. He has been a great example to me in many ways. I'm so happy to see him find someone special and to see him so happy.

Tyson and Amelia at the wedding dinner the night before the marriage!Tyson and Amelia dancing to "their song"

Grandma Oliver and Oliver dancing. Grandma and Grandpa are great dancers. They used to dance in competitions when they were young. They were dancing so much with the grandkids and they loved it!

Grandpa Oliver dancing with the 2 oldest Granddaughters, Sabree and Aspen.

Grandma Oliver dancing with the 4 little girls. They were having a ball and they looked so cute in their matching dresses.

"Do we still have to behave during the reception?"...It looks like the night got a little long!

Me and my sister-in-law, Mandy. She came with Eli as well as my mother and father-in-law. I have such great in-laws that go out of their way to support me and my family. They are awesome!

Priceless... By the way, Luke is a great dancer! I love to watch him dance with our children!

Ever since Jaylee found out that Tyson and Amelia were getting married she was sure that she would get to hold flowers! She knows how weddings work and she's quite obsessed with them too. Anyway, I ran to the store before the wedding to make sure she had flowers to hold!

Mom, Tyson, Amelia and Dad.

The four little girls. It's really awesome cause until the 13th of October there were 4 of us kids that are married. We all had boys within a year of each other (Oliver's age) and then we had a round of girls within a year of each other on the next go around. So these are the 4 little girl cousins all of them are 3 and 4 years old.

Sabree and Aspen looked so gorgeous at the wedding and they had so much fun running around together!

Last but not least, this is one of my best friends in the whole world, Becky! She came all the way from Idaho to see me...or Tyson for his wedding! I just like to think it was to see me! Becky and I have been friends for at least 15 years! We used to get asked all the time if we were sisters so we would pretend we were! I like to think of her as my 3rd sister! Love you Beck!

So there you have it! My littlest brother is married and now I am feeling old! Only one more sibling to get married and she's beautiful! It won't be long before Jana is snatched up to one lucky guy!My 2 cute sisters, Jill and Jana. Yep, it's cute, we all have "J" names...Julie, Jill and Jana!

2011-10-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

We went to the canyon today and walked among all of the colorful leaves. It was really beautiful! Here are some cute and some silly pictures of the kids.

Football Fun with Dad

2011-10-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite parts about living in Logan is getting to be in a college town and enjoy all of the college activities and sports! Luke has taken Sabree and Oliver to a football game and Jaylee is next! Good times!

Canning, Candy, and Cute Kids

2011-10-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year...lots of canning! I haven't done a lot this year but I made sure I did applesauce. Our families favorite!!! My friend Mary and I also did Raspberry/Peach jam...YUMMY!
These caramel apples turned out cute! I found the idea on another blog. My kids loved helping with them!

We love the fall at our house! The kids love decorating for Halloween (which doesn't consist of much...just the tablecloth and a few other small decorations). Anyway, they also love when it starts getting chilly in the fall because it means hot chocolate! Popcorn and hot chocolate is now their favorite after school snack.Goofy kids! They always make me laugh.

We have a new niece!

2011-10-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

We went to the blessing of our newest little niece, Monica Lucia Adams. She goes by Lucy. She's so cute and tiny! We had a great time seeing the family! I love some of the pictures we captured too. I always love the pictures of my two favorite guys, especially when they are all dressed up and looking handsome!

I love this pictures with my little girls too.

Luke and his brother, Eli, the proud father of Lucy.

1st Annual Oliver Reunion!

2011-10-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of September my family had our first family reunion at the Heber Valley Camp. It was so much fun! Here are some photos from the camp.

Luke and I. I'm the 3rd child in my family. The 1st girl!

My oldest brother, Che' and his wife Lisa. They planned the whole event and did an awesome job! The had reward beads to put on necklaces for the kids when they were good. It was really creative and made it really fun for the kids. I love that Lisa and Che can make everything so fun and spiritual! Great couple!

My youngest sister, Jana. She's the baby of the family! She's a Senior at BYU! She's awesome, single, smart and so cute!

My youngest brother Tyson and his fiance Amelia. Tyson is the 2nd to the youngest in my family. It was really fun to have Amelia there with us. We were able to initiate her into the family. We made her do a silly little dance at the campfire. She's a great sport!My sister, Jill and her family. Jill is just younger than me. We have so much in common now. I love that as you grow up your sister's become your best friends. It feels weird if I don't talk to Jill at least every other day!My brother Ryan is on the left. I took a picture of his family but it was blurry. Ryan is just 16 months older than me. He has 4 kids! He keeps life exciting as you will see later in this post!!!

Oliver and cousins Ret and Tyler

Each family did a skit. This is Luke's character. It turned out to be a pretty funny skit! Plus, the mustache suits him!

Almost everyone did the rope swing. It was so fun and so much higher than I expected. That's me above and Sabree below. She was so brave!

Here's Oliver and Luke So...we all went conoeing! Seems harmless, right? We just finished the whole speech from the missionaries about safety and not falling in the lake. We got fitted for life jackets then started paddling. It didn't take long before Ryan's little 2 year old Jaxon dove into the lake. Both Ryan and his wife Brittani leaned over to grab him and the canoe tipped over. It didn't take long before panic set in because 2 of their kids were missing and stuck under the canoe. As you can guess, everything turned out fine. My brother Tyson dove in after them and all were rescued by the missionary boat! It made for an exciting canoeing trip!

Did I mention how brave Sabree was? This is my brother Che' with his boys and Sabree getting ready to do a zip line.

HALF MARATHON!!!

2011-10-02T21:29:00.001-07:00

It's true!!! Luke and I ran the Top of Utah Half Marathon together along with my little sister Jana. It was so awesome! I seriously loved it. I was pretty worried about running it, especially because running 12 miles was really hard for me, but seriously...I was most worried about having to run after waking up at 4:15 am! It turned out great! I felt great through the whole run and finished strong. Luke didn't love it and quite frankly, I don't know if I will ever get him to run another but it was still a great experience to do it together!Luke at 4:45. For the record...we did get up at 4:15! Seriously, CRAZY!

After the run! Luke, Me and Jana
I'm so grateful to everyone who helped me train for this run. Luke was a huge support and we were able to run some of our runs together. Jana came up to do some of the long runs with me, but I think that she is so awesome for pretty much training solo. She stuck it out though and it was awesome to run with her. Mostly, I'm so grateful for Mary who ran all year with me. She slowed down her usual awesome pace and ran 3-4 days a week with me. I couldn't have done it without her! Thanks Mary!!!

Preschool begins!

2011-10-02T21:20:00.000-07:00

What a cute little preschooler. She has been so excited to be in school! She get's to go to tumbling for an hour before school on Tuesday's and swimming for an hour before school on Thrusday's. She absolutely loves it!

Back to School!

2011-10-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

We had a great summer but we were all ready for school to begin. The kids were so excited!

Jaylee didn't start school until a week later but was just as excited as the other 2.

Oliver's first day of 1st grade. His teacher is Miss Porter. She is going to be great for Oliver. He likes her a lot so far!Sabree first day of 4th grade. She has 2 teachers. Mrs Bowman teaches the first half of the day and Mrs. Pugh teaches the 2nd half. I think it is a great way to teach and Sabree likes them both so much!

Jaylee go to have a lunch date with Luke and I and as you can see, she is in heaven! It's been nice to have some one on one time with the little one before her school starts. She's so cute!

Webelos

2011-10-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

Luke and I are Webelos leaders. We LOVE it! We have had the best group of boys and all of them got their Arrow of Light on the same day...all 6 of them. It was really cool to be at the celebration.

More Summer!

2011-10-02T19:33:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Outside
The kids love to sleep outside so before school started they camped in the backyard. Luke's such a great dad!

Sabree's 9th Birthday
Sabree had such a fun filled birthday weekend! First we started with a few presents and a great breakfast followed by swim team practice. After that she went to kids camp for several hours, more presents then we headed up the canyon to stay at a cabin with some friends. It was so much fun! We slept at the cabin and then went to Bear Lake the next day where we played on the beach for a while. That night we came back home to have a friend party! The party turned out to be a blast! We went to Angie's to "clean the sink"! They have a huge bowl that looks like a kitchen sink and it's filled with banana's, ice cream and lots of toppings! It was great! After cleaning the sink we went back to the house to watch Soul Surfer and paint nails. The girls had a really good time!

At the cabin. Jaylee and Chloe Oliver, Dillon and Gavin being silly like always! Sabree's cute smiles below!Kristi, Julie, Cansas and Me!Kristi was so sweet...she made Sabree this cake and they had a present for Sabree! It really made her feel special. We have great friends!Bear LakeSabree's friend party!Taylee, Julia, Addie, Linya,
Jesse, Sabree, Jayden, Mary

Just Plain Cute!
We went to dinner one night at Jimmy John's. Oliver and Jaylee were being so cute. At one point they were eating and holding hands. I love it! I couldn't resist taking a picture!
Kids Camp!
The kids attended the Sports Academy Kids Camp. It was really fun. They had tons of different activities throughout the day and each day ended with swimming. On the last day...Sabree's birthday, Utah State's Big Blue came.

Lost Teeth!

Ollie lost tooth number one and dad pulled tooth number two shortly after. Business Trip To Cali!

Luke and I went to California for the Crossfit World Championship games. He worked his Progenex booth and I got to watch the games. It was so much fun. We left the kids with the in-laws for a week! We went out a few days before the event and played at the beach. Then spent a few days at the games, then finished the week with more beach! We had the best time!

My brother, Tyson, is a pilot. He flew up to California. It's crazy that my little brother can fly an airplane! It was really fun to watch him fly. He's awesome!

We went to a Dodger baseball game while we were there.

This is Luke in action!!! For those of you who don't know, he is an owner of Progenex. It is a sports supplement company. The company is growing quickly and huge in the Crossfit world! We're thankful to be a part of such a wonderful company!

Celebrating the 24th

2011-07-25T21:48:00.001-07:00

Wow! I am on a blogging roll! I have blogged 3 posts within a week! Anyway...

Today was a really fun day. We went to a parade in the morning and then to the events in the park. The kids and I listened to live entertainment for over 3 hours. It was so much fun, lots of singing!Sabree, Jaylee and Oliver enjoying the entertainment

Oliver and Carter chillin' together again! Best little buddies!

Free entertainment! I love that the park had fun things to do and it was all free!
The kids got a hold of the camera. They took tons of pictures and I actually thought some of them were very cute! They had some cute poses. All of the following pictures are the little ones photography! Good job kiddos!

Summer Happenings

2011-07-24T21:50:00.001-07:00

We've had lots going on this summer and not much time to blog about it so here are a lot of pictures to summarize a little of what we've been up to!

Birthday Fun!
The day before my birthday I ran 10 miles. On my birthday, Luke had to run 10 miles so I got up and biked next to him. After that we went to breakfast with the kids then hit the local farmer's market that they have every Saturday but this was our first. It was a lot of fun with a live band and lots of good stuff to look at. That afternoon I got the best gift...Luke took the kids swimming while I took a 2 hour, uninterrupted nap followed by a clean house! It was awesome! That evening I met up with my sister Jill and her family in SLC. We played in the water at Gateway Mall, and then rode tracks to Temple Square. It was a lot of fun. Here are some photos from the day!

Jaylee and her cousin Katie at Temple Square. They were holding hands and having a great time together.

Oliver was having so much fun in the water. He was soaked! He had found an empty paper cup and started putting it upside down on top of the water holes. When the water would shoot out it would send the cup into the air and he would catch it. It was very entertaining to watch him. He's such a cute kid!

Oliver and cousin Tyler

Mandy's Baby Shower
We're so excited for Mandy to have her baby girl the end of August. She is Luke's brother's wife (Eli's wife). We had a family baby shower for her. It was fun to see everyone.

Amy (sister-in-law) was in charge of games and did a great job. One of the games was to paint a onsie. At the end, Mandy chose her favorite and the winner got a prize. Melissa was the winner and the onsie was adorable. Mandy got to take home several cute shirts!

I was in charge of the party favor! It turned out really cute. Everyone got to fill up a gift bag of 10 different pink candies and take a cupcake ball. It was fun!

Around the house

I thought this was a cute picture of Sabree!

With all of the running and working out Luke has been doing, his muscles have been really tight. He has had the kids stretching him out. Oliver is always the first to offer to help his dad out. Luke is his hero!

Baseball Game with Friends!

We went to a baseball game with a group of friends. It was a lot of fun! I wish I had gotten a picture of the Geddes family. My friend is 7 months pregnant and volunteered to run the bases during a break in the game. So far she holds the record for the fastest time running around...even pregnant! She's such a great sport and so fun to be with! The Lorz family. We love these little twin boys! Their dad has been staying in SLC during the week for work and only coming home on the weekends so we thought it would be fun to take the twins to the game and meet up with their dad.

Cherie and family!

Jaylee, Sabree and Ollie

After the game the kids crashed! We took the twins home and this is how it turned out!

4th of JulyFirst things first, you have to paint the fingernails! Of course, red and blue!

Getting ready for the Fillmore parade to begin.

These are the kids at the park after the parade. There are have lots of food, activities, and friends!Sabree with a few of her Fillmore friends. We miss everyone!

It was a full day...parade, park activities, sprinklers, Grandparents, Barbecue and of course the fireworks!

Addie and Jaylee getting ready for the fireworks (picture above)
Addie and Julie below

Pickleville Playhouse
We have some of the greatest friends here! We were invited by our friends to Bear Lake to stay in their cabin at the Pickleville Playhouse. We had soooo much fun. After a little hanging out after we got there we had dinner, played and then saw the show Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat. It was so good! Jaylee was just as entertaining as the show. She loved it! I think she thought we were going to watch a movie at a theater so when she saw live people singing and dancing she was shocked and so excited! It was a blast. That night we did fireworks.

Oliver, Carter, Tanner and Sabree. Oliver has become such good friends with Tanner and Carter. We love the Davis boys! They are moving, only 5 minutes away, but it is sad that they won't be in our same neighborhood. Regardless of where they move, we have become great friends with the family and love the time that we get to spend with them!

Local Transit System
One of the best things about kids is that they are usually pretty easy to entertain. One day we decided to take the kids on a free bus ride by our local transit system. We rode the bus to the mall where they played on the toys there, then we walked across the street to Wendy's, then caught the bus back home. BLAST!

Once again, Jaylee was so entertaining. She was giddy the whole time! Who knew that a bus ride would be so exciting!

The Lorz twins love Oliver and he loves that they love him!

One week with 7!
My sister-in-law was the assistant girls camp director for her ward this year and had to go to girl's camp for a week. Since my brother had just gotten a new job, he couldn't take the week off of work so they needed a little bit of extra help. That's where I came in. They have 4 kids and I brought my 3 so I had 7 kids for the week. It was tiring but tons of fun! We went swimming one day, and Extreme Air Sports another day.

Extreme Air Sports is a gym with lots of trampoline's, foam pits, rock climbing wall, and bouncy gym mats. It was sooo much fun!

Max, Zak and Sabree on the rock climbing wall. They were doing back flips from the top! It was CRAZY!

This picture is one of my favorites. Jaylee always gears up for her runs. This is her pose right before she goes!

Lots of Pool!
We've been spending lots of time at the pool. Oliver and Jaylee have improved so much in their swimming skills.

Sabree and her friend

Carter, Tanner and Oliver...good little buddies!

Preschool Camp
Jaylee is so excited about going to preschool we decided to give her a little taste of what is to come! The theme was bugs and this is a shirt that they made.

Tonsilectomy and Adenoidectomy

2011-07-20T06:41:00.000-07:00

Due to obstructed sleep apnea, Jaylee needed her tonsils and adenoids removed. We went to the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist on Monday the 11th and her tonsils were so big there was no question that they had to come out. So we scheduled surgery for just 3 days later. She went into surgery on July 14th. The picture above is leaving for the hospital at 7:45 in the morning. She knew she was getting her tonsils out and was really excited to not snore anymore but she definitely didn't realize the extent of what was going on!

The nurses at the hospital were awesome. They all spoke to her, on her level. They explained to her that most kids get scared when they are out of surgery because of the big bandaid on their arm that covers the IV. So they gave her an ace bandage to play with and practice wrapping on herself and everyone else. It was entertaining to her.

Jaylee is a daddy girl. She loves her dad! I love the picture! 2 people that I love so much!

Out of surgery. Jaylee was guzzling apple juice right away, which surprised me but it also caused her to get a stomach ache and she threw up quite a bit. It was sad. She did pretty good post op though. She was so brave and strong. We had to stay a little longer than most because her oxygen levels were a little low, but not for long. She's a tough little girl!
After getting a little anti-nausea medicine she was out cold. She looks so sweet in this picture cuddled up to her daddy!
Grandma Oliver came in town the night before to help with the older kids while we were at the hospital. When we got home Jaylee was showered with gifts from Grandma including this cute table and chairs that she made dad put together immediately. Jaylee loves this table. She didn't leave this room for 2 days straight. We played play-do on it, painted, colored...it was great!

Grandma also made us spaghetti and a roast and then took the 2 older kids home with her to Orem. It was awesome to pay 100% attention to Jaylee for several days and not have to cook! Thanks mom! You are awesome!

Jaylee is doing so well, in fact, the first day she ate spaghetti and has continued to eat pretty solid foods since. The mornings have been quite hard because her throat is dry and sore but other than that, she has been an awesome little trooper! We love you Jaylee, you are going to sleep so good now and be a perfect little angel :), right!!!

Parties, Parties and more Parties!

2011-05-10T14:17:00.001-07:00

Cinco De Mayo Party
We had a fun party of Saturday with a bunch of friends...Cinco De Mayo on the 7th! We had a great time with lots of Mexican food, lots of laughing, and lots of GREAT weather!
Birthday lunch!
We had a fun birthday lunch for my friend Julie last week. Ironically, with Mexican food (Cafe Rio take out...YUMMY!) I love getting together with lots of girls through the week. So much fun! GIRL POWER!
Luke is getting OLD!
Luke recently celebrated his 34th birthday. Seriously, we never thought we would get this old...and yes. he is older than me!

He put 3 of his clothes presents on top of the clothes he was already wearing. It looked funny. He has 3 shirts on! Our funniest present though was nose hair clippers! He does sometimes get longer nose hairs...comes with old age, so we thought that it would be a funny gift. LOVE IT!
Cousin Party!
We got all the cousins on my families side and had a little party after my brother's graduation then we took them all to a 3-D movie. The kids looked so cute with their glasses on. GOOD TIMES!
Tyson's Graduation!
My little brother Tyson graduated from UVU! I'm so proud of him! College is sooooo much work. Anyway, he graduated in Aviation Science, Professional Pilot. He has all of his pilot's licenses including his commercial license. Now he just gets to fly all summer long and get enough flying hours to get hired with an airline! He's a smart kid that has worked really hard for several years. Way to go Tyson! Isn't he CUTE!

One of my favorite Easters

2011-04-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

We had such a great Easter! We always do the Easter Bunny stuff on Saturday so we can focus more on Christ on Sunday so our Easter Egg painting and festivities started on Friday. It was our ward temple night on Friday so we were going to paint eggs on Thursday but thought that Skylar and Maben might have fun painting eggs with the kids while they babysat on Friday. Sure enough, they wanted to paint eggs so we left it for the babysitters. The kids had a great time with them! They had pizza for dinner and that sneaky bunny ate a piece of pizza and left a note!

I wanted the egg painting to be a little extra special since we weren't coloring eggs with them so I got a bunch of different candies for them to snack on while they painted. Apparently the candy is really exciting...maybe more so than the eggs!

I love this picture of Ollie. You can tell he is really concentrating and his tongue is out a little bit. This is what Luke does when he is concentrating too.

This is Skylar with the kids. Skylar and her husband Maben are going to school here at USU. We've had them over a couple times for dinner and stuff. They are from Fillmore area though. It was really fun to have them over to babysit.

And now the hunt begins...all the kids needed new bikes so mom and dad bought new bikes...not the bunny!

This picture was taken at about 7:15 a.m. but Jaylee had been up since about 2:00 a.m. She was up all night so sick with a horrible sore throat. We got through the Easter Egg hunt and called our doctor (luckily they have Saturday office hours). She ended up with Strep. Aside from the doctor visit, Easter was great and it didn't take long before she was feeling fine...just had to get some medicine in her.

Late that afternoon we had a barbeque and Easter Egg hunt with some friends. I have never seen a better egg hunt in my life. My friend Kristi loves egg hunts...it's almost like Christmas to her so she put the hunt together with so much stuff! The kids filled 2 baskets of candy, eggs and toys. We had so much fun with our friends! It really made it a fun, memorable day...Thanks guys!

And finally, my favorite part...After the temple I was talking to some friends that told me the best idea. You make rolls that represent the Resurrection. Here's what you do...you buy the creseant rolls and fill each roll with a large marshmallow that has been covered in melted butter then rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Then you seal the roll over the marshmallow and sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar. You bake the rolls as directed on the can. When the rolls come out the marshmallow appears to still be inside but it has melted, of course. The roll represents the tomb and the marshmallow represents Christ.

So the kids assembled the rolls, which was fun for them. Then we had a really spiritual talk about Christs purpose on this earth. We talked in detail about the Garden of Gethsemane and the crucifixion. Then right as the rolls were finished we talked about the Resurrection. We were able to open the roll and see that the marshmallow was gone. Just as Christs body was gone after 3 days. It was a really neat object lesson for the kids. Jaylee and Oliver were shocked that the marshmallow was gone. That, along with the gospel art pictures really made the story come to life for them. It was a really great experience.

I'm so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It brings so much peace, happiness and hope into my life. I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ and the atonement that he provided for all of us. Most importantly, I am grateful for the Resurrection and the assurance that we will all be ressurected someday and live together forever with our families, friends, and loved ones as perfected beings because of the atonement of Christ. We are all so blessed to live in this dispensation with all of the knowledge of the gospel.

Newport Beach, California

2011-04-15T21:06:00.001-07:00

We drove to California on last Friday and went straight to the beach. Right when we pulled in the parking lot we saw dolphins jumping in the water. It was so awesome and a great start to a fun trip. We walked the pier and saw sea lions also. The kids were in heaven! Of course, we walked in the sand also and the kids ran from waves and got wet! Then we watched the sunset...and that's just the first day!

This picture is Jaylee running from the waves. She was so cute, she would put her arms in the air and giggle as she ran away.

I thought this picture was precious. Jaylee stood watching the ocean, with her hands in her pockets for quite a while.

Jaylee spent most of her time digging in the sand.

One of the days at the beach there were dozens of sail boats. It was so fun and picturesque to watch them.

The last few times we have gone to California we have spent most of our time at one particular beach in Newport Beach. It's beautiful, has great waves, and also has a park for the kids to play at. It's such a fun place!

Our sand sea turtle. Ollie even decorated it with sea shells.

Sand dolphin! These were really fun to create.

The kids LOVE Conference!

2011-04-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

Every conference weekend we print the awesome conference packets and we make edible peanut butter play-do. Between the packets and the play-do the kids have the best time. They sit in front of the TV and listen to conference while they are having fun. Here are some of their peanut butter creations!

The rest of France!

2011-04-15T20:10:00.001-07:00

These are some pictures from the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower is so much more impressive in real life. Pictures never do it justice. Mom and Dad at the middle of the Eiffel Tower.

One of my favorite things to see in Paris was The Catacombs. It holds the remains of about 6 million people and fills a renovated section of caverns and tunnels that are the remains of Paris' stone mines.

Paris, France - Day 3

2011-03-21T14:49:00.001-07:00

Well, my camera battery died, and of course I forgot my charger. I was unable to get the pictures off of my mom's camera too so I will have to post pictures later but I wanted to log what we did for the day.

We started out at the Notre Dame. We went to the chapel yesterday but the tower was closed. Today we got to climb 400 stairs to the top! We saw the 3 ton bell and took lots of pictures from the top.

Next we went to Saint Chapell. Of course, the chapel had a lot of incredible detail. It was built in the 1700's. It had incredible stain glass windows.

We went to the Pantheon. The basement was a crypt. One of the many tombs there was Joan of Arc. It was pretty amazing and of course massive!!! Next we headed to a museum that had a lot of amazing paintings and a lot of weird paintings, and a lot of naked paintings! I don't understand their obsession with fat naked ladies. If only the world still loved fat ladies (not naked though)!!! Anyway, many of the paintings were by Picasso, Renoir, Cezanne, and Dennon. I hate to sound like I don't appreciate art, but seriously, some of those paintings I can't understand. I do not know how they are worth millions of dollars...call me CRAZY! Still a neat experience.

Next we saw the Arc of Triumph and went to the top. This time we opted for the elevator! The Arc of Triumph is a monument dedicated to the unknown soldiers. It almost seems like the middle of the town. There are about 10 streets that start (or end) at the Arc. It's really neat.

We accomplished a lot today and tried to see a lot more but there were several museums that were closed today or closed early. It must be because of FHE!!! Anyway, we'll hit a lot more tomorrow!

Oh, I caught a pick pocketer opening my moms backpack. It all happened so fast so I didn't have time to beat him up. You have to be really careful here!

I love and miss all of my friends and family! Thanks Luke for being such an awesome husband!

Paris France - Day 1 and 2!

2011-03-20T15:00:00.001-07:00

Here are only a few pictures from my trip so far. I wish I could put more pictures on but the internet here is much slower for loading the pictures plus it is 11:40 at night and I need to get some sleep. Anyway, the pictures are not in order from my first day to my second day but oh well, I don't have time to make it pretty, just to keep records!These are sculptures from 2300 BC, according to scientists anyway. I have a lot of awesome pictures from this era just because I think it is incredible that they have so much stuff from that time. Pretty crazy! I pictured the movie...The Testaments and all of the carving they had made.

This is Louis XIV and Charles X chambers where they fed many people. The picture does not do the room justice. It is very beautiful and so much detail on everything.

This is on a ceiling. All of the ceilings are so incredible, I can't believe the detail and time it would have taken.

Mona Lisa...She kept looking at me!

This painting was HUGE! I had to take a picture just because of the size of it. Of course, it's pretty too!

This is me right off the airplane after only 2 1/2 hours of sleep. Across the river is The Louve. The building is massive and so beautiful.

This is the view from my hotel room. Very pretty. We are right across from the river and a mini Statue of Liberty.

The Eiffel Tower!!! The base is shockingly huge.

I'm obsessed with European roads. I just love the shapes of buildings and walking down quite streets lined with beautiful apartments and shops.

I miss you Luke and kiddos. I love you so much! Be good and remember that I think of you constantly! Thanks Luke for all of your support!

My Lucky Charm is 6!

2011-03-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today is my little Ollie's birthday. He was born 6 years ago on St. Patrick's Day at 1:00 am. He has been such a joy in our lives. He was a great baby with lots of smiles and that has not changed at all. He is still such a happy boy with so many smiles. Here are some pictures of Ollie from this year.

This picture was taken this morning. This is one of his "wired" smiles!

This is Oliver's school picture. Sweet smile!

I love Sundays because Ollie is so cute and handsome when he's all dressed up for church.

Oliver is always full of smiles in the pool. His swimming teachers have always commented on the fact that they are surprised he doesn't swallow all the pool water because he always has the biggest smile on his face when he comes out of the water.

We had a birthday party this morning. We invited 7 boys over for a Star Wars/Ninja Pizza Party. We had pizza, played games, presents, cake and ice cream, more games, then they went home. It was crazy and fun!

I thought these were the cutest picks for a cake. I love the mini light saber!Last night we made shamrocks out of chocolate covered pretzels. Then we outlined them in green. It was a fun party favor!Party treats! These are cupcake balls covered in white chocolate then decorated. I thought they turned out really cute!Last, but not least...the ice cream leaprachaun. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. It was really hard to get the frosting and the cherry to stay on the face and not slide off the ice cream. I think that I will pass doing this one next year. Cute, but not as exciting as I thought it would be.

First ever quilting project!

2011-03-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

If you are a quilter, you may laugh! This project is seriously not complicated but I have been so inspired by my friend Christy. She is an awesome quilter! I decided to give it a try and start simple. I made this table runner and was surprised how much fun quilting is. It's just fun to see the material you pick, come together. I was also surprised how hard it is to pick material. It's just hard for me to visualize how it will look. This was intended to be a March/St. Patrick's Day table runner but I think it will work for all of Spring. Anyway, for my first time, I think it turned out okay.

Thanks Christy and Melanie for your inspiration! I will definitely quilt again!

Another Swimming Weekend - Hotel - Birthday Party!

2011-03-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

We had lots of family come watch Sabree swim again this past weekend. This event was the B/C finals (I have no idea what b/c stands for). Anyway, you had to have qualifying times to enter each event. It was nice to have so much support for her. Grandma and Grandpa Adams drove from Scipio to watch and Great Grandma and Grandpa Turner also came. After the event we had a little birthday party for Oliver who turns 6 on St. Patrick's Day. Grandma and Grandpa Adams brought him some presents and Grandma actually made cupcakes too. It was really cute! Thanks everyone for your support!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the presents. As you can see, Oliver is very excited!

The swimming meet was Friday and Saturday so we got a hotel in Salt Lake. I don't know why hotels are sooooo fun for kids but they could not wait to get to the hotel...just to sleep. I thought they all looked so cute pulling their own suitcases.

Great Grandma and Grandpa Turner with Sabree

Above, Grandpa Adams and Sabree; below, Grandma Adams and Sabree

Sabree did such a good job at her meet. She improved her breaststroke time by almost 2.5 seconds, her freestyle by .5 seconds, and her backstroke was AMAZING! Out of 42 girls in her age group, she got 3rd place. She improved her own time by 3.5 seconds. She was awesome!And then...again we ate at an all-you-can-eat restaurant the day before Fast Sunday (our Fast Sunday was a week late because of Stake Conference last week). This time we ate at Chuck-a-Rama. Just an FYI...Golden Corral is way better. A lot more choices with many more healthier choices. Anyway, it continues to be a fun tradition (to tell you the truth, I'm already sick of all-you-can-eat restaurants, this being our second month, but the kids LOVE it).

Yummy New Recipe! Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

2011-03-09T21:18:00.000-08:00

I love new recipes and this is a good one. I got it off of the blog Our Best Bites. It's called Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos. You can get the recipe here. They were really easy to make. My girls helped me and we had a great time! Luke and I are on a health kick so we made our taquitos with whole wheat tortillas, and low-fat cream cheese. Our kids prefer white tortillas so I used the tortillas that you bake at home. I also made a yummy sour cream dip to go with it. I use this dip for almost all of my Mexican food dishes. It's nothing fancy but we like it!

Cilantro-Lime Crema

8 ounces reduced-fat sour cream (I used fat-free)
1/8 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper

Stir together sour cream, lime juice, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

Lots to blog about...

2011-03-07T21:08:00.001-08:00

These snow pictures are a little older but I wanted to post them anyway. We went sledding with some friends on Presidents Day. It was such a nice day and so much fun. The kids eventually took off their coats and gloves, it was so warm.

Oliver sleddingSabree and her friend Jaiden
We built this igloo. It took a while but it was a lot of fun. This picture is Oliver, Sabree and our little neighbor friend, Rylee.
Here's Jaylee looking so cute! I still can't believe that I can get her to wear snow clothes!
Luke came out to shovel in shorts. It was really funny! He shoveled several people's walks in shorts too. Not too often you see a foot of snow and someone in shorts shoveling!
We had a very busy weekend. It started on Friday at Sabree's swimming meet. Her meet was in Salt Lake so we had a lot of family that came to see her. The picture above is Eli and Mandy (Uncle and Aunt, Eli is Luke's brother). The picture below is my sister Jill and her kids, and my mom. Sabree was so excited to have them there to watch her. She really appreciated it. After the meet she said, "Mom this meet was so special to me because of all the family that watched me." Thanks everyone for coming! Sabree swam really well. She beat her 50 freestyle time by about 2 seconds, her 50 breast stroke by 4 seconds and she swam her first 100 IM in about 1:40. She's such a cute little swimmer.
On Saturday, we had a baptism to attend. Our niece, Gracie, got baptized! It was fun to see all the family and be a part of her special event.

Oliver and Luke. I love this picture. They both look so handsome!

Jaylee and her cousin Addie.

Sabree and her cousin Gracie.

On Sunday, we got together with my side of the family for all of the March birthday's. This month is Oliver's birthday. I can't believe that he is almost 6. He's getting so big! These are some pictures from the party.

Jaylee was reading to her cousin Katie. It was really cute and by the way, we did not plan the twin outfits!

Sabree, Grandpa Oliver, and Oliver. Grandpa had just gotten home from work. It was fun to get a picture of him in uniform.

Oliver and Grandma.

Sabree and her Aunt Jana. Sabree is starting to look so grown up. She's really a pretty girl just like her Aunt Jana!

Yummy, Healthy Protein Bites

2011-03-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

My new favorite healthy snack are these protein bites. I got them from a friend and they are awesome (thank you Sadie and Mary!)! My kids love them and even Luke, who loves no bake cookies, thought this was a great substitute for them. Now you too can enjoy them! Here's the recipe:

2 1/4 cups peanut butter
1 cup Agave Nectar

Warm together in the microwave and mix well. Then add:

3 cups Quick Oats
3/4 cup craisins
3/4 cups slivered almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 scoops any protein powder (I used chocolate)
1 Tbsp flax seed (OPTIONAL)

Mix well and put in a mini muffin tin. Makes about 44.

Good Grapes!

2011-02-26T22:10:00.001-08:00

Cute Jaylee was thoroughly enjoying a bowl of grapes. She popped one in her mouth, started chewing and said,

"These grapes are going to heaven!"
"Why" I replied.
"Because they are soooo good!"

I love the funny things kids say!

Valentine's Day Gifts...GUNS!

2011-02-17T19:40:00.000-08:00

Oh my sweet husband! It was Valentine's Day, and being the slacker that I am, I still did not have gifts for my kids at 3:00 that afternoon. I asked Luke if he could take all of the kids to Oliver's karate class while I ran to the store and bought them gifts and got dinner ready. He was just about to runs some errands so he offered to get some gifts and run to Papa Murphy's to pick up a heart shaped pizza. AWESOME! One less thing I had to do. Besides, I had no idea what I was going to get the kids. I didn't want to buy any junk food or stuffed animals and that really limits what you can get a kid for Valentine's Day. Anyway, I took the kids and called Luke on our way home so he could be ready for us. I asked him, "What did you get for the kids?". He answered, "I bought them each a balloon and I got each of them a Nerf gun. I thought they would have a fun time fighting each other with the guns after dinner." I'm waiting for him to laugh or something so I would know that he's joking...since when is the holiday of LOVE all about FIGHTING??? No laugh!!! He was completely serious! Then I just have to laugh at the way the a guy thinks! Luke is so cute! And yes, the kids did run around the house screaming and laughing after dinner with their guns! They do love each other!There they are, the balloons, pizza...and GUNS!

Have I mentioned how much I love Hobby Lobby?! I feel so blessed to live so close to one! I found this heart wreath there and I have loved it! I think it's really unique and it was only about $15. Sounds funny but I love wreaths so I think it's fun when I can find a cute one!

Our little fish!

2011-02-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

Sabree had her first Logan swimming meet on Saturday. She has been swimming for the Sports Academy Barracuda swimming team since November. She swims 3 days a week and is loving it! She has really improved over the past several months. When we got to her meet she was quite nervous. We were definately not in Fillmore anymore! There were so many people there. When she was on the Fillmore swimming team she would swim against 8 year old's and under, swimming 25's and would compete against 3 or 4 other girls. At this meet she had to swim against 10 year old's and under, 50 meters and she competed against 20+ girls. It was a little intimidating in the beginning.

This is Sabree during warm-ups. I could tell she was nervous just by the way she was standing. She looked so small standing around with all of the other swimmers!

She's on the block, ready to dive in her first event. She's so cute!Grandma and Grandpa Adams drove up to see her swim. They stayed the night on Friday and stayed the entire day Saturday for her meet. It was so helpful to have them there and Sabree really appreciated it! It sure made her feel special. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!
Luke, Sabree and Grandpa!

This is a picture from Friday night! The kids had just gotten a valentine from Grandma and Grandpa with tons of candy in it. Jaylee's lips are really red from the candy and you can see the "wired" expression on Sabree's and Oliver's face from all of the candy! We love Grandparents...that's what they are for...love 'em, spoil 'em, feed 'em candy!

Here are Sabree's final numbers from the meet...
50 Breaststroke - 56.6 seconds (she came in 6th place, she beat all the other 8 year old's but was behind some of the 9 and 10 year old's)
50 Freestyle - 41.07 seconds (she came in 8th but again beat all the other 8 year old's)
50 Backstroke - 51.45 seconds (she came in 4th place, and beat all the other 8 year old's)

Juanito Bandito!!!

2011-02-09T21:34:00.000-08:00

The Davis' in the ward run Pickleville Playhouse. They have plays in Bear Lake all summer long. But, during the year T.J. has a Christmas show (that we went to in December...it was awesome), and on Monday we went to his other show Juanito Bandito. It was so stinkin' funny! Talk about talent! We had so much fun taking Oliver and Sabree to this show.

This is T.J. aka Juanito Bandito with the kids
Me and my friend Erin. I am her visiting teacher also, it's awesome! She's great!

Me and my cute little Sabree!

Oliver, Sabree and Luke...good times!

We got to watch T.J. and Erin's baby during a matinee. He was such a doll. The kids had the best time with him. At one point Oliver said, "I wish we could have one of these!" I thought it was funny to refer to the baby as "one of these".

Of course, Jaylee turned all motherly on us. She LOVED him.

It wouldn't be so bad having "one of these" if you didn't have to be pregnant with one, deliver one, if he came sleeping through the night already...

Fasting

2011-02-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

I am so proud of my little ones! A couple of weeks ago we had a family home evening on fasting. We decided as a family that we would start a new tradition. Saturday night, before fast Sunday, we would eat out at an all-you-can-eat resteraunt. This would be a good reminder that we are fasting after the meal until Sunday evening. So Saturday came and the kids could not wait to go out to eat and start fasting...it was magical! Sabree is the only one that we really wanted to fast since she is now 8. During dinner we talked about things that we could fast for. We also told them that every time their tummy growls, it would be a good reminder to say a prayer in their head. Then when we got home we all began our fasts with prayers. The next morning, I was surprised to see that Oliver was fasting also. He had said a prayer and started the night before. It was a great Fast Sunday. Sabree said, "I have said so many prayers 'cause my tummy keeps growling!" I'm so proud of the kids for taking that step of obedience. They are good kids!

Cooking with mom, karate, Harry Potter, Friends and getting past hard stages!!!

2011-02-03T20:28:00.000-08:00

Cooking with MomThe kids were helping me make dinner for another family the other night. They were really excited about serving others. Anyway, we had to chop onions...they each took a turn and it ended up like this. It was so funny! All of our eyes were watering like crazy! The dinner turned out great!

Karate

Oliver has been in karate the last couple of months. It's actually a mixed martial art (I forgot the name of it) but we call it karate. Oliver LOVES it and he is really good at it. His instructor gave him this karate uniform to wear to class because he wants to start filming him during class so others can take the video and practice at home, also to use as samples. He's a tough little kid. Every class they do a lot of conditioning. He's getting really good at push ups and sit ups.

Harry Potter
Sabree has really gotten into reading lately. We started reading Harry Potter in December. We read the first one together. She has gotten so into them now. She's on book #4. I've been surprised how quickly she reads them and how much she comprehends. I'm really proud of our little reader! Good job Sabs!

Friends
My friend Becky and her kids live in Boise, Idaho and they were driving home from a funeral in Orem. We haven't seen them in a long time so we met them in Brigham City and had lunch with them. It was really fun. Sabree and Sam were together almost everyday from 6 months of age to 3. We've gotten together with them frequently since then. They have always been great friends. Every time they get together it is like they were never apart! It's really cute. Here are some photos from our lunch.

Sabree, Paige, Ethan, Sam, Oliver, Jaylee

Oliver and Ethan (only 4 months apart)

Sabree and Sam (only 4 months apart)

Getting Past Hard Stages!!!
Many have seen how difficult Jaylee can be. For the last year she has had issues with her clothes being tight so she'll only wear certain outfits (stretchy pants, soft shirts with no weird seams, only slip on shoes that are 1-2 sizes too big). It has been really strange and VERY challenging. She also hasn't let me do her hair. Everything in her hair has been too tight also. She throws the biggest fits all day long if you fight her on her clothes or hair. It's not even worth it. Anyway, it has been really hard thing for me to deal with. I know it sounds weird but you'd have to hear the whole situation. Anyway, just over the last month or so we have seen some HUGE progress. She finally started wearing some different clothes. Most of them are still comfortable, stretchy clothes but she was quite opinionated in the past, even with those. For those of you who know that situation, you will see the huge progress in the pictures below.

The fact that she's wearing pink and a jacket is huge!!! She got to the point where she was very limited on the clothes she would wear...1 pair of black leggings, 1 pair of brown leggings, and 2 white shirts that were exactly the same. I was washing those clothes almost daily!

This is a new outfit and a new headband...huge progress!!! She threw a fit in the beginning but now she loves them!

What is that...her hair has a tie in it? I know its not much but it is awesome for us. Plus she has on a tight leotard.

2 hair ties...I haven't done this in her hair for over a year!

She let Luke put piggy tails in her hair...now we're on a roll!

Yes, that is a pony tail! She's also wearing her Christmas p.j's...she wouldn't even wear them on Christmas. It took her a month to wear these.

Who knew that a 3 year old could be so difficult...at least we are on the upside. She's really been cute and sweet lately. She is finally getting easier! I don't have pictures to prove it yet but she has even worn Levi's twice, she also has worn tennis shoes that actually fit her over the last week. It's AMAZING!

Saturdays at the Sports Academy

2011-01-30T18:41:00.000-08:00

Every Saturday this year we have gone to our gym with the kids and spent several hours there. It has been a blast and is becoming a great tradition. The first hour Luke and I work out together while the kids spend time playing in the kids club. Then we take the kids swimming, then we play basketball. We end up being at the gym for 3 1/2 hours. It has been great family time and lots of good exercise.

Here's a picture of the kids cheesin' it! They are excited, and in their sports gear for some good exercise!

Luke and Jaylee playing ball!

Oliver has gotten really good at shooting and dribbling lately. I take Oliver and Jaylee to the kids club at the gym everyday. They get to go into the gym and play basketball. You hardly ever see Oliver without a basketball now. He loves it!

Surprisingly enough, Jaylee is a great dribbler. She's pretty coordinated.

Sabree is such a pretty girl. I thought she was cute leaning against the wall.

Here's Sabree swimming. She is on the Sports Academy's swim team. Her technique has really improved. She's a talented swimmer.

Anyone who has taught Oliver swimming lessons has said that they love to teach him because he always has a smile on his face when he's in the water. I love his smile!

Jaylee has always pretty scared of the water. She has been getting a lot more comfortable over the last couple of weeks. She's cute!

Jingle Bells!

2011-01-21T19:42:00.000-08:00

So...Jaylee's favorite song since 2 Christmas' ago is Jingle Bells. We have had to sing that song every night for over a year. She loves it! Anyway, tonight Luke was tickling Jaylee's back in bed and singing Jingle Bells for the 3rd time. Jaylee was snoring at this point and he was pretty much whispering the song. He got to the point where he said, "Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh...." Out of no where, our snoring child yelled, "HEY"! It was so funny. She was totally snoring before and totally asleep after but she sure sang out at the right part! I love sleeping kids!!!!This wasn't her tonight but see...they are so cute when they are asleep!!!

Ice Skating Field Trip

2011-01-06T13:59:00.000-08:00

Sabree's class went ice skating today and I was one of the lucky parents that got to go along. It was a lot of fun. For the first 30 minutes the kids had a lesson. The last half hour was free skating. Sabree is actually pretty good at ice skating. We've only taken her 1 other time and that was a really long time ago. She had a few good falls but over all it was a blast!

Sabree and her Silly friends just arriving at the ice rink

All laced up and ready to go!

This is right after a really good fall! She actually scared all of us adults. Her skates ran into the wall, then her face hit the wall, then she fell backwards. I thought she'd be really hurt but she was laughing!

Mother, Daughter skating event! Sabree's so cute!

These are some of Sabree's favorite friends at school...Addison, Sabree, Maddi, Mary, Faith and Jesse. She has some great friends here and loves it so much!

11 Years...Happy Anniversary!

2011-01-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

It has been a great day! It is our 11 year anniversary. 11 YEARS! That's a long time. We've actually been best friends for 15 years though. I can hardly remember life without Luke. He's such a great husband and I'm so grateful that he is a part of my life. This morning I woke up to beautiful flowers and a poem. He used to write me poems all the time but it had been a while until today...I loved it! The poem was so cute! It pretty much summed up the last 11 years of our life together. It was perfect! He's such a sweetie!

Christmas Events

2010-12-31T20:48:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Christmas and it all started 2 days early! We knew we were leaving Christmas afternoon but we also knew we were getting a Wii. We thought it would be hard to leave it after getting it the same day so we decided to send the kids on a hunt for the present. Luke wrote several clues that sent the kids all over the house. Anyway, in the end they opened the Wii! We set it up immediately and had the best time playing it!

One of our favorite games is a bike race. Oliver was hilarious! When he played the bike game he was running in place and moving his arms! He got so into it! We were laughing so hard!

On Christmas Eve we finally put our gingerbread house together. We had been meaning to for weeks and something always came up...finally the finished product! It may not be beautiful but it was fun to put together!

That evening, Oliver discovered 3 presents on the doorstep! Th Elves had dropped off p.j.'s for the kids! This was a hit! The kids went crazy...we love those elves!

Christmas morning...Sabree got her Littlest Pet Shop house and pets from Santa!

One of Oliver's favorite toys...a remote controlled helicopter...thanks Grandma and Grandpa Oliver!Jaylee got a Cinderella doll!On our way to Orem...it was so sunny so all the kids wanted sun glasses. I thought they looked cute! Plus, Sabree's sporting her new clothes!
We love tired little kids when it works out like this picture! Tired and still awake = disaster...tired and sleeping = heaven!
Grandma and Grandpa Oliver
Jaylee and Tyson's girlfriend, Amelia. Jaylee never lets anyone do her hair, but on Christmas she let Amelia do it! It's crazy but still...it's up!!! It's a Christmas miracle!Grandpa Adams and JayleeAmy and Sabree! It was so fun to see Jake and Amy again! Amy played littlest pet shop with Sabree for a while. Sabree was in heaven!
Mandy, Eli and Sabree! We never get to see them enough...again, so fun to see the aunts and uncles!
The girls spent some time cooking with Grandma. They had a great time. Sabree got a new cupcake cookbook from Grandma and Grandpa so they made some cupcakes. The girls also helped with Chex Mix...building great memories!
This pictures pretty much sums up the Christmas events. It was fun, the kids were cute! We're already counting down for next year!

Oliver's taking a stand!

2010-12-23T21:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I helped out in Oliver's kindergarten class for a Christmas party. We seperated the kids into groups of 5. Anyway today I was talking to Oliver about his party the day before. One part of the conversation was so cute! It went something like this...

I asked, "Who was that cute girl that was in your group. She had blonde hair with curly piggytails. She was wearing a black shirt."

He paused for a minute..."Mom, she dresses immodest all the time so, NO WAY!"

Luke and I had to turn away and laugh quietly. I wasn't trying to set him up with her! I just wanted to know her name! It was so funny!

Later, I pulled Oliver aside and told him I was so proud of him for recognizing how important it was to dress modest. He is such a good boy!

Snow! Sledding! Chocolate!

2010-12-19T21:53:00.000-08:00

It snowed most of the day on Saturday. It was really beautiful. I told the kids to get their friends and we would build a snowman. Unfortunately, it was not good packing snow so we decided to build a little hill in our front yard to sled on. That wasn't going well either so we packed everyone up and went to a real hill. We were sledding for over 2 hours. it was so much fun!

Oliver and Tanner

Our neighbors, "the Lammi's". We have the same age kids. Gwen and Sabree and friends, Oliver and Davin are friends, and Emily and Jaylee are friends.

Julie and Sabree

Hayden, Carter and Erin (Carter is Oliver's friend, I visit teach Erin and we've become really good friends.)

Cute Ollie...I love his smile!

Sabree and Gwen

After Sacrament meeting we went to my Aunt Cathy's house in Tremonton. Every year all of her family gets together and makes candy. They also invite a lot of extended family. This year we got to go! It was awesome. The kids had the best time. It was great to learn how to make the chocolates but it was also great to visit with family.

Now about the chocolates...I can't believe how many we made. Cherry cordials, orange sticks, chocolate dipped caramels, almond joys, peanut butter cups, divinity, whatchamacalits, peanut clusters, fudge, truffles, toffee, and caramel/chocolate dipped pretzels...plus we did all of this in milk and dark chocolate. The kids also dipped all kinds of candy like cinnamon bears, sour patch kids, fruit candies, and put the peanut butter cups together. Cathy also had the kids build their own gingerbread houses. I think we found a new family tradition!

Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures of us "in action". Here are some of the chocolates though. They might not look perfectly pretty but they taste perfect!

Christmas Caroling

2010-12-14T21:57:00.001-08:00

We went Christmas caroling last night with several families. It was a lot of fun! We have made a tradition of caroling as a family, the kids always have so much fun. All the adults were discussing how caroling is kind of a forgotten activity. Why is that? It seems like people used to sing more at this time of year than they do now. I think it's unfortunate, soooo....everyone get out and sing to others. It's a little cheesy but it still makes people feel good!

Dad's Singing

2010-12-08T20:56:00.000-08:00

I was out tonight with some friends and Luke fed the kids dinner. After dinner he told them they could have dessert.

They asked, "what is it?"
Luke said, "I'm going to sing to you and it will be dessert to your ears!"
He proceeded to sing them a song (jokingly) and then asked, "was that yummy for your ears?"
Jaylee (age 3) said, "That song made me want to throw up!"

I love the funny things that kids say!

Pickleville Playhouse

2010-12-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

Luke and I took Sabree and Oliver to a Christmas play tonight. It was really fun! One of our friends in the ward wrote, directed and starred in the play. It was incredible. I can't believe that people have that kind of talent...not only to write a play (which would be extremely difficult), but to write all the music too. That takes talent. Anyway, it was a really funny play and very entertaining. The kids loved it! This will definitely be the beginning of a annual Christmas tradition for us. Here are some pictures from our night.

Before the play the kids got to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas!

Ollie really, really wants a pair of shoes that he saw at Target and of course they are awesome! He also wants these little skateboards that come with a little ramp.

Sabree wants pet shop toys, zhu zhu pets and much, much more!

This is Sabree, me, Oliver, and Ollie's friend Carter. Carter's dad is the one that wrote the play.

The play was on USU campus so after the play we showed the kids around for a minute. We took them by the "A" where Luke and I had our first kiss and became "True Aggies'! Good times!

Lots going on...Nativity, holiday talk time, breakfast in bed!

2010-12-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how time flies! I cannot believe that we are already well into December and the year is almost over!

Live Nativity
We went to dinner and a live Nativity with our friends (Bryan, Cherie and Fam) tonight. The kids had a good time. It was really nice. You can't help but feel the spirit at events like the Nativity. It's interesting to watch little kids at an event like this too. Even at a very young age, they sense the significance and spirit of the Nativity.

Anyway, we saw the nativity, then walked around a little farm of different animals. The kids got to pet the animals. Then we had hot chocolate as we waited for a hay ride. Overall, it was a great night! I have to admit, last year's baby Jesus was a lot more impressive (my little nephew, Branson)!Jaylee on the hay ride. She said, "that was fun when the horse rode us!"

Julie, Luke, Jaylee, Sabree and Jaiden

Nelson Family + Sabree and Ollie

Jaylee petting a baby goat

Cute kids!

Holiday Talk Time
One of my favorite things so far this Christmas season has been our holiday talk time. At the end of November we started decorating for Christmas and I was trying to think of something special to do with the kids. I decided to put Christmas lights on our bed and spend some time each night with the kids on the bed with the Christmas lights on. So we started holiday talk time. Luke and I rotate nights and we spend 5 minutes with each kid just talking to them. It has been so fun. The kids look forward to it every night and so do I. We like it so much that I think we'll keep it going even after the holidays and I think I'll even keep the lights up. It makes it feel like a really special time.
Breakfast in Bed
Through the month of December as a family we try to do at least one act of service every day. Of course, on the top of the list is breakfast in bed for the kids.

7 children!!!

2010-11-21T19:46:00.000-08:00

After a very fun weekend...Luke and I are exhausted. Friday was my brother's anniversary so we watched their kids for the weekend (they're going to watch ours on our anniversary). We added their 4 kids to our 3. Lets just say our house was hoppin'! We played tons of UNO, had hug toy messes, made Christmas lists at Toys R Us, had a Toy Story 3 popcorn party, made forts, played hide and seek, and survived church.

The sleeping arrangement worked out pretty good. Oliver's bed is actually 2 top matresses instead of a box spring so we just split them up. The girls were the hardest of all the kids the first night. They kept laughing and talking. And of course, they had to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes and needed a drink every 5...so funny!

Oliver and Zak on the couch!

We found out that Ret likes to wake up at 5:30 in the morning except on weekends because he gets to stay up later. Maybe the older boys were playin us with a clever way of staying up late but we weren't going to take any chances either way so we let them stay up!

This is the fort! We let the kids try to figure out a fort but it wasn't going well, Luke decided to take over. He rearranged furniture and made an awesome fort!Luke took all the kids except Jaylee and met Che' in Salt Lake. Jaylee crashed! She had a fun weekend!

Believe it or not, I already miss my nephews and neice! It was great to have them around. My hat goes off to Mom's of 7+ kids though...I'm tired!

Good Times!

2010-10-31T16:04:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy week between a birthday, canning, Halloween and church talks! Tuesday was Jaylee's birthday, Wednesday we had a ward Halloween Carnival, Thursday I canned apple pie filling with my aunt Cathy, Friday was a school Halloween Carnival, Saturday some of our friends invited us over for dinner and then trick or treating, and Sunday (today) Luke and I had to speak in Sacrament Meeting. Needless to say, I'm exhausted, I can't even believe that I'm blogging right now because I can barely keep my eyes open!

This is canning proof! I did it! I learned to can apple pie filling with my Aunt. She is an incredible canner so I'm excited to learn a lot from her. Next month we are going to can black beans, northern beans, and pinto beans. One awesome trick that I learned from her the other day...you can actually heat your seals in the microwave. You just have to make sure they are covered with water. Microwave them for approximately 3 minutes and they're ready to go. I watched it with my own eyes! Metal in the microwave! Great trick though, then you don't have to have another pan on the stove.

A couple of nights ago, the kids were being so silly. We probably spent 30 minutes taking silly pictures of them. We were all laughing and having the best time.

This is trick or treating. We hit a few more homes after separating from our friends. It was raining so we sat in the back of the van with the hatch open while Luke drove us from one house to the next.

Yep, you guessed it, Jaylee is just Jaylee for Halloween. This is the 2nd Halloween in a row that she wouldn't wear her costume on Halloween. She's such a stinker sometimes. She wouldn't let us put a shirt underneath her princess dress to make it modest so she didn't wear it at all. Oh well! Sabree is a witch and Oliver is a ninja.

Jaylee actually worked hard on her pumpkin. She really did carve it with very little help. We drew lines on the pumpkin and she traced it with the little pumpkin carving knife. A little scary but what else do you do with an independent 3 year old!

Oliver and Luke carved this pumpkin. Luke loves carving pumpkins. It's funny to watch him carve because he gets so into it just like the kids. Anyway, Oliver and Luke carved Darth Maul. It turned out really cool.

Sabree did this pumpkin completely on her own. I thought it was really creative and it turned out great! She wanted to do hair on her pumpkin. I didn't think it would show but when we lit it up, it looked awesome! She did a great job!

Jaylee did dress up for the ward carnival. She got this skirt and wings from her cousin Annie for her birthday. She loves it!!! She's worn it 4 times since she got it last Sunday!

Oliver and friend Davin. Sabree and friend Gwen.

Happy Birthday Jaylee!

2010-10-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

A few cute pictures of Jaylee throughout the year.

Today is Jaylee's birthday. The day started out crazy, trying to get ready for her party and everything, but it ended up great! Grandma Adams came in town yesterday afternoon and brought Gracie, Ellie and Addie (cousins). We went to the pumpkin walk on Monday, had pizza for dinner, and had a crazy night trying to make kids sleep. Today, we had a great breakfast and I started getting ready for a birthday party. Jaylee had 4 friends come over to celebrate. We had the best time. We played lots of games.

When the girls first arrived they colored Halloween pictures. After that we danced to "The Monster Mash" and every time the music stopped, the girls had to freeze. It was actually quite funny!
After dancing we went on a ghost hunt. I had ghosts hung up all over the house so we searched for them. On the back of each ghost was a Halloween picture to make a matching game. We played the matching game twice. The girls loved it! After the matching game I had hidden 1 Halloween treat for each girl so one at a time they went and found their treat. Next we played "Don't eat Pete"! This was a blast and of course the girls loved the Skittles. Next we played "Hot Pumpkin" the same as "Hot Potato" and each girl got to keep a little pumpkin.
You'd think that would be enough games but we kept on playing...Next we played pin the nose on the Jack-O-lantern. Then we opened presents, sang happy birthday, ate cupcakes, then decorated sugar cookies!
I love my little Jaylee. She is a fireball! In fact, she's a hard little girl right now but there are times that she can be so darn sweet and those short glimpses keep me going and remind me how special she is. Hard stages too shall pass! She's my cute little baby and I love her to pieces! Happy Birthday Baby!

Pumpkin Walk

2010-10-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

I went to the pumpkin walk 3 times this year. The first time was with Kelsey and Jamie (previous post), the second with my little family, and the third with Grandma Adams and cousins. It's pretty cool! If you haven't ever seen it, you should come next year. It's funny, Luke and I went to the pumpkin walk many moons ago...before we were even married. It has improved 100 times and everyone says it gets better every year. Here are some pictures. The first few are at the end of the pumpkin walk. They have a bunch of character boards that you put your face in. The kids loved it! I had to take a picture of each of them in every character. At the end, I had 101 pictures. CRAZY FUN!

Luke makes a pretty good Harry Potter!

Sabree, Jaylee, Oliver

Oliver as his favorite character!

This is the movie UP

Sponge Bob! This one was impressive. I couldn't believe how much it really looked like all the characters.

The Flintstones and Ollie

Winnie the Pooh. This was only half of this scene.

YEAH! I love my Young Women

2010-10-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was so fun! I had Kelsey and Jamie Beckstrand (2 of my Young Women) come into town. We hung out on Friday night, they slept over and we spent 1/2 of Saturday together. We had so much fun. I miss all of my Young Women and love them so much. Here are some of the pictures from the weekend with my girls!
We went to a pumpkin walk that North Logan sponsors. It was incredible. They had 30-40 different scenes with the theme "animation". The scenes included a lot of Disney movies and cartoons. All the characters are created with mostly pumpkins and squash. People are so creative!

The background on this photo was "A Bugs Life". The picture doesn't do the background justice but the girls look cute!The FlinstonesJamie as Snow White!Kelsey makes a good Cinderella. I should have had her try out her skills on my kitchen floor and bathrooms!

Reflections and Basketball

2010-10-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

We have been busy lately. Sabree and Oliver participated in this year's reflections. They did a great job and it was a lot of work! Both kids came up with their own idea. They were very clever too, I thought. The theme was "Together we can...". Sabree chose "together we can make our world a better place". Oliver chose, "together we can conquer the dark side".This is the beginning of the paper mache light saber and world. I forgot how much work paper mache is...super messy too!

Painting is the fun part. Sabree's had a lot of detail. She did a great job. She first painted the whole earth blue. Then she painted all the land brown, then she used a sponge brush to add green on top of the brown, then she mixed yellow and brown and sponged that on top of the green. It looked really cool.

Oliver painting his light saber. He added quite a bit of detail too. He loved it!

These are the finished products. Sabree's world holder is a pot. On the outside she colored pictures of ways to make the world a better place.

Both Sabree and Oliver's projects made it to the next round. It will be sent to "the council"! They are really excited about that.

Now, basketball! Luke went with a buddy to play basketball and came home injured! While he was playing basketball someone jabbed him in the eye. It scratched up his eyeball pretty bad. He had a hard time sleeping all night. He was in a lot of pain. First thing in the morning I called and got him an appointment with an optometrist who was quite concerned about his eye. It was scratched badly in 2 places. He was worried that it may have damaged the flap over the center of the eye. Fortunately it didn't otherwise he would have had to go right into surgery. Anyway, he was given prescriptions for 3 different eye drops that are administered every 2 hours. Today he went back to the doctor and his eye is already improving; however, his vision in that eye is not back to normal. He has another appointment on Monday and hopefully we'll have good news!

You can't tell because of the flash but the room is really dark. Even in the dark, most the day he wore sunglasses too. His eye was really sensitive to any light at all. Poor guy! He's much better today though.

Great Weekend

2010-10-10T22:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was really fun. My sister Jana came to visit. We got to shop and we made hair flowers. It was great!

The other great part is that while we were making flowers Luke straightened the entire garage. It looks awesome! Oliver was his little helper. It is so cute! He loves his dad and wants to be just like him.
Last, we drove through Sardine canyon to see the colorful leaves. It was really pretty, I love that canyon. We also went to Brigham City to see my grandparents. Anyway, just a great weekend with the family!

I sure love these little ones. They are so sweet!

Love Ollie's ears when he wears a hat! He makes me laugh!

Jaylee coloring in the car. I love the crossed legs!

Crazy!

2010-10-10T21:51:00.000-07:00

A couple crazy things...first of all, crazy hair day! Usually Sabree gets kind of embarrassed and won't do anything too crazy with her hair but both kids totally got into crazy hair day at school this year. We needed to cut Oliver's hair anyway so we held off until the night before crazy hair day and buzzed the sides so he could have a mow hawk. He was so excited! It was cute. Oliver has always been a pretty quiet kid but he really has come out of his shell here. He has a lot of friends and is having tons of fun!

One other crazy thing, Sabree got her ears pierced for her birthday in August and finally got to change her earrings. A couple of days after changing them one ear got infected. Usually not a big deal except that the back of her earring was embedded in her ear. We had to take her to Urgent care (it was a Sunday) and they had to cut it out. It was really traumatic! And it looked really painful. She has to wait about 1 month to get her ear re-pierced. Sad!

Top Ten

2010-09-30T21:41:00.000-07:00

Ten things I love about Logan...

1. Walmart...I go there everyday just because I can!!!
2. Hobby Lobby
3. Elementary School starts at 9:05 instead of our previous school's 8:10. It makes it so much easier to have breakfast as a family and scripture study. Love it!!!
4. Elementary is within walking distance. The kids love to walk to and from school.
5. Out to eat options!
6. The temple is only 10 minutes away!
7. Awesome neighbors. Our first week here we were invited to a neighborhood barbecue and met lots of people. It was great.
8. Tons of kids in the neighborhood our kids ages
9. An awesome gym for working out and the kids love the day care.
10. College town! We have loved going to college games. We've already been to a football game, soccer, and volleyball in our 2 short weeks. It's been fun!

Although I have loved Logan I really miss Fillmore, all of my friends and the Young Women. I love you all!

Sabree's Baptism

2010-08-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little Sabree was baptized on August 15th. It was such a perfect day! The 15th was a Sunday so we had the baptism in the evening after church. There were so many family and friends there to support her. You could just see the happiness in her face. Everything went so perfect for her. Here are some pictures we had taken a few days before her baptism.

These are a few pictures taken right before the baptism and just after.

This is Sabree with her second grade teacher, Mrs. Monroe. She also had her first grade teacher Miss Weight there. She loved her teachers and it was so neat to have them both there for her.These are her Primary teachers, Brother and Sister Alldredge. They have been great!

There were so many others there and we really appreciate all of the support. Again it made the experience so much more memorable to her. After the baptism we had a small dinner. Sabree stayed in her dress so we could get pictures of her but that turned out to be a bad idea. White dresses with sloppy joes, jello, watermelon and more don't go well together. Luckily the dress did come clean.
This is Grandpa Oliver and Sabree.
Aunt Jana and Sabree. Jana spoke during the baptism program. She's a great example to Sabree.Uncle Eli is so cute with Sabree. It's so awesome that she has so many great relationships.

Overall, an awesome experience for her. A day she will never forget. For me, it was one of the highlights in my life. It feel so good to see your kids making good choices. Sabree had been looking forward to this day for a long time. She is such a special little girl, a daughter of God. I'm so proud of her! She's my little angel.

Happy Birthday Sabree

2010-08-12T21:23:00.002-07:00

Today is Sabree's 8th birthday. She's been waiting for this day for a long time. She's been really excited for her "special" birthday so she can get baptized. I wanted to make this birthday really memorable for her so we did a few extra things to make it special. Here are some pictures from the day!

Presents right after waking up! One was a swimming suit that she could wear later that day for her surprise birthday party!We did a "pink party"! This is the pink treat table. Each girl got to fill a bag of treats to take home.

Sabree's friends waiting for the birthday girl!

Still waiting! This is a picture of the cute table though. Becky (a lady in our ward) lent me the chair covers and I put tool on them. It turned out really cute!

Sabree finally made it to her party and she was really surprised and super excited. She was a little bummed thinking that she wasn't going to have a party with friends.

Playing on the trampoline with sprinklers!

Water fight! All the girls attacked Luke. He was drenched in water. It was really funny!

=
Sabree has wanted her ears pierced since she was 4. She finally got them peirced! OUCH! I think she already forgot that it hurt...at least she's telling everyone that it didn't even hurt but I have proof!

Overall, it was a successful day! She had a lot of fun! Earlier in the evening she slapped her face and said, "I keep trying to wake up from my dream, but I guess this day really did happen. It has been a dream come true. Thanks mom!" That's what makes it all worth it! She's a sweet little girl!

Camping at Fish Lake

2010-07-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

We went camping this weekend. It was really fun! We just bought a new camping trailer and decided to head to Fish Lake, Goosebury side. We drove up to cold creek. It was beautiful! There were several meadows of wild flowers.

After picking flowers, fishing, hiking and playing...this was our end result! We had some really dirty kids and lots of memories!

FUNNY, SCARY, AND BLESSED!

2010-07-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

This morning Jaylee was eating her oatmeal, Ollie and Sabree were in another room, I jumped in the shower and Luke was working. As I was getting out of the shower Jaylee came into the bathroom and said, "Mom the fire is getting big"! I ran into the hall at the same time Luke came out of his office and we both could see the fire consuming the entire inside of the microwave. We sent the kids outside as Luke stopped the microwave and once the fire was smaller he took out the microwave plate and doused it in the sink. The smoke was really thick and hard to breathe in so the kids stayed out for another 15 minutes while Luke and I tried to fan the house out. Needless to say, my house reeks!!! After things settled down we asked Jaylee what she was cooking in the microwave (the bowl was melted and the contents inside was not recognizeable). She said her oatmeal got cold so she was cooking it. She probably cooked it for the entire time I was in the shower! I couldn't help but laugh and thank Heavenly Father that everything (besides our microwave) was ok. She was so cute, trying to warm up her oatmeal! We explained that mom and dad should use the microwave for her. Ten minutes later she was throwing a fit because she wanted to make more oatmeal in the microwave by herself! We're going to try to find a microwave with child lock! I guess the lesson was not learned yet!!!

One thing that I have learned from this experience is how quickly things can go from good to really bad! We never know what is coming our way...thankfully everything worked out great for us. Had Jaylee waited even seconds longer to tell us, things could have been really bad. I had a recipe and a thin paper cookbook on top of the microwave, both were hot and very discolored. Seconds longer and those could have been on fire and set our cupboards on fire. I'm so grateful that Jaylee didn't open the microwave or do anything different than she did. At 2 1/2 years old she did exactly the right thing!

Another thing I have learned from this experience is how much our Heavenly Father knows each one of us. Last night I had a YW Presidency meeting at 6:00 then a combined Young Men/Young Women activity at 7:00. Half way through my presidency meeting I told the ladies that I felt like I should not go to the activity but that I felt like I needed to go home and read to my kids and take care of them. I have never done this before, I always attend the activities. Anyway, I came home and took my kids downstairs to read. The books I chose to read them were safety and emergency books. We have 6 or so and I read them all. We read about Stranger Danger, Bike safety, what to do if you get lost, crossing the street, etc. The book that I ended with and spent the most time on was about calling 911. We talked about reasons you call 911. Then I roll-played with the kids calling 911. Jaylee wanted her turn so I told her to call me and tell me that the house was on fire. After we finished our fake phone conversation we talked about fires. At the time none of this meant anything to me. In fact, it was kind of weird for me to choose those books. But now looking back, I know that Heavenly Father had his hand in our lives. He was looking out for us and our safety. I am so grateful for his presence in my life and for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Where would I be without it?

A new start!

2010-07-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

Well, as everyone has well informed me...it has been a while since I have blogged (this is for you Christy and Jill!). I quit blogging right when I got called to be Young Women's President! Needless to say I have been extremely busy and grown several gray hairs since September of last year! It's time to start anew though. I can't promise consistent posts but I will try to post here and there!

June was an extremely busy month for me. The first weekend in June was Youth Conference. We went to Escalante. We hiked the slot canyons and calf creek. It was fun and hot but a great to spend time with the Youth.The second week of June I spent getting ready for girls camp the following week and sending Sabree off everyday to practice for the Mormon Handcart Pageant in Nephi.

The third week of June was Girls Camp! It was really incredible. Our Stake theme was E.R. (Eternal Rewards). Each ward chose a doctor and a value. We were Podiatrists and our value was Faith. We had such a great time. Camp is such an awesome opportunity to bond with the girls. I'm grateful for my calling! I love girls camp!SOME OF THE GIRLS AT CAMP!

The fourth week of June Sabree was in the pageant. On Wednesday, I took the Young Women to see it and then we went every night after that as well. Lots of late nights! Sabree had a great time though. She was in the pageant with her friend Rylee, Rylee's sister and friend and her mom.

Well, now we're in July and things haven't slowed down at all between holidays, Father's and Sons campout, swimming lessons, swim team and Jaylee (who keeps me plenty busy by herself)!

Back to School!!!

2009-08-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

I don't know about anyone else but I have learned a lot since school has been in. I've learned that my house is so clean while everyone is gone. I've learned to let Jaylee talk in her bed when she wakes up from her nap until the kids are home. Most importantly, I've learned that I love a quiet house!!! However, I do love my cute little kids and I look forward to them coming home after school. Sabree is now in 2nd grade and her teacher is Mrs. Monroe. She is loving school! Her teacher is really great. Oliver is in Preschool at the Elementary. He attends the afternoon session. He loves it! Jaylee stays home with me but takes a nap the whole time that Ollie is gone.

Ollie and his teacher. First day of school!
Jaylee and Ollie working on a number puzzle before school.

Sabree and her teacher. First day of school!

Back to school breakfast with Grandma Adams (she works in the lunchroom).

I can't believe I have a second grader! She is so cute!

Lots of Faith!

2009-08-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

Last week Sabree, Oliver and I had plans to go to Aunt Jana's play...Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was at the Scera Outdoor Theater in Orem. The problem with an outdoor theater is obviously the weather! It was pouring rain. The kids wanted to go to the play so bad but I was not going to sit through a play in pouring rain with freezing cold, tired, wet kids. We sat in the car for about 10 minutes to see if it would stop raining. Sabree came up with an awesome idea...she wanted to pray for the rain to stop so we could see the play. We did say a prayer and the second we ended the prayer the rain went from down pour to drizzle and a few minute later it completely stopped! Sabree said..."we must have so much faith!" I'm so grateful for that experience! The prayer of a little girl and boy was answered. It's an experience that they'll never forget. I'm so proud of Sabree for thinking to pray. It's something we should all think of more often...for big things and small things. There is nothing that is too small or unimportant to a loving Father in Heaven.

Happy 7th Birthday Sabree

2009-08-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

We had a very fun day with Sabree for her birthday! We started out with Mickey Mouse waffles and bacon followed by putting on makeup while wearing her new tutu that Aunt Jill made her. She went to art camp followed by a special lunch with mom and dad. The day was ended with an awesome birthday party with a bunch of her friends. We had sprinklers under the trampoline, a slip and slide, water balloon volleyball, water balloon fight and water balloon duck duck goose. The party was from 5-7 so we had pizza for dinner, cupcakes and ice cream for dessert and lots of presents! It was a successful 7 year old birthday!

At least we know Jaylee enjoyed the cupcakes!

Sabree is such a special little girl. She has always been a very helpful child. There are many times I wonder what I would do without all of her help. She's great with the kids and helps so much with cleaning and things around the house. She is a great example also. When I was out of town last week she planned the entire Family Home Evening. She worked all day to get it ready. She planned a game (bingo...she drew pictures on all the sheets), she planned the lesson, she had everyone act out the First Vision, they had a song and prayer and every bit of it was from Sabree. I'm so proud of her and all that she does. She is one amazing 7 year old! We love you Sabree.

Mouse Party!

2009-07-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

We read the book Mouse and the Motorcycle with the kids this summer along with some friends in the ward. On Tuesday we had a mouse party with the other families (Lou Anne Randall and Signe Leatham). It was a lot of fun. We ate Mickey Mouse waffles, made a mouse craft, played a mouse game and read several other mouse books. The kids loved it! We look forward to reading many more books and having many more parties!

Flying with Grandpa

2009-07-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day today. My parents flew to Fillmore to see us. My dad flew Sabree and Oliver around Millard county 2 different times. They just couldn't get enough flying in. They had a great time. They were asking grandpa so many questions. One of Sabree's questions taught me more about my dad. I found out that he actually had his first flying lesson with an instructor at the age of 8. I had no idea that he had real lessons that young. Can you imagine, that's only 1 year older than Sabree! CRAZY! I don't know how I'd feel about her preparing for her first flight lesson! Anyway, I love seeing my dad fly. He has been flying commercially for about 18 years but I never get to watch him in the cockpit. I think is takes a lot of talent to do what he does. Good job dad!

I just want to thank my mom and dad for taking the time to come and see us and fly the kids around. We really appreciate it!

(Pictures to follow in the next couple of days!!!)

Little Monkey's

2009-07-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

We had a great Hogle Zoo trip. We were there right at 9:00 in the morning when they opened. All the animals were alert and there were no crowds. It was the best zoo trip I have ever had! The kids were totally into it. Jaylee loved the monkeys and the elephant. Oliver loved the spiders, snakes and lizards. Sabree loved the Giraffe.

Don't they look so excited!

The train ride is always the most exciting part of the zoo...for everyone! I love having those couple of minutes to relax and catch your breath in some shade!

Father and Sons

2009-07-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

Luke and Oliver headed on a Father and Sons ward campout a while ago, of course I'm catching up. I just thought that Oliver was so cute when he was leaving with his dad. They had a great time, even with all of the rain. Here are a few pictures from that event.

Cutest face in the world!

I couldn't resist! This has got to be one of the funniest pictures!

Luke is such a good dad. He also slept out in the tent in our backyard. We stayed up until about 10:30 p.m. telling stories before I came in the house to my comfortable bed so I could "listen for Jaylee" while Luke slept out with Sabree and Oliver. It was a lot of fun staying up late telling stories though. Plus I didn't feel too bad...Luke and the kids had mattresses in the tent. We really know how to "rough it" around here!

#&@% Ollie!!!

2009-07-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

This evening I was trying to get prepared to head up the canyon for dinner. I walked out of the side kitchen door just in time to see Oliver throw a rock right at the van. It SHATTERED the side window on the sliding door! There is also a dent in the door...I'm sure it wasn't the first rock of the evening to hit the car! FUNNY KID! I wasn't laughing at the time, but I'm laughing now. What makes a little kid think that it's okay to throw a rock at a car? I don't think I'll ever know what was going through his head but I am quite certain he won't be throwing rocks at windows ever again (cross your fingers!). It's a good thing that he's so dang cute! It's hard to stay mad at his cute little face!

We did finish the night off in the canyon with some friends. It was a lot of fun. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. The kids had a great time playing in the river and climbing all over the rocks. We also ended with a bedtime story of Luke's childhood days. He threw a bat through a window! No wonder he wasn't too upset. It's pay back time - he had it coming. For the record - I never threw anything through a window. I was an angel!

1st Place!!!

2009-07-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

Our little swimmer won 3 more races in yesterday's meet. Once again she improved her own time by 2 seconds too. She's doing so great! It was a really long day. She had to be at the swimming meet by 9:00 a.m and it wasn't over until 4:30 p.m. She had a great time though. I just wanted to thank all of her fans for coming out to support her too. Grandma and Grandpa Adams were there and so were cousins Ellie and Addie. Also thank you Grandma and Grandpa Oliver for coming to her Provo swimming meet.

Happy Father's Day...Late!

2009-07-14T21:57:00.001-07:00

Everyone knows that I'm way behind on my blogs but I couldn't let this one go by not only because the tie that the kids made was so cute, but because I wanted everyone to know that Luke is an awesome Father! Our kids adore their dad! It is rare to see Luke without one of the kids on his lap but more frequently he's got all three on his lap or climbing all over him! They love that he plays the "tickle game" with them and he's been so fun to jump with on the trampoline. He works so hard for our family and yet he sets aside time to golf with Oliver, coach Sabree's t-ball team and watch her swim at her meets, and jump with Jaylee (who is actually really good on the trampoline)! Luke is also a great husband. I'm so grateful for his love and support. I love you, honey!

All the grandkids made Grandpa Adams a tie

Cheer Camp!

2009-07-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Gracie, Ellie and Sabree with the cheerleaders

Sabree in the middle, Gracie to the right

"Who rocks the house?" We've been hearing a lot of that the last couple of weeks! Sabree attended cheer camp and has been cheering non-stop since. She had so much fun at cheer camp. She was able to attend with her cousins Gracie and Ellie. When Sabree and Gracie get together they constantly come up with dances or songs to perform for everyone; lately, it has been a lot of cheerleading. It's really cute! Sabree is so much fun. She has so much energy and she's such a good helper. We're having a great summer!

Busy Summer!

2009-07-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

For some reason I thought that living in a small town would be a slower paced life but I'll tell you what, we have managed to stay pretty busy this summer. Sabree has been on the Fillmore swimming team. She has really developed into a great swimmer. She has competed in several swimming meets and has improved her times by at least 1 second per swimming meet. It's pretty awesome to see her progress in such a short amount of time. Sabree has won a total of 17 - 1st place ribbons. Since she is the youngest on the team and some of the opposing teams don't have kids as young as her, she automatically gets first place. She swims against the 8 year olds and sometimes wins them too. We're really proud of her.

Oliver has also been swimming. We're on our 3rd session! He's on a roll so I didn't want to stop him. He's really enjoying it! The teachers love him and think that he's so cute! He never comes out of the water without the biggest, cheesiest grin on his face. You can't help but laugh. He's such a happy boy! We're proud of him too.

Jaylee has no problem watching at the swimming pool. She does not like the water for some reason. When we go swimming as a family she'll sit at the side of the pool and watch us or throw us balls but she doesn't want to swim. Hopefully she'll get over that soon!

We had a very fun and busy 4th of July. We started out with the parade in Provo. Afterward, Luke watched the kids for a little bit while I went shopping with my sisters and Mom. Then we went to Nelsons Park in Orem. It has a catch and release fishing pond that also has ducks. The kids didn't catch anything but they still had a great time. Jaylee would feed a duck then herself, then the duck, then herself. Pretty funny! After the park we had dinner with all of my family, which doesn't happen very often, followed by fireworks. The fireworks were a lot of fun. They are always a little too loud for the kids, especially the little ones like Jaylee. She was having a hard time with the fireworks until my dad brought out his noise canceling ear phones. Jaylee was very content and loved the fireworks after that! It sure made for cute pictures too!

Oliver on the slide at Nelson's Park

Sabree with Grandpa Oliver

Jaylee's fishin'. Oliver and cousins in the back.

Sabree fishing!

Pretty Sabree with sparklers

Huge headphones

Jaylee's first sparkler experience!

That's all we need...Jaylee with TNT! She's a fireball by herself!

Oliver with earplugs...cute!

Cute family pictures

2009-05-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

Pretty Girl!

Typical of Jaylee - already in terrible 2's

So Cute!!!

Jaylee and her cousin Addie. Jaylee on the right.

Sabree and cousin Gracie

Cute little Jaylee

Handsome boy

Mom and Dad!

Cute Words!

2009-04-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of catching up to do. We've been to Disneyland, Nevada with family, Easter, and the Temple devotional on Easter. Before my catch-up blogs I wanted to document a few cute things that Ollie has said the last couple of days.

Luke was playing with the kids last night while I was getting dinner ready. He told them they need to use their imaginations more. Oliver started thinking about it, grabbed some toys and said "Dad, look what I imaginationed!" I thought it was so cute!

We spent Wednesday through Saturday in Logandale, Nevada with all of my family. The kids had so much fun playing with all of their cousins. Oliver and his cousin Tyler have always had a lot of fun together. Anyway, on Monday I asked the kids if they wanted to play with their cousins (of course I meant Gracie and Ellie because they live around the corner). Oliver was so excited and screamed, "Yeah, I want to play with Tyler! Let's call him Mom". I told him that Tyler lives to far (Orem) and that I was sure Jill wouldn't be able to drive him here. He said, "Oh please Mom, lets just say a prayer that they can come". Of course we said a prayer but also discussed that Heavenly Father can't "make" Jill come here but we hope that he helped her have a desire to come here!

Tyler and Oliver at the fair

I think that there is nothing sweeter than a little child suggesting to pray for the simple things that they want. I'm thankful for Oliver's frequent reminders to stop and pray. When he can't find a toy, wants a friend to come over, and even when Luke's in California and we can't get a hold of him so Oliver can talk to him, he always suggests a prayer. I could certainly use the reminder to pray more frequently in my life. He's such a sweet boy!

Birthday Fun!

2009-03-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

We had several days of birthday fun. On Saturday we had a friend birthday party. We played basketball with marshmallows, colored hulk pictures, opened lots of presents, and ate pink cake with green frosting (Ollie's choice). On Monday we had FHE/birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa Adams house. Of course there was great food, great presents, and a great lesson for FHE. On Tuesday Ollie was the "star of the day" at preschool so he got to take a snack. We made cupcakes with green frosting and a hulk ring on the top (thanks for finding those mom). That afternoon we went swimming. It was a lot of fun.

Cute kids swimming. Love the goggles that are squishing his eye!

Oliver got a new bow and arrow and guns (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Oliver, Tyson and Jana). Notice they are all together on his waste. I made him a tepee for his birthday.

Oliver loves his new puzzle. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Adams

This is Mrs. Christy, Oliver's preschool teacher. Thanks for making it a special day for Oliver.

Along with the tepee, I made Oliver some cowboy and Indian outfits. He did not take this Indian outfit off for 3 days straight (aside from church). He had a great birthday and really enjoyed his hulk party. Cute little kids!

My Baby Boy is 4!

2009-03-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

My little Ollie has been such a blessing to our family. He is a little angel. Oliver was born on St. Patrick's Day shortly after 1:00 a.m. He was 3 weeks early weighing 8 lbs 6 oz. I'll never forget the first night we brought him home he actually slept so well that night but we were up all night with Sabree who had the croupe for the first time. It was scary! Luckily, Ollie didn't get it. He has always been our good sleeper and has always had an "easy going" personality. His smile, beautiful eyes and long eye lashes would melt anyone's heart. He is such a good boy and has always melted my heart. I feel so lucky to be his mom. I love you Oliver!

That's right! Green pancakes!

Too Long

2009-03-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I have posted. Oliver broke our camera and it's not as fun to post without pictures. That's my excuse anyway!

We have moved. We live in Fillmore now! It has been so nice. Bart and Lorna (Luke's brother and his wife) live around the corner from us so our backyards touch. All of our kids are the same ages and love playing together so it has been really convenient. We opened part of the fence so the kids could just go between the yards to play. It's really nice. We love being so close to them.

Other than the move, not much is new. Hopefully we're getting a camera in the next week or so and I promise I'll post more!