The Lakes

Cambrie's 12th Birthday

2010-09-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

We can't believe Cambrie is 12 years old. We had a great time celebrating with family. All she wanted was an Ipod. She asked everyone for money to help purchase it. She also received a beautiful jewelry set from Kyle and Hillary. She loves it! When I asked her what she wanted for her special birthday breakfast she said she wanted Toaster Strudles and Eggo Waffles with strawberries and whip cream. Really??? I was thinking I would be getting up early to cook a big bacon and egg breakfast. Not for her I guess. The other kids were way excited about her pick. We are spreading out her birthday celebration by going to dinner later this week and then going to the Bountiful temple to do baptisms for the dead on Saturday. Rob and I are so excited to do this with her.

Some thoughts about Cambrie:
*She is such a beautiful girl both inside and out. She is very modest in her clothing and wants to live the standards of the church.
*She is thoughtful of others and their feelings.
*She loves soccer and is a great athlete.
*She is a great friend and wants to be friends with everyone.
*She loves her dog Sebastian and takes very good care of him.
*She is a great student. She loves school and we hardly ever have to worry about her with her schoolwork.
*She loves to play the piano and is becoming a great pianist. (Thanks Molly!)

Cambrie we are so blessed to have you as our daughter! You have always been a very easy child to raise. You are a very special person! We love you very much! Happy Birthday!

Camping in the Uintahs

2010-07-17T22:35:00.000-07:00

We got home from Oregon on Thursday and unpacked and then packed back up to go camping in the Uintahs on Friday with Kim's side of the family. We haven't been camping for a few years and had forgotten how much fun it was! We rode four wheelers and got nice and dirty, ate great food, swam in the pool, built forts and massive campfires, and just enjoyed each other and the beautiful outdoors. We have decided to make it an annual event. Thanks Craguns!!! We are looking forward to next year!

Wildlife Safari

2010-07-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

This is the neatest place! We took an hour drive north of Eugene to go through the Wildlife Safari. The kids loved it! You drive through the park looking at different free roaming animals. Some come right up to your car. We saw a giraffe challenge a car behind us. It was crazy to watch and we were just grateful it wasn't us. Each of the kids took a turn sitting on Rob's lap and driving the van. It was so much fun! We then went into the other part of the park were they had a petting zoo and we also took a fun train ride with the kids. It was a great day!

Quality time together!

2010-07-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

Uncle Keven invited Parker over to watch Harry Potter with him. Parker felt very special to have one on one time with his uncle. Thanks Keven!

It was great to see Great Grandma Helen daily! She even gave Parker and Mykenna a lesson on the organ. We love you Grandma! We will have to do the sing a long next trip. :)

Hanging out at Grandpa and Grandma's watching a movie. This was a common occurrence during the trip.

Aunt Lauri is so great! She put together a nature scavenger hunt for Avery and Mykenna. They had a great time finding everything together!

Fish Hatchery

2010-07-11T22:12:00.000-07:00

We took an afternoon trip to the neatest fish hatchery by Oakridge, Oregon. The sturgeon were huge! They ranged from 30 to 50 years old and some were over 5 feet long. The kids had a great time feeding the fish, playing miniature golf and see all the stuffed animals. It was a great afternoon!

Driftwood Shores

2010-07-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

Another highlight of our trip to Oregon is going to Driftwood Shores. It is a hotel right on the beach. We had a great time swimming in the pool, playing on the beach, watching the sun set, and just enjoying each others company. It was amazing!

Enchanted Forest

2010-07-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

It isn't a trip to Oregon unless we go to Enchanted Forest. It was so much fun to go with Grandma Leslie, the Hopkins, and the Wilkinsons. The kids had so much fun with their cousins. One of the highlights is to always attend the play. This year they were doing "Hanzel and Gretel". The kids were constantly laughing. What a great day!

Rose Garden in Eugene

2010-07-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

They have a gorgeous rose garden in Eugene so we went with Great Grandma Helen, Grandpa and Grandma Lake.

Oregon or Bust!

2010-06-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

It has been a year and a half since we have seen family in Oregon so we packed up and hit the road. It takes about 13 - 14 hours to make the trip so we stop in Ontario, Oregon and get a hotel and do some swimming. We got in late so we got up the next morning and swam for a few hours and then hit the road again. The traveling went well. We took Sebastian with us and only had one incident with him. Just outside of Bend he decided to pee on Cambrie and the van seat. We learned our lesson and allowed for a few more pit stops along the way.

Scout Camp

2010-06-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Rob was able to go with Parker to scout camp this summer. They had a great two days!

Crafting with the kids

2010-06-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

The kids had fun doing some crafts this summer!

Last Day of School!!!

2010-06-04T00:12:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of school and I have mixed feelings about this. So grateful for the great year we have had. The kids all had great teachers and did very well. Sad because we did have such a great year and hoping we can continue it into the next. The kids were all placed with the teachers they wanted for next year or at least who I wanted. :) No, they really are excited for the teachers they will have and the students/friends that will be in the class with them. I can't believe Cambrie will be in 6th grade. We have been told many times that time flies by, but I am now seeing how true that statement is. Just a little side note... Cambrie was also selected to be on the student council next year at South Weber Elementary. So proud of her and her accomplishments. Parker had a great year with Mrs. Sheffield! He worked hard and learned a lot. She holds a special place in our hearts. Mykenna also had a great year and is so ready to move into 1st grade. Mrs. Peters has prepared her well. We are so grateful for all of our children's teachers and for the great year they have had. On too summer fun!!!!

Strikers Last Soccer Tournament

2010-06-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

Wow... what a great soccer tournament Cambrie's soccer team had this weekend. Cambrie missed Friday's game because she was sick. We were hoping keeping her home from school would give her the needed rest so that she would be able to play that night, but she was still feeling pretty lousy. We heard the team did awesome and beat a great team! Saturday she was feeling a little better and wanted to play. Luckily they didn't have to play as strong of a team and she was able to sub out and rest periodically throughout the game. On Monday we came up against the team we played for our division championship game. We won our division and knew they would be playing their best. It was such an intense game. (Yes... again I have become that crazy soccer mom!) Cambrie was teamed up against their strongest player and it stressed me out the entire game. Jaden scored our two goals from kick offs at the mid field line. The first goal was the very first kick off of the game. It bounced right over the keepers head. It was great! The score was two to two at the end of the game so we had to play two five minute over time periods. The score remained the same so we went to a shoot out. Seven members of each team alternated taking penalty kicks and the team with the most goals won. Cambrie was the first to kick and she went for the high kick above the keepers head, but went a little too high and it hit the bar. She was disappointed in herself, but she had a great game. It came down to the last kick to determine the winner, due to some saves by the keepers and other missed kicks. We ended up losing the game, but we are so proud of the girls! Cambrie is done for the season and will practice throughout the summer and start again in the fall. Way to go STRIKERS!!!!

Good Helpers!

2010-05-31T23:39:00.000-07:00

We were out doing yard work this weekend and Parker asked if he could mow the back yard. We of course love it when are kids voluntarily ask to help so we took him up on the offer. Much to our surprise he ended up finishing most of it on his own. (This is really amazing! I myself hate to mow the backyard because it is so large.)He would even take the bag off and empty it by himself. Granted there were a few strips that had to be cut after wards, but he did a great job! Cael saw his big brother doing this and had to get in on the action. It was cute to see them out there pushing this lawnmower back and forth and enjoying it!

Mykenna's Kindergarten Program

2010-05-26T23:51:00.000-07:00

Mykenna had her Kindergarten program today. She has been so excited to share all the new songs she has learned throughout the year. They were so cute in their Hawaiian themed outfits singing these cute songs. Mykenna has had a great year in Kindergarten and is so excited to be moving on to 1st grade next year. Mrs. Peters has been an outstanding teacher and we will miss her.

Meet Sebastian!

2010-05-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

Cambrie has been asking for a dog since she was at least 4 years old. Through the years we have used many excuses to not get one. This last year though I have to admit there were times I actually thought we should get her a dog, but Rob was still not on board. That was until one day in church while looking through the "Friend" magazine there was a dog picture and he leaned over and told me we should get a dog. I seriously thought he was joking but he was completely serious. So we decided that for her birthday in September we would give her a dog. This was in February the decision was made so it would give her time to help save money to purchase the dog and take care of it afterwards. She was babysitting and mowing lawns to earn money.

Well this week a neighbor called and told us of a friend that was needing to find a home for a mini schnauzer. We had them bring the dog over to see how he would reacted to our family. After 2 hours I think we knew he would become a part of our family, but we didn't tell the kids this quite yet. We were given the opportunity to keep the dog for a few days to see how he would do and to see if we definitely wanted to keep him. It was a great couple of days and when the owner called we asked if we could keep Sebastian. He is the best dog! So calm with the kids, kennel trained, potty trained and travels well. This is a good thing because he will be traveling with us to Oregon in the summer.

So meet the newest member of the Lake clan....Sebastian!

First Hike of the Summer!!!

2010-05-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

For Family Home Evening tonight we decided to go on a hike. The England's came with us as well as one of Cambrie's friends and it was awesome! We went up to Strong Canyon behind Weber State University. It was a pretty easy trail for the kids. It was a little muddy in spots, but just a beautiful hike. The kids have really enjoyed hiking so I think we will do a lot more throughout the summer.

Scout Jamborall

2010-05-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Parker and Rob went to the scout jamborall today. They had such a great time. They spent a lot of time at the lego and train displays. From the pictures you can see it was pretty amazing. Next year I think they will pack a lunch and spend the day there. Lots of fun!

Happy 9th Birthday Parker!!!

2010-05-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Parker is 9 years old!! He has grown up so fast. He is such a special part of our family and words can't express how much we love him! We had some family over for a little party and then a few days later he had Cooper and Indy over for a little party. They went to the Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake to watch "Attack of the Space Pirates" and then to the castle park for cupcakes. When they got home they opened gifts and played on the tramp. He has great friends and they had a great time!

Some thoughts about Parker:

*Loves legos
*Loves to build things
*Is very creative.
*Loves to play his nintendo ds
*Is so affectionate
*Gives the best hugs
*Loves playing with his buddies Cooper and Indy
*Loves to watch movies
*When he busts out laughing everyone else laughs with him. It is so contagious!
*He loves his sisters and little brother

Parker you are a gift from Heaven and we love you so much!

3rd Grade Narnia Day

2010-05-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

What an AWESOME day we had today with Parker and his 3rd grade class. They had an all day event centered around the Narnia Chronicles book series. It began at 9 am and ended just after 3 pm. It was a fun filled day. So many events, some with magicians, beavers, the White Witch, Mr. Tumnus, a scavenger hunt, Father Christmas, a grand feast, pictures with Aslan, and a great battle and crowning to complete the day. It was INCREDIBLE! This is a day that is truly planned all year long and so many people are involved. What a great day!!!

This video is of the battle. The parents were fighting with the white witch against the kids. Isn't it awesome.

Scout Space Derby

2010-05-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

This year the scouts held a space derby instead of a pinewood derby. Parker was so excited to participate. Of course we had great intentions of completing the spaceship days before the event, but ... yes, you know us better than that. The night before Rob was sanding away and gluing pieces on until midnight. We then painted it the next morning. Parker had a good time winding up his space ship with the automatic winder all night long. We ended up putting a part on backwards making his ship only go about 2 feet, which would get him a little down. But all in all it was a fun night!

Family Fitness Fair

2010-05-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

Weber School District put on a Family Fitness Fair for the employees today. Between soccer games we took the kids to check it out. It was so much fun! The kids spent most of the time playing in the blowup toys. We also did some bowling while we were there and got a free bowling pass. Thanks Weber School District!

Mykenna AYSO Soccer

2010-05-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

It is Mykenna's second year playing AYSO soccer. She is so much fun to watch. She has really done well. On this particular day she dominated the field. I don't know what got into her. She scored 4 goals. She was stealing the ball from girls, including her own teammates. (We had to remind her to let the other girls get the ball.) She even body bumped one of her own teammates to ground. She really was aggressive. It is funny though, because some games she isn't aggressive at all. She is going to be a great soccer player!

Kenna "I'm the King of the bed"

2010-04-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

We went in to tuck Mykenna in bed and she must have been exhausted today. She didn't even take her jacket off or pull the covers down. What is up with the spread eagle? Crazy kid! :)

Indoor Soccer

2010-04-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

Cambrie has been playing on a club soccer team since last summer. It has been a great experience for her! During the winter she participated in two indoor soccer sessions. It was a blast to watch! The girls did great! (Sorry about the picture quality. I was having problems with the camera.)

First Day at Lagoon!

2010-04-10T07:31:00.000-07:00

Lagoon opened up for the weekends, so we headed there for some Saturday fun! We met up with the Englands once we got there. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a great time running through the water fountains. They played so hard Kenna and Cael crashed once we got home. Cambrie spent the day watching a friend at a volleyball tournament. We got season passes for Christmas so lots of fun to come for the summer!

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. The kids woke up and enjoyed their Easter baskets and running around the house filling their baskets with all kinds of jellybeans. We then attended our church meetings and headed to Karee and Matt's home for dinner. There is nothing better then time with family and a good meal to top it off. After dinner the kids had fun hunting for all kinds candy and their individual eggs around the yard. Ken even had his own Easter egg to find. Thanks for being a good sport Ken.

Sugar cookies and Easter eggs

2010-04-03T16:36:00.000-07:00

The kids and I had a great time making sugar cookies for Easter. Karee then invited us over to color eggs with Ryton and to decorate the sugar cookies. We had a great afternoon and everyone left with a sugar high.

Cambrie's Piano Recital

2010-03-05T14:10:00.000-08:00

Cambrie had her piano recital tonight. She has the best piano teacher, Molly Collings. She has just excelled since she started taking lessons from her. She is so positive and encouraging and really challenges Cambrie. I used to have to constantly get on Cambrie to practice and I haven't had to since she has taken from Molly. The recital was fun and Cambrie did great! I hope this is something she continues to want to learn.

Parker gets his Wolf Scout Badge!

2010-02-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

Parker earned his Wolf Badge in Cub Scouts tonight. The theme tonight at the pack meeting was "In The Spotlight". They had a walk of fame and Parker had his own star. He also had his face painted and then the boys showed us their skills of tying knots. So proud of you bud!

Mykenna is 6!!!

2010-02-06T13:40:00.000-08:00

Mykenna is 6 years old today! It was a very fun filled day! She opened her gifts from us in the morning and enjoyed all of her new crafting supplies. After lunch we had her friend party. She and 6 little friends over and they had fun decorating aprons and cupcakes , playing games and dressing up, and opening gifts of course. After her friend party we cleaned up and made her cake for her family party a few hours later. She loves coloring and crafting right now so we made her a crayon birthday cake. For the family party we had cake and ice cream and opened gifts. She was thoroughly spoiled and couldn't decide which gift to play with first.

Some thoughts about Mykenna:
*Has always been so willing to help out.
*Such a little mother. Loves little kids and wants to carry them around even if they are almost her same size.
*Loves her older sister and wants to be just like her.
*Loves to color and make things.
*Our little diva. She loves to dress up.
*Loves jewelry and make up.
*Very social. Loves to play with friends and family.
*Loves school and loves to learn. She is a great reader.
*Concerned about others. Has a tender heart.
*Has a contagious laugh.

Happy Birthday Mykenna! We Love you!

Miss America Pageant

2010-01-23T13:30:00.000-08:00

I was so lucky to be able to go to Vegas with my Mom and Ken and some extended family to support our cousin, Anna Nelson, who is Miss Wyoming in the Miss America Pageant. We left on Thursday and came home on Sunday. Rob was so awesome and took Friday off so I could go. We had a ball. We shopped, ate, shopped some more, had some great girl talks and saw the sites. I even gambled for the first time ever. Don't think badly of me... I put a dollar in a penny slot machine and got up to $2 and then lost it. That was enough for me. Not a gamblin' gal. On Saturday we attended the Miss America Pageant. It was great to be there supporting Anna! She is an amazing person and we are so proud of her and the standards she has and the example she is. It was a great experience. Thanks Mom!

We have the best neighbors!!!

2010-01-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

Check out all the fun we had tonight with our neighbors. We live in the best neighborhood! We are very blessed to be surrounded by great people. Tonight the Terry's pulled out their four wheelers and snow mobile and pulled the kids around the cul de sac on sleds. They had so much fun, I was considering getting my snow gear on and hoping on one of those saucers! Thanks Terry's!

Uncle Kyle Entertainment

2010-01-21T13:16:00.000-08:00

We had lunch with Uncle Kyle, Aunt Hilly, Uncle Ken and Aunt Kellee today. After lunch the kids were entertained by Uncle Kyle. It was amazing how long they all stayed in one spot and did everything he asked them to. Tossing the balls back and forth and laying down and lifting your arms and legs at different times. Kyle you need to open a preschool or... just come and watch my kids for me? What to do ya say?

Fun with Friends

2010-01-20T13:12:00.000-08:00

Check out these little divas!! Mykenna was so excited to have her friend Emma come for a playdate. They both have great imaginations and play so well together. They came upstairs dress like this and I had to snap a picture.

Treehouse Museum

2010-01-16T13:05:00.000-08:00

Grandma Linda gave Cael and some of the other cousins memberships to the Treehouse Museum here in Ogden. While the kids were at school today we decided to pick up his cousin Brooklyn and run there to have a couple of hours of fun! Thanks Grandma!

Cael turns 3!!!

2010-01-08T12:08:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Cael is 3 years old! Time flies by so much quicker with each child. We are so blessed to have him in our family.

Thoughts of Cael:
*Gets embarrassed very easily (he hated it when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He got down from the chair and went under the table. When we had the extended family over he got down off the stool and curled up in a ball and cried when he was sung too.)
*Wants to do whatever the big kids are doing.
*Loves to give butterfly, eskimo and regular kisses.
*Favorite food is eggo waffles. He would eat them all three meals and has sometimes. :)
*Has discovered Cambrie's Nintendo DS and wants to play it all the time.
*Loves cars, trucks, and trains.
*Still has his blanket from when he was a newborn and has to have it at all times. It has been mended several times and is a third of the size it use to be. I had to sew the strings back onto it because he didn't want new ones. He rubs the string on his upper lip while sucking his thumb.
*Will still suck his thumb when he has his blanket.
*He is so strong and solid. He can tackle his older sister Cambrie who is almost 12.
*Is getting better with going to nursery at church. The key is telling him he can go and play Grandma Linda's Wii if he goes. Whatever works right? :)
*Was the easiest to potty train. Rewarding with hot wheels really worked. Still thinks he should get a car every time he goes even though he has been potty trained for 3 months now.

Happy Birthday Cael! We love you!

Hitting the slopes!

2010-01-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

For Christmas we had the grandparents give money so we could get season ski passes to Wolf Mountain. It has been so much fun! The kids have only been skiing a couple of times before this year and they each improved so much. It was great being able to go whenever we wanted and to have some one on one time with each of the kids. Rob and I even had a day to ourselves. We also had great times with Uncle Ken, Uncle Kevin and Brennen, as well as the Craguns. I hope we can do this again next year!

New Years Eve

2010-01-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

For New Years Eve we had Karee and Matt and Kellee and Jon with their kiddos over for games and treats. We had fun playing the Wii and eating until midnight. Good times!

Christmas Day 2009

2009-12-25T09:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas day was such a great day! The kids didn't get up until almost 7:30 and we actually had to wake up Cambrie. They were very excited to open their gifts, but very patiently waited for Grandma Linda to arrive. Santa was very good to us this year. The kids really enjoyed their gifts and we enjoyed watching the excitement on their faces as they opened each gift. We then spent the morning relaxing and playing with gifts. We went back over to Karee and Matt's for brunch, more game playing and relaxing with family. It was a great holiday!

Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-24T09:39:00.000-08:00

This year we celebrated Christmas with Kim's family. We went to Karee and Matt's home for a steak dinner, games and doing the nativity with the kids. It was a lot of fun! This is the first Christmas in many years that all of Kim's family has been together. It is great to spend time with family. We got home late and had the kids open their one gift, which was of course pj's, then off to bed. Cambrie, Mykenna and Cael ended up sleeping under the christmas tree upstairs, while Parker retired to his own bed.

Gingerbread Houses and Decorations

2009-12-21T22:34:00.000-08:00

We went to the England's to assemble our gingerbread houses and make some decorations for Grandma Linda's Christmas tree. It was fun to see how each child really enjoyed having their own decorations to paint and took pride in painting them. When the gingerbread houses were opened, of course the candy began to disappear quicker than we could get it on the houses. We missed Dad not being with us. He had to go on an overnighter with the basketball team. He is helping with the team this year. Sorry didn't get a picture of the finished products, but we had a fun evening together.

Sledding

2009-12-19T22:28:00.000-08:00

We went out to the Haws' home to do some sledding. The have an awesome hill right in their backyard. It was a great time with the kids and extended family! Thanks Kathy and Larry for the good time and we hope this becomes a holiday tradition.

Smashers Basketball

2009-12-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

It was great to be able to coach Cambrie's recreation basketball team this year. The girls were awesome! They named themselves the Smashers. They had a great season and only lost 2 games during the season and then lost in the semi-finals of the tournament. I was so proud of them. The team they played in the semi-finals had actually beat them a few days before by about 20 points. In the semi-final game it was back and forth the whole game and we unfortunately ended up losing by 2. They improved so much throughout the season. We had a couple of girls that had never played basketball and it was amazing how well they played. We were a young team playing in a 5th/6th grade league and we only had two 6th graders on the team. They will be the team to beat next year!

Snow Fun!

2009-12-13T22:20:00.000-08:00

The snow has arrived and the snow blower has been fixed and put to work. We all got the snow gear on and went out to play. We even got our neighbor, Al Hill, to come out and have a snowball fight with the kids until they sent him running for safety indoors.

Updated Blog

2009-12-10T23:11:00.001-08:00

Sorry about being absent for a while. I have updated the blog for the last 2 months so check it out.

Strikers Soccer

2009-12-05T22:11:00.000-08:00

What an awesome time it has been to have Cambrie participate on a club soccer team. She has had such a great time and improved so much. She has an outstanding coach who has encouraged her and been so positive. Thanks Coach Jon! They have finished their outdoor season and we are looking forward to the indoor season. Soccer is definitely in the blood within the Lake home.

Nativity

2009-12-05T22:02:00.000-08:00

Our Stake put on a special evening with displaying many nativity scenes. One of the scenes was a live scene put on with all of the stake primary children. Every 5 minutes they replaced the kiddos with someone new. Cambrie, Parker and Mykenna were able to participate. They chose to do this, but when it came time to actually do it, none of them were very excited. Luckily it was only 5 minutes long and in the end it was neat to see them within the nativity scene.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T22:53:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving in Utah this year. It was our year to be in Oregon but with such a short weekend and a long drive we decided to spend it with our little family, Grandma Linda and Uncle Ken in our home. It was different not having a house full of people and multiple tables to set, but it was a great Thanksgiving. The girls were excited to help prepare the meal so we gladly let them. Cambrie helped peel potatoes or should I say a potato. Her peeler didn't work very well. But she didn't give up...she peeled that darn potato. Mykenna helped prepare the asparagus. I totally forgot to get a picture of us all at the dinner table, but I did catch the Wii action after dinner. Grandma bought the new Mario Brothers game and it was the entertainment for the day. Grandma, Kim and Cambrie woke up early the next morning, 3:30 am early, and did some black friday shopping. Cambrie definitely had her eyes opened to how crazy people can become when trying to get a deal. I think she will be a permanent member of our early bird club from now on. It was a great Thanksgiving and our family is blessed in so many ways.

Bobcat Award

2009-11-10T22:38:00.000-08:00

Parker has loved being in Cub Scouts. He has great leaders that have helped him progress. He completed all the requirements to receive his Bobcat award this past Pack meeting. They really made it a special moment. He was pushed in on a small fire engine truck and rang the bell the whole way. He then pinned the Bobcat pin on me and received his patch for his shirt. We are so proud of him!

The nights theme was "Salute Your Hero". The boys were asked to tell of someone that was their hero and bring a picture. We asked Parker who is hero was and he told us Jesus. When we asked him why Jesus was his hero he replied, "Because he loves me." He didn't end up getting up with the other boys that night, but I am so grateful he knows Jesus loves him and he is his hero.

Go Spartans!

2009-11-05T22:19:00.000-08:00

Rob's football team made it to the championship game again this year. Kellee and the girls were able to come with us to watch the game. The kids had a great time playing together and eating oreos. It was a great game and South played very well, but Walquist ended up winning. Looking forward to next year.

Halloween

2009-10-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

Since we have lived in South Weber we have always gone to our neighborhood trunk-or-treat and then after we take the kids around the neighborhood to trick-or-treat. This year we were excited to have all of Kim's family come with us. We had a lot of fun! Rob even helped return a straying goat back to it's pen. What a man! After the trunk-or-treat we came back to the house and had some fun halloween food. Homemade root beer in a cauldron with dry ice was the hit of the evening. We had mummy hot dogs and jello worms. We then took the kids around the neighborhood. Rob took Cambrie and her friends and Kim took the younger kids. At the end of the night the bags were full. If we would have let them, Cambrie and her friends would have gone late into the night. We had to explain to them when the lights our out and it is past 9:30 pm it is time to call it a night. She ended up with two bags full of candy and a lot of fun memories.

Painting Pumpkins or Ourselves...

2009-10-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

We have made it a tradition to paint our halloween pumpkins each year. This year things were crazy busy leading up to Halloween, so we finally got around to doing it the day before Halloween. It is fun to see how each one turns out. Cael and Mykenna competed to see who could put the most paint on their pumpkins, Parker's favorite color is red so of course his would be that color, and Cambrie really put alot of thought into hers and had a cute pumpkin face. They are all great little artists and we had fun getting the paint all over us...well some of us. Thanks Dad for letting us wear your cool shirts to paint in. Dad wasn't home to say "yes" or "no" on the borrowing of his shirts. ;)

Ward Halloween Carnival

2009-10-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

The past couple of years the young men and young woman of our ward put on a Halloween Carnival for the younger kids. It is always fun to take the kids. So we got them dressed up and headed to the church. We were also watching my sister, Kellee's girls so they came with us. They had a great turn out, which made things a little chaotic, but fun still the same. Plus the kids got to wear their costumes more than once. Cambrie dressed up as a nerd. (My brother Ken told her that wasn't a very hard costume for her.) ;) Parker was a mad scientist. I found some glasses at the dollar store which totally made the costume. Gotta love the dollor store. Mykenna was a cheerleader and Cael was a doctor. It was a great time.

Field Trip to the Zoo with Parker

2009-10-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to be able to go with Parker and the rest of the 3rd grade class to Hogle Zoo on their field trip. Thank you Karee for watching the kidlets. :) The weather was supposed to be wet and cold, but it turned out to be a nice day. I couldn't ride on the bus because there wasn't enough room, so Parker decided to ride with me to the zoo. It is so great to have one on one time with each of the kids. Even though he isn't much of a talker we had a great ride down to Salt Lake together. We arrived before the bus so Parker played with another classmate that had arrived early as well to pass the time. Once the rest of the kids arrived I was assigned 3 other kids and we headed off to see the animals. Parker liked the giraffes the best as well as playing on the playground. I could barely get him to stop and eat some lunch. It was neat to see some of the new babies that had been born. We had a great time! What an awesome day to spend with my bud. Love ya Parker!

Look what I can do!

2009-10-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

Cael this summer mastered the scooter. He is 2 1/2 and is pretty skilled. It is fun to watch. Grandma Leslie asked for a video of him doing this so... this is for you Grandma! Love ya!

Park City Kimball Art Center

2009-10-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

One of Rob's students told him about a Lego exhibit in Park City at the Kimball Art Center. Parker loves anything to do with Legos so we made it a family outing. It was amazing what this artist has made with Legos. The kids really enjoyed looking at everything. I must say, I am not a fan of the artwork not being enclosed in something. I kept having these horrible images in my head of Cael tripping and smashing a piece of art, or Parker trying to add a lego to another. But all went well and it was great! We then headed over to the outlets and did some quick shopping and grabbed a bite to eat and headed for home.

11 Years...

2009-09-13T22:17:00.000-07:00

Cambrie is now 11 years old. It is so amazing how fast the time has gone! A few thoughts about Cambrie ... beautiful both inside and out, very social, loves to be active, whether it be playing soccer, volleyball, basketball or chasing her little brother, LOVES to read from the time she wakes up to the time she goes to bed, great student, has a strong desire to do things well, great friend, kind to others, and has loved animals from a very young age. We are very proud of the young lady she has become and are so blessed to have her as a part of our family! We love you!

We celebrated with extended family the friday before her birthday and then just with our little family on her actual birthday. She wanted an electric scooter so she asked for money from relatives and was so excited to buy it a few days later.

Mykenna's First Offical Day of Kindergarten

2009-08-31T15:18:00.000-07:00

Mykenna was so excited to finally get to go to Kindergarten. The older kids had been attending for a week and it was so hard to see them go and she had to stay home. This was because the kindergartener's have assessments with their teachers the first week. She had a great day and loved riding the bus. Mrs. Peters is her teacher and she is excited to learn and have homework. We will see how long it last. :) Cael wanted to get in on the picture action.

Mykenna's First Soccer Game

2009-08-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

We signed Mykenna up for AYSO soccer this year. She has been so excited to start. Her coach brought her soccer uniform a few days before her first game and she had to put it on right away. She is a great little player. She isn't afraid to go after the ball. We actually had to tell her to not steal the ball away from her own teammates. It is fun to watch her play! Her team name is the Rockstars.

(A few days before these pics she crashed on her bike and scraped her face and hands up pretty good. Her front tooth almost went completely through her upper lip. That is why she looks beat up. :) )

1st Day of School

2009-08-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

The first day of school went great! The kids were up early and excited to go. All of the kids have great teachers and are so positive about the year ahead. I drove the kids to school so we could get some pictures and make sure everything went smoothly. They found their classrooms and settled in great. Mykenna was a little disappointed because Kindergarteners aren't on regular schedule this week. We went for a little introduction and then signed up for her assessment with her teacher the next day. She will start next Monday and ride the bus then. When the kids returned home it was great to hear that they had a good day. Parker's little buddies, that were placed in a different class this year, were so sweet and waited outside his door when recess came and they also sat together at lunch just like old times. This was such a blessing. Cambrie also had concerns because her best friend was also placed in a different class, but all went well with her as well. Off to a good start!

The Soccer Season has begun!

2009-08-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

Instead of doing AYSO this year, we decided to have Cambrie play on a club soccer team. She has been practicing all summer and this week they officially started the season with the Striker Tournament. They played Wednesday through Friday. Wednesday the game ended in a tie. Thursday we lost and Friday we lost as well. The girls did a great job! We are very proud of them. I have to say the "crazy soccer mom", as one of the other mom's put it, has come out in me. I always said I would just sit and calmly watch my children's sports activities...but it didn't happen. My heart was racing and I found myself cheering loudly...at times! OK ... so I am competitive. I have never played soccer and I am slowly learning all the rules and position names. When Cambrie told me she was going to be playing the full back position I thought she was mistaken. That was a football position...right? It is a fun sport to watch especially when you have a child playing and know most of the girls on the team. Cambrie did a great job and had many compliments about her ability to play. Towards the end of the last game she had her big toe jammed and had to take a break for a few minutes and then got right back into the game. She is a tough competitor. We have a great coach and parents that help make it a great experience for the girls! The girls are a great group of girls and there is a lot of talent to go around. This is going to be a great year! Thanks to Carrie Grubb for taking these awesome pictures of the girls! I stole them off your facebook account. Hope that is o.k. :)

Mom's Birthday

2009-08-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

Every year for Mom's birthday she doesn't want a party or anything big. She just wants a day with the girls. We had a great day! We did some shopping, because that is just what we girls do best. :) Had soup and salad at Olive Garden. So excited Hilly could join us! Then decided to do something different and went to Color Me Mine. You pick a piece of pottery and paint it and then they put it in their kiln and you pick it up a week later. It was so much fun! Kellee and I worked on a "Special Day" plate that we will pass around the family for birthdays and special events. Mom picked a hot plate and Karee picked a spoon rest for her oven. We arrived there at 4:30 and left around 8 pm, I think. The special plate ended up taking a little bit longer then we had anticipated. It definitely was a group effort in getting it done. But the finished products are so cute! We then ran home and helped put kiddos to bed and ran off again to catch a movie. It was a great day to spend with special people! Love you Mom!

Tubing the River

2009-08-14T06:03:00.000-07:00

The Murphy's called and asked us if we wanted to tube the river with them. Of course we were all over that idea and planned to head up Monte Cristo. We pulled off into a campground and Patty spoke to a lady camping and found out where to get into the river and float down too. We had a blast. There were a few shallow spots where you had to be careful or your rear end would hit and nice big rock, but it was all worth it. At one point Jackson lost his tube so I tried helping get it, but instead almost landed right in Patty's lap. Oh, and yes she is I think 5 weeks from having her baby. What a Mom! Right before leaving the older kids and Rob and Mike decided to float a couple of more campgrounds down the river and Patty and I decided to pack up and meet them down there with the vehicles. We ended up meeting the meanest campground host ever. She seriously told Rob she was going to charge them $7 dollars each for walking through the campground to meet us on the road. When we got there and pulled in to pick them up she just sat there in her car waiting for us to leave. When we weren't leaving fast enough she actually started writing down our license plate numbers. We weren't even in her campsite, but boy did she have it out for us. Even though this happend we still had a great time, which we always do whenever we are with the Murphy's. Thanks ya all! :)

South Weber Days

2009-08-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

We love attending the South Weber Days parade and this year the Yates and Englands joined us. The Northridge football team was in the parade and a few of Rob's young men are on the team. One of them tried hitting him with a water balloon and missed, but did get him with his water bottle. It was great! Later that evening we went to the fireworks early and enjoyed some of the entertainment. Cambrie's soccer coach, Jon Auger, has a band so went and listened to them play. The kids loved running around to the music. They were all worn out when it came time for the fireworks. It was a great day with the family!

Anything Goes - South Weber Days

2009-08-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

Rob and I participated in the Anything Goes activity for South Weber Days. Greg and Michelle Fitzgerald asked us to be on a team with them and Matt and Sarah Mcfarland. We have never done this before, but knew it would be fun with these couples. There were 10 different things we had to do as a team.

1 - Catch a sheep and take him around some barrels in a gated pen.

Poor sheep...our guys got in there quick and drug that sheep around there so fast. It was hard for us girls to keep up and not get in the way.

2 - Obstacle course: human wheelbarrow, gunnysack race, human cow milking, horse shoe throw.

We got so lucky on the cow milking. We had just started milking and the judge looked at the previous teams milk line and told us to go we had reached the line.

3 - Move a haystack from one spot to another spot.

There were 10 bails of hay. The girls took one each and the guys took two each. They were pretty heavy and the twine on the hay really hurt the hands. We really did it pretty quick.

4 - Push a tractor around the parking lot.

We kicked you know what on this one. We had Sarah drive and the rest of us pushed the tractor. When we got to the end Sarah slammed on the breaks and actually left tire marks on the asphalt.

5 - Pie eating contest

Note to self...don't push a tractor around a parking lot and then go and eat a whole pie as fast as you can. Another note to self...have Sarah Mcfarland on your team if you need someone to eat food fast. That girl can put the food away and I don't know how she does it with that itty bitty body. :)

6 - Lasso a cow head

Yes I grew up on a ranch, but no I can not lasso a cow. A lot harder than it looks.

7 - Rope swing over water

OK so this looked like it would be pretty easy right? NOT! Um, I totally brought the team down on this one. Feet dragging and didn't even make it across. Pathetic....yes.

8- Keep an oiled ball under water passing from teammate to teammate.

Again, looked like it would be pretty easy. We talked about how we would do it before we started, but once we started...yep...I let them down again. Ball gets passed to me under the water and goes through my legs and pops out behind me. Hey it was very oily!

9 - Light a candle on top of a cow pie with steel wool and batteries

Rob was a trooper and volunteered to grab the dried cow pie (aka cow poo) then Greg proceeded to wrap the poo, with the candle in the middle of it, with the steel wool and started the whole thing on fire with the batteries. I guess that is one way to light the candle. Just light the whole darn thing on fire. Go Greg!

10 - Knocking down milk bottles with a sling shot.

This was the finally activity of the night and I think we all pretty well stunk at this one except for Greg.

So before we started all of the above activities each team was given a small container with ingredients to make butter. You did this by continually shaking the container. If we had made butter by the end of the activities we would have a certain amount of time taken off of our total time. Towards the end of the night we had tried many different techniques on shaking the container and Rob caught me during one of my turns.

We had a great time and ended up taking 3rd in the 30 and over age group. Woohoo!

First Scrimmage

2009-07-21T07:05:00.000-07:00

Cambrie is on a club soccer team year and they had their first scrimmage this week. They played a team in Salt Lake City, so Uncle Kyle and Aunt Hilly were able to come. Grandma, Aunt Kellee, Brooklyn and Kate were also in SLC so they showed up as well. Cambrie had a great cheering section. Coach Jon didn't tell the girls until half time, but the team they were scrimmaging was actually ranked 2nd in the state. They did great, but ended up losing. For their first scrimmage they did outstanding! This is going to be a great experience! GO STRIKERS!

American Idol Tour 2009!!!

2009-07-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Bry and Grandma Leslie surprised Cambrie with an early birthday gift. They bought tickets for us to take Cambrie to see the American Idol tour in Salt Lake City. We kept it a complete surprise right up until we were inside the E Center. We asked her what she thought we were doing and she said, "Is it a rodeo?" WHAT?!?! I don't know where that came from. :)

We left early so that we could grab something to eat. She wanted chicken strips so we stopped at Dairy Queen and got their meal. She is very easy to please. Traffic wasn't as bad as we thought so we arrived earlier than expected. Even though there were signs outside the E center with American Idol Tour written on them she still could not guess what we were doing. It was very cute! As we were walking through the E Center Rob finally pointed to a Kris Allen and Adam Lambert picture and asked who they were and she then realized what was up. It was neat to see the excitement in her face!

The concert was great! Cambrie definitely had a favorite. She stayed calm until Kris Allen came out on stage and then she began screaming. I would have to say that Adam Lambert stole the show when it came to being entertained. We had a great time! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! Love ya!

Roy Aquatic Center

2009-07-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

Candi had some free passes to the Roy Aquatic Center so we loaded up and headed to the pool. The kids had a great time and Jaxon even got Cambrie on the big slide. It was a great afternoon! Thanks Candi and Jaxon!

We love Molly!

2009-07-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

Matt, Jessie and Molly traveled to Utah to take Molly to EFY (which she loved....wink,wink Molly). We were so excited to have them stay with us a couple of days. Molly became the kids new best buddy! Cael, who is very shy around people until he gets to know them, warmed up to Molly very quickly! It was so cute to watch them play together. Mykenna loved putting puzzles together and playing on the tramp with her! Thanks Molly for being such a good sport! We love you!

Grandpa Bry & Grandma Leslie's visit

2009-07-06T21:24:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma Lake stayed the week following Parker's baptism and we enjoyed every minute. We visited the local splash park. It is free and the kids have a great time. We also celebrated Grandma Leslie's birthday by going to breakfast together. We then came home and she and the kids enjoyed the sun and a good book. We love having them visit and we hate to see them go!

8 is Great!

2009-07-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

Parker turned 8 on May 14th but we weren't able to have his baptism until July 4th. It worked out great because more extended family were able to attend. Grandpa Bry, Grandma Leslie and Great Grandma Helen traveled from Oregon to attend. Grandma Linda, Uncle Kevin and his family, Aunt Karee and her family, Aunt Kellee and her family, Grandpa J.R., Great Uncle Steve and his family, all of the Cragun family and Aunt Sara and her girls attended as well. We are so blessed to have such a supportive family. We also know many more would have loved to have come, but different circumstance made it not possible. Parker was baptized at 10 a.m. so the morning was a little crazy getting everyone ready and off to the church. It was such a special morning. Parker's Aunt Karee spoke on Baptism and Cambrie and Mykenna sang "I am a Child of God" with Grandma Leslie playing the piano. It was a great program! There was just one other little girl that was being baptized with Parker so it was nice. Rob had spoken with Parker before the baptism and they had gone over what would happen so Parker was not scared at all. The spirit was very strong and it was so special to see him be baptized by his father. Grandpa Bry and Uncle Jon were the two witnesses. He then received the gift of the Holy Ghost and again the spirit was so present and the tears came. What a powerful thing it is to see strong worthy priesthood holders surround your child and place their hands on his or her head to bless them. I have to say how grateful I am to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am greatly blessed! We then went back to the house and had a luncheon with family. The kids played for hours while the adults enjoyed talking around the table. That evening we decided to have another barbeque for the 4th of July celebration. We got the pool out and cooked up some good food. Later Rob put on a great fireworks show. The best part was watching him with a sparkler in each hand running around the front yard. I have the best husband and yes I do question his sanity at times, but he is a keeper. It was a beautiful day to spend with loved ones. On Sunday Matt, Jessie and Molly came to visit. We were so excited to see them and have them in our home. We love you all!

Cousins!

2009-07-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to get a call from Aunt Sara today. She was in Bountiful visiting her sister and wanted to meet at a park so the cousins could see each. They live in Texas and we don't get to see them as often as we would like, so this was a treat! The kids had a great time playing together! Addie and Morzie have grown so much and are the sweetest girls! We were so sad when they had to leave for the airport, but got a call a few hours later telling us the flight had been cancelled and that Sara was able to reschedule her flight for Sunday. What a blessing because she could now attend Parker's baptism and see other family members.

Sun Valley

2009-06-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Kim's brother Ken lives in Sun Valley, Idaho and we try and go up and visit a couple of times a year. This year Rob had a 7 on 7 football tournament so he couldn't go with us. Grandma Linda, Kyle and Hillary and Karee and her family went with us. We had a fun filled three days with Ken. Grandma rode up with us early Friday, while Karee and Kyle came later because of work. The kids were so excited to go. On the drive there Cael and Mykenna had to wear their swim goggles because they were so excited to go swimming. It was so funny to look back at them watching a movie with the goggles on. Cute kiddos! As soon as we got there we unpacked and headed for the Horseman Center. It has all kinds of animals and Ken had some horses for the kids to ride. Cambrie loves a horse named Oreo so of course Ken had him saddled up and the another one for the other kids. Cambrie got on with a little instruction from Ken and rode by herself. The others rode with Ken leading them. They all loved it! The center also has lots of equiment and fun places to explore. Parker was in heaven on the snow plow. He would have spent the weekend there if we would have let him. We then went back and let the kids swim. They had a great time, but when we went to leave Cael had a massive melt down due to no nap that day. He layed face down on the ground and screamed and cried and wouldn't let me pick him up. Great show for the others at the pool.

On day two we went to the Sun Valley ski resort to take a ride up the mountain and have lunch together. It was beautiful!

I need to go feed the kids. I will finish tonight..

Lagoon with Grandpa J.R.

2009-06-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

Grandpa J.R. wanted to get the whole family together and do a day at Lagoon. We have been having a lot of rain lately, but at the beginning of the week it looked like we might have a nice day when we planned to go to Lagoon. Unfortunately, as you can see from the pictures, we got dumped on all day long. I did throw in some garbage bags just as we were leaving the house and I am so grateful I did. We did have a couple of short breaks in the rain and during one of these breaks we jumped on the sky tram to go to the other end of the park. Of course while up there we see dark clouds approaching and the rain began to fall. I was riding with Parker and Kenna and quickly pulled the one garbage bag we had and had them huddle underneath. To make matters worse the ride stops. So we are stuck up in the rain storm without much cover. Parker starts to freak out and wants off like any kid would, but I am thinking it will start going any minute and we will be off soon....It didn't happen. We were stopped for at least 15 minutes and getting completely soaked and freezing. I told Parker we were going to count to 100 and by the time we were done the ride would start. (I am just praying this would work....yes literally praying in between counting.) As we got to about 65 the counting got considerably slower and the praying got considerably more frequent. :) My prayers were answered at about 85. At the end of the ride we found out the motor stopped working. Parker has told me many times since that he doesn't not want to ride that ride ever again. I am with ya buddy! Rob missed all of the excitement because he took Cael back home for a nap prior to the bad weather. Needless to say he came back to a different group of family. He took a couple of the kids on a few more rides and then ended up in the van with the heater cranked. I ran with a couple of the adults to get a couple more rides in. It was great because there were no lines. Seriously, we were on one ride and when it was finished we noticed nobody in line so we asked the worker if we could just stay on and go again. He told us no. We would have to get off the ride and walk out and around again to get in line....WHAT!?!?! There is nobody in line....we ended up getting off and going around and getting in line again. I thinking he was hoping we would leave so he could go inside out of the rain. Fat chance buddy!!!! We were getting our moneys worth. :) Even though the weather didn't cooperate we still had a good time and good laughs with family. Thanks DAD!

Summer Swim Lessons

2009-06-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

We decided to do private swim lessons at North Davis Gymnastics this summer. I am so glad we did because the kids improved so much and had a great time! They had great instructors who were very patient and kind.

Cousin Trouble!

2009-06-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

I watch my sister Karee's little guy a couple of days a week and on this particular day the boys wanted to watch a Baby Einstein dvd. So I turned it on and ran upstairs to finish fixing dinner. When I left they were both sitting together in our big rocking chair. After a few minutes a heard giggling which I just thought it was a funny part in the show. After a few more minutes I decided to go check on them and this is what I found. Our chair has a hole in it and the stuffing shows so it is a big temptation to pull it out. Well they completely emptied it and were running around throwing it at each other and having a great time. I had to grab the camera for this one. Cute kids aren't they, but boy are they going to get into some mischief when they get older.

Parker's First Scout Day Camp

2009-06-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

Parker attended his first Scout Day Camp. Rob went with him and they had a great time!

Lagoon with theJenkins!!

2009-06-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

We decided to get Lagoon season passes this year for our summer vacation. We also decided to meet our good friends the Jenkins family there for our first visit. When we left the sky was gray and it looked like a big storm was heading our way. We still went and knew we could leave if it did end up raining. It was raining pretty good at the Jenkin's home so we rescheduled with them for another day. Once at Lagoon the weather ended up being great, so we made an evening of it. To our surprise the Jenkins ended up coming a little later and we enjoyed the rides and company until 10:30 p.m. that night. We had so much fun and plan on making a weekly event of it.

Washington D. C. Day 5

2009-06-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

I WILL HOPEFULLY FILL IN THE DETAILS ON SUNDAY WHEN I HAVE SOME MORE TIME. :) SORRY

Washington D. C. Day 4

2009-06-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

AGAIN I WILL WRITE ABOUT THIS DAY WHEN I GET SOME MORE TIME...I PROMISE. :)

Washington D. C. Day 3

2009-06-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

AGAIN I WILL WRITE ABOUT THIS ON SUNDAY IF I HAVE TIME...

Washington D.C. Day 2

2009-05-31T13:23:00.000-07:00

I WILL WRITE ABOUT THIS ON SUNDAY. . . SORRY I RAN OUT OF TIME. :)

Washington D.C. Trip Day 1

2009-05-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on our trip to D. C. We went with Kim's mom and Cokeville High School's senior class. There are 12 seniors and this was their senior sneak following graduation. We left on Friday morning and arrived that evening. We quickly took the kids on the metro to the Nation Mall to get them used to the metro system. It was beautiful to come out of the metro stop and the first thing you see is the Capitol building and the turn around and see the Washington Memorial. We saw a few sites and then went back to the hotel.

We had to get up bright and early the next morning to be at the White House for a tour at 8:30 a.m. Rob and I didn't get to go through because Wyoming's Congressman office didn't get enough tickets. We walked around and took pictures while the kids went through.

We then broke up into smaller groups and went back to the National Mall to see a couple of the Smithsonians. We had the four senior girls in our group and they were so much fun to get to know. We first went through the Museum of Natural History and then quickly through an Art Museum. It is crazy how big the museums are! You could spend a half a day or more in just one.

NEED TO GET THE KIDS TO BED. I WILL FINISH LATER.

Wheeler Historic Farm - Spring Break

2009-04-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

We decided to check out Wheeler Historic Farm as part of our Spring Break. It was so much fun! We found out they milked the cows at 5 p.m. so we meet everyone there a little before. We met up with Mom, Hilly, Yates family and England family. Kellee brought some bread, so we feed all the different ducks and birds when first go there. Cael was fascinated with them. Some were as big as he was but that didn't scare him. Of course, Parker went straight for the water and all the machinery. Cambrie and Mykenna loved all the animals. When it came time to milk the cow everyone chickened out except for Rob and Cael. What a good sports.

Don't Eat Me!!!!!

2009-04-10T14:08:00.000-07:00

Isn't this a great picture of Cambrie! We went to the Dinosaur Park over Spring Break as well! Lots of fun!

Brothers at work uncovering the dinosaur eggs. Soooo Cute!

This is a slide at the playground. Isn't it cool!

Feeding the ducks and huge fish in the creek.

Another neat slide on the playground. Cute kid!

Just so stinking cute!!! :)

Like Father, Like Son! Great Pic...

These are robotic dinosaurs. The kids thought they were pretty cool.

Kids had a great time feeding the bunnies at the end.

Bowling and Miniature Golf - Spring Break

2009-04-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with Grandpa Bry bowling. We went to Fat Cats bowling in Ogden. The kids are getting pretty good with all the bowling we have done the past couple of months. After bowling Grandpa Bry and Cambrie left to have a little date. They went shopping for soccer shoes and then went out to eat at Cambrie's favorite restaurant The Olive Garden. She was totally spoiled. Thanks Grandpa Bry! Rob and I stayed at Fat Cats and took the other kiddos minature golfing. It was glow in the dark which made it really cool to walk through.

Union Station!

2009-04-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

Another adventure with Grandpa Bry during spring break! Off to the Union Station we went. It is right here in Ogden and we have never been. The kids had a great time!

Trains to explore outside. This is the Olympic Torch one.

It is amazing how big some of the trains are.

Inside playing in the engine and honking the horn. A favorite of the kids.

Watching the small trains going around and around. This was really fun. The kids would run through the halls following the trains. Another favorite! We spent a couple of hours here and will go back again.

South Weber Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-06T15:13:00.000-07:00

This year we decided to try South Weber's Easter egg hunt. After $3 per child, having each child in a different section of the park, and every section starting at the same time, I think next year we will save our money and stick to doing our own in the backyard. This is how it all played out. Grandpa Bry took Cael to the 3 and under section. I took Cambrie down to the 10 and older section and quickly took a picture of her. Luckily we found one of her friends and told her to find me after. I then ran Parker over to the 7-9 section and told him not to leave that section until I came back for him. I then went to Mykenna's section and stayed with her until the horn went off. Luckily Rob came moments before the hunt began and was able to be with Parker. They had the fire engine start the hunt by honking it's horn. Well it went off and it scared Mykenna and she began to cry and wouldn't leave my side. My great parenting skills kicked in at that moment. I wish I could say I picked her up and held her and comforted her, but nope...I had paid $3 for her to fill her basket with candy and make a great memory. I did give her a hug, but I then picked her up and put her inside her section and told her to get going or she wasn't going to get any candy. It took her a few seconds and more "encouragement" from me, but she finally got into it. I clicked a few pictures of her and then met Rob and tossed him the camera so he could try and get some pictures of Parker. Didn't happen. The older the kids, the quicker the candy disappears and the hunt is over. Glad I got a picture before it started. Grandpa Bry said Cael was so anxious to get into his section and get the candy before the hunt began, but he too froze when the horn went off and wouldn't let go of Grandpa's leg. Luckily, they had some premade bags of goodies for the 3 and unders ... so I grabbed one for each of my kids. Had to get my moneys worth right. :)

Museum of Natural History

2009-04-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

It was so much fun to have Grandpa Bry here for our spring break. The kids had a whole week off, while Rob had Thursday, Friday and the following Monday off. So to start the week out we went to the Museum of Natural History on the U of U campus. It was a free and we had a great time.

Cambrie jumping to see how high she can make the seismograph go.

Digging for fossils.

They had the coolest frog exhibit. All kinds of frogs. Parker and Mykenna loved this tank. They could stand up in the center of it and look out at us.

When you put money in the dinosaurs mouth it would growl at you. Except we found out it was a picky eater. Didn't growl when you put pennies in it. What a rip off! :)

Trying to put the dinosaur bone puzzle together.

Easter Cookies....Yum Yum!

2009-04-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

While the guys went to the Priesthood session of General Conference we got together with Mom, Karee, Kellee and the kids to decorate sugar cookies. I love sugar cookies and so did the kids!

Gateway Discovery...Finally!

2009-04-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

Parker for weeks begged and sometimes just flat out told Rob that they were going to go too the Children's Museum in Salt Lake City. Finally they went on Saturday morning. It was a boys day out! They were so excited and had so much fun! Thanks Dad!

We are back!!

2009-04-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the absence ... I am going to attempt to update our blog with the last months activities. It will take me a couple of days...but here we go... :)

Watch Giveaway

2009-03-02T06:29:00.000-08:00

I found this link http://skye-thompson.blogspot.com on one of my friends blog. I love these watches and she is doing a giveaway. So go check them out.

Snow Day!

2009-02-09T21:50:00.000-08:00

Today we got about 6-8 inches of snow so of course we had to get out in it. After clearing the driveway and front walk we made a snowman. It was a lot of fun! Corbin our neighbor and Ryton our little nephew enjoyed the afternoon with us.

Mykenna's 5th Birthday!

2009-02-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

I can't believe she is 5 years old. You are always told that time will fly by with your kids, but I am starting to realize just how fast it really does. The day of her birthday we celebrated just with our little family. She picked out her cupcakes and we enjoyed watching her open her gifts from us. I think the dress up clothes were the hit, especially the Hanna Montana wig. (Don't we love after Halloween clearance) She received some money from her Grandma Linda so we took her to Walmart to pick out a gift. She asked to wear the wig and we didn't see any reason to say no. Boy you should have seen some of the looks we got at the store. She was so excited to wear it, it didn't even matter. Let kids be kids, right...

We had plans to celebrate with extended family, but the weekend got a little crazy so we will celebrate up in Sun Valley when we go to visit Uncle Ken.

With some birthday money she picked out a Hanna Montana makeup kit. So as soon as we got home she was putting it all on. Dad was thrilled with the purchase... :)

It was so cute...Mykenna thought as soon as she turned 5 she would be able to go to Kindergarten. So she has been constantly asking, "Who is my teacher and when do I get to go?" It was so hard to try and explain that she still had until the end of August before she would actually be able to go. I am glad she is excited for school.

Mykenna Happy Birthday! We love you so much! You brighten our home with your beautiful smile and sweetness!

What a Helper!

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

Kenna is such a little helper. I had a load of laundry on the couch today and when I returned from putting Cael down for his nap this is what I found her doing. I didn't even have to ask. She has been so cute lately by asking me "Mom, what can I do to help." Tonight though when asked this question I replied, "Could you go clean your room?" She said, "No, what can I do out here?" She struggles a little with her own room. That's ok. I will take the help whenever and wherever I can get it. Thanks cutie!

South Weber Elementary's Top 3 Spellers!

2009-01-29T09:05:00.000-08:00

We are so proud of Cambrie! She was in the top 6 spellers of all the fourth grades in the her elementary school. She then went on to participate in the 4th, 5th and 6th grade spelling bee. This was the top 6 spellers from each of those grades. They took the top three and she was one of them. They were all fourth graders which was really neat. She will now participate in the North Davis School District Spelling Bee on the 17th of February. Way to go Cambrie!

Cambrie's 1st Science Project

2009-01-27T08:55:00.000-08:00

Cambrie's teacher had all of her students participate in the Science Fair. She had a list of ideas to choose from and she chose to find out which diaper held the most liquid. Luckily I was able to find a similar project on the web and found out how they collected their data. So of course the night before the project was due we began the project. She was great to help cut out a square of the diaper and we measured out the water and let the diaper sit in the liquid for a certain amount of time and then we measured the liquid left in the container. It was fun to do with her. We put together a tri-fold poster of all her results that turned out great. The results showed that Huggies are more absorbent than Pampers or Target brand diapers. It was an interesting project. Good work Cambrie!

I'm a Big Boy in my Big Bed!

2009-01-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

Cael is now 2 years old so we decided to take the crib down and try him in a big boy bed. He was so excited! The first week was challenging. With his crib I could just lay him down and he would go right to sleep. He only climbed out of his crib twice and that was because I had asked him too. I wanted to see if he could do it. With the bed we would lay him down and he would be out of his room in seconds, we would take him back in and again he would be out in seconds. This would continue until we would break down and just lay with him. So now we read books and lay with him for a few minutes and life is a lot easier. Hopefully soon he will just lay down without us having to lay with him. But it is fun to see him grow! We can't believe he is two. He is so much fun!