Ward Christmas Party

This past Saturday evening we had our ward Christmas party. It was lots of fun and the kids actually sat on Santa's lap this year. Every other year they have been too scared to even get near Santa. Maybe it was because they finally understand that he's the guy you have to talk to in order to get presents. No matter what it was really cute finally hearing them tell Santa what they wanted. Oh yeah one more thing, would just like to apologize to anyone who got my cheesy scalloped potatoes...they were really underdone big opps!!

Maile's Last Game

Yesterday was Maile's last soccer game and I will admit I am relieved. As much fun as I had getting to know all the kids on the team I don't think coaching is for me, thankfully I had some awesome assistant coaches and a fabulous team mom to help get me through our season! The best part of the season for Maile it seemed was always snacks at the end of the game and especially getting her bobble head trophy! This was a fun experience but I don't think Maile will want to play soccer at least for a few more years!

You are Invited!

Calico Pics

Halloween Week

Halloween night we first went trick or treating over at my Dad's house and then we headed to meet up at my Aunt Susan's with all of our cousins. It was a so fun seeing all the kids together, and of course it was fun getting to see the kids trick or treat. It was a great night if you minus out the cactus that got stuck in my bum and I can't wait for next year. Even though my mom who made all my girls and my niece and nephews costumes said she won't be doing it again....I think I will be able to talk her into it!

This year my we started a new tradition by driving into California to go to Calico Ghost town. My parents have been taking me and my sisters there for as long as I can remember so it was fun finally taking the girls. We drove into Barstow Friday morning and met up with my Grandma at the Del Taco (Barstow hot spot) and had lunch. Next we were off to Calico. It hasn't changed all that much since I was last there and it was fun showing the kids all the things I thought were so cool as a child. The highlight of our trip was when we decided to get one of those old black and white pictures taken of the kids. It was hilarious! I wish I knew how to get my printer to scan in pictures because it turned out so cute. The kids loved dressing up as characters from the old west. Over all the day was great hanging out with my Grandma, Mom, Sisters, and all the kids. We will definitely be going back next October!

Trunk or Treat this year was on my soccer game night so Daddy had to get the girls ready to go and I met them there. I would have to say he did a great job helping them with their pantyhose and princess dresses! The night was pretty chilly but not cold enough to stop us from collecting more and more candy, Zachary and the girls had a blast but I am sad I never got Zachary to stand still long enough to take a picture!

Our ward playgroup party consisted of yummy cupcake decorating, bag decorating, slime making and balloon stomping. We had lots of fun playing with our friends and of course left with four bags filled full of candy!

Pumpkin Patch 09

Oh how we love our parking lot pumpkin patches here in Vegas! I grew up here so I am used to it but one of these years no matter what the drive is I am going to take my kids to a real pumpkin patch, they will be shocked! No matter what we got to hang out with some good friends and the night was great! I love the fall season and this is one of the activities that my kids really enjoy so here are some pictures of pumpkin patches Vegas style!

Playing Soccer.....or just wearing the uniform

This fall we decided to see how Maile would do playing soccer. A few of our friends wanted their kids to play also so I decided that I could coach and it would be tons of fun. Well, coaching has been fun and a bit challenging and Maile gets really excited to get ready for soccer and go, but she always decides that she is better off on the sidelines, or on the playground. I am slightly disappointed but I know that she is super young and might eventually be ready to play! I will say though that she does look like a soccer player all dressed up!

Alexis and Rebecca Turn 3

The main reason for taking our trip was to celebrate our twin girls third birthday. Let me just say that these two little people who look so much alike bring such different personalities into our family. They never cease to amaze me every day. I feel so blessed to be able to call them mine! Lexi is funny, independent, loves to please, loves to dance, loves to help and is so polite. Rebecca is sweet and sassy, and loves to be cuddled, loves her daddy more than anything and is just so darn cute! This past year has been so much fun seeing them turn from babies to big girls. I love how much they love each other and look out for one another. I love you girls so much, I am so happy to be your Mommy!

Birthday Day!

For the girls birthday we woke up and drove into San Clemente and went to the beach for a few hours, we then took a scenic drive up PCH into Newport Beach where we went to my Aunt Lezlie and Uncle Kevin's house. There Aunt Lezlie had balloons and presents for the girls and she even baked them a cake! The girls were very excited to open presents and and they even helped us sing happy birthday to them, it was a pretty great day!

San Diego Zoo

On Sunday we went to the San Diego Zoo, it was packed but we made the most of it. The kids loved seeing the animals and really enjoyed the ariel tram and the tour bus ride. Their favorite animals to see were he elephants and giraffes. I just loved getting to spend so much time with my family. Just another great day all together!

Disneyland

We wanted to wait until the labor day weekend was over to go to Disney with the hopes that it would be less crowded and we got pretty lucky. It was a great day to go, the longest we waited in line for anything was about 15 minutes. The girls did pretty good, each taking their turn to be stinkers but overall everyone was so good for it being day 4 of our vacation. The girls didn't really love the scary rides but they did love the teacups, dumbo, and especially the roller coaster in toon town. They also got to meet Minnie and Mickey mouse, but were bummed that Daisy Duck does not do appearances. Overall their favorite part of Disneyland was the parade at the end. They loved the dancing and singing and I think we have figured out what Lexi's calling is, she loves to dance, she went out there when they let the kids join in and didn't want to stop, she was a dancing maniac! It was really so darn cute. Over all I am so glad we waited to take them until now since they did so well!

Ward Party

Two weekends ago we headed up to Mt. Charleston for our ward picnic and it was beautiful! The 20 degree change in weather was a very welcome change. The kids loved being able to run, jump and play in the wilderness, while we got to visit with friends. I love our ward and am so thankful to have so many great families to get to know!

Fifth Grade

The time has come, only one more year of elementary school. Zachary is officially a big kid now. This year Zachary had to switch schools again due to zoning changes. He was pretty upset but that all changed when we went to the open house and he knew some of the kids in the class. This year should be a good one, and hopefully it doesn't go too fast

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Visit with Grandma Fayenette

The weekend before school started Zach's mom flew into town and we were able to spend some time with her. Zachary and the girls love their grandma so much! It was a good visit and I got to go with her to a doo whop concert that was really good! The time we get to spend with Grandma always seems to be too short but we make the most of it and the kids are always sad to say goodbye, but gives them something to look forward to in the future!

Stickers

All the girls ever want to do anymore is play with these stickers, and I don't mind at all. They keep them busy and in one spot for a pretty decent amount of time. Anything that is able to pull that off is worth keeping in stock at the house!

Baking Babies

Well they are not really babies anymore but I can pretend now can't I!! As my girls are getting older they have been more and more interested in helping me in the kitchen. Here are my baby big girls baking away!

Motivation...or lack there of!

I have been in serious need of a big kick in the booty(my expanding booty)! I do not know what has been going on with me the past two months but after failing to stick with p90x that Zach and I were so excited about I had completely stopped working out completely besides my one soccer game per week. This has taken a toll on my mood and my waistline. If you you buy a bigger size of jeans because the size you were wearing felt too tight and then now the bigger ones are starting to feel tight you have got a problem...or I should say I have a problem!! Lucky for me my sweet neighbor who is moving was getting rid of her treadmill and it is now sitting in my garage. It is an oldie but a goodie, I tested it out last night and it worked great. I am now completely out of excuses!

4 Years Old....cue the tears!

Ok so my baby girl Maile decided to grow up over night and now she is a beautiful, outgoing, stubborn and sassy 4 year old little girl. This is the hardest birthday that I have had to to deal with so far, it makes me sad that I will never have those baby years back with her, she is only going to get bigger. But I can say I am thankful for that too. It is so exciting to see her discover herslef and the world around her. Maile is my silly girl who loves to goof around with her Daddy and brother. She also loves to boss her little sisters around and is pretty much at the helm of most destruction around this house. I adore Maile so much, even if I am hard on her. I know she is growing into an amazing person and I feel so lucky to have been blessed with her in my life. Happy Birthday Maile! I love you more than words can describe!

Sisters

For the most part my kids are probably like most kids when it comes to interacting with their siblings. More often than not they are fighting over toys, hitting each other, pulling hair, tattling on each other ect. They do play well together for all of 10 minutes before someone ruins the fun by stealing the others toy or something else to that extreme. With all that said I can honestly say that some days I think it is just hard plain frustrating having three girls (think attitude city) so close together and I don't always handle it well. This all leads me up to the main point of this post. Even with all the fighting, yelling and crying they really do truly love one another and some of the things they do and say prove just that. I love when I hear concern for one of their sisters like, "Maile are you ok?" or "don't worry Betta (Becca)" or "I will get your doggie, Lexi". These little sentiments that I get to hear fill me with love and give me hope that one day they will love each other as much as I love my sisters. I remember when we were kids and then teenagers how much we fought but now I feel so lucky to have such great sisters. I know Maile, Alexis and Rebecca love each other dearly and so I hope I can guide them to show that more often than not.

Our July 4th

I could be repeating myself from last years post but I have to say that the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. I just have the most fond memories about this day from my childhood that I get so excited for this day every year. I really hope that my kids will have those same type of memories and be able to pass them on to their kids too. We started the day sweating like crazy, making super long trek to the parade out in Summerlin. (We will get their earlier next year so we can park closer! ) Even though we got there somewhat close to starting time we still got pretty good seats. Nothing like a curb and some sidewalk! Actually is wasn't bad and it was a perfect spot for the kids, they ended up getting tons of treats and were able to run out to see the floats and balloons. I am so glad we decided to skip sleeping in and get up early for the parade because the kids loved it and Zach and I got to hang with our good friends for the morning! Next we headed home for some lunch and a nap. We have to make sure that we have some downtime during the day or else we would never make it for firework time if we didn't! After naps it was time to go to Auntie Lezlie's and Uncle Dustin's for a BBQ. It was delicious! After dinner we loaded up the trucks and headed out to Boulder City for the firework show. We got there at about dusk and the kids were able to run around for a bit and play with some sparklers before the big show started. Last was the grand finale of the night. The firework display was amazing. The best I have ever seen, even better than last years. It is so worth the drive out there because it was perfect! The kids all loved the fireworks and only were "scared" of the loud noises. Overall we had an amazing day. I am so thankful to live in this country that allows me the freedom to make choices. We truly are so lucky to be American! I am also so thankful for all my family and friends who make day's like these so fun. I hope everyone had an amazing day!