The Brunson Zoo

Europe Trip November 2010

2011-05-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

I am hoping that I can FINALLY get into the groove and have this blog all updated in the next week!! So with that in mind ... I am so excited for this post!!

Welcome to my memories of one of the BEST vacations of my life. Tracy and we so blessed to be able to spend 12 wonderful days together in Europe in November.

Germany, Austria, and Italy with an evening drive through the Alps in Switzerland!!

Our first stop and meeting point was Frankfurt, Germany. We immediately fell in love with the small "Mom and Pop" type restaurants and pubs. Most definitely the best food and the best atmosphere!

Just like eating in Mom's kitchen!

The first time we stopped at a rest stop we were a little surprised to have to pay to even get in. Then after I decided that it was well worth it! In Germany these restrooms have ... get ready for this ... SELF CLEANING TOILETS!! I can tell you that I would be happy to pay to use a restroom at rest stops it I knew that the toilet was CLEAN!!!

We loved this little neighborhood right in the heart of Frankfurt. How cute it was in the middle of all these high rises!

Even when it is necessary to upgrade and add space they keep the history too. This is the train station in Frankfurt, and the front part is the old station that is obviously too small, so a solution? Just add an ultra modern station addition in the back!

I LOVE THIS GUY!! Two whole weeks of heaven just hanging out, walking hand in hand, and falling deeper in love!

Old town Frankfurt along the Rhin River

Street performers

Beautiful window boxes

Old city walls/gates

Parking on the sidewalk. Streets are old and narrow so ... street parking = sidewalk parking!

Tracy's new favorite! Like a Euro, but bigger!

Parks along the Rhin River

Shopping! I think this was a rare thing. Tracy actually enjoying shopping with me!

Loved the green shutters!

Heidelberg, Germany

Tracy and I fell in LOVE with this city!

This is what you get when your hubby designs custom homes. A lot of pictures of architectural elements. OK, so I loved these windows too!

BUCKET LIST

200 KM/HR (125 m/hr)

on the Autobahn on our way to Munich

Munich, Germany

Really great restaurant in Munich

Europe 2010 Part II

2011-05-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

Europe trip Cont...

Our next stop was in Munich. In hind site I am grateful that it was COLD and rainy when we were in Munich because it sort of forced our hand into taking a bus tour of the city. This was the only city that we did that in and I was grateful because it was not my favorite of the places we visited. I loved the history of it and it was cool to go wander through the Royal Residence but it was definitely the best way for me to see Munich.

There was the bonus of snuggling up with each other and hot chocolate too!!

Beautiful church with the twin bell towers!

A model of the Royal Residence. It was so big that it was nice to have this to look at and try to get your barrings on where you were!

Main Hall

Chapel in the RR. It was badly damaged in WWII. You can see the line of new bricks where the roof had to be rebuilt.

Before and after pictures of the chapel

Lunch at the Hauf Braun Haus

The Alps between Austria and Italy

(out of order)

Saltz River in Salzberg, Austria

Mozart's first violin

We took this scary looking ride up the side of the cliff to get to the fortress at the top. Once you were inside it wasn't as scary as it looked, but when you were at the bottom looking up it was a bit daunting!!

The view from the top was AMAZING! The whole city laid out at your feet!!

We took the "Sound of Music" tour while we were in Salzburg. It was a fun tour and we enjoyed seeing all the sights from the movie as well as about an hour of driving through some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen!

This house was used in the movie for all the scenes that were outside. The lunch of the terrace and the kids falling in the lake.

The gazebo from "Sixteen Going of Seventeen", and "Something Good". It used to be on the grounds of the house above but they had a problem with people jumping the fences and walls to take pictures so they moved it to a public park.

The Abby is still a working nunnery so they were not allowed to film the wedding there, (that is where the Captain and Maria were really married) they went about an hour outside the city to this chapel and filmed the wedding here. I thought it was one of the most beautiful churches we saw on our trip.

It was fun to go to the Christmas shops in the city centers. These shops literally get set up and stocked one day and open the next. It was so much fun to get the kids Christmas ornaments from each of the countries that we visited.

This giant chess set with the old men hanging out playing made me giggle. I could just imagine the conversation before this picture... "Well dear, when you are done with your shopping you can find me OVER THERE!"

How romantic can you get? A horse drawn carriage ride through the beautiful city of Salzburg! I can't believe what a lucky girl I am to have this amazing man to share my life with! 16 years and more in love than I can possibly express!!!

Vicenza, Italy

This park was so cool. What would it be like to be able to wake up, go out on your terrace and look out on this?

This is a cannon ball still stuck in the wall from Napoleon's invasion of Vicenza.

City center, they were stringing Christmas lights from the bell tower!

GELATO

Real Italian pizza .... so good!

Venis, Italy

My two goofy companions in Italy!! Tracy, being his usual charming self, and Scott. Scott worked with Tracy and lives in Italy. It was nice to have someone that knows his way around and speaks Italian. We had such a great time staying with Scott and Bonnie, it was sad that she had a stress fracture in her foot and wasn't able to join us for most of our outings.

More Venis!!

Piazza de San Marco (The Plaza San Marco) with the Basilica de San Marco in the background.

The Rialto Bridge in Venis! SOOO cool.

Verona, Italy

This is Juliet's balcony in Verona

statue of Juliet

The courtyard by her blacony.

The Alps on our way through Switzerland back into Germany.

Heidelburg, Germany again. We fell in love with this city on our way through the first time, so we decided that it would be a wonderful way to end our trip together.

View from our hotel room.

We splurged and got the suite in this charming hotel in the city center. That is me in the top window!! The views were spectacular!

September thru December 2010

2011-03-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

I know, I know it's about time that I get on the ball and get somethings updated!! Well here is a start!!

Labor day we went with our friends to the mall just to goof around and eat lunch and ride the carousel. When we got off the elevator we heard a girl tell her mom, "Wow, that is A LOT of kids!" I guess it is but until you see them all like this I don't even notice!!

Eighties day at Jr. High. Caroline looked at me and asked if we REALLY did this to ourselves on purpose!
Once again, SOCCER.

This year was our first year with an actual injury.
Caroline dislocated her shoulder.

This year ALL THREE of the kids were able to go to DC to visit their Uncle! They had a great time and loved spending the week away together!!

Fun times in Activity Days!

Caroline's Christmas Orchestra concert

The younger kid's Winter Sing.

I know this is a funny picture, I was just really pleased with the way Abby's hair turned out that night!

Hunter the ham

Abby and her cute dimple

Hunter looking so handsome (and Sophie so pretty)

Abby's ballet recital

Caroline's flowers from Daddy for her birthday! Happy 13th :)

Lunar eclipse on Caroline's birthday!!

August

2010-09-27T18:21:00.001-07:00

The month of August brought the start of school, in our house that meant the first day of Jr. High!

Caroline's first day of Jr. High
Hunter 5th and Abby 3rd!

Our friends Jason and Abby and their kids came down from Idaho to visit. It was SOO nice to see them.

The kids had a great time playing with the neighbors for a weekend. I've never seen a house with 9 kids in it be that quiet. Now I am not saying that I didn't hear them, but between the wii and the "spa" that the girls set up they were definitely entertained for the whole 3 days!!

July

2010-09-27T17:19:00.000-07:00

Once again I am behind!

We still had three of the puppies in July and they were starting to get big. They are so cute and fun, but a lot of work!

I got Tracy a nice chase lounge!

Our annual camping trip was wonderful as usual, just really wet and muddy!

We saw a lot of this ...

while it was doing this!

Sad that Abby couldn't even make it into the house!

Family Home Evening sward fight!

Family fun at the rock wall.

Caroline

Hunter

Abby

Playing pool with Dad!

April, May, and June!!!

2010-07-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

APRIL

OK so things have been a little crazy around our house and so I am finally getting around to updating the blog. Here goes (good luck not falling asleep while getting to the end!!)

My kids love art and usually participate in the Arts and Letters night at the school. This year was a little different Caroline was the only one to enter for the competition part. The other two just had pieces that were part of the displays from each class. Caroline also was part of a small group from the advanced orchestra to come and play while all the guests looked at the art that was displayed!

This was her entry.

Abby's Me Poem

Hunter's class project

Caroline and the orchestra

Abby had her class field trip to the Wells Fargo museum in downtown.

Hunter loves scouts and they played out a scripture story in pac meeting. It was really cute!

Caroline and Abby getting pedicures. It may not look like it but they really LOVED it!

MAY

We actually got roses in our front yard this year. They were really beautiful!

Orchestra concert!! I have really loved that my kids have wanted to be in orchestra. I love watching the grow to love music and work hard at developing their talents.

Hunter and Caroline!! So cute!

This is the part of the last few months that has taken a lot of work, time and emotional stress. Our sweet dog Ebony had puppies. Now this in of itself would not be a horrible thing, we have done that before. This time was VERY different. Ebony had a litter of 13 only 7 of those puppies survived, and then within 24 hours of having her puppies she developed a massive infection and had to be put to sleep. It was a very sad and traumatic thing in our house.

She was a great momma for the short time she was able to be.

Hunter was able to participate in his LAST pinewood derby. He had a great looking orange car and had a great time with it!!

OK back to our puppies. So we had 7 puppies that we were now bottle feeding around the clock and I don't know what I would have done without a couple of great friends that came and took a feeding each while I was getting ready for work and while I was at work. They really saved me. It was really hard for a couple of weeks we lost 3 of the seven puppies. Just when I thought that I was going to not be able to make it another minute another friend came to the rescue. She had a husky that had weened a litter and against all odds she took to our 4 little ones that we had left. It was truly an answer to our prayers. Her dog was able to keep those little ones going strong for the next 3 weeks!

Caroline finished elementary school and had a great time at the sixth grade pool party with all her friends and even a cousin! What a fun day they had to celebrate!

Caroline has some great friends! These are a couple! Audrey and Amber and her cousin Emily.

Goofy, fun girls!

My kids all had great teachers this year!

Caroline and Mr. M

Abby and Mrs. B

Hunter and Mrs. F

LOVE end of the year parties! SO fun

Caroline got to go to girls camp not long after school was out and had a great time!

All ready to go!

I think she is CUTE!

This is what those cute little things in the basket looked like when they came home to us after 3 weeks of being "adopted" by Mia the husky. Four went over and three came home. The fourth puppy found a great home with Mia's family!!

JUNE

All of June was mostly consisting of dog sitting for the neighbors, PUPPIES, (the kids are finding out what a big job three puppies are) and we also helped some good friends move into a new home!

How tired do you have to be to fall asleep with your head in a food bowl?

OK so maybe we are a little in love with these little guys!!

Some friends came over to visit and their 4 year old decided that he was a puppy too! I remember when Caroline did this when she was little!!

February and March ...

2010-04-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

So it is apparently a bad idea for me to wait this long to update our blog. Let's see how this goes!!

Valentines Day parties at school. Caroline's class had an ice cream party. Hunter's class was the usual stuff a couple of games and a LOT of candy.

Abby's class got doughnuts, crafts, and a game or two.

President's Day this year we went with some cousins to skateland.

Abby

Hunter and Kenneth

Caroline and Kasie

Our family trip to Disneyland ...

The kids got picked to participate in the parade when it stopped in front of us!

Fun reserved seating for the parade!!

Fun rides ...

fun kids ... a fun vacation!

Spring break was a lot of this ...

just a variety of company!

It was a fun week with beautiful weather and so nice to be outside!

Caroline got her first pedicure in March. I think she may have fallen in LOVE with it!

Our roses started to bloom.

Caroline was teaching Ivy to play with the jump rope, "One, two, three, over"

Track and Field day at school was so fun. It had to be postponed from the Thursday and Friday before spring break to the Thursday and Friday after because we had so much rain that the field was muddy for WEEKS.

Abby's favorite part!

Hunter is 10!!

2010-02-08T17:57:00.001-08:00

Wow how the time does fly!! This little chub is now 10!!

Hunter was sent to our family at just the right time. He is such a joy in our family. He is so good to his sisters.
He loves to get us to laugh and smile. It really is hard to be in a bad mood when Hunter is there. Even when he was very small he would do just about anything to get a laugh.
He ADORES his dad and they are best buds. He looks forward to any outing that is just the boys.

Still a goof!

Hunter is so thoughtful and loves to have all his friends around (big or small) he is kind to the younger boys in the family and the neighborhood.

Hunter we love you and your sweet, thoughtful and fun personality. Happy Birthday Bug!!

Caroline's Birthday!!

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

Caroline turned 12 on Sunday!! It hardly seems possible that she is that old and starting Young Women's.

She has always been such a happy and joyful girl.

She loves to spend time with her friends. She is a sweet and loyal friend and is a very thoughtful kid.
She is adventurous and loves to try new things. I wish that I had pictures of her on her rib stick. If she could she would be outside riding it ALL day long.

Soccer is still a big part of her life and she loves getting on the field and playing hard.

She is a beautiful and loving girl and our family would not be the same without her.

Caroline we are proud of the young lady you are becoming. We love you more than you can imagine.

Abby's Birthday

2009-11-30T14:48:00.001-08:00

Abby is 8 oh my goodness!!

Our sweet little girl is 8, how the time flies!

Always ready to go in a moments notice

(even if it's not her turn yet)
Fun and full of life, energy and attitude!!
Her Daddy is her VERY best friend.
Oh how our lives would not be the same without those blue eyes, freckles, and dimples!! Abby is a great kid and she always puts a smile on our faces. She is kind and thoughtful and loves to include everyone. She is fun and spunky and loves being the "little one".

Abby you make our family complete and we love you SOOO much.

October 2009

2009-11-18T14:31:00.000-08:00

Let's see ... I have NO pictures for the month of September because my camera broke. So thanks to my sweet cousin Sarah letting us borrow her camera I was able to get some pics in October. This time of year there is not much variety in the things that we do so here is Halloween and Soccer!!

Tracy figured this year he would put his bald head to good use!! I didn't get a good picture of all of his costume but the tats on his head were hilarious.

I didn't get a good picture of Caroline and her Cruella DeVill either. She went with her friend to a different ward party so I just snapped what I could before they left.
Hunter was Jack Frost and I think that his costume turned out GREAT! He decided what he wanted to be all on his own. (Tracy and I just had to figure out how to make it work!)

Abby's was Sully from Monster's Inc. and she was adorable! She had such a good time.

This is Caroline and Ethan just chillin', watching Hunter's game.

Tracy coached Hunter's team this year. This is the first year he has been the head coach of a team (he usually assists on Caroline's team) and he did a really great job.

This is Hunter, his team was the Fire Vipers. They worked really hard and had a winning season!

I coached Abby's team and they were called the Sunflowers. They were a really fun team and I enjoyed watching them grow as team. They won some, they lost some, and they tied some! But they learned to work together and played hard.

Caroline's team was "Got Dirt?" They were a really fun team to watch. (what I got to see anyway) For the first time in her 6 years of playing Caroline got to be on a team that won some games. These girls really showed heart and what determination means. They had a good, fun season.

More family pics!!

2009-11-05T15:30:00.000-08:00

The profesional version of our fun family pics!!

Family pics

2009-10-27T10:00:00.001-07:00

We went and took family pictures on Saturday. Here is a peek!! These are the ones that I took, the good ones should be here soon!!

Brag Moment

2009-10-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

I just have to take a moment to brag about Caroline. On Sunday our ward had our Primary Program. (This is Caroline's last year being in Primary) All the kids did a great job and it was a great Sunday all around. Caroline got to lead the girls in one of the songs and did an excellent job, especially that it was in front of the entire congregation. For the rest of the day Tracy and I got several compliments about her. All of them about how composed, mature, confident, and sweet she is. She also gave a 2 min talk on prayer and how it strengthens our family. She took her time deciding exactly what she wanted to say. She decided that she was going to talk about Tracy being laid off last August and the two months of prayer that preceded him finally finding work. She has such a sweet testimony of prayer and the power that comes from it. Caroline, we love you and are so proud of the young lady you are becoming!

Wishes

2009-09-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we wish that the days will go by. We wish that the week was over and we could get to the weekend only to have those weekends fill up so fast with "things". These pictures were taken a couple of years ago and I can hardly believe that those days have passed so quickly.

So remember when you are having a day that you wish it was over take a breath and enjoy the here and now before the here and now is yesterday or a "couple of years ago".

We must NEVER forget

2009-09-11T07:29:00.000-07:00

Remember ... Remember all those effected by that tragic day, the heroes that rose to the call, and all those still fighting to secure our freedoms.

Lanee's Legacy

2009-09-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

I have a friend that is involved with Lanee's Legacy, it is a soon-to-be non-profit organization that helps grieving parents of babies who were not with them for long. Please check out their blog to learn more about them and their start-up fund raiser and how you can donate to this worth-while cause. http://www.laneeslegacy.blogspot.com/

July 2009

2009-09-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

Wow what a difference it makes blogging without a bad router!! The router for our Internet was bad and it was taking FOREVER to download anything. Problem fixed and now it is so much nicer to sit at the computer blog!!

Abby got a cute new haircut and lost her two front teeth!!

Tracy's work had a family bowling party and the kids had a blast!! It's amazing how good my score is when we are playing with the bumpers up for the kids.

CAMPING!!!!

Quads, kids, dogs, dirt ... what else could you ask for in a camping trip?

Our friend's little girl wanted to sit by Hunter and the next thing we know ...Starting the fire the hard way!!

Abby's self portrait

Daddy teaching the kids to fish ...

The spring ...

This is what is left of an old log cabin by a spring near our camp.

Caroline getting a drink

Paij, Sydney and Caroline with their "forest ranger"

We really had a great summer. We had a great time hanging out, swimming, playing with friends, camping and generally having a blast just being together.

Random Summer Pics

2009-07-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is sort of a long post!

You have to love two nearly 200 pound dogs that think that they are little and sneaky!! Above is Princess thinking that she can go for a ride. Below is Ebony thinking that she can hide under Abby's bed. She knows that she is going to get in trouble for sleeping in the girls room!

WARNING: Scary pictures to follow;)

(two men that glow in the dark hehehe)

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!

I really don't think that they every grow up! Tracy and his friends decided that it was a good idea to jump off the roof of our friend's house into the pool.

Tracy and I have decided that we are LOVED! A couple of the neighbor kids came TPing. This is the second time that these boys have gotten our house!! (the first time was so pathetic that it didn't rate having pictures taken)

Who needs leaves to jump in?

What do you do with all that TP? You make Abby into a mummy, that's what!!

Father's day!!

What a start to his day! The kids love to wrestle with Tracy then have a really great breakfast.

Summer Orchestra

Hunter and the cello (first year)

Caroline and the violin (3rd year)

Hunter thought that he would be funny and take my seat in the car ... I don't know that he will be trying that one again for a while!! (I think that he told me that his legs were going to fall off!)

Last Day of School

2009-07-14T13:17:00.001-07:00

Our kids had a great year in school this last year!! They all had really great teachers and they are all really blessed with the best friends that a Mom could every hope for their children to have. Thanks to everyone who has blessed the lives of my children!!

Caroline - 5th grade

Hunter - 3rd grade

Abby - 1st grade

MAY!!

2009-06-13T12:49:00.001-07:00

Once again I find myself playing catch up with my blog. Between the end of school and the beginning of summer I have been either busy running around or being lazy!! So here we go on our adventures in May!

We were fortunate enough to go and spend a weekend in Snowflake/Taylor with some of our favorite friends. We really had a great time and the kids were in heaven. The weather was beautiful and they love to spend time outside exploring, playing and riding quads.

This is them one morning out in their PJ's playing Batchy Ball. (Only one is missing)

Guitar hero war was ON. I definitely have a better sense of rhythm than my spouse (whom I love DeArLy). Dave was a little better than me at most of the songs though.

This is one of Tracy's favorite things to do with our kids!! They love to get on the quads with Daddy and go exploring.

Dave and his girls had a great time too.

(This pic is missing one kid as well)

Abby in little girl heaven.

Also in May was Abby's ballet recital. She has been in dance for 3 years now and really enjoys it and LOVES her teacher!! These little girls are SO cute and we love them all. Good job girls!!

Abby all dressed up!

We can't forget Father's and Sons! Hunter and Tracy were so excited to take a couple of cousins with them this year. It was fun for them to spend some fun time with Jacob and George. They were sad that Jack was not able to come too but he was working hard at his cub scout day camp.

I figured that this post was long enough so I will save the last day of school and the last couple of weeks for another day!!! (wish me luck)

March/April

2009-05-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

These pictures didn't seem to want to stay in order so I just have to try to control my OCD and leave them and move on;)

Hunter and his pine wood derby car. He came in 4th!! Good job buddy:-)

The kids at the Spring Sing.
I love that our school still has music class and still puts on concerts twice a year.

EASTER!!
Abby

Caroline

Hunter

MOM'S BIRTHDAY!!

Tracy planned a birthday party for me this year. We had cake at our house and then went "clubbing" in other words we went dancing at Grams Central Station. We had a great time!! Thanks Sweetheart!

It made me feel both young and OLD!! Young because we were out and having a great time (like a date or something) and old because if we wanted to dance to "our" music we had to hang out in the "retro room"!!

Track and Field day at school. These pictures are of Abby, I forgot my camera so the pictures of the other kids are being e-mailed to me from my friends and I will add them on later!!!

POPSICLES!!!!!

Blessings

2009-05-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog I wanted it to be somewhat of a journal for my kids to enjoy someday so I wanted to share our experience today at church. Tracy and I have been fasting and praying for a while now for not only solutions for some of the current challenges but also for guidence for the future. Sitting in Sacrament meeting was just a typical fast and testimony meeting until the very end. Our Bishop got up at the end (he was not conducting) and said that he wanted to share a thought with us. He related a story from his mission that was along the lines of a priesthood leaders prayer that ended in a blessing on the missionaries. Folowing that blessing they had 3 member referals that day. He continued that he rarely remembers dreams but he distinctly remebered one this week that ended with him standing at the pulpit telling us that he felt impressed to bless us, as our Bishop, that the things which we have been praying for and answers you are in need of will come. For some reason that general statement to the congregation seemed to speak directly to Tracy and I. It was the best feeling of peace that came to us at that moment, as if our unspoken uncertainties were wiped away. What love I have for inspired leaders and the sweet peace of the Holy Ghost in my life.

Spring Break

2009-03-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

We had a GREAT spring break. We stayed close to home and had a fun time! We rode the light rail twice. Once to ASU to have lunch at the Chuck Box with Grandpa and Nana (my kids ate all my fried zucchini). The second time we went downtown to the science center. We had a lot of fun but next time I think that I will take a second adult. With two 1st graders and a 3rd and 5th grader they have very different interests and it would have been more fun to spend more time with what each wanted to do. I watched my friends kids (my kids friends) two of the days. That is always fun because I don't hear, "What are we going to do today?" They entertain each other quite nicely!! Over all it was good, no stress, fun with the kids and the best thing of all NO FIGHTING and a CLEAN HOUSE!

Who could ask for anything more! (I guess I could have asked for my camera to have had a charged battery for the science center but I guess I can't have everything)

Finally Disney Pictures!!

2009-03-16T17:31:00.001-07:00

Finally I had the time and the patience to deal with my Internet issues to post the pictures from our Disney trip!! Looking at these just makes me want to go back:)

This is the Pixar parade in California Adventures

Shawn and Crystal celebrated their anniversary while we were there so we took the kids so they could have a nice lunch with out them. We went on the steam boat and the kids had a great time looking out at the island.

We went to see the princesses.

Hunter was excited that one of the three was Belle because he wanted to get her autograph for his friend Sophie. He even had Belle personalize it just for her.

New this time around was Fairytopia where you can meet Tink and one of her friends from the new movie.

This is Tink's friend Faun.
Another first for us this time was that our kids can go on rides without an adult because Abby is now 7. I really hate this kids roller coaster and now Caroline can be in charge and take the other two on it YEA!!

Caroline rode the Maliboomer for the first time this year and LOVED it! We have not found a ride that our kids are afraid of. I love it.

Our Family Disneyland Getaway!!

2009-03-02T15:48:00.000-08:00

One lost and found cell phone, one pooped on Hunter, two head colds, a lost and found Abby, and a sprained ankle ... Disneyland with the family for a week ... Priceless!!!

Anyone that knows me will attest to the fact that Disneyland is probably my favorite place on earth. Tracy and I just got back from our annual (and sometime biannual) trip to the big DL with the family!! We had such a good time.

The first day was just the 5 of us and just mellow. We went on some of our favorite rides and the went over to CA Adventures and waited in line for our first look at Toy Story Mania!!(insert cold number one here)

On the second day we added my cousin Sarah and her boys. Our kids love to be with their cousins and get along wonderfully. We went on the new and improved Small World and liked the changes. They were noticeable but didn't take away from the nostalgia of the ride.( insert one lost cell phone here)

On the third day we started off in CA Adventures and added another family. Friends of ours that arrived were quickly absorbed into the growing crowd of kids and out numbered adults. Toy Story Mania was a cute ride and our longest wait in a line (30 min)!! We spend most of the daylight hours being flipped, twisted and spun around at CA Adventures before packing it up and heading across the way to DL. We ended the day in good old Fantasy Land. (insert cold number two here)

Day number four started, continued and ended at DL. We added my step brother and his wife and kids. Today I think that we did almost the whole park.(insert Hunter got pooped on coming off the Pooh Bear ride by a bird here) We went from one end of the park to the other. I think that the kids liked seeing the looks on the faces of the cast members as they got to tell them that we had a party of 20!!! We ended up having our own boat on Small World and Pirates, a whole rocket on Space Mountain, an entire side of the sub on Nemo. We bribed the kids to work on their homework with the promise of swimming with cousins and friends at the resort in the heated pool and it WORKED!!

The fifth day we finished the park and let the kids decide what they wanted to do again. (insert lost and found Abby here, she was only lost for about 5-10 minutes) The one thing that was completely new for us at DL was Pixies Hollow. Poor Tink and Rosetta, her garden fairy friend, got mobbed for pictures! I think that we may have frightened the poor things. Heck there were times that I was a little scared myself. Today ended with swimming again and Tracy and I ended up at Sarah's resort until about 2am.

We got to the park on day six a little later than we had the days before. Kirt and April (our friends) were headed to the beach and then home and we decided that because Sarah was ready to go that we would go on Pirates one last time and take them to the monorail and they would head home. We spent the rest of today with Shawn and Crystal (brother and sis-in-law) and the kids. (insert Sarah's bad experience with an energy drink and us going and driving her back to our hotel here)

Our seventh and final day was short. We insisted on Sarah staying with us. We chose our favorite 4 rides, (insert my sprained ankle here) took the monorail to Downtown Disney, ate lunch, got our kids their souvenirs and hit the road! Sarah was still not feeling well and so Tracy drove her car and I drove our car and off for home we went!! The final chapter ... by the time that we got home Tracy had to cary me in the house because during the drive home my ankle swelled so much that I could not put any weight on it oh joy!! In the end we had a great time and we enjoyed the time that we were able to spend with some great friends and the family that I love!!

Anniversary and Birthday

2009-02-12T14:43:00.000-08:00

Usually my posts have a lot to do with my kids. This time, however, it is about this amazing man that I know. I have to admit that I am VERY spoiled. Tracy and I just celebrated 14 years of marriage, but we have been together for nearly 15 and half years. (It is also his birthday next week) WOW how time flies when your havin' fun. I could have searched the world over a thousand times and never found a man as wonderful as him. He is an attentive and helpful husband. (He will even do laundry because he knows that I hate that chore more than any other.) He is a great provider and an awesome dad. He does it all from helping them through the tough times to playing football, basketball, and soccer in the yard to coaching and refereeing soccer teams. I love that he leads our home in rightous paths and teaches our children, by example, the way to live and to treat others. He is not only good to us but he is generous and giving to others. He is a loyal and devoted friend and loved by many.

I want him to know how very grateful I am to have him in my life. He is my everything and I love him more and more everyday.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!!

Should I feel guilty??

2009-02-07T08:34:00.000-08:00

This is what our weekend looked like last week ... it was beautiful!

But while we were enjoying the yard and the sunshine both my brothers were back-east FREEZING!! In fact one of them was without power for a week. Now naturally I was concerned for them and called frequently to check that they were still alive and OK. I, however could not leave it at that ... as soon as I knew they were OK I had to let them know that we were spending a beautiful day in the yard!! So I ask, should I feel guilty? I think not!!

Hunter's Birthday!

2009-02-05T05:32:00.000-08:00

Hunter is 9!!

I can hardly believe that he has grown up so much, it doesn't seem possible.

He has always been very funny. He has the best sense of humor and will do just about anything for a laugh. He will get you to laugh and then keep going and going and going.

He loves life, sports, school and his friends. He loves to be outside playing in the yard with the soccer ball or next door in the driveway playing basketball. (Maybe outside is his favorite place to be because he is in the middle of two girls!!)

He is a great source of comfort in our family. He always seems to know when someone is having a bad day and knows just what they need. Sometimes that is a hug and to sit by them and other times it is a laugh. Either way Hunter is the perfect person for the job. Our home would not be as silly and fun without him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUNTER, WE LOVE YOU!!

Sick day

2009-01-30T07:50:00.000-08:00

This is what a sick day looks like at our house ...

plus sleep but I was asleep too;)

Hot chocolate ...
paper dolls and TV!!

Poor Caroline has not been feeling well this week. So finally I let her stay home sick. All she wanted to do was sit, drink hot chocolate (she has been cold for days), watch TV and play with her paper dolls. I had to take the car to the shop or she wouldn't have gotten dressed at all!!

Check it out!

2009-01-26T14:31:00.000-08:00

This is an interview with Elder Ballard and Elder Cook on ABC. I really liked what they said about defending our faith. Hope you enjoy!

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6616644

Girls night out!!

2009-01-16T20:22:00.000-08:00

Our girl's night in the camper/Easy Bake Oven night!

Our cute girls got together and had an overnighter in the neighbor's pop-up travel trailer. They set it up in the back yard and they talked Lindsey (next door) and to sleep out there with them. They watched movies, ate popcorn, and made cookies in the easy bake ovens that Caroline and Syd have. (The instructions stink but if you use your own instinct they turn out OK)

The girls all had a great time and keep hoping for another girl's night!!

What's wrong with this picture?!?

2009-01-12T15:37:00.000-08:00

This is where you ask the BIG QUESTION ... should Mom and Dad ride down the hill on the kids scooters?

Answer still unknown!!

Winter Break

2009-01-12T15:15:00.000-08:00

During our break we went to the park with cousins and had a really fun day. It was just too beautiful outside not to be out!! We met Sarah and Nana Mary and the kids there, had a picnic, and rode the scooters!

Caroline, Jack, Jacob, and Abby waiting for their turn on the scooters.

Hunter

Caroline with her cool new shades.

Abby

Caroline and Jacob

Christmas

2009-01-10T17:22:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning at our house starts with sleepy faces and PJ's. In most homes the parents have to tell the kids they have to wait until they are ready to get up before they are allowed to go out to see what Santa has brought. In our home this is not the case!! Tracy and I have always had to go in and wake up our children and even then we are told that they will "go look in a little while". This year was no exception, Abby had come into our room some time in the middle of the night and when Tracy asked her if she wanted to go look at her gifts she rolled over and said not right now. He then tried asking her if she thought Santa had come, to which her answer was "I didn't hear him." All I can say is that they really value their sleep!!

Caroline is entering in to that tween stage of life and is very happy and grateful for the gifts that she gets but is definitely not as animated as the other two.

Hunter gets excited to see all his favorite things that he knows were picked out just for him. He asks how everyone knows just what he likes, it is so funny!

Abby is the most animated (I know you are all surprised to hear that). She was so much fun this year. There were a lot of squeals and shouts of "YEA!" from her end of the room!

Christmas just wouldn't be the same for me if we didn't do Christmas breakfast. We have friends and family over for crapes, eggs, muffins, bacon, sausage ... I think that you get the point, it is a big spread.

We had a great Christmas and spent it with those that we love. Hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

Updated ... almost!

2008-12-29T19:40:00.000-08:00

I think that I have almost caught up now. As you will see if you scroll down that I have posted 8 new posts of things that we have been doing. I hope to have our Christmas post up soon. I hope that you enjoy our adventures as much as we did as they were happening!!

Gingerbread houses

2008-12-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite traditions at Christmas time is making gingerbread houses. I love keeping this family tradition alive. It is a LOT of baking but when everyone is together and laughing and having such a great time I can't help but feel blessed to have the ability to keep it going!

Sometimes they work beautifully and sometimes they have technical difficulties but they are always so much fun.
Everyone has input and the kids love all the candy and I think that they eat almost as much as they put onto the houses.
All of us have a great time and I will always cherish the memories that we are able to make!!!

Ballet recital

2008-12-29T19:13:00.000-08:00

Abby at her ballet recital. She and her friends had such good time. She is such a cute girl. This is her third year in ballet and her teacher said that this year she is very serious during class and she concentrates and won't talk to her friends! (Anyone that knows Abby knows that this is a very big deal, she loves to talk!!)

They even got flowers for all their hard work. We love our little dancers!!

Christmas party

2008-12-29T19:02:00.000-08:00

Our ward's Christmas party is "Breakfast with Santa"

Caroline

Hunter
Abby

Sugar cookies!

2008-12-29T18:46:00.000-08:00

This is what happens at our house when our cute neighbor kids come over to make sugar cookies... Let the flour fly!!!

Carson was the smart one to stay clear!

Orchestra Concert

2008-12-29T18:41:00.000-08:00

Caroline's fan club on the way to her orchestra concert!!

This is Caroline's second year playing the violin. I am so proud of her dedication even when it is frustrating to get started. She is a talented young lady and it was fun to sit and listen to her.

Christmas tree angel

2008-12-29T18:33:00.000-08:00

Caroline got the honor of putting the angel on the top of the tree this year!

It is always a big deal for them to be able to help Daddy put her on the tree.

Thanksgiving!

2008-12-29T18:26:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving this year! It was my family's year and we hosted at our house. It was so nice to have a house full of family. The kids loved being together and we had a nice time hanging out and watching Christmas movies after dinner. I am so grateful for the blessings in my life and I love my family!

Soccer Season Recap

2008-12-29T18:02:00.000-08:00

Our Soccer Season

Caroline had a great season this year! They were a fun team to watch. They didn't win all the time (2 wins, 1 tie) but they were by far the most improved. They really learned the meaning of team work and made friends for a lifetime.

(Tracy was her assistant coach)

Hunter as always has a great time playing. He is a great team player and always is encouraging his teammates whether he is on the field or sitting a quarter out. He loves soccer and is determined to be the best he can be.

Abby is our most aggressive player. She loves to get out there and really get into the game. She was able to get several goals this year and was a great sport win or loose! She can't wait for next season.

In our family it is not only the kids that get into soccer. Tracy and I love it too. I always seem to be the team mom for at least one team. Tracy on the other hand is not only Caroline's Assistant Coach, but he has refereed for the last 5 years. He really loves to get out there with the kids and is really great at teaching as well as reffing. I love having something that the whole family gets involved in. We seem to be really busy during the season but I wouldn't trade the time with our kids for anything!!

Caroline's Birthday!

2008-12-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

We have had another birthday at our house! Caroline just turned 11 and I can hardly believe it.

She has always been our sweetly content child. I have so many memories of her just hanging out with Tracy and I.

She is so much fun and she has a great sense of humor.
I think that her favorite person in the whole world is her Uncle Andrew. She loves to go visit him in Washington DC. I'm not sure she is ever really ready to come home!

She has such a love for life, school, and her friends. She is such a sweet young lady and we have been truly blessed with her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLINE, WE LOVE YOU!

Busy weekend!

2008-12-11T14:38:00.001-08:00

Wow! what a weekend ... this past weekend was fun but busy. Some good friends of ours went out of town for four days and asked Tracy and I to watch their cute kids. We went to their house Thursday after school and came home Monday night. Friday afternoon Abby and Courtney had a birthday party to go to and Friday night it was Caroline who was off to party. So the boys got a night of almost girl-free video games with Tracy and Marissa (they were sweet to give her a remote too)!!

Saturday we went out to Joe and Sarah's for George and Jacob's birthday party. More fun and more food and cake! Jacob got a remote control boat so we all went to the park and watched it zoom around the lake. I think that was the kids favorite part (or maybe it was more time on the Wii)

By Saturday evening everyone was ready to sit and chill with a movie.

We had such a fun time and the kids loved being with their friends!

My future....

2008-12-10T16:25:00.000-08:00

This is just the beginning...this is Abby talking on the phone to her best friend. They are trying to work out a play date on their own. She was frustrated because my plans for grocery shopping were getting in the way!!

Abby is 7!

2008-11-29T09:23:00.001-08:00

I can't beleive that this silly, sweet little girl is now 7. I'm not really sure how or when that happened but my baby is not so much a baby anymore.

She has always been a little goofy and silly...

she has NEVER been timid or shy...

she has always had such a love for life and others...

now she is growing into a great kid, a sweet sister and a very loyal friend. I can't imagine our family without her. I always say how much she is a mixture of my personality and my mom's. She has so much spunk for one so small that it is hard not to smile when you are with her.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY WE LOVE YOU!!

Scentsy party

2008-11-20T07:15:00.001-08:00

First of all thank you to all those who came to, or helped contribute to the success of my first Scentsy party. I was so relieved and thankful that everything went well. I am excited to see where this can go. Now I get to "pound the pavement" as they say, and find people who are interested in hosting parties. So here it goes.

New Pictures of the kids

2008-11-18T16:20:00.000-08:00

With the camera safely found I decided to seize the moment and take them down to the temple grounds, while we waited for Tracy to get home from work, and take some pictures. I love that they will still humor their mom and all sit without complaint while I take pictures of them. I seem to be in a little bit of shock with how grown up they all seem to be. Where did all the time go? I hope all of you near and far enjoy these as much as I do.

Caroline, Hunter and Abby

This is what makes my life so full and rewarding. I love waking up to them everyday. Who wouldn't like to see those faces forever!!

Camera Found!!!!

2008-11-14T06:53:00.000-08:00

I can finally breathe again. I found my camera yesterday morning. I have been so worried about where it could be and if I would ever find it and all the pictures that are on it. Thankfully it had just gotten pushed under and behid my printer table.

I am glad that I found it now because I reall wanted to have pictures of my scentsy kick off party on Saturday. I am so nervous and hopeful that this event goes well. I feel that I have done all that I can to make sure that it is a success. Well one more shot at getting info out there... for any of my friends that are here in Mesa that would like to come I would love to see you. Please leave me a note and I will get you the address and other information. The party is from 4-6 pm. Well I have to run kids to school before they drive me nuts;)

Something New

2008-11-07T07:24:00.000-08:00

OK, because I think that I have nothing better to do in all the stress of life, I have started a new business for myself. I have become a Scentsy consultant. I really love their stuff and so I have found myself wanted to sell it. For those of you who know me really well, I am a fairly confident person but this takes me completely out of my comfort zone and it makes me a little nervous. Here we go though, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

If any of my friends that are here locally would like to come to my kick-off party it will be on Saturday Nov. 15th from 4-6. If you are interested leave me a note and I will get back to you with the details.

Back to a 8-5

2008-11-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Tracy has found a new job!!! With the housing market the way it is any extra money is a blessing. The down side?... back to an 8-5 with a commute. I have found in the last week that I am really missing the lifestyle that having and running your own business gives Tracy and I as parents. It is a real adjustment for us that he is back to a commute that is longer than 10 minutes (on a busy day).

In my world I am facing a busy week of work and then the HUGE job of putting the house back together since we finished the remodel. I have a few tuch-ups and then it is on to getting the kids back to their own rooms for the first time in a year!! The remodel has been 98% done for a couple of months but we had some good friends and their family stay with us for a couple of months, we will miss them.

I am still going through pictures of the remodel on my computer and my camera is still lost so as soon as I get things settled down I will do a post of all the before and after pictures that we have taken in the last year.

What a week!!

2008-10-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

OK I know that I am not the most consistent blogger in the whole world but what is one to do. I have had a good week with only a couple of things that went wrong. Last Friday night Tracy took Hunter camping over night and I stayed home to go to an awesome evening with the girls from work and to take the girls to their soccer games. I was really bummed when Tracy and Hunter left because my camera is somewhere in la la land and I have not been able to find it for about 3 weeks. I am down to one more room to turn upside down. So I wish I had cute pictures of Tracy and Hunter camping and riding quads, I have to find the camera soon or I might go crazy.

As far as soccer goes ... (for those of you that I have been less than faithful in keeping in touch with my kids have been playing soccer for about 5 years now and LOVE it) Abby's team tied their game she played hard and was a great sport. Caroline's team actually won their game 5-4 she always seems to be on teams that are full of girls about her same size (short) and play teams that are much bigger than them. This week though they didn't let the size of the other team intimidate them. We were really proud of them. (first win in three years, they have tied but not won)

Friday night with the girls was so much fun. It was great to get to know them on a more personal level. We laughed so hard that our cheeks hurt. Thanks ladies for a great night;)

Caroline's idea of Heaven

2008-10-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

I would have to say that this is Caroline's idea of heaven. This is her and the next door neighbor's baby. She loves to play with and hold the little ones. It is sometimes hard to beleive she is that old because there is no way that I am old enough to have one her age.

Sometimes I wonder!!

2008-09-29T08:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder about my kids! They have this very silly game that they play with Tracy. He has a small nerf basketball and they will all line up and wait for him to yell, "GO". Then they all take off running in a straight line and he throws the ball at them. The kid that gets hit then is out and the rest all line up again. The last one out gets the one on one,if he throws it that last time and misses they win. After all that do you think that they stop? Oh, no they all get back up, line up, and then taunt him that he won't be able to get them this time. Personally, sitting on the sidelines, it is really funny to watch but I think that they are a little crazy for doing it. You gotta love the daddy!!

Lilyann

2008-09-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

We have some very good friends with some really cute kids. Thier youngest, Liliann, was wandering around the house and found Abby's soccer uniform and convinced Tracy (not that it was very hard) to put it on her.
HOW CUTE IS THAT!!!
A little saggy but she was lovin it.

I love being a mom!!

2008-09-12T14:48:00.000-07:00

I love those little moments that make you say Ahhh! Last week while I was driving Abby to soccer practice, just the two of us, she piped up in the back seat and told me, "Mom, you're so lucky to have me." I tried hard not to giggle and told her that I agreed but I wanted to know why she thought so. She took a deep breath and then told me, "because I love You." I love being a mom so much and those little moments make the job all the more precious.

Grapes Anyone?

2008-09-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

Is he a boy or a chipmunk? Maybe Hunter thinks that he needs to stock up for winter. This boy makes me smile!!

First Day of School TAKE 2;)

2008-08-26T15:28:00.001-07:00

OK, so we had a slow start to the school year!! There we were, a little early for school, (for the first time ever on the first day of school) camera in hand and lo and behold a dead battery. Between getting the kids all ready for the start of school, getting me ready to go back to work and the house still being under construction someone dropped the ball and the camera did not get charged. Now we are two weeks in and I decide that we are getting the pictures anyway. I set out the same outfits, took the time to drive them to school rather than have them ride the bus and made them do a "First day of school" picture.

How do you convince him that he really does like his sisters?
That first day (and every Monday after that) they do flag raising, so every year all we get is them standing in a big group and if we are lucky we can get the teacher as well.
Caroline 5th grade

Hunter 3rd grade

Abby 1st grade

Lesson Learned!!!

2008-08-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

Call me crazy but I think that Abby learned her lesson not to start a water fight with Grandpa. She was washing dishes on Saturday morning when my dad came over to see them and, being Abby, she decided that it would be funny to take the ladle that was in the sink and splash Grandpa with it. She was warned not to but did it anyway. I think that the pictures say it all. While he had a small wet spot on his shirt she had a small dry spot on hers.

GRANDPA 1 / ABBY 0

Trip to the zoo

2008-08-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

Last school year Abby was invited to go to the zoo with two of her friends from school. I just got pictures from Jayne's mom and so I thought that I would share her adventure. She had such a good time and really has such a cute friendship with them. Nathan, Jayne and Abby talked about their trip together for weeks. I gave her some money and she got to go to the sting ray bay "with my own money", she had to remind me, and she could have stayed there all day long. Between the sting rays and the monkeys the day was a resounding success. It was probably better because I didn't have to go!!

Camping at the Rim

2008-08-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

We enjoy camping as a family and one of favorite places is up on the rim. It is so beautiful. This year it seems that we got more rain before we went and it was so green. Almost every year it rains at least a little while every day but this year it rained before we got there and again after we went home.

The kids love to go for quad rides with the dads and this year was no exception. They took a ride down the trails to a small pond to find water dogs (these are salamanders that have stayed in the water so they still have gills and webbed feet.)

Smoors are a must when out in the woods, around a campfire. We decided to give them a new experience and along with the traditional gram cracker and chocholate they had the option of putting the marshmallow in between two chocolate chip cookies. I don't think that they could decide what was better. My vote is the cookies.

On our hike we found a cave that the kids could climb through. It was perfect, not too big and with seperate enrtance and exit. The kids went through a few times each and thought it was exciting to explore. It was more like follow the leader but for them it was exploring still the same!

Caroline, Hunter and Abby got really good at riding the little quad and loved every minute of it. I think that they are truly addicted.

THE HAMMOCK (need I say more?)

One of our favorite places!!

2008-08-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

In May Tracy and I took our kids to Disneyland with Joe and Sarah and their family and Kirt and April and their kids. We had a wonderful vacation. It is great to be able to spend time with great family and friends. This year was especially exciting because at the ripe old age of 6 1/2 Abby is finally over the hight of 40 inches which opens up a whole new world of rides for her.

This is her on big Thunder Mountain Railroad. She loved every minute of it. All I could hear from behind me was a mixture of squeals and giggles and as soon as we got off she was begging to go again and again. She is definately a part of the family. Tracy, Caroline, Hunter and I are thrill seakers and this trip showed that she was no different from the rest of us.

I was pleased to see that Caroline and Hunter were so excited to take her and show her all the new things that she would be able to do with them this time. They let her choose where to sit and who she wanted to ride with. It was nice as a mom to see that my kids were so good and kind to each other.

It was a great end to the vacation to take the kids to Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast for Jack's birthday. They had a great time dancing with and talking to the characters. Thanks Aunt Sarah!!

Summer is almost over :)

2008-08-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

I can hardly beleive that the summer is almost over and the kids will be back at school and I will back to work at the school. I don't quite know where all the time goes and I am very split over the emotions that I am having. I am in the middle of getting pictures organized of the remodel and of our summer vacations. (one to Disneyland and one camping). I want that all up by Sunday night. So check back and see what has been happening.

My First Blog

2008-07-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

Oh my, I didn't think that I was the blogging type but I have decided that if I am going to have any hope of keeping in touch with people that I have to do something. I also really want my kids to have some sort of journal from their mother. I wish now that I had more information from my mom and that has motivated me is some ways. So as boring as I suspect that I am I will attemt to have something to say every once in a while.