Pumpkinland!!

Tuesday, we went to Pumpkinland for the preschool fieldtrip. Of course it happened to be on the COLDEST day yet. We bundled up in our coats, hats and gloves and had a great time. We didn't stay as long as we have on past fieldtrips, because it started snowing, and our fingers and jaws were frozen, but the little boys still had fun. It's so fun for Hayden to have his cousin, Justice, in his class. They are hilarious. One minute they are having the best time, then the next they are having an argument, but they are best of buddies. Our adventures consisted of seeing bunnies, ducks, chickens, peacocks, turkeys, and a couple of goats (one of which got mad and tried to bust through the fence to get the boys), as well as climbing, swinging, sliding, and going through a cute little "haunted" house. The kids each got to pick a pumpkin before we left.

Every year, we stop here and take a "class" picture. It's both the morning and the afternoon classes.

Best Cousin Buddies!

There's Hayds peeking through the nose. I tried to get a better picture, but he didn't stay long enough. He was all over the place, soaking in all the fun!

Climbing, sliding, playing, laughing... Pumpkinland is fun!

Fall Fun

I think I've said it before, but I LOVE fall. There is a certain feeling, even a smell... and the beautiful colored leaves. LOVE IT!! We've had a ton of family from out of state (and even from way up north in this state) come to stay with us this month. We've had Jared's sister Marie and her husband Jeff here 3 out of the 4 weekends, and it's always fun. We had Jared's brother Matthew and his little family here for a week, then Jared's mom came out. It was fun having her around too. One of the days she was with us, we walked to a park about 2 blocks from our house. It's just a little park, but the kids like to go there. We've seen deer there a few times, and we are almost always the only ones there when we go. It was such a nice day. Warm and sunny, but definitely fall. There is a little "trail" back into some trees and weeds, and the kids like to take walks. Bryson even found several little colored pellets. Make sure you push "Play" below to see our little slideshow :)

Go Jazz!

Jared had a really fun opportunity to attend a Jazz game, complete with a VIP pass. He and his friend from work (who got the tickets for them) arrived at the Energy Solutions Arena, and were able to go in early and eat with some of the VIPs. He said they kept laughing like a couple of kids. They just couldn't believe they were there. They also said there were some interesting people there. (I'm a people watcher, so I appreciate that comment. I'm sure it was fun to watch the people there.) He took these pics just outside the building, and then down where they ate. Karl Malone, of course... D-Will, of course, and Bono... huh? Well, if you know Jared, he is a HUGE U2 fan, and when he saw this picture, he just had to capture it. I guess these are pretty big pictures hanging on the walls.


I was glad he took the camera, because to be honest, I was a little bit jealous! I've always been a Jazz fan, and the few games I've been to, I've loved. And that was when we had to sit clear up 10 miles above the floor! He got to sit clear down close to the action. He said he had a great time.



Pre-game warmups...



I always love when they turn off the lights to introduce the players. So cool!



Ready to start the game!



A little more game action. And if you notice the final score, the Jazz won! Go Jazz!


And what's a Jazz game without Bear? He's awesome!

The only thing I wish he would have done, is have someone take a picture of HIM! He was all decked out in his Jazz shirt, and I would have loved to see a picture of him having so much fun.

Zoo Babies

Our kids love to go to the zoo. I love to go especially when there are baby animals to see. There are quite a few right now. They are SO cute!

The kids love to get a map and figure out which direction to go...


I love tigers... they are my fave! We were excited to see the cute babies. They were so funny. There were three of them, and they kept trying to sneak up on their mom. It was so cute.


Baby giraffes are so cute. They always seem so little when they are standing next to their mom, but when you realize that they are over 6 feet tall, they don't seem so little anymore.


When we went to the zoo in August, we were told that the female elephant was in labor, so we were super excited to be able to see the new baby this time! She was the cutest! Like the giraffe, she looked so tiny next to her mom, but I don't think 250 lbs. is all that small. She played with her ball, and tried to reach something through the fence... it was fun to watch her. And the mom kept reaching up for a bite of hay, and she would lift her one front foot - so graceful.

And of course, the cutest babies at the zoo belong to me!

We had Jared's brother Matthew and his cute family visiting from Virginia. They were here for the week, so we talked them into coming to the zoo with us. Their cute little Kylie had fun, I think. She liked the carousel.

Jared's sister Marie and her husband Jeff were there too. Some of us didn't manage to get in any of the pictures. We had a really fun day at the zoo!

Football Season!

Football season is here! It's one of the many reasons we love fall. Fall is by far the best time of year. Leaves changing, weather cooling off, school back in session, and FOOTBALL! Our BYU Cougars started out the season strong, and even though they had a devastating loss last week, we still love them. Especially when someone gives us free tickets to go see a game in person. (I say "us" as though I was involved... but I didn't get to go.) Jared decided to take our boys and one of our good friends along. They had a great time. Bryson said it was "awesome," although after a while he said he was kind of bored. Hayden became restless a little bit quicker than B (he IS only 4 after all) and was kinda crazy for the rest of the game, but he also said he had fun. Jared ended up having to buy them some popcorn and water (way overpriced, by the way) and they went outside and found a firetruck and some other things to look at during half-time, but they stayed for the whole game. And our Cougars came through with a victory! I'm so glad Jared took a camera so I could see the fun too. :)

And in these next few pictures, don't you just LOVE how my 4-yr-old wears his hat? Either clear down over his eyes, or far enough down to make his little ears stick out. What a kid!

Don't forget to check out the slideshow of some of the action down on the field!

Layin' Sod!

My parents have been in their new house for a while now, and finally were able to get a fence in and sod for the yard. We are so excited for them! It's going to look amazing when it's all done. The sons-in-law went to help lay sod. (All but Math... we missed ya man!) It was a long, dusty, tiring day, but they got it done and it looks so great! I had my camera there for part of the day, so I got a few shots of them working hard, but after I left for a little bit and came back, I didn't bring the camera with me, so I'll have to take "after" shots another time. They had their rock done a while back... and now it looks awesome with their new grass. I know they have even more plans to make it look great, and I can't wait to see how it all turns out. The kids had fun watching their Papabob, dads, and uncles working hard.

Hogle Zoo

We used to have a Family Zoo pass, and we went a lot, but honestly the last time I remember going to the zoo when right before I had Hayden (with Eryn's school class!) They have done SO much since I've been there. It is so nice! They have lots of really neat animal enclosures, and lots of fun animals to see... including a couple of babies! My favorite part, though, is seeing MY little animals and how much fun they have. We ended up getting another family pass, since they let us "re-new" even though it's been 4 years, and we got a great deal. They also gave us several passes to ride the carousel (which I did not know they had). We walked around and looked at everything we possibly could. It was really fun. The mother elephant was actually in labor while we were there, so they had her in the back. We can't wait to go again so we can see the new baby elephant. We were excited to be able to see the baby giraffe, though. So cute! Enjoy our slideshow of all the pictures we took (between Eryn and I - she was using one of my cameras, since hers wouldn't turn on even with new batteries. She took all the close-up animal shots, because the camera she used could zoom in really well).

A Day at the Beach

So apparently there is this really cool beach... in UTAH! In Herriman, they have built this fun little beach next to their pressurized irrigation reservoir. They put in sand for the beach, then it extends half-way out into the water (to a wall, where the bigger kids can still touch - then on the other side of the wall, it's just dirt and rocks and much deeper). My sister Jana invited us to all go up and play! Our kids were so excited to go. We stopped and grabbed a pizza on the way there, and it was so funny, because the whole way there it just looked like typical Utah landscape, and suddenly you go over this little hill and there you are - at the beach. (Well, there is still typical Utah landscape around it, but anyway... it is this cute little beach!) The kids couldn't get out of their seatbelts fast enough. We threw the towels out onto the sand, quickly ate some pizza, put on sunblock and life jackets, and the kids were in the water. (Okay, most of us got sunblock on. I forgot until it was a little too late, and my back got a bit fried.) The kids could have stayed there ALL DAY. The swam, played in the sand, swam some more, played in the sand some more... they had a blast! And I loved watching them have so much fun. All my sisters and their kids came, along with my sister Jessica's sisters-in-law and mother-in-law (who my boys think is their other Grandma! - and who was the best life-guard ever!) It was such a fun day, we can't wait to go back and take Jared. The kids missed him and said "We GOTTA bring dad here!" Watch the slideshow below of some of the fun pictures. (And for my sisters, I actually have a ton more pics of your kids... I'll send them to ya!)

Temple Open House

A couple of weeks ago, we took our little family up to see the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was so pretty, and our kids really enjoyed it. When my mom called saying that she had reserved tickets for us to go while my sister Jess was up from Arizona, of course we were excited to go again! Jared had to work this time, since we were going during the day, but I took the kids and went. They loved it just as much the second time. It is a beautiful temple, and it was fun to be there with my sisters and their kids and of course, my mom. Jared, Dad and a couple of brothers-in-law were missing, along with Jana's twins, and Jess's little Easton, and it would have been fun to have us all there, but some people have to work, and older babies would be hard!! :) I decided to take the camera this time, and it was fun to take a few pictures outside the temple to remember it. When we were outside, I asked my kids what their favorite parts were. A couple of them said "all of it." Bryson liked the "Heaven room" and Hayden said he liked "the pretty rooms." They were so cute and reverent throughout the tour (which is more than I can say for a group right in front of us and a group right behind us... who we let pass us after a bit, so we could enjoy a bit more quiet and reverence). It is so neat to be inside a temple, to see the beautiful rooms, and pictures of the Savior. They are such a great reminder of the purpose of the temple. I'm so glad that my kids were able to tour this temple and the Draper temple a few months ago. I hope they always remember it!

Aquarium

We were able to go to the Aquarium last weekend with Jared's sister Ginny and her family, who were here visiting from Florida. Marie and Christina got to come along too. Bryson thought it was awesome having a boy cousin his age to run around with, and all the kids had a great time. It was fun seeing all the sea creatures, and the highlight for the kids was getting to touch the sting-rays.

More Virginia!

Well, here are a few more days worth of pictures from Virginia. When you take 1000 (yes, that's one thousand) pictures, it takes some time to go through them all! Let's start out with Sunday... no fancy slideshows this time either - just too many pictures! So I just stuck with the plain ones!


Sunday July 6. We went over to Jared's MaMa Stafford's house for some dessert and some more family pictures! We love MaMa. She is a great cook, and always makes sure we have MORE than plenty to eat! She makes us eat, and eat, and eat! The kids love to run around her yard, and play with her funny little Pug named Buddy. Everyone gathers at MaMas on Sunday afternoons, so we got to see some of Jared's aunts and uncles.




Monday, July 7...
We went to Pocahontas State Park to swim in their fun pool. It is a really neat and pretty place. We walked down to the water first, and saw a whole bunch of geese! The kids thought that was awesome, then after some debate, we decided to hit the pool! That was definitely a hit!




We had a slower week, until Friday, when we decided to head to the BEACH!
Friday, July 11...
First we hit Fort Story (an army base in Virginia Beach) where the famous Cape Henry Lighthouses are located... after a slight security fiasco, we were allowed to go in. We were lacking some paperwork for some vehicles, so we did a little shuttling. Nice tight security on those army bases! There are actually two lighthouses located right near one another. The older one, built in late 1700s is not in use anymore... people can go up inside it, though. And we almost did! But it was hot, and the kids were ready for lunch, so we skipped it. The other lighthouse (they call it the NEW one!) was built in 1881. It is still in use! We also enjoyed some time at the beach there.




Later on Friday July 11...
We ate some lunch just outside the base, and then walked down the road to a beach where we could actually get in... the only problem was that there was NO WHERE to change into swimming suits. The kids were already in theirs, but us adults we unprepared, so it was just the feet (and legs) that got wet on us! Plenty of sand however, and GREAT waves! The kids could have stayed there all day! We were sad to leave. Later, we found out that there was a red flag (meaning that the waves were dangerous). We hadn't seen it, so we swam at our "own risk" apparently!

Trip to Virginia - The first 5 days

Well, we just returned from a GREAT trip to Virginia. It was so pretty and green (and humid... well only a few days were really humid). We had the best time visiting with family and friends. Get ready for a serious picture overload. And it's only the first 5 days worth (we were there for two weeks).
We left on July 1st. We flew out of Salt Lake City, stopping in Minneapolis, and finally arriving in Richmond, VA! This was Hayden's first time flying (and Bryson was so little last time we went, that he didn't remember). The kids LOVED the plane! On these slideshows, if you click right on it (you might have to click a couple of times) it will open it up bigger, and then if maximize that screen and you look on the right side, there will be a place where you can click on SLIDESHOW, and it will make it full screen.





July 2nd, we went over to Jared's Mom's old house. They are fixing it up to sell it. The kids had fun playing in the backyard for the last time, and then we headed over to her new house and the kids played basketball.





July 3rd we officially started the Family Reunion activities with a cookout at Rockwood Park. Everyone was there. We had great food, and took a walk, enjoying the beautiful scenery.




July 4th - INDEPENDENCE DAY! We started the day off early, with a flag ceremony and pancake breakfast at the church. Then we went to Dogwood Dell, where we spent much of the day playing on the playground. We got there early to save good seats for the concert and firework show later that night. It was nice and HOT, but then the festivities were almost cancelled when a thunderstorm came through. Thank goodness it passed by so we could enjoy a little cooler weather and stay for the show! We ate Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the fireworks were AWESOME!





July 5th - we went to Maymont park to take some family pictures. Tim and I took the pictures. I haven't downloaded the pictures he took yet... but here are some that I took. After family pictures, we went inside the Nature Center, where the kids had all kinds of fun things to do and see. Then we went outside for a little picnic.




Thanks for looking... I'll have more pictures in a couple of days!

Girls Camp!

Well, I survived girls camp! We went last week up to Heber Valley Camp. It is so pretty up there. I did take my camera... I got a few pictures, but I kept forgetting to hand it over to someone else so I could be in some. We were there from Monday morning until Friday morning. It ended up being really fun... we have some great girls in our ward. I learned a lot from them while we were there. And I learned that I can do hard and scary things! We did a challenge course on Wednesday, and there was a high ropes activity 40 feet above the ground! I'm afraid of heights - really - and I did it. (I had to after I told one of my girls that I'd go as far as she did, and she went the whole way!) Here are a few pictures of some of the girls doing it... I know the girl I made the deal with took some pictures of me so I'd have proof that I did it too, but I haven't gotten them yet.







Of course we did all the other usual camp stuff - crazy songs/games, testimony meeting, snipe hunt... and we canoed on a little lake (didn't DARE take a camera on that one - I was afraid the girl I was with was going to tip us over!) It was fun and I'm glad I went, but I'm glad it's OVER!

Boys at the Park

I thought I should post some pictures of the boys at the park after I took Hayden's pictures... they had fun!

Fun in the "Forest"

Well, here we go, I guess. My sisters all have blogs, and I LOVE to read them, so I figured I should "jump on the bandwagon." I guess I'll share a little adventure I had with my boys yesterday. We went to the ball fields where the kids play baseball, and we decided to explore the "forest" of trees that surrounds it. The boys thought it was pretty cool. Later, when we told Jared about it, Hayden said "We ate fishies in the forest." He ate some goldfish crackers while I practiced taking pictures - Bryson was my model that day. They caught a butterfly, climbed over logs and rocks, and "hiked" all over the place. Hayden kept falling down - on his tummy - poor kid. He's got scrapes all over! They thought it was a pretty fun adventure, though!