The Stewart Family

Pioneer Day Swim Performance

2010-08-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

I was asked to put together a men's synchronized swim routine for our Stake Pioneer Day talent show. The men who got sucked into it were: Taylor Caron (Pink Cap), Robert Lea (Green Cap), Josh Carter (Blue Cap), Bishop Anthony Perkins (Navy Blue Cap), Dan Omer (White Cap), Patrick Omer (Orange Cap), Chris Day (Yellow Cap), and of coarse Bishop Marcus Stewart (Red Cap). Poor Marcus has no choice being married to me! He gets to go backpacking with his buddies for doing it for me. He's fine!

The practices were so much fun and I had a blast teaching it to these guys. They had fun with it and did amazing! Thanks for being such good sports!!!! You did incredible! I'm already thinking up something for next year! ha ha

Here is the link to another recording of it. It has the begining where they walk in with their robes. It's a closer video. When I put it on my blog it cut off alot of the picture so it will look better if you watch it direct from You Tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XepQ2RVkLdA

Kolob Reservior

2010-04-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

We went to Kolob Reservoir that is near Zions N.P. in Utah with the Lewis Family. We took the wheeler, fishing poles, swim suits and hammocks planning on having a lot of fun. That we did!!! Marcus & Cody taught the boys how to break apart pallets for fire wood. They had fun doing that of coarse! What boy doesn't like to tear stuff up and burn it!!! ha ha

Marcus took the kids fishing and caught nothing but a poor tangled up dying Crawdad. He tried cutting the fishing line off it and got him untangled. They set it free and hoped for the best! Poor guy! It was exciting for the kids anyway!!! I think Marcus had fun too!!! ha ha

They had fun catching caterpillars playing in the freezing cold water and relaxing in the hammocks! We would leave life behind and become full time campers if we could!!! We always have fun at Kolob so until next time we have our wonderful memories!!!

Fall Soccer

2010-04-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

I have lost some pictures. This is the only picture I have of Fall Soccer. Sad!!! If I find them I will upload more later. We got approval to do Fall Soccer with the stake Primary Sports Program. This was our first season and it all went really well. We had an overwheelming turn out of over 500 kids sign up to play this season but we (the committee Yeah!!) pulled it off and it all went pretty smooth!!! We have so much fun as a family helping with this program. The kids got to drive the Gater and help set up the fields and then clean them up at the end of the night. They LOVE that and are making some really fun memories. They have fun playing on their teams and are getting to know a lot more kids with the interaction they have with the other kids in the stake. They have fun hanging out and eating snack shack food. We love this time as a family and have so many fun memories because of this great program!

More Summer Fun

2010-04-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

More pool pictures!!!

We spent alot of time at the community pools this summer. We live in Vegas what else can you do in the HEAT!!! Makell and Chase didn't dare go off the diving board. We Finally got them to try it and then we couldn't get them to do anything else. It was fun to see them so scared and then so confidant.

This is how the kids would dry off before coming in the house after they swam! Thanks kids!!!

Andie all geared up and ready to swim in the Stewart make shift pool! ha ha It at least cools us off without having to go anywhere. Better than nothing right!!

We went out of town and came back to a green pool. The kids didn't care and played in it anyway! EWWW!!!! It didn't last long because Dad came to the rescue and got us clean water to play in!!! Thanks Dad!!!!!! ha ha Marcus is sooooo good to us!! I don't know how we would function with out him!!!

Birthday Redemption

2010-04-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

Yeah!!! I found the fun Pict's. Here was her adorable cake that she LOVED!!!

We took her to the YMCA pool and I LOVE this pictures of her!!! She is soooo cute!

She played on the hill more than she played in the water! There were a lot of people there and she got bothered by the splashing and crazy kids everywhere. I had fun playing with her on the grass and we would go cool off in the water when we needed to cool down. Trenton would come hang out with us every so often too. Dad, Makell and Chase stuck to the water slide and would get Trenton to go with them but he liked relaxing with us too.

As you can see we had a blast and Andie did have a fun birthday. She decided to potty train the week before her birthday. She did soooo good with it! Turning 2 she is now really a BIG girl. My Birthday is 2 days before hers so that was a wonderful birthday present for me!! No more kids in diapers at the Stewart house!!! Yeah!!!!!!!! She is so special and we love her so much!!! Happy Birthday Andie & Mom!!!

Andie's 2nd Birthday

2010-04-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

This was Andie's 2nd Birthday and as you can see we went all out!! ha ha This is why I should update my blog faster. I forget what all has happened and don't capture the fun. That is the only picture I could find of the cake and it was already cut up. It was a Strawberry Shortcake Cake. Andie Loves Strawberry Sbortcake!!! She was very excited about the cake!

She was trying to hold back!

She ate her piece quick!!! She takes after me!! I love birthday cake too!!!

This Birthday had to be more exciting but for some reason I can't find the exciting pictures so here's the end results!!! ha ha Better luck next year I hope! Needless to say, We all LOVE our little Lou Lou and are so glad we can be a part of her happy life!

Lagoon Summer 2009

2010-04-09T08:23:00.001-07:00

We took the kids to Lagoon in Farmington, UT this last summer. I think they will all remember it. We all had a great time. We stayed in the Lagoon KOA and did two days at the park. The thing that we will remember the most is when Chase lost his cell phone. While Marcus & I took Trenton and Andie on some little kid rides we let Chase and Makell go together on the bigger rides together. They went on a ride called Wicked that starts out by going straight up in the air and then straight down. Like an upside down U but taller. He had his phone in his pocket and it fell out on the up part and the guy sitting in the seats behind them caught it. The kids didn't realize the guy had caught it so they were all sick about it and trying to figure out what to do when they got off the ride. As they were looking all over outside the gates the guy came over to them and asked if they lost a cell phone on the ride. Chase said yes and told him what it looked like. He showed it to Chase sure enough it was his. We were all amazed the the guy caught it in a split second in the middle of a roller coaster ride. They told the guy Thank You over & over. He was so relieved and so were we. The kids talked about it the rest of the trip. It was so fun to tell all the fun stories that Marcus & I had groing up going to this park. They got to go on our favorite rides as kids and loved them like we did. We had so much fun there and will be going back in the future!!!

Having Fun Forting!

2010-01-11T12:47:00.000-08:00

One of the kids favorite thing to do is make forts and then sleep in them. This is a fort they made in the boys room they are standing in frount of the little door that you had to crawl into to get in it. Marcus and I both somehow made it through and back out at that! We are not built for this stuff anymore! It sucks getting old!!!! We love to see them having fun together!

Trenton and his cutest little smile! These are all picture inside there hut now.

Makell has all their clothes picked out and ready for the next day!

Andie and Chase ready for fun! They love everything except putting it all away when their done. They do it anyway and try to be happy about it so that they can build another fort another time! Have fun forting kids! ha ha

Girls Fun

2010-01-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

These are just some fun shots of the girls playing in the backyard at our house. They were having so much fun together and as a mom you have to capture those moments! Makell is such a good big sister, sometimes I think Andie loves her more than her parents but then she comes back to the light! ha ha They actually played like this for quite a while. I am so proud of both the girls they are so much fun to be their mom!

Fresh Salsa Anyone?

2010-01-11T12:13:00.001-08:00

So this summer we thought we would try our hand in a salsa garden. We grew the tomatoes, peppers, and onions. It actually worked so then we had to learn how to make salsa. I had all the kids helping out so that they could learn right along with me. Makell skinned the tomatoes.

And of course supervised everyone else. ha ha She is such a good helper though!!!

Trenton chopped the Green peppers in the food processor. The boys decided that they needed their goggles so that their eyes wouldn't burn. They were so funny but they kept at it, and it made it more fun for them anyway.

Chase cut onions and was felling so big to get to use the knife! We had so much fun making salsa as a family and it was soooooo yummy when we were all done! We are looking forward to our summer garden next year. I think we will plant more than just a salsa garden this time around and see how we fair! ha ha

Toad Hunting

2009-09-13T18:53:00.001-07:00

These toads are our new found friends. We see them in the early mornings when we walk. They are in the gutter next to the side walks lining the Shadow Creek Golf Coarse near our home.

One morning I got home from my walk and got the boys up to go toad hunting. They were soooo excited.
We took big Ziploc bags to hold them in until we got home.

The boys would walk along the edge looking for them and would get excited when they saw one. It was so funny because most of the time they would get up to it and say "oop it's dead". They got pretty good at spotting the dead one and pointed out that they usually had holes.
We rescued two and they named them. King Toad is the big one and Ninja Toad is the smaller one and he was hiding under the leafs most of the time. We released these two at Kolob Reservoir.

A few weeks after we released them I noticed the toads on the street were getting bigger. I decided to take a rubber glove with me on my walk and I would surprise the boys and catch them two more (bigger) toads. My friend Chris and I caught two for them but it was quite the show for the people passing by. Even with a rubber glove I couldn't bring myself to touch them. So we found a cup and had them jump into the cup. With my rubber glove on still I held my hand over the cup so they couldn't get out and every time they would jump I would scream. I had Chris on a hunt for something that I could put over the top of the cup do that I didn't have to feel them jumping. She found something and we made it home but it seemed like it took us forever.

The boys were so excited and loved that they were so much bigger. We released them into the back yard to try to give them a better life and save them from frying on the side of the road. A couple weeks have gone by and we hadn't seen the toads in the yard. Until last night that is! I looked outside last night and saw something on our patio. It was one of the toads and it had tripled in size! Wow they are surviving. Now I hope we don't end up with a lot of baby toads. Two is enough for our family!!! ha ha My husband is soooo good to put up with me and my crazy ways!! This is our kind of big city hunting!!! What fun!

Young Family Reunion

2009-09-13T17:54:00.001-07:00

For our Young family reunion this summer we met at Kolob Reservoir by Zions N.P. We had the four wheeler, canoe, and a raft to keep the kids happy but we all had fun with the toys! My parents and sister Lyn and her family came but we all missed my sister Amy and her family. They are in West Virginia while she finishes Nurse Anesthetist school for a few years. Anakin is FREE! To roam that is! He roams around all day and all night! (until we make him go to bed in the trailer anyway) He loves camping.

Grandpa was getting as much snuggle time in as possible. They were both loving it!

Makell and Sarah had so much fun going out on the raft. They spent alot of time trying to row to their destination. It's not the easiest thing to steer. They had fun trying anyway!

We all enjoyed our down time! If we weren't sitting down relaxing we were out in the canoe, swimming, riding the wheeler, and even chopping wood was fun! Whatever it was we had fun!

Gathering wood on the wheeler is a blast! What a man! He is so fun and so HOT!

The canoe was a hit! They one tip it once and Makell was the only one that didn't fall out! Funny

Even Grandma was letting loose and having fun! They had so much fun. We even got them out in the canoe! It was great!!!

The boys had a blast chopping wood!

After camping everyone came to our house for the 24th of July. We went to our Stake Pioneer Day Celebration. The only pictures I got were of Trenton and Andie. The older kids were out doing their own thing too cool for Mom and Dad.

They were fun to watch play all the games. We had a great time and were really glad to have spent time with my family! Thanks for the Great Time!

Body By Victoria aka Lou Lou

2009-08-31T10:10:00.000-07:00

So this is why you don't take Dad or Kids to Victoria Secret! I came out of the dressing rooms to find this! ha ha Those drawers were perfect for Andie and of coarse Dad played into it! She looks like she's on crack! She pulled out her hair tie and was in desperate need of a nap!
I am sure we are not the only ones to have ever gave the V.S workers a show! I will be ordering online from now on! ha ha

Wow, I hold back my boys!

2009-08-31T09:57:00.000-07:00

So after I watched this I realized just how much I hold back my boys! I am always so worried that they will get hurt that I'm constantly telling them NO don't do this or that. I am sure that this mom didn't say NO and let him experiment a little or I guess alot! Now some how I will try really hard to suck it up and let them be. Marcus I'm sure is laughing and saying "Ya Right!" but it's my new goal so I guess I won't watch at first? Have Fun with your new freedom Chase & Trenton! But BE CAREFUL!!!!

Kitchen Remodel

2009-08-29T08:46:00.001-07:00

So this is not the best before shot but I think you can get the jist of it. They were so ugly! We hated them from the start but we didn't want to pay thousands of dollars to upgrade them with the builder because they were still not what we wanted. So the plan for the whole 4 years of living in this house was to customize them ourselves. We just finally did it!

Marcus built a 4 inch rise out of MDF board then added the rope trim piece to cover the seam and then added a nice chunky crown molding at the top. He did this to three of the cabinets to give a variation in height.

We wrapped the side pieces and the island in beadboard and put a nice base trim piece at the bottom to give a finished edge.

We tiled the back splash with light tumbled stone tile that Marcus's brother Monte gave us and we bought the smaller dark tiles to match the flooring and tie it together.

The cabinet over the microwave and the fridge Marcus pulled out to give more of a custom look and I now can access the cabinet over the fridge so much easier! Love him!!! He did amazing!!!!

We painted them in the white to match the trim already in the house and then I antiqued the doors, trim, and beadboard with a tiny 1/4 in. flat paint brush to only get the amount that we wanted. The kitchen looks amazing!! We are so glad to be done with this project and are VERY happy with the way it turned out! The best thing of it all is that we only spent $300 total! How's that for Design on a Dime! We did the whole project in just under two weeks! Totally worth it though!!! We LOVE our new kitchen!

Pinewood Durby Oops!

2009-08-29T07:58:00.001-07:00

So I just realized that I hadn't blogged the Stake Pinewood Derby. What was I thinking? What kind of mom am I? This was Chase's 2nd Pinewood Derby and he really did his car pretty much by himself while Marcus supervised and help when he needed. It was so fun to watch him having a great time with dad. This is some serious business! It is so funny how involved they get into this.

The car shape is now ready for a major sanding job.

After priming and sanding several times he now can put the base coat of gloss black.

He painted the front of the car yellow and then Marcus helped him to make the yellow paint fade into the black. It was pretty cool how it turned out and most importantly Chase loved it.

Chase did great this year. He got 3rd place in the Bear race. Then the top three people in the three age groups raced and he got 3rd overall. Way to go Chase!! Ooh Raw

This is the picture of the top three kids in all three age groups! Good Job Boys! Now go plan for next year! ha ha

New Family Pictures

2009-08-03T16:19:00.001-07:00

Yeah we got updated family pictures!!! I Love Love Love them!!!! My amazing friend Shadoe took them and did such a good job! She is wanting to get into photography so I made her use us a her guppies! We struck gold on this deal!! Your the best Shad!!!! Thank You

School Graduation 2008-2009

2009-08-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

Makell with her 5th grade teacher Mr. Games

Chase with his 3rd grade teacher Mrs. DaBeers

Trenton with his Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Wathen

Makell graduated from the 5th grade. Her teacher is Mr. Games. She really liked him. He teased the kids and made school fun but was strict at the same time. He did a great job! Makell got awards in both ready and math. She was above average in every subject! Great Job! She grew so much over this year. I just can't believe my little girl isn't little anymore! Middle school wow! Ready or Not!!! Makell did an amazing job this year in school. Her grades were great and she really took off on ready. She has always got her nose in a Harry Potter book! She has read books 1-6 all this year. I think it was book 6 that she read in 3 days so she could read it before she say the movie! We are so glad she enjoys ready now! Great Job Makell! We are proud of you!
Chase graduated from the 3rd grade. His teacher was Mrs. DaBeers in the green shirt. He really liked her and he had a ton of kids from our ward in his class so he had lots of friends. He had a great year even with his injury and being in a wheel chair for a few weeks. Chase got awards in both ready and math. He is our social butterfly so to get good grades and high scores on all his test is a great thing! He was above average in every category also! Math is his best subject and he is great at spelling! Were waiting for him to catch the reading bug. He is a great reader he just doesn"t want to. All though he loves the Diary of the Wimpy kid books.We bought him the last two books in that collection to read over the summer and he is excited to read them. We are so proud of you buddy! Great Job!!! Keep it up next year at your new school. (Chase & Trenton are changing to Dickens Elem. for their 9 month schedule.)
Trenton graduated from kindergarten! Wow they grow up way to fast! His teacher was Mrs. Wathen. He liked her but more importantly his friend Daniella Thompson was in his class! Life was great and he loved school! She is the little girl in the purple next to him. They are inseparable! Both are smart cookies! Trenton was awarded a special ready award. He was one of only 8 kids in his class that was ready and AR testing on the computer for the books he read this year. Some of these kids tested higher than some 1st graders but they didn't say who. Way to go Trenton! This is a great start for many more years of school! He did an awesome job! We are so proud of you little buddy! Keep up the good work and you"ll go far!

Perpetuum Jazzile - Africa

2009-08-03T06:43:00.000-07:00

This fun YouTube video features a 1980s pop classic. The rock band Toto scored their biggest hit with Africa in 1982. The song is instantly recognizable. But it has been reinvented.

Perpetuum Jazzile is an a cappella jazz choir from Slovenia. It’s hard to think of something further from an ‘80s rock band. But their version of Africa may best the original. The group has amazing voices.

But the beginning of this video is really striking. Group members simulate an African thunderstorm with their hands.

It’s really something to see and hear.(Don't turn up your sound - the sound of raindrops begins really soft.)

**This is amazing so I thought I would share it with everyone. I can't believe that it is a cappella! I love this song too. Enjoy

Trenton's Kindergarten Graduation

2009-07-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Trenton is in the orange stipe shirt behind the gray haired ladies head on the left of the screen.(right side of her head) Top row a few kids in from the left. She moves her head for a moment toward the end and you can see him for a second. Sorry I didn't get to record it so this is a friends. Better that nothing right!

Spring Trip to Utah

2009-07-30T16:53:00.001-07:00

I know it's summer but I"m still blogging Spring. My goal is to get caught up before summer is over but that's a lofty goal so we'll see. ha ha We went to Utah to see family in April. My parents were gone for the first part of our trip so we started out at Marcus's parents house.

We went to the movie Race to Witch Mountain. It was a cute movie and the kids really liked it.

After the movie the kids got in some play time with the arcade games. Andie had fun riding with Trenton. She has to be included somehow right!

Grandma Nae has a ton of blocks that the grand kids love to play with when they come to visit. These are pictures of Chase, Trenton, Macee, Jack and their creations. They were so proud!

It's always fun with the cousins but this time we got to go see Mills perform in a play. She was an Umpa Lumpa in Charley and the Chocolate Factory. She did a Great Job and we were so glad that we were there to see her shine!

My parents got home right in time to go to the Sunday Morning Session of Conference with us. We took Makell and Chase for their first live session. It was wonderful. They really like it! Saturday afternoon Chase was in a rubber band war with his Uncle Christian, his teenage friends and some cousins. Chase jumped down 10 stairs to flee from getting hit and hurt his foot. It was a little swollen and bruised but not bad so we figured he must have sprained it. We really wanted him to come with us to Conference the next day so we pampered him and Grandma Nae let him use her crutches. We talked him into coming and we're so glad that he still came with us.

So as we were loaded and having lunch before leaving town we decided to have Chase's foot checked. It was starting to get more swollen and was still really hurting him. As a mom I was worried for him and just felt uneasy. Marcus's mom had a friend that worked for a foot Dr in town so she called him and they had us bring him in for a quick x-ray just to be safe. We thought where we didn't have insurance it may be cheaper in Payson to get it checked anyway and we trusted the Dr's there more than in Vegas too.

Dr. Faux was so good and Chase loved him. He found in the x-rays that Chase had a Lis Fraunc Fracture. For us common folk that translates into he dislocated his 4th & 5th metatarsals. He set us up for surgery 2 hour later at the Provo Surgical Center. Oh boy!!! We were shocked!

Dr. Faux came as soon as he finished with his patients and did the surgery for Chase. He had to pin the 4th bone into place and luckily the 5th stayed in place once the 4th was pinned so he only needed the one pin.

Chase was nervous but excited all at the same time. He was loving all the attention and we were glad to give it to him. This was our first surgery/big injury with any of our kids so we were nervous for him. He did really well and all the people working with him feel in love with his fun personality. Of coarse he asked them a million question and they were so sweet to take the time to answer every one. It took him a while to wake up from the anaesthesia and when he did he was adorable. The first thing he said was to the nurse and he asked her if he got to keep the hospital socks. Ya the tan fuzzy socks with the white traction painted on the bottom! He loved them! He kept falling back asleep and every time he woke up he would ask if he could keep the socks. It was so funny!

He was out of commission for 8 weeks. The sad thing was he was suppose to start his 8 week baseball season in 4 days. The Dr said he had to elevate his foot for three days constant and keep ice packs on it. Then he would be able to be in a wheel chair with his foot straight out for 3 weeks. After that he could start on crutches if he felt up to it but No pressure on the foot what so ever. He had to have the wheel chair at school just to be safe that he didn't get bumped by the other kids. Their were like three other kids in wheel chairs at school shortly after Chase got his so he was not alone. He had two of his friends on crutches so we had to get a picture of coarse. At 5 weeks we made a trip back to Payson to Dr. Faux to have the pin removed.

Chase helped with the whole process of removing the cast and wanted to pull out the pin himself. We didn't agree to that so the Dr. pulled it out for him but he did get to wiggle it before the Dr. pulled it out. We have it on video so if anyone wants to see it I can load it up on the blog! It was actually not to bad at all!

The Dr. washed up his foot and put him in a boot for another 2 weeks. He could start walking on it as much as he felt like it but only with the boot on. After the 2 weeks he could start walking on it but only with his shoes on and after that he was done. He could run and jump and whatever he felt like doing but No more jumping down the stairs!

He was such a good patient! He didn't ever complain. He didn't even take hardly any pain medicine he was so tough! The hardest part of the whole thing was getting him to walk on his foot. That was very painful for him but not where he hurt his foot it was painful to stand on his heel. We found out that there is a growth plate in your heel and when you don't use it for a long time it softens and is very tender to walk on. It took time but he strengthened that growth plate and was doing good.

He didn't skip a beat though through this. He was still active as he normally is and was popping wheelies in the wheel chair and would bat in his baseball games standing on one foot. (With out the Dr knowing of coarse) He did wait a few weeks into things before we let him bat and after he got the cast off and the boot on the Dr gave him permission to bat if someone ran for him. He already had that down so he was good to go!

Everyone was so good to him during the 8 weeks. His 3rd grade teacher Mrs. DaBeers was so patient with him. After he had the boot on he had to do some stretches to help loosen his foot up. His teacher said that Chase would stop whatever he was doing if it started hurting and start stretching. ha ha She asked him what he was doing and he said that his parents told him that if it hurts to stretch so he did just that I guess. We are so glad that he is OK and we think now he may think through his stunts? Good Luck right!

Hoagle Zoo

2009-07-30T12:48:00.001-07:00

Our family went to the Hogle Zoo while we were in Utah this Spring. The older two kids barely remembered going to this zoo before and the two younger kids had never been to a big zoo at all.

These four little gorilla pictures are priceless. They loved measuring up to the gorilla but were sad that we didn't get to see a real one. It was hiding from them I guess? Intimidated probably!

So we had a lesson about the birds an the bees in the Giraffe house. Chase asked us how to tell if they were boys or girls. He's a child you have to answer his question to get him to stop asking it. So I'm sure the other people visiting the Giraffe's got a good laugh. We did!

The monkey's were so cute but not as cute as Andie watching them. Makell couldn't get over the monkey stench. It was pretty bad but we got use to it.

It was rainy and cold so we took some indoor breaks every so often to warm up and not get to wet. It was kind of nice to get weather other than sun though. The kids loved it and got to even have a snowball fight with Marcus. What a treat! ha ha

I'm the crazy mom that has to get a picture of each kids getting eaten by the lion drinking fountain. The boys loved it and the girls didn't. Makell was annoyed and Andie was scared to death of it and would not get any closer. Marcus had a blast chasing the Geese around. They were not to friendly and his was pushing his limits with them and loving it!

These Lion statues were so fun. I love how the pictures turned out with them all playing on them too. It's so funny to see Makell so annoyed in this picture again. She is creeping into the teens and some days it's pretty obvious. Poor girl I feel for her. I hope she doesn't get too hormonal!

We all had so much fun watching Trenton and Andie's reactions to everything they saw. They were so fun and loved it all! Chase got a Cheeta to play with him. He would run up & down the fence line and the Cheeta would follow him. It was so fun to see them interact. Andie watched me walk backwards as I took picture/videos and decided to try it out. For about 20 minutes she would only walk backwards no matter what we did. We couldn't get her to turn around. It was so funny! Trenton had a blast scaring Andie when he turned into an Ape all of the sudden. Needless to say we had a Great time at the Hogle Zoo!

Trenton"s 6th Birthday

2009-07-30T10:16:00.001-07:00

Trenton's 6th birthday was on May 7th. Some of his friends came to our house for cake and ice cream and to party with our little cutie.

Everyone was so cute when I took a picture of them with Trenton. I think they were all just as excited to get their picture with Trenton as they were to give him a present. When it was their turn they would jump up and instantly stand next to him ready to take the shot. So Cute!

After all the fun at the house Marcus & I took the kids to the driving range on Pecos/Bonanza. This is one of Trenton's favorite places to go! You purchase a credit card type thing and insert it into the machine and the balls come up from a hole in the ground, ready for you to hit it off. The kids all think that is the coolest thing ever. We had several lanes for the kids to use so they could all hit more often and not have to wait in line very long for a turn. They all had so much fun and it was a great day for Trenton to get to take his friends there. Thanks to all his friends for sharing this special day with him!

I can't believe it has been 6 years since our little buddy was born! Something interesting, when we were in the hospital with Trenton we had turned in all the papers they have you fill out and we named him Rickey (after my dad) Trent Stewart. After we had spent more time cuddling & loving on him I realized that I really wanted to name him Trenton. So Marcus went to the nurse and had them track down the papers so that we could fix it. I am so glad that we did as he has made the cutest little Trenton ever!

Trenton is our mellow child. He has the sweetest nature and is so kind hearted. His is so loving to everyone and loves your love in return. He has the cutest little smile and he can warm you heart in an instant when he smiles at you. We are so blessed to have Trenton as part of our family! We love you little buddy! Happy Birthday

Cool Art Work

2009-06-20T12:47:00.001-07:00

Chase brought a letter home from his art teacher saying that she put a piece of his artwork online. We were excited and we would share the link so you can all view it too. He started out with a thin white piece of foam paper and drew a picture. Next he rolled ink over it. Last he put a piece of paper on top of it and rubbed it with a plastic spoon. He did two prints and the second one turned out the best. That is the one his teacher put online. The link is www.artsonia.com/chase1855 if you want to check it out. Good Job Chase!

Spring Project

2009-06-17T10:02:00.001-07:00

So for my Spring Project I started a Primary Little League. I was not happy with the kids not growing up with stuff like this and when I read the V.T. message for April it came to me. Basically it said that if were not happy with what is going on around us it is up to us to change it and make it better. So that is what I did. The Stake President came to our house to visit our family for ward conference and so I took that as an opportunity to see if I put some teams together could I use the Stake Ball Fields? He was happy about the idea and told me to run it through the Stake Primary. So that is what I did.

So we didn't have much time before the heat so I had to move fast. I gave myself two weeks to get the whole thing organized and ready to start practices and games. In the beginning it was basically me but I quickly got help. This ended up being our committee, I guess you could say. The guy (Bro. Jason Fackrell) is the High Councilman over the primary that saved us in that he was a baseball nut so he was the game side of the program which I knew nothing about. The ladies in the orange, purple and red are the Stake Primary Presidency. The orange cutie is the President (Sis. Kathryn Bird) we got to be good buddies with all the time spent together and phone calls. She was my biggest help of all and I was so glad that she was up for it!!! They all jumped in and totally helped me keep things together and running smooth. The lady in the front row blue shirt is my friend Tricia Ashby that lives down the street and I usually drag her into my crazy haired ideas. She took over the concession stand for us to raise the money that we needed for the program. It was so cool that we had concessions to make it like a real little league experience but by the end of the eight weeks I was a little sick of hot dogs and nachos. ha ha

So it ended up being a bit bigger than a few teams! oops We had a huge response and ended up with just over 275 kids. We had 3 age groups with 6 teams for each age group so 18 teams total. I got a name from someone in our stake that Ensign Credit Union would possibly donate shirts to our program so I called and organized it. They donated shirts for everyone even coaches and are going to keep donating them for every season. Wow!! I called my brother in law James and he was so nice to design a logo for us and in about a weeks time we had around 400 shirts to hand out. It was amazing how it all worked out so smooth and fast. God was defiantly on our side!

Marcus helped coach Trenton's t-ball team and Andie was kind of an orphan child so she would go get hugs and kisses from dad every so often. She had fun but I felt bad that she didn't have parents for a while! She bounced between us and our friends in our ward helped us to keep an eye on her. She did well and had fun at least.

Trenton had so much fun! He was always so excited for Thursday nights so that he could play baseball. He was sad that he had to hit off the T but he got over it and had a blast!! He is a super good little ball player! Our good friends Kurt and Shadoe Wankier got stuck with the job of coaching this team and they did amazing! The kids learned a lot from these die hard Yankee fans and I gave them blue as their team color on purpose! The little kids were fun to watch grow and learn through out the season. I may have no friends left if I keep dragging them all into my craziness! ha ha

Trenton's T'Ball Team Spring '09
Coaches: (L-R) Valden Thmpson, Head Coach-Kurt Wankier, Ben LeBaron, Marcus Stewart

Makell did so good! One game she got 3 kids out in a row and 5 outs for the game! You rock!! We bought her real shoes after we realized she was wearing her converse to play ball in. She didn't really want to get new shoes but style isn't everything sometimes! We learn something new everyday right!! ha ha

Chase was the child of ours that I felt needed the baseball experience the most. The weekend before it started we went to General Conference in Utah and he hurt his foot. He was out for 8 weeks! The exact amount of time that baseball was going to be! I'll put the foot story on the blog soon! At the end of the season we let him bat and had a someone on the team run for him. I was glad that the team still involved him and he was able to have fun. He could hit the ball way into the outfield standing on one foot. That's some talent! It was fun to watch him. Good Job Buddy!

Makell and Chase's Coach Pitch Team Spring '09

Coaches: (L-R)Head Coach- Melanie Curren, Greg Ashby, Anthony Perkins
Melanie was so amazing with these kids! She had them make a team flag and totally taught them team spirit!! The coaches were really good teaching them the game and they were a really good team! It was fun to cheer them on and watch an actual game be played! Great Job guys!!

So it is all over now and I have a life again! But we decided to keep this going and to have Soccer in the Fall and Baseball in the Spring. We named the program North Las Vegas Primary Sports so that we are able to change it around. The Stake President was so happy with how organized the program was and was happy to see that so many kids got to play and for free even! It was an amazing experience to see how the Lord guides us in life we just have to be willing to put forth the effort! Thank goodness Mormons are willing to serve. ha ha This would have never been such a great success if it weren't for everyone serving and the Lord opening doors for us the whole way. I am so glad that we can do something like this as a family and not have it break the bank or take up our whole life! We have the best Stake ever!!!

Andie sit down!

2009-05-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

So this morning when I took the kids to school Andie was sitting in the 3rd set all the way in the back holding the seatbelt across her with out it being buckled. She was so excited that I broke down and let her stay there. We buckled her in the seat and off we went. After I dropped the kids off and as I was driving home she got out of the seat belt and was walking around in the car. I started telling her to go sit down or she would have to get buckled in her car seat. She finally went back to the back seat but she was standing on the seat looking out the back window. I started to tell her to sit down she said "uh oh theirs a cop". I couldn't hold it together I started laughing so hard and then she thought she was funny. Needless to say she only sat down for the last few blocks of the ride. Good thing we really didn't pass a cop! What are we teaching are kids? ha ha That's our little Andie she's a bundle of fun!

Easter 2009

2009-05-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

I know I am totally behind but I'm getting closer to being caught up. This Easter we had some of our neighbor friends come over for a BBQ and an Easter egg hunt. We decorated Easter eggs and the kids and the adults all had a great time together.

Fishing @ Tule Springs

2009-05-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

After almost 5 years of living in Las Vegas we finally took the kids fishing. They loved it and we had a blast as parents watching our kids having fun and learning something new. We went with the Lebaron family from our ward. Chase caught the first and only fish in our family. The Lebarons caught several after we left of course. The picture next to last on the bottom right side is my favorite of the trip. I wish I would have video taped this moment because the picture doesn't really capture it. The boys had that "ewe gross" look on their faces as Marcus taught them how to gut the fish. In fact that's was they kept saying through out the whole gutting process, even though they thought it was cool. I also like the two middle pictures when Makell finally got up the nerve to touch the worms and then tried to get Andie to hold them. Andie was not very thrilled with the worm or Makell after that.

When we got home Marcus cooked the fish outside on the grill because as you all know there is a no fish in my house rule. They stink!! Marcus and Andie were the only ones that liked it. And no of course I didn't try it!! No Way! There are certain things that I am totally against and fish is pretty close to the top of that list! We had a blast and we'll now be going fishing more in the future here in Las Vegas.

My Special Friend Chris!

2009-04-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

So I am totally behind on blogging but this is the next thing that I need to blog about and even though I am late in doing so it is still close to my heart and will always be a special memory to me. I will always remember these special memories.

Chris Carlson and I moved next door to each other in the same weekend in August of 2005. The first day Marcus and I met Chris and her husband Rich we wanted to share the gospel with them. Rich had a teenage son that passed away a couple months earlier in a car accident and we could feel their pain so much our hearts hurt for them. We never really got the right opportunity but we always kept them in our prayers. After several years of living next to them and being neighborly friends Chris lost her job and started to walk with me and other neighbor friends in the early mornings. Many of the mornings it was just Chris and I alone walking and she got to be comfortable talking with me. I didn't bring the gospel up but I was praying hard to get the opportunity to share it with her. After a while Chris started to ask questions and I tried to answer them the best that I could. I invited her to meet with the missionaries and they could teach her better than I could but she politely declined and said maybe after the holidays she would have more time.

On Thanksgiving weekend Marcus and I took her a Book of Mormon and I shared my testimony with her and let her know that when she was ready we could help her with the missionary lessons. Still asking lots of questions and being more ready to receive the gospel than she new she was, we continued walking and talking. Then one day I decided to sign up to feed the missionaries in our home and I invited Chris to come for dinner and meet them. She accepted the invitation and I was so excited and nervous at the same time. I had never shared the gospel with anyone so this was so new to me and I had all kinds of emotions going on.

The missionaries (Elder Ayhcroft-the short one and Elder Welch-the tall one)were so excited to teach her. After dinner they ask if they could teach her a lesson and she was OK with that. After the lesson they ask if they could schedule a time to teach her again. She said yes and we continued to have missionary lessons with her once a week in our home.

In the beginning Chris was really thinking that she would find some excuse for her to decline and not agree with our beliefs, but the more she learned the more she came to the truth and believed herself. Chris was and is still an inspiration to me and so many others around her. She accepted the gospel fully and is so strong in her testimony. She ask Marcus to baptize her and was baptized on March 14Th and is counting down the days for her to be able to go to the Temple.

Four days after she got baptized we got to go with the youth group from our ward to the Temple to do baptisms for the dead. She now has quite a few names from her own family to take to the Temple to have their work done for them. She is one of the most amazing women that I have ever met and I am so blessed to be a part of her life and to have shared in some of the most spiritual experiences with her in my life. Thanks Chris for allowing me this amazing experience. I Love You!! Now we're all praying for her husband Rich and her son Kyle. ha ha They are truly an amazing family and we love living next to them!

Survival Practice

2009-03-19T05:13:00.000-07:00

We went camping with the Lewis Family and the trip ended up to be our survival practice. Bishop Lewis decided to try to start a fire with a magnify glass to see if he could actually do it if he had to. The first two rows of photos are of the "big boys" playing with fire and accomplishing a huge fire started with only the magnify glass, flint steel and sticks of coarse. Good Job boys!!

They also took the kids on a hike to the top of a peak with a mirror to see if Jana and I could see the reflection and spot were they were from camp. It was pretty cool to see how bright the flash of light was with the mirror when it hit the sun just right. I guess now they know how to be found if they get lost as long as it's a sunny day anyway!

The third row of pictures are of the kids on a scripture scavenger hunt. Jana and I made up a scavenger hunt using scriptures as clues and the kids got a big bag of treats at the end. They had fun and Jana and I had fun putting it all together.

The picture of the hand is for the Stewart kids to remember not to touch cactus. We broke out the first aid kids a few times to pull cactus needles out of hands! Not Fun!!!

Next is a picture of Chase teaching us how to make all the colored parts of our eyes disappear. I guess this could be useful in scaring anything or anyone away! Ha Ha

The last two pictures are of a hut and a sand village that the kids built. They spent alot of time on making them and had alot of fun doing it also.

So I guess if it came to the Stewart's and the Lewis's having to survive in the wild we would do fine as long as we had our trailers full of food and water! Thanks Lewis Family for another fun camping trip!

Blue and Gold

2009-03-05T19:03:00.001-08:00

So for the Blue and Gold Banquet Chase did the Titanic sinking for his cake. We put small doll shoes, clothes, dishes, etc... floating in the water along with gummy life savers as the life preservers. We ada a Polly Pocket doll with a lifesaver around her waist as a survivor floating next to the boat. We came up with the idea the morning of the banquet so we were kind of throwing it together last minute but it all worked out. We had fun together making it and Chase baked the cakes by himself. Good Job Buddy

Pooping Party!!!!

2009-03-05T18:52:00.000-08:00

We had a party at our house tonight! Andie pooped in the toilet for the 1st time ever! It wasn't because she new she needed to go, so we can't celebrate too much. ha ha

I heard her tooting and ask her if she wanted to go poop on the toilet and she jumped at the chance, so I did too. She tooted on the pot a few times and let it rip! I was yelling at Marcus to come celebrate with us and the whole family ended up in the bathroom checking it out and making Andie feel good about what she had done! So funny! I bet you wish you could party like the Stewarts!!!! ha ha

Potty Break

2009-02-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

Sorry you may have to turn you head I couldn't flip it?

I have been helping Andie to be aware of the potty so that we can be more ready to potty train in the future. The other day Andie went and got Makell's hand and said "potty" as she was pulling her to the bathroom. Makell looked at me a little confused and decided to go along with it. She helped Andie sit on the Pot and of coarse nothing happens but Andie has fun mimicking the fun noises that can be made while on the potty. What a fun moment to capture with our oldest helping the youngest to (pretend) to go potty! Maybe I should turn the wheel over to make with this one she was doing a great job! Ha Ha

Happy Birthday Grandpa Rickey

2009-02-19T17:44:00.000-08:00

We are so blessed to have such a good man in our lives!! To him this day is like any other but to us it is a day that we get to remember all the great times we have had with him. So like it or not HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! We Love You

Creepy Valentines!

2009-02-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

So Makell came home from school on Friday with a Valentine Gift Bag full of gifts and a boxed Rose that sang to her. I looked at her (with a big smile on my face) and said "Wow Kell" She proceeded to tell me that this had been the creepiest day of her life. I laughed and asked her who the gifts were from. She told me they were from some kid in another 5Th grade class that she didn't even know and that he gave her a plant too (that she gave away to her friend). I laughed and she said it's not funny it's creepy. She told me the school counselor delivered it to her in front of her whole class and sat it on her desk. She was of course embarrassed but I thought she had to have liked it a little bit.

We were going out of town and were all packed up and ready to go so we had the kids load in. We were teasing Makell of coarse but I was a bit confused when she threw the Rose and the gifts away (minus the candy that she liked) before she got in the car. I thought that was alittle mean but thought I wouldn't make a big deal of it.

So while were we on our vacation with our friends The Lewis's, we had Makell tell her sweet valentine story kind of teasing her about it. She told them the story of how she got the gifts and then proceeded to tell us the creepy part that we (her parents) hadn't heard yet. She told us that P.E. was at the end of the day and while she was outside at P.E. This kids Mom had someone point out to her who Makell was and then she went over to Makell and introduced herself to her. She told her that her son was not a stocker that he just liked her and wanted to give her a valentine (or 6-7 valentines, a rose, and a plant). Then the lady went and got her son and introduced the two of them and had him sit next to Makell so she could take their picture.

At this point Marcus and I were shocked and laughing and said no wonder you think he is creepy!! That IS a little creepy especially for a 5th grader. Little weird!!! We at that point decided to drop it and not give her a hard time anymore. She had a right to be creeped out!!

Tuesday morning came along and the kids were getting ready for school including Makell when she came to me saying that she was sick to her stomach and didn't want to go to school. I didn't realize until that moment that this kid really did freak her out alittle bit and I ask her if that was why she didn't want to go to school. She wouldn't admit it and I figured I would let her stay home and go talk to her teacher about it.

I took the other kids to school and talked to her teacher. He was not aware of the whole mom thing because she was at P.E. and left from there to go home. He was surprised and thought that was way to far to go for this mother and kid. He told me he would make sure that he and the students didn't tease her about it and he would watch out for this kid and keep him in line for the remainder if the year. He told me to tell Makell that the kid is on track break for two weeks so she won't have to worry about him if she wants to go to school. Makell and I had a talk and I sent her to school late. This will definitely be a Valentines that she will never forget. It's kind of funny that this is her first boy experience and she's freaked out by it! I think Marcus and I are both
OK with that!! Maybe we will have a few more years to not worry about her and boys! Maybe!!

Poor Girl! It sucks to be beautiful. Ha Ha

Buffington Pockets

2009-02-11T10:54:00.001-08:00

We went on a camping trip with the Lewis Family to Buffington Pockets near Valley of Fire. It rained a good majority of the time we were there but we loved it. We shot the 22 and bb guns in the rain under the awning of the trailor and in the breaks in the weather the kids played with the sand stone and made fun mountains by breaking up the rocks. We played cards and the kids watched movies. We are excited to go back in good weather. This place is awsome we can have guns, fourwheelers, and can hike in the rocks with out having neighbors. This will be a great spot that we will visit often!!

Andie's 1st Haircut

2009-02-11T10:05:00.000-08:00

Wow what a cutie! I was tired of the baby hair so I decided to cut a layered bob to get rid of it and let her real hair grow in better. My friend Katie that is my amazing hair dresser was out of town (so I thought) and me being the impatient person that I am decided to do it myself. Katie had taught me a little bit about cutting layers and I research the net just in case and make sure that what I was thinking was right. So I attempted it. I had Marcus hold a bowl of M&M's down low in front of her so that she would look down and at it I went. This is the outcome. What a cutie!

Not to Shabby for my 1st layered bob and her 1st real doo. It could have been a very sad thing for both of us but it was all good in the end. Thank Goodness!! And after all that I found out that my hairdresser Queen was already back from her vacation and I could have went the easy route and let her do a professional job! Next time I will call just to make sure she is really here and I could work on patients but that would be way toooo hard!

Happy Birthday Chase

2009-02-11T06:59:00.000-08:00

For Chase's birthday he wanted to go to Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix. We invited our friends (The Ashby's) to come along and then Marcus's brother Todd and his family were coming through to go to Disneyland and planned to spend the day with us. It worked out perfect and they were able to join in on the fun with Chase. W e all had a great time and when we were done there we ate at CiCi's Pizza and went home for cake and ice cream. We were stuffed and it was a great day.

Chase is big stuff now. He got an Ipod for his birthday and a Boombox for his Ipod. He was really excited about this and he gave us lots of hugs and thanks through out the weekend. We are so proud of Chase! He is growing up so fast and is so smart and kind. He loves to play with his friends and ride his rip stick (now with his Ipod) and is always full of energy and ready for fun. We are so blessed to have him in our family! We Love You Buddy!!! Happy Birthday

Sledding!

2009-01-22T12:48:00.000-08:00

We all woke up early one Saturday morning and went to Mt. Charelston to sled. We packed up everything for breakfast and I cooked yummy pancakes, bacon, and eggs with plastic forks and knives because we forgot the pancake turner. Oops! We also forgot salt + pepper, and matches to light the stove. So Marcus borrowed a lighter from a stranger to get the stove lit. I went through several plastic forks because they keep melting as I cooked. I hope we don't get cancer now! Ha ha

Marcus took the kids to sled while I was getting breakfast made and then as we were eating Trenton started complaining that his stomach hurt. He was crying after a few minutes and wanted to go home. So Marcus took the other kids to sled a bit more while I cleaned up breakfast and tended to Trenton.

I got Trenton snuggled in the Yukon while I was packing things up and was talking to him while I was working. He then told me not to talk to him or he wouldn't get better because he was concentrating. Ha ha After a few minutes he told me that if his friend Jace (Ashby) was there he would be all better. I don't know how Jace would of fixed it but I thought it was funny that that was his fix.

A few minutes after we started driving home Trenton and Andie were out cold and by time we got home and Trenton woke up he was all better. He told me all he needed was to come home and he wouldn't be sick anymore and that's exactly how it was. At least he got feeling better and we all had a great time. Next time we will go more prepared.

Chase's Crazy Hair Day!

2009-01-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

This was Chases's fun while he was on track break this winter. Can you tell he was a little board before the holidays hit.

He started spiking his hair by himself and it was not going so well. So I offered to help him. That shocked him and this is what his hair ended up like. He never thought I would allow him to do his hair like this but I figured better to get it out of his system now rather then later.

I didn't plan on leaving the house that day either but we did. We went to some stores and he got looks from people and felt uncomfortable after awhile. I think he is fine with crazy hair only for fun now.

What a chore to wash it out though. Spiker Glue is some good stuff. But he managed to get it out and still have hair left when he was done. It was fun to have crazy hair for a day anyway.

2009-01-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

These picture were taken at a house located around Lake Mead/Las Vegas Blvd. The guy that owns the house looks like the real Santa. He decorates his property like this every year. He has booths to look at like the Magical Forest has and he even has a Train that you pay like $2 a person to ride. It is like a mini Magical Forest with out the huge expense. We all had a great time. This will be a family tradition from now on.

2009-01-22T10:26:00.000-08:00

My parents and sister Lyn's family came to visit us over the holidays. We spent one of the days that they were here at the Dry Lake Beds just north of Vegas. We launched the boys model rockets, shot the guns, roasted hot dogs and marshmellows, had hot chocolate, found the mud of coarse, and had an absolute blast. The weather was perfect and it was nice to let the kids run and play their little hearts out. This is a day we will all remember and do again!!!

Ladies Night!!!

2009-01-12T19:54:00.000-08:00

Picture from left-right: Me, Claudia, Katie G, Tricia, Chris, Katie W, & Shadoe

It's always fun to go out with friends to a girly movie and dinner. So when Bride Wars came out this weekend we had to make it a ladies night out! I will have to say that Bride Wars is now up there as a personal favorite! I Loved It!!!!! I don't think I can wait until it comes out on DVD to see it again so I guess well need a Date Night and Marcus didn't get out of it after all!! We went to a Mexican Restaurant after for dinner and of course I ended the night with nothing but the BEST, Fried Ice Cream! Thanks Ladies for the fun night out!!!

Viva Las Snowman

2009-01-09T06:28:00.000-08:00

This is Trenton's rusty snow or frost ball that he put in a baggie to save in the freezer.

Chase is preserving frosty.

How pitiful that is their snowball and snowman. But the grass sure looks nice.

Chase and Trenton were so excited that some of the grass and the trampoline was covered in frost. They thought it had snowed and so I explained to them what frost was. That tells you how often we get cold weather here. So Chase decided for their Snow Day he would collect it all and build a snow (or frost) man. He had to hurry though because it was melting pretty fast. That's when the next thing I knew Trenton had a snowball in a ziplock baggy and Chase had found an empty jam jar and put his snowman in it to save (hopefully not forever). It looks like it time to go sledding up Mt Charelston. I would have to say thats the best of both worlds. When we want snow we just drive up the mountain to get it. Nice hu!

2009-01-08T21:33:00.000-08:00

Andie loved her new baby stroller so much she wanted a ride too!
Trenton's favorite thing was Mario Kart for the WII. It is a blast!
Chase finally got a Rip Stick! He is getting pretty good at it already!
Makell loves her new clothes (that she picked out herself) but
we surprised her with a digital camera so now she's really big time!

We had a great Christmas and it's a pain in the rear to upload these photo's so I picked one of each of the kids and that's going to have to do until I learn how to post a group of pictures. So the condenced version is we had a great time relaxing with the kids and my parents for Christmas and the kids were so happy with the fun stuff they got. I have to admit we had fun with their new toys too! I will be updating the blog in the next few days with pictures and info on the fun things we did over the holidays so watch for more to come. We were very blessed to be happy and healthy this year and hope the best for the year ahead.

Happy Birthday Grandma Gloria

2008-12-17T18:26:00.000-08:00

We decided to send Grandma Gloria a birthday greeting on our blog and tell her how much she means to us! She is so kind and generous. She is always willing to give and help anyone and anytime. She has always been a great example of service and love. We love going to Utah to visit her. The kids best memories of her are her hugs and her magic carpet ride bedtime stories! They always look forward to that when we are there. She is always concerned for her family and cares and loves us all so much. We want you to know how much we love you and hope you have had a very Happy Birthday!! We will see you in 4 days!! Yeah

The Heart of the Holidays!

2008-12-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

Man I work fast!!! Makell actually got the hang of it and made pretty good loaves!
Marcus and I had been working at the bakery from 1 am to about 11 am on Tuesday and we had a big order for the next morning that we needed to go back to the bakery to do later on that day. We decided instead of being away from the kids forever that we would make it a family event and have the kids come back to the bakery with us.

Marcus went and got started about 4 pm and the kids and I got there to help him about 5:30 pm. They were so excited to get to learn how to knead and/or play with the dough! They did a pretty good job but they had a fun time so that was the best. It ended up going a lot faster because Marcus called and told the Young Mens leader he wouldn't make it to youth night and what we had going on. The leader told him they would bring the boys to the bakery to do service. So the young men in our ward helped us gift wrap about 300 loaves of pumpkin bread.

It was actually pretty fun and some of the boys wanted jobs in the future. I think they really liked it and I know they liked eating it more than bagging it! We were so greatful for their help!! We sent them home about 8:45 pm and finished up the rest with our kids about 10:00. If they wouldn't have gave their service we would have been there until 2 am! Giving like Christ gave is the true meaning of Christmas! Thanks boys and kids!!! Merry Christmas

Little cuties!

2008-12-14T15:59:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Old Wise Elves!

2008-12-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Ward Christmas Party

2008-12-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

We went to our ward christmas party and the kids got to sit on santa's lap! Andie was NOT to happy about it!! She was not just crying she was screaming and of course we were all laughing!!! Our neighbors that we love to pieces came with us and we all got free dinner! ha ha It was a fun night and the kids got to hang with there buddies! We got to hang with our buddies too I guess! We have the best ward ever! The friends we have made here are amazing! If we ever move were going to have to take them with us! We are so blessed!

2008-12-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

The baby donkey was my favorite! The sticker on his head means no feeding him!

We bought a bag of carrots and feed the donkeys!

So these wild donkeys roam the streets in a little town called Oatman. It is on Route 66 just outside of Laughlin, NV. We took an overnight trip to see what it was like and I'm sure we'll go back sometime. We had a lot of fun! We love going to new places, exploring and making memories!

Clark Planetarium and Temple Square

2008-12-11T20:21:00.000-08:00

Chase was so excited that they could have a picture taken with Christ!
This is a scale that will tell you what you weigh on the different planets. We had fun with this!

The kids loved taking pictures on another planet! This was a fun trip that we will all remember!

2008-12-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

This is our first post so I figure lets show you our life at home! Andie learned to kiss like the dog so we had to take advantage of the moment and then teach her not to kiss the dog anymore! Fun Times!