The Wilson Crew

Gingerbread houses

2011-12-27T20:34:00.001-07:00

Kenzie's house. She had the time of her life putting all the candy on her house. She had no help. I think she used all the Nicco's for a sidewalk or driveway.

Ty did his all by himself too. Can you see the slide that Santa can go down?

Cortlyn is very creative. Don't you just love her house

Hayden had a little problem on his. Ty was trying to decorate his house when he pushed to hard and caved in the roof. Hayden being the nice brother he traded Ty. He made a stable with a manger and the whole works.

Gotta love Shawnee's house. She goes all out on hers. Thanks to our wonderful friends the Panters for coming over and having a great time while the kids decorated their houses.

{ HAPPY HALLOWEEN }

2011-10-31T07:51:00.003-06:00

Ty as Jack Sparrow

Shawnee as Scholar of the year

Cortlyn as a Hip Hop Dancer

MRS. UTAH, Butterfly, Biker Boy, Jack Sparrow, Chef Ramsey, Hip Hop Dancer, Scholar of the year.

Kenzie as a Butterfly.

Aren't we the cutest little family you ever did see? Halloween is a fun time with LOTS of parties and festivities. We hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday. Now off to Trunk-O-Treat. Go eat some candy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CornBelly's

2011-10-20T11:58:00.000-06:00

Don't you just want to eat this girl up? So stinkin cute.

Ty posed for this one. I love this picture of him.

We went to Cornbelly's with our friends Heather and Graydee. We had so much fun. We had to do everything. Build a Lincoln Log house. Slide down the slides. Watch the pig race. Ride the bikes. Go in the haunted houses that Ty cried through, won't be doing that again. Going on a hayride.

Of course we had to dress up and be princesses for a little while. While we sat in the carriage. Ty was driving them.

We had to take the horse around for a little walk. These were so cute. You just bounced around a little track. The kids loved this.

Preschool

2011-10-20T11:44:00.002-06:00

Ty's first day of Preschool at Mrs. Jen's. He was super excited. Can't believe he is big enough to be going to preschool. He looks so grown up.

One Beautiful and Talented Gril

2011-09-22T15:59:00.000-06:00

All I can say is WOW!!! These are Shawnee's drill pictures for 2011. She is one Gorgeous girl. Good thing she takes after me. NOT!!! I love the action shots. They turned out AWESOME!!!

Soccer Man

2011-09-21T15:45:00.002-06:00

This year we decided to put Ty in soccer. He loves it! He is pretty good at it too. He is the fastest one on his team and can caught up to the other team and get the ball from them. He scored 4 goals in one game.

I love that all the kids are jumbled together trying to get the ball. So Cute!

Way to go Tyrell. You are one handsome stud in your soccer jersey.

First Day of School

2011-09-08T10:58:00.003-06:00

So Shawnee this year is a Sophomore. Yes she is counting down the days until she gets her drivers license. I think it is 5 months and 7 days. That will be a bitter sweet day. She made the drill team again this year and she is loving it. She is the Vice President for drill. She gets all the fun jobs like planning the activities they do as a team. She has some easy classes but she did get AP Biology. Cross our fingers she passes.
Hayden is an 8th grader this year. His poor face. He went to Sand Hallow with a friend the week before school started and got burned pretty bad. He is excited to be in some fun classes like foods, guitar and ceramics.
Cortlyn is in 3rd grade this year. She is loving her teacher Mrs. Wachsmann. She has her really good friend Gabby in her class. She is super excited to learn cursive.

Ty will be going to Preschool. Won't be long before I have no kids at home. That will be a sad day. What will I do then? Read a book, catch up on laundry, clean the bathrooms. Who knows. I will let you know when that day comes.

Jackson Hole River Running

2011-08-12T13:56:00.002-06:00

The Big Kahuna was not so big this year....But Lunch Counter was awesome. It dumped a lot of boats over including ours.
We passed the time by jumping rope. Hayden was a good sport and did it. Gotta love the concentration on this kids face.
Ty getting ready to go on the kiddie run. He got in the water up to his waist and then got in the boat.The water was a lot higher then in years past and was very cold.
Here's all the kids on the kiddie run. They had so much fun. Ty even rode on the front of the boat until we hit a little wave and the water got him and he jumped off.
Lunch Counter was awesome. My dad's back has been bad for a while and we were afraid that he wouldn't be able to make it this year. But with some good meds and prays he was able to come and ride. He made me captain the boat a couple of times down so that he could rest his back.
If you look hard it looks like Shawnee and her friend Sabrina are about to fall out of the boat in front. Lunch Counter caught them a little off guard.
Brad and Hayden having one of their wrestling matches. As you can see Hayden was the winner he is a tough kid.
We hiked up to Hidden Falls at Jenny's Lake. This water fall is massive. Being August and the water is still coming down off the mountain. That is impressive. It is so pretty up here.
Here are some of our hikers. We decided to walk all the way around the lake instead of taking the ferry over to the falls. Lets just say we won't be doing that again unless we have all day to do that. All in all we had a GREAT time and can't wait to go back next year.

Fourth of July

2011-07-23T16:20:00.002-06:00

Here is my cute little family on the fourth. We spent it in Mt. Pleasant at the cabin. Me, Brad and Hayden ran a fun run for cancer that morning and then off to the parade. Back to the cabin to let the kids swim in the pool. Brad, Hayden , Chad, and Drew went for a little mountain bike ride. Brad came back with a few cuts and scraps from falling off his bike and rolling down the mountain. But he was ready to go on another one. We ordered pizza and took it to the school to have dinner and watch Mt. Pleasant's fireworks. They are by far the best that I have seen in a long time. We hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday. Because I know that we did.

Stadium of Fire

2011-07-23T16:04:00.002-06:00

Can I just tell you that Stadium of Fire was Awesome. This was our first year going. WOW!!! So good. Loved the fireworks and Brad Paisley. Shawnee had the opportunity to dance at the Stadium this year so we though we would go until we found out the tickets were outrageous Thanks to Bert we got to go just me and Brad. We sat in the boring mayor section. But we did see Governor Herbert he was a couple of rows over from us and Steve Young. You can see we had good seats. Loved that they put the fireworks to music. This was a picture from the Ring of Fire. You could feel the heat from the flames. It was so cool.
The Stadium of Fire dances made the Liberty Bell and the Statue of Liberty. So cool. They even danced to Katie Perry's Fireworks with light up gloves.
The guy bringing this flag in misjudged his landing a little bit. He ended up hitting into the photographer and knocking him down. What an entrance.
Cute Shawnee in her hot velvet dance costume. Not sure who decides on that but they were dying of the heat from these things.
The group of drill girls that wanted to dance. Aren't they all so cute. Can't wait until next year to see who is coming. It was so much fun. Way to go Shawnee you did and awesome job!!!!

GOLF

2011-07-23T15:58:00.002-06:00

Hayden and his friend Jared Heer. I put Hayden in the Ranches Golf clinic again this year and also put him in the association. He can golf every Tuesday 9 holes. He is loving Golf when he can go with his friends and have a good time and loose some balls in the process.
This year Hayden got to have his cute little cousin Wilson come to the clinic with him.

Summer time parades

2011-07-23T15:46:00.002-06:00

Shawnee loves to help her Grandpa throw candy in the parade every year. I think she also loves having time to talk with her Grandpa.
Hayden driving Grandpa's tractor with all the kids on the trailer. Yes Shawnee is on there too. She had time to help with Grandpa plus be back in time to get a ride with the rest of the kids.
These kids were definitely TOUGH ENOUGH TO WEAR PINK. Aren't they so cute all in pink getting ready to go to the rodeo.
Gotta love Ty in his cowboy hat and shorts. He was getting ready to watch the horse parade.
Kenzie is just plain cute no matter what. She loved watching the horse parade. She kept clicking her mouth to make the horse sound.

Junior Mr. T

2011-06-23T11:42:00.002-06:00

Ty before his hair cut
Ty after his hair cut.

Brad thought it would be cool to give him a Mohawk. Ty thinks it is cool to look like Mr. T. He also thinks that now that he has this hair cut he can act like Mr. T. too. Love the hair cuts that we give our kids. We also like to use them against them when they get older. :)

Demolition Derby

2011-06-02T12:52:00.002-06:00

The Drill team wanted a car in the 1st Eagle Mountain Derby. When Brad heard, he was all over it. He found a car and fixed it up. The Drill team came and painted it up nice and pretty. Yes Brad is driving this hunk of junk. NICE CAR HUH!!! This is what it looked like at the beginning of the race. Brad got in a few good hits of his own.
Unfortunately he got hit more than he wanted to.
Lets just say boys DON'T play nice at this game.

He survived the first race. His car on the other hand broke the drive line and put a nice big hole in the passenger side door. He had an awesome pit crew that put the drive line back on and he was on his way to the next round. Thanks Todd and Drew. You saved his bacon.
A little smashed up in the back. Needed a new tire but it drives.
Not sure if Brad is ready for round 2. What a good sport he was.
WATCH OUT!!! Here they come.
Poor Brad. :( Hold on.
VICTORY!!!! He made it. He had a blast. He didn't win but gave it all he had and then some. Those men can be brutal. Just so you know he was running with the BIG boys who have driven in a derby many times. This was Brad's first time. They were out to get the Rookie. He is a little sore today but all in all he would do it again. As for me I am not so sure about it. Maybe if we put him in a giant foam bubble that will keep him from bouncing all over the place. Nice job honey.

Memorial Day

2011-06-02T12:35:00.002-06:00

Happy Memorial Day. Isn't this the cutest picture ever. Kenzie is fighting Hayden and won't hold still long enough to have her picture taken. Ty is looking at something other then me and the older three are just wanting this to be over. Well sorry we are going to have a picture here every year until I am gone. I want to remember this day so that one day you can look back and think. WOW wish I would have meet this wonderful person that is buried here. I am sure she would have been a fun grandma. Look at her beautiful grandchildren. Here's to all those that have gone on before and have fought for our freedom. We will love you and always miss you deeply.

One Amazing Man and One Week

2011-06-01T07:43:00.002-06:00

For the last week this wonderful man whom I call my husband. Spent the week at this lady's home. Now its not what you think. It's a good thing. He helped make this amazing women's life a little easier.

You see this woman named Katie Terry was in an accident which left her paralyzed from the waist down. She has two children that both need her attention more than most. Her home was in need of a makeover. She had a hard time getting around her home. It was not wheel chair accessible.

So Heart 2 Home (a non profit foundation) approach Brad and asked if he would be willing to help. Well if you know Brad he was NOT going to pass on an opportunity to help someone that needs it. He meet with Katie earlier in the month to get her concerns with the house. She needed a whole new master bathroom. It was not made to fit a wheel chair. There were holes in the wall and a normal tub that it took her 20 minutes just to get in. Carpet through out the whole house which is very hard to wheel your chair on. The kitchen was small and narrow with no way for her to cook or do her dishes. She had to put a hot pot on her lap to take it to the table or counter. Very difficult to do her kitchen duties without it taking extra effort from her.

The wonderful husband that I have redid the whole upstairs for her. She was only expecting the bathroom and the kitchen. She got a lot more than that. Brad tore down walls, ripped out carpet, tore out the whole kitchen, and even landscaped her yard. She now has a bathroom that she can wheel her chair into and turn around without banging into the wall. She can even wheel her chair right into the shower and wheel under her sink to brush her teeth. They repainted all the rooms including the kids. Brad put new hardwood through out the whole house except the kids rooms. They got new carpet. Widened the walk spaces so that Katie's chair could fit with no problem. And the best part was he gave her a brand new bigger kitchen. She has a stove and sink that she can wheel her chair underneath so that she can cook and wash dishes so much easier. Cabinets that pull down so that she can reach everything that is in them. More counter space and a place to eat dinner with her kids together.

You don't realize the little things that she does on a daily basic that we take for granted everyday. She has never said Why me or I wish. She truly is an amazing woman. She has done the St. George Marathon and many more races and just recently finished the Boston Marathon. Katie is always willing to help someone else out. While Brad was working on her house Katie was helping with another Heart 2 Home project. I wish everyone could meet this woman. She always has a smile on her face and loves life. I am so grateful that Brad has this opportunity to serve this energetic, full of life, and AMAZING woman. It reminds me that life is full of surprises but to take it as it comes and love every minute of it.

Spring Break and Kenzie's 2nd Birthday

2011-05-02T08:28:00.005-06:00

Kenzie this year got to have 2 birthdays. She was so excited to blow her candles out that we had to relight them a couple of times because we weren't done singing before she had blown them out.
Here is her cake. I think I am getting better at the cake thing.:)
We headed to the Little Sahara sand dunes for spring break. We were sure glad we did. The first night was a little chilly with the wind and rain. But the next morning and after that was BEAUTIFUL. Sun was shining, warm temps and good times. Doesn't Shawnee look so CUTE? Everyone wore there goobles (goggles). That is what Ty would call them. They helped with not getting sand in your eyes.
Cortlyn being brave and climbing a pretty steep hill and then she would jump it at the top. The kids loved this hill. They would go over and over again.
Shawnee, Danielle, Kenzie and Sammie the dog riding the ranger going up one of the hills. Shawnee thought she was awesome driving that around.
Ty climbing the same steep hill. He couldn't jump it. He would barely make it up if he didn't get a good run of it. We have to turn the accelerator down on his four wheeler. He thinks he is evil can evil on that four wheeler.
Hayden catching some sweet air.
We had a ton of fun making sand castles. They were out there for over an hour. But what a great castle.
We had to do a little sledding while we were there. The kids love it!
Ty was helping with the castle building.
Cortlyn and Kenzie sledding down the hill. Kenzie wanted to go over and over.
Here is Kenzie's 1st cake. Strawberry shortcake cupcake from the sweet tooth fairy. Very Yummy.
She got to open a few presents on her actual birthday. She got a sand castle bucket full of all the castle building supplies and a bag of mamba's. When we got home we had another party with presents. She got new shoes, clothes, books and a new bed. Spoiled little girl.
Kenzie loves being outside. But she loves, loves, loves going on a ranger ride with anyone that will take her. What a great couple of days. The weather was great and the kids had a blast. Singing around the camp fire was the best part. Making up your own words to any song was hilarious. Ty was awesome. He has his dad's talent of making up songs and the drop of a hat. So Cute.

Conference Weekend

2011-04-19T11:54:00.004-06:00

We headed out to the Little Sahara sand dunes for conference weekend. It was a beautiful day on Friday. The kids played in the sand, four wheeled, laughed with everyone and we ate good food. On Saturday it was a little windy but that didn't stop us from going to Sand Mountain to watch all the crazy people climb the mountain. When we got there we stayed for a couple of minutes and headed back the wind was bad and blowing in every ones face. Everyone decided then to head home. But we stayed and braved the wind and the rain.
Ty riding his four wheeler. His feet don't even touch the floor board. But he is a pretty good rider considering he is only 4 years old.
Drew taking Cortlyn on a three wheel ride wheelie style.
This is what we woke up to Sunday morning. SNOW!!! Yes 4 inches to be exact. We were not very prepared no hats, gloves or coats. But we still made the best of it.
The sand dunes are very pretty covered in snow. Never have seen it like this before. Maybe that's what we get for camping on conference weekend.

Happy Birthday

2011-03-22T14:29:00.002-06:00

It was my Birthday. I told Ty that he could help me make my cake. So we rolled out the fondant and Ty and Kenzie had a blast cutting out the shapes and putting them on the cake. I think that it turned out AWESOME!!! They did a great job. They might have pushed a little too hard in some places but that didn't affect how good it tasted.
You are all wondering just how old I am, will I turned 35 this year. I don't feel any older. So that is a good thing I think. It was a normal day. Clean house, make a cake, go to lunch with Brad, Ty and Kenzie. Make dinner with Cortlyn's help. Go to two dance meetings for Shawnee. Come home, open presents, eat cake and ice cream and have dinner. Pretty eventful day? Pretty normal for me really. CRAZY, CRAZY, CRAZY. Loved all the Birthday wishes, and gifts from everyone. Thank you.

St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-22T14:18:00.002-06:00

Lucky the Leprechaun came to visit us again this year. He left a bag of Skittles for each of the kids and a saying that read. Have a Rainbow of Fun today. Love Lucky:) I made these sugar cookies for the kids. I left them on the counter and took Shawnee to a Dr appointment and when I got home the cookies were all gone. I asked Hayden and Cortlyn if they had ate the cookies and they said no but here is a note from Lucky. It read I have a treasure for you here is the first clue. Where do you rest your head? Where do you do your homework? Where do you keep the ice cream? Where do you watch movies? And the last clue was What room do you not go in very often? They found the treasure at the end Lucky's treasure was my cookies. He had taken them and hide them from us. That sneaky little Leprechaun. The kids were so excited for Lucky to visit us again. Ty kept saying that he saw him and kept going around the house to see if he had left anything else. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Sand Hallow

2011-03-16T08:41:00.007-06:00

This is how we loaded the ranger with everyone in it for our rides. The girls giggled every time Brad hit a bump and they went flying off there seats.( they were buckled up) Kenzie holding on for dead life if we went down a big hill and Ty with his hands in the air screaming more, more.
Ty playing in the water at Sand Hallow in St. George. The water was a little cold but that didn't stop him from splashing around in it.
Cortlyn and Lauren went all the way under the water and jumped back up cause the coldness of the water caught them a little off guard.
Shawnee and Danielle doing cartwheels. They were not about to stay in the water. They didn't like it that much. They did go under once and that was all for them to get out and get a little sun on their not so tan bodies.
Kenzie was the first to go for a swim, by accident of course. She was running in the water and tripped face first. Needless to say she didn't get back in the water. A little cold for the baby.
Aren't these girls cute! These three are inseparable. They play so good together and very rarely do they fight. I consider them my own. Love ya Kate, Lauren and Cortlyn.
One of the days we went for a ride and found this cool place to hike around. Everyone was loving it. They had some cool rock formations and of course Cortlyn my little model wanted a picture at every one she found. Here is one that she liked with the arch that she is sitting on and the hole to the left of her feet.
Shawnee and here friend enjoyed the hike to. She is the little dot on the top of the rock.
Kenzie got into it to. But enjoyed sliding down the rock better.
Hayden in a cool cutout.
The girls before they went to explore. We could have stayed there all day. They was so much to do and see.
Another day we took a 50 mile ride to see the Dinosaur tracks. Here is Ty pointing out one. He thought that this was the neatest place and was waiting for the dinosaurs to come. He was a little disappointed when we told him that they were all dead.
The whole crew, at the dinosaur tracks. Shawnee being her silly self.
Shawnee and Danielle at the dinosaur tracks. They were just imprinted in the rocks behind them and they have preserved them. They are out in the open for all to see. You could see where they were going. There was a big print and a little print. We think that there was a mom and a baby walking. IT was pretty neat to see.
On this same 50 mile ride we can to this cliff that looked over the valley. St. George is in the background.
Same cliff. We had such a great time in the nice 75 degree weather in St. George. We didn't want to come home to the cold. As you can see we were in flip flops and shorts. So nice. We went with some great friends the Panters and we can't wait to go back again and enjoy the sun, sand and water. Tell next time Sand Hallow. We will miss you.

{It is Official}

2011-03-01T14:38:00.002-07:00

Stay off the road!!! Shawnee has her permit to drive. This is a scary thing. Don't say I didn't warn you. This is a funny picture. She wanted it to look like she was getting her picture for a line up. The reason for the no smile. She was very happy to get her permit. She was lucky enough to drive home from the DMV on the freeway no less. Her dad was very brave. They made it home safe and sound. No sure that I am ready for this yet. She is growing up way to fast.

WOW! What a month.

2011-02-28T13:30:00.003-07:00

Kenzie is getting into my shoes. She loves to go into my closet and pick the tallest and loudest shoes. The thing is she can walk in them just fine. The shoes are loud because she walks on the hardwood floor. She is one funny little girl. I am starting to potty train her. She can't leave her diaper on so I figured it was time. She is doing pretty good.
Happy Birthday Shawnee. She turned 15. Man am I in trouble or what. I have to say that I did make this cake. I was pretty proud of myself. I just took a class and it really helped. I always try to make the kids cakes. But now they can look better.
Isn't she happy on her birthday. We love her anyways. I am getting old. All she wanted for her birthday was her permit. I have to admit I am scared to death to let her drive, scared to death that she is getting older and scared to have a full fledge teen living in my house. We are already having boy and girl parties. At my house so that I have control of what is going on. Oh the joys of having a teen in the house.
Yes this child goes without clothes 90% of the time. So most of the pictures we take he is wearing no shirt. At least he is comfortable in his own skin.
Valentines flowers for all the girls. Man their dad must really love them. Kenzie was loving the flowers. She carried them around, smelling them and even broke one off. But she didn't care.
Kenzie is in to dress ups. She loves to twirl around and show off her dress. She made this creation all her self with no help. Isn't she the cutest girl ever!
Ty is only 4 years old and yes he is driving his only four wheeler. He wants me to make invitations to his race that he thinks he is going to have. He wants to have a race with a finish line and invite all his cousins. Maybe he is going to be a racer when he grows up. Dream big buddy. You can do anything you set your mind to.

Region Champs

2011-01-28T11:00:00.004-07:00

January 27, 2011 Westlake drill swept the competition. Winning 1st in Military, 1st in Dance and 1st in Kick line. Making them the REGION CHAMPS!!!! They beat out Timpview and Lehi.

Shawnee here with her Storm friends Brittany and Danielle.
Shawnee's supportive friends who came all the way up to Bountiful to watch their friend. They so enjoyed celebrating with her. Thanks for coming Morgan and Ryann.
Region Champs! We're number 1. They were so excited.
Not only did we take home three plaques and one championship metal we also took 1st and 3rd in the drill down with Sierra Phillips as 3rd and Kamber Hopkins took 1st. Nice jobs ladies.
CELEBRATION TIME!
Jumping up and down with excitement that we won 1st in every category.
Love how all the girls get nice and close link arms while they wait for their named to be called for 1st place .
They were getting pretty creative while they were waiting for the judging to be done. The wave with their legs.
Shawnee in the drill down. She didn't last very long but that is ok. She is only a Freshman after all.
She was so ready to be done. But it was so worth the wait. Region Champs 2011. Way to go Shawnee you are awesome. Words can not explain how proud I am of you and all of your hard work to get here. Lets go get them at State. Show them what you are made of. Shawnee does an awesome headstand in Military and also does an ariel in her Kick routine. Shawnee made all the team dances this year and she is only a Freshman. Can't wait to see what she will do in the coming years. GO STORM!!!!!

Brad's Birthday and a few other things :)

2011-01-21T16:40:00.003-07:00

Happy 36th Birthday Brad. It was a bummer night for him a little bit. Shawnee had her first ever Storm Night. Storm Night is when the drill team showcases all there routines for the year. So we went to that. Brad did have a yummy dinner of Marinated Turkey, cheese potatoes, baked beans and carrots. After the Storm night we came home to a German chocolate cake and ice cream with opening of presents. The kids were helping wasn't that nice of them.

After the girls showcased their dances they had a boy drill down. It is where you have to follow and listen to instructions and move how they tell you. Ty heard boys come on down and he was going. He didn't know what they were doing but he was going to do it. Of course he is front and center.
A ten hut. He followed the instructions pretty good but he did get his directions mixed up a little bit. The boys would be one way and he was the other.
Parade rest. He lasted the whole time of course. He was the star of the drill down for sure.
He was the overall winner. Parade wave and all.:) This kid cracks me up.
Shawnee doing her kick line routine "Crazy Train" She does an areal in this dance.
Her Dance routine "When Love Takes Over" She is pretty flexible this girl.

Military routine "Introduce a Little Anarchy" They all do head stands pretty impressive.
Love all the facials that these girls give. Shawnee did an awesome job. Her team has placed high in their routines. They have placed high enough to receive 6 trophies so far this season. They still have Region and State to go to still. What a great group of girls and the coaches are amazing as well. The girls have worked very hard. Go get em STORM.

TY's 4th Birthday

2011-01-04T07:54:00.002-07:00

Tyrell Josiah is now 4 years old. I can not believe it. He got to spend his birthday at home this year. We are usually at the cabin but we didn't go down until later this year. So he got to do some things that he hasn't done before. Brad took him to see Yogi Bear the night before and on his birthday we took him to Pirate's Island. He had a ball. All he wanted to do was ride the motorcycle. He of course was to little so I had to steer the bike while he pushed the gas. He was doing flips and jumping off things. He was in heaven. We got home after an hour drive home due to a snow storm that froze the roads. He opened presents and we ate his train cake that he wanted me to make. He of course helped.
He got another train car for his train set, a remote control car, an outfit, a drum set and some more trio's. Ty is a loving little guy. He loves all cartoon's. He is in love with trains. He will always say sorry to you even if he didn't do it. He goes to sleep around midnight every night. He is a none stop go go go kind of kid and we wouldn't trade him for anything. Happy birthday little guy. We love you and are so glad you are part of our family forever.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-04T07:33:00.002-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We were so blessed. The kids got everything they wanted and they were all pleasant after all the presents were opened. I guess Santa is getting better at this Christmas thing.

The kids get pajama's from both grandmas.
We started the night with stopping at Grandma Turner's house. They gave the kids each a present. We then headed to Grandma and Grandpa Bateman's. We had a yummy dinner and acted out the Nativity. We had donkeys, sheep and a star. Shawnee was the star's pedestal. We then watched a movie called Still, Still, Still. It was amazing. Grandma handed out present to the kids and they opened them. They received pajama's and a warm fleece blanket that the kids all love. We then went to grandma and grandpa Wilson's. The kids put on their pajama's had pictures taken with the cousins and we went home to wait for Santa. We had a great Christmas.

Polar Express

2011-01-03T10:15:00.002-07:00

I took Ty on the Heber Polar Express this year. He is so in love with trains. I thought he would have a blast, and sure enough he did. We went with a couple of his friends. Lizzie and Elijah Shawgo.
Ty getting off the train after a very fun and enjoyable ride up to the north pole.
Ty got to get his picture with Santa on the train. He told him he wanted a train and a scooter for Christmas.
You have to have Hot Chocolate on the train.
And yummy cookies that Mrs Clause made just for us. We read The Night Before Christmas and sang lots of Christmas songs. Ty loved watching out the window, even though it was a little dark. You could see all the Christmas lights. We had so much fun.

Snow Fun

2011-01-03T09:32:00.002-07:00

The week before Christmas and it finally snowed enough that the kids could play in it before it melted. It was an awesome storm that left at least 6-8 inches and it was wet snow. Perfect for making snowmen. Everyone was bundled but it was warm enough that I was just in my sweatshirt and jeans. Cortlyn putting on smile with the snow in the tree in the back ground it was so beautiful.

Kenzie was loving the snow. I think she liked the fact that she was just outside. She loves being outdoors.
The finished product. Our snow bear. He turned out pretty cute. To bad he only lasted a couple of hours. Here is the newest addition to the family Sammie dog. She is an English bulldog. She likes being outside too.
Kenzie also loves being on the fourwheeler. Hayden plowed our driveway. What a good boy!
All Ty wanted to do was have a snowball fight. But I had to make the snowball and give it to him. He got the girls pretty good with a little help from mom.

One CRAZY month

2010-12-28T13:35:00.003-07:00

This month has been a very busy one. It started the week before thanksgiving. We went to Pismo beach for the holiday and the kids loved it. I will post about that another day. Then we started on Drill Competitions. We had 2 in December. They were both on Saturday. If you don't know, competitions last ALL DAY. So there was no time to shop. On top of that Cortlyn had 3 dance performances plus all the wonderful family Christmas parties that we attended. So that might explain why we have been missing from this blog for a while now.Shawnee and her team mates in the drill down. Shawnee did pretty well during this considering this was her first drill down. She lasted longer then most of her team.
This is there kick routine. They got 5th place on this one.
Shawnee in all her dance makeup and fake eye lashes. You can't tell she has fake ones on they look so natural. She has long lashes to begin with. Lucky girl.
This is there Military routine. They are required to do head stands and Shawnee is in the middle. The five girls that you see are the only ones that can hold their head stands the longest. You rock Shawnee. They took 5th place in this dance.
Here is their hip hop dance. They took 3rd in this one. In their dance routine they took 5Th place. They did very well for their first competition of the year. Lets hope they can keep this up and they will take state. Go Westlake Storm. Keep up the good work Shawnee.

Hee Haws

2010-10-18T13:01:00.003-06:00

I took the little kids to Hee Haws. It is a cute little farm that has a lot of things for the little kids to do. Plus they have a pumpkin patch that the kids can go and pick their very own. Kenzie loved jumping on the hay trampoline.

Ty has no fear what so ever. He jumped from up above and landed on his feet.

Here he is jumping and doing a trick for us.

Ty getting ready to jump and Kenzie getting out of the way.

This is the pumpkin Kenzie picked. It was just the right size for her. She carried is every where.

Ty's pumpkin. He couldn't carry his because it was too heavy. What a silly little kid

We could not get Kenzie off this cute horse swing. If we let her she would have stayed there all day. But we had to grab her kicking and screaming. She was fine when we went to see the animals and chase them around.

Ty had a great time on the swing too. We went from the swings to see the animals. Chickens, pigs, sheeps, lambs, turkeys, geese, donkeys, cows, goats and rabbits oh my. On a wagon ride to the pumpkin patch and back. Down a big slide with mom and jumped off the hay trampoline. WOW what a day. The weather was gorgeous and the kids had a ball. Until next year. Hope everyone has picked a pumpkin to decorate. I know we have.....

2010-10-14T14:29:00.002-06:00

We are having some awesome warm weather for fall this year. So we thought that we would take advantage of it and headed to the sand dunes in delta for the weekend with some wonderful neighbors the Panters. Kenzie playing in the sand. She was loving every minute of it. If she can be outside then she is a happy girl.

Ty loved the sand too but he was more for getting on the ranger with his dad and riding the hills and jumps. He tells his dad to go faster and lets do that again. He is the dare devil of the family.

This is Shawnee's shadow. I think it turned out pretty cool.

You can't go to the sand dunes and NOT make a sand angel.

Cortlyn and her friends Lauren and Kate. They were having a blast running down the hill and crashing at the bottom.

Shawnee doing an awesome dance trick for us on the dunes. She has all kinds of talent to share. Oh wait only if you are not looking.

Hayden spent pretty much the entire time riding his motorcycle or the four wheeler on the sand dunes. He really loves going camping and riding.

Shawnee and Kenzie, she was a little tired. Everyone was headed to Sand Mountain. Good thing it was nap time. I got in a game of cards.

Check out this awesome sunset.

The girls going on a ranger ride with Brad. They so love it when they get to go with him. They will scream and sing songs and giggle. Love these girls. Thanks Panters for inviting us to go. Can't wait for Pismo Beach in a month. We are going to have a BLAST. Wait we always have a BLAST with you guys.

n g

What do we do in the FALL time?

2010-10-14T13:50:00.003-06:00

Well here we are the end of September and the temp outside in over 80 degrees. So what do we do? Well we put on our swim suits and jump on the trampoline with the sprinklers on. I know it sounds a little crazy for the time of year but hey whats is going to hurt? Kenzie loves to jump on the tramp as long as no one else is jumping with her. She wouldn't get on the tramp with the sprinkler so we turned it off so she could have a little fun too.

Ty on the other hand loves the water. He was running, sliding and rolling around in the water. He was having a great time enjoying the last of the wonderful weather before it gets to cold.

Doesn't she have the cutest little bum ever?

They call me Flash or the Energizer bunny. Why you ask because I am super fast and go 24/7. I never stop, and I keep going and going and going. I usually crash around 10:30 or 11:00 only if there is nothing going on. Yep that's me Ty. I love my life.

kids pictures

2010-10-05T12:47:00.005-06:00

Iwas a little cheap this year and did not get the kids school pictures. I also decided to finally take a photography class. Well between everything I figured I could go it. So here are the results of my photo op with my kids.

Aren't these girls GORGEOUS? Super glad that they belong to ME!

Here are some HANDSOME looking boys. Yep sorry they are taking to. They belong to ME!

Not bad for the first time. I am still learning. Maybe one day you will see my photos in magazines. Or NOT!!!! I love to capture my kids and all their silliness. We had a lot of fun this day. Going to the temple with the beautiful flowers still in bloom and feeling of the spirit that was there made this so fun.

It's GREAT to be EIGHT

2010-10-01T07:23:00.002-06:00

WOW this girl is eight already. Can you believe it? She was baptized by her dad and then confirmed by her grandpa Bert. What a special day it was. She was surrounded by all her family and friends. We had 4 baptism's from our ward and they were all girls.

Here is the hair. We put it up and did three twist braids. It stayed nice and neat even after she went in the water. No redoing this girls hair. This was the way to go. Simple but elegant.

You can't forget the shoes. What girl doesn't like her shoes.

Cortlyn picked her dress out herself and this is what she choose. Isn't it BEAUTIFUL!!! I think she loved the billowing of the dress the best, that is was like a big ball gown the princess' wear. She absolutely looked like a princess in this dress.

We went to the temple to get some pictures of her in her dress and she was having a ball with it. I think we took over 80 pictures just of her. She didn't care it was all about CORTLYN. We are so proud of her and her decision to be baptized.

Birthdays

2010-09-21T13:27:00.002-06:00

This kid decided to turn 13 this year. Time sure does fly. He got the Leven Thumps book series, rain poncho and rain pants for camping, BYU sweatshirt, money, walkie talkies and a Westlake hat.

Kenzie wanted to wear the hat too. She sure is a cute fan.

Haydens awesome cake. Chocolate cake with a yummy filling and vanilla frosting. It was super yummy. We are so proud of Hayden. He is a sweet kid and will help out at any time without complaint. He love you buddy.

Cortlyn's birthday is only 5 days later. So we get to have LOTS of yummy cakes. She wanted a doll for her birthday. She got one and loves it. She also got some shoes, a fashion set that she can color and design, Junie B Jones books and a set of crayons and markers with a BIG sketch pad.

Cortlyn had vanilla cake with vanilla frosting. She told me just how she wanted it. A round cake on the bottom and cupcakes on the top. She loved it. Did I mention that she turned 8. I can't believe she will be getting baptized. I am sure getting OLD. All my kids are growing up. Awe the days when you could sit around the house and play dolls, color in a book and play play dough and trucks. No not anymore. We have dance and violin and ball games that we have to go to now. BUT I wouldn't change it to anything. We really love Cortlyn she is a spark in this family and brings on a lot of drama. She is not afraid to show anyone anything. She just digs right in with no fear. We love you Corty.

Thats one BIG elk

2010-09-14T07:57:00.003-06:00

Brad had the opportunity to go hunt an elk on some private property over Labor Day weekend. Well he shot one. It was huge. They score them and it came in as a 400, with a 6 inch caliper on the antlers. This elk was enormous. As you can see from this picture the four wheeler was off the ground while they were loading it on to the trailer. Plus they rolled 2 four wheelers just trying to get it off the mountain. They think it weighted in over 1500 pounds. We received over 250 pounds of meat.

As you can see it was a nice looking elk. Yes Hayden and Ty were able to go with him. They had a blast. Ty was a trooper and he is ready to go hunting again. He asks Brad at least once a week when it is his turn to shoot a deer. While they were gutting the elk Brad told Ty to move because he was sitting at the end where all the guts were going and he was getting a little on him. He just said no I OK. So he sat there watching the whole time getting messy and telling the guys to cut off his head. Gross I know.

You can see just how big this thing really is. Brad it standing up he is not lifting the head up. The antlers are all proportionate which makes it an even nicer elk.

This is the place where the boys went. So beautiful. They had a great time. I hope you had a chance to locate Ty in all his camo gear. He blends in really well. Its kind of like finding a Where's Waldo. He was excited to get to wear his new hunting clothes. He is definitely his dads boy.

1st day of SCHOOL

2010-08-26T09:21:00.002-06:00

I am officially old. I have a child in each school division. Shawnee is a freshman going to Westlake High this year. She is also on the Westlake Storm team (drill team) Where did the time go?

Hayden is a 7th grader going to the new Vista Heights middle school. Look at how tall he has gotten.

Cortlyn is a 2nd grader going to Hidden Hollow. All my kids are growing up too fast. Before I know it Shawnee will have graduated and Kenzie will go to Kindergarten. WOW what was I thinking on that one?

Summer fun

2010-08-26T08:59:00.002-06:00

Your awesome neighbors and friends asked us to go out on their boat. The kids had a great time. This is our friend Todd wake boarding. The kids thought that he was AmAzInG doing those fancy jumps.

Shawnee tried her hand at knee boarding. She had a blast.

Cortlyn, her friends Lauren and Kate loved jumping in the water. It was so nice and warm.

The kids loved every minute being on the boat. Maybe next time Hayden will try the knee board. We ran out of sunlight.

Here is TY he had a ball watching everyone wake board and ski. If you look really close at his right eye you can see his bear attack. He has allergies, so his eye was watering and getting a little puffy. He was not about to get in the water. He just wanted everyone else to get in. He even helped push a couple people in.

Bear Attack

2010-08-20T07:54:00.003-06:00

Ty woke up yesterday morning with a scratch under his right eye. I asked him what happened. This is what he said....
Ty: A bear attacked me.
Mom: A bear attacked you? What bear attacked you?
Ty: A grizzly bear.
Mom: Wow, are you ok?
Ty: Yeah, I shot him!

This kid eats, sleeps and breaths hunting. I guess he takes after his daddy.

River Run 2010

2010-08-19T09:31:00.004-06:00

We had a blast this year in Jackson. The weather was great not to hot or too cold. The kids got along well and no one got hurt. Thanks goodness.

Luke and Deven posing for a picture. Luke was very content on staying back at camp. He is not one to go on the kiddie run. Ty was happy to be running outside and playing in the dirt with all the kids. The picture here is of Hayden and his friends Joey and Johnny. They slept out under the stars the last night cause the tent was put away. They were huddled in their sleeping bags around the fire that went out around 4 that morning. That does not look comfortable. We headed into Jackson the last day after we ran the river. Which by the way was so cold. The sun was shinning and we thought that we were good to go. About an hour into our run the sun decided to hide behind a huge rain cloud. Yes we got dumped on and the wind was so cold. We were all turning purple from the rain and the wind. The poor girls. Cortlyn, Sarah, Kate and Shaylee were huddled in the bottom of the boat shivering. We kept singing mister sun please shine down on me. And it did. Just as we were getting ready to go through Kahuna. ( the biggest rapid) It shined down on us the rest of the way down the river. It was not the best last run for the year, but it will be the most memorable one.

We got cleaned up and warm and headed in to Jackson to get the kids a little souvenir. Then of course to get our pictures by the awesome antler arch. Yes we are missing 2 people. Can you guess who? Yes it is Shawnee and her friend Ryann. They were shopping. Go figure they are freshman girls and love to shop.

Aren't Allona and my dad so cute? Here we are going on the kiddie run. We took Kenzie down for the first time and she loved it. We had Grandpa Garth, Aaron, Brad, Hayden, Russ, Vicki, Justin(machelle's brother and family) Me, Ty, Kenzie, Cortlyn, Sarah, Kate, Ethan, Ammon, Addelyn, and Eliza. The kids loved it. HAyden jumped in and then pulled Brad in. They went swimming in the river for a few minutes. All the little boys were squirting the water guns. When the run was over the adults went down for a late run.

They ran the river 9 times. Three times in one day some days. They were a little nuts to do it that many times.

Kenzie, Addelyn and Eliza were having a great time on the boat. They are going to be little river rats when they get a little older and can handle the big river.

My camera lens was broke so we didn't get any shots at the Kahuna this year. This is them going through the Lunch counter rapid. We had great company this year. Russ and his family, Mitch and his boys came, plus we always love when grandma Linda joins us. I know that she wasn't feeling her best but she loved being with her family and eating the most wonderful food that everyone prepared. We had some pretty awesome dinners. Deven and Julie made Cafe Rio burritos, Machelle and my dad made pulled pork sandwiches, Aaron and Erionda made a Louisiana style pot of goodness that had potatoes, corn on the cob, beans, shrimp, sausage and chicken it was so good. We just made bbq chicken and cheese potatoes with scones. Deven made for a dessert donuts. They were a hit. This is our camp in a rain storm that came through. Notice the Christmas lights hanging from the canopies. Yes we were trying to be a Clark Griswold. It made it so we could see better and for the bugs to be not so bad. We had a great time. Did I mention that already. But we did and were sad when we had to come home. until next year.

Singing in the Rain

2010-08-03T17:06:00.003-06:00

WE had a pretty good rain storm here and Cortlyn thought it would be a great idea to get the umbrella out. You have to know that it was over 90 degrees this day and as soon as that storm hit it was about 70 degrees. So Cortlyn and her friends Lauren and Kate got ready to go outside. Notice their outfits. I am loving the fuzzy boots with shorts look, the Wizard of Oz Dorothy shoes and the shoes that are too BIG. These girls are super cute. They were making me laugh. So I just had to get a picture to remember this day. Kenzie was also loving the rain. She didn't stay outside to long it was getting to cold for her in her "summer" clothes. But bare feet and all she was having a ball walking in the rain. A couple of weeks latter we had another storm that came through. We got pounded hard. It rained so hard that the water was running down our river bed and the water was flush with the bottom of the mailbox and road. It rained enough that Shawnee's window well was full of water and coming in. We had a little water damage on the carpet. No biggie. A couple of the neighbors had there window wells flood as well. It rained for over 45 minutes and I am talking monsoon rain. It was awesome to listen and watch as it came down. I ran out to the trailer to check that all the windows were closed. I was soaked. I had water dripping from my forehead just to get to the trailer it was worse coming back in the house. I was pretty wet. We sure were grateful for the wonderful rain that we did receive. Made the lawn green up a little more.

24th of July

2010-07-26T17:13:00.004-06:00

Foam day in Lehi. They just started this last year. It is a very popular thing to do on the 24th. Here are the kids on the fire truck that was shooting the foam. Gavin, Ty, Wilson and Hayden sat on the end of it. Kenzie, Hayden, Shawnee, Ty, Cortlyn and Kate on the fire truck. As you can see from the foam on Ty that he had a great time. WE got him goggles to put on his eyes. He never did put them on his eyes.

This foam was awesome. It is the foam that they use when they put out the fires on an accident if the car starts on fire. It was up to your knees and then they would go around shooting it in the crowd. The kids were throwing it around, jumping in it and even sliding in it. Hayden really didn't get in the foam he was more of a spectator but loved watching and taking care of Kenzie, who did not like the foam at all. I put her down to stand and she immediately wanted me to pick her up.

I love this picture of the girls. Kate, Cortlyn and Shawnee are posing for the picture. BAM!!!! They never saw it coming. They were covered in foam. hahahaha

Ty was laying down in it and throwing it on me. He would wipe his eyes off on my shorts. Maybe he should have used the goggles. That is what they are for.

Me, Ty and Kenzie in the foam. As you can tell Ty is covered and we are about to get it from behind. Good thing I was paying attention and dodged that one. What a fun holiday we had. We ended it with a bbq with the fam. Homemade oreo ice cream and donuts. Yum love homemade ice cream it is not summer until you have had some. Then we shot up fireworks at the house with Jason, Amy and family and Gr. & Gr. Wilson. So much fun..

Summer so FAR

2010-07-19T11:51:00.003-06:00

WOW! We have been a crazy little family this summer. We have been alot of places plus driving kids everywhere that they need to be. We just got back from Whitney Reservoir. This is the camp site we were at. We had our own pond with a couple of beavers,a mother duck and her little ducks 5. We even had a moose that ran by the side of the trailer one evening. The kids were a mess but they had a great time and want to go back.

Shawnee and Hayden rowing the boat out on the reservoir. Hayden is pointing at her saying "Quit goofing off and lets get back to shore." It took them about 45 minutes to get back to the shore.

Cortlyn was brave enough to go all the way in the water. It was a little cold but you got use to it after a little while. The water was so nice. We all got in and went for a little swim. So refreshing!

Ty and Gavin in the water. Ty didn't go any farther than that. He is not a big fan of water.

Kenzie on the other hand LOVES the water. She was playing in the water and eating the mud. Yes she ate the mud. She was so dirty that we had to go clean her off before we headed back. She didn't want to leave. Good thing we went swimming the next day.

Cortlyn hula hooping. She was the champ at this. She went 15 minutes hula hooping with out stopping. She can walk around while doing this and can even do 3 hoops at a time. Maybe we can sign her up for the circus.

Ty was not so good at this. But at least he tried. You got to love the gangsta look with the white glasses and the visor.

Shawnee just being Shawnee. Don't ask me where we got her. These are her 3-d glasses that she got and popped the lens out. What a GOOF!!!

Next adventure was Shawnee went to BDT camp. Which is Basic Dance Training. She is on the drill team. The team goes every year to learn a couple of dances for the year. She had a great time and got to know her team a little bit better. They do a drill down competition. Which is you have to follow the commands that they are calling out and move exactly the way they say. She was top 10 out of over 50 girls. So proud I must say. She is only a freshman. Way to go Shawnee.

This is her team. They received 5 different awards. The best one was most improved team. Way to go Westlake Storm. YOU ROCK!!!!

For the 4th of July we went down to the cabin in Mt. Pleasant. But first Hayden got his braces off after 3 years and doesn't he look so handsome with that smile of his!

Ty wanted his face painted. He loves spider man. The lady was nice enough to put the web on his hand. He was going around shooting his web. It was so cute. Love this kid. He cracks me up.

Cortlyn wanted a fairy painted on her face. A very patriotic fairy but super cute.

The whole fam damily in there 4th of July attire. Brad is such a goof. I guess I know where Shawnee gets it now.

Me and Brad took the kids to the Highland water park. For FHE one night and the kids loved it. The weather was perfect and we all got wet and were very refreshed after. We stopped to get a snowie on the way home. What a nice FHE.

Hayden this summer also went to scout camp at Camp Loll in Wyoming for a week. He had a great time except for the mosquitoes he was covered. The mosquitoes were bad. Everyone had over 20 or more bits. He passed off 2 merit badges. Nice job Hayden.

HEY BATTER, BATTER

2010-06-28T13:40:00.002-06:00

Whoa Nellie, rotated to far around. At least you made contact with the ball. Good job Buddie

SWING!!!!!! Love the facial.

He is in the stance, ready for the ball. Come on already, Aaron throw me the ball.

So you need to scroll from the bottom to the top to get the whole picture. We were at my dads the other day and they were playing baseball. TY was having a ball. So we had to get the camera out and take a few shoots. He did awesome. Guess I better get him in a little league some where. He is a natural. I love this first picture. He is biting his little lip trying to concentrate.

Summer fun

2010-06-28T13:06:00.003-06:00

Me and my neighbor Julie took the kids up to Tibble Fork for a little picnic since both the dads where out of town for the night. WE had so much fun. The kids played in the water and stopped long enough to poise for a picture. Isn't Cortlyn so cute.

My neighbor and her girls Lauren and Kate, With Shawnee, Cortlyn, TY and Kenzie. Eating out yummy dinner picnic. Ty was wanting to push Kenzie in her stroller. I didn't let him go to far.

Kenize what a Doll!

Shawnee a beautiful young woman!

The kids with Timpanogos behind them. SO pretty. They thought that the water was so cool running down the dam. They wanted to ride down it.

Cortlyn, Lauren and Kate all braved the freezing water. They had a blast walking back and forth in the little stream. Ty took his shoes off but put one toe in and had a fit. We put his shoes back on and he was content throwing rocks. Kenzie on the other hand loved playing in the water. I took her shoes off and she was practically running into the water. She has no fear what so ever.

SUMMER FUN

2010-06-18T08:25:00.002-06:00

The kids were begging to get wet. So out to the tramp they go. It was finally good enough weather that they could. It has been a crazy spring/summer around here. Very cold and rainy.
Gotta love Ty hand around his big brothers neck. So SWEET!!

Shawnee thought that she could take her brother down. Nice try thought. He can definitely stand his ground. She tried three different times and still she couldn't do it. Give up Girl.

Cortlyn wanted to sit and have the cold water hit her and sit for as long as she could. She didn't make it but 30 seconds. The water was pretty chilly.

Kenzie LOVES the water. She doesn't care if it is freezing cold outside or not. She wants to play in the water and she always has her mouth open so she can drink it. I love when the water hits her hair it looks like dew drops on the grass in the morning.

Ty was getting in on the hole in the hose water sprinkler. He loves the water to as long as it doesn't get in his eyes. So fun at these ages. So glad that maybe summer is finally here and the kids can enjoy the outdoors a little more. I took the kids to the park and Kenzie climbed up the stairs and went down the little slide all by herself. You would have thought that she was this little independent person. She thought that was the neatest thing to do. We were there an hour and that is all that she did. This girl has no fear.

Wayne Martin Bateman

2010-06-14T10:22:00.000-06:00

Wayne Martin Bateman 1914 ~ 2010 Loving Husband, Father, Grand-father and Great-GrandfatherWayne Martin Bateman, 95, passed away June 7, 2010 in the home of his daughter Mary McDonald in Meridian, Idaho, causes incident to age. Wayne was born October 15, 1914 to Royal James Bateman and Maude Elizabeth Brown in Murray, Utah. He was one of eight children. Wayne was always tall and thin for his age. He graduated from Jordan High School in 1934. He injured his arm in an elevator door while working as an elevator operator. As a result of this incident, and through great determination, he learned to write and use his left hand. This was one of the most difficult challenges he had to overcome. He was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving in many callings. Met his sweetheart and married Fern Dansie on August 28, 1946 in the Salt Lake Temple. They were married by Harold B. Lee. They have celebrated 64 years of marriage. For those who knew Wayne, he was the world's greatest gardener. He could grow the largest dahlias, the most beautiful roses, and the tastiest vegetables. His yard was his showpiece. He worked at I & M Furniture for over 30 years as their top salesman. He then worked for RC Willey for a short time and then due to back problems retired at the age of 55. He then remodeled his home and the homes of his family members. He was a natural interior designer. Wayne always had a faithful dog by his side and loved all animals. We would like to thank Melissa Smith, Wayne's home health nurse whom he loved. He couldn't leave this earth without his last shave and kiss from her. We would also like to thank Mary and Tory McDonald for the special care and love shown to Wayne over the last three years. Wayne is survived by his wife, Fern; sister, Dorothy (Lyle) Hurst, six children, Karen (Greg) Cook, Stan (Debby), Pamela (Steve) Lehman, Richard (Debbie), Garth (Machelle), and Mary (Tory) McDonald; 29 grandchildren and 50 great-grandchildren and three more on the way. He was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings Alden, Clell, Kenneth, Grace, Melba and Leila. Marie Bateman (daughter-in-law), and Preslie Quinn (great-grand-daughter). Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at the Garden Park Ward, 1150 East Yale Ave (1087 So), Salt Lake City. Family and friends can visit from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the church prior to the service. Interment: Murray City Cemetery. Tributes and messages can be sent to Wayne's family at: www.holbrookmortuary.com

Update

2010-06-07T11:23:00.002-06:00

This women had a birthday yesterday on the 6th on June. Brad's grandma Joyce Turner. What a wonderful women this lady is. She has been there for my kids and goes above and beyond. She has some health problems and we hope she sticks around for a very long time. I wanted to get a picture of her to remember her by. You just never know when you might lose a loved one. WE LOVE YOU Grandma Turner. We hope you had the best birthday ever!!!

Ty and Hayden got new beds. Rob made this bed for them and they love it. It has drawers on the side where the stairs are. SO NICE!!!! Now it really opens up the room. I will show you a picture once the room is totally mucked out and looking clean once again.

Memorial weekend. We headed down to the cabin for a day and of course the kids love the ranger rides that Hayden and Shawnee give them. What a nice day it was. Love the sunshine.

Hayden's 6th grade graduation party at the park with all the kids from school. These are his friends left to right Tristen Yates, Jared Heer, Parker Smith, Ethan Issacson and of course Hayden. These boys do pretty much everything together. Can't wait (Yes I can wait it will come to fast) to see what they will look like when they graduate from High School. What a great group of boys.

Crazy month of MAY

2010-06-04T14:39:00.003-06:00

YES we went to the zoo again. Not sure what we were thinking. At least the weather was nicer this time around. We went with the cousins. The animals were all out and playing.

Cortlyn had a cheer squad performance. The Lion for UVU picked her up and turned her upside down. Cortlyn was giggling.

Perfect cheer poise. Way to go Cortlyn.

She also had a dance recital. Isn't she so cute. One more thing that she had was a violin recital. We didn't get pictures of that sorry we were in such a rush. We got there and you performed and we left because Shawnee had a dance performance at her school for the dance company.

Shawnee tried out for the drill team at Westlake High and made the team. GO SHAWNEE!!!

Hayden graduated from 6th grade. Next year I will have a child in each school. I am getting OLD!!! Kenzie has mastered the stairs up and down. She had to in order to keep up with the kids. Ty started riding his big boy bike for the first time and he loves it. He doesn't look where he is going so someone has to follow him around. He likes to look at his feet when he rides. I am just glad that May is over but the summer is only beginning and the calendar is already filled with things that really aren't that fun. So hears to a great summer and great weather.

ZOO DAY

2010-05-25T12:47:00.003-06:00

Cortlyn's class field trip was to the zoo. Brad asked if he could drive for Cortlyn's class. He got it so he drove the bus for Cortlyn's class. Cortlyn had a blast. She got to sit right up front with her dad. Me and the little kids decided we would meet them there. Boy you wouldn't have thought that the last week in April we would be wearing our coats.

Ty and Kenzie were troopers. They loved the carousel. Kenzie kept bouncing up and down and clicking her tongue. She DID NOT want to get off.

Yes that is snow on the ground. We had gloves, hats, coats and a jacket under our coats and we were still cold. Not a good day to visit the zoo. All the animals were in there cages trying to stay warm. No elephants or Rhinos today.

Cortlyn poising by the big elephant. She had a great time with her leader. This was the only time that we saw Cortlyn. They didn't stay in one place to long and Ty wasn't ready to leave some places so we let her go and enjoyed taking our time.

Ty's favorite was the tigers and the monkeys. He liked looking at the giraffe from eye level. He wasn't a fan of looking at them from hoof level. He took me to the second level at the giraffes and then he had to show Brad. We were only there for two hours and that was long enough. TOO COOOOOLD!!!

One fine day

2010-05-18T09:58:00.004-06:00

The weather was actually nice for a day. So the little kids decided to go play outside. Kenzie finally got to wear a cute summer outfit with sandles. Gotta love this picture. Love of a sister.

Isn't he the handsomest little boy you ever say!!!!

My cute little bug!!!

This is Kenzie's new favorite thing to do. Ride on the fourwheeler with Ty. He drives of course. I know only one person on at a time but when you have a little girl who is throwing a fit and can't do it herself you kind of have to break the rules. She was pretty mad when she had to get off.

Spring Break

2010-04-21T09:15:00.003-06:00

We headed to the Sand dunes for Spring Break this year. The weather was perfect. Not to hot with a little breeze. The sun was actually shinning. Shawnee getting ready to go for a ride.

Ty had to gear up with his helmet that so overpowers him to ride the four wheeler. He was loving the dunes. He made his dad go on all the high hills and jumps. He was mad when it was time to get off. He loves to ride the wheelers.

He also did a little trailer sledding.

Hayden practicing his skills in the dunes. He was getting a little brave and going off jumps and climbing steep hills.

Sand Sledding anyone? This was the highlight of the whole trip. We camped across from the play area. All the kids did was get up and head to the sand hill to play. They made sand castles, and sled down the sand. They were so full of sand by the time they were done, but they didn't care they had a blast!!!

Kenzie even got into having a little fun while we were there. She didn't' like the sand at first but after a little while she was all over the place. Throwing sand and riding her little bike, or should I say sitting on her bike. We took her around on the four wheeler and she loved it. Didn't want to get off.

Shawnee getting in on the sand sledding. She had a lot of fun. Shawnee and her friend Shey slept in the tent. The weather really was nice until Saturday when we had a lot of people coming out just for the day. We made sloppy Joe's with chips, baked beans, jello salad and a Caesar salad and by the time we were done dishing up all the food except the sloppy Joe's and the beans were so full of sand that we had to throw away the food. Nothing like eating a crunchy jello salad. But we had a fun time and can't wait to go back.

Pause.....

2010-04-16T15:33:00.002-06:00

So Ty the other night was giving the pray. I have to help him say it and all of a sudden he says Pause. Mom pause. I look up and he is worried that his sister Kenzie has a napkin in her hand. I take care of it and he finishes his prayer. Gotta love this kid. So sweet and Innocent yet so devious.

Birthday Girl

2010-04-15T13:49:00.004-06:00

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY KENZIE!!!! You were not afraid to eat your cake. You Dov right in. You had a wonderful day everyone was here to help you celebrate. You got some wonderful things. A new doll from grandma Machelle, beautiful dress from grandma Taunya, and clothes and shoes with a new car seat that I think everyone gets on their first birthday, with a couple of toys. You also get to share your birthday with your uncle Adam and your cousin Luke. How special is that? I am a little funny when it comes to birthday cakes. We very rearly buy a cake at the store. So this is my version of a number 1. They are not always perfect and neat but I can say that I made it and put forth the effort for the kids special day. They will always know that I love them.

I can not believe that a year has gone by. This little girl has grown up fast. She is walking, saying ba ba ba, mom, dad and what I think is yesssss. She loves to watch American Idol. She will clap right on cue and scream yahhh. She loves to ride her rocking horse and she will click her tongue. She has watched Ty ride his four wheeler and thinks that she can and then she will stand up with no hands. She is climbing on everything from the fireplace to the couch. She will throw a BIG tantrum when she doesn't get what she wants. We are in big trouble. She IS the PRINCESS!!!! But we love her no matter what. So glad that she is part of this family. She brings a wonderful spirit into our home. Her smile and laugh will make you laugh out loud, it is very contagious. Happy Birthday Baby Girl! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Easter

2010-04-06T09:53:00.006-06:00

Hayden loves books and reads like no other so the Easter bunny brought him 2 books to read over Spring Break

Shawnee loves clothes so what a better gift then a shirt and food

Kenzie her first Easter. She was loving all the treats that she got in her basket. Fruit loops and teddy grahams, plus a little chocolate. I don't think she ever stopped eating. Any time someone had a treat she had to have some.

Cortlyn got sidewalk chalk in her basket this year. She loves to draw and what a better way then to draw outside and save on the environment and to stay out of my way in the summer months. That is if it ever decides to warm up.

Ty got a bat and ball set for Easter. He was hitting the ball like a pro. He also used the bat as a sword too. He is such a boy. Notice the bag of marshmallows. Yes he LOVES marshmallows. If I would let him he would eat the whole bag for breakfast.

Cortlyn loves her hard boiled eggs.

Kenzie thought this was something that she could eat. Egg shell not so good.

Haydens egg that he decorated with his name

Ty loved decorating eggs this year. He had 8 eggs that he decorated. He would put one egg in a color and then pull it out and put it into another color. He did this with all the eggs. He was having a blast. He came up with some pretty bright colored eggs.

The family enjoying coloring eggs. Kenzie was even getting into it. She just grabbed anything she could reach

Easter Egg hunting at my dad's house with all the grand kids. We had to bring a dozen eggs for each kid plus 2 prize eggs. All the kids got 2 prize eggs with a prize at the end. Yes I had 70 eggs that I had to bring. I now I have a lot of kids. But it was worth it. They had so much fun.

It was a little cold Saturday afternoon.

Cortlyn has a good eye. She spied one up in a tree

Kenzie was having fun too. This is her cute Easter dress at least part of it. I made it this year. I think it turned out pretty cute. I think I might start selling them.

Ty got into hunting the eggs this year. He was running all over the place to find an egg.

Special Day

2010-03-30T09:45:00.004-06:00

WHAT A SPECIAL DAY FOR THIS FAMILY!

Introducing Ty Turner Wilson. Sealed to his family for all

eternity! Couldn't you just eat this kid up. He is so stinkin CUTE!!!!

What a beautiful family all dressed in white. Ty was sealed to his family today. March 27, 2010. He was so stinking cute when he came into the sealing room. Everyone was quiet except Ty. He walked into the room but as soon as he saw grandpa (Bert) he yelled grandpa and ran into his arms and gave him a big hug then moved on to the next grandpa (Paul). It was so sweet and emotional to know that he knows that he belongs in this family. It brought me back to the days when we were sealed to Ty and then to Kenzie. It is so different to be on the other side looking in. What a wonderful feeling it is to know that you are a forever family no matter what size, shape or color you are. We are all a child of God and he loves us no matter what.

St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-19T09:35:00.003-06:00

We were LUCKY enough to have Blarney the Leprechaun visit us this year. He left a rainbow of fun for the kids this morning, and left a note that said. Top O' the Morning to Ya. Enjoy your rainbow of fun and after school there will be a treasure hunt. Don't forget to wear your green. Signed Blarney the Leprechaun.
That Blarney left them a treasure hunt that went through the whole house trying to find the treasure. He left little clues here and there and they finally found the treasure. It was a plate of green cupcakes with a surprise filling inside and chocolates. That evening for dinner we had green rice for stroganofe, green jello, green salad, green beans, green muffins and for dessert the green cupcakes. What a fun day to wear green. I hope we are Lucky to have him back next year. Ty thought that was the neatest thing to have the Leprechaun bring him a treat for breakfast. He even shared it with his friends

Sandwich anyone?

2010-03-15T19:08:00.003-06:00

This is what you get when you mix spaghetti and a piece of toast. A Spaghetti sandwich.

We would go through a whole loaf of bread if I let them. They love it when we have spaghetti. This is pretty much the only way they eat it. Bon appetite!!!

San Francisco Girls Trip

2010-03-08T09:38:00.004-07:00

What a wonderful girls trip!!! We loaded a bus with 50 other people and headed to San Francisco to see WicKeD. I had seen Wicked before but no one else had, but Teisha. So we hopped on the bus. Not the funnest thing to ride in but we had fun anyways. Amanda lives in California and met us at the Pier for lunch. It was nice to see and visit with her.
We are at the Pier waiting to get our funnel cakes. Shawnee in her new styling glasses. A funny story that happened right here. We were sitting eating our funnel cakes when a pigeon started flying in front of me and Shawnee and then moved toward Teisha. The pigeon landed on her plate and Teisha threw her plate in the air. You can only guess where the cake landed? Now if you have never had a funnel cake before, it has powdered sugar, whip cream and chocolate topping if you want. We had powdered sugar. So back to the story.... When Teisha threw her plate she threw it in me and Shawnee's direction. We were covered in powdered sugar. We had it in our hair, down our pants. But we were laughing so hard. Thanks Teisha for a good laugh that made the whole trip.
Shawnee in front of the sea lions at the Pier.
Shawnee is in love with Johnny Depp. She had to have a picture of him.
Waiting to see WicKeD. We had great seats and everyone loved it.
Me and Shawnee all dressed up to go out on the town to see Wicked.

Shawnee looking out at Alcatraz through a view finder at the Golden Gate Bridge. Shelli, Me, Shawnee, Taunya, and Teisha at the Golden Gate Bridge to start off our trip. We had a lot of fun. We had the most yummy dinners Sour dough turkey sandwich and Margarita Pizza with a side of Gilroy garlic mashed potatoes and desserts Chocolate Lava Cake. Lots of treats ice cream, funnel cakes and donuts. I think we all gained a few pounds but it was worth it to me. Thanks ladies lets do it again.

{ This CHILD }

2010-03-02T10:08:00.002-07:00

Not sure what I am going to do with this girl. She is into everything. Now let me explain. She has decided to go out for track this year in 8th grade. She wants to run the 100 meter sprint. Why I ask, because she is lazy and that is the only thing she wants to do. Ok I am fine with that. She needs a sports bra and shoes. Ok I can handle that. She then proceeds to tell me that she wants to tryout for cheerleading, dance company and drill team this year. WHoo horsey!! You can't do all those things at the same time.
1. You will be overloaded.
2. Money
3. I will have a breakdown
4. Did I mention money
5. You will never be home

So this week we are doing 2 out of the 3 tryouts this week. I know that she will make at least one of the 3. I wish her the best of luck this week. She is so excited to go to High School this year. There goes my little girl, bring on the fun times that come with being in High School. Love ya Shawnee

Walking

2010-03-02T09:57:00.003-07:00

Kenzie is walking. She is only 10 1/2 months old but she is all over the place. I look at her and think you are too little to walk. And her tiny feet how can they hold you up. This girl has no fear whatsoever. She wants to be right next to the kids doing what they are doing. I am sad that she is getting bigger everyday but I am looking forward to the future to see what she will become. We love you Kenzie girl!!!!

Birthday #14

2010-02-15T09:38:00.002-07:00

Just wanted to wish this girl a Happy 14th Birthday. Fourteen years have flown by so fast. You are a Gorgeous girl with a lot of spunk. Set your standards high and reach for your goals and you will accomplish anything you set your mind to. You will do places. We love you so much and are so happy you are in our family. Have the best day ever girl:) Can't wait for the trip to cali to see WicKeD.. Girls trip here we come.

2010 Word of the Year

2010-01-20T13:57:00.001-07:00

I think this speaks for itself. So LOVE this Work!:)

Ty and Kenzie's check-ups

2010-01-14T08:33:00.005-07:00

Kenzie at her 9 month check-up weights in at 18.9 lbs and is 28 inches long. She is in the 75% for her height and 50% in her weight. I am afraid that Kenzie is going to pass Ty up right her shortly. He just doesn't have the growth hormones that Kenzie does. She also got her shots and she cried for 5 seconds and then was done.

So I took Ty for his 3 year check-up. That sure was a fun time let me tell you. Ty weights in at a whopping 28 lbs and is 35 inches tall. He is in the 5-10% in height and weight. Poor guy. He makes it up in his huge smile. Ty got his shots and he cried the whole time he had his and while Kenzie was getting hers. He cried all the way home too. Poor kid. I think he is going to have a couple of little issues. Sorry for the pun. Didn't mean it like that. We sure do love these kids. They bring such a joy to our lives.

Going to be better this year!

2010-01-07T09:43:00.002-07:00

We meet our cute little cousin Ty for the first time over the holiday weekend. He is 3 and full of smiles.Isn't he adorable!!! Brad's brother is adopting him in a couple of months. And let me tell you he fits right in to this family. We now have four 3 year old all with in a couple of months of each other. CAn you say MISCHEIF!!!
Here are the kids dropping the ball from the loft at the cabin for our New year celebration. Shawnee wraps a ball with tin foil and rigs some kind of something to lower the ball. We count down and everything. The kids love it.
WE love to go sledding. Even Ty loves to join in.
Shawnee and her goofy hat. She can still be a kid.
WE celebrated Ty's 3rd birthday at the cabin. He had a dinosaur cake from Costco. He got some new church clothes. A Car's coloring book, Toy Story projecter that he loves and a Handy Manny motorcycle tool set. He was in heaven.

We had a great Christmas and New Year. We got to spend time with Wade and Amanda and there family. We don't get to see them very often they live in California. It is amazing to me that the kids play so well together and don't fight when there are so many of them. Since there was 12 children at the cabin and 8 adults. They made a snowman, went sledding and ate and ate and ate some more. We had 2 birthdays while we were there. First was Ty's and then Noah's was on New Years Eve. SO we had lots of cake and let me tell you there was no cake left when we left. That most have been some good cake.

I AM a SLACKER!!!!

2010-01-04T11:45:00.002-07:00

I know what you are all thinking where have you been? Well let me explain. I have been down for the last 5 weeks. I have a herniated disk in my back. NOT GOOD!!! Just let me say not the best way to start off the holidays. I couldn't sit, stand or lay down. Very painful. My sweet hubby did all the shopping this year and we had a little help from a sweet little elf named Kylie who came to the rescue. Not sure what I would have done with out Brad and my kids. They have done everything for me. It has been really nice not to have to worry about anything but it put a little extra stress on Brad. Love ya honey. So we had a couple of parties, a dance recital, a birthday party, and a trip to the cabin with the cousins. We had a great Christmas the kids got what they wanted. They loved seeing their cousins from California and meeting their new cousin TY. He is the cutest thing ever. Tyrell turned 3. Wow where has the time gone. Kenzie decided to crawl over the holidays and the older three are just loving that they didn't have school in like forever. I was surprised they were all up and going this morning. No buses missed here. We had a rough 2009 and hope that 2010 will be a little kinder to us and everyone else. I am grateful for a wonderful husband who is always there by my side when ever I need him. He is a wonderful father as well. He loves his children. He has the kindest heart and is willing to give the shirt off his back to a total stranger. I love that about him. I am grateful for my kids who have been so patient with me this last month. My family and friends who were there every time I called or needed a little help. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and remembered that Our Savior is always there for you. That is one of my goals for this year to look to Him more often. I hope I can live up to that goal. We will have to wait and see.

THANKFUL Updates

2009-12-02T11:11:00.004-07:00

It has been a long time. I have been very busy this last month. Alot has been going on. I am pretty much a full time working mom. I am running our flooring store. That is always fun. NOT! My back went out. Yes I inherited my dads back. THANKS DAD! Yes I have a bulging and a herniated disk. I can't walk or sit. It has been a fun week. I am getting better thanks to some nice drugs and therapy everyday. We had a great Thanksgiving. Made the apple pie just so Brad could have the extra crust with lots of sugar and cinnamon on it. We had Thanksgiving at Brads mom and dads, but I took the kids to my dads for awhile to visit. Since my back was bad the kids had to put up the Christmas tree and decorate it. Shawnee decorated the 12 foot tree. She hates heights. She did an awesome job. Ty and Cortlyn decorated the living room tree and I didn't move any decorations. It has a bunch of blue balls in one area and snowflakes in one spot with the icicles draping the bottom of the tree. I will get pictures soon. They were so proud of their tree. Hayden is getting ready to do his economics class in school. They had to make a product and sell it at the school Christmas store. They have to go in front of the board of reviews and get approved. Hayden with help from his grandpa Bert they made wood tops. They turned out so cute. He was so proud of them. I hope he does well on selling them. Shawnee is singing at a couple of events this year for Christmas. One is at the Interfaith event this Friday. She is still dancing for the school and loving it. Cortlyn is playing the violin and is singing her little heart out. She will be dancing at the Festival of Trees this year. Ty is still a little tornado. He goes and goes and goes. He is potty trained and has had no accidents. He will be three in a couple of weeks. Where has the time gone. Kenzie is 7 months. She is sitting up and has no interest in crawling she is going to walk before I think, she would rather stand. I love my family so much. I am so thankful for my husband and kids they have helped me out this week. They have really stepped up to the plate. For my families health we haven't been hit to hard (fingers crossed). For the jobs that we both have. We may not have it all together but together we have it all. I hope that everyone is enjoying the holidays. I love the lights that are up on the houses and the music that you can listen to and feel that spirit of Christmas. Now just bring on the snow!!!!

[ HallOwEeN 2009 ]

2009-11-02T11:28:00.003-07:00

We had one SpOOktAcULar party with all the cousins. We started off with trick-o-treating in my dads neighborhood. We took pictures and had the yummiest soup and bread sticks for dinner. Yes we even had a couple of spiders join us for a quick drink. After dinner we had a donut eating contest. It is funny to see the kids really get into this. They love it. After having their fill of donut we headed inside to decorate our cookies. They all came up with different ones and they tasted soooo good. The kids then ran around the house on a sugar high. Ty at that point was coughing so bad that he was gagging himself. That was the cue to head on home. Shawnee this year was superman with the red underwear and all. Hayden a whoopie cushion, Cortlyn a stylish hippie, Ty a three eyed monster and Kenzie a cow in a tutu. What a fun day to be surrounded by family that loves us.

Part two {Sealing and Blessing day}

2009-10-23T13:07:00.004-06:00

October 21, 2009
Going to the temple to seal Kenzie to our family forever. I love this part about adopting. You feel the spirit so strongly there. We had the kids all dressed in white and when they came walking in, they looked so heavenly and happy. Kenzie sat and stared at the chandelier. After the sealing we got to look in the mirror and see all of us forever. I can not describe the feeling. I had a hard time looking in the mirror because I knew that my family was complete and if I looked I would start to cry and lose it. But I wanted that mental picture to always look back on. We are an eternal family. I am so grateful to have a wonderful husband who has taken me to the temple. For my kids who keep me young and the gospel. With out the gospel I would be lost. I know that families are forever and am grateful that my children could witness this wonderful occasion and feel of that spirit that was there and want to return to the temple again so that they can be married for time and all eternity.

Part One {Court to finalize Kenzie}

2009-10-23T12:58:00.001-06:00

October 20, 2009
Today we got up early to get ready to take the family to the Provo district court to finalize Kenzie. We met with the lawyer to go over a few things and headed into court. We had our family and friend there to support us. The kids sat very quiet even Ty didn't make a peep. The judge congratulated us and walk down from his podium to shake our hands and get a picture with the family. Our judge was Fred Howard. After we got all the paperwork done we headed to IHOP for a late breakfast. The weather was beautiful.

From the land of down under

2009-10-14T13:38:00.010-06:00

This is a waterfall outside of Sydney in Blue Mountain
Manley Beach. The day was cold as you can see and their were a ton of people swimming and surfing in the water
We went and saw a 3-D movie. We look a little GooFy
The chimpanzees at the Tarango zoo
Cute little Koala sleeping in the tree
Brad with the kangaroos. We got to be inside with them at the zoo
This is the view from the zoo. Can you say AMAZING!!!
An Aboriginal dwelling
This is at the Blue Mountains and this is the best and coolest picture we took.
We got to see the kangaroos in the wild.
I got to learn how to throw a boom-a-rang. Yea it didn't go so well
Me holding a lizard. Pretty ugly actually
Overlooking Sydney with the bridge in the back ground. We were on a tour of the Opera house.
Bondi Beach this is one awesome beach. They do have sharks come into this beach every so often. SCARY!
The Steve Irwin ship. Yes this is the Whale Wars ship. We got to go for a little tour and a couple of days later they left to go fight the Japanese.
The Opera house. This is one amazing building.

Good Day mate. This trip was amazing. How many times have I said that so far? It truley was AMAZING!!! I was not so sure about the 14 hour flight over there but it went by faster then I thought it was going to. This plane was huge. It had an individual tv in each sit and you could watch a number of movies, tv shows,play games or talk back and forth with each other. There is a day and 6 hour difference from here in the US. The first night we took a dinner boat cruise which was awesome, but it rained like cats and dogs on our way over so we were soaking wet when we got there and then it stopped raining and was cold. But the view of the city at night WOW! The next morning which was now Wednesday the 7th cause we lost a day going over. Yea we didn't have monday. That was crazy. Any whooo. We took a tour of the city. Saw all the famous site of the city so we knew where we wanted to go. We took a tour or the Sydney Opera house and learned where the design of it came from. They held a national contest and a guy named John Ulzon from Germany won the contest. It was going to cost 9 milllion to build it actually cost 110 million. They raised all the money from a lottery. The sad thing is John Ulzon never got to see the Opera house finish. He got upset about a couple of things and he left and never saw is completed he just die this year at the age of 85. Thursday the 8th we went to a homestead and saw a sheep being sheared, learned how to throw a boom-o-rang and hold diffrent animals native to Australia. We had a wonderful BBG lunch. Some of the drinks are diffrent then ours. We asked for lemonade and we got Sprite and a drink called lemon squash tasted like a squirt here. Friday the 9th we did a tour of the Blue Mountians. It is a place in the mountains that the aborigines lived. There are what is called the three sisters. They are three mountains that are very close together. Our tour guide was awesome he told us every kind of flower, tree and spider. Thankfully we didn't see any because they have the worlds deadlest spiders and snakes. Saturday the 10th we went to the Tarango Zoo. This zoo is huge. Animals of ever kind. Koalas that you could hold and kangaroos that you could walk right into there habitat. They had the cutest little seal that they rescued off the shore of the ocean. We saw gorillas find their food and chimps that would do somersaults and land on all the other monkeys. We did a little shopping at the Rocks. Every Saturday and Sunday they have like street vendors up two streets and walk through and find just about anything that you like. Sunday the 11th we went up to Darling Harbour watched a movie on the Great Barrier Reef. We went into china town where they had a huge building that you could shop at we came out with so much stuff that we wish we would have waited to shop until this day. We had dinner at a revolving building that you could get a 360 degree view of the whole city. Last day Monday the 12th we went to Manley Beach. It was a nice beach but it was so cold and windy. we just walked around for a little while and came back and had the best fish and chips ever. At a place called City Extra. Yes the fish was shark called flake. It is by far the best fish I have ever had and I don't think that I could ever have fish and chips in the states ever again. I have to tell you a funny story. Over in Australia they have different plugs for everything so we brough a converter and outlet to use while we were over there. Well the first day I get it out and it works great while I am drying my hair. I did notice that the air on the hair dryer was getting hotter and hotter the more I used it. Got that done and I plug my straightner in and the next thing I hear is a pop and a spark. Yes the converter is smoking. GREAT!!! Now what am I going to do my hair is not straight and I just broke the outlet. I guess I could wear a hat. We got the hotel to come up and look at it and they brought us a bigger converter that took up the whole countertop pratically and I could plug my straightner right into it with out a diffrent outlet plug. Didn't have anymore problems with the outlets. We had a great time. I would have loved to climb the Harbour bridge but no one wanted to do it with me and it was a little pricey. So instead I got me a pair of UGG's and an opal necklace. Since that is what they are knwon for. We also went and saw Wicked. Brad loved it surprisingly. Would love to go back again the flights were not bad. The best part was getting away from the kids and the nanny potty trained Ty while we were gone. SCORE!!!!

{ Miley Cyrus Concert }

2009-10-02T13:02:00.002-06:00

Miley Cyrus concert tickets are what Cortlyn got for her birthday. She was so excited to go. We took her to dinner at TGIFridays. When we got to Energy Solutions Building we counted as least 24 semi trucks and 6 big bus motor homes. We were a little early so we got in the line to get Cortlyn a tee shirt. Yes we waited 40 minutes, not sure what we were thinking. Metro Station started at 7:00. They sing shake, shake ,shake it. And come to find out it was Miley's big brothers band. At 8:00 Miley can on. She came through a clear rock that looked like an ice boulder. During her third song which was 7 things I hate about you. She ran off the stage. We were all thinking she is changing but after a couple of minutes she didn't come back and the back up singers are singing the song we knew something was wrong. She had the touch of the flu. But five minutes later she was back on stage and singing. She didn't put on the best show. You could tell she was not feeling well. But by the end of the concert she was doing better. Cortlyn loved the concert. She sang and danced to all the songs she knew. Miley flew over the crowd twice. Once just by herself and the other time she was riding a Harley Motorcycle. She definitely put on a great concert with all of her stage effects. She ended the night with her song the Climb. I think I would buy tickets to go to her again. We had a lot of fun and Cortyln was all smiles. There is nothing better than that!!!

Beginning of FaLL

2009-09-29T07:49:00.003-06:00

Isn't this tree gorgeous. The color is stunning
I love fall time the color on the leaves is so bright and vibrant this year.
The kids playing on the merry-go-round at the ranch
Cortlyn pushing the merry-go-round
Hayden getting ready to go hunting with his dad for deer
TY was looking for the deer with his dad. He also went hunting and saw a baby elephant, a bear with horns and an elk. He cracks me up.
Ty playing in the rocks with his truck. He is all boy.
This is Kenzie when she is all done with her cereal. Yes she is a MeSS!!!
Ty driving the bus. Brad is a substitute driver this year and brought the bus home for Ty to see and drive. He loved it.
Ty kissing Kenzie. So CuTe!!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Cortlyn

2009-09-22T07:57:00.002-06:00

I wanted to wish you the best birthday ever. You are the sweetest little girl ever. You are now in 1st grade and loving it (except for the homework part of it) You are a social butterfly. You always have to be playing with friends. You are a great help around the house. I hope you have the best day ever and have fun at the Miley Cyrus concert....

New Moon

2009-09-15T09:43:00.001-06:00

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Can't wait for this one!

I can't believe you are 12

2009-09-10T14:18:00.002-06:00

WoW Hayden! Time has certainly flown by. It feels just like yesterday that I was holding this 7lb 10 ozs baby boy in my arms and now I think you could hold me in your arms. You have grown up to be a sweet and loving young man. You are, are peacemaker. You are a great help around the house. You bring a lot of joy to our home and we don't know what we would do without you. WE LOVE YOU!!!!!
Hayden LoVeS to read, ride his bike, play board games that no one has ever heard of, he likes cake but without the frosting(not sure who's kid he is), can make anything from legos or 2x4s that are laying around in the shop. We hope you have the best birthday ever. The big 12 birthday.

{ Best sleepover EVER }

2009-08-25T09:38:00.002-06:00

The kids so wanted to sleep outside at the cabin so they hauled up the mattresses from the basement. Made themselves a bed and had a sleepover. Notice Cortlyn has a hoodie on over her head. NO it was not cold by all means she was just getting prepared just in case she needed it when she got cold. Which was never. Yes me and Kenzie slept in the cabin. Which was better cause she was up at 4 o'clock. The kids loved sleeping outside they did not even notice that is rained on them in the middle of the night. Lightning and thunder to say the least they slept right through it. Brad didn't he loves that kind of stuff. Oh they did sleep on the deck that is covered so no one got wet.

1st day of School for 2009

2009-08-20T12:03:00.002-06:00

Ty saying YES the kids are gone. Let's party mom!!!
Cortlyn and Hayden waking to the bus. So Cute.
Cortlyn is a 1st grader this year
Hayden is a
6th grader this year
Shawnee is a 8th grader this year..

Can you believe that school has started already? Not me. The kids are growing up to fast. It will be nice to have Hayden and Cortlyn going at the same time. Aren't they the cutest kids you ever did see? Shawnee I think is going to break some hearts this year. Watch out boys...... You will have her dad after you. Now maybe my house will stay clean for more than 10 minutes. Have a wonderful school year kids and make lots of friends.. Love ya kiddos

Family Home Evening

2009-08-18T16:34:00.002-06:00

WE spent the night at a park in Highland. Letting the kids play in the water. Poor kids where freezing cause we had a little wind. But they LOVED it!!!!

Jacksonhole vacation 2009

2009-08-17T14:43:00.001-06:00

We had so much fun this year in Jacksonhole running the river. We had all the family this year plus Mitch, Terrie and Jacob. Brent and Bonnie and their grandson Noah, and some friends of Aaron's. No one was hurt. Shawnee got pink eye the second day we were there. Deven ,my dad, Shawnee, Hayden and both of their friends went on the river when the temp was only 46 degrees and raining. Needless to say they were so cold when they got off that they couldn't walk up to the truck. Poor kids but that didn't damper anything the kids went everytime after that. I got a nice bruise on the back of my thigh from falling out at Kahuna. We went to Jenny's Lake and hiked. It was a beautiful day we made it just in time to get on the boat and head back to the cars when it started to pour pain. On Wednesday we watched falling and shooting stars. It was amazing. We could have watched it all night but we had to drive home the next day.

Luau Baby

2009-08-03T08:47:00.004-06:00

The Bateman family
Auntie Karen. My favorite
Auntie Pam with her granddaughters and in law
Auntie Karen and her boys Brent and Bradley
The men doing the warrior hula dance.
Keri and Uncle Stan
Cousin Tami, MacKenzie and Crystal
Aunt Debbie and Uncle Richard
The kids learning a hula dance.

The Bateman family reunion of 2009. Aunt Deb and Uncle Stan were in charge of it this year and they did a Hawaiann Luau. With palm trees, lais and hula dancers. We had it in my backyard. It was perfect. The weather was beautiful. The company even better. I believe we had over 100 people here that was including kids. It was catered with great food and then we had the privledge of watching a hula dance from all the islands in Hawaii. It was awesome. So entertaining. Grandma and Grandpa Bateman are turning 96 this year and I think they look amazing. I was lucky enough to get pictures with them. It was great to visit with cousins, aunts and uncles. What a great time. Deb and Stan did an amazing job! Can't think of a better thing to do on a Saturday night then to spend it with your family and loved ones from all over. Thanks everyone that came. It was so nice to see and visit with everyone. See you next year!!!! Until next time ALOOOOOOHA!!!!!

24th ofJuly weekend

2009-07-28T14:09:00.005-06:00

After a wonderful weekend we ended it with a pool party at the outdoor swimmimg pool in Lehi
Deven and Luke at the pool party
Shawnee taking some driving lessons from her dad. Not sure what he was thinking! She is only 13!!!
pretty much everyone going on a ranger ride
Everyone getting ready for the parade to start in Fairview
We had a great weekend. We went golfing with a few minor injuries. I almost backed up the golf cart into the pond. And Julie just about rolled us. I don't think I have laughed so hard. GOOD TIMES!!! The kids went and saw a movie at the drive in. They saw Ice Age 3. Saw the fireworks from the cabin. And pretty much just chilled on the deck while the kids played in the blow up pool. Thanks everyone we had a blast. We missed Adam and his family maybe next time.

This kid CrAcKs me up

2009-07-16T08:53:00.003-06:00

We pull into the drive up. To get some lunch at Subway yesterday. I am getting ready to order and Ty tells me to roll his window up. (Which means roll it down.) So I roll it down and he starts to order for himself. He yells out the window I need a chicken salad. The girl asks what kind of chips and I tell her the Doritos. Nacho kind and Ty yells at her NACHOS..... We pull up to the window and Cortlyn is quietly telling the girl that she is pretty. Ty yells you are pretty. I am just glad they didn't hear him yelling I need a chicken salad. Or maybe they did. We will never know. He makes me smile. It is always fun to have a toddler in the house to remind you that you still are young and can have fun. Love ya Ty bug

Weekend with Friends

2009-07-14T16:33:00.004-06:00

Hayden, Brad and Kenzie chilling in the wonderful weather at the cabin
Everyone teeter tautering. We were trying to balance the teeter tauter it took us a while be we figured out who needed to be switched.
Kate going down the zip line
Lauren swinging
Hayden just being himself. Isn't he so handsome!
Ty swinging in the horsey swing, as he calls it
Todd and Hayden playing a little tether ball. Not sure who won
Shawnee doing a flip off the diving board
Kate and Cortyln getting ready to go down the slide
Everyone at the Drive-in. We saw The Proposal. So cute.We had so much fun with our friends the Panters. Thanks for going lets do it again sometime.

4th of July

2009-07-06T12:19:00.002-06:00

We had a great 4th of July. We spent it at our cabin. It was a little rainy at times but we had a blast. We rode four wheelers, played with cousins Noah and Olivia for a couple of days before they had to leave to go to their other grandmas. Swam in the blow-up pool. OK so no one really swam in the pool it was to cold. But Sadie loved it and she didn't care that it was a little chilly. The boys went on a camp out, while the girls went out and got some dinner. We went to the Mt. Pleasant parade, and later that night sat on our deck and watched the fireworks display. What a great time we had, even though grandma was in a wheel chair. She broke her pelvis a couple of weeks ago. And Olivia fell and got a nice goose egg and me yes I fell down the stairs. What an idiot I am. Good times, Good times

Tough enough to wear pink!!!

2009-07-06T12:01:00.002-06:00

This year for the rodeo they had a new thing. It was called Tough Enough To Wear Pink. We were lucky enough to help sponsor this great cause. Main Street Interiors donated money and at the end of the rodeo Thursday night anyone could help donate and we did really well. We have some great people to help out at a time when money is a little tight. They wanted Brad to be a part of this great cause. Because he himself is a cancer survivor. So our family was..... Tough Enough To Wear Pink.....

One crazy month

2009-06-22T10:40:00.002-06:00

Where do I even begin? I will start off with a couple of days before me and Shawnee leave for New York. Ty was not feeling good and not breathing right. I took him in and he ended up having to have a breathing treatment. So off we go to the Drug store to get a nebulizer. He had to have treatments every morning and night until it got better. Which was about a week later. We head to New York for a tour with Shawnee's singing group. They sang in the subway, at a couple of the performing arts schools and toured New York. We stayed in Harlem in a brownstone and rode the subways everywhere. We saw Shrek and Mary Poppins while we were there. They were awesome. I get a phone call the day after we get to New York and Brad has taken Kenzie into the doctor, she wasn't feeling good, They ended up taking her to the emergency room cause she was not breathing. Scared the you know what out of Brad and me. She was in the hospital for three days and was off oxygen a week later.(I didn't get any pictures of the mask she wore)She is going great now. So we return home and Shawnee turns around and heads to her other tour with her dance group to good ole California. They went to see the Lion King in Vegas on the way and went to the beach and to Disneyland for 5 days. On her return I get a phone call from my brother telling me that my dad was just put in the hospital with pneumonia and sepsis. He was in the ICU at AF for four days and then was transferred to IMC in Murray. He was not getting better and was having heart problems as well. But he is on the mend and is to be home soon. He scared us there for a little while. On Saturday I get a call from Brad saying that his mom was helping set up tables for a party we were going to have and the tables fell on her and she broke her pelvis in 2 spots. She is now in the hospital and will soon be home as well. I think I have learned that life can turn in a blink of an eye. So hold, love and take care of your loved ones. You never know when you will get the chance to tell them that you love them again. Thanks to all of you who kept us in your thoughts and prayers. It really helped.

* SUPERMAN *

2009-05-28T14:34:00.002-06:00

TY got this cute little superman and batman cap for Christmas from a cousin. He really didn't care for it until now. He is into superheros now and as you can tell from the pictures that he loves to fly and jump from tall buildings to save a beautiful lady. He cracks me up. He will go around the house running, yelling superman holding his cap as he goes. We are trying to convince him that if he starts to go potty in the big potty then he can have superman underwear. He likes that idea for about...... 20 seconds and then he is done. He is such a joy to have in our home. You forget how fun and energetic they can be and the things they say make your whole day better.

Remembering a loved one

2009-05-27T09:38:00.003-06:00

Remembering my mom is always a hard one for me. We took the kids to the cemetery and of course took flowers to my moms grave. But every year as we walk up to the head stone. I start to get teary eyed and can't talk. The kids put the flowers by the head stone and we stand there and then we leave. This year I wanted to get a picture of her grandkids that she never met here on earth, but I know that she took good care of them when she had them. I know that she loves them and wishes to hold them again in her arms. They don't know alot about her cause I have a hard time talking about her. (like now I am crying and haven't really said anything) She left this world at a time in my life when I needed her the most. I have had to go through life on my own and figure things out with out the help of a mother. I wish everyday that she was here. There are so many things that would be diffrent and the relationships I have had would have been stronger than they are now. I feel for those of you that have lost a loved one. It is not easy and the pain never goes away. I try to push it as far back in my head as it will go, so that I don't have to think about it. But at random times it all comes rushing back and I am like a little child wanting her mom to hold her in her arms just one more time. It has been 17 years since she lost her battle with cancer. I am just grateful for the time that I did have with her. I know that she would have been proud of me and how I have raised her grand kids. We will love and miss her always.

This is awesome

2009-05-20T10:00:00.001-06:00

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If you can't view this movie, please go to www.TheInterviewWithGod.com or visit this Internet Marketing Business site.

Inspirational Videos

The BIG reveal

2009-05-06T10:23:00.002-06:00

So a year ago in April. Brad went to Russia to grizzly bear hunt. Well the other day he got to finally display it. After four men, a door that had to be removed and little scrape on the wall we got it in. This thing is HUGE!!! As you can tell from the picture Ty is but a minor little dot compared to this giant of a beast that Brad shot from 30 yards away. This picture doesn't give it justice his feet and hands are enormous. His claws are very sharp and as long as my hand alone. Not sure how Brad managed to shot this with out running for his life first. What a great addition to his collection.

What's in a name

2009-04-24T14:13:00.002-06:00

So I just wanted to explain Kenzie's name to everyone and so that I don't forget when she finally asks how she got her name. The agency lets the birth mothers pick the name, whether or not you choose to keep the name or not. So in our case we choose to keep the name that her birth mother gave her but used it for her middle name. Her birth mother told us that when Kenzie was born she looked at her and knew that it was to be Lyric. Lyric is a movie that has Jada Pinkett Smith in it and that is the birth mothers favorite actress. When she looked at Kenzie she thought that she had Jada's eyes. That is how she came up with the name Lyric. Now why we choose to keep the name was because after all that this birth mother has done for us what a better way to repay her and to let her know that we care and appreciate all that she has given up. We are so in love with this little girl. And are so grateful for this birth mother who sacrificed everything she had to let us raise this sweet little spirit.

Our New Addition

2009-04-16T10:40:00.003-06:00

So please welcome Kenzie, Lyric to our family. She was born April 13, 2009. She weighed in at 5 pounds 9 ounces and 17 and a quarter inches long. She is very tiny but so beautiful. We are so glad to have her here with us. I am sure you are all wondering the story behind this little miracle. Well I will try to tell you the best that I can. It started awhile ago when me and Brad fasted and prayed to know if we were to adopt again. One day out of the blue our case worker from Ty called and asked if we would like to adopt again, there were a couple of girls that were due pretty soon and no families to take them. Well if that wasn't obvious. We had to say yes. This was the second week in March. We didn't get picked for any of the girls that were due soon. We went on vacation to Cancun and while we were there I got a phone call from the agency asking if we wanted to be shown to another girl she was due on April 13th. No hesitation there. Yes of course. We head to the airport the next day and I get another call the birthmother wants to talk to us. I tell them we are in the airport headed home we should arrive at 8:30pm that day. They agree to a conference call later that night. Well our last flight was delayed so that made it later for us. As we are taxing into the terminal I turned my phone back on and it wasn't a couple of minutes and the phone rang they were ready for the conference call. We obviously were not. So we postponed until 10:00pm that night. Now, no one knows that we are doing this but three people. My aunt Deb and my two friends Julie P. and Julie H. So when we get home from our trip we say hello to the kids and my phone rings again. We send the kids downstairs to bed and talked to Chaquita. Everything went well we talked for half an hour. My case worker calls back the next day and says that Chaquita wants to go to dinner and meet with you she hasn't picked you but she wants to talk. Ok. We talked on Thursday night the 20th of March and we went to dinner that Monday the 23rd. I was so nervous but it all went well. My case worker called and said we did great she will call to let us know if she decided on anything. Not a couple of minutes later she calls back and says she picked us. We were exstatic!!! The next couple of weeks were a hazy as we tried so hard not to tell and give it away. We did go to dinner one more time on the 8th of April. Chaquita did not want us in the delivery room or at the hospital at all that day. So we just hung tight until we heard something. She was born at 12:27pm that afternoon. We were to go up to the hospital the next day(tuesday April 14th) to sign papers and get this finalized. We arrive at 11:30am. We sign our end of the deal and our case worker (Jody) says that they are in Chaquita's room working on her end of the deal. She signs and we are happy campers, all but.... we haven't seen this baby of ours yet and Chaquita doesn't want anyone in her room right now. So we are a little bummed but we know that it is ok cause no matter what now she is ours. A half an hour later we get the go ahead to go see the baby. She was BEAUTIFUL! She looked just like here birthmother. We stayed and talked and held the baby for about and hour and let Chaquita have the rest of the day to herself to day her goodbyes. Which of course we were ok with cause how are we suppose to explain to the kids that we have another "meeting" we have to go to. So we leave for the hospital at 7:00am the next morning so we can talk to the doctor and get the baby discharged. We get there to find that the doctor had already been there and we missed him so now we are just stuck at the hospital to wait until noon to leave. We were a little disappointed about that, we could have stayed home and left later and not wasted our time at the hospital. Oh well we had a chance to set and talk to each other and decide on a name and the experience we were having compared to Ty's adoption. Which by the way it was so much nicer this time around. I would do this again in a heart beat if it was like this every time. So it was finally time to be discharged. We walk to the room and find Chaquita in her non maturnity pants and the baby dressed in all pink with a cute hat and blanket to match. She says to us " hi mom and dad" as she is holding the baby. We felt so good. We talked for a little while and we are getting ready and the nurse walks in and says we have to wait for the doctor to call back and give the ok to release the baby. Her belly rubuen was a little elevated. She we wait an hour for the doctor to finally call back and give us the ok. We loaded up the baby. Chaquita wanted to walk out with us. She was so cute. We give her our goodbyes and walk the other way.

Now for the surprise. Remember that no one knew. So we have the kids go into the other room and wait for us to come in and close their eyes. I had the video camera ready and Brad walks in with the baby that is so small that all you can see it this ball and a blanket. The kids look at him and they are a little confused. They say "what is that" Brad says "your sister" The kids just look at him again. I say "came and meet your baby sister" They jump off the couch and walk over to Brad and say "oh my gosh" "she is so cute". "I don't believe it". "Shs's so little." Over and over again. They couldn't believe that they had a baby sister. They fought over her the whole day. I had to take my turn to hold her at night of course.Obviously she will be very loved. We are so grateful to have her with us and look forward to the day when we can be sealed in the temple forever. Thanks to our agency A Guardian Angel and Jody for being a great case worker for the second time around.

Shoot the bear

2009-04-06T13:06:00.003-06:00

Ty was carry a huge toy gun that Hayden got from Camp Floyd around the house. He would say I shoot the bear, I shoot the bear. He loves to watch the outdoor channel with Brad and will always say shoot the elk or shoot the dear, daddy. One night he had the gun and he was saying shoot the bear and I asked him what color of bear he was going to shoot. He said a PINK one! I have no idea where that even came from but I thought that was cute. He doesn't know his colors yet. I know for sure that when he is old enough that he will go and shoot a bear with his daddy.

Cancun 2009

2009-03-21T10:33:00.001-06:00

I have the best 2 year old in the world

2009-03-09T19:07:00.002-06:00

I have to admit that I have the best 2 year old there ever was. I don't want you to think that I am bragging, BUT this kid couldn't get any better then this. The reason I say he is the best is because... I asked the kids to set the table and he runs over to the drawer and asks for my help to get the spoons for dinner. He then asks for the napkins. Yes he put then both on the table by himself. He asked with a please help me. There are times that I am unloading the dishwasher and he will come over and start pulling the silverware out and putting it in the drawer. He will put things we ask him to, away. He truly is a great kid. I just hope that this lasts forever. I know wish full thinking but hey it could happen. Life couldn't get any better then this!!!!

Hot Tub

2009-03-09T11:46:00.002-06:00

Brad had an idea to let Ty get in the BIG tub. Which is the hot tub. We let the older kids get in all the time, but really haven't let Ty cause it is hot and he really doesn't like warm baths. His water is usually pretty cold. not because that is how I put it but if I put hot water in it he will say too hot. So we put cold in and by the time he can stand it. The water is luke warm. Don't ask me how he can ever stand that. So I was a little nervous to let him get in. We got his feet in and he said it too hot. So we get him in up to the waist he walked around and before we knew it he was loving it. He asks to get in the BIG tub about every night. We don't of course let him every night. Just on the weekend. I think we have got him hooked. Which is nice now Brad has a hot tub buddy.

Spring Cleaning

2009-03-03T11:59:00.003-07:00

So I caught the bug to spring clean. I looked at my fridge and went GROSS!!! Spilled milk, bbq spill, butter smudges, and caked on goopy stuff that had been in the fridge for who knows how long. Yes I unloaded my fridge and washed everything. Wow I can see through the glass again and not think to my self, I really need to clean that. WE (meaning Brad and I) just moved Ty downstairs with Hayden. Now I need to explain. Not that we need to move Ty for other reasons but Hayden came to us and asked if Ty could move downstairs with him. Why not his room is HUGE. So we gave him the "You have to clean your room and organize it before he can move down" speech. Well he was all over it. I was at a class and when I got home Ty's bed was moved. Brad and Hayden moved everything down to Haydens' room. SO the only thing I had to do was clean out Ty's room and reorganize Hayden's room and closet so that there was room for everything. That was a pain in the behind. I cleaned out Hayden's dresser. He had 6 drawers on his dresser and he was using three for JUNK! We found a place for all his books that he has read. Made room in the closet for Ty's little stash of clothes and Walla!!! IT is so perfect. The beds match with the colors and everything. It is so cute. Now I have cleaned out Ty's room it is a little empty. It makes me a little sad. I was putting his clothes that don't fit him any more and remembered when he had wore that outfit and thought he is not little anymore. I had a little tear. So anyways back to the story. Don't you just love that dark blue wall. I need some suggestions on what to do with it. At least Hayden keeps his room a little cleaner now that Ty is down there. I think he knows that if he leaves anything out Ty will get it and destroy it. Hayden is a great big brother. They have a special bond that no one can take away. We will just see how long it takes for Hayden to say Ty is in my stuff can he move back to his room now!

Dark Chocolate Bon Bons

2009-02-25T14:06:00.003-07:00

Ok so these Bon Bons are sooooooooo Good!!! They had this recipe on Good Things Utah. So I thought that I would try them and see. Oh my my my they were so good that I couldn't stop at just one or two or.......... They are so easy to make. All you do is make a dark chocolate cake from the box. I used a chocolate fudge cake. Cook it to the directions on the box. Let it cool and crumble into a bowl and mix in a thing of chocolate fudge frosting out of the can and stir well. Make into balls. I used a cookie scoop because this is a little messy. Put on a cookie sheet with wax paper and put in the freezer for an hour then rolled the bon bon in powdered sugar, sprinkles or cocoa powder with a little cinnamon in and you are done. Eat and be merry. I promise you won't stop at just one.