Donny and Colleen

SAN JUAN,PUERTO RICO/ST. THOMAS--JAN 12-18,2012

2012-01-20T04:55:00.000-08:00

Donny planned a getaway from the cold,snow and yuk of winter and go figure it really hasn't been bad yet. Oh well, we were excited for a break and to feel the sun and warm again. We flew to San Juan, leaving Salt Lake City at 12:55 a.m. Crazy, I know! We got a taxi from the airport to our hotel and it was like a 5 minute drive was all. We changed out of our sweats and into our suits while our room was getting ready. Felt soooo good! I do believe we were in shock though. It's always so weird when it's cold at home. I think it took us a couple days to realize we didn't have to gear up for the cold when we walked outside.

We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel. It was pretty posh!! We had planned to just relax and pamper ourselves while staying here. Mission accomplished! We were quite jet lagged from the flight and since our bed was the coziest ever we slept in until 9am that first morning. We drank our protein shakes and headed for the gym and then a long walk/jog on the beach. Bringing our breakfast food was the best idea ever. Saved us lots of money, and we got to eat healthy!! Our room!

We are laying out by the pool and looking up at this!

This is the beach looking towards our hotel.

We did alot of walking along the beach.

Found a coconut and told Donny to play survivor for a minute!!

I forgot the name of these trees but they are so cool and are all over Puerto Rico.

Our pool was so awesome, too bad we weren't there longer so we could have enjoyed it. We opted to go to the beach instead. They had a big hot tub and that felt good. Good place to go when it decided to rain for 5 minutes.

We found a little local restaurant across the street from our hotel. It was called Mi Casita. We had the special ($6.99 a plate)They use alot of spices that make it taste really yummy and Donny is in love with the beans - puerto rico style!!! I've got to look for some recipes.

This is the only time I got in the pool. I wanted to sit at the bar!!Hahaha!

Making the most of our morning! Sad to say we must leave today.

This plane took us to St. Thomas.It's a prop plane! We loved it. So fun to see all of the other islands before you get there.

Our condo room at the Elysian in St. Thomas. We used our Worldmark points to stay.

Tiny lizard. They are everywhere. When we were in sunday school there was a baby one on Sister Babcock's (Eileen Andersen's cousin) neck. Her husband saw it and got it off of her. Yikes!!

This is the church house where the branch meets in St. Thomas. We met the couple missionaries, (we found out that Sister Babcock is Eileen Anderson's cousin. Eileen's mom and Sister Babcocks dad are brother and sister) Met some employees of El sol who just got there to work, Val Campbell served his mission with Cade Buck..Aaron Ellis was dating Kylie Richardson(know her from the Savior of the World)she is now going on a mission. Anyway.. small world. We ended up staying for all of the meetings.

We drove up to some lookout spots. This is St. Thomas!

We drove up to Mtn. Top and you can look out over Magens Bay and the ocean. They have a giant gift shop up there and we had to be silly with all of the pirate statues they had.

The view is absolutely breathtaking!!

The roads are so skinny and it is literally switchbacks to get up the mountain. Donny did a great job driving on the wrong side of the road. Only a couple of mistakes...thanks heavens no cars were in the lane!Locals gave us the evil eye!!

Checking in at the Elysian.

Beautiful flowers everywhere!

The sunrise at our beach!

Our condo

The pool at the condo. We used the hot tub but not the pool.

Always better to go to the Beach!

Donny walking on the beach.

On monday,Jan 16, we took an excursion on this sailboat over to St Johns at Honeymoon beach to snorkel. They fed us lunch and then we set sail again. Our next stop to snorkel would be in between Great St. James and Little St. James' islands. These islands are straight out from cowpet bay where we are staying. While we were out there we took a pic of our condo's. We saw alot of different fish and 2 spotted eagle rays. They were swimming in a line, one had a stinger and the other didn't. We found out that they are a rare species. They were so cute cuz they had polka dots and we could see them so good! They were right below us.I wanted to see a turtle but we didn't see one.

Iguana's are all over the place too.

Another sunrise pic overlooking Cowpet Bay. Our beach!

On tues, Jan 17th we drove over to secret beach which is just next to cowpet bay our beach, and we snorkeled there too. It was so calm and super good conditions so it was so clear. Saw lot's of different fish! This beach is so beautiful!

This is what I looked at everymorning when I got out of bed!!

We drove over to the Ritz-Carlton next to us on the other side and saw Great Bay.

Some more beautiful flowers at the Ritz-Carlton property.

We were laying out after snorkling at our beach and this iguana just walked right up to us!

These pelicans were pure entertainment! They would fly around and then dive bomb in the water to catch fish. Over and over and over! We found out that because they do this so much they eventually go blind and starve to death and die. So sad.

Great Grammy Faye's 75th / CHRISTMAS 2012

2012-01-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

My mom turned 75 this year and we wanted to do something special for her. I took a box of pictures and things she had saved without her knowing about a month ago. I compiled it into to 2 huge binders for her. Cathy and I and Mandy, Kim and Jocelyn came to Mom's house early on saturday morning (Dec.10th)and cleaned out mom's basement and scrubbed some walls and the kitchen for her. We worked like crazy and got so much done! This happened to be the day Kacey got married, so we got dressed up for that and met our husbands and children there. After the wedding, we went back to Mom's clean house and gave her the binders I had done. We all had prepared our own memory of mom-grandma-great grandma and wrote in on a card. We presented them to her and she said later that it was the best birthday ever!!!!! It was a great chance for our family to do service for her... to thank her for all she has done for our family.

We were so excited for Jason,Claudia and kiddo's to come for christmas this year. Christmas eve wouldn't be complete without decorating sugar cookies! Ummmm good!

More christmas eve fun!!!!!

Davis is ready for christmas morning to begin! Can't believe how big he is!! Mandy and Cam came over and went to church with us at 1:00. I always love it when the family comes to church with us.

Tag,Ada,Maddie and Boston loved their pillow pets!!!

Our family getting ready to open christmas presents. Gets pretty crazy but we love it!

Sophie decided to make up her own dance to a toy she got. We laughed so hard at her!!!

Blair spotted Cam and grabbed my camera......we are all jealous of how Cam can fall into a deep sleep with it being loud and crazy around him!

I finally took time away from the kitchen to play with Parker!

These four kiddos got into their pj's and got their blankets and pillow pets and got real cozy for a movie!!

This is how we found Emma...... she thought she had found some chapstick. Turns out they are markers sweetheart!!

Too bad christmas day was sunny and no snow!! Maddie got a new bike and wanted to go for a ride and Ada and Boston found a little patch of snow that hadn't melted and had so much fun!!

On tues Dec 27th we had planned to celebrate the Dec. birthdays in our family by spending the day in logan. We met first at the tabernacle to get our family picture taken. It turned out pretty good considering in was freezing and a couple of the kids had a touch of something...a blow out and throw up just minutes before. Thanks everyone for helping make this happen especially Mandy!!! Love you all!!! We hung out at Cam and Mandy's and let those whose birthdays were in dec. open their presents and then we had lunch at Juniper Inn take-out, in our own special room.

Next, we were off to the fun park! Lazer tag was a big hit!The little kids loved the soft play except our usually brave and no fearing Emma came down the slide a bit to fast, bonked her head and was traumatized for the rest of the time.

Thank heavens Mandy and Cam still had some snow from our first storm. The kids got their snow gear on and played in the snow for awhile. They loved it!

The next day, Mandy brought her kids over to Brody and Joce's and we hung out there. The kids colored and played with play dough. Then we ordered the famous Pizza Plus pizza and breadsticks for dinner. A family favorite!!! We then had to say good bye to Jason,Claudia and family. It is always so sad and hard on all of us. They had good travels both to and from which we were so grateful for. It was a very enjoyable Christmas for sure!!!

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Thanksgiving 2011... Lots to be thankful for!

2012-01-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

It was our year for the kids to be with us for Thanksgiving.(Jason and Claudia will be coming for Christmas.)Before dinner, the kids made pilgrim hats to wear for dinner and Taggart recited the turkey poem (Maddie helped a little, too) that my mom has said every year for us. Then they said it together. It was so cute!! We told Tag he has to carry on the tradition! We had a yummy dinner and then went for a walk afterwards. Here is an picture of the Brigham City temple... I pulled off the side of the road and had Donny take the pic!

California Halloween/Davis' Blessing Day Oct. 2011

2012-01-03T19:08:00.000-08:00

Flew to California so that we could be there for Davis' blessing and just so happened to be halloween the next day. We got to enjoy their ward halloween carnival and trick or treating. As always, it's a must to go to Ventura Harbor for some fish and chips, and enjoy carpenteria beach. It was a beautiful day!!!

Went to Underwood farms for a green corn maze, ( that was unique ) and the pumpkin patch, animals and a quick family picture for Jason and Claudia.

Having some fun with Papa!

October 30,2011 was Davis' special blessing day. Blessed by his Daddy, Davis kept his eyes on his papa during the blessing and was such a good boy. How precious he is!!!

Enjoyed some time at their pool!!!

Our cute little spooks!!

First ever Family Halloween Party!

2011-11-27T20:41:00.000-08:00

We had planned to go to California for Halloween because they will be blessing Davis that weekend. I didn't want to miss seeing all of the other grandkids in their halloween costumes so Donny and I decided to have a halloween party and have everyone dress up!! October 23,2011 was the day and it turned out to be a beautiful, sunny, pretty warm day. We planned games and food!!! I felt like we went all out for this party! Jason and Claudia were truly missed but I know Claudia would have loved it! She'd been proud of us:)Blair was on a business/golf trip with his Dad, and my mom was sick. We missed them too!

The Pumpkin Walk

2011-11-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

October 22, 2011

Brody and Joce invited us to go to the Pumkin Walk with them in North Logan. It was a beautiful day and so tempting..... Dad was planning on finishing the new shed project and we were needing to get things prepared for the big Family Halloween Party tomorrow. Dad stayed and we went over and got McKelle and met them at the Pumkin Walk. It was just a quick trip over and we were able to still get things done for the party and Dad was glad to get the shed done.

All of us !!!

Brandon and Emma

Nana and Sophie

Kim and Sophie

So glad you wore your hat Jocelyn!!

I kept thinking that witch was a real person and all of a sudden look at us. It was creeping me out.

Sophie and Emma

Emma and Sophie The both make a beautiful Snow White Princess don't you think?

Dennis, Dana, and Kids Visit

2011-11-13T17:46:00.000-08:00

It's always a treat when Dennis and Dana's family comes to town. There is always a FULL schedule of activities! Saturday (Oct 8, 2011) was the day to come to our house and have food, games and visits. Here a just a few pictures we took. Just so happened to be a freezing weekend but we managed to get outside just a little that day when the sun came out. We all had such a great time! We are so glad Dennis and Dana have moved to Arizona, so get-togethers like this will happen more often.

FAMILY VACATION AT LAST!!

2011-10-16T20:46:00.001-07:00

It's amazing that we all can make the time to get together for a vacation! Our family is getting bigger and busier but it all worked out and we were able to travel to Big Bear Lake in California and spend a week there. We went on some amazing hikes, spent alot of time at the pool. Played tennis, made crafts,divided in teams and played some games, and went in to the town for some fun shopping!

Not so LAZY summer DAYZ!

2011-08-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

MOTHERS DAY WEEKEND

2011-05-09T05:36:00.000-07:00

We spent saturday with Brandon,Jocelyn and Emma, and Blair, Kim and Sophie at Thanksgiving Point! The tulip gardens were spectacular with the warmest day of the year so far. We were sweating buckets at 75 degrees because we are used to the 40's and 50's. Kim and Blair fixed us a delicious dinner that evening. On sunday after church we went to Mandy and Cam's. Mandy treated us to a fabulous dinner! My kids know what I love --chicken, sweet potato fries and fresh green salad. That's what we had both nights! Tasted so yummy! It was so great to hear from all of my kids. Thanks for all the kind words and deeds for an awesome Mothers Day!!!

2011-01-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

It's been a really busy December. In addition to Christmas we have 3 birthdays to celebrate. Taggart's is the 14th, my mom's is the 15th and Mandy's is the 21st. We celebrated them all in one day, ending with a visitor stopping by to surprise the kids. They were excited to tell him what they wanted and loved the treat! (They kind of wondered if he sounded like Papi)

Donny and I feel pretty spoiled with Mandy and Cam moving back here because of the opportunity it gives us to see the kids in their recitals and programs etc. We got to see what Tag does in Tumbling Tigers and see Maddie dance. They both did such a good job! We loved every minute of it and with it brought back lots of memories of our own kids!!

This is a big moment of our lives. We have lived here 27 years and we finally bought a snow blower!! We were actually pretty excited to get snow so we could try it out. Our family is saying it's about time!! Kim had to mention that maybe it's time for a sprinkling system this spring. That would really lighten the load!! We'll have to see about that one.

We were so excited to have McKelle come home for Christmas!! The girls picked her up from the airport and we met them at Kneaders for some dinner. Then we were up for some last minute shopping. It was so much fun for the family to be together and just hang out and visit, read stories and play some games. It's fun to watch the babies growing and especially fun to get them all smiling and laughing. We gave Sophie her first bath in the Big bathtub and she loved it, as you can tell. We had a little program where Maddie and Tag sang the 12 days of Christmas with all the actions and my mom treated us with a Christmas song on the piano. We missed having Jason,Claudia,Ada and Boston here though!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
We went to the Fun Park in Logan and went bowling. We were excited to see the black lights which made it extra fun. It was McKelle's idea to take a picture of our shoes! I asked someone to take our picture and as we hurried to pose, the only bowling ball I could find was Cam's. Can you tell I can hardly hold it? Maddie and I look like we are struggling!We had so much fun. Then we went back to Mandy's and played a marshmallow/straw game. The look on Tags face when Mandy blew a marshmallow at him at the end of the game. That turned into a marshmallow fight with all of us and then quick to the game to see how many you can pick up. Easy clean up!!
At home Donny, McKelle and I got on a Nertz frenzie. We just couldn't get enough. We stayed up late and we started again the next morning. McKelle and Donny were the winners. I just keep trying!! Good luck to everyone with their New Years resolutions!!

THANKFUL THANKSGIVING. . .

2010-11-30T20:46:00.000-08:00

Really?.... We went from mowing the lawn one day to full on snow storm and freezing weather the next. Pretty sure it's here to stay and we won't see the grass for a very long winter. I took this picture after we got 5 inches of snow! Bye bye roses!

Cute little Sophie all swaddled in her blanket. Check out her little barrett in her hair.

Jocelyn crocheted a stocking hat for Emma. So, so cute and I'm pretty sure she likes it.

Jason and the kids were so excited to play in the snow. We had to go to town to Kings the day of the blizzard to get them snow gear. Boston was so funny! It started to snow and got him in the face and he was like "doin that, doin that and he was so mad. Then after the wind stopped blowing so hard we went out to shovel the driveway and they really helped out. We piled up some snow and built a little slide and then they went down on the sled too. The next day they went to Logan to Mandy's and played in the snow again. They loved it!!!

We watched the Macy's Day Parade on TV and thought of McKelle the whole time since she was actually there! (Kelle we missed you, and look forward to Christmas)
Brody,Jason and Donny ready for some basketball to work off the turkey dinner!!!

Cam and Mandy got us tickets for the Nutcracker in Logan. We had great seats and had a good time. The kids were really good and we are thinking it would be a fun tradition to usher in the christmas season. ( McKelle got to go to the Rockette's Christmas Show at The Radio City Music Hall)

Brandon, Jocelyn, and Emma

Jason and Claudia

Blair, Kim and Sophie

Ada had learned to tell a scary story and the way she tells it is so dang cute. She starts out In the dark, dark, night, in the dark, dark, wood, in the dark, dark, house, in the dark, dark, room, in the dark, dark, chest, in the dark, dark, box, there was a GHOST! and then everyone screams and waves there hands. We did it over and over again. Everyone had to take a turn.

This is where we all scream!!!

Boston's version of the scary story. He talks in a real quiet voice with his hands by his mouth and then yells "GHOST" and screams while waving his hands. It's hilarious!!

Mandy, Tag and Maddie after story time! Shoot, I needed Cam in this picture.

Claudia did a cute activity with the kids. They made a turkey saying what they were thankful for.

Donny and I went shopping and couldn't resist these pj's for the older grandkids. We decided since all of them would be here for thanksgiving it would be a great picture. Then the hunt was on for pj's for the babies. Thanks Mandy for helping us find these cute ones. With different sleeping and eating schedules we couldn't get a picture with all 7 of them so we had to do two.(Sophie decided to join the big kids)

Our 3 little babies! Emma, Parker, and Sophie

2010-11-14T21:00:00.000-08:00

My how our new grandbabies are growing! Emma, Parker, and Sophie!

After we got home from visiting Cam and Mandy and their kids and Brody, Joce and Emma there was a knock at our door. We were dying because I had no candy in the house to give if it was trick or treaters. I ran down the stairs and opened the door to see a baby in a car seat on the porch. It took me a minute - and then I realized it was Sophie as Blair and Kim appeared. It was our little bumblebee Sophie! Our kids just love to surprise us and they do a great job of it. Now I can see why Brody was so anxious for us to leave his house and get home. I thought it was because it was getting late.

Tag as a Ninja, Maddie as a way cute witch, who poses beautifully!! Reminds me of her Auntie Kelle. And sweetie Emma as the cutest cow I've ever seen.

Oh yeah! Loved dressing up for work! Although 12 hours with green hair, not so fun!

NEW YORK- BOSTON 2010

2010-10-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

We planned a trip to see McKelle in New York and see the fall leaves with a trip to Boston too. We took the red-eye flight on Oct. 15, I must say at our age that was quite the experience. Sleep on the plane? and then 2 days in the city. We did great but were exhausted by the end of the day. We stayed with Kelle's family, Jeanie and Mitch,during the week. It was so good to see them again. And then the next friday we headed for Boston and came home sunday. We did lots of sight seeing and shopping, which means there is lots of walking involved! And we loved every minute of it!!!! Came home Oct. 25th.

This is what McKelle sees everyday. It really is so beautiful there!

Gotta luv the Subway. This happened to be the only time we were by ourselves.

These next several pictures are of the New York Botanical Garden. Halloween Hoorah in the Children's Adventure Garden.

This was kinda creepy looking!

This is probably my favorite picture!! It reminds me of a puzzle that I would love to put together.

We saw Mario Batali do a cooking demo and give us some good tips.

This is Martha Stewarts herb garden

Just a pretty waterfall.....

In the City!!

We saw Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam Theatre. We LOVED it sooooo much!!!!

In Times Square...

Beautiful day on Ellis Island

McKelle - Our New York City girl...

McKelle and I made our way through a crowd to get a picture with the Bull! And then we walked across the street and ate at Subway!

We walked part of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was so much warmer today. It was perfect weather for the city.

Here we are at Rockefeller Center. They had the ice skating rink up so we watched ice skaters for a while.

It was getting late but we wanted to at least walk into Central Park!

Donny and I went into the city to go to the Manhattan Temple. Our session was packed with full time missionaries. So cool! Check the ensign this month to see a picture of the ordinance room and it happens to be on the same page as the ordinance room in the Newport Beach Temple.

USS Constitution which was on the Freedom walk

Boston!

Which by the way we were freezing!!!!!!

This is a garden through the park by Boston Common. After this Kelle and I made a mad dash to Lulu lemon. What an adventure!

This is a beach in Glaucester, Mass which happens to be right near where they filmed "The Proposal" It was so beautiful, I loved it there.

We came home to this! A big windstorm passed through a couple days before we got home!

LIFE IS EVER CHANGING....Something we can always count on!

2010-10-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

Here are the newest members of our family. Emma was born April 6th, Parker was born July 21st and Sophie was born Sept. 14th. 3 babies in 5 months and 1 week. I finally got my pictures to load so here is a quick recap of the past several months.

Me and Emma at Kim's baby shower.

One of our many trips to Bear Lake this year.

I spent alot of time and hard work in my garden this year and it was the best ever!!

The harvest was delightful and rewarding!! I did it!!

McKelle and Maddie right before McKelle left for New York.

Family picture and Emma's blessing

We made our t-shirts as part of our family vacation this year. We are on our way to Bear Lake for a few days.

McKelle and I took a trip back to california for a week. This is us camping on the beach. I loved the experience!!

Jason, Claudia, Ada, and Boston at Carpenteria Beach!!

Boston and Ada flying a kite at Carpenteria Beach!

Ada and Boston

Riding the train at the mall in Moorpark!

Our beautiful princess' Maddie and Ada!

Blair and Sophie chillaxin!!

Kim and Sophie

Brody and Joce

Cam, Mandy, Tag, Maddie, and Parker. Parkers special day of his blessing!

Kim and Blair, new mommy and daddy with sweet Sophie! Her first bath time at home!

Papi and Parks at Bear Lake

Conference weekend McKelle came for a visit! Her nieces and nephews love her so much.

Tag and Maddie at Tag's school fall festival.

Parker

Sophie

After church:I'm in the other room and I here Tag say "Nana will you bring me my quesidilla?" I walk into the family room and this is what I see!

Maddie kept asking for some candy cotton! Nice blue teeth!!

Boys will be boys and Girls will be girls!!!

Emma

Tag at his fall festival!

Conference weekend the kids did some service for their mom and dad. Loading tree branches from the backyard to a trailer and taking it to the dump. Thanks so much!!! Kelle you win the prize for coming the longest distance to do a service project!!

One of our favorite things to do is read stories to the grandkids!We gave the kids halloween books and we ended up laughing so hard. Sooo much fun!

Maddie Miss poser! Reminds me of her Auntie Kelle!!

2010-10-07T20:30:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I just took a little break and I'm starting out small. I've tried several times to update my blog but for some reason I can't upload any pictures and well I've gotta have pictures. Thats what blogs are about in my opinion. Anywho, I guess all of a sudden it's fall. Our family has been busy having babies and we aren't sure where the time went. I figured I'd better change to a fall background for now and hope next blog post I can figure out my picture dilema.

2010-06-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

We have enjoyed Mandy and her family and McKelle living in Logan. It has given us a chance to get together and have some fun practicing up on our homemaking skills. Mandy usually dreams up the ideas and I sew. We got a bunch of starts for her to put in her yard as well. Tag and Maddie are always good helpers. We got the trampoline fixed and that has been alot of fun,too!!

Maddie and Tag ready for Mother's day!

McKelle and sweet Emma!

McKelle and Brody (wearing Dad's glasses!)having some fun on Memorial Day!

Nana & Papi babysitting fun!!

2010-05-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Emma Kate May 1, 2010 (almost 1 month old) Donny and Brody are playing raquetball

Maddie (3 yrs.) Tag (5 yrs.) Mandy and Cam are restoring Westy in Logan.

Yikes! Next time I'll face the other way.Focus on the cute kiddos in this one.

Dad's new ride. Traded Kelle's old car for it. It's pretty sweet:) The kids loved it to.

Visiting all of our kids!

2010-04-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

We headed to St. George thursday April 1. Donny picked me up in Salt Lake after the General YW leadership training meeting. We met Kim for lunch in Provo and had a great visit with her, then drove the rest of the way. Stayed with Mandy and Cam thurs. night. Kelle came over for awhile too. We went to Tag's preschool easter egg hunt to say hi to Miss Lori and ended up staying the whole time visiting with Bruce, Kalli and Lacy. It was fun to catch up on things and play with the kids. Then Donny and I drove to Vegas to stay at the condo for the rest of Easter/conference weekend. McKelle, Markie, and Jessica came down after a school dance, saturday night and stayed till sunday. It was a little cool but we got some good sun rays. Oh, and the worst thing ever is that we forgot our camera. Who does that? Therefore no pictures of any of this. Kelle did bring her camera so she has a few.
Anywhoo get home sunday night. I work a full week and little miss Emma Kate decides to come four weeks early and is born April 6th. It was so awesome cuz I was training at the Logan hospital for my job and so I was there!!! She is sooo little and petite, you just forget. We were so thrilled and glad that everything was ok and they came home the next day. On thursday night Kim and Blair drove to logan to see the baby and Donny and I went over to. Fun visiting with eveyone.

Kim and Blair look pretty natural don't you think!! So excited for them! Mandy is next in line though with a boy!

We flew to California Friday night, April 6th to spend a week with Jason, Claudia and kids. I have been craving fish and chips at Ventura Harbor soooo bad! I was super excited to go for lunch on Saturday. It was yummy as ever! Then we walked along the beach a bit.

We got up Sunday and went to sacrament meeting and then headed for Indio. This is a picture of the condo there. We love it. It was so green and flowers everywhere. The roses were huge and smelled so good. Wasn't quite as hot as we would have liked but I won't complain.

Claudia had found out about this place called Paramount Ranch. A western town(where they filmed Dr. Quinn medicine woman) where you can take awesome pictures. So we took their family picture and a ton of others.

We went to Zuma Beach afterwards! A little windy and cool but it was just great to walk in the sand and listen to the waves. The kids loved chasing the seagulls and we had to keep telling them to come back to us.

We flew home thurs. April 15 and picked up Maddie and Tag at Marions. We are going to watch them while they work on getting the Logan house back in shape. They stayed till Sunday. Oh and Saturday we had a shower for Jocelyn and baby Emma. So in about a 2 weeks span we spent time with all of our kids all the way from Logan,St. George, Vegas, and California. And did I say we even bought a new car in the middle of all of this. Wow

CRUISIN' IN THE CARIBBEAN!

2010-02-16T18:01:00.000-08:00

We flew to Puerto Rico on Sat. Feb. 6, 2010. We changed planes in Dallas and just as we were getting on the plane,I turned around and Curt and Lisa were right behind us!! We didn't know we were on the same flight. So that was pretty cool. We spent the night right downtown Old San Juan and the next day toured the sites. It was quite a shock for us to be in 85 degree weather but I wasn't complaining at all!!

Watching the superbowl on the seaside theatre!

St. Thomas was our first island and we took advantage of a beautiful beach with white sand. Donny and I snorkeled a little and saw some pretty fish.

We loved the card trick guy on the ship. His name was Matteos Ramous and he was pretty entertaining. UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!

The next island was Dominica!! We swam in cold water through Titou Gorge to a waterfall. Our guide (Kelvin) lifted us up the falls and then we jumped over the falls. I still can't believe I did that! It was so fun. Then he took us to Trafalga Falls and we sat in some natural hot springs and then in some cold pools at the bottom of the falls. Kelvin taught us a lot about the island.

One of the formal nights!

Barbados- We went out on a 57'catamaran and snorkeled two different places. First at a shipwreck and the reef. Our guides fed the fish so there were a ton swimming all around us but unfortunately the water wasn't very clear so you couldn't see the shipwreck or the reef. We were so exhausted by the time we got back on the boat because the waves were huge!! Then we got to snorkel with the turtles. That was so cool. That time I jumped off the boat instead of climbing down the steps. I was so brave haha! They fed us the most delicious lunch on the boat and then cranked up the music and danced for us.

Happy Birthday Donny and Curt!! We celebrated by going down 11 ziplines in St. Lucia.

This is St. Lucia!

After we got done on the ziplines,we had the cab drop us off at the market to shop before we got back on the ship. This guy showed us how he makes his baskets and made Lisa and I angel fish. I had a weak moment and ended up buying a basket from him! Then we went over to the fruit market and had all kinds of fresh fruit! I wish I had some coconut right now. It was so good!!

Lisa made birthday hats out of the Carnival Caper for Donny and Curt.

Today was a beach day on the island of St. Kitts. We went to South Frigatte Beach which was so beautiful. We got lots of sea shells and then we went shopping at the little shops at the port.

I LOVE this picture! Donny and I snorkeled at the very point of the rock in the center of the picture. We saw fish and an eel.

>
Our last island was St. Maartin and we were going to have another beach day and see the airplanes fly over us and land but there were 12' swells in the ocean and they didn't feel it was safe for us to get off the ship. So we headed back out for a day at sea.

We are back in Puerto Rico.Oh, I am so sad to leave!

We planned this cruise over a year ago with Curt and Lisa. Who would have ever thought how perfect the timing would be for us! I can't think of a better way than this to just getaway and RELAX! Although, we were on the go a lot!!!

A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE ...

2010-01-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

Ada and Boston on Christmas Eve. They were so blasted cute that night! It was fun having kids here for Christmas eve again.

How many puzzles did we start? and how many did we finish? Silly kids!

McKelle was so excited to make a ginger bread house. It was so fun having her here for almost 2 weeks!

Who says miracles don't happen? Jason and Claudia are known for showing up unexpected or early. Well, I had just talked to Claudia about packing for the trip and trying to get it done early so it wouldn't be so crazy right before. It was sunday and I thought Brandon and Kim and Blair might come over for dinner. We came home from church and Brody's car was in the driveway, we came in looking for him and Nollie and I heard a baby's voice (sort of)and we walked down the hall and there was Jason,Claudia,Ada, and Boston on my bed. I had a book in my hand and I just covered my face and cried. I didn't even rush to go hug them. I really was in shock! Donny just couldn't believe it. Turns out the whole family was in on it, even McKelle. And I guess they were trying to get Mandy to get in on the Christmas miracle too. We had the rest of the family here Christmas day to Sunday. I agree with Ada who said "This is the best Christmas Ever!!! We really had so much fun with our family all here. My house seemed a little small at times but we worked it out. We had gotten snow a couple days before Christmas and Jason's family got to spend some time playing out in it. They loved it!!

Feeling the Christmas Spirit at Temple Square

2009-12-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

Cathy got 4 tickets to the Christmas Devotional at the Conference Center last sunday. We planned to go with Mom and Donny but Donny had to go to work early that night and mom didn't feel good enough to go,so Cathy and I made the journey to Salt Lake together. Cathy had not been to see the lights for probably 11 years so it was time. It had snowed and so everything was covered and the sky had a beautiful glow above the temple. It was so pretty and very cold. BRRRR!! We really enjoyed the devotional too. Thanks Cathy for getting us tickets!!!

We also made the trip down to St. George this past weekend to watch McKelle dance. They had a game Friday and Saturday, to we were able to see her dance twice and watch 2 games, which were pretty fun games to watch. Scott and Laurie Bronson and family and Kylie came to watch Wade play, so it felt like old BR times. We babysat Maddie and Tag on friday and took them to the game. They loved it! When they scored Tag would lift both arms up and say "yeah" and Maddie would just clap and keep asking for Auntie Kelle. We were so excited to have our grandkids at a ballgame watching Kelle dance.

I'm thankful for .......

2009-12-01T17:06:00.001-08:00

I was so thankful for everyones help this year for the feast! Everything tasted so good and it's great to know my girls will be able to take over one day and cook the same yummy meal that my mom taught me how to cook.(BTW Maddie's not asleep just pretending)

Kim and Blair

Donny, Colleen and McKelle

Mandy and Cam

Mom and Cathy catching up on some reading and relaxing!!

Brody and Jocelyn with the guitar that her dad made her. It's pretty awesome!

Yummmmmmmmmmmmm turkey dinner!

Papi taking a power nap!!

Maddie's favorite thing is to dress up and she did plenty of it this weekend. Mandy was so happy that she couldn't put her swim suit on like she does at home all of the time so she opted for Mandy's work out top. She really wore that almost all weekend and I can't believe I didn't get a picture of her in it.

Maddie and Nollie are getting acquainted.

Cam's reading bedtime stories!!

McKelle found a website that you could put pictures of our heads on these dancers and it was seriously the funniest thing ever!

Blair and Tag going for a ride on Cathy's 4 wheeler. A little chilly but not to bad.

We got together with some of the Ayotte clan and played some games and ate yummy treats! Maddie and Tag were missing Ada and Boston the whole weekend and were excited to have some kids to play with. Thanks Aja for bringing Gage and Dallas!'And thanks Diana for planning the party!

We went to the Newgate Mall to see Santa. Maddie was so excited and asked for a duckie? and Tag was afraid but knew if he wanted some toys he'd better tell Santa so he did. (In looking for fruit snacks that McKelle had hid in the storage room, Tag found the kids presents in bags that I hadn't wrapped yet. He came and got me to come and look and showed me what he had found. He wanted them so bad and you all know me -aaah! what do I say, so I pointed to the shelf where I had Boston's toys and said that they were for Boston and he would get some for Christmas. He cried and said, that's a long time. Well he took it that the iron man, and the ninja turtle thing were for Boston. So in telling Santa he said "you know the iron man, and ninja turtle thing that are for Boston, I want them.")
We missed Jason and Claudia and the kids but they'll be here for Christmas and I'm thankful for that and everything else in my life!

HALLOWEEN IN ST. GEORGE!!!!

2009-11-03T19:22:00.000-08:00

We went to St. George for Halloween!Mom and Cathy and all the kids came except Brandon and Jocelyn. They had to work and we missed them tons.The boys and Kim (our newest tennis star)enjoyed playing tennis! We went to Tags soccer game,the Dixie football game to see McKelle dance, and then the trunk or treat that night. Busy day!We went to church and then just caught up with everyone and enjoyed watching and listening to the grandkids.Boston kept saying "cary sor" for "scary dinosaur". He was terrified of Tags toy. Maddie changing clothes and wearing her dress up mis matched shoes everywhere. I love to listen to Ada talk. She enunciates every word so good. (Do you like my ruby red shoes?) And Tag falling down on purpose in his soccer game because Danielson did hahaha!) They are really so dang cute! We had to catch up on Survivor and also watched the amazing race! It was fun with everyone there!
Jason and Claudia weren't leaving till monday so I took the day off Monday so we could see them just a little longer! Did a little Christmas shopping with Mandy on monday which seemed just to early but really it isn't. We enjoyed beautiful sunny weather! Couldn't have been a better weekend!

Tag and Maddie spend the weekend!

2009-10-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

Mandy and Cam spent the weekend in Park City so it was a treat to watch the kids at our house. Friday was a beautiful fall day and we enjoyed it by going to our neighbors and seeing their puppies, cow, lambs and chickens. Then we ventured to Marble Park. These are some serious swings here and I wondered if they would be scared but nope, they absolutely loved it! Maddie and Tag could swing forever I think. Tag pumps good but Maddie kept saying "hiya Papi" then "hiya pease" after each swing and if he relaxed for one swing she said it louder and louder until he pushed her again. Brody and Jocelyn came over and spent one night and Maddie wanted "Bandon" to put her to bed! She told me to go "way". And then first thing in the morning she hollers for "Bandon"! so much for sleeping in. Anywho, we were exhausted, but so glad for the experience and memories. It's so cute how Tag looks out for Maddie and they really do play well together and as Maddie says "I love my brother"

MCKELLE OFF TO COLLEGE AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

2009-09-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

The end of August we moved McKelle to St. George.So me and Donny are officially empty nesters as they say! She will be going to Dixie! I guess we are pretty lucky that our kids chose warm places to live so we can visit since it sounds like we are getting winter here tomorrow! It's supposed to drop from the 90's to below 50 for the high. YuK!!!

Then 3 weeks later she came back home to celebrate her 19th birthday! Mom and Cathy and Brody and Kim and Blair came to the house for a fun party. oh yeah and Brody's dog Nollie! We missed Joce, she had to work! Then when she went back to St. George Mandy and the kids made cupcakes and wanted to have a party for her. Maddie and Tag think their Aunty Kelle is pretty special!

FAMILY VACATION AUG 2009

2009-09-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

Our vacation started in Oceanside, CA which consisted of going to the beach 2 to 3 times a day, eating yummy fish and chips, and just hanging out and playing games. The weather couldn't have been better. We'll never forget Maddie's phrase (top!) for stop! Taggart being a big boy and riding adult scary rides, Ada falling asleep and falling off the bench (check out the picture below with McKelle and Boston already asleep), and Boston's forever smile as he hugs the characters. And then of course, how we make them say "cheese" every second of the day for pictures!

We went to Laguna Beach and spent the day there and then went to Aneheim and went to Disneyland for 2 days. We had a blast! We were so happy to have Cathy there with us and then at the same time, sad that Kim and Blair weren't able to come.I'm afraid Cathy has got the traveling bug now!

The boys enjoyed playing tennis!

Cutest grandkids ever!!!
Love the bench Claudia
made for them!

Awesome Kelle!

DISNEYLAND FUN!!!!! We will
never forget how a bugs life
terrified them! But one of the
things they did love were all
of the characters there. Pinky
Bell, no white, Minny Mouse,
Tigger etc.

Donny and I could remember when
we went with his family when we
were the ones with the litte kids.
This time we were the grand-
parents. Wow! It was pretty
crazy!!

CAMPING AT BEAR LAKE!!!

2009-08-04T18:28:00.002-07:00

I think we always look forward to just hanging out at camp and playing games, goofing around and talking. None of my family love puzzles like I do ( my daughters in law do though)it looks like it jumped a generation! Yeah Maddie!!

Mom and Cathy came up and we celebrated Cathy's birthday!!

One of the highlights of our summer is to go to Bear Lake and take our trailer. That is our kind of camping. This was the first time Mandy has stayed with us and it was really fun with Maddie and Tag. The first day we got there they told us to come over to the waterslide they had set up. So we took the kids to see what it was like. There were only 3 other kids there and us. The slide was awesome and they had filled 2 buckets of water balloons too. The kids were having so much fun mainly just picking up a water balloon and chucking it at the ground. They went through them pretty fast. Anywho the other kids left and then the lady brought out some otter pops for us. We felt like she had planned the whole activity just for us.
Here is a picture of Tag getting me with a water balloon. Yikes! No mercy!

We always have so much fun at the lake soaking up the sun and playing games on the beach.

We'll always remember Axel - Good puppy!!

HIRSCHI FAMILY REUNION!

2009-08-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

On July 11 we went to the Hirschi Family Reunion. It was at Watkins Park in Brigham City close to the pool so the kids to go swimming. Karen and Woody were in charge this year and they did such a great job. It was good to see everybody and try and catch up. Here are a few pics.

4th of July Weekend Fun!!

2009-07-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

McKelle danced at the stadium in Logan on July 3 so we went over for that and then went over to the park with Brody and Jocelyn (and dogs!) to watch the fireworks. They were pretty fun. It got a little chilly too. Then on Sat. the 4th we went to Kim and Blairs and fixed the best meal ever and then went to a Bees baseball game.We lucked out and paid $5 a piece for our tickets and we got a suite all by ourselves. It still is unreal how that happened. Anyhoo we had a blast. The game went into extra innings so the fireworks didn't even start until 11:35. They were pretty awesome fireworks!We were so glad we could spend the night at Kim and Blairs so we didn't have to drive home that night. Great 4th of July!!

Oquirrah Mountain Temple Open house

2009-07-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

You can see from this picture how close Kim and Blair's house is to the Temple

We had a wonderful day and the temple is so beautiful!!

McKelle's Graduation!

2009-06-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

McKelle is the 1st girl on the left!

I can't believe it my baby graduated! This month has really been crazy and I kind of feel like I'm dreaming. But it is all real and it looks like Donny and I will be starting a new chapter in our lives. It is one of those bitter-sweet moments that we all have along the way and we are looking forward to spending time with all of you kids and your families!!!

New windows!!

2009-05-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

AFTER

BEFORE

SPRING BREAK IN VEGAS!!

2009-04-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

Orignally Donny, me and McKelle were going to go to St. George for Easter. We decided to just look to see if Vegas had some rooms open and they did!! We told all the kids and everyone was able to make it except for Blair.(We missed you Blair) He had a fun golf trip with his Dad in Monterey, CA. Anyhoo, fun times as always and we were so happy that the weather was warm and sunny! Thanks to everyone for doing all the cooking. I needed the break. Here are some highlights!

St. George

2009-03-14T22:16:00.001-07:00

Donny and I went to see our St. George kids thursday, friday and sat. and we took advantage of the sun and got some color to our skin. We went to the nursery and picked up a few plants and went home and helped Mandy and Cam in their yard which was fun since we still have snow in our yard. We always have such a great time just hanging out and playing with Tag and Maddie, and playing Nertz with Mandy. Dad was the champ this trip. I don't think I'm ever the champ but I love it anyway. I must be going crazy because I forgot to bring our camera but we used Mandy's to get some shots at the park. We so enjoyed our quick getaway!

Celebrating Donny's birthday in Cali!

2009-02-21T17:29:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Donny's big 50 birthday by going to California to see Jason, Claudia, Ada, and Boston. It was good to getaway and enjoy a little sunshine. We had fun shopping for Donny, playing with the grandkids and enjoying the awesome meals Jason and Claudia fixed for us. Claudia and I were able to do some stamping for cards and scrapbooks too. We went to Ventura Harbor and ate yummy fish and chips and went over to the beach. It was Loads of fun! Thanks Jadia for the great weekend!!!

BR CHEERLEADERS TAKE STATE!

2009-01-21T20:08:00.000-08:00

Donny and I went with McKelle to Timpview Highschool in Provo on Saturday to watch the cheerleaders at the state competition. They did awesome and came away taking state and also all 5 of our seniors got Academic All State! Mandy and Cam had come down to go to the walk of the dinosaurs with Tag. It wasn't until 3:00 so Mandy and Maddie were able to come see McKelle and Kim came too. It was a great competition because it started and 11:00 and we were out of there at 2:00. Way to go Kelle!

2008 Ayotte family Christmas!

2009-01-01T16:58:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS 2008

2009-01-01T15:04:00.000-08:00

Brody and Jocelyn spent the night with us and after we watched Home Alone and put the presents out, I took some action shots of McKelle and Brody. Probably a very stupid thing to do, but very entertaining non the less. Christmas Eve at midnight it started snowing at our house. We went to bed excited for some pretty snow for Christmas. Little did we know what we were in for.Donny had worked that night and ended up pushing snow for 3 hours. It snowed Christmas Day all day too. The wind blew and it was seriously insane. We shoveled the driveway I can't remember how many times. Thanks to all the family who helped and a neighbor who came over with his 4 wheeler so that Brody and Jocelyn could leave and Mandy,Cam, Blair,and Kim could get in the driveway. Unfortunately, Cathy and Mom didn't make it out to our house for Christmas and we missed them a whole bunch. To make things even more exciting our power went out at around 1:30 and didn't go back on until 6:30 that night. Christmas dinner consisted of quesadias, chips and salsa and soup. We actually warmed things up on our gas stove. I know that sounds crazy, but whatcha gonna do. The next day we made a big hill for Tag to go down on a sled. He loved it. Brody and Joce came back over on friday night and we played guitar hero world tour. Mandy was Nertz champion and Cam won in Yahtzee!And we can't forget Kahootz ( Dad's sound of the tree falling down!)lol Anyhoo, we had a great time except for not having Jason, Claudia, Ada, and Boston with us Christmas Day. Our memories of how much fun we had when they were here helped get us through. We were sad to see everyone go home and we were exhaused! Check out the picture of Brody, Joce, and Donny on the couch!

CHRISTMAS 2008 COMES EARLY!

2008-12-16T17:20:00.000-08:00

Screaming Halloween Weekend

2008-11-03T20:53:00.000-08:00

Brody and Jocelyn came over for trunk or treat at the church. We handed out the treats which went ever so quickly and we enjoyed seeing the little ones in their costumes. We enjoyed chili and breadsticks and then decided to go to the Jenkins house. As we approached the house I informed them that I usually just look at it from the car. But they insisted that we were going to take a look around. There were so many people there so I decided I could be brave.We looked at the east side of the house and seriously she has so many cute ideas it's amazing how much she has collected over the years. Anyhoo, we came to the back yard and I once again said I don't go around the house, let's just stay to the front. But once again I was shot down. We proceeded and as you remember the big gorillas are standing still one minute and then they are standing right behind you the next. Yikes!! I did my fair share of grabbing people and screaming. We rounded the corner and started walking on the north side of the house. I see several scary creatures but I can tell they aren't real and I'm thinking we are almost to the front yard yeah!! and then I see the chain saw guy, and he had just moved so I new he was real. I switched to the opposite side of Donny to be farther away from the dude. He started coming a little closer so I slowly backed up to get away from him when all of a sudden right behind me a real chainsaw started up so very loud. It doesn't sound so scary as I tell you this but can I just say I think I died for just a minute. I ran and jumped up on Dad ( my arms and legs were wrapped around him, kind of like a monkey) and I screamed so much until I could hardly breath.We saw the visited the Hawkins and the big gorillas found out how jumpy me and Jamie were and totally took advantage of that. We just kept hugging each other and screaming trying not to look at them. Yes we looked pretty rediculous!! KeriBeth saw the whole thing from her car and thought it was quite hilarious.Mason had gotten scared and cryed and she said see even grown ups get scared. Then to top things off Brody and Jocelyn spent the night last night and they talked me into watching "Missed call" at least I think that's what it was called.(remember how Dad told me that the screamin ride at Magic Mtn wasn't bad well he said this movie wasn't bad too.)My throat was so sore from all the screaming I did. I really don't think I've watched a scary movie for over 30 years. And I don't plan on ever seeing one again family. Anyway, we had a pretty fun weekend, but did wish we could have seen the grandkids trick or treating.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

2008-10-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

Sunrise Halloween Morning!

Dane & McKelle carved these pumpkins. Dane's is the one throwing up seeds, and McKelle's is the one with the spider webs etc. They were pretty creative don't ya think? Better than I've ever done.

McKelle and Janessa at their Halloween Party! Kelle's pooky!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM FOOTBALL SEASON!

2008-10-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately the Bears lost last night bringing the football season to a close. If they had won they would have played in Hurricane on Sat. How convenient for a trip to see the McCulloughs I say. I told Mandy to not get her hopes up when my hopes were extremely high. Oh well, we will have to see the kids pictures in their Halloween get up. As you can see from the pictures, McKelle has had a fun time cheering at the football games!
McKelle and Kylie

Markie, Ashley, McKelle, and Kylie

Stunting at Ben Lomond game. McKelle is base for Markie

McKelle is #31 for the Powder Puff game Let's go SENIORS!

Seniors dominate! They beat the seniors last year and beat the Jrs. this year. She played the entire game. She said it was the best feeling to rip someones flag off!

A new tradition was started for Homecoming. We had a tailgate party after the motorcade. The fire felt super good since it was a very freezing day!

McKelle cheering at homecoming! Oct. 10, 2008

Markie and McKelle totally freezing. I think it was in the 20's, BRRRR!!! oh gall, pun on that one. Ha Ha!! Go BR's

After the game McKelle, Markie, Ashely, Kylie. The bears lost but we sure did awesome!!!

McKelle and Dane ready for the Homecoming Dance!

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE,DANCE,DANCE!

2008-10-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

What can I say, I LOVE THIS SHOW! And to think we got to see them on the tour was amazing! Kim pretty much said it all but I must tell you our story getting down there. I didn't think I was going to be able to get off work early but then at the last minute I did. So we decided to save time and gas money and stop at Ross in Bountiful to hopefully pick out a Homecoming dress for McKelle. Easy exit off and we luckily found what? 24 dresses that she liked to try on. We are hurrying so fast and realizing that we must make a decision quickly (need I say more, us?)Anyhoo, Donny is telling us we must go so we grab 4 to take home and decide later. Easy back on the freeway and we think we are going to be just fine time wise. We get off the exit for the E center and what we are stopped in the right hand lane which is the exit for parking unfortunately for us it is still 3 blocks away. We are dying, dreading that we are going to be late. Time ticks past the 7:30 start time and thank heavens Kim is texting us saying they are just watching a video. So we settle down a little and finally get a parking spot and start running. Donny was sick and I felt so bad for him as we are running. We get into the building and the hall was forever long to our seats. We hear the famous SYTYCD music and just get in the moment and Kelle and I are just laughing and screaming while we are running. Then we hear Kat Deely's voice and they start to count down. We make it in our seats just as they are all coming out on stage. I am just smiling so big because I am so excited and I look and McKelle and she is doing the same thing. I really don't think we stopped smiling the entire show. It really seemed like they danced forever! Donny knew it was going to be good but he thought it was even better than that.

These pictures aren't as awesome as the ones Kim has on her blog but they are the ones I took. They came out better than I thought. Click on them to make them big so you can see them better. Thanks Kim for all you went through to get our tickets. WE LOVE YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MCKELLE!

2008-09-21T14:21:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my baby is "18 years old" What's up with that? Anyways, she wanted to go to dinner with Dane at the Olive Garden and then come home and have cake and ice cream. Brody and Jocelyn came over for the yummy cake and we had a little party.
Jason and Claudia, she loved the t-shirts you gave her. Notice them in the picture?
She had a super good day and didn't want it to end! Thanks everyone!!

Donny's trip to California!

2008-09-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

This time it was Donny's turn to go to Cali! Jason and Claudia were in between homes and decided to relax at our condo in Indio. They enjoyed the hot weather by doing alot of "swimming" as Ada says and Donny and Jason were able to play some tennis. They fixed some yummy meals and enjoyed their time with the "PRINCESS".

Co's trip to California!

2008-09-14T17:11:00.000-07:00

I couldn't turn down an opportunity to catch a ride with Brandon and Jocelyn to go to California. I only had to take 1 day of work off and was able to enjoy a great 5 day weekend over Labor Day! Thanks Brody for doing a great job driving all the way and for Jocelyn's attempts to stay awake eating skittles. We had lots of laughs along the way. We went to Magic Mtn. and Hurricane Harbor with Jason, Claudia and the kids. Super hot day so we were so glad to get in the water. Ada loved the rides and kept saying "fun" and "again". We even got her on her first roller coaster. I kinda of felt bad since I hate the darn things. But she did ok. 2 times were plenty though. We of course went to the Beach. This time we went to Ventura Harbor Beach. It was so fun. Ada loved the waves and we found lots of crabs ( actually that was Brody and Joce and Claudia) they give me the creeps, and a huge starfish. We went to their new ward in Thousand Oaks and saw their new apt. We celebrated Jocelyn's birthday too!Thanks to Jason and Claudia and the kids for a super fun time. Then we left Sunday night and got to Mandy's house for a few hours of sleep. Taggart came out to welcome us at 3 a.m. Brody and Joce took advantage of the Labor day sales and I went to the lake with Mandy, Cam, the kids and their friends. Unfortunately we had to head home that day but we split the trip up once again and met Kim and Blair at ice berg for some shakes. It was such a fun trip and the bonus was I got to see all of my kids and grandkids that live far away all in the same weekend! love you all!

END OF SUMMER ACTIVITIES!

2008-09-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

GO BEARS!!!Brandon and Jocelyn came over to the parade, fair and rodeo. Thanks to Jocelyn and her long arms we got lots of candy at the parade. We were remembering last year with Ada, and wishing all the grandkids could have been here to enjoy the animals at the fair.

We went to the annual Pommier Party up Box Elder Canyon!Yummy dinner as always (Thanks Andy)and fun games ( Thanks Debbie)

The new door gives us a new look for the 1st day of school pictures!

Taking a BREAK at DAYBREAK!!!

2008-09-07T17:06:00.001-07:00

I'm back tracking just a little. On Aug. 16, 2008 Mandy & Cam had a party with some friends in Lehi. So they brought the kids to Kim & Blairs house and Donny and I and McKelle went to Kim's house for the day to play. The guys had fun playing tennis and we took the kids for a walk. We swam and B-B-Q'd, and took Tag fishing at the lake. He brought his cool fishing pole and I got in his way when he was casting one time and the little hard fish whacked me in the leg. OUCH! He loved the ducks and kept saying he was going to catch one or else wanted nana to catch one for him. Ya right Tag! Maddie loved the water and downed her mac and cheese. So glad Mandy and Cam had to come to that party! Thanks for letting us all babysit.And Kim and Blair we love Daybreak! What a cute fisherman!

Ready for the Party!

Maddie could hardly hold her popsicle. It was heavy,but oh so yummy!

Sisters! The generation gap is slowly closing in.

Maddie looks different with long straight hair!

LOVIN CALIFORNIA!

2008-08-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

We can't seem to stay away from sunny california. We are remodeling the office at work so I had a week off and figured I might as well make good use of the time off. McKelle was free from cheer and Dad took 1 day vacation and we were off. The kids are so dang cute we had a blast with them. Boston just grins all the time. We went to the beach a couple of times. We loved Carpenteria Beach it's where Claudia grew up. Went shopping of course and Claudia is always talking about Santa Barbara and how much she loves it. So we went to check out a few sites. We went to a Mission/Rose Garden and the most beautiful park ever. They had trails that took you through a pond with loads of turtles and lily pads. They were so cute. Ada would say "Hi turtles, what are you doing?" She is always asking that question to everybody in her cute little voice. And they had swings,slides, etc for kids to play on. We had packed a lunch so we could eat at the park. We had a great time. So sad to say good-bye.

It's picture time!

2008-08-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

McKelle had pictures taken for cheer Aug. 4th, 2008. Here are some highlights of the stressful day!The highschool is under construction for the next year. So the girls thought this one would be appropriate. Kim we get a lot of comments that Kelle looks more like you these days.

HIRSCHI FAMILY REUNION

2008-08-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

July 26, 2008 was our Hirschi reunion. Cathy and I were in charge this year so we decided John Adams Park would be a good location for everyone. We had yummy food, the kids played frisbee golf,and we all enjoyed looking at pictures of Grandpa Ferd and Cloe and there family. Which included some great ones of us, not to mention 3 pictures taken at different times and yes I'm wearing the same gold shirt in all of them. McKelle couldn't quit laughing! Anyway, thanks to Karen for bringing a ton of them and she let me have what I wanted so now I have a book of my own with Park Valley Heritage and all. We brought a pinata for the kids to hit. Of course Donny was the entertainment we needed with that. We were so glad that so many of the family could come, it was good to catch up with everybody. Cathy and I were so glad to have it turn out so well! I won't lie, we were pretty stressed about it, especially that morning.

BEAR LAKE!

2008-08-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

It just wouldn't be a normal summer if we didn't make at least a couple of trips to Bear Lake with the trailer. We went July 18th-20th with Dane & McKelle, and Brody and Jocelyn. The weather was awesome! We played at the beach, played games,went for walks and bike rides and even put a puzzle together. I was so excited that both Jocelyn and Dane love puzzles. Dane was insistant that we would finish the puzzle before we went home and with McKelle and Donny helping too we did it! Of course we can't forget the famous raspberry shakes. Although my new favorite is coconut cream pie shake. YUM! We had a great weekend. Just this last weekend Donny and I went by ourselves to pick up the trailer and we just stayed friday night. We layed out at the calm beach and actually read our books ( got a weird sunburn NOT! on my neck from reading, it was white, looked ridiculous)We played cribbage and just relaxed.It was great but did wish all of you kids were with us.

WE LOVE SUMMER!

2008-08-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

Dane and McKelle goin ridin

McKelle at cheer camp!

4th of July 2008 in St. George

Robin this ones for you!

This summer has been a good one involving lots of fun activities. Here is an update on some of our greatest memories.I failed to mention Brandon and Jocelyn's wedding in May. We love you both!

STAKE YW CAMP & FAMILY VACATION

2008-06-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

The first two weeks of summer were very busy for us. McKelle had a break from cheer so thats when we had to get our fun done. We went to Heber Valley Camp for Stake YW's camp. The first 2 days were nice and then the storms came. We were cold and wet but still had a great experience. We came home and immediately went to St. George and Vegas for a quick family vacation. We had a good time. I tryed to get different pictures than what the kids have on their blogs.

FINISHED AT LAST!!!!!

2008-04-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

Laundry/sewing/scrapbooking and spare room. I can't wait to play!
McKelle's Room
Family Room
Another angle of the family room.
Storage room. Yeah!
So this was quite the project! I still get an upset stomach when I see the pictures of us painting. It was a lot of work and we were trying to be so fast so it was pretty stressful at times but as you can see it was well worth it. It's so big and cozy compared to what we were used to . We look forward to the family coming home for Brandon's wedding and being able to be altogether in the family room!

One busy girl!

2008-04-18T21:15:00.001-07:00

McKelle had her own "March Madness". In the month of March, McKelle had Junior Prom, National Cheerleading Competition in California (she took 2nd!!), and then Cheer Tryouts (she made it!)immediately after, not to mention school and work, all while trying to survive the mess and chaos of our basement remodel project. Here are some pictures of the fun events:

OUR CRUISE

2008-03-07T16:42:00.000-08:00

Donny and I just got back from a cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozemel. It was soo soo good to get away from the snow and cold. We of course had a blast. We were able to snorkel in Grand Cayman and we also went to Sting Ray City and held a sting ray. It was kind of wild but fun. Cami and her family went to Cancun so they took the ferry over to see us in Cozemel. We met at paradise beach and played for the afternoon!Good to get home to family but we miss the sun and warm weather.

Finish basement and REMODEL!

2008-01-20T15:49:00.000-08:00

The time finally came for us to FINALLY finish our basement and remodel it a little to fit our needs better. We needed to have our family room bigger so that we could all fit when all the kids and grandkids came for a visit. WE are excited and hope we can survive. We did a lot of prep work before the crew came in for demolition. Donny and I are exhausted this weekend!It did feel good to get rid of alot of crap. I think I learned how to just throw it out and probably will still get rid of alot more. Anyone who knows me knows that that is a huge accomplishment for me. Everything is getting changed except for the bathroom and we will be putting tile on that floor.The remodel will include a bigger family room, McKelle a new bedroom, a storage room and access to more storage under stairs, a little area for toys and games etc., and a room for laundry, crafts, scrapbooking, sewing, and spare room all in one. I'm trying to get ideas for how to put that all together. Let me know if you have any ideas. Wish us luck!

Grandkids and Kids!

2007-10-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

Fall Time Family Fun

2007-10-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

We've have had a fun month. We went to St. George for the weekend to visit Mandy and Cam and Kim was able to come up from California to see us too. Then they came up here and we met at Jason and Claudia's during lunch for a visit with everyone. You have to take advantage of these times even if it is only for a couple of hours. We got to babysit Taggart and Maddie while Mandy and Cam went to a funeral. We played at Great Grammy Faye's for a while and then Taggart was finally able to come to Papi's house to jump high. He has been saying this since he came to our house in July. The kids were so good for us. Yesterday we met Jason and Claudia at the pumpkin patch in Logan to let Ada pick out a punkin and take some cute pictures of course. She looked so cute with her piggy tails. Our life does revolve around our family. We have a good time together.

MORE GAME TIME FUN!

2007-09-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

Markie,McKelle, Kylie, and Ashley messing around before the game.

We always wanted to be the

leader of the Band!

Help

2007-09-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

Kim thanks for putting your movie on hold to help us out last night.I'm still trying to figure things out though. Claudia you are close. How about tutoring me in Blog 101. Let me know what you think.

GO BEARS!!!!

2007-09-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

It has been a very busy week especially for McKelle. Monday us Moms decorated our girls lockers and then the Dad's and girls put up the posters that the girls had made. Each girl had to make 4 posters. Then we met in the lunchroom and the fall committee had put together a dinner with all of us Moms bringing something. McKelle had extra practices all week. Wednesday was the famous powder puff game which she was really stoked for. She ended up playing the entire game and the Juniors defeated the seniors and all their trash talk. Juniors dominated! Friday was the game. We won but tried to lose. We aren't so good this year. But the half time was really great.We survived Homecoming week. Here are some pics to enjoy and bring back highschool memories.

Family Picture

2007-09-04T22:14:00.000-07:00

We had our family reunion at Bass Lake this year. We wanted a family pic so we just hurried and took it even though Maddie was asleep. So this picture is missing Maddie (Cam and Mandy's little girl(4 months old in June)

I'm getting started!

2007-09-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what we do for our kids. Be patient with me and I'm hoping with the help of everyone I can do this.