Mumford Memories

Week in Review!

2012-01-29T21:14:00.001-08:00

Hailey is 18 months and not walking on her feet yet but walks everywhere on her knees.
Hailey and Zoe helping Bryson practice the piano
Kaitlyn is so excited for her baptism on February 11th. She drew this at school - the baptism font at our church with the mirror on the ceiling and all!

Alyssa's best friend, Madeline, moved Seattle this week:(
She gave Alyssa half of a BFF heart necklace

Buccannear Bay with 8 kids!

2012-01-29T20:34:00.000-08:00

Cousin Aeriana, Kaitlyn, Cousin Zoe, Leanne (Kaitlyn's friend), Alyssa, Hailey

Bryson and his friend Keegan

Snack break

Official Snow Shoveler

2012-01-23T10:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't had to shovel even once this winter! We haven't had a ton of snow but we have had several snow storms - Kaitlyn has shoveled every single time (and twice when it was really bad she helped Kevin). I don't even have to ask and she offers every time! You are awesome Kaitlyn!

Friends

2012-01-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

Marina & Kaitlyn, Hailey, Moira & Madeline - our dearest friends who moved here when we did and now their dad is graduating and they are moving to Seattle, Alyssa

Bryson & Colin - playing basketball everywhere they can

For Martin Luther King Day of no school the kids got to go to Buccannear Bay with friends!

Ice Skating

2012-01-15T17:20:00.001-08:00

Even though the temperatures had dropped we had a great time ice skating on Saturday! Bryson and Alyssa tired out the quickest but Kaitlyn could have kept skating forever. Winter fun!

Bryson and his friend Colin went sledding after school on Friday (after we got our first real snow storm on Thursday and Friday)

Family Photos

2011-11-15T17:31:00.000-08:00

I posted more on facebook!

Cinderella

2011-10-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn was in her first civic theater play this past weekend. She was a townsperson in Cinderella. She did such a great job and had so much fun!

My Happy Baby

2011-07-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

4th Year of Taulman Mile

2011-05-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

I got to run with Kaitlyn. She was awesome and never even walked during the entire mile. Right at the end her side started hurting and even though this photo looks like we are stopped, we were stilling running - she made it the whole way!

Kevin ran with Bryson. Bryson did the mile in 8.10 (he was 10th place for all of third grade)

Even though Alyssa doesn't attend Cumberland for another year she still wanted to run and was excited to get a ribbon too! She started off with Kaitlyn and I, then took a break with Cathy and Dylan Kastens and then finished it with them.

Hailey was all smiles and the envy of everyone as she sat comfortably in the stroller during the race.

Easter Eggs

2011-04-26T05:27:00.000-07:00

Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella

2011-04-26T05:23:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn was the star in 2 of her class plays and she had all lines memorized.

Passover

2011-04-19T06:30:00.001-07:00

Sunday we celebrated Passover. This is the second year that Kevin has done this and our family has really enjoyed it. The kids were so excited to get home from church and celebrate passover, Alyssa would tell people that we are "passing over." Kevin made homemade matzah (unleavened bread) that all of us really like.

Washing of the hands

Eating of the bitter herbs (parsley dipped in salt water)
Besides the matzah, the other favorite is the 4 glasses of sparkling grape juice (and they love the game of the hiding of the matzah)

Hailey

2011-04-19T06:20:00.000-07:00

Hailey loves to scrunch up her nose and eyes, give a big toothless smile, and then giggle - she gets others to giggle with her:)

Hailey found her tongue a few weeks ago and loves to play with it.

Alyssa

2011-04-19T06:03:00.000-07:00

Author visit

2011-04-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Betty Birney came to the kids school yesterday and then we went and saw her at the library last night. We love her books!

Peep Competition

2011-04-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

Brody got the Garners to do another competition:0
Alyssa and I made the flower (thanks to Martha Stewart)

Kaitlyn's entry: She said that the bottom one is an easter bunny hiding eggs and kids are looking for the eggs - it is boys vs. girls - whoever finds the most gets to have the three peeps at the top left corner

Alyssa's individual entry (with several in of them in her mouth:)

Valentine Cookies!

2011-02-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

The Garner family was issued a cookie decorating challenge - great idea Brody and Shantel. We had fun trying even though we couldn't ever really compete with the amaziness of my siblings!

Brody gave the kids food coloring markers to color on cookies - so much fun!

The kids submission

My cookie submission...

Thanks to Family Fun Magazine I made candy cane hearts filled with melted white chocolate to put on the sugar cookies (or serve as suckers:).

Grandma time!!!

2010-12-09T06:23:00.000-08:00

We made a quick trip to North Carolina for Thanksgiving.

I can make her happy

2010-12-09T06:16:00.000-08:00

Hailey was laying on the floor this morning and Alyssa was playing with her. Hailey started to cry and Alyssa quickly said that she can make her happy. I told her that she was hungry and Alyssa kept saying over and over very matter-of-factly, "I can make her happy." She went and got the drum she made at preschool and played it for Hailey - it of course worked:)

The best thing we have found to stop Hailey from crying is Alyssa's singing. No matter where we are if Hailey starts to whimper, Alyssa will immediately start singing. Her most common song is "Hey Dude" (which is actually titled "Hey Jude" by the Beatles). She also will sing "Mary had a little lamb" or "I'll Walk with You" (from primary - even though she won't be in primary until January). Hailey will usually stop crying immediately when she hears Alyssa sing!

Santa

2010-12-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

Santa came to our church Christmas party. Alyssa was ecstatic! She was so excited to see him come in but after waiting in line to see him she decided that he was a little bit scary and she didn't want to talk to him. She just got a candy cane from the elf and let Bryson and Kaitlyn talk to Santa.

First Swim

2010-12-09T06:06:00.000-08:00

Kevin had a conference in Chicago so we drove up and met him after-wards and stayed a night in the hotel and went swimming. At four months this was Hailey's first time swimming (if you don't count the bath tub:)

Gifts of Ordinary Moments

2010-11-18T18:45:00.001-08:00

Rereading old Christmas letters has gotten me thinking about those ordinary moments that are truly priceless... a little one in snugly pjs, siblings having good times together, dancing with dad, little girls in curlers, little ones who love to "read" even on their own, kids who want to be close to all the action so even sit in the middle of the walkway to do homework...

Laugh or cry...

2010-11-18T18:24:00.000-08:00

Just a few weeks ago I thought the girls were outside doing their job of picking tomatoes but when I looked, all I saw were smashed tomatoes. When asked where these smashed tomatoes came from, the girls innocently answered that they wanted to see what would happen when the tomatoes were stepped on. I was glad Kevin was on his way home from work and could follow through with them on the situation so that I could just sit back and laugh and take photos.

In February Alyssa literally pulverized every piece of playdough she was playing with. My heart softened as I saw her stretched out on the floor picking up each piece.

In May right before leaving for church I find Alyssa has been busy... I am sure I totally confused her as she is crying and I am laughing and taking photos.

Too often I don't handle the situation right and get upset but I love when I am able to just laugh because after it is over, they are such fun memories. It brings tears to my eyes thinking of these moments of innocence and the joy of these not so ordinary moments.

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from Eeyore, Darth Vader, little pumpkin, and the friendly witch

Trunk or treating at our church parking lot

As we were getting ready to leave, Alyssa laid down in the parking lot and did a street angel - it was pretty funny and totally random!

If you look closely Bryson has gloves on - the only way he would even attempt to clean out his own pumpkin.

Tinkerbell by Alyssa and Ariel by Kaitlyn

Bryson (with a lot of amazing work by Kevin) did the werewolf - Kevin did the tigger which looked great but didn't show up so well on the camera

Go Purdue!

2010-11-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

Lots and lots and lots of baby Hailey!

2010-10-23T05:19:00.000-07:00

The true miracle blanket - our second baby to use it and our second baby to be an amazing sleeper!
It is so fun to see her wake up so happy in the morning!

Alyssa loves to "cover" baby Hailey up with anything she can find. Hailey actually quite loves it - she smiles and smiles the whole time.

We loved having Cache and Cutter in Indianapolis for the summer and already miss them TONS!

Little Mermaid

2010-10-20T14:19:00.001-07:00

We took the kids to see Little Mermaid - the Hans Christian Andersen version.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

We went to a pumpkin patch with Kaitlyn's girl scout troop!

When Alyssa saw this picture she said, "I didn't know how to get out." Luckily the maze isn't tall and she could even see Kevin the whole time.

Book Fair!

2010-10-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

Clifford puppies - Kaitlyn and our principal

I am the chair for the book fair at the kids school. We had a special night where Clifford came, the high school football players came and read stories and signed autographs, and Cold stone donated ice cream. The kids loved it!

The cheerleading and football playing has begun

2010-10-09T05:27:00.000-07:00

Last night at the high school football game Kaitlyn cheered for the first half. Between the first and second quarter the flag football teams were announced and the boys ran across the field (see the video below). The sling and shoulder brace is because Bryson broke his collar bone playing flag football last week - while running for the touchdown.

Kaitlyn got to line up on the field and cheer on the football team. (Who was winning 49-0 when we left at the end of the third quarter last night!)

Kaitlyn with her good friend, Katherine Dunford
Kaitlyn and her awesome first grade teacher, Mr. Enlow

Bryson at his awards ceremony for flag football.
Each team handed out one "bobble head" trophy to the player with the best positive mental attitude. Bryson had been chosen for his team even before the injury. The coaches commented how he never complained or grumbled and was always great to work with. Go Bryson!

First Day of School

2010-08-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

1st grade and 3rd grade! School started one week ago and both kids are loving it! It is a big change having 2 kids gone all day. Alyssa has enjoyed having the house to herself during the day:)

Hailey and More!

2010-08-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

Hailey loves anyone to talk to her and will reward you with a huge smile. Unfortunetly I haven't been off the couch for a week since my gallbladder surgery recovery has been slower than I hoped. You can see the twinkle in her eyes but soon I will get a photo of her huge smile.

I had never seen a diaper cake - what a great gift!!! (and it disappeared in days:)

Kevin and Alyssa ground wheat and made a double batch of wheat bread!

Hailey having one of her first stories read to her by grandpa.

Each month the kids have grandpa and grandma read them a story over the phone. They continued the tradition even though they were at our house. (Bryson was just down in the basement.)

Final Summer Days

2010-08-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

School starts on Tuesday so we are trying to enjoy every last minute of summer. Today we went and played in the water fountains at Purdue.

Here Bryson is air drying because there was no convincing him to wear his swimsuit, he was sure he wouldn't want to get wet:)

Alyssa spent most her time snacking.

Hailey enjoyed the shade of the stroller!

Bryson's Baptism

2010-08-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

Wow - both sets of grandparents, 3 uncles, 1 aunt, 3 cousins (and a new baby sister)! What a special day made more incredible thanks to the family members who were able to come and share this experience with us!

Hailey's Baby Blessing

2010-08-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

Family

2010-08-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

We had a fun weekend with lots of family!!! And lots of snuggling time for Hailey!

Cousin Evie came with Uncle Chad (Aunt Cara stayed in Utah with new cousin Cash). The girls couldn't get enough of her!

Cache, Alyssa, and Evie taking some down time watching a movie on Uncle Chad's iPad

Alyssa and Cache doing sidewalk chalk!

Uncles meant basketball time for Bryson!!! (Uncle Thayne, Cache, Bryson, Uncle Chad, Uncle Riley, Alyssa)

Bryson's Birthday

2010-08-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

I have an eight year old!!! WOW!

Bryson loved that he got to celebrate his birthday with Aunt Kariana and Grandma Garner!

Hailey

2010-08-02T09:01:00.000-07:00

Haily Kristin Mumford was born on July 21st at 3:20am!
She weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. and was 21 inches long.

The kids loved getting to see there new little sister. Unfortunetly Bryson had a cold so we had all of them come visit Hailey dressed as doctors!

The hospital does a celebratory dinner for the family. Kevin and I got lobster or filet mignon and the kids got mac'n'cheese or pizza and then fancy mini cakes. It was a great time!

Time to go home!!!

While we were at the hospital, Kariana and the kids made tie-dyed shirts!

We were so grateful for Kariana who came and watched the kids while we were at the hospital and for mom who came and helped the first week Hailey was home! What would we ever do without you!!!

Hailey enjoying her swing.

All-Stars

2010-07-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

Bryson had his last All-Stars game last night. Even though the team over all didn't do great, Bryson was incredible! It was fun to watch him! (in the team photo, Bryson is on the bottom row - fourth from the right)

Now with all our available time we are not sure what we are going to do - maybe have a baby:)

Summer!

2010-07-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

As active as Bryson likes to be, I love that I can catch him anywhere reading a good book. He has literally read 100s of books this summer! Love summer time!

The kids took swim lessons and this is the first time Kaitlyn went off the diving board all on her own - she then did it over and over and over:)

Girl Time

2010-07-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

There is a fun little theater in Indy (Beef and Boards) and they have performances for little ones - a shortened performance with rice krispie treats and juice boxes. We made it a girl trip with the Dunford girls and saw Aladdin!
Kaitlyn and Katherine

Annie and Alyssa

A few weeks ago, Kaitlyn and I went on a fun date and went to High School Musical (notice the colors she picked out - all about East High:)

Cousin Cache

2010-07-09T10:18:00.001-07:00

We love having family close - even if it is only for the summer. Alyssa talks about cousin Cache all the time - she loves to count her friends on her fingers and "my cousin" is always one of them!

We were fortunate to have Cache stay with us for a few days a few weeks ago and we had too much fun with him!

Digging for worms

4th of July in St. Louis

2010-07-09T09:31:00.001-07:00

We went to St. Louis for the 4th of July weekend and stayed with our wonderful friends, the Boyces!

Alyssa, Jeremy, Katya, Adam, Caleb, Bryson, Liam, and Seth (Kaitlyn joined in the below photo)

Nate and Kim made a variety of incredible pizzas on the barbecue - mexican pizza, vegetable pizza, pepperoni, cheese, and bacon/cheese breadsticks. It was divine.

Waiting for the fireworks spectacular to start!

Thanks Boyces for the fun times!!!

Game Winning Hit!

2010-07-07T06:24:00.000-07:00

Bryson started his All-Star games last night with a double header. Poor kid started warming up at 4:30 (temperature at 95 plus humidity). Then had 2 games from 5:30-9. Being 38 weeks pregnant I was pretty miserable in the heat but let Bryson "win" on the challenge that he was the hottest. He never complained and was awesome! (Baseball is serious stuff around here and they even make yard signs for the boys. Bryson was impressed with the fancy uniform.)
Bryson played 2nd most of the game with one inning in right field (the only time he was close enough that I could get a good photo). He did not have many balls come to him for fielding opportunities but did have a great play as second baseman in the last inning with stopping the ball and throwing the out at first. He is definitely one of the best fielders on his team - he is quick, pays attention, and does really well at thinking ahead of time through all the many details before needing to make a decision.

The highlight (and stress for the mother) was the game winning hit! It was the bottom of the sixth with one out and they had someone on second and third. They needed just one more run to win. I started video taping Bryson batting and he had 2 fouls. I then was so nervous and didn't want the video tape to jinx anything so had to put it down - his next swing was a double and he got the other 2 players in! We were so proud of him!

Kevin was the pitcher for the second game - after 2 hours of pitching he said his arm was tired:)

Luckily there was a playground with sand behind us for the second game so we never even saw the girls until the end of the game...

Sports

2010-06-24T09:28:00.001-07:00

Bryson and his good friend and fellow baseball player, Collin Johnson

Bryson had his end of the season baseball party last night. His coach, Rick Johnson, got the Boilermaker Special (a train on wheels) for everyone to ride. They even got to ride it right past our house!

Bryson had a great season. He is now playing All Stars with 4-5 practices a week and the tournament the beginning of July!

Kaitlyn finished her soccer season the middle of May. She was very successful with several goals! She loved having her dad as her assistant coach!

On May 8th Kevin and Brody ran the Indianapolis 500 Mini Marathon! It is the largest half marathon in the country, with 35,000 participants! They ran to the Indy 500 Speedway, around it, and back. They started about 2/3 of the way back in the crowd and from the time the race started, it took them almost 25 minutes just to reach the starting point. When they officially started the race, the people in front were already to mile 5. For the entire 13.1 miles, there wasn't a moment that they were not surrounded by other people.

This was Kevin's first race and he did great! Thanks Brody for coming from Washington DC to run it with Kevin. Next time I plan to join you guys!!!

End of School Year

2010-06-22T15:10:00.001-07:00

It has been summer for 3 weeks but here are some of the great end of the school year memories!

The elementary school does a Taulman Mile. Each grade takes a turn and runs a mile. Kevin was the best and ran it with Kaitlyn and then immediately did it again with Bryson!

Kaitlyn with her good friend, Reagan Kastens, and her wonderful kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Wojtalewicz.

Bryson with his great second grade teacher, Mrs. Gerlach.

Bryson was the dog in their end of the year class play.

Fishing

2010-06-20T20:03:00.001-07:00

We took the kids fishing on Saturday and they loved it!

Alyssa was our bait girl. She loved helping everyone get any type of worm that was wanted.

Kaitlyn caught the first fish! She caught 2.

Bryson caught 3 fish!

This one fell off the hook and he wouldn't touch it (however, we were impressed that a few times he did put on his own worm)

Alyssa caught 3 fish!

Unfortunetly the tiny fish in the above photo fell off the hook and the hook got Alyssa's finger. She was okay but it did scare her. She still wanted to fish but when she caught her third fish she had no desire to hold the line.

They did an article in our local newspaper about our family fishing. There is a great photo of Kevin and Alyssa and quotes from Bryson and Kaitlyn!

http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20106200339

Chicago Temple

2010-06-18T11:25:00.001-07:00

Geocaching at Turkey Run

2010-06-18T11:14:00.001-07:00

Sam Engers, Bryson, Benjamin Dunford; Julia Engers, Katherine Dunford, Alyssa, Emma Dunford, Annie Dunford, Kaitlyn

Kevin got an to open his father's day present early - a GPS for geocaching! We tried it out Memorial Day Weekend when we went hiking at Turkey Run State Park with our neighbors, Engers and Dunfords. The kids loved getting to treasure hunt!
Bryson going up the ladders.

Kaitlyn, Alyssa, and Julia playing in the river.

Matching

2010-04-06T17:26:00.000-07:00

I was going to title this "Twins" but worried that everyone would jump to the conclusion we are having twins, which we are NOT:) I asked Kaitlyn to help Alyssa get dressed this morning - they came down the stairs giggling and matching - jeans, white shirt, and pink headband. Fun girls!

Happy Passover

2010-03-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

The candle holders were my Grandma Garner's. They will provide great memories as we do this each year.

We had a fabulous evening celebrating Passover tonight. Kevin had a whole script that he shared and we had set parts to say and words to repeat. The kids really enjoyed it and all of us learned some new things about this Jewish tradition. We made herbed leg of lamb, potato pancakes, matzah, and arabic cucumber tomato salad. The kids loved the game of hiding the matzah and then getting to find it (up until Bryson and Kaitlyn had to fight over who found it first:). Alyssa loved having her part (the line that the youngest says) where she had to ask why we had matzah and not bread. Kaitlyn was the one privileged to open the door and let Elijah in.

Months ago Kevin read a book that got him excited to have our family celebrate passover and learn of these Jewish traditions. He used the book to put the script together and plan the meal. The book is titled "Celebrating Passover" by Marianne Monson-Burton.

Thanks Kevin for creating another wonderful family memory! You are the bestest!

Local Circus

2010-03-29T18:31:00.001-07:00

Bryson, Benjamin, Alyssa, Emma,
Dacia, Kaitly, Katherine, Annie, and Tamara Dunford

We took the kids to the circus for the first time. We went with some friends, Dunfords and Spitlers. The kids loved it and well... Kevin and I will have lots of funny stories to tell about the circus experience.

Indy Zoo!

2010-03-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma Mumford came for spring break and spoiled all us us rotten. We enjoyed good weather most of the time which made it perfect! We spent a day in Indy at the zoo.

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

2010-03-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

Alyssa is 3 and still all smiles! Kaitlyn made her cute headband for her birthday. This is her free cake she got to pick out from the grocery store:)

Notice she still blows up (if she had bangs you could see it better). Bryson and Kaitlyn had to help her with the candles.

Kaitlyn wanted to make something for Alyssa for her birthday. She made her smiley face birthday cards - so cute seeing them lined up.

Alyssa LOVES her vanity. She had so much fun and stayed focus helping Grandma Mumford put it together.

It's a girl!!!

2010-03-09T09:12:00.001-08:00

We added another picture to the wall in the nursery!!!

Thanks Kariana for helping us get the nursery all ready before you moved.

We are having a girl in July! Bryson and Kaitlyn both voted for a boy - Bryson said because then things would be fair and Kaitlyn said she wanted a boy so that Bryson would have someone to play with so he wouldn't bug her. It took them just a moment and they are now all excited to have a baby sister! Alyssa talks about her baby sister all the time and is anxiously on the countdown. Alyssa is also intrigued about the baby kicking me all the time. (Alyssa and Kaitlyn were at the doctor with me the other day and when they were listening to the heart beat she kept kicking and now Alyssa, even with lots of explaining and demonstrating, can't seem to comprehend why the baby is kicking mommy all the time).

Four months to go but who's counting... :)

Kaitlyn and Chocolate

2010-03-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn turned 6 on February 5th. She got to have her first friend birthday party and it was Princess Kaitlyn's Chocolate Birthday Party. They had chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. Some of us could only handle a little of it but Kaitlyn was finally in chocolate heaven.

Julia Engers, Ehre Maas, Katherine Dunford, birthday girl Kaitlyn, Kate Benhart, Reagan Castens, Bryson, Ben Meyers, Alyssa, Dallin Kemeny, Minnie Aagard

They did a relay wearing snow gloves and opening tootsie rolls.

They played a dice game where they tried to make a tower of oreos. They also did eat pizza - we did try to encourage a little more than just chocolate:)

They played the candy bar game.

Kaitlyn chose her birthday breakfast to be pancakes.

The night of Kaitlyn's birthday was the school carnival. She loved that she won a cake at the cake walk on her birthday. She walked around all night in her fancy dress that she had decided to wear since it was her birthday and carrying her cake and so proudly telling anyone that would listen that it was her birthday!!!

I love you Catie

2010-02-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks Catie for being such an inspiration to all of us. Steve said it perfectly when he said, "Even as she was facing cancer and death and everything that entails, I could always see happiness in her eyes and in her smile." We loved the story that was shared about the "be happy" campaign that she started with her family one year ago when they had found out the cancer had returned to her lungs. I will forever cherish the time I was able to spend with her on her last day on this earth, she spent her time building me up and making sure I knew how much she loved me. She was always like this and such an inspiration of someone who made every person she knew feel important and loved.

http://steve-catie.blogspot.com/

These photos are from November 2008 when Catie and I went to Chicago for the weekend. I will always cherish all those "ordinary" moments we had.

2nd Grade Musical

2010-02-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

Bryson's 2nd grade did Seussical. The last dark one is him walking across the stage with big yellow glasses.

Tiny hands

2010-01-30T18:45:00.000-08:00

Bryson and Kaitlyn got little bead projects for Christmas from G&G Mumford. They each made a design and then we ironed the beads to fuse them together. I never would have thought that Alyssa could do it. She literally spent several hours over several days and filled the entire board. It was fascinating to watch her tiny hands work so patiently and diligently.

Bball

2010-01-30T18:43:00.000-08:00

Bryson has basketball games each Saturday morning. He is loving it and quite good. He had several steals and rebounds this morning!

Disney

2010-01-16T17:06:00.000-08:00

Even though it was much colder than we would have liked, we had a fabulous time!

Bryson didn't want to ride Test Track at Epcot (to his credit it was 10pm and he was worn out) so tested out cars which were being displayed at the end of the ride

Kaitlyn in the shark after the Finding Nemo Ride at Epcot

Our princesses waiting to ride Pirates of the Caribbean for the second time.

Parade watching

Everyone's favorite ride of the entire visit - the safari at Animal Kingdom

One of the days, everyone got to pick a snack for themselves.
Kaitlyn had been talking about lollipops before we even got to Disney

Bryson chose ice cream

Luckily he got enough to share with everyone

Kevin and I chose funnel cakes

Alyssa was a big attraction herself - people loved to stop and watch her dance, she would dance anywhere and didn't care if it was just in the middle of a crowded sidewalk

One night Alyssa made her own dinner with ketchup, corn, hot dogs, and a smashed/crumbled hot dog bun

Shadows - we lost a lot of time trying to get Alyssa to walk from one ride to another. She was so entertained with her shadow. She literally spent more than an hour running to her shadow and doing tricks with her shadow.

Alyssa loved waving to everyone - even if the performers were way up on stage

We loved staying at the animal kingdom and being able to go out to our balcony each morning and watch the animals - we saw lots of zebras!

Kevin scared me the first night in the hotel when he came dashing back from the bathroom saying he saw a mouse...

Mickey everywhere!

Atlanta

2010-01-11T18:22:00.000-08:00

Kevin had a conference in Atlanta and we all tagged along. We were able to visit Kevin's Aunt Diane and Uncle Todd and cousins while there.

Aunt Diane and boys went to the Fernbank Natural History Museum with us while Kevin was in meetings.

The favorite exhibit for all was the bubbles.
Kaitlyn, Bryson, Dallin, Logan, and Carson Baker

Alyssa enjoyed the bubbles and then decided to use them to clean her tights.

Blog

2010-01-10T17:40:00.000-08:00

My Aunt Linda and cousins have started a great blog and gave me the opportunity to be a guest blogger - check out the great site:)

http://alwayssomethingtotalkabout.com/

Snow

2010-01-01T10:04:00.001-08:00

We had rain for Christmas but the day after we got snow.

Riley shoveled the driveway after we got more snow on Sunday. He learned his lesson of hoping for snow:)

Christmas with Family!!!

2010-01-01T09:31:00.000-08:00

Luke 2 - Uncle Riley as Joseph, Kaitlyn as Mary, and Alyssa as Jesus (and Kevin as the donkey)

Grandma reading The Christmas Orange. Then she shared a chocolate orange.

Without asking or even suggesting, Kaitlyn and Alyssa did a talent show of singing and dancing.

Bryson also took part in the talent show and played the piano.

Kaitlyn and Alyssa got a puppet theater for Christmas. They loved having grandpa and his bear help with their performance.

Thank you grandma, grandpa, and Riley for coming and spending Christmas with us and making it wonderful!

Gingerbread Houses

2009-12-31T20:32:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread house making on Christmas Eve with Grandma, Grandpa, and Riley.

Grandma and Kaitlyn were partners. The jelly beans on top are Christmas lights. Kaitlyn made a strawberry garden in the back.

I helped Alyssa but truthfully, if you can't tell, she did most of it all on her own and she was so proud.

Grandpa and Bryson were a great team.

Check out the Christmas tree with the star and the bed and so many more creative ideas.

#4 Purdue

2009-12-29T14:38:00.000-08:00

We took Bryson and Kaitlyn to a Purdue's Men Basketball Game!

Chicago with the Prices

2009-12-24T05:16:00.000-08:00

The Prices live in Texas but were in Chicago for a few days visiting family. We met up with them at the Museum of Science and Industry. It was fun to catch up on old times from graduate school!!!Julianne, Carlisle, Dacia, Alyssa

Alyssa and Riv

Bryson and Amelia practicing driving a submarine.

Kaitlyn and Frances in the submarine living quarters.

As you stood on the lights it played like a piano keyboard.

Finished Product

2009-12-23T08:35:00.001-08:00

We picked up the finished pottery projects - they turned out really cute.

Kariana also made chocolate pretzel snowmen with the kids - they were cute and yummy.

Merry Christmas Kariana

2009-12-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

Kariana moves away in one week! It still doesn't seem real and seriously I don't know if any of us are going to survive - we have had so much fun these past 9 months and she has spoiled us rotten. We wanted to do something special for her for Christmas so yesterday the kids and I took her to a pottery place. The kids each painted something that they can keep in their own rooms and then Kariana painted a cookie jar and had the kids put their handprints on it for her to take. It takes a week for them to get fired so I will have to post a picture of the finished products. We love you Kariana!

Washington DC

2009-11-08T17:37:00.000-08:00

Kevin had a conference in DC and I got to tag along!!! Thanks to our great tour guide, Brody, we were able to fit in some great site-seeing...

Natural History Museum

Brody and Dacia at the Einstein Monument

World War II Monument

Air and Space Museum

Cupcakes - Long story but I wanted to try the trend of a cupcake shop - Kevin wasn't too impressed and even less when he saw there was a line and that each cupcake was $2.75 but Brody waited in the line (actually several times because we were late) and Kevin didn't even pay for his cupcake. I don't know why I forced him to get one but I did and he did like it even though he continued to make comments. I was impressed though and would even go back!

Thanks Brody for spoiling us rotten in DC and thanks Kariana for spoiling us rotten by watching the kids so we could have this fabulous getaway.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T04:46:00.000-08:00

2 princesses and a sport man

Shantel's Wedding

2009-10-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

All of us were able to go out to Shantel's wedding in Utah last Saturday. She was beautiful and all smiles (JJ looked good too:)

Kariana was an incredible bridesmaid and made sure everything was absolutely perfect for Shantel.

We loved getting to see almost everyone (we missed you Erin and Zoe), even though I didn't do very good at taking lots of photos.

Here is Grandma and Evie.

Alyssa was all smiles and loved getting loves from everyone.

Alyssa even tried to share the love with Cache.

Unfortunetly Bryson couldn't come to the wedding because he was super sick with a high fever and double ear infection. Kaitlyn made it through the first part but then she started with a fever and ended up sleeping through the whole reception. Luckily no one else got sick and everyone is better now but unfortunetly Bryson and Kaitlyn were pretty sick the whole time we were in Utah.

The day before the wedding we had a girls day at the salon and got fingers and toes done! The bride was big smiles but I think Kaitlyn may have had even more fun. She loved being a part of it all.

5000+ Miles

2009-07-28T18:09:00.001-07:00

The end of June we went to 2 family reunions and saw some great sites. We ended up driving over 5000 miles in 2 1/2 weeks. Here are the sites we saw just on the drive to the first reunion.

Our first site was the Badlands in South Dakota!

We then went to Mt. Rushmore

Then Yellowstone

We finished that leg of the trip with the Rexburg Temple. I had fun showing the kids where I lived when I went to Ricks College and telling them about some of the fun things I did in Rexburg. The temple was absolutely beautiful!

Random

2009-07-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

We went for ice cream after going to the zoo. It was very humid and Alyssa couldn't lick her blue moon ice cream cone fast enough. She was quite the attraction herself.
I love when the kids get in cleaning mode. Kaitlyn got into a shining mode and shined all my windows. She did a great job and I am ready to have her do it again.

Bryson made this for Kevin for his birthday. It is Kevin. Bryson even did research to figure out if the legs or arms should be longer. He has one creative mind.

Happy Birthday Bryson

2009-07-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

Bryson turned 7 on Sunday and had his first friend birthday party. We did a water bash. His friends that came were Benjamin Dunford, Collin Johnson, Joey Colver, Amrit Subramaniam, and Ali Nuseibeh. The boys had a great time and we were grateful for nice weather.

Treasure Hunt with feet in bubbles

Frozen t-shirt contest

Waterslide made from a pool noodle

Collin slip'n'sliding

I had planned to be creative with the cake and had gotten everything to make a swimming pool cake with gummy bears and other fun things in the pool. The night before the party Bryson mentioned that he wanted angel food cake with fresh blueberries and strawberries for his party. I had to laugh that I had forgotten to ask him what he wanted and wasted brain cells to be creative. He appreciates good food so I made him a homemade angel food cake!
Happy Birthday Bryson!

Father's Day

2009-06-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Father's Day yesterday since we will be out of town next week. We did an ice cream tasting contest. I tricked them on Brown Sugar, Cranberry/Blueberry Sorbet, and Phish Food. This may be the beginning of a great tradition:)

Happy Father's Day to the best dad/husband! We love you Kevin! Thanks for always keeping us smiling and laughing!!!

Bryson and Baseball

2009-06-13T06:28:00.001-07:00

Bryson is playing junior ball this summer. It is quite the event here. For opening cermonies, they had a helicopter land on the baseball field and deliver the ball for the first pitch.
They get to rotate positions each game. Here he is at 3rd base.

The first time he had to wear all the catcher gear he didn't enjoy it but once he got used to it, he did a great job and even learned how to crouch low.
His strongest point is hitting. It is pitching machine and he gets good solid hits.

Washing the table

2009-06-13T05:37:00.000-07:00

I came upon these pictures back from March and I had to post them. Bryson had woken up and gotten ready for school before I had gotten up. The night before had been a busy night and the dinner dishes had been left on the table. When I came down to ge breakfast ready Bryson had cleared the table and then had gotten a napkin and gone into the bathroom to get it wet and was wiping off the table. This wasn't his daily job or anything, he just thought of it all on his own. What a great kid!!!

Space

2009-06-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

My sister Kariana finished painting Bryson's room. This was all his idea of wanting the planets. Bryson has read quite a few books on the solar system and knows that Pluto is not a planet but still really wanted it on his wall so Kariana said she would do it too. We are excited to get to now decorate the rest of this room to match his awesome wall.

Kariana you are the best!!!

Summer

2009-06-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

I love summer days! Today we slept in and had a lazy morning. Then Kevin called and wanted to meet for lunch and then go out for ice cream. When we got home I put Alyssa down for a nap and then heard Bryson and Kaitlyn giggling outside! Summer is so much easier when they are getting along. Unfortunetly it isn't always this way but when it is I take lots of photos so I can remember the good summer days.