The Colquitt Clan

Olivia turns 3!

2011-07-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that my baby girl is three. Maybe we need to have another one?? Just kidding :) For Olivia's birthday we decided to go swimming as a family. She loves to swim...so it was perfect! Afterwards, we went home and had dinner then opened presents. She received all sorts of fun stuff from the kids, friends & grandparents. The girls picked out a cake with all the Faeries on it. The faeries ended up being stamps. They all had a great time stamping their bodies.

Olivia has been such a joy to have in our family. She lights up a room when she walks in. She is super super crazy...spastic...hyper...crazy...hyper....did I say crazy?? We absolutely love her craziness. She always makes us laugh. She is really smart, loves to dance and sing and she loves posing for the camera. She loves teasing the kids and is very "helpful". Thanks Olivia for being that "special" you.

We can't imagine our family without you in it. We love you so very much.

6 Month Onesie...

2011-07-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

Why? ...you ask would I entitle a post with that? Well, a few weeks ago Biv walked into my room wearing this ever so sweet onesie. I have no idea where she found it. The moment I pulled out the camera, she started to pose.

Who can resist at toosh that looks like this! I sure love this sweet, crazy girl.

School Graduations 2010-2011

2011-05-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that another school year has come and gone. It goes way to fast!

Halle is "graduating" from the 2nd grade. She had Ms. Cockrell for the first half of the year and Ms. Tenbush the second half of the year. She loved them both. She is a fantastic student and really loves school.

Kassadi graduated from the 5th grade this year and next year will be attending Ridgeview Middle School. She had Ms. Kessler/Ms. Kuhl as her teachers. She loved them and she really progressed a lot this year. She mastered her math facts and read a ton of books. We are so proud of her.

Kyle graduated from the 8th grade and was on the Honor Roll all year. He did tell me that he slacked a little bit this year and that he was sorry about that! I think that he realizes that Cedar Ridge High School will be really hard. I know that he will do really good, if he will just try! He had his "first" girlfriend this year. My baby has grown up...WAY TOO FAST!

Here are the girls and Erika. Erika came to our house everyday after school to do her homework and hangout until her parents got home. The girls love hanging out with her :)

Gabriel "graduated" from The Fellowship Christian Academy. He will be entering into Kindergarten at Blackland Prairie in the fall. He had Ms. Pam. (Hayden's Mom-They lived across the street from us when we lived in the apartments.) She is a fantastic teacher. Gabe has learned sooo much. He is totally ready to go to Elementary in the fall. I am so proud of you Gabe.

Gabe had a Graduation Program. They sang lots of songs and were awarded a certificate and there own special Bible. Gabe was so excited to get his own Bible.

Halle & Kate on the last day of school.

Halle and her friend Sierra

Halle & Ms. Tenbush

Sass and her girlfriends were crazy cute! They giggled the entire graduation. I think that they are all so excited to go to Middle School.

Lindsay Millett, Maddie Moreno & Sass

More crazy girls :) Taylin Nguyen, Lindsay, Tiffany, Sass, AnnaKaren, Maddie & Anna

Maddie, Sass, Michelle & AnnaKaren

Kassadi and Ms. Kessler

Kassadi gave her teacher a Book of Mormon a while back. She wrote her sweet sweet testimony in it. Ms. Kessler wrote her a letter letting her know how touched she was that Kassadi would share her faith with her. I am so proud of you Kass!

Sass couldn't believe that she received so many AR points for the year. She read sooo many books. I couldn't buy them fast enough!

A/B Honor Roll...Good Job SASS!

Olivia and Sara James

Gabe hanging out at the Graduation.

Kass was excited to see Gabe and Biv at her graduation. My friend Kim made Sass a cute candy lei for her special day.

We love you sweet Sass!

Halle's sweet photography skills :)

Congrats kiddos! Can't believe it is over. Now what am I going to do to entertain them all this summer?? AAAHHH!

In the fall I will have a child in Preschool, 2 in Elementary, Middle School and High School....WHAT? I am not old enough for this. ;)

Easter 2011 (Catch-up post and picture overload!!)

2011-05-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

Every Easter we try to color eggs. I have seen some people dye some really cool eggs. The ones on the packages always look awesome...somehow, ours never turn out as cool as those. But the kids love to dye them. And we all love to eat them :)

Easter morning the kids had to run around and find their Easter baskets. The Easter bunny hid them pretty good this year. Gabe and Olivia both got pillow pets. They have been wanting one for a really long time. They both use them as their pillows every night.

The girls got some church sandals and a few other things. Not sure what Kyle got! I can't remember. :)

The Saturday before Easter we were invited to the Jame's Annual Easter Egg Hunt. The kids had a fantastic time. There were over 700 eggs and 40 kids. Some had tickets in them that they got to redeem for prizes.

There was a potluck with lots of yummy food and a Honey-Baked Ham.

This is Gabe and his friend Chase waiting for the egg hunt. They were very patient ;)

Halle braved climbing around the waterfall to get some eggs. I think this is a beautiful picture of her.

This is the attempt at getting all the kids together for one group picture. We lost some kiddos along the way.

I told Kyle that he couldn't walk home until he let me take his picture and until he smiled really nicely. Can I just say...getting a 14 year old boy to smile "normal" is absolutely impossible!

It wasn't until I surprised him that I got his true smile.

Kass, Ellie James & Samantha Dickerson

We had Easter Dinner at our house with the James' and the Lauritzen's. Good food and wonderful friends make a great combo. Thanks for sharing Easter with us!

Brad & Holly L.

Lisa and Mike J.

Such great kids! I know that someday I will get a good picture of all five of these kids! They are such a good lookin' bunch :)

Mothers Day 2011

2011-05-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

Mothers Day was a great day. The kids did some shopping the week before with dad (he thought that Mothers Day was the week before!) So they were all totally prepared. I got some "fun" things. Kyle gave me an ITunes card. Kassadi gave me a pink teddy bear and a cook book that she made in Activity Days. Halle gave me a HUGE bag of peanut M&M's and a beautiful big card that she made. Gabriel gave me a big pack of gum that he later ate most of :) Olivia gave me a card that she colored in Nursery. We later went to the Lauritzen's for a fantastic Cafe Rio meal. Steve was just grateful that he didn't have to cook!

I am so grateful for the beautiful children that God has entrusted in my care. They are great kids. I can't believe how quickly they grow up. I hope that they know how much that I love them and I want what is best for them. I am truly blessed!

I am so grateful to my wonderful mother. (Even if she did cut my hair like a little pixie!) She is amazing! I want her to know how much I love her. She is a great example of a what a mother should be. Thank you mom!

I am grateful to my mother-in-law. I love her so much and am blessed to have her in my life. Thanks Steph!

WARNING Banana Hammock Pictures!!!!

2011-05-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Austin Shredder Classic 2011

3rd Place Middle Weight Class Division

Steve did awesome! He placed third among nine competitors in that division.

There were some super big dudes.

Great job Steve!

Next competition is July 16th.

Trying out the new lens...

2011-05-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

Keep in mind that I am still practicing :)

I just bought a new lens for my camera. It is a 50mm Nikkor with a 1.8 Fstop. I absolutely love love love it!

Can't wait to use it some more. These are just a few pics of our ever so crazy kids.

Kassadi's Voice Recital

2011-05-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Kassadi and Halle started taking Music lessons a few months ago. Kassadi is taking Voice Lessons and Halle is taking Guitar Lessons. They both love love love it. Unfortunately they are going to have to quit for a while. They were put on the team for gymnastics which requires an extra day a week. I don't like my kids being too busy. So they chose the gymnastics team. They are both really talented.

Recently they had a recital. Halle wasn't quite ready to participate (even though her teacher said that she was fantastic.) Kassadi was so excited to participate. We had no idea if she was good or not because she would never sing for us.

She did an amazing job. I loved listening to her. Her cute friend, Katelynne, came to support her. It was a fun recital with lots of different talents.

Crazy Kids!

2011-05-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

Lately, the kids have been shoving blankets in their clothes. Not sure why, but they think that it is hysterical!

Sunday Photography Practice :)

2011-04-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

After conference we took the kids to the park so that I could practice my photography skills. The kids were not too thrilled to have their pictures taken. Kim and I had just taken a photography class the week before so I wanted to practice so that I wouldn't forget what I learned. Don't worry, I will keep practicing!

Halle & Kaylie

Jamie has MAD photog skillz :)

Kim practicing her newfound skillz!

Kass & Taylin

A Queen, a Fashion Designer & the Cutest Paparazzi Ever! ...along with a cool dip!

2011-03-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

Me and a wonderful friend of mine, Lisa James, have the opportunity to plan and purchase the entire menu for the Youth Trek in June. We have decided to do dutch oven meals. So in an effort to provide yummy food for the 300 youth and leaders of our stake, we get together and make different meals. This was one of those evenings. We prepared a chicken enchilada casserole, corn bread and cobbler. Our girls are inseparable and as I said in a previous post, they get together whenever they can. They had been together for two days straight planning and preparing a play for us all to watch. So when we got together to do the dinner, it was the perfect time to watch the wonderful production they had worked so hard on. They got all the chairs ready for the adults to sit and watch. I don't even know how to describe what the play was about. It was the most hilarious, confusing, chaotic productions that we had ever seen. I wish that I had the video...I will have to get that from Lisa. But we all just kept looking at each other and laughing because we were so confused! The play consisted of a Queen (Kassadi), a Princess (Kate), a Narrator (Ellie), a Thief (Sara), a Fashion Designer (Halle) and the Paparazzi (Olivia) Ryan was in it too, but wasn't sure what he was! They wanted to start over...but unfortunately we didn't have the time. What we did capture on video was really funny. Olivia wasn't in the play but she kept jumping up and down with a camera like a little paparazzi. They were all adorable and I can't wait to show them the video when they are older. They will get a good laugh out of it.

They made these fun masks for the play, but decided not to use them. I thought they were so cute!

The kids were desperate to get their first dip of the year. The James turned up the heat in the hot tub and although it was still cold, the kids had to get in.

Olivia just kicked around on the edge. She wasn't as crazy as the other kids.

Kassadi daring Ellie to jump in...even though she didn't jump in herself. The water in the pool was a cool 75*.

Halle and Kate jumping in. It was really funny because they were in and out so fast!

Hanging out in the hot tub. It was a bit warmer than the pool. Hey look...It's Kyle! He joined us for a family activity. It was great having him around.

Thanks James family for being such fantastic friends. We love love love you all!

Basketball & Bubbles

2011-03-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Olivia asks to blow bubbles all the time. I forget (conveniently) to pick some up at the store. She found some in the closet and just had to go out and do them. She tried sooo hard to blow a few bubbles. But she loves every minute of it.

Kyle has become quite the basketball player. He loves playing any chance he gets. He never wants his pictures taken so I thought I would make it fun for him. I told him to run and dunk a few balls. I think that these are great shots. The faces that he makes are hilarious.

Spring Time = Park Time

2011-03-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

It was a nice warm spring day. We decided to go to the park to have some fun. I had Halle, Kate James, Gabe, Trey Crompton and Olivia. Kass and Ellie James joined us later...who knows where Kyle was! We had a lot of fun. I love love love the spring weather here.

Kate James and Halle doing the spider.

Classic Olivia smile. She cracks me up every time.

First time...not sure how it works, but they tried and tried and tried to get the train right. Getting 5 kids down a really short slide together...not so easy!

They could never quite make it down all together. But thay had a lot of fun trying!

Kass was being a turkey about getting her picture taken. She should love it! She is a beautiful girl.

Ellie James

Halle and Kate are inseparable. They hang out together every chance that they get. They never fight or argue. I love it! I hope it stays that way.

Happy 14th Birthday Kyle!

2011-03-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that I have a child that is 14 years old! Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday we were living in Farmington in my parents basement. Kyle was lucky enough to live with his grandparents for the first 4 years of his life. My parents loved having him around. He was such a fun little boy. He still is ;)

Kyle is really into basketball right now. He plays on his Middle School team (the Ridgeview Panthers). He has gotten quite good. We love going to his games...even though they blow the whistle every three seconds for some sort of foul or something! Anyway, Steve wanted to do something really special for him. So he thought it would be really fun to go to a NBA game. Kyle has never been to one. So a friend of ours hooked him up with a pair of awesome tickets to see a game on his birthday. It just so happens that the Jazz traded Deron Williams (Kyle's favorite player) to the New Jersey Nets the day before. The Spurs were playing the Nets! It was pretty cool.

We celebrated the night before his birthday so that Steve could take off for San Antonio right after school. He received his tickets to the game in a Basketball for Dummies book. Kyle was super surprised and really excited to go and see a "real" game. The kids gave him a new basketball and some gum and candy too. Kassadi picked out a cookie cake and we put some basketball players on it.

I told Steve to take some pictures...these are what came off of his camera ;) Of course, he had to get the dancers!

Kyle was ordained to the office of Teacher. Before we know it, he will be blessing the Sacrament!Happy Birthday to one amazing son and brother. We love you Kyle!

Valentine's Fun

2011-02-27T20:07:00.001-08:00

We had a date night at PFChangs with some of our favorite people. We had a couple of other couples that had last minute problems, so they couldn't make it...but they were missed! We had made reservations for the Chef's Table, which is placed right in the kitchen. It was really loud, but lots of fun. Thanks for a great night out! McCulloch's, Lauritzen's, Crompton's and us :)

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day. We were able to go to Kassadi's class party to help out. This being her last year of parties, I thought it would be fun...the kids were crazy! We had fun though :) They played several Minute to Win It games.We ate snacks...lots of treats!
Yummy cupcakes with RED frosting and homeade oreos.

This is a hard game! You have to try and get the cookie from your forehead into your mouth without your friends. Out of the whole class, only one of the kids could do it.

We had a special dinner with heart shaped pizza, breadsticks, red crush and chocolate fondue for dessert. It was really tasty!

Valentines Day Decor

2011-02-27T13:23:00.000-08:00

Taking cues from some of my friends blogs, I thought that I would post all the crafts that we did for Valentine's Day. Jeannie picked me up this cute stand and I got a grapevine wreath for a couple bucks and put some red berry things in it with hot glue. (Technical...I know!)
Erin found these on a fun blog and printed one out for me. I found an old frame and spray painted it black. Super easy and I love it!
We wanted some fun pillows so again the rockin' Erin found the pattern for these on a craft blog. We used vinyl as our stencil and painted the white fabric with silver paint. We then sewed up the pillows and used ribbon to tie up the ends (mine are just slip covers). The red ribbon is embroidered by another awesome crafty friend of mine named Jenna.
Holly, who is totally crafty and has the most beautiful house, found a cute heart wreath on a craft site that happens to be Erin's cousin (coincidence?) We changed it up a bit and did squares and they are huge! They took FOREVER! The roses were a pain in the behind. The wreath is a bit too heavy for itself, so I need to reinforce it with some sort of wood backing. That will have to be done next year. I do love the look though.
I needed something for the closet door in my entry so I found these wreaths at Hobby Lobby. This cost me a total of $4. I love it!
This is my most favorite project. It was found on House of Smiths. I love love love how it turned out. I love it so much that I designed a really fun family one that can be put up all year. (I will post pics of that when it is done.) This is 6 feet tall. It used a ton of vinyl too.
These letters were purchased from the Wood Connection in Utah. These are such a fun project. I got together with several girls to complete these. It was so much fun seeing how every ones turned out so different.
This was a project that was also on House of Smiths (she is amazing!) I changed it up and put together a more whimsical Love Birds. I think it turned out pretty cute. It was even featured on another craft site. Pretty cool!
This was a fun, easy and quick project that a few of us did. We made several sets each and delivered them to all the ladies we visit teach.

It was really fun to craft with the girls. I don't have a lot of time to do things, but they made sure I took the time and I am so glad. I love looking around my house at all the fun projects we have done. Love all you crafty peeps!

January 2011 BathTime & DressUp

2011-02-20T12:55:00.000-08:00

The girls thought it would be fun to "makeover" Bivvy. She loved every minute of it. Now every morning when I put my makeup on, she has to have a little. Boy am I in trouble!

Nice mohawk, Dude!

This was a month...with not many pictures! Seriously...this was all that was on there. (Besides Kassadi's Science Fair Project. She had to figure out what soil grew a seed the fastest. You would be surprised...it wasn't Miracle Grow! In fact, that came in last.)

Catch up? ...or start now? That is the question :)

2011-02-20T10:40:00.000-08:00

Whew! You would think that I had fallen off the face of this earth. There really is no excuse except for 5 kids, a house, a needy hubby and a vinyl business. Excuse enough? Hmmm... Well, I have decided that I am going to attempt to blog on Sundays. I may or may not catch up on the whole last year. We shall see.

SNOW DAY

We got snow this year...and of course it shut down the whole city for a few hours. The kids didn't even have to go to school. We went outside first thing in the morning to about an inch of snow. Once outside it only took approximately three minutes to have all the neighborhood kids in our circle...need I tell you it was only 8am? Who does that? The kids had a great time with the nasty, heavy, sticky snow. Good thing because it had melted by noon!

Hi Family!

Holiday Fun 2009

2010-01-17T16:48:00.000-08:00

Halle loves to dance. Her dance company had a little Christmas party where the girls were able to show a fun little dance. We also watched a cute performance by their travelling company. Lots of fun :)

For our Ward Christmas Party this year we went to Main St. Bethlehem in Burnett. It has turned into our new family tradition. We have been there every year for 3 years. It amazes me every time the display that they put on. So inspirational.

Biv & Gabe pet lots of animals. Biv was not so sure about it!

We had lots of fun this Holiday Season. We were invited to go and have breakfast with Santa at the Cordovan School of the Arts. The kids had a great time. Santa walked around and talked with everyone. Gabe was in awe!!

Gabe kept telling Santa that he wanted lots of MONSTER trucks!

Olivia wasn't so happy!

Group shot...What a great lookin' family!

On a side note, the owner of Cordovan School of the Arts used Steve as a model for his painting of Captain Moroni. They took pictures about 18 months back. I kind of forgot about it all but when we were there for breakfast with Santa we saw the painting.

He is still working on it, but I think it looks great! I am so excited to get the print when he is done.

MY DAD...comes to San Antonio!

2010-01-13T21:33:00.001-08:00

Betcha thought I was going to say Austin! I found out a couple days before that my dad was coming to a carpet convention in San Antonio. I was so excited! We coordinated some time and I drove the kids down to hang out with their Papa Curt for a while. My grandpa Allman and favorite uncle Sam were there too. We made this a family affair. Who doesn't love carpet conventions?? :)

I haven't seen my dad since Christmas of 2008 and I didn't think that I was going to see him until we went to Utah in June. I was so very happy that he came! The kids were thrilled too. Steve was hunting so it was just me that took the kids to San Antonio.
We walked along the Riverwalk waiting for my grandpa to get out of one of his meetings.

Kyle loves doing flips off of anything that he can. In this case, it was a tree!

Boy I love this man! What a great dad. Good lookin' too :)

Here is another one of my favorite people...Bumpa. I love you!

We were even lucky enough to meet up with Uncle Sam!

We had lunch on the Riverwalk at a Mexican Restaurant. It was great being able to spend time with them.

Afterwards, we walked Grandpa and Sam back to the hotel and the kids and I went bowling with my dad. It was lots of fun.

This was Gabe's first experience with a bowling ball. He was pretty good. He played 2 games.

Checkout the scores. We really stunk it up! (Actually, I didn't bowl once...that would be Gabe that did it for me.) But my dad...WHOA! He didn't even break 100 the first game. He redeemed himself the second game.

Thanks for taking some time for us dad. We had so much fun. We can't wait to come to Utah and hangout with the family. I love you very much.

Pioneer Woman Visits AUSTIN! December 2009

2010-01-13T17:48:00.000-08:00

When Jeannie & Sara both told me about Pioneer Woman coming to Austin, I didn't think much of it. Oh, I love Ree Drummonds blog, but I don't do these crowd things so much! The week of the signing Jeannie calls and is so excited about this that I couldn't help but jump on board with excitement. Jeannie writes about all her preparations here. Let's just say that she totally cracks me up!

We had a lot of time before the the signing to look around. Anthropology happened to be next door. Wow what a store! They have a lot of very beautiful...very expensive stuff. We had lots of fun playing around.
Melinda and I waiting in the dressing room for Cheryl to try on a fun dress. The dressing room was ginormous!

The signing was at a cute bookstore in downtown Austin.

Jeannie and Melinda...so excited about putting wristbands on!

Thinking that now is about the time that I should pay for BOTOX!

Jeannie had the awesome idea of bringing her gifts. So I whipped up a board that had the name of her blog on it (in the same font and all!) I think it turned out pretty cute.

We all took turns signing it. Jeannie took forever trying to think of the most perfect thing to write for her.

This is what we all wrote:

I loved Jeannie's cheesiness this whole night. Her energy and nervousness made it all the more exciting and entertaining! You can read her post about this experience here.

Sara and Melinda were too cool to sit by us...really they had better seats!

There were loads and LOADS of people in this quaint bookstore.

We were thrilled to hear that she was going to do a Q & A session. It was pretty entertaining. She is so down to earth.

This is a picture from one of her blog posts. Jeannie added our names to show where we all were.

After the Q & A we got in our line according to wristband color. We were lucky enough to be in one of the first groups.

The beautiful sign that ChattyWalls made. (That would be me!!)

Okay...really?? Which way do we look?? :)

The group of fun girls that we went with. Melinda, Jennie, Jeannie, Cheryl, Me, Sara & PW

The girls with part of the Drummond Family.

Me and Marlboro Man.... :)

This was sooo funny. Cheryl pretended to pinch his behind and we were hysterically laughing because he had no idea!

After the signing, we hit a little mexican restaurant. Good food, good friends!

On a side note, I was reading PW latest posts and look what is in this picture....MY SIGN!! WOW :) Of course this was the before...my sign didn't make it into the after, but I am sure that it is in another special place at their house. SO COOL!
Thanks ladies for the invite. It was so much fun!

Let's go to the MOVIES!

2010-01-13T15:03:00.000-08:00

I tell myself to not take young kids to the movies...every time I say that! But I never learn :) To jump start some Christmas Spirit, we took the kids to see A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey in 3D. It was actually really good! Olivia didn't do so good but I was able to stand on the side and still watch. Surprisingly, it wasn't very crowded. They probably saw Steve and I walking in with 5 kids and turned the other direction! ...but with lots of popcorn...the kids do great!!

Thanksgiving & Black Friday 2009

2010-01-13T13:55:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...these are old! But better late than never, right? Just wait...I will be posting my trip to Belize soon and that was back in June!!

Thanksgiving was quiet this year. Steve and Kyle went to the Ward Turkey Bowl in the morning and then they came home and did nothing! Actually, we did a lot of relaxing this day. I cooked the turkey in a bag this year and it was sooo tasty and moist.

We had Sara White and her kids over. We had lots of fun and lots of food.

Sara is an awesome friend. I love her to death. She always makes me smile and is so comfortable to hang out with.
Gabe and Mara needed a bath after playing in the dirt in the back yard. They had a great time!

Sara and I went shopping on Black Friday. We left at 3:45am. We hit Kohl's, Target, Walmart & Cracker Barrel Breakfast. We had a great time and were very successful this year! This is the first time that I have done this kind of shopping. It was totally worth it!
This is Kohl's at 3:45am in the morning. The line was super long...I have to say that the store was really organized. It wasn't too chaotic.
Me and Sara waiting in the Target line a bit before 5am.
We met up with Jeannie and Melinda for breakfast. It was fantastic!

We gave Kyle his basketball hoop early because he needed something to practice on. It took them all day to put it up!

Happy 14 Years!! November 9,2009

2010-01-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

In November of 2009 Steve and I celebrated 14 years of our ETERNAL marriage! Steve had planned a great night out. I thought we were just going to a nice restaurant in downtown Austin. When we got down there Steve said he needed to get directions from someone...so he pulls up to this beautiful hotel. He got out and the Doorman got my door. Steve said that this is where we were going! He had made arrangements for all the kids to stay at different places for the night. I had absolutely no clue what was going on.

It was The Driskill Hotel on 6th Street. It was the most beautiful hotel I have ever been too. It was built in the late 1800s. The architecture is fantastic! It was a bit pricey ($400 a night)...but well worth the experience.

Off all of the floors was a little nook that had books and other old artifacts. It was cool to explore.
The room was absolutely beautiful. It has all of the original woodwork. The bathroom had all the original beautiful small tiles. It was really cool.

After checking in to the hotel we walked down the street to a restaurant called Eddie V's. It was really good. They put us in the quaint couples corner in the lounge. Steve got this spectacular looking seafood platter. He really enjoyed it and as much as I hate seafood, I actually tried a piece of scallop. I didn't like it but my steak was super yummy.

This was the dessert plate they sent out. Needless to say, mine was the chocolate side and boy was it good! We stuffed ourselves sick. But enjoyed every minute of it.
After dinner we walked down 6th Street which is famous for all of its bars and musicians that play there. It wasn't really our scene but we did enjoy the experience of it. People (or should I say bartenders) look at you funny when you tell them that you don't drink.

This is the view from the hotel room.

Just a sampling of some of the architectural features the Driskill has to offer.

We had a most amazing time. Thank you to my wonderful husband who planned the whole thing without my knowledge which was amazing in itself! I am so grateful to be married to such a wonderful, supportive man. He is the best husband and father. Although we have had our ups and downs in all our 14 years...I wouldn't want to go through any of it without him.

I LOVE YOU STEVE! Thank you for choosing me to be your companion throughout all eternity. I couldn't have asked for a better person to walk that path with.

Kyle made the Basketball Team!

2010-01-13T09:51:00.000-08:00

I never thought I would have a kid that played sports! Probably because we aren't a very sporty family. Not in the way you might think...we are active and we love to do things, but main stream sports aren't really our thing. We don't watch much basketball or football or anything for that matter! Steve might turn a game or two on and watch a bit, but that is it. Which is kind of nice since I don't like them much either. So when Kyle told us that he wanted to go out for the Basketball Team at Ridgeview Middle School, we were a bit surprised. We were very supportive though! There are two boys teams...the A Team and the B Team. The A Team is supposedly the "better" team. Kyle made the B Team. We are so very proud of him! He was super excited too. They practice everyday at school and have games every Monday night. He loves it. Cool thing is that their team (B) has won (I fixed it just for you mom!) every game but one so far. The A team hasn't won any! But they play harder teams. Anyway, we are so proud of Kyle for trying out and making it. I think that this will help him with being a team player. GOOD JOB KYLE!

November 2009 Randomness :)

2010-01-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

Sassy
I can't even explain this picture. I found this on the camera...pretty sure he was dressing up with the girls. I would have posted the full body one but it was blurry. He is wearing silver spandex, a sequined shirt and makeup...should I be worried?? :) I think it is hilarious.

The following photos are ones I took one day while playing with the settings on my camera. I think that they are pretty cute. Could be just the kids in the pictures :)

Olivia Jane playing in the water.

Gabe

Sassy reading to her friend Chloe. I love this picture!

Halle collecting rocks for a school project.

Gabe and Biv taking a ride together. SOOOO CUTE!

Olivia

Halle & Olivia

Gabe and his girlfriend Mara....or should I say Mora! They are so darn funny together.

Family Pictures November 2009

2010-01-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

My neighbor and friend is an awesome photographer. We had her take our pictures in November. She really captures my family! Thanks Ralphie :)

*The cute family picture is on my Christmas cards that will hopefully be mailed out before Independence day!! ;)

Steve turns 38!! (October 28, 2009)

2010-01-12T21:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Hubby! So what does this 38 year old like to do? He likes to fight, lift weights, hunt and shoot guns....a lot! Look closely at this picture...this is after he got hit during Krav Maga. WHAT?? My husband comes home with battle wounds all the time. I guess I should be glad that he isn't acting his age ;) He does look great!

He needed some helpers. Way too many candles to blow out and it wasn't even 38!!

It almost set off the fire alarm ;)
The kids made him this really great card. They all signed it. I am not sure where Kyle was during all of this. I guess that when I don't post things right away I forget all the details!

I love this man! He is a wonderful husband and a fantastic father.

These were just some fun pictures that were taken that same evening.

Halloween 2009

2010-01-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

Halloween is my least favorite holiday of the year. Maybe it is because I have to worry about what my kids want to be and then I have to find it, buy it and then have them tell me that they have changed their mind and want to be something else! Oh well, we made it through another year :) These pictures were taken before the Ward Halloween Party. Kassadi is a Sassy Pirate, Halle is Hannah Montana, Gabe is Woody and Olivia is a Leopard Princess.

Halle, Olivia and Gabe with the Great Pumpkin!

Gabe with his buddy Shane. And then with Shane and Chase. They are so funny to watch. They are all CRAZY!

V, Tammy & Holly...always the posers!

Olivia with her sucker...we give her anything to keep her happy!

Steve took the kids out trick or treating while I stayed home to give out the candy. We actually had some kids come by this year! It was fun. Kyle went to a haunted house with Hayden. They said it was SOOOO SCARY! The boys then went and ran around. Probably terrorized some kids too!
Gabe couldn't believe all of the loot that he got. I let them pick about 20 pieces of candy and they rest they set out for the GREAT PUMPKIN to take and in its place was left a toy. So nice to not have to worry about lots of candy around the house. Olivia can smell candy from a mile a way!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! ...until next year.

Sweet Halle Turns 7! (October 16, 2009)

2010-01-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

This sweet girl turned 7 on October 16,2009. Halle Grace is such a joy to have in our family. She is the motherly child. She takes care of all of her siblings. She loves to help out with Gabe and Olivia and she loves to help Kassadi and Kyle. She will fold their laundry, do their dishes, make their beds...you name it, if she is in a good mood, she will do it! When Steve and I will go out, she is usually the one that does all of the babysitting...with Kyle watching over her. She makes sure that Olivia has her drink at night. She is really great at changing diapers :) She is always wanting to please me and her dad. She is so special. She loves fashion. She is super creative with her clothing choices. She enjoys going to school and absolutely loves her teachers. She is smart and loves to learn. She enjoys reading in her bed at night with Kassadi. She truly is amazing and we love her so much.

She really wanted this Dora Links Doll. You hook her up to the computer and she does all sorts of stuff. Her hair grows and her eyes change colors. The girls loved playing with her for about a week...not sure if they have touched her since! Dang those expensive toys!

We took Halle to the Tokyo Steak House. The kids loved it. We had to keep Biv loaded with suckers, that was the only think that would keep her quiet!

Kyle and Sass tried catching the shrimp in their mouth.

They even sang happy birthday to her. Happy Birthday Halle! We love you so much. Thank you for being the wonderful daughter that you are.

Gabe's First Day of Preschool!

2009-11-10T21:40:00.001-08:00

Gabe was so excited for his first day of Busy Buddies Preschool. I tried to get him to stand still for a moment to take a picture. All I got were his cheesy grins! I love it. He was equipped with his new shoes and a cool backpack.

Daddy took him to school in his "truck". He associates going to school with daddy taking him which is very convenient for me! Gabe goes to school at Stacy Dickerson's (Miss Stacy) house. He goes with a few friends from church. Trey, Shane & Joey. They are such cute boys together. Crazy too! Thanks Stacy for being such an awesome teacher. I am truly amazed at the things you do for them and the things that Gabe is learning. He is so smart! (He must take after me!!)

Labor Day Fun!

2009-11-10T21:19:00.000-08:00

On Labor Day we decided to take the kids on an outing to Hamilton Pool. We are trying to visit Texas sites. This was a lot of fun. Very beautiful. The kids loved the outing. We got there early when there wasn't very many people. By the time we left, it was super crowded.

Biv wasn't so sure about the sand and water.

Kyle teasing Gabe...as usual!
My little poser.

Gabe was trying to splash us on the "beach".

Sisters

Steve in typical fashion...always with that phone!

The girls loved searching for the sea shells.

Kyle explored the pools and the cliffs.

The hike was really pretty. I think that if you haven't had a chance to go to Hamilton Pools and live in Texas, you should go! It was a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday Sweet Sassy!! (Sept. 5)

2009-11-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

*I know, I know....Lots of catch up. Hopefully I will get some more posts done!!

My first girl turned 10 on September 5, 2009. I cannot believe that she is in the double-digits already (as she calls it!) It seems like just yesterday we brought this runt home from the hospital. She is so dang special! We love her very much and are so grateful for the joy she brings to this family.

Sass has been asking for a camera for forever. So we decided that she should get one for this "special" birthday. She got a pink digital camera. She was so excited! She also got a Project Runway craft thing, school supplies from Nana & Papa and clothes from Mimi & Papa.

We hoped to start her birthday with a yummy breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Steve put us on the waiting list. It was an hour wait, but we decided it was totally worth it. Because who doesn't just love Cracker Barrel breakfast? My favorite!! When our name was called (after the hour wait) we went to check in. Come to find out that Steve only told them 5 people....WHAT!?!?!? They said that they didn't have room for 7 and that it would be another 40 minute wait. SERIOUSLY?!?!?! I was so upset (at Steve mostly). He told me that when they asked him how many he just thought 5...as in 5 kids. OK!!! Anyway, after my anger of waiting over an hour and not being able to get the yummy breakfast I craved, we went and got some Dunkin' Donuts. SO not worth it!

Steve made it up to Sass by taking us all to an early dinner at Chili's. We go early because it isn't so crowded and people don't look at us funny :) Bringing 5 kids into a Chili's isn't like it used to be in Utah. There people don't care. But here....well!! We are crazy :)
Biv loves the chips and salsa.

They came and sang to Sass and brought her their yummy molten cake. Halle, Sass and Biv went to town on that dessert!

On that Sunday we celebrated her birthday with a homemade cake. MMmmmm! Love homemade (from a box) cake!

Sass couldn't get enough of the candles. She kept lighting them and blowing them out and hoping for more wishes.

Happy 10th Birthday Kassadi! We love you so much and are so proud of you. You are a wonderful example to all of your friends. You love to serve others and make people happy with your smiles. You have a sassy attitude which makes us love you even more. Thank you for blessing our lives. XOXO

Gabe's 3rd Birthday (Aug. 17, 2009)

2009-09-02T19:04:00.001-07:00

I'M THREE!! This is Gabe trying to hold up three fingers ;)

We celebrated with Nana & Papa before they left home for Utah. Gabe got a "BIG BLACK" truck. He loves it! Mimi & Papa got him a Diego Jeep. He loves Dora & Diego! He watches it everyday :)

Grandpa Berry & The Sell Family sent Gabe cards. He was excited to get his own mail. Thanks for thinking of him!
Halle made Gabe's cupcakes. They had a great time licking all of the icing!

Gabe got lots of trucks and tractors from us. He could play with cars, trucks, boats and trailers all day long. He was so excited to open these!

Happy Birthday little dude! You are a great kid and bring such joy and happiness to this family. And we are soooo very happy you are potty trained! Way to GO! (He has been potty trained for a few months now. I just forgot to post it!)

BACK TO SCHOOL!!

2009-09-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

I'm BACK!!! I know...I know... y'all missed me terribly! Lot's has gone on this summer and maybe I will get some of it on the blog. But for now, I am going to start from the present!

The kids were soooooo excited to start school. Maybe even more excited than I was...maybe not!

School in Texas starts at 7:37 am. REALLY early! But we are used to it. The day starts at 6:30 am (at least the girls day starts that early!) They wake up to their own alarm, get themselves ready, feed themselves breakfast and then come and get me up to do their hair. I love it :) Self-maintained kids.

Halle started the 1st grade. She loves her new teacher. She is reading and writing really well. She had a lot of anxiety for the first week about finding her sister and her ride at the end of the school. Her teacher was kind enough to walk her where she should be every afternoon. I am so proud of Halle. She even comes home happy!

Kassadi started the 4th grade. She didn't get any of her friends from last year in her class, but she did get a friend from church. So she was excited about that. This year she gets to rotate between two classrooms and two teachers. This is supposed to help prepare them for 6th grade (middle school). Kassadi got the flu on the second day of school... she missed a couple of days. She was sad about that! She was really worried that she missed stuff.

The girls should be walking home from school but they like to hitch a ride from our awesome neighbors down the street. My kids are so spoiled!!

Kyle is in the 7th grade (his second year of middle school). He is very smart and is in two TAG classes, Math & Science. TAG (Talented & Gifted) is a great program that helps you earn credits toward High School. They are a bit harder, but he loves it. He is taking Spanish this year. He comes home singing the songs everyday. We will all speak Spanish once the year is over!

Needless to say, the kids are doing great! I love the time I get to spend with the two little ones, especially when they are napping! hehe :) Gabe actually starts preschool next week and is so excited. He talks about it everyday.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

2009-06-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to the most amazing Dad in the world! Thank you for helping me become who I am today. You have given me such a great life. Thanks for being the example and pillar of strength that you are. I love you so much! I will always be your #1 favorite girl ;) xoxo

Happy Father's Day Randy! I couldn't have asked for a better father-in-law. Thanks for teaching your son to be a great father too! I love you very much.

Happy Father's Day Dad. Love Steve.

I also want to thank the Father of my children...Steve. You are a wonderful dad. Your kids love you so much and they look up to you. Thank you for being you! I love you so much!

*This is what happens when you are rushing to church and forget to take a picture so you pull everyone out of the car to take one!!

Olivia Jane's First Birthday!

2009-06-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Kyle filmed and edited Bivvy's B-Day video. Nice job Kyle!

Our night started at Casa Garcias for dinner. Good food! I know that Biv enjoyed it as much as we all did!

She daintily opened up her gifts. She got clothes from Nana & Papa and toys from us.

Mmmmm....CAKE!!

The kids could not stop laughing as she was digging in. She loved it and got it EVERYWHERE!

Gabe enjoyed his cupcakes too!

Happy Birthday Bivvy! You have brought us such joy this past year. You have completed our family! We love you very much.

*Facts about Bivvy: She screams, she cries, she gets whatever she wants...and I mean WHATEVER she wants! She is walking around furniture. She climbs up and down stairs. She sleeps over twelve hours a night. She is the best eater out of all my kids. She pretty much eats anything we give her. She plays really well by herself. (That is if her siblings allow her too!) She loves to take baths, especially with Gabriel (as long as he doesn't pour water on her head.) She loves toilet paper. If there is a bathroom door open she can sense it and heads straight for it. She loves my cell phone. I have already replaced it twice. She is finally starting to grow some hair. She weighs 19 pounds and is 29 inches tall. She truly is a joy. We love her bright smile and her silly laugh. Thanks Biv for a great 1st year!

Ice Skating

2009-05-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours had a birthday party at the skating rink. This was the first time that any of our kids have been ice skating. It was touch and go for a while, but once they got they hang of it they loved it! Sass wants to go to a summer camp there now. Kyle and Hayden were too fast...I couldn't get any pictures of them.Happy Birthday Amelia!

Gabe wasn't going to skate but he was watching all of the other kids and he really wanted to go out. He loved it! I think that he was being held up by Steve the whole time :)

The kids had a lot of spills. But they got right back up!

Halle getting a little lesson.
Bivvy loved watching them! I think that we will definitely have to go back soon.

Who da man?

2009-05-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

Gabe da man!!

*(He is trying to flex his stuff!)

Always listen...

2009-05-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

Because when things get too quiet...this is what you find!

Bivvy got into the pantry and helped herself to a PopTart.

Ward Campout (or just dinner out for us!)

2009-05-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

We went to the ward campout a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time! The weather was beautiful (hot and muggy!) We hung out with great friends. Ate yummy food and then came home and slept in our warm beds!! *You try taking a 10 month old camping...doesn't sound so fun! The kids desperately wanted to sleep over. Maybe next year!

The kids went on a "small" walk to collect fire wood with Cory and Jeremy.

I love this picture of Gabe. He is just so darn sweet!Steve is tending to the dutch oven desserts. They were super tasty...even though Steve forgot to put the main ingredient in really late! One was pumpkin dump cake and Jeannie made upside down pineapple cake. MMmmmmm....good!
Burnt marshmallows are a bonus!
Not quite sure what Gabe was doing here. He was off in his own little world the whole night!
Kyle, as always, will find a tree to climb. He took a detour to the lake with the Phipps. He loves to swim...clothes and all!
Halle, Katelynne & Sass hanging out. They had a great time visiting friends at other camp sites.
Jeannie tending to the coals.
Erin & Bivvy (Erin hates it when people take pictures of her!)

Girls Night!

2009-05-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Halle, Ally, Kassadi and Chloe sporting their rockin' hair!

Cool nail polish colors that actually stay on for more than one day.

The girls had a late night with their good friends Chloe & Ally. I did their nails and hair. They then played some imagination game...not sure what it was, but entertaining to watch! They watched a movie and had lots of treats and popcorn. This is the next best thing to sleepovers (because we don't allow them!) Thanks for coming girls! We all had a great time :)

Happy Mother's Day!!

2009-05-10T17:25:00.001-07:00

Here is to my wonderful mother who raised me to become who I am today...PERFECT!! hehe!!

Thank you for teaching me patience, honesty, love, kindness, the value of hard work, patience, integrity, patience...did I say patience?? I love you mom!

Thanks mom for being such a great wonderful person! You are absolutely amazing and I love you so very much. Thank you for being my best friend! I hope that you have a wonderful Mother's Day! I wish that I could be there to hug and kiss you :) Know that I am there in spirit!! Thanks again for all that you are and all that you do.

Happy Mothers Day! I love you and hope you had a good day. Love your favorite son, Steven.

*Happy Mother's Day Steph! Thanks for being so wonderful. I love you very much! XOXO

I too love being a mother to these wonderful children. They are so special and I am so grateful to be there mom. I don't know where I would be without them...hmmm, maybe I would be....

I love you kids!! Each one of you holds a special place in my heart. XOXO

*My gift is to go with the girls to San Antonio and see Wicked!! I can hardly wait! Thanks a million :)

Johnson's Visit to Texas!

2009-05-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

In mid-April the Johnson's came to our house for a visit. We had such a great time. Unfortunately, the weather was not that cooperative. We made the best of it though. The first day we did a little shopping at the outlets and eating too. We then came home and the kids had a movie night while the boys went to see a movie.

We couldn't have them come to Round Rock without visiting the "round rock"!! As you can see, they all thoroughly enjoyed it :)

The girls were so excited for Seth and Savannah to come.

We went to Chuy's (one of my personal favorites!) Good good gooooood food!!

It was like Halle and Savannah were never separated! They got right back into being best of friends.

We went to San Antonio and did the Alamo and River Walk. The weather actually cooperated this day. We did the river boat tour which was nice. We were stuffed from eating at Rainforest Cafe so walking did not sound fun...although we really could have used it to work off all of the pounds of food we have been eating!

*I would not go to Rainforest Cafe for the food. Totally not worth it! But the company was good :)

We got a little education in at the Alamo.

*Biv couldn't even keep her eyes open. She was flopping all over the place!

We were all exhausted after a long day of fun and food and fantastic friends. :)

*Savannah, Erin, Seth & Guy

Johnson Family...Thanks so much for a great couple of days. It was definitely not enough time! But we are soooo very glad you came to see us. We miss and love you all so much! We are so grateful for your friendship. We were extremely sad to see you go. We hope to do this again soon!

To all those friends whom we love and miss so much, you will always have a place to visit in Texas!

I sure love this girl!

2009-04-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

This is also my attempt at using the All MANUAL button on my camera! Now I just need to learn more about editing :)

Easter 2009

2009-04-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

We made rice krispy treats and dipped them in chocolate (mint & milk) and then covered them in sprinkles. Boy were they tasty!!

This year we painted Easter eggs. Lots of fun and very messy :)

On Saturday, we went to the Jame's Annual Easter Egg Hunt. The kids had a great time. Gabe followed his friend Shane around the whole time. We had to keep a watch on them for fear that they might take the plunge into the cold swimming pool. They had some fun swings that the kids loved playing on too. Also, the food was fantastic! Thanks for a great party :)

Afterwards, Steve took the girls to see the new Hannah Montana movie. He actually liked it! The girls cannot stop singing the songs. The Easter Bunny came on Saturday. The girls got new dresses and CD's (Hannah Montana the Movie & Jonas Brothers). Kyle got new jeans and an Itunes gift card. Gabe got a new church shirt and Tonka truck pulling motorcycles. Biv got a pop up toy. ....oh and don't forget alllll the candy!

This is my attempt at a picture before church. As you can see, it was a complete failure!! Seriously...anyone have any tips to get 5 kids to smile at the same time? Anyone...anyone?

We had the Crompton's and the White's over for Easter dinner. It was lots of fun and very chaotic!! Gotta love it :) Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures from that! Friends are the next best thing to family! We love you guys!

I am so grateful for the opportunity that we have to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. What an amazing example He is to me. I love the gospel with all my heart!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Poison Oak...ALL OVER... 'nough said!

2009-04-19T11:32:00.001-07:00

...and I mean ALL OVER!

Kyle's First Temple Trip

2009-03-30T14:16:00.001-07:00

Kyle turned 12 last month and received the Aaronic Priesthood. (I don't think I am old enough to have a 12 year old!) He was "excited" in his own "tweener" way to be passing the Sacrament. Steve & Kyle went on the Youth Temple trip to the San Antonio Temple to perform baptisms for the dead. Kyle said it was "cool." That is about all I could get out of him! I hope that this is an experience that he will remember for the rest of his life.

I am so grateful to be a member of this great church! Grateful for the wonderful blessings that we recieve as an eternal family. I am especially grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and for his loving guidance and example.

In honor of Twilight, meet Renesmee Cullen!

2009-03-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

Look at them vampire teeth! She's a cutie :)

Coolest Giveaway!

2009-03-17T17:35:00.000-07:00

My friend has a great blog and has awesome information and fun giveaways. This particular giveaway is really cool. It is vinyl lettering from Chatty Walls!! You don't want to miss this :)

Here is her link: domestic goddess

Happy St. Patricks Day!!

Name Change?

2009-03-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

Halle: Mom, I don't want to be Halle anymore. I want to be named Megan. Can I change my name to Megan?

Me: Well, I didn't name you Megan, I named you Halle. Therefore, I will not call you Megan. But you can change your name when you are eighteen.

Halle: Ok. Well maybe I want to be Taylor er or uh Megan....

Me: When you are eighteen you can be whoever you want!

Halle: Cool.

All the while Halle is thinking of all the names that she can change hers to when she turns eighteen. Hopefully she will like her given name by then! I absolutely love it. We had Halle's named picked out years before she was even born. She has often said that she would rather go by the name of Grace (which is her middle name). I tell her that she can do that if she wants. She then proceeds to tell me that I have to call her teacher and tell her that we changed it. Then we forget! Convenient huh?

Rewind 25 years to the time when I was younger and I absolutely hated my name. Back then, I could never understand why my mom named me Chelon. You see, my siblings names are Chad, Brent and Brooke. Nothing odd there! Then there is Chelon!! Don't get me wrong, I love my name now! But I remember wanting to have a nickname or something that people would call me. Unfortunately nothing ever stuck. There isn't really anything that goes with Chelon. My mom suggested: Chelly or Lonny....yuck! Come on :) What made it even worse is that I don't have a middle name. Maybe it was the hair that needed to change!! Needless to say, I made it through those years of wanting to change my name. I now truly appreciate my mom and the fact that she loved a friend so much that she wanted to name her first born daughter after her! I hope that Halle too will do ok!!

12 YEARS OLD!!

2009-02-26T20:28:00.000-08:00

Kassadi gave Kyle a homeade card and $5 of her own money. Now how sweet is that??
What do you get a 12 year old picky skateboarder?? $$$ He was very excited and knew just how he would spend some of it. He purchased a skateboard deck off of Ebay today.

Kyle wanted to go to the Main Event for his birthday. So we packed up the family (minus Olivia...Thanks Tammy!) and headed down to Austin. The kids played laser tag and the arcade games. Let's just say that I do not need to go back there anytime soon. I think it is such a waste of money! I think the kids had fun though :)
Gabe loved riding on the wave runner. We are going to have to take him to Lake Powell with my family so that Papa Curt can give him a ride on a real jet ski!

We then went to Red Robin for dinner and had yummy burgers. Kyle had the birthday song sang to him and loved it...NOT!

The best cake decorating ever!! Just Kidding...I hate doing stuff like this. This is not a talent of mine so this is the best he got! Gabe loved it. He is obsessed with TechDecks right now.

Kyle with his other half, Hayden.

Singing Happy Birthday was fun because Gabe now knows the song from church and school. He sang really loud and knew most the words! It was cute:) He got lots of cards and well wishes from family! Thanks everyone!

I cannot believe that I am old enough to have a twelve year old!! Crazy, I know :) Kyle had his interview with the Bishop last week and was found worthy to receive the Priesthood next week. I think that he is excited. I just want him to know how proud I am of him and the young man he has become. He truly is a great kid! I am so blessed to have him as one of my children and now "officially" my built in babysitter! I love you Kyle! Thanks for being a great son and a wonderful brother. Your brother and sisters are very blessed to have you to look to as an example. Stay strong and continue to make the good choices that you do.

Bivia in da bafftub??

2009-02-26T20:20:00.000-08:00

Gabe loves to watch Bivia (his name for her) in the bathtub. He always wants to get in and play. So I sat her up and let him get in with her. She was very unsure what to think! She likes laying down in the tub better :) I took these pictures to show her third tooth too! Since these were taken (2 days ago) she has gotten a 4th tooth. Crazy!! She is growing way to fast. I just want to bottle her up and keep her this age forever!

Messy...messy...messy projects!

2009-02-26T20:12:00.000-08:00

My mom loves to make sure that my girls have fun things to do! This was a scrapbook kit that she sent the girls and it had the glitter shimmer stickers in it. For those of you who don't know what those are, they are clear stickers that you use different colors of glitter to create your own stickers. My girls thought that this was so fun! I couldn't stop thinking about how I was going to see glitter everywhere for months to come. Halle decided to make a card for her friend and Kass was making a scrapbook page for her BFF Scrapbook.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the finished projects. They turned out really cute! Thanks mom for the super fun...super messy crafts!! We love you very much :)

Gabriel Stone

2009-02-26T20:08:00.000-08:00

Such a Steve look!

Valentine's Weekend

2009-02-26T19:24:00.000-08:00

We had a great Valentine's Day. Steve and I left the kids with Kyle and hung out at the Townsends for food and fun. Thanks for a great evening!

We (I) decided that it would be fun to do a good dinner (not that my dinners aren't always good!) with the kids. We had steak (which turned out not so good) and yummy potatoes. After dinner we took a walk to the park.

I love this picture of Olivia. The sky was so beautiful that night.
Beautiful girls! Sass is such a great big sister. She is always willing to help out with Gabe and Olivia. (So is Halle! They love it...and so do I!)

After getting back from the park we had fondue. This was the kids first experience and they loved it! Granted it was messy, but it was ooohhhhh soooooo good! We dipped bananas, strawberries and angel food cake in yummy chocolate.
Steve whippin' out the big guns!
Gabe couldn't get enough.

Halle, aka Spill, was the messiest of the bunch!!

I am so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing family! Happy Valentine's Day to the ones I love!!

Monday Madness

2009-02-16T18:44:00.000-08:00

Just thought that I would use a catchy title for more randomness on my blog!! Enjoy the new pictures :)

Remember these pictures the next time we bring you sugar cookies!! hehe :)

Kassadi refused to get her picture taken after we got her haircut. She didn't like it at first, but now she loves it! Her hair looks so much more healthy.

I have been trying to talk Halle into cutting her hair for months. Her hair gets so tangly and she hates to have it combed. Finally, she did it! I love it on her. They cut off a good 6 inches.

I love my new rug!! I have been wanting something under the breakfast table since we moved here. Thanks Dad and Uncle Jerry for hooking me up. It is absolutely beautiful and matches perfectly.

Halle has a huge fear of losing teeth and dentists. She will have a loose tooth for months and do nothing about it. She has had this top one loose since Christmas. Finally...after a week without being able to eat certain foods and complaining, she worked it out. She realized that it wasn't so bad after all and that she could get $2 from the tooth fairy. I love that toothless smile!

Until the next random post! (Actually I have pics from the park and Valentines...soon to come! I know you will be sitting on the edge of your seats until then!)

More of Nothing!

2009-01-30T17:09:00.000-08:00

Family Randomness!

2009-01-24T14:26:00.001-08:00

It used to be a ball!

Halle & Kass love to take my camera and do their own pictures. This time they got pics of Gabe dancing to the new Taylor Swift CD!

I meant to get pics of Gabe's nasty bruise on his cheek, but forgot! This is the tail end of the bruise. How it happened you ask? Well, Kyle was watching the kids and Halle and Sass thought it would be fun to push Gabe around in Olivia's high chair. It got caught on the rug and Gabe flew forward and hit the coffee table with his cheek. It was swollen for several days! The bruise looked pretty awful too. I am just waiting for child services to come and knock on my door!! That kid is never without some sort of bruise or scab. Gotta love it!

This is where Olivia spends her mornings while I get ready in the morning! She loves it :)

Utah Trip Final Chapter...Whew!!!

2009-01-10T19:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry all....complete picture overload! But you all know how I love pictures!

We were able to stop by and see my Nana again. She just happened to be at the front door doing some people watching! She is so funny. She wants to keep Olivia there with her! Not sure how all the other residents would feel about that! I am so grateful for all of my wonderful grandparents. We have all been very close throughout my life. They are all such amazing people and I am grateful that my kids have had a chance to get to know them.
My Grandma happens to be in the room across from my Nana right now. She is recovering from an illness and has hopes to go back home very soon. The one thing that I noticed about my grandma was her extremely soft hands. Those are hands that I could hold forever! I love you Grandma!
Gabe loved driving on the tractor with Papa...there was never a shortage of snow to be plowed this trip!

The kids (minus Kyle...he was able to spend a few days with his great friend William in Lehi) and I went to Jamee's while the boys went rabbit hunting. We had a great time hanging out, chatting, battling two boys who for some reason can't stand each other. The eating, giggling, screaming, fighting and playing was a lot of fun! The girls thought it would be fun to put on my makeup. Thanks Jamee for letting us hang!

Later that afternoon we went to Nana and Papa's house. The kids did a fun craft with Nana. They all painted jewelry boxes. They turned out really cute. Halle decided to make hers for her teacher Ms. Cox. (Halle was so excited to give it to her and she loved it!) Thanks Nana for painting with the kids....unfortunately, it is not something I like to do at home!! (TOO MESSY!) We had a fun time!

We were fortunate enough to have a day to spend with friends. Our day started out with the Johnson's. We met up at the Kangaroo Zoo in North Salt Lake. It was a lot of fun. The kids had a great time on the slides and playing the Black Light Golf. (Really weird too...I was wearing a black shirt in the golf area and it was completely see through in the black light!) Halle and Savannah had so much fun together. It was like we were never gone! I wish that we could be closer so that they could hang out. We then went to the El Matador for some tasty mexican food. We had a great time catching up...even though our time was short, it was very memorable. We love and miss the Johnson's very much!

After lunch with the Johnson's, we headed over to the Wray's for dinner and chatting. The boys made sushi that looked really nice (even though I despise the smell of fish!) We ordered pizza for those of us that don't eat sushi. We played a bit of MadGab (and giggled as we listened to the kids playing!) Gabe and Bryson played great together. Kyle and Peyton played a bit of Guitar Hero and the girls...well, I am not sure what they did! Joslyn decided to join a dip contest at the local market and I went up with her to help her enter and she won!! It was a super tasty dip. Thanks Wray's! We miss and love you all so very much!
The day before we left, we decided to take the FrontRunner (UTA Train) down to the Gateway to go out to lunch with my dad and go to Build-A-Bear with the kids. Gabe was unsure about the train, but once we started going he loved it! Kyle and Justin went to the back of the train car. Apparently, we are not cool enough to sit with! All in all it was fun. Thanks Mimi for the great idea! We went to Applebee's with everyone...it was just a bit crazy! But it was Papa Curt's last opportunity to see the girls before we left for Texas. Thanks Dad for coming down.

Build-A-Bear.....What was I thinking?? Just kidding :) Once everyone picked out what they wanted it was easier! There were way to many options to choose from. I think that the kids had a great time. The girls picked out special ones so that they could be twins. They even picked one out for Claire who wasn't there. They loved picking out clothes, bathing them, naming them. I love the picture where they are all kissing the heart before they put it into their stuffed animal. They had to make a promise to their animal that they would take care of them for a lifetime. It was really cute...they were all so into it!

On the train home the girls got off with Jenny and Scott picked them up to go to their house for New Year's Eve. They had so much fun!! Thanks guys for having them. They miss your kids so much.

We then took the loooonnnnnnnggggg drive home the next morning. Gabe complained of ear pain for a while and then started screaming hysterically. And for him, we thought it must be pretty bad. He is not usually like that. So we decided we had to go to the Moab Hospital (wow...what a dive!) They were so nice there. We were in and out really quick. Turns out that the ear infection was not cured with the anti-biotic the week before. They decided to just give him some numbing drops and send us on our way. That kind of solved the problem. A few times in the middle of the night he would break out screaming at the top of his lungs. The kids did great though. Steve pretty much drove the whole way. It was too hard for me to keep my eyes open! Twenty-four hours later we were home!

We had a wonderful trip. We are all so grateful for our families and for their willingness to open their homes to all of us! We had a wonderful time hanging out and reminiscing. We are also grateful for the friends we were able to see and are sorry for the friends we didn't get too. We love you all so very much. Thank you all for being a part of our lives. We are truly blessed. Happy New Year to you all!

Christmas Day

2009-01-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

We had lots of fun opening up presents on Christmas morning. The girls got Nintendo DS's and Kyle got a camera that also does video. Steve got an EOTech scope for his gun (thanks for your help Mike & Sara!) He was super surprised about it. I got Mighty Putty (which I was so excited about. I have since tried it and I can totally say it works awesome!), a WillowTree Figurine and a few other things. It was a great morning! My mom got a fun surprise in her stocking too ;) Have you tried them out yet mom?? xoxo
After opening up gifts at Mimi's and Papa's we travelled down an extremely snowy canyon to Nana and Papa's house. We had a great time eating crepes (thanks Papa!), opening gifts and reading the Christmas story out of the New Testament. The girls got matching shirts that were really cute! They also got fun collectibles. Thanks for the great gifts and for the wonderful memories! We love you :)
We then headed back up to Mimi & Papa's for Christmas dinner with the rest of the family (minus the Jeppson Clan. We sure missed you guys!) It was very chaotic but the food and the company were good. That is all that matters! The presents were great too :) The older kids got a stack of $1 bills that have never been circulated. Really cool! And with my loot, I purchased a new bench for the porch! Thanks Mimi & Papa for an amazing Christmas!
Papa decided to try an old family tradition that consisted of filling up a tub with sawdust and throwing in lots and lots of coins. It was extremely messy but the kids had a fun time collecting all of the loot. My parents will be cleaning up sawdust for months to come! Maybe next year you can try the money jar, Papa!! Thanks again. It was great spending the holidays with all of the family! We love you very much.

The final chapter will come soon!!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-27T20:20:00.001-08:00

We went to Nana & Papa's on Christmas Eve. Cousins!! Fabulous Cousins! Gabe and Cohen just cannot get along! There is constant screaming and fighting between the two of them. It is pretty funny! This is a very rare moment that I forced. :) I thought it was cute! Hopefully next year they will get along.
Jamee made tons of cookies, some of which the girls were able to frost. YUMMY!
Nana read the Christmas Story and then we headed home to open up our Christmas tradition....PJ's. The kids were all really tired and they were in bed by 9:00. Too much traveling had finally caught up to us!

Utah Visit Part Two

2008-12-26T20:24:00.000-08:00

Mimi and Papa's house is up in the mountains. They got a ton of snow!! The kids had a great time riding the snowmobiles and pulling the sleds behind it. The girls had fun sledding down the hill. This was Gabe's first snowmobile ride. He wasn't sure about it at first but after warming up a bit to it he wouldn't let Steve stop!

I never thought that my van would see this much snow! We cleaned it off shortly after this and got even more snow! The girls (Kassadi, Halle & Kiley) layed around and read books in a warm bed. Olivia was sitting on the counter in a bumbo (thanks Jamee!) and she found an apple...TOO CUTE! Gabriel supposedly learned his lesson about jumping on the bed. The windowsill was his teacher!! It was a huge huge bump! He was lucky he didn't cut it open. I can't keep up with this bruiser!

Utah Visit Part One

2008-12-25T20:58:00.001-08:00

Playing in the snow with cousins at Nana and Papa's was lots of fun! Kyle made an igloo w/ the girls, equipped with a window and its own Christmas tree. Papa pulled the kids on a tarp for some fun and got run over by them! The girls loved sledding and Gabe...well, he just loved being outside!
Steve and Scott wrestling....or whatever you want to call it! Halle was sick and throwing up the first day we were there. She probably got it from Gabe who threw up on the drive here (really gross...we even stopped to buy a new car seat!)

Paying a visit to Nana Berry and Grandma Allman. Nana Berry was so excited to see us. She asked if I could leave Olivia with her. Unfortunately, I think that the other residents in the rest home wouldn't appreciate it!

Our attempt at a Colquitt family picture....completely failed!! But nice try :)

More to come!

O, Little Town of Bethlehem...

2008-12-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

This is the second year we have ventured up to Burnett County to see the presentation of Bethlehem the night Christ was born. It is such an amazing "production". You walk around a small town that has everything...candle shop, tax collectors, jail house, iron shop, live animals of all sorts (including camels!), the Inn and the stable/cave where Christ was born, etc. It is so cool. This year we only had to wait in line for about and hour and a half. Armed with popcorn, cell phones, cameras and ipods, it didn't feel like forever! Especially considering the weather was in the high 60s. When we came last year it was 20s and we froze! We went with the Callahan Family again. There was also tons of people from our ward and stake. You would have thought it was put on by the LDS church and not the Baptist Church! Here are a few pics that I got.

*On a side note, we thought that we lost Kassadi for about ten minutes....the worst ten minutes ever. There were so many people there that anything could have happened. Turns out she was in the bathroom with Cheryl. Let's just say that my heart skipped several beats. Really scary! There were people in the line that were concerned too!

No, we are not toasted...just having a great time!

2008-12-23T20:00:00.000-08:00

Tammy's Christmas Party Theatrics

Click above link to see video.

*Warning: You may want a set of ear plugs for this one!

Tammy throws a great party every year!! We had incredible food, great company (around 40 entertaining girls), interesting gift exchange and funny karaoke! The video should speak for itself. They even made me karaoke and boy do I stink! Thanks Tammy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!

Because it is just too sweet not too!

2008-12-11T19:50:00.001-08:00

Luminaries & Townsend PARTY!

2008-12-11T19:36:00.001-08:00

We went to the Townsend's for desserts and fun the other night. The kids were able to hope in the truck and drive around the neighborhood to see all the lights and the luminaries that were all over. It was really beautiful! The kids had a great time running around. Tammy had some great moves for us too! Thanks for hosting Townsend's! btw-we missed you JEANNIE!!

Ward Christmas Party!

2008-12-11T19:08:00.000-08:00

The Ward Christmas Parties are always fun! This year they did the Nativity Story. Kassadi was an angel (along with all of the Sr. Primary Girls), Kyle was one of the Three Kings and Halle was a sheep. It was really cute. Kyle got to sing "We Three Kings" with two other boys. They did a great job. Thanks Nancy for putting on a great show!
Gabe wasn't so sure about Santa!
Olivia was clueless!
And this was impossible! :)

We stayed to help clean up a bit and everyone pitched in!!

MY GIRLS!!

2008-12-11T19:06:00.001-08:00

I am so grateful for my calling w/ the Activity Days Girls. They are so much fun to be with. I love teaching my daughter and I love the darling girls and all of their sweet spirits. It has been a pleasure to serve them! ALL 19 of them! (a couple are missing from this group)

We just did a great project. The girls went into a recording studio and sung Christmas music and they made the cutest CD! What a great experience! Thanks Audra! I listen to it and it just makes me feel so good because they have such sweet voices. It is something that I will treasure for many years to come.

Olivia's Got TEETH!!

2008-12-11T18:58:00.000-08:00

Yes, she has had them for a few weeks, but I just can't seem to keep up with this blogging thing! So for everyone who was dying to know, Olivia has two teeth! And she is absolutely beautiful.