No Sacrifice, No Victory

Random Fun

2012-01-30T12:08:00.005-07:00

Emmett turns 3 Months!!

Every time I take this picture it cracks me up...

Lyla has always been very good at entertaining herself, she can play in her room for hours without coming out. So I never know what I am going to find. On this day she was using her diaper as a pocket, she would talk to "Ucy" (Lucy) for a minute on her phone and then stick it in the "pocket." She is also very good at taking off her zip pj's, so she is normally just walking around in a diaper and some slippers!!

Emmett loves to suck on things, mostly his hands, but if he is feeling lazy he really likes to just suck on his lip.

I LOVE sleeping baby pictures...could be because their asleep :)

Emmett loves his (borrowed) Bumbo. He is already good at just relaxin'!

The First Real Snow

2012-01-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

Winter came late this year, hopefully that doesn't mean it will stay longer. But the kids were so excited when it finally came!!

Christmas

2011-12-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

All we have to show for Christmas Day is two pictures (and lots of video), I will have to be better at that next year!!

We thought that for sure this would be the year that the kids pulled us out of bed at the crack of dawn but no, Sean had to wake all of us up! As you can see Jack is still a little sleepy!

Lyla and I all dressed up for Church!!

We had a great Christmas!! Hope you did too!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T10:18:00.002-07:00

Christmas Eve...such a fun day!! We had our Christmas fetticine, made sugar cookies, played games, watched movies, had a turkey dinner, opened present, had our Christmas devotional, and just hung out together as a family!

Lyla's shirt says "Good All Year, Just ask Santa" cause if said to ask me I might respond negatively :)

Sean and Emmett taking a little Christmas nap

Aunt Meg and Ava are 2 of Lyla's favorite people, she was in heaven to have them both at the same time!

Jack made sure we played plenty of games!

And I made sure that we made Christmas cookies!!

We skyped with Matt and Melissa out in OK, maybe next year you will be here :)

Ava and Lyla getting ready to eat!!

Ava, Christian and Jon opening presents

My little family opening presents

Dad, Megan and Justin...watching the little ones tear into their presents!

DISNEYLAND!!

2011-12-20T12:54:00.005-07:00

Jack was so sad that the cars ride was still not open!

But getting his picture with McQueen and Mater made up for it!

Daddy and Lyla on the Merry go Round

Justin, Henry and Grandma

Megan and Andrew

Patiently waiting for the parade

So cute!!

The Christmas parade

Loving every minute!! Well Lyla decided to take a nap but everyone else is.

Lyla was in awe of Cinderella...she wouldn't take her eyes off of her even for the picture.

Cinderella's Castle

Main Street

Early Christmas

2011-12-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

Jack making a reindeer build a bear for Emmett

Since we were all together Rick and Doris decided to give the kids their Christmas presents a little early. We had a Christmas dinner and program and then let the kids have at it!

Emmett patiently waiting

The kids being distracted, so they don't attack the presents on the table

She is trouble!!

The boys pleading with us to let them open presents!

Present time!!

Thanks Grandma Doris and Grandpa Rick!!

Beach Day

2011-12-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

Right before Christmas Sean's brother and his family were moving from College Station, TX to Folsom, CA. So we decided to meet up with them in Newport Beach for a few days to have a early Christmas celebration. It was a lot warmer in California, but it was still a little chilly at the beach!!

Megan and Henry

Sarah and Sean

Lyla digging in the sand

Justin and Megan thinking of how they can convince Rick to buy this vacation home :)

Jack and Sean playing in the water

Grandpa and all the kids

Jack and Lyla getting good and dirty

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-14T20:16:00.001-07:00

Our annual decorating of homemade gingerbread houses with the Hales!!

I sadly burnt some of the gingerbread BUT it was still lots of fun, and of course their were lots of other yummy treats!!

Jack waiting patiently for the house to set

Lucy and Lyla would make an appearance for a minute or two to enjoy some of the candy, then run off and go play.

Jack with his finished house. I do have to say that he decorated the whole thing. Last year I kept bugging him with my ideas but this year I just let him do it all!!

Jack's Birthday

2011-12-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

It really has become a tradition to go to the Children's Museum on Jack's Birthday. Thankfully we didn't take the train in to SLC this time, like we have in years past, just can't imagine doing that with three kids. Sarah Hale, Emma and Lucy joined us and made it much more fun!!

The Birthday Boy being blown away

Lyla striking a pose

Lucy and Lyla are either the best of friends, or yelling at each other, glad today was a good one :)

Jack told me that he needed to ask Emma to marry him right now, before anyone else does...the moms are totally rooting for this!!

Sarah and Lucy

Lyla and Jack taking turns at the crank

Sarah and Emmett...how do you like the dark hair?!?!

That night I made Jacks favorite dinner, spaghetti, and we put some candles in his left over cake and celebrated one last time...Happy Birthday Jack!! I can't believe your 5!!!

Jack's Birthday Party

2011-12-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

Jack had been telling me for months the details of what he wanted at his party. Which is funny because I never even told him he could have one!! BUT the requests were very simple so I was happy to comply!! First he wanted to have a pajama party, watch a movie (Cars), have a pinata, and have tons of his friends over. Hopefully he got all he wanted :)

We invited about 10 friends, bought a pinata, decorated with everything Cars, and just had a PARTY!!! Sadly there aren't many pictures to document, due to the fact that I thought it was more important to film. But here is what we have...

His Cars 2 Birthday Cake

Some of the friends he had invited, and Sarah H who helped soooooo much!!

Lyla kickin back enjoying her cake and ice cream.

The next morning I let the Birthday boy dig in...

Baking

2011-12-02T14:54:00.001-07:00

Some of you may know that I am in love with baking...and eating the baked goods!! My friend Sarah and I have had "baking day" every Friday for the last year and have had TONS of fun. So for our Christmas plates we went all out...

We do have hopes of someday opening a bakery, but until then we are just taking orders for parties and things...so let me know if you need something yummy...

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T14:10:00.002-07:00

Thanksgiving this year was a BIG reunion for my side of the family down in St.George. It was tons of fun!!! Food, football, crafts, programs, 5K, golfing, chatting in the hall...good times!!

Most of the Great Grandkids

The Turkey Bowl

Activities for the kiddies...

Family 5K

Craft...thanks to Josie for the craft and my sis for putting mine together :)

My AMAZING Grandparents

On a side note...

Sean borrowed a couple iPads from his office and the kids loved them and so did mom and dad when they needed a little help with nap time!

Lyla's Birthday

2011-11-21T13:56:00.001-07:00

It's kind of hard to believe that Lyla only turned 2. I mean it is a big achievement and all but for some reason I feel like she is older. It could be all the drama or it could just be the fact that at 2 she is speaking so much more than Jack did at 3 ;)

We kept her birthday low key this year, family and close friends, but man was she spoiled!!

2 Months

2011-11-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

My baby is growing so fast!! I Love it when he smiles!!

This is Halloween

2011-10-31T23:11:00.003-06:00

Jack has been talking about this day for about a month now. So much hype I was scared that it may seem a bit anti-climatic. The night did not disappoint.

Lyla thought she had to eat every piece of candy before we reached the next door as evidence by the cerulean airhead in her cute little paw.

We had a lot of fun getting messy carving pumpkins!

There is a pumpkin for each of us in the family. See if you can match the pumpkin to the correct person! Hint: I'm not much of a Tinkerbell fan...I think Vidia is much hotter!

Too Fat to Fit in the Picture

2011-10-31T12:27:00.001-06:00

Over the past couple of weeks I've been following this guy on his journey from fit2fat2fit. His name is Drew and he is taking it upon himself to try and feel what it's like to have all the cravings and food addictions of an obese person. Check out these pictures.

http://www.fit2fat2fit.com/photos/

This confirms my suspicion; you can get too fat...to fit in a PICTURE FRAME!

Emmett's Blessing

2011-10-30T11:07:00.000-06:00

It was also the Primary Program and Jack did a great job with all of his parts. It was a drastic change from last year when we couldn't even get him to sit on the stand. Lyla sang a song with the nursery kids and sadly she was the kid who picked her nose the whole time :)

Pack's Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-17T22:00:00.000-06:00

For family home evening a week or two ago we went to Pack's Pumpkin Patch with the Hale's. The kids had a lot of fun picking out their pumpkin's, widdershins through the maze and riding in the cart. Afterward we went to the Hale's for some delightful hot chocolate. Good times.

Emmett

2011-10-17T19:50:00.000-06:00

Here is my little guy at one month...

Lagoon

2011-10-15T19:42:00.000-06:00

Our trip to Lagoon this year was a fun one!! Jack had been asking all summer if we could go and I just kept telling him we had to wait until the Halloween stuff was up. So when October finally came we couldn't put it off any longer!! Lyla freaked out on her first ride but warmed up to them eventually!!

Haunted Houses

2011-10-14T19:28:00.001-06:00

I LOVE Halloween but I HATE Haunted Houses. So these Haunted Houses suit me just fine!! Plus it was a fun little craft to do while Megan and her boys were here for a few days.

Paint the Garage

2011-09-25T23:00:00.000-06:00

I decided to take a few days off work to help take care of the kids while Sarah and the baby were in recovery. While home I ran out of things to do with the kids so I thought I would tackle a project that has been looming in the back of my mind for a while...paint the garage! As I wrangled this task I became more aware of my surroundings and learned quite a few things. I hope this tidbit of information will prove useful to any others trying to decide if they should try to accomplish this great feat.

1. I turned on the radio to 97.1 ZHT. Self help audio-books are the route I usually take but I feel like my knowledge of the newest craze has slipped. What I learned is ZHT has a grand total of 10 songs in their studio. I kept listening to the same 6 songs over and over again. I had heard all the songs maybe once before but now I know every word, artist, next concert, latest gossip, and others interpretations of the lyrics of these 6 songs.

2. Radio advertising must be the only effective marketing for car dealerships. With a credit score of 550 or better I'm approved and treated the same as everyone else.

3. Though garbage bags make a fun outfit for a kid to wear while painting...it rarely will limit or restrict the amount of paint that gets all over their body. Chances are someone is going to step in the paint tray then flip their foot around till the paint is either gone or dry.

4. If you need to teach your almost 2 year old daughter how to unlock a door from the inside simply leave some paint, paint brushes, and used paint rollers on the other side of the door...lock it...then go take a shower. Lyla taught herself how to unlock a deadbolt and open the door, along with a couple other special painting skills.

5. Next time I will ask every single neighbor I have if they have a paint sprayer. Don't wait till you go to get a soda at Maverick after completing the project and see your "across the street" neighbor there and learn that he has a very nice paint sprayer. If you slip them a baksheesh I'm sure they would be more than happy to help.

6. Spending time with my kids doing this project made it completely worth while.

Let me know what you have learned while painting your garage.

I had to up the cuteness factor of this post with the latest pic of Emmett!

More Emmett Pics

2011-09-19T09:25:00.002-06:00

Here are more pics of Emmett and Sarah. Both are doing very well!

Meet Emmett

2011-09-18T22:30:00.000-06:00

Born 9:41pm
6 pounds 7 ounces
19 inches long
2 inches of black hair
Dang Cute!!!

...more pictures to come!

Phineas & Ferb

2011-09-15T19:32:00.000-06:00

I have a secret shame that is just welling up inside of me...I...MUST...SHARE.

Phineas & Ferb is awesome!

*off in the distance a cricket stridulates*

Come on, I can't be the only adult that loves to watch this show. It is extremely creative in my opinion. If you haven't seen it; the boys are on summer vacation from school, they come up with new adventures/inventions everyday, their sister tries to get them in trouble all the time, and they rock out on a regular basis.

I didn't ever think anything could fill the hole in my hear from the afternoon lineup I use to watch (Tale Spin, Tiny Toons, Rescue Rangers, Duck Tales, and Rescue Rangers) but this show tops them all.

Please let me know if I'm the only one with this secret shame.

Sucker Punch

2011-09-13T22:31:00.000-06:00

I had many friends tell me not to watch this movie because it was such a waste of time. What did I do...I watched it. Why? I couldn't tell you.

I didn't like it. I felt like I was watching a video game. The best part of the whole movie was when the girl (I already forgot her name) started fighting these guys in the picture below.

Poor acting, poor screen play, poor story line. This movie was almost as bad as "Biker Boys". I kept wondering when the movie was going to start or when a haruspex would show up.

Do yourself a favor and take some time jamming needles under your fingernails...at least you would feel something besides boredom.

Please share your opinion of Sucker Punch. I'm curious to see if anyone loathes this as much as I do.

Park Hoppin'

2011-09-12T19:29:00.000-06:00

What a beautiful day...for allergies! At this moment I have a HUGE sinus headache.

As I perpend on my days as a kid, I remember going to parks with huge metal slides. I would stand at the top with my short John Stockton length shorts and tube socks to my knees. This hugely fashionable style provided little protection against the pain I was prepared to feel for a moment of glory. Starting down the slide I would feel the air blowing against my face and the molten lava temperature on my thighs. The slides by the tennis courts east of the Centerville cemetery were the best, longest, and fastest.

This evening for family home evening the kids and I (we left Sarah home to let her relax) went to "the big park" by our house. Just like club hoppin' we moved on to a smaller park for the rest of the evening. I do remember going from one club to the next as a 20-something teenager but I don't ever remember park hoppin' as a kid...do you?

9/11

2011-09-11T21:33:00.000-06:00

Where I was during 9/11:

I had an early morning business calculus class that I was late for. At that time of the morning I'm not very perspicacious. As I passed the TVs of the lobby I glanced up and saw the first tower flaming and thought,"I wish I had time to watch this trailer cause I'll bet this is going to be an awesome action film." After the class was let out the lobby was quiet but packed with students. Every one's eyes were glued to the screen. The first tower had fallen and the second was about to go. Classes were cancelled, at least I thought they were. Most students gathered at the Student Union building to watch the horror unfold. I kept thinking to myself that last time I was there the tour guide asked me how many people lived in my little city of Farmington. I responded with just over 18,000 not really knowing the correct answer. She responded saying there are about 50,000 people that work in those two buildings. One of those buildings has more people in it than my city. Wow! And they just came down...I hope a lot were able to escape unharmed.

The aftermath was gruesome. No one really knew what to think. I was scared at the time...mostly of the unknown.

Sunshine Radian XTSL

2011-09-09T23:48:00.000-06:00

What is the deal with car seat laws? Why would we force an 8 year old kid to be strapped into a seat like a little monkey named Bubbles? I remember the good old days when we would pile me and 10 of my friends in the Grocery Getter (station wagon). I feel that this outrageous attempt for car seat manufacturers and car makers to earn a quick buck is turning a lot of us to a life filled with contumacious outbursts. I'm partly kidding, I realize it is extremely important to keep my kids safe and if this will do it...I will abide.

Typical car seat is about 2 feet wide. A lot of my friends have turned to purchasing 8 passenger SUV's and minivan's for their 2 kids. I have decided that since most cars were made to fit 5 passengers that I would accomplish this. Behold, the Sunshine Radian (only 17 inches wide). With this $230 (on sale) beauty we can and will fit 3 car seats across the back seat of my car.

Thank you Sarah for helping me avoid spending $17k+ on a problem that was solved with a very nice, very expensive throne for Princess Lyla!

Family Pictures...

2011-08-03T14:39:00.000-06:00

...of the Hales :) Haha were you confused??

We did take some shots of us to...

The camera man in front of the camera.

Sarah had to hold Lyla in between pretty much every shot

Emma and Jack

Our crazy family

They have way to much fun together!!

Jack's New Bike

2011-07-29T14:31:00.001-06:00

We bought Jack a new little bike, that doesn't have pedals, to help him get ready for a "big boy bike." He loves it, he rides on it all day and is actually getting very good at it. Although he does ask me a lot why it doesn't have pedals!

Of course Lyla can't be left out!

Me and my big belly at 30 weeks.

Flanders Family Reunion

2011-07-22T13:51:00.003-06:00

Our annual camp out at Anderson Cove with the Flanders Family was tons of fun this year, so glad to see everyone!!

Jack and Lyla trying out the walkie-talkies

Sean setting up a couple tents :)

While everyone else (Jack) was out on the boat Lyla was content just playing with some buckets and water.

Although it was more fun when everyone came back to play with her!!

Later came bubbles

Big ones and small ones

Thanks to Nina and Jared for making the bubbles so much fun!!

The next morning there was some wakeboarding...

...yummy food...

...finger painting...

...and dry ice bubbles.

We had TONS of fun this year and are already looking forward to next year!!! Thanks everyone!!!

The rest of the day the kids were pretty much shot. It is very rare for Lyla to hold still this long :)

Golfing at Cherry Hill

2011-07-20T13:35:00.001-06:00

Jack has wanted to go "golfing at Cherry Hill" ALL summer. He asks me EVERY time we drive past, "when are we going golfing at Cherry Hill?" So finally we went, with the Hales, and he loved every minute of it. He ran and ran and golfed and just had tons of fun.

He hasn't quite figured out the rules yet, but as long as he was enjoying himself I didn't care.

Sarah H. has been a trooper this summer. Lyla has decided that Sarah is her favorite person and so whenever we are together it is like Sarah has 3 kids cause Lyla won't let me near her :) Lyla is also a climber, can you tell?

The kids loved throwing the balls into the holes and then watching where they ended up.

Yes I know I am huge.

Everyone but Sean: Sarah, Sarah, Lyla, Lucy, Jack, Emma and Matt

Patriotic Parades

2011-07-04T14:52:00.000-06:00

We went to three parades this year!! I am seriously wondering why. I mean the kids had tons of fun and they got tons of candy, but they were kind of all the same :) although I am sure we will do it again next year!!

Sean, Lyla and Jack during the Centerville Parade

If Lyla saw a piece of candy she would run for it, no matter how far away it was!! She liked to keep daddy on his toes!!

Farmington Festival Days

This year we went with the Millers and they let us sit with them in there awesome seats!! Thanks guys!!

Rick got the honor of driving the Citizen of the Year

Uncle Chase was just spending another day at the office :)

Jack was sooo excited for the parade to start that he wouldn't even look at me.

Daddy and Lyla...let the fun begin!!

With Uncle Chase driving around the Maverick truck all summer we have sure had our fun posing with it. Jack, Rylee, Sarah, Lyla, Branson and RD

Jack and Lyla petting the baby goats at the festival

For some reason my camera didn't make it to the Kaysville Parade which was by far the most profitable. Jack came away with enough goodies to last the rest of the summer!! Thanks to the Hale's and Gunn's for letting us tag along!!

A few more days...

2011-07-01T10:07:00.000-06:00

...of fun with Matt and Melissa's family before they headed back out of town. We went to Gardner Village, fishing, swimming, lots of shopping and just hanging out.

Although I only managed to take one picture...

Grandpa watched Lyla while the rest of us went swimming, looks like he had a really hard time :)

Matt and Melissa we miss you!!!! Come back soon!!!!

Godfrey Reunion

2011-06-28T08:41:00.000-06:00

Our annual trip to Bear Lake with the Godfrey's was so much fun!!

We headed down to the beach right after we checked in, so it was late afternoon and the water was cold!!

Jack and Gabe already throwing rocks

Some of the gang hanging out in the water

Lyla didn't care if it was cold, she was loving it!!

Grandpa and Ava getting their toes wet

The next day we had lots of fun at the beach, even though their was just rocks, not sand

I loved that Lyla wanted to wear my hat all day, it shaded her whole body!

Megan and Justin brought their paddle boards, and we had lots of fun on them, although we were a little sore afterwards!

Lyla passed out at the beach, all wrapped up in towels.

Matt and Benson hanging out at the beach

Jack was prepared for all sorts of fun!!

Benson turned one while on vacation and we all celebrated with some yummy cupcakes!!

Amy and Christian waiting for some fun to start!

Matt took most of us on a hike through Minnetonka Cave. I made it up and down about 880 of the 888 stairs before I slipped and almost fell, thanks to my sis who saved me, she had held onto me the whole way, just waiting for the pregnant clutz to slip :) At the very bottom of the cave they turn out the lights to show you how dark it could be in there. I whispered "I am freaking out" and heard Jack's reply "we are all freaking out mom." Fun times!!

Jack had been looking forward to the Pinata since Grandma showed it to him a couple days before we left. He asked her every day, "Are we doing the Pinata today?"

Instead of boating in the frigid temps at Bear Lake we headed down for one last bit of fun at Newton Lake by Logan.

Jack and Sean wakeboarding

Megs holding Lyla and a freaked out Ava

We had so much fun this year!!! A HUGE thanks to Grandma Callie and Grandpa Kirk!!!

Can't wait til next year....

June

2011-06-17T08:19:00.001-06:00

Jack's Summer Show at Flip's

Sean, Lyla, Andrew, Grandma, Henry and Megan all came to cheer him on

Jack doing a trick

"Ta-Da"

Later that month when the rain finally stopped my Mom and I took the kids to the "duck pond"

Me and my kids

Jack and Lyla keeping watch on a little brown duck

Grandma Callie and the kids

Miniature Golf with the Martin's

I couldn't get over how cute Lyla was with her teeny tiny club. She meant business too, she would set up her ball all by herself...

...and this is what she would do if someone tried to help her!

Jack and Lyla with Grandma Doris and Grandpa Rick

Camping

2011-06-03T22:26:00.002-06:00

The first weekend in May we braved the cold weather (luckily their was no rain) and went camping up at Pineview with the Miller's.

The kids all chillaxin'

Making smores...they were a big hit!!

Can't wait to go again!!!

Jack

2011-05-23T22:07:00.001-06:00

The end of May brought the end of preschool and soccer for Jack.

His preschool graduation was adorable. They sang songs and told us about what they did that year. He did such a good job and the fact that he got up their and did the program without one shy moment made mommy extremely excited!

Miss Keely, Jack and Miss Brooke

Singing songs

His favorite things...no idea, I couldn't understand!

I am still sad that preschool ended. He learned so much!!!

A little relaxation after such a good program!

Jack was so excited about his soccer medal, he wore it for 3 days straight.

Letting Lyla try it on.

Easter

2011-04-24T10:28:00.001-06:00

Easter this year started last Thursday, coloring eggs at our house. All 4 of them.

Then Saturday we colored eggs at Grandma Callie's house...

Grandma Callie and Christian

Aunt Meg and Jack

Then the Easter Egg Hunt...

Jack and Ava searching for their eggs

Ava, Lyla and Jack with their eggs.

Sean taking a little nap, didn't get enough sleep at the Scout camp out the night before!

The Easter Egg Hunt at our house...

Lyla liked to shake every egg she found and if it made sounds she knew it was jelly beans and would stop to enjoy a few.

Jack and Lyla with their loot.

All dressed up for church. I took a few before church when her hair was still wet and not out of control :)

Jack and Lyla

Mommy and Lyla

Daddy and Jack

Jack and Lyla doing what they do best, throwing rocks in the rain gutter.

Relaxing at the end of a very fun filled day.

Random Pictures

2011-04-19T15:12:00.002-06:00

Lyla loves to sneak off by herself and catch up on a good book

Sean snapped this one on his phone while on a walk with the kids, so cute!

Every time I make dinner or lunch or anything for that matter BOTH kids want up on the counter. Which would be fine if I had more counter space.

Soccer

2011-04-12T15:23:00.001-06:00

We decided that Jack was old enough to play soccer this season and tonight was his first game! Just in case all the kids look alike to you, Jack is the one with white long sleeves.

Beach Day

2011-03-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

Sean and Andrew digging up some sand

Jack and Andrew loved being buried in the sand

You might have to enlarge this picture to see the humor, Lyla has shoved her finger up Jack's nose and he can't do a thing about it

We were chasing this one around the beach all afternoon

Whereas this one stayed put and just played in the cold water and sand

Jack splashing in the water

A team effort to dig a hole, that kept disappearing

Lyla eating the sand, she thought it was very delicious

Such a change from two days before when she wouldn't even stand in the sand let alone play with it. If you enlarge this one you can see her sand goatee from eating all the sand.

The Grandparents, without these two none of us would of made it to California. Thanks for such a fun trip, I wish we were there right now...

Disneyland

2011-03-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

Disneyland!!! Yipee!!!

We arrived just in time to see a lot of the characters exiting the Fire Station on Main Street and to see Mickey parading down the street with a band.

Jack got to dance with Dale.

Jack, Rick, Sarah, Lyla and Doris in front of the castle. I forget whose castle it is. Cinderella?

Meeting Mickey

This was the one thing Sean had on his "must do" list. See Captain Eo.

Waiting in line for the Jungle Safari.

It is a good thing we went on such a slow day with lines as short as 5 minutes, otherwise the kids would of really been going nuts!

Lyla had to get out and walk around a lot. Everyone would stop and stare. It was so cute.

Henry and Lyla did sooo good in the stroller!! Some serious chillaxin'!

Most of the gang.

I can't wait to go back, and either can Jack!!

Unplanned Beach Trip

2011-03-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

Our first trip to the beach was purely to appease the cries of two little boys, Jack and Andrew. They had talked of nothing but the beach since our arrival in Newport. So after a yummy lunch in Laguna we decided to make a quick stop. We rolled our pants up and hoped that no one (Jack and Andrew) would get soaked.

Lyla either knew she wasn't dressed appropriately

or just didn't want to get dirty because her stint in the sand lasted less than ten seconds. After daddy saved her from the sand she cleaned every single grain of sand from her feet.

Happy girl, safe in daddy's arms.

Henry loved the sand, he is one little boy who doesn't mind getting dirty.

Jack was in heaven, he seriously talked about the beach for weeks before we went!

Jack and Andrew were hesitant at first to get their toes wet. But all they needed was a little encouragement and they were hooked. A few minutes later while playing some sort of game involving throwing seaweed Andrew slipped and got soaked. A few minutes after that while Jack was "chasing" waves it was his turn to get wet when a wave that was a little larger than anticipated knocked him over. So we left Laguna Beach with two very wet toddlers, one very sandy baby boy, and one very clean baby girl.

Happy Valentines Day!!

2011-02-14T18:49:00.004-07:00

My Cute Kids

2011-01-31T15:11:00.002-07:00

I don't know if you know but my kids are best buds. They play together all day everyday and 95% of the time no one is crying. Jack isn't happy until Lyla wakes up in the morning and Lyla cries when Jack goes to preschool. They are two peas in a pod. So here are some cute pictures of my two cute kids. And yes I know they look a lot alike, and that they look like their dad :)

Playin'

Watching Despicable Me. Lyla will only watch movies if she can sit by Jack.

Lyla's favorite place in the whole house is Jack's room and her favorite place in Jack's room is his bed. She was so excited when she figured out how to get up there herself. Although Jack was always willing to give her boost, he loves to play with her on his bed.

I bought these little snack things for Lyla but Jack loves them too. I don't think we can leave the house without them!!

A Train Ride...

2010-12-29T10:00:00.002-07:00

...it's kind of becoming a tradition to only ride the train into SLC during the winter. One of these days we will do it when it is nice and warm outside and I don't have to carry millions of pounds of winter wear!! But we still managed to have a grand adventure!!

Megan, Justin and Henry

Andrew, Rick, Doris and Jack

We rode the train into the city to go to the Children's Museum, which is fast becoming one of Jacks most favorite things to do!!

Lyla and Henry chillin in the baby corner, safe and sound from the complete chaos that was everywhere else!

Jack collecting some groceries, he is looking pretty angry in this picture, I wonder if someone stole his can of fruit or something!

Andrew must be telling a story...

Playing in the water is always the bestest!!!

Although it was a very cold and rainy day we had a lot of fun, thanks Martin's!!!!

Sledding with the Millers

2010-12-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Me attempting go down the hill with Jack, I am still laughing!

Branson got pulled around in his cute little sled

Jack and Rylee debating whose turn it is to take the tube

RD and Branson taking a turn

Sean was the best of all, he could take both kids AND keep them upright and safe. Go Dad!!

Christmas

2010-12-25T09:27:00.005-07:00

Our funniest moment this Christmas was when we tried to wake Jack up to open presents. First Sean sat downstairs and rang our sleigh bell for about ten minutes, nothing. Then he went upstairs where Jack promptly told him to stop talking about presents and turned over and went back to sleep. So I went and Jack said he would come as long as I would carry him. As soon as he saw the presents he was gone...

Before

Ten minutes later!

Christmas morning at the Godfrey's

Christmas at the Martin's - Unfortunately we didn't take many pictures, mostly just did video here, but we don't love you guys any less!!

Our little Christmas Elf

It was a great Christmas and I was completely exhausted at the end of the day! Kids really do make Christmas so much more fun!!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T08:45:00.001-07:00

For us Christmas Eve starts with a lunch of Fettuccine Alfredo, this year we headed to Olive Garden so they could prepare it for us!

Then normally we would go sledding or build a snowman. Due to the lack of white stuff we settled on sending Sean shopping with my dad while I took a nap with Lyla and Jack played game after game with Megan and Justin!!

Thanks guys!

Sean and my dad got a new TV for their basement!! Such shoppers!!

That evening we had a yummy ham dinner and a especially fun nativity family home evening.

Lyla in her cute Christmas dress, she is learning to walk!

Candy canes are so much more interesting than getting your picture taken

Jon squeezing mom

Hahahaha

Lyla, Grandma and Ava

This was Lyla about ten minutes after I put the dress on her and forty pictures later. She has a shoe obsession!

Joseph

Ava our Angel

Mary

Amy, Christian and Mom enjoying the show

I think this was the longest Jack held still all night, and it latest all of a minute!

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Lights at Temple Square

2010-12-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

Their are just somethings at Christmas that are musts like, sugar cookies and slush and going to see the lights at Temple Square. So the Monday before Christmas we bundled up ourselves and the kids and headed over to Temple Square with the thousands of others who had the same idea!! Luckily we talked the Hales into coming with us. Jack and Emma had the time of their lives running around. My favorite part was when Jack would run up to Lucy and say LUCY and she would laugh hysterically!! Such fun, although it was very cold!!!

The Martin's

The Hale's

You wouldn't know it from the face he is pulling here but this is his favorite part, green Christmas lights!!!

My favorite part were all of the nativities. This one has to be the coolest!!

To warm up after our outing we stopped by the Lion House Pantry for some dinner, my mouth still waters just thinking about the Cream of Mushroom soup. It was a perfect night!!

Jack turns 4

2010-12-12T15:33:00.002-07:00

I can't believe that my little man has turned four!! When planning his party he had his own ideas, so I just went along with him. He required LOTS of balloons and party hats, not to mention the party favors that he choose for his friends! He also requested a green Mickey Mouse cake. I absolutely suck at cake making (I hope to get better over time) so no giggles allowed!!

While we were waiting for his candles to be lit he told me that he got to eat his WHOLE cake!! Luckily he got bored after one ear!

He was so excited for presents! Its kind of sad that he only gets presents one month a year. But he LOVED everything he got and to this day tells me who gave it to him. Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate his special day!!!

He is such a good big brother, he loves his sister and wants her to do everything with him. He is really starting to be a curious little boy. He asks questions about absolutely EVERYTHING!! He is a good helper and will run for a binky or a diaper whenever I ask. He is also very good at negotiating treats and balloons!!! I am a total sucker and cave the majority of the time. But best of all are his stories. Every night he practically pounces on Sean when he comes home from work, full of stories about everything we did that day! He is getting SOOO big!!!

Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

Every year we get together with the Hales to make Gingerbread Houses. It is so much fun!! Not to mention really yummy, fresh homemade gingerbread and LOTS of treats!!

Matt and Sean constructing the houses

Lucy, Emma and Sarah getting ready to decorate

Jack decorated our whole gingerbread house by himself, I had a hard time giving him complete control, but he did a great job!!

Lyla and I were watching from a distance. So that I wouldn't bug Jack and so she wouldn't jump for the treats that were scattered everywhere!

The finished products!! Jack's is on the left and Emma's is on the right!! They did such a good job!!

Lyla's Birthday

2010-12-06T11:16:00.004-07:00

With Jack's birthday approaching fast (this Sunday) I thought I had better post some pictures from Lyla's Birthday!! I still have a hard time believing that my baby is one!! Thanks to all of you who came to help celebrate her first birthday!!

She was so not understanding the whole concept of blowing out a candle....maybe next year!

I have been to parties where babies make the biggest mess when they are handed their very first birthday cake. Well not my kids. I don't think they enjoy getting messy. She just gracefully licked some of the frosting.

Presents and more presents!!! Thanks to Jack, Emma, Rylee and Ava my little princess didn't have to lift a finger when it came to opening presents. They were just thrown at her so they could unwrap the next one!

Now on to the next milestone...walking...

Lyla's Quirks

2010-11-13T14:46:00.003-07:00

Lyla is such a fun little girl. These last couple months we have seen her own little personality coming out, and a few little quirks as well. Here are two:

When she is crawling around she loves to put peoples shoes on her hands. It doesn't matter how big or small the shoe, she almost always has one on.

She also has this habit of folding herself up. Whenever she is crying or about to cry. I know I should be trying to soothe her instead of grabbing the camera, but it is pretty funny.

Just a fun little shot of Lyla, then I remembered one of me sitting at the same piano long ago...

October

2010-11-13T14:03:00.008-07:00

October was a busy month, so busy in fact that I really got bad at updating the old blog. So here is a mass October post.

Up first is the birth of my new nephew, Christian Jonathan, on October 3!!

Welcome to the family little cutie!!

Next up was a visit from Jack's Texas cousins!!

Wheeler Farm

Andrew, Megan, Doris, Jack, Rick, Henry, Sarah and Lyla lost in the corn maze

Feeding the ducks and geese

Jack was in awe of how many ducks gathered for a little food

Racing up to the treehouse

Rick, Andrew and Jack getting ready to do some farmin'

Jack's first pony ride.

Carving pumpkins

We had lots of fun while they were here, Jack was lost without Andrew after they left! So sad to see them go although they will be back shortly for Christmas!! Yippee!!

Then came the Halloween festivities

Jack was thrilled to wear his costume to preschool. Not so thrilled when asked to sing a song for all the moms!!

Carving pumpkins at our house. Jack still won't touch the goo unless he has a very, very long spoon.

Trunk or Treat

Our branch closed down a street in our community for a little Trunk or Treat! I am glad we took some pictures this night because it was pouring rain on Halloween!!

Lyla was the cutest little duck you have ever seen!

Jack was a little sick of waiting for the Truck or Treat to start, and a little sick of us taking pictures. Yes Jack was Tigger again, but that is what he wanted to be and who was I to protest?!?

We had such a fun Halloween! Jack wasn't at all put off by the pouring rain and according to Sean ran from door to door once he figured out that people were giving him candy! Lyla on the other hand stayed nice and cozy warm in her BOO pj's. So sad to see Halloween go!!

Lagoon

2010-10-09T13:47:00.002-06:00

I have decided that the only time to go to Lagoon is in the fall. Although maybe I shouldn't say that out loud because then it might get crowded! This was Jack's first ever trip to Lagoon and it was a success! He loved every minute of it, he ran from ride to ride!! We went with our friends the Hale's (a big thank you to Sarah for the tickets) and had a blast, a perfect way to spend a nice crisp autumn day!!

Sean and Jack

Emma and Sarah

Lucy and Matt (poor Matt wasn't feeling to hot, and no it wasn't nausea from the spinning, just a little cold).

This picture is not very fun to look at but it just proves that I was actually there! Seeing as it is the only picture I am in!

Surprisingly the kids were very patient waiting in line

Lyla in the stroller, yet again! Funny story, she loves to suck on the stem of pumpkins, the little ones shown above. You would think the slightly prickly texture would hurt, but I guess not.

The swings were a hit

Lucy and Emma

This was Jack's favorite! Probably because he got the green one and green just happens to be his favorite color!

If you didn't believe me before...

2010-09-24T09:39:00.003-06:00

...maybe now you will. Although Lyla is teeny tiny she is a BIG time climber...

This is her "I am so proud of myself" face!

This is her totally freaked out because the thing underneath her moved. She started screaming right after this picture, she wanted out!!

End of Summer

2010-09-14T09:34:00.007-06:00

Where is Lyla?

Now that crawling is sooo easy Lyla is into climbing. The other day I could not find her anywhere until I heard her little stuffy nose breathing (thanks to her allergies). She had managed to get herself into a tight spot on the computer desk.

Some may call it boredom, but for me I was just trying to entertain Jack. So I pulled out all of my old stuffed animals plus Jack's and Lyla's and we tried to hide Lyla. Well she is to big, but we had fun! Who can spot the popple?

Of course Jack wanted to try too!

Cute kids!!

Peach Days

I was born in Brigham and for me it just doesn't feel like fall has started until we have gone to Peach Days. Luckily they have a HUGE car show that entices Sean! We looked at lots of cars, ate some yummy food (peach cobbler!), gawked at the incredibly huge amount of people that showed up for the festivities, then turned around and came home.

It's official, Jack is a preschooler!!

This was his "I am to cool for pictures face."

I think it is funny that his backpack is as big as he is. He thinks that it is funny to not keep his backpack on!!

The Godfrey Family Reunion

2010-08-23T09:21:00.000-06:00

The traditional Bear Lake reunion this year was oh so much fun, although a little cold!! Before the rain started on Sunday we went for a great hike to see the Lone Pine...

We owe a big thanks to these two!!

Jack was in heaven with all the wild flowers and sticks he could get his hands on!

Justin and Megan

The Oklahoma Godfrey's...so HAPPY that they could come!!

It was a wee windy

Grandpa (or Baaboo) and Gabe

The boys had way to much fun playing Risk, staying up until one in the morning!!

Our Beach day was freezing because it had rained all night and cooled things off!! So there wasn't to much time in the water, mostly just playing on the beach.

Ava and Jack playing in the sand

Jack flying kites

Gabe and Jack flying a kite

Amy, Lyla, Ava and Jon

Yes i kept her in the shade even though it was freezing. The poor girl would of been burnt to a crisp otherwise, with her fair skin.

All the boys playing some game that I don't have a clue what it is called

That night after our traditional shakes and burgers at Le Beau's we had our first ever pinata (spell check can't even help me with that word)!! It was a big hit, the kids loved it. It took a little while to actually break open, but as the kids get bigger it will break open way to fast!

We had so much fun, the hiking, yummy food, staying up late chatting, movies, games, making silly hats, playing with stickers, going to the beach, and were so sad when it was all over. Especially because our Oklahoma cousins had to go home. But there is always next year!!

Elders Quorum Golf Scramble

2010-08-17T22:15:00.000-06:00

Trying to come up with an activity for the Farmington Crossing Branch Elders Quorum has been difficult because we don't want to exclude anyone and don't want to waste the budget. We decided to hold a scramble at Davis Park Golf Course. We had a great turnout from Elders that we hadn't seen for a while and others that have never touched a club in their life. Thanks to Wade Steed for organizing and Cory Burt (Burt Brothers Tires) for the excellent prizes. We even had the local pro Clay Ogden show us how it's done. Success!!!

Summer

2010-08-16T09:38:00.008-06:00

We have had a fun summer, and its not over yet, so here are a few random pictures to update all of you on what we have been doing!

Discovery Gateway - Jack's favorite is the fans that blow cupcake liners up in the air. He might not look happy in the picture, but he was just in awe of the machine.

We have lots of pictures of Lyla in the stroller this summer. This time she was happy watching Jack play with the fans.

Solid Foods - Lyla has started eating solids, and let me tell you, she LOVES them. So it tends to result in baths in random places. Like Grandma Callie's kitchen sink.

Jack thinks it is funny to cover Lyla up with blankets and watch her dig herself out. Luckily she is a good sport and lets him. When she does crawl out there is normally a big smile on her face (like above) but the longer it takes her the big smile turns to big tears.

Flowers - Jack LOVES flowers. Planting them, picking them, looking at them, really just anything about them. So when we went to Temple Square last week he was loving every minute of it. He was also enthralled with the fountains.

Lyla didn't like them quite as much.

Funny picture of the two.

Swimming with dad.

Lyla watching them swim, not so happy about the watching part.

Jack made this "water shower" for Lyla in the bath tub the other night. She loved it!!

So cute...

2010-07-26T14:46:00.000-06:00

...I just had to share!

Lyla can crawl...

2010-07-16T21:00:00.002-06:00

...or can she? We call it her bump scoot!!

Farmington Festival Days

2010-07-13T08:18:00.003-06:00

Wasatch Back: Ragnar Relay

2010-06-19T22:07:00.001-06:00

Yes, I did partake in the Ragnar Relay of Utah. Being runner 1 and 21 miles of terrain led me to heliolatry, which drove me to gallons of water. It was a hot couple of days and a ton of fun.

Stuff you should know:
188 miles from Logan to Park City
12 person team
2 vans per team
and a whole lot of running!

I completed my first leg of 7.9 miles (I still think it was only 7.0 miles) in 55 minutes. Second leg of 8.7 miles in 68 minutes. The third and final leg of 4.0 miles from Oakley to Kamas in 40 minutes. Don't ask me what happened at the end. I blame it on the head wind and the 16 miles I ran a few hours earlier.

All in all I loved it and am grateful that my wife and kids let me do it. Does anyone know a good masseuse?

This is a picture at the top of Avon Pass looking down on Liberty. Beautiful!

Curlers

2010-06-15T17:41:00.003-06:00

Normally this is what my baby girl looks like.

But with her hair getting so long I thought I would try some sponge curlers, just to see what happens.

Of course Jack insisted on having some as well

Here is the result, what do you think? Curlers or no curlers??

The Wedding Day

2010-05-21T17:26:00.001-06:00

The biggest event in May was my little sisters wedding. Sean was in charge of taking some video so we didn't take to many pictures. So sad. I will have to get some from the photographer (or Josie). What was suppose to be a cold rainy day turned out to be the perfect day for a wedding. The dress, the ceremony, the food, it was all beautiful. Jack's favorite part was the chocolate fountain, he had chocolate from head to toe.

Congratulations Megan and Justin!!

New York City

2010-05-09T08:58:00.008-06:00

Our cruise ended in Brooklyn. So we spent a couple of days doing a fast tour of New York City!!

Pulling into the city bright and early!

We spent the day walking through Central Park, finding and enjoying Magnolia Bakery, having a Gray's Papaya hot dog, going to Iron Man 2, shopping at a street fair, and walking through Times Square. Sarah H. took most of the pictures, so I don't have to much to show!

Times Square

We started the next day out with a HUGE muffin (or cupcake) from Crumbs Bakery.

Day 2 was spent riding the subway to Wallstreet, Ground Zero, shopping in Chinatown, having lunch in Little Italy, shopping at FAO Schwarz and walking around Rockefellar Plaza.

Matt and Sarah at Grand Central Station

George Washington patting Sean on the head, at Wall Street.

FAO Schwarz

It was a great vacation, tons of fun, I wish I was going again tomorrow. I just wish it had a better ending than me and Sarah ditching Sean and Matt at the ticket counter in JFK and butting our way through security to run all the way through the terminal to literally make it to the plane as they were closing the doors. It would have been nice for all four of us to make the flight. But I have no complaints. We all made it safe and sound!! Now to plan our next trip...I am thinking the Northwest...any suggestions??

Bermuda

2010-05-07T20:02:00.001-06:00

The next port on our cruise was Bermuda. This was by far our favorite. Beautiful island!! We spent the day zooming around on our scooters. It was a blast! It took Matt and Sean awhile to get used to driving on the left hand side of the road though.

Our first stop of the day was Fort Scaur (when pronounced like a pirate it sounds much more fun). I thought it was a sort of creepy place, mostly because we were the only ones there, not to mention the long dark staircases and hallways.

After that was a stop at the lighthouse. I think it was Gibb's lighthouse, or something like that. It was the first lighthouse I had ever seen up close.

Then some shopping in the big city of Hamilton. The craziest part was driving on our scooters through a "backwards" round-about!

Our last stops of the day were three BEAUTIFUL bays. Jacobsen's Bay (seen below), Horseshoe Bay and Church Bay. They were all amazing!

Sarah got a little baggie of sand from almost every island. Here she is filling up her bag with the pink sand on Horseshoe Bay.

These two pictures were of us at Church Bay. This one was really infested with these little jellyfish called Portuguese Man of War. It was what kept us out of the water!!

Oops. Silly me.

Antigua

2010-05-04T19:45:00.007-06:00

On Antigua our original plan was to find a beach, sit all day and relax. Boy did that idea flop. As soon as we stepped off the boat taxi drivers were yelling all around us, trying to get us to come and listen to their sales pitch. Finally after about the fourth one, we decided to just listen. After listening to his pitch we decided that what he was offering sounded like fun, so we took a tour of the island with a little beach time thrown in at the end!

Our first stop on the tour was their old fort. After this vacation I have realized that all of these little tropical islands have forts. And we saw all of them!

Matt and Sarah. Behind them is a bay where they filmed some of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Of course they had some local vendors at the Fort for me and Sarah to do some shopping.

The second stop was the Old Guardhouse which overlooked the docks.

Then, of course, the third stop was the Old Dockyard

I love old houses so I took a few pictures...

After we finished at the Old Dockyard we drove through their rain forest where he showed us all of the fruits they grow.

Can you see the bananas, they are kind of hiding...

After a fun day, we finally made it to the beach were we spent the rest of the afternoon!

St. Thomas

2010-05-03T19:18:00.003-06:00

St. Thomas was our first port. We decided that it would be a good beach day. So we woke up early got a taxi, the driver decided to take us on the mountain path and show us the island, the roads were straight uphill it felt like the tropical version of San Fran. We eventually found ourselves on the beautiful Coki Beach. For the first couple hours we had it completely to ourselves!! It pays to wake up early, so much fun!!

Sarah and Matt Hale

Matt also turned the big 3-0 this year so we decided to do the trip together!!

Matt, Sarah and Sean did some snorkeling. According to what they told me there was a wall of fish that was just amazing to swim through. Fish everywhere.

This was the bar where the locals would hang out. Since we were positioned right in front of it (the only shade on the beach) we got a lot of offers for alcohol. One local who was smoking some weed claimed he was blowing the smoke in our direction in hopes of getting us high so we would buy some beer. So funny and annoying.

Iguanas were everywhere. This one was camped out on the walk way back to the boat.

I took the long way around the iguana. Sean thought it was funny.

Our first formal night!!

Old San Juan

2010-05-02T19:13:00.001-06:00

For Sean's big birthday this year he really really wanted to go on a cruise! So after months of waiting and planning the day, well the night, finally came. After what felt like the longest flight in history, mainly because it was a red eye, we finally made it to Puerto Rico!

It didn't take long to realize we had made it somewhere tropical. One step out of the airport doors and the humidity hit fast!! Since we didn't have to board the boat until later in the evening we did a quick tour of Old San Juan.

Lots of walking through the city. It was a very pretty city, I just wish I was in a better mood to enjoy it more! I was sooooo sleepy!

The Old Fort

Lyla & Henry

2010-04-24T11:41:00.006-06:00

For those of you who don't know, Lyla and Henry are four days apart. Henry was a true gentleman and let the lady come first. But it is an absolute hoot to watch these two grow. I got to play with just the two of them for a little while and it was fun to see how they interact with each other.

Smile for the camera!

Here I am taunting them with a toy...

...A minute after Lyla grabbed the toy Henry flipped from his back to his tummy and somehow managed to crawl over Lyla to try and get the toy...

...Little did Henry know that Lyla doesn't like to share just yet. So she pushed him away...

...So being the mean mom that I am, I took the toy and put it out of reach of both of them. No one has it! Ha!!

Watch out Meg, this one will be crawling sooner than you think!!

Here Comes the Bride

2010-04-21T11:39:00.003-06:00

My little sister is getting married!! This week I got to attend two bridal showers for her! It is so fun to see how excited she is to be getting married! She got some really cute stuff, it makes me wish that I could do it all over again!!

Beachbody Insanity Day 36

2010-04-05T23:05:00.000-06:00

Dear Diary, I cried today. Not because Duke beat Butler. Not because Tiger Woods is returning to golf. I cried because Shawn T was being mean to me. I had to do a fit test and then the Max Interval Circuit workout...and...and...he punched me in the face.

Seriously though, I'm still shaking from pushing my body to the max and we finished the workout over an hour ago.

Dig Deeper!

Easter

2010-04-04T11:35:00.003-06:00

We had a very traditonal Easter this year. Hung out with the family, watched conference, had a nice ham dinner and of course (my favorite) ate a lot of candy!!

Jack and Lyla all dressed up!

Discovering Toes

2010-04-03T11:32:00.003-06:00

I love to watch as babies discover things for the first time. One of my favorites is when they discover their toes. Lyla found hers yesterday and they have been in her mouth ever since.