The Hedgepeth family

Happy Birthday Elliott!

2012-02-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

This fisher is made of metal and welded together-and we all know Elliott loves metal!

Kate & Emma

Happy Birthday!

High Five! (Hinckley)

Dad & Mom

Miranda & Ross

Julie & Paul

Todd & Elizabeth

For Elliott's birthday (which was Jan. 26th) we went bowling Saturday after they came back from snowmobiling. The snowmobilers were exhausted, but I'm glad they came and that we could celebrate Elliott's birthday-we all had colds the weekend before.

We went bowling at Weber State. We had two lanes and only played one game, but that one game took about an hour and a half-at least! One of our lanes finished before the other, so Ross and Miranda played another game-and finished at the same time as the second lane. It always takes longer with kids-but it's so fun! After bowling we went into a room that they have by the bowling alley and did cake and presents. It was awesome-Elliott's spoiled!

Oh, and Ross won with 119 points! We are great bowlers-aren't you supposed to get as low as possible? Oh, wait, that's golf!

Brycen and I were there, too. Somehow there aren't any pictures of us(at least none of me that I want to share!). Elliott's dad Steve was there, too. Charla (mom) had Stake Conference that night and got to see Elder Scott from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles!

2/4/12

Snowmobiling!

2012-02-09T09:32:00.000-08:00

Miranda, Ross & Brycen

Dad

Dad & Brycen

Elliott-proof that he was there!

Elliott and Brycen went snowmobiling Saturday with Dad, Ross, and Miranda! It was Elliott and Brycen's first time! They went up to Sourdough where Dad has a campsite. They had tons of fun and were really sore-Elliott was so sore from trying to keep the snowmobile straight, and from having Brycen on the back-that he had to grab the railing on the stairs and pull himself up! After school yesterday Brycen said "I want to go snowmobiling again because I'm not sore anymore!"

I'm glad they had a good time, but next time it's my turn-I've never been!

2/4/12

Brycen got his Bear!

2012-02-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

Mom's also get a pin when the boy's achieve wolf or bear! Don't poke me!

Brycen earned his earned his Bear in Scouting! I am so proud of him-and SO grateful for his Scout leaders! Brother Humphreys and Brother Cragun were so fun to be with...he did not want to miss Scouts!

He also earned his Webelos activity badge!

Yeah for good Scout leaders!
1/26/12

Circus!

2012-02-09T07:22:00.001-08:00

Brycen, Kate, & Emma

Todd, Hinckley, & Elizabeth

Grandma, Hinckley & Brycen-isn't Hinckers cute?!

Grandpa & Hinckley are so enamored by the elephants!

Hinckley's telling secrets! Brycen LOVES Hinckley-and is so good with him!

We went to the circus at the Golden Spike with Elliott's family and his sister Elizabeth's husband's (Todd) side of the family...too confusing! We are all like family anyway!

It was really fun-and Sandra's (Todd's mom) and Charla's (Elliott & Elizabeth's mom) purses were like bottomless pits-full of treats!

While watching the tightrope, we looked over and Emma had her hands over her eyes! I guess it was just too stressful!

I couldn't watch the big metal ring that went around in a circle while a man walked around the inside-and then the outside! It really looked like he was going to fall...hopefully it is just part of the act!

It was really fun-and Kate keeps saying she wants to go again! I think we will!

Note to self: sit on the other side next time-we got to see the back sides of too many things-I have lots of pictures of the elephants' other sides!!!!

1/27/12

Fieldtrip time!

2012-01-30T08:28:00.000-08:00

Emma snowshoeing!

Sledding-without a sled!

Emma went to the Environmental Center with Kindergarten! I was actually a little nervous about her going-it's up in the canyon and they do snowshoeing, sledding, skiing, crafts and learn about nature! I went in 4th grade and I didn't really like it. And I think my mom was nervous about it, too, because I always remember my dad going with us!

Since Elliott's birthday was the 26th and he was thinking of taking Friday the 27th off, I strongly encouraged it! I had signed up to go help, but I didn't know what to do with Kate ALL day and I don't really like to be cold!

So, being the good dad that he is, Elliott took a personal day and took Emma on her fieldtrip! He drove the truck-which was a good thing- he needed the 4-wheel drive. It was so icy up there that when the bus parked they had to chain it to one of the Environmental Center trucks that had chains on it to keep the bus from sliding! And Elliott said it took about an hour to get the kids from the bus to the actual building. They had all the parents line up and just pass the kids up the hill! He said it was fun once they got there-and he had a really good time with Emma.

When they were done, Elliott told Mrs. Judkins that he was going to take Emma home in the truck. When they started driving back down the canyon, the road that they came up had been closed because it was flooded-and the bus can't go over the divide-so they had to go way out of their way to get back to the school. I think Elliott beat them home by about an hour!

Despite the obstacles, they had a great time-and Elliott even took some pictures for me!

I am SO glad he went!

1/27/12

Seafood...yuck!

2012-01-17T07:50:00.000-08:00

Every time we pass a Red Lobster Brycen tells us he wants to go there...so for his and Elliott's birthdays we three went! You really need to like seafood to eat there because they really don't have much other choice...I did get a yummy cajun chicken alfredo-without too much cajun seasoning! Brycen and Elliott got lobster tails and shrimp! I did try it-and still don't like it! It was nice to just be with Brycen-maybe we should make birthday lunches a tradition!

Aunt Julie's birthday

2012-01-16T07:46:00.001-08:00

Kate (2), Julie, Baby Summer (10 months) & Emma (5)

ALL the girls LOVE Julie! She has always attracted little kids-they love her!

Every time Emma makes a wish (on a star, etc...) she wishes she can have a sleepover with Julie!

Happy Birthday! We love you!

Brycen's Birthday and New Year's

2012-01-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

Silly kid!

Brycen turned 10 on December 30th! (Am I really that old?!) For his birthday we had a friend party on his birthday. We played BINGO that was all about Brycen (I made it online!) and then we opened presents, went outside and hit a pinata filled with treats, and then came in and ate brownies and ice cream. While we were outside, Mrs. Hall-the neighbor on our right, handed a box of sidewalk chalk over the fence! So when we were all done, they went outside and drew all over the driveway and sidewalk! Some of the kids even went out in the street and did chalk outlines of each other in the road. (I quickly put a stop to the playing in the street.)

Let me back up a little, while we were eating dessert, there were about 10 kids around the table-and needless to say, it was NOISY! Brycen kept saying "let's play the quiet game!" He said it over and over...no one was listening! After a while we heard him mumble "I wonder if it's 11:30 yet!" The party was from 10-11:30! He cracks me up!

Despite the noise, it was fun. Brycen got money, 2 card games, treats, a helmet, and earphones.

The next night, we celebrated his birthday with our family and celebrated New Year's at the same time-kind of! Everyone came around 6 and we had taquitios, chips and salsa, a veggie tray, and lots of goodies! Then we opened presents. He got a Nikon camera from all the Voreis' (he was extatic!), Jenga from Grandma Great, a Harry Potter Lego set, money, some art supplies, football gloves, a robot you build yourself, and many other things! He was spoiled-and so were the girls! They got cute clothes! And all the kids got a new scripture case with "CTR" the Primary theme for this year (now that I am Primary President- I know the theme!) and the girls got a hard-back copy of the Book of Mormon.

We also got the movie "Dolphin Tales!" They all LOVE that movie!

After presents, we had a soccerball cake & ice cream and then almost everyone went on to other parties! The rest of us (Elliott and I and the kids, Mom and Dad, Grandma Great, and my cousin, Johnny) played Jenga and a game Mom got for Christmas called Party Pooper! It was really fun! Then we told each other "Happy New Year" and went to bed around 10! We had church the next day-and it's not fun to stay up late if you don't have any reason to!

Brycen got "Jenga" from Grandma Great! It was fun to play with everyone...don't knock it over!

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-05T09:59:00.000-08:00

What cute kids I have!!! Emma-5, Kate-2, Brycen-5 days away from 10 years old!

I love dressing them alike-they like it too!

At Hedgepeth's we always have HUGE stockings-usually knit ones, but our family is growing and Charla didn't have enough, so we went to the dollar store and got these stockings and then decorated them and put our names on them. It was fun! And maybe a new family tradition!

Cousins! Hinckley(almost 6 months) & Brycen (almost 10 years!)

Kate got a bike-just what she asked for from Santa!

Brycen also got a bike---a Mountain bike!

Opening presents at Grandma & Grandpa Hedgepeth's

Michelle & Josh got money to help with the present they wanted-all in $1 bills crumpled up in a box! Dad thought just handing them money would be boring, but I guess halfway through crumpling up all the one dollar bills, he got tired of it! He finished anyway and then wrapped that huge box! It was really fun!

My kids all got sleeping bags! Dad thought it might be kind of boring, but they loved them-and so do I (Sleepovers-hint, hint!, 72-hour kits, camping, ... the possibilities are endless!)

Cute cousins! Baby Summer and Emma.

What is it?!!!
A Camp Chef!
I wanted one for canning, camping, and Emergency Preparedness!

This Christmas was great! I loved having it on Sunday. We celebrated Christmas early with my side of the family (Dec. 10th) because Mark was leaving for his mission before Christmas. It was great! We didn't really have to hurry on Christmas and I didn't feel so stressed to get everywhere to see everyone all in one day. And the celebrations lasted longer! It was a great Christmas- and we are truly blessed to have such great family!

Eclipse concert

2011-12-16T09:49:00.000-08:00

A new family tradition...for the second year in a row, we went to the "Eclipse" concert at the Salt Lake Community College's Grand Theater. Shayne Taylor (he's like the manager) was in our previous ward (Mt. Lewis 6th ward). It is SOOOO fun to go to the concerts. It really helps put me in the Christmas mood! And I love Christmas music, so what could be better?! The concert gets a little long for Emma-and we haven't taken Kate. Maybe next year it will just be Brycen and me! Both years we have gotten a couple of their CD's too!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

Emma's Kindergarten class-her teacher is Elasti-girl (Mrs. Judkins!) We love her!

Harry Potter...I mean Brycen!

The cutest witch ever!

This year was crazy with Halloween being on Monday! We had two friend parties, two family parties, and trunk-or-treating!

The kids also had a Halloween parade at school on Monday morning. Brycen was Harry Potter and Emma was a witch. I even dressed up Kate. She was Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story this year.

Emma's first Kindergarten field trip!

2011-10-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

Emma is holding a fish hook that the "first people" would have used!

There were these furry catepillar-like things that the kids kept finding! In the spring they will turn into moths.

Emma is grinding corn to make corn bread!

Silly Turkeys!
There are 3 turkeys that wander around-Tom, Tommy, & Thomas...
and the Nature Center staff doesn't know who is who!!!

Look at all these kids in the Eagle's nest-they are
the North Ogden Elementary Eagles!

My Cute Emma!

Parents don't go on the bus like when I was in school!
Hello Emma! She loved the bus ride!

Entering the "Q-Tip!"

Today was Emma's first Kindergarten field trip-to the Ogden Nature Center! It was fun! There were 64 kids between the three K-classes- and SSSOOOO many parents! Even the Nature Center staff commented on it. Each adult had 3-4 students in their group.

Emma really liked the "Q-Tip!" (Tee-pee!)

I can't believe how much she is growing...I couldn't let her go without me...she's my sweet girl and I'm still shocked that she is old enough to be in Kindergarten!

Say cheese!

2011-04-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

Silly Kate!

Introducing Summer Shells Welsh

2011-04-22T07:43:00.001-07:00

We finally have a cousin..and I am finally an aunt! Michelle and Josh had Baby Summer on Tues. March 29th. My other sister Julie and I ran to the mall to get a couple of preemie outfits (she was 4 1/2 weeks early!) and then went up to the hospital to see them. Michelle looked great-and Josh was dressed up! They had both gone to work in the morning and then Michelle decided it was time (or maybe Summer decided!) so she DROVE and picked up Josh and they went up to Ogden Regional. She's so tiny! It's hard to remember that Brycen was that little when he was born! We are so excited and love her already! My kids are SOOOO excited! They keep asking to see her, but I wanted to wait until everyone was more than healthy and until Michelle felt comfortable with it.

Grandpa & Samantha move to NY!

2011-04-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

Kate says "I see!"

Brycen (9), Emma (4), Kate (1), Dawson (front, 1) & Baden (3)

My Grandma Statucki passed away unexpectedly in November and since then Grandpa has been very busy getting everything ready to move back to where he is from and where a lot of his family (brother, daughters, etc...) still live...NEW YORK!!! And his granddaughter Samantha and her family decided to move from Salt Lake to New York with him. They came up Tuesday night to say goodbye. It was hard-we will miss them a TON, but hope they are happy and healthy...and that they make the drive from UT to NY with two little boys and LOTS of stuff ok! We love you guys!

We had and early Easter egg hunt with Samantha, BJ, Baden, & Dawson a couple of weeks ago!

It's soccer time again!

2011-04-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

Brycen's in soccer again this Spring. He's getting good! And he can be quite the ham. He likes to entertain the audience...he even got the ref. to chuckle-and if you knew her, you'd know that was amazing. She is very professional and has the kids follow the rules EXACTLY!!! Brycen dove on the ground when a ball was coming his way-even though it was not going to hit him-and he made a big deal out of it!

On the way home tonight

2011-02-27T20:05:00.000-08:00

On the way home tonight, Emma said "Brycen, I'm going to marry you!" Brycen immediately spoke up and said"No way; that's gross. We're brother and sister. By the way, we don't even get along!" It was so funny! (They usually don't get along- Brycen likes to get a reaction from Emma-and she's usually quick to react dramatically!) Luckily, Emma wasn't heartbroken after we explained to her that she didn't really want to marry Brycen..that and the fact that it's against the law! Just goes to show the difference in ages and maturity!

Just over a year ago, Emma and I saw a commercial on tv of a bride and groom and Emma said something like "I want to get married....hmmm, who should I marry? Oh, I know...Ross!!!" Ross is my brother and he was on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time. So cute! I didn't bother to explain to her that she couldn't marry Ross.

Snow days

2011-02-18T21:29:00.000-08:00

We were on our way out the door after school one day to run errands when Mark pulled up. He just wanted to play! The kids were so excited, so I grabbed my camera! Mark and Brycen sledding and going off jumps in our backyard!

Shhh! It's a surprise!

2010-12-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

Elliott decided about a month and a half ago to build his dad a trailer to put behind his Jeep for Christmas. Although I wasn't too excited at first, I realized that Steve has given us many of his paintings, and many of them for Christmas. Elliott's creativity lies in metal, not paint. He's been wanting to build Steve one since he started teaching Welding 6 years ago, and he decided that he would do it for Christmas. I won't publish this post until after Christmas because I don't want to spoil the surprise-it has already been hard for everyone to keep it a secret. Hopefully Steve doesn't suspect anything! Elliott got Todd and Braden to help, too. Todd did the wood floor and Braden did the wheels, including the wheel bearings. I am so proud of Elliott :) And I know his dad will truly be touched. They are a very thoughtful family and I am proud to be apart of it. (tear!) There was no snow for Christmas! It snowed the next day, though.

Update: We didn't get to Hedgepeth's until about 1:00pm. We parked Elliott's truck and the trailer in front of the neighbor's house. The plan was to wait until we were done opening presents and then make a big deal and have Steve look outside, but we just couldn't wait! We all walked outside and Elliott pulled the trailer up. Steve was so surprised! He loved it. Because we drove both the car and truck, I took the kids home when we were done, but Elliott helped Steve hook up the trailer to his Jeep and then they went for a ride around the block. They got back home, but Steve didn't get out. He went driving around for a while with his new trailer!

We had a great Christmas! Everyone was very generous and we are truly blessed!

Oh, and I did get my family calendars done-everyone just got them for New Year's Eve instead of Christmas! Just in time!

Preschool Nativity

2010-12-22T08:16:00.000-08:00

Emma got to be Mary in her Preschool Nativity this year! She did a good job and she was so beautiful :) Brycen was the Inn Keeper. The kids in her preschool are: Lincoln Holliday (shephard with yellow shirt and black head covering), Quentin LaRose (Joseph), Mary Waite (angel), & Hyrum Cox (wise man with green crown). It was a lot of work for us moms to put this together, but it was so worth it. The kids are fun! And it was so neat to see them act out the Nativity. The spirit was so strong. Kate went to check on Baby Jesus when the play was over!

Our findings!

2010-10-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

So, the last couple of weeks have been full of awesome finds...namely a black widow (sorry, no picture-we are especially not fond of them since Elliott got bit a couple of years ago and we know the side-effects), a tarantula, & a kitten.

The black widow was by our wood burner IN THE HOUSE! I made Elliott get out of bed to put it in a jar. It would have been hard to squish...it was on the vent pipe that went up.

The tarantula was in Elliott's parents' back yard when we went over for Sunday dinner a couple of weeks ago. It was funny to see everyone-including their over sized Shiatsu Mushu, react to the spider...let's just say there was lots of screaming and jumping around, even from Elliott's dad, who strongly resembles Santa :)

And tonight, as we were driving on Fruitland Drive to get to my mom's, we found a kitten in the road. It was scared, and I didn't want to see it hurt, so we picked it up and tomorrow we will walk around the neighborhood to see if we can find it's Mommy. My sister Julie took it to Petsmart and they said it was still so young that her eyes are not fully clear yet. Brycen, Emma & Kate are already attached, though. This picture of Kate holding "Cupcake" proves it! If only Elliott & Brycen weren't allergic..and if only it was a little older.When I called North Ogden Animal Control & the Ogden Shelter they both suggested we walk the neighborhood, and if we can't find it's mom, then we should just keep it...we'll see what happens tomorrow!

Update: We walked to three of the farm houses on Fruitland where we finally did find Cupcake's family. The human family were so glad to see the kitten and that she hadn't been hurt. We hung around and talked to them and took more pictures. We were there for probably 20 minutes! They were so kind- they even said we could have her in about two weeks if we wanted. Too bad Brycen and Elliott are allergic :(

Why?

2010-09-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

Why does it take so long to upload my pictures to my blog? Does everyone else's take 15-20 minutes per set of 5 pictures? I sure would be more on top of things if it didn't take so long! I have a whole list of pictures to upload, but I'm too tired. It will have to wait...again! Sorry everyone!

Hill Air Force Base

2010-09-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

Mom & Kate-On the moon!

Brycen & Emma shooting the rifle and riding the motorcycle!

Silly kids-I sure do love them!

We went to Hill Air Force Base this summer with Grandma & Grandpa Statucki. Grandpa was in the Air Force, so we got to hear about a lot of the planes. It was awesome! Afterwords we went on base to eat and to the BX to buy towels and a swimsuit for Emma-I forgot to bring them even though I was reminded more than once :) (Sorry Grandma!) Then we went to the Splash Pad on Base. There was a little playground next to it and the kids had tons of fun playing! We met a really awesome family...I should never complain! This couple adopted five children because their families could not take proper care of them. One little boy had only been outside three times in his 18 months of life. His new mom said at first he had been afraid of everything. One of the children they adopted was a baby girl-at the time she was only like 3 days old. Every kid came with their own set of challenges (ADHD for example), but thanks to this wonderful couple, the kids are healthy and well..and being kids! One of the boys Brycen played with was Abraham. Unfortunately I can't remember the other kids' names. I was truly humbled that day. Thanks Grandma & Grandpa for such a fun and memorable day! We love you and miss you!

Update: I am so truly grateful my little family got to spend this special time with Grandma and Grandpa... Grandma passed away so suddenly at the beginning of November...it's Feb. 27th as I am adding this update and I am still having a hard time with her passing. I could talk to her about everything. She was a good listening ear. And she was always quick to tell me how proud she was of Elliott and me and our family. She was wonderful, not perfect (she embarrassed us often!), but just Grandma Statucki-a very unique person that I am so glad was apart of my life! I miss her tremendously.

Kate's first bowl of cereal & milk

2010-08-10T22:49:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm!

Oops...they spilled! It's kind of hard to eat with a spoon!

Kate's growing up too quick! Elliott and I were talking about it...it's a matter of before we went camping at Colter Bay and when we got home a week later! She crawls as fast as lightning (at least that what it seems when you're trying to catch her!), pulls herself up on anything and everything, and will walk along furniture. She also says "ma ma" and "da" and "woosh" (see!) She puts her hand out with her fingers spread apart and makes fussing noises when she wants something. This morning Brycen, Emma and I were eating Cheerios in milk and even though I put some on her tray, she wanted them in a bowl with milk! It's amazing what they can communicate to you, even so young! And it's amazing that they know what they want at such a young age! Silly Kate!

Yesterday was her 12-month well-check! She weighed in at 21 pounds, 3 oz; 28.5" long and her head is 45.8 (cm?). Her height and weight are in the 50th percentile, but her head is in the 95th percentile. No need to worry, though. Her head has been following a steady curve and Dr. Lau said she's doing great! She said we make her job easy (I love our pediatricians!) Dr. Lau doesn't have to worry that Kate isn't eating or not growing!

What a good helper!

Emma's snake bracelet

2010-08-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

Emma's snake bracelet ;o

Emma and "Bob!"

Grandpa Rollins

Yep, you read it right! Emma has a snake wrapped around her arm! And it was a live (water) snake! Emma was at Great-Grandpa Rollins' helping irrigate (which means playing in the water while Grandpa does all the work!) and as they started irrigating, Mom (Grandma Voreis) noticed the snake. Uncle Mark picked it up and handed it to Emma, who played with "Bob" for over an hour. My mom was watching my kids while I was at work. She had time to call me, tell me about Emma and "Bob", and I had time to drive there and take these pictures! Emma asked Dad if she could keep it, but eventually she lost interest (dang!) When I first pulled into Grandpa's driveway, Emma ran up so excited to show me Bob, but I had to tell her to stop coming towards me...I'm not too fond of snakes. Emma, on the other hand, loves snakes, Box Elder bugs, potato bugs, and anything else she can play with. She's not afraid of anything!

Sourdough

2010-07-25T23:16:00.000-07:00

Friday July 23rd we went on a "trial run" with the old trailer that my parents gave us, to the Brigham City/Perry KOA. Saturday we went to my parents' place at Sourdough for the 24th of July! We ate hamburgers (yummy!) and played at the lake!

New rooms

2010-06-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

When we moved to our new house, we told Brycen that he could have his own room after 2nd grade...well, we did it. We let Brycen pick a paint color for a wall in his room. And we let Emma-with a lot of coaxing from Mom-pick paint for a wall in her's and Kate's room. Brycen's wall is very blue. Emma and Kate's is very pink. :) Emma loves to help paint-and she was SO cute! She painted pictures on Brycen's wall while the rest of us were painting a solid color. Even though we warned her that we would have to paint over her pictures when we were done with the rest of the wall, she was totally devastated and heart-broken when we did. I almost wanted to give in and let her paint pictures on a wall in her room. Only 2 problems-there is no empty wall and I don't want her to think that's ok. But is was WAY cute! I had to share!

Happy Flag Day!

2010-06-15T21:55:00.001-07:00

Brycen (8) and Emma (will be 4 on Saturday!)

Interesting viewpoint kids!

2010-06-14T22:56:00.000-07:00

My kids LOVE to take pictures with my camera...and maybe I shouldn't let them, but I do. I figure maybe they will learn to love photography someday! Some of the pictures even turn out; and some turn out crazy. Thank goodness for digital-and the delete button!

Here are a few pictures that the Brycen and Emma have taken recently...

This was taken the day of Elizabeth's wedding-
the weather wasn't very cooperative!

Self-portraits (Brycen's eye..and Emma!)

Mom and Kate...and a scary Dad-
Emma wanted him to make a face-
he did, but the sky just makes the picture that much more scary!

It was taken the day of Elizabeth and Todd's wedding-it rained intermittently throughout the day and during most of the reception, but they still had a great turn-out.
(Ha ha Elliott- I told you I would put up the crazy picture of you!)

THE BIG WEDDING!

2010-06-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

So, Elizabeth (Elliott's sister) got married! It seems that has been our focus for a long time...okay, they just got engaged in April, but still... We are SO excited for Elizabeth and Todd. Todd is a great guy and we are excited to have him in the family! He works with the Special Olympics and has some awesome friends. Kasey and Marcie were two of their honorary bridesmaids! When Todd and Elizabeth came out of the temple, Marcie was so excited! And then Todd came over and gave her a huge hug! She squealed with delight! It was so neat! (Marcie is the one in the white dress by Elizabeth and Todd)

Time to blog again!

2010-06-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

Ever since school got out, I've been meaning to put up so many pictures, but our schedules have been so "off!" I have noticed, though, that a lot of my fellow friend bloggers have gotten a little behind too!

Where to start?!

How about random pictures of my darling kids :>

Emma's Preschool Graduation!
I know, I didn't tell many of you about this...she wasn't really graduating. It was her first year of preschool. After next year, I will be sure to make a big deal out of her preschool graduation!
Dad took pictures because I had to take Kate to the ER...I thought she swallowed a magnetic ball. It's part of a game with rods and balls that you connect to make different designs, etc... Emma was just trying to be nice and get Kate something to play with, so she gave her those. When my brother Mark came into the room, he saw that Kate had one in her mouth. He got it out,
but she was terribly upset about it-and we weren't sure if she swallowed any others...and of course it was a CRAZY day...here and there and everywhere all at the same time. So unfortunately I missed Emma's preschool graduation only to find out (after almost 2 hours) that Kate was fine! I'm glad I took her, but, jeez.....! I called my wonderful sister Julie to see if she could go to Emma's graduation. I felt bad because I told everyone that they didn't have to attend and then I couldn't go. Julie was SO understanding and wonderful. She canceled her next client (she does hair!) and dropped everything to come! I still get a little emotional thinking of that day, and thinking of how wonderful my sister is. I owe her big time, but I know she doesn't expect anything. I know she would do anything for us...and she does do A LOT!
The kids absolutely LOVE when Aunt Julie takes them on "dates!" Brycen thinks she's rich...she buys them anything they want! Come to think of it, she had taken Brycen and Emma swimming at North Shore right after we moved last summer; I was very pregnant with Kate and DID NOT want to be seen anywhere near a swimsuit! My water broke that day and Julie took care of the kids and got them to my Mom while we rushed off to the hospital! What a wonderful sister I have...what would I do without her?!

CUTE KATE (10 months old)!
She has the BEST cheeks ever!
And she's such a happy baby...oh how we love her!

After school got out, Elliott had a surprise for Brycen. The kids all know that when Daddy has a "prize" for them, they have to sit down and close their eyes and hold out their hands. Well, this present was TOO big!

One of Elliott's welding students was also in the wood-working class. One of the requirements of the class is to make a night stand. Some of the kids just extended the top and made them into desks. So Elliott had his student make Brycen one. He's been wanting a desk for as long as I can remember..to do homework at, and to draw and write stories..whatever he wants! He was so excited. The next morning I found him at the desk designing his new room! We promised that when we moved in last summer that Brycen could have his own room after 2nd grade...WE FOLLOWED THRU WITH THAT PROMISE! (sorry, I have to be proud of us for that...we don't always follow thru :o).

Kate's first haircut!

2010-05-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

Brycen only had 2 days left of 2nd grade (the fun days of school!) but he had the stomach flu so he was home from school. It was about 11am and I decided it was probably time to shower...everyone was doing ok-Emma was making a birthday card for my brother on a mission (Ross). Brycen was watching a cartoon. Kate was playing with pretend food... The second I stepped out of the shower I hear Brycen yell at Emma and then he came to the bathroom and told me that Emma had cut Kate's hair! (what hair you may ask? "Well, Mom, she had long pieces!") Just a few months ago Emma cut her own hair and I thought we had made a big enough deal out of it that she would never even consider cutting hair again without going to school first (because Aunt Julie had to go to school to learn how to cut hair!) I guess I was wrong... there was enough hair on the carpet that I picked up a few clumps and put them in an envelope for Kate's scrapbook- when I get around to it (Someday...before she's 20, I hope!) And as luck may have it, the memory card for my camera wants me to reformat it which means I've probably lost all the pictures on that card...and as many of you know, I love to take pictures, and lots of them...AHHHH! I think I will try Larsen Digital (a friend's family business) or something...do you think they can recover them? I sure hope so! Luckily, Kate's hair is ok. It's really not that noticeable unless I tell you and then point it out! Thank you for watching out for our images Emma ;)

A Budding Actor

2010-05-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

Last night Brycen was Nick Bottom in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (by Shakespeare)! His second grade class did it. They all did a good job! Mrs. Hull, Brycen's teacher is awesome! We really appreciate her!
Brycen did a great job and he loved doing the play...except for maybe the tights. Actually, he didn't really complain about wearing them! He had the best part. He got to stab himself with a sword! And he made the audience laugh more than once. He's such a good kid, and he memorized his parts without much help from us! It was fun! And I'm so proud of Brycen. Good job Brycen!
Yesterday on the way home from the dentist, Brycen said "my pulse is ebbing!" That was one of his lines in the play!

Cute kids!

2010-05-12T10:10:00.001-07:00

Kate, Brycen, & Emma

Trying to keep Kate happy!

2010-05-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

As I'm working on our blog, Emma is playing with Kate and trying to keep her happy. Kate has been eating rice cereal, baby fruits and veggies, little pieces of bread, and her baby star-shaped puffs, but when I took her to her well-check last Wed. the doctor told me she could eat some real people food with us when we are eating dinner. So I decided she could "upgrade" to Cheerios. Later that day Emma gave her Fruit Loops...needless to say, Kate loved them and wanted more. So, while I've been blogging, Kate was getting fussy. Emma was eating M&Ms, and yes, you guessed it...Emma gave Kate M&Ms. Kate loves them! Her clothes are now multi-colored, as is her chin! She will not accept my substitute of baby puffs....chocolate is just too yummy. Time to distract her. I would hate for her to have an upset tummy!

What kind of flower is this?

2010-05-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

This flower is blooming in our front garden...
do you know what it is?
It's obviously a bulb of some kind.
I think it's so neat!

Apologies

2010-05-12T09:58:00.001-07:00

I can't even remember why (this time) Brycen hurt Emma's feelings, but he felt bad, so he went out in the garden and got her a flower to apologize. He's learning early- the way to a girl's heart is thru flowers (or other pretty or yummy things!)

Emma has straight hair!

2010-05-12T09:44:00.001-07:00

Emma's straight hair

Getting a trim

Emma was SO relaxed while getting her hair washed.
Don't we all LOVE that?!

One of my young women from our previous ward, Amber Harris, watches the girls so I can go to work Monday at Dad's shop for a couple of hours. This Monday she straightened Emma's hair and put eyeshadow on her! Emma thought it was fun, but she wanted her hair curly again. (It was thin and not as cute as when her hair is curly!) When we picked Brycen up from school, he couldn't get over her straight hair! He kept walking Emma around to everyone and saying "my sister used to have curly hair!" He even said that she looked like a gorilla....so rude. While it was straight, I called Aunt Julie and she trimmed Emma's hair. She wanted to see what it looked like, too. We all decided that Heavenly Father gave her curly hair for a reason!!!

Science Day

2010-04-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

Alka-Seltzer Rockets

Brycen's touching the pig lungs-and Emma's pumping them up (yuck?!)
It's educational, right?!

These are the paper "airplanes" they made-
a professor designed and then helped the
kids make them-they were fun!

Saturday we went to the free Science Day at WSU! The kids had SO much fun! They got to do different experiments (Alka-Seltzer rockets, paper airplanes, aluminum ships, bookmarks out of shaving cream and food coloring...) and they even got to see some real pig lungs!

Fishing!

2010-04-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

Logan Ferrell, Porter Holliday, & Brycen!

I caught one!

Brycen's fish!

Brycen & Emma

Brycen went to the fish farm for Scouts. It was colder and windier than when Emma, Kate, and I went with Preschool, but the boys LOVED it!

HAFB Museum

2010-04-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

Fighter Emma!

Kate likes to fly, too! Emma is next to her!

Emma's gearing up for the flight!

It's fieldtrip time!

2010-04-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Hill Air Force Base Museum for Emma's preschool! The kids spent a majority of the time in the kid area where they could try on different flight outfits and play! They walked past all the big airplanes and didn't want to stop to find out about them, or take pictures...silly kids! Emma kept calling all the manikins "freaky looking guys!"

Emma and Kate ("wow!")

This is one of the "freaky looking guys!"

Easter dresses

2010-04-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

Emma and Kate got new dresses for Easter. I LOVE having two girls that I dress up! And look how cute they are!

St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-19T12:20:00.001-07:00

3/17/10 For St. Patrick's Day we went to Elliott's mom's for our traditional Irish Stew (yum!) Since it was a weekday we didn't have too much time (we didn't get to watch DarbyO'Gill and the Little People -dang!), but we did go "hunting for leprechauns," found the silver money they left, and played a potato game. We sang a song (McTavish is Dead) while two people walked with potatoes on their heads. Whoever got to the edge of the patio before the song was over was the winner! (hint: get the flat potato!) Then we decorated and ate shamrock-shaped sugar cookies!

Emma's preschool fishing trip!

2010-03-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

For preschool Emma got to go to the local fish farm, Cold Springs. She was so excited to catch a fish! There are so many in the ponds that you catch them really quick. Then you just have to worry about the kids falling in because they're looking too close at the fish!