St. George Temple

Our Young Men and Young Women in our ward had temple baptisms in St. George while we were are Pine Valley. Jake went in to help out with the baptisms. The kids and I hung out on the grounds with some of the youth. My boy's were crazy.

Sydney was getting lot of lovin. It was so funny how she only wanted to sit with Aubrey. It is such a beautiful temple and felt nice to be on it's grounds. I really enjoyed getting to know some of the girls better and to hear about "Time Out for Girls", wish I could have joined them ;)

Weekend at Pine Valley

It feels like we have been gone a lot lately. It has been nice  being able to spend to much time together as a family. The weather in Pine Valley was nice. I was glad that we could take the four-wheelers out. The boy's always love going for a ride. Although my boy's are starting to get too tall for me to sit in front while I am driving. They really need to stop growing. Carter was really excited by the road kill and vandalized sign we found. :)

Jake Surprised the boy's with a bb-gun and sling shots. They had so much fun doing some target practice. They also enjoyed taking their sling shots to the lake to try and skip rocks.

It was so pretty I wished I would have dressed the kids up to take pictures of them for Christmas cards. Seriously, I was kicking myself.  Oh, well. I was nice to take things slow and not get distracted by the craziness of life.

Refinishing Piano

 Our Craig's list buy. I was a little nervous in refinishing the piano but am happy with how it turned out. Took me longer than I wanted. It's a great starter piano and hope that someday they will out grow it and  we can get a better quality then.

Our Surprise Trip to Knotts

Once we finished our Halloween night we told the boys that we needed to go to the store. On our way home from the store we told the boys we wanted to go for a drive. They were not very happy about that. We told them that we should drive to California and they got mad at us. I wish they were would have recorded it. It was really funny how angry they were getting with us and how they kept saying, "I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!" They totally though that we were pulling their leg. We had to tell them that were we not joking and are going to stay in California for the weekend so we can go play at Knott's Berry Farm. They were so excited when they realized we were serious. lol!

We got to meet up with some friends, the Sweat Family, from college while were there. It was so much fun spending the day with them The boys loved sharing there knowledge of the rides. Jake and I finally tried a smoked turkey leg! It was very yummy and HUGE. Devin decided this time for some reason, that he didn't want to do the more thrilling roller coasters as he did last time. Could even get him to try. We did get them to try some new rides, Carter at first didn't want to but after watching Devin and realized they weren't as scary as he had thought he decided to do it. As Jake likes to remind the boys that in this family "we try new things" (with the exception to the things that are harmful to our body, spirit, and minds).

We tried to go to church on Sunday while we were in Cali but we found ourselves in the Spanish branch. lol. And it as fast Sunday. Jake kept trying to dare me to bear my testimony. I didn't go for it.
Sydney loved the attention she got from random strangers. Don't know what I am going to do with that girl :) The boy's didn't want to go on the train ride but afterwards said they liked it. According to Carter it's relaxing. We had to go to the Stunt show several times since it is one of the boy's favorite things to watch. As we left Knott's Berry Farm to head back home the boys were sad and asked it we could stay one more day! :)

Halloween Celebrations

Somerset Fall Festival was the boys school carnival. The boys had a blast playing all of the carnival games. Carter wanted to make sure he took a picture with his teacher's dog which is their classroom mascot.

Our Ward Trunk or Treat was the following weekend. We had a games and a spook alley. I hardly saw my boys since they were busy with friends, cousins, and who know's what else. Nana and Grandpa Roskelley brought Jarom and Camille's kids with they since they were watching them while they were out of town. Sydney, of course is the cutest one of the bunch ;) The boys all loaded up on candy. All except Carter, since he was too busy hiding in the back of the van so he could "scare" people. 

Nana and Grandpa Roskelley's Trunk or Treat was the day after ours. Sydney and Nana wore their Spanish dresses straight from Spain. The kids scored the best candy at this Trunk or treat. With "tricks," as my boys like to call the little toys, and full size treats. I couldn't believe all they got.

On Halloween night the boys were excited to trick or treat in our neighborhood for the first time. They were also excited that we would actually be getting trick or treater's since when we lived in our condo we never had any trick or treaters come to our house. This year we totally ran out of candy and was taking candy from out boys trunk or treat stash. It was a lot of fun. Devin was enjoying handing out candy while Carter tried to scare people as they came to our door. There were times when we just left the door open since there wasn't enough time to close the door till the next group of kids would arrive. At the end of the night kids ended up with 2 gallon bags filled with candy each.

Soccer

The boys have been doing Soccer this fall and have loved it.

Carter has had a great coach, she has been very involved and great with the kids. His field size has gotten bigger this season for him and has been an adjustment. Carter complains about all the running he has to do :) He does enjoy the game, just doesn't care for practices.

Devin has been doing an awesome job at soccer. He can never get enough, he always wants to go to practice and games. He has made many goals this season (which Jake bribing him with $2 a goal has helped to motivate). I love soccer and hope the boys stay with it.

General Conference Weekend

We went to the Stewart's cabin at Duck Creek Utah over general conference weekend. The drive up was so pretty. I was loving the golden leaves! The camera didn't do it justice. The boy's spent most of their time outside doing who knows what.

Jake and I even had a chance to go four-wheelin by ourselves (it was freezing). Carter and Devin had too much fun. So much so that at night Carter was too busy showing off and jumping on his bed (after I told him to stop and calm down) that he fell of the bed and smacked his head on the corner of some drawers.  :/  It was a nice relaxing weekend.

Piano Recital

The boys had there very first Piano Recital! Oct. 19th 2013. I am so proud of my boys. They haven't been playing piano very long but they have learned a lot. They have a great piano teacher.
They had a halloween/costume piano recital and had 2 songs each to play. I did video tape their pieces but can't find it now :( I am so sad that it's lost. The boys had a great time. Love those boys!

Glow n' Dark Primary

I am the Primary Chorister in our ward. I wanted to do something special for the kids for working so hard on the Primary Program. They had to get all of there music rocket ships to the "Out of This World" Planet. They did such a great job!

So we had an "Out of this world" singing time. I collect a bunch of glow sticks for probably about 4 months and borrowed some blacklights. I wish I took more pictures  but I was too busy trying to set things up. It was so much fun. Some of us joked that is was a primary rave :)

Knott's Berry Farm

We spend our last 3 days at Knott's Berry Farm. The boys had a BLAST! Going to Knott's brought back a lot of memories of my childhood coming here. It was so fun watching the boys getting so excited to try out and go on all of the rides.

Devin had become my little dare devil, going on every ride. Since Devin and Carter are so tall, they are tall enough to go on almost every ride. He went on the Xcelerator which goes from 0 to 82 miles per hour in about 2.3 seconds. I screamed and had to close my eyes the whole ride the 1st time I went. Devin loved it and went again several more time. I Tried to convince Carter to go on the Silver Bullet with me since Devin was too short to go on it but her wouldn't hear it. I even tried bribing him with a new lego set. :)

We met up with the Beagle family a few times while we were there and my boys loved having friends to go on rides with. It was funny to see my boys go from roller coster to kiddie rides and back and still love every minute of what they were doing. By the end of the week I was sooo tired but my boys were so sad to leave. I have never seen Sydney so happy as to be home, she was running around and laughing like a crazy girl.

It was such a fun and crazy week!

Disneyland

Day 4 and 5 on our Cali trip we spent at Disneyland. Nana and Grandpa Roskelley came with us. Which was really nice so Jake and I could ride together on rides with the boys. The 1st day we were are Disneyland was on the busy side but the 2nd day was really nice. Disneyland really is a magical place. It is a great atmosphere. I love the rider swap pass so we could get the most of our time on the rides. The boys lucked out in being about to do double rides with us and Nana and Grandpa.

 The boys LOVED Splash Mountain and Star Wars, those were the ones they wanted to go on again and again. Devin surprised me in being the one to want to try ALL the rides. He loved going on Space Mountain. Carter would not even attempt it. Devin's favorite was California Scream. It was funny that after the 1st time we rode California Scream, Devin didn't realize that we had gone upside down in the ride, I had to point it out to him the 2nd time we went on.

We all tried the ferris wheel with the cart that rocked. NOT FUN! I don't think any of us enjoyed it. Poor Jake was feeling sick after that ride. Sydney was soooo good. She was happy just chilling in the stroller. I was worried she would get frustrated and bored but she was doing well. Wish we could have spent more time and days at Disney. We were so tired and crashed every night when we got to the hotel.

Soak City

Our 3rd day of our Cali trip we went to Soak City. Sydney was loving the water here, she couldn't get enough. The boys favorite part was the kid area were they could shoot water and go on different slides. Carter is my most adventurous when it come going down slides. He was willing to go on any slide. Devin would freak himself out. It was a hot day and it was draining. Only made it till the late afternoon.
Later that night we spent a little time at Knott's Berry Farm before the end of the night.

Our Trip to Cali

We have been planning this trip for almost a year. It was so fun to send a full week playing with the family. At times it was tiring but totally worth it. Nana and Grandpa Roskelley rode with us down to California. Which was nice to have someone to entertain Sydney. 

Once we go to California we Ate some lunch at Cheesecake factory (which my boys didn't like, I found that funny. They called it the fancy restaurant.) When we finished we headed right over to Knott's Berry Farm to get a feel of what was to come. We were only there for a couple of hours that day before we called it a night, since we have a long week ahead of us.

Sunday morning we visited the Newport Beach Temple. Such a pretty temple! I wish the temple ground were open so we could walk around and spend more time there.

This was the first time my kids have ever been to the beach. Huntington Beach is very pretty and the weather was perfect. My Dad rented the 7 person bike. It was fun and a nice little workout considering some people are not as helpful as others :)

The boys LOVED the waves and didn't want to come out. Sydney was not too sure about the water. She was curious but decided that she didn't like it. The boys were too busy playing in the water to  build anything in the sand. I tried to persuade the boys to let me bury them in the sand but they wouldn't have it so, I buried myself :)  I know... I am a dork.

We got sand everywhere. I think it took several weeks to get the sand out of the car and random other places. It was worth it though.

Sydney's 1st year

Wow! I love seeing how she has changed and grown. Sometimes being right in the middle of things I forget how quick things change.

Sydney's 1st Birthday

 I can't believe my baby girl is a year old!!!!! She is so fun and makes sure that her opinion is know. I can't imagine life without her. My little spoiled princess. I have LOVED having a girl, even if she is a Daddy's girl.

We kept her birthday simple. I feel like life is zooming past me and it can be hard to keep up. It was nice that family could come over and celebrate with us. I wish she would have dug into the cake. I have yet to have a child that will go for it ;(  Oh well.

Girl's Night Out

Went to go see The City of Bones and hit up some Cafe Rio on the way. We made sure to bring our "Michelle head" with us to we could have her there is spirit :) We missed having you with us (I still curse Brady under my breath several times a week.)  :)

Soggy Jog & Wet n' Wild

Jake and I had the Soggy jog which was at Wet N' Wild. It was fun to do with Jake and to have some time away from the kids.

 Tara and Trevor were there too doing the run, they were so nice to give us there tickets to Wet N' Wild since they have season tickets. My boys were so excited! Sydney was being so good the whole time, she really enjoyed going on the Lazy River. The boys loved racing down the Desert Racers. 

I was surprised how daring my boys were. Carter said he wanted to go down Canon Cliffs the tallest and fastest ride at Wet n' Wild. He ran up all the way to the top without me. Carter LOVED it!!! Devin then decided he wanted to follow his brother and go down. Watching Devin go down about gave me a heart attack since he was sitting up with arms and legs spread apart. He looked like he was about to fly off the slide. But he went down again :) Crazy boys, crazy day.

Devin's Tooth

Devin lost his first tooth! I helped it along. It was hanging by a thread and I gave it the extra little push it needed to fall out. Devin is excited for the Tooth Fairy to give him some money. He has been carrying his tooth around him all day. Lucky boy.

Children's Discovery Museum

My parents took all of the grand kids to the Children's Discovery Museum. My boys were in heaven. There favorite place as "Water World."

There was so many things for them to do. Even Sydney found a great place to play. By the end she was tuckered out and took a nap (thanks to Nana). The boys told me this was the best day ever.

Pioneer Days

We hit up our Stake's annual Pioneer days. The kids had a great time, as always. Devin discovered the dunking booth and loved it. It was a cloudy and humid day. Carter, Sydney, and I left before the fireworks due to the fact Carter was not feeling well. Devin and Jake were able to see the show before the storm clouds began.

Pool hopping with the Callan's

The Callan's came and visited us in Vegas over the 4th! The kids had fun and were crazy :) It was nice being in our new house so the kids had room to run. While there were here we went swimming almost every day, at different pools.

1st day, we rented a hotel and swam at the Hilton's pool. 2nd day, we were invited to go swimming at the NAF Base pool (which was very nice). 3rd, We went to my parents house making pizza and swimming.

Jake helped out manning the pizza oven. The kids decided to take some time out of swimming to get a good work out in. They take there workouts seriously :) We had some serious fun in the sun!

Michelle's B-day Party

Jana, Hollie, Tara, Mindy, Michelle. Christina, and Aubrey

Michelle is turning 30 and so we made a girls day of it to celebrate. We went swimming and laid out at her Dad's awesome pool. Afterwards we went to Maciano's for dinner, where we stuffed ourselves :)

We went "line dancing" (at least I attempted to but not very well) at Stoney's.
Michelle and Tara got hit on and dance with an old grandpa :) What can I say... they still got it!
We ended the night with Godiva shakes.

This wasn't Michelle actual birthday since she is leaving us to go live in Texas (which I am not happy about). It was a fun day and night. I will miss not having that crazy girl close by!

Planting

Summer has begun! We decided to plant some herbs and sunflowers. They did really well at first and the boys were excited to help me plant. Unfortunately, I do not have  green thumb and they all ended dying.

Devin's Kindergarden Graduation

I can't believe Devin has graduated and that another school year is at an end! Both of my boys had great teachers this year. When Devin 1st started school he said he didn't like it and wasn't excited for school but things had quickly to where he didn't want to miss a day of it.

The Kindergartners put on a great performance. I was cute hearing Devin come home the last month of school Singing the song they were practicing. My baby is now a 1st grader!

Moving

I can't believe we have finally move! It has been so nice to be in a bigger house. A MUCH bigger house than our condo. We feel like we can finally have people come over :)  Some people have been asking for pictures so here we go. We have, for the most part, finished unpacking. If you care to look, mind you that we have not finnished decorating or up curtains, but it is ours all the same and we love it.