Eat More Chicken and Future Missionaries!

This summer we had the awesome opportunity to have Hayden and Landon come over for a day or two per week to play while Diana and Ross were at work. They just happened to be at our house when Chick-Fil-A had their "Cow Appreciation Day". The kids dressed up as cows to get free food. It was so fun! We went for lunch and got a ton of free food. Yay! Diana and Ross took their kids back for dinner that night too.

Landon and Kellen decided to dress up as future missionaries. Crazy thing is that they will be on a mission sooner than we think. They are going to be great! It would be so much fun if they got to go to the same mission. Wherever they go, they will be great!!!!

Lego land 2015

This Summer we had the opportunity to run really fast to San Diego and enjoy a day at Legoland with Grandma Lyle, Diana, Ross, Hayden and Landon. The kids were so excited that they were going to get to spend the day on rides with their cousins!

We were not going to go out of town this past summer because Tom did not have many days off of work. We took a day off and spent the weekend in San Diego. My mom wasn't up to much and we asked her to come with us. Lucky for us, she was game and happy to come. We also talked Diana and Ross into coming making it a really fun time! 

Here is how it all went down: We picked up my mom bright and early at 5:30am. The kids were half asleep in the van. We went to McDonalds and off we went. We were going to meet Diana and Ross at Legoland at noonish. We got to Carlsbad at around 10:30/11:00am. We went to In&Out for lunch and off we went. 

Katie and Kellen on a ride that actually took a little muscle power. They had to use the rope to pull themselves up. They had races with their cousins as to which team could get to the top first. 

There they are again. I even got on it being 7 months pregnant with Kason (his story will come shortly). It was super fun. I had to use a lot more muscle strength to get my heavy body up. 

Funny story: I was 7 months pregnant at the time. I had a hard time walking all over the place. My legs and feet were totally swollen. Tom rented a wheelchair so my day wouldn't be so hard. When he rented the wheelchair, Legoland gave us 9 passes to get to the beginning of the line at every ride. We were able to get on every ride we wanted several times over. It was a beautiful thing!

Katie and Kellen with an Ewok.

When I was a baby my parents called me Yoda. Apparently, I was slightly bald and had a resemblance to Yoda. The kids love that story and made sure that I got a picture next to him.

Hayden, Landon, Katie and Kellen.

The kids got to drive around a huge track. They loved it! Here is Kellen coming down the track.

Katie driving her own car. 

Katie with the sassy lego lady.

Say "cheese"

The cousins on a lego car.

After Legoland we left  for our camping site. We went camping with the Hanks and other families from our old ward. We were lucky enough to have a site that would allow for Diana and Ross to set up a tent as well. The next day we went with the Hanks to the Children's Beach in La Jolla. The kids loved to hang out in the ocean. There was a sick seal hanging out in a cave where the kids could get a look at sea life. Then we went to Mission Beach and rented bikes. We went for a ride on the boardwalk. It was a little crowded but really, really fun! We then went home and ordered a huge pizza and salad. We had a fire too. Funny thing tho, my legs were so swollen that I had to elevate them. I wrapped them with ace bandages to help bring down the swelling. 

The next day we went to Coronado Beach. It was sooo windy and cold. I was not expecting that because it was so warm on the other days. We stayed for a while. Tom played in the water with the kids. I was so big and pregnant that it didn't work. 

All in all, we had a great time! I wish I had more pictures but I forgot my camera and my phone was not helping. It never has room for more pictures. Ugh! Until next time!!

Willy Wonka Junior

Kellen's friend Charlie, in our old ward, asked if Kellen would like to be in a play. Kellen wanted to but Katie wanted to join as well. Katie was asked to play Veruca Salt and Kellen was Grandpa Jo and an Oopma Loompa. They were so cute!

Katie had to play a bratty Veruca. She did a great job! Luckily, she is nothing like Veruca. She is a sweet little princess instead!

Here is the real Katie.

This is Katie's picture from the playbill. 

Here are my little actors. This is Kellen's costume for Grandpa Jo.

This is Kellen's picture for the playbill. He is dressed as an Oopma Loompa this time.

Here is our illustrious group. We are grateful that everyone came to support the kids! It was my birthday the night of the play. I was so lucky because the whole audience sang "Happy Birthday" to me before the show. It was super fun!

Rock Wall Fun

It is so hot here in AZ over the summer. We have to find ways to pass the time in doors. Our town has a rock wall that is really great for kids. Katie and Kellen each brought a friend. I tried to get some good pictures of them climbing but it did not work really well.

This is Kellen's friend Parker climbing the wall.

There goes Katie's friend Reaghan.

Yay, Kellen!

Woo-hoo, Katie!

Cousins and last day of school

Brielle loves to dress up in Katie's old dress up clothes when she comes to visit. She looks lovely!

The kids all jumped on Katie's bed for a slumber party.

Here is Katie's last day in elementary school and Kellen's last day of 2nd grade. They grow up soooo fast!

Katie saying goodbye to the cousins of love before they flew home. It was a super fun visit!

Orchestra Concert

Since 5th grade Katie has been playing violin. She absolutely loves it! Not to mention she is really good at it. Here she is at her 6th grade concert.

Katie and Ashlyn getting ready for their performance.

If you look closely you can see Katie playing her violin.

Grandpa and Grandma always come to support Katie. They have not missed one performance. We are grateful that they make time to see her performances. We also like that Grandpa Lyle takes us to ice cream afterwards.

It just so happened that Shellie, Mark, Brielle and Brinley came into town on the day of her concert. They cam to support her as well. 

Katie and Reaghan. Reaghan played in the 5th grade orchestra. They have been best friends since Katie was in kindergarten. Reaghan is a grade younger.

Building our house

In 2008, if you would have told me that we would be building a house in seven years and that it would be lovely and just about everything we wanted, I would have laughed. That is the year the economy flopped and it was the beginning of our family's crazy journey. Looking back, I would go through it all again to have the knowledge I have today. Crazy how things all work out! I digress....

We rented out our house in Power Ranch while Tom was out of a job and then while I was in nursing school. It worked out because I was closer to my parents and they were super helpful, especially during this crazy time. We felt prompted that after nursing school to sell the house and start looking for a new one. Well, the day I took the NCLEX for my nursing license is the day the renters were suppose to be out of our house. Talk about right after nursing school! We got the house ready to sell and two days later we had great offers and we sold the home. It was a miracle! It also helped to have a really good realtor! We sold the home and went out looking at all sorts of homes. It took a while but finally found a home we liked. We really felt that needed to move to this neighborhood. I had no doubt. 

When we were looking at the house we really liked a particular lot close to the park. Normally I think about things for a while and then jump on it. As we were thinking about signing a contract our realtor called and said that if we wanted the lot we had to get into the office that morning at 8:30am or another couple was probably going to take it. Well, we got up real fast and signed the paperwork. Funny thing, I had no buyers remorse. I knew this was the place we were suppose to live. I am never moving again!!! We love our neighbors and our ward and we are only seven minutes away from my parents and siblings. Life is good!

The day we signed the contract, we brought the kids back to show them our lot. Our neighbor took our picture on the dirt. 

Here we are, Lot 15.

Yes, we have a foundation!!! 

Kellen was showing it off.

Our friends Reese and Reaghan came too to see the house. 

 It is beginning to look like a real house!

Our house actually has a front now. Woo hoo! We came every Sunday to look at the progression. It was always exciting to see something new that they did during the week.

This is a portion of the island. Katie is pretending to eat at the island.

Hey guys!

Katie and Kellen are welcoming you into our home. 

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This is a portion of the family room. 

I just wanted to take a picture of my cute Katie hanging out at the house.

The kids are pretending to be in jail.

We went over to another house and took a picture of our house from behind. It was so fun!

It's coming.....

This was probably taken in January of 2015. 

Home Sweet Home. This was taken about two weeks before we moved in. The house was pretty much ready. The builders were just finishing up some last minute things before we could sign the papers. We were so excited. We still are really!

Moving day!!! We woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to move our stuff from the rental house to our new house. The kids were super helpful. They helped stack boxes in the truck until  things got too heavy. Of course we had to get a picture of them in the back of the truck.

The night before we moved into the house, we spent the night in the family room! The kids were demonstrating how many mattresses they could stack up and then jump on at the same time. I would say they did pretty well.

Here is the finished product. 

We promised the kids that they could mattress surf the first day. They put a ton of pillows at the bottom of the stairs and used the crib mattress to slide down. It only lasted a little while though. It did not work as well as we thought it would and it took off some paint while they were going down the stairs. It was still fun though. They had some friends come and join them: Megan Hanks, Resse and Reaghan Halliday.

Katie and Kellen had to get a shot in the pantry before we stacked our food.

It took forever for us to clear the kitchen counter from all the boxes. Here is the finished product. There are still boxes on the floor but they are empty and ready to be recycled. Good thing! I was soooo sick of boxes at that point!!!!