Yellowstone

The boys on their favorite rock wall at Canyon

Andrew and Britni

As good as our family pictures get these days

We finally made it up to Yellowstone last weekend. We love it so much and try to get up a few times each year but haven't had the time until now. We took the kids and Andrew and Britni this time. It was so green and pretty but there weren't too many animals out. We ate lunch up at Mammoth and the kids had a blast chasing all the ground squirrels into their holes and feeding them string cheese (don't tell). Allie kept calling them "cheek cheeks" cuz I guess she thinks they look like baby chickens... it was so funny. After Mammoth we headed down to Canyon. We were hoping to see some Big Horn Sheep but it had been raining so there weren't any out. We were kind of bummed but then about 10 minutes farther down the road we hit a traffic jam. Up on top of the hill was a grizzly sow and two cubs. We only saw them for a second but it was so neat. The cubs were so little and running all around. It made the trip worth it. A few minutes later we ran into another jam of cars but couldn't see what was going on. Andrew hopped out to check it out. As soon as he crossed the road he turned around and gave us a crazy look. We all hopped out and grabbed the kids and crossed the street. Down the bank on the other side about 20-30 yards away was a huge grizzly. It was crazy. After we got home Eli brought up a good point that if we had been hiking or camping and saw a bear that close we'd croak but then you go to Yellowstone and run right for it to get a picture....we're as dumb as the tourists. It was awesome though and I figure as long as you can outrun the people next to you you're safe, right? Only kidding...we had a ton of fun and can't wait to get back again. The kids keep wanting to stay overnight up there so we'll see what the summer brings.

Some Elk at Canyon...I know, all you hunters wish you had a gun and wish you could use it. They were amazing.

It seriously was this close....

The sow and her cubs. Right after we got there, they went over the ridge.

Tower Fall....we had never seen it before but it was so pretty.

Baseball Time

I'm a little late since Tyler has been playing since April but I kept hoping for nice weather so I'd have some sunny pictures to post. But, since the sun won't shine we'll go with what we've got. Tyler is in his 2nd season of coach pitch and is having so much fun. It amazes me how much better he gets every year. The stinking kid can hit farther than his mom now! He is so funny too. He likes being on the right side of the field. His coach put him at 3rd base one game and he kept standing on the wrong side of the foul line. When we told him to move he just said "but it feels funny over here!" Goofy kid. Zach just started t-ball last week and loves it too. He got lucky at Tyler's last game though. There weren't enough kids so they let him play. He thought he was SO BIG! He did awesome though and even got 2 hits. Tyler was so proud of him and they had so much fun playing together. It was cute to watch Tyler give his little brother pointers out in the field. I love these boys so much and am so thankful they are such good friends. Now lets just pray for some sunshine so they can play in some warm weather!

Hershey Track Meet

Last Thursday was the Hershey's track meet here in town. Tyler had been so excited for it since he brought home the flyer the last day of school. The weather was FREEZING but he was such a trooper. I had never been to a track meet so I didn't really know what to expect. It was so long but he had so much fun and he did so good! He place 7th in the 50 meter run and got 8th in both the long jump and softball throw. We were so proud of him and he was pretty proud of himself. Not bad for having no clue what we were doing. It was fun for him to try something new and he loved hearing his name read over the loudspeaker. Good job, Tyler! You are awesome buddy!

OUCH!

Allie, meet the banister....how ya doin?

What a bunch of clowns!

Some of the crazy things our kids have said and done in the last week...

TYLER

Ty is our trickster. He loves to joke around and is always looking for whatever is making the next big laugh. So last week we were getting ready to watch a family movie. He was helping me pop pocorn and decided he wanted to the kettle corn sprinkles on it. I grabbed the container and sprinkled away, thinking to myself that it looked weird but that it had been a long time since I had used it so I probably just didn't remember what color it was. As I was sprinkling I noticed Ty laughing under his breath and whispering to Zach. I tasted the popcorn...it was some weird combination of popcorn, salt, cherry, kettle corn sweet nastiness. He couldn't take it anymore and told me in between snorting laughs that for April Fool's Day he had put pixie stix powder in the kettle corn and forgot about it until I dumped it on the popcorn....what a clown. Needless to say, him and his brother chowed on the cherry corn and I popped a new bag for me and Eli.

ZACHZach is our little goofy guy. He is his own man and is always saying the funniest off the wall things. Being stuck in the middle he has to hold his own, especially with the strong personalities of his older brother and little sister. Despite him being our happy, cuddly Zachy he still finds ways to keep us laughing. A couple of days ago (when it was almost warm outside) I decided it was time to go through Tyler's old clothes and find his shorts from last year so Zach could have some "nicer" shorts to wear, instead of the basketball shorts he wears every day and every night. He asked what kind of shorts they were and I told him there were camo shorts and khaki shorts...he said he'd wear the camo but that he hates khaki. I started laughing and told him that he didn't even know what color khaki was. He just looked at me, rolled his eyes and said "Mom...you are just making me loco!" I started laughing even harder and asked him if he knew what that meant. Of course he said "yes" and rolled his eyes again, like I was just so out of the loop.

ALEXIS
Where to start with this sweet little angel. Wait, let me back up...our little angel has somehow found the little devil inside of her. Don't get me wrong. She is still as sweet as can be, especially when she knows she's about to get into trouble for hitting/pinching/stealing toys/screeching, etc. Despite the little devil inside her, she is still a sweet and super funny little girl. She has decided that she is as big as her brothers and just as witty. She loves to scare and be scared. After we have family prayer she races off the couch to beat the boys into their room for bed, laughing the whole way like she is so funny! The picture above is of her the other day. She doesn't have her blanket...she has Zach's "quack quack". It is his baby blanket that he loves as much as his right arm. She knows this. So when she saw it laying on the living room floor unsupervised, she couldn't resist. She grabbed it, ran behind the couch, curled up in it and started snickering (really- snickering, not laughing). Then she waited, and waited and waited for her brother to walk into the room to find her. Silly, and brave....that's our girl.

A spiritually fulfilling week

Wednesday we started off by welcoming home Eli's brother, Andrew from the California Fresno mission. It was so good to see him and has been so nice having him home. He is finally getting his feet on the ground. He is living with us and it is great. The morning after he got home I was talking to Zach and said "doesn't it feel good to have Andrew home?" and he said back to me, "that's because he has the Spirit with him, mom." What more can I say....

Our family on the right, Elder Hancock's family on the left
Andrew and his friends Cody, Brantley, Scott, Britni and our boys. It is so fun having them in our house again, keeping us busy.

Elder Hancock & Elder Peña. They both served in Fresno and got to travel home together.

On Saturday Eli's brother Jared and his wife Maquel got to go through the temple and then be sealed together and to their little boy, Lucas. Next to my baptism and sealing it was the most spritual thing I've experienced. When they brought Lucas into the sealing room, the feeling was almost overpowering. He is such a sweet little baby and they have such a neat family. I'm so excited for them and am so blessed that I got to be a part of their special day.

Some handsome Peña men & boys

The happy eternal family

Our Vegas Trip

What a cute couple!

My favorite thing in Vegas


What a bunch of tough lookin guys :)

Haha, the best pic of them all. You'd think we were all getting old. That's what happens when you try to go 24 hours with no sleep!

So most of the time I blog about my kids and the crazy things they do and their important, special days. Believe it or not, every now and then me and Eli get out of the house. We were lucky enough last month to head to Vegas with some friends for a fun few days away from home. We went with 4 other couples and crammed ourselves into a 2 bedroom condo for 3 nights. We had so much fun going to shows (the Mentalist and KA....so awesome!), eating great food, shopping a little and walking the strip. There is so much to see just walking around...ok, so many crazy people to see just walking around. It was so nice to spend some time together without the kids, even though I miss them every time I leave. It was a quick trip...we were at the airport at 4:00 Sunday morning for our flight home. Why was it so much easier to pull all-nighters 10 years ago?

Last night away