Andrew and Britni......welcome to the family

After years of waiting it finally happened! Andrew and Britni got married last Friday. It was such a perfect day. We got to go to the temple with her Wednesday night and it was amazing. She was so cute and happy. It is so much fun to keep adding to the family. We have spent so much time with her over the last couple of years that she really does seem like a little sister. Friday was perfect. Their sealing was that morning and was amazing. President Clark (the temple president) was able to perform the sealing ceremony. I wish they would let you record it to remember everything they say. He was so funny, but so spiritual. Andrew and Britni couldn't stop smiling. The rest of the day was filled with food, family and fun, fun, fun. I've never had so much fun with a wedding. They did a carnival theme and it was better than going to the fair! We got to eat pulled pork and corn on the cob (just like at the fair) all night long. They had a balloon lady, kissing booths, candy and popcorn. The kids were in heaven and nowhere ready for bed when we got home that night. It was so much fun. Even Eli asked if we could get married again. There is so much more to do besides cake and flowers! Congratulations you two! We love you both so much and are excited to have you with us for the rest of forever!

The new couple
They didn't stop smiling all day

She was so pretty. When she came out I looked at Zach and said "isn't she pretty?" he looked back at me and said "no mom, she's beautiful."

Don't we look good???

Guess I got hitched twice that night. I'm just not sure which hubby is better looking.

My handsome boys. After pictures the lady started popping popcorn. All they wanted to do was eat candy and watch her...this is where they spent 90 % of the night.

Daddy and his little princess. It won't be long before we are dancing the night away at her wedding.

After a birthday party the night before and wedding parties all day, she'd finally had enough.

2 going on 20

Every day I find myself asking where the time has gone...today is even worse. Our little girl is two! I keep thinking it should be her first birthday, that there is no way she is that old and that it still feels like we just brought her home. Then I look at her, and listen to her and am reminded that she is in fact two.....only two, even though she thinks she is at least 16 or somewhere around there. This little princess is in the center of everyone's hearts. Thank goodness she is full of sweetness. She is my little helper and our little shadow. She loves her brothers and loves to get scared...when you jump out at her, not from hanging halloween decorations in stores...that is not ok, not at all. She can do anything we can do, just faster. She loves pink, babies, and horses (more on this in another post). She is such a big girl and so much fun. Happy, Happy Birthday Allie! We love you!

This is what I mean by 2 going on 20. She already is on the phone 24/7 trying to call her grandmas and grandpas. At least she isn't calling neighbor boys yet.


Blowing out the candles

Her horsey cake....more on this later

The "cheese" face. This is as good as it gets with her now. No normal pictures. Either no smile, or this face....I don't know which is better but at least she is smiling. Happy Birthday turkey!

Flag Football Time

Flag football was so much fun again this year. Zach is old enough to play and he loved every second of it. He already wants to grow up and play pro for the Broncos so they can win. Haha, maybe by then they'll be good again. We had a ton of fun watching them. Tyler gets better every year and Zach can keep right up. It is even more fun now because when we are home they get their flags and go "practice" in the back yard together. I love my little boys. They are best little buddies. Even though they don't realize it yet, they are starting to get competitive with each other. Right now it is still all fun and games, I just can't wait to see where it takes them.

First day of school

Another summer gone and another school year started. Tyler is excited this year and already thinks he's the big kid in school now that he is in 2nd grade. Zach was excited for kindergarten until he found out that he didn't have the same teacher Tyler had, then he didn't want to go anymore. Thank goodness for open house day. Once he met Mrs. Judy and the class turtle he was ready to go. I just can't believe he is old enough for school. He is so much bigger than I realize. They didn't even give me time to shed a tear that morning. They hopped on their bikes and left me in the dust. I got to the school right as the bell was ringing. Tyler was already on his way in and Zach had already lined up with his class. He stopped long enough for a a picture and went on his way.......pretty sure they don't need me anymore. They had it all figured out.

All ready to go

Meeting his teacher

The turtle...the coolest thing about kindergarten. All we had was a sandbox.

Last Days of Summer

Oh my goodness, I'm turning into the worst blogger. I figure the best way to play catch up at this point is just with a lot of pictures. We were so busy this summer, it just flew by. I'm pretty sure we only had 3 or 4 hot days, but we still tried packing in a lot of fun. To sum up the end to our summer break...enjoy!

We got to go to Utah for a baptism and stayed with my sister Becky. It was short and sweet but we had a lot of fun with family...shopping, eating, 3D movies and the very best....the kids got to camp out in a tent in the dining room! They loved it. We were just going to have Allie sleep with us but when she saw the boys camping out she wanted to be right there with them and she slept all night. The first night they were all just on the floor. This is what I woke up to the next morning. Good thing none of them move in their sleep! When they passed out they were all lined up side to side and their heads were all by Zach's.

Alexis is our little fish. In fact, I'm pretty sure she is more than that. As far as I can figure, she is convinced she is part mermaid. There is no fear of any body of water with this little girl. Even after we let her go in the deep end at Green Canyon and she sank with her mouth wide open. I just loved this picture and had to add it in. She would play in our pool all day. Somehow she found her snow hat and thought it looked better as a swimming cap and this is what she looked like the rest of the day.

What would summer in Rexburg be without days at the spray park. It still annoys me but the kids love it so much that I'm warming up to it.

This picture is so funny. Allie loves her brothers, and her and Tyler share a special bond. They understand each other so well. He is her hero. He couldn't wait to show her the slide and this is the first year she even cared to touch the water at the spray park. She got so excited for him as he came down. Then she went with him, but only once. She might be a fish, but only in bodies of water, not slides.
Our summer ended with a bang at the Celebrate Youth party in the park. I'd never gone before and I'm so glad we did. I can't believe how much there was to do. These doughnut beachball things were awesome. I wish they had them for grownups. It was so funny to watch the kids run around and bounce into each other.

They had a blast and it was so chaotic. I could have watched it all day.

While the big boys went off to the jump houses (side note...while Tyler and his best friend Daniel were in the jausting thing they smacked heads. Ty got the worst of it and it looked like he had a marble on his cheekbone. By the next day -first day of school- it was a black eye in full force that lasted 2 weeks) Allie hung around the kiddie things. Her favorite was fishing for ducks. She wouldn't look at me to save my life so this is the best shot I got.

Tyler on the rock wall. For a boy that's scared of heights he climbed right up and made it pretty far.

Zach couldn't wait to climb it and only made it about 3 feet. He was still brave though. I was so proud of both of them. It was a great summer overall. I just can't believe it's over.

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!