Kevin, Lisa, Mckenna, Parker, Halle, Hayden, & Addyson Foster

Fun with cousins!!

2012-02-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

We had my niece and nephew come spend the weekend with us. We took all the kids to the Dinosaur museum. It was a good opportunity to use our pass since it expires next month. They always have something new in the discovery room. It is fun for the kids to learn more about science through hands on experiments. I really liked this one of Parker. He looks so small staring up in wonder at that big flag waving.

The kids really liked this one that taught them about centrifugal force. I thought it was funny how Tucker was putting his whole body into it.

Tucker and Parker had fun at this station together. You peddle to create friction which powers the light.

They all took turns getting the pendulums to sway back and forth.

We always enjoy seeing the dinosaur bones. Aubrey wanted her picture taken by this giant foot.

They got out some energy chasing eachother through the cave.

The sand always entertains all of them. Mckenna created this island for the girls to play on.

The older kids with the t-rex. It is fun that both Parker and Halle have cousins so close to their age. You can see in the picture that they are close in height too. We took turns weighing them on the Dino scale. It was funny because Parker and Tucker almost weigh the same too.

It wouldn't be a complete trip to the museum without excavating for the dino bones. Tucker and Mckenna were hard at work. The kids thought it was fun having the cousins with us all weekend!

A name and a blessing..

2012-01-31T21:06:00.000-08:00

Kevin blessed Addy in our ward on Sunday January 22nd. We named her Addyson Sylvia Foster. She is named after my mother Sylvia who passed away when I was a teenager. I had always wanted to name one of my girls in honor of my Mom. Addyson was actually born on October 24th which was the exact day my Mom passed away fifteen years ago. I hope that she grows up to be as righteous and faithful as her grandmother.

Kevin gave her a beautiful blessing. She was blessed to be a light unto others. He also told her that she would be an example to her older brothers and sisters. Our bishop commented on how Addy was calm and looking around during the blessing. It was really special to have Uncle Spencer in the blessing circle this time.

We had everyone over to the house for lunch. We all enjoyed the yummy food. Thanks to everyone who brought food to share.

We are so thankful to all the family and friends that came to the blessing. It was great to have Kevin's sister Lisa attend the blessing. She had brain surgery two weeks earlier and still made the effort to come. My Grandma and Grandpa Rosen are in the above picture with Addy.

A picture with my side of the family.

It was so much fun having my two best friends Jan and Kathleen come.

Addy being held by her Grandma Sue. She made this beautiful blessing dress when we had Mckenna. All three of our girls have worn it. It was a little sad thinking this will be the last time one of my babies will wear it. It is an heirloom that will be passed down to the next generation. It was a really memorable day. We love our little Addy and are so glad that she is a part of our family.

Birthday fun at trafalga!!

2012-01-24T21:08:00.000-08:00

It was Parker's year for a friends party. The boys made paper airplanes as everyone showed up.

Then we headed off to the trafalga fun center.

We got a bunch of tokens so the boys could play some games. They were having fun playing skee ball in this one.

They took turns racing eachother on waverunners. It was so funny watching how into the games they got.

The main event of the party was laser tag. The guys all geared up and ready for the game to begin. The boys told me that Kev came in first place.

We went back to the house to open presents. Parker really has some great friends. It is funny how loud they can be when they are together.

We had pizza and rootbeer floats. It was a good time for everyone!

Faith to be healed..

2012-01-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

A little over a week ago we found out that Kevin's sister Lisa had a brain tumor. The news was shocking to all of us. She had been having some symptoms but nothing too serious. We had just been spending time with her up at the cabin and she had seemed fine. It has been a roller coaster of emotions for all of us. We went to visit her that night at the hospital. She was calm and smiling the whole time we were there. It is amazing the courage and strength that she had even knowing that she would have brain surgery to remove the tumor. She asked for a priesthood blessing before everyone left that night. It was a very sweet experience to be there for the blessing. The circle consisted of my father in law, brothers in law and Kev. The spirit in the room was so strong. I know that great blessings come through the power of the priesthood. We talked to the kids about Aunt Lisa and told them that we needed to pray and fast for her. Mckenna and Parker both wanted to fast. It was Parker's first time fasting. They now know what it means to fast with a purpose. The surgery was on Sunday exactly a week ago. She was in surgery for six hours. We were so relieved to hear that everything went so well. They were able to remove most of the tumor. We went to visit her a couple hours after the surgery. She was still tired from the anesthesia but she acknowledged us. She would sleep and then join in the conversation. Kev was telling us that he used his phone so much over the weekend that his battery kept running out. My brother in law Cody said that he bought another for his phone and suggested Kev should do the same. Lisa opened her eyes and said, "check ebay"!! It really made us laugh because Lisa always loves to get a good deal. We left the hospital feeling very relieved after seeing her. She was doing so well after just coming out of surgery.

She has continued to amaze us throughout her recovery. She was up and walking just the day after her surgery. We took the kids to visit her during her stay at the hospital. They were very happy that Aunt Lisa remembered who they were. She entertained us all while we were there. She showed us her cool scar and tried on some of her cute hats. As we left the hospital Parker said, "Mom, Heavenly Father really heard us." I know that he did hear our prayers. It really is a miracle that has taken place in our family. It has strengthened us all and brought us closer together. Lisa came home from the hospital on Friday. We are still waiting to hear if the tumor is malignant or benign. We are praying and hoping for good news.

Where is all the snow??

2012-01-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

We went up to the cabin on new years eve for a few days. We were shocked to see how little snow there was. We can't even remember a year where there has been this little snow over the holidays. You can see that the other side of the mountain doesn't have snow and the sagebrush is sticking out in the field. Kev got out the gator and took the boys for a ride. They loved doing donuts on the ice.

All our kids were excited that there was some snow to play in. Parker had fun making snowballs.

Mckenna and Hayden having fun together in the snow. They are standing in the ditch on top of the frozen water.

We still did some snowmobiling. It was more like snowmobiling on ice. We let Mckenna sit in front and have a chance to drive the snowmobile. She loved it and wanted to be out there all day. Spence was a nice Uncle and took the girls on lots of snowmobile rides.

Hayden having fun playing with all the toys in the bunkbed room. Those toys have been around a long time. Kev used to play with them when he was a kid too. Check out the nice new carpet. In August the cabin was remodeled and we said goodbye to the red shag. The new carpet is nice and soft.

I snapped this pic of Kev hanging out with his brother, sisters, and Mom. We spent most of the time hanging out in the cabin this year. It was good times.

Grandpa Foster decided to bring his Wii up to the cabin. We all had a great time playing. We brought up our two new games; mario kart and tetris. It was fun having four of us play at a time. It brought out the competitiveness in all of us.

Kev and Hayden watching a movie together. I really liked this picture of the two of them. You can tell that Hayden gets his big, brown eyes from his Daddy.

It was Addy's first overnight adventure away from home. She was a little angel the whole time. Aunt Heather always comments on how she never makes any noise or cries. Addy was having a conversation with her Grandma Sue in this picture.

Mckenna really wanted to play at the park. We four wheeled up in the gator. She had fun trying out the teeter totter in the snow. We are hoping to get some more snow in the next month. We really want some powder for snowmobiling!

Christmas is here!!!

2011-12-30T22:12:00.000-08:00

The kids ready and excited to see what Santa brought them. Once again our kids slept in on Christmas. Kev went into their rooms at about eight to wake them up.

Parker with a DS game for each hand. He was very happy and couldn't wait to try them out.

Mckenna got her Hogwarts castle from Santa. She loves anything and everything Harry Potter. She is always quoting the books and acting out scenes from the movies.

Kev helping Hayden open us his trains. Santa brought him a big Thomas that moves around the track and makes noises. He love his trains!

Mckenna was so thoughtful and gave gifts to Parker and Halle. She spent a lot of time making a tutu for Halle's barbie.

I must have been extra good this year because I got a Cricut machine. I had wanted one for years and was very surprised that Kev got me one!

Kev had been wanting a deep fat fryer for a long time. He always talked about how much he wanted one. I always told him no because they just make everything twice as bad for you. It has been an ongoing joke between us. He even told me he was going to go out and buy one. I told him it would go right back to the store. I finally caved and got him one. I knew it would make him really happy.

You can see how surprised and happy he was!

Addy slept through most of Christmas morning. She woke up in time to have her picture with one of her presents. Addy got a new diaper bag from Santa and a bunch of new clothes. The kids took turns opening her presents for her.

I thought it was cute how Halle loaded up her sled with her presents and was pulling it around the house. It is the only use her sled has gotten since there hasn't been any snow.

The kids all dressed up for church. We had a nice Christmas program in our ward with lots of music. It was a good way to remember Christ on Christmas day.

We went to my Dad's house to celebrate the rest of the day. There was more presents and lots of yummy food. We were small in numbers this year but we still had a good time.

I can't take enough pictures of our little Addy. She is such a sweetheart and is always so content. We hope everyone had a memorable Christmas!!

Christmas eve!

2011-12-30T21:48:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas eve with the Foster side of the family. Addy turned two months old that very day. It was fun having her there to join in the family traditions.

The kids excited to open their presents from Grandma and Grandpa.

They got lots of fun gifts. Parker got a cool book on how to fold paper airplanes. He has been flying them all over the front yard with his friend. Mckenna got a kit to make her own lip balm. She made some cherry flavored gloss today. Halle has been having fun with her paper dolls.

Grandma Sue helped Hayden open his gifts. He got a new blanket that giraffe stuffed animal. He also got a reuseable sticker book of trains.

Kev's Mom gave each of us a bag of m & m's. She told us the Christmas story using them. We were only supposed to take four out of the bag and not eat them. Kev ignored the not eat part and ate his whole bag.

The kids put on their Christmas jammies and then put out the treats for Santa. They are all kind of doing their own thing in the picture.

Our cute kids all ready for Santa to come!

Parker is seven years old!!

2011-12-28T19:08:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Parker's 7th birthday on the 23rd. It was a fun filled day. It started with breakfast in bed. He told me about a month ago that was what he really wanted. Then we went to get his birthday balloons. He told me that he is lucky because he gets three days in a row of presents when everyone else only gets two. I am glad that he really enjoys having his birthday right before Christmas.

He really likes Angry Birds right now. He always asks to play it on our phones. I knew that he would like this shirt.

He had a huge smile on his face when he opened up the Cars 2 movie. I love his toothless grin. He is missing his two front teeth. Grandpa Foster loves to sing to him "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth".

Parker's big present this year was a new bike. He really needed one. His old one was falling apart due to all the use. He has been out riding it everyday since there is no snow this year.

I made Parker an Angry Bird cake this year. I made it up as I went along and was really happy how it turned out.

The kids singing Happy Birthday to Parker before he blew out his candles. We were happy to have family there to celebrate with us. Parker had all of his great grandparents there at his party.

The frosting turned everyones lips and teeth black. It was funny seeing all the Grandparents with black teeth!

Parker got right to work building his new Lego Space Shuttle. Great Grandpa Rosen was helping him out.

We had pizza that night after the party. Happy Birthday Parker! We love you!

Christmas wishes!!

2011-12-28T18:36:00.000-08:00

We took the kids to see Santa at the outdoor mall. The lights were beautiful. It seemed like there were even more than last year.

Hayden was being shy around Santa at first. He didn't want to sit on his lap and only wanted the candy cane. He eventually changed his mind and asked Santa for his "choo choo trains". Santa impressed us all by naming a bunch of the Thomas trains. Santa really knows his toys!

Parker asked Santa for two DS games. Super Mario Brothers and R4. As we were leaving he "pulled a Ralphie" and ran back to ask Santa for one more thing. He told him he wanted a "my sized snowmobile".

Halle was excited to have her turn with Santa. She asked him for a Barbie house.

Mckenna has almost outgrown sitting on Santa's lap but she still believes. She put in her request for a Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle. She and Parker both are really into Lego's right now.

Addy even had her turn sitting on Santa's lap. She looked so chubby and cute all bundled up. Her cheeks are getting chubbier every day.

We got a picture with all the kids together. They had big smiles for their picture with Santa.

We took a picture with the whole family before we went home. I realized it is the first one we have ever taken with all seven of us!

Grant family Christmas party!

2011-12-20T21:09:00.000-08:00

We had fun Sunday at the Christmas party with all the Grants. The family has grown so big that it is hard to meet at anyones house. We had the party at the Reid school. Grandma Grant was meeting Addy for the first time.

Mckenna thought it was fun that we were eating at the school lunch tables. The Aunts had a great idea to have some crafts and toys to entertain the kids.

It worked like a charm and the kids were happily entertained the whole night. Parker and cousin Tucker concentrating on their creations.

My brother in law Dan requested that I take his picture. He decided to lick the serving spoon clean. I found another lovely close up that he took with my camera when I wasn't paying attention.

Kev found out this week that he has the option of turning his phone into a lightsaber. My father in law was trying it out.

We always have a short program with music and stories. Grandma is reading the story Davey's Christmas to the the great grandkids. She used to read it to her kids when they were little.

It was fun to meet all the cute babies that have been born into the family. Lexi was born in August, Aubrey was born in September, and Addy in October. Cousin Ruth had her baby girl Alice just a couple of weeks ago so she wasn't there. There are also two more babies on the way for 2012.

Our two dancers!!

2011-12-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

Mckenna and Halle had their Christmas dance performance. They performed in the production of The little Match girl.

Mckenna performed in two dances one for Jazz and the other ballet.

We always looks forward to seeing how much they have improved each year.

Halle danced to the song "on the good ship lollipop". We showed her the Shirley temple version the night before the performance. I grew up watching those movies at my Grandma's house. The dance was adorable and they had giant lollipops that they danced with.

It's beginning...

2011-12-10T14:21:00.001-08:00

to look a lot like Christmas!!

We had fun decorating the tree for family night. We enjoy getting out all the ornaments from the past years. The kids always put the ornament from the year they were born on the tree.

The kids were out early to see Santa come by in the firetruck. Hayden was very excited because he

loves firetrucks and candy.

The kids were watching Charlie Browns Christmas on the portable DVD player. They had it all set up in the closet so it would be dark like the movie theater. We have been watching all the great classic Christmas movies together.

Hayden got to talk with Santa at our ward party. I don't think he understands the concept that Santa brings presents but he really liked the candy cane.

Addy hangin out with the Christmas bears. She turned six weeks old on Monday. She is still such a happy and content baby. It really is beginning to feel like Christmas at our house. The only thing missing is the snow.

Thanksgiving!!

2011-11-29T20:01:00.001-08:00

We had our first Thanksgiving the day before at my Dad's house. It was great to have so much family there. Mike, Amy, and the twins were in town. My cousin Peter, Marilee, and their kids. We only get to see them a couple times a year.

Halle and cousin Megan enjoying their Thanksgiving dinner. They both had big smiles on their faces.

Kev taking his traditional Thanskgiving nap. He keeps telling me it was the turkey.

The kids entertained us after the big meal. You got to love the eighties bride maid dresses that were my stepmoms. The puffy sleeves are the best.

They put on quite the show. There was singing and dancing.

Everyone took turns holding little Addy. It was great to see my cousin Peter. You can tell from the picture that Ethan wanted a turn too.

Addy loved all the attention from Grandma Loni and Great Grandma Darlene.

We had our second Thanksgiving with the Foster side of the family up in Midway. The picture of the kids table turned out a lot better than ours. The kids had a great time running around while the adults visited.

Uncle Spencer holding little Addy. He is such a great Uncle to all the kids. He even has a picture of Addy as the screen saver on his phone.

The next day we did a little black Friday shopping at the outlets. We went to the main street to get some chocolate. It was great to hang out with Mike, Amy, and the twins.

I took this cute picture of the kids at the ornament store. They love watch the moving displays in the window.

Mckenna & Parker wanted to try out these metal bikes. It was great to spend so much time with our families over the holiday!

Addy's newborn pictures!!

2011-11-10T20:16:00.001-08:00

A week ago my friend and neighbor took newborn photos of Addy. We were really happy with how they turned out. Her website is www.mikkigrimleyphotography.blogspot.com. Addy is about two and half weeks old now. She has been such a good baby. She hardly ever cries or fusses. She also rarely spits up. We are hoping that will last. We love it when she is wide awake. She has the biggest eyes and loves to look around and take it all in. It is always a joy to have a new baby join our family. The kids adore her and she gets plenty attention from all of us.

Halloween!!

2011-11-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of all FIVE of our kids on Halloween. It is the first time that I have been able to say that. They looked so cute and happy all dressed up in their costumes. It was such a nice day. It was great that the weather was so warm.

Parker knew that he wanted to be Mario a couple months ago. He was really excited about his costume and tried it on everyday after we got it. I even found him dressed up playing Mario brothers on the Wii. It made me smile.

One of Parker's friends was dressed up as Luigi so we had to get a picture of the two of them. You got to love those mustaches!

Hayden wore the lion costume this year. It is one of my favorites. He had fun at the school parade with Dad. Kev had the day off and it was nice having him at home to help out.

Halle was a witch this year. She had fun riding around on her broom. She had a fun program at preschool.

Our little Addy on her first Halloween. She is exactly one week old. I knew she would be tiny so I didn't buy her a costume. I decided to make her tutu and a matching flower for her hair. She helped me pass out the candy at home.

Parker really wanted a Mario pumpkin this year. Kev made his own design from a picture off the Internet. It turned out really good and looked even better when it was all lite up.

Mckenna chose out her costume this year. She was a spider countess. I did her hair like a spiders web and put plastic spiders in it. My sweet Grandma came and brought us dinner. It was really nice not having to cook. She enjoyed holding Addy and seeing all the kids in their costumes.

Addy is here!

2011-10-26T08:35:00.001-07:00

Addyson Sylvia Foster was born on Monday October 24th at 7:42 am. She weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and was 20.5 in long. We got to the hospital at 5:30 am and this was the last "before" picture I got of Lisa before they got her ready and wheeled her off for surgery. The C-section and delivery couldn't have gone any better. This is Lisa meeting Addy for the first time right after her birth.

After the RTs got Addy all cleaned up we took a few pictures and then I left with Addy to the nursery while the doctors spent the next hour closing Lisa back up. They did just a great job. Usually I am still in the nursery with our babies when Lisa gets wheeled back to the room but I actually beat her there and had Addy all to myself before she arrived. When the kids came to visit I was in the nursery for Addy's first bath. Hayden was so excited to see Addy.

The kids just adore her. They were all so excited to hold their new baby sister. Hayden cracked us up. We asked him if he wanted to hold Addy and he promptly blurted out, "No". Asked if he wanted to give her a kiss and he goes, "No". I held both Addy and Hayden a few minutes later and asked him again if he wanted to give her a kiss and he didn't say no but put his cheek down by Addy's and let them touch expecting her to give him a kiss. Just a cute kid!
The proud Momma with all 5 of her beautiful kids! All the nurses and doctors would ask if she was our 1st. We would laugh and then tell them that she was our 5th. It is fun to watch their facial expressions when we say that. Mckenna was just gleaming! She is the best helper in the world. So excited to babysit!
Halle was glowing too. They keep asking when Lisa and I will bring her home from the Hospital so they can hold her all they want. When Addyson was born my first impression was that Addy looked most like Halle. Lisa thought the same thing. She is definitely one of ours!
Parker was so fascinated by how little she is. He was so excited to tell his friends and teacher that his new sister was here!
The proud Daddy. She is so cute I can't stop talking about her. All our kids are. So blessed and grateful to have 5 beautiful children.
So cute!
We're amazed at how much awake time she has with us. We love her chubby cheeks! We love our little Addyson!

Birthday time for me!!

2011-10-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

I celebrated my 31st birthday last Tuesday. In a way it feels like I had my 30th not that long ago. It was a good day and I enjoyed all the phone calls from family and friends. I had Kev take a picture of me showing off my 38 week pregnant belly. My delivery date has changed again. I now have to wait until Monday the 24th. My doctor is out of town and I am going to wait until he gets back to have my surgery. I was thinking the other day that I had Mckenna (my first baby) when I was 21 and now ten years later at 31 I will have my last baby. It is kind of cool how that worked out.

Kev surprised me with a lemon meringue pie from our local bakery. I am not a huge fan of cake. Kev and the kids sang to me and we opened presents. My favorite present is a gift card to get a pedicure before the baby comes. It is getting hard to paint my own toes and I am looking forward to that this week.

Thanks to Kev's Mom we were able to go out for the evening. We went to dinner at Red lobster. I specifically asked for the bib. I tend to spill a lot on my huge belly lately. It worked like a charm and caught all the spills. We were able to go to a session at the temple afterwards. We had a fun night out together!

Soccer!!

2011-10-09T21:39:00.000-07:00

Parker had a fun season of playing soccer. He really has improved this year. He enjoyed being the goalie. He was great at stopping the other team from making goals. He really could drop kick the ball hard from the goalie box.

Here is an action picture of him. It is too bad that another boys hand is covering up his face. I have the hardest time capturing the good action shots.

I liked this one of him running across the field. He ran fast and hard to keep up with the ball.

Grandma Sue and cousin Ethan came to watch Parker's last game on Saturday. It was fun having them come!

Parker with his coach Reuben Hernandez. He was a really good coach. He was great with all the kids. He did a good job teaching and encouraging them. Parker was excited to add another medal to his collection! Way to go Parker on another awesome season!

Football seaon!!

2011-09-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

Kev and Parker went to the BYU versus UCF game last week. Our neighbors had extra tickets and invited them to go. Parker hadn't been to a game since he was eighteen months old so he was really excited.

Kev said that they had good seats and a good view of the game.

Parker was glad to have a new shirt to wear and a hot dog to eat. He had a great time cheering along with Dad. I could tell that it was a good game because Kev came home hoarse from all his cheering!

made me laugh!!

2011-09-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

Halle is at such a fun age right now! She is very inquisitive and likes to know all about the world around her. Whenever we are in the car she has non stop questions for us. It could be anything from why the sky is blue to questions about religon that sometimes amaze us. On Monday I was rushing to get to my doctor's appointment. I was hurrying to drop Halle and Hayden off at Grandma Loni's before my appointment. I mentioned to Halle that we needed to hurry because I was going to be late. She replied, "ok Mom, just don't let the police get you". I laughed so hard when I heard this comment. She obviously remembers that I got a speeding ticket about six months ago. I have to admit that I slowed down and made sure not to speed to my appointment. I am glad that my four year old is looking out for me!

4 1/2 weeks left to go!!

2011-09-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

I only have 4 1/2 weeks left of my pregnancy!! It is so nice that the end is in sight. These last couple of months have been really hard on my body. My c-section is scheduled for the 21st of October. I had an ultrasound about a week ago. It was great to see that she is doing good and developing right. My doctor has estimated that she will weigh between 7 and 7 1/2 pounds. I have complete confidence in his prediction. He guessed that Hayden would be between 6 and 6 1/2 pounds and he was 6 1/2 pounds exactly. I have been keeping busy with projects to help the time go by. I made this wreath out of fabric squares for the baby's room. I found really cute fabric in the colors of her bedding. I cut the squares with pinking shears to give them a decorative edge. I also have several more projects that I am currently working on.

Kev likes to tease me that I am in the "nesting phase". I have been cleaning, organizing, and trying to get everything ready for when the baby comes. We recently transitioned Halle into Kenna's room and Hayden out of the crib. It is fun to see the baby's room coming together. We are so excited to meet our baby girl in just about a month!

Labor day!!

2011-09-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to the gardens at Thanksgiving point. We are trying to get some use out of our season pass. It was a nice day and it was not crowded. One of our favorite parts is feeding the Coy fish. It is great to watch them push each other out of the way to get the food.

The kids enjoyed playing in the water at the Noahs ark statute. Mckenna was a nice big sister and helped Hayden around. It was nice to just sit on the park bench with Kev and watch the kids play.

Parker and Halle had fun climbing the rocks. It was a good way to get some of their energy out.

We had some friends over to roast marshmallows in our backyard. We also fried up some homemade donuts. Everyone ate until they could eat no more.

It was really nice having Kev home for the day. We did a lot of fun things together. It was a day of all play and no work.

Night out with the girls!!!

2011-09-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

A week ago I got together with some of my friends. We went to get some dessert to celebrate Roybin's 30th B-day white she was visiting. We got dessert at La Jola Groves. I had nevr been there before. It is decorated very elegant with trees and lights. We enjoyed eating our yummy desserts and catching up with each other.

We visited some of the shops and just hung out together after dessert. Jannie and I took our traditional close up self portrait. Thanks for another fun night out!

Back to school!!

2011-08-23T21:45:00.001-07:00

Parker and Mckenna had their first day of school today. Parker started first grade and was excited to be able to eat lunch at school and stay all day. He was happy when he found out that his best friend Ryker is in his class.

Here is a close up of my handsome toothless boy. He lost his front tooth just last week. It had been lose for quite a while. He loves to spit water through the new hole in his teeth.

Mckenna started fourth grade. She always enjoys school and was excited to go back.

She was a good sport about starting out at a new school and making new friends.

It is crazy to think that I have two kids in school all day. I have to admit it was nice to have just Halle and Hayden at home. Don't get me wrong, I missed Kenna and Parker it was just a little less chaotic at home today.

The kids walking up the street to the bus stop. It was Parker's first experience riding the bus. I was glad that Mckenna was there to help him get off and to his class. I offered to drive them since it was the first day but they insisted on riding the bus.

Here they are with their friends ready to get on the bus and start their adventure. Hayden was sad as the bus pulled away. I don't know if he was sad to see them go or if he felt left out because he didn't get to ride the bus. I think it was a little of both. Day one of school was a success!

Summertime fun!

2011-08-14T21:36:00.001-07:00

We had an end of summer water party for the kids. I invited some of my friends and their kids over. It is nice that we have kids close to the same age that have so much fun together.Halle and Eva taking their turn going down the slip n slide. We have a nice slope in our backyard which makes it great for sliding.

Parker and Drake both racing down together. The kids would get going so fast that they would slide off onto the grass at the bottom.

Mckenna and Grant cooling off in the kiddie pool. They are almost too big for it.

We lined the kids up for a quick picture. Abby had something else in mind and ran for the water slide.

Halle, Grant, and Parker warming up on the patio. I remember doing the same thing when I was a kid. All kids must have the same great ideas.

Hayden hanging out on the slide. He just wanted to hold on tight to his water balloon. He was very protective of it.

The kids couldn't wait to get their hands on all the water balloons. I thought it was funny that you can see the Moms in the background with their cameras ready to capture the action.

I am so blessed to have such great friends! It was fun to have Robyn be able to come with her girls. She was here visiting from Nevada. We only get to see her a couple times of year.

We ended all the water fun with popsicles. Mckenna had been begging me to buy these airhead flavor popsicles. They are a big hit with all the kids. This really is what summer is all about.

weekend getaway!!

2011-08-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

We went up to Park city for the weekend. It was nice to getaway from home for a few days. We took the kids on the alpine slide. It had been a couple years since we last tried it.

Kev and Parker went together on one sled. Parker always wants to go with Kev so they can speed down the mountain.

Mckenna was a good big sister and let Hayden ride down with her. It was Hayden's first time and he really enjoyed it too.

Our next stop was to get some chocolate! It is always one of the highlights of visiting Park city.

We stayed at my Dad's condo while we were there. He is selling it at the end of this month so we got in one last stay. We have been enjoying it for the last five years and our sad to see it go. We swam everyday at the big indoor/outdoor pool.

It was nice to just relax and do whatever we wanted. We stopped by to visit our brother in law Cody one of the afternoons. He owns Park City dentistry. We caught him during his lunch break and he took us to a great place that serves Greek food. I always enjoy a good gyro. Thanks again for lunch Cody. We spent Saturday doing some back to school shopping at the outlets. It is crazy that our kids start school in a couple of weeks. Summer vacation is almost over but we have been making the most of it!

Hayden is two years old!!!

2011-07-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

Our little man turned two years old today! He was getting birthday hugs from his Grandma Loni. Hayden has been so excited for his birthday. We have been talking about it for the last couple of weeks. I have been showing him how to hold up his two fingers and say I am two.

He was all smiles as Grandpa tossed him into the air. We love to see this little guy smile!

Hayden got his own set of wheels. He was very happy to drive his new car and was cruising around the house for the rest of the party.

I made him a sailboat cake this year. He spotted the cake as we were eating dinner and pointed to it. He wanted to eat cake instead of his dinner.

He was very happy to finally get that cake in his mouth. He even used his fork.

We went outside to try out his new lawn mower. He was really impressed when he figured out that it blows bubbles. He was very protective of his new toys. He got really upset when Halle tried to take off in his new car.

Hayden worked really hard to mow the lawn. We had fun cheering him on. We are so glad that he is a part of our family. He has such a fun personality that is beginning to shine through. He loves to talk and will talk to anyone that will listen. A lot of the time we have no clue what he is saying. He has become more independent and has big ideas of his own. He comes into the bathroom and tells me mohawk as he points to his hair. He loves to sneak up and hug me around my legs. He knows that I will pick him up and hug him back. We love you Hayden!

Family reunion at Reid Ranch!!

2011-07-17T21:08:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed another year of being at Reid Ranch with the Grant side of the family. The kids were excited because we had two sets of bunk beds in our room. Parker and Halle were pretending to hold up the roof.

Spencer has been working at the Ranch this summer. Here he is hanging out with Hayden on one of his breaks.

Three white guys and a whole lot of kids in the hot tub. It was great catching up with the cousins. It is fun that we all have kids that are close to the same age. There are actually five of us that are due in the next few months. Alisha is due in August, Melanie is due in September, I am due in October, and Ruth is due in December. We are all having girls. My sister in law Heather announced that she is also expecting while we were at the Ranch. She is due in February. We will just have to wait and see if she is having a girl. It is fun being pregnant at the same time as so many of the cousins. We will have all these cute baby girls next year at the Ranch.

Mckenna soaking cousin Mark. It looks like she is winning in this picture. We always have fun cooling off in the pool.

The boys dog piling on cousin Kyle. The kids just seem to flock to him. He is always is so great with all the kids. He entertains them for hours on end which is nice for all of us parents.

We had fun mini golfing until we got caught in a downpour. It rained a lot while we were there. Luckily, we were able to finish our game when the rain let up.

The store is the latest addition to the Ranch. We ate our treats out on the porch together.

There was a beautiful sunset our last night there. We had fun roasting marshmallows and watching the big volleyball game.

Mckenna was in charge of the kids show this year. Here she is instructing all the kids on how to "move it".

We took our huge family picture on the last day we were there. There were only seven who couldn't make it to the reunion this year.

Our American roots!!!

2011-07-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

It wouldn't be a proper fourth of July without a visit to the cabin. Halle was really excited to ride the horses.

She is our little cowgirl. She wanted to ride alone this year with Dad leading the horse. Kev even taught her how to hold the reins to guide the horse.

Mckenna has been riding the horses for years and always seems to enjoy it. She went for a horse ride on Duchess.

Grandpa took the Grandsons on lots of gator rides. Hayden was always happy as long as he could sit in the drivers seat and help steer.

My handsome Parker boy hanging out in the back of the Gator.

Hayden was really excited to ride the horses. He like to say yee haw every time he sees a horse. He wasn't really riding by himself. We put him up there by himself for a picture.

It was Hayden's first experience at the Oakley Rodeo. He was mesmerised almost the whole show. He loved wearing his new cowboy hat too.

Parker and I at the rodeo. It is always a good show and we enjoy the fireworks at the end as well.

We took some pics of the kids all dressed up in their red, white, and blue.

We spent most of the day just hanging out at home. The kids always enjoy playing in our backyard.

We had a neighborhood BBQ later that night. We ate lots of yummy food. I really enjoyed the chicken that one of our friends had cooked in his dutch oven.

We came back to our street to do some fireworks. The kids had fun dancing in the smoke bomb fumes. We had an awesome firework show this year since most of the aerial fireworks our now legal in our state. We had a perfect up close view from our house. There were fireworks behind us, to the side, and in front. We couldn't have had better seats. Kev bought a big one called the Circle of Fire. It fired 260 shots up into the air about 150 feet. It was impressive!

Foster Family vacation!!

2011-07-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

We headed down to St. George for a vacation with the Foster side of the family. The house we stayed at was really nice. It had plenty of room for all of us and our kiddos. The kids had a lot of fun with their cousins! They were really happy chillin on the bean bag chair together.

Spencer showed us a fun place with waterfalls that was about thirty minutes outside of St. George. Kev had a great time jumping off the falls with his brothers, sisters, and even Mom.

Hayden and I went for a swim to cool off. The water was freezing but it felt great on such a hot day. It was above a hundred degrees almost every day we were there.

Here is a typical photo of Kev's Dad. He could always be found with the video cam documenting our trip.

It was great catching up with some of our friends who live in St. George. Aaron and Bonnie were nice enough to let us use one of their work demo boats. It was really great of them to let us borrow it for the day. We had such a fun day. It was the highlight of the trip for most of us. I love that Kev is giving directions in this picture. He really enjoyed being in charge of the boat. It only fueled the fire to get one of our own in the future.

The kids had a lot of fun riding in the tube behind the boat. Hayden even went for a ride too!

A few of the adults went out early to get in some water skiing time. Kev's sister Lisa took this cool picture of him. Looking good Kev!!

Kev also showed off his wake surfing skills.

Hayden had his nap on the boat that day. The boat just rocked him to sleep. His cheeks look so chubby with his life vest on.

The cousins having fun on the back of the boat. It had this good area for all of them to sit and dangle their feet in the water.

Mckenna spent a good part of the afternoon digging out her own pool. It looked more like a mud bath. The kids had fun splashing and eventually throwing mud on each other.

The third day we went to Zions national park to do some hiking. We hiked up to the gateway to the narrows. It was nice because the canyon walls gave us some shade as we hiked along.

We stopped at the gateway to cool off in the water and have a snack. Halle was happy to be there with her Grandma Sue.

Tucker was checking out the map to see where we should go next.

The hike back was a little hot but everyone did well. You can see my round pregnant belly just behind Halle's head. I was worried about my feet swelling and overheating but I was fine. We took it at a nice slow pace and I drank as much water as I could to keep cool.

Our next adventure was to the weeping rock. You can't really see the water that is behind us. We have been there before in the spring when there is more run off.

On our last day there we went to see the St. George temple. Here is a picture of some of the cousins by the doors.

We walked around the grounds and also went on a tour of the visitor center. It was a good Sunday activity. We had a fun trip! It was nice to getaway and spend some time with the Foster family! Thanks Ken and Sue for making this trip so memorable for all of us!

Our two dancing princesses!!

2011-06-26T21:32:00.001-07:00

Mckenna and Halle performed in the twelve dancing princesses program this last week. We are so proud of our girls for accomplishing their talent of dance.

You could really tell they were sisters with their hair all up the same way in curls.

Mckenna auditioned for a soloist part back in March. She was chosen to be princess amethyst. She went to so many extra rehearsals and worked really hard. Her hard work paid off and she danced beautifully the whole night.

I took this picture of her during the dress rehearsal. The guest choreographer/dancer was showing her how to take a bow during the finale.

She had a lot of fun with the other soloists. These three were known as the "triplets". They were having a group hug after the show.

Mckenna also performed in her class dance. Here she is with her best friend Abby.

It was so much fun to see Halle on stage again. She really learned her dance well. While some of the girls just stood there she didn't miss a step.

Her favorite part of the dance was the skipping. You could tell by the huge smile on her face when they got to this part.

Halle getting hugs from her grandparents after the performance. It was so fun having so many of them come to support the girls.

Mckenna was glad to have her Aunt Kayley there too! I thought this was a really cute picture of the two of them.

It was such a big night for our girls. We always enjoy watching them dance!

Happy Birthday Kev & Kenna!!

2011-06-20T21:37:00.001-07:00

Mckenna was born two days after Kev's birthday. We decided to celebrate their birthdays together since Mckenna's was on Father's day this year. We had a fun party in our backyard with a bunch of our family.

Kev got lot's of new clothes and plenty of Home depot gift cards. I bought him this bench vise that he had been wanting.

Our big gift to Kenna this year was a new bike. She had long outgrown her other one. She was very excited and rode up and down our street after the party.

I made a watermelon cake this year. It is a fun idea for a summer birthday. It wasn't too hard to make. I had seen some watermelon cakes that friends had done and decided to try a watermelon slice version of my own.

Here is a picture of Mckenna blowing out her candles and making a wish. As I was putting all nine candles on the cake it really made me realize how grown up she is getting.

Mckenna made some fun cards for Father's day. I thought the one she made like a dress shirt was very creative. We had a nice day at church and then I cooked some steaks for dinner.

Hayden was trying on Kev's shoes and wearing them around the house that day. He loves being just like his Dad.

Mckenna opened some more presents since Sunday was her actual birthday. We really celebrated all weekend long!

good times with the fam!!

2011-06-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

My sister in law and the twins drove out for memorial weekend. It was great to see them and catch up. We took this picture of all the cousins piled on the couch. We went to visit my Mom's grave together but it was too wet for a good picture.

Here is a picture with me and two of my cousins on memorial day. My cousin Anna just got back from her mission to Italy. It is fun having her back for all the family parties.

We visited Grandma Foster's grave on memorial day. It was the first time we had seen her gravestone. It turned out really nice. It was good to be there with Grandpa Foster and the family. It was nice that the rain let up and the sun came out for the first time that day

Kev's little brother Spencer graduated from Jordan High School this week. We attended his graduation at the Huntsman center. Way to go Spence!!

My little sister came to Utah to visit for the weekend. We had so much fun having her home again. The kids loved having a sleepover on the tramp with her. It has been great to spend so much time with our families this last month.

Sugar & spice and everything nice...that 's what little girls are made of!

2011-06-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

We found out yesterday that we are having a baby girl!! It makes five times out of five that I have gotten what I wanted. We are continuing on our girl/boy family pattern. We took all the kids with us to the ultrasound. They were just as excited as we were. I kept telling myself that I couldn't be too disappointed if it was a boy. We were thrown off at first because it looked like there was something in between the legs. The ultrasound tech informed us that the umbilical cord was between the baby's legs. As soon as she said it was a girl there was cheering from all the kids. They were so excited and Parker shouted over and over again "It's a miracle".

It was great to hear our baby's heartbeat and see that she is healthy and growing. Here is one of the pictures of her cute little foot. It is great to be about half way done with my pregnancy. It really is going by fast which is nice.

10 memorable years!!!

2011-05-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

We celebrated our tenth anniversary on Wednesday May 18th. We planned a getaway to Salt Lake for a couple of days. We went to dinner at a restaurant called Tuscany. Kev had wanted to take me there for awhile because he knows that Italian food is my favorite.

The food was delicious! Kev got the porkchop that had marinated for 48 hours. We had an appetizer and desert as well. It was our big anniversary so we decided to go all out. The atmosphere was elegant with huge stained glass windows and all the decor really made you feel like you could be in Italy. We hope someday to make a trip to Europe together.

Kev surprised me with these beautiful long stem red roses. He had them waiting for me on the table when I woke up. My friend did the arrangement and I love them. They are still looking beautiful even after five days.We thought it would be fun to spend our anniversary at the Inn where we spent our wedding night. They had redecorated but it still looked similar. It was nice to spend a relaxing evening away from home. We were actually the only ones in the whole place since it was the middle of the week. We had a nice breakfast and then went to the Salt Lake temple for a session. I have been to about thirty weddings there but had never done a session. It is such a beautiful temple. I can see why it took forty years to create. It was fun just having time together to reminisce about everything that we have accomplished and experienced in our last ten years together. It was also fun imagining where we will be in life in another ten years. I am so thankful for my husband! It was such a great way to celebrate!

Mother's day!!

2011-05-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

Mother's day was just what I needed this year. I got to sleep in and was surprised with breakfast in bed. The kids love climbed into bed with me to share my breakfast. They were so
excited to share with me the cards and presents they had made at school. Mckenna made me a pop up card with flowers and cutouts of the two of us. It was very creative. Parker wrote a book all about me. It was fun seeing his spelling of all the words. Halle made me a bracelet which I wore proudly all day.

Kev gave me these beautiful sunflowers. He really made the day special for me. The kids sang in sacrament meeting. It was Halle's first time singing with the primary. It was fun to see her waving at us from up on the stand. We went to my Grandma's house for dinner and then over to see Kev's Mom. It was great to see both my Grandma's!

Our exciting news!!!

2011-05-02T19:50:00.001-07:00

We are expecting our fifth baby on October 23rd!! I am about fifteen weeks along right now. As you can tell from the picture I am already showing. It seems like my belly has just popped right out in the last couple of weeks. We told the kids and our families on Easter. When we asked the kids if they wanted a brother or a sister they replied sister. I have really been wanting another girl as well. You would think that I wouldn't care because I already have two of each. This will be our tie breaker baby. The baby will determine whether we have more boys or girls in our family. I can actually find out in about five more weeks. I have been feeling the usual morning sickness and exhaustion. I am trying hard not to complain about it. This is going to be our last baby and I am trying to make the most of it. I know someday I am going to miss being pregnant. I really am so grateful for the experience of being a mother. It is such a miracle to have this little baby growing inside of me.

Here is a sonogram of our baby at around eight weeks.

Easter Sunday!!

2011-04-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

We had a really nice Easter Sunday. The kids had fun searching for their baskets and then eating lots of chocolate. We got them all dressed up for church. I am glad that it was warm enough to enjoy being outside.

Halle looked so cute all dressed up. I blow dried her hair straight and then curled the ends. It is amazing how much longer it is when I straighten it.

I thought this picture of the boys was really cute. It is too bad that Parker has his eyes closed.

Here is a picture of all the kids ready for the annual Easter egg hunt. We had the Easter egg hunt at the park by my Dad's house. We were really glad that it wasn't raining.

Mckenna reaching the eggs high up on the rocks where no one else could.

This was Hayden's first year experiencing the egg hunt. I think he enjoyed eating the chocolate more than the hunt. We let him eat the candy for about 20 minutes and then put his bucket away. He was not happy about that. He would keep coming up to us and whining for "treat".

Parker making a mad dash for the Easter eggs. He had the fullest basket of all the kids.

We drove up to Midway to see the Foster side of the family. The kids had fun seeing their cousins. They had fun playing the piano with Grandpa Ken. We had a really nice day. It was great to spend it with family.

Spring break in Escalante!!

2011-04-18T20:24:00.001-07:00

We drove to Escalante during the kids spring break. We always enjoy camping at this time of year where it is not so hot during the day. We camped at a place called calf creek. This was the view from our campsite. We were surrounded by red rock canyons and had a river nearby.

Our neighbor used to live in Escalante and told us some cool sites to go see. We hiked to see the hundred hands pictograph. The Fremont Indians created these hand prints hundreds of years ago.

We came across this cool petroglyph as we hiked along. It is sad to see that someone tried to carve it out of the rock. The kids really enjoyed looking for the hidden pictures.

The next day we stopped to see the devils garden. We climbed the hoodos to see the great views. I liked this one of Kev and the boys.

Here is another picture that I took from the ground looking up through an arch.

Mckenna had a great time climbing around, up and through the rock formations.

We drove the hole in the rock road to see the sites that the pioneers stopped at during their trek. We stopped at dance hall rock to have lunch. We just ate right out of the cooler in the back of our car. We were all enjoying strawberries in this picture.

Hayden woke up from a nap and wanted to run around. He was so happy to be out of his carseat for awhile. You can see dance hall rock right behind him.

We stopped to read this monument on the side of the road. It is a memorial for the people who were killed in a truck rollover. They were on a scouting activity. My Uncle Wayne's brother Lynn was killed in this accident. He was fifteen years old.

We drove about three hours to see the hole in the rock site. Kev and I both read the book "the undaunted" by Gerald Lund. We learned so much about these pioneers. We wanted to see the place that they took their wagons down. It is amazing when you think that the pioneers made a road and took their wagons down such a steep incline.

We started to climb down the hole with our four kids. You can climb down the hole to reach Lake Powell at the bottom. We got about halfway down and realized it would take a lot of time and energy trying to get all four kids back up.

So we decided the responsible thing would be to turn around. Mckenna was very disappointed that we didn't make it all they way to the lake. Here is a picture of Kev and Hayden hiking back up to the top.

Parker and Mckenna enjoying the view of Lake Powell from up top. It made Kev really homesick for Lake Powell. He said the next time we come to hole in the rock we are coming across Lake Powell by boat and then hiking up to the top.

We did our big hike the next day to lower calf creek falls. The trailhead starts right above our campsite. It was three miles there and another three back. It was quite the hike. Mckenna and Parker did great. Halle had a hard time and whined most of the way back. We were proud that we did it and got to cool off by the falls.

The water from the falls was ice cold. Mckenna was the only one brave enough to roll up her pants and play in it.

We were sunburned and exhausted by the time we got back to camp. We spent the rest of the day just relaxing. The kids loved playing on this bridge right by our campsite. They found plenty of rocks and sticks to through into the river.

We tried a new dutch oven recipe for chicken pot pie. Mckenna and Kev were eyeing the food. It turned out really good. The kids ate it up veggies and all. We will be making this one again.

The next day we drove to Capitol reef. We hiked to hickman bridge. It was a shorter hike and we got there earlier in the day so it wasn't too hot.

We sat under the bridge and had a snack. Hayden was giving Kenna kisses in this picture. He was such a happy little guy the whole trip. We are glad that he still likes hiking around in the backpack.

Our last stop was to Goblin valley. It is natures giant playground for kids. We got there and they were off.

It was like playing hide and seek with all three kids. They were running from rock to rock and hiding from us. It was a great way to get all their energy out before the long ride home. We had a great time. I was really glad to come home and have a shower. Five days of camping really made me grateful for the comforts of home!

The year of the big 30!!

2011-04-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends Kathleen turned 30 on Friday! We went to lunch at Maglebys to celebrate. I had never been to the one in Springville. It was right on main street. The building had vaulted ceilings and was decorated classy. The food was delicious! I had the barbecue beef special and had plenty of food. They brought out a big piece of chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. I am so glad to have such a beautiful friend.

We got together with a bunch of our friends at Danielle's house later on. Our friend Liz was in town for conference. It was really great to see everyone and catch up. It was such a nice day and it really felt like spring. It was great being outside in 70 degree weather. It has been so much fun celebrating all our 30th birthdays together. We still have two more to go!

Carl Bloch Exhibit...

2011-03-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

Kev and I went on a date to see the Carl Bloch exhibit over the weekend. It is being displayed at the BYU museum of art until May 7th. It was a very impressive exhibit. I have somewhat of an art background. I took art classes in high school and was a fine arts major at college. I knew some of the history of Carl Bloch. BYU magazine had a great article about his life and paintings that I had read prior to going to the show. They also have ipads that you can rent for three dollars to give you a personal guide. We just walked through on our own and read the signs by the paintings. I was surprised by the dimensions of his paintings. Some of them were about ten feet tall. The images of the savior are life size and they have a powerful effect on you. The picture of Christ in Gethsemane is one of my favorites. His portraits portray such emotion that you feel like you are a part of them. In some of them the people seem to be looking right at you and beckoning you to take part. I always enjoy getting up close and seeing the brush strokes that make up the painting. His paintings are powerful because they have such a high contrast between dark and light. I also enjoyed seeing some of his other portrait paintings. Some of them were done when he was only 21 years old. His talent at such a young age is impressive. I highly recommend this exhibit. My husband who doesn't have any art background enjoyed it as well. It made for a really great date!

just one of the boys!!

2011-03-10T21:18:00.001-08:00

Hayden has grown up a lot lately. He always wants to be doing what Parker is doing. He also discovered Parker's Hulk gloves. He loves to put them on and run around the house. He get's a kick out of the boxing sounds. He likes to punch Parker and they have wrestling matches together.

It cracks me up everytime I see him wearing them. I swear that they are as big as he is. The other night Hayden put them on while we were having family prayer. We are in the middle of the prayer when we here them saying "HULK SMASH"! We all couldn't stop laughing.

Hayden still loves his dump truck. He was giving his cousin Cole a lift. It was great seeing them drive around together.

He also had his first haircut.(it was really just a trim) He was excited to sit in the chair like Parker and get his haircut from Dad. It was big smiles from him and he held still most of the time.

Hayden's two favorite words right now are outside and slide. He is tall enough now to climb the ladder by himself and go down the slide. Parker was waiting to catch him at the bottom.

Halle's 4th birthday!!

2011-03-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

Our Halle babes turned four on Wednesday. She had a fun day helping pick out her balloons and get ready for her party. She chose out a huge balloon that looked like a princess crown. She is in the princess stage right now.

Halle entertained us while the family began to arrive for the party. She is very flexible and has no problem with the middle splits.

Then she showed us this trick where she stands on one leg with the other in the air.

Halle was very excited to open up her presents. She had just opened her gift from Grandma Loni and Grandpa. They got her a singamajig. I think they are strange looking but Halle really wanted one. She always is drawn to them every time we go to walmart.

I made Halle a daisy cake this year. Halle actually helped me make the cake. She loves to cook and be my helper in the kitchen. She helped pour the ingredients in the bowl and mix it up. I made this same cake for Kenna one year.

Halle was really happy about her new lip gloss. She was sharing some with her cousin Aubrey. They had a lot of fun playing with all her new toys.

Halle dressed up in her new Rapunzel outfit for the night. She was surrounded by all her new toys and perfectly content. We had such a fun party! We love you Halle!

Daddy Daughter Date!!!

2011-02-22T20:01:00.001-08:00

Mckenna and Kev went on their first daddy/daughter date over the weekend. It was a fun night at the church. Mckenna was looking forward to it all week!

I really liked this picture of the two of them. They are smiling even bigger with those funny glasses on. They played a relay game where the Dad's had to paint their nails, fix a ponytail, and tie a ribbon. The girls had to put a necktie on their Dad's. They also had the girls answer questions to see how well they know their Dad's.

They had ice cream sundaes at the end. I am so glad that they got to spend this time together. I can't believe how grown up Mckenna is becoming. She is really happy that she is old enough to go to activity days.

Can you feel the love?

2011-02-15T20:10:00.001-08:00

Halle was very excited to get her valentine's ready for her class. It was good practice for her to write her name so many times. She was tinkerbell for the day. She has a different dress up on each day.

Kev and I went out for our Valentine's date on Saturday night. We went to eat at Olive garden which is one of our favorites. It was great because we had a gift card to pay for our dinner. It was nice to just spend some time with each other. We had fun talking about plans and upcoming trips we have to look forward too.

We went miniature golfing at Trafalga after dinner. We had a lot of fun. I hadn't been golfing there since I was a teenager. They have remodeled the place so it is cosmic glow in the dark golfing. Let's just say that Kev had a much better score than I did. I did manage to get a hole in one at the end and won a free game.

On Valentines day I was in charge of Parker's class party. It was fun and all 27 of the kids had a good time. Parker just had to pull a face for the one picture I got with his class. The favorite game of the day was musical hearts. We had the kids walk around on the hearts and freeze when the music stopped. The kid on the lucky heart won a prize.

I got this cute picture of Parker with his teacher. He is really enjoying Kindergarten. She has been such a great teacher. Parker's reading is getting better everyday. Parker's class sang the parents a song at the end of class. They even played the kazoo's for us.

We invited our Grandpa Foster over for dinner that night. It was fun spending some time with just him. Here is a picture of Grandpa with all the kids eating their brownie sundaes. We really made the most of Valentine's day this year!

You know you live in a small town if....

2011-02-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

YOU RIDE YOUR SNOWMOBILE TO THE LOCAL SEVEN ELEVEN!!

We stopped in Kamus to get some gas and saw this interesting sight. We were up in the area to enjoy some snowmobiling with friends.

We try and invite some friends to come up with us at least once during the winter. We invited a bunch of my closest high school friends to come up for the weekend. We had a great time laughing and talking with each other.

We all enjoyed being pulled around on the tube by the snowmobile. Here is a picture of me with all four of my kids piled on top. Kev was taking us off snow mounds and doing 360's.

We came in to warm up by the fire. The kids had a fun time hangin out together too!

Mckenna and Grant chowing down on their pizza.

We got a picture of all the girls; Kathleen, me, Danielle, and Jan. Good times!!

Random

2011-02-01T21:09:00.001-08:00

I was feeling a little "random" today. I decided to post some pictures that can always make me smile. My cousin Scott ordered ribs when we went out to eat over the holidays. We laughed when the waitress showed up with these. He really needed some meat to go with the bones!

Hayden is always getting into the pots and pans. His favorite thing is to sport this lid as a hat. He looks like a little Scottish man wearing a beret.

Halle looked lovely wearing her new hair extensions from the movie Tangled. It is funny how closely they match her hair color.

I am a huge fan of the movie "Big" with Tom Hanks. So you can imagine my excitement when I randomly found a zoltar machine. It was in Provo of all places. Kev thought I was a little crazy for wanting my picture taken with the machine.

My brother Greg is a child at heart. It cracked us up to see him riding this mini carousel with the rest of the kids. He looks so huge on that tiny horse.

Here is a pic of my Grandparents shouting hip, hip, hooray. We have a little too much fun at our family parties. I hope you enjoyed all this randomness. I thought they were too good not to share.

Yeahhh for the weekend!!!

2011-01-23T19:35:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night we went to dinner at Rock Creek Pizza Co. in Sandy. Kev used to work there in high school and now his little brother Spencer works there. It was actually Spencer's day off but he made our dinner for us. The kids really enjoyed watching their Uncle make our pizza. It was also great to tease and embarrass Spencer.

The pizza tasted great and it was all thanks to Spencer. We had the barbecue chicken pizza which is my favorite! Spencer also surprised us with a cinnamon and sugar dessert pizza. We left the restaurant full and happy.

We then headed up to Midway to celebrate our nephew Cole's 2nd birthday. Hayden and Cole had fun running around the house together. Cole was great about sharing his new toys with everyone.

We also went to see the ice castles in Midway. My sister-in-law got us in for free with her family pass. They were impressive to see up close. The same guy makes the castles every year.

Halle looked so small as she walked through this one. It was cool how they have lights inside of the ice.

The kids had fun being there with their Grandma Sue. We got them to hold still for at least one picture.

I spent most of the time running after Mckenna and Aubrey. They both had a lot of energy that they needed to get out. They were pretending that Tucker was a snow monster that they had to stay away from. It was a fun day with the family!

My new addiction...

2011-01-18T20:10:00.000-08:00

I confess that I am addicted to the Wii. We got one for Christmas. Kev was a lot more excited than I was about getting one. I didn't realize how hooked I would become. It was Mario brothers that did the trick. I used to play it on our old school Nintendo back in the day. My friend Jan came over and we had the best time playing. I play all the time now. I just have to pass the next level. Kev and I stay up late playing so we can get to the next world. Tonight Mckenna and I passed world 6 and moved onto world 7. Just one more world until we conquer the game.

I don't think I am the only one who can't get enough. Parker and his friend Drake were having a fun time. The great thing about the Wii is that our whole family can play and have fun. It was funny because I overheard Parker talking with his friends the other day about how his Mom was the best at Mario brothers.

Winter wonderland!!

2011-01-07T19:54:00.001-08:00

We went up to the cabin for a few days after Christmas! It was great to have so much snow to play in. We had a fun time hanging out with all the family that was there this year. We took a family snowmobile picture. We try and take one of these every year. We used to be able to fit on one and now we barely fit on two.

Hayden loved playing in the snow this year. I thought this picture was funny of him standing there like a little man. He looks so small compared to his Daddy and Uncle.

We took some cute pictures of the kids. I realized that I don't take enough of all four of them together so we are going to have to change that.

It is hard getting all of them to look the same direction and smile. I was happy how these turned out. They always have fun playing in the snow.

We were glad to have Grandpa Foster with us this year. It had been awhile since he came up with us. It is thanks to him that we have a wonderful cabin to spend time at. He is in his eighties and still looks great behind a snowmobile.

We snowmobiled up to Mud flat lake this year. On the way we saw this dogsled team. They were up there training for the day. Alaskan huskies are my favorite type of dog.

It was nice being able to go snowmobiling with Kev. He loves the rush of driving and I enjoy looking at the beautiful scenery.

Spencer had fun showing off his skills. I liked all the powder in this picture.

Kev drops me off so he can get some air time. You can see the skis coming off the ground. We did hit a jump when we were riding together. He went up into the air and I slid forward on the snowmobile. When he came back down he was on my lap. We had a good laugh about it.

I took this picture from the snowmobile that I was riding. Parker and I were coming up the hill when we came upon this beautiful scene. I love it when the sun is shining and reflecting off the snow.

Kev pulled the kids around on their sleds. The cousins were having a great time together. They got along really well the whole time we were up there.

It was beautiful the night that we drove home. I took this picture of deer creek as we were heading down Provo canyon.

The Joy of Christmas!!

2010-12-30T22:07:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is seeing the happiness in the faces of those I love. It is seeing their eyes light up as they open their gifts. It is the magic I feel when I see my kids sitting under the tree in their new jammies.

I spent many nights wrapping, wrapping, and doing more wrapping. I was really happy to have my sister spend Christmas at our house this year. The wrapping went so much faster with her there. We had a great time talking and watching "the Christmas story".

Halle loved her gift from Santa. She got a Vanity set from the movie tangeled. It was so cute to see her look in the mirror and brush her hair. She happily played with one toy and then moved on to the next.

Parker was very happy to get his nintendo DS. He had been talking about it for months. He would constantly remind us that the reason he was being so good was that he wanted Santa to bring him a DS. He also would wake up each morning and tell us that he had another dream that Santa brought him a DS. He is one happy boy now.

I loved the expression on Teenie's face when she saw that Santa had given her a jar of Nutella. It really didn't take much to make her happy. I am so glad that she spent Christmas with us.

Hayden got a car ramp that was as big as him from Santa. He paid more attention to the candy canes filled with chocolate. He even bit through the plastic to get to the candy. He carried them around most of the morning and spent the rest playing in the boxes.

Mckenna was literally jumping for joy when she got her plug in scentsy. She had been wanting one since I got my big one last Christmas. She couldn't wait to plug it in her room so that it smelled good.

Kev had a good Christmas and got lots of fun new t-shirts.(they are his favorite thing to wear) We thought this one from Amy was great.

I was happy to get my new photo calendar from Kev. He makes me one every year. It was fun looking through it and seeing all the fun memories from this last year.

We had a yummy Christmas breakfast. I made sticky buns for the first time. They are a family recipe. We hope everyone had a memorable Christmas!

Parker is six years old!!

2010-12-30T21:46:00.000-08:00

Parker turned turned six years old on December 23rd. He was really happy to have his Aunt Teenie at his party. He is looking so grown up in this picture.

Parker is into Legos right now. He got this Lego set from us for his birthday.

I made Parker an electric guitar cake. He thought is was cool and wore his guitar shirt to match.

Great Grandpa Foster pretended to play the cake. Parker and his cousin Tucker got a big kick out of that. We had a fun night with all the family. We love Parker! He always cheers us up with his big smile, plentiful hugs, and thoughtful comments.

Our Grandma Foster...

2010-12-21T20:18:00.001-08:00

Our sweet Grandma Foster passed away on Sunday December 12th in her sleep. We are so thankful to have had her as our Grandmother. She always had a beautiful smile on her face and filled a room with her laughter. I will always remember the sweet relationship she had with Grandpa. They set such a beautiful example of what a celestial marriage should be. We took this picture of them on their 63rd anniversary. I remember very clearly the first time I met them. Kev and I were just dating and he took me over to their house. They told us the story of how they met and fell in love. In was such a beautiful story that Kev and I decided it would be special to be married on their anniversary of May 18th.

I am so glad that I have so many wonderful pictures to look back out. She was such a loving great Grandmother to my children. This picture is of the first time that she held Parker. I love they way she is cradling him in her arms. I have a memory of her holding each one of my four babies just like this.

We were able to celebrate our anniversaries together one year. They were celebrating their 63rd and we were celebrating our seventh. It was great to be able to just talk with the two of them and hear more stories of when they were raising their kids. I am so thankful for this memory.

It was always fun to spend Christmas day at their home. Grandma would open her presents with as much excitement as the grandkids. She had just got this set of snowmen that sing and dance. She loved toys like these. She has them all over the house and the kids always look forward to playing with them. She also loved dolls. I have a memory of taking up my four foot porcelain doll to show her. She also loved to watch Shirley temple movies. I have a fun memory of her watching the movie Heidi with Mckenna. It is now one of Mckenna's favorite movies.

I took this picture on mother's day a couple years back. It is so sweet how Grandma and Grandpa are smiling at eachother while the kids are all around them. I am so glad that my kids had the chance to know her.

Here is a picture of her holding Hayden about a month after he was born. It is special because she went blind only a few months after this was taken.

It was always great to have Grandma at all the important events in our life. She was a trooper and came even when her health was failing. She always had that huge smile on her face even when she wasn't feeling the best. Grandpa Foster lovingly took care of her the last two years as her health declined. He took care of her night and day.

Grandma Foster's funeral was on Friday December 17th. The funeral was a beautiful tribute to her life. It was filled with music and the love of her family. Kev was one of the pallbearers at the funeral.

Kev was asked to say the dedicatory prayer at her funeral. He gave such a beautiful prayer that touched all of us. I know that he loves his Grandmother very much and the last couple of weeks have been hard for him.

The flowers on Grandma's casket were beautiful. Grandpa Foster chose them with a ribbon across that said "sweetheart".

I will always remember Grandpa Foster taking one red rose from her casket. It broke my heart as I saw the expression of loss on his face.

We brought Mckenna, Parker, and Halle to the funeral. I know they love their Great Grandma very much and it was good for them to be there that day. It is good for them to understand that loss is also a part of life.

I know that her funeral really brought all of us closer together as a family. I am so glad that we have eachother to get through this time.

I love this picture of Parker that I took at the luncheon. He was having a quiet moment with just Grandpa. Parker really cheers all of us up with his big hugs and back scratches.

We had a nice picture taken of our family after the luncheon. Families are really what is most important in this life and the next. I am so grateful that the gospel is a part of my life. I am so thankful for the sacrifice of my savior so that I can be with my family forever. I know that we will have the chance to be with Grandma Foster again.

Our two ballerinas!!

2010-12-13T21:52:00.001-08:00

Mckenna and Halle had their Christmas dance performance over the weekend. They performed The Grinch. It was Halle's first dance performance.

It was fun taking pictures of both the girls dressed up in their costumes. I have to admit it was a lot more work getting two girls ready instead of one. It was all worth it though when I saw how cute and happy they both looked.

I really liked this picture of the two of them. Mckenna was twirling so her skit was all flared up. Halle is there looking up in awe at her big sister.

Halle danced to a song called "suzie snowflake". Here are all the girls waving their snowflakes on stage. The little girls are always so cute to watch dance. Halle was the youngest class in the performance.

We always told Halle that when she was potty trained she could be a big girl and take dance. She started taking dance this fall and really looks forward to it every week. In this picture she is waving to me at the dress rehearsal.

I thought Halle might have a little stage fright but she didn't. Her tutu actually slid down during the performance and was at her ankles. She just pulled it back up and kept on dancing. I was so proud of her.

Mckenna has had fun taking a ballet class with her friend Abby. She lives right by us and they are such cute friends. It has been really nice having someone to carpool with.

Mckenna performed to the song simply having a wonderful Christmas time. I took this picture during the performance. Mckenna is always very graceful and exact in her dancing. It doesn't surprise me because she is a perfectionist.

This was the final pose of the dance. It was fun that Mckenna got to be right in the middle. She has been taking ballet for three years now and it is always fun watching her perform.

I love my girls! I am so glad that they both love dancing.

signs of the season!!

2010-12-07T20:09:00.000-08:00

Halle and Parker were excited to build a SNOWMAN!! They worked so hard rolling the snow all over the backyard. They were proud of their finished product. They did it all on their own.

SANTA made his yearly visit to our neighborhood on the firetruck. The kids ran outside in their pajamas to see him. We always know he is coming when we hear the siren. He tosses out bags of candy to the kids.

Here is a picture of Mckenna SKIING! We signed her up for ski school. She is picking it up fast. They were learning to use the tow rope that day.

We went to see the LIGHTS on temple square. It had been a couple years since we had taken the kids. They had a great time looking at all the nativities. Mckenna wanted to go see the Christus statute. I was holding Hayden on my lap and pointed to show him Jesus. He pointed to one of the planets and exclaimed "ball". I guess that is what caught his eye.

much to be thankful for...

2010-11-28T21:00:00.001-08:00

This past week has reminded me that I have much to be grateful for. 1. I am thankful for my kids and the chance I have to be their mother. I love to see these happy faces smiling up at me.

2. I am thankful for a hardworking husband. On Monday he defended his Thesis at BYU. He did an awesome job on his presentation and passed. I am very thankful that he is officially done with school now.

3. I am grateful for the Thanksgiving holiday. I always enjoy celebrating with all the family. My Grandma is always so sweet to host the party at her house.

4. I am grateful for this little guy. I enjoyed watching him shovel down his dinner. It was his first time eating thanksgiving dinner. He came down with a high fever and cough not long after this picture was taken. Which brings me to the next thing that I am grateful for..

5. The doctor's who are on call over the Thanksgiving holiday. The doctor told us that Hayden had the croup. He was able to give us a steroid to help with the cough. They also gave him medicine to help him breathe better.

6. I am grateful for laughter. Halle had fun putting stickers all over cousin Scott's face. He was a good sport and just sat there while the kids put them on. We all cracked up watching this one.

7. I am thankful for my little sister. It has been so much fun having her live close by the last few months.

8. I am thankful to live close to Park City. We always have fun visiting there. My Dad invited us to his condo for the day. Halle had fun warming up in the hot tub. It is fun being able to go swimming even in the winter. Halle was grabbing icicles as she sat in the hot tub.

9. I am glad to have fun family traditions. We went to pick out a Christmas ornament for our tree. Parker helped choose a Santa in a hot air balloon. I love visiting this little shop every year. I have such good memories of coming here with my Mom when I was younger.

10. I am so thankful that Christmas is just a month away. It has been great getting the house all decorated for Christmas. We decorated the tree tonight as we listened to Christmas carols. I love the holiday season.

Harry Potter fans!!!

2010-11-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

We went out to dinner with some of our friends last night. We decided to eat at Red Robin since it was close to the theater. We always enjoy their bottomless steak fries.

We were so excited to see Harry Potter and the deathly hallows! I really enjoyed it! I was glad that it followed the book so closely. My favorite part of the movie is when they break into the ministry of magic. One of our friends had a hard time following the movie because he had never read the books. I agree that it would be helpful to read the book before you watch this movie. I can't wait another seven months until the final movie!

Veterans Day!!

2010-11-11T20:25:00.001-08:00

Mckenna had her third grade program tonight. They decided to sing patriotic songs in honor of Veterans day. I really liked this quote they had up on the wall. My Grandfather served in the Navy. I am grateful to him for the sacrifices that he made for our country and our family.

The kids just before the program began. Mckenna wanted to bring Hayden up on the stage. She is a proud big sister who wanted to show off her little brother.

They waved streamers and flags as they sang. Sorry about the glowing red eyes. My camera wouldn't fix the problem. I really need to learn how to use photo shop.

They held up signs and took turns telling how they are grateful for our country.

My favorite song was one called American tears. They had a slideshow with photos of important American moments. It really got me thinking how much I appreciate our country and the freedoms we enjoy.

At the end of the program they had all the veterans in the audience stand up so we could applaud them.

Halloween!!

2010-10-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

Parker was Iron man this year. He told me about a month before Halloween that was who he wanted to be. He looked impressive with his big muscles and suit that lights up. We had fun watching him strut his stuff at the school parade.

Mckenna was dressed up as Hermione from Harry Potter. She really looked like Hermione with her wild crimped hair.

Halle was our little bumble bee. I made her costume which was a first for me. I made the tutu and glued gems that said "cute as can bee" on her shirt. We had fun watching her preschool program. Her favorite song was the mean old witch with a hat.

Halle loves her teacher Miss Marci and was happy to get their picture taken together.

I helped out with Mckenna's classroom party. We had a lot of fun. I was in charge of this game. We had them suck up paper Halloween cutouts with a straw. We had a contest to see who could get the most and carry them across the room.

We had a great time carving pumpkins this year. The kids were so excited to see them glowing on our front porch. Kev helped Parker carve the boogey man design on his pumpkin. It was inspired from the movie the nightmare before Christmas.

Here is a picture of the whole fam out trick or treating. Luckily, the rain let up and we didn't get soaked. We were really cold by the end of the night. The kids didn't complain though because they were too busy collecting candy.

This is a picture of all the nerdy boys in the neighborhood. (Napoleon included)

Hayden wore the pooh costume that was Parker's when he was little. He actually looked chubby in it thanks to all the padding in the tummy. Hayden really enjoyed trick or treating this year. I fed him chocolate all along the way. He was running around the house with a treat in each hand.

Halle is showing off her favorite part of her costume. I thought it would be funny to put this on her bottom. Halle is our child with attitude and we thought it would be fitting.

Parker was running around the yard in the dark having a great time. He said he could fly at super speed because he was Iron man. It is funny because in this picture he looks like a small action figure on our lawn.

The kids enjoyed counting and sorting their candy at the end of the night. Mckenna said she got a 101 pieces of candy.

On Sunday we dressed the kids up again for Uncle Dan's b-day party. They had fun hanging out with their cousins.

I thought this picture of cousin Aubrey and Parker was so cute. They were watching a movie together. Parker was looking cool wearing his Iron man mask.

I really enjoyed holding my nephew Ethan. He is getting so chubby. I thought it was cute how he looked right at the camera. Hayden is admiring his lobster costume. We had an awesome Halloween. It was great to be able to wear our costumes so many times.

Flippin sweet costumes!!

2010-10-25T20:14:00.001-07:00

We dressed up as Napoleon & Deb for my friends Halloween party. We had fun putting our costumes together. I found my awesome fanny pack at D.I. for a dollar. We watched Napoleon Dynamite the night before to brush up on our facial expressions and sayings. We were a runner up in the costume contest at the party.

Danielle puts on a fear factor challenge every year. The funny thing is that it actually looks good and makes you think it can't be all that bad.

My friend Lis decided to participate in the challenge. We had fun cheering her on. She did really well and kept everything down. I love the expression on the guys face behind her. Danielle's husband threw up all over the parking lot. He ends up barfing every year. The chocolate covered bananas had cayenne pepper in them. The contestants thought the worst was the noodles, cole slaw, feta cheese, and gummy pumpkins mixed together.

It was fun hanging out with all my friends again! I really liked Lisa's captain Jack Sparrow costume. She won second place in the costume contest.

This picture of Kev cracks me up! He is bustin a move in his cool moon boots. He actually borrowed these from his Dad who still wears them. He performed with Ryan to Milli Vanilli's "Girl You Know It's True". It was very entertaining! We showed Mckenna a video clip and she said, " I have never seen my Dad dance before"!

I had fun singing with the girls. I think we were singing Shania Twains "That Don't Impress Me Much" in this picture.

I will end on this lovely picture. We had a really fun night together. What a lucky girl I was to have Napoleon for my date!

A much needed vacation!!!

2010-10-18T20:13:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we survived round six of lay offs at Kev's work. We decided to celebrate by taking a vacation to California. The kids were very excited to spend a few days at Disneyland. It had been three years since we had been there last. It was Hayden's first visit and basically Halles since she was only four months old last time.

We started off by spending some time in tomorrow land. The kids really enjoyed the Astro Blaster ride. They were excited to see Buzz as we were leaving the ride. We tried the Nemo ride for the first time. It was very similar to the old submarine ride but also fun. We used the stroller switch pass so Kev and I could take turns riding space mountain. It has always been one of my favorites and it did not disappoint. They actually added some demon projections to the ride in honor of Halloween. It was Mckenna's first time on a big roller coaster like that. I laughed so hard when I saw our picture. She was ducked down so far in her seat you could barely see anyone was sitting next to me.

The kids enjoyed all the rides in fantasy land. Here is a picture of the boys on the dumbo ride. It was nice when Hayden could join us on the rides.

The teacups was another favorite with the kids. We went on them every day that we were there.

I thought this picture of Halle and Hayden waiting in line was so cute. Hayden was really happy anytime we let him out of the stroller. He loved having the freedom of running around and exploring.

Halle was so happy to meet Minnie Mouse. She was all dressed up for their picture together. While we were waiting in line she asked me why Minnie never closes her mouth. I laughed and told her that Minnie must always be happy.

Halle had a lot of fun exploring Minnie's house. She was having a tea party in this picture.

Here is a picture of us on the Alice in Wonderland ride. It was nice because we could all fit in the same caterpillar together.

I had to include this picture of Parker riding the teacups. It shows what a great time he was having. Parker was brave and tried all the rides this time. He even liked the bigger rides like splash mountain, thunder mountain railroad, and space mountain. He was willing to try a new ride as long as he got to ride with Dad.

The three of us girls waited in a really long line so Halle could meet "Tink". She has always been Halle's favorite since she was old enough to say Tink. She prefers her over all the princesses. She looked so cute sitting on this toad stool waiting to meet her.

The characters were great and they talked and interacted with the girls for quite awhile. We thought it was funny that Kenna ended up matching the other fairy as well. I tried to get Mckenna to dress up for a picture but she didn't want too. She is clearly too grown up for the princess thing anymore.

We got this great picture of the whole family with Tigger and Eeyore. I think it is cute how Hayden is pulling on Tiggers ear. He loved all the Disney characters and was not afraid at all.

Hayden was most excited to meet pooh bear! He just ran right into his arms.

I loved seeing the huge smile on his face. Aunt Heather gave Parker this adorable hat when he was a baby. She worked at Disneyworld as pooh bear one summer.

It was our first time visiting the California adventure theme park. We had to get a family picture by the F for Foster. We really enjoyed the pixar parade there. The kids were excited to see all the characters from their favorite movies. Parker was dressed up in his Woody costume. Woody spotted him on the sides and pointed at his costume and then back at his own. We also really enjoyed the Aladin show. The costumes and scenery were amazing. The genie had all the kids laughing with his jokes.

Here is a picture of Kev and Hayden waiting for the world of color show to start.

We were really impressed. It is incredible how they can project color images right onto the water spraying up. It was fun to see all our favorite Disney images with the familiar music in the background. They even played the theme song from pirates with images from the movie.

Mckenna had fun on the rocket ride in tomorrow land. She was old enough that she could go on her own.

We were able to watch Mickey perform up close in the streets of Disneyland. The kids loved marching along with him.

We got our famiy picture with the giant Mickey pumpkin on main street. It was fun being there at this time of year. The weather was great and not too hot. It was fun seeing all the Halloween decorations. It was awesome how they decorated the haunted mansion. They transformed the whole place to look like the nightmare before Christmas.

We had to get Parker's picture taken with lightening mcqueen. Cars has been his favorite movie since he was one year old.

We really liked all the shows that we saw at California adventure. We went to a 4D show called bugs life. It was fun seeing all the kids with their bug eyes. I thought it was funny that Hayden was trying to pull Kev's glasses off in this picture. The tower of terror was the scariest ride that we went on. Parker hasn't stopped talking about it. If you have a phobia of being in an elevator the ride isn't for you.

We drove to San Diego to spend a couple of days there. We went with some friends to the mormon battalion visitor center. They have recently renovated and it was really impressive. They had pictures on the wall that talked and told stories. They had you move from room to room learning more about the history.

The kids got to pan for gold. Hayden even had fun digging in the water for rocks. The sister missionaries were really sweet and had fun helping the kids.

We had our picture taken at the top of the tower in the visitor center. It had a great view of San Diego.

We stayed with my good friend Liz and her family. It was fun to hang out with them and see where they live. She has two boys that are Parker and Halles age. It was fun seeing them play together. I was so happy to meet her newest addition. I loved holding him and hearing all his cute baby noises.

We took a stroll down memory lane. We walked to the condo where my Grandma and Grandpa used to live. I have such good memories of being there. I am glad that Kev got to experience it with me while my Grandpa was still alive.

We went on walk around the San Diego temple. The kids loved having some grass to run around on. It is such a beautiful temple.

Kenna took this picture of us swinging Hayden as we walked around. It almost looks like he is going to fly right over our heads.

We went to La Jolla shore to spend some time at the ocean. It was a lot cooler that I had expected. I am used to coming in the heat of the summer.

Mckenna wandered off to explore and came back with this. She had found some strange seaweed and dragged it back to show us. I am glad she didn't insist on taking it with us.

It was Hayden's first time experiencing the ocean. He dipped his feet for a little while and then had enough.

We walked to one of my favorite lookout points by the cove. The walkway goes right out into the ocean. It is cool to see the waves splashing around us. It is also a great place to see all the seals. We watched them swimming and hanging out on the beach. We had a very fun vacation. The kids haven't stopped talking about it since we got home. We have lots of pictures to remember it by. I only posted a quarter of them. There was so many good ones it was hard to choose.

It's official, I am 30!!!

2010-10-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

I really have been dreading the thought of turning thirty. My Dad has been teasing me about it constantly. He has been saying "I can't believe I have a thirty year old daughter". I always come back with "I am NOT thirty yet. Well, I can no longer use that excuse as of October 11th I am officially thirty. I now have a new decade of life to look forward too!

My cute friends kidnapped me one morning and took me to breakfast. They had me wear this princess crown that lights up. We went to eat at Kneaders. I had actually never been there before. The french toast was hands down the best I have ever tried. You can see in the picture that it is about three inches thick.

We stopped by this house to see all their Halloween decorations. My friends dared me to hop the fence and get in the hearse. I ran around the place and even laid on the coffin. It was great to do something wild and random. I always have so much fun with my friends. I feel young again when I am with them.

My family had a big and yummy dinner to celebrate. My cute Grandma came too! (fyi that is Hayden's big slobber mark on my shirt. I also have a matching one on my shoulder. It just happens to be in a bad spot.)

I was excited to receive the new book series that I wanted. I have heard a lot about these books and wanted to see what all the hype was about. I have started The hunger games and am enjoying it so far.

Kev surprised me with a box of my favorite cookies. I blew out the candles and made a birthday wish. I have had an overload of sweets this b-day. I had cake, cookies, and pie.

Kev and I got to spend the evening together. He took me to eat at the Harvest restaurant at Thanksgiving point. It was the first time we had ever eaten there. The food was delicious! We liked everything we tried. We even had the whole place to ourselves since it was a Monday night. I had a really great birthday! Thanks to all my family and friends who made it so perfect!

Love these girls!!!

2010-10-04T21:56:00.001-07:00

I have the greatest friends!! We have all been friends for years. We always have so much fun when we get together. It is nice that so many of us still live in Utah. We have three other friends that live in other states. We always miss them when we get together. It doesn't matter how long it has been since we last saw each other. We can always pick up right where we left off last time.

We were celebrating Janie's big 30th birthday! She thought it would be fun to eat at Brick oven. It was one of our favorite places to eat when we were in high school.

Danielle brought some of her scrapbooks. We had fun reminiscing about the good ol days. We have so many memories together. It is fun looking back at how crazy we were. We can still bring out the craziness in each other.

We were taking pictures when a nice lady stopped to talk with us. She encouraged us to always make time for our friendship no matter how busy we get. She said she still gets together almost monthly with her best friends and now they are grandma's. She had some great advice for all of us.

We thought it would be fun to take a picture of our feet. I was wearing my bright green moccasin shoes. I actually got them at a ward clothing exchange. I thought they were wild and fun. It makes me happy when I wear them.

Jan and I taking our close up shot. We always take one of these when we hang out. We are always laughing as we try and get both are heads in the picture. I am kind of hogging the photo in this one.

We all piled in Danielle's mini van to hang out. We folded down the middle seats so we could face each other. We were all laughing and having the greatest time!

Oktoberfest!!

2010-09-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we drove up little cottonwood canyon to Oktoberfest. It was great to see all the fall colors. I took this picture up at snowbird. The aspens are starting to turn yellow and the contrast of the green pines next to them was beautiful. I love this time of year!

We invited my family to come up with us this year. Halle had a great time riding around on Grandpa's shoulders. They stopped at a stand to try some roasted almonds with sugar and cinnamon.

There were hula hoops for the kids to play with. They all wanted to try and see who could keep it up the longest. Parker was the winner. He really gets his hips swaying.

Dad was excited to try the German food. He got a dish called Rolladen. This was the first year that Parker and Halle wouldn't eat the sauerkraut. Hayden surprised us by eating everything that we gave him including the sauerkraut.

Kayley and Kenna finished their food quickly and were off to the dance floor. They were having a great time dancing to the German folk songs.

We had the kids get some of their energy out at the bounce house and slide. It looks like Mckenna is sitting in mid air in this picture.

The kids love playing in this fort on the mountainside. They discovered it last year and were glad it was still there. They were happy finding new branches to add to the pile.

Hayden was happy to sit on the bench with Grandma Loni. They were both taking a drink to cool off. Loni's drink may look like a beer but it was an energy drink she brought along. We don't participate in the drinking that goes on at Oktoberfest.

We took the scenic walk to the overlook. It was nice to get a decent family picture of all of us.

all about Hayden!!

2010-09-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Our little guy is fourteen months old now! He has become a little rascal and is into everything. We spiked his hair for the first time and it was adorable.

He has learned how to walk. Mckenna helps him practice everyday. It is so fun to see him with his hands out wide and waddling along. He always claps for himself when he walks.

He is also developing his climbing skills. He is not afraid to climb up onto anything. When he has a goal in mind he goes for it.

Mission accomplished!! He reached the magnet set on top of the file cabinet that caught his eye.

He loves to play hide and seek. One of his favorite spots is under the kitchen table. I love seeing the huge smile on his face when I have found him.

Hayden's favorite place to sit is in the back of his dump truck. It always cracks us up to see him sitting there. It reminds us of lots-o-bear from the movie Toy Story 3. We now have started calling him lots-0. He will even respond to the name. We love our Hayden boy! He always keeps us entertained and laughing.

Three kids in school!!

2010-09-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Mckenna started third grade in August. She loves school and was ready to go back.

We took her picture in front of the flowers before school. She looked so cute all dressed up for her first day.

We took a picture of her in front of her school. She told me that she is so excited for third grade because they learn how to write in cursive this year.

Parker had his first day of Kindergarten a week later. He was so happy to go to school everyday with his big sister. She is so sweet to look after him and walk him to his classroom.

My handsome little guy all ready for school. He wasn't nervous at all. He told me that he couldn't wait to have some homework like Kenna.

We took a picture with a bunch of the kids from our neighborhood. It is nice that there are so many kids that he already knows.

Halle started preschool a week after Parker. She was so happy that it was finally her turn. She only goes once a week but that is enough for now. So once a week I will have just Hayden for a couple hours.

Halle ready to go out the door. She has grown up a lot lately. We finally got her potty trained just a couple of weeks ago. She made it just in time for school.

Halle is going to the same preschool that Parker did. Miss Marci is such a great teacher! They brought home a drawing they made on their first day of school. Halle drew her teacher and said that was her favorite part of her first day. I am glad that all my kids enjoy going to school!

My night off...

2010-09-06T21:14:00.001-07:00

Saturday was a long day...I spent most of it taking care of sick kids and cleaning up vomit. I was very excited that I had the night off. It was great to have a break from my responsibilities and just be carefree. I got together with one of my best friends Jan. We drove to Provo to celebrate my friend Danielle's 30th b-day.

We had so much fun!! There was karaoke and dancing for hours. All of us girls sang a few songs together. We chose "girls just wanna have fun" and "summer nights" from grease. Then Jan and I sang "love shack". We put on quite the performance. We can still sing and dance even after a ten year break. Sorry, there are no pictures of us singing and dancing. You had to be there for that.

Danielle always throw the best parties. She had a chocolate fountain and a cheese fountain. There was everything you can imagine to dip. The chocolate dipped brownies were really good. She also had teriyaki meatballs that were delicious. Danielle owns her own business called Dream dinners. You can come and make your own freezer meals. The party was at her store. It was great because we could be as loud as we wanted and not bother anyone.

We partied until almost midnight! I really felt like I was in my early twenties again. It is crazy to think that in about a month I will be leaving my twenties behind. I have some mixed feelings about that. It was great catching up with Jan again. We have so many fun memories together! Happy Birthday Danielle!! We need to do this again soon!

Timpanogos campout!!

2010-08-30T20:26:00.001-07:00

We went on a campout up above Aspen grove last weekend. We went with our neighbor's the Frosts and the Castagnos. We arrived at camp in a total downpour. It made putting up the tents a little tricky. We also cooked dutch oven dinner and dessert in the pouring rain. We had lasagna for dinner and turtle pie for dessert. The Frosts were nice enough to share their camper with everyone. There were sixteen of us crammed in there.

I had Parker take some pictures of everyone hanging out in the camper. He took this great one of Mckenna behind the Sunkist bottle.

The rain finally let up and we were able to enjoy some time around the campfire. Tessa and I had a great time just laughing together!

Parker showing off his snail collection. The next morning the kids had fun hunting for snails.

Emily, Payton, and Mckenna had their own hideout in the trees behind our camp.

We went on a hike to Stewart falls. The trailhead was right outside of our campground. It was a four mile round trip hike. We were a little adventurous attempting it with all our kids. They did really well on the hike. There wasn't too much complaining. Parker really enjoyed it and was in the lead most of the hike.

It was really beautiful the whole way there! Halle did awesome and walked most of the way herself. Hayden enjoyed his nap in the backpack. The hike didn't seem too long on the way there because we had the waterfall to look forward too.

The whole hike was worth it when we saw the falls. We couldn't wait to cool off in the water.

Mckenna and Parker getting ready to go under the falls. There was an area where you could walk right under it. The kids got soaked.

I took this picture of Parker right as he was walking through the falls.

We were sad when we had to turn around and go back. The way back to our campsite seemed to take even longer. We sang songs as we marched back down the trail to pass the time. Emily had us all singing the Brady bunch theme song. The college students were laughing at us as we hiked by. We had a really great time with our neighbor's!

Our awesome date!!

2010-08-22T20:54:00.001-07:00

Kev and I went on a date to Lagoon!! It was so great to spend the day together. We enjoyed the break from our kids. The first ride that we went on was Wicked. We thought that the line would be shortest at the beginning of the day. It was my second time going on the ride and it still scared the crap out of me.

I think we rode just about every roller coaster in the park. We also did some of the "classic rides" too. We took this picture of ourselves on the musical express. It is still one of my favorites.

We were excited to try the newer ride called cliffhanger. It is perfect because it suspends you in the air and the water fountains come up and spray you. It was great to cool off after we waited in the long, hot line.

It was Kev's first time at rattlesnake rapids. We went on the ride with two teenage boys. I was impressed that they took such a good picture. All four of us got soaked!!

I took this picture as we waited in line for the old white roller coaster. It was really pretty since the sun was just about to go down.

I took some pictures while we were on the roller coaster. We were right up front and this was the view as we went down the first drop. Our favorite ride that we tried was called Samurai. We waited almost an hour in line but it was worth it. You sit in a harness with your legs hanging down and are flipped over, under, around, up and down. The whole day was a blast. I am so glad that I got to share it with my awesome husband!

Summer fun!!

2010-08-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

We have been having a lot of fun this summer! We love being outside and enjoying the good weather. The kids had fun at the water party at the park.

They played all kinds of water games. In this picture they are soaking up water into the sponges to play water tag.

Mckenna and Parker did two sessions of swim lessons. I thought this picture was funny of Kenna and her teacher both adjusting their swim goggles.

Mckenna just plunges into the deep end like it's nothing. She has made huge improvements this summer. She used to be freaked out by being in the deep end. She can now swim laps and is getting better at all the strokes.

Parker is getting more comfortable with the water all the time. He is in level two and is learning the basics. He really likes his teacher and has been having fun. He always is so excited to show me what he learned.

We have had fun swimming in Great Grandpa Foster's pool. Hayden is our little water baby. He loves it when I lift his tube in the air and bring him back down with a big splash.

We have a neighborhood playgroup that meets at the splash pad. The kids always have a great time getting wet while the Mom's have fun talking. It is a great way to cool off on a hot day.

Kev went wakesurfing with the young men tonight. It was his first time and he loved it! We can't believe that summer vacation is almost over. Mckenna starts school in almost a week.

Camping at Trial Lake!!

2010-08-08T20:35:00.001-07:00

We went on our yearly camping adventure this last week. We always go to Trial Lake in the high Uintas. It is a tradition that started way back with Kev's grandparents and their kids. Great Grandpa and Grandma Grant and Grandma Sue came up to spend a day with us.

Here Kev is using some "scout juice" to get the fire going. We cooked tin foil dinners that first night. They are always so good. We also made a berry cobbler that night in the dutch oven.

The girls hanging out under the umbrella with Grandma Sue. I laughed when I saw Halle's face. It is one of Halle's favorite faces to pull when I am taking a picture.

We came prepared with our ponchos for the rain. We lucked out because the rain didn't last very long and we had good weather the rest of the week.

Great Grandpa and Halle out on the fishing boat! Halle loves being with her Great Grandpa.

Halle fell asleep about two minutes after we put her to bed. She was exhausted from her long day of play. Mckenna even asked if she could go to bed. It must be the excitement of sleeping in the tent.

It was Hayden's first time going out on the fishing boat and he didn't enjoy it very much. I think his life jacket was bothering him.

We saw a bald eagle while we were out fishing. He would swoop down to catch a fish and then return to his perch to eat it. It was cool to see one up close.

Our good friends the Trumans came up to camp with us for a couple of days. It was so much fun having them with us. Eva and Halle had fun watching cinderella together on the mini dvd player. I braided Halle's hair for the first time. She looked so cute in her little braids.

Jacob, Kathleen, and I cooking hot dogs for lunch. We even cooked some polish dogs which turned out really good.

We brought up scooters for the kids and they had a lot of fun riding along the roads.

Mckenna was so excited for Grant to come camping with us. Here is a picture of them in their Gap hoodies.

Kathleen and I cooking up some dinner. We always have so much fun together. It was great just talking by the campfire after we put the kids to bed.

We took turns going out on the boat because there were so many of us. Parker caught about five fish on this trip. He has a lightening mcqueen fishing pole and was really excited to use it. Kathleen's kids had never been fishing and they really enjoyed it. The kids were always asking when they could go back out on the boat.

Hayden was so excited to see the fish up close. I love the big smile on his face.

The kids had fun playing uno together and pounding on the table. We had a really fun trip! It was even better because we had good friends to share it with!

Mckenna's baptism pictures!!!

2010-08-02T21:46:00.000-07:00

My friend Liz Weekley took pictures of Mckenna in her baptism dress. We went to the Mount Timpanogos temple to take them. It was the perfect night because the temple was closed and hardly anyone was around. It was great to see Liz and catch up as well. I just got a text from her a half hour ago saying that she already has the pictures up on her photo site. I was really impressed because she just took the pictures tonight a few hours ago. She did an amazing job! Mckenna looks so grown up and beautiful! It was fun looking at the pictures with Kenna and Kev. Mckenna thought it was pretty cool to see pictures of herself on the Internet. Here is the link so go check them out!! http://dillydallyart.blogspot.com/

Two new cousins!!

2010-07-27T21:01:00.001-07:00

We had two new cousins/nephews born into the family this summer! Ethan James Pelfrey was born on July 18, 2010. He weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and was 20 inches long.

Heather went into labor on the day before Mckenna's birthday. Mckenna really wanted her cousin to be born on her birthday. We counted and heather would have to labor 17 hours in order for that to be possible. So we are glad for Heather's sake he was born a day earlier.

Hayden was really happy to meet his new cousin! You can tell by the big smile on his face. It was great to be able to hold our sweet new nephew and visit with Heather and Dan.

Blake Cody Calderwood was born on July 11, 2010! He was 7lbs 6oz and 21 inches long.

We drove up to Park City to see him on the day he was born. Halle was so excited to meet her new cousin. She told us on the way up "today is the day"!!

Parker was happy to have his turn too! I love the pouty little expression on Blakes face.

Hayden and Blake are almost a year apart to the week. Blake was born just six days before Hayden's first birthday. It will be fun to have these two new cousins close to his age.

Last weekend we went to Ethan's baby blessing. It was the first time that all the cousins on the Foster side were all together! The last two months have been exciting with all the babies being born. My cousin Marilee Merell had a baby boy on June 17th. They also named him Ethan. My cousin Stephanie had a baby boy in China and they named him Griffin. Two of Kev's cousins also had babies this last month. I just realized that all six of the babies are boys!