We went to Lagoon 30 times this year, ( I know that is a lot but we would only go for a few hours each time. ) Our favorite time at Lagoon is fall, it is crisp and cool, less crowded and the decorations are really fun.

Kent and I were invited to a fundraiser for the University of Utah at La Caille restaurant in Salt Lake. They took pictures of each couple at the beginning, haven't our picture taken since our cruise.

We hiked to the waterfall in Adam's canyon, it was a long hike and took a few hours. A few parts were tricky but we made it all the way to the end. Nathan fell once and bloodied up his knee but other than that we were accident free.

At Kent's sister's house in Eden, Utah. Had a mini vacation their this summer. We stayed in tents in their backyard.

He loved the kayak on Pineview resevoir, he spent most of the day on it.

First Day of School!!

A new haircut for the first day of school! We went to get haircuts and Mariah was insistent to have this particular cut. Her hair was long before so this is huge change. We figured out later she wanted to look like her American Girl Doll Kit.

Can you believe she has never had braces!! She has such a beautiful smile and I can't believe she is in 8th grade. This school year started out much better, she found her classes and did not hide in the bathroom waiting for the bell to ring. lol

My baby is going to kindergarten, I was sad and had tears in my eyes when I hugged him at the classroom door. He was excited and happy, so I felt his joy but when I got home I missed him and could not wait to pick him up. He is my little buddy and I love having him around.

She is now in 6th grade and I love her hair, it is so lush and thick, I like styling it and on Sundays she lets me do a huge bun, which I absolutely love doing.

My little girls are growing up, I remember living in New Jersey when they were 1 yr and 2, not knowing how I was going to get through each day in that tiny apartment. Here we are 11 years later and I wonder where the time went.

Lava Hot Springs

The actually hot springs were very clean and nice, the pools ranged in temperature, with the hottest being 112 degrees.

Fun times camping at Lava's premiere mobile home park and campground. Only 1/4 mile from downtown Lava. Conveniently located 10 yards from highway 30 and 20 yards from very active train tracks. Need an ice cold drink? No problem, take a short stroll through the hay field and your local Sinclair station is straight ahead. A shower, flush toilet, and free parking, we had it made. It was a really fun time, we rented tubes and went tubing down the river it was so fun, it was the highlight of the trip. The next day we went to the Olympic Swimming and Diving complex, which had Olympic Diving Platforms and 2 water slides and 2 speed slides. We stayed all day, Kaycee, Samantha and Kent jumped off the highest platform which was about 33 feet. Mariah told me it was the funnest vacation ever.

Braces and Girls Camp

Kaycee went to girls camp this past week, she loved it and had a much better time than last year. She is wearing the bright YELLOW shirt, her hair is in braids.

She is watching "The Shaggy Dog", the glasses play a movie, they were really cool.

Samantha got her braces on this past week, her mouth is pretty sore so she has been drinking a lot of smoothies.

Officially a Teenager!

Can't believe she is 13!!






Some fun facts about Kaycee.....

**Taylor Swift is her favorite singer, she played LOVE STORY for her piano recital this year.

**She is a typical girl, chocolate is her favorite treat. (Hershey Bar)

**She is a sought after babysitter, she plays so great with the kids, they all love her.

**She was on the junior high track team this year, she ran the mile in 6:29.

**We bribed her to eat a cherry tomato the other day, she gagged it down and thought it was the worst thing she has ever eaten.

**Harry Potter movies and books are her favorite.

**She got all A's and one B+ on her junior high report card.

**The girls on her soccer team call her Quesadilla.

**She loves popcorn, just like her papaw and can eat a whole bag by herself. \

**She can't handle people chewing and crunching their food/gum loud, I tell her she has never heard lound crunching until she has heard her Uncle Mike eat a bowl of Captain Crunch Peanut Butter Balls.

Cute guy in a little suit!

I have had some requests to post some more pictures of my handsome boy in his very first suit. He wears it each Sunday to church without fail and has a little missionary tag attached that he got in primary> Everytime I see him in it I have the urge to attack him with hugs and kisses. He can't grow up! I won't allow it. Time goes too fast, as a child and teenager I never, ever thought this but when I look at my kids, tears will often pool up in my eyes. Time is going to fast. I want to hit pause on life right now, please can I just have a little MORE time with my kids at these ages right now?? I know that it is not possible so I try each day to be a better mother, I am trying to cherish all these precious and not so precious memories. (Nathan's wall of boogers being a very not so precious memory!! haha)

Wow, she's eleven!

Samantha turned 11 this winter, I can't believe how fast she is growing up. I remember her as my sweet, cuddly baby, who was such a mama's girl and would not let anyone else hold her. She is still a sweet, quiet, kind girl, and here are 11 things about her.

1. She is seriously the sweetest girl ever except when someone is touching her stuff.

2. She plays defender on a Wasatch Competitive team.

3. Her favorite food is Spaghetti and this vegetable/chicken dish I make that our family calls Ratatouille.

4.She is very organized and at school she has the most organized desk and you should see her desk at home, very tidy.

5. She likes peace and quiet so imagine how her and Nathan sometimes struggle. He knows how to push her buttons, it is funny. We always tease her that she better not have any boys.

6. She loves to collect, it started when she was really young with My Little Ponies and now it is Littlest Pet Shop pets, bottle caps, stuffed animals but her most prized collection is her Japanese erasers.

7. Her favorite dessert/treat is homemade banana cream pie, for her birthday this is what she requests and cookie dough ice cream.

8. Her favorite family vacation spot is Bear Lake.

9. She has adult food tastes, she loves Chinese food and Panda Express, orange chicken is her favorite.

10. She loves art and drawing, but she is most talented doing the Etch a Sketch, this past Christmas the etch a sketch she did had a fireplace, tree, presents, stockings, and a menorah. It was amazing.

11. We love that she is very self motivated, when there is a project due in school, she will get it done quickly and before the due date. I am not this way at all so I appreciate this quality.