St. Patricks Day

We had a fun and exciting St. Patricks Day. The weather was actually warm enough for us to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. We woke up and put on our "greens". I tried to explain to Cooper that if he didn't wear green, people would pinch him. He kept asking, "Why?" We took a lunch and went to the park with Jacqui and her kids. The kids had a great time running around and expending their energy outdoors. It seemed like all the other mothers in the city had the same idea as us, because it was packed at the park!

After the park, we went back to Jacqui's house. She just put a sand box in her back yard and it is quite a hit with the kids. They have spent lots of time playing out in the sand and it is big enough that all four of them have room to play.
Later that evening, I watched the kids while Jacqui and Jared went to the temple. We had a "green" dinner, which was kind of fun. It's the first time I have ever done that. We had chicken fettuccine, green beans, salad, and green rice krispie treats. Landon did not want to touch the chicken because it was green, but after I made him try it, he scarfed down his whole bowl of food.

Valentines Day

We were up at the cabin for V-Day. I put alot of balloons in Coopers room the night before when he fell asleep. I also cut out tons of red, pink, and purple hearts to put on the walls, but I could not find them. So sad!
When Cooper woke up, he was very excited. Bryce read him a card that we gave him and Cooper said, "This is the best Valentines Day ever!" Clayton layed on the bed with him and they played in the balloons. Clayton was wondering what in the world were these big, round, things that float.

Happy Valentines Day

Jenn,

I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am that you've been my Valentine over the past eleven years. I couldn't ask for a better wife, friend, mother to my children, Lover, and Valentine. I've said it before and I'll continue to stand by the fact that I'm a better man because of you.

People often joke about men "marrying up". This is not a joke, but a reality in my life. I did marry up. I can't relay to you how blessed I feel that the Lord brought our two lives together. It's often amazing to me that the Lord was able to bring a die hard TExas girl and put her with a Utah farm boy. I consider that a great miracle.

Jenn, I want you to know how proud I am to be able to call you my wife and myself, your husband. I know that I often fall short on the important role that comes with that title. Please continue to be patient with me as you have in the past. I don't know if you can see it, but I can see the progress thats come to me through your love, patience, and example.

Jenn, I love you for your strong testimony and love of the gospel. You are that city on a hill for all to see. Our boys could not have a better example that that of their mother. If you had lived during the time of the Book of Mormon, you would've been a mother to one of the stripling warriors. You are that kind of example to our boys, myself, and all those who you come in contact with. That's why you are a "likeable" and why people want to have your friendship.

I want to finish by letting you know I love you. Without you and our boys, my life would be in shambles. My family is the glue that keeps my life from coming apart. You're the reason I get up every morning and go to a job that sometimes drives me crazy, but it provides for our family and lets us have the security that alot of people don't have right now.

Jenn, I can't express how much I love you and how much you mean to me. Thank you for being my greatest blessing and my eternal Valentine.

All my Love

Bryce

Merry Christmas

A few weeks before Christmas, Bryce and I decided that we want to start a new tradition in our family; we want to do some sort of service for others during the season and be more mindful of others needs; So, Jacqui and I made Christmas goodies and we took the kids along to one of our local rest homes where most of the residents are in wheel chairs or have ventilators. I really thought the kids would be a little scared when we got there, but they were great and were very interactive and talkative with the people. We sang Christmas songs to some of the residents and visited with them. It was humbling to see the tears in their eyes as our little ones sang to them and gave them treats; one young lady who had on a ventilator and could hardly talk, caught Clayton's eye in the back of the room and she really wanted to see him. I brought him up to her so she could see him up close. She was so excited to talk to me about him. It was neat to see how grateful they were to have us come visit them. But, I think we were the ones that were blessed to spend that evening with them. They are amazing people and it was a great experience for each of us. We spent Christmas Eve over at Jacqui and Jareds home. We ate Chicken Pot Pie for dinner and then we read the story about the birth of Christ in the scriptures. We talked to the kids about the true meaning of Christmas and about why we even receive or give gifts for Christmas. Then we heard some bells ringing and the kids found a note in the tree from Jingle Bell (Santa's elf). He brought them some pajamas for Christmas Eve. The kids were so excited.

Clayton woke me up at 7:30 on Christmas morning. I think he was excited to see what he got for Christmas, so I went and woke up Bryce and Cooper. Cooper ran downstairs, looked around, came back up and asked me, "Did the real Santa come last night?" "Yes, Why? I asked. "Because I asked for baby puppies for Christmas and there aren't any down there." Thank goodness Santa doesn't always give us what we ask for!
Santa brought Cooper a Nintendo DS and some games to go along with it. He also got a Fur Real little puppy that barks from my friend Bekka. He named it Hot Chocolate and thought it was so cute.We went to grandma and grandpa Coopers for lunch and see everyone. It looked like everyone had a good Christmas and that Santa came to visit them all!

Halloween Activities with Grandma

Last week, Stephanie invited us up to stay in her condos up at Wolf Creek. The kids had a blast swimming in the hot tub and going on walks down by the pond. We even saw two beautiful foxes while we were there. Mom had some fun Halloween activities for the kids. She let them decorate cupcakes into spiders and cats. They had a great time and it was fun to watch them each be creative in their own ways. Thanks mom for always doing fun little activites for the kids. I love watching you interact with all the kids because you have such a talent with these young kids and I can see how much you love each child. Thanks for being so patient and loving. You are a great example to all of us.

Precious Pumpkin Patch Pictures

Last Sunday, we went out to Paradise to take pictures in the pumkin patch. The older kids had a great time looking at all the pumpkins and Clayton decided to take a nap on a big warm pumpkin!

Bryce's 30th Birthday

To celebrate Bryce's Birthday, we went boating up to Glendale with the family. Bryce was the first one to try out the wakeboard. He did a great job and cleared the wake on his first jump. He was sore the next day, but had a great time.
He also spent alot of time with the kids out on the floating tube. It was so fun to watch them all have a good time together. Cooper loves spending time with Bryce and he just adores his dad!
Ty, Tawni, Cooper, and Shaylee- what cute cousins!

Dad spent his time on the beach carving sticks and peices of wood that the kids brought to him. The kids probably spent two hours looking for wood and having grandpa carve them with his knife. I think it was the high light of their day....they didn't care about the boat ride or water, they just wanted cool daggers or knifes that grandpa made for them.
I spent most of my time under the canopy trying to stay out of the sun. I have noticed that I get burned alot easier right now. I did, however, decide I would try to go swimming with Bryce and Cooper for a second. It was easy to slip into the water from the boat, but trying to get back onto the boat was a different story....I decided I would not try that again!
When we got back home, we went out to dinner at Burrito Grande. It was nice to just spend time with each other. Happy Birthday, Bryce. I hope you had a great 30th. I am lucky to have you for my husband, friend, and father of my adorable boys. Thanks for being so good to us. We love you.

4th of July

We celebrated the 4th of July this year with lots of family. We all went over to Jacqui and Jared's for dinner and the kids had a great time swimming in the little pools. Sherrie, Brian, Sean and Kellye were all in town from Texas so it was so much fun to have us all together.
We grilled steak and chicken fajitas, made queso, and ate lots of brownies and cheesecake. The weather was nice, so we were able to sit out in the shade in the backyard and just visit with each other.We didn't go to the actual fireworks, but thanks to Paul and Brian, we had plenty of small fireworks for the kids to enjoy in the front yard.
Thank you Jacqui and Jared for letting us come crash your home and yard. We all had a great time!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

We had a great Christmas this year! Cooper woke up at about 8:15 and came into our room. I took him down stairs and there was a blue box sitting in the middle of the room. There were alot of noises coming from the box. Cooper said, "I know what it is. It's a puppy."He kneeled down to open the lid and out popped a little puppy. She is seven weeks old and she is a boston terrier. She climbed on Cooper and he was so excited. He said, "Oooo, she is so cute. It's all I ever wanted."
We asked him what we should name her and he said, "E.T." ( he likes that show). And then we decided to call her "Yoda". She looks like a yoda. She really likes Cooper and he plays so softly with her. Its like having another baby in the house because she is so young and small.
Cooper received so many greats gifts for Christmas and I just want to thank everyone who helped make our Christmas wonderful. We received many gifts from our neighbors and our family.
This year, when Cooper was asked what he wanted for Christmas, his reply: "a coconut and a snowflake"...a coconut because it has juice in it and a snowflake (globe) because you can shake it and it makes snow. Well, he got both from Santa. When we opened the coconut, it was rotten and smelled like crap. Great present, uh?

After we opened presents, we had to go show Reese and Jaxson our puppy and Jacqui and Jared were nice enough to cook us a great Christmas morning breakfast...pancakes, bacon, and eggs!

Next, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Coopers house. It was nice to be able to visit with my family that was there. Grandma made some great food and we just sat around and talked for a long time. I love my family so much and I think they are awesome! Later that night, we went out to the Douglas' to watch Roger and Marilyn open their presents from the kids. A huge snow storm moved in that night, so Carrie and Brad could not go home. It was nice to be able to spend time with the Douglas'. Marilyn made lots of yummy food and we watched movies and played games!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we had the Gabrish's and the Hancock's over to celebrate with dinner, games, and lots of fun. We started off the evening by eating homemade soup and breadsticks. We then let the kids frost their sugar cookies for Santa Claus. Then we had the kids dress up and Bryce read the story of the birth of Christ. Reese was Mary. Curious George was baby Jesus (we don't have any dolls in this house), Amy was the donkey, Jared was Joseph; Jaxson, Cooper and Tanner were the three wise men and Carson was the shepard. Cooper was dressed in his chinese outfit, but he made a good-looking wise man from the East. The kids did a great job and it was fun to watch them learn about the true meaning of Christmas.After everyone left, as Cooper was getting his teeth brushed, he heard some bells ringing and he knew it had to be our elf, Jingle Bell. He ran downstairs to find some new pajamas! Cooper was excited about Christmas, but I think he is still young enough to not understand quite yet. It brought back lots of memories for me...I just remember how excited I was on Christmas Eve. We would go to bed early and we could hardly stand waiting till the next morning. And after we woke up, Sherrie and Shayne would take forever to get out of bed. Then Dad would have to go out and make sure Santa came before we were allowed to come out from the hallway!! It was such a magical time.....oh, to be a kid again!!