Zane turns 7!

When each kids' birthday comes around, I secretly hope & pray that they'll choose the no-party option.......where instead of a birthday party (shoot me) , we go on a special birthday date wherever they want to go and get to pick out a bigger/better present from us.

Zane's had his eye on his very own Nintendo DS for a while now, so this was an easy decision for him. So we headed to Best Buy & picked out a blue one.

It was pretty much the best day of his life.

He's no longer at the mercy of older brothers for a little DS time, which was a total drag for a little guy.

Seven's going to be good.

Happy Birthday Zaners!

We love you!!!

Tub Time

It's these guys' favorite time.

They'll usually stay in there as long as I'll let them.

.......'til their toesies are wrinkled.

"Life moves pretty fast.

If you don't stop & look around once in awhile,

you could miss it."

I'm trying. Trying really hard.

weddings & blessings & farewells, oh my!

Cousin Blake got married......then Cousin Brock just got married.

It was a joyous occasion.

And baby Faye was blessed.......

And Cousin Blair left for El Salvador to serve his mission.......

.......then Cousin Tanner left for Brazil to serve his mission.

And my brother Shawn started Medical School.

And Mars made the 9th-grade Volleyball team.

And Brian, Mars & Jake all spoke in church on the same day.

And Max, Jake & Gus all had the stomach flu.

And Brian ruptured his eardrum.

And I wasted a bunch of time cleaning out the playroom.

And Zane is counting down the days til his birthday.

.....And Gus has been doing some naked beading.

And we're all so excited to head to the beach this weekend!

The Eternal Pokemon Phase

Wasn't the Pokemon thing, like, so 10 years ago?!
Will it ever end???
And they're more into it now than ever.
They watch the cartoons, the Pokemon DS games are their favorites, they beg for Pokemon cards at Target, and they'll play with the figures for hours (which I don't mind) !

Is this normal?

Or maybe I don't want to know.

Family Reunion

I have to admit, a family reunion in a lodge in the-middle-of-nowhere, Utah, with about 200 people, sleeping in bunkbeds, is not my idea of a vacation. But we hadn't made it to one of these reunions since 1999 (I know this because that's where Max was conceived.... in a tent). So it was time to make a showing before my parents disowned me. Not that I don't love my family. I have some great peeps. And there's alot of them. I have over 60 cousins on this one side! But it's hard to make a vacation of it. I'd rather spend vacation time on a beach somewhere, ya know? And I couldn't help thinking the whole time that last year we were here. But we packed up the Suburban & headed ........

........here.

Altamont, Utah.

About 2 1/2 hours east of Salt Lake.

Middle. Of. Nowhere.

But my great-grandparents homesteaded this area. And so my grandpa grew up here, and met grandma here. So I loved it because of that.

My beautiful little sister, Jen, and her boys.

Cory was home studying for the Bar. My awesome sister Holly & her darling family.

Zane's first solo ride on an ATV.

There were alot of ATVs up there & my kids were loving it.

My Aunt Wendy & Uncle Bryce & family.

My brother Shawn playing the game show host for a Family Feud game.

He was the shizzle.

Aunt Janet & Uncle Steve.

Aunt Connie & Uncle Steve & family.

Swimming with cotton candy!

Does it get much better?

The game room.

My Mom's very first ATV ride.

This was a big moment for her. She said she wanted to ride on one before she died.

Look at how much fun she had!

My Uncle Greg & Aunt Cathy & family.

These boys swore they knew how to play Settlers. Rigghhhht.

My 2 sisters, my Mom, and my 3 sisters-in-law, and me. Yes, I was there.

And I can't believe I posted this picture.

My Mom's going to kill me.

At least I made it to the reunion!

And it was alot of fun. The kids had a total blast. They love hanging out with their cousins & there was so much fun stuff to do.

Can't wait til the next one!