Santa's coming!

Only 2 more nights until this guy comes!

Love the temple lights!

Mallory and Bradee at the Temple lights with us.

Only 3 more weeks until they are newlyweds!

Fall Festivities

I figured since Christmas is only 2 WEEKS away I better catch up on fall.

This was the first year we have had Thanksgiving at our house. I loved it! I had fun getting it all planned and having everyone come and enjoy the day with us! We did have a little incident where the Turkey ended up on the floor, it gave us a good laugh! I think any holiday where you get to eat until you are stuffed and then eat some more is wonderful:)
FYI- it's just sparkling cider.

Poppy, Cristy, Mom, Dad, Bradee, Mallory and Grammy

Why does Turkey make everyone so tired?

These are just a few fun shots from other family get togethers.

Paityn, Blaine, Camryn, Karsten and Tayler all on Uncle Spike!

Karsten, Cami, Blaine, Tayler and Paityn under Gram and Pop's Orange trees.

My Dad and Mom looking quite cute

NEW MOON! A bunch of us went to the midnight showing of New Moon.... If you weren't there you sure missed out!

Don't even get me started about all of you losers switching teams!

Amy, Shara, Me and my sister Christy

Debbie my neighbor and I worked hard one day and put in our winter lawns. It was hard work but we are loving the nice green grass now.

My other neighbor Peggy taught us how to make Tamales! They are so good! I can't believe how much work goes into them. Thanks for sharing your secrets Peggy:)

BiSoN RaNcH

We went to my cousin Kyle's wedding reception in Heber, AZ last weekend and then all headed a few miles away to Bison Ranch. My grandparents got all of us condos there for the weekend.... they are awesome! We had a blast! The kids did lots of crafts with Grandma Pratt and hung out with Aunt Mallory and Uncle Forrest! It was very cold (high of 43... cold to us!) so we played inside the rec room, watched movies and were crazy enough to get in the outdoor hot tub once. It was fun to see all of our cousins and just get away from the everyday! Thanks Gram and Pop!

Paityn, Mallory, Tayler, Karsten, Cami

and Blaine.

All of us playing ping pong in the round... If you haven't played before you should, it is so fun with large groups! (I stink at it:)

My cute Grammy and Forrest!

She is an avid Tennis player and was pretty good at ping pong too!

Karsten listening to the iPod.

Blaine playing air hockey.

About two hours before we left Camryn did a nose dive off the swing at the neighbors house into the rocks. We hurried and packed up the car and headed to Urgent care on our way out of town. She could have used stitches by her eyebrow but we opted not to because it looked like superglue would do the trick and leave less of a scar! She fractured her nose, it bled all weekend, poor thing! She is such a dare devil....I think she will be the one I spend the most time in urgent care with:(

HaLlOwEeN

It seems like Halloween lasted for a full week this year! With the "trunk or treat", school party, neighborhood party, trick or treating and an adult party we definitely got good use out of our costumes! It is so fun to have lots of friends close by to share in the festivities with!

Camryn the Chicken

Cowboy Blaine

Karsten the gypsy/fortune teller

Eddie was the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and I was a Ghost Buster.

We have never dressed up before and so when my brothers threw a costume party we decided to go for it! It was a blast and Eddie was a great sport as the giant marshmallow man.... he even won the "Best Costume" trophy! :)

Troy and Blaine

The culdesac crew roasting hot dogs.

Darianne and Karsten

Karsten had to dress up for school as a character from a book so she went as Purplicious! Very cute!

On to Thanksgiving now and Christmas won't be far behind!

Camryn....

My sweet little Cami is 20 months now and getting into everything! She is quite sneaky, she gets into trouble long before I notice her doing it. She can climb up on anything and rarely sits still:) So far this week we have had hot chocolate mix, strawberry jello, corn bread mix, and a bottle of powerade all on the floor! (not all at the same time) We are now locking the pantry! She is talking like crazy, I love this stage! I love hearing her learn new words and being able to communicate with me! She loves to play with Blaine, she just fallows along wherever he goes. I am truly enjoying this sweet little girl... why do they have to grow up!

Getting herself wheat thins...

she used her high chair as a ladder to climb onto the counter.

Just chillin on the couch...

Watching TV from moms stair stepper.

Looks like a great place to take a nap!

Oh ya and there was also the lip stick incident!

Diamond Backs Game

We were lucky enough to get invited to the D-backs game on Labor Day by my grandparents!

We had a blast!

The kids thought it was so cool to go to the big ball park.

We ate lots of yummy junk food and

Blaine has lost his voice from all the cheering!

We rode the light rail there which was fun but after the game the crowd going back was crazy so we went to TGI Fridays for appetizers to kill some time. We got to sit at the front row balcony table and watch them clean up the field. (It would be really cool to watch the game from up there!)

We can't wait to go to again!

Thank you Gram and Pop for letting us come with you!

Blaine looking over the balcony

Camryn and Daddy

Eddie and Me (photo by Karsten...)

Karsten and Blaine

Gram and Pop

Karsten and her foam finger

Blaine and his finger after we finally got off the light rail and into our car... these kids were wiped out.

What a fun day!

The Cabin

Summer classes ended for Eddie, Yeah! So he took a couple days off work and we headed up north for a little cooler weekend at The Cabin! It was beautiful up there... makes us wonder why the heck we live in the valley?!? (oh ya, work) Anyway, Jordan and Gram and Pop were up there with us. We had so much fun, as you can see from the pictures we just took it easy and enjoyed every minute. Unfortunately Camry got sick the second night and we ended up leaving a day early:( We are hoping to get up there again before October... anyone want to join us?

We went for walks to the store everyday to get a treat. A tradition I love from my childhood!

Gramm, Karsten, Pop, Blaine and Eddie


We went fishing... only caught a crawdad! The kids thought it was cool!

We rode motorcycles and quads... a lot!
Eddie

Me and Blaine

Grammy and Jordan

Jordan Climbed a very tall pine tree with no shoes on.

(I think he was dared.)

We played on the stage coach...

ate ice cream by the pond...

fed the goats...

and last but not least, we ate too much, played cards and enjoyed the scenery! Can't wait to get back! Thanks for all the fun Gram and Pop we love being there with you!

Mallory, Fathers Day & The 4th of July!

It has been an eventful month and I have not taken time to blog at all! So I am trying to catch up on a few big events.

Mallory left for BYU in June for the summer semester, she is loving it! We had a pool party to say goodbye to her, we miss her tons:( We love you Mallory and can't wait until you come back! (especially Karstie!)

Mallory and her biggest fan...Karsten!

Mallory and Blaine

Camryn was so funny in the pool. She loves the water and we could not keep her out of it! We finally had to put her in a life jacket and floaties to keep her safe!

Spike and Camryn.

Sonjia and her kids came to visit for a few days!

We did a few fun crafts with the kids, went shopping (of course), watched the kids on the bike ramp in front of my house (for hours), did glitter toes (thanks to Debbie) and went swimming with her friend and all our kids! It is always a good time when they are here and we are always sad when they have to leave.

Marybeth, Shelly and Cami, Sonjia,
Abby, Madison, Karsten, Darianne, Dalton and Kyle.

Blaine is one tough kid... he is the only 3 year old I know who can jump a bike ramp with no training wheels! He's Awesome! (Sonjia just happened to capture his crash... he got right up and jumped it again!)

Happy Fathers Day!

I was crazy enough to make these fun cupcake hamburgers and sugar cookie fries... it was a one time deal! I think the dads likes them!

I have an amazing dad. He has taught me so much in my life. Sometimes with a 3 hour lecture (i like to give him a hard time about this but really he had great things to say and I only with I could have recorded them so I could listen to them now when I am not a know it all teenager) but more often he taught us by his great example and love for his family.

Poppy, Jordan and Spike chowing down on their bite size burgers!

I didn't get a picture of Eddie on fathers day but I am so grateful for the father that he is to our kids and the loving husband he is to me. He is so selfless in all that he does and extends himself in service for us beyond measure. We love him so much and treasure the time we get to be with him. He gives unconditional love and guides our family with faith.

Thanks for all you are Ed, I love you!

The 4th of July!

We started the day by sending the kids in Grandpa M's truck headed for Snowflake. Eddie and I left a couple hours later and got to enjoy a quit ride there with only Camryn! Thanks grandma and grandpa!

After we got there we grilled hamburgers and headed to St. Johns for fireworks! We watched the first half from the car because we were late and the rest on top of Grandpa's truck! The rest of the weekend was spent working on the ranch, relaxing, eating and just enjoying being away!

Karsten and Jamie watching fireworks in our car!

Me and Ed

Karsten and Blaine enjoying the close view!

Karsten and Grandpa telling Ghost stories around the campfire!

The new swimming pool at the ranch! It was nice and cool for a hot day!