Lagoon

Thankfully mom went through some paperwork last week and found 4 passes to Lagoon! We purchased them at the beginning of summer as a bribe to potty-train Parker (it had worked with Maddox, but no such luck with Parker!). They expired on halloween which was the only day we were able to go---luckily! Parker had never been to Lagoon, so loved going on all the rides. Maddox now was able to go on all the "big rides" like the roller coaster, etc. so would act extremely bored (as seen in the car picture) when we made him go on "baby rides" with Parker! I should have taken an end of the day picture of Scott and I since we both felt so sick from having gone on rides like the Tilt-A-Whirl (just writing about it makes me feel sick again), and all the roller coasters (I made poor Scott go on all the upside down ones!). It was nice to spend some one on one time with the boys while Kensley got to spend the day with Nana and Papa. After Lagoon, we were lucky enough to rush home, put on costumes, and spend a few more hours trick or treating! Whew...looking forward to some relaxing!

Halloween Festivities

We had a lot of fun activities going on this month! The gals (or should I say 'witches') had a neighborhood "Witches and Wine" party where everyone had to wear a witches hat. And then The Tedescos had a fun Halloween Party where the requirement was, of course, to dress up! I hadn't dressed up in a few years, so it was fun for a change...and of course, the kids had a blast!! And then there was neighborhood trick or treating. Parker loved it this year, and did such a good job at yelling "twik or tweet" as he either tried to open their door, or would peek in windows waiting for his "tweet". Fun times!!

Punk rockers

Post-shot---as seen by our faces!

Family Portrait

Here are our final pictures from our formal family sitting. After a lot of stress, and not to mention Photoshop, we finally decided on a few. In fact, Chad at Faces Photography chose our picture for his "Fall Special Flyer" which is so ironic---as we were taking the pictures, I thought that there is no way there is going to be any decent family pictures!! Again, thanks to photoshop (and of course Faces Photography which I would highly recommend since they always do such a great job!).

Kensley Turns 1!!!!

We decided to have Kenlsey's first birthday party up at our cabin since most of our family hadn't seen it yet! We had a great weekend celebrating, and the weather was absolutely perfect!! My sister was such a great help with decorating and food preparation for the party, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves at the polka-dot themed party! Of course everyone took turns on the four wheelers and Ranger. All in all, it was a great birthday weekend. Little did we know, that just the next day after the party, we would all start to get sick with the swine flu---especially Kensley who started to get sick on her actual birthday on Wednesday! Oh well, at least we got to celebrate with all of us being healthy!!

Fun at the cabin!

Here is our new cabin...as you can see, we are still waiting for some of our furniture to come in. It was fun to have the Tedesco's join us for some 4-wheeling and hiking, and of course 3D movies! It was beautiful to see the early snow mixed with the colorful fall leaves! It is a great get-away for the whole family---let us know when you want to join us!

Pumpkin Patch

My sister discovered this cute little pumpkin patch not far from where she lives in Herriman! It's a great place to take the kids since they are able to pick out their very own pumpkins...complete with their very own mini-wheelbarrow. There is also a fun corn maze, plenty of photo ops, as well as tractors for everyone to try out. It is a great afternoon fall get-away...a new family tradition for us!

Family Pictures

Here are just a few pictures that we took before going to get our family pictures taken. I will share the actual outdoor pictures once I get them from the photographer. Let me say what an experience it was to go out in the cold, at 6:00 in the evening up the canyon with 3 fussy kids...needless to say, they are having to photoshop a bunch of pictures together to make one presentable family portrait!

Gardner Village Witches

Our annual tradition is to go and visit the witches at Gardner Village every Fall. The boys get so excited about going, but everytime we get there, they all of sudden get afraid of the life-size witches. Maddox at least would sit next to them this time, while Parker wanted nothing to do with them, and was continually looking around thinking he would see one fly over his head! It was a beautiful fall day, and seeing all the cute decorations motivated me to come home and decorate as well!

Labor Day Vegas Get-Away

playing with guns?!

future race car driver

matching hats

going out on the town

We love our grandma/grandpa

yummy martini :)

"hot" (warm) tubbing at night

Whew...I'm finally starting to feel caught up on my blog :)...

For Labor Day we went to Las Vegas to visit my mom and step-dad. We hadn't been there since March, and decided this would be the perfect time to go and stay at their new house! We spent most of our time in the pool which was soooo relaxing...it made me remember how much I used to love having a pool at our house!! It definitely makes the Vegas summers tolerable (though Scott would disagree :)). We even swam at night which the boys loved!! Kensley enjoyed her "raft" and would float around on it like a little princess, as we pushed her all around. I was able to do some shopping, Scott some golfing, and the boys made a trip to Nellis to see the airplanes, and the racetrack to see some race cars! Thanks Grandma/Grandpa "K" for a great visit!!! If only I would have won gambling...

Maddox starts Kindergarten?!?!

I can't believe how fast the time goes (sniff sniff)...my baby is starting Kindergarten!?!?!? Boy, was he sure excited though. Maddox got to meet his teacher, Mrs. Rigby, the day before and he LOVED her!! Oak Hollow is just within walking distance from us (though Maddox was disappointed he couldn't ride the bus). It's nice to be so close, and we've even walked him to school a few times. On the first day, all the kids were so cute with their new outfits on and cool new backpacks, posing for pictures from anxious parents. It made me want to be a kid again---well sortof :)! I thought that Parker, after seeing all the "big boys" get to go to school, would be motivated to go to preschool. No such luck...still absolutely NO DESIRE to get potty trained!! I've decided to quit fighting it, and just go with the flow---I just told his when he decides he wants to be a 'big boy' to let me know. He now has to accompany Kensley and I on our many shopping excursions (no complaints from him thus far---darn it!).

Our 9th Anniversary (!)

I can't believe its been 9 years since I've been married to the most wonderful husband and father!!! It has become tradition that Scott plans our weekend get-away for our anniversary. Before kids, we used to go spend time at the Oregon Coast whale watching, golfing, wine tasting, you name it---we did it! It's a little harder now with three kids!! Scotts parents offered to watch our "3-ring circus" for us for a day and we went up to Deer Valley to enjoy the Jazz Festival, go to a nice dinner on Main Street, and get spoiled with a couples' massage (which turned out to be quite interesting, and something we will never forget...long story!). Thank you Nana and Papa for allowing us to get away on a much needed over-nighter!!! Happy Anniversary...I love you!!!

Summer Fun

Now that school has started, summer has officially slowed down. We had a lot of fun though! Everything from Boondocks, to Thanksgiving Point Childrens Garden, to Bees Games and Park City Resort. Here are a few pictures taken to briefly sum up our summer fun...

Camping

The 'Boys' decided to try a camp-out in the back yard this year. Our last "real" camping experience was enough to make us wait a few more years...Parker (still a baby) screamed the ENTIRE night and I can still hear his crying as it echo'd through the entire canyon! We barbecued hotdogs, made smores--on the barbecue (the 'white trash' way according to Scott), and what is camping without a good Star Wars light saber match in the dark? The best part was, mom and Kensley got to sleep inside in nice, comfortable beds!!! The guys had a blast though, and Parker asks almost daily when he can sleep in the tent again. According to dad, he won't be ready again for a couple more years :).

Herriman Lake

We went to a new man-made lake out in Herriman with my sister and nephews! What a great get-away it is! You don't even feel like you are just outside a neighborhood community! The boys had a great time playing in the sand and swimming---even Kensley participated! We all enjoyed a picnic lunch (and even had a margarita for the mommies :)!). We look forward to going out there again soon---I hear that its becoming a popular place, so if you go, get there early since parking is limited!

Our New Cabin!

We just purchased a family cabin in Oakley, just outside of Park City! This is something we had wanted to do for a long time, and the opportunity came a little sooner than we anticipated. We are expecting to close towards the end of September. I am looking forward to decorating it, and Scott is excited about getting some "toys" (i.e. snow mobiles, four wheelers, etc.) to use while we are up there. We are hoping to be able to fit 6 adults and 4 kids comfortably, so everyone plan on joining us sometime soon! I will keep you updated on the pictures...here is one that we have just from the outside that Scott took.

Soccer!

Lily and Parker "watching" the game

Maddox participated (of course) in soccer again this Summer. It was great to have his friend Jackson, and Riley on his team. He also had quite a cheering squad with his good friends, The Arce-Larreta's, cheering him on! He loves to play, and is already looking forward to Fall League.

Draper Days 2009

Every July is 'Draper Days'. There is a whole week of fun-filled activities from concerts in the park, childrens parade, rodeo, and the big Draper Days Festival complete with a firework show. We participated more this year and realized how great it is to live in Draper! We look forward to this event every year!

Sunriver Oregon Trip

Here's just a few pictures taken from our recent Sun River, Oregon trip. What a beautiful place to visit...my only complaint is the 2-day car ride it takes to get there (11 hours in the car + 3 kids= a looooong time). We were able to do some swimming, a lot of mountain biking, trips to the park, and of course, a girls spa/lunch day. It's always fun to see our old friends and meet the new kiddos!

4th of July

We decided to host a family barbecue this Fourth of July. We haven't had our family over all summer yet and thought that this would be a perfect time. Though we are infamous for hosting barbecues and having it rain, this one we were lucky. Though dark clouds loomed in the distance earlier in the day, it cleared up and was beautiful by afternoon. It was actually unusually mild---with no wind! The kids had fun doing some sparklers that Uncle Collin and Shokey brought, and rode their bikes and scooters around the circle. We enjoyed fireworks that evening down by the Draper Pool. We have some left over fireworks that we couldn't use since they are illegal in our neighborhood, and are hoping that by next year, we will be in a neighborhood where we can light them up (especially the 'Big Boys'!)! Happy 4th!!

Little Miss Hairbows

Kensley posing in some of her many hair accessories!

Okay...are you kidding me with all the hair bows? I started thinking "I don't think I have any pictures of Kensley without some sort of hair accessory on". I think they will become like some sort of security blanket like my boys have with their "snuggles". Oh well...from what I hear, once they get a little older, they won't keep it in their hair, and will rip it out the second you put it on. So I guess I will just enjoy while I can. Plus, they won't go to waste---you may just see me start wearing them once she is done with them :)!