A Christmas morning sword fight.
My parents gave the boys Nerf guns (perfect because guns are "it" right now for Dallin, and Wyatt and Tyge just likes "Bad Guys") for Christmas and they had an hour Nerf fight. It is still recalled in a play by play to anyone who asks them how Christmas was. Ella put fairy wings on and stole bullets from Ryan, Uncle Brett, and Grandpa Bruce. She was nicknamed the "ammo fairy".
The lights at Temple Square. The kids were very interested in the Christmas Story this year and Ella had to derail because she wasn't sure that we had seen the "all of it" (We saw "all of it" twice!)
Traci and Brett found this awesome BMX course in Virgin and we have since been back 3 or 4 times. It is a riot.
The cutest little black cat and monkey ever! We spent Halloween Trick or Treating with the Saxton's. Dallin was sick even before we were done - he had been getting a treat - eating a treat. He asked Ryan to make sure he didn't eat any more candy for 3 days!
Yes, that is Anakin Skywalker in that tree.
Hiking Stewart Falls. Laurie was at Sundance and so we rode the lift, attended some Blue Bird Cafe's (awesome), went to the Symphony on the 4th (the old guy ringing it up about a march), and went to the Summer Theater with the kids.
Sand Hollow in the Fall. Boating, swimming, surfing, cliff jumping.
I LOVE where we live! Mornings are beautiful - this is the sun coming up. But nights are even better! The sun on the mountains, the moon rising, the quiet. Not to mention our awesome neighbors!
August - Ella starts Pre-school with Miss Chris. She was so excited to go to school and to ride the bus! She still loves it! Every day is a great story, but one of my favorites is when one of her friends told her that she didn't want to be friends anymore, Ella came home and thought about it and then, the next day told her, "Sorry, Once you are friends, you can't say you're not."One afternoon when Ella was telling me how she was playing with two little girls and just decided to ask them, Do you want to be my friend? "and they did Mom!" ...Dallin said, "that's funny, I lost a friend today", apparently one of his friends had been less than enthusiastic when Dallin was informing him on the latest Dinosaur facts. Luckily, all friendships have been restored.
Dallin starts Kindergarten. He has anxiety about school and definately doesn't want to ride the bus! One ongoing story from Dallin was that "a mean girl" at his table would say "who cares" every time he said anything no matter how many times he would say "I do!"
Emmerson set up his big screen in our back yard and we had an outdoor showing of Kung Fu Panda. We wanted to get it in before school started, and it was awesome - even with the light rain and wind.
June 24th, 2009 - Landon is 1! We had a swimming party at Bott's and then cake, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Dallin and Ella barely touched theirs when they turned 1, but Landon was happy to dig in - I'm not sure whether it was his love of food, or love of messes that urged him on.
My parents bought a house in St. George and it has been awesome! We went down about once a month beginning in July. We swam, hiked, biked, had water fights, did fireworks, and just played with cousins. This is on a little hike to some great petroglyphs.
We love taking the kids camping! We don't get much sleep and it really is impressive how dirty the kids get, but it is fun. The last 2 years we have camped at Silver Lake Flats. This year we attemped a lenghthy hike the next morning - it proved to be too much for sleep deprived little hikers. Luckily Aunt Ash was with us to distract Ella with bouquets of flowers.
I love Thanksgiving Point! With it being so close - we were there once a week if not more. It is the perfect place for the kids to get out of the house. We spent days at the Gardens, Dinosaur Museum, and Farm, and often it was like we were the only ones there.
Three monkeys in the car after a long walk out to the airshow. You've got to love the Blue Angels though!
Ella stole the show at her Years End Dance Performance! After she got on the wrong spot (it could happen to anyone) and reduced another little dancer to tears, she sweetly kept trying to coax her back into the dance, all while still performing. It really was much more entertaining than the original!
Disneyland was wonderful this year! Landon's first trip. We all loved the jungle cruise, and Landon especially loved Buzz Lightyear. Every time we got off he would start signing more - with emphasis. Ella loved seeing the princesses and even got to dance in the parade. Both Dallin and Ella say their favorite ride this year was Star Tours - and "maybe next time" they will want to give the Jedi Training Academy a shot. There really is something magical about Disneyland.
This is Ella on her 4th Birthday. We had our first "friend birthday party". We had 18 kids over - I think we will push for family party's from here out. But it is April 8th and notice the snow still on our back lawn.
Easter was wet, but not too cold this year. Both Dallin and Ella really got into the egg hunt at Grandma Bott's - they even "practiced" at home so they could snatch up a lot of eggs.
Ryan spent every free moment snowmobiling - and after a small accident to his original Ski Doo, bought a new 2008 Ski Doo - who is often referred to as his baby. I was assured that we wouldn't keep both, but here we are a year later with 2 snowmobiles in the garage -and the wrecked one he lovingly tells me is mine.
In January 2009, we went to Island Park, just outside of Yellowstone, with our friends the Harrison's. It was beautiful and a lot of fun. It was really nice to sled in and out of the cabin!
This is Christmas 2008, Landon's first Christmas. Landon was the most laid back baby! He would just sit on your lap and observe. He must of been saving up, because now he is a terror! This Christmas was filled with dress ups for Ella and jets for Dallin.
