Christmas

Merry Christmas!!

Poinsettia Hair Bows

Made these cute poinsettia hair bows for these two cuties!!! I think they turned out super cute...Garrett thinks they look ridiculous!!

Madison's Christmas Program

Here is her kindergarten class getting ready to sing. They only sang one song but they did it in front of the whole school!! So fun to watch them sing and dance :)

Graham Cracker Houses!!

On Garrett's first day back from CA we enjoyed making graham cracker houses with him. We all really got into it and had a good time together. Garrett mentioned that he'd rather do graham cracker houses than carving pumpkins!! Good to know right?!

Decorating With Friends

She is so artistic!!

He did really good decorating by himself!

The Gang!!

We are very blessed to have such a wonderful family in our lives now. Amber and her kids have truly been a blessing. We love spending time with them and our kids get along so well together. She is very crafty and is always coming up with fun ideas for the kids. Today it was decorating cupcakes and while she helped the kiddos, I was clicking away taking picture after picture!! They are so fun to take pictures of and a few turned out AWESOME!!

Decorating The Tree

Got the Christmas Tree and decorations up while Garretts been in CA. When he gets home we plan on making Graham Cracker Houses and sledding in the canyons!!

Baby K

Gotta love taking a picture of a picture!! So this is my first baby photo shoot....not that I am a professional by any means! It was really fun though and so glad I could get a few good pictures in, she was not in the mood that day to play dress up!!

Thanksgiving

We had a nice family Thanksgiving. I woke up with a migraine that day but managed to get in a small nap and work through it all. Garrett fried the turkey again this year..YUMMY! And I made green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and chicken dressing. Baked some crescents and opened a can of cranberries and there you have it...thanksgiving dinner! After dinner we went over to our newest neighbors house for dessert. I made a pecan pie. We had a great time with our "family" there and even got to cuddle with the new baby on the block! She sure is a cutie! Soon after that it was off to Walmart for pre Black Friday sales, where I stood in a group for 3 1/2 hours for our new computer. It was crazy and fun, but I'm not one who will do it every year....unless there is a killer sale of course :) Sure hope everyone had a blessed day!

First Snowfall

He fell down and got snow inside his jacket!

Austin throwing a snowball at Madison

So happy :)

The kids literally woke up and wanted to go play.

Week 3!!

Its been 3 weeks since I've started potty training Austin and I must say its been going really good! (knock on wood) :) He's so much different than Madison, in a good way....and bad. On one hand the peeing is much easier and he's gotten the hang of it really quickly. And if he does have an accident its little cause he stops and finishes in the potty. Madison just soaked everything! Going #2 is becoming a bit of a challenge, but we did make progress last night. So all in all I'm glad I started before he turned 3!!

Ok so its been pretty busy around here since Halloween. Of course the potty training takes up alot of time and energy. We tore down the wall where we have been wanting to build our computer nook. Garrett did the sheet rock and texture. We had someone come do the taping though. So its all painted and ready for a cabinet and a counter!! It looks awesome and opens up the hallway so much. Garrett really did do a great job making his vision come true!!

Austin's 3rd Birthday party was Chuggington themed. He loves those trains!! I had a great time decorating and getting creative with it all. We had a small party at the house with his buddies and family. We did a small game, colored some pages, hit a pinata, and ate hot dogs and cake. It was so relaxing!! And thank you for all the wonderful gifts!! Hope you got the pictures I sent through Walmart.

Up next is Thanksgiving and then Garrett is off to California for a business trip for 2 weeks. Not sure what we are gonna do without him. Aunt Traci and Uncle Phillip will come up for a few days to visit and that will be so nice. And thats about it here. Madison is loving school!! She's reading and spelling and just being a 5 year old girl....she loves dancing and doesn't care who is watching. I took her to the mall yesterday and she was just dancing away. It was so fun!!

Trick-or-Treat

Ok so this is two weeks late, but its here....finally!! Once again it was just me and the kiddos this year on Halloween. We met up with our friends and went trick-or-treating together. Me, her, 4 kids, and 2 hours of fun!! It was a blast. The kids really got into it this year and had a lot of fun.

No More Training Wheels For Madison!!

Its been a couple of weeks since we've taken off her training wheels and we are so proud of her. She took a pretty big fall the first day, knocked her teeth loose and scrapped up her face in a couple of spots. But just a few hours after her fall she was back on her bike. We couldn't believe it! Now her and her friend Kesler zoom zoom around the neighborhood :)

Halloween Pictures

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Took the kids out today to get some fun pictures in their Halloween costumes. The bottom two of Austin we did a few days ago . They said they had fun and kept thanking me for taking them out to do their pictures, but i'm not sure if that had anything to do with the skittles I bribed them with LOL!! Anyway, there are tons more that I will send through email later today.

Hunting

So the only thing that was shot was beautiful pictures of our first hunting trip as a family. The mountains looked amazing and fresh with their new blanket of snow. I couldn't help but snap away!! We went twice with Garrett in the evenings. Once to scout and the other to see if we could get an Elk. No luck. Garrett saw alot of Bulls in his morning hunts, but couldn't find the cows. The kids and I were very excited to get to go with him in the evenings to see if we could watch daddy shoot one. It was nice to hunt together, but maybe when the kids get older it will be better. The trailer we rented was nice! The kids enjoyed getting to sleep in different places at night. They LOVED the TV!! It was alittle colder than we would have liked so we spent alot of time in the trailer. The kids got to color, A LOT, and play playdough, and when the sun peeked through the clouds they ran and ran around the field. It was a trip full of new experiences, one I hope to continue when the kids get alittle bit older to really get into hunting with daddy.

Well That Was Fast!!

I just can't believe its October!! September flew by. Madison has been doing really great in school. No problems at all. I went in last week as the room mom and really enjoyed helping the teacher and working with the kids. I got to see how sweet Madison is at school and that her ears actually do work LOL!! Got me thinking that I may want to do something with teaching in the future.
Austin has been, well, a two year old!! Pushing his boundaries and learning what he can and cannot do. He is very different than Madison was, and its hard, so hard to figure out what works for each kid. Man parenting is rough :) He does have his very sweet moments though and is really a cute little boy!! We enjoy our afternoons together, just the two of us. Usually running errands or hanging out at the house.
My dad came up and took the kids fishing. It was really fun. The kids actually caught some little fishes and my dad and Garrett caught some catfish and white bass, which made for a really yummy dinner!! I do have pictures and will post soon!
I had to make and emergency trip to Elko last week to see my Grandma. She was in the hospital and they thought she wasn't going to make it, but she pulled through and is in the Bounce Back program up at the manor. Garrett did an amazing job with the kids while I was gone. He was able to do Madison's hair and even made the kids great dinners with fruits and veggies!! He's awesome and I'm glad to have him standing right beside me everyday! :)
Soccer is almost done and Madison is very excited about that. Its not as much fun as she thought it was going to be!! But she's sticking with it and scored her first goal at practice!!
We are getting ready to go hunting next week. We are excited and can't wait to go get us an Elk!! Garrett wants to take the kids on his evening hunts, which will be interesting, but he wants to get the kids used to it so they can go when they are older.
Other than that we are just hanging out. Doing the day to day things. Watch out for pictures!!

Kindergarten!

First week of school is over with and I can't believe how much we were both ready for this. She has settled right in to the routine of going to school and I have accepted the fact that my baby girl is no longer a baby!! There were no tears this week, maybe in a few, like preschool! She has been excited to go to school everyday. I love that she has a friend to be there with her when I can't, but I know soon that they will find their own friends in their class. Austin and I don't have a routine yet when she's at school and I'm not sure we will. Two out of the four days he napped, once we went to a friends, and the other day we just hung out together! Its very nice and quite!!!

First Soccer Game!

Here are some pictures of her first soccer game. It was hot and she was tired, but kept with it. She was upset about not being able to score a goal, but I told her to get in there and get the ball. And thats just what she did!! She took the ball all the way down field to the goal, where a boy on here team scored the goal. She asked if she scored and I told her that because of her, her team was able to score. And she was happy with that! She's had one game since and one tonight. I'm hoping that tonights game will be less hot so the kids can be more active.

On another note, Madison is at school for her first day!! Pictures and update to come!

July & August

OK, Ok since the kids are entertained and I keep getting bugged about updating our blog I guess this is a good time to do it!! Haha. I've just been enjoying the summer too much to write about it. I think I've done good with the pictures though so I'm happy with that :)
JULY~ We spent the fourth of July BBQing with the neighbors again this year. Garrett competed in the cook off and WON AGAIN!!! He's such a great griller and we are the owner of the AWESOME trophy for another year! LOL.
The kids spent a few days in Elko with Grandma and Grandpa Grider. They had a blast and were able to spent some time with their cousins and Aunt Michelle too. They did so good together away from us and we are so proud of them for doing it. We would talk to them everyday and by the 2nd day Austin was getting alittle sad. When we would talk to Madison she would say, "When Austin is sad Mom, I just keep giving him lovies!!" It was so sweet and we are so happy with how she took care of her brother! They had a sleepover one night with their cousins and loved that!! Although were very upset when their cousins had to go.
While the kids were away, we played!! We spent one night in Wendover and had a relaxing time. Got new tattoos!! Garrett got AJ's hand print on his other shoulder and I got one on my ankle that represents my family. It was an experience that I probably will not experience again....it hurt!! Got a new washer and dryer and camera!!! I love them all :) And went on a four wheeler ride after dark. It was so fun, so different from the rides I get to take.
So thank you Grandma and Grandpa for taking such good care of the kiddos and making a memory with them that they will forever treasure!
The last week in July we went camping at Bryce's Aunt's land. Across the street from her place is where Garrett is GOING TO SHOOT AN ELK this year! (gotta put out some positive energy!) We went with Bryce and his wife and their two dogs. We brought Charlie and were able to let him off his leash and watch him wander close around camp. He loved it and was one happy dog! We spent three days, two nights and I must say its exhausting camping with the kids anymore...or maybe I'm just out of practice!! We haven't been in two years!! The kids had a blast and I got some awesome pictures of the kids in the field.
AUGUST~
We had some fun in August and did so much already this month. I held my first ever, (and only), Garage Sale with the neighbors! That was just way too much work for what I got out of it!!
Celebrated Kesler's birthday with pirate shirts (homemade) and pirate treasures!
Finally went to Garrett's work for their annual Family Days! It was really interesting to see his work and to really see how big it is and how far he really does walk all day!! We enjoyed some good BBQ and Cotton Candy :)
We enjoyed spending time with our new friends that live behind our house and made a couple trips to our new Splash Pad here in Eagle Mountain.
Madison was learning to ride her smaller bike without training wheels, but then got a bigger 16" bike so we are waiting until she gets the feel of her new bike before we take them off again.
Madison started Soccer two weeks ago. Her first game was the 20th and she wasn't really sure if she wanted to keep playing. She was getting frustrated because she wasn't getting a chance to get the ball, so I told her to get in the middle and get it if she wants it that bad. Well next play she got in there and got the ball and was able to kick it all the way down the field, where another boy from her team took over and kicked it for a goal! She asked if she made that goal and I just told her that because of her getting it to the goal her team was able to score...no need dwelling on the details. I love how its a teamwork sport and I hope she sticks with it!
Have a visit with my Sister and Her Hubby this weekend. Wanna hit the Herrium "Beach" and the Aquarium! Should be fun and full of pictures :)
Throwing my Neighbor a Baby Shower Sunday and Madison's First day of Kindergarten is Tuesday!! She is soooo excited and can't wait. We go to the school today for her assessment test, and is very excited to show daddy her class and teacher. Will try to send pictures of soccer soon. Still playing with my camera so when I am taking pictures of the games, most of the turn out blurry!!
So as you can see we are just fine over here, just having too much fun to blog about it all!!

Homestead Resort Vacaetion!

Just got back from our overnight stay at the Homestead Resort in Midway, UT. It was really fun and relaxing to get away. It was also exhausting!! You now how it is with kids and their routines. They loved it though and were super excited to go on vacation. We started the trip at Bridal Veil Falls. Just a short stop to take some pictures and read the history. Then it was off to Heber City for the surprise Train Ride. The kids didn't know about this until we were in the parking lot. They loved the surprise. Austin just kept going on and on about the trains and was fascinated with them all. They both were excited to get on and get moving and really enjoyed the scenery out the window. We only did the 90 minute ride so half way up we were in the back and the other half we were in the front. Austin didn't like being in the front because the train was so LOUD!! He got scared and kept telling me to make it stop and he wanted off. After the train we got dinner and headed to the beautiful Homestead Resort where we stayed in the barn!! It was a very nice room that we had destroyed in an hour HAHA the joys of staying with children. We watched a movie and then settled down for bed, which was eventful!! We've never stayed in the same room with both kids. Madison slept with daddy, which she says won't happen again cause he was too annoying and she was too wiggly!! At four in the morning she sits straight up in bed and says, "daddy, will you stop making that annoying sound!" (talking about his snoring of course!) Austin was up about every 2-3 hours, crying. Just was all different to him! The next morning was breakfast, swimming at their indoor pool and mineral bath, a short trip to the Zermatt Resort to feed the goats, and little shopping, and a swim in the Crater. Its a crater thats filled with water, 65 ft deep!, that divers suba in and swimmers swim around in the natural springs. It was alittle scary at first, but very relaxing. Austin didn't like it a first, but I got him in the water and he relaxed. It was different and really neat. So glad we did it. After that is was a yummy lunch at Grannys and home!! The kids did good and we had so fun trying something different!

pictures

RollerCoaster
Farris Wheel

Small RollerCoaster

Boats

Fun Slide

New Swing Set!