Livin' Lingwall

Spring Break in St George

2011-05-02T13:40:00.001-07:00

We went out to find some sun for spring break. We met up with some friends while we were there. We had a great time. This is one of Carson's best friends they have a great time together. We went hiking above the Dixie sign. This is one of the kids favorite things to do while we are there.

This was at the sand dunes and the kids could have spent days there. I got my first sunburn of the season here.

It was nice to suck up the rays.

Carson and Jake spent the day digging holes. I can't believe how far down they got.

Here is Natalee's impression of a mermaid. She looked really cute.

Las Vegas Spring Break Part 2

2011-04-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

We went to Vegas after we left St George. We had a great time in the 80 degree weather.
Of course we stopped at the M&M factory to get some chocolate. The kids admitted that these places do not hold the same magic that they once did when they were younger.

The kids actually thought this bear was creepy. But I still made them get a picture with him anyway. These are the only ways that we can legally torture our children these days.

This is at the Game Works cafe. The food was good but we were rushing out to get to our Titanic exhibit.

Here we are at the end of the exhibit. This was our favorite part of the trip. As you can see by the picture that Natalee and Matt lived. But Carson and I died. The kids loved this more than I thought they would. They are getting older when a museum type exhibit is cool.

This is on the moving walkway between Excalibur and Luxor. The kids were trying to find the Krispy Kreme donut place. Don't worry we found it. After that we stole away a few hours to spend with our cousins. We met them for dinner and time to chat. We wish we would have had more time in Vegas to just hang out with them. But it was a great trip. Any time you get away from school, work, callings, carpool, PTA, baseball, softball, piano, scouts, and just get to hang out it is a great trip for us.

Mini Me

2011-03-05T16:01:00.000-08:00

Is this scary or what? She looks a little like me. Natalee had my sis braid her hair and this was the result the next morning. She is just growing up way to fast. We need a tall tower like the one on Tangled to keep her in.

Our little place in Lava

2011-03-05T15:57:00.000-08:00

Matt's Mom gave us a gift certificate for Christmas to a little place in Lava Hot Springs. I have one of the best sisters ever that agreed to take our kids for 2 night so that we could go. Here was our little room.
The best part about this place is that you got to share a bathroom with about 4 other rooms. We laughed about that and the no TV in our room. But we really had a great time.

We wanted to give you both angles so you could appreciate it all.

The hot springs were AMAZING that made it totally worth it. We got in 3 different times. It was cold outside, but hot in those pools. It was really fun to spend some time away and alone.

Here is a picture of the Inn. We also had dinner at a little Thai place that is located in an old gas station. Lava was a fun place to visit. Thanks Barb for introducing us to this place.

Yes Carson had a birthday too!

2011-03-05T15:52:00.000-08:00

So Carson turned the big 10 this year. We had so many different parties that I can't keep them straight.
Here is the new bike that he got. No more of this little kid stuff this one has all the speeds on it.

Here he is on his birthday morning. We wake them up nice and early so that Matt can be there when we give them gifts. That is a crazy tradition that has come from my side of the family. We never really learned to wait for things so we did it early.

Christmas in March?

2011-03-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

Yes this is part of my catching up that I am doing. My Mom said that she was sure that things have happened in our life since Natalee's birthday. The problem is that too many things have happened. Natalee got a cricut and she has loved making little card and other things with it. She is a very crafty girl and this was right up her alley.

Carson finally got the iPod that he has been dreaming about. He loves all the apps and loves to change them around all the time.

Here is Natalee's load. Please don't ever buy her anything pink she hates that color.

Carson is all boy as you can see. He loves sports and it has been fun to watch him grow up to. Now I just need to find the pause button on my kids and life will be great.

This is the crew doing Just Dance on Christmas day. We had a great time with it. Too bad I don't have the pictures of my parents when they took their turn.

Playing major catch up!

2011-03-05T15:46:00.000-08:00

The 4th grade ski trip, although I am glad that the kids get this opportunity it makes me crazy. Because after they beg us to go and ski all the time. I do not enjoy winter sports at all but they do have fun.

Carson was so excited about it. He has heard all about it from Natalee for the last few years. They all had a great time.

Natalee turns 12 or 16?

2010-12-31T08:20:00.000-08:00

So Natalee got a phone for her birthday and she can text. The world must be perfect for her right now. What she doesn't know is that makes my heart rest a little easier too. I like to know that I can get a hold of her at anytime I want to. She is really excited and it is fun to watch her grow up. She only got 3 other little things because the phone will end up costing us. But she did not mind at all.

For her party we went to Fat Cat's with 14 girls. I was a little afraid but it turned out to be the best party we have ever had with that many kids. They are growing up and are pretty responsible young ladies. We had fun.

Here is the crew. They are all such cute girls and I am glad that Natalee has good friends.

Now if someone could remind Natalee that she is only 12 that would be great. She has always been a little older than her age but I am not ready for 16 at 12. Happy Birthday honey we love you so much and I could not imagine my life without you!!!!

First snow of the season

2010-11-23T20:02:00.001-08:00

This was the first snow of the season and it was a big one. We woke up to no power and over a foot of snow on the ground. There is another storm that is hanging around right now as we speak. Here is Carson working on his igloo. It looked really good but the sun came out the next day and made it slump in a little bit.

Here is Natalee on the other side of the drive way. She was begging Matt to help move snow over to help her with her fort.

Here Matt is with a shovel. Don't let that fool you he didn't help with the drive way he only helped Natalee move the snow to where she needed it.

They had a great time and could not wait to get out there. The trees in our neighborhood did not fair too well. About every third house had broken tree limbs. Some of the trees were split in half.

But the kids don't care about the cold or the broken trees they just love to play in the snow. I would really love to be in Florida right now.

Halloween Fun

2010-11-01T10:10:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun this Halloween that I forgot my camera every time. Here are a few of the pictures that I did manage to get. Here is Natalee and her friend Whitney at their piano recital. It was Natalee's first one and she did great. She played "A Whole New World" and "Joyful Bells" You would have never known that she had only been taking for 9 months.

Here she is with her paino teacher. She is such a nice lady and has the kids dress up in their Halloween costumes to help take some of the nerves away.

She was awesome and we had to go and celebrate with the Grandparents at Cold Stone after. What a fun night. I am very proud of everything that Natalee has done.

Here are the kids right before Trick or Treating. This wasn't the best picture but everything about that night was rushed.

They carved their pumpkins to be Jack the Pumpkin King and Oogie Boogie. Can you guess who carved the one that looks like a deer? Natalee was a Haunted House Maid and Carson was Major Bruiser. They both looked really cute.

Family Reunion Fun

2010-09-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here is most of the gang up at Silver Lake which was right outside our front door. Here are the kids climbing all over the rocks up there. It really was pretty.

Natalee took this picture of us in the great outdoors. Matt was so happy to be up there.

Here are Grandma & Grandpa with all of the grandkids. It was so much fun for all the kids to run around together all weekend.

Here is my Dad after the hike where we hauled all 19 of us up the mountain to this lake. If you ask me and some of my other siblings this lake looked alot like the one that was at the begining of the hike :)

Here is my daughter and I. I like to document the fact that I am still taller than her because I know that won't last for long.

Here are the kids up in the toy loft. This place was amazing and I wish I would have taken a picture of the bunk room.

We just went up to Brighton for a family reunion with my family. We had a great time and my Dad and Mom found us a mansion to stay in. We loved just hanging out with no schedule. We had a fun family photo shoot. It was an all around GREAT time.

Fun at Cherry Hills

2010-07-25T17:47:00.001-07:00

We went to Cherry Hill's again this year. We love to go there and play. We stayed at the Roundy Ranch and the accommodations were amazing and the breakfast in the morning could not be beat. Thanks Roundy family!!! This was on the miniature golf course. We love to play but we do not like to keep score.

The kids took this wonderful picture of us. It really is a pretty place.

Here are the kids with their cousins. We went to play with them and the Hamster Haven was being repaired. So we got ice cream and headed down to watch the kids hit balls.

Natalee did really well at it. She hit those balls just as good as the guys did.

Here is Matt in action. He doesn't like to admit that he is getting older so he has to show up the kids every once in awhile.

Here is the baseball kid himself. He is getting ready to start a fall league for baseball and wanted to keep up on his mad skills.

This is the next day and this ride is called Cardiac. We went down this one so many times. The kids love it and we had a good time too.

The trick is to hold on to the other tube for as long as you can.

Here the kids are in the lazy river. That was one of my favorite rides in the park. Because we just hung out in tubes and talked. It was great we can't wait to do it again next year.

Cruisin

2010-06-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

We went on a seven night cruise to Mexico. We had a great time. We got to do lots of things together as a family. We love to vacation because we don't have to take any phone calls or be to anything. With Matt's new calling it could not have come at a better time. Here we are all geared up to climb the rock wall. We all made it to the top, some a little faster than others.

Here are the kids in Mazatlan on the body boards. They had so much fun doing that. We also had the best fresh salsa EVER there.

Here we are with some of the locals. If you look closely the one that Matt is holding has a little hat on. We had to have a picture of them.

Here we are playing Miniature golf on the ship. It was a little windy and if the boat rocks just right you can get a hole in one. Just ask Carson.

Here we are in Cabo and that is our ship in the background. The weather was wonderful and we enjoyed our time on the beach.

If you like Mexican food you need to head on over there. We were not disappointed with any of the places that we ate while we were at port.

Here we are in the dining room on formal night. Natalee was so happy to get lobster and she also enjoyed the escargot and shrimp cocktails. The food on a cruise ship is right up her alley.

Here are the kids on our balcony. We have never had a balcony room before but it was great. We saw hundreds of dolphins, sharks, flying fish and even a whale.

California Fun

2010-06-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

We spent a week in Newport Beach with some of my family. We stayed in a beach house that was beautiful. We walked out the front door and our feet hit the sand. My 2 cousins have kids also and our kids had a ball together. It was such a great week. Thanks to all that we shared it with. We went to Medieval Times for the dinner show and the kids cheered hard for our blue knight. We had a great dinner that we had to eat with our hands. Here are all the kids together.

It is nice to travel with other people so that you can have a picture of your whole family too!

We also went deep sea fishing. There were a lot of fish being caught on the boat and only one sickness from our party. We all had a great time.

There is Natalee's long fish, but it was not fat enough to keep. But it was a beauty.

Here is Carson's prize winning fish. I don't know why but they made us throw that one back too. My uncle cooked the ones up that we were able to keep and that was some seriously good fish.

One guy caught this starfish and then let the kids all take pictures with it. They loved it.

This guy was right out front of Disneyland and this is the team that Carson played for in Baseball. He thought that was pretty cool.

Here is 10 of the 14 people we were with at Disneyland. We had a great time.

After 16 days on the road Matt was missing work so we stopped by the Post Office in Toon Town.

This was at the Discovery Science Center in California. Who wouldn't want a picture of their kids in a nostril?

Here is Natalee and Hailee on the beach in Newport. They played with all this wonderful ocean stuff. The beach was a little piece of heaven.

Here we are at Lego Land. We didn't even get through half of it in one day. The kids loved every minute of it.

We went on this ride over 4 times in a row. It was hilarious. You had to pump the truck back and forth and then get to the water pumps and jump out and pump those also until you put the fire out. Then you jumped back in and pumped it back to the beginning. There were major bets on the winners of each round.

Baseball Season

2010-05-29T06:06:00.000-07:00

Growing up I was all too familiar with Baseball season. I had 3 brothers that played and I finally started working at the snack shack to keep myself entertained. I made a mean scone back in the day. I thought that I would never enjoy being at the baseball field that is until Carson started playing. Yes at times I am a nervous wreck but it has been awesome watching him progress this year. Here he is at bat and if you look hard you can see the ball right in front of the bat.

Here is one right after he hit it and it is in the air.

Here he is at catcher. His Grandpa is so proud that he is carrying on the legacy of catchers in the Payne family.

Here he is after he hit a ball. We call this the home run look. Yes it went into the outfield but quit looking at the ball and run boy.

Here is another one that is right in front of the bat. He really had a good game.

Look at those catching skills. He played a lot of catch, a good amount of pitcher and some first base this year. His pitching has really come along. He has learned how to bring the heat. It was a great season and I am so proud of him.

We are suppose to have baseball today.

2010-05-24T07:21:00.001-07:00

We are 6 days away from June and we wake up to this? Carson is suppose to have a baseball game tonight but I don't think that will be happening.

A trip to somewhere warm sounds really good right now. I can't wait!!!

Special Things That Happen!

2010-05-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I only post about special things. But there was an everyday thing that happened today that ended up being a special thing for me. I made the kids a chore list last night and they asked for extra chores to earn some money. They did that last week also and didn't feel like doing the extra chores then so I was prepared for the same thing today. Instead I woke up this morning to hear little dishes clinking in the sink and the dryer door shutting in the laundry room. I had to get up to investigate. This is what I found. Two kids that were working hard on their list and were mad that I caught them in the act. They worked for HOURS today to get this list done.

Now don't call child service on me but here was the list. Laundry, Bathrooms, Vacuum, Dishes, Shoe Closet, Mirrors, Scrub the tile floors, Basement, Room, Change Sheets, Bring towel and mats from bathrooms up to wash and last but not least pick up all their own stuff in the house.

I know it seems like a lot but they wanted to earn extra $$$$ so they did every last thing.

The best part was that I didn't even have to ask them or fight with them to do it. P.S. they didn't fight with each other either. I know CRAZY but I wish that every Saturday morning went like this. I love my kids they are great and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

Blue and Gold Banquet

2010-05-10T16:16:00.000-07:00

Carson just had his Blue and Gold Banquet for scouts. The kids had to make a cake with their Dad's and then had a cake walk that night to win a cake. Matt and Carson came up with this beach cake. They thought that is would be a snap seeing as how they both love to watch Cake Boss. They even used brown sugar for the sand. It turned out really cute and I know that I am a little bit partial but it was the best cake of all the others.

Here are the proud pair showing off their work. Natalee was so mad that they got to do this since she really wants to be a food artist when she grows up.

Natalee's 1st Swim Meet

2010-05-08T17:34:00.001-07:00

Natalee had her first swim meet the other day. She has been in Murray Pre Comp for a month now and is doing a great job. She competed in 3 events the butterfly, the back stroke and the breast stroke. They were hard events but she took second place in 2 of them.

Here she is doing her Butterfly.

Here she is on the stand ready to jump off for the breast stroke.

Look at that form on the back stroke this is one of the events that she took second in. I really hope that she chooses to continue swimming she is really good at it and one day it could make an awesome summer job!

Boys and their cars

2010-03-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

Matt took my Dad and Carson to the Auto Show this year. The boys spent a few hours drooling over new cars and trucks. We were happy to let them go and have a great time. That's the truck that Matt wants and don't worry we have it on the 10 year plan.

Carson loved that he could get into the cars to take pictures. He looks kind of tiny in those cars but I am sure it will be coming soon enough.

I don't have any idea what this thing is. But I did hear that my Dad found his future car there. Do you see why the girls passed on this experience?

Better late than never!

2010-03-08T14:57:00.000-08:00

So I know that it has been a long time but I needed to get Carson's Birthday pictures up here. Here he is with the whole crew of friends that came to the party. He is a very social kid and he had friends asking to come to his party. At parent teacher conferences his teacher kindly tells me that he is very social and likes to talk a lot. Mom and Dad does that sound familiar?
Here he is opening presents from friends. Having this many boys over for 2 hours can really do you in.

Here they are playing the skittles game. Notice their little chubby cheeks. They were all really competitive and would rather have thrown up before they quit the game. It was really funny.

Here he is in the morning. We have a tradition that we wake up the Birthday person early in the morning on their birthday to give them their presents. This is because we know that they just would not be able to wait until Dad got home from work.

Haircuts

2010-03-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

So we have had a few haircuts in the last few months. Natalee was ready to go a little shorter for summer. This is the first time she has had bangs ever. She looks really cute and is growing up really fast. For those of you who have never seen me with straight hair here it is. My friend was kind enough to do this and then take the time to show me how to try to do it. I really like it but it takes a long time to do my hair like this.

Natalee is 11

2010-01-11T15:36:00.000-08:00

Where does time go? You know that you are getting old when your child asks for an Ipod for her birthday. She wanted a pink Ipod Nano but because of a friend I got a screaming deal on a Touch and that has entertained her for hours.

Here she is with her birthday party cupcakes. She is looking all grown up. We had a craft party with all of her friends.
Here are the girls taking a break from all the craft fun to eat some cupcakes.

Here are their glitter letters that we did. They turned out really cute. We also did homemade lip gloss, flower clips, flower pens, bath salts, magnets and friendship bracelets. It was a lot to get done in a short amount of time. But once again I have great friends and family that helped out.

We Love You Grandpa!

2009-12-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

My Grandpa passed away this morning after a long battle with cancer. I have found out that it is not always fun to be all grown up. When you were a kid you did not have to worry about your Grandparents dying. As an adult you have to learn to pray for things that deep down you really don't want. I prayed that my Grandpa would have comfort and that his suffering would end soon. But my heart hurts today now that he is gone. This was one amazing man. He was an incredible piano player and wrote the song "When Joseph Went To Bethlehem" He could just play by ear. I was so pleased that he was able to play at both of my kids baptisms. My Grandpa has so much patients and love for us you could not help but feel it. My Grandma loves and adores him and it shows. They raised an incredible family that loves each other so much. They helped to make my Dad the man that he is today. My kids asked why I was sad this morning and I told them that he had passed and that he is the reason my Dad is the awesome Grandpa that he is to them. I Love him greatly and will miss him everyday.
I Love You Grandpa!!!

Random Post

2009-11-29T20:41:00.000-08:00

So I am trying to catch up on life so much has happened in this last few months. Most of all my heart was broken and I am trying to recover from that. I will hopefully return to normal in the next little while. People tell me that time will heal but the only thing so far that has really healed it is to not talk about it at all. I had one of the parents come up to me today and say thanks and the tears formed again. I really am good if no one talks about it. Also putting me in as a Gospel Doctrine teacher does not help the healing process. I will now stop complaining and move on with the post. ***My brother just called, he had a friend of ours call to see if maybe Matt had left me I guess I should explain myself better. I was released as YW President after 4 years and I had to say goodbye to 15 of what I consider my kids. I know you all won't understand that but it was a very hard thing for me to do. Trust me when you have a call in the YW you will understand.***

Here we are at my mother in laws for Thanksgiving. It is the first time that the whole family has been together in years so that called for a photo. This is the best one that they got on my camera I am hoping that my sister in law got a better one.

Here is Natalee with her award for Reflections at her school. It won an award at the school level and now moves onto the region level. When we get her art work back I will post a picture she really did do a good job.

So the boys headed out to hunt again. They got out just before the first snow fall. No luck this time. I might have to buy the boys some guns so they will bring one home.

The truth is that I really don't want a dead deer hanging in my garage but my little son so badly wants to get one. He is willing to be hauled across mountains at the break of dawn in the freezing cold on only hours of sleep. I really do hope they succeed soon.

Here are the kids on Halloween. Carson had to sneak up behind the girls for this picture because Addie did not love his mask. Grandma and Grandpa had all kinds of fun things for the kids. I remind my kids how lucky they are to have GREAT Grandparents.

Natalee was a Old Time Detective and Carson was a Zombie like the ones on the Michael Jackson Thriller video.

Here are the pumpkin crew. They each carved these cute pumpkins. The scooping out of the seeds is not Carson's favorite thing. Natalee is always game for anything.

My Mom and Dad took me and the kids to a Lego Display. The artist was amazing and we had a great time.

Carson LOVES Legos and he was amazed with all the pieces of art. He came home after and tried to build some of them. He told me that those were harder than they looked.

We went up to a Park City museum to see these pieces and we were blown away. It was really cool. My Dad is the king of finding crazy and fun things to do. We really appreciate the fact that he has that adventurous side in him. Thanks Dad!

Disney World 2009

2009-10-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

We spent a wonderful 10 days in Disney World a little over a week ago. We love to leave life behind and spend some time together. Sorry about the extreme amount of pictures to follow.
This is a scary picture because Natalee looks so ready in this truck. Wait a minute she is not even a teen yet.
We went to the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Carson saw it on TV the first day that we got there and I gave in on day 8. It is not like me to drop the extra hundreds to do something like that but the look on his face when we walked in with the tickets was worth every penny. They loaded up on the candy and the Halloween fun.

Ok so stay with me on this one. We met up with my Sister in laws, brothers family while we were there. My kids LOVE their kids. My sister in law has done a good job at getting these kids together when she is in town. Now my kids call them their cousins. It was so much fun to go around with other kids.

Thanks to Erinne and Brian for meeting up with us. The kids loved running around and we loved talking and sharing all our Disney secrets. There family loves Disney just as much as we do.

Here we are in front of the castle. The weather looks scary but it was great for us. We had the cloud cover and we seemed to miss the 3 times that it rained while we were there.

We also rented a car and drove down to Tampa to meet up with my Uncle, his wife and her daughter. We has a great time. My uncle brought all kinds of toys and noodles for the ocean. We sat in the water talking and having a good time. The kids built a castle in the sand and we enjoyed the relaxing day. Thanks Uncle Brian for driving down to see us.

Here is Natalee with her Crab dinner. She was in heaven with the Disney Dinning Plan. She was considered an adult so she got to order from the adult menu and she has $expensive$ taste.

Here is Carson in the Animal Kingdom I told him to look like the skulls. He did an awesome job. We has a lot of fun joking around all the time.

Here are the kids in front of Expedition Everest. This is one of there favorite rides. We went on it 4 times in one day.

Here is Carson with his Bacon Double Cheeseburger. He enjoyed the food also. But his favorites were the Chicken Nuggets, Burgers and Mac and Cheese.

This is at Epcot in front of the lake. The sunset was pretty so I made the kids stop for a picture.

I love this picture. The kids did their best impression of the statue. We were in the countries and saw many cool things.

Matt hates that I made him take this picture. But it is kind of funny.

We met the stars of the movie UP and got this great picture. Our kids are too old for the characters but we made them wait in line for this one.

Here are the kids after we rode the Rockin Roller Coaster. That is also one of their favorite rides. I am not even sure if they know who Aero Smith is but they loved the ride.

Kids First Day of School

2009-08-27T14:38:00.001-07:00

So the kids had their first day of school on Monday. It was a sad day for me. We did not have enough summer this year. I was not ready for them to go back. They are having a great time and love to see all their friends each day. Here they are in front of the school. They are in 5th and 3rd grade. They are getting soooo old.

Here is Natalee in her classroom. She is in the portable this year. The kids think that is great. She has a new teacher her name is Miss Eggertsen. So far so good.

Carson has a teacher named Mrs Shoemake. He has about 5 of his best friends in his class this year. This is a very dangerous thing. He like to talk and be social. We have warned him to be good. So far so good.

One last post for now

2009-08-15T19:31:00.001-07:00

So our summer group called "Adventure Days" went on a field trip to the State Capitol last week. The kids did a scavenger hunt all over, answering questions and taking picture. Here is one of the pictures.

Use your imagination on this one. The kids had to spell out UTAH with their bodies. They had a great time doing this.

Here are all the kids on the steps with their representative Tim Cosgrove.

He took us on the House of Representatives floor and told us how new laws are made.

The marble work was amazing and the kids had a good time running around checking everything out.

Another Family Reunion

2009-08-15T19:14:00.001-07:00

We go to a family reunion in Fair View every year. There are usually about 50 of us in my Uncle's cabin. We always have a great time. Here are the kids in the new Rhino. They love to ride the Rhino and the 4 wheelers.

Here is a little hidden spot that we like to hike to. It is a beautiful spot for pictures.

Here is Carson with my Grandpa. We are so lucky to still have him around, he is recovering from cancer. My kids just love all of their Grandparents. They love having so many of them around.

Here is the Human Bubble machine. We do this every year also. The kids love to do it. Can you see my little nieces face? It is fun.

The girls spent hours out back cutting up plants to look like food. They actually did a great job. We had to get a picture of it.

Here is the Fair View Museum. The kids are standing next to a Mammoth. They also love the pioneer museum that is next door. They have some old phones you know the ones with rotary dialer the kids are amazed with them.

Here are the kids at the parade. They get a crazy amount of loot. Kids have been known to thrown candy back at the floats towards the end of the parade.

Trying to catch up on the blog

2009-08-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

Carson and I went to Scout Camp this summer up at Camp Tracy. We had a great time. I could not believe how dirty these kids could get in one day.

I love it that Carson still wants me to go to things with him. I am taking advantage of that while I can. He is a sweet boy and I love him very much.

Here is Carson going through the donuts of doom.

Here he is going through the obstacle course.

This is the gear that the boys had to wear to shoot the sling shots.

Look at that form. The practice with Dad has paid off. He hit all his arrows in the target, but the arrows were missing it's point so they did not stick. Carson was not thrilled with the broken arrows.

Family Reunion In Colorado

2009-08-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

So I am trying to catch up now that I am home from Trek. Here is one of the first July trips that we took. My Mom and Dad and all the siblings with family in tow went to the Triple B Ranch near Colorado Springs for our family reunion. We had a BLAST as the kids would say. Thanks Dad and Mom for making sure that we always have a great time.

Here is Krystal and Addie waiting for the fire to be built. We roasted marshmallows, hot dogs, bread sticks and star burst who could ask for more than that?

Here are the kids at the Garden of the Gods. It was amazing. My wonderful sister in law took some family portraits there we can't wait to see how they turned out.

The kids had a great time climbing all over things. Yes we are all in jeans and YES it was very HOT. But we only get a family picture every couple of years.

Here is my Mom with Maddie. I can't remember what she was laughing at but it sure makes for a cute picture.

This picture was just taken from our old crummy camera. The ones that Becky took will turn out a lot better I am sure.

The kids were not amused with me when I told them to go in the meadow and act like they like each other. But the wind in the weeds made for a good picture.

Here is my Dad, Brother, Maddie, Sara and Ellie. We were ready to head out at this point.

The cousins loved the pool at the Ranch. A lot of the time we had it all to ourselves.

Here are my cute kids at the roasting pit. The kids shared their talents with the Grandparents. Natalee even won the Paper Rock Scissors tournament. I am sooo proud.

Here we are after the hay ride. We were still missing 5 others that were taking a nap.

Oh yeah one more thing

2009-07-10T12:45:00.001-07:00

Did I forget to mention that both kids also got braces this week? But look at how stinking cute they look with them on. They were kind of excited to get them, but I give it a few hours and when they start hurting they might not think it is so neat.
The Orthodontist kept calling Natalee "Shannon" maybe that had something to do with the fact that he did my braces too when I was a kid. They love to see a mini me at the office.

Carson picked red and black bands for the U of U.

You may think how fun to have both kids in braces at the same time but my pocket book begs to differ. This was by far the most expensive day of the week. Thanks heavens for Insurance and Flex Spending.

One Crazy Busy Week

2009-07-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

We have had a great week with family and friends. It has been busy but fun. Here are some pictures of some of the events. Carson at the Bees game. It went 12 innings and then we stayed for the fireworks after. We ended up getting home at 1:00 am

Here is 1/3 of the gang that was there. I won one of the nickel rounds, it was a small one thanks to Sara just winning right before me.

Here we are at Cherry Hills. We went with lots of cousins and our other "cousins" we had a lot of fun. All of the kids love the water.

Here is Natalee and Matt on the ride called Cardiac this one is Natalee's favorite ride.

Here is Isaac and Ryan he loved going around the lazy river with only the help of his floaties.

Carson's favorite was the lazy river, I am not sure I can count how many times he went around it.

Here we are at the Granite open house. We got to walk through my old High School that is officially closed down now. It was fun to show the kids and it sure took me back.

Here the kids are at the Freedom Festival watching the fireworks.

The kids had a great time waiting for the fireworks.

We had lots of friends and family with us so the kids stayed busy.

Somehow during this week we also fit in 3 swimming lessons, tumbling, watching our friends 3 kids, a drive in movie, scouts, Amazing Race with the youth, activity days and a sleep over with the cousins. Thanks again Mike & Madeline for taking on our kids too!!!! We have had a great time and we are getting ready for the Colorado family reunion next week. I am begining to wonder if summer will kill me?

Tuacahn Trip

2009-06-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

We just got back from St George and we had an awesome time. We love to get away and have family time together. We love it when someone takes a picture of all four of us. This is us at what the kids call the St George Narrows. They love to go up there and go hiking. We spent some time chasing after lizards there.

This is Natalee jump roping with Annie before the show. The rope was going so fast that you can't even see it. But you can see that Natalee got some air.

This is Carson's frog friend that he found. It was just too cute that we had to take a picture with it.

This is the family on the steps of the Tuacahn theater. The kids loved walking on the edge of the waterfall.

Here are the kids in front of the sign. This is one of my favorite theaters of all time. I think we might have to do this every year from now on. We saw Annie and it was great. Even Carson stayed up the whole time even though we only got done at 11:30 p.m.

This is near one of our favorite restaurant's to go to in St George. We love to go to the Pizza Factory for those delicious bread stick twists. Oh and the chocolate chips cookies there are one of my favorites also.

Here is Carson with his metal friend. These were really cool pieces of art and the kids had fun climbing on them.

This is our hotel room. I have to give a shout out to Price Line for getting us a screaming deal. This was one of the newest and nicest hotel rooms we have stayed in. If you haven't tried Price Line this is my second shot at it and it has not disappointed me yet.

OK so I did what as a kid I said I would never do. I took a detour and took the kids to Cove Fort. A historical church sight. I hated when my parents made us do stuff like that, but I am finding more and more that it is fun to torture your kids like that.

But the kids had a great time and I am going on Trek this year so how could I not stop at a place like that. Oh by the way THANKS Dad and Mom for making us do crazy stuff like that when we were growing up.

Park City Trip

2009-05-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

WARNING MANY PICTURES TO FOLLOW!!! We took a mini trip to Park City last weekend and had a great time. We stayed at the Marriott Mountain Side resort right on the mountain. There were so many activities to do we ran out of time for everything else. This is Natalee and Carson in front of the Baja Cantina where we ate the first night we were there. The kids love Mexican Food.

As you can see the kids are getting good at their photo skills at least enough to be able to post a picture that they took. This is right next to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory that was closed the whole time that we were there. (Major Bummer)

So we settled for shakes at Burger King. This is Natalee with the straw that they call the BK Pipe, this thing was humongous.

Carson and I dressed up in the Maze club, this is a place that they have all kinds of activities for the kids. Our kids loved it.

This is Natalee diving right next to a sign that says NO DIVING. But she is getting very good at it.

Here are my cute kids in the hot tub. They were kind of mad that there were only 5 of them. As kids we were grateful if there was a grungy pool to swim in.

They loved playing all the fun games at the resort.

Here is the life size Jenga game that Carson won. He has a certificate that calls him the Jenga Master. I think he was pretty proud of that title.

Matt played some pool with the kids, they had a great time trying to beat him.

Here is Natalee making a bracelet during the beading time.

They were also playing some Guitar Hero on the big screen.

When it wasn't Carson's turn on Guitar Hero they had 2 X Box 360's to keep him busy. We had a great time. We just love to get away for any amount of time.

My 4 states in 7 days trip.

2009-05-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

Ok so I always put these in wrong and they go from the end to the beginning, but I am not going to fix it. So here is my trip from the end to the start. We are in Omaha at the Zoo. It was a really amazing zoo and there was no way that we were getting through even half of it in one day. Isaac enjoyed the big ball with water.

This was in the rain forest enclosure. The kids couldn't help but look at the animals instead of the camera.

Here is Isaac with the gorilla, they had many places were you were right next to the animals.

Isaac loved throwing rocks into the river. This is at one of the parks in Iowa. We went on lots of walks to some neat parks and lakes.

This is Maddie in the field of dandelions. She didn't like the grass on her legs so she would not look up.

Here is my brother Ryan and his cute family. He took me on a tour of his school and we got to see the simulated labs. It is a really nice University.

This was before we got on the paddle boat, Maddie is smiling because she doesn't know whats coming.

We got on this paddle boat and I am not going to lie it took us awhile to get it going. Ryan had to hand us the kids so he could paddle with all his might. When Sara and I paddled it pushed the kids up and down. That was definitely a once in a life time experience. Mainly because none of us would do it again.

This is at my brother Gavin's house. This was the last night and he made us Chocolate Souffle. He is a awesome cook. We had a great time and we are grateful that they let us crash their life for a few days.

Here are my bunk mates at the Hotel. They are way cute and they did a great job all together.

Here is my sister in law Krystal with the two girls that would be twins. These two girls had a great time together. It was really fun to watch them interact.

This is the only time during the 5 day period that I saw my Mom without a kid in her hands so I had to take a picture. Grandma was a real trooper she always had at least one Grand kid in her hands at all times.

This is Katherine the whole reason for our trip. We had to go and see her. She was so cute and a very good baby considering the craziness going on around her. And there you have my trip a little bit backwards but there it is.

Happy Late Easter

2009-04-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

As you all can tell there is a theme to my lateness on Holidays. I try I really do but I never get them on here till much later. Here are the kids after the egg hunt. They are starting to get a little old for this one but we make them do it anyway. I think it is their job to humor us.

They do still love to find their baskets, because there is usually more than just candy in those.

They looked really cute in their new Easter clothes. We love the fact that it actually looked like Spring on this day. I hope the warm weather wants to stick around for awhile now.

We Love You Grandma!

2009-03-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

I had the great opportunity to be with my Grandma when she passed away last night. It was one of the most spiritual experiences I have had. She was a wonderful woman without one enemy in the world. She was kind and gracious and taught me a lot. She will be missed by all that knew her. I am so glad that my kids had this long with her in this life. Heaven can only be better with her there. I love you Grandma.

Pay It Forward

2009-03-17T07:12:00.000-07:00

The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift/treat from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or be lazy and copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift!Yeah, for homemade things!

Natalee and her Key Note presentation.

2009-03-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

The big Apple Store Field Trip. We have been waiting and waiting for this one. The kids got to go to the Apple Store and show their Key Note presentations on the wall screens. They all got Apple shirts and they had a blast. Here is Natalee with Mrs. Fiori she really is a great teacher and we have been very impressed with all of the fun things she does with the kids. This is by far my favorite field trip of all time.

Here is Natalee with her report up on the screens. The kids were dancing and singing to the music it was really fun.

Here is Natalee with her friend Corissa up at the counter. After their reports were done they learned some new tricks to make their next ones more fun.

Evidence that Carson was there supporting his sister. His favorite part was playing Lego Star Wars on all the computers. Now we are crossing our fingers that Carson also gets Mrs. Fiori so that he can do this too.

I would also like to thank Mrs. Fiori for helping Natalee think that she needs a laptop computer of her own. Oh and not just any laptop but a cool Apple laptop. Start saving your pennies my dear.

Happy Late Valentines To You!!!!

2009-03-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

We watched the City of Ember together that night. We refuse to go out into the madness of Valentine Night. So we decided to stay in with the kids and have a nice dinner and watch a movie. As you can see we busted out the only fabric table cloth that we own and found some sad excuses for candles. But the kids thought that it was great.

We don't have treats like this everyday. Needless to say the kids were a little excited.

This picture is the reason that I could not pass up this post. I know that this just makes your day. Well at least it makes mine. So enjoy.

Carson's Baptism Day

2009-02-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

Here is the whole family on Carson's baptism day. My kids are growing up way too fast. I know "they" tell you to enjoy it when your babies are little, but it always seemed to be on one of those days that you hoped they would grow up faster. Now I find myself trying to take in every moment because it truly is going by too fast.
I do love it when we do get a picture of the 4 of us together because that does not happen that often.

Here are 2 of the most important men in my life. I am greatful for a wonderful husband who is very loving and understanding. I could not have asked for a better son, this young man is truly a joy and keeps us smiling all the time.

Here is Carson with two of his buddies. If you cannot tell they are under the table with the Chocolate Fountain. These are those moments I am trying to take in. In a few more years they won't fit under the table.

Here are most of the cousins on Matt's side of the family. I really wanted to thank the older cousins that made a great choice to come to the baptism. It means more to the younger kids than you know.

After everyone had left I went into our room to change and I saw this. I thought it was way cute. Another reminder that he is really growing up.

Our Mini Trip

2009-01-21T15:04:00.001-08:00

So we took a mini trip to St George because we have been working so hard. We wanted to leave life behind. We succeded and then we had to come home so it didn't last long enough.

Here are the kids by one of the many palm trees, they can survive because it was 60 degrees there and then we drove back to the smog. Why can't I live in St George????

Here are the kids in the pool. It was really cool because we went upstairs and took a picture from up above. The kids loved the pool they talked us into going for hours each day.

Here are the kids coming out of the little narrows that are right above the Dixie sign. They had a ball hiking all around and yes they talked us into doing this 2 days in a row also.

Here is a picture of the family we don't have these very often except when I ask an old guy to take our picture and he still looks through the viewfinder. There is one generation on earth right now that refuses to accept technology.

The kids were hard to keep up with they were all over the place a lot quicker than we were. They could have spent all day there. They wondered why we couldn't get Nielson's Frozen Custard and bring it up to the narrows.

We also had time to SHOP, go to the movie Mall Cop, Go to a dinosaur museum and eat at many great places. It is always hard to come home after such a great time.

Carson's Big 8

2009-01-21T15:01:00.001-08:00

It was Carson's birthday and he turned the BIG 8 we are all so excited for him. Of course this was his favorite present that he got. Carson with his new Lego set.

Here he is at the family party with the cake that he wanted Rainbow Chip. His Dad was mad that he didn't pick chocolate.

Tagged

2009-01-15T14:11:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by my sister...Question and Answer: Answer the following questions with ONE word answers and one word only!Then pass it on..

1. Where is your cell phone? Pocket
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? Blond
4. Your mother? Wonderful
5. Your father? Dependable
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? None
8. Your dream/goal? College
9. The room you’re in? Office
10. Your hobby? Friends
11. Your fear? Gossip
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here
13. Where were you last night? YW
14. What you’re not? Patient
15. One of your wish-list items? Hawaii
16. Where you grew up? West Valley
17. The last thing you did? Work
18. What are you wearing? Jeans
19. Your TV? TIVO
20. Your pet? None
21. Your computer? Useful
22. Your mood? Happy
23. Missing someone? Yes
24. Your car? Honda
25. Something you’re not wearing? Jewelry
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? Favorite
28. Love someone? Absolutely
29. Your favorite color? Brown
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Weeks

Hill Air Force Base Museum

2008-12-30T07:56:00.000-08:00

So we took a field trip up to Kaysville to see my brother's family. Sara has lots of family up there and my kids think that Jake and Olivia are there cousins too. Every time that Ryan and Sara come to town my kids ask when we will be getting together with their "other" cousins. Here we are in the hallway that leads from one hanger to another. The kids were into the Air force spirit and thought that we should salute.

Here is the Iowa family all together. I just love those kids and wish that they were here more ofter. Oh and I love those parents that gave us those kids also.

Here is Issac, he is such a big kid he wanted to walk all by himself. He did a good job at keeping close to us.

Here is Natalee and Maddie. Natalee is just improving her babysitting skills. We think she will be in high demand in the next few years. Maddie is the baby that is always smiling.

It is so much fun when the cousins come to town. My kids ask everyday what we are doing with them, and then Aunt Sara always comes up with something cool like this Museum.

Christmas Time

2008-12-29T16:34:00.000-08:00

What kind of mother would I be if I did not blog about Christmas Day. Here are some shots that we took of the kids.

This is us torturing them, making them wait to take a picture before they can open presents.

Here is Natalee's new stereo she got from Santa Clause. Thank heaven for Santa because she got a bed from Mom & Dad for her birthday and Christmas and they weren't going to give her anything else.

Here is a picture of Carson with his Lego's he loves those things and wanted to build them all day long.

Natalee's 10th Birthday

2008-12-14T18:28:00.000-08:00

Natalee turned 10 this year. She decided that she wanted a queen size bed for her birthday and Christmas. She even decided to give up her friend party to cover the cost. Well here it is. The BIG bed that she wanted. She is hoping that she will never wake up on the floor again. Grandma was so nice and came to paint her headboard for her. Also Grandma and Grandpa Payne gave her that cute bedspread. Thanks Mom for always helping in the design arena.

This is a warning for all. They DO grow up too fast. Before I know it she will be a teenager and I will need lots of therapy.

Disney on Ice

2008-11-16T18:41:00.001-08:00

So my amazing Aunt Rose won some tickets to Disney on Ice and dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, she was nice enough to give the tickets and dinner to Matt and the kids. My three cousins, Matt and the kids packed up and went on Saturday. Well as you can see there are no better seats than the ones they had. The women were all away for the weekend, but when I saw these pictures I must admit I was a little jealous.

Here they all are at the California Pizza Kitchen what a great way to end their night.

They got to see a little of all the Disney themes including It's a Small World, Matt said that made him want to go back to Disney World.

Looks like the kids had a great time.

My kids thought it was the best, we have never gotten them seats like that before.

Here is a picture from behind to show how close they were to the ice. With Matt's long legs they could have possibly tripped a skater going by.

Our Women's Weekend was wonderful and relaxing, we ate, shopped, watched Mamma Mia, Played games and laughed really hard. I love the wonderful women in my life that are very therapeutic to me. And my wonderful husband for taking care of everything while I am gone. I am one lucky lady.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our fun filled Halloween Season. We love the holiday season.

This is the kids after they Trick-or-Treated at my work alone. Way before we hit the Trunk-or-Treat and the streets. Does anyone have a # for the Dentist that buy back candy?

Natatlee wanted to put all the suckers in her hand and then was suffering until I snapped this shot.

This is from our Playgroup Halloween party, yes we have had to book the church because it was so huge. The kids have a great time every year.

I just had to take a picture of the bread bowls because they are so cute. We always order these and have 12 crockpots of soup. It has been a fun tradition.

Here are my two goblins. Natalee is a Gumball Machine and Carson is Jack Sparrow. The Gumball machine wanted to change her mind, but we had already made the costume and her Mom is so mean that she wouldn't get another one. There's always next year.

Watch out for those witches

2008-10-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here we are hard at work on the cookies

This is a small portion of the dance Jam after way tooooo much sugar.

Here are the finished cookies, if they look good let us know and we will give you some.

They were pretty serious before they started tasting everything.

The kids were haming ut up with the witches

The kids couldn't help "butt" laugh at these witches.

We found witches all over the place even in the water.

I don't know what Dad was doing here, but Carson might not be able to hide this from Mom.

These kids look so cute and there were so many places to show it off.

We took the kids to Gardner Village to see the witches tonight. We had a fun time taking pictures and finding the witches. We went to Neighborhood Bakery after and our wonderful Aunt Rose really took care of us. As if that were not enough we had to come home and make tons of sugar cookies. Then we were all doped up on sugar and we had a family dance jam. It was a fun night.

Kid Tag

2008-10-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

I got tagged by my sisters Krystal and Sara. You are suppose to list 5 things about your kids that people do not know. So here is my attempt at finding things that you all don't know about my kids. Oh and by the way Becky your it. Carson loves the outdoors, he went hunting for the first time this year. He had a great time with the boys and is looking forward to making that a tradition.

Carson is not afraid of many things. I know this is just made out of legos but that is one of his very favorite things.
Carson loves Pirates, we found this one in Cabo and he had to have his picture with it. He is going to be a pirate for halloween.
He LOVES sports, he is in flag football right now and Jr Jazz is coming up quickly. He cannot decide between basketball,football and baseball as his favorite.

He is a handsome little man and is very caring. He is not to cool to still give his mom a hug. How lucky am I that I got the best 2 kids in the world.

Natalee has lost 12 teeth already. I love to take pictures of her when she looses a tooth. What is cuter that a kid that is missing a tooth?

Even though Natalee looks like a juvenile delenquent in this picture she is actually a very upstanding citizen. She would never do anything that would get her in trouble.
She is one smart cookie, we had to program these Lego robots to do what we wanted them to do and she had it all down in a matter of minutes.
The girl is a bargain shopper (where did she get that from?) She was wheeling and dealing with the locals in Mexico. I was very proud of her.
She is awesome with kids. She would be the best babysitter right now if she could add a few years to her current age. There are many people that are waiting for her to get older so she can babysit their kids.

Oh Mexico!!

2008-10-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

Natalee and her new friend on the beach of Mazatlan.
Carson and his huge Coconut drink on the same beach.
The kids with there cute towel creations.

Sorry I forgot to flip this one, but it is Carson taking care of the bad guys.

Natalee on Trick or Treat Street with a little witch.
Both of the kids on a lego pumpkin, these things were amazing.
Here is the whole family on Formal night on the ship.
Natalee and Carson body surfing on the beach in Cabo.

We had a great time on our trip. We went to Lego Land first and you would have thought that Carson had died and gone to heaven. We then got on the ship and headed to Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. It was amazing we had two great days on the beach and then We went on a Zip Line adventure with some huge spiders. Here are some fun pictures that we took along the way.

Ladies Night Out

2008-09-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all that came it was a fun night. I know all those little girls will appreciate it.

Look what I made

2008-09-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is Natalee's dress that she made with Grandma Payne. She did a great job and we are very proud of her. Plus can you look any cuter than that?

Getting ready for vacation!!

2008-09-16T16:50:00.000-07:00

Vacation is what we do BEST. We love to go and since we are with in weeks of our next big adventure I was looking through some old trip pictures. Here is my favorite one from our last trip to DisneyWorld with Grandma and Grandpa Payne.

I finally gave in

2008-09-16T15:05:00.000-07:00

Ok so here is the first post. I am just getting started and I am really just typing this so that I will have to create a blog. I didn't want to but when your kids keep asking why our family doesn't have a blog you start to feel a little bit bad. But maybe this will be nice for all you out of state family members who we love. Stay tuned I will actually post some pictures and make this "cute".