Winter Campout!

My kids have been making big plans for the last few weeks to have a camp out during Christmas Break. So today they set up the tent, got out the blow up mattresses, and gathered up all their blankets and pillows. They are almost ready for their camp out. The last most important thing's...the TV and WII. That is my kind of camping, warm with all the conveniences of home.

Christmas Dance Recital

My girls had their Christmas Dance Recital last weekend and they did a great job. We were able to see Haley's performance, but had to watch Brooklynn's dance on tape. (My nephew was getting married at the same time.) I am so glad they both love to dance. Brooklynn's favorite part is the performance on the big stage. Haley was one of two girls who got to finish the dance by themselves. We are proud of both of our girls.

I cooked my first Turkey!

I know it is hard to believe that I have never cooked a Turkey, but with both families close by I have never had to. This year I hosted my very first Thanksgiving. It was actually kind of fun and didn't seem like to much work. We had to rearrange furniture and clear out a room, but we were able to have 28 members of my family all together for Thanksgiving Dinner. After dinner we spent the rest of the day visiting, watching movies, and playing games. I am so grateful for my family and thankful we are able to spend time together even though we miss our parents who are serving a mission in Florida.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween. We were so grateful for the beautiful weather for trick-or-treating and the kids were happy with all the candy. Then we went to a fun Halloween party with my family. Haley was Thing 2 with her friend Sydney who is Thing 1.

October Birthdays

We always have a very busy October with both boys birthdays being three days apart. I was very glad it wasn't a year for parties. Chase is 9 and Kyle is 15 and can get his learner's permit. I have to admit that is a little scary.

Our Newest Wolf!!

Chase received his Wolf on Tuesday and will

be moving up to the Bear Den.

We are very proud of him and thankful

for his excitement in scouting.

He also helped with the Flag Ceremony

that night and carried our Troop's Flag.

Brooklynn's Fieldtrips

Brooklynn is in her second year of preschool and has such a great teacher. She loves everything about school and is doing some really fun things. We had two fun field trips in the last few weeks. First we went to the Fire station and learned about fire safety and then to Pumpkinland to play in the corn maze and see the animals.

MILLION DOLLAR SMILE!

Kyle got his braces off Tuesday and even though it didn't cost a million it is nice to see the results of a few thousand dollars. He wasn't thrilled that I was going to put it on my Blog, but I think they look great so we need to show them off.

Fall Break with Mickey Mouse!!

Last November when my parents received their mission call to Jacksonville Florida we began planning our visit to see them. It was a long wait but we had a great time and enjoyed spending time with them. We flew to Orlando on October 9th and drove up to Jacksonville the next day. We meet my parents in St. Augustine (which is the oldest city in the United States or also known as the fountain of youth) It is a beautiful city with so much history. I wish we would have had more time to look around. It was so hot that day we only rode the trolley around the city to get an overview of what is there.

Then we drove up to Jacksonville. played on the Beach, and spent the night there. The next day we went to church with my parents and had an early Thanksgiving dinner with them since my parents will still be in Florida for Thanksgiving. We then said our first goodbye's and headed to Orlando to spend the week playing at Disney World.

We had a great time visiting each of the four parks, an extra day at Magic Kingdom, and a day at Blizzard Beach. Blizzard Beach is always a highlight for my family. My parents were able to drive down and spend the last 2 days with us. We had a wonderful time and after almost a year of planning it's hard to believe that we have been and our now home again.

It was hard to say goodbye to my parents again knowing we won't see them now until June. I am so proud of them and grateful for the example they are for my family. They were able to start their mission by proselyting in Gainsville and now serve in the mission office in Jacksonville. They really have seen both sides of mission work. We will be counting down the days until June, but will always be thankful their out serving the Lord at this time. (More pictures of our trip in the slideshow on the side of my blog. You can click on it to see them bigger.)

Wow!! Have you seen the leaves?

We have been watching the leaves change color on the mountain and could tell that they were brighter than normal, so we decided for Family night we would take a picnic and go see them up close. Wow!!! They are so beautiful this year. The colors are so bright and so many different shades. The kids had fun playing football and then we took a short hike up the trail. It was getting to dark to hike any further. I am so grateful we live in such a beautiful place and that we can be up in the canyon's within minutes.

What a pretty face!!

Brooklynn informed me that her friend Lydia can put on her mom's make-up, so she felt like she should be able to do it to. This is what happens when you go ahead and let them try.

Thanksgiving Point Gardens

We decided to take advantage of Thanksgiving Points $2 tuesdays and went with my brother's family to see the beautiful gardens. We had a good time and the flowers were very pretty.

The Stewart Family Reunion

This year for our Stewart Family Reunion we went and stayed at Wolf Creek up by Pineview Reservoir. We stayed in a beautiful house big enough for the whole family and the kids loved that there was a pool table and hot tub. We spent time on the lake playing and riding Wave runners. We also went to a performance by the Utah Symphony at one of the ski resorts. We played some fun games as a family and I found out during a trivia game that I know more about my in-laws than I thought. Ron's sister and her family came from Tennessee so we had a great time spending time with their family. My kids love to spend time with their cousins. We did miss Kyle who was on Pioneer trek with our ward, but he had a good experience where he was. I am very thankful to have married into such a wonderful family

What a difference a year makes!

As we were celebrating the 4th of July this year I was thinking back to last year when Brooklynn was burned while doing sparklers. I am so thankful that we had a burn free holiday. I've had many people asking me how the burn is doing so I thought I would include pictures from last year and this year to show how well it is doing. For those of you that didn't know what happened here is the story. Last year on the 5th of July we were doing fireworks with our neighbors and the kids were playing with sparklers. Brooklynn had one in her hand and some how started her shirt on fire. Luckily I was right next to her and saw it immediately. I put her down on the ground to hit the fire out and thank goodness my wonderful neighbor was quick thinking and threw her drink on the fire. It went out very quickly but had already burnt Brook's side. We rushed her over to the emergency room where they gave her morphine so they could clean her burns and wrap them up. We then spent the next month wrapping and cleaning her burns daily. It was very scary but I have always been so grateful that it wasn't worse than it was and that it didn't reach her face.

Here is her burn a few days after it happened.

These were the shirts she was wearing.

Thank goodness it never burned through the one closest to her skin


It started looking better after a week or so.

This was towards the end of all the bandaging we had to do.


This is what it looks like a year later. What a difference!!

This is the Place!!

We went to This is the Place State Park on Friday, since Ron had the day off for the 4th. We had such a good time. We hadn't been there since Haley was a baby. They have so many new things to do and see. The kids rode the train and the ponies. We made arrowhead necklaces and stamped leather beehives. We went into one cabin where the lady working there was the granddaughter of the original owners. She had such a sweet spirit about her as she told us about her grandparents and how her father had been born and raised in the home. She also told us about how they found the house and rebuilt it and moved it to the Park. We took pictures in Pioneer clothes and tried on hats. The kids loved the park and we had a great day.

Haley went to her first Girls camp!

Last week Haley went to Moab for Girl's camp. It was very hot and the mosquitos were horrible, but she had a great time. She loved being with all the wonderful girls we have in our ward. They did a little hiking and went river rafting on the Green River. She loved the river rafting the most. Ron was able to go down the last night for testimony meeting and help them clean up. Here are a few pictures Haley took at camp.

Lagoon!!!

We spent last Saturday at Lagoon. Ron volunteers on a medical board and for their summer party they take all of their employee's to Lagoon. So we were able to spend the day at Lagoon with the family. The best part is that it is free. Especially this year because we got rained out around 3:30. Luckily we had almost done everything we wanted to by that time. (Minus a few Haunted Houses that Chase wanted to see.) We had a great time and because of the weather there was hardly anyone there in the morning. We walked on to a lot of the rides. The real fun started when the rain came. Chase and I were riding the swings and the rain came quick and actually kind of hurt as we swung around the ride. Then it really started to come down and we still had to wait for the ride to end. We were drenched, along with everyone else at the park. There really was no where to hide. That's when we decided we were done. It was to cold to stay. We had a good time and enjoyed being together as a family.

Dinosaur Museum

We took the kids on a date night to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. We had a great time. We hadn't been there for a few years so it was fun to see all the changes and Brooklynn loved doing the things she had never done before. I think their favorite part was playing in the water and sand. Even Kyle got into building dams and letting the water erode them. It was fun to spend the night together as a family. Here are a few pictures from the Museum.

Dance Recital!!

My girls had their end of the year dance recital last Friday. They did such a good job and the performance was great. Brooklynn has come along way since her christmas performance. She stood there looking at all the people for most of the dance. This time she knew her dance and did a great job performing in front of the crowd. Haley has become a great dancer. Most of the girls in her class watch her to remember the steps in the dance. She loves to dance and has enjoyed dancing with Dance Showcase. As soon as I can figure out how to post videos from their dance rehearsal I will put them on.

Viva Las Vegas!

Ron and I just got back from Las Vegas. Ron had meetings all day and I had to find ways to entertain myself. It's always nice to have some down time, but after awhile I just want something to do. Vegas isn't my favorite place to visit and since I don't like to drive in big cities I was pretty much stuck on the strip the whole time. We stayed at the Bellagio Hotel which is beautiful and had a nice pool. I spent most of my time reading at the pool, watching movies, and trying to walk around without getting to much of an eyeful. It was fun to be away with Ron, but he spends most of the time in classes. Next trip will have to be somewhere fun without any meetings to go to.

Pinewood Derby!!

Chase had his first Pinewood derby this week. He wanted a blue BYU car. His car did pretty good. Ron was happy, because it didn't fall apart and didn't come in last every time. I'm not sure where he placed, but I think it was between 5th and 10th place. There were about 30 cars, so that's not to bad. Good Job Chase!!

Spring Break in St. George

Ron made it to the end of Tax season!! Yeah! We started a tradition a few years ago to get out of town right after the 15th and go to St. George. It is a lot of fun and always a well needed break. We stay in a condo at Las Palmas in Green Valley. They are usually very nice and there is a lot to do there.

Ron went golfing the first morning and then we took off for the Red Cliffs to do some hiking. It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect.

My nephew Todd and my Brother-in -law decided it would be fun to jump into this pool of water, even though it is freezing cold. We then headed over to Snow Canyon to play in the Sand dunes. The kids love to play in the sand and had a good time burying each other.

The next day we headed over to Zion's and hiked to the top of the Emerald pools. This hike was fun, but I think we were a little early in the season to see it at it's best.

We had a great time and enjoyed the time we spent together and with some of our extended family.