90th Birthday party!

On our way home from California, we were able to stop in LaVerkin to celebrate Grandma Church's 90th Birthday! She is an amazing lady, and we love her so much! It was fun to catch up with Church family relatives :)

Last day at Disneyland...until next time...Merry Christmas!

Welcome Rain! It kept the crowds away for a little while!

One of the best parts was watching Stratton and Tyler enjoy Disneyland together....best buds!

A picture is worth a thousand words... well I think this picture says it all!

This is Evie inbetween the princess visits...she was being so cute!

Ariel's Grotto...was definitely a highlight! Evie and I enjoyed a delicious lunch while getting a chance to meet all of the princesses. Evie was totally star struck! She would admire the princesses from a distance, but as soon as they came over, she totally froze!!! She hasn't stopped talking about it since, so I know she loved it!

One of the favorite rides...Toy Story 3...in California Adventure

Waiting, waiting, and more waiting...a good lesson in patience!

Exploring the house of Minnie Mouse...that is one thing we were able to go through many times and Evie loved it!

Meeting Jasmine! Haden had to get in on the action :)

The dark side of the force is defeated again, thanks to Stratton and Tyler who joined the Jedi training!

This was our first stop at Disneyland the 1st day. We stopped to pose for a picture before we knew that what we should have been doing was running for a place in line to ride something, anything! The crowds took over really fast!

Christmas Disneyland Vacation

For Christmas this year, we took a trip to California and Disneyland. We left Christmas day and traveled to St. George where we spent the 1st night. The next day we finished our trek to California and stopped at Huntington Beach first. Then on to our hotel which was within a 1/2 mile of Disneyland. Trish & Clay and family joined us for the trip! In theory it was the perfect week to go, but it apparently was also the theory of everyone else because it was so unbelievably crowded! We were shoulder to shoulder with people trying to navigate our way through the park...the wait times for rides were 2 and 3 hours, I have never seen anything like it! We had to learn to work around it with fast passes, going early and staying late. This seemed to help a little bit, but we were still only able to ride each ride once. That part of it was a bummer, but on the bright side it was fun to be with the Anderson family, and we still made the best of it and still had a lot of fun! The highlights were Stratton fighting Darth Maul and taking Evie to "Ariel's Grotto" to meet all of the princesses. We spent 3 days at Disneyland and California Adventure!

Huntington Beach

This was our first stop in California for our Christmas vacation. Stratton's face says it all....it was super cold and windy....not conducive to a nice day at the beach. Therefore, it was a quick stop, the kids were ready to go as soon as they got there, which didn't make Troy very happy...great start to our vacation...hopefully it will get better from here :)

Christmas Anticipation!

Christmas tree is up, Christmas presents are wrapped, cold winter temperatures...is it Christmas yet? I love to see the anticipation of the kids...reminds me of my childhood when Christmas seemed to take an eternity to finally arrive!!

Preschool Christmas Program

Evie refused to participate in the preschool Christmas program...we watched from the audience while all of the other kids performed. I think she was a little overwhelmed by the situation. But when Santa appeared she didn't have any problem finding her way up to the stage. She looks a little timid in the pictures, but the fact that she went up shows how excited she was to see him!

"Santa Baby"

Haden dressed up as Santa Claus for a Christmas Dance Program at the Jr. High. The cheerleaders asked him to be Santa for their "Santa Baby" number. They had a lot of fun with it and I think it turned out great! Santa costume credits go to Jamie Bell...thanks Jamie for saving us in the final hour when Haden realized that they weren't providing a Santa suit for him, he had to come up with it on his own...that would have been nice to know a few days or even hours before the show!

Thanksgiving Table and Decorations

Thanksgiving 2010

We hosted Thanksgiving at our home this year for the first time. Danny planned the amazing menu and made assignments for all of us. Troy and I were in charge of the Turkey...which I was a little worried about, and for good reason.... it's pretty much being the most important part of the Thanksgiving meal and being that I had never cooked one before...enough said! But, it turned out great, and the entire meal was delicious! Everyone stayed all day...we played games and watched a little football too. A fun day with family!

Happy 15th Birthday Haden!

McKenna and Tammy Watts really made Haden's Birthday extra special. They came over and decorated Haden's room to the hilt. They also gave him some Layton Lancers sweats, hoodie, and t-shirt which he LOVES and wears any chance he can get. After the initial surprise, friend pile-up, and opening presents...the Watts topped it off by taking him out to dinner to one of his favorite places...Sill's Cafe! They are so good to Haden and I was so grateful they made his day extra special! Happy Birthday Haden... next year it's dating and driving... could time slow down just a little bit please?

Typical Haden

If Haden knows you're pointing a camera in his direction, this is what you typically get... until I don't give up... and he finally lets me take the picture just to get it over with and appease his mom. These pictures were taken the morning of his 15th Birthday. I fixed him his favorite breakfast... pancakes, eggs and bacon.

Big Surprise!

Our game closet downstairs has been a nightmare to keep organized. The kids love to pull out the game pieces and not put them back. The closet was to the point where you couldn't even walk in it. Troy had just about enough, when he announced, that we were done with games! Stratton was determined to fix that in a hurry, when unbeknowns to us he worked long and hard on organizing and cleaning up the closet while Troy and I were on a date. We came home and Stratton met us at the door, excited to show us his surprise. The closet door was closed and a note was taped to the outside. We opened the door and to our amazement the closet was all cleaned up! What a great surprise! Stratton worked for over 2 hours on this project according to Haden. Love that kid!! I guess we won't have to get rid of the games after all :)

Layton Surfers Swim Team

Andrew joined the Layton Surfers swim team in July. He is such a great swimmer and has tons of natural talent. From the very first swim meet to present he has been winning a lot! He has received tons of ribbons and regularly takes 1st place in his swim heats. It has been so much fun to watch him excel in this demanding sport. He goes to practice at least 3 times a week and works really hard. We are so proud of him!!

Halloween 2010

Tinkerbell (Evie), Darth Vader (Stratton) and Cheerleaders (Haden and Kaiden). Andrew opted not to dress up this year, but took part in "Whack a Deacon" at the ward Halloween party. The kids got to trick or treat twice this year. Once at the ward Trunk or Treat and again on Halloween night. It was a cold and rainy Halloween night, but it didn't phase the kids, they were determined to get as much candy as possible, and they did!