A Resolution

I know it has been a ridiculously long time since I blogged, but one of my New Year's Resolutions is to get my life organized and I figured why not start today!
I am just going to begin blogging from December forward, but believe me when I say that we have been very busy the last few months!
It has been great to take a few weeks off this month and have fun as a family. These pictures were taken by a friend of Kelly's at a Christmas party we attended. The kids had a fun time and it was a great way to kick off the holiday season!

Grandma's Funeral

My grandma passed away at the end of May and we attended her funeral the following week. I feel blessed to have had such an amazing grandma. One of our happiest memories of living in Price was having the opportunity to spend so much time with her. My boys grew to love her as much as I did and we were heartbroken at her passing. At my grandma's funeral I was asked to read a poem that she had written and also to share one of my favorite memories of her. This is the memory that I shared:

The last time we visited Grandma she pulled Ryan aside. She put her hands on his shoulders, looked him right in the eyes, and said, "Do you know how much I love you? Do you know how special you are? Do you know who else thinks you are special? Your Father in Heaven. He loves you so very much." This experience exemplifies all that I love about Grandma. She loved each of us and could see our greatest potential even when we could not. She wanted only the best for us and our confidence in ourselves grew as we spent time with her.

She was so happy for me when Laynie was born. She told me many times that she always knew I would have a little girl:

She truly was an amazing woman and will be missed.



Although it was a very quick trip, we were able to have all of the grand kids together for a few (too short!) hours. So, of course, we had to take a picture:

Horace Tabor

In Fourth Grade Jacob studied Colorado History. His class put on a "wax museum" to celebrate all they had learned throughout the year. Jacob chose Horace Tabor, a famous Coloradoan with a colorful past. As Jacob put it, "His life had all the parts of a Greek tragedy set on a western stage." For the project Jacob had to complete a written report (with a bibliography), as well as a poster and 3-4 minute memorized presentation. For the wax museum he dressed up as Horace Tabor and posed in front of his poster. He wore a button that said "push" and when you did, he began his presentation. I was amazed to see how much time and effort Jacob put into this project. He really did a great job.

Jacob in his silver miner pose:

Trying to remember what comes next:

Leadville is a small mining town in Colorado founded by Horace Tabor. On our way home from my Grandma's funeral we took a detour so that Jacob could see the town. He even stood on the stage of the "famous" Tabor Opera House which was built in 1879.

(I apologize for the picture. It was very dark and musty inside. Not much has changed since it was built which made it that much more exciting for Jacob.)

Ryan's Baptism

Ryan was baptized and became am official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on May 8, 2010 (Yes, I know that was more than two months ago. Time sure flies when your having fun . . . right?!). Ryan is such a good, kind boy who always tries to choose the right. He was very excited to be baptized and especially happy that both his grandparents and some of his cousins could be here for the special day.

Here he is with Kelly right before his baptism:


And here he is with his Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Judy wearing his new suit (isn't he handsome?):

Laynie's Graduation

I know I still need to blog about Ryan's baptism, but something happened at our house today and I wanted to make sure you could share in the good news! Laynie graduated from preschool (well, she didn't technically "graduate" since she still has three more years to go, but you know what I mean). Believe me when I say there were days when I didn't think she would make it. Congratulations Laynie, you did it!

Another month has passed . . .

and once again I am playing catch up! This past month has been super busy for us. I was called as the Primary President in our ward, I was in charge of a two week long (two weeks too long!) book fair at the boy's school, co-hosted a baby shower for a great friend, Jacob performed in his school play, Ryan turned 8, Laynie turned 2, we finished a season of baseball (Jacob) and soccer (Ryan), Ryan was baptized, we had company for two weeks, the boys had a piano recital (Ryan's first) and to top it all off I turned another year older. Here are a few pictures from our busy month:

Jacob rollerblading in his school play:

These are the party favors I made for my friend's baby shower. The idea was given to me by my super creative friend (she also made me the most amazing cupcakes for my birthday!):

I am not a very sentimental person, but when I saw this picture it brought tears to my eyes. I really cannot believe how old my boys are!

Jacob played catcher for many of the games this season and loved it!

My mother-in-law helped me make freezer meals for one of my favorite people who will be having a baby at any moment (I made a few for myself as well):

Laynie turned two and is as cute as ever!

Thanks to their amazing teachers, both Jacob and Ryan did an amazing job at their piano recital:

Spring Track Off

Some Track Offs go by much faster than others and this one was one of those long ones. I was telling a friend that I was feeling badly about how boring this Track Off was and was surprised to hear Jacob say, "This has been the best Track Off yet." I guess I shouldn't worry about it so much!

Jacob turned 10 at the beginning of our Track Off.

We celebrated by swimming, geocaching and going out to eat. He also invited a few friends over for cake and ice cream. It is a little sad, but also exciting to see how grown up Jacob is becoming. He is such a good, kind and funny kid:

We welcomed Spring with a snowstorm or two:

We went to the most amazing zoo in Colorado Springs. Our favorite part was when the bear came right up to the window and just about scared Ryan to death. They were fishing right in from of us! The kids were even able to feed the Giraffes. The zoo did not have as many animals as most, but the ones we did see were truly amazing.

And, we spent a lot of time playing outside and going to parks:

Throw in a dozen soccer and baseball practices and that about sums up our Spring Track Off.

Disneyland

We just returned from a fun week at Disneyland with my mom and Layna and her family. It really is the happiest place on earth! We had the best time and can't wait to return in another two years (it will take us at least that long to recover from the drive!)! Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the trip:

Ryan riding the Merry Go Round with the Mad Hatter:

Jacob flirting with Dori:

My mom with the grandkids:

Playing along with a fun bluegrass band:

Jacob was chosen to be part of the High School Musical 3 show:




And lastly, my favorite picture of all! Jacob is at that age where he has to be cool at all times so, even when a ride scares him to death he tries to act like it is no big deal. However, I think we can all tell how he really feels:

Favorites:

Kelly: California Screamin', Splash Mountain

Angie: Soarin' Over California, It's A Small World

Jacob: Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mulholland Madness

Ryan, California Screamin', Space Mountain

Laynie: the Parades

Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand

For Christmas Santa Claus gave us tickets to the Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband concert. Isn't Santa Claus the best?! We went to the concert on Friday night and had a great time. The concert was very interactive and super kid friendly! Jacob could not believe how energetic the band was. He thought they must drink a lot of pop to be able to keep going like that! If you have never heard their music before, purchase a CD, you won't be sorry!

Fun Facts

Last January we filled out a questionnaire about ourselves. This year we included our answers in a book that we made for Kelly's mom. The book includes answers from Kelly's two brothers, his sister and their families. It is so fun to have a record of our likes and dislikes to look back on. Here are this year's anwers:

Fun Facts about Kelly:

Occupation: Social Worker (Adoption Supervisor)
Where did you go to college? Ricks College; California State University Sacramento
How many states have you lived in? What are they? 5: Idaho, California, South Carolina, Utah, Colorado
5 material things you could not live without: car, guitar, GPS, cell phone, computer
If you could travel anywhere where would you go? The moon
first thing you would buy if you had a million dollars? A new house with a big backyard
Describe yourself in 3 words: busy, helpful, fun
if you could have one talent what would it be? Mad skills on the guitar
3 people you admire: my sister Cammi, my dad, Jane Adams (first social worker)
favorite holiday, why? Halloween because you get to dress up.
favorite hobby: Geocaching
favorite color: Green
favorite animal: Dog
favorite dessert: pumpkin pie
favorite food: Chinese food
Favorite candy: peanut m&ms
favorite drink: peach fresca
favorite restaurant: Outback Steakhouse
favorite movie: Nacho Libre
favorite band/singer: Jack Johnson
favorite song: Sleep Through the Static by Jack Johnson
favorite book: The Book of Mormon
favorite vacation spot: Goblin Valley
favorite sport: Basketball
favorite team: Nuggets

Fun Facts about Angie:

Occupation: Mom; Preschool Teacher
Where did you go to college? Brigham Young University
How many states have you lived in? What are they? 5: California, Utah, Idaho, South Carolina, Colorado
5 material things you could not live without: books, Windex, hairspray, Purell, computer
If you could travel anywhere where would you go? England
first thing you would buy if you had a million dollars? My house (pay for it in full) and use the rest for our children’s college fund
Describe yourself in 3 words: rule follower, creative, friendly
if you could have one talent what would it be? To be able to sing
3 people you admire: Mom, Great Grandma, Mother in Law
favorite holiday, why? Christmas because we celebrate Jesus’ birth and it is all about family, friends, and food!
favorite hobby: sewing
favorite color: Yellow
favorite animal: hippopotamus
favorite dessert: Lemon Ice Box Pie
favorite food: I can’t eat it anymore, but I have always loved Fettuccine Alfredo
Favorite candy: red and black licorice
favorite drink: Lemonade
favorite restaurant: Los Hermanos
favorite movie: Some Kind of Wonderful
favorite band/singer: I like silence much more than music!
favorite song: Wicked Soundtrack
favorite book: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Glass Lake, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
favorite vacation spot: NYC
favorite sport: Synchronized Swimming (it is a sport!)
favorite team: Team USA at the Olympics

Fun Facts about Jacob:

How many states have you lived in? What are they? 4: California, Utah, South Carolina, Colorado 5 material things you could not live without: headphones, MP3 Player, my mom, bike, skateboard and scooter
If you could travel anywhere where would you go? Disneyworld
first thing you would buy if you had a million dollars? A PSP, Wii and a cell phone
Describe yourself in 3 words: busy, helpful, fun
if you could have one talent what would it be? To become a Rock Star with a mohawk
3 people you admire: Dad, Michael Jackson, Jesus
favorite holiday, why? Christmas because I like getting presents.
favorite hobbies. Baseball, Football, Basketball, collecting rocks.
favorite color. Hot Pink

favorite animal. Tea cup poodle
favorite dessert. All of them
favorite food. Spaghetti
Favorite candy. Lemonade coated wild cherry nerds
favorite drink. Peach Fresca
favorite restaurant. Cold Stone
favorite movie. Any Harry Potter movie (that’s PG)
favorite band/singer. Michael Jackson
favorite song. Thriller
favorite book: Any Harry Potter book
favorite vacation spot. Hawaii
favorite sport. Football

favorite team. Broncos

Fun Facts about Ryan:

How many states have you lived in? What are they? 3: South Carolina, Utah, Colorado
5 material things you could not live without: T.V., DVD player, my family (insists this is a material thing!), glasses, bike
If you could travel anywhere where would you go? Paris
first thing you would buy if you had a million dollars? I would save it.
Describe yourself in 3 words: funny, obedient, nice
if you could have one talent what would it be? To fly
3 people you admire: Buzz Lightyear, Jesus, Dad
favorite holiday, why? Halloween because we get to go Trick or Treating
favorite hobby: driving my mom crazy or playing outside
favorite color: Yellow
favorite animal: Rhino
favorite dessert: s’mores
favorite food: pizza
Favorite candy: candy cane
favorite drink: Fresca
favorite restaurant: Casa Bonita
favorite movie: Toy Story
favorite band/singer: Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband
favorite song: Banjo Boy
favorite book: Danny and the Dinosaur
favorite vacation spot: Disneyland
favorite sport: Soccer
favorite team: Scorpions (my soccer team)

Fun Facts about Laynie:

Occupation: causing trouble
Where do you go to school? Mrs. Angie’s Preschool
How many states have you lived in? What are they? 1-Colorado
5 material things you could not live without: Goldfish, sippy cup, jacket, hat, and shoes
Describe yourself in 3 words: stubborn, cute, spoiled rotten
3 people you admire: my mom, my mom and my mom
favorite hobby: fighting with Ryan, dancing, and climbing
favorite dessert: ice cream
favorite food: any kind of dip
favorite drink: milk

SURPRISE!

Last weekend we flew to California to surprise Kelly's parents. We had not seen them in 16 months so we were thrilled to have the opportunity to go. We flew to California and then rode in a limousine to Kelly's parents home. I am still not sure which Jacob enjoyed more, surprising his grandparents or riding in the limousine!

While there we were able to catch up with one of Kelly's brothers and also his sister and their families who came for the weekend as well. We stayed with my brother and his family which made the weekend even more special for me. We ate lots of delicious food (I still think Judy had to have guessed we were coming. She had so much food that we didn't even have to go shopping once we arrived!), had a birthday dinner for Judy in a yummy Italian restaurant and spent lots of time playing with the cousins. Laynie was a perfect angel despite no naps and Ryan kept saying, "this was the best weekend of his entire life!"

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip:

Ryan and his cousin loved playing Star Wars,

Laynie getting too much attention,

Laynie with Grandpa Dennis,

Judy's fun party,

Kelly with his family,

wishing Judy Happy Birthday,

and having all of the grand kids together!

Snowboarding

For Christmas, Jacob received money to go snowboarding. This is something he has wanted to do for a very long time. He was so excited to go the day after Christmas. Kelly made the great sacrifice and went along with Jacob! They left early in the morning and did not return until late that night. They both had a little trouble walking around the next day (Jacob had never experienced sore muscles before!), but said it was so much fun!

This is how Jacob said he spent most of his day:

Here are two more pictures from their fun day: