~4 Things Tag~

4 Jobs I've Had:
~Orthodontic Assistant
~Recess Guard
~Secretary
~Bus Girl at Elk Ridge Restaurant

4 TV Shows I Watch:
~Grey's Anatomy
~Lost
~L.A. Ink
~American Idol

4 Places I've Been:
~Hawaii
~Wisconsin
~Mt. Rushmore
~Yellowstone Park

4 People Who Email Me:
~Laura
~Bonnie
~Aunt Sue
~Jacci

4 Of My Favorite Foods:
~Fruits and Veggies
~Funeral Potatoes
~Steak
~Cheesecake

4 Places I Would Rather Be:
~Hawaii
~At My Mom's
~Getting a Massage
~Laying In My Bed

4 Friends I Tag:
~Jax
~Rochelle
~Tanya B
~Arah

4 Things I Look Forward To In 2008:
~Family Vacations
~San Diego
~Warmer Weather
~Kindergarten :)

"Weight Problem"

Everyone knows I love my dog...if you love your dog you feed it treats! Right?? Apparently not! ~Emmy had her checkup at the vet today. I was informed in a very stern manner that my dog "is overweight." To which I responded, "I know..isn't it cute?" I then got a lecture on the care and well being of my animal. So...now my poor little hungry puppy is on a diet. I guess if I want to prove to the vet that I love her she needs to lose 3 lbs. by her next visit. So Emmy and I are hitting the gym. We have 6 months to shed her extra pounds. I'm already having a hard time with her diet...when we got home I gave her a milk bone when we walked in the door....after all she did have to get shots today!!! I mean Come On! Emmy...our diet starts tomorrow!

HiPpiTy HoPpiTy

Cutest Lil Easter Bunnies Ever!

We took our traditional trip to Blanding for Easter. The kids look forward to this every year..and even though Bryan and I felt like we just got home from vacation..we couldn't disappoint them!

Egg decorating

Grandma had the kids decorating eggs first thing Saturday morning...they were still in their pajamas...which turned out to be a good thing with the two little boys!
Off to Recapture Pockets for our annual Easter picnic...

Let's go fly a kite!

The winds weren't really cooperating...so Daddy and Jace decided to use the 4-wheeler to get Camry's kite up and flying. Pretty inventive I must say!

Bubbles and Sand

Our kids LOVE to get down and dirty!

I wanted to get a photo of this..one of the adults was holding Camry up into the hole in this rock. Isn't this the most beautiful place ever!...hope no one gets any ideas about stealing our spot next year!

Look Mom! I caught a lizard!

The boys were THRILLED with this find! Easton caught a lizard...they were a little sad to find out we weren't going to let them take it home!
Aunt Jacci got the scare of her life when our new pet got loose and decided to climb up her pant leg! We all got a good laugh...thankfully when she shook her legs he decided to come out!

The Mighty Egg Hunters Kaleb and Easton egg hunting
Maddie thinks everything is an accessory! I love this little "bucket head"!
Jace was so excited to hunt for eggs..he was actually "skipping" for eggs!
Camry is the best big cousin ever! She had tons of fun helping miss Maddie find her eggs.

Easter Sunday
We went to church with Grandma and Grandpa. It's always nice to go to church and remember the reasons why we celebrate Easter...(I mean besides the bunny, candy, etc. :) We heard some great talks and it was fun to see all of the familiar faces of the Blanding 4th ward! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for a great weekend!

Autograph Night

Our little Jazz fan was in heaven!

Bryan took Easton to the Jazz Autograph signing. He had some of his favorite players sign his jersey....

Ronnie Brewer, Ronnie Price, Matt Harpring, Andrei Kirilenko

They had some long lines to get autographs and no photos were allowed (sad for me) But...they had an awesome time together!

Grandma Does It Better....

My wonderful mother spent 9 long days watching our kids while we vacationed in Hawaii. She never complained.. but, I know from experience that this was no vacation for her! It's funny because when I took her to the airport she mentioned how she was sure the kids were going to tattle on her for all of the things that she did wrong. Quite the opposite I must say...I have heard a lot of "Grandma does that faster..." "Grandma makes that yummier..." "But Grandma lets me..." etc.. etc.. I'm so thankful that we could leave our most prized possessions at home and not have to worry about them the whole time! Thank you mom! I love you!

Grandma Gail's Week In Review

Easton home sick for 2 days...Lucky guy had Grandma to take care of him. This is what I always wish for when I'm sick!
Grandma even let's Emmy break the rules! (for those of you who don't know ...Emmy is forbidden from entering the "pretty room" and does not sit on the furniture!)
Going on a picnic...the picnic was interrupted when a random dog ate Easton's sandwich...this was the source of much laughter!
Der looking quite tired...eating his delicious bowl of Fruity Pebbles. He says Grandma Gail is just like an older version of me....I took that as a compliment!
Grandma shared the bed with Emmy....now that takes patience! I'm pretty sure the dog is missing Grandma at bed time!
"Why can't we sleep in your room? Grandma let's us!"
Apparently Grandma makes the best tacos...and she makes them faster than me! Jace had 3! He was hungry!

Happy 36th Bryan!

Happy Birthday to the best looking guy I know! I love you babe! Hope you have a great day!

(notice I didn't post a picture of him in a green shirt...he hates that he shares his birthday with "Green Day" as our kids like to call it!)

Hawaiian Vacation

I have decided to go on a slideshow strike. I just recently finished my 2007 blog book and found out that blurb can't upload your slideshows. So...please excuse the extremely long post....for selfish reasons I am documenting my trip in this form!

On Our Way!

boys together...girls together....more fun this way!

Waikiki Beach

This is Trent...but we like to refer to him as "Scuba Steve"!

Me and Tanya~first day on the beach

Pool TimeSometimes you just have to get away from all of the sand. The pool at the Sheraton (where we stayed) was awesome! They had Hawaiian music playing and served us cool towels and fresh pineapple.

Dinner TimeWe had dinner one night at a place called "Chucks Cellar". It was downtown Waikiki and so yummy! It took Bonnie until the end of the meal to figure out we were actually eating in a cellar! (we still love her)
jacci, me, laura,bonnie, linda, tanya

Pearl Harbor

Arizona Memorial

Me and Bonnie aboard the USS Missouri

trent, bryan, me, corey, jacci, tanya, laura, linda, bonnie, jeff in front of the Utah flag outside of the USS Missouri

Bryan and I overlooking the bridge to Pearl Harbor

Frisbee, Football, and Boogie Boards

We spent a lot of time at the beach. The guys spent a ton of time in the water...the girls spent a ton of time on the sand. Nothing like warm sand and a good book! ...I did venture out into the ocean a couple of times...although I must say the shore is better!


Polynesian Cultural Center

The girls getting some Samoan lovin'!

Me and my honey at the Luau

The whole family

Pineapple Plantation

The girls are ready for the Pineapple Express!

Does this photo need an explanation??...Mike wore this shirt on pineapple plantation day...wonder why!? We almost lost him a couple of times!

Riding the lame train. Even though this was somewhat of a letdown we still had a great time. Being together makes everything fun! We had some really good laughs about our train ride...

Hanauma Bay

Overlooking Hanauma Bay. We spent several days here. It was beautiful! An amazing snorkeling spot that we just couldn't stay away from!

bonnie, me, tanya, jacci
Even the girls had a go at snorkeling. I had some sand stuck in my snorkel so I couldn't get air for a minute....thought I might drown till Jacci saved me by cleaning the sand out of my snorkel!

Food..

Greg and his 6 pound burrito!
Jacci had this salad with this enormous piece of lettuce that we had to document! It took up the whole bowl!
We had dinner with one of Mike's old missionary companions and his family. They were the nicest people...even picking up the tab for our gigantic family! It was fun to meet them and hear stories of Grandpas mission.

Helicopter Tour

The family ready to board the "bird". A must do for anyone who makes a trip to Hawaii. It is amazing what you can see from the air. The highlight of our trip!

Whales from the sky

Delayed...CANCELED


There were some mixed emotions flying around about our flight home being canceled. They said it was due to mechanical problems, but we all assumed it had to do with Southwest flights being grounded for safety violations. Needless to say most of us weren't too upset about having to spend another night in paradise. They gave us V.I.P. treatment by putting us up in the Hilton and giving us 2 free roundtrip tickets to use within the next year.

Thankfully Bryan and I had an amazingly understanding babysitter at home...so we didn't have to stress about our kids for another day! Thanks mom!

The view from our balcony at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The airline also made sure we had meal vouchers for dinner, breakfast, and lunch.

On our way back to the airport for a second time.

Mahalo! to Mom and Dad for taking us all on the trip of a lifetime! We had so much fun and will have memories to last a lifetime! And a million thanks to my Mom for taking time off of work and spending an exhausting week at my house taking care or our kids and cousin Derek! We love you all!