Band and Choir Concert May 2009

I love going to my kid's band and choir concerts. I am always amazed at how much they learn during such a short time. Hayley has now been playing the clarinet since fourth grade. She loves it and she is very talented in anything having to do with music.

This was Seth's first year in band, and look at the determination on his face. He also is very talented musically, and his teacher loves to have him be the example of what she wants the other band students to do.
Hayley loves to sing also, and her musical interests require alot of sacrifice from her. She has to be to school a whole hour early four days a week. She is very determined and loves to be at both band and choir. I love to watch her, and she does not choke in front of an audience. Its amazing to me!

Slide Rock - April 25, 2009

I have many childhood memories of Slide Rock, and my family would go every summer. We decided to take the kids one weekend, and we had a slippin' good time. Part of the hazard of Slide Rock is that is very slippery. Seth unfortunately slid and hit his head pretty hard, and decided because of his headache he was done.
On the other hand, Jared, Hayley, and Emilee loved going down the natural slides. They were a bit unsure at first, but curiosity has a way of overcoming fear in the end. Granted they did walk away with a few battle scars - scraps, bruises etc.
You can't see him, but Tank is sitting as far away as he could from the slides. He would become a little nervous for his brothers and sisters from time to time, but would always remain safely away. By the way he is the speck behind the two boulders. We love our water fearing boy!
I love the red rocks of Sedona. My kids are on the ledge here hiking out of Slide Rock back to our car. Along the way they found a painter painting Slide Rock on a canvas the size of a small car. It was pretty cool to see such talent and appreciate it.

Badger Springs - April 2009

One of our favorite family pastimes is hiking. We all love it. In April, we decided to hike to Badger Springs. What is great about this particular hike is the reward at the end. What is the reward - well it is two things. First, you can see some cool petroglyphs, and second you can wade in the cool spring.
This is a fun, fun, funtastic hike. There is so much to see and explore along the way. Since it ends at a deadend, everyone can go at their own pace, and you don't have to worry about losing anyone. YEAH!
Here is the reward, by the time we hiked back everyone was soaking wet. (Including Mommy). There was another family there, and the Mom did not want her children in the water so she told them there were leaches. Don't worry - there were no leaches!
Sammy loving every minute of it. She is definately my water baby. No Fear - No Worries - Mostly because she knows that she will be saved by the calvary if she does run into trouble.

Happy Easter 2009!

I usually forget to take pictures on Easter after church, but this year I remembered.  The kids were pretty obliging except the sun was constantly in their eyes.  I so remember that as a kid. Not fun - so we tried to take a few as fast as possible.
Hayley made a cute bunny costume for her elephant Elefun.  She made it out of Wipes and staples.  I think it is time to teach her how to sew?  She is already doing it herself, I know once she learned some things she will love it.
We decorated eggs - usually we do it a few days before, but we have been so busy lately.  My kids love to decorate eggs.  We ended up decorating the eggs late Saturday - its a tradition and I could not just forget about it.
Jared listened to his IPod and decorated eggs.  I think his favorite were the ones he added faces to.  I liked this picture of him smiling and his egg smiling.  Loads of fun!

Easter Egg Hunt

We have Easter Egg Hunts like most do.  This tradition came into being after we took our kids to a public Easter Egg Hunt and they ended up with one egg each.  We felt like we could do better. Every year we arrange for the Easter Bunny to drop eggs into our yard.  The Easter Bunny was kind enough to color code the eggs for each child.  For example, Hayley would hunt for just the purple eggs, and the eggs were hidden (difficulty depending on the child).
Here is Emilee showing off the pink egg she just found.  My kids get so excited they will just go in their bare feet.  With church being at 8AM, we had to wait until after church to do the hunt. Luckily I know the Easter Bunny's cell phone number and he texted me when he had left the eggs.

The boys found the jackpot on top of the play fort.  Unfortunately most of the eggs were the little kids.

Samantha found her egg in the tree - notice the one at her feet.  She really got into the Easter Egg Hunt especially after she discovered what laid inside.

Little Funny Man

When Tank was little he was so miserable because his Speech was getting in the way.  Now that he is talking so well, we now see a different boy.  Tank is so funny and loves to make people laugh.  He is so happy.  We often joke that we just have to give Tank a cardboard box for his birthday and he would be happy.

Dr. Tank checking in.....he loves to dress up too.  He is such a happy, sweet, and loveable boy. We really love him and are so glad he is a part of our family.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

My girls every once in awhile surprise me by dressing up.  Now sometimes they dress as princesses, but sometimes they come up with some fun and unique outfits of their own.  This was one of the days.  Emilee has an Axle Rose look going on and watch out for the attitude it is real and it can leave a mark.
Samantha decided to join in the fun.  Her interpretation is a little twist from her sisters.  I loved the red socks she put on her hands to look like gloves.

I love these girls.  Emilee, since she was little, had her own style and fashion sense.  Taking her shopping has always been fun.  She is never afraid of telling me her opinion on the clothes I pick out for her.  She also sometimes will say "that shirt is okay for Hayley but I'm never wearing it."  Samantha loves to be dressed in her sister's creations.  I can't wait to see where this will head in the future.

Happy Birthday Hayley!

Our Hayley is Eleven.  One more year and she will be in Young Womens.  Where did the time go?  Hayley is our creative child.  She loves music, and can sing and play the piano and clarinet. If Hayley ever had a difficult word that she could not memorize for the spelling test, all I would need do was to put the word to a song and she would memorize it.  Hayley is my helper extroadinaire.  In fact she is like a second Mom.  She will send the kids to their rooms before I even get there to break up a fight.  Sometimes I think I am no longer necessary.  Perhaps I have done my job too well.  YEA RIGHT!
For Hayley's activity she wanted to go camping.  We headed up to Apache Maid for a few days. Hayley wanted Cheesecake for her birthday but Mom forgot the candles.  So we became resourceful and used matches for candles.  They blew out before she could blow them out.

Annie Oakley Watch Out!

I have learned that when my kids do something funny and interesting that I need to drop what I am doing and grab the camera.  This was definately one of those days.  Sammy decided to dress up in her brother's cowboy outfit and she even had the attitude as well.  It was funny.  She loves to pose for the camera, but she would do a different face or attitude everytime I took a picture.
Here is another pose with the face that would scare most cowboys out of a gunfight.  I wouldn't want to mess with her.  We love this girl and all of her Sass.

Jared is EIGHT!

Jared turned eight today!  He is so excited to get baptized.   We love having birthdays because as parents Matt and I reflect on what makes the birthday child special to us and to our family. Jared has a great sense of humor.  He is an awesome Lego builder.  He is a little paranoid which makes us laugh, and  is always worried that something is poisonous.  He is a bit of a tease and sometimes teases to the point of a fight.  Obviously, he is still learning about boundaries and respect for others feelings.  He will eat anything covered in chocolate.  He is a very thoughtful boy and I love listening to his insights.    
Jared was baptized on March 29, 2009.  It was kind of cool having Jared baptized on Sunday.  It seemed like it was the perfect ending to the Sabbath Day.  I asked him if he had any special thoughts and his thoughts were:  "What if the water is too cold, what if the water is too hot, what if my hair sticks up."  Very Jared.  His Dad baptized him, Seth gave a talk on baptism, Hayley sang a special song, Uncle John talked on the Holy Ghost and gave him a cool flashlight, and we were surrounded by family and friends.  It was great!

A Day in the Snow!

We went for the day to the Snow Play Area north of Flagstaff.  Our kids love to sled and play in the snow.  We try to get up there once a year.  They love it.  Here Seth and Jared are zooming down the hill.  Toward the end of the day, Jared was going down backwards.  Crazy Fun!
Samantha decided to brave sledding by herself.  No worries for her.  She spent alot of time throwing snowballs at her mother and building a snowman.
Daddy had alot of fun trying to speed down the hill fast and at the same time make his children scream with terror and excitement.  I think he accomplished this many times.  At the start of the hill my kids had looks of fear and then smiles at the end when the came to a halt.  Here is Tank having one of Dad's Wild Rides.  Whoo EEE  Whoo!
Hello Snowbunny!  If you look carefully Hayley brought her WebKinz Hedgehog with her sledding.  She has it zippered up in her jacket.  Hayley loves adventure, she is up for anything.  I love that about her.
Emilee had a great time, until her clothes were soaked and her feet frozen.  After that she was done and ready for the heat in the truck.   She was fun to watch because she attempted several times to sled down the hill without a sled, just on her tummy.  Fun until she was soaked and frozen.  All and all it was a fantastic day!

Jerome - Ghost Town

We went to Jerome and went to the Ghost Town.  We love Jerome and go pretty often.  Our kids love looking at unusual things and in this case old things.
This is Matt's favorite thing to see. This is an old camper.  Me-I am grateful for our camper thankyou very much.  This camper is definately someone's invention.

Here is proof that my children have a mother.  This is in front of the old mine shaft.
I have pictures of each of my kids playing dead.  For some reason they all love to get into the coffin and pose for the camera.  Here Tank is playing the part.

Happy Valentines Day 2009

Valentines Weekend we decided to go camping.  We parked at the Dead Horse Ranch in Cottonwood.  A really neat place with hiking, parks, lakes etc.  We were 10 minutes from Jerome and about an hour from the snow. My kids love any holiday that they can enjoy candy. Here they are diving into their bags.
We were able to go on a few hikes.  My kids love to be outdoors and hiking is something that we all enjoy.  On this particular hike they found an old abandoned cabin.  Everything abandoned is given the title "Scary Witch House", which just adds to the excitement. 

Monster Truck Jam

This has been a tradition for us.  The Monster Truck Jam is something that we as a family can all enjoy.  This year a friend of ours had a daughter who was racing in the mini trophy truck race they have at half time.  So we made posters and had a blast.  We love Grave Digger like most others, but this year my kids loved watching "Backwards Bob".  It appears as if he is driving backward through the course, in actuality he is not.  But it is so fun to watch the deception.
Matt-Tank-Jared
Seth-Samantha
Kylie-Hayley
Emilee-Madi

Karate Graduation for Seth and Jared 1/24/09

Yes another Karate Graduation, Seth and Jared are now Yellow Belts.  One more belt and they begin sparring with others.  Yipes!  Watch out.  It is so interesting to me how Karate becomes so second nature.  I guess with practice, it trains you to be that way.  It is so fun to watch them. Seth was the first to receive his belt.  His instructor loves him, he is so focused and exact its almost uncanny. 
Here is Jared getting his new belt.  He is a bit wiggley.  So the Karate Master has to get after him from time to time.  But I also see his instructor smile as well at some of his antics.  I am glad someone else enjoys his sense of humor.

Babysitting Gone Wild!

Kylie babysits for us all the time, sometimes at a moments notice.  She also helps us with housework, my kids call her "the maid".  Working on the attitude with my kids, but we love her and its said with humor.  Anyway I had to take this picture because she is so much more to us than just a babysitter.  I joke with her that if anything happens to Matt and I that I hope she is prepared to be mother. Ha Ha!  

Montezuma's Well 1/19/2009

We were invited along with the Geisers by the Pfaffs and went to Montezuma's Well.  Our family loves this area.  Its a great time to get outdoors and have fun.  Jason Pfaff pitched several hundred balls to the kids who took turns hitting.  They had alot of fun!
We decided to make popsicle boats to float in the little stream, but the little stream dried up or was shut off.  It did not take them long to locate the river.  But they all had so much fun building their boats.
The river was a blast.  The kids would send down their boats and run and try to get them before they were lost.  Jared took advantage of this fun and ended up getting thoroughly soaked.  If there is a puddle around you can be sure that Jared will end up wet or muddy.  Emilee sent her boat down one time and it got away from her.  Luckily Josh Pfaff went to her rescue and retrieved it for her.  Truly a KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR, at least in her mind.  It was great fun.  We really love both of these families and consider them great friends.  They are truly a positive example to us and to our children.