FUN with my sisters

Last weekend my sister Julie and I got to go to GEORGIA to visit my sister Jen and her adorable family.  It was so much fun and so good to hug and kiss them all again.  Jackson got to tag along with us as well.  We arrived Friday evening and made it back to Jen and Steve's around 7:30.  Jackson and I started out Friday morning and flew into Denver where we met up with Julie.  We had an hour and a half before our next flight left so we went to an awesome restaurant in the airport and had lunch. The flight to Atlanta was perfect.  Julie busted out some Sudoku and we gave it a try.  Jackson slept.  It was great.  Jen and Alyssa met us at the airport. It was so good to see them. 

Saturday morning we helped clean at the new house they are moving into this week.  Julie and I needed to get a run in so Steve gave us a map and we ran over to the new house.  It was a gorgeous run and the air was amazing to breathe.  It was a big difference. 



All the cute kiddos (minus Em) vegged on the couch watching Saturday morning cartoons.

The new house is adorable with so much room and a HUGE backyard.  I am so excited for them.  We had fun cleaning and getting things ready to move into.  Afterwards, we came back to their apartment, showered and got ready to go to Stone Mountain.   We spent half the day at Stone Mountain and it was a perfect day.  I couldn't believe that every day there was still in the high 80's!  Steve kept Eli home, so just the girls (and Jackson) went. We missed Eli and Steve.  Julie, Em, and Meg did this awesome ropes course while Jen, Lyssa, Jackson and I played in the creek, ate fudge, and played on the other toys they had.  It was so much fun to just chill and enjoy the day.


Alyssa, Meg and Jackson by the creek

Jen and Lyssa

Jackson really loved the fudge.. can you tell?

We loved this decorated pumpkin

Julie, Em, Meg, Lyss, Jen and me

Jen and her cute girls

Julie and Lyssa on the zip line

Meg and Lyssa zippin' along

Here is the 1st level of the ropes course they did

Ready to cross another section

After we finished playing on the zip line and climbing tower we walked back to the car to get our picnic dinner.  There were tables right where we parked so we enjoyed a nice little picnic.  We had some crazy hornets join us, but we all used our mad swatting skills to get rid of them. 

Meg, Em, and Julie

After dinner they put on an amazing laser/firework show on the mountain.. hence the name Stone Mountain.

My darling sisters

Jackson all bundled up

Jacks and Meg dancing

Getting ready for the show



 

Here you can see the mountain behind the kids.  It is HUGE!

We had such a great day and loved seeing all that Stone Mountain had to offer (well, most of it).  It was a crazy, busy day there, but great nonetheless.

Sunday was the Primary Program practice at church.  It was fun to sit and listen to all the kids.  Jen did an amazing job writing the program.  She is a wonderful Primary President.   Steve also taught Gospel Doctrine and did a great job.  I wish I would have heard all of his lesson, but due to Jackson's blow out I spent a good portion of the time in the Mothers Lounge :)

Monday we went shopping.  We always have to get a shopping trip in when we are together.  We were hungry after we started so we grabbed a bite to eat at Chick-Fil-A.  Love that we all got kids meals.



Monday night after the kids were tucked in bed, we went back over to the new house to paint Jen's entryway benches.  It was so handy having Em stay home and watch the kids.



Steve and Eli hanging up some blinds.  He is such a cutie

Jen taking a turn painting

Julie and I attempting to paint.. I hope it turned out okay..??

Tuesday morning came and it was time to say goodbye.  It is never long enough, but it was so great to see everyone. We had to say good-bye to all the kids before they left for school.  They are all such amazing kids.  It is hard to be so far away from them.

Jackson helping Julie pack her suitcase

Saying good-bye to Alyssa and Meg

All ready for school.  Aren't they adorable.

Julie and Em.  She is the Student Body president at her middle school.

We went out to eat at Panera Bread for lunch before heading to the airport.  It was so yummy. 

It was hard to say goodbye. I am so grateful for the time I do get spend with them.  My sisters have become 2 of my very best friends and I love it!  They are amazing people.

The flight home was uneventful (thank heavens).  Jackson fussed a little bit on the flight from Atlanta to Denver, but didn't make a peep on the flight from Denver to SLC.   I always worry about that.  On the way to Atlanta a little boy screamed the EnTiRe 2 1/2 hours. Yikes!  Julie hung out with me in Denver until my plane left.  I am so grateful that she was with me most of the way.

It was fun seeing my family waiting to pick me up at the curb.  They had LOTS to tell me on the way home :)

I am so grateful to Sean for ALWAYS letting me go no matter what.  He did a great job being the mom and dad for 5 days.  He had the house clean, the kids homework done, and took them to do fun things every day I was gone, not to mention juggling all the work he still had to do every day.  Thanks babe.  You are the best.

they say it's your birthday...

Happy birthday babe! You are still a young spring chicken even though Rylee told you otherwise. (:
 Here are 37 fun facts about the birthday boy:

1. He is never too busy for family stuff (even though he really is)
2. He did a triathlon this summer without even training first.. STUD!
3. He is Tayler's soccer coach & loves every minute of it.  His team is really getting good too.
4. He makes AWESOME pizza.
5. He loves to cook ( i know, i'm lucky)
6. He put in our whole sprinkling system by himself (on a 1/2 acre was no easy feat).
7. He sings the BYU fight song as loud as he can to wake the kids up Saturday or Sunday mornings.
8. He is SO smart.  His brain is amazing.
9. He loves to teach Gospel Doctrine
10. He is a HUGE BYU fan
11.  He has naturally curly hair
12. He loves to make up nicknames
13. He falls asleep in seconds.
14. His favorite restaurants are Pizza Perfect and Robintinos
15. He loves to dress nicely
16. He is a jokester
17. He loves shoes (really..)
18. He is way laid back.  Nothing really stresses him out to badly.
19. His favorite show is Modern Family (one of them I guess.. he has a few)
20. He is really into running right now & can go forever if he has the time.
21. He loves his family and encourages us to be the best we can be and NEVER give up.
22. He really wants to get a boat
23. He likes to read.
24. He was the Valedictorian of his high school
25. He served a mission in Kentucky
26. He graduated with his undergrad from the U of U (YET, # 10 is true).
27. He is a swimmer
28, He is #2 of 6 kids
29. He loves to throw parties
30. He has a Masters Degree
31. He is very thoughtful and caring
32. He likes to play sports.  He broke his arm one Thanksgiving playing football.
33. He is very strong in his beliefs
34. He is kind of a perfectionist about some things
35. He is a hottie
36. He is a wonderful dad and husband
37. He  is 100% supportive and makes things happen if I ask.

I am grateful that he was born 37 years ago.  Love you babe!

**( I'm not sure why this didn't post yesterday?  oh well, he is 37 years and 1 day now :)

add another year

Well I am officially another year older (and hopefully wiser too).  Yesterday was a typical Monday, but thanks to family and friends it was wonderful for the otherwise mundane Monday.

Thank you for all the calls, texts, cards, emails, facebooks, etc.  I love you all and appreciate you more than you will ever know.  Thank you!

Sunday night Sean told me that he would be staying late at work for spin class, which he typically does on Monday's, so I didn't think anything of it, except-- "that sucks."  I figured that we already celebrated on Friday so it wasn't that big of a deal.
   
Yesterday afternoon I was totally craving Crown Burger so I took Jayson, Rylee and Jackson with me.  It was fun.  Jayson kept singing happy birthday at the top of his lungs.  Pretty sure the WHOLE restaurant was well informed that it was my birthday.

Sean sent me a text around 4 saying that he wasn't really planning to stay for spin (that was just suppose to throw me off).  He said he would be home soon after he ran some errands.  He came home and we went to the park and had a picnic dinner.  It was awesome.  Simple and perfect.  I was with my little family and was happy.  He also bought me an ice cream cake, which are my FaVoRiTe! (i didn't think he remembered that).  He was determined to fit ALL the candles on too.  I was ready to get the fire extinguisher out-- just in case!  After we came home, the kids put their p.j.'s on and went right to sleep.  Thanks again to everyone.

happy weekend

This weekend was so much fun.  I was able to spend time with my hubby (on a date) on Friday evening and also spent time with my mom Saturday for the Women's Conference.  It was awesome!  I loved every minute of both nights.

Friday I came home from work and Sean and I left to go out for my birthday.  We enjoyed a great dinner.  It was nice to talk with no interruptions.  I wish it could have lasted longer!  Thanks to his mom and dad for babysitting for us so that we could enjoy some time out together.

Saturday we did the normal soccer game routine.  First was Tay's game and then Rylee played.  They both did awesome.  Rylee scored a goal so on the way home Sean picked her up some Nacho's at Maverick.  She isn't bribed by money, just Nacho's.  She loves those things.   After the games and my run I cleaned up the house a little and then got ready to meet my mom for the General Women's conference.  We had tickets this year to the Conference center.  It was amazing!  We met up at 4:30 and headed into SL.  We found an awesome parking place and then had 45 minutes to spare before we even had to be in our seats.  I was hungry so we tried out the new cafe in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  It definitely didn't disappoint.  It totally hit the spot.  After we crammed our food in we headed over to the conference center.  We had great seats and enjoyed a great evening of uplifting talks.  I am grateful that I am able to spend time with my mom.  She is an amazing lady.  Thank you to Shani for watching the kids that night.  Sean had a work dinner so there was an overlap of time we both wouldn't be there.

It was a wonderful weekend. 

Yesterday I put Jackson down for a nap and within 1 minute I heard a LOUD thud!  Apparently he knows how to scale his crib now.  Oops.  I felt so bad.  I found the screw driver so that we could lower the springs.  Poor kid, I felt so bad.  He is pulling himself up on everything and taking steps.  I thought it would be longer until he walks but maybe not.  Why do they have to grow up so fast? 

Happy Birthday to a GREAT sister!

Hope you have a Perfect day!!

Love you

8 months

Jax turned 8 months on Monday. All I can say is that I feel so lucky to have him.  He is such a great little kid.

fun facts:

• he loves food.  he will stare you down until you share whatever you are eating with him.
• he does hate "fruit" baby food.  He won't eat applesauce, pears, bananas, etc.  He loves all of the "veggies"
• he is barely 14 pounds still
• he loves to sit and play with toys and interact with other people (especially his siblings)
• he is starting to pull himself up on things he can reach.
• he loves to find the doorstops throughout the house and hit them nonstop
• he is happy 99% of the time.
• he rarely cries unless he is hurt, hungry or sick.
• he loves Wow Wow Wubbzy (seriously if he hears it he stops and comes into the living room to watch it and flaps his arms listening to the music).
• he LOVES taking baths

It is so fun watching him grow and change.  I love my little boy.

Sean's debut

Yesterday Sean was interviewed by KSL news talking about Health Care Reform. He was so nervous and it was a last minute thing (the go to guy that usually goes on camera was not there). Anyway, the clip was on this morning and we all watched it. I think he did an amazing job and my kids loved watching their dad. What a smartie he is!
try going here to see it:
www.ksl.com/?sid=&nid=732&tPage=news ( scroll down and find the box that says "some changes in health care start today).
If that link doesn't work go to http://www.ksl.com/ and click on "some changes to health care start today" and then make sure it is on the video tab (which is right next to News on the top in Blue).
I'm proud of you babe!

Sonic BLAST

The kids' school did a big event on Thursday evening called the "Sonic Blast" and it was quite the Bash. Each class put together big baskets that were sold in a silent action. I helped with the Kindergarten baskets and they turned out awesome. It was fun to see everyone and enjoy an evening out and dinner. They had cheeseburgers, hamburgers, corn dogs, cookies, candy, chips, cotton candy, popcorn, a sonic drink station, etc. It was every kids dream. Sean was still gone on his business trip in DC so just the kids and I headed over.

My kids getting ready for the fun run.

Tay was such a good sister and stayed back to help Jayson run.

Jax got a hold of Jayson's corn dog and tried to eat it before I took it away..(good try baby, he didn't get any but sure tried hard)
Me and Jax

Tay and Jayson (I told Tay to do the peace sign).. she is a gangsta :)

Rylee enjoying her dinner

And what night is complete without a picture with the Sonic guy!

We had a fun night and endured the hot, HOT evening.

** funny story: At one point I was talking to my friend and I heard the DJ announce that there was a little boy lost with the name Jayson. I thought "oh that's probably mine" but kept on talking. Well, Tayler went and picked him up (I think she was playing on the playground and was more attentive.) Yep, mother of the Year! I'm just impressed he went to the announcer to tell him that he was lost. Glad he was found.

Sean came home Friday and we are happy to have him home again!

Shining Star

As I mentioned in my last post, Tayler is the "STAR" student for this week. According to her it is the best week EVER! We made a poster on Saturday together that she presented to the class Monday morning. It was fun to work with her on it. I let her do most of the work and pick out the things she wanted to put on her poster. We went with the theme TOP 10. It was fun to see her responses to each question.

**

As the star student, I guess she gets to be the teachers aide for the whole week and for Tayler there is really nothing better than that. They also had chicken nuggets, pot pie and turkey roast on the menu for lunch-- she usually won't eat school lunch, but when she saw her 3 favorite things all in a row she knew it was her week. Ah, to be in 3rd grade again.

**

I think she is a shining star too.

A whole lot of FiRsTs

Yesterday at Tayler and Rylee's soccer games both girls scored their FIRST goals. It was awesome for both of them. Rylee had her game at 8:30 and when she scored I told Tay that she better score too so that Rylee doesn't pass her up. I guess that was all the motivation she needed. She faked out the goalie on the other team and punched it in. I was so proud of both of them.

After the soccer game Sean took off Rylee's training wheels (I'm not sure why we waited so long). Anyway, I went inside to change Jackson's diaper and when I came out she was riding up and down the sidewalk with NO training wheels. FIRST time ever. She picked it up, literally, in 2 minutes. She can stop, start, turn around with no problem. Awesome Ry. Sean had her padded up like a linebacker so if she had fallen she would have bounced back onto her bike. HAHAHA.


Tayler went to her FIRST Activity Days on Friday afternoon. It was darling and they made flower head bands. She loved every minute. I can't believe she is old enough to start doing that.

Jackson is crawling on all 4's now. His FIRST time was yesterday afternoon. He still does scoot around, but if you say "Jackson get up" he pops back up and away he goes.

Tomorrow Tay is the FIRST star student for her class. We made a poster yesterday, so I'll have to snap a picture in the morning.

Last night we went down to our FIRST women's soccer game at the Y. It was fun to watch. The girls watched so intently. Tayler has decided that she wants to be the goalie for BYU and earn a scholarship for it. Sounds good to me. She is getting really good. All of her practice with her Dad is definitely paying off. Same goes to Rylee too. She was amazing in her game. I can't wait until Jayson can play next year. That kid can already dribble and score like crazy. He is an animal.

It was a great weekend! We found out at Church today that we go back to 9:00 instead of 11:00 because our ward is so big. Dang. I was really enjoying 11:00.

Loves!

Jackson's new trick

uh-oh.. not sure I'm ready for this yet. I think he learned it from watching his ultra cool cousin Jake this weekend.

(sorry.. i know the picture is blurry, but I was afraid he would fall)

I'm already struggling with vacuuming and sweeping at least 2 times a day to keep this little guy from eating those teeny tiny things that they ALWAYS find. Now I guess I better get ready to keep an eye on the stairs now. We have never blocked off our stairs from our kids and they have all done so well from really little. I guess I know what I'll be doing every second of the day now. He is growing up too fast. Love this little happy dude!

Special weekend

This weekend was a very special one for our family, especially for our newly turned 8 year old. Tayler was baptized on Saturday and we are all so proud of her and love her so much. My heart was very full all weekend. As we prepared her for her baptism, Sean and I were able to share different experiences with her. This day definitely came quicker than I anticipated it would 8 years ago when she was placed in my arms. I am so proud of the choice she made to be baptized and think she is growing up to be such an amazing girl already. She is such a tender, sweet person.

I am so glad that Tayler was able to be baptized by her dad. They share a very special bond. These are Tayler's words that she wrote in her journal (I asked her permission to share).
" I woke up feeling really excited. I put my baptism clothes on and went downstairs to show everybody. Then we went to the Church to take pictures. Then we went to the chapel till it was our turn. When we went back McKenna went first. Then it was my turn. The water was really heavy. After I went back to get my dress on. Then we went to a different room to be confirmed. I felt the Holy Ghost. Then we took pictures and saw all my friends and every body. Then we went back to my house to have a party."
I loved reading her feelings. She is such a great girl.

Kinsey and Tay- they have been best friends for a very long time.

McKenna and Tayler-- they were both baptized on Saturday from our ward.
Tay and her dad

Afterwards we came back to our house for a luncheon. I am so grateful for everyone that was able to be there to support Tayler on this special day. Family support means the world to me.

The Dunroe clan: Sharla came too, but we didn't get her picture.
Our family, Grandpa Tom & Grandma Shayla, Shane, Shantelle, Emerson and Kamryn.

Everyone from my family was able to be there except for Jen, Steve and their 4 cute kiddos who live very far away. All my other siblings drove or flew in for the big day.

The Linton clan: Ryan, Marcela, Camila, Reyes, our family, Julie, Ashley, Brent, Grandma Linton, Katie, Jared, Cayden and Jacob.

Congratulations Tayler. You did it!

We were also able to go to Tayler's best friend Jessica's baptism. We were sad when we found out that they were going to be baptized on the same day, but the times were different so they were able to come to each others. I wish I had a picture of them. It was a neat day to share together.

I just wanted to express my gratitude to everyone that traveled near and far to be with Tayler on her special day. She also loved reading the letters and cards that were written to her. She received so many thoughtful gifts as well. Each thing will be cherished for a long long time. Jen sent Tayler a beautiful bracelet that she wore so that we had a piece of her family with us as well. Thank you everyone for your thoughtfulness and beautiful words. We really do have such amazing families.

I wish that my family lived closer together, but since we don't, the times we do get to see each other and spend time together are priceless. I love to just hang out with all of them. Saturday we went swimming after the baptism and Sunday we hung out at Mom's until super late! I loved every minute.

Grandma Bodily

Last week was the funeral for Sean's Grandma Bodily. The funeral was wonderful and she left such an amazing posterity. Her husband had passed away in 1986 (I believe), so she has been alone for a long long time. I am sure it was a very joyous reunion. I really enjoy when I see Sean's extended family as well. They are such wonderful people. Sean flew in from St. George the morning of the funeral.

My hubby lookin' hot

The kids were playing so cute together

Graveside services- Sean was a pallbearer.

Grandma Bodily had 5 children: Fern (Jay), Odell (Sheri), Richard (Maxine), Kevan (Renee), and Shayla (Tom).. who are Sean's parents.

Sean with his mom and dad (looks like Grandpa is gearing up for winter :)

I'm glad that we were able to be there. At the funeral, all of the younger grand children sang "I Am a Child of God" and the older grand children sang " Nearer My God to Thee"-- both did a great job. She lived a very full life.