Too long!

There have been 3 major holidays and 4 months have passed and I haven't blogged a word. What a shame! We have had some awesome fun and good times that I need to share.
Halloween:
Halloween was fun as usual. Sophie was a Ute Cheerleader! Her dad was very proud! She changed her costume about three times before she decided on that. Dylan was a Chief! I thought this was brilliant and it was all his idea. He had fun and I think that he was the only Chief in the entire school. I love that! We went to the trunk-or-treat at the church and as usual the kids recieved way too much candy! Then me and the kids went walking around the neighborhood. I make them go door to door it's old school and that's the way it should be. I went as a Oakland Raider Football chick, I think the kids think it's cool when I dress up. As usual we had too much candy and I think that finally I threw most of it away!
Thanksgiving:
Thanksgiving was great! We went to Aunt Lynnie's and as Dylan would say, "Where else would we go?" We were so excited to spend the night too! Black Friday!!! This year the stores opened at 10:00pm on Thanksgiving and you better believe that we hit Wal-Mart first. It was crazy! We all had our assigned spots and instruction for the Queen of Black Friday herself Aunt Lynnie! When the time came I was really scared, I ended up staying by Lynnie. She had made friends with several people and had plans for each one of them. She was like a War Colonel. Through it all there was only one injury, a corner of a box was jabbed in my neck. My sis ended up with 3 computers, 2 printers, and much more. We brought Grannie along for the ride this year and she was a trooper. The next day I had a shopping hangover, I was so tired, but it was all worth it.
Christmas:
Christmas was spent in sunny Arizona! We had a little trip inside of a trip, we are so lucky! We went down to Puerto Penasco, Mexico. We stayed right on the beach in a big house. We had lots of fun!
Highlights:
1)Football on the beach!
2)All and I mean all the boys (5) in the 2 man Kayak! Then tipping over, hilarious!
3)Farkle till the we hours in the morning. Sounded like a frat house.
4)Carmilita's tortillas, I can't eat another unless it's from her. So Yummy!
5)Hunting for shells, my favorite thing!
6)Watching Football! Ya Utes!
7)All of grandma's good cooking!
8)Church on Christmas morning!
9)Playing with the kids and their new toys!
10)Spending time with the each other!
11)After getting a flat tire on the way home, Dylan telling me that he had already prayed twice before we even got out of the car to change it. Love his spirit so much.

Low Lights:
1)Gaining 5 pounds from grandma's good cooking!
2)Sophie getting cellulites on her poor feet, from walking on the coral in Mexico.
3)The Flat tire on the way home!

All and all it was a wonderful vacation. We always love to spend time will family and the kids really love their cousins so much!

Temple:
Jesse and I had a chance to go to the Salt Lake Temple on Oct. 22nd. Robby was getting married but he didn't have enough space for all of the cousins to come but we decided that we would attend the temple anyway. We stayed at the Gateway condos and we walked to the temple, it was a beautiful day and I was so excited to go inside the temple. We had never done a session inside that temple and it was very exciting to us. We decided to do a sealing session and in the SL Temple you have to enter through the Celestial room and as I entered the room my heart swelled with so much love. I started to cry. It is so spiritual in that room. As we entered the sealing room it was so beautiful that I think that I was staring at the walls and the ceiling the entire time. I could feel the spirit so strong. We had a wonderful time and when the session was over we decided to sit in the Celestial room for a while. I watched as people would enter and start praying, I saw a young missionary going through for the first time and his family embracing him one by one, I saw loving elderly couples hand in hand. I was sitting there holding Jesse's hand and thinking there is not another place in the world that I would rather be. I was looking at the walls and the beautiful paintings and I was in awe, I had a thought in my mind that I would love to see a blue print of the temple to know where I am at inside, I have looked at the outside of that Temple my entire life and now I was inside. I was so full of love and I think that I smiled at everything. I then saw a man that was a witness in the sealing room with us and he smiled at me and I was already smiling but I saw him leave the Celestial room and turn around and walk right to me. He asked Jesse and I if we had been in the SL Temple before and I said it was our first time. I think that he could tell by the way we were acting. Then he said come with me. We stood up and followed home to a door and we went inside he was giving us a private tour of the SL Temple, I was dying. He showed us, the old sealing office the old doors that has to be shorted when they installed air conditioning. He showed us the old sealing room that President Monson was married in that is now an entrance to the elevators. He then took us to the beautiful wood doors. The doors that I have always seen but now I was looking at them from the inside out. He told us that we couldn't go any further down the steps but we could stand there and look at them. I remember hearing the wedding parties outside taking their photos. He told us that the member used to enter there and the Temple Matriarch would greet everyone from this certain spot. I was fighting back my tears the entire time. I was amazed that we had this wonderful opportunity, Them he show us the other side of the Holy of all holy room and that is where the prophet and his counselors go to pray. Then he showed us on an office wall a blue print of the temple and were we were standing....I about died, not 5 minutes before that I was sitting in the Celestial room wondering about blue print and where I was in the Temple...What a beautiful day it was one that I will never forget. It goes to show that he is there in His house and prayers and EVEN thoughts are answered in the Temple. I am so glad that I had that wonderful experience and it is one that I will never forget.

Part 2

First day of school! I took about 5 pictures on the first week of school. Sophie is in first grade and it makes me feel sad and old. She loves it she has Mrs. Knotts who is perfect for Sophie, she is soft spoken and is so nice. Dylan has Mrs. Everitt, we are so lucky that we know her so well. We tend her little boy Kelton, so I feel like she really knows Dylan and I like that! I'm sad to have them back in school I like having them around.
Below, Dylan's paper that he brought home from school, I laughed so hard!


Jesse took Dylan on his first, with many more to come, Fathers and Sons outing. They camped out and eat smores. They played Phase 10 in their tent and had a great night. Sophie and I had a girls night out with a trip to Joann's fabric store and then a shake. She was so excited that she got to sleep in my bed. We all had a great weekend.


The Ute game! Jesse's Boss gave him tickets to the Utes first home game. The kids were so excited! Their first Ute game. We had dinner, free parking and the game, it was a great time. However I forgot how we are so careful about what our kids hear and watch and so being around some crazy U fans I had to cover their ears every once in a while!



Random pictures of the one that I love so much!

Summer wrap-up!

Part 1...
All and all we had a wonderful summer. The kids had a great time. I love to have my kids here, I love the late nights outside. I love the trips to the Red Barn for ice cream...Ahh I miss summer. We went to Orchard days here in S-quin. Dylan and Sophie went to the children parade. Sophie fell in the first two minutes of the parade on her bike so she was a little sad. Dylan actually won an award for his decorations on his bike. There is a lot of construction going on in town so I thought that it would be funny to decorate his bike with orange cones...Well the Mayor thought it was funny too.


Next..
The kids have wanted to go to Cowabunga Bay for a long time now so I had a coupon, so we went. I have to say not really impressed with it. The kids love it though.


Next...
The sunsets at night have been amazing, the summer night sky, the colors are so pretty.


My Garden and my Scout...
My garden has struggled this year. It might have to do with the freezing cold temps. in June. I thought that it would never grow. My tomatoes did really good this year but my zuchinni, squash, peppers, beans, peas, and hot peppers, never did anything..Sad! But my tomatoes did great this year! Dylan and Sophie were so excited to see the first tomatoes on the plants this year it was fun.



My Dylan is doing so good at scouts. He has received his Wolf already, Jesse is having so much fun helping him earn his badges, and arrows.

More to come....

What is my deal???

School has been in a month now and I still haven't posted the kids first day of school pictures!!!!
Ahh! I'm too busy!!

My Sophie

Sophie: "Mom you have the prettiest forehead that I have ever seen!"
Me: (laughing) "Sophie you can find the good in everyone can't you!"
Sophie: Yep!
I adore this girl!

Where has the Summer gone?

I am so sad when I look at my last post and it says "First Day of Summer". What? It is now the 50th day of Summer and I really don't know where it has gone. I love Summer, I love the kids home, I also love no homework, no "real" schedules, just fun. Dylan still says he is bored but I always say just as Grannie Joan did, I have so many things that you could do, you could clean the toilets, the floors, the windows, the walls, and just then he says "Never mind, I'm good!"
We had the opportunity to go on another wonderful trip with G-ma and G-paw, (their new nicknames). They are so good to us and wanted the kids to go to Arizona for a week again. I always have a hard time when they are gone. I miss them terribly. I miss the 30 plus random "I love yous" from Sophia. I miss the new inventions that go on in Dylan's room everyday. I miss the noise, I know that sounds funny, but sometimes silence is sad. I miss cooking, (I know right?) I told Jesse that we would just eat out every night I think if we didn't have kids. I missed them.....But my sweet hubby and I get to be dating again and that is really priceless in a marriage. We plan every evening with different activities and fun things to do. It is really special! The kids swam everyday twice a day, they had a ball and G-ma and G-pa are fun, way more fun than Mom and Dad.
After the week was over G-ma and G-pa decided they wanted to meet Jesse and I in San Diego. NO com plants here! So we were off to a week at the beach, my dream. We stayed at Imperial Beach in SD and it was wonderful. I couldn't get enough of the beach, I walked every morning and gathered shells, I love the smell, the feel of sand on your feet, the sound of the waves crashing, I love it all. We went to Sea World and the kids loved it. The shows are just as great as when I was there as a kid. We loved everything about Sea World. We were able to pet dolphins, and pick up star fish, it was great. We went on boat cruise around SD harbor and saw all of the Navy ships. I felt so patriotic after we were done I wanted to stand with my hand on my heart for the rest of the day. We also ate at amazing places. Hodads in Ocean Beach, killer hamburgers and fries. Jesse and I both thought that our small town Conoco was just as good! We also ate at a place called the Fish Market. The whole atmosphere of this place was amazing. You walk in the door and it smelled like salt water. It was right on the water. We sat on the covered balcony right on the water. The food was so good my mouth is watering as I type this...I had the best fish taco's ever...we watched sailboats come into the harbor and Air Force Helicopters fly in to the base it was so cool! Dylan's as well as my favorite place was the beach at La Jolla. I boogie boarded all day. I was like a little kid and I felt it the next day. I told Jesse that he had to try it, he didn't want to at first but then he did it and I couldn't get him off. He loved it! Dylan made sand forts and many other sand creations. He was in heaven! Sophie and I made the coolest sand butterfly, people were stopping to look at it. I never got a picture because just when we finished, a huge wave destroyed it...sad...But it was a wonderful day! We love to play together and G-ma and G-pa made it all possible. Sophie's favorite place was Sea World. She loves animals so it was a no-brain er for her. She would say "Ohh that is so cute" about every other minute. She is a sweetie. Jesse's favorite place was the boat ride. He loved to hear about the ships and hear all of the interesting facts.
It has been a great couple of months, I know it is going to end soon. I'm really sad that my Sophie is going into 1st grade this year. I will miss her so much. She is getting so big. My Dylan is going into 3rd grade this year and I can't believe it. Next it will be 12th grade then what am I going to do. I am so grateful for such a wonderful family we are so blessed, in so many ways, I can't even name them all. Right now I am hearing my kids laughing with their grandparents, family is so important, I don't know where I would be without them....XOXO

First Day of Summer!

Dylan told me at 8:24am this morning......."I'm Bored"...........What, I at least waited until a couple of weeks into summer before saying that!!!
It might be a long one!