FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Macie and Mckay are ready for school!

Mckay was excited about all the fun stuff his preschool teacher gave him!

Macie was so excited to ride the bus!

It was funny to watch all the kids just stand on the bus and not know what to do, finally Macie sat down!

Mckay loves that cougar!

Macie sitting at her table. She was ready to start!

Of course, Macie invited her friends to come over after school (I think they all planned it on their bus ride home). That is so Macie to keep the party going! It's fun to have school started again!

SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER

This summer has been a crazy vacation filled few months. The best part of the entire summer was that my sisters Kim and Kristen and my brother Rob and all of their families were able to come on the trips. They all live so far away (Florida, San Diego, and Missouri) and we rarely get to see them. First we went to Lake Powell. It was fun, sunny, and crowded! There's nothing like 14 kids all sleeping together in one small family room on a houseboat. Then everyone came to grandma and grandpa's house for a week before we were off to Montana. Montana is always a great trip, staying at the lake, feeding the ducks, fly fishing, river rafting, spa days, swimming, flying model airplanes, panning for gold and sapphires, and doing everything else you can think of.  Most of all we got to spend so much time together. It was fun to have Kim's kids there because Mckay absolutely LOVES his cousins (especially Tate) and Macie thinks the world of Rachael and Abby. Rachael is all grown up now (15!!!) and she is the greatest teenager ever! She never complained, even though she was bored half the time being the oldest kid there, and she was always willing to help. She is darling and creative and smart. Braeden on this trip was a total gem! He helped out and loved up Sadie a ton! Tate was hilarious on this trip- very dramatic. Everything with Tate included a lot of crying and drama, we love him, such a character. Maverik is one of a kind with such a sweet heart. Macie and him were attached at the hip. Last but not least Abby- cutest, best dressed, most "googled" sister in the world. Here is such some pictures from our trips and the other days of summer. Can't believe that school is about to start and it already is the middle of August! Time has flown by since Sadie was born (she is already 7 months old). I really need to slow down and soak it all in and enjoy every moment of my children's lives! I am truly blessed in my life. 

BRAG TIME!

I just wanted to brag about my wonderful and talented husband! For anyone that lives in Cedar Hills you might have seen this house-- can you believe my husband built this? Isn't it amazing? Eric is such an incredibly talented and diverse person! He did everything on this home from designing the floor plan to all of the detail work (except the color and the rock-- I did that :) ).  He is such a hardworking and insanely creative man. How badly did I wish this was our home, but we were blessed to have such a wonderful amazing family buy it! I just wanted everyone to see his talent and desire to make everything beautiful! I LOVE YOU BABE! YOU ARE AMAZING! Check out the slide show of the house below!

Check out my Slide Show!

The kids got their faces painted, Lucy was a dog, Macie got butterflies and flowers, and McKay got a manly football! We played carnival games in California Adventure and there was a game where you throw the ball and knock down the cans (2 out of 3 cans had to be knocked down). As we watched the adult males do the game none of them were hitting the cans down so when McKay really wanted to try I told him that most likely he wouldn't win anything because it was really hard. He stood there and threw the balls and completely knocked down the cans and won a huge frog! All of the adults watching were clapping for him at the end, he felt so cool! It was pretty amazing.

Grandma and Grandpa meet us at the Park and Kristen brought Annie and Lucy. Disneyland is always fun even though it was really hot and really crowded! We were able to spend a few days at the Disneyland Hotel and the kids thought we were so cool because we could walk right into the park! After Disneyland we were able to stay at the beach house- WOW it is amazing. Mom did such a great job designing the new house! Staying there was like a dream! We would like to be invited more often:)

Disneyland

By the end of the day, all the kids were pooped! Sadie had no idea what was happening but the heat sure made her tired! Macie and Mckay slept in the same bed and this was how they slept the whole night! It was HI-larious!! The trip was so much fun and the kids had the best time sleeping at Aunt Kristen's house, the Disneyland Hotel, and the Beach House!!! It was daddy's idea to pick up and leave on a whim-- it paid off, it was a BLAST!

During the last week in May Macie and I went to Missouri to be at my brothers new baby Samantha Claire's blessing. Not only were we able to see Rob and his family, my sisters were all there. Katie brought Denali and Holland, Kim brought Rachael and Abigail, and Kristen brought Lucy and Annie. Sorry Sadie I only brought Macie I couldn't resist the opportunity to get a few nights of good sleep. My parents and little brother Brant were there also (and Kristen's husband Tom). It was SO much fun to be with everyone and to watch all the cousins play together. It really is sad that we don't all live closer to each other so they could play more often. Samantha's blessing was beautiful and Rob did an amazing job and kept his cool (especially since she was crying the entire time). Ella is getting so big and is such a doll. She was always looking for "Mace" when she would come over to grandpa's house, and her favorite place was the park! Laurie's house is clean and organized and perfect just like her. It's like you walked right into a Potterybarn catalog. It's pretty rare that we get to see the Radiologist and his pediatrician wife---dedicated and intelligent people! Busy busy busy! So what a blessing to see them!

Everything went great and I am EXTREMELY grateful for dad buying the tickets and always giving was a great trip. What would we do without grandma and grandpa? Always making family moments happen and with style.

We went to the Independence visitor center and to the Jail. Macie LOVES the church sites. For some reason she listens intently and enjoys learning more about Joseph Smith. She and Denali were a little sad that we got to the visitor center a little too late to watch the Joseph Smith movie. The girls were all so cute during the trip, and they LOVED being together. This was the first meeting for Ella, Lucy, Annie, and Abigail. Can't believe they are 2 yrs old and never met. 

After dinner at the T-Rex restaurant everyone got together for a picture. The girls all got matching outfits at the Disney store that day so we had to take a picture! Lets not mention how mad everyone was at Kim, Kristen, and I because we were late for dinner. We were having too much fun at the Disney store. We also went and saw the Indiana Jones movie. It was pretty good.