Frontrunner to the Bees game

We all decided to go to the SLC Bees game together on Wednesday the 9th. We decided the best, and most fun way to get there would be to take the frontrunner train from Layton to downtown SLC and have Grayson meet us at the station and then all of us take TRAX to the baseball field. From Carley's previous experience with kids and the frontrunner, we knew we may be asking for trouble. We thought we got to the station in plenty of time, but right as Kim started getting her ticket, we noticed the train coming down the tracks. We were a ways down the platform and Carley and I grabbed all the kids and started haulin' booty to the station. We were probably quite a sight to behold, but we made it and can laugh about it for years to come. The train proved to be a great idea. The kids loved it and we got to the game right on time.


The game was a lot of fun, and the kids tolerated it really well. We had an interesting time trying to eat hamburgers and hotdogs with toddlers on all of our laps, and I think my kids were more covered in ketchup then their hot dogs, but it was still great fun. Donovin wanted to meet the "BEE" SOOO bad. He kept saying,
"I wan da Bee!" "I wan da Bee!". Apparently while he and I were on one of our many bathroom breaks, diaper changes, or trying to find the right hat for Tyler, all the other kids got to go meet "BEE" and give him a high five. Poor Vinny! Oh well, ignorance is bliss right?




The train ride home felt like utter chaos at times. I feel really bad for the other passengers who were in our car. Luckilly there weren't many. Oh well, what can you expect from five very tired kids?

Happy 4th of July!!

One of the main reasons we come home over the 4th is because Tyler's mom's family has a BIG reunion every year, and it's the only time we get to see everyone. The family is getting SO big! It's fun to see all the kids play together and get to know eachother again after a year has passed. Tyler's aunt is so great to let everyone stay at her house since the family is from all over the place. It is a 3or 4 day event, but the main event is on the 4th. We had the big shin dig at a stake center complex this year. There was softball, a bounce house, food and games. It was really over cast, so it wasn't too hot, but a huge wind storm came through after dinner and blew things all over. I didn't know if they would be albe to do the fireworks that night because it was really windy all day, but it finally died down and we got to enjoy them from a distance this year. We usually go to the baseball field where they shoot them off and sit right under them, but it's really crowded and some of the little kids don't like it very much, so we decided to be farther away this year, and it worked out great.

Our Vacation Begins...

We were so excited to be able to go "home" for the summer and see our families. We left early afternoon on Friday the 27th and got to Tyler's sister's house in Highland at about 3 am on the 28th. We felt really bad because she already had tons of people staying with her from her husband's family, but she was really generous and let us stay anyway. We got up and ready and went to visit another friend in Highland, then we left to make our way to Cache Valley! It was wierd because I thought things would look so different to me, but actually, I felt like I had never left. It is eerily quiet there though. That was one thing I had to get used to. Anyway, so we got to my mom's house and had a BBQ and attempted to take some family pictures.

They didn't quite turn out the way we expected, but at least we got a lot of laughs trying to get all the kids to sit together and look at the camera.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel....

Halle's kindergarten class has been working very hard for the last few months on their play, Fairytale Land. She brought home a script and everything so she could practice at home. She was very excited and did a very professional job. She got to be "Rapunzel #2" (she was Rapunzel in the 2nd act). The thing she was most excited about was that she got to wear a wig! One of the moms told me that at rehearsal she would twirl the braid around like a lasso. She said it was itchy, but she liked wearing it. All the kids were able to memorize their lines and all the songs word for word. Prety amazing for a group of 5 and 6 year olds. We don't give them enough credit sometimes as to what they are capable of. We were very fortunate that she got an AMAZING kindertgarten teacher who was willing to put in extra time and lots and lots of effort to write the play for, organize, and direct 40 kindergartners. It was a huge success and all the kids had an amazing experience. I can't believe that her year of kindergarten is over and she will be a first grader this fall! Crazy!!!!

Happy Birthday Halle!

Halle had her sixth birthday and tells everyone she sees that "I'm six now!" She wanted a superhero party, so I did my best. I felt bad not having a party with her friends, but hopefully her boring family was good enough.
I decided to make a cat cake because she loves cat woman. I think it turned out pretty good. Halle informed me while we were eating it that she doesn't like chocolate cake. Oops! Later she told me that she really likes chocolate cake, she just wasn't hungry for it right then. Thanks for making me feel better! What a sweetie.

Our two very brave crime fighting superheroes! Seriously, they LOVE to play "Justice League" (dustice yeed-Donovin talk)together.
As I may have mentioned before, our kids love to dress up, so Halle got a Wonder Woman and Belle costume. Batman decided to join our party.

So did Superman!
We had a good time and she got some great art stuff from family that has kept her occupied for the last week. Thank you!

Aquarium of the Pacific

We drove down to Long Beach on Memorial Day and went to The Aquarium of the Pacific.

It had a neat pool where you could pet rays and sharks! The rays are slimy, but the sharks are surprisingly rough. They really feel like sandpaper! I never knew that.

Donovin wanted to go swimming SO bad! He kept telling me "Mom, I wanna wide da sawt" or, "Mom, I want to ride the shark!"


Halle thought it was really neat to be able to handle the larakeets, and all was going well until...

this evil bird got stuck in her sweater and started trying to gnaw her arm off! Tyler tried to gently pull it off, but of course the bird would bite him as soon as he grabbed it. He finally got it off, and we decided we'd seen enough of the larakeets.

Hello giant spider crab!

Aww! Seahorses! They are Halle's newest favorite animal.


We walked around outside for a few minutes before heading to a freind's house for a BBQ. We had a great day together.

Halle lost a tooth!

Wow, it's been a while since I last updated. So, we had a pretty eventful Sunday as far as Sunday's go on the 25th of May. Well, I guess it was only an eventful Sacrament Meeting. First of all, right after the meeting started I noticed someone come in late and sit down a couple of benches behind us and did a double take. It was David Archuleta! I nudged Tyler and said "Tyler, oh my gosh, look! It's David Archuleta! At least I think it is." I'm REALLY bad with faces, but I was pretty sure it was him. Then I recognized his mom and dad sitting next to him, so I knew for sure. Tyler didn't think it would be polite to turn around and stare, (can't imagine why?) so he told me to calm down and he would look later. Yeah, I was pretty excited, but settled down and got control of myself. Then Halle popped a tooth out of her mouth with her tongue. She was super excited about it. It is the first one she's lost on her own. So, anyway, the most eventful Sacrament Meeting we've had...ever. I wanted to congratulate David after the meeting, but he got out of there pretty quick. His dad came back a couple of minutes later and was talking to the missionaries and ward mission leader about an investigator they met in the area. I guess that's why they decided to come to our ward. That, and the fact that we don't have any young women.