Scott's Birthday!!!

Well, yesterday was Scott's 27th birthday. It kind of freaks him out that he is only 3 years away from 30, but what do you do right? Last night we had a few of my family and most of Scott's family over for some Banana Cream Pie. Yes our house is not that big and there were quite a few people, but it was very fun.

Scott received a Phlat Ball from Austin & Koen.

Koen loved all the wrapping paper!!!

He also got a remote control mini helicopter. He and Austin have loved experimenting with it.

Candy is always a hit! Great one Keri & Bryce!

He was begging for a backpacking tent for a while now and he finally got it.

And he got a Duke T-shirt to go with his Duke basketball shorts (which he loves to death, Cameron!). He also received tickets to Body World in Salt Lake from his parents and some new basketball shorts from my parents. He got spoiled and loved everything. Thanks everyone for coming and sharing this day with him.

I just wanted to let Scott know how much I love him and appreciate him as a father and a husband. He is the best dad and our boys love him so much. He is also the best husband. I am so lucky to be able to be with him for eternity. What a blessing! He has worked so hard with schooling, work, church callings, etc. and deserves all the happiness in the world. I just hope I can contribute to that happiness. Thanks for all you do, Scott. I love you! Happy Birthday!

Santa Claus is coming to town!!!

Every year we try and go to the annual Christmas Tree Fantasy not only to see the beautiful Christmas trees, but also to see Santa. The kids loved it. We went at a time where there weren't very many people there, in fact, we were the only ones downstairs with Santa. The kids loved being down there with him and were able to talk to him for more than just a split second. They got to chat with him for awhile and got a color a picture down there too!

Koen wasn't so sure at first, but he warmed up to Santa!

Austin has got to the point where live Santas aren't scary. He didn't hesitate at all sitting on his lap!

The whole crew! Caden (nephew), Austin, Koen, Addison (niece), and Belle (niece)! As you can tell, Addison isn't quite sure what to think! That really got the kids excited for Christmas!

Koen is 1!

November 30th was Koen's 1st birthday! The poor thing was a little under the weather for his first birthday, but from the pictures - who can tell? He is so happy and we love having him in our family. He is such a joy and so much fun to be around. It's fun to see his little personality start to come to life.

He can hardly stand to wait to open presents!

Who is more excited? Austin or Koen?

Austin gave Koen a football. Or was it really for Koen?

He was one of those very particular present openers!

Grandma and Grandpa Kesler came up big. A definite hit among the kids.

Scott and I made reindeer cupcakes to bring in the holiday spirit!

Koen loved it - it's not very often your parents hand you something loaded with sugar and you get to go to town!

He was so pumped about the mess he made!

He enjoyed his birthday (I think!) and we had a great time. We were able to celebrate with both families which was very fun and want to thank you all for your thoughtful gifts! Koen is so much fun and we love having him in our home. He is such a happy baby and we get asked all the time - "does he ever cry?" Austin loves having a little brother around and they have a blast together. Happy Birthday Koen! We love you!

Black Friday!!!

Black Friday has become a must among the Kesler's and so on Thursday night we all scoped out the ads and found things that we needed to get (whether they were necessities or impulse!) Those pictured stayed up until midnight playing and chatting and decided that we were going to get up at 3 am to hit the sales in Pocatello. So, that's exactly what we did.
We got up and hit the road and about 2 miles away from my parent's house, Jordan gets pulled over. HILARIOUS! And luckily he didn't get a ticket, but what a way to start the day huh? We had a blast going among the crowd and picking up items we didn't necessarily want or need. We have found that it is rather fun to go after what the crowds are going after just because you get caught up in the moment. Sometimes we have even ended up purchasing the item. We had a great time though and look forward to next year!

Katie, Kelsi, Jordan, Cousin Natalie, Landon, & Scott (not pictured)

Thanksgiving!!!

Well, we are back from Denver and on with our regular lives. It's crazy once again, but we are enjoying it! Scott is back with Dr. Soucie at the Blackfoot Medical Clinic and the boys and I are just trying to stay busy at home. We had a great Thanksgiving weekend with the Kesler family. It was fun-filled with laughs, bowling, early morning shopping, games, and of course, lack of sleep. But hey - it's the holidays - what can you expect?

So, to preface these next photos - Kelsi thought it would be hilarious to find the ugliest sweater and where it to Thanksgiving dinner. Of course, the psychos that we are - we all agreed. This was the outcome:

Mom & Dad

Sarah-Jane & Landon


Misty & Brett

Ty & Annie

Katie & Scott

Jordan, Kelsi, & Cousin Natalie

All of us at dinner!

It is tradition for the Kesler's to go bowling every Thanksgiving evening. So of course, we all loaded up and headed over to Starlite Lanes. It's rather comical to watch everyone and compete, but it is a blast for all of us just to sit around and talk and laugh our heads off!

Austin & Jordan

Kelsi (WOW!)

Mom, Austin, & Dad (do you see why we laugh so hard?)

Scott and his bowling skills!

Austin has got pretty good over the years! Great form!

Brett! HI!

Koen & Katie (He was such a trooper through all the chaos and insanity!) Thanksgiving was a blast! Thanks Mom & Dad!

Trick-or-Treating at St. Joseph's Hospital

While in Denver, we were able to go to the St. Joseph's hospital where Cameron and Scott worked and go trick-or-treating. It was really cute how they had different stations to trick-or-treat at. The kids loved it and enjoyed seeing their dads at work.

Annie (Savannah), Cameron, Sandy the Dog (Lucy), and Cami

Scott, Woody, Katie, & Buzz

Our working dads in their hospital. It was neat to see them in their work place and all dressed up and what not.

Going to the next station!!!

While at the hospital, Cameron took us up to the helicopter pad that is on top of the hospital. It was really cool and neat to see this view of Denver. There weren't any rails along the top so we were all a little paranoid of having our kids up there, but we made it.

Our family on the helicopter pad.

Scott and Katie on the helicopter pad. It was a neat experience to go trick-or-treating at the hospitals and see the dads!

Koen was pooped at the end of the adventure. He had a rough ride :)

Please Send More Money!!!

Yesterday was Scott's last day off before we head back for home and so we thought we would try and fit as much in as possible. We started the day off going to the Boo at the Denver Zoo. We have never been to one before - we definitely weren't prepared for how busy it was. The place was packed. The kids loved being able to see animals and get treats all in one. It was neat for Scott and I as well because there were animals that we have never seen in real life.

Buzz (Austin) and Annie (Savannah) at the beginning of the Zoo. Ready to hit it hard! Annie was the hit of the zoo. Everyone kept talking to her and asking her if she would sing. One lady even wanted a picture of her. It was hilarious. She wasn't quite sure how to handle the popularity.

Woody (Koen) I can not figure out why this picture is turned and I am clueless as to how to fix it. Sorry! Once again, just tilt!

This was one of our highlights! These elephants were awesome. The kids were in awe. These trainers were out there trying to get the elephants to do tricks and they did.

This elephant just layed down in super slow motion. It was really cool to watch him in action.

Another shot of Woody. He did so good at the Zoo. He was so amazed!

Buzz getting a good look at the Rhino! He thought that was crazy that he had those "pokey things" on his nose. Funny!!!

The crew just hanging out!

Here we have Annie and Sandy (her dog), Cami, Katie, Scott, and Woody and Buzz! Not pictured are Cami's parents!

October was frog month at the Zoo so of course there was a frog there for the Boo at the Zoo and Austin and Lucy were loving that. They asked if they could go hug the frog and what do you say to that?

We headed back from the Zoo just in time to leave to go the the Major League Soccer game with the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake. Cami and I were looking a little bit ago on the internet for Halloween activities for the kids and I stumbled across the "Kick or Treat with the Colorado Rapids". I clicked on it and realized that they were playing Real Salt Lake and thought that would be so fun to go to. Scott is so into soccer right now that we have all become into it. I quite enjoy it now. He has thoroughly enjoyed the Fox Soccer Channel here and so I thought it would be fun to actually watch a game in real life. So we did it!

Here are our two tickets to the game. Are we excited or what? We aren't quite sure who to cheer for - Colorado or Salt Lake?

This is a view from our seats and yes we are on the front row. We were stoked about that. We are just to the left of the center line. They were awesome seats!!!

Another shot of the game.

So, at this point the score is 1-0 Colorado. Colorado scored in the first 15 minutes of the game. Well, the games are 90 minutes long and both teams had a ton of shots on goal, but nothing was going in. In the 89th minute, Salt Lake runs over and put in an awesome goal. The crowd was silent except for a corner of the stadium that were REAL fans. Scott wanted to jump up and cheer so bad, but we were too afraid we might get beat up by the Rapids fans. We were surrounded. When it all came down to it, we really wanted Salt Lake to win (we lived there for a year and that's the closest MLS team to us in Idaho. The game ended in a tie 1-1, so whether Salt Lake tied or won the game they would win the Rocky Mountain Cup and they were able to pull it off. It was crazy to see it in real life. We loved our first experience at a real MLS game. Hopefully there will be more to come in our lifetime.

After the game, we decided to stay in our seats and let the crowd mellow out before we take off and as we are sitting there, the players start walking over to a small crowd of us to recognize the fans. It was their final game of the season and so that night was fan appreciation night. This guy is Nick LaBrocca and he was the MVP of the game. He came through and was shaking everyone's hands. This is how he started with the fans.

This is how he ended. He gave everything away except for this shorts. He had to draw a line somewhere. When he came through the first time, we didn't have anything to get his autograph on and then we remembered our tickets. When he came through again, we snagged him for an autograph. I tried to talk Scott into asking him for his socks, but he wouldn't go for it. Next thing you know, the lady next to him asked him for his socks and he took them off and gave them to him. Scott was a little disappointed.

This is a picture from the top of the stadium.

We had a blast at this game and were so excited after it was all over, we had a hard time coming back into reality. I'm just glad we were able to do this especially where Scott is so into soccer right now and we were so close to the stadium. I have grown to love the sport as well, I can't play it like Scott does, but I enjoy watching it. Thanks to Cameron and Cami for helping us with our kids so we could have this way cool experience.