Remembering The Little Things {The Best Is Yet Too Be}!

Olivia Daun turns 6!!!!

2013-11-30T23:46:00.001-07:00

November 13, 2012

Oh how I can't believe that Olivia is already turning one year older. She loves getting bigger, I keep begging her to stay little for awhile longer!! She is loving being a school girl, she is a wonderful student and learning so much!

I decided since this was a non friends birthday party year that I wanted to do something special for the two of us. After she got done with school we headed over to lunch at the Beehive Grill and then went and got a manicure and pedicure. She loved it and so did I! Such a fun after noon. After we had dinner with our little family. Olivia loved getting a pink scooter, she can't wait to cruise around the neighborhood.

We feel so honored having this little angel baby girl in our family. She brings so much light and happiness into our home! Although I'm sad that she is getting older, I look forward to watching her learn and grow as she goes throughout her life!!

Happy 6th Birthday Baby Girl!!

Halloween 2012

2013-09-12T22:33:00.002-06:00

We love Halloween at our house! It is even better when their Halloween costumes are easy and we have most everything at our house! The kids loved running around the neighborhood going trick or treating, Payton made it half way around before he fell asleep! I enjoyed having a yummy, spooky meal ready for them by the time they got home!!

Basketball Player

Injured Baseball Player

Witch

Dragon

What Payton is really good at, picking his lip!

The kids loved going to see Grandpa Rhodes, it is a tradition to go visit Grandpa before we start the door to door trick or treating.

Our 2012 Halloween Spooks!!!

Fall Extravaganza Baseball... {St George}

2013-09-12T16:45:00.001-06:00

{October 25-29, 2013}

Marcus had a baseball tournament in St. George, so me and the kids loaded up and headed on our way to sunny St. George to stay with my Grandma. It was wonderful weather, we loved it (it was better then then the early snow that northern Utah was getting)! We loved spending time with Grandma and appreciated her so much letting the little kids stay with her while all of his games were going on and feeding us so well!

Marcus played six ball games in three days...

We also had fun hanging out with our friends...

We loved winning the tournament....

And we thought it was perfect to end out trip with our tradition of rock climbing and getting all four kids picture taken in this one certain spot!

I sure do love these four kiddos! I love these moments that everything feels perfect (just wish Dad was there to join us!). I also love what good little buddies these four are...

Until next time St. George......

Nana and Papa's Halloween Party & Papa's Happy Birthday!

2013-05-25T23:14:00.000-06:00

October 20, 2012

This year we had to have our Annual Halloween Party a little earlier then normal, so Nana and Papa planned a little different activity for us this year. Papa got the "Fun Bus" again this year, the kids were super excited about that! We drove the fun bus to Logan for our wild and fun party!

We went to the Logan Pumpkin walk. I havent' been for awhile, I just love walking through it to see how creative people can get, it is honestly amazing!

I love how close these seven cousins are. The four older boys are close in age and the two little girls are really close in age, but all six of them are so good to Payton. I just love to watch how they treat him and play with him like he is big like them!

We also got to get eat at our favorite Fredrico's Pizza!!

We also went to the park to play football and let the little kids play in the leaves. Once we were done we went to Kneaders so we could all pick out a dessert for Papa's birthday!

Happy Happy Birthday to the best Papa around!!

Payter enjoying his ride on the "Fun Bus"!

Payter zonked out two minutes later!

Cute little piggie toes, love how Payton's flip flops are always on the wrong foot!

Fall Break- Gardner Village and Hogle Zoo

2013-05-25T22:37:00.000-06:00

October 18, 2012

In previous years when we have gone to the zoo we always go on the hottest day of the year. This year I decided to wait until fall to take the kids to the zoo, best decision ever. Going to the Zoo is the best time to go, fall is so much fun to be outside!

We went to Gardner Village for our first time. It was crazy busy, so next time we need to go a different time. But it is super fun to walk around and see all of the different witches, I love all the thought and time was put into those witches!

This time going to the Zoo was by far my most favorite time ever. We have gone to the Zoo every other year since Marcus was 8 months old. The weather was perfect, but so were my kids' and their ages! I honestly think we could have stayed forever exploring everything they had to offer!

Oh man I love days like this! I love spending time with my kids and making fun memories! Oh my heart is just so full of happiness.....

Happy Birthday Marcus! Double Digits?!!!

2013-05-25T21:11:00.000-06:00

October 4, 2012

Marcus is the big 10! How is this happening, I can remember 10 years ago, just like it was today! It is strange to think that ten years have gone by in a blink of an eye.

When Marcus got up he opened his presents. He got an electric scooter, clothes, football, and football tickets for the UofU vs USC game that night.

For his class treat for school he wanted donuts so I took those in mid day and then I took Marcus and Alec out of school so we could go down to the football game with Carson.

This is me and the boys on our way down to pick up Carson. We were just starting the party early:)!

Carson got the tickets through work, so we were treated really nice. We were able to go eat a yummy dinner and then the boys were able to play around before we went into the game.

We had a great time. After the first couple of minutes and then Utes had already scored twice we thought we were going to be able to watch Utah win, we were so sad when they lost!

Happy happy 10 birthday to my first born! Oh how grateful I am that you came into my life, what a blessing you are in so many different ways! You have such a love for the outdoors- you could live out there and play until you just run out of all of your energy. You are such a tender hearted little guy, you are always watching out for me! I love to watch you interact with kids your age, but I really enjoy watching you talk with adults, you aren't scared to and I just like to see you act "big"!

You are loved so much in our family! I look forward to watching you grown into a wonderful young man (but if you would like to say little just a little longer I wouldn't mind either!)!!

Fall Baseball 2013- Cache Valley Clash Tournament

2013-05-25T20:12:00.000-06:00

October 2012

Fall baseball is so much fun. I love fall weather and then you add baseball to all of our Saturday's, oh it is wonderful time of year!

This year Marcus played with a Logan team, Cache Valley Titans and Alec played with his normal team that Carson Coaches. This year both boys participated in the Cache Valley Clash two day baseball tournament.

The two little kids were either sitting by me coloring pictures or they were running around with all the kids, when that happens we do not see much of them:)!

9u Bear River Bears with 4-0, so they headed to the Championship Game!

They played a great game, but we fell short so we walked away with 2nd place.

Marcus' team also were 4-0 so they also went to the Championship game.

Very exciting game, they took 1st place!

Sure do love these three baseball boys! They put so much hard work into being successful players!!

Brigham City Temple...

2013-05-18T19:41:00.001-06:00

How fun it has been during the last few years driving past the Brigham City Temple being built. We would always talk about the new changes that were being made. Once the steeple was up we always looked forward to driving on the freeway, we would try to see who could spot the temple first!

We enjoyed being able to walk through it this summer. The kids loved it and talked about it often. When they found out we had the chance to go through it twice they were thrilled! Payton is still wishing he could walk through the temple; one day buddy, one day!

A New Journey for Big Daddy....

2013-05-17T23:13:00.000-06:00

September 2012

What a hard worker our Big Daddy is! The end of August first of September brought new adventures for him. He had an opportunity to work for a new company or a job promotion with his current company. He had many hard decisions to make and lots of time on his knees with lots of prayers in hopes to guiding him to the right choice! When it comes to jobs and the unknown of what the future holds it makes you really rely on the Lord in helping with your choice. Was there a wrong choice, we don't know. Was there a "best" job, we don't know. But after many conversations with each other, with many prayers, and many calls Carson made to my dad we feel that we found that right choice and that best job for our family! Carson took the promotion with his current job. As a wife I really appreciated how they treated Carson before this offer was made. Finally Carson found a job that he was treated with respect, kindness, love, and they showed him that they valued his ideas and opinions. For me that was one hard thing I couldn't let go for him. So the beginning of September he accepted a new job, he got spoiled with a new car from his company, he got a new phone, new computer, and a lot of new responsibilities. But Carson is always up for new challenges, he is a hard worker, and he will always want to show is gratitude to his Boss' that he will always do the best he can to make them proud!

Our little family is so proud of him and all of his hard work. We feel so good about the choice to stay! He has been able to be with our family more and the benefits of the new job are just so exciting to our whole family! I am so proud of all the hard work he has put into our whole marriage. He graduated just a few weeks before baby #2 came. He worked full time while going to college and was the YM President. After he graduated he took a job in Park City that made his commute one way over 2 hours. When baby #4 was four months old he left our little family for 6 months to work. And now almost 11 years into our married life and 4 kids later he has found a job that works really well for him and our family! Nice work Big Daddy!!

1st Day of School 2012-2013

2013-05-17T22:40:00.000-06:00

The night before the first day of school I often wonder how in the heck did the summer all ready pass by. I enjoy having my kids around and I am always a little emotional that I have to let them go back to school and share their time with their teachers! This year was a little harder because I had to let my baby girl go, I know that she was ready and excited, and I was excited for her. But lets be honest she was my little sidekick and Payton's best play buddy, so it was a little harder to let her go! Then quickly I was reminded that Kindergarten isn't much more then Preschool!!

The night before school we did our usual lay out our clothes, get our backpacks all ready, and most importantly getting their Father's Blessings. What great kids we have! I hope as I send them off every year that we have taught them enough to be strong kids who want to be leaders with their peers and will always remember to be nice to everyone. I just want to have nice kids!!

Olivia had Mrs. Heath for her teacher. She went to school not really knowing anyone in her class, but I know she will do great. With her happy, I want to play with anyone personality will allow her to make lots of friends!

Alec had Mrs. Allen for his teacher. We were all happy to have back in our lives! Most of Alec's closest friends go to other schools, but it allows him to meet new people. He is a pretty friendly, go with the flow type of guy- he will have no problem finding friends. The question is, will this be the year that he will start talking about girls?

Marcus has Miss Cecil for his teacher. He couldn't be more thrilled! Their is quite a crazy bunch of boys in his class. All I have to say is bless Miss Cecil's heart!! And his life has been threatened if he gives his teacher any grief with having so many friends in his class!

I was just happy that Olivia let me take pictures of her throughout the day. I think I have a couple of more years before it is un-cool!

Even though I don't love sending them back to school, I do realize it is nice to be back on a schedule. I do look forward to that! I sure do love these cute school kids of mine, I hope they have a wonderful school year....

Box Elder County Parade and Fair

2013-04-18T14:34:00.000-06:00

As the Summer was nearing the end Debbie and Krisanne asked if Olivia wanted to dance in the fair parade. My first thing was, no she is way to young for it. I actually got off the phone with them and told Olivia I don't think it is a good idea for her to do it. I explained to her it is a long ways she will have to walk and dance and it is very possible that it will be sooo hot that she may feel like she wants to die! Well she begged and begged me to let her do it, so six weeks later there was my baby girl dancing down the road, smiling ear to ear, blisters on her hills, and when it was all over she couldn't stop talking about when she can do it again! Love her love for dance and her happy little personality!

It probably did help that her two good friends dance right along with her, Emma and Kendyl helped make this such a fun experience!

Olivia had quite the cheering squad for her as she danced down the road!

She did such a good job, I guess it is the start of many parades!

After the parade we were able to enjoy a fun night out at the fair with cousins. They were also able to enjoy the next few days looking at animals, walking around checking out the booths, and riding more rides-I was just not on the ball enough to take pictures! It was Payton's first year of riding rides, he loved it and couldn't get enough. Marcus on the other hand didn't ride one single ride, he just came home with two fish- Nemo and Dozer Jr!!

Last Summer Fun...

2013-03-31T14:33:00.000-06:00

We decided that Summer was nearly over, so we better get out and have one last big fun weekend. We headed down to Salt Lake and stayed the night and then headed over to Seven Peaks to play until we couldn't play any longer!

Beautiful Sunset while driving to the Hotel...

I love that my kids love to be outside and swim so much. So sad that I didn't get more photos of our fun!

Summer Fun at Papa and Nana's House

2013-01-25T07:42:00.001-07:00

One thing that I love and makes my hear super happy is the fact that my kids are so lucky to have such a great realationship with their cousins! Jaime and I never sat down and planned when we were going to have kids, it just happened that we had them pretty close together. They are such good friends, they always look forward to spending time with one another!

They all seem like pretty little busy bee's so when it worked out that they were all free one week Nana and Papa just had to have them all come hang out for a few days. They all loved! I hope they always rememeber these special days with each other.....

I sure do love these cute kiddos. I love their little relationships that they have with one another. It doesn't matter that Jackson is 11 and Payton is 2, they still love each other so much!

Alec is off to Cali!

2013-01-22T15:39:00.001-07:00

{August 6-10}

What a fun opportunity Alec had this summer, this is how it all played out.....

Hunter Uncle had been invited to play baseball for a week in Long Beach California for the Area Code games, as an Oakland A's player. One night I was laying in bed thinking about how fun it would be to have the boys' go so they could watch him play ball. Marcus wasn't too sure about the idea, but with no hesitation Alec jumped on board and was ready to pack his bags that day and head out! Lucky for him he was on a plane with my cousin Dallas, Grandma and Grandpa Simmons within the next couple of weeks. It was exciting for him to do this for a couple of different reasons. One, just the experience in itself and two, just to be able to hang out with that side of my family for both him and them to get to know each other better. I think both turned out to be a success! Carson and I all week were sad Marcus wasn't experiencing these things, but it was nice to see Marcus so happy for Alec!!

Hunter Uncle thinking it was pretty fun folding Alec up in his roll away bed!

Such a great picture of a bunch of great men in my life!!

Alec had the time of his life. He enjoyed lots of baseball and lots of swimming. I think he also enjoyed a lot of attention from lots of adults and older kids! We sure missed that Big Al of ours, but we are so grateful that this can down as a great memory in his mind!!

********

We are so excited that Hunter Uncle has signed with U of U to play baseball. He will be moving here in the Summer so he can start playing baseball here in Utah. We are excited to have him get to know us better and us get to know him better. It will also be fun for my cute little baseball players to be able to watch him play ball!

Big Al, it is great to be eight!

2013-01-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

My little Big Al turned the big 8! I looked forward to this day ever since we baptized Marcus because it is such a special thing to witness with your own kids.

A few weeks before his big day we needed to go take some pictures of Alec in his suit for his Baptism invites. The days around the day we needed to get it done was supposed to be stormy, including the day that we really wanted to go and do it. So as soon as we had a minute of opened clouds Alec and I jumped in the car and headed out on our photo date night! Boy do I love that smiley guy....

After he was a good sport smiling for me, we headed out to Peach City for some yummy ice cream (it is our little secret!).

It ended up being a great night to take pictures. We were so lucky to be able to go around the newly finished Brigham City temple to get some of the pictures that we wanted to do.

He might have needed a little break for a minute:)!

The day of his Baptism was such a wonderful day. We had so many family members and friends that were their to support him. I hope those people will always realize how much it meant to Alec to have them their to support him in such a big moment of his life!

So grateful for these wonderful young men in my boys' life. Friends are such an important part to someone in so many different ways, I feel very fortunate that my kids have such great friends and examples in their lives.

{I also want Alec to remember that Great Grandpa Rhodes was there for his Baptism as well, he just snuck out before we got his picture}

Our little man trying to catch up to his best bud, Awec!

After his Baptism we had a nice lunch afterwards at our house. Everything just turned out lovely!

What a special day that Big Al had. I love looking through the photos of him after he was Baptized and Confirmed and I just have to say how much I love his big smile. There is that certain glow about him, he shows that he got it. He understood what a special day he was having and the importance of the promises he just made. What a special guy that Alec is, how blessed we are to have him in our lives!!!

Odds and Ends...

2013-01-13T22:28:00.001-07:00

I hit this poor bird on my way to work at 5:30am and it just didn't every want to fall off. I felt really bad for the poor thing!

You have to love a good summer ran with a beautiful rainbow afterwards!

A little cousin love! So grateful for great cousins that we can call our Best Friends!

Papa and Payter out for a ride on Uncle Ry's bike

Starting in July I worked one 12 our night shift a week for 12 weeks. I didn't realize how hard it was on my body until it was over. Glad I could do it and help out, but I'm even more thankful for my bed and only work 2 days a week!

Who thinks Marcus needs a haircut?!

Oh how we loved swimming this summer...

When did he get this big that he would just crawl up in the chair and get his haircut with no problem?!

24th of July Tremonton Celebrations

2013-01-13T22:11:00.000-07:00

{July 2012}

We always look forward to Tremonton's big 24th of July Celebration. This year I had to work on that day and we had Austin staying at our house so he could go play with the boys. Big Daddy/Uncle Carson didn't disappoint, they had a very fun filled day! There was a lot of bounce house playing, face painting, hula hoop contest going, and hot dog eating contest winning! Olivia won in her age group for hula hoops, Alec took 2nd place with the hot dog eating contest with eating 3 1/2 hot dogs and Paytong took 2nd for his age group eating 1.

Once I got off work we ate dinner and then enjoyed a night of music with the live band and fireworks. It is such a fun enviroment and a very relaxing evening! We love being able to spend that time with each other and we also love running into good friends...

Tournament of Champions 2012

2013-01-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

{July 2012}

Our main baseball league that we play in goes for 12 weeks playing 2 games a week. You can also play in extra tournaments that would give you extra play time. As each season goes on your scores getting recorded so that you can see how you overall rake with the other teams your age. The final tournament is the Tournament of Champions. The only way you can get to go to that is 1. win a tournament that is a qualifier or 2. be ranked one of the top 1-6 teams in your group. If you fall in any of those categories you get to go to the final tournament. We were so excited when Alec's team was asked to participate in it. We knew it was a big deal, but we didn't realize that they were the first 8u bear river baseball team to ever go to the Tournament of Champions!!

It was a wonderful experience, but unfortunately for us we didn't do our best. One thing is for sure it is now our goal to be able to go to it every year. Carson says we will go to all of the tournaments to hopefully qualify! Yay for Alec and Carson and yay for baseball!!!!

Potty Training...

2013-01-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

{July 2012}

July 16th was the big magical day that we decided that we were going to go full force into potty training. I decided it was the slowest next couple of days that we were going to have, but at the same time he had one good day at home and then we had to run around the rest of the week. Let's just say he was a Rock Star, he did so great! The very first day I just told him if you can pee and poop in the potty we will go to McDonald's and get a bacon burger (aka hamburger). Let's just say that was the trick that got him to want to not ever have an accident.

By day three we headed down to the Provo area for baseball games all day. I was a little worried about how many times we would have to stop to go potty or how many accidents we possibly could have because we left at 9:00 in the morning and we didn't get home until 10:00 at night, but at the end of the day and there was no accidents I realized this was for real! My baby was no longer a baby, he was a big boy who was wearing big boy underwear!!!

Good Friends... 2012

2013-01-08T22:25:00.001-07:00

{July 2012}

We were able to have our annual get together with the Hess kids again. I would have to say these kids are getting more and more comfortable with each other. It was really fun watching them interact with one another this year. Jen and I try to get together once a year, every year we do the kids are a little shy around each other, but this year it just clicked. They realized they knew who each other were and it would be fun to just play! And play is what they did... We actually had swimming lessons that we had to get back to, but when it came time to leave they just hadn't played enough, so we skipped out on swimming! And I have to say, I didn't mind, more time to chit chat with Jen!

Kinley (9), Payton (2), Alec (8), Sadie (3), Marcus (9), Olivia (5), Maci and Emri (5), Baby boy Hess on his way!

Payton and Sadie on their first day! I love Payton's face, "Hey Mom look at me with this cute girl"!

We look forward to meeting up with you guys next year! We also look forward to meeting your newest addition....

Ballet, Sassy, Princess Girls

2013-01-06T18:00:00.002-07:00

Olivia and Emma took a little fun Summer Camp Ballet class together. They had so much fun! They loved wearing their hair in a high bun (ballet hair) and I really think that they liked just being together. Olivia really enjoyed her class, during the first week though she asked her teacher when it was she going to start learning her dance. As the weeks went on she just enjoyed learning the different moves and techniques.

Can't forget Payton, he was always right their waiting for them!

We sure do love these Sassy Ballet Girls!

T-Ball Time...

2013-01-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

It was finally time for Olivia to try T-Ball! I decided that I would be her Coach. Carson had always done the first year with the boys, but there was no way he could do Alec's team and Olivia's team, so I gave it a try.

It was quite commical at times watching her and her little team play, but I do have to say it has payed off going to countless hours of watching her big brothers play ball. She was quite the little ball player!!

Scout Camp 2012

2013-01-06T17:13:00.002-07:00

{July 2012}

This year it was fun to see both boys get ready for Scout Camp. I often just sit back and wonder how in the heck my boys are growing up so fast, I have two kids old enough to be the Boys Scout program, that is crazy!!

This year they were headed to a different camp in Ogden, Marcus was a little unsure about going to a new place so he talked me into going with them. I have to say my first thought was, "no way it is a day to get a lot done with 2 less kids", but then I thought this is something I really want him to do and I want him to know that he can always count on me. So me and all three boys loaded up in the van quite early for a long day of Scout adventures! At the end of the day we were all glad we went. They were excited for all of their fun adventures and for me, it was just fun to sit back and watch the boys!

Payton really enjoyed lunch time with all of the Scouts!

He enjoyed even more pretty much rolling around in dirt for 7 hours!!

Livastride 2013

2013-01-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

{July 2012}

Marcus' baseball team went to their 2nd year of the Livastride Tournament down in Ogden. It was some of the hottest days of the summer, but we survived (barely!)

We left way to early in the morning both days, but it was sure a lot cooler that time of day.

I just have to say I'm so proud of my #2 Dozer boy, he has improved so much. It just makes my heart super happy watching him play. He seems to never give up or get a bad attitude. I always think when I get in the car after a game how proud I'm of him and the little ball player he is becoming!

Big Al eating as ,many baseball seeds as he possibly can and enjoying a little baseball!

With the two little ones you try to feed them as much junk as you can and shade them with everything you have so they don't become super miserable and make everyone around them crazy!

In between games we had fun playing around at the mall!

Once the second day of ball games were completed what better way to cool off then hit a splash pad!

Fire Cracker Tournament

2013-01-03T16:47:00.001-07:00

{July 2012}

We had so much fun once again on our annual Fire Cracker baseball tournament. We love Park City, staying in hotels, and baseball-what more could you ask for?! The day before heading up to Park City we were in our, I believe, 30th day of no rain, well guess what it started raining the first day! When I say ran, I really mean poured!

I am really sad that I didn't get any photos of them playing baseball, I guess I was to busy running back and forth to ball games, trying to hit all 10 games in a three day period! So their is a lack of photos, but the memories are strong in our hearts and minds, that works right? My parents came again, Molly, Jackson, Austin, Abby, Rodger, and Lani all came as well so we just had a great time. Lots of games, playing with friends, and then there was a little bit of shopping:)!

Marcus sitting in the car before game #1, it was pouring raining so we were trying to keep the kids dry for as long as possible.

Sure do love these pretty girls!

We did a lot of this, sitting under umbrellas. We were trying to figure out how it was raining after so many days of not!

Marucs' team went 1-3, they struggled a bit, but when they won they did really well! Alec's team was 3-1 and was able to play two rounds of playoffs. They did a great job, we were so proud of them.

After our third day we were all tired and decided that we better stay one more night, I'm so glad that we did. We swam lots, slept lots, and played! One thing that we did that we have never done was go up to the Olympic Park to check everything out. We had lots of fun watching people on the ski jumps when they land in the water and then the kids had to try out all of the different rides from the Olympic events.

Playing with the big kids and going to A LOT of ball games makes you very tired!

Coaching 6 games and coming up with they perfect game plan is even more tiring!

I sure do love my little family of mine and all of the fun little adventures that we get to go on!