Family Picture preview...

We got our proofs back for our family pictures. Here's a preview of some of my favorites!There are so many good shots that it's going to be hard to choose!

Look who I met...

That's right, Mr. LaVell Edwards! Bryan was given tickets to the BYU/Utah game (which was a terrible game, but we wont go there). While he was in the Will Call line I looked over and saw LaVell Edwards standing in a line too. Rumor has it that he printed off the wrong tickets so had to go pick up the correct ones. You would think that he wouldn't even need a ticket to get into the stadium that has his name on it, but I guess he does. There were a few people asking for pictures so I did too. A lady standing next to me offered to take it with my phone camera (which is why it is not great). Bryan was pretty surprised when I showed him that not only did a get a picture of him but that I was in it too. LaVell Edwards was a great coach and I was honored to be able to meet him!

Summer trip #1

Our first summer trip of 2011 was to Wyoming. I konw, doesn't sound too exciting but we actually had a really good time. It was mostly a church history trip. We went to see Independence Rock, Devils Gate, the Sweetwater River, and Martins Cove. Before we went, we had our kids do little research papers on these 4 location. They shared what they had learned for Family Home Evening. Since they had learned about these places before hand, they were all really excited to see them in person. It was like a mini-trek. We left our house early Friday morning. It took about 5 hours to get to our hotel and another hour to get to our first stop...
Bryan's great-great-great grandfather Perigrine Sessions carved his name in Independence Rock. We walked around the whole thing and couldn't find it. We did see many other names including this one...

Our next stop was The Martin's Cove visitors center. We picked out a handcart and trekked to Martin's Cove. While in the Cove, the Missionary there read us the story of Bryan's great-great-great grandmother Sarah Crossley. She was a member of the Martin handcart company. If you'd like, you can read her story here.
We really couldn't do much with the Sweetwater River. It was spilling over it's banks while we were there from all the rain we had been getting. We did walk on a trail next to it and crossed a bridge over it, but we weren't able to get in to cross it.

The last place we saw was Devils Gate. It's where the Sweetwater river carved a cleft in the rocks. Many pioneers traveling west would stop here to climb around the rocks. After finishing up at the Visitors Center, we drove back to our hotel, swam in the pool, and slept. The next day we visited an old prison in the town we were staying in and then drove home. Like I said, short and sweet, and well worth it.

First day of school

The first day of school came and went with no crying done by me (or the kids for that matter!). Call me a bad mother if you wish but I celebrate and look forward to the start of a new school year. My kids need routines and early bedtimes which are definitely lacking during the summer months. This year Anna is a sophomore, Ellie's in 6th, Tyler's in 2nd, and Kate is in a home preschool group. Here are their first day of school pictures, a tradition in our house! (FYI- Tyler's in the awkward big front teeth stage and doesn't know how to smile with them yet- poor kid!)

Summer vacation...

has finally and officially ended. So I guess it's time for me to get my act together and start posting again. It's in the works, just give me a few days. While you're waiting you can enjoy this lovely picture. My Aunt Trudy visited for a day this summer and we took the kids to the Tracy Aviary. Nutty kids!

You Go Girl!

Ellie was required by her 5th grade teacher to enter the school Science Fair this year. So she did and was one of the winners! Good job Ellie, we're so proud of you!
**PS- I found out today that Ellie has advanced to the Tooele County School District Science Fair. She's dropping off her project right now (she went over with a friend who also won) and we'll go back Friday morning to see who wins.

I scream, you scream...

...we all scream for Ice Cream! Happy Ice Cream for Breakfast Day!
What better way to cheer up the long cold winter then by eating ice cream for breakfast! Thanks Aunt Trudy for telling us about this delicious holiday. We'd been looking forward to it for a few weeks and enjoyed it very much this morning. I made some cowboy coffee cake to go with it cause I couldn't bring myself to just serve ice cream. It kind of rounded out the meal a little.
I had good intentions on making a trip to Salt Lake to get Baskin-Robbins seeing as how that's what I was raised on. My parents owned a Baskin-Robbing store until I was 12, and my grandparents had one too for a while when I was a kid. The Todd family members love Baskin-Robbins and can down a gigantic bucket (the ones in you see in the display case) in no time at all when we're all together. In fact- I remember going to my cousins house in Florida when I was 11 or 12 (so that we could all go to Disney World) and eating Baskin-Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream for breakfast one day. So Todd family- please excuse the cartons of Dreyers on the counter, if Baskin-Robbins was closer I would have gone.

We can't wait to celebrate this one again next year!

It's not Disneyland...

Last year we surprised the kids with a Christmas trip to Disneyland. Well that didn't happen this year. This year we spent a few days in Logan at my parents house. All of my sisters and their families were there. While there we found out that Beaver Mountain was having a family ski night the Monday after Christmas so we decided to go. Everyone went with the exception of my parents, my little sister Bailey (she's expecting), the little girls (Kate, Scout and Eli- who are all to young), and my nephew Logan who had puked earlier in the day (yuck!). They stayed home and went to a movie instead.

Here's the movie bunch...And here's the ski/snowboarding bunch, all 14 of us...Bryan and I had not strapped on skies for 13+ years. I was a little nervous. Ellie learned to ski last year in school but had not skied since. She hung out with us up on the big hill and did really good for only her second time. Anna learned to snowboard a few years ago but doesn't go very often. She hung out with her cousin and uncles. Here we are after surviving our first time up the lift. Tyler took an hour long lesson along with my sisters and 3 of his cousins. I guess there was frustration and tears at first, but he finally caught on and enjoyed himself. After the lesson Bryan took him up the lift to try out the big hill. And he survived! Overall it was cold, but a lot of fun. I actually hope we get to go again before the season is over

It came and it went...

Christmas came and went. And it was great!

We slept under the tree on Christmas Eve Eve...

We made cookies for Santa...
We ate our traditional Christmas Eve dinner at Pizza Hut with Bryan's sister's family...
Santa came...
Everyone got what they asked for...
The End!