Thanksgiving Feast

Harlee and I went to eat a Thanksgiving feast with Breil at his school. She LOVES going to the kids school and Breil loves to have us come. The food wasnt too bad and the company was amazing!

Family Pictures 2010

Family pictures are very hard for us to get done. Jared is very particular about our pictures and there are so many "homeade" photographers out there that he wont let take our pictures. It is very frustrating for me because I cant tell the difference. So, his friend Brandon, who is a photographer took our pictures. They did a trade. Jared did his family and Brandon did ours. It was so much fun to watch them work. They have different styles but they are both gifted photographers who dont need a lot of extra to make a good photo. I am very pleased with our pictures!

Time Out For Women 2010

My friend Kaci and I have been friends for over 8 years. Almost 6 years ago Kaci moved out of state but we have always stayed close. Now, she lives in Mississippi and so we get together more often. We met in Houston for TOFW in March of 2009 and in Oct of this year we met in Dallas. This is almost the whole gang with Hillary Weeks. My friend, Brittany, from Ricks came along but somehow she got lost in the crowd.

On the last night we went to Cheesecake Factory...

...Kaci and I finished our Cheesecake for breakfast. I think this is why we have been friends for so long.

Buddy Walk 2010

On October 16th the kids and I went to the Buddy Walk to support a friend. It was so fun and I enjoyed the opportunity to do something for others with my kids. It was a lot of fun and a good learning experience for my kids. Its a walk for Down Syndrome. Its just one mile but along the walk were pictures of different kids. It was a really awesome experience.

Ella got both sides of her face painted.

Breil didn't want his painted at all.

Most little girls like flowers and rainbows...Harlee wanted a spider.

She was so proud of that spider!

Field Trip with Breil

I got to go with Breil on his field trip to a farm. He got sick while we were there so we were only there for about 45 minutes but he got to milk a cow and pet a few animals. I love being able to go on these things with the kids. It is so much fun!

1st Day of School

This year Breil started Kindergarten! He was so excited. His teacher is Mr Stanton and he is so excited to have a "boy" teacher. Ella is in 2nd grade this year. Her teacher is Ms Totty and Ella is very excited. We met Mrs. Totty and think that it will be a good fit. I am the room mom for Ellas class this year. I really like her. Harlee is home with me and really misses her brother and sister but I think she likes the one on one time with mom. :)

Harlee is 3!

Harlee is 3 today! Time really flies when you are a parent. It is hard to imagine that my baby is 3 years old already! She is so pleasant and brings a lot of fun and excitement to our family! We couldnt imagine life without her! We love you Harlee Brooke!

Harlee singing

Sweet Baby

The other day Harlee was the only kid at home and she told me she was going to play in Ellas room by herself. She told me to leave her alone for a minute. Well, anyone who knows my Harlee knows that she really shouldnt be left alone for a minute but I gave her her space. Knowing her though, I went to check on her in about 5 minutes and this is what I found. My sweet baby sound asleep in the middle of Ellas floor! I should have known when she took her blanket in there.

Fort Worth Zoo again

My friend Michelle and I decided to take our little kids to the zoo before it gets too hot. It was pretty hot anyway but you NEVER go to the zoo in Texas in the summer. Plus we didnt have to take all of our kids this way. :) The kids had a real good time together.

My kids think they have to pose on every statue in the zoo so McKinley joined them.

Breil loved this part. There was also a huge tarantula out for the kids to see as well as some turtles. The guy said the tarantula was really calm and harmless. I wish I had a picture to show you how not calm and harmless it looked.
This is just Harlee being Harlee.

Another obligatory animal statue photo.

Breil, Luka, Harlee and McKinley

Ellas field Trip to the Zoo

Ellas class recently went to the zoo. She had 3 field trips this year but this one was the only one we were able to go on. Actually, Jared took her. A friend of mine had agreed to watch the kids so I could go and then it turned out Jared was home that day. It was so cool for her to have her dad come. I usually will go eat with her every once in awhile and stuff but Jared never gets to go so this was a special day. He lucked out too, because he only took Ella and he friend Jayla. They all had a good time!

In the new Museum of Living Art they have a guy there with some spiders and snakes the kids can pet.

Breils Last Day of School

This year Breil was in a preschool taught by someone in our ward. She was a kindergarten teacher before and for some extra money started teaching from her home. It worked out great for Breil. It was only 6 kids and 5 of them were boys. He LOVED it. On the last day of school his teacher, Maegan, did water games and then ice cream sundaes after. It was a lot of fun!

When they ran out of water balloons Maegan just let them run around the hose.

This is Breils class. They are waiting for a science expirement. From left to right its, Matthew, McKinley, Dominique, Kaden, Breil and Joe.
Breil loves to get wet...

And hula! Apparently he does not enjoy waiting his turn for ice cream!

Fort Worth Museum

A couple of weeks ago my friend Michelle invited us to go to the museum. The kids love getting together with hers so it was a lot of fun!

Breil and McKinley had a good time driving the ambulance around!

As did Harlee!
Breil was a very organized shopper and took it very seriously.

Harlee, however, dumped everything she could into her cart, checked out, and returned for more stuff. She just went crazy!

There were TONS of field trips that day so the only thing outside of the kids area we did was check out the dinosaurs. All 4 kids fit perfectly inside this dinosaur footprint.

After the museum we found a cool little park downtown. It was in the center of downtown and had this Spiderman looking rope fixture that Breil LOVED! He thought it was so cool. Then we headed to Jamba for a yummy smoothie! It was a really fun day!

Banquet

This past weekend I assisted Jared with paperwork at a banquet he shot. It was a lot of fun to see him in action and we had our picture taken at the end.

In Memory Of...

Yesterday afternoon some friends of ours youngest son was shot and killed. He came home from school with his older sister and surprised burglars. His sister was not harmed but he was shot in the head. I served with his mom in the Primary Presidency and Jared served with his dad in the Elders Quorum. When he was ten he came to our meetings and played with Ella for me when Jared was not home. While I have not seen him in about 6 years my heart aches for his family. He was a good kid on a good path and for that, I know his parents are grateful. I am so grateful for my eternal family and hope to earn the right to be with them forever. My prayers are with the family and I pray they catch the idiots who did this!

Ella's school did a play with the entire first grade based off the three little pigs. It was called the "Three Piggy Opera". It was so cute. This is her teacher below telling the story. It was a little musical. We had so much fun making her into a pig and practicing all of the songs. I think this was a highlight for her school year this year.

Breils Birthday party

Breil turned 5 on March 18 this year. He had a little party with all his friends. I did it on a Friday morning so I was on my own so there are not a lot of great pictures but he still had a blast!
I love how kids gather around the present opening so tightly. It cracks me up.

We did cupcakes instead of a cake. It worked out real well that way!

Sea World

For Spring Break this year we decided to take a last minute trip to San Antonio. We hadnt taken a vacation (that didnt include visiting family) since Breil was an infant so we felt this was long overdue. It was a short trip but a lot of fun! The weather was beautiful and it wasnt too busy. The kids cant wait to go back!
All of the kids got to feed the seals. When Harlee was done she licked her fingers. It was so gross but her face (which I didnt get a picture of) was priceless.

The dolphin and beluga show has had this same funny guy that runs around getting people wet since I was a teenager. I think it was the kids favorite part of the show.

little brother home

Me and Daniel
My mom and dad and Daniel.

Katy and Daniel

Random people wait with all the balloons!

There were originally 24 but 2 popped before he came out!

My little brother Daniel returned home from his mission on February 12. He served in the Idaho Pocatello Mission. He was supposed to be home on February 11 but due to the CRAZY snow we had that day he was stuck in Salt Lake for a day. He was not a happy camper. These are a few photos of us at the airport.