Easter

Easter is pretty low-key with young ones when you basically do the egg-coloring for them. But it was fun. Cousins Dusty and Kaylee came over, and the kids had a blast.

Wyatt's egg with W's all around it. He's obsessed with the letter "W for Wyatt."

We hid the eggs in our basement, because the weather was no good.

They all had a good time and got lots of candy!

Christmas EVE!

Christmas in our home was practically effortless for me this year. I did most of my shopping online, and come December 1st, Ross had our tree cut and setup. So I got the fun and easy part of decorating. I guess I needed the energy to plan the May Family Christmas Party. Ross and I were in charge and were fortunate enough to be able to use the Cox Family Cabin. We got to snowmobile into the cabin and spend three or four days together. It was so fun. All the children had a blast playing outside in the snow, and all the adults were so grateful for such a place to stay together for a weekend. That took place the weekend before Christmas.

Ross had to work the 23rd-26th on the week of Christmas so we had to make some adjustments. We thought about waking up Wyatt and Misty at 5am to open presents before dad had to leave, but Ross wanted to be able to spend some time with them after they opened their presents. So on Christmas Eve, I took the kids to Wal-Mart just before Ross would get home. Santa got everything ready by the time we got back from the store. Even though we didn't get to wake them up and tell them Santa came, they were just as excited to find that he had come while we were gone to the store.

Sorry for the picture overload. I was just as excited as they were. Christmas is even more fun now, since my kids are older, than when I was little.

Excited to get started.

What did Santa bring?

To:Misty From:Wyatt

To:Wyatt From:Misty

Before we went to bed, we had a little basketball game in Wyatt's room with his gift from Santa.

Misty was the cheerleader...

Yeah right! Look at those skills!!

Christmas day we headed over to spend Christmas evening with the Baileys. Traditional pizza party with games and presents. It was so fun to be able to see almost everyone in mine and Ross' family for the holidays.

Victory and CANDY!

I was kind of a bum this year for Halloween. At first, I was really excited to dress up, and plan some kind of theme for our little family to follow. Misty would be Tinker bell, Wyatt would be Peter Pan, Ross would be Captain Hook, and I would be a pregnant Wendy! Okay, maybe I would pass better for Mr Smee. I thought up what I would wear, then when it came down to it, those clothes just didn't fit me anymore. Then the excitement was lost, and I figured Ross would be happier not to dress up for a children's holiday, so I bagged the idea. Luckily, before that happened, I'd already asked my sister if I could borrow Peter Pan and Tinkerbell outfits her kids wore last year. Even though my kids napped through the trunk-or-treat and some of the houses we hit afterwards were apparently done handing out candy at 5:30, they did get some candy and grandparents got to see them in their cute little outfits.

I was glad they had good naps, because we headed up to the State Championship Volleyball game where Ross' youngest sister Laurel was playing. We won state, and it was very late by the time we changed them out of their costumes into pajamas to head home. It was such an exciting game! Everyone expected the other team to win. They have won it for the last few years, I think. But the girls went out and gave it their all, and it paid off winning the match in five games. They really deserved to win. The kept it together and played their little hearts out. Laurel played so well, especially for having two knee surgeries in the last two years (separate knees) Way to go Lady Hawks! The kids did pretty well at the game. There may have been a moment where I was surprised at the call and was screaming in shock which scared Misty. Ross took her up higher in the stands to calm her down, and let her play. Thanks love. Anyway, it turned out to be a fun and exciting night. I wish I could've gotten a picture of the whole team, but I'm slow.

Our King Cowboy

Ross' dad, Alan, was asked to be the King Cowboy of Sanpete County this year--what an honor! He gets to ride in two parades, and he got a pair of chaps. They will also write an article about him and all of his accomplishments. So he rode in the Moroni City parade on the 4th of July. He had the team of gray mares pulling the wagon with some of his grandkids on there throwing candy. It was a great way to start out our 4th of July! P.S. Sorry I don't have very good pics of him. All the closeups I took of just him didn't turn out. It was very sunny.

Okay, this is not the King Cowboy (obviously), but maybe in the future huh? What a cutie!
Waiting for the parade to start.

Wyatt and cousins, Audrey, Alan and Sarah throwing candy. They had a blast!

Alan wanted Ross to ride with him. He was a little worried about taking the team around so many people. He wanted to be prepared. Ross worked the night before, and hadn't slept for a long time, but he was game.

After the parade, we gathered up our food for a picnic up at the springs. We usually go somewhere to cool off on the 4th and this was the perfect spot. We all rode up on the wagon, had lunch, relaxed, and also sang happy birthday to Ross' mom, Brenda.

Wyatt finishing someone else's soda.

Cousin Autumn sporting a cowboy hat.

Misty being a cutie patootie with her crinkle-nosed face.

Later on that night, we went over to Holly's with the intent to do some home fireworks. Our town doesn't do fireworks on the 4th, they wait a few weeks until Lamb Day. As soon as it started to get dark, the wind picked up real bad, so we decided to wait. Pretty soon we were watching someone real fireworks from an awesome lightning storm. It was cool! And it rained a little, and the kids enjoyed it. It was a fun and eventful day.