Messed up....

I messed up the blog, and now I can't figure out how to fix it. If you are looking at it and wonder why it is so weird, that is why. I am working on it. To be continued....

Vacation Time...

We have never gone on a BIG family vacation with the children. This year we really wanted to do just that. We spent a wonderful week in San Diego, California. The best part was that we were able to fly instead of driving like the original plan. It made for a much happier mom and dad.





The first day of the trip was unfortunate. The kids got to spend the day at the resort in the pool and in the condo. Mom got REALLY sick!! I mean the can't lift your head up, want to sleep on the bathroom floor, sick. Thank goodness it only lasted a day and were were able to move on to bigger and better things the next day.

We headed to Sea World!! I think that was my favorite part of the trip. You could spend so much time there. We went to the dolphin show and Donny & Payton got picked to be in the show with the trainers.







McKenzie and I were a little jealous that we didn't get to be in the show but they only needed a dad and a boy to fit in the script that they had planned. It was fun to see them get to participate though.

End of Summer Fun

Of course the end of summertime also marks the beginning of the school year. I think that this time of year may very well be the happiest time of year for a stay at home mom. Time for the chaos and screaming between children to subside for at least a few hours a day. McKenzie and Payton started at a brand new school this year. McKenzie is in 5th grade and Payton in 1st. They both really enjoy their classes and teachers. Addy Mae is the only one left home during the day with me but she enjoys going to pick up her brother and sister from school every day.

A Long While...

Ok, so those of you who look at the blog regularly know that I have been a complete slacker the last 5 months. So sorry to disappoint...cause I'm sure that plenty of you were...but, I'm back now. Here goes the LONG list of updates on what has been up the last little while.

Race time...

We traveled over to Grand Junction, Colorado for a couple days of racing. Payton is becoming quite the little driver. The track there is quite a bit different that the one we usually race at in Tooele. There were more turns and some elevation changes. He had 4 races total for the weekend. The first heat race on Saturday he took his first win. It was such an amazing moment. He was very proud. The main event that day was a little different. Donny made a change that was a gamble to make him faster and unfortunately it made him a little slower. He came in 4th for that race. There were 14 karts in that race so 4th place was amazing. These drivers came from all over the state of Colorado. Most of them were from Denver on their way to the National Championships. He did so great.

Sunday's heat race was similar to the one on Saturday. He kicked butt and came in first place yet again. This time, Donny decided not to touch a single thing on the kart for the main event. Payton started in the first position. The kart next to him was a boy named Tyler that he became friends with while we had been there. He had a really strong kart also. Tyler was able to take the lead right away. About 4 laps in to the 10 lap race, Tyler spun out at the top of the hill. Payton took the lead away from him and had a good 8 second lead by the time he was able to get going again. He had a good lead on the rest of the field. With 3 laps to go, Payton spun at the top of the hill in the same place as Tyler had laps before. He was in the dirt and couldn't get back to the track in time. Tyler was able to pass him and take a large lead. He finished the race in 2nd place.

It was a very intense race for 6 year olds. We are so proud of the finish he got and couldn't believe the size of the trophy that he received. You can see in the pics how large it is. The boy next to him with the other trophy is Tyler, his Colorado racing buddy. The best part was, when they got off of the track and out of the karts, the first thing the boys did was congratulate each other and give a high five. Even if he didn't come in 1st place, he was so happy that Tyler did.

Jackson Hole

We had a fabulous trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, over the 24th holiday. My friends parents have a cabin about 45 min out of Jackson that they were kind enough to let us stay at. There were 4 families that went out all together. We had a blast. The total came out to be 9 adults, 9 kids, and 3 dogs. Lots of chaos!!!

We picked 1 day out of the 4 and made a caravan up to into town. I was a little shocked that it wasn't a little more like Park City. I guess I had the total wrong impression about what I was going to see. It was beautiful, of course, just not what I was expecting. I thouhgt there would be big lodges and hotels. Not the case. We didn't shop, but I here that is great as well.

We stopped at a pizza place in town to have some lunch. It was called Mountain High Pizza. I can't tell you how delicious it was. Great pizza!!! After lunch, we headed up to Jenny Lake in the Grand Teton National Forest. Absolutely beautiful!!! The kids all stripped down and went swimming in the lake while they guys went fishing. After a little hike to find a good spot, of course.

Our last stop after we left Jenny Lake was about 20 more minutes into the canyon to Jackson Lake. There is a big lodge with a bunch of cottages that you can stay in. The best part of it was the view out of the window out onto the lake at the mountains. The Teton mountains are incredible. We have wonderful mountains here but these are shaped totally different and were so awesome. My camera decided to stop working the night before so I was really sad not to get pics of them.

Here are some of the pics that I did get before my camera died. We had so much fun with everyone. Thanks to Jenni and Brent for inviting us and I hope we can go again next year!!

The many faces of Addy Mae

I have way too many pictures of Addy Mae to post so I decided to put together a slide show of her many faces. If she sees a camera, she instantly says cheese. Of course, there are always those times when she isn't so happy we are taking her picture.