The Story of my Family

First Three Months

2011-12-28T10:29:00.003-07:00

Hailee one month oldHailee two months old

Hailee three months oldShe wouldn't leave her dress alone

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T08:46:00.003-07:00

Merry Christmas

Love,

Dylan, Carson,

Shawn, and Hailee

Oh how sweet

2011-11-16T13:40:00.003-07:00

Little Hailee

2011-10-19T14:36:00.005-06:00

The Birth Story

2011-10-17T14:14:00.004-06:00

It all started around 4:45 am. I woke up with mild contraction. I decided to go downstairs and watch some TV. (Thinking that these were false contraction just like the night before.) As I was siting there they were starting to get more intense. Walking around wasn't helping to much. So around 6 I went upstairs to get in the tub. I woke Blair up when I started the tub he came in and asked if this was it. My response was “I don't know”. We were looking in a book to see if we should go to the hospital. I was started with the boys so I never have the “it time, lets go”. We decided it was real but we weren’t in an hurry to get to the hospital. My contractions were coming about 5 to 2 min apart and were tolerable in pain. At 7:15 the boys woke up, Blair told them there sister was on her way. They were so excited and nervous. We had breakfast, put my bags in the car, fed the animals, then we left for the hospital. While in the car my contraction were getting stronger and closer together. I started hitting my head on the car window to help with the pain. As soon as we got to the hospital the security guard got me a wheel chair just as I went to sit my water broke. That’s when the pain was bad. I get up to labor and delivery knowing I wanted an epidural right a way. The nurse checked me and said I was at a 5. I told her to call for an epidural and my Doctor. Not even 20 minutes later my Dr and the anesthesiologist walk in. My Dr could tell I was in a hole lot of pain. When my Doctor check me and said there was no time for pain meds. it was time to push. Now at this time my boys were in the waiting room with my mother in law. They said they could hear me screaming the hole time. I was grabbing Blair’s hand and biting him to help with my pain. I was so scared to have a baby natural but two pushes and she was out. The pain was defiantly really bad but I made it and after she was born I felt great. I was only in labor for a total of 4 hours, and at the hospital for only 30 minutes before she was born. We made it just in time.
Hailee and Brooke were on our list of favorite names. We were having a hard time on a middle name. The boys have middle names are after people in our family. So the question was, Do we carry on that with our baby girl? One of the name we liked was Hazel. That is Blair Great Grandmas name. So the names we were thinking of were Brooke Hazel or Hailee Brooke. The thing is Brooke has no meaning to our family. We thought she looked more like a Hailee than a Brooke. But Brooke as her middle name was not going with the family names and why give her a middle name just because. We asked our parents what the middle names are of our grandparents. Blair Grandmas name is Delores Faye. Right then we knew that was it. Hailee Faye was perfect for our little girl and she is named after a very wonderful grandma.

Introducing

2011-09-30T14:40:00.010-06:00

Hailee Faye 6lb 12oz

19 1/2 in long Delores Faye and Hailee Faye

Summer/Fall Part 2

2011-09-13T14:11:00.018-06:00

So here's the rest of the summer pictures!

We are pretty much ready for baby girl to come

The boys started School.

We went to the Davis county Rodeo

We bought a horse

this is Cisco
Dylan stared footballMy friends from work throw a triple baby showerWe went to the zooThis is the kind of rattle snake that bit DylanAnd more camping, fishing, and more horsesThere is also soccer, playing with the twins, making Salsa,
playing with cousins, family dinners, and house cleaning.

Spring/Summer Part 1

2011-07-21T11:48:00.016-06:00

Wow what a summer we have had so far.

My boys better not say anything about being bored.

In no particular order.

Baby shower for my Sister-in-law

Shawn Graduation from Preschool

celebrated Shawn's 5th birthday.Celebrated my dad's 5oth birthdayAnd celebrated the birth of my twin nephews.There's been lots of playing outside

Riding my parents horses.we went hiking a few times.

Some hikes better then others The result in a not great of a hike/camp out.....

Rattle snake bite, three days at Primary Children Hospital,

a IV in both arms, swollen ankle up to his hip, 30 vials of anti-venom,

a ambulance ride,

not able to walk, crutches

oh yeah, one good thing anything you want to eat at anytime!!Playing with the twins.

BBQ's and Family
Swimming

Boating With Grandpa CampingAnd getting ready for baby girl in 2 monthsNot to mention,

11 year anniversary, 30th birthday, cousin sleepovers, grandparent sleepovers, trip to Idaho, swimming lessons, fire works, and still more to come.

Heres our little girl

2011-06-02T10:32:00.002-06:00

Our trip down to Southern Utah

2011-05-09T11:20:00.006-06:00

The first camping trip of the year!

Update

2011-04-18T11:49:00.019-06:00

I wanted to update everyone really fast on what's new with our little family!

Around the end of September we will be adding a Little Girl to our family of boys!!!!!

We decided on waiting to tell everyone about the pregnancy until we found out

the sex of the baby. I was a little scared about keeping it a secret for that long.

So far everyone has been totally shocked! hahaha. When we told the boy's they

were stunned and their faces just glassed over. lol! They're really excited to be big brother's to a little sister.

So far the pregnancy has been harder and really different. I wasn't sure if it was just because I'm getting older or if it was a girl.

I was secretly hoping it was a girl.

My Doctor said you're never 100% sure it's a girl until it's here, lol. He's 80-90% sure it's a girl. There's that 10-20% that worries me. Although, after watching the ultrasound DVD a bunch of times and having had boys were pretty confident it's a girl.

So life here is going to be really different!!!

Snowmobiling trip

2011-03-20T11:02:00.008-06:00

Back in February Blair's Dad took all the kids and grandkids on a little Snowmobiling trip in the Unitas.

It was amazingly beautiful.

It was so much fun. I was a little scared to drive one of the snowmobiles. But it turned out to be so much fun. Even the little kids loved it up to a point.

After all day outside there was nothing better than to come in and play the WII

Thanks Grandpa Tom for a great trip. Lets do it again!!!!

The Start of 2011

2011-01-25T14:48:00.027-07:00

January is almost over and I haven't even posted anything in December!

Well here goes!

We start of with Dylan's 10Th Birthday.

Yes I said 10.

Where does time go?

(Pie in the face!)
-

-
Next we come to Christmas.
Santa did make it to our house.
Can you tell?
-

New Years is always fun.

Lots of Food, WII, and Hyper Children.

-
Shawn Preschool Program.

- -

Pack meetings are all ways great fun.
-
This time Carson's wolf class had the skit. Very Funny!

And Dylan received his Bear award. So proud of him!

Then Grandpa Tom took the older Grand-kids Night skiing,While the little ones went to Grandma Lori's.

Then it was a sleepover night at Grandma Lori's with all 8 of the Grand-kids.

My Baby Brother Kyle turned 16

Emily made this amazing cake

And some more exciting news is my brother Justin and his wife Emily found out they are having

Twin Boys.

And my friend from work had her baby girl three weeks early

10lb 10oz

21.5in long

Everything is good

No black friday for me

2010-12-04T20:41:00.017-07:00

The day after Thanksgiving My cute little family went up to my parents to go

sledding with my Uncle, Aunt and Cousins from Las Veges!

My cousin's wanted too play in the snow while they were up here!

Hot Stuff Dylan!

Cool Man Carson!

Little Stud Shawn!

Here is the beginning of a family sled train.

WOW they all made it down with their sleds.

Now this next picture is....

Well I don't know!

Bottom going up Justin, Kyle, Blair, and, Dylan
Now this Video is funny!

My Aunt didn't want to go sledding.

Blair and Justin decided she had too.

My aunt decided Blair was going to go down with her.

Shawn wanted Grandma to go down with him.

We had a good time with my Family.

I am glad we were able to spend another day with them before they had to head

home.

Here is our Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T14:14:00.015-07:00

This year for Thanksgiving we went to my Grandmas house in Provo.

Now you have to understand that my Mom's siblings have not all been together for at least 4 years.

So on that note; This thanksgiving was a very loud, exciting, crazy, laughing so hard you cry, and a walk down memory lane one.

I remember as a little girl the same thing would happen when they all got together.

There was only three of my cousin not there and my little brother Kevin.

(The total number at dinner was 31 family members and 7 dogs. We were also missing 7 dogs!! WOW what a fam.)

Well actually...................

Kevin was there!!!!

We thought it would be funny to have a life size Kevin made up.

We found out if we did the body of Kevin it would be $100 but if we use a famous persons body it was $30.

So yes that is Kevin's head and neck but President George Bush's body.

(good job dad on cutting Kevin's head and neck out to fit on the body)

I decided I need to take a picture of my Mom's family.

I call everyone in to get their pictures done. Right this should be easy, no they were terrible, it was like trying to get 12 three year old's to hold still.

So this is the best picture I got of them.

Back row: Gary, Cindy, Keith, Chris, Christopher, Ann, and Brad.

Front row: Grandma Sandy, Grandpa Les, Jan, Jeff, and Tammy

The names in bold are my Grandma's Children.

Here is one of all my cousin. They were much easier to get their picture and there was almost double of us. My brother Justin and Me are the only ones married and I am the only one with kids. That is until June.

My brother and his wife Emily are having TWINS!!!!!!

I had a great Thanksgiving!

How was your Thanksgiving?

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T16:25:00.009-07:00

*I am so thankful for my wonderful family.

*I have the greatest boys that anyone could ever ask for

and that include my husband!

*We are very fortunate that our families live so close to us.

* I love spending the holidays with all our family.

*I am also grateful that my boys get to know all their Great Grandparents.

*I am very thankful for this time of year.

*I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving day!!

*Eat lots of turkey!

Better late then never

2010-11-12T16:00:00.005-07:00

Carson

Shawn Dylan
Despite the rain on Halloween it turned out to be a really great night. The boys and their cousin made it back to the house with their bags full of yummy treats.

Carson's Birthday

2010-10-03T17:54:00.004-06:00

My little Carson had his Birthday last month.

For his Birthday we went up Farmington Canyon to go hiking, shooting and enjoy the Fall weather. It was perfect.

Then a few days later he was baptized.
That was a very special day for him.
I am very proud of him and the decision he made to get baptized. He has growing-up to be such a great young man.
I love him very much! Just look how cute he is.He is also so excited about starting scout and can’t wait to start getting his awards.

Elder Ballantyne

2010-09-30T10:23:00.006-06:00

Elder Kevin Ballantyne is now in Wales, England. Here is his new address.

Elder Kevin Ballantyne
7 trinity square Flat 4,
Llandudno, Wales
LL30 2RA

Keep writing him and visit his blog
www.elderkballantyne.blogspot.com

School+Soccer+Salsa=Fall

2010-09-14T13:25:00.007-06:00

Dylan's first day of 4th grade

Carson's first day of 2nd grade Shawn's first day of pre-school. They are all in School. CRAZY! Two days a week I have me time.

My little Salsa helper!

Last night before school

2010-08-22T20:31:00.010-06:00

Dylan looks a little angry but he's really not. He just doesn't like me taking pictures of him.

It's the boys last day of Summer and my Brother Kevin's Birthday, I thought it would be fun to have a little celebration with A Delicious Snickers Cake.

This video of Shawn broke my heart.

Summer 2010

2010-08-11T21:46:00.017-06:00

Here's how our summer went!

Camping!Dad and Dylan's Backpacking Trip Fireworks
10 Year Wedding Anniversary Family BBQ'S

Fun in WaterI also celebrated my 29Th Birthday, Blair and the Boys gave me a Purple Mountain Bike!

Precious pictuers from Fathers Day

2010-06-23T19:15:00.006-06:00

Happy Fathers Day!

June Camping Is the Best

2010-06-17T10:31:00.006-06:00

It worked out with my schedule at work that we would be able to go camping this last weekend. So we asked my only brother living at home right now if he wanted to come with us. We were all so excited to go. That is until we the weather down here was cold. That only means it's going to be worse in the mountains. Blair was on the computer checking the weather up in the Uintas. We decided to try going anyways. If it was way bad we could come home.

The normal spot we stay was full of snow and mud. Now that wasn’t going to work.
So we went and found a new spot with less snow and mud and it was perfect.

It was absolutely beautiful and peaceful up there.

The boys love to go fishing. Especially Shawn!

Even Tanna loves to go camping!

Fun in the sun!

2010-06-08T10:31:00.009-06:00

The next chapter

2010-05-23T18:19:00.005-06:00

This month we also celebrated Shawn's Birthday. We had the family come over earlier in the week for a birthday party. On his actual birthday we went to my parent's house for a party, both for Shawn and Kevin.

Kevin left for England the next morning.

Here he is with Auntie Em playing none other than his favorite game

"go fish."
Shawn loves to paint. This is one of the present his brothers gave him.

Happy Birthday My Little Baby!

New blog

2010-05-21T15:24:00.008-06:00

We had some technical problems with Kevin's blog here is his new blog address

http://www.elderkballantyne.blogspot.com/

We just added a "k"

Let everyone know please!

First camping trip this year

2010-05-13T08:58:00.008-06:00

I am a just a little behind on my blogging.

So I will start with the beginning.

About a month ago we went camping at Goblin Valley. Going down to Southern Utah is my very favorite kind of camping. One of the best things was the weather was perfect not too hot and not too cold. Last year it was rain and cold.

I cannot get over how amazing this place is. Every time we go it takes my breath away. The kids love to slide down the mountains on their bums.
I actually only had two pairs a shorts that got holes in them. That's not so bad.

Don't ask me what they we're doing,

All I know is that here are some cousins having the time of their lives.

Update on the missionary!

2010-04-27T15:57:00.004-06:00

So my Sister in Law and I are going to do a Missionary blog for my brother Kevin.

We will post his pictures, letter and new address from England as we get them.

Please leave us any comments for him.

I can not believe he leave in one week from tomorrow!

http://www.elderballantyne.blogspot.com/

Easter

2010-04-06T13:40:00.005-06:00

Well the Easter bunny made it to our house.

Leaving behind lots of candy, new books, shirts, and kites. Shawn was really funny this year. He was with my mom at the store and this is how the conversation went.

Shawn: Grandma I want some candy

Grandma: The Easter bunny is going to bring you some candy in a couple days

Shawn had a very serious look on his face. You could tell he was thinking of something.

Shawn: but bunny's can't walk.

When my mom told my that I was laughing so hard.

Then after that Shawn would tell me that the rabbit is bring him candy

Carson was really excited for Easter. This year he wanted the Easter bunny to hide the eggs inside the house. As a kid I hated when we had to do Easter inside but Carson wanted it. I think he was very happy

Dylan got the book Lightning Thief. He was really happy about that. His friends told him that it was a good book. He also wanted Easter inside. He said it was because they was more places to hide the eggs.

Later that morning we went with my parents to Skull Valley. We rode their horse, shot guns, had a picnic, flew kites, and just had a hole lot of fun.

My parents also did a little Easter egg hunt out there for them.

Once again lots of candy!

I don't know who had more fun with the kites my boys or my brothers.

*On just a little side note Kevin leaves for England exactly one month from today :)

Just so everyone knows his farewell is on April 25th.

Hi there everyone

2010-03-09T14:04:00.004-07:00

Just a quick short post to tell you yes, we are still alive and well. It's just that not too much has happened with us.

I don't know about you but I am so tired of the gloomy weather! How much more of winter to we have to have? I know it's great to have the water, but can it come in December when we expect it to be cold and wet. Not know when I have really bad spring fever.

Oh well, we're planning a nice camping trip down to Southern Utah for spring break. That should help really help. I just don't think it can come soon enough.

5,4,3,2,1 Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T17:42:00.012-07:00

So here's how our New Year's night went.....

We went to Mark and Monica's house and had really good food and Live entertainment.

We thought it would be fun to have two Wii' s going;

the biggest hit was Band Hero.

The Go-Go Girls

Grandma and the Tots!

So sweet!

The Rolling Family

Carson and the boys

and The Deis Brother's!

(Watch out Jonas Brother's)

The whole family was able to have fun playing. I might not be the best guitarist, but I have to say everyone else did really good.

Maybe we should start up a real band! LOL;)

Band Hero is such a fun game!

I am so glad that my parents bought it for us for Christmas!

Christmas time!

2009-12-27T14:55:00.006-07:00

Christmas time is so much fun! We are so blessed to live by all our family and friends. That makes the holidays so much better. We were able so many Christmas activities.

Along with Dylan's Birthday parties. Yes I said parties, 4 if you are counting. I am so glad to only live a few minutes away from the temple. The temple square light are so beautiful. I just wouldn't recommend go the week of Christmas. It was crazy busy. But we were able to go on a tour of the Conference Center. That place is amazing. We have never been in there before.

Wow gorgeous.
Along with the lights, birthday parties, Christmas's parties, there is making ginger bread houses. Oh what fun. I am just glad the mess was at my father in laws house. He had all of us come over. That's 5 adults, 8 grand kids (7 of them boys.) Like I said glad it wasn't at my house.
On Christmas eve it's waiting for Santa to come. And of course lot of food. We went to Blair's grandparents in Plain City for dinner. Then home to watch the Santa tracker. We saw Santa in England than make his way to the USA. As soon as he came in the US, I told the boys it was time for bed. Santa was only in each state for 2 minute's, so he was making really good time;)
Before the Boys woke-up!

After the boys woke-up.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Where in the World is Kevin going to go??

2009-12-16T21:18:00.010-07:00

The day finally came, Kevin got his Mission call. I can not believe that my little, cute (don't tell him I said he is cute) brother is old enough to go on a mission.

Before we went up to my parents tonight I thought it would be fun to have my boy pick a state they though Kevin would be going. So we pulled out our puzzle of the USA ; Dylan picked Hawaii, Carson picked Florida and little Shawn picked Georgia. The rest of the family and friends all had there places pick around the world but, needless to say nobody guessed it right.

He got called to the England Manchester Mission and he will be going straight there on May 7Th, 2010.

One thing to remember when you are getting ready to go on a mission, get your pass port before you turn in your papers. Kevin has to wait close to 5 months know.

It was a really neat experience to be there along with friends and family waiting for Kevin to open up the call and see where he is going to be for the next two years. I am really proud of him for the decision he made to go on a mission.

He wanted to go out of the country but not have to learn a language. I think he is really excited to be going.

Family Pictures!

2009-11-06T10:27:00.011-07:00

So we had are family pictures finally done. We have wanted to do this for a really long time. Kevin is going to be turning in his papers for his mission, so we thought this was a good time. My parents have a friend in the ward that was nice enough to do this for us. I am pretty happy with what we got. My boys were so cute. Now I have to buy a lot of frames. Way to many good picture's. Here are just a few!

Halloween

2009-11-01T16:38:00.006-07:00

Halloween is such a fun holiday.

I just can’t believe it is already over and now we are on to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Which are really fun Holidays too but man what happened to the year!

The boys had so much fun carving their pumpkins. The only part I really had to help with was getting the guts out and helping then think of a face to carve. I attacked the Dylan and Carson with Halloween paint. Don't they look good? Good thing they have a good sense of humor!

For Halloween, the boy’s cousins come over and go trick or treating with them. I stay at home handing out the candy and making nice warm soup for when they come in. This has been a really fun tradition we started. I hope we do it every year.

Dylan as a gross, and scary zombie. He was so scary that he made a couple of his cousins cry. Little Shawn, as a cute but, scary skeleton. Shawn didn’t want his make-up done. Maybe he was nervous about how I did the boys make up earlier.Carson wanted to be the grim ripper. I think I did a good job on the makeup. He was happy.

The boys had a really good Halloween. I can't believe how much candy they got.

OH WHAT A WEEK!

2009-09-30T16:32:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago we celabrated Carsons birthday!We had dinner, root beer floats, and presents. But Carson had to wait all night to open his presents. We had to go to pack meeting that same night.

At pack meeting Dylan was awarded his Wolf badge, a gold arrow and two silver arrows.I got my mothers pin! Then they did bottle rockets. That was fun to watch.

Here goes Dylan’s!
What a night!
The next day I had all of Carson’s friends come over for a party! We did a treasure hunt, ate cupcakes, pop balloons, opened presents, let balloons go up in the air. I was trying to think of activities to keep them moving.

I was by myself for this party, I tell you I was wore out by the end.

The day after that, we had the family come over for another party! Opened more presents had more cupcake and ice cream.
I think he had really a good Birthday and in the end that’s all that matters!
*During this week we also found out that my Grandpa has prostate cancer. Luckily they found it early, he will do radiation for three months then he should be okay.
I love you Grandpa Les!

My little helper!

2009-09-08T14:36:00.008-06:00

Well, it’s salsa time!

And what a job it is. I picked the tomatoes and peppers from the wonderful garden that my husband did. Then got everything ready to start the all day process of SALSA.I thought that I was going to have to do it all by myself

(Blair and the two older boys had other things they were doing).

So I get started and who should come down to help........

My little helper….Shawn. I am not kidding he was the best helper. Once I told him what his jobs were his was on top of it. I didn’t have to tell him what to do.He made sure their were tomatoes in a bucket for me, helped my get the skin off the tomatoes, ("Pop them out" as he would say), he put the tomatoes in the blender, and then he would turn on the blender for me. He even helped me with the peppers. If any of you have made salsa you know you have to try it before you put it in the bottles. Shawn and I tried it I thought it was really good. Dylan came home and when he tried it he told Shawn "if you entered this in a salsa contest you would win."
Well Shawn is pretty proud of himself. If you ask him who made it he will tell you he did. I am so glad I had a really big helper for this.

August is already gone!

2009-08-27T09:40:00.012-06:00

Here is how our August went!

My Dad and Mom got a new horse. Then named him Kabio. He is a really pretty horse (a little stubborn but pretty.)
The boys wanted to go riding. So we meet my parents at the fair grounds. Carson and Shawn have cowboy boots and a hat they just had to wear.
Here is Carson and Shawn on Penny there first horse they bought!

I love this picture!
Shawn kept telling my dad he wanted to ride Kabio.
I realized all the pictures of Dylan on the horse were of the back of his head. Oh well it's still cute.

Then later that week we went to the Davis Fair.

The boys had so much fun at the petting zoo.
Shawn really likes the goats!
Every time I would walk by the goats they would try to eat Shawn. Shawn thought it was funny.Dylan started third grade. I cannot believe that! He was really happy to find out his two best buddies were in his class. I had so much fun doing back to school shopping with him. He knows what cool stuff he wants.
Carson stared first grade. He is now there all day! Carson was excited to have three recesses, lunch, and a couple friends in his class. He is even good about getting on the right bus. He doesn’t wait for Dylan. Just gets on with his friends. They grow up so fast:( Both the boys were really excited to start school. Lets see how long that last. Once the homework starts I think they will change their minds.

**Blair and the boys also went to Lake Powell with Grandpa Tom. Leaving me home all by myself. What a nice week that was. I hung out with my friend, we went to eat at my favorite Indian restaurant. I cleaned my house and it stayed clean. But after a few days I really started to miss them.
(I do have pictures of them there, but they are on the other computer and it is getting fix so i will post those soon.)

Best time of the year!

2009-07-05T12:04:00.011-06:00

This is my favorite time of the year! Last month Blair and I celebrated our wedding Anniversary :)
The next day we left to go camping again.

Mark and Monica have a little baby goat that the kids just love. The goat is so little.

It was perfect in the Uintah. The kids played with their cousins. It was quite and relaxing. It was a great camping trip. Until, we came home and got two flat tires on the trailer.

All the boys went fishing. They caught a lot of little fish. Shawn made Blair keep one. Shawn insisted that he needed to eat fish. If that’s what I can get the boys to eat then Blair might have to go fishing all the time.

On July 3rd we went up to Eaglewood Golf Course in North Salt Lake for firework. We go up there every year. It is so much fun. They do a really good show.

The next morning I took the boys to the Kaysville parade. We love this parade. It is more like a big party.

Not only were they throwing candy, they were throwing freebees, bead necklaces, shirts, little toys, and stuffed animals.

The float with the stuffed animals gave Shawn a little Stitch doll and this huge puppy.

He was so happy.

Later that day we went to Grandpa and Grandma Deis's house for a BBQ.

We had delicious food and lots of fun.

Then it's my birthday. There is always something going on with family, friends, warm weather, food, fireworks, parades, and camping. Now tell me why this is not the best time of the year.

Fun in the sun

2009-06-23T14:54:00.007-06:00

Summer is finally here!

The boys have wanted me to fill up their swimming pool for weeks now. So this week we finally got to do it. We had their friends come over and had a water party.

The bigger boys jumped on the tramp with the sprinkler underneath it.

Dylan learned how to do a knee flip and land it. He is so excited. I told him to do one and I would take his picture. Well, he ended up do 5 or 6 I would take the picture to soon or too late. Finally I got a good one.

Carson looks like a bug.

Shawn had to find little ones for him.

On fathers Days we met Blair’s family at a picnic area in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was really pretty up there. I took advantage of the beautiful surroundings for pictures.

I am so proud of myself for getting this picture of all the kids. They are all look at me.

(With the exception of one crying).

Camp Kiesel!

2009-06-17T15:53:00.007-06:00

Dylan went on his first day camp! He went with his scouts group to Camp Kiesel.

I had to get him up and ready at 6 in the morning. That was to early for me.

Then was home at 4.

He wanted to take the camera so we could see it.

His pictures actually turned out really good.

The boys have so much fun there. Blair remembers going up there as a child and how much fun he had. It looks like a neat place.

There were lots of activities for them to do like, canoeing, shooting guns and arrows. Dylan made a leather thing. (i don't know what it's called)

There is a store there to buy stuff. Dylan bought a slingshot and 2 rabbit skins and of course candy.

One special lady!

2009-06-04T12:05:00.005-06:00

Lucy is 86 years old and has lost her eyesight; her daughter (Carol) brings her to my salon every Wednesday morning. Lucy has been coming to the salon for over 11 years. They drive all the way from the Rose Park area.

I have been doing her hair for 4 years now. Even thought the boys have never met her. They still call her Grandma Lucy.
Lucy is one of those ladies that everyone loves.

Her and her husband were married June 24th, 1940. He passed away 40 years ago due to cancer. She still lives in her house. Her grandchildren and great grandchildren live there to help take care of her. Even with her eye site gone she still love to crochet dish towels, listen to the jazz and bees on the radio and she love to listen to cooking shows.
Lucy husband (Lou) was an executive vise president an Electric Company. The company would fly all over to do electrical work. There were many times that Lou would call Lucy up from work and tell her to get ready he was coming home to get her. He wouldn’t tell her were they were going to go. Then they would get in the airplane and fly to different place. One time they went to Hawaii just for lunch.

Lucy is always thinking of other people. She is so kind and caring. She loves my family and me like we were part of hers. She is always giving the boys money if they have a something special coming up. She is a very sweet lady.

Memorial Weekend!

2009-05-27T15:56:00.007-06:00

For Memorial Day, weekend we decided that it would be fun to go camping in the Uintas. We left Saturday after work and maybe twenty minute in to the drive we got a flat tire on the trailer. Luckily there was a spot off the road where we could pull over and Blair changed the tire. Then we were off again. The Uintas is such a peaceful place to go camping. We love it there and it is only 2 hours away. You can beat that.

Shawn is all about camping this year and was excited to go fishing with his daddy.

He had to make sure we had the worms.

Then it was off to catch the fish. Well there went any fish. They still had fun trying.

While we were there it did rain on us. But really, when doesn’t it rain there.

If the rain got too bad we would go into the trailer and play games or read book. Even with all the rain it was not as cold as I thought it was going to be. The snow had mostly melted which made the river the highest I have ever seen it. I was so nervous to camp by the river but we told the boys to say away from it.

Don't worry Grandma Sandy they didn't go by it.

Dylan likes to find a couple of sticks to bring home. Some of them he will use his pocketknife and carve them. While we were out finding wood, the boys found this hut that someone made. They thought it was really neat to think someone really slept in it.
Shawn of course had to find his rocks. He would also find flowers and give them to me. Then he told me that I was a flower. How sweet was that?

On Monday Grandpa and Grandma Deis came up for the day to visit us. (They are the ones who found the spot we camp at now.) It was really nice to have them come up to say hi. They are really great grandparents.

Then it was time to go home

To all the wonderful mothers........

2009-05-10T10:39:00.002-06:00

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!

Birthday Boy Shawn!

2009-05-05T09:54:00.006-06:00

I can’t believe it Shawn tuned 3 years old today!

Were did all those years all go. When I am pregnant I crave hot spicy food, even more then I do normally do. So to have Shawn on Cinco de Mayo is really neat.

I thought I would put on some pictures of him thought out his three years. Shawn is such a fun baby........I mean big boy now. He is an all around boy. He like motorcycles (cycles as he would say), airplanes (I wonder were he gets that), and coloring.
He loves to be outside. When he is out there he is usually looking for bugs, airplanes, birds, and rocks. He likes to play in the sand box, jump on the tramp, and play on the swing set.Shawn really likes to be with his brothers. Whatever they do Shawn does.
He has grown up to fast. What happened to my little baby?
Happy Birthady Shawn! Your family loves you so much.

Soccer!

2009-04-27T11:16:00.004-06:00

Dylan soccer Game!

Dylan is #6. His team name is the Red Flames. Dylan has fun a lot of playing soccer. He likes to run around with his friends. He likes to be the goalie. On Saturday he caught the ball, then it bounced of his chest and he caught it again. He wasn't going to let that team score.

Carson and Shawn watching Dylan at his game. The grass was wet so I told them not to sit on the grass; Carson showed Shawn how to squat.

Carson’s Game!
His team changes there name every game, so each boy get to think of a team name.Carson really likes to play soccer. He gets right in there after the ball.

I really like going to their games and seeing them so excited to play.
Carson is # 3 in the yellow.

Spring Break Is Here!

2009-04-08T13:22:00.021-06:00

We decided to go down to Goblin Valley for part of the boy’s spring break. We went down there for our first time a couple of years ago and thought it was an amazing place.

On the way down there Dylan and Carson were in the playing their games boys and Shawn was watching Wall E. Before I put the movie on for him, he was acting the movie out. He loves that movie. How did our parents ever take us on vacation with out game boy, DVD players, and cell phones?

Blair's brother Mark and his wife Monica and their two kid Katie and Parker came down with us. My boys were happy to have their cousin to play with. They get tired of hanging out with mom and dad all the time.On the way down there we hit a little snow storm. I was hoping that it would be better once we got down there. It was a little chilly while we were there. We had sweaters on and most of the time our heavy coats. Blair even turned on the heater in the trailer for the first time ever since owning the thing. As the afternoon came it was just right especially for hiking around.

I climb a little mountain to take this picture of our camp spot.

The kids loved to climb and slide down on the rock. Thats why you should save all you kids pants with holes. We were the only ones in this area so the kids and the dog had lots of room to run around.

The second day we were down there we went to Goblin Valley. I cannot get over how amazing it is there. If you have never been you have to go to really take in the beauty of it. The kids love climbing on everything and having me take their pictures. Little Parker was sick the whole trip. I was really glad to get at least one picture of all of them.
Dylan want me to take a picture of him on this rock, he said it was his ducky. When we got over there to take the picture there was a lizard on the rock. If you look close you can see it. I tried to catch it, but it was too fast and I was a little scared! I told the kids I would catch them one. I never did but Blair caught a couple.

The boys also would ride Mark's rhino all over. While they were out Blair found a place where we could find geodes. Ever since I was a little girl I love to find rocks. The boys know this and will find a rock and have to show me.
This is one of my very favorite pictures. Katie loves my dog Tanna. They are waiting for the boys to come back on the rhino. On Monday morning it was really windy. It was the perfect day to fly the kites. Here’s Shawn just hanging out with his kite.

Blair put on more stirring on Dylan and Carson kite so they could go up higher. They didn't go up higher as much as they went out further. At on time the kite got away from them. They got it back. You can kind of see them flying their kites here. This is also a good view of our camp spot.

That afternoon Blair, the Boys and Me went to find rocks. This mountain was covered in really pretty rocks. Most of the rocks were already broken into little pieces. We did find a couple of good geodes.

Later that day we went to hiked Wild Horse narrows. It has some of the coolest narrows to go through. We didn’t go to far cause there was still water in there. I think the kids wouldn’t have made it much further anyways.
As we were hiking thru the narrows I told kids to hide somewhere. This is what Carson came up with.
We had to go under this rock so I told Dylan to pretend to hold the rock up. As you can see in the background Shawn wanted to help.

Good job Shawny!

Good job Dylan taking the picture!

On Tuesday we were heading home. But before we left we went to Goblin Valley one more time. It was warm enough we actually did not need jackets. Hiking around I got really hot. I was also carrying Shawn most of the time

Shawn was trying to keep his balance on a dirt hill.

He then told Carson he had to do it. Shawn had to show Carson how to do it.
And then Shawn told Dylan he had to do it to. Dylan wanted to make it a little different. Here are my handsome Boy!

This was a really good tirp. I know the boys had a great time down there. I cannot wait for the rest of our camping trips this summer. It's so nice to get away.

Spring!!!! Then Back To Winter:(

2009-03-23T10:44:00.013-06:00

I am so glad that it's finally warming up cause I'm sick and tired of the cold weather. I'm look forward to the fresh vegetables from our garden, the longer days, not coming home from work in the dark, and everything being green and alive again. We are also getting so anxious to go camping.

On Friday we had warmer weather.

The boys were outside all day long playing with their friends. They even got a little sun on their faces. Dylan even put on his shorts. They were having so much fun.The sun makes everyone so much happier. Look how happy Carson is being outside. I had the window in the houes opened! It felt so good.
Then came the snow and back to the heater and sweaters.
Dang Utah weather!

Just Some Fun Pictures!

2009-03-03T14:19:00.006-07:00

Dylan needed to make a cardboard box car for scouts.

I think the boys liked making the mess better than making the car. Here is the finished project. Thanks to Mom and Dad.

The boys playing video games!
Dylan and Carson looking at something very interesting.

Here are all the cousins eating ice cream at Grandma Lori's.

Plus the newest one!!

Baby Quinn

Lisa had him on February 18th

Sunday Afternoon

2009-02-17T10:58:00.006-07:00

On Sunday morning Blair asked if I wanted to fly to St. George and visit my Grandparents. I thought it might be something fun to do and of course the boy's wanted to go.

I really wanted to get out of the snow and maybe see some sunshine and warm weather.

Well........ It turned out not to be sunny in St. George, but there wasn't snow and that was
just fine. The boys loved being outside and not having to put on coats, snow boots, gloves,
and so on.

While we were at my Grandparents house Shawn kept saying he wanted to go back in the airplane and "go fly". He loves every minute in the plane. He has to look out the window when we take off and land. Dylan and Carson love to go flying too.
Here's Hurricane Utah, that's actually where my grandparents live. Its nice cause the Hurricane airport is right by their house. The only thing I don't like is that the airport is really small. Blair teases me by saying "It's like landing on a sidewalk". Not what I want to hear! He thinks it's funny though.

Zions with snow. It's kinda pretty.Then we're back home in the snow and cold. If you can't tell I like the weather in St George better.

Swimmimg in the Winter!

2009-02-06T09:42:00.004-07:00

Dylan and Carson are taking swimming lessons at Layton Surf and Swim. It's really nice to be able to do it in the winter because our summers are so busy.

After swimming lessons on Wednesday we all went swimming together. Shawn loved it! He has no fear of the water. He was trying to swim like his brothers. When the waves turned on Shawn would laugh so hard. The waves would almost knock him down when they hit him. I was laughing so hard I was almost in tears.

Dylan and Carson would go out into the deeper part with their tubes and ride the waves.
P.S. Carson lost his second tooth! (I didn't even know he had a loose tooth.)

Shawn is getting potty trained and almost has the hang of it.

Dylan is loving scouts and will be getting his Bobcat and a bead towards his Wolf at the next pack meeting.

The Holidays

2009-01-06T09:07:00.007-07:00

Christmas was a busy time, lots of family parties and Dylan’s birthday. I think it was one of the best Christmas's. We had all our family come over to celebrate Dylan’s birthday. Brett was also here visiting for two weeks. The whole family was so happy to see Brett home after being at Boot Camp. It is going to be sad to see him leave again. We won't see him again until May. Here are my boys listening to all of Brett’s stories about his time at Boot Camp. It's really neat to see one of my family members serving our country. Dylan turned 8 this year.

He is starting scouts and he decided to be Baptized. I just can't belive how fast he is growing up!

On his birthday I made him a special dinner and then we opened up presents. We gave him his new Scout shirt and Scout book, some shoes, a movie, and a couple other things. Later that night we watch a movie and ate his birthday cupcakes. On Christmas morning Blair had to wake the boys up at 8:30! Dylan told me they were too tired. We even put them bed early! Since when do kids sleep in on Christmas morning!? Dylan wanted to learn Lacrosse, so Santa brought him the stuff for that. Both Dylan and Carson got mp3 players and little remote controlled helicopters. Carson wrote Santa a couple of letters this year. He was asking Santa for a guitar, so that he could give it to Dylan. How cute is that! My Mom bought Dylan the guitar for Christmas so Carson was able to give that one to him. Santa brought Carson a Kung Fu Panda sword. He was so excited for that sword, he also got a big Legos set and Transformers. Shawn is really in to the movie Toy Story, so I found him a Buzz action figure. When he opened it up his little face was stunned. He was so excited to have Buzz. He was making Buzz fly all around the house. Shawn also got some little airplanes and motorcycles. Christmas day we went to Blair’s Mom's in Ogden for breakfast, my parents in Bountiful for lunch, and then Blair’s Dad's in Sandy for dinner. It was a very busy day and I don’t think we could eat any more, but the we loved every minute.

Flight to St. George

2008-11-17T12:41:00.019-07:00

We all flew down to St. George for the day and had Sunday dinner with my Grandparents. It only takes 2 hours so it was like going to Grandma's on a Sunday afternoon. We had dinner, played outside at Grandpas pond and at the Virgin River, and visited for a while. The weather was perfect. Then we flew home that afternoon. It was really cool cause we got back to the Salt Lake Valley just after dark so we could see the entire valley lit up. Dylan said it looked like we were in a Christmas tree, lol. Then when we got back we went straight from the airport out to dinner with my family for Justin's 21st birthday.

Blair is building up hours for his Commercial license so we will have lots of fun opportunities to fly places. Next week I think Blair and his Dad are flying to Lake Powell for the day.

My boys love to go flying with Blair. At least one of them goes every time. Me on the other hand, I get a little nervous when we go. Luckily this was a great day to go. There wasn't a breeze and it was a smooth ride. I still try to keep my mind busy by watching movies or taking these pictures. These pictures don't do justice to how amazing it looks from up there. I will have a lot more pictures of us flying in the future. My camera wasn't working on this trip, so I used my cell phone that’s why the pictures aren't very good. Anyway, It was really fun and it didn't even feel like it was a short trip. Probably cause we were actually down there for most of the day. Definitely worth the trip!

Now we'll see if my Mom is brave enough to go down with Blair next time to visit Grandma Sandy, lol ;)

This is Salt Lake!

Dylan said that it looked like we were in a Christmas tree.

Weekend get away!

2008-11-11T14:04:00.017-07:00

We spent the weekend up at Powder Mountain in a condo. We had such a good time. We mainly just relaxed. We did a lot of swimming and we played in the snow. Blair made us go "exploring" and any who knows Blair knows what that means, he just about killed us. I was so tired after. We also played some board games together and we had a killer game of Mario Party 3. Blair won and of course he rubbed our faces in it. He is not a graceful winner. lol :) It was so much fun cause it snow quite a bit while we were up there and it felt like Christmas.

Dylan and Carson both like to snowboard.

Even Shawn had a good time in the snow, he mainly wanted to eat it.

The condo we stay in had two bedrooms downstairs and a loft upstairs. This is a view from upstairs.

This is the room Dylan and Carson stayed in.

All about the boys!

2008-11-04T11:49:00.006-07:00

Shawn is 2 1/2 years old. He has such a cute personality. Shawn has to do whatever his brothers are doing; whither it is playing video games, playing with their friends outside, doing homework with them. Shawn makes the family laugh all the time.

Carson turned 6 in September. He started kindergarten this year. He loves to take the bus to and from school. Carson is now starting to read a few words. He will come home from school and read to the family. Carson cares so much about other people. If he gets a treat from school he will ask for more to give to his brothers.

Dylan will be 8 in December. He is now in the second grade. He is doing really well in school. It is amazing to watch him grow up so fast. (He is going to be just like his dad.) Dylan likes to hang out with his friends and family. He also enjoys playing video games, and writing letters to his uncle Brett who’s in boot camp.

Halloween

2008-11-03T13:24:00.002-07:00

Halloween was so much fun! Blair's family all came over to go trick or treating (except Brett of course, he's at boot camp). I made vegetable cheese soup, hmmm delicious. The boys and their cousins were so cute in their costumes. Dylan was a zombie, Carson wanted to be a pirate, and Shawn was a little spider. It was nice to have a night that wasn't freezing, although they did get sprinkled on a bit.

Brand new Blog

2008-10-28T16:31:00.005-06:00

Hey everyone. We just started doing this blog thing and I think it's going to be fun! It will be great to hear from family and let everyone know what's going on. Maybe we'll even hear from some old friends. Anyway, I'm starting by putting a few of my favorite pictures, old and new. Then as we get this figured out we'll get it updated. Let us know if you have any suggestions or tips. See Ya!
P.S. - Leave comments even if it's just to say "Hi"