The Averetts

Santa

2011-12-19T09:24:00.000-08:00

Shocking I know but I have to share this story. While waiting in line to see Santa Herschel heard Santa ask one of the other kids if they had been naughty or nice. Herschel turned to Colby and said, "He said 'naughty or nice'". Colby asked him, "Well have you been naughty or nice?" Close to tears Herschel said, "I don't know." Colby relates this story to me so I asked Herschel how he answered this question. Relieved he said, "He didn't ask." So being the kind mother that I am I replied, "Well maybe he didn't ask the kids on the naughty list because he didn't want to embarrass them." Yep that made him cry.

Christmas

2010-01-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. Colby still had a lot of vacation that needed to be used so he was able to take a lot of days off. Christmas day started with a celebration at our house. Sawyer was the first to wake me up and when I went into their room I pulled back the blanket and found four little heads in the crib. Asher and Herschel decided to visit Sy and Sawyer. They usually get in trouble for this but it was Christmas. The kids had fun opening their gifts. Sy got his hands on a candy cane and managed to get through the wrapper. The twins liked the wrapping paper and actually unwrapped a few of their gifts. Then we went to Grandma Averett's house for brunch and even more gifts. After spending a few hours with that family we made the trek to Ashton for Christmas dinner and more gifts. It was a busy day but one filled with the best things!

Happy Birthday Dear Asher...

2009-12-08T09:32:00.000-08:00

Asher had his 5th birthday last week. He is very excited to be five because he is dying to go to school. I think he was under the impression that he could go to kindergarten as soon as he turned five. Imagine his disappointment when I explained that he would have to wait until August.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T07:21:00.000-07:00

Grandma gave Sawyer and Sy these cute shirts so I had to get a picture in them. Good thing I did it right after they were dressed because Sawyer made it a whole 30 minutes before he pooped everywhere but in his diaper.

Back to School

2009-09-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

What a pose! Kaya started school last week. She was so excited and that was a releif for me. She is going to Pocatello Community Charter School hence the uniform. I'm loving those. Getting dressed in the morning is so much easier.

No Time to Blog!

2009-07-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick update. Beleive it or not but I haven't had a chance to update this lately. Right now I'm cutting into my shower time so this will be short and sweet. We are all doing good and as you can see the twins are happy. Colby got them both smiling at the same time. What cuties!

T-Ball

2009-06-09T22:47:00.000-07:00

Asher is playing T-ball this summer. It is very amusing because for alot of the kids this is their first experience with baseball. Every time there is a batter up he gets ready by putting his hand straight in the air ready to catch and keeps it there until there is a hit. The whole team runs to the ball when there is a hit and he gets so excited if he is lucky enough to get to it first. After his last game he told me he thought he got the ball once but it was Carson's hand.

Blessing Day

2009-06-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

We blessed the babies last sunday. Colby blessed Sawyer and asked his Dad to bless Sy. They were very nice blessings. The boys looked so handsome! Colby put Sy's clothes on and put him in his seat and we went to church. He was fussing when we got there so I got him out and realized his outfit was on backwards. Colby has a hard time with buttons and when to put them in front or in back. What he lacks in fashion sense he makes up in other areas!

Summer Time

2009-06-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

This is just a cute picture of Kaya and a couple of her friends enjoying their summer vacation.

Kindergarten Graduation

2009-06-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

Kaya finished kindergarten. I failed to recognize the magnitude of this event. I just went by myself not realizing I should have invited grandparents and Colby should of taken time off work. I also failed to show up with balloons or flowers. Who would have thought!

Baby Pictures

2009-05-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

My friend Suzanne took the baby's pictures on Saturday. I added her to my list of friends if anyone wants to see them.

No Wonder I Couldn't Breath

2009-05-10T16:02:00.000-07:00

These sweet boys were sleeping snuggly in the boppy pillow the other day and I realized that they were sleeping in the exact same position that they were in the womb. Just imagine Sy (dark hair) with his head under my left rib and butt under my right rib. Those were some tight quarters!

Baby Sawyer

2009-04-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

Sawyer weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and was 18 1/2 inches and Sy weighed 7 lbs 10 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches

Baby Sy

2009-04-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

T had the babys yesterday, so I am going to attempt to put up some photos for her

Happy Big 3!

2009-04-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Herschel's 3rd birthday last weekend. He has been so excited for his birthday ever since Asher had his in December. He was lucky enough to have two parties. A party with my family in which he shared the party with Kennalee and Jayleigh on saturday. Then on sunday we celebrated with Hannah and Colby's side of the family. He was very enthusiastic about opening all of his presents and blowing out his candels. We had to reinact the candel blowing because he blew them out before the song was over. He sung to himself very joyously on take two. In case you were wondering the masterpiece of a cake is a bunny comming out of a top hat. He is a lot of fun and adds oodles and oodles of adventure to our lives!

2009-04-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

He was such a cheezer for all of his pictures!

Good Friends and Neighbors!

2009-04-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

My friends Brooke and Angie threw me a surprise baby shower last week. The surprise was ruined but the party was great. It was a lot of fun and it was great to see everyone. Everyone was so generous because I came home with a lot of diapers (1370 to be exact), wipes, and they will be the cutest dressed little boys. Thanks to everyone that came and a big thanks to Brooke for all the planning and organization. We really appreciate it!

2009-04-03T21:57:00.000-07:00

My friend Whitney came and made a cast of my belly so I can always remember how huge I was. First we had to wrap me in saran wrap. This might be the best belly picture you get because the stretch marks are camouflaged by the saran wrap. The little pumpkins each weigh around 5 pounds but they are still breech. The doctor told me I had a roomy uterus from three previous pregnancies and there is still time. What a compliment!

2009-04-03T21:49:00.000-07:00

This is Whitney putting the cast strips on.

2009-04-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

Here is the final product! I'm planning on hanging it on our bedroom wall for birth control!

Nothing really important!

2009-03-31T01:37:00.000-07:00

Just a few things I want you all to notice about the blog. I decided I needed more friends so I added anyone that has ever left me a comment (if I could) to my list. One more thing, I'm a little disappointed in the lack of response to my reference to "All by Myself" and the picture of Colby. I still haven't stopped laughing at how funny I am. To tell the truth the really reason for this post is heartburn and the inability to get comfortable enough to fall asleep!

Taunting Mom

2009-03-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

With my extra weight gain these last few months (ie 7 pounds in the last two weeks) I've been taking a lot of baths to ease the discomforts. Tonight I stepped out of the tub and Kaya looked at me with big round eyes and said, "Whoa!". I asked her why she said that. She nervously replied, "cause your bigger than us, your a GIANT!" Then to top it off Asher starts chanting, "Fee Fi Fo Fum!"
For those of you that have requested a baby "bump" (I use that word loosely) picture I will take one at the end but be warned it is grotesque.

Thanks

2009-03-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the suggestions. I think we have arrived at a decision but Colby won't let me tell because I'm easily talked out of things so you all have to wait and see.
I had another ultrasound on Wednesday. They both weighed close to 4 pounds and had hair on the back of their heads. They are still breech but I'm not giving up hope of them turning.

Open to Suggestions!

2009-03-04T20:35:00.000-08:00

We have no names picked out for these boys. So I'm taking suggestions. We have always struggled with boy names and were scrapping the bottom of the barrel with Herschel. We want something original because we can't exactly finish it off with John or Bob. I don't want names that are too close because I just know I'll get them all confused. So your suggestions would be appreciated.

Playing Single Mother

2009-03-02T20:52:00.000-08:00

Colby had to go to some training in Tampa Bay last week. On Monday I woke up with the worst sinus pain. I stayed down the best I could but by that afternoon I decided I had to do something if I was going to make it through the rest of the week. My doctor couldn't see me so I used my connection at Labor and Delivery and got the resident on call to look at me. Right before I left for the hospital Asher started saying his ear hurt. He'd just had a bath so I just thought he got some water in his ear. He cried all the way up there and the whole time we were there so I asked the resident to look in his ears as well. They were red but not infected. I headed straight home to get him some Tylenol then went to fill my prescription. He cried the entire time and I had a splitting headache. While I'm in the middle of all this Colby calls and tells me about how he spent the afternoon at the beach and enjoyed Macadamia crusted shrimp with mango sauce for dinner! Well it wasn't a day at the Beach for me Buddy!
This is his self portrait. The song "All By Myself" comes to mind when I see it.

2009-03-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

We had a combined party with Kaya's cousin Emmaus. Since there was so many people I made two cakes. There is a candle in it because Herschel climbed up there and starting licking the side. I marked it so those that love him most could eat that part.

2009-03-02T20:43:00.000-08:00

Happy 6th Birthday Cutie! This is Kaya's Family Birthday Party. She loves all the attention as you can tell.

2009-02-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

Kaya's Birthday

2009-02-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

Par"T"y Time! Kaya had her first friend birthday party on Saturday. Her friends came over and got all dressed up. They did their makeup and got their nails painted. They were beautiful!

Sock Swap

2009-01-31T05:09:00.000-08:00

I picked out Asher's clothes yesterday and gave them to him to get dressed. I threw him a pair of socks and said, "Here's a pair of your favorite socks." He likes the Hanes socks with the extra gray cushion on the bottom. Later that afternoon he informed me that they weren't his favorite socks. I just said, "Oh I thought they were," and went about the day. We were sitting at dinner and he asked if he could take his socks off. I told him to go ahead. He pulled off his sock and held it up and then I realized why they weren't his favorite socks. He'd been wearing a pair of my socks all day. Fortunately they were a pair of ankle socks so they probably only hit him about mid-calf.

It's a Boy and .........

2009-01-05T18:47:00.001-08:00

It's another Boy. We went to our 20 week ultrasound on the 29th. The technician said, "Lets have a look at this baby," and put the thing on my belly and said, "or babies." I said, "Are you kidding?" and she replied, "I don't kid about that." Sure enough there is two. When we told Kaya there was two babies she asked if one was a girl. We told her no and tried to console her with the fact that there will be two instead of just one.
I haven't had a call about the ultrasound so its been my experience that no news is good news. I had to switch doctors since now I'm high risk and the midwives can't care for me. That was disappointing since my experience with them was so great last time. I found a new doctor that sounds like he will be willing to let me try natural as long as everything is safe. I sure hopes it works out because I am a wimp and afraid of surgery. So needless to say I'm extremely overwhelmed and extremely large!

Colby's Headstone

2008-12-16T21:01:00.000-08:00

Hurray!! Doesn't it look professional. Thanks Julie for the online and telephone help.

My neighbors summed up Colby in one sentence so I have to share it with you. I said something about Colby loving Brian Reagan. They didn't know who he was so I explained that he is a comedian. My neighbor said, "I can see that, Colby likes to laugh (long pause)out loud." Then my other neighbor added, "At other people's expense." I told them that it was very fitting and now I know what I'm going to put on his headstone. So he better plan on going before me!

P.S.

2008-12-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

Will some one please tell me how to make my blog cute. I'm jealous but not bright enough to figure out how to make it cute. I'm tired of the polka dots!

SANTA!

2008-12-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

The kids saw Santa at our ward party on Saturday. Herschel rushed our neighbor in front of us so we got a picture of him with Asher Baby (That's what Herschel calls him because his brother is Asher Man). I don't have a picture of Kaya with Santa because she will have nothing to do with him.

Asher's Birthday

2008-12-11T15:01:00.001-08:00

Asher requested a transformer birthday cake for his birthday this year. This is what we ended up with and to be honest I'm pretty proud of it. He got lots of great gifts but he was most excited about the Transformer toys. Happy birthday Asher Man!

Thanksgiving Pies

2008-12-11T14:50:00.001-08:00

We decided to stay in town for Thanksgiving this year. So I volunteered to make the pies. I like to bake and often I over bake as many of you know. It was just Colby's family that was going to be there. For 2 of the families it was going to be their second dinner for the day. We'll I figured we would eat at least 5 pies and then we would want some leftovers, so I made 8 pies. I looked on the Taste of Home website and found lots of recipes. I made a candy apple pie, german chocolate pie, lemon sour cream, cherry pie, 2 buttermilk, and 2 pumpkin eggnog pies. We had more than enough pie to eat and plenty of leftovers.

Columbia River Highway

2008-11-22T21:45:00.000-08:00

Colby had to go to Portland for OSHA training. We all tagged along and had a good time. The kids and I discovered the Historic Columbia River Highway. There are 7 waterfalls that you can stop and see or hike around. It was a rainy day so we beat the crowds but we didn't visit all of the water falls. We did see Latourell Falls, Wahkeena Falls, and the biggest one Multnomah Falls. They were all so beautiful. I understand why everything is so green, I've never seen so much rain in my life. After four straight days of rain there was waterfalls coming out of the mountains everywhere. It really was beautiful but would take some getting used to.

The Portland Children's Museum

2008-11-22T21:33:00.000-08:00

This was a fun indoor activity to escape the rain (and hotel room). They had a Bob the Builder exhibit going on with a lot of hands on activities. Their favorite part by far was the water play section of the museum. We visited the bathroom right before we left where Herschel decided to take off his shirt because it was wet. As I was trying to get the stroller and kids out of the bathroom he escaped. I finally found him in the water play area bare chested having a good time. He ran across the museum half naked. My aunt (that lives in Eugene) told me not to worry because Oregonians are comfortable with nudity.

My Little Amigos

2008-11-22T21:27:00.000-08:00

We went to a restaurant called Chevy's. It was super good Mexican food. It was kids eat free Tuesday and they also got free sombreros. They looked so cute in them. Kaya wanted to wear it everywhere we went because of the rain.

The Fish Hatchery

2008-11-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

There was finally a break in the rain so we took advantage of this and hit the fish hatchery. This is a picture of Herman a sturgeon that lives at the hatchery. He was a pretty good sized fish. We also saw trout ponds and the incubator where the new fish are growing. This rhododendron bush was beautiful and I couldn't resist taking a picture with the kids next to it. We also visited the Damn but apparently the fish come up the ladders in August so there was nothing to see there.

Spawning the Salmon

2008-11-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

He happened to hit the fish hatchery during the spawning season. This was fascinating to me and the kids. The fish hatchery releases salmon into the river, they swim to the ocean and live for 3-5 years. Then they swim back up the river to where they came from to spawn and then they die. In order to ensure that the hatchery has a new crop of fish they collect the fish and spawn and kill them themselves. They then sell the fish or give them to the Oregon Food Bank. In these pictures it shows them collecting the milt (sperm) from the males and the eggs from the females. They just squeeze it right out of the males. The females are killed first and then they open them up and scrap all of the eggs into a bucket. Then they add a dixie cup of milt to the bucket and they get sent to the incubator. The kids watched this for a long time. As we were leaving Kaya asking me "Who are the parents then?"

2008-11-22T20:46:00.000-08:00

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

2008-11-22T20:00:00.000-08:00

If your ever in Portland this museum is worth the visit. There is a lot for kids and adults to do. My favorite pictures are the ones of the kids and Colby behind the screen dancing. One of the activities was to try and make something out of paper cups that will fly the highest. Then of course I had to pose with my hair blowing in the fan just like a super model. They had the best ball pit ever. There was vacuum hoses and pumps that blew air so we could blow the balls and aim at different targets. This is a picture of Asher trying to hit me with a ball (of course he is being coached by his father). They also have an IMAX theater so we watched "Ocean Wonders". I thought the kids would be more impressed with this but they were more interested in the M&Ms in my purse. Oh Well!

Hawkeytown

2008-11-22T19:48:00.000-08:00

On Friday night we took the kids to the Portland Hawks Hockey game. The fans sitting next to us were a riot. They were a couple of ladies in their 60s wearing the the jerseys and one had a sequence red hat. The chanted and cheered and even jeered when the fights broke out. During the breaks they would break out their crosswords and knitting. Herschel scored a gift certificate to Applebees from a blimp that floated around dropping prizes on the loudest and cutest cheerers. He was pretty proud of himself. He kept pointing at the blimp and saying "Plane. I Won!"

2008-11-11T14:56:00.000-08:00

And I tag Desiree too.

Recipe Tag

2008-11-07T08:51:00.000-08:00

I can take a hint Julie! I have been such a slacker. I don't know if it is Kaya starting kindergarten or what but I feel like I'm running all the time. I do know that most of my time this fall is downstairs in jars. I spent alot of time canning this fall. I did some cherries, apricots, apricot nectar, mango freezer jam, apricot freezer jam, peaches, pears, apple sauce, and tomatoes. I thought I was done but my father-in-law told me he has some apples if I want to do apple slices. So anyway here are some of my favorite recipies.

Chicken Potpie

2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1-3/4 cups sliced carrots
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 cup butter, cubed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1-1/2 cups milk
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
Pastry for two double-crust pies (9 inches)

Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan; cover with water.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or
until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet,
saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, thyme
and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to
a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the
chicken, peas, corn, potatoes and carrots; remove from the heat.
Line two 9-in. pie plates with bottom pastry; trim pastry even with
edge. Fill pastry shells with chicken mixture. Roll out remaining
pastry to fit top of pies. Cut slits or decorative cutouts in pastry.

Pizza Crust

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons cornmeal

Place 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over water; stir in sugar. Let stand 5 minutes. Add remaining water, oil and salt. Stir in flour until dough pulls away from side of bowl.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth, 8-10 minutes. Coat large bowl with cooking spray; place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until almost double in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Punch down dough. Coat two 12-inch pizza pans with cooking spray; sprinkle pans with cornmeal. Divide dough in half. Roll dough to fit prepared pans; press dough against edge to form rim. Bake crust for 10 minutes.

Remove crust from oven and top. Bake again until cheese is melted.

Note: We like to get creative with our pizza toppings. Some combos we like are cashew, chicken, ranch (the powder mixed according to the package works the best). Use the ranch for the sauce. Buffalo chicken: use ranch dressing for the sauce then mix Frank’s Hot Sauce with 2 1/2 cups brown sugar until sugar dissolves. Coat the chicken with the buffalo sauce and use ranch dressing (packet mixed) for the sauce. Chicken, alfredo, and mushrooms (see recipe below). Ground turkey veggie pizza (green peppers, red peppers, onions, mushrooms) sprinkle an unmixed ranch packet over all and top with mozzarella cheese (no sauce).

Refrigerator Roll Dough

1 Tablespoon yeast

1 cup unseasoned lukewarm mashed potatoes (potato pearls)

2/3 cup shortening

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups warm water

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

6 to 7 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Stir in potatoes, sugar, shortening, eggs, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in greased zip-lock bag. Refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 5 days. Dough can be used for cinnamon rolls, orange rolls, scones, monkey bread, or just rolls.

This dough works great for “Chicken Pillows”. Sauté chicken, celery, and onion in a little bit of butter until moisture is gone. Combine with alfredo sauce (see below) and spoon into 5 inch squares of dough rolled 1/2 inch thick. Can dip top of roll into melted butter and then bread crumbs.

Alfredo Sauce

8 ounces of cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

Melt together in saucepan over medium heat. Stirring regularly.

1/2 cup milk or cream

1/2 – 3/4 cup parmesan cheese

Add to butter and cheese mixture. Continue to heat until cheese melts. Can use chicken broth instead of butter. This is my Fondue cheese too.

Mother Lode Pretzels

1 package (10 ounces) pretzel rods
1 package (14 ounces) caramels
1 tablespoon evaporated milk
1-1/4 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butterscotch chips
2/3 cup milk chocolate toffee bits
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

With a sharp knife, cut pretzel rods in half; set aside. In a large
saucepan over low heat, melt caramels with milk. In a large shallow
bowl, combine the chips, toffee bits and walnuts. Pour caramel
mixture into a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Dip the cut end of each
pretzel piece two-thirds of the way into caramel mixture (reheat in

microwave if mixture becomes too thick for dipping). Allow excess
caramel to drip off, then roll pretzels in the chip mixture. Place on
waxed paper until set. Store in an airtight container.

These pretzels are awesome. I make my own caramel rather than unwrapping all of the little ones. Now I tag Suzanne because I don't think anyone else looks at my blog!

Family Pictures

2008-10-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

Suzanne took our family pictures again this year. They turned out so cute. I have a couple of cheese balls. She took us to an old truck her dad has on his farm and to a campground.

Better Late than Never

2008-09-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

Some (by some I mean one) of you have been giving me a hard time for not posting, so this ones for you SUZ. I was washing dishes after lunch and Herschel came down stairs looking like this. He only colored himself (no couches or carpet) so I thought it was kind of cute.

BUBBLE MONSTERS

2008-08-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

I put the kids in the tub for their bath. I heard, from the other room, Kaya yell, "Bubble Monsters." I got really nervous because I just bought a new bottle of soap. Fortunately (for them) they had only used a few squirts and then turned on the jets to make a lot of bubbles!

Herschel's Pool Game

2008-08-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

We took Herschel down to Shriner's Hospital for a check-up on Tuesday. They said his foot looked great. So I was releived! After we saw the doctor we took him up to the floor that has a bunch of toys and a pool table. It was funny to watch him play pool. Kennalee and I had to duck a few times to avoid getting hit.

Bear Lake

2008-08-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

We went to Bear Lake a few weeks ago but I'm just getting around to posting it. We went camping in our favorite spot St. Charles Canyon, spent a day at the lake, and also hiked into Bloomington Lake. We went with Colby's family and Kennalee came with us. Kennalee and Kelsey hiked to the other side of Bloomington Lake and jumped off the rocks. They are such awesome girls! Herschel got bit by a misquioto right under his eye and it swelled up and looked like a black eye. Grandpa and the uncles turned the girls into sand mermaids. Aren't they beautiful!

Swimming Lessons

2008-07-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Kaya and Asher just finished their first session of swimming lessons. They really enjoyed it. On the last day they had "Pirate Day". They walked the plank, a surf board help by the teachers in the water, and jumped off the end into the water. I didn't think they would do it but they both did. I was so proud. Then they looked for buried treasure.

24th of July Parade

2008-07-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

The kids were in Pocatello's Pioneer Parade. They rode on Uncle Cory's float for Dapco Hobbies. They threw otter pops to the crowds. Their cousins Akira, Danika, Tre and Aunt Ma Lea are in the pictures as well as some Dapco employees

Girls Night + Movie + Chocolate= FUNDUE

2008-07-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Julie's in town so we planned a girls night. We had fondue at my house then we went and saw a super funny movie. Then we came back and finished the night off with chocolate fondue. It was a night filled with good conversation and lots of laughs! Thanks Julie and Suz you guys are great friends!

Family Home Evening

2008-06-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

For refreshments we had chocolate chip cookies and drinks from the hose. Yum Yum!

2008-06-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

For Family Home Evening we had a Kimber spa night. The kids and I soaped her up while Colby sprayed her down. She shook all over us so it was a wet time for all. You can tell from the picture that she is one satisfied customer!

Wild Animal Park

2008-06-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

It was a little cooler on Wednesday so we set off for the Wild Animal Park. This is a huge park with lots to see. We really enjoyed the gorillas and monkeys. The animals were really active due to the lower temps. There was a bus ride that gave us a break from walking and some comic relief. Our driver was a self described "Asian Angelina Jolle". He had lots of interesting commentary and even a song now and then. My favorite animal was the Asher monkey!

Beaches

2008-06-10T15:54:00.001-07:00

The kids loved the beach more than anything else. They loved running from the waves and digging in the sand. Grandpa built sand castles and Kaya assigned which princess lived in which. I got a real kick out of the pictures of Asher's big legs and Kaya doing the Chinese splits. We went to La Jolla cove, Coronado, and Carlsbad beaches.

Birch Aqurium at Scripps

2008-06-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

This aquarium was just the right size for our kids. We saw a lot of different fish and sharks. The kids liked the tide pools because they got to touch some of the sea creatures. The view got us excited for the beach.

2008-06-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

California Here We Come

2008-06-10T15:08:00.001-07:00

We went to San Diego for a family vacation. Colby's parents came with us. We had a great time. We made a travel stop in Calico, CA. It's a ghost town that used to be a mining town. The town had lots of little shops and museums. There were caves in the mountain that the miners used to live in and a house built out of bottles. We walked through one of the mines and took a train ride around a mountain. It was interesting and a great break from the car!

Kaya's Dance Recital

2008-06-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

Kaya had her first dance recital on May 17th. I was so worried she wouldn't go up on stage let alone dance, but she did. I was so proud of her. She loved the tutu and the flower from Grandma Averett.