Terry and Kalli

Cymber Fey Hill is here!!

2012-01-12T12:40:00.000-08:00

Much to my surprise and appreciation, I woke up on Sunday, December 18, 2011 and my water had broke. I didn't think I was having any contractions but I was, they were just very small. Now let me remind you, my due date was January 11th and I was scheduled for a C-section on January 4th. We called the hospital and they said to come up, we were having a baby today! Luckily I'm a planner and with Christmas very close at hand I didn't want to have to worry about baby things while my family was here so I had most things already ready. I was also 99% ready for Christmas, all good things :) After they determined my water had broke, they paged the doctor on-call, not mine of course, and he came right down. At 12:06 pm he delivered a Beatuiful Baby GIRL!!

Cymber Fey Hill was 6 pounds and 1 1/4 ounces and 19 inches long, and C-section perfect of course :)

After her first bath, they

found this cute beanie for her.

By the next morning, mom was up and about.

Getting ready to go for a walk down the hall.

She is such a sweetheart!!

After receiving a few pictures by text, Aunt Krystal just couldn't resist coming up to see her. It was worth the drive :)

You can't have baby this close to Christmas and not have some fun with the camera :) She is actually inside her Christmas stocking.

Everyone wanted their turn to help get her dressed or changed or hold her or anything they could. They are all pretty proud big brothers and sisters!

This was the first time in 5 kids that Terry was able to spend the night in the hospital and help me. It was great for me but I think it really was nice for him to have bonding time since he's going to be away from her for the whole month of January.

Aunt Haylee and her kids arrived only 2 days before Cymber and Aunt Paij and her kids only the night before. It was SOOOOOO great that they were here. They were the unexpected babysitters and got to make a few trips up to visit us. It was so great for our kids to have their fun cousins to keep them busy while mom and dad were away. They really saved the day! If Cymber wouldn't have been early the Davis' would have missed her completely.

I was released to go home on the morning of the 21st but Cymber was not. She had lost too much weight because my milk hadn't come in yet. She was down to only 5 lbs and 5 oz. Of course that day my milk came in and we were able to get her up to 5 lbs 8 oz by the next day and they let us go home. "And all with boobie milk" says her doctor who had ordered me to give her formula, but I refused, I knew it was just because the milk hadn't come.

I was pretty depressed that we couldn't go home and join in on all the festivities going on with out us but Grandma came to the rescue. She made quite a few trips up and brought lots of treats and Christmas cheer. It really helped my mood!

When April heard we were having Cymber, she rushed right up. She took lots of pics of her in the nursery but had to leave before I was even out of recovery. She did make it back up later since we were there for so long. We can't wait for her to have her baby (any time) so she and Cymber can be friends!

Our Tree

2011-12-11T11:10:00.001-08:00

We were venturing back to Apple Hill with all the Hunter's to get our Christmas Trees and we were coming from Tracy so Grandma and Grandpa Hill decided to start the adventure with us since they had never been to Apple Hill. We had a great time checking out the crafts and tasting apple based foods with them and then on to the trees we went.

We had to go to 2 lots but our tree was almost the first one that we looked at, at the second one.

IT'S PERFECT!!! The boys enjoyed being able to run around and measuring the trees.

Mom and Trevor didn't have as great a luck as us and they had to search a little harder, but I think we're all very happy with what we got.

Tyden found this goofy chair and decided he needed a break!

Kinny was the proud finder or their tree!

We all enjoyed some yummy hot chocolate and cookies that Grandma provided after!

Then we came home and decorated! Those pics must be on my other camera and I'll try to remember to add them later, but here's the final product!

Gingerbread

2011-12-11T11:05:00.001-08:00

We made our usual Gingerbread village for mom's counter. This year she had tree kits for each family and then some of the kids made other houses to go with. Terry had to help our kids because I was at the ER with Kasen for Croup. Luckily they weren't finished when we got back so Kasen did get to help a little, but we forgot to get the camera back out so we don't have a picture of him.

Terry's B-day

2011-12-11T10:17:00.001-08:00

Terry and Ryan got to celebrate their Birthday's together since we were all together and the birthday's are only a few days apart, Ryan is MUCH older of course (only like 3 years really). First we had dinner of home made corndogs that were soooo good! We even made mini ones using lil smokies.

They both had many kid helpers of course. I think 2 of Kasen could fit in those shorts :)

They took turns blowing out candles in a pumpkin crumb cake.

About a week later we went to the Hills and he got a few more presents and they took us all out to Baskin Robins for Ice Cream, which is Terry's Favorite!!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-11T05:40:00.001-08:00

Apparently I was a little busy that day since the only picture I have is of the tables before we ate. We had a great meal though with the Collins', Davis', Grandma and Grandpa Hunter and Us. The three little kiddos got their own private table and thought it was the best! The Reinhardts joined us later for dessert.

We all went to Gray Lodge and had a very enjoyable scenic walk. The weather was perfect, the birds, not so much. There were only about half as many as the last time we were there.

All the kids had a great time playing together, weather it was outside on the tramp, painting, building a fort under the pool table, or getting out every toy they could find in the playroom :)

Lexi wrote a little Thanksgiving play that these 4 performed for everyone. It was about 3 minutes long including a song. Very CUTE!!

Bunco Baby Shower!

2011-11-19T19:47:00.001-08:00

We have a fabulous Bunco group! A few other women have already had babies and we've had a shower for each one. There are 4 of us pregnant now and this month it was my turn for a shower. It was very fun!

They had darling decorations and a very sweet cake.

Mom got to come as a sub. This is the darling and very soft blanket that she made for me.

Everyone went in and got me a new car seat, since I didn't keep anything :)

There were some darling outfits and lots of the GREAT practical things like a changing pad, lotion and washes, hooded towel, nursing cover, and burp clothes.

April even ordered me a fabulous corsage from Aunt Lisa. I'm going to save it to hang on her crib.

Thank you everyone, but especially April for making this all happen! If you haven't heard, we are scheduled for January 4th, 2012 :)

Tyden plays soccer!

2011-11-19T19:37:00.001-08:00

Tyden just finished his second year of soccer. He played for the Vipers. He was WAY better than he was last year.

It probably helped that he has a late B-day and was playing on the younger team because of it. He knew how to dominate the field! He scored quite a few times.

He became known for his signature move which was a back kick that threw everyone off and sent the ball in the opposite direction - the right direction for his team! It was very cool.

This is his coach. They had a party at the end at Mountain Mikes.

His best friend Cole had the same coach but was on the older team - he has the early b-day :)

Fort Fun!

2011-11-10T17:03:00.001-08:00

Before church we are always trying to come up with some good Sunday appropriate fun and this week it was a fort. They read books together, searched for things in Tyden's "I Spy book," and watched "Mary Poppins." They had a great time!

Girls, girls, girls!

2011-11-10T16:59:00.001-08:00

My Best friend April Walton is having a baby girl too. According to our ultrasounds, we are actually due the exact same day 1/11/12! Pretty crazy! She had a show this weekend and I have her 2 of the same outfits, one for each of us so the girls can be twinners :) We can't really hug anymore these days because we are belly bumping, so we took a picture of that too. I thought the bassinet was such a cute way to put the presents so I took a picture of that too.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

Halloween was a very fun day! First, the kids had parties at school (grandma and mom went to Tyden's class and did a pumpkin painting project and made edible bones with them). Kasen got to do a downtown trick or treat with April's preschool. Then it was off to trunk or treat for all of us.I was an Indian woman so I made Dad be my Cowboy.

I need to teach my young women how center a picture and get all of the subject you are after :) I really should have checked it before she left. Oh well, you get the idea. :)

Cypress was Hermione from Harry Potter and Tayla was the Rodeo Queen. Tyden was Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon, and Kasen was a Rooster. They were all darling!

Dad and Uncle Tom decided to sit on our porch and scare trick-or- treaters. IT WORKED!! Some people wouldn't even come up to the porch. They had a great time.

Grandma and Aunt Brandie went with mom and the kids around our neighborhood. They all did quite well as far as candy collecting! It was a very fun day!

Pumpkin carving party!

2011-11-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

Every year Grandma Hunter has a carving party for family and friends in her backyard. This year was no different. It was full of food and fun! Kasen and Tyden picked out their design, mom cleaned out the pumpkin, they separated the seeds from the gunk, mom helped them draw the design on the pumpkin and dad carved it out with the saw.

The girls did most of theirs on their own although mom did have to help with the cleaning out.

Tayla did a great job. Dad actually cut out Tyden's eyes and he carved the mouth out himself.

Grandma made her yummy donuts as usual! And we enjoyed our witches brew to drink (apple cider in dry ice). It's quite a cool thing!!

The final products!! Kasen ate donuts and was then spinned on the swing and he threw up all over his costume. He also insisted that his be blue. We were not impressed at first, but as you can see, it's pretty cute and the face shows up very well that way. Later he was calling it his happy smurf pumpkin. Cypress' is the Harry Potter Logo and Tayla and Tyden just chose a cool face.

Everyone did a great job!

2011-10-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

Tyden's class was going to the pumpkin patch while the Davis' were here so we all decided to tag along. Kasen and Bode were so excited to see everything!

There is a hay jump and a fun petting zoo that were enjoyed by all.

Finding our pumpkins was a little bit of a chore because of Dad's broken foot and the field being uneven and of course we all had to have big ones :) but it was great and we were all happy with our choices!

We went on a hay ride to and from the field.

They all enjoyed pulling our pumpkin wagon to the car to put away our pumpkins and get our lunch.

We couldn't just leave the cart there, we had to put our lunch in it so they could pull it back again.

Next was the train ride. These 4 chose the cattle car to ride in.

The rest of us made a more comfortable choice :)

Their patch of HUGE pumpkins was fun to see. Then off to play on the wooden train, and take a picture of our little farm animals!

2011-10-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

Trevor and Charmayne bought some new 2 man Kayaks and invited us to float down the Feather River with them. This picture is from our first trip and then the camera batteries died and we got no more pics. I was the 2 of them and Kinny and our whole family. Tayla was a little scared of the few seconds of rapids, but overall it was a very enjoyable trip for all of us!! Cypress got to ride in the Kayak with dad and the rest of us were in our paddle boat.

The second trip was about a week and a half later when the Davis' were here and Grandma and Grandpa could go to. The trip is so cool because it's Salmon time and they are there in mass. We saw more the first trip than the second, but there were still tons. They are all 3-5 feet long and jumping out of the water and swimming all around you.

With a few more people than that last trip, we had to add the raft. For the first half we were tied to Dylan and Ryan's kayak but then we paddled the rest of the time.

Kasen, of course, had to pee on both trips and he was known to make quite a "rainbow." If you don't believe me, just ask him, he'll tell you all about it! :)

This time Dad was able to fish because his boat partner was Trevor and he caught a big one. It took him a long time to finally reel it in and they had to go to shore to land it. You can see it chained to the front of the boat.

He was so proud!! Best fishing day ever! We had everyone over 2 days later for smoked salmon!

After the gutting at the lake but with head still attached, it was 30 lbs and 40 inches long.

All the kids thought it was sooo cool but sooo gross at the same time. They just couldn't help but watch the gross process of getting it ready to bring home.

2011-10-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

10/15/11 Tayla's baptism was a very anticipated event since she had to wait so long after her birthday to do it. She sent out invitations to her family and friends and many were able to come! We were so glad that Dad was around to make it happen as well. Uncle Trevor and Grandpa Neil gave great talks and Kinny and Little Jonathan gave great prayers.

This was my first attempt at a cupcake cake and it turned our pretty well. She didn't want just white and she chose this design. On the right is all the food we had after. We had everyone bring a salad. It was a GREAT event!

We got really lucky and found a white dress store that had gone out of business and only had a few dresses left on a killer sale, so we were able to get her this fabulous dress. She was so proud of it. Everyone told he she looked like she was getting married. She enjoyed all the positive attention!

Tyden turned 6!

2011-10-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Cypress is our early bird so she's always in on the breakfast in bed. Tyden loves pancakes so he got a "T" one and a "6." They were a big hit! He was so excited that it was finally his turn for a Birthday. He talked about it for weeks ahead of time.

Dad was in Arizona on a job interview until that night so he only got to open a few gifts, but he was pretty stoked about his skates! The girls both have their new ones and he REALLY wanted to be able to skate with them. He's already pretty good!

He found this cool cupcake robot cake in my cupcake book and was very set on having it. It actually wasn't too bad to make and turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself :)

School Pictures 2011

2011-10-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

As usual, we went to take our own "School" pictures and had a great time. The kids were in true form. So, here they are!

Kasen, of course, had to go potty and we were not near a bathroom so, he found a tree and then announced to us all that he was potty trained! Tayla was rather embarrassed!

2011-10-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day weekend, we took our annual treck to Ruck Lake and it was fabulous!! The weather was perfect, the lake full, our cabin to ourselves, and no one got hurt. We were joined by Trevor's family, Rachel's family, Mom's family, and the Forrests, making a total of 23 people.

This is our new tent affectionately known as the command center because of it's size. We had 3 queen air mattresses in it. It's great!

On Saturday, we took a drive to Blue lake. It was gorgeous as usual. The kids had a great time playing near the dam.

Kasen had so much fun that he passed out on the way back to camp.

Terry and Tom stayed at the lake for about 2 hours past the rest of us and were able to catch 6 beautiful fish. They brought back 4 to eat.

Terry was the teacher on how to clean a fish.

Sunday was craft day after a little church meeting. A great time was had by all and we had some wonderful creations of all shapes and sizes.

When the kids were finished, they did a little target practice.

The kids final projects.

The women's final projects.

Our whole gang at our beautiful cabin. We LOVE RUCKER!

Cypress' B-day, then Spa Party #2

2011-10-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

Cypress wanted smoked Tri-tip for her b-day dinner but since dad broke his foot, he needed her help to make it. She was a good sport but the smoke was a little too much for her eyes, hence the sunglasses.

Her friend party was supposed to be one Saturday, and after I made the cake (below) we had to reschedule it for the following week and I had to make another one. They both turned out pretty good but I was only willing to do all the fondant once so the second one is just frosting.

She got some fun clothes from parents and grandparents.

Tyden got to carry the breakfast since Tayla was still in bed too.

It's pancakes made into a 10. Double digits is such a big deal!

I told the girls if I had to give two parties that they at least had to have the same theme and they were okay with that. So, Cypress' SPA party was pretty much the same as Tayla's but I think the older girls enjoyed it a little more. :)

Masks above, foot soaks below.

Cucumbers and massages above, second cake below.

They all got to put purple highlights in their hair. That's what they are showing off but you can't see them real well.

Cypress and Tayla both got new skates for their B-day and luckily Grandma had some old ones that they boys could wear, so they have all been out enjoying them.

Tayla's Spa Party!

2011-10-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

It's a SPA Party! We had a party at the Hill Day Spa for Tayla and her friends. It was very fun and the girls just ate it up! We started with an oatmeal cleansing mask. Julia wouldn't even try it, way too gross :)

After the face masks were washed off, we did a foot scrub and soak. Some relaxed more than others, as you can see :) Then, Grandma and Mom painted toe and finger nails the colors of their choice.

Next they laid on pillows with cucumbers on their eyes and received a little neck and arm massage.

She received some very fun presents, including a personalized "T" T-shirt from McKayla. She later bought a matching skirt (zebra, tutu really) with money she also received from her b-day.

We ended with pizza and yummy cake!

It's a GIRL!

2011-09-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

Our second ultrasound was a little more successful than our first, and we were able to determine the sex. She is still right on with the date change as far as her size goes. These aren't nearly as fun as 3D but it's still cool. She looks good and healthy! This was the best head on shot that we got.
Here's the deciding picture, the lack of boy parts is the easiest way to explain it :)
Terry was home for this one, yea, but only because of his broken foot, otherwise he would have been gone again. Kasen was the only kid with us this time as the rest were in school. He was being his usual self, loud and crazy, and this was a picture that the tech caught of the baby already telling him to Shhhhh! Isn't it awesome! We let him be the one to tell the other kids what it was and he was very cute.
He said, "we're having a sister, and it's a girl!" That about sums it up! :)

Mom and Kasen are sad . . . School started today and everyone left!

2011-08-29T18:02:00.001-07:00

Cypress entering her new 5th Grade classroom with Mrs. King. She's looking way to old to by my daughter, that would make me old!

Everyone seemed to be to excited or nervous to eat their breakfast so we left later than we were supposed to and by the time we got to Tayla's class her teacher was no longer there because she had to take a potty break before the bell rang. We waited for her after the bell and she was very sweet. She's in Super room 6, 3rd Grade with Mrs. Bradford.

Tyden could hardly wait to enter 1st Grade. He's most excited to have 3 recesses instead of 1 this year. The whole day was a little long and will surely take some time to get used to for him, especially since he had afternoon Kindergarden last year. Mrs. Schroeder in room 15 will be great! She was Cypress' teacher when she was in 1st Grade.

They were all very excited and had a great first day! Looking forward to a great school year!

Tayla turned the magic 8!

2011-08-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

She started off the day with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Banana bread in bed, that is until the boys tried to join her and were spilling her milk everywhere. :)

Next she opened a few presents from mom and dad.

Then it was off to a lunch date with dad at the Black Bear Diner in my new outfit.

THen as a family we went to the mall to get her ears pierced. We had to make 2 trips there, before and after Walmart, because the first time she chickened out! Lucky for her the next time she jumped right in the chair. If she wouldn't have, it would have been a long while before we would have gone back to try again. She's so proud of her new earrings! They did have 2 girls do it so it was done at the same time, I'm sure that helped too!

This was her cake for our family party but she'll have another one when she has her friend party. She also got to have cupcakes at school on the first day. Notice the new school hair cut too.

Sunday we had Lazagna and cake with a few more presents from family. THanks everyone!

Baptism date and pictures to come in October!

San Diego FUN!!

2011-08-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

While in San Diego for almost a week, we got to do a lot of playing. We went and enjoyed Paij's community pool 2 different times. The first time was very scary! Kasen just decided to walk down the steps and into the water before getting his life jacket on. He was swimming his little heart out but most of his head was still under the water. Luckily Tyden was close and as soon as I saw, I yelled and he grabbed him and he was fine. He was coughing some and very pale. The older kids were more shaken up than he was, scary, I know. He didn't even hesitate more than a few minutes before getting back in - with his life jacket. Thankfully, the rest of the trip was uneventful- as far as danger goes anyway.

Paij's new house has a small front and back yard that came in very handy, because of course the weather was fabulous the entire time. Way better than the no yard from their last house. For those of you that don't know, this is ladder ball they are playing and is great for all ages.

Our darling niece Jaycee, no one could resist her charm! Especially Tayla who was almost her permanent babysitter. We just couldn't get enough of her smiles. She's 4 1/2 months.

We were able to enjoy 2 different beaches on 2 different fabulous days. You can never have enough time at the beach according to most of our family!

Kasen and Bode loved chasing the waves, the birds, and each other.

Lots of sand castle building.

All enjoyed the waves and the much warmer water than we are used to at Nor Cal beaches.

Grandma in on the fun!

More ladder ball, very easily transported as well.

The usual shell collecting. This was extra cool because they found full sand dollars. Thanks to Aunt Brandie for taking them on the walk!

Cypress was probably the biggest fan of the boogie board but all the pics I had of her were too far away. Kasen decided to join in on the action and LOVED it. He went as many times as his dad would help him get back into a wave and ride it all the way in.

We spent on morning on the military base. Yes we have miniture golf and bowling around here but the prices can't be beat on base. $12 for 18 people to play golf and $25 for a family of 5 to rent shoes and bowl for an hour. We had a great time!! Below, the women and taking their turns.

The other cool thing was that we had the whole course to ourselves so the older kids went around the whole thing twice. Kasen and bode spent most of their time at this hole where they were each laying on one side and pushing the balls back and forth to each other.

Kasen was so fun to watch bowl. He had to have his fingers in the holes and would run and throw the ball about 2 feet before he even got to the line. He got a pretty good score too.

We had 3 lanes and were almost the only ones there too. Everyone had a great time bowling and being the cheerleaders. The place was really nice and had the rails that go up and down for those that want them and don't want them so it kept it fun and a little more fair.

The Wedding!

2011-08-29T14:38:00.001-07:00

So my brother Jarom has been dating Alyssa Danner for over 6 years. They finally got engaged over Chirstmas break and married in San Diego at Balboa Park on the 12th of August. It was very fun. All family but Rachel and her fam. (since Marcae was only 2 weeks old) went to join in on the festivities. Here are my girls and darling nieces! We are patiently waiting for the wedding to start after taking family pictures.

Jarom has lived with Paij and her family for a year and so they became very close and little Miss Morgan was one of their darling flower girls. She didn't throw any flowers until she sat down, but she sure looked cute!

We all watched accept the parents, from an upper balcony so this was the best shot I could get of the whole wedding party. The weather wasn't too bad and the ceremony was very nice. It was very beautifully decorated too.

The Happy Couple! :) We very happily welcome Aunt Alyssa!

Cypress was the only one of our kids we thought could make it through the 4 hour reception. She did pretty well but we all left early. It was a yummy dinner and fun music and dancing.

Even mom and her older brother Jerry (who come from Arizona) were getting their groove on. She even drug dad out there for a few songs.

Ryan and Haylee were not new to the dance floor. Unfortunately I missed them doing the fisherman and the fish! :)

For the toasts, we had a glass of sparkling cider with a hibiscus in it. After, you were supposed to eat it. Cypress was the willing guinea pig. She said it tasted like a fruit roll up. After, she ate mine too.

Their cute cake. Jarom said the one I made for their Gridley reception was better. I'm sure he was just being nice, but it did the job of making me feel great!

2011-08-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

My neice Lexi came home from Utah with us. We've always wanted to do this but we could never work it out. THis time, we were going to meet her parents in San Diego in a week for Jarom's wedding so we could do it. THey had so much fun together. Lots of cousin bonding time :) The girls made up dances that they performed for us, including stunts :)

They got to do lots of swimming at Grandmas and even have a sleep over there. They also got to attend a baby shower for Aunt Rachel and Marcae too. We're so glad she got to come stay with us!

New BABY :)

2011-08-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

The very day we left for Utah and before we even made it to Haylee's house, Rachel called and said she was in labor and going to the hospital. She had a beautiful baby girl at 8:29 pm on Friday, July 29th. She had a few complications but ended up just great. We got home in the early morning hours but Rachel came over with her about 9am because she was so excited to show her off. As you can see, she was received very well and Rachel wasn't the only excited one :) Her name is Raelynn Marcae Reinhardt.

Utah

2011-08-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

We went to Utah for my Cousin Tanner's wedding and got to play with cousins (and sisters :)) for a week. The girls set up a spa in Haylee's bathroom and were giving out massages. It was quite refreshing. Tyden was playing her piano for mood music.

While we were there, we enjoyed an evening at the family fun center. It's a great place where you can ride scooters or skate on the roller ring, play lazer tag, climb all over a ropes course or blow up things. The girls enjoyed the skating so much, they both want skates for their birthdays.

Kasen thought he was king on the scooter and didn't care which way he was supposed to go or who was in his way, he went where he wanted and he went their FAST!

The dads were there (we had just picked Terry up from the airport that afternoon after a job in Texas) and took all the bigger kids to lazer tag. They had a great time!

The big boys guarding the candy counter at the wedding. I'm not so good about getting pictures of the bride and groom. There were in the line for a long time and then it rained (yea, no fair on the 30th of July), so that's my excuse.

I've been giving the kids my camera lately to take fun pictures of whatever they find photo worthy. Sometimes it pays off and they take some cute stuff, sometimes not, but that's why we love digital!!

I had to take a picture of this amazing cake. I don't think I'll ever aspire to this but with all the work involved I"m not sure I want to but it was VERY cool. All the flowers are fondant and are made by hand by the bride's sister.

We always had to be aware of where trouble 1 and trouble 2 were. They were always sneaking out to the garage and front yard to ride the bikes and jeeps when no one was around to tell them what to do or steal their stuff :) Here they are at the gas station.

Eventually we all went outside and Ryan got out the big kid toys. this was Cypress' first time on a dirt bike. It went well for a few minutes but she did end up laying it on it's side and scraping her knee. Luckily that was as far as the damage went.

Ryan borrowed this awesome blow up slip and slide from one of their neighbors and it was used on a daily basis. It was very fun for all. When it go cold though, they quickly jumped into the hot tub, an added bonus. :)

WE HAD A GREAT WEEK!!

More cakes!

2011-08-08T16:49:00.000-07:00

Our nephew, Kinny, was receiving his Aarow of Light from Cub Scouts along with 2 other boys. There were also 3 boys that were crossing over to Boy Scouts. So, Charmayne asked me to make a combo cake for Pack meeting. She gave me a picture to look at. This is my first attempt at colored fondant and it turned out well. I was very happy with it.

My sister Rachel had her baby girl, Marcae, on July 29th. Some friends had a shower for her on Saturday the 6th and I made this cake for it. There was supposed to be a fondant bow on the top but we just couldn't make it work. I wasn't stiff enough to stand up and do what we wanted. Finally we gave up and put part of her present, the shoes, on the top. It turned out dang cute if you ask me :) I'm liking the colored fondant.

Our new pride and joy!

2011-07-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

We had our ultrasound today! Terry was out of town so my mom and sister went with me as well as all the kids. They were good for the first 15 min. After that, not so much. :) Unfortunately for me, it determined that the baby is not as far along as I thought, but looks very healthy for it's size. That also meant that we were too early for full development of certain body parts, so the sex is still undtermined. It also means taht my due date will be pushed back but I don't have a new date yet. Here is a full body shot. Don't mistake the cord for a little pee pee :) The fun thing about this yawn was that we saw it happen, along with a good stretch! :)
This is a shot of the full leg. She measured it for us and the total length of the leg was 2 inches. When we got home, Cypress remembered that she told us this and got out a ruler and showed us all how tiny that really is. The total weight is 5 oz. - just a tad more than a cube of butter.

When you consider all that, it's pretty amazing how developed it is. We saw all major organs in function and heard the heart beat. This is one experience that never gets old!

Family visit

2011-07-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

Great Grandma and Grandpa Hill come down to Tracy to visit, so we went there too. Aunt Jeni had purchased some wild colors of instant hair dye. It started out with her doing it to the kids but they were having so much fun that they had to all take a turn giving her some. Luckily for us all, it washes out in one to two washes.

Check out the blue, purple, red, pink, orange, and black. Even Papa Jim had some blue and purple in the little hair he has left.

Grandpa, Aunt Cathy (who got to be their driver) and I were glad to be the observers.

Cypress had a heart to heart with Great Grandma.

Goals are good!

2011-07-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

For Achievement days, Cypress planned out a menu for a family dinner and then she had to cook it. She was amazing. The only help that I gave her were a few verbal tips. She did everything on her own and it tasted good!

She made chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, cut up apples and oranges, and made brownies with chocolate chips as the special ingredient! Way to go Cypress!

6 flags!

2011-07-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

This year at Cypress and Tayla's school, if you read so many books that gave you a certain number of AR points, you earned a ticket to 6 Flags Discovery Kingdom. Tayla earned one ticket and Cypress earned 3! With each kid having a free ticket, we couldn't pass up the chance to go. Here they are ready to start their day!

Tayla is a huge fan of the swings! Kasen was very excited to get to go with dad.

Got to have the love cups!

We couldn't pass up the chance for a photo with Taz!

Cypress and Terry left us and went on some of the larger roller coasters. We found a playground to climb around in and a few rides for younger kids while we waited for them.

The fabulous Shouka the whale. The kids were very sad that we weren't in the wet zone but it was in the sun and pretty full up and I just couldn't handle that.

Later we checked out the amazing tiger show. This is not an albino, but a white tiger.

Checking out the Lions.

We went to the elephant show next. The show was good but being able to pet the elephant was way cooler!

Then came the demonstrations. Above you see Terry near the end of the tug o war line, the boys are there but too short to be seen. Below you see the girls closer to the front, starting to get drug by the elephant, she was of course way stronger than all of these people.

Last, they each got to feed the elephant a cookie by dropping it in the trunk. We were all pretty excited!

The boys and I are checking out the crocodiles in the water as Terry and the girls went on the Boomerang, roller coaster.

We had a great day of fun, learning, and excitement! Thanks girls for all your hard work reading, we couldn't have gone with out you.

Tahoe fun with the Laurels!

2011-07-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

As a kind of super activity, the Young women's President, Tami, and I took 6 Laurels to Tahoe to go Parasailing. Unfortunately because I'm pregnant, they wouldn't let me do it :( I was so bummed. It looks so fun. Terry and I are already planning a trip to go do it in the future.

Hanging out in the boat, waiting for their turns.

The brave first girls - Mallory and Krista, just getting started.

Tami and Katie and Madaline were up next. THis was just after the driver touched their feet to the water.

Amelia and Brittin were last and the most scared. They all ended up 800 feet up in the air, soaring over the lake for 10 min. I can't wait to go back and have my turn!

4th of July!

2011-07-05T11:48:00.001-07:00

Our friends the Leishmans invited us to go to their dad's houseboat for the holiday. We went out Sunday night after all church stuff and just as the sun was setting on the lake, it was beautiful.

The kids enjoying a little snack on the top deck.

This is how the kids were sleeping when we checked on them before we went to bed. They had their own little room. There are 5 kids here. The second night when they were way more tired, they stayed in their own spots a little better. :)

This is the room that Terry and I got to sleep in. It wasn't real big but nice to have our own space and a real bed!

Everyone was anxious to go down the slide into the water, but none more than Cypress. She was of course the first one to go down at only 9am, but the others quickly followed.

Tayla

Even the adults were able to enjoy it, once we got the water going on it.

We went for a boat ride to pick up more friends.

Then for a few more rides with the tube. Unfortunately this caused a lot of sunburnt bum cheeks! We reapplied sun block 3 times but that still wasn't enough for the hot, hot sun!

They also had a fun paddle boat that we took turns in taking the kids for rides around the houseboat. (me and Justin)

(Terry and Lisa)

The boat rides got kind of long for very tired kids. Tayla was a great pillow and babysitter. Later Gracie was sleeping on her too and Tyden was a sleep on me.

Justin is a little crazier than the rest of us. Cypress and Riley thought it was very cool though, because they got to move around some too with him on there.

Kasen's first and only attempt at the slide. Terry threw him up to keep him close to the surface because he was afraid of dragging him under with him because he had no life jacket on. Kasen didn't enjoy going under and wouldn't go down again.

Trina thought ahead. When it was just to hot to be outside anymore, she busted out a bingo game and lots of fun prizes. It was really great.

Mommas just hanging out.

All the kids waiting for the fireworks to start. We had a pretty great view from the houseboat.

Thanks so much for a fabulous time!! Everyone was safe and happily worn out!

Travis Trit

2011-07-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

Our friends had tickets to see Travis Trit in Chico and then had a family emergency out of town, so we lucked out and got to go. Terry, being the big fan of country that he is, really had a great time :) He's very supportive of me :) We did have a good time though and he even knew a song or two.

This is exactly how far away from the stage we were, they were great seats!! The 12th row!

They let us walk right up to the front and take pictures, so I of course took advantage of that and got an up close picture of him. I was literally about 2 1/2 feet from him.

Cake time!

2011-07-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

Mom and I took on another cake. I did all the baking and frosting but could never have done all the fondant with our her! And chocolate fondant at that - the colors were brown, orange and ivory. The kids couldn't lay off the fondant it tasted so good. Mom did some scroll work on layers 2 and 4.

The final touches are very hands on.

We did good, but the flowers and ribbon just finish it off! We were very happy with the way it turned out.

Day in the Sun!

2011-07-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we took the afternoon and met our friends the Walton's at Riverbend park in Oroville. They ahve fun sprinklers to play in as well as the river. We all enjoyed both! Sometimes the sprinklers are short and sometimes they are tall. Cypress prefers the tall ones!

Kasen and Alyssa on a stroll. Sometimes they are good friends, sometimes, not so much.

On the beach they made a rock kingdom and man made waterfalls. It was very fun!

Kasen is 3!!

2011-06-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday the 21st we went to Tracy for late Father's Day and early Kasen's Birthday celebration. We had a very enjoyable time. Kasen loved opening presents of Cars shirts, books and stickers, as well as a Super Why game. He was very excited about the whole thing!

They bought him an ice cream cake and he was very proud of it. Before it was cake time he had to take us all to the freezer to see "his cake."

On Saturday, his real birthday, Terry had to be gone most of the day to take some tests for a possible state job so we celebrated on Friday like that was his Birthday. It started with breakfast in bed that he thought was so cool!

He spent the morning playing with cars on the floor and enjoying balloons. After that we went to see Cars 2 in Oroville on opening day. It was very cute and we all enjoyed it.

Then we went to the Hunters for a hot dog roast and presents, cake and swimming. I made some matching pillowcases for the boys.

He wanted a cars cake and I knew that we had a lot of the cars but of course we couldn't find Lightening McQueen anywhere but it was still pretty cute. He was so fun to watch blowing out candles.

The next morning, even before he was dressed or diaper changed or shoes on, he was outside playing with his new T-ball set. I think it's a good way for him to get some agression out. Just look at how serious his face is :)

Father's Day!

2011-06-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday when we got home from the Reunion, Trevor and Terry tricked dad into giving them his truck and trailer to go get a "mean goat" but when they came back, he found out that it was really 2 miniature ponies for him for Father's day. These are something he's wanted for a very long time. he wants to make a cart for them to pull his grandkids in a parade. This is his first view of the momma.

On the left his her colt born in October of last year.

Dad was of course, instantly in LOVE!

Sunday all the kids gathered round to give Terry his Presents. He doesn't like Breakfast in Bed so he no longer gets that service provided to him.

The Percy Jackson Series

A new stickless kite! we are very happy that we have a Daddy that loves us so much!! We went to Tracy on Tuesday to see Papa Jim since he was in his isolation time on Father's day.

Reunion

2011-06-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

Over Father's Day weekend we had the Hunter Family reunion as always. It was is Redding and it was GREAT! The weather was very cooperative and the company was awesome! We spent the nights at Meredith and Bill's house in tents and Spent the day at Whisky Town Lake. The minute we got the paddle boat off the car, Max (3) and Kasen (almost 3) thought they were going to take it out themselves.

There were floating logs all over the place and much to Grandpa's dismay, the kids all loved laying on them and pushing them around. Tayla was using hers as a noodle.

Uncle Trevor was the king of the squirt guns. If you had one in your hand, he was after you, if he was on a boat, it was hiding at his side just in case you came by. No one really seemed to mind to much since it was hot and they were all able to get him back. Tyden thought he was extra sly and was constantly shooting him.

These are all of the floatation devices and boats that we had and they were all in constant use by everyone. It was really fun!

Young and old took their turns and were always trying to get another.

No one could resist the feel of the nice cool water. it was very cold, but very clear too. We had a whole beach and picnic area to ourselves so that was really nice.

To keep out of the evening heat, we went to the church for a spagetti dinner and a talent show. These are the Rodgerson girls with ours they are Reece (5), Ellie (7), Cypress (9), Hunter (9), then Tayla (7).

Louisa and Claudia showing off their reunion T-shirts designed by Alex.

A Turtle!

2011-06-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

For our first summer mutual activity we went to the Chinese Temple in Oroville on a tour and I took our family. It was very interesting and in great shape. Everyone should go check it out. There was this fun bamboo for taking pictures in. They had fish in a pond outside and were not happy because there were turtles eating the fish. They wanted the turtles out so Terry took it upon himself to catch them so the trip quickly turned into a Turtle rescue.

Everyone thought they were so cool and wanted to take them home. They were very happy to oblige so one of my Laurels took one and we ended up with the other one.

No one was happier than Tayla! Who knew she loved turtles!

However, when we got him home we put him in a cooler with water and bricks to climb on to get out of the water and some lettuce and watermellon rines. It wasn't good enough for him and he kept trying to climb out of it and ended up on his back and couldn't turn over. After the 10th time of flipping him over we let him out on the grass and he did everything in his power to get out of our yard. He was trying to dig under the fences and everything. Finally we decided that he just wasn't going to make it at our house.

So we took him out to Grey Lodge and let him go. Tayla cried all the way there and begged and pleaded to keep him. No matter what we said she wasn't consoled.

As she put him down and he ran for the water and took off swimming, she was ok with it, but still not happy and convinced that we needed to go to the pet store and get her a new one. Lucky for me, I think she's forgotten about it now and we're off the hook.

2011-06-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

Every year they have a little track meet in Gridley. There are no practices ahead of time and no other meets, but just the one. You say what you want to do and show up and do it. We decided to take the girls to the track a few times before hand to at least give them a little practice. They both did very well. This is Cypress receiving the baton in the 4x100 relay in which her team got 1st out of 4 teams all the same age.

This is her winning team, they are also the winning team from last year!

Here is Tayla finishing strong in the 4x100 relay in her age group where she also got 1st out of 4 teams.

This was her winning team!

They both got other ribbons and medals for the 200 yard dash, 100 yard dash, 50 yard dash, and the softball throw. It was very fun. Tyden can't wait until he gets to be a part of it too! Of course, Kasen can outrun them all, but I think he'll be more of a distance runner. :)

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

We wanted to go camping to Little Grass Valley and since you can't have a reservation there, we went up Thursday night to get a spot. Unfortunately, there was so much snow there Still that they weren't even open so we had to find somewhere else to go that was close. We found a campground called Strawberry and it was pretty nice. This is the fun river that was running through about 50 yards from our camp site.

The kids loved exploring a new place but it was still pretty cold and rained and snow on the ground in some places.

We borrowed Terry's parents RV for the trip just because we did think it would be a little cold for a tent. It was very nice to have it, we could get used to camping that way, not that we mind sleeping in a tent, it's just so nice not to have to set up your beds or anything when you get there.

Cypress had a track meet at school on Friday so she didn't come with us. it was a good thing though, since she received 3 first place ribbons and one 3rd place. We are very proud of her! She was sad she missed out on the real camping though.

We all enjoy a good campfire! We roasted hot dogs and marshmellows.

We decided that Kasen could do a commercial for smores. It was very enjoyable to watch him eat it.

We all took our bikes and throughly enjoyed riding them. It was a hard first half all up hill but of course that means it was a very fast, no peddaling all downhill second half. Kasen couldn't quite make it up on his own so he got to ride with dad. He was really mad at first but got over that really quick when he saw how much fun it was.

Tayla and Tyden were addicted, then did it 10 times as often as Terry and I.

The next morning it rained all morning so we decided not to stay there. It was too far and too cold to have more people join us so after looking for a different place all the way home, we ended up at a camp ground in Live Oak and it was great. It was cheep, not busy, green, had a river for fishing - not for swimming but it was too cold to swim anyway. The Hunters joined us and we had a great next 2 days. Here's Grandma and Kasen enjoying a little horse shoes.

Terry was in his glory because he caught a beautiful striper, a good sized one too as you can see. They cleaned in a fried it up and ate it for dinner!

There wasn't quite the hill to coast down there but the kids still enjoyed riding their bikes all over the place. We could barely get them off to eat!

Terry and Cypress had some good bonding time fishing. The other kids are all too impatient.

Eventually it started raining there too and we had to cover the fire with our awning and huddle. It was okay for a while but we all went home sooner than we'd planned. We wouldn't hesitate to go there again though!

Rain or shine, you have to have an exploration walk with Grandpa. Tyden and Tayla went too, they just ran back ahead of everyone else.

Mother's Day!

2011-06-20T19:15:00.000-07:00

I had a fabulous Mother's Day, starting with Breakfast in bed where all the kids joined me and then to presents and picture time. I got some fun shirts and cute school projects, including worker coupons!

After Church we went to my mom's where my dad, husband and brother had made us dinner. it was very nice and the table was all set fancy and everything.

Mom, modeling her cute new sweater that dad actually picked out on his own :)

Then the FUN!!

2011-05-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

When the work was done, we went to San Francisco and Pacifica for the last 2 days of the break. It was rather cold and windy both days but we still enjoyed it as best we could. That's the Golden Gate in the background. Kasen missed it. He slept this whole time on Terry.

We found quite a few dead crabs and crab shells like the one Tyden has but it was the best when Terry caught a live, 3in., crab with his fishing pole and new crab trap!

It's never to cold to chase the waves with Uncle Tom!!

This is at the Pacifica Pier (above) Below is a wildlife reserve that we like to frequent.

We all enjoyed exploring but Kasen was very interested in what dad had to show. As you can see from Tayla's hair in the background, it was VERY windy and that did take away some of the fun. :(

Tyden ended up in a little more than he would have liked, but still came away smiling!

Everyone enjoyed stomping through the tide pools.

I think that they found something good. There were always trying to make the annenamies eat things.

This is Cypress Hill on the cypress hill :)

There were multiple chicken fights held in the hotel pool that evening. I think that Tayla and Nick have to be deamed the winners.

Everyone enjoyed the nice heated, indoor pool in the evening and the next morning, especially since it was so cold at the ocean.

Inside our hotel after our morning swim.

Out hotel, which the kids say was the best part :)

Trying to use the umbrellas to block the wind instead of the sun. Not working well enough :) We had a great time though, swam, walked, BBQ, flying kites, fishing, the whole nine yards!

Work first!

2011-05-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

We just finished Spring Break and it was a good one! Before we could play though, we had to get some work done. The kids refinished their swings, with the usual colors, and we, with the help of Grandpa, put in a few extra sprinklers. We also got our weeds rotatilled up and new grass seed planted. It's only taken us 2 whole years to get our act together and act like we really own our yard :) The jobs go so much faster when you have such good helpers!

We just LOVE helping Grandpa!!

Easter Sunday

2011-04-26T16:34:00.001-07:00

Loving all the kids new church clothes!! These aren't the best pictures but you do what you can when you only have a tripod and a timer for the photographer. The kids sang in Sacrament meeting and Tayla gave a talk about the meaning of the Easter lily, which I have, thanks mom, and is blooming like crazy. We had a yummy dinner at mom's house and, of course, more egg hunts!

Hiking!!

2011-04-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

The falls were amazing today!! So much runoff. The kids had a great time following their dad wherever he would let them go. It was mostly an easy climb and they all did it on their own this time.

This is Paij and Brent's waterfall to our family, Bear Creek to others but either way, it's awesome!! There was so much water today!

Most of the kids took a shot or 2 at the soda cans but Cypress was the sharp shooter.

None of us let a little rain bother us. The fire had to have an umbrella over it while it was getting started but once it did, no more problems. The Hot dogs and smores tasted mighty fine today!

Good cousin bonding time!

City Egg Hunt

2011-04-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

Safeway donated 400 dozen eggs for the Lion's Club to color and hid for the kids of Gridley and Biggs. There was a great turn out as always. Cypress found one of the Golden eggs, which means you get to turn it in and pick a stuffed animal prize - it's the bunny you see in her bucket at the end. It was cool because this was her last year hunting there as she'll be 10 next year and over the age limit. They all had a great time looking with their friends.

Easter Bunny!

2011-04-25T20:34:00.001-07:00

The Easter Bunny hid the 2 dozen eggs that we colored and so they kids had to go around and fine them all Saturday Morning. Cypress had spent the night at a friends but asked to be picked up early so she wouldn't miss out. The other kids didn't think 8:15 was early enough and we impatiently waiting :)

Cypress is a fish in the summer so she was hooked up with new goggles and snorkel. No touchy Uncle Brent, they won't fit you!

Breakfast was of course the resurrection biscuits. They were as yummy as we remembered!

The night before, Kasen was very unsure of the whole egg and basket hiding thing but he learned it was super cool really quick.

They each got a new hula hoop and the girls are both quite the tricksters. The boys won't take long to catch up to them I'm sure. I think they like the hula hoops best of all.

Tyden was the last to find his bakset, even though it was hidden in the one place that he always hides. He couldn't even bring it in the family room to check out the spoils, he had to plop down in the hall and unload.

Tayla's basket was up on the fan, not too easy to see when you're only 4' 5"

WATER!!!!!

2011-03-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

We have had tons and tons of rain here and so the rivers are VERY full. My brother works for the water district and they went on 24 hours flood watch. Anyway, we decided to go check it out and it was amazing to see how full and beautiful everything looks. This is the Feather River in Oroville.

This usually looks a lot more like a waterfall then a little down grade. the area on the left side of the fence usually has almost no water. This is the fish run at the hatchery.

This is the spill way from the dam. Last year the lake was so low they had to close some of the boat ramps and this year it's so full they have to let water out so it doesn't overflow. It was very beautiful even if it was still raining on us. This is a straight on view and the next is from up hill a little. We also drove on the dam and saw the view from there.

Happy b-day to Me!

2011-03-29T17:26:00.001-07:00

Race and I had our usual combo party at Mom's house on Sunday that consisted of Mom's homemade Lazagna that can't be beat, presents, and her homemade cinnamon rolls, that come in a close second, instead of cake at our request.

Kasen had to help open everything. My cute new hat from Mom and Dad and hair thing from Cypress.

This is one of the cute shirts Terry got me along with a Shark steam mop which doesn't seem that exciting but it is for me and I LOVE it! I got lots of other fun stuff, like gift cards, fruit trees, and a certificate to make an online scrapbook.

It actually ended with Breakfast in bed instead of starting because that came on Monday, my real B-day. It was very nice. The kids thought it was awesome that I let them eat in bed with me. Well it didn't really end there because April brought me a huge balloon and flowers to TaVaci and after Terry and I got to go on a date (first one since January) to dinner and the movies. Thanks to everyone for making it a great day!!

Cake, Cake, and More Cake

2011-03-01T15:32:00.000-08:00

So my Brother's family was sealed in the Oakland Temple this last weekend and they asked me to make a wedding type cake for the after party. I love making cakes but have never really done more than just play. But I took on the challange and with TONS of help from my good friend Katherine, from Idaho, we got it done. This is stage one, making the mixes. We were going for 4 teirs, each teir consisting of 2 layers of cake. Stage 2: baking allt he cakes - they turned out beautiful. 4 are Red Velvet/chocolate mix and 4 are French vanilla.
Stage 3: Dirty Icing - those of you that watch cake show know what that means, but those that don't, it's when you from the cake generously and it will contain crumbs but then you refridgerate it and then it hardens and you can refrost for smoothness or cover with fondant.

Stage 4: I chose Fondant. so I made 2 batches, one is complete on the wax paper and I'm just starting the second.

Stage 5: Roll out fondant and then cover the cake, smooth, and cut off the excess.

Here, three layers and covered and one is not to show the difference between dirty icing and fondant cover. The circles you see on top are the pillars to hold the next layer.

Stage 6: Final product. The top is a wood H that is fance and has jewls, ribbon and tewl on it but it's hard to see that with the back ground.

It was a time consuming process over 2 days but it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. It also tasted really good, even the fondant, and that's an even bigger feat. Thanks mom for the help with the fondant and Katherine for help with it all (over the phone of course).

Bed Room!

2011-03-01T15:12:00.000-08:00

I always seem to forget to take the before pictures until it's mostly too late so you only get 2. Just remember that our room has been America theme for at least 8 years. I've wanted a change for a while but no money prevented that. So when Terry left on this job, I decided it was time and while he was gone changed it. I couldn't post until now because I didn't tell him about it. But he finally saw it this weekend, so now you get to. The wall is white and taped for painting.

Same shelves, but new paint and place, same pics, new place. (all that's left now to finish the room is new blinds and carpet but those are the big ticket items so I'll have to wait much longer for those.)

The wasll was white around the closed and is now a light sage green and the swordage Terry has always had and had to hide under our bed but now it gets to be displayed, much to his pleasure.

The sconces are black with gold and the "cone" is goldish glass. Night stands were switched and note the new bedding and mirror.

Midway Museum

2011-03-01T14:18:00.001-08:00

The Midway is a retired aircraft carrier that they turned into a museum and it's amazing. We spent quite a few hours there. They have planes you can climb in and push buttons and you can go into the living quarters and all sorts of fun things. Again, it rained off and on but not enough to make it a bad time. Terry loved seeing the guns that are inside the planes and telling the kids about them.

The kids loved pushing buttons of all kinds, shapes and sizes most of all!

Morgan had to put her seatbelt on just in case :)

This one's for Jim :) THe old fighter jet! Thanks Collins' for a GREAT TIME!

Sunday we went to church and hung out then drove back to Lancaster. Monday morning we were back in the pool of course. We then met Terry's bosses for lunch in Bakersfield and then drove home. It was a great time!

President's Day Weekend

2011-03-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

Terry had been working in Southern California for about a month, so we decided that since the kids had a 4 day weekend for the holiday, we'd go visit him and go to San Diego for the weekend. We arrived at his hotel at about 8:45pm and were in the pool and hot tub by 9. This was what the kids were looking forward to the most. Kasen however thought the pool was too cold (it was heated some but it was only 40 degrees outside) and the hot tub was too hot. Eventually his feet were in but that was all. Neither of those stopped the other kids though.

By 9:00am the next day (Friday) we were back in. Cypress spent most of her time practicing her dives and trying to make us across the pool in one breath. By the end she was pretty straight and made it over 3/4 of the way.Cypress and Tayla did some acrobatics and practiced their syncranized swimming as well.

After the swim, we drove to San Diego (his hotel was in Lancaster about 3 hours north) and met Paij and Morgan at the Mission San Diego. Cypress is in 4th grade and in California that means you study the missions and have to make a model of one. We decided it would be much easier and more real if she acutally got to go to one. It as a littly rainy but still fun!

This is the first mission that was built in CA and is still used as a chruch today!

Most of the stuff was roped off and you couldn't touch but this little hut wasn't and so we had to let all the kids get inside and take turns having their picture taken (there was a sign that said only one at a time).Ater the mission we went to the Science Museum (similar to the Exploratorium for thos of you taht know what that is). We spent hours there, shooting balls through mazes, trying experiments, building blocks, building a suspension bridge, talking to each other across the room using satalite dish type things and lots more!Much fun was had by us all!Saturday we went on a Cruise around the Bay for 1 hour. It was a little chilly but gorgous and very fun and entertaining. The ship was big and you could go on 2 levels, at the front or the back, and be inside or out, so of course some time was spent in each place :) Cypress enjoyed the time with her daddy!It was so fun to see their excitement about everything!

The found a hole in the bow that was raised about 10-15 feet off the water that they loved looking through, you can barely see kasen's feet on the left side, he was doing the same thing on the other side of the ship!

Tayla didn't love being out on the water or the movement of the ship but it wasn't too bad.Our group witht he city scape behind us - Beautiful!THis is a huge statue of the sailor kissing the nurse from that picture you know you've seen. Tyden was a very typical boy! Notice his eyes and hands :)We played in some trees while we waited for Brent and Tery to get our tickets to the Midway Musem.

Value Cookies

2011-02-16T16:04:00.000-08:00

Tonight is our new beginnings so I made cookies with the Value colors and the girls names on them. They turned out pretty good, but not worth the time. 2 hours of cutting and cooking, 2 hours of mixing colors, frosting and writing, and 1/2 hour to clean up! They better appreciate them!

Twirp

2011-02-15T10:48:00.001-08:00

For those that are interested, (since niether mom nor Rachel blog) here is Rachel and Matt on their way to Twirp and Rachel's fun corsauge (sp ?) made by Aunt Lisa.

Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T10:31:00.000-08:00

In the morning I made the kids pink heart pancakes which they really enjoyed. We had a very fun dinner and gift exchange at my mom's on Sunday. Tyden loved his first real parties and Kasen even got to go to a toddler party. Everyone will be on sugar overload for the next week :)

I was pretty bummed all morning because Terry is out of town but he put my Aunt Lisa to work and had these gorgous flowers delivered to me during TaVaci practice. It was very sweet, fun, and of course beautiful.

He also had my dad take my kids shopping and they bought fun gifts for me. We sent dad a package at his hotel and we'll, thankfully, get to see him this Thursday when we go down for the long holiday. Thanks to everyone for making it a great day!

At the Hills

2011-01-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

All of our kids asked for Nerf guns for Christmas so of course they got them and we gave them to our nephews as well so they had to go out and have a fight. Kasen knew how to not get hit. Don't underestimate him, he's a pretty good shot! THis is what Grandma's car looked like when they were finished with it!

Krystal knew that I was the queen of games and therefore hooked me up with 4 new ones! We love them all and would love for anyone to come and play with us!

Auntie Krystal at her finest! We sure love her!

Both girls got darling new church dresses from Grandma and Grandpa!

They also both got new sunglasses and sock monkeys and they love them! Aren't they darling!

Uncle Jonathan is doing leather work and made Tyden a quiver for his bow and arrows and purses for the girls, they are awesome!

It's always trouble when these 4 get together but sure fun to have cousins your same age! They get along so well.

Christmas!

2011-01-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

Cypress got a tone of fun and miniture cooking stuff so she was the supervisor and these 3 made many beautiful creations for us all to eat, they even tasted good!
Bode got a Cars GEO track as well and the 2 of them just couldn't stop playing.

One of my darling shirts from my kiddos.

Terry got a VERY combo b-day and Chriastmas present from everyone this year and it's his pride and joy - it's a 30-06 in case you didn't know.

Cypress was very glad to recieve her own bow and arrows so she can not join her dad and Tyden when they are shooting in the back yard.

Meet Tyden the spy. A bunch of the grandkids got cute spy stuff and ran around in it all day. Below is Tayla the spy as well.

Cypress made beanbags and a beanbag toss game for Tyden and Kasen almost all by herself. They are really enjoying it and she enjoyed making it just as much! It's so fun when your kids start to get the meaning of giving!

SANTA!!

2011-01-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

Yea, we're back to Christmas, I just had to post the beach because it was too beautiful. So Santa brought Cypress a New dress coat and boots that mom and dad just couldn't find anywhere! She was trilled and wears them both all the time.

Tayla wanted a camera, so that's what she got. She's really enjoying taking pictures of everyone and everything. thank goodness for digital!
Kasen got a GEO track train and didn't care what else. He wanted no part of opening anyother presents, just wanted to play with his "chain" all day. Morgan was still asleep after a long night so Aunt Paij got to play with him too!

Tyden has finally discovered legos and thinks they are fabulous. He's always loved puzzles, these are just a little more precise.

BEACH TIME!!

2011-01-18T11:52:00.000-08:00

We decided to go to the beach for Martin Luther King day just to get out and do something! It was a little chilly but as you can see, that didn't stop anyone from having a great time. We went to Pacifica as usual. (above) We were checking out the crabbers on the pier. Some of them let us see or touch their latest catch and we watched a few actually catch them. It was pretty cool.

The boys just couldn't get enough of the sand and building in it.The girls loved the sand, but loved "teasing" the water more :) It was great to see them getting along so well.

The View was gorgous!

I love this view more though! My cute kidos, so excited to be there. (of course they thought it was San Diego)

Dinner

2011-01-12T09:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve Dinner was fabulous and fantsy as always! This year we asked for a private table though to make it more mood worthy - thanks Jar for adding to the mood! :)

The kids had their own table as well all decked out with snowflakes and snowmen. It was very fun!

And what would Christmas be with out Santa and his Elf. I hope this picture makes it to facebook :)

Holiday traditions!

2011-01-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

Tis the reason for the season! Each year the kids act out the nativity after our family progressive dinner. The Actors were at their best in their new costumes (thanks Kris). Even Kasen had a part, he was the star - can't you see him shining :)
Mary and Joseph

Lighting the way are the children!

Darling Angels!

While waiting for the show, Bode needed some action of his own. He fell and hit his head and it had to be super glued before we could move on.

Dinner at Trevor and Charmayne's was very yummy tortolini soup

Check out Jarom's awesome sweater, so nice of him to match the room.

Appetizers at our house. A little squishy but you keep warm that way :) Quite a nice spread if I do say so my self!

Silly cousins waiting for the show to start (they are only 1 month apart!)

We had some friends do the 12 days of Christmas to us this year, it was very fun waiting to see what they would bring and trying to figure out who it was. On day 8 they started performing so we knew then for sure. This was them on our lawn as "Ladies dancing" and below is the partridge in a pair tree.

Misc. December

2011-01-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

Our new family picture with our new Christmas Tree (no longer red, white, and blue, now just red and white) in our new Christmas outfits.
Tyden had his first school Christmas Concert and did very well. His teacher said he was one of the only kids who knew any of the songs before they started. This is his friend Cole Leishman.

I've been teaching Art to Homeschool Kindergardeners all semester and at the end, we held an art show for our families. What better way to celebrate artists than with a paint palet of cupcakes!

Aunt Paij and Morgan came a week before any other family so we had lots of time to play with them. They spent one night at our house and after Terry smoked meat for our dinner, we got to roast marshmellows on the coals.

TaVaci Concert

2011-01-06T18:15:00.000-08:00

Meet my fabulous trio in the Jr. Class. They are all darling but your can't miss hearing these three. They make if very fun to teach!
Tyden the little stud! There are only 2 boys in his class and all the girls love him. But, who can blame them, he's darling!

Cypress and Jenna leading off the show like the big girls they are. They never missed a beat in their lines or actions!

This is my whole little group this semester. You'd never know we were down in numbers because they sounded great!

New School Pics

2010-11-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

We had our now annual family photo shoot in serch of the perfect school pictures. This is what we felt were the best. Enjoy my darling babies!!

Tyden's 5th birthday

2010-11-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

He likes super heros but didn't have a lot of choice on the theme of his party since I already had plates, cups and hats that were batman, but he was pretty happy with the way it turned out.

He got many great presents. Thanks to everyone who came and gave gifts and showed their support! We had a family dinner at the house first and then went to the park for gifts, cake, and to meet up with his friends to play.

And boy did they have fun playing!! We couldn't even keep Grandma and Uncle Jarom from joining in. It was a great, beautiful day!

Girls new room!

2010-11-05T19:16:00.000-07:00

I bought stuff before summer to redo the girls room with the intention of doing it all summer but it just never worked out. We finally got it done today, well mostly done. The one wall you don't see isn't complete because it's missing a sticker that will play a big part so I'll post that one later when we get the sticker. They love it! Terry made the bed with minimal help from me. They actually have more furniture and more space. It's really great. The theme is sunset in case you weren't sure! :) The boys got their old beds as not bunkbeds so their room is being rearranged also but not done yet, keep checking for those updates too.

Soccer time!

2010-11-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

This year Terry and I coached Tyden's soccer team, the Bulls (red). We got some good exercise and had a good time. We ended the season 4-1-1. Tyden wasn't the best player on the team but he did pretty well and had a good time.

This is our cute little team at our awards party.

I had to of course make cakes for our awards party. I soccer ball is much harder than you'd think but it turned out pretty good.

Cypress for Secretary!

2010-11-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

Cypress was voted into the School Student Council by her class and then decided to run for Student Body Secretary. (yes she's only in 4th grade but the school only goes up to 5th.) She ran against 2 other students. She had to make a poster and stickers to pass out and give a speach (all memorized) at a school assembly and dance in front (as seen below) to be a good example to the other students. Then they voted, and SHE WON!! We are very proud of her!

Halloween

2010-10-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have older posts to post but this one was too fun to pass up on and props need to be given to Kris for her hard work in making the kids great costumes!! Thanks Grandma! And thanks to Grandma Michalene for a full and fun day of carving and eating! Followed by the Trunk or Treat and the city Carnival. Needless to say, the kids are all passed out already!

Our cute Jack O lantern pizza's from Lunch. (in case you are wondering, that is Tena)

Terry does know how to use power tools! j/k He's been using them quite a bit this week.

Masterpieces in the making!

Kasen and Tom at the Trunk or Treat (this cute gal with her bomb belly set to go off 11-02-10, very cute costume!). He loved it. He said, "Twick o tweat" and "bank you" at every car!

Downtown costume parade and Trick or Treating with Tyden's class was a big hit. Kasen decided he would wear a costume anytime if it means he will get candy!

We decoracted baby pumpkins with stickers and markers with the Leishman's on Wednesday. Thanks Trina.

First Day of School!

2010-08-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't start school today but I still need my picture taken because I'm dang cute!

I started Kindergarten today and boy was I excited! CHeck out my new clothes and transformer backpack. My teacher is Mrs. Pooler.

I didn't really want to get up for the first day of second grade with Mrs. Wilson, at Wilson school, but once I did, I looked dang good and had fun, I was even the star student.

I'm a big 4th grader today and have my first male teacher, Mr. Levin. He seems really cool and now I get to have PE every day! Boy am I lookin' good!

Slumber Party!

2010-08-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

We played at little Just Dance . . .

Laughed a little . . .

Sang and had fun cupcakes . . .

Played with out new, very cool, Barbie house . . .

Got darling new hats made by Aunt Judy . . .

Went swimming and had pancakes in the morning. All in all, it was a great party!!

See other post first, Vacation continued!

2010-08-26T16:05:00.001-07:00

We spent one day at the Thornton Family Reunion (Terry's Grandma's family) which is what inspired the whole trip in the first place. Everything else was just bonus. It was at a cabin near Palasades Dam in Idaho.

We went on a walk and found some cool shelters that other people had made and were pretty big

I just love my boys!! Even in Tie-Dye, thanks for putting up with that Terry.

Someone brought a homemade bean bag toss game that the kids enjoyed. We had to be careful though, their were 3 freak thunderstorms that showed their face and we had to run inside and hide out for a while but as you can tell by out clothes, the weather wasn't even cold. You just had to ride it out.Hanging out at the little creek was really cool.

So we actually decided to be tourists in Utah and checked out some new stuff. Here we are in the Visitors center at Temple Square.
There were so many water sources on top of the conference center that every picture we took has at least one kids hand in the water. It sure was beautiful though!

We went to the Utes' staduim where the Olympic torch was and that was very cool to see in person.

They actually have a whole little visitor's center there.

We visited the Sweet Candy Factory and got to taste and see lots of yummy stuff. Some of you were lucky enough to have some of their wonderful taffy. Gotta love the blue hats!!

Going in the Hot Tub at Haylee and Ryan's is always a highlight of the trip for the kids, they just can't get enough of it!

Idaho/Utah Vacation

2010-08-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

This is kind of our trip in reverse so if you care, you may want to start at the bottom of these pictures.
Nephi had to show off his latest trick with Tillman and Nella so of course Terry's been trying it with Tyden ever since!

All the girls! Cypress and Tayla had a great time playing babysitter with Kamber (3 mo old). She was a sweetheart and darling!

Kasen became the arrow fetcher and loved that as much as Tyden loved shooting (see below).

Tyden bought a bow and arrows for his trip souvenir. He had fun playing with it in Grandma Rapps front yard and Haylee's back yard.
Grandma Rapp felt the need to introduce Kasen to the cold running ditch in front of her house so he wouldn't be tempted to explore it on his own. After that they were good friends.

It was sure fun to see Katherine and Nephi again. We sure miss them!! Wish we could have hung out more. Can't wait for them to come visit us!

Kasen and Brogan (8 mo younger) had a love hate relationship. they liked each other unless the other one had a toy, then they had to see who was tougher, it was a close tie most of the time. Right now they are both a little "stoned" from the naps they just woke up from.

Cypress and Teancum (5 mo older) didn't play too much because she's a yucky girl. but they did get together to boss the little kids around a little. :)

Nella and Tayla (9 mo older) got along super well. They went to a princess party for one of Nella's friends. Tayla wanted to go back there every day of our vacation after that.
Tyden and Tillman (6 mo. younger) playing like they played everyday together at the "Free" Splash Park in Rexburg. It was great fun and plenty hot and busy.

Tyden and Kasen.

Kasen and Cypress. He wasn't so sure about the water slide until she made him go down but then he wanted to go again.

Krystal was bored so she bought stuff to make hats/scarfs/ect. She then taught Cypress how to do it and this was a very frequent site. It really helped for car bordem as well. They made some really cute stuff.

We all worked together to make Tie-Dye shirts for the first time. It was a good learning experience :) They turned out okay anyway.

The Rapps have lots of fun hats and trinkets to play with and try on. Your visit there is never boring!
THe kids went on a rock hunt in Grandma and Grandpa Rapp's basement and backyard. Tayla was most excited since she has a rock collection (that one 1st place in the fair by the way).

There was a very nice big pool and hot tub. We had a great time and kind of wore the kids out so they would chill with movies for the drive.

We tried to break up the long drive a little by driving to Reno Sunday evening and staying in a hotel that they could swim at before we sat in the car for a long time. Hot august nights was starting in Reno the next day so there were a lot of cool cars in the parking lot to look at plus we were on the 11th floor so there was a nice view too.

I love to see the temple!

2010-08-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

We stopped at any temples we could along the way. So we ended up at 5 different ones. This is Salt lake of course. A little hard to get us in this one.

Idaho Falls was fabulous. We are featuring our tie-dye shirts that we made for the family reunion.

Rexburg was fabulous. It wasn't finished when we moved so we hadn't been up there before. There is an awesome wheat field across the street and they etched wheat into the glass of the windows of the temple. It's very cool.

We stopped in Twin Falls on the way up and had family night. It was fun. This is a pretty new one too.

Reno was cool but all locked up because it was late at night when we were arriving. We hadn't been back since Paij and Brent's wedding so it was cool to see it not covered in snow.

Fair Time

2010-08-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to see the whole album. Was supposed to be a slide show but I couldn't seem to get it right. We had a great time on the rides, seeing the stuff we submitted displayed and with ribbons on them, and the free pony rides.

cup cakes

2010-08-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

So my mother-in-law bought us this stand so we decided to make Tinkerbell the theme for the girls combined slumber party. We bought the little characters so that all the girls can take one home. We made three of the different flower designs from my new cupcake book (thanks for that too Kris!). My gum flowers aren't as pretty as the ones in the book but the little characters make it all better. Cypress was a big help making them all and it was really fun to try some new ideas. They aren't really as hard as I thought it would be.

Tayla's 7th B-day

2010-08-25T21:59:00.001-07:00

It started off with breakfast in bed of french toast and chocolate milk. Cypress and Tyden were up at 6:50 picking the flowers and starting to get it ready. She was thrilled.

After breakfast she got a few presents from Tyden and Cypress. THey picked them out and were so excited to give them to her.
Next we went outside where she got a new bike from mom and dad. She was very excited. They all rode out front for a while. Hopefully it will be a little cooler in the next day or two so we all can go on a ride.

Camping at Canyon Creek

2010-07-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

We went to a campground called Canyon Creek with Grandma and Grandpa Hill and had a great time. We went for walks with Grandma...We had a few photo shoots around the beautiful scenery...
We got to go swimming in the pool twice and played on the playground lots. We even got grandma and grandpa on the swings...

Lots of quality fishing time unfortunately nothing to speak of was caught, better luck next time, river fishing is pretty hard.

Lavender

2010-07-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day mom bought us all tickets to go to the Lavender Fair at the Bayliss Farms in BIggs. It was a great day out for us all and very beautiful. See the lavender fields behind us.

Mother's Day

2010-06-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

Grandma Kris got her stuff a week late while we were camping.

I got lots of really cool stuff including heartfelt poetry. The kids were very sweet!

The Hunters came home from a 10 day visit with the Collins and brought Morgan with them so Paij and Brent could move to CA.
Them coming home was probably my best mother's day gift. :) J/k

We had a very nice dinner in the dining room prepared by the men!

Quads

2010-06-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

Jarom and Alyssa came to visit for a wedding that was cancelled so we went 4wheeling in the samuris, quad riding and three wheeler riding instead. Sorry your head was cut off Cypress, it was a timer.

Even Grandma went for a ride!

Easter, yea it was a while ago, give me a break

2010-06-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

I got new cake decorating tips for my b-day so we made frosting in all colors and let all the kids have a stab at it. Not too bad. Also, my first attempts at fondant, we like the chocolate better than the white. That went well too, thanks to terry's muscles to roll it out.

We've started playing kickball every year with out BBQ but this year we decided not to play in the cow pies but at the pavilion. It was pretty fun.

The Easter bunny brought new swim suits and water shoes for all.

Cypress' basket was out on the couch in the playroom, she had a rather difficult time finding it but it's always worth it in the end.

Egg decorating was Very fun and we had some "moldy oldies" ideas, and some new fun ones.

This was at the park in Gridley for the annual real egg hunt put on by the lions. Tayla found a gold egg and won the bunny she is holding.

We went to the Hills Friday for their primary, candy filled egg hunt and to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa, It was lots of fun.