Hilarious Blog!

Thanks Elena for this link. This is one of the most hilarious things I've ever read...seriously, if you've got a minute (or an hour-which is as long as I spent reading it) it is time well spent and will make you laugh your head off!! This is a mother of 6 who is getting tons of attention from her blog and even more attention from an ebay listing (which you can get to off of her blog). Honestly, I'm sure she'll be on Letterman or Leno or something-it's amazing how much attention she is getting-deservedly so! http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com

KINDERGARTEN!! OH MY!!

We cannot believe the time has come for Allyson to be in Kindergarten!! For as old and big as she seems, it still just can't be right! I have to admit I've been dreading this day ever since the day she was born. But after all of her reassurance that she was going to love it and was so excited-I actually got excited for her as well. She was more than ready and has been counting down the days ever since preschool ended. Her teacher is Ms. Harris and is so very nice. Ally already knew 5 of the other kids who are in her class-which makes it so nice. We've had a lot of fun preparing for the big day...shopping, picking out the "outfit", planning breakfast, getting school supplies, packing the backpack and lunch, ect... She is such a sweet girl and we couldn't be prouder of her!

Austin the Ham

Well most of the hilarious stories in our home come from Isaac-he has always made everyone laugh and has loved every single bit of the attention. We are all now realizing that his little brother Austin is working his hardest to steal the title of "Family Clown". Of course anytime we laugh at Isaac, Austin turns right around and tries to do the same thing. He is really turning into quite the little show-off. Of course Ally is both of their biggest fans-she's always the easiest one to get to laugh and most often their target! Today we ran to Costco. While we were there we decided to eat. Austin wanted to stand in the cart while we ate (and since it was easier for us to keep track of him-we also thought it was a good idea!). We were all just stuffing our faces when we noticed that just about every single person was walking by us, saying "hi" to Austin and giggling. Now as cute as we think he is, we knew something was up because it was an excessive amount of attention. We watched for a minute and noticed that it wasn't everyone else who was say "hi", it was Austin. He would "eye-lock" them when they were just in sight, then he would repeatedly say "Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi" with a very cheesy grin that made his eyes disappear. Once they said "Hi" back and laughed, he would move on to the next customer-it was very entertaining!

San Diego LDS temple and the beach!

Closing the Summer in STYLE!!

When Jonathan had a week off from work, we figured we better take full advantage of it before life gets harder with his schedule and Ally starting kindergarten. We had free passes to go to Seaworld and so we went to San Diego. It was so fun-the weather there is to die for!! It was about 75 degrees-completely sunny!! Of course Seaworld was very fun, but my favorite part was just driving around looking at houses and flowers-I know why everyone wants to live there! It was a great trip! We are back home and glad to be here for a while!

Sandpoint-Hooray!

At the end of July we went to Sandpoint, Idaho (where I am originally from) for another reception for my sister Jess. We stayed at my grandparents condo and had a lot of fun...playing in the forest, picking blueberries and huckleberries, swimming at the beach and hanging out with grandparents. It is always so much fun to go and our kids LOVE it!

Near Drowning....That's what they thought!!

We knew it would eventually happen-but a few weeks ago, it actually did. Isaac has been able to swim from one end of the pool to the other for about a year now. He does really well, however, his swimming style far more resembles drowning that any type of swimming. Everywhere we go and anytime anyone sees him swim-they get so nervous. I can't tell you how many people have asked me if he was alright as they've watched his little head bob up and down for air. A few weeks ago we decided to go to a local rec-center that has a big pool with waterslides and water toys for kids. When we got there, we realized that it was "free swim day". So needless to say the place was jam packed-and I am not even exaggerating by saying we were the ONLY white people there (which makes matters worse-as far as sticking out!). I saw Isaac go around the big water playground and sent Jonathan to follow him. I hadn't see them for a while when all of a sudden all of the lifegaurds start blowing their whistles frantically and making everyone in the entire area go to a grassy area-about 300 people clearing the pool! I just knew it was Isaac!! I looked over to where I knew they were and made eye-contact with Jonathan. I mouthed, "Was it him?" He shook his head yes and we both were trying so hard not to laugh-considering every eye there was looking right at him! Apparently what happened was Isaac was just swimming, Jonathan wasn't far away watching him, but the lifegaurd was sure he was going under and jumped in. Jonathan said that when the lifegaurd pulled him out, Isaac was just smiling and Jonathan reached out and took Isaac. We thought we would die. Needless to say, we quickly ended our trip to the pool-I'm not sure we'll be back anytime soon!

Back to Blogging!!

We've been off the blogging bandwagon for a while since our computer has been down, but we're back. I feel like there is so much going on, I don't even know where to start...so get ready for some serious posting!!!

The Mud Monster

Isaac has discovered that there are not too many things more fun than rubbing mud all over yourself. He had the best time digging and painting his face. When it was time to get cleaned up he wanted to jump in the pool. When I told him he would have to get sprayed by the hose first-he was not thrilled. So the second picture is of him after he was washed off. Luckily he is such a nice boy that when he cries it only lasts about 15 seconds-then he was off doing frog jumps into the pool. What a fun kid!

Ally is so funny. Today I found her playing a video game with these funny 3D glasses. I'm surprised she even let me take a picture of her since she is always so concerned about looking out of the ordinary, but she let me and just kept on playing her video game.

Morning Smoothie

Austin loves having his morning smoothie with his mom.

Like Father, Like Son

Isaac loves to do whatever his dad does. He was beyond excited when he got to put shaving cream on his face when his dad was shaving.

Powdered Sugar Accident

The other day I was making a cake...well, as you can see, we had a little accident. Poor Ally was standing in the wrong place. Not too worry-my eyebrows and eyelashes reappeared after I washed my face.

MOM! I found something!!

On Saturday morning I was laying in bed. I didn't even realize that Isaac had gotten up before me until I heard, "Mom, I found something!" being yelled from the hallway. I instantly heard his little feet running as fast as they could toward our bedroom. I looked over to see Isaac holding 2 Peter Pan toys that I bought for him to save for Christmas. Apparently my stash was not as discreet as it needed to be. His cute little face was priceless!! He could not believe his luck-it was almost like magic. He then held up a bag and said, "Ally, there is something for you too!". Of course he had also seen the bag of Ariel dolls I had gotten Ally with the same plan in mind. So I guess you could say we had Christmas in July. It was a fun day!!!

We think it is pretty dang COOL!!

This is a picture of the message board at the front of Phoenix Baptist Hospital. It lists all of the doctors names on it. Of course the one we are most proud of is, J. Manwaring, DO. It is so fun to see!!

And the Monsoons begin!!

We were at Costco today when the wind all of a sudden really picked up. We were laughing so hard as we were walking to our car watching all of the shopping carts ram into cars, setting off their car alarms. When we got to our car we started unloading all of the kids. We had already put Ally and Austin in their seats when we noticed about 3 carts heading straight for our car. We ran to wherever we could to stop them from causing any damage. The next thing we hear was a faint cry in the distance. I looked up and Isaac was completely gone from where I had left him. I looked around and saw the cart he was sitting in being carried across the parking lot by the wind-almost like it was being pushed by a ghost. It was so hilarious, even though he was terrified. We rescued him and after he got calmed down he said, "I was like Buzz Lightyear flying through the air." We died laughing all over again. I had to add this picture of him in his Buzz costume from Halloween.

YUMMM!!!!

We gave Austin his first ice cream cone from Dairy Queen. As you can imagine-HE LOVED IT!! It was so hilarious because we actually gave it to him in his car seat (I still can't believe I did that!) and I had to take it out of his hand to get him out. I guarantee you have never seen a fit quite like this. But as you can see it quickly ended as we gave it back to him in his highchair.-Meanwhile mom spent about 20 minutes cleaning the car seat!

And of course...fireworks!

Arizona may not have any 4th of July parades, but they do have GREAT fireworks. Our kids all loved them-it was a fun day!

4th of July Fun!

Since the big wedding was only the day before th 4th and we were still exhausted-we mostly just hung out by the pool and relaxed. Nicholas and Ashley, their 2 girls and Rachel'sl Dad all stayed through the 4th. We're not sure exactly how hot it actually got, but the forcast said it would be 116!! And it definately felt that hot!!

Ally was in heaven!

Ally absolutely loved every second of the wedding. She wanted to follow Jess around the entire day. She especially loved getting her picture taken with her. Even after the photographer was done taking pictures, Ally insisted on making up her own poses to get more pictures taken. Her excitement was ubrupted for a short while when she didn't catch the bouquet, but Jess ended up giving her the "real" bouquet. It was the highlight of her night.

She was so precious falling asleep in the car holding flowers and still wearing her dress. What a day!

SHE DID IT!

On July 3rd Rachel's sister Jessica married Bradley Smith. It was the perfect wedding for the perfect couple. I over heard people saying that they have never seen a more beautiful couple and that they looked like they should be in a wedding magazine-we couldn't agree more. Not only do they look great but they also fit together in every way. We love him so much and are so glad he is in our family.

If it's not broken, don't fix it!

We're enjoying our same house, ward, and many of the same friends. We're finally settling back into life after the graduation and vacation bliss. Before graduation, we went to Cabo, Mexico for a week and then after graduation went up to Utah and Idaho for a couple of weeks. And, even though it's 115 degrees here, we couldn't be happier to be home.

Rock Arch at Lover's Beach in Cabo

Dinosaur Park in Ogden

On Temple Square

Phoenix Baptist Hospital Intern Class of 2010

Graduation Family Picture, June 1st, 2007