Impromptu Family Reunion

This is my new nephew Richard Presley. Everyone calls him Presley. Isn't he so cute! Look how big my baby is compared to Presley and they are only 2 months apart. My baby is a chunky.

This was at the mall in Kent, WA. It was huge. They had this really cool restaurant called Rainforest Cafe. We didn't eat there because we didn't know about it but we ran into it and it was cool. The kids are looking at an alligator in the water. It wasn't real but it was still cool. They had really cool fish tanks with really cool fish in them and then they had fake birds scattered around the place.

This is one of my many grandmothers. Grandma Mary Lu is holding Kaitlyn and I think that she is comforting Kaitlyn. At the mall they had this really cool toy play place for the kids. My kids had so much fun.

They warmed up to Grandma really fast compared to all the other people we visited on our road trip.

Skyler is such a little monkey. He was sliding down like a monkey. So much energy!! I am afraid Aaron is going to be just like Skyler. Neither one ever sits still.

My chubby baby and grandma. We had pizza for lunch. He grabbed onto grandma's really long hair and tried to eat it. He is teething and so he tries to chew on everything.

Baby Presley. Isn't he so cute! I wanted to bring him home with me.

These are my siblings, the ones on my biological side. It's complicated. Anyway. The one standing next to Dan is my full brother Daniel Robert. I am standing next to my dad. Then from my father on his right is my brother Keenan, then Reese ( who would not be serious for any of the pictures), then my sister Tayva and her baby Presley. This is the first time we have all been together in a really long time. My sister blessed her baby while we were in town.

My dad with the grandkids. No one wanted to hold still.

This is my Grandma Grein. She is my dad's mom. This is the first time she has met her great grandchildren. My sister and I are the only ones having kids right now. Of course the next oldest is 18 and then a bunch of 15 year olds. It was really fun to see my grandma. I hadn't seen her for almost 13 years. I was sad to go. Hopefully we will be able to visit more often.

Oregon

These are my younger sisters in law. They are both attending Snow College, where Dan and I meet. We were at the Portland Zoo. It was raining but that didn't stop us from going or from having fun.

Isn't she super cute!!!!!!

They had a cute baby elephant but I didn't get a really good picture of him. My kids really enjoyed that. Now when we go to our zoo they are like, "were is the baby at" Lucky for me that the elephant at the zoo will be having her baby soon.

I have never seen a hippo. So I was super excited to see this one at the zoo.

The polar bears were in hiding so the closet this we got was a picture of the kids in the cave outside the exhibit.

This is the baby elephant. My camera isn't the greatest.

Daddy and his big boy. Who is potty training!!!! Oh yeah!!!!!!!!!!

In Grantspass, Oregon we went on a river boat. It was even more fun then the boat we went on in Lake Tahoe. Skyler and his Grandma Diane. My kids sure have a lot of grandparents.

This bald eagle was eating a fish and that is why he is grounded. He couldn't lift the fish so he stayed at ate it. We also saw blue herring which I am sad to say I didn't get any pictures of.

Lake Tahoe

We took a boat tour on Lake Tahoe. It was fun. The kids really liked it. Did you know that Lake Tahoe has the purest water then any other lake? It is because doesn't have lakes or other water sources dumping into it. It is also over 1000 feet deep. The water was such a beautiful blue. I would have loved to stay there for ever in Lake Tahoe.

These people next to us came up to us and asked us if our kids wanted to play with their sand toy. Wasn't that nice of them? They wanted to teach their youngest boy how to share.

The geese were very friendly. The people next to us were feeding them and the geese thought we were the ones throwing things so they got really close and would just stare at us. Then we gave the geese goldfish and they wouldn't leave us alone after we ran out. Greedy geese!

My baby is getting so big. He is trying to crawl and he isn't even 5 month old yet. My boys have always been go getters. ( I am sure that is spelled wrong. Oh well!)

Skyler was licking the boat. I dont' know why but apparently he needs iron in his diet.

Isn't my girl soooooooo cute!

My little kiddos! Vacation was so much fun. Even if it broke the bank.

Yes, he is buried in the sand. He was willing. He also has a mustache. I wish we could of stayed longer at Lake Tahoe. It was warm and the beaches were great.

Fearless Skyler

Vacation Part 1

First three days on vacation.



Daddy and Skyler walking hand in hand. Aren't they cute? We stopped at a rest stop to look at the salt flats. Bad idea if you don't want salt all over your van. My van is going to need a serious bath when we get home on the 24th.



Dan is running toward Skyler on the salt flats



Here is my 4 month old son. He weighs 16 pounds. He is such a chunk. I have never had a 16 pound baby at 4 months. I think he weighs as much as some of the 1 years olds in my ward.



This was one of the coolest things ever. We had been driving for about 2 1/2 hours and the kids needed a break from their carseats. So we drove into Elko Nevada looking for a place to make a picnic. We noticed all these bounce houses and green grasses near it. Well we pull in and start eating. Kaitlyn wanted to go jump in the castle so we decided to go over and see how much it would cost to jump. It turns out that this function was the Mining expo and every year they host a party, free food and free entertainment for the kids. The kids loved it. There was a slide and Skyler wanted to go down it all day. They got so mad when when we left. It was the coolest cheapest thing we have done so far on vacation.



He was every where in this bounce house. He was jumping into people and the walls. It is a good thing he has a strong head. He is fearless.



We found this beach in Lake Tahoe. It is called Regan Beach. The kids had so much fun. They got really mad when we left but it was so cold. It was raining off and off all day. The kids didn't mind much until we pulled them back to the car and then they realized that they were cold.

Yes she is throwing the wet sand back into the lake. She wanted to build a sand castle but got distracted. We had a hard time finding the right ratio for sand and water. We will have to try when it is warmer.

Aaron was very interested in what was under his feet. He just kept staring at his feet.

Kiddos are ready to get into the pool.

Skyler loved the water. He was dog paddling every where in the pool. I would turn around to check on Kaitlyn and then turn back around and he would be off on the other side of the pool. He took to the water very nicely. Kaitlyn is so timid. She only made it as far as the steps in the pool. She doesn't trust very easily so we can't get her to let us hold her. She had fun though. Skyler likes to climb out of the pool and jump back in. I can't believe how different Kaitlyn and Skyler are. Skyler is not afraid of anything which has me very worried. He is such a hand full. But we love him. We love all our little kids.

The kids are blowing bubbles off the end of our balcony. The bubbles lasted about 10 minutes before they dumped them all over the place. Luckly the bubbles were less then a dollar or I would have been upset.

Look at Kaitlyn blow a bubble.

Skyler is demonstrating how to blow bubbles. Keep watching for updates. I will try to post while vacation but I can't promise much. I have no idea what hotels will have internet. We are having so much fun. The kids have been wired since we got here but we are doing a pretty good job of wearing them out.

First Time in a Long Time

A day at the zoo. I love his hair. He looks so cool.



Grandma Devenport sent these silly toys to my kids. Doesn't she look cute with a mustache.



She actually let me do her hair. It lasted for about 15 minutes. We didn't make it to church with them in though. Isn't she cute. Aunt Jen made those cute clips for Kaitlyn. They match her dress perfectly.



Aaron is getting so big. He is rolling and so it is no longer safe to put him on the couch unsupervised.



I haven't taken pictures singularly with the kids since Kaitlyn was a baby. I have come to terms that I look decent. I love my new haircut. I think it is a great style for me.



Me with my cute son Skyler. He loves to kiss mommy.



My cute son Aaron.