Pretty in Pink!

Since it was Kaitlyn's 8th birthday she went through a right of passage if you will. She was able to go and get her ears pireced. She decided that she wanted the pink earrings because it is her birth stone. She has been very good to clean them 3 times a day and is counting down the day when she can trade them out for another pair.

Wild Wild West!

On the 15th we had a huge Wild Wild West birthday party for Kaitlyn, Ty and their cousin Kayla. I had been thinking of a good boy/girl themed b-day party for at least a month or two before the actual day and could not find a single thing that I thought that both Ty and Kaitlyn would like.  Then I found a couple of amazing sites that gave me a whole bunch of ideas that ended up helping me come up with the idea.
A party is nothing with out a great invitation. I came up with the idea of a WANTED poster for the invite. I even gave all the kids cool "wanted" nick names. Tyson became Tyson "the kid" Reaves, Kaitlyn became Kaitlyn "get yer gun" Reaves and Kayla became Kayla "gun smoke" Wright. I think it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

I found the perfect cake that I wanted to try to duplicate. And with the help of my sis-in-law and mom-in-law we managed to only spend 5 hours baking, kneading, cutting and cleaning to get this amazing cake.

I incorporated a whole bunch of other ideas from a couple of blogs and ended up with this set up for the table.

They had mason jars filled with root beer floats w/ mustache straws. Instead of paper plates I bought pie tins and made some cutlery bags that said good grub.

We also decided that instead of putting together gift bags we would buy all the kids a cowboy hat and bandanna's to wear.



Just a couple of the cowgirls that showed up!

Lovin the mustache's

The Birthday trio about to blow out the candles.

After cake and ice cream they opened their b-day gifts. Both Kaitlyn and Kayla ended up getting a set of scriptures. Then they we all went out side and Grandpa Larry saddled up the horses and Wayne started the bike. Every kid rode both the horses and the "iron horse".  Ty finally was able to ride his dirt bike unassisted it was perfect.

I think we pulled off one of the best b-day parties ever!

Selena Gomez

Around a month ago Wayne called me from work and asked what I thought about him buying tickets for the girls to go and see Selena Gomez in concert. I was so excited and told him that he would be the best dad ever if he were to do that. Wayne asked if I wanted to take them and although I would have loved to I thought what a great daddy/daughter date this would make.  So once again I was forced to keep a huge secret from the girls.

On September 6th Wayne sat the girls down on the couch. We once again had the video camera ready and Wayne asked the girls a few questions and while I was holding the ticket in my hand I showed the girls the that they were going to the Selena Gomez concert. Let's just say that the reaction was the one I had expected on our trip to Disney Land. Screams of excitement, acts of craziness, shortness of breath and faces of disbelief were all present and we got it all on tape.

After a long day at school the girls came home, got their homework done and put on some stylin concert attire. I drove the girls up to SLC to Wayne's work where he would take over from there. On the way we listened to Selena's new cd (who else) to get in the mood.

We got to Wayne's work (waited for what seemed like forever) switched cars and they were off. Since Ty was not able to go to the concert he and I had an awesome mommy/son date at Trafalga. I got updates through out the night of all the fun.

 sitting out side the Maverick center

 Found their seats!!!

 It was just a little loud

 Megan singing along lol

 Selena Gomez hits the stage

The girls had a blast and i think Wayne may have experienced some hearing loss, but it was all worth it.

Ty and I ended up going to the Mayan for dinner and then headed to Trafalga in Lehi for some rock climbing, laser tag, mini golf and go carts. What more could a little guy ask for!

Disneyland!!!

Wayne and I decided back in April that we would take the kids to Disneyland for the first time. I had a whole month to prepare. We decided that we would make it a surprise seeing that this was their first time going. I put together a cute movie that we would play on the way to Disneyland that would let them in on our little secret. Wayne and I talked about it many times to make sure the execution was flawless.
  The day we left I had the van packed and ready to go so that all we had to do is get the kids up and go. When we finally were on our way Wayne pulled off the side of the road to let the kids watch the movie and so we could get it on video. As the movie started coming to an end I was gearing up for the excited screams that I new would come. Unfortunately that is not what I got. It was probably the worst "surprise your going to Disneyland" reaction I have ever seen. Not one scream of excitement! Not one yell of Disneyland! Nothing! To be honest it was hard for me to keep this secret for a whole month and I was in a state of shock (for the lack of a better word) that I didn't get the reaction I wanted. Oh well maybe next time!

The kids did great during the 9 hour long car ride to CA. We ended up staying with Wayne's cousin Brad and his wife Linda's house. It was so fun being able so spend some time with them. When we arrived they took us to this great little restaurant for dinner. Afterwards Brad and Wayne went to a movie and Linda and I went home with the kids and had a great conversation.

  The next day we headed to Disneyland. I thought with it being a Sunday it wasn't going to be very busy, but that is what my silly Utah brain thought. It wasn't slammed, but we did have to wait in line for 20-30 min for each ride (which I hear isn't bad). Since I was the only veteran of the group (yep it was Wayne's first time too!) I was the leader of the pack. As we were standing in line for the first ride Wayne decided to take a picture of us in every line for every ride through out the four days we were to spent there.

Our first ride in Disneyland was the jungle boat ride

If I mentioned everything we did while at Disneyland this post would be forever long, so I am just going to show lots of pictures and put some captions under them.

 Waiting in line for the buzz lightyear ride (Ty's favorite)

 Watch out! Ty is driving this car

 Our first Disney character sighting

 Love this pic. Ty is shooting in almost every picture

 Kaitlyn meeting her favorite Disney character. She was star struck! All she could do is nod and smile when Tinkerbell would ask her a question. It was totally worth the long wait.

 We took a day off from Disney Land and took a tour around CA

Kaitlyn found this starfish on a rock.

Went to the Grauman's Chinese theater were the girls found Johnny Depp

 We visited the L.A. temple

 Megan, Hannah, Kaitlyn and Ty

 Family photo op

 The kids first time seeing the ocean

Ty won! He lasted the longest when it came to eating a ginormous sundae

The kids were so brave to get in their swimsuits and get into the water cause it was so cold!

Wayne is such a good daddy to get into the water with his babies.

We had a blast! I was hard to say good-bye to beautiful CA, but our 5 days were up. We couldn't have asked for better accommodations. Brad, Linda and their girls were the best. We can't wait to go back and spend some more time discovering CA and spending time with the Smith family and making memories.

Fishing & Grandpa

So it has become some what of a tradition that my dad takes the grand kids fishing before school starts. Well this year it didn't quite happen before school, but we got around to it. This year my kids were the only ones who were able to go, but we were lucky enough to have Aunt Karri and her super sweet roommate Holly come.

The lake that was chosen this time was Matt Warner up in Northern Utah. Being 4 hours away, my dad suggested that we go up the night before and camp out. Well if you know me you know that I am not a big lover of the outdoors especially when it comes to camping. So my dad suggested that he would take the girls up camping and Wayne and I would bring Ty up the next day. I thought that sounded fair, so I took the girls to Karri's house around 8pm and got them into the my dad's truck and they were off.

The next morning Wayne and I had to do a few thing before we left, so we ended up getting a late start and got up to Matt Warner around 2pm and just as my dad and the girls were headed out (yep, they had been up since 7 am fishing and they were done).  Ty hadn't been able to do any fishing yet, so we ended up taking the girls and heading to the lake while grandpa and aunt Karri headed to the Mountain man rendezvous.

Megan and Kaitlyn let us know where we needed to set up and how to set up the poles and how to cast them into the lake (apparently they didn't know that both their parents have fished before). 

We decided to go on the other side of the lake due to the fact that in the 5 hours grandpa spent fishing that morning they didn't catch a thing. So to the other side of the lake we went. We set up and I cast the first line out into the water. It's amazing that even tho I haven't been fishing in like 20 years casting out the first line was like riding a bike. I guess there are somethings you never forget. Within 20 minutes there was a bite on the line and I reeled in a monster trout.

and then Kaitlyn reeled in hers



and then Ty reeled in his, but he wouldn't  touch it lol

and last but not least Megan reeled in hers.

After spending 4 hours fishing we caught 4 big trout and were given one from a guy fishing near by.

In hind sight we probably should have caught and released cause I don't eat fish.

Although we (Wayne, Ty  and I) didn't get to fish with grandpa and aunt Karri we had a great time as a family.

Simple Talent

As most of you know I have a love for making crafty things. Most of them are good, but not great. Through out my life I have been blessed to be surrounded by amazingly talented people who inspire me to perfect my own talents. I would like to show case one of these talented ladies in my life, my childhood bestie Sarah. Sarah Burnett has been a great friend of mine since we were in grade school. I knew early on in our friendship that I would not be able to compete with this talented woman. She is a master baker/cook. I have yet to eat something made from her hands that has not be amazing. For instance this amazing Spongebob Squarepants cake she made

And she has done many many many wedding cakes including my little brother Erik's. I am definitely not much of a baker/cook but she inspires me. K so that's not all Sarah is also an amazing seamstress. When I was more concerned with how my hair looked she was already cutting out patterns and stitching up her own skirts and dresses. She has made these to adorable dresses for her girls out of old shirts that her husband didn't use anymore.

And if all that wasn't enough she is also a master craftsman. I have been a recipient of some of her smaller yet awesome wood crafts, but when Sarah puts her mind to something you can bet it will be done (with a little help from the husband). This is the bed she made for her daughters.Sarah is simply talented not just in making things, but she is one of the most giving people I know. She is always there to listen to me vent about stupid things even if she is having a bad day. I love this lady and I have been so blessed to have had her in my life for nearly 20 years and hope to continue to have her in my life for the next 2o years.

Just a Little Update

So let me start out by saying that I am now committing to updating this blog more often, but there is one problem I have lost our camera. It has everything from Christmas to Megan's 9th birthday on it. So there are not pic for this post (boring I know).
On with the update.
We are still living with Wayne's parents, but are steadily searching for a new home. Wayne is still enjoying his stress free job with Ferrari Color. He also had his first desert race of the year in Mesquite, NV. He was only able to do one lap when his clutch died. It was just not good...not good at all.

I was working at Anchor Blue in the University Mall, but the company has closed down and I am now right where I should be at home with my babies. I am enjoying being with the kids and doing all the house hold stuff that I totally despised before. You never know how good you have it until you loose it. I have also been called to be a laurel's adviser in church and I am really enjoying that.

Megan turned 9 on the 10th of January and decided on a scrapbook themed party. She had some school friends come as well as her cousins. She is doing great in school and has been asked to be the teachers assistant in helping the other students in her class understand what is being taught. Wayne and I couldn't be prouder. She is also starting to develop her own sense of style. For the most part I have loved it, but there are times that I have wondered.

Kaitlyn is still her silly outgoing self. She is still constantly making us laugh. She is counting down the days til her baptism and getting her ears pierced in October. She is also doing very well in school and is very excited for summer vacation.

Our little man Ty is getting bigger and bigger every day. He is still very in love with dirt bikes and asks on a regular basis when he will be getting one of his own. He also has a new found love for playing the xbox (although at this moment it is broken). He lets us know on a regular basis that he "loves us so much" and Wayne and I are powerless against it, and I think sometimes Ty knows this.

All in all we are doing really well. We look forward spending more time together doing fun family things. Hopefully I can find our camera and add some pictures to future posts.