Sand Hollow Memorial Weekend

We had the best time with Chaston's at Sand Hollow...

The banana was the most fun even if it wasn't being pulled behind the boat.

The sand was everywhere!

Joey loved the boat

Kylan accidentally fell in this big puddle of water and decided he liked it.  He laid there kicking his feet and scooting around for quite awhile.

We watched crazy people jumping off the rocks into the water. My kids loved the boat!

Me and Monty chillin' on the beach....

Tara, we forgot to take a picture together!!!!

Memorial Day

I swear we just went to the Memorial Day services for last year - I can't believe it's been a year already! The older we get the faster life passes - maybe it's that way so that we can remember things better - the things that are important...

Caitlyn and Fam

Dear Caitlyn, we wish you and your family lived closer!  We can't for this summer when we get to see you and your new brother for a few days at the family reunion.

Last Day of School

Dear Jaida and Kayla, you have no idea how excited I am for the next few months. No more waking you up early and asking you 10 times (at the least) to get dressed, asking you 10 times to eat faster, asking you 10 times to go brush your hair and asking you 10 times to brush your teeth!  Hopefully you will get through the summer with your hair and teeth brushed at least half the time. :)

Dear Jaida, I hope Mrs. Blackner loved her little note that you wrote all by yourself and the little treat you put in the bag. I was a little iffy about you giving a couple of E.L. Fudge cookies for your teacher but since it was all your idea and you were excited about it (and I gave her a pizza gift certificate) your gift was great!

Dear Kayla, I hope Mrs. Jones will treasure the poem we wrote for her.  She was such a great teacher for you and your first year of school, you two had some really rough spots during the year but I know that you will be one of those students that she will ALWAYS remember. :)

On their way to the bus stop - Jaida's last day of 3rd Grade and Kayla's last day of Kindergarten

 After school we had a little "Last Day of School Party". The kids had fun serving each other (you could order anything you wanted and they had it!), getting wet and playing in the bounce house.

Backyard Pool Party

Dear Kylan, you were soooo excited for our little backyard pool party you could hardly contain your excitement! I laugh every time I see your face in this picture.

Dear kids, who knew this baby pool would be so much fun. Sometimes I wish you would always stay small enough to fit together.  By the way, when I say, "Everyone look at me!" I really mean that I want ALL of you to look at me.

Softball 2011

Dear Jaida, this year you will do awesome in softball.  You have a great coach, you and Sid are on the same team, you hit and got on base every time you were up in your first game and now that school is out for the summer Dad is going to practice with you all the time!

Dear Kayla, after your first game you said, "It was so boring".  We might struggle a little this year, so let's just look forward to all the yummy treats you'll get after EVERY game!! (besides, after watching your practice I know you are a hard hitter, a fast runner and can get the ball where it needs to be - you just have to focus)

Competing for the Computer

Dear family, I am now competing with almost all of you for the computer and LOSING!

Say Something Nice

For Family Home Evening we each had to say something nice about each other. I didn't realize how hard this was going to be.
Tanya
Kylan, you are so cute and funny and you always make me smile.
Joey, you are so sweet, and I love it when you say, "Mommy I love you."
Kayla, you have a very infectious smile (picture a giant smile from Kayla), when you smile it makes everyone smile.
Jaida, you are such a hard worker. Today when I asked you to do your chores you went, did all three and checked them off - just like that!
Monty, you do everything you can think of to make me happy!
Jaida
Kylan, you are so cute and funny.
Joey, you are so cute and funny.
Kayla, you go with me downstairs (this was after lots and lots of thought)
(she couldn't think of anything for mom and dad but we made her...)
Mom, your shirt is pretty (that's about my shirt not about me). You cook lots of good things.
Dad, you sleep really good.
Kayla
Mom, you are so pretty I could just hug you (which she did).
Joey is kind of mean and not nice and mean. Kayla, something nice. I can't think of anything nice... I honestly can't remember what she said about Joey or Jaida or Monty for that matter, Monty?
Joey
Jaida, you read to me.
Kayla, you share your drinks and peanut butter cups with me.
Kylan, you like to play with me.
Dad, you always get me a car and always take me places with you.
Mom, you are nice.
(these were all via mom)
Monty
Kylan, you always make me smile and laugh.
Joey, you are crazy and always make me laugh.
Kayla, you are the funniest girl I know and always think of new things to say that make me laugh.
Jaida, you are so smart! You always know the answer to any question they ask in school.
Mom, you have been cooking a lot lately and trying out new recipes and cooking really good food. You are also so beautiful. (ah, he is so nice)

After doing this Jaida ticked off something not nice about everyone in 10 seconds. Why is it so much easier to say mean things about people? Our challenge is to look for nice things that we each do during the week. We will report during Family Home Evening next Monday.

My Motto Your Motto

Dear Monty, yesterday you set your alarm and got up 2 hours before you had to be to work (to get ready) but 20 minutes before you left you couldn't find your work pants, your gun light and didn't put your contacts in. Your motto: Be Prepared
I was having an off day and put your contacts in my eyes, so when you got to work you had no contacts at all. My motto: "Not Tanya's"

Dear Kylan, you slept all night last night. You are 15 months and I think this is the first time you've ever slept all night.

Kayla is a Monkey

Dear Kayla, yesterday we found out that according to the Chinese Zodiac you are a Monkey. It fits you perfectly:

Monkeys are fun and loving persons who are always cheerful and energetic. They are very clever. Give a monkey a boring book to read and he'll turn it into a Musical. Better yet, he'll invite everyone to see it free! That's how talented, creative and generous monkeys usually are.

If you go to a party, you'll find Monkeys at the center of attention.

But they don't hide their emotion. You can probably tell how a monkey is feeling from miles away - he wants everyone to know how happy or depressed he is.

Monkey people are very good at problem-solving. Wherever you are, whoever you may be, if you've got a problem pick up the phone and dial-a-Monkey. Monkeys know how to listen closely and work out solutions at the same time. And because Monkeys' curiosity, they usually have a great thirst for knowledge.

The Monkey is lively, likable and witty. Highly sociable, the Monkey is talkative and, as a fascinating conversationalist, he attracts a wide circle of friends.

 Info from here: http://pages.infinit.net/garrick/chinese/monkey.html

Coming This Summer...

Dear kids, I hope that this past weekend isn't an indication of what is to come this summer. I have never heard so much fighting, yelling and arguing. It's not like you were cooped up in the house either. We went geocaching on Friday. On Saturday we went to the Gardening Days at Ladybug nursery and played in their huge sandpit, had train rides, lunch, they gave you lady bugs and free lunch! That night we roasted marshmallows with Mendenhalls.  Sunday after church you went outside and screamed inside the tent for a good 20 minutes. The wind was blowing so hard it kept almost blowing the tent away.  It must have been really scary inside for all the screaming that was going on in there.

Safety Firsty

Dear Kayla, I thought it was great that you chose the First Aid Kit out of the GeoCache...that was until I found band-aids and band-aid wrappers all over the house.  Oh, also the couch never needs a band aid.

Dear Monty, I love this picture of you, it will always remind me that crack kills.  hahaha!

Dear Joey, I keep posting about you helping me do things because I love it! You were so excited to wear your sandals for the first time this year, to go up in the mountains, and to find the caches. :)

Dear Kylan, I only posted this pic because Monty thinks its so funny.  You were trying to go under the tree and not get poked.

First GeoCache Of The Year

Dear Jaida, you now have your own GPS and Misty gave you her cache to take care of so I hope you make Misty proud. :)

You Remember Weird Stuff

Dear Kylan, you were so excited to be able to hold the chickens. That is one word you can say right now, "Chicken". You cried for an hour straight last night and in total cried for at least an hour and a half...between teething and weening you from nursing we are not going to have very many fun nights in our future.

 Dear Joey, you were so proud of yourself for catching the chicken - good job! You also helped me weed by throwing all the weeds into the trash can, thank you for helping me.

Dear Jaida, I don't know how you do it, but you know each chicken's name (even though they all look alike)...and remember the roosters' names that we had to give away (you are like Dad and can remember weird stuff). You also helped me weed.  Leave it to you to make it a game using the sled to pull around and gather the weeds. :)

Dear Kayla, you are the strongest and hardest worker.

Dear Monty, I threw your shirt away this morning. Thank you for helping me get the 19 EGGS!

Kayla's Kindergarten Graduation

Dear Kayla, we are so excited that you made it through Kindergarten!  There were ups and downs but you are ready for 1st Grade, all day school, more homework and school lunch. I hope you remember everything you learned in Kindergarten - always be nice, always tell the truth, no hitting... We love you Kayla!
Dear Mrs. Jones, I'm so thankful for your patience this year.  You are a great teach and put a lot of extra time and love into Kayla - she had a great year!

Dear Kayla, my favorite songs were "God Bless The USA" and the fishy song.  You'll have to show me which boy is Trey. :)
Dear Misty, how 'bout our new tradition is after Kindergarten graduation we all go to Del Taco, your treat? Hahaha, I'm totally kidding! Thank you for coming and taking pictures, Kayla thinks the world of you.

No Need for Life Alert

Dear Kayla, after watching a LifeAlert commercial, this is what you said to me:
"Mom if you were home alone and fell down in the kitchen and couldn't get up and called out for help, I would hear your call and would come to help you.  And lets say I was down stairs. I would hear your call and come running up to help you."
I'm so glad I have you instead of needing LifeAlet!

Dear Joey, I'm 99% positive you weren't the cause of all the fighting, yelling, arguing, crying, mean words, kicking and extra chaos going on today.  It was just a coincidence.

Happy Mother's Day

 Dear Jaida, thank you for your Mother's Day gifts today. You gave me a certificate for being the Best Mom Ever!  You also gave me a small coupon book - I'll be cashing those in pretty soon.

 Dear Kayla, your Mother's Day card from school is going to be hard to top next year.

You wrote everything yourself! My favorite part is when you came home and asked me how much I weighed. When I told you, you said, "WHAT!?"  I didn't realize until I read the card why you were so surprised.

Kylan's First Haircut

May The Force Be With You

Dear Joey, we got to take our pictures with some Star Wars characters today, you would have LOVED Chewbacca!
Dear Jaida, you are now at the age that things like this embarrass you.  I had to make you hold Kylan so that you would go and stand in the picture.
Dear Kayla, I'm glad you are still little enough not to get embarrassed to do things like this.  I can't believe Ariel wasn't there - we even watched Little Mermaid all the to St. George.
Dear Kylan, you are now scooting chairs and your high chair around the kitchen so that you can get into ANYTHING you want, aaaahhhh!  You are also starting to put your finger to your lip and say, "ssssss".
Dear Monty, we should try to go grocery shopping together more often - that way we can go on a date and get the grocery shopping done.

Almost Deaf Twice

Dear Kylan, watching you run to the water filled tarp as fast as you can, then slip and land flat on your back in the water was so funny - I know that's mean but it made me laugh.  Watching you walk around the house on your toes because you have a sliver in your heel was so sad.
Dear Joey, I MISS YOU.  I don't think I will let you be gone for the entire week.
Dear Kayla, I almost went deaf twice when you screamed inside the Del Taco play place - a few others felt the same way.
Dear Jaida, listening to you say that you had the best time ever made it worth hearing all the whining and complaining on our way to the Utah Summer Games Open House.
Dear Misty, you will never believe it, but the Magical Faeries came again last Sunday - it was awesome.
Dear Monty, I love to hear you laugh.

Or So I've Been Told

Dear Joey, sometimes your tantrums are pretty mild but sometimes I don't think they will ever end - you sure do have stubborness-stamina.
Dear Kylan, the stress from all your climbing and curiosity is seriously going to do me in.  I've been thinking how stones get smooth when they are worn down, how come we get all wrinkly?
Dear Kayla, this morning you did not want to go to school...please be happy for school for just three more weeks! (You get one bead for being so good at Burger King, you would have gotten two if you would have eaten your food)
Dear Jaida, after chasing after Kylan all over Burger King (and he figured out which door he could open), cleaning up Joey's poopiness and then listening to him scream because he shut his thumb in the door, I looked over at you and you were sitting quietly eating your fries...is this a first??  I'm giving you two beads!
Dear Monty, I'm glad you came to Burger King to share in all of its chaos.  One of these days we'll be wishing our kids were little again and we could buy them all kids meals...or so I've been told.

Product Review on Sherdog

Dear Monty, the teeth on the mouth guard Jared made was reviewed on sherdog.com.  Awesome job! I hope it brings you more business. ;)

Ice Cream Night

Dear Kayla, you love tails.  You wore this one to the rummage sale today and lots of people complimented you on it - way to be creative!

Dear Kylan, you didn't want anything but the WHOLE ice cream cone.  I'd clean ice cream off your face any day to keep you happy.
Dear Joey, wasn't it worth it eating your dinner to get ice cream after?
Dear Jaida, I bet your friends are glad that after you get mad, you forgive so easily - as you can see I'm taking notes for myself.
Dear Misty, dinner, dessert, baths and bedtime...the kids L-O-V-E you!
Dear Monty, Oh when, Oh when will you be coming home.  Oh when, Oh when will that be? (I'm singing this)