cold days make for happy kids

i don't know why but we have not been going to the park lately. its like prime

time park going season right now

and i have just not been doing it. so today we had nothing to do {besides boring lame cleaning}

so we decided to go to the park. it was really cold today....55 degrees....i was dying.....

but the kids did not seem to mind. they were both in heaven. berkeley ran around

with so much excitement she didn't know how to handle herself, and beckham

was mr. grins the entire time. i need to do this more often.....just go to the park me and the kids.

it was a nice treat to play with them and push them on the swings and not be distracted

with anything else.

{my happy gems}

2nd annual christmas party

saturday night we had our 2nd annual christmas party that my sis in law brooke and i hosted.

we basically did everything the same as last year....same delicious food, same place, same people, same game, and same fun. if its not broken, don't fix it!

we had a great night with a great turn out. it was really nice just being able to sit down and talk with all of the guests. the night was a hit and we had a great time being with friends

and celebrating the christmas season.

the beverages and candy display

the hostesses

the food table

some of the guests

the guys in a push up contest...good job scott

for showing us your determination

the sibs

here is the latest picture of my siblings, my parents and i that we took thanksgiving

weekend.

i really love these people so much and i am so grateful i have them in my life.

i enjoyed all their company this last week and i really felt like i got to hang out with each sibling in different ways

thanks for the poker games, the movies, the soccer games, the photo sessions, the football watching, the always classic datillo dinner, the cooking, and the company.

{from left to right}

{whitney, ashley, christian, sean, jared, me, danielle, and of course my mom and dad in the middle}

wow....i really love thanksgiving

we went to my parents house this year in california for thanksgiving. every one of my siblings also were with my parents this year so it was extra fun to have everyone there this year. berkeley loved it the entire time because she had cousins around her constantly.

my parents house was a tad bit crowded considering there were 14 people staying there at one

time, but we had fun being with everyone. thanksgiving day we played soccer in the morning, then had some play time in the afternoon, and dinner around 5. our meal was amazing thanks to my mom and my 3 sisters. probably the best thanksgiving meal i have ever had! then that night we played cards then went to a late movie with some of my siblings.

friday we started off with family pictures at the park, then we had my grandmas 90th birthday party. friday afternoon everyone kind of ended up at my parents again, so we played cards again and then went to see the movie new moon with my sisters.

saturday night all of my siblings and spouses got to go out to dinner with no kids which

is always an extra treat. with 22 grandkids it kind of gets exhausting having kids around all the time. then sunday was my cousin katie's mission farewell, with a lovely brunch to follow.

it was a packed weekend with lots of activities and i had so much fun. i was sad to see it end but yet so excited knowing that it is now the christmas season!

everyone hanging out at my parents house

thanksgiving day we always play soccer....so here everyone is after a day of soccer. we only had one injury and then of course i got taken out once by my 11 year old nephew and then again

by my 9 year old niece.

the beautiful thanksgiving table my mom put together.

playing on the tire swing at the neighbors across the street. i grew up playing on this swing so it was fun to take berkeley on it for the first time.

berkeley and clay playing outside in the backyard on the swing while jensen was pushing them. im pretty sure she was having the time of her life.

the kids put together this soccer goal in the back yard for the CONSTANT soccer that was going on the whole weekend.

on friday we celebrated my grandmas 90th birthday. all my 6 siblings were there, as well as some of my out of state cousins and out of state aunts and uncles. it was a really

special day celebrating the most amazing woman. i have such a special place in my heart for my

grandma, and i was so glad i could be there that day for her.

all of her great grandkids minus 5

ummmm......

i think i'm addicted

congrats to beckham boy

congrats to my beckham boy on starting to crawl. it has been a new joy in my life now that he is more independent and less "i need my mom all the time". he is still doing the good ol army crawl but he is getting better, and will be on his hands and knees in no time. thanks beckham for figuring this one out. mom is a lot more happy :)

berkeley girl

i feel like all of the sudden berkeley has grown up so much. her talking surprises me every day. the comments that she comes up with are hysterical. her knowledge and ability to learn things are amazing. i love the stage that she is at right now. she's a somewhat big kid who can do lots of things her self, but she is still only 3 and sometimes needs her mommy.

we go on a walk to the park every day right before dinner and it is her favorite time of day. she gets on her scooter or bike and just rides. she hauls on her scooter and it is a crack up to watch. i love that the weather is nice outside and i love enjoying it with my berkeley girl.

the buster boy

we finally got all 4.....

no more scary teeth

10.31.2009

where fall is really fall

the kids and i just got back from a week long trip to utah to go stay with my sister danielle in highland. i have been planning this trip for months and i was SO excited to go. i had been wanting to go to utah forever! because i was going up, my mom thought it would be fun for her to go up too and kind of make it a party. it was SO cold there. the day we left it was 90 degrees in az and we walk outside in ut and it was about 60. i about died. i have not experienced cold weather at all for about 8 months, so it was a shock. the whole time we were there i really felt like i never fully thawed out. gosh....im such a wimp.

i packed in a lot of things while we were there. we really did not relax like at all. our first day we worked out, then had my mom watch our 4 little kids, and danielle and i went out to lunch, to target, and to the movies in the middle of the day. it was so nice to go to lunch with no kids. i have not done that in a long time. then that night we went to the mall and ate dinner at the mall. thursday we went to thanksgiving point to the farm area where we met my sister in law heidi and her 2 kiddos. the kids absolutely loved it. berkeley rode a horse for the first time too. then we had lunch at thanksgiving point. later that afternoon we went to my nephews soccer game that was FREEZING. the wind was blowing the entire time and i was basically miserable the whole time. on friday my mom offered to watch the kids again, so danielle and i went up to salt lake to go shopping and go out to lunch. we shopped for like 6 hours and i was exhausted at the end of the day. that night danielle had an indoor soccer game, so i joined her team and played with her. i have never played soccer with danielle so it was really fun to actually play on the same team. then all gross and sweaty we went out to eat in orem and then went to jon's alumni byu soccer game. again....freezing the whole time, but it was really fun. we snuck into the smith field house and watched a little byu vs. utah women's volleyball. it was fun to be back in provo on campus. it brought back lots of fun memories.

saturday we went back to thanksgiving point to the pumpkin patch....{if you actually could call it that....the actual pumpkins for sale took up about 1/12 of the whole place} i had heard about how fun this place was so i was really excited to go there. when we walked in berkeley couldn't stand it and was hopping and skipping all over the place. she loved this place.... i enjoyed it as well. then i ran off to orem and met my high school friend and her mom for lunch. i had not seen her in like 6 years so it was so fun to see her in person and spend some time with her. then we went to salt lake to my cousins house who i also had not seen in like 6 years and had dinner with him and his family, and my grandma, aunt and uncle, and cousins. that was really fun to see everyone there as well. and randomly when the kids were all outside jumping on the trampoline it started hailing.

straight from there i went to cheesecake factory and had my mom drop me off {classic} and i met up with my 2 old roommates hollie and chelsey. love them. we had so much fun and it felt like we were never apart. hanging out with them made me wish i sill lived in utah.

i had such a fun trip....im so glad we went. i need to go again soon because i have the utah bug now!