Reunions 2011

This month we were excited to be able to attend 2 of my family reunions. The first was the Curtis reunion. My Aunt Wilma does a ton of work to put a Curtis reunion on every year. I really appreciate her doing this because I really don't think we would have them if it wasn't for her. This year we had it at the park in Wellington and relatives traveled from all over Utah, California, Colorado, and Texas to be there. My cousin Max hauled a HUGE barbecue all the way from Texas to cook delicious briskets for the reunion. I really wish I would have gotten a picture of it because it was massive! My grandpa's family is full of really neat and genuinely nice people. It was so fun to visit with everyone and see relatives that we haven't seen for a very long time. Memories from the Curtis side of the family include our trip to Fort Worth to visit my 2 uncles and their families, playing the piano at my great grandma's house, going to Disneyland and staying with my Aunt Karen and Uncle Tony, and much more.


My grandpa with his brothers and sisters

My grandma and grandpa Curtis hold a very special place in my heart. My mom was a single parent and they did everything they could to make sure I never went without. When my mom first told them she was pregnant they didn't want to have anything to do with me. My grandma said when they came to see me at the hospital it was love at first sight. They have been a huge part of my life ever since. I remember chocolate milk and donuts from the milkman every Saturday morning, my grandpa reading the paper, my grandma putting a puzzle together, crocheting, or reading a book, shopping at the mall with my grandma, building forts in their living room, playing Nintendo, making up dances in their basement, long phone calls, long drives to visit graves over memorial weekend, trips to Washington DC, New Mexico, Texas, California, Nevada, Colorado, South Dakota, and many more. My grandpa taught me the value of hard work (he is the hardest worker I know) and my grandma taught me how to stick up for myself and to stand for what I believe in. I know they are a huge part of who I am today and always look forward to their visits.


My grandpa Curtis holding Kinlee

The other reunion we were able to attend was the Clark reunion. My mom and I decided to put this one on because it had been years since we had one. I think the last one we had was my first year of college so it was at least 12 years ago. We had a great turn out. I think my mom counted 101 Clark's. We had an auction to raise money for the next reunion and made around $600!! Our cousins Jerry and Lisa rented bounce houses for the kids and they had a blast. We are hoping that next year we can use the money to pay for all the reunion food and some fun activities. The Clark's have a special place in my heart because many of my childhood memories happened on my great grandparents farm in Wellington. I loved spending weekends and summer's at their house. My great grandpa Clark taught me how to saddle a horse, butcher and wrap a cow, play solitaire, shuffle cards, and much much more. My great grandma taught me kindness, unconditional love, how to make the best mashed potatoes ever, the importance of a good book, that a dishwasher is for storing goodies, not washing dishes, how to use an outhouse, how to make pancakes over an open fire, that the best Christmas presents are the homemade ones, how important missionary work is, and many more things. My great grandparents worked at the Manti Temple for many years and were always involved in service. My grandma loved owls and my grandpa could play the banjo. They were amazing people and I miss them dearly. As you can tell, many of my best memories were at their house. My cousins and I loved collecting eggs, playing in the play house, the silage pit, riding bikes, chasing peacocks, playing night games, homemade root beer, and the list goes on.


My grandma with her brothers and one of her sisters



My aunt Connie doing a headstand, she is 62 years old!!

I am so grateful to have so many fond childhood memories and that I could sit and reminisce with the people who made it all possible. Family is so important and I am so grateful it's forever.

Chapple Pie

We just got back from our amazing mini-vacation. It was so nice to get away and spend time as a family. The kids had a great time and can't wait to go back. We packed up the camp trailer and headed to Cherry Hill. We got there Friday evening, had some dinner, and set up camp. The kids were so excited to swim so we got in the free campground pool. It was freezing! Kinlee is totally fearless and would just lean head first into the pool. After cooling off in the pool we headed to the batting cages so Connor could work on his mad baseball skills. He swung and swung, but that ball was coming so fast! I finally ran and got him a smaller bat and Wham! he hit the ball. It shook the bat and scared him to death. He didn't want to bat anymore after that. We then headed to mini golf. I laughed so hard. Derk and Debbie came with us and anyone who golf's with Debbie will end up laughing until they are about to pee. The kids got tired of golf after about the 3rd hole, but we made them stick it out until the end.



Saturday we spent the day at Cherry Hill. Their Chapple pie is heaven on earth. It is fresh cherries and apples combined together to make the best pie ever. I will most definitely have dreams about that pie. We had such a blast at the water park. Connor and Kadee ran from one ride to the next. I think we went around the lazy river about 85 times (I may be exaggerating a little, but it was a lot). Cherry Hill has a summer concert series they put on in the summer. Saturday night it was music of the 60's and 70's. Shane and Heather met us at the park and we sat on the lawn and listened to the music put on by a talented group of individuals. Kadee and I were sitting on a chair together and I looked over to see Kinlee trying to eat some other people's food, I jumped up to grab her and the chair tipped over on top of Kadee. It was so sad but so funny at the same time. After that Kinlee and Kadee had enough of the music so I went back to the trailer and put them to bed. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see the rest of the concert.


The next day we headed to Lagoon. It was such a perfect day. The lines were not long at all and it was a little overcast so the weather was perfect. We started out on the kiddie rides and eventually made our way to the big kid rides. It was Lagoon's 125th anniversary so they had several shows going on. We watched one that was similar to Cirque du Soleil. It was amazing. Debbie asked Kadee if she wanted to do that one day and she said no way! The biggest surprise of the day was Connor riding the Colossus. He is totally fearless! Him and Kadee both rode the white roller coaster and a couple other big rides. I can't believe they are big enough for the adult rides! Kinlee LOVED the carousel and was an angel the entire day. There was a basketball game set up by one of the bathrooms and as we were going in Connor begged me to let him play. The guy in charge of the game kept telling Connor he needed to stand on the counter to play the game but Connor refused. He stood, looked at the basket, shot the ball, and made his first shot. He was so mad because as soon as you make a shot the game is over. So I gave the guy more money and told Connor to win Kadee a prize. He stood, looked, shot and made it again! He won 2 huge bears for him and his sister.



Rory, Connor, and Derk wanted to see Transformers 3 in IMAX 3D so Monday they headed to the theatre and Debbie, Kadee, Kinlee, and I headed to This is the Place Monument Park. What an amazing place! I love, love, love, history and was so excited to see and learn more about the pioneers. I can't believe I've lived in Utah my whole life and had never been there! There was so much to see and unfortunately we couldn't see it all, but we got to see a lot. Kadee and Kinlee loved riding the ponies. I loved the old school house and touring the old homes. Kadee was so cute doing all the crafts and helping with the chores. I wish she was that helpful at home! After the tours we met the boys and Derk and Debbie headed home. Rory, the kids, and I headed to Build a Bear at the Gateway. The kids each got to make a bear and pick out an outfit. Connor named him Duncan, since he made a basketball bear and Kadee named hers Dotz. After Build a Bear we ran through the water fountain, toured the Children's Museum and went to a city park to relax.




We had such a great time and can't wait to do something again soon. Right now I am reading a book called The Message and it has really put things into perspective for me. It has really made me appreciate my family and the blessing they are in my life. I am so grateful we had the opportunity to spend time together and to strengthen our family bond.

Happy 7th Connor!

In honor of Connor's 7th Birthday, I am going to post 7 of his favorite things in different categories. He is getting so big and is such an awesome kid. Connor is great at everything he tries and truly loves life. He had a great birthday party at the wave pool. All of his best friends were able to make it and his only complaint was that girls were there. He said, "next year, no girls are invited, k mom?"


Favorite Friends
1. Karson
2. Gavin
3. Chet
4. Kysen
5. Logan
6. Landon
7. Zac

Favorite Foods
1. Steak
2. Pizza
3. Hot dogs
4. Snickers
5. Popsicles
6. Chicken nuggets and fries
7. Captain Crunch cereal

Favorite things about summer
1. Basketball
2. Baseball
3. Watching nascar
4. Riding my bike
5. Playing with friends
6. Our new swingset
7. Swimming

Favorite toys
1. GI Joe
2. Football
3. Basketballs
4. Bike
5. Wii
6. Scooter
7. Airsoft gun

Happy Birthday to my favorite little boy!!


(I had to post one picture of the girls! (Brileigh, Kinlee, Kadee, and Makenna)

Firsts!!!

Why write when a picture is worth a thousand words? These are all the firsts we've experienced the last little bit:


First time in Tribal Circle (Wellington Elementary started a program called Tribal Circle to help students succeed. They have to work on six different areas throughout the quarter and if they accomplish all the goals in the areas they are recognized and inducted into the Tribal Circle and become true Wellington Warriors. The six areas are: increase in reading, increase in math, no more than 1 absence, participate in service, have a parent attending a school meeting, and 100% homework turned in.)



First Oreo cookie


First Watermelon


First season of soccer (for Kadee)


First pig tails (kind of hard to see)


First birthday party (Kaydree Miller's)


First carnival

Needless to say we have had lots of fun this month and have been super busy. Swim lessons and gymnastics are in full swing. I love this busy time of year!!!

The Merry Month of May

Where do I begin? My computer got a virus, again! I am on Rory's laptop so I have no pictures but wanted to update my life. May was super busy. Between Connor's baseball, Kadee's soccer, preschool graduation, and dance recital's we lived in our car. Speaking of, we got a new car. It is a 2009 Chevy Traverse. We are loving it so far and the kids have had no problems breaking it in.

Connor has continued playing baseball and is getting really good. He practices every chance he gets and had a great time practicing with Roger and Elynn's grandkids over memorial weekend. We went camping down on the desert again and had so much fun. We played baseball, roasted marshmallows, and laughed until we cried. Connor is so excited to be done with school and we are so proud of him. He is one of the top readers in his class. He read over 121 accelerated reader books and countless other books. He is doing so great and is looking forward to 1st grade.

Kadence had an extremely busy month. She graduated from preschool and I was so proud of her. She sang so loud and did so great with her part. This year the kids told the story, "Panda Bear, What do you see?" They sang tons of cute songs and told everyone a little about themselves and what they love about preschool. The same week as graduation Kadence had her dance recital. It was so fun and she looked so stinkin cute in her costumes. She also started soccer and loves it. She is really funny because she runs up and down the field smiling at Rory and I, making sure we are watching. On my birthday Kadence had her well child check up and kindergarten shots. She did really well. Dr. Madsen said she is very smart and was impressed with how high she can count already. He was a little concerned about her vision and wants me to go back in November and have it checked again.

Kinlee is crawling all over the place, has started pulling herself up to furniture, and is busy, busy, busy. She crawls on all fours, but also does a gorilla crawl when her dress is in the way or if she is on the grass. She can do patty cake all by herself and I have to say it's the cutest thing I've ever seen. I guess that's really all that's new with her. I can't believe how fast she is growing.

Hopefully I will have my computer back soon so I can post pictures. Happy Blogging!

Let's Play Catch Up!

This is going to be a short post with lots of pictures. We went camping for Easter, froze like always, but the kids had a blast. Kadence had her final preschool field trip to Cummins Fun Size Farm in Spring Glen. It was lots of fun and the kids loved the mini horses and goats. She also had her first dance competition, the Carbon Dance Classic. She did so great and her class took 1st in both divisions that they competed in. Connor started baseball and is loving it (of course). I had 1st grade registration and Kindergarten Kick-Off today. Wow, I'm old. I'm going to have 2 out of 3 kids in school next year. Kadee can't wait and is hoping she gets Mrs. Penry. Kinlee started crawling. It's hilarious because she crawls backwards or throws herself forward to get where she wants to go. She doesn't have the forward crawling motion yet. That's all for now, preschool graduation, Kinlee's 9 month pictures, and dance recital updates to come soon.
















The kids modeling their swimsuits Nana and Papa got them for Easter.

8 months old!

I am the worst mom ever. I was going to remember to take a picture of Kinlee on her 8 month birthday and I totally forgot. I always swore I would take just as many pictures of my last baby as my first, but I am struggling with remembering because we are so busy these days. She is growing like a weed! She crawls backwards, rolls everywhere, talks and yells nonstop, and weighs almost 20 lbs. We all love to hold her and spoil her. Connor and Kadence fight over who gets to "babysit" while I'm in the shower. Yesterday we went to Pioneer park and Kinlee experienced her first Easter Egg Hunt. I had her picture taken with the Easter Bunny, but he was kind of creepy and not friendly at all. Connor wouldn't come with us, he thinks he's too big for that kind of stuff now, so we went with grandma Debbie. The girls really enjoyed themselves and can't wait for our family easter egg hunt next week.

Kadence had one of her last preschool field trips. We went to the Dinosaur Museum and had a really good time. Her favorite part was digging in the sand for shark teeth and she has been begging me to go back to see the alligator eat its dinner. She drives me crazy sometimes because she thinks she is the teacher, but I am going to miss her so much next year. It is going to be really weird not having her or Connor in either of my classes. She was so excited to take her last preschool snack, oreo's and capri sun's, and is really looking forward to our field trip at the end of the month to a farm. I bought her a bed-wetting alarm and she is doing well with it. She doesn't like the alarm, so I only have the vibration part turned on, but it is waking her up. A couple of nights ago we had our first dry night- woo hoo!


Connor's first baseball game of the season is tomorrow night. He is quite the sports fanatic. He tells us on a regular basis that he wants to play in the NBA, hopefully he gets a little bit taller though! He is doing so well in school. Mrs. Pyper has what is called an accelerated reader program in her class. She sends different books home in folders and the kids read them, take a test, and send them back. Connor has read 105 books so far! There are only 1 or 2 other kids in his whole class that are that advanced. He is on leve D of the baggie books (He started on AA) so I can't wait to see how he grows in first grade. Mrs. Pyper is so impressed with his math skills, she has him helping other kids in the class. I don't mean to brag but we are so proud of our little man and what a great student he is. I hope he continues to love learning!