San Diego

We just got back from one of my favorite family vacations!  We spent the week in San Diego and it was absolutely fabulous!  Since I don't know where to begin, I'm going to break it down day by day so hopefully I don't forget anything.

Sunday, May 28- We arrived in Vegas early Sunday afternoon so we checked out the pool at the Lucky Dragon Hotel where we were staying and then walked down the Vegas Strip, we didn't make it very far down the strip, the kids were hot and starving so we found a McDonald's then went to the  Pawn Stars shop further on down the strip.  I was so excited to go there, but when we got there the security guard was super rude :(  I was going to buy a souvenir or something, but after the way he treated us I refused to buy anything. 

Monday, May 29- We arrived at our hotel on Mission bay early afternoon.  We spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach and playing in the sand.  That evening they had a little cruise boat that takes you for a ride across the bay.  It was really cold but the views were beautiful and the kids loved sitting on the lower deck.  Our room was a mini suite and it was really nice, the view on our balcony was beautiful and the kids loved eating breakfast on the balcony in the mornings. 

















Tuesday, May 30-  We started out the day by walking to Mission beach.  There are so many shops and a really nice board walk all along the beach.  We played in the sand for awhile, collected sea shells, and of course the kids thought the outside showers were awesome so we washed off in them.  We then went and visited the beautiful San Diego temple and then played on the beach at La Jolla.  The tide was perfect and the sea lions were beached on the rocks right next to us.  One fell in after a big wave pushed him off, so he swam right by us and watched us like we were crazy (which we probably are!).  Finally we spent the evening at Belmont Park.  We got ice cream and cotton candy, rode a few rides, played in the arcade, and Rory, Connor, Matthew, and Kinlee played laser tag.  Matthew and Kinlee ended up winning because they would just follow Rory and Connor around and shoot them over and over again. 

Wed, May 31- We had a fun morning at the Mormon Battalion, we learned a little about the history of San Diego and the war that was going on with Mexico at the time.  We then walked through Old Town San Diego and checked out the shops and old town stores.  We wanted to try and go to a Padres game, so we went to down town San Diego, but there was so much construction and it was so crazy we decided to not even attempt the baseball game, good thing we hadn't bought the tickets yet.  Since we didn't have anything to do we went and checked out Balboa Park.  We walked through the park, but all the museums were super expensive, so the kids had a blast riding the free tram from the park to the parking lot, haha.  That evening we went on a tandem bike ride along Mission bay.  It was so fun and so pretty!  At the end of the walkway there was a playground for the kids to play on and it was so fun to see the houses right on the beach. 

Thurs, June 1- We went to the famous Donut Bar in downtown San Diego (they even gave me a free donut for my birthday!) then spent the day at Sea World.  We loved Sea World.  Connor's very favorite thing was the fish that eat the dead skin off your hands, that's all he wanted to do all day.  Kadee and Kinlee loved the Atlantis ride, and Matthew could have spent all day in the Elmo play area.  Mine and Rory's favorite thing was the sea lion & otter show and of course the kids loved getting splashed by the dolphins and orca's in the splash zone. 

We ended the trip with a 2 day stay at Lorla's house in St. George.  We were super lazy and hung by her pool all day.  The kids were fish and practically lived in the pool the whole time we were there.  It was a nice visit and a wonderful way to end our vacation. 

May

May is always a fun and busy month.  This May was no different.  We started out the month with the baseball parade and opening day, the same day I took Kadee and Kloe to the Ivy Girl Academy in South Jordan. While they learned about self confidence, self-defense, make up tips, and more, Kinlee and I went shopping and visited grandma and grandpa Curtis.   

Connor received his first class badge in scouts, he is well on his way to becoming an eagle scout and will be going on a 50 mile hike this summer. He also hit 2 home runs this month and the most exciting thing is he made the 12u Cal Ripken all-star team.  He loves baseball and is thrilled to get to play ball for the summer. 

Kadee had the pirate treasure hunt at the middle school,  it's a fun little activity they do to welcome in the kids that will be starting there in the fall.  They give them a treasure map of the school and the kids go around and get treasures while becoming familiar with the school.  She also had the 5th grade field trip to the bees game, Rory and I got to go with her and it was hot but so fun.  This girl works so hard in school and in life and had her DARE graduation and 5th grade send off.  I can't believe how fast time flies.  The teachers made a slide show of the 5th graders as babies and now and I got a little teary eyed.  I can't believe I'm going to have 2 kids in middle school.  She is super nervous to leave elementary school but is excited for some of her classes next year.  Kadee also passed the torch to the new historian and received an award for her reflections entry as well as several gift certificates for her attendance and effort she made on the SAGE test.   

Matthew graduated from preschool and had an end of year party at the wave pool.  He was so cute at his graduation and totally rocked Tooty Ta (his favorite preschool song of all time).  He loves baseball and did a really good job in coach pitch this year.  He is still a little afraid of the ball, so Connor has been working with him on catching the ball.  He is still doing Upstart (the online preschool) and will continue doing that until July, then he will be set and ready to go to Kindergarten.  He is such a little spit fire but loves life and always has a smile on his face.   

Kinlee and Kadee had their dance recital, welcome to my crazy circus.  It was such a fun show and the girls totally rocked it!  I was so proud of my little dancers, they smiled and did so well on all of their dances.  Kadee had 4 different dances that she performed and Kinlee had 3.  I love watching my kids develop their talents.  Kadee missed dance pictures because of the Hogle zoo field trip, but Kinlee went to hers and they turned out so cute! My favorite was a picture I took of her and Kaydree popping out of the popcorn box, little cuties!
 

April Showers Bring May Flowers....

 April happenings:  We started out the month with Matthew getting tubes put in his ears.  He's suffered with ear infections for awhile now, so they finally decided the best route would be to put tubes in his ears.  The nurse that prepped him was amazing, she helped him to feel comfortable and explained exactly what was going to happen.  He was only in the procedure for about a half hour, but when he came out he was a bear!  He's back to his normal self now and his speech is already improving. 

Kinlee had a duet with her best friend Kaydree and they did an amazing job!  They sang "That's why they call it country" and were seriously the stars of the show.  Kinlee is such a cute performer and sang her heart out.  She loves choir and I think she is starting to love dance, she is finally saying she's going to do dance next year (she's told me all year she isn't).   

Connor started Majors baseball.  His team is the Nationals and they are a good little ball team.  Connor hit a home run at their last game and was more than a little excited, as you can see in the picture.  He's so passionate about the sports he plays and I am so impressed with his hard work and dedication.   

Rory had to work in Moab Easter Weekend, so the kids and I hung out at home, but I tried to make it a fun weekend for them.  We went swimming, on an Easter Egg hunt, decorated pots and planted flours, colored eggs, and I made a huge Easter dinner.  Although the kids were sad we weren't camping I think they enjoyed the weekend.  Kadee and Kinlee were both sick and were on antibiotics all weekend but are recovered finally.  

This past weekend the girls danced at Carbon Dance Classic.  Their studios theme this year is Welcome to the Circus, so their costumes are all based around the theme.  They danced their hearts out and had a great time doing it.  Kinlee's poppin, poppin popcorn song placed best all around dance so she was pretty excited about that.  I helped coordinate the dancers and make sure they were where they needed to be and it was exhausting but so much fun.  I liked being behind the scenes and helping the show run more smoothly for our dance company. 

Finally,  our Utah Jazz are having a great season!  They made it to the play-offs (which hasn't happened in 5 years) so Rory and Connor got tickets to game 4 on Sunday night.  Needless to say they had an amazing time and to top it all off the Jazz won! 

March

Kinlee received the Warrior Award (student of the month) at Wellington Elementary for the month of February.  She received the award for her positive effort in learning and behavior throughout the month.  She really has taken off on her reading, constantly moving up in the school's leveled library. She is a really good friend and tries to include everyone, but is very sensitive and has been hurt a lot this year because kids call her fat.  It breaks my heart because she is a beautiful person inside and out. I hope she can learn to ignore the mean kids and realize she is a beautiful soul.

Kadee & Kinlee danced at souls to soles at the high school.  It's a fundraiser through the United Way to buy shoes for underprivileged kids in our area.  The theme for dance this year is "Welcome to my Crazy Circus" and is so adorable.  They both performed in their "clown" costumes and totally rocked it. This is one of my favorite performances of the year because it's for such a great cause.  Kadee also got to perform at    

Kinlee's class had the funnest activity.  The district art director taught them all about recylcling and then we got to make robots out of all recycled materials.  Kinlee and I had so much fun!  She brought a few things from home, and then we were able to use some of the recyclables Mr. Bear brought to share.  It was such a neat project to learn about recylcing, shapes, weight, creativity, etc.  Kinlee named her robot Mustache Man and told me he likes playing Uno, flying, cooking, and has outstanding vision.

On Monday the 13th we decided to play hookie and spend the day in Moab.  We walked Main St. and checked out the shops, ate at the Moab Diner, and then spent a few hours hiking at Dead Horse Point.  I forgot how pretty it is up there!  My kids love to pose (especially Kinlee) so we got quite a few fun pictures with some beautiful scenery.  It was a perfect day, the weather was beautiful, and I got to spend it with my favorite people.  

On St. Patrick's Day the leprechaun made a mess in the house and sent the kids on a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt ended in the oven where the kids opened it to find treats especially for them.  He also colored our milk green and left some green stuff out for the kids to wear to school. Kinlee made leprechaun trap at school, but that sneaky leprechaun was took quick and just knocked her trap on the ground. Rory made us a green pancake dinner with green eggs, green bacon, and green milk.

We spent Rory's birthday at the Manti temple doing baptisms with Connor and the youth in our ward.  As soon as we got home we headed to a fireside to listen to Elder Stevenson, Elder Ringwood, and their adorable wives speak to us about parenting, church, and life in general.  Although it was a busy day, it was a great way to spend the day with my birthday boy.

This past week our primary kids were in charge of FHE at the care center in Price.  We were small in numbers, but the elderly people that were there loved the kids and their singing.  We played a balloon popping game and it was a hoot.  At the end we visited a little with some of the people and my favorite part of the night was when Kinlee asked one of the gentleman what his name was.  She couldn't understand his muffled response but still said,"Oh! That's a really nice name!"  I hope that by doing these small acts of service I can teach my children to be kind and giving people.  

Rory and I got to spend the last day of the month at the Jazz game.  Someone had given us some tickets, so we got a hotel room and stayed the night right across from the Vivent Arena.  It was such a good game and an amazing way to end the month!

February

Warrior Award- 2/6/17

February is always a fun and busy month.  We started off the month with Kadence receiving the Character Counts award for the month of January.  Each month the teachers choose 2 students from their class who have shown exceptional behavior or academics.  Kadence's teacher said she is a hard working student who is a joy to be around, sounds like I'm raising them right, lol.

2/10/17

A few days later we celebrated Kadence's 11th birthday with a sleepover party, pizza, yummy treats, and a Coldstone ice cream cake.  Those girls giggled, were extremely loud, and stayed up all night, but it was worth it to see the smile on my little girls face.  She invited her 4 closest friend- Samantha, Bailee, December, and of course Kloe, her and Kloe have been pretty much inseparable since we moved in next door to her.

Kadee's 11th birthday party 2/10/17

The sheriff's office gave Rory some tickets to the Jazz game, so the next day we headed up north to eat some yummy food and go to the game.  Our tickets were at the very top of the stadium, but we had a blast.  We all wore our Jazz shirts since it was True Blue fan night and Rory caught a Jazz hat so the evening was a success.    

True Blue Jazz fan Night- 2/11/17

We didn't really celebrate Valentine's day, we had dinner at home, I got the kids caramel apples and little stuffed animals and Rory got me roses and my favorite, chocolate covered strawberries.  Connor finished up the basketball season and has loved playing ball for the middle school.  He is going to be doing a traveling team in March with some of the other 6th grade boys on the team.

MHMS 6th grade basketball team

Kinlee and Kadee have been rocking it at school, they both got Kudos club this month and Kinlee leveled up on her reading again.  I had parent teacher conferences, their teachers adore them, although Kinlee's teacher said she likes to talk a lot, I can't imagine where she gets that from. :) Kadence has had perfect attendance all year, then she got a fever and had to miss school on Tuesday.  She was so upset to break her 100% attendance streak, but I'm super proud of her for being so dedicated to not missing any school.

Salt Lake Temple 2/17/17

We were invited to attend my cousin Kelsi's wedding at the Salt Lake Temple this past weekend.  It was a beautiful ceremony and of course I had to get pictures of the kids on the temple steps.  I told them to stand still like a mannequin and these are the poses I got, man I love those crazy kids.

Finally, I quit my job at HeadStart.  It was super stressful and I was sick all the time, so I felt like it was a good decision to quit and be able to spend more time with my family.  Things are going to be a little tight financially, but I think it will be a blessing to not work full time so I can run the kids around, help them with their homework, and participate in their school activities.  I think when one door closes another one opens, so I feel a great opportunity is right around the corner.             

Kudos Club- 2/15/17

Valentine's day- 2/14/17

Kudos Club- 2/22/17

January

January has been the longest month ever.  We've gotten so much snow!  I honestly can't remember the last time we had this much snow.  A few days ago it snowed 12 inches in a matter of hours.  That being said, I've been a little down this month, I'm definitely looking forward to February.  Rory and I did have a nice little overnight getaway to SLC last weekend.  I bought him Jazz tickets for Christmas, so we went up North and went shopping, ate lots of food, enjoyed a great Jazz game, and soaked in the hot tub at the hotel.  It was a much needed night away.

Connor is still playing basketball for the middle school and he loves it.  He's been super sick with a double ear infection and has been pretty miserable the last few days, but finally went back to school today.  He is doing really well in school.  We just got a postcard from his math teacher saying how much she enjoys having him in her class and how well he's done on his SAGE testing.

Rory took Kadee and Kinlee to the BYU vs Utah gymnastics meet for a daddy daughter date.  They went to the mall and had dinner and window shopped first.  They had so much fun at the meet and the girls have been talking about the great time they had with their dad ever since.

Kadee got another perfect attendance award at school, she hasn't missed one day all year.  I'm super proud of how hard she works in school and on her talents.  She practices piano every morning and has worked so hard on her back hand spring.  

Kinlee lost another tooth and has been reading like crazy.  She keeps leveling up in the leveled library at school and has made so much progress with her reading.  I love to listen to her sing on her karaoke player and she is constantly making up dances in our living room.  

Matthew, like Connor, has been really sick, I swear my kids are always sick this time of year.  Actually, we just found out the poor kid is going to need tubes, he has his appointment with an ENT in a couple weeks.  He also started basketball a couple weeks ago.  He loves it!  He forgets to dribble a lot, but loves to shoot and steal the ball.  Rory and his cousin Eric Branch are coaching them and it is so cute to watch those little 4 and 5 year olds run around.

 

Catching up

I have been a total blog slacker.  I'm working like crazy, running kids around everywhere, and have completely neglected my blog.  Here is a quick recap of our Christmas so I can get my 2016 blog book ordered.

We had our annual Bradley Christmas Eve party at Debbie's house.  She cooked us a delicious prime rib dinner, the kids acted out the nativity scene, and we opened presents.  Christmas was a whirlwind.  We had church at 10:00 am, then headed to Nana and Papa's for Christmas breakfast and then to open presents.  As always the kids were spoiled by Santa, friends, and family.  Susan sent us money for Christmas, so the day after Christmas we took the kids to Logan for a little family adventure.  We went to Hardware Ranch to see the elk, went to a movie, swam in the pool, and Rory, Connor, Derk, and Debbie visited the Crystal hot springs. We even got to stop and see Grandpa Wally and Drake on our way home. Unfortunately I ended up with pneumonia, so I spent most of the trip pretty miserable.  Rory and the kids have assured me that they had a great time, even though I wasn't very much fun.

2016 was a great year with a lot of fun memories made!  We rang in the new year at home; playing games, eating food, having a silly string war, and enjoying each other's company.  I can't think of a better way to ring in the new year than with the people I love the most in this world.

Rory and the kids on Christmas morning

Nana, Papa and the kiddos

Hardware Ranch, Logan, UT