McKynlee's 3rd Birthday

She was such a sweet little baby.
She is getting so big!
Check out Haylee's face as Kynlee was opening her presents...she was SO

excited for her sister to get presents and not her!! Ya right!!
I can't believe our baby is 3!! It was McKynlee's birthday on September 29th. Time has seriously flown by. Mark was out of town on her birthday so we took her to dinner and celebrated the night before. We went to a hibachi grill where they chopped up food, lit the grills on fire, swirled knives around, etc.. Our kids mouths dropped as their eyebrows got singed. It was so funny and cute. We loved it!! The next day we had a few little friends come over for a princess party!! All Kynlee wanted for her birthday was cupcakes...so she had her little friends and cupcakes and was happy as can be. It seems like just yesterday that we welcomed her into the world. She is our little comedian..and SSOOO loud!! Anyone that has been to our house can attest to that!! But she has the cutest voice ever, so it's O.K. She is quite the little "bootie shaker" and loves to tease people (especially Haylee because she has the best reaction with her squealing/crying). We can't imagine life without her. Our family definitely wasn't complete until she joined us! We love you Kynlee!! Thanks for always bringing a smile to our faces.

Las Vegas

 

We were lucky enough to tag along with Grandma and Grandpa to Las Vegas for mobile babysitting :) Mark and I had tickets to the Def Leppard concert...which was really awesome. Ya know, sometimes you just need to do things like that so that you feel young again. It worked too, we had such a great time. Mark's parents watched the kids that night and then we hung out at the pool for the rest of the weekend with them. While we were at the pool Mark pulled out Braxton's tooth. I love his little toothless smile!! Grandma and Grandpa, Maycee, and I also went to see Lion King. It was amazing. It was so cool how they would transform the stage, and the costumes were so creative. It was really fun to spend some one on one time with Maycee. It was such a fun weekend to hang with Grandma and Grandpa and enjoy the great weather.

Soccer Days

 

Well, let the games begin. It's that time of year again!! Braxton's team is The Sharks, and Maycee's is the Pink Flash. Both of their teams are struggling a little bit this year, but they haven't let that stop them from having fun! Maycee is our little forward and when Braxton is not heckling the other team he is a great little dribbler and defender. After the last game, we had to tell him that wasn't good sportsmanship and probably not a good idea since they lost 7 to 0. Lol We are having fun spending our Saturday's cheering them on!

Camp Out

Well, I think we can all agree...the Anniversary was great and all but let's get on with it :) Sorry I've fallen off the blogging wagon for a little while, but here we go.
We went on a ward campout last month and had such a great time. We had a great turn out again this year and our kids had a blast hanging out with all the kids in the ward. They had a talent show Friday night and our girls sang and danced to "Honey Bun". It was darling! It was funny because Maycee had a microphone and then a guy handed Kynlee another microphone right before the song started. Of course with McKynlee's soft little voice (ya right) you could ONLY hear her and Maycee wasn't very happy about that! After a LOT of convincing she decided it went well and that everyone thought it was cute!
We went hiking the next day and even saw REAL horses. I said, "Look there are some horses" and Haylee said, "Are they real ones?". The owners of the horses got akick out of that and asked them if they wanted to come pet their "real horses". Our kids were pretty excited. I guess we are city slickers and need to get our kids out more often!!

Happy Anniversary

Mark and I celebrated our 15th Anniversary on August 20th!! I can't believe it was fifteen years ago that I fell in love with this man. He was sweet and romantic then, and fifteen years later he is more thoughtful than ever! I know that is unheard of, but anyone that knows him knows that it is true. I feel so lucky, and I truly can't imagine my life without him. Marrying him was THE best decision I have ever made!!
The day started off with a wake up from Maycee before school whispering "Happy Anniversary". I looked over on our nightstand and there was Eggo waffles and orange juice for Mark and I. Seriously, how sweet is that!! She is thoughtful just like her Dad :) Then there was a knock at the door and there was a delivery man with 15 red roses!! When the kids got out of school we took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's to spend some time while Mark and I went golfing and out to dinner. When we were first married Mark somehow had the patience to teach me how to golf. It has been a definate work in progress...and some pretty funny stories along the way. But the result has been awesome! It is one of my favorite things to do with him. Just he and I out in the beautiful outdoors swearing together lol. I'm just kidding, even if we are golfing bad we don't care because we are just hanging out enjoying each others company. It has kindof turned into a birthday and Anniversary tradition I guess..and I love it!! We ended the night with an amazing steak dinner and picked up the kids and headed home! What an amazing day!! Thank you sweetheart for always taking care of me, loving me, and being my best friend. It has been the fastest 15 years of my life!!

School Days

Well, it is official. School started on August 13th. This Summer has gone by way to fast, but the kids were so excited to go back to school and see their friends. Maycee is all about projects, so the summer was starting to get a little boring for the poor girl. Braxton was just excited about everything. Braxton is in first grade this year, I can't even believe it!! He couldn't wait for school lunch (so nieve :) and 3 recesses!! It doesn't get better than that. Maycee and Braxton were so excited to see each other at recess and be at school together. Haylee and Kynlee were sad to see their bro and sis go, but they got to hang out in their pajamas and chill. They decided it wasn't so bad after all!!

Haylee started preschool the next day, so she felt pretty big. I don't know why but every year I get a little sad to see them go off to school. Time is going by way to fast!!

Lake Powell

Well, we were lucky enough to get in another trip to Lake Powell before school started. We had a blast!! We found a great beach after a long search. The lake was the busiest we have ever seen it!! Creed and Lacey and fam came and then Colleen joined us for the last half of the week. It was an amazing trip. There is no place else we would rather be!!

 

There were so many places to hike. It was pretty windy a few of the days, so we spent a lot of time up on the rocks. The little girls spent their time collecting seashells, while Braxton threw rocks off the cliffs and watched them crumble. So, there was fun for all. We even got to carve our names in the rock which I hadn't done since my Senior trip in high school. It brought back some really fun memories.

We actually got all of the kids to atleast TRY skiing. Maycee and Braxton were little studs (we had to bribe Brax with a lego set...but it was worth it. After he did it he loved it!) Haylee was even brave enough to let me help her try once. She didn't get up, but her, Lexee, and Kynlee let us practice pulling them up on the beach. It was so fun to watch them follow in Mom and Dad's footsteps. It was one of the moments that you always think about, and when it arrives it is just as neat as you thought it would be!! Thanks for some great memories kids!!