Knott's Berry Farm

On Saturday, June 7, I took my four youngest(Alec, Kellan, Parker and Karsyn) to Oceanside, California. My sister, Robin, and her three kids(Tyelo, Satchel and Tatum) came with us, and we met my parents there. Kregg had to stay home and work, Steven had work-he's a lifeguard for the City of Chandler, Dustin had football practice and work, and Kourtney was going to girls camp. The weather was nice and COOL--unlike here were it's 107 degrees in the shade. On Tuesday, the 10th, we took the kids to Knott's Berry Farm.

We had a lot of fun-- the kids had a blast. We stayed in the kiddie area most of the time, but my dad did manage to persuade Robin and I to go on the Supreme Scream with him. He loved it- I will never go on it again. It shoots you 250 ft (52 stories high) up and drops you like an elevator but way fast. I hate heights, and it was only out of love for my dad ( and the fear of being called a chicken) that I went on it. First, and last, time for me.

After that we went on an awesome rollercoaster that also shoots you straight up in the air at 80 mph, and then straight down, but I can handle coasters-in fact I like them because

they're fast. I am thankful for the time

spent with my parents and my sister
and her kids. I love doing things with
family and having my kids interact w/ their cousins. On Wednesday evening my mom, sister and I went through a session at the San Diego Temple. Thanks, Dad, for watching all of the kids(we did try wearing them out earlier at the beach). The temple was absolutely breathtaking-inside and out. The rest of the week we just played at the beach all day. The kids had a great time playing in the sand, finding seashells, and braving the cold waves. We came home on the 14th, and now it's back to the summer heat of Arizona. I'm going to attempt to put some of the other pictures I took in a slide show. It will probably take me a few days since I will most likely have to enlist Kassidi's help in doing this. They're all pretty much of us at the beach. I love going to California on trips, and spending time at the beach. I really enjoy watching the waves, and the power that they have as the tide comes in and goes out. What a beautiful world our Heavenly Father created for us.

At the end of a full day at Knott's Berry Farm

A Rainy Day at the Phoenix Zoo

I don't know what Karsyn would do if she actually caught it, but she sure had fun chasing it!

We woke up this morning and it was a beautiful overcast day here in the Valley of the Sun. We went from it being 110 degrees yesterday, to 55 degrees today. Weird, huh? But since it did cool down, we decided to take advantage of it and go to the Phoenix Zoo. The rest of the kids are still in school, so it was just Parker, Karsyn and I, and Kassidi and Nathan and Julia. Well, about a half hour after we arrived it began to rain, and it pretty much continued off and on the rest of our time there. We rode on the tram most of the time to stay dry(somewhat), but when we did get off, the kids had fun chasing some ducks. Even though it was quite chilly, we had a good time, and some of the animals that aren't usually out --the tigers and lions-- were out where we could easily see them, and that was cool. It has been raining all day and night-which is great, because we always need rain here. I hope it continues for a few days.

Chess, anyone?

As I was walking past Karsyn's room today, I glanced in and witnessed this priceless moment. I mean, it's always priceless when your kids are playing nicely and getting along, right? I just had to go get my camera and freeze this moment. In these pictures, Parker is explaining to Karsyn how to play chess(which he has learned from his older brothers). She is listening intently and taking in everything he says. They played for longer than I expected, although I suspect that the play was a little bit one-sided. Eventually Karsyn decided it would be funner to tear into pieces some styrofoam that she found--that was a bugger to clean up. Oh well, these little peaceful moments are better than no peace at all.

Recital Time

Last night, Kourtney and Dustin had their piano recital. They each played a solo--Kourtney played Minuet in G by Beethoven, and Dustin played The Pink Panther by Mancini--and then they played a duet together. They did a great job and now are looking forward to two months off this summer(especially Dustin). They're both very talented and are becoming quite good pianists(imagine what they could accomplish if they practiced every day-which they don't)! I'm proud of both of them. Good job guys!

'We are Famiily'

OK--I've been really bad about keeping up my blog. In fact, the last time I attempted to post anything was in February when we got back from Disneyland, but for some reason it didn't show up on the blog. Since then, I just haven't got around to it, but I'm recommitting to do a better job from now on. We've been very busy and I'm not going to try and back track, but just go forward from here, so my posts today are very general in nature.

Last Saturday all of my family(parents, siblings, and their families) got together for a long past due Family Picture. It was wonderful being together as a family and having time to visit afterwards. I may be a little biased, but I'm pretty sure I have the best family (parents, siblings, everyone!) around and I love them all very much. How grateful I am for each and every member and what a joy they are to be around, and what fun we have when we get together.

These two pictures are just a glimpse of what is important to me and what really matters.

'Hula, baby!'

Kellan spent an evening dressing up Karsyn in all sorts of outfits, but when she came out in this, and then started dancing, I couldn't resist taking pictures. Karsyn is quite a ham and loves attention--nothing like the rest of the kids, ha ha- it almost makes it difficult to get a candid photo. Sometimes I have to sneak up on her and catch her unaware. Karsyn keeps us hopping--she is very busy, loves to climb anything(and in the process, gets into a lot), is as tough as one of the boys(and can almost always hold her own), but also loves to be a girlie girl and dress up and play princess with her friends. We've had a big problem with her finding her older sister's nail polish and polishing not only her toes, but her feet, the carpet, the dresser, and anything else in sight. It's a good thing she so cute-it's hard to stay upset with her(until the next time!). Karsyn is also very loving and likes to cuddle and give hugs. She is our 3 year old dynamo and is just giving us a glimpse of what we may have in store in a few years when she's a teenager. Help!

'Play Ball!'

Parker has been playing T-Ball for the past couple of months. He is having a blast and improving every game. It is so fun to watch the team and the pure joy they have playing the game--without all of the intense competition that will come as they get older. This is Parker's first sport and so far he seems to really like it. He plays with a smile on his face the whole game.