Next Stop San Diego Zoo

San Diego Zoo

The first real stop on our trip was to the San Diego Zoo. It was such a fun tiring day. Again we walked and walked and walked. We looked at animal after animal after animal!! Just a few pictures from the journey.

Our California Adventure

Alright it's been too long since I've posted and A LOT has happened, most importantly we kicked off summer vacation with a fun-filled trip to California!!


Up first we stopped in Las Vegas for the night. What started out as a trip to get some dinner turned into a very long hike around all of the hotels. Fortunately for all of us adults the kids were up for the journey. We hiked and we hiked and we hiked. I've always thought that if I been born in pioneer times I wouldn't have been a very good pioneer. I think the kids, however, would have been incredible!!

Lexi's Helicopter Ride

So if any of you know Matt, you know he loves anything that flies!! He has started to incorporate the flying into his work and last year did a roof scan for a company that called for him to go up in a helicopter.

We were on vacation with our extended family, the Jorgensen's and Houghton's, and so he was able to take a couple of us with him since they were willing to keep our other kids. Lexi was the lucky one that got to go and I was pretty nervous about how my little 2 year old was gonna do up that high in a helicopter.

Lucky for us Lexi is more like her dad than I would've guessed...she LOVED IT!! For the 1st part of the trip she just looked out the window and admired the amazing view. There is nothing better than the view of the canyon in the middle of fall! The colors were amazing and certainly a sight I hope to see again. For the 2nd part of the trip, Lexi was so comfortable flying that she just laid back and took a nap! It was such a great experience and I can't wait to share more of them with my amazing little girl!!

I was able to get a couple of shots of her. I hope you enjoy!!

All Hail the Pinewood Derby!!

Well we just keep going and going and going. This week was the pinewood derby for Sheldon, his 1st ever!! He was so excited to work on his car with Matt. I'm not sure who did more work though...

Sheldon worked hard to come up with a fun design for his car and our good friend Dan helped get it cut out. Matt then took it to make sure the wheels were all balanced and then Sheldon and he painted it. Sheldon wanted to have USA and BSA all over it with some flags and the #21. He had to make a few compromises but I think it turned out pretty good. You'll have to see what you think.

The first run down the track the poor car didn't even move. The look on Sheldon's face was one of complete devastation but it was Dad to the rescue. A couple of minor alterations and back to the races...

At 1st the car still didn't seem to want to go very fast but quickly built up some speed after a couple runs down the track. I'm still not sure how but Sheldon was able to come up through the loser bracket and managed to take 3rd overall. What a great experience for his 1st derby. He is lucky enough to get to compete in the district tournament that will be held at PineRidge Mall. We'll keep you all posted on how the car does there.

Congratulations Sheldon!! We're so proud of you and Dad for building a great car!!

Shelby's birthday parties

Well the grand day arrived...Shelby turned 7!! What a fun week of parties and adventures we had. It all started Monday night when we celebrated with family. Shelby had grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. She was also able to share the night with her cousin Taylee who was turning 3.

I decided to make the cake myself. Always an adventure...it gets more fun each time I make a cake though. Especially when the kids love the way it turned out!! The cake was fashioned after one we found in a book and I combined a fun little house with some of Shelby's favorite toys, Littlest Pet Shops!! She really liked it and has had fun playing with all the little toys that came with it.Now for the presents...the girl is seriously spoiled. Shelby got money, toys and a fun guitar book from everyone. Our family gave her a Nintendo DS, I told you she was spoiled!! Really it's just a gift for travel since we're heading to California in May and she's gonna need a good distraction!!

Next was a friend party she was able to enjoy with 2 of her favorite girlfriends from school, Katie and Cammy and her cousin Shantae. We started at McDonald's for lunch and some playtime on the toys. Along the way we gathered a few extra friends that just added to the excitement and fun!! (You'll have to ask Matt how much fun he thought it was!!)

Then off to ISU for some bowling. We planned on bowling just one game and scheduled 2 lanes with bumpers, we adults need all the help we can get!! I think the boys bowled the majority of a game but the girls got bored after only 5 frames. What a hoot to see them all roll a ball down the lane. Even Luke got in on the action.


Have any of you been at a bowling alley with 11 kids under the age of 8 trying to be monitored by 3 adults??? Let me tell you it's quite an adventure!! Each of them had their own money and they all found the change machine!! Pretty soon I had quarters falling out of all my pockets!!

Then there's always our adventurous 2 year olds, Taylee and Lexi. You guessed it, they just wanted to go for a little walk...clear to the bookstore and completely by theirselves. The bookstore manager was nice enough to return them to us without a word to security and just laughs to us about what a handful they must be. Gotta love the independent little ones!! haha

All I can say is Happy Birthday to my favorite 7 year old!! We love you Shelby!!

David Archuleta Concert

OK so I started this blog forever ago now and haven't posted a single thing so I'm finally ready to get some things up and going!! To start things off let me show off some pictures from our trip to the David Archuleta concert...

Shelby's birthday was the 26th of March and I thought a good way to kick it off would be to take her to a fun filled concert, just the girls (Shelby, Dana and me)!! We started the night by going to dinner at Garcia's in IF and then went for a little shopping. Then off to wait in line and we waited and waited and waited some more. Once we got inside, you guessed it, some more waiting. While waiting Shelby and I had fun taking some goofy pictures...one of Shelby's favorite past times!!Finally things got started. The opening act was a singer by the name of Lesley Roy. She was very energetic and Shelby actually got to meet her and get an autograph. What a fun and exciting thing for her. Shelby just started guitar lessons so it was extra exciting to see a girl up on stage playing a guitar. She even got some great tips from Lesley

And then some more waiting and waiting and waiting!!

David finally made his grand entrance!! To the shrill screams of thousands of young girls and their moms...what a laugh!! He really performed well and at one point looked right at Shelby!! (at least that's what I told her...)

1st Blog EVER

So this is the first blog I've ever officially done. Just to start things off I would like to let everyone know how blessed we feel as a family to have so many wonderful people around us. Hopefully as time goes on we'll be able to bless each of your lives with our great stories and adventures. Until then I hope you each have a fabulous week full of happiness, joy and lots of laughter!!