Flashback.... COWBOY

I have got a thing for cowboys.

Yeah... it is true

It is a weakness of mine.

Nothing beats a handsome man, or young man, in a cowboy hat.

~Stockton~

June 2005

~Niel~

July 2006

~Garrett~

June 2006

And just in case you wanted to take a peek at my previous cowboy posts...

Click here... and here...

Yes! I know. I have some serious cowboy issues.

I just can't get enough of my little cowboys!

The best Water Park Ever!!

Remember our wonderful nanny from last summer? Well... we have really missed Kallie this summer. We figured we should at least visit her once his summer. We decided to go see her at her current job....

Raging Waters!

The second best part of seeing Kallie was seeing her fabulous mom too! I love Karen! You might think it is crazy that mother and daughter work at the same place?

Well... the third best part of visiting Kallie and Karen was hanging out at their water park.

Awesome!!! I wish we owned a water park!!

Check out our special tickets! - do you see now why I love Karen and Kallie so much? They are just tons of fun and super thoughtful!

I hadn't been to Raging Waters since I was like 12 years old. I can't figure out why we have waited to so long to go. The Park was fantastic! The slides were amazing!! We have ourselves a wonderful family day!!

I am very much of a thrill rider. Check out this slide...

Conner is almost at the bottom. Just look right behind him. See that SUPER steep slide in the background? That is the same slide. The fist ride down is STRAIGHT DOWN! Then it levels out a little and then another straight ride down. This is by far my most favorite water slide I have ever been on. The ride requires a mat to ride on. You go SOOOO super fast! There is another slide right to the side of this one that goes down, up, and back down. CRAZY!

Go Conner! I was so proud of Conner for being brave this year and trying everything.

All the kids had a great time.

Check out all these smiles!

Go Megan! Check out her arm muscles. Incredible strength!!

Another awesome dropping slide!

This is Zander's water face. I think I have taken this same picture of his 20 times.... but it never gets old. Check out his tan. He sure didn't get my skin!

Go Garrett! He also tried some pretty scary rides.

This one was his favorite. He was too small to drag his yellow riding thingy all the way to the top. Niel and Conner were so nice to him and helped him at least 8 times.

Thumbs up!

Seems like we always come away from our adventures with a few scraps or bruises. Usually it is the boys who limping or showing off their wounds. Unfortunately, Megz was the one who ended up wounded. That band aid on her pinkie toe doesn't do justice to her wound. She cut it on a slide and left a long bloody trail behind her. The boys that it was awesome! Megan was a brave woman and is now hobbling around.

It was a fun day for us all at the water park.... I think even Megan, with the wound, would agree. We are definitely going back... and soon!

Jackson Hole

This past week when Wednesday rolled around, I asked Niel "What are we going to do this weekend?" His response....

"I don't know. Let's do something fun! Let's go to Jackson!"

.... so we did!

And we had the TIME OF OUR LIVES!

Because it was a spontaneous trip we didn't have too much planned. Niel found us a spot at a local ski resort, Snow King. The accommodations were cozy and quaint.

I love the shops in Jackson Hole.

A couple of years ago we took Megan and Conner to Jackson. We explored the little town enough to scope out the good spots. We all thought it would be a great tradition to go shopping and get ice cream. Me and Stocks like the shopping part and everyone else likes the ice cream part. It is a perfect tradition.

Our hotel had this really great Alpine Slide! We spent a large part of the afternoon riding the mountain via sled.... in the middle of summer!

Food is a big part of any trip. I must say, Jackson has some of the best tasting food I have ever eaten on vacation. The Virginian is a family favorite.


We found a couple additional places to add to our favorites. Sanchez served Americanized/Mexican food. I thought it was even better than Cafe Rio!

And this Pizza Pie place was to die for! There is nothing like a good tasting Chicken Ranch Pizza. YUM!

Stay tuned for our river rafting adventure!

I love making family traditions and lasting memories! Jackson has proven to be one of the best family trips yet!

Flashback to 2 people we've missed!

Guess who is coming home?

John and Joyce - November 2006

I tried to find the first picture I took of Grandma and Grandpa J. Guess what? I cannot find it... so instead, I am going to just have to tell you about the first time we met.

December 31st, 2004 was the first time I met two people who would change my life, and the lives of my little boys, forever. It was New Year's Eve and Niel had asked his family if me and Zander could join them up at their cabin for the holiday (the boys were with their Dad). I was slightly nervous to met them, but so excited to spend New Years with a friend and meet some new people. Zander and I kind of felt like we were imposing a little, but John and Joyce said we could stay the night and not just spend New Years Eve, but also New Years Day at their cabin. Wow! What a special treat.

John and Joyce were SO kind to us. They treated me and Zander as if we had all been long time friends. We felt extremely comfortable. We also had so much fun! We played games, ate tons of food, talked, rested, played in the snow, rode four wheelers, and had the time of our live!! Zander was only 9 months old at the time. He was so curious in a new place. He barely slept. He did the regular baby things, like cry, and crawl. John and Joyce played with him and even took care of him a little so I could have some fun. Zander was pretty content being with them which was unusual for him at that age. I was so grateful for their hospitality! As we departed to go back home I hoped I would get to see them again and get to know them.

Who knew they would get stuck with me and four crazy boys....haha!

Later, when Niel and I were getting ready to be married, a co-worker said to me, "Marriage is so hard at times. I hope you like his parents." Then he chuckled to himself. I didn't even hesitate to answer his statement, "Actually, I love my soon-to-be inlaws. They are almost as great as Niel!"

John and Joyce have blessed our lives in so many ways. I have felt their love over the past 18 months while they have been in Russia serving the Lord. The people in Russia are going to miss two incredible missionaries.

I will have to say...

I am SO excited they are coming home! I have missed them SO much!!!

Look what they have been doing the last little while...

A New Favorite

Stockton has found a new favorite sport....and he is really good at it too.

LACROSSE

He earned the name....

~Mythical Guardian~
(he guards the goal pretty good)

Lacrosse is more of a new sport. It is very interesting to watch.

Stockton isn't afraid to just get in there and get the ball.



One of the rules is that you aren't suppose to hit the other team on the helmet. In several of these pictures you can see Stockton is aiming right for the face or helmet. He usually didn't ever actually hit the kid on the helmet, he just used it to scare the kids to let them think he was going to.... pretty clever. The fake scare would throw kids off their groove enough for Stocks to hit their stick and knock the ball out.

Do you see where the ball is going to hit?
OUCH!

Yeah.... Stocks got injured pretty badly. He couldn't move. Poor kid.

Next year we are getting a cup for sure.

I am really proud of Stocks for sticking through it this season and improving so much! It was a great Lacrosse season.

My Husband...

.... is the best cook!

I am absolutely spoiled with his delicious cooking skills. Check out dinner on Sunday.

Brisket

Mashed Potatoes - I am still learning how to take better food pictures. These photo's just do not do justice.

Corn

Yeah... I know. I am pretty lucky! Niel is all mine and I am not sharing!

Date Night

Date Night on Friday night was not like many of our date nights. We spent the evening at LAGOON!

Niel and I both like adventure. What is more adventurous than an amusement park?

It is a tradition to get ice cream at Pioneer Village. Yes.... I ate the entire double scoop all by myself.

My family had spent the entire day up at Lagoon while Niel and I were working. We met them for some family time together.

Alayna is my sweet little niece. The Jaramillo Family had been visiting from California all week. This was the happiest I had seen her this visit. She was just loving running all around.

My two beautiful sisters daring the Swing ride together! It makes me so happy that my sisters and I are such amazing friends. It wasn't necessarily like that growing up, but I think sibling rivalry is normal. I am just so glad we love to be together as grown-ups!

Ari and Bryn were along for the adventure too.
I have the most beautiful nieces!

I also have the most brave nieces. They went on the Colossus and Wicked. It was fun to ride the scary rides with them!!

Niel and I went on a few more rides before it got too dark. We both could feel our age though. By the end of the evening we were sick to our stomachs and so tired. I guess we aren't as young as we used to be.... but at least we still know how to have fun!

Dress up Flashback

I love this picture!

This is little Conner when he was about 4 years old.

I love this picture mostly because Conner loves to roll his eyes at little Zander when he dresses up. From these pictures you can see.... Zander wants to be just like his older brother.

Conner can't say too much now. Dressing up is fun.... at least that is what the boys think! :)

Home Alone

As the sun goes down and the house gets dark..... I begin to get all excited. It is a "me" night. No one is home. The boys are gone to their dad's. Niel is traveling for work. There is no one to answer to and no one to play with. It's just me, in my sweat pants, wrapped up in a blanket, with a handful of dried cereal. You should try it.... dry cereal is better than popcorn.

I settle myself in for a scary movie night. I LOVE being scared. Being in the dark, all alone, with a scary movie is pretty scary. I love it!

Don't get me wrong.... I miss Niel. I miss being a mom. I miss tucking 4 little boys into their beds, but hiding under the covers and jumping at every little sounds makes for a pretty good night!

Any suggestions on some good, scary movies? Thanks Lynda for your recommendation. It was the perfect kind of scary!

I Love FaMiLy!

Who knew that these two, very attractive people...

.... would produce these awesomely looking people....

... which would result into this incredible amazing bunch?

It's been a long time since we had family pictures done.

Good times!

And this is our lovely photographer, Rachel Nelson. She is one talented woman!