Merry Christmas!

This year for Christmas we were able to be with my family in Utah. We took well over 100 pictures in our stay (and really...they are all cute!) so I will go through them and pick the best ones, and do a couple different posts. This was Rich's first real vacation in over 7 years. He has always either been in school year-round or had his Masters Thesis hanging over his head. Now that that is out of the way, Rich was able to relax and enjoy just being with family. So, he got to sleep in and play with kids as much as he liked. I really enjoyed having him around. Way to go honey on finishing. I am so proud of you!

Three beautiful girls all dressed up and ready to go to church. Too bad after church we were all covered in blue sparkles from their dresses!!

These kids had so much fun together...I just loved sitting back and watching them play for hours!

We love you mom and dad!! You are the best parents in the world and I am so grateful for your examples and love. We have an amazing, fun and growing family all because of you. Love you!

Let the festivities...BEGIN!!!!!!

There is no better way to start off the holiday season with some hot cocoa and cookies! Merry Christmas everyone!

Halloween!!

We had a great time this halloween. The kids were really excited to go out trick-or-treating all day and to be honest, they were a little too excited! It was like they were both on a sugar high, without (too much) sugar to begin with. Trick-or-treating had been threatened to be taken away a couple times, but in the end we went out and had a great time!! Ryan was a knight, thanks mom for making the costume perfect!! He loved it!

Samantha was a beautiful "flower" princess. She and her friend Maggie by chance ended up with the same costume and loved being twins. Their little brothers ended up also to be twins, being knights so of course we had to go out together!! Thanks guys for letting us take you out in the cold, and away from the game! :-)

Aren't they adorable?!?!

This was the winner of house decorations! The kids loved going to this house, and apparently they get this decked out every holiday!

The kids made off with a load of candy, and we got home a little too late to even give out any of our bought candy, so....needless to say, we will be making some dentist appointments very soon!! We hope you all had a great and safe Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch this year, especially because we had my mom with us. She came to help us out with Samantha's tonsillectomy and we loved having her here. We decided to use this time to take a family picture. It's not professional by any means, and I can't figure out how to get my cropped version to upload to blogger, but this works.

I love my mom so much and I am so glad that she came to visit us. It is hard for us to be far away from family, but it always make our visits together wonderful. Thanks for all your help mom. Even though you don't think you helped, you really did and we love you for it. This kids already miss you tons and keep asking when we will go see you at your house!

First Family 5K

For the first time, our family did a 5K. I am not a runner by any means, but we have been jogging together as a family and it has been really fun. The 5K at the University was great and the kids had a great time, other than being cold. The got to see the Oregon duck...

And we decided it would be fun for them to start the race running before they had to sit in the stroller the rest of the time. They loved it!! The race started with a lap and a half around the track and then around campus. By the end of the lap and a half, the kids were pretty tired, and we were almost the last people in the race, but it was fun, and we were, of course, not in it it to win.

We had a great time together as a family and I am proud of myself for finishing my first 5K, in not too bad of a time.

Happy Birthday Samantha!!

Yesterday was Samantha's 5th birthday. I am not sure how in the world she can be five already. I know this sounds cliche but....I feels like just yesterday she was a sweet little baby cooing at us, but today she is a tall, beautiful, smart and wonderful young girl. She is such a blessing in our lives and we are so happy that she is here with us. I am extremely grateful to my Father in Heaven who gave her to me, and while at times I am completely overwhelmed with the thought, I am also grateful for the responsibilty I have to teach her and raise her. There are days when she teaches me much more than I could have ever taught her and I love her so much. I went down a little bit of memory lane looking through Sams baby pictures. Here are a few of my favorites. It is amazing how she has changed and turned into such a beautiful girl!

For her birthday we spent the morning at the park...

It wouldn't be a birthday without cupcakes...

and friends...

Then we met up with Daddy on campus and had lunch with him. It was nice to take a walk around campus because we have been here for over a year and still haven't really ever taken the kids on campus. It is beautiful!

This pretty much sums Sam up!!

I have some how started a crazy tradition that I make fun birthday cakes for our kids. I always spend a couple hours on the computer looking for ideas and then ask Sam opinion (giving her options that I THINK I can do). I was really pulling for a cute butterfly cake that I knew would be no problem, but...she at the last min. saw a picture of this castle cake and would settle for nothing less. So, being the FANTASTIC mother that I am (you can chuckle to yourself here if you need to) agreed to make the cake. I did not however realize that to make it "just like the picture" you need TONS of candy. So, needless to say, our treat cupboard is overflowing with excess candy, and my kids don't even really eat cake. They will eat it on the birthday, but after that...they just want the candy. So dentist, here we come.

Happy Birthday Sam!! We love you!

Spencers Butte

The other day Rich as able to spend the day with us. We decided to go on a little hike up Spencers Butte. It was beautiful scenery, gorgeous views, but most of all it was fun to spend time with family!

Show us your muscles Ryan!! ( I love that sounds effects always come with this pose!)

I had no idea my kids could get so dirty just hiking up a hill. But she still is pretty darn cute!

Sam has a very competitive nature (like her father) and was determined to make it to the top first, and not only to the top, but the highest rock. She was very proud of herself and her daddy that they did it together as a team! Way to go Sam!

With some recent events with some of family friends, I have really come to realize the important things in life...family. My family is my greatest blessing and I am really trying to cherish the time we spend together, whether it be hiking a great hill, or sitting on the couch reading a book. Ryan and Samantha are two incredible kids and I am honored to be their mother. Everyday they teach me something new and make me laugh. I also have a great husband who loves me and honors me. Any time spend together as a family is cherished and I had a great time this day!

Ryan just kept saying this over and over again, so had to get it on video. When he was taking a break from saying this while hiking, he would be making sword fighting sounds and actions along with them...making his own theme music! He really cracks me up!

We haven't taken to many pictures since we have been home because we have really just keeping it pretty easy. But here are a few of the things we have been up to lately.
Sam is getting to be pretty good at drawing. This is her beautiful garden. Grandma and Grandpa Burnett came up for the weekend, and Sam kept them busy with a ton of puzzles. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for being so good to Sam!

Ryan honestly cracks me up. Lately he seems to always have a song in his head and he is always dancing. It is hilarious to just watch him. He will also turn casual sentences into songs...it's great! "I want some juice please" sounds adorable in a song...you really have to hear it for yourself. But here is a glimpse of his dancing, just imagine it with actual music playing. He really does have some good moves and quite a bit of rythm.

Super Hero Day

My kids really do make me laugh. They really are very happy kids and we usually have a great time together. Today turned into Super Hero Day, with their capes and cut-out masks.

Even Super Heros need lunch

Another trip to Utah

We were fortunate enough to be able to make it out to Utah this summer for the 4th of July. My entire family was there so we had a blast. We haven't all been together for quite some time and it was so good to be together again. We had planned on being there for a week, and Rich would work as much as he could on his thesis, but by the end of the week we decided to stick around as long as it would take for him to finish it up. So, a month later we came home. Our kids had a great time with their cousins, grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles. Here are just a few of the cute pictures I took.

I think Ryan spent at least 1/2 the time in his swim suit. He would wake up in the morning and ask to put it on...and when it was time to take it off he was NOT happy!!

Ready for church

Doesn't this look fun? We have 14 grandkids now...well actually 15 as of yesterday! Welcome to the family Collin Bryant Dupree!! Welcome to the CRAZINESS!!! All 15 are under the age of 7.

starting from top left: Aubrey (7), Taylor (5), Kyle (4), Evan (5), Samantha (4), Morgan (4)

Landon (1), Talmage (3), Sydney (3), Hailey (2), Ryan (2), Miles (1)

Megan (1), Layla (6 months).

Let me tell you, if you ever go to my parents house and we are all there...you probably want a pair of ear plugs!! Thank you Brett, Rich and Jason for watching the kids one day so the moms could have a break!!

These two are the best of friends. They are only a month apart and absolutely adore each other. We just wish we lived closer to them!

What is a trip to Utah without a trip the Hogle Zoo?!!?

Papa gives the best horsie rides!

I made a treasure map for the kids to find with the story that while they were at swimming lessons, my friend "Captain Jack" came by and was being chased my some other pirates. He hid he treasure somewhere and must have dropped his map on the way out. The kids had a lot of fun with it and so did I!

I was able to see some of my friends while there. I wasn't able to see all my friends, and I don't have a picture of my other two great girlfriends that came to visit me. I love you girls! Thanks for being such amazing friends through the years!

I love parades, and the Draper Parade never disappoints! I think we got 2 or 3 bags full of candy (not little bags, grocery bags!). The kids had a blast, even in the heat!

My sister and I found these goggles and the kids loved each having a pair. Ryan and Hailey looked AWESOME in them!

I swear I have a picture of Sams cousin Jenna in a blue hoodie just like this and I am pretty sure she looks just like Sam (in this picture at least). Crazy how kids can look so similar in families!

Thank you to Uncle Mark and Aunt Judi for the use of your firepit. The smores were delicious, even if they don't look that appetizing on Ryans face and hands!

We also went up the canyons for hot dogs and smores. I love the beauty of Utah and that you can drive just 15-20 min. and be up in the mountains enjoying nature. This picture was taken at the beginning of the evening. By the end of the night, the kids were filthy from playing in the dirt. It looked like they hadn't bathed for weeks! I don't even want to know how much dirt Ryan ate just by eating food with such filthy hands! Oh well! They had fun!

Thank you mom and dad for allowing us to move in for a month and putting up with us. We had a great time and made some great memories! We love you all!