Willy Wonka

Sammi, Rebecca and Kimball were in the Willy Wonka play in November. It was such a good experience for them and kept them really busy. Makenna was born during the rehersals and my kids got many rides with the Smith kids which was a lifesaver, thanks Chelsea and Laurie! Sammi and Rebecca were Oompaloompas and Kimball was a squirrel. It was such a cute play and they did a great job!Tanner didnt make it to the end of the play
Rebecca with Tessa

Kimball and Rebecca took off their cosumes before I took their pictures

Audrie and Sammi after the play

The whole cast

The bigger baby

I watched my friends kids the other day and Trevor told his Mom later that "the bigger baby kept following me around" and she said Oh, you mean Tessa and he said " I didnt know girls liked me". I thought it was so funny because I hadnt thought of it that way but it is true I do have a little baby and a bigger baby. It is so fun to have the two of them home with me during the day and Tessa just loves Makenna and is really sweet with her. At times I have both of them on my lap and the time goes so fast so I am trying to enjoy the moments.

Casa Grande Sprint Triathalon

Jake participated in the Casa Grande Sprint Triathalon this past Saturday. He and his friend Glade went together early and Jake's parents came and took Sammi, Rebecca, Kimball and Tanner. The race includes a 400 meter swim, 10 1/2 mile bike ride and a 3 mile run. Jake did the swim in 8:42 minutes and the bike ride in 33:17 minutes and the run in 20:44 minutes. So, it took him 1 hour and 2 minutes. He came in 25th place out of 442 participants. He was really happy with his times. He and Glade are training for a full triathalon in July in San Fransisco. He ran in the St. George Marathon in October and this weekend he is biking in the Tour de Tucson. The kids love to go watch him when they can and when the baby is a little older I will too! The whole gang


At the finish line


Way to go Dad!

Jake and Glade ready to swim

Halloween

Halloween was a little crazy this year with the new baby coming so I did'nt buy any costumes and we made do with what we had already. It all turned out ok and they were happy with the outcome. Jake took them to the ward Trunk or Treat for chili, games and of course candy! Jake said that he went to the car to hand out candy and it was gone, and we had had a huge bag from Costco. Rebecca and her friend had "passed it all out" in huge amounts to the kids who had come around. He was not thrilled but then it was gone so his job was done. Sammi had taken the robe off and what was underneath, a cheerleading skirt and so now her costume had transformed. She said "I got hot." So, that is what happens when Mom isnt there. Kids! They all had a great time and came home with smiles and lots of candy! A few days later Kimball and Tanner dumped it all out on the kitchen floor and sorted it all. They had a great time and all the kids posed for a picture. Tessa was funny, she would reach her hand in grab a sucker and have it in her mouth in record time. I love this time of year and all the memories and family time it brings with it!

Baby Makenna Louisa

It has been two and a half weeks since Makenna's birth and it is crazy to think that my due date was yesterday! She was 6 pounds and 12 ounces. I am so glad that she was born early. It has been so fun to have her home and the kids all love her. Tessa has adjusted well and wants to give her lots of loves. The other day I was downstairs putting away laundry and I heard them both crying so I came up to see what was wrong and found Tessa carrying her down the hall to my bedroom. She had gotten her out of her bouncy seat and was trying to bring her to me. That was scary, so now I have to really watch her. She is sleeping pretty good and now seems to have her days and nights figured out. There were a few nights where those seemed to be mixed up. We are so happy to have our little Makenna in our family!

Where Oh where has the time gone?!!

I have been really, really blogger slacking! Since school started I have just been keeping myself so busy I havent been on the computer except to check my email occasionally. I have been feeling really guilty about not keeping connected with family and friends. I am going to do a quick catch up and then do better at keeping up to date. This pregnancy has been really tough on me and when Tessa naps thats when I lay down and rest. It has been so nice to have that break each day. Sammi, Rebecca and Tanner are in the Willy Wonka play at the Queen Creek Preforming Arts and they are excited about their parts. Sammi and Rebecca are Oomfaloompas and Kimball is a squirrel. We are all looking forward to Baby Makenna joining our family soon. I am 33 weeks along and am ready for the time to go by quickly! Jake is training like crazy for his marathon that is coming up in a few weeks. He is running the Saint George Marathon with Glade and my brother Shane. He has worked really hard running and he rides his bike to work a couple of days a week. We are busy as ever with life and enjoying each day as it comes!

Lake Powell

We went on a last minute trip to Lake Powell. We were not planning on going and then we were at Jake's parents house and Jill and Rick and their kids were heading out with the boat and jet skis and trailer. We decided we could leave on Wednesday and come back on Saturday. It was crazy trying to get the trailer packed and get organized to go. But we made it work and it ended up being so much fun. The kids loved riding in the tube and got quite the crazy ride and loved it. I even got on and they did a gentle ride and it was nice to be on the lake. Jake and I went out on the jet skis several times and he took the boys and Sammi out too. The Johnson's and Donn's from our ward were there too, so it was fun to visit and play. Jake and Sammi on the jet ski!
Jake and Tanner and Kimball

The guys went for an early morning swim

Tanner loves the boat

Ridge, Tanner and Me

Kenyon and Tessa

Sammi and Sadie getting sprayed by Rick on the jet ski

Watch out! Here comes the jet ski!

Rebecca, Tanner and Lacie

And it is.......

A girl! I had my ultrasound appointment a few days ago and we are so excited to be having another girl. It will be so fun for Tessa to have a little sister at home with her and they will be 19 months apart so they will be close friends and rivals. So, we will have 2 girls, 2 boys and 2 girls. I never thought I would have six children but here we are and we feel very blessed.

Barbados

There was an open fish market each day and they would come and buy fresh fish. There was also little stands that sold fresh grilled fish with the sides right near it and we went and on Friday night it was really busy and all the locals and tourists come and eat and listen to music and there was stands to buy jewlery and other local items.

Jake standing in front of the fish market.

Jake took some time to enjoy the water on our catamaran cruise.

We took a catamaran cruise to snorkel with the fish and sea turtles. It was such a great time and we got to see and touch the sea turtles and fish up close. They fed us lunch and there was all you can drink and some took advantage of that and got very drunk. The pina coladas were really good but of course virgin. The water was just perfect and we loved being on the catamaran.

Jake and I on the catamaran.

We had breakfast at our hotel which was included in our travel deal. There was sugar bowls on the tables and these little birds would come down and stick their beaks into the sugar and have sugar covered beaks. It was funny to watch them. Also we ate dinner at the hotel one night and there was this little crab crawling on the patio which is right on the water. It was fun to watch him scurry around and a cat that was nearby saw it and pawed at it a few times and then it fell off the deck into the water.

We rented a car to get around the island and we called it "the yellow bug". Most of the cars there are really little as their roads are narrow and only two lanes. It was an adventure driving on the left and following the crazy roads and a map to get around. Jake had to keep reminding himself "stay to the left!" This was in the parking lot of the cave we visited.

Inside Horton's Cave, we took a tram through on a tour. It was amazing how much water was flowing on the inside. There were many waterfalls and steams. I had never seen anything like it before.

Some of the stalagmites inside the cave.

Jake and I outside the cave.

We went to a Rythym and Blues dinner theatre. This is us outside of it. It was a great show with lots of music and dancing. They had a lot of Jamaican type reggae and local music. At the end they had a congo line and had everyone up dancing. The food was buffet style and very good. They eat alot of fish and chicken there with salads and potatoes and rice and beans. They also have plantains {fried bananas}.

We went to an aquarium with lots of variety of fish and sea life. It was feeding time in the shark tank and they were flipping all over to get the fish being thrown into their tank.

A nurse shark cruising by.

A pair of barracudas in the tank.

They also had a bird and reptile exhibit. I was a little nervous to get that close to the gila monster but he seemed very friendly.

Jake hanging out with another gila monster.

A pair of eels, they reminded me of the creepy eels in the Little Mermaid.

This fish really blended in with his surroundings we almost didnt notice it.

This one was my favorite, it is just so distictive and detailed.

Jake took kite surfing lessons while we were there. This is him in the water getting used to the kite and how it balances. He did two days of lessons for a few hours and really enjoyed it. He is hoping that when we go to San Diego sometimes he can rent one and try it out.

Jake and I during his kite surfing lesson.

He had to learn on the sand first to get the hang of the kite.

Me in the water by our hotel. It was the warmest clearest water so different from the Pacific coast.

Jake on the beach with our hotel in the backgrond. The people were so friendly and kind. We felt very welcome and met so many nice people on our trip.

Our footprints in the sand.

Jake and I on the patio of our hotel.