Welcome to Paradise

Outside our beloved CabanaView from inside:

The furniture, accessories, the outdoor shower, the floor, I loved it all!!


I distinctly remember hearing the words: "If I jump, will you catch me?" And he did.

Silly boys

The bikes were so cool and it only took about 10 minutes to get into town on them. I forgot how fun it is to ride bikes and I've decided I don't do it nearly enough.

Headed out to give scuba-diving a try, so excited!

The group:

Tiny Island where the Ranger who monitors the waters stays for two weeks at a time. Two weeks out, one week inland.

Headed back:

Learning to dive was awesome. I ended up having some ear issues and couldn't go down as deep as everyone else but we (some things just Sam) saw, Lobsters, Rays, Yellow-fins (who interestingly were attracted to the yellow fins I was wearing, nearly got swarmed), Sea Cucumbers, and tons of fish I don't know the names of. We also saw a mommy and baby dolphin that followed our boat on the way out to this tiny little Island where they trained us for the dive. Sam and I have been amazed to have experienced this awesome trip. I feel like I can't be thankful enough! What an amazing world we live in, so grateful.If you don't see the last post labeled Bon Voyage under this post, click the small blue link called older posts. For some reason my main page is not including as many posts as I've specified.

Bon Voyage

How could a whole week have flown by so fast? We had fun walking around the town of Placencia the last couple of days. The feel in Belize was distinctly more Rastafarian, if I'm using the word right. Lets just say there were guys that could pass for Bob Marley on most every corner. Guatemala was mostly all Guatemalans, mainly spanish speaking. In Belize, they spoke Creole, English, French and Spanish. It was a truly unique and beautiful place.

I wish my video loader was working, we had so much fun listening to the local music. Sam even danced a little! Check out the drums, they're turtle shells.

Taking our last few hours to relax, or bite a little. Take your pick.

Seriously relax..., yeah baby!
Last day, last prom-pose picture

Then back to our sweet kiddies, and back to Reality. Bye Bye Belize!! I'll miss you!

Mom and Dad we owe you one! Thank you so much! We couldn't have experienced what we did without you! It's also such a comfort to know the kids were happy and well taken care of. You're the best!

Home Sweet Home.

Preschool Days

Elle with her friends, Michael and Cali

I love these years, it's so fun to see Elle getting bigger and learning new things. All from the safety of being home with me the majority of the time. I've really been enjoying Elle and all of her new adventures, kinda reminds me that I was little once and it's fun to re-learn all the basics with my little buddy.

They learned to stop, drop and roll and saw a firefighter in his full garb (and gave him a hi-five); their teacher wanted the kids to see a person in all the equipment so if there ever were an emergency, the kids would know not to be scared of the big guy who looks a little like a monster. They also talked about checking the batteries in smoke detectors and other safety precautions. It was a great informationaly packed visit to our local FD. Elle loved it!

Winter Wonderland

We decided to take a little drive up toward Park City this weekend in search of the legendary ice castles. The Drive was nice although snowy and we almost couldn't find them but at last we were there! These structures are made on the grounds of a Resort and formed by sprinklers. They're works in progress but we could still enjoy the view. By the end of the winter it's supposed to look like actual castles that can be walked through. The colors were so pretty!

Our good friends the Johnson's came along for the ride (in their own car.. we've got too many kids to go together!) and had planned to go to Park City, take a little stroll, find a candy shop, maybe see a famous person or two (thanks to the Sundance Film Festival being in town)... My idea however wasn't very well planned out. Park City was, of course, an absolute mad-house! The tiny town was so overwhelmed with sudden activity and tourists that we couldn't even find parking after a good half an hour in the car! Both families decided to bag it and head home, although we decided to stay in the Park City area for dinner and dessert (just not downtown). We didn't see any famous people but we did see A LOT of people dressed in black and fur lined coats. AND, while in the Whole Foods Market I did have some kids ask me if I was a movie star. Ha! Silly kids, but that couldn't be a bad ending to a slightly off skew day. I'll take it. :)

As always click on collages to view closer.

In all it was still a fun day and it was nice to experience winter. We drove home through a major snow storm only to arrive to nothing but dry roads. The kids were dissapointed to not have any snow but at least were able to enjoy it for the day!

SOmE DayS...

ARE JUST NUTS!

This is the scene I woke up to yesterday.... hmmmm. Reese was screaming bloody murder (he was really upset that he had dropped the milk and was scared he'd get in trouble) and it reminded me exactly of "Don't cry over spilt milk". I'm sure glad someone said that somewhere back in time. It's so true. Twenty three towels later, the day just went uphill from there (or should I say downhill.... from there). I got a speeding ticket for going the same speed as everyone else around me, I was just the lucky one this time. Elle later spilled an entire glass of fruit punch, ( more cleanup towels! hooray!) the kids were in rare form, squabbling like little chipmunks fighting over the last nut on the tree. What the issue was, I'm still not sure. I was running around like a chicken trying to get everyone to scouts, dance, etc.. Now that it's over, I can sit back and say, I'm glad that's not everyday! At least I can count on one thing, there's always another tomorrow! Thank goodness.

They Need Help!

As I'm sitting safe in my home, watching the utter devastation in Haiti on tv, I'm feeling helpless to do anything that might benefit the people who've been absolutely stricken with tragedy. I wondered what the Church would have to say and found their relief effort already going ahead quietly and steadily. Here's a link to the Churches Newsroom: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/

On that page you can find a link to donate to the relief efforts in Haiti. Or the direct link to donate is:

http://give.lds.org/emergencyresponse

They DESPERATELY need help, there is no water, no food, and no medical supplies. Instead of waiting for Sunday and losing precious time to get money where it needs to be to help Haitians specifically; I urge anyone reading this now to make some kind - any kind of donation. If you are not a member of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, please note that 100% of every donation given to through the Church goes directly to help the cause you've donated to.

I know Heavenly Father loves all of his "babies" and I pray for his comforting hands to hold all those who are suffering.

You're awesome Babe!

Sam has rocked it again! He's done an amazing job and has again earned "Presidents Club" status from work for his sales in 2009. This is extremely difficult to do; to give you an idea, no one who was awarded the trip in the last two years will be going again this year except for Sam. Last year there were only two other guys + Sam who earned it. He really has worked so hard and I'm so proud of him and thankful for his dedication. This years presidents club trip will be to Guatemala and Belize!

Some of the places we'll be visiting include : Yaxha, an important Maya site, also some may have seen it as the setting for the 2005 Survivor TV series. We'll also be seeing Tikal, (in Guatemala) Xunantunich and Carocal, all famous Mayan sites. We'll be visiting the Rio Frio Caves and swim in the Rio Frio Pools, snorkel at Ambergris Caye, Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley, three of the most popular diving and snorkeling sites in Belize.

Tikal

Guatemala

Belize has a large Barrier Reef and is located next to the Caribbean Sea

Some pictures I found of Ambergris Caye


We are so very thankful for the blessings that have been given to us and are so excited and grateful for this opportunity! It'll be great and the kids will be having fun with Grandma and Grandpa! Four weeks from yesterday, the countdown is on!

Good Choice

We couldn't be more proud of Reese. This weekend we celebrated not only the New Year but also had the awesome opportunity to have our sweet 8 year old be baptized. We're so proud of you Reese for making a very important choice that will bless you for the rest of your life!

Baptisms are always such a fun time to have all of our family and friends come and support and celebrate with us. We were so lucky to have Grandma Nyleen, Grandpa Ladd and Grandma Melton with us!

Reese has been so excited for this day for such a long time. He's been 8 for nearly a month now but had to wait to give Grandma and Grandpa a chance to get here after the Holidays. The Spirit was in the room, so warm and sweet and it was so special to Reese walk into the water with young cousins and friends crowding near by to get a peak. It's also such a privilege for Sam to be able to Baptize his own son. Sam joined the church a few days shy of his 21st birthday and missed the opportunity to serve a mission. What a gift to be able to baptize his own family. One of my favorite things about the baptism, other than the actual baptism and seeing Reese so bright and excited on his big day was the fluke change in schedule that made it possible for the baptism to be at 1:00 pm. Goodbye cooking for everyone, hello ice cream sundae bar! It was a big hit and so much less work! Thank you to all my volunteer brownie makers and friends who came to help serve (and play the piano!) You're awesome!

Such fun family and friends, we were so thankful to have them all there!

One perk to having grandmas and grandpas in the house, free entertainment!

(you'll have to pause the playlist to the right to hear it better)

Grandma was so cute playing with Elle, she was really laughing and having a great time. I guess no one else but Elle dared to throw a stuffed animal right at Grandma's head, but she loved it!
She's still got some pretty quick reflexes for a 91 year old!

Well, of Course...

I realized that when I posted our quickie Merry Christmas wish on Christmas day, that I didn't make mention of what a wonderful Christmas season we've enjoyed. I love Christmas time, I love that there is a specific time of the year designated for people across the globe to turn their attention to the Savior. What an incredible gift we all have been given. The gift of the Savior, who came to pay the price of all of our sins, for you and me. I'm so grateful for this most precious gift, words cannot do it justice. We are all so blessed and I truly hope that everyone has felt the love of our Savior this season. I'm also so grateful for all of my sweet family, Mom, Dad, Grandparents, Brothers Sisters and of course my Sweet hubby and kids. I wouldn't want to be in a world that didn't include them!

Merry Christmas!

Two days before Christmas and it was back to the ice rink for some time with friends. We were able to get together with our good friends the Hoopes and the Browns. The kids, as always, were overjoyed to see each other again!

The kids were so excited on Christmas Eve. Elle was running around saying, "I just can't believe it!" I think Santa probably got a kick out of Reese's letter that went along with the cookies.

Sam told me to lift up my leg to see the shoes; I think maybe he just wanted to see the pose....:)
Sam tuning Audrey's new guitar, I think he always wished he would've played; maybe they can both learn together.
Even Nigel got in on the fun!

Merry Christmas Everyone! From our Family to yours!