labor day

We decided that since we had a holiday we would take full advantage of it and hit the mountains. It was a perfect day to do it, not too hot, not too cold. We are lucky to have an exchange student come and live with us. her name is Natalie and she is from Slovakia. We thought there was no better way to show her how its done here in Idaho than to take her four wheelin. It took a total of one Ranger, two four wheelers and 7 hours to get all 11 of us to the top of Baldy up cottonwood canyon. we had a blast.


Natalie will always have proof that she was in Idaho.

Levi Daisy and Tucker

The boys having some lunch.

Aspen

Brooklin and Natalie

Gemma

Up Cottonwood canyon on top of Baldy

Natalie

Wahoo! Made it to the top!

Party on top of the world!

everyone had dirt in places there shouldnt be dirt and everyone was tired!!

Dirty Girls!!


A bit of our summer....

The first week out of school our dog had given birth to two puppies and 10 minutes later got hit by a car. She died and left behind two little pups. We started nursing them right away. One died a week later and this is a pic of the one that lived. She is such a fun dog...and our favorite! We are glad we put the extra time and love into her.

Brooklin went on a trek experience and she told me she will never do that again. LOL. Besides it being hot and walking to far and blisters and sunburn...she had fun.









We went camping to bear lake area....its was so nice to get away from having to do everything for a couple days. I dont think we have ever collected as much dirt as we did on this trip. The boys were in heaven!!








Maui

Mark and I were able to take a trip together to Maui. We had such an amazing time together! We shoved everthing we could into the week we had there.

Played on the beach

Went surfing

Mark was awesome!!

Went out snorkeling to Molokini Crater

Went to a Luau

Went to Haleakala

Went on a helicopter ride to Moloka'i.

It was so much fun. we have decided we will be going back every other year ALONE together!

December


The cake AFTER the twins got to it. :(








My cute kids in their Christmas Eve 'jamas. <3 it!!









December has been a busy busy month with Birthdays (3 in the family) Dr. appointments, dentist appointments, concerts (one which was Brooklins), Partys (4 big ones) and more.I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!! I know we did. I was so grateful for the opportunities we had to be together, and with family and friends. We had a chance to go to my aunt and uncles house a couple times and hang out with them and 'the boys' (my cousins, which 3 out of 4 are not married, but very good looking!! FYI), and of course I forgot to take the camera- but we had alot of fun with them. My kids absolutely love it when the boys come home to see us there. We were able to get with Marks family a couple times, once at Thanksgiving and again for our family Christmas party. The food was good and the company was great! I'm so glad that I have 7 more sisters and 7 more brothers to enjoy. I can honestly say that none of them drive me crazy. Isn't that great?!!! They are all fun to talk to and tease, and of course I get my fair share of teasing back. I LOVE Marks family! We have have gone down to one of Marks sisters house a couple of times in the last month. Sara and Darwin have been so much fun. I haven't ever spent so much time with them, as I did this fall, and I seem to like them even more. We went to the movies this month with another one of his sisters family in Logan. Colleen and I took the girls and twins to see Tangled while Mark and Charlie took the boys to see Despicable Me. They both were great shows. I was told by both the boys and girls that we need to buy them when they come out:) My sister Kristy and her family came up to see me this last Sunday. They surprised me when I walked into church, they were all in the chapel waiting for me, then all the sudden, out came my Brother!! So we spent the day laughing and talking. The kids loved seeing their cousins. It had been almost a year since we had seen them last. Its funny how all the toys are left untouched and all they want to do is play with each other. Makes you remember how important relationships are. Mark and I have been busy with the house. No... we are not building it, but just trying to stay on top of the guys building it and that is keeping us busy. Yes we do change things here and there, which are making them behind....but hey, I am only building once, so it has to be right. People are surprised that its not bigger when they see it. I think its the perfect size! Big enough to fit 8 kids, big enough to entertain 40 people and small enough to clean when everyone leaves, but big enough to have people come home. I love have big spaces to have friends come, whether it be my friends or the kids. We are thinking March will be when we move in. Which gives me a couple months to pack up and clean. We are all getting excited to move and have some elbow room.