A Work in Progress

The Subway...

2009-09-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

Bryce and I got to go to the Subway in Zion's last weekend. It was INCREDIBLE! The whole hike was around 9 miles. Alot of it was in the canyon and you had to hike from point A to point B. IF YOU EVER HIKE IT MAKE SURE YOU DO THE WHOLE THING! We kept seeing all these people just hiking up, but they didn't get to go through the "subway" which is the most amazing part. There was a few spots where you had to repell, and there are ALOT of spots where you had to submerge yourself in water! It was a blast. If you haven't done it before, take the time to do it! These pics don't do any justice of how beautiful it really was, but here they are anyway....

Where is Bryce?
One the repelling spots.

Heading into the "actual subway"

Here Bryce is swimming while trying to keep the pack (with the camera) above water...little bit of a struggle!

Ahhhh..

This butterfly just landed on me (3 different times!)

Hey All!

2009-08-24T21:46:00.001-07:00

So over the last couple months, I've become a better facebooker and a horrible blogger!! The main reason, Bryce bought a camera that is so "high tech" it gives me a headache just to take a picture. I need some serious help when it comes to that thing!! You can't have a bunch of blogs without all the pictures that come with it, so I've started facebooking more. Retarded I know. This summer has just slipped by so fast though. We had a short summer, but a fun one. Lots of our days were spent at good 'ole Seven Peaks. Bryce just started teaching at Provo High this last week. We went to see his classroom and it finally sunk in that this is really going to be his job. Over the summer he did a bunch of trainings, but it still didn't really seem real. We'll have to pull out the camera and take some pics of his classroom. Kenzie thinks that his job is the coolest thing in the world and is stoked to have him be a teacher. So that's been kinda cute. I feel like I can't keep it all together now at home with adding some more classes to my already busy schedule as well as doing more training. But all and all we are all happy and healthy and excited for fall and to stop having to mow and weed the yard. Is it that time yet?

The Train Obsession Continues

2009-07-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

Levi was sleeping, Kenzie was at a friends house, and I was excited to get a shower in before noon. So I hopped in the shower while Cache was playing with some toys. When I came out, here he was. Sitting fully engaged watching a movie (he had put in by himself). I had to laugh because the movie is a train movie. NOT just any train movie. This is a BORING documentary of trains. No music, no excitment, just old men talking about different kinds of trains. I watched it for approx. 10 minutes and about died of boredom, but Cache LOVES it. I had to take a picture because he was as happy as a clam and was content to stay there until it ended. Boys will be boys I guess.

Below is exactly how I found him......

Can you guess what is he's eating?

2009-07-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

A. Oreo cookies

B. A candy bar

C. Dirt/mud from the garden

If you guessed C, your right! Dirt from the garden. Every time I go outside to work in the garden, he starts his big feast. It builds up immune systems right?

180 Degree Turn Point in our Life....

2009-06-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

So I'm sure some of you know, and others don't.....BUT Bryce was laid off 6 months ago. We've been blessed to make it through but it has been rough. Anyway 2 weeks ago he interviewed for a job with Provo School District. Starting with 157 applicants it came down to him and one other guy. I was sure we had it in the bag. The other guy got it and I was devistated. A couple days later Provo School District called and offered Bryce a job teaching Special Education. They are going to pay for him to get his certificate while he teaches, and then they are going to help him get his masters too. Within 3-5 years they think he can be a principal or in some sort of administration position. Pretty Crazy huh? Never thought we'd be heading down this road, but with the Aviation and Construction markets, this one looks much more stable. :) SO....that is what is newest in our life.

Quote for the Day

2009-05-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

As Bryce is "dipping" me giving me a kiss, we hear some snickering in the kitchen. "hee...hee...hee; you guys are in LOVE! says McKenzie. "That's why you have kids!" she says. It made me laugh because, really.......that IS why we have kids!

Monumental Day in Amy's History

2009-05-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy doing other things, I haven't blogged in over a month! Crazy! Anyway this weekend Bryce and I got to spend the weekend w/o kids in St George. We went there to do the St. George Tri. Unfortunatley for the athletes and fortunatley for me, the swim was canceled do to high winds. I was stoked! I haven't been in the water much this year so I was happy all I had to do was bike and run. They had a run/bike/run event. The run was pretty miserable because it was all in thick sand. Not so fun for the average road runner, but we managed. Because there are over 2000 racers, they start everyone in waves, so we never know how we do until the end. After we came across the finish line we cooled down a little and went to see our results. Bryce leaned over to me and said "Good job, you won your age group." I was like "Sweet!" THEN.....he leaned over again with a not so happy face and said......"What? You beat me!!" NOW this had NEVER happened and I don't think it will EVER happen again, so that's why it HAD to be blogged! I was stoked, but he didn't seem to be. I think his training efforts have just skyrockeded. We found out yesterday that we both got in to the St. George marathon. I'm sure I will see him putting more time into his training. At least I got to beat him once right?

A Birthday Surprise!

2009-04-02T18:43:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday. Usually I wouldn't really document it, but this one is up there on the charts of a "perfect birthday". It started on Saturday. My friend came running across the street with an early birthday present. A massage! Scheduled the morning of my birthday. Right then, my birthday was already great. I LOVE massages! THEN, thanks to facebook and texting, I think I had like 30 people wishing me "happy birthday" throughout the day. Anyway, after the fabulous massage, my neighbors took me out to lunch. A nap followed the lunch. Naps (for the Mom) are rare at my house. After the nap, I had to go teach a class. Bryce met me after to take me to dinner with some friends. While we were waiting for our friends to join us, he said "Are you ready for your last present?" He had already given me a present so I didn't know there was a "last one". Then he said; "you have an all expense paid to".......where would it be? "The Provo Marriott", he said. Okay, I didn't think there, but then he went on to finish his sentence. He had packed my bags and got me a nice room in the special access levels. Meaning, you have to had a special key to even get to those levels of the hotel. I have had a hard time sleeping, so he took the kids, and had me stay there to enjoy a little "me" time. When I unpacked my bags, he had packed a bunch of treats, my book I'm reading, and everything else I might need to enjoy my stay. There was a lounge that was included where you just go and pick out what you want to eat, dessert, breakfast, whatever, and they get it for you. Totally included. So fun! It was a little weird at first without my kids and husband, but I adjusted just fine. :0) It's always so refreshing to take a little time for yourself.

My neighbor made me this little spring treat. Isn't it cute?

6 Months Already

2009-04-02T18:27:00.001-07:00

Levi is officially 6 months old. This is a HUGE graduation day for me. Now I can take him to the gym day care. HURRAY!!! Pretty sad that, that's the first thing I write huh.....

Anyway I just thought I'd mention a few milestones up to this point.

- He cut 2 teeth at 4 months, but nothing more since then

- He continues to be the happiest baby I think I've ever seen.....really

- He's officially crawling (yikes!)

- Levi has less hair now than he did when he was born

- He's very loving/loveable

- Is patient. Most times I tend to the 2 older kids before him...poor kid

- He's already wearing 12 month old clothes

As you can tell (and I mentioned before), he's patient and puts up with his older siblings, even though you can see he's a little worried. I would be too. ;)

He is SO smiley. I love it!

Here he is for the first time in the sink, taking a bath. It was a success!

It's been so fun having him around. He brings such a fun, happy spirit to our home. :) Every Mom needs a Levi in their life. He's my ray of sunshine throughout my day!

Beauty Queen at 4 yrs old...

2009-03-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

Our adorable neighbor Becca, asked McKenzie if she could be her "little miss" for the Miss Spanish Fork Pageant. McKenzie was thrilled! For the last two weeks she has counted down the days until her "performance". Saturday night was the big night. Waiting until 7:00 about killed her, but finally it was time to go. McKenzie did a great job in everything. Becca also got 2nd attendant. Go Becca! Right after the program was over (and they had just finished saying "please stay off the stage until pictures for the newspaper are taken") McKenzie ran back up on stage so fast Bryce and I didn't notice until it was already to late. Miss Utah was the annoucer. So there was Miss Utah and the old & new Miss Spanish Fork getting their pictures taken and McKenzie is trying to get in the pictures....a little embarrassing for the parents. Anyway she felt really important. Becca also gave McKenzie a little flower at the end which made her feel extra special. Since then, we have spent a lot of time watching McKenzie practice new performances. She has been dancing non-stop "like the princesses" in the pageant. After Saturday, Bryce and I realized we might just have to get used to seeing her in the spot-light. I think we have a natural at wanting to perform and look like a princess. Pageants....here we come!

The 2 beauty queens together....

Becca, you looked gorgeous! Congratulations!

Memorable Temple Date

2009-03-12T12:21:00.001-07:00

McKenzie and I got to take a mother-daughter date to the Draper temple yesterday. From the time Kenzie could talk, temples have always amazed her. For months when she was only 2 years old, we made family nights a night of driving around Utah county to look at different temples. When we told her she was going to get to go inside, she was thrilled!

It ended up being pretty long tour for a kid, but she did really well and when we got home, she told Daddy everything that she had learned, as she showed him all the pictures in the pamphlet they gave her.

When asked her favorite part, she said "The Bus!" Not really a response I was hoping for, but I guess she is a kid...

She was SO tired after everything, that as soon as we started driving she was out! This is her in the car about 2 minutes after we started driving. I had to capture it.

Womance & Bromance....at the cabin

2009-03-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the title sounds a little worse than it actually is. We took Nelson and Kimberly down to the cabin this last weekend for some fun. We have had this on going joke about how men find "bromances" in their lives....a.k.a. buddies. Men that they can go to the gym with, play basketball with, talk sports with, ect. Once they have become really good friends, it evolves. This is when it becomes a bromance. They then text daily, become workout partners, go to lunch regularly, or do some sort of activity often. This could even happen at work. In my life, my husband has 3 bromances that I have discovered. Nelson happens to be one of them. SO, Kimberly and I decided that if they can have a bromance, we can have a womance. This weekend we worked on our relationships as just that. Kimberly and I girl talked (a way for women to womance) while Nelson and Bryce had some "quality" buddy time at the pawn shop in Beaver. So if you find your husband texting regularly and catch him laughing to himself while he does it, he might just have a bromance.

This is a pic where a huge field opens up and you have acres of untouched snow ready to be road on. The pic does nothing for it. It was so beautiful and HUGE! We had a blast!
Have you ever tried to kiss while wearing a helmit? Doesn't work so good.......

The Womance

The Bromance......

Kimberly and Nelson. We love you guys!

These next pics are just of the cabin. Jess......this is for you!

The cabin is no mansion in the mountains, like so many others are. But it is the coziest little place and has so much character. Bryce's Dad and Uncle literally built it with their hands. From digging the foundation with shovels, to making the log beds. They used a crane once to set the center beam. Other than that it has been a family work in progress....summer after summer. Which I think makes it even more fun and memorable to take fun trips down to.

He's Two and full of Trouble

2009-03-04T20:32:00.001-08:00

We just celebrated Cache's 2nd birthday. He is 100% in the "terrible two" stage. Two year olds are SO cute at times, and then so FRUSTERATING at other times. He test our patience everyday, but it always makes it worth it when he says "hug mummy" and gives me a big bear hug saying " I lub you mummy."

Cache had a wonderful birthday though. It started with him going to "Build A Bear" with my sweet neighbor and ended at "Chucky Cheeses". What more could a kid ask for? Below are the pics....

The end result

The best present he got was a "cho-cho train". He is completely obsessed with trains right now. The train broke the next morning. I guess there is a reason why it said "5 yrs old and up." Dangit.

Cache would find any open spot and just hop on. He rode off the other kids tokens. Smart boy.

CACHE 2 yrs old

Loves balls, cars, trucks, and trains. Typical boy.

Clean. Tidy. Now sleeps with his new bear.

Doesn't like his hands to be dirty. Loves being outside.

Escape artist. Can find a way to climb anything.

Likes to eat anywhere BUT the kitchen. Likes to draw, especially on walls, tables and chairs.

Thrill seeker. Likes to watch daddy work, especially with LOUD power tools. Is a runner. Before

we get to where we are going he says "I wanna run, I wanna run!" GOOD BOY CACHE! KEEP

IT UP!

It's Thursday night, it's ladies night...

2009-03-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

Every 4th Thursday is our monthly "Girls Night Out a.k.a GNO." This time Jamie (of course) put together a cute little craft for us to do. It read "Think Spring". Everything was going smoothly for me until I got to the "Spring" and it read "Sprink". Hum.......I then glansed at the "think" part and realized I had spelled "thing". At least it was a word right? I was at least spelling something......

Here's Jess and Christy showing their craft...No mistakes here. Maybe that's what happens when you graduate from college....Maybe someday I'll try that.

We had a fun night anyway. Thanks Laura and Jamie for putting it together!!!

Would you let them in your house?

2009-02-09T13:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we came home a littler earlier than the babysitters expected. This is what we found....

So the questions is, are they fit for babysitting or are they still just little kids?

All I know is that my kids LOVE them and they LOVE my kids!

Cabin, Snowmobiles, No kids, Hurrah!

2009-02-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we took our friends down to the cabin....without kids! Hurrah! We didn't wake up until 11:30 on Saturday and just did whatever we wanted for the day. It was so nice to take a little time for ourselves and have a little R & R. We're so glad that you guys were able to join us V!

Sunshine, snacks and a picnic bench, what more can you ask for?
Nothin' but blue skies

Here is my attempted "action" shot of V & Aaron.

The whole weekend V would say "It's time to get geared up". I think she is "geared up" What do you think?

Ahhh.......

The snow is melting....hopefully for good!

2009-02-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

Everyday when we pull up to our house McKenzie checks out the corner side of the house for new icycles. Even though it's kinda gross, she loves to lick them...so you know where we send her when we need some time... ;) As you can see, every few days they start to get pretty big.

Graduation day...okay, not really.

2009-02-04T09:26:00.001-08:00

It's always a happy day for me when I get to get the babes out of that little tiny bath tub and put them in the big one. Levi is kinda long bodied, so it happened earlier than usual. This was his response.

4 months!!

2009-02-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

Our little Levi is now 4 months! What the.....I swear I just had him. He is now trying to sit up (as you can see from the video) and he also has cut a tooth. Our kids cut so early. So far this is 3 for 3 that cut at 4 months old. He is still as happy as ever and I can't stop sqweezing that cute bundle of love.

Snowmobile Time!

2009-01-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

During the Christmas break we took some of our close friends, Brandon and Jennilyn and their family down to the cabin. We had SO much fun!!! Jennilyn is 5 months prego.....you can't even tell!! That woman!

The Wolfe familia
We kept wanting to take some "real" rides w/o kids, but it didn't really happen. If they were outside, they were on the snowmobiles.

Here is Maci, isn't she adorable?

Faster, Brandon, faster!!!

I think the earth was off it's axis.

Even with a frozen hand, he won't let go of the ball

Cache had a record rash, so we threw him in the sink. After we decided to let him rome free for a while. Below are the results...

Is this legal on blogger?

SLC Lights

2009-01-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

We took the kids to see the lights at Temple Square. Cache and Kenzie are both obsessed with trains so we took Trax up. They loved it. Cache continually said "cho, cho" the whole way up. Kenzie kept asking if we were riding the "Polar Express."

Here we are on trax. Kenzie just started this obsession with going cross-eyed in every photo. Isn't she still too young to be already making ridiculous faces in photos?

matchy, matchy...I didn't realize I bought Cache a matching coat. Pretty cute though, huh?

Annual Gingerbread House Making

2009-01-02T21:11:00.001-08:00

Before the Christmas season is over, every year we make sure to make at least one gingerbread house. This year I found a "kit" that was on sale for a couple bucks. I couldn't believe how much easier it is! We usually do it the graham cracker way. This was so much faster and easier!

We might have to force feed him dinner, but he gladly and willingly eats sweets!

Christmas Success

2008-12-31T10:02:00.000-08:00

We caught the reaction of Amy opening her christmas present on video...Enjoy!

The Annual Nerd Herd Christmas Extravaganza

2008-12-19T12:44:00.000-08:00

We had an absolute BLAST this year at the party. Thanks Kimberly & Nelson for letting us trash your house. Don't forget to notice our beautiful yuppy sweater wear for the evening. I will have to explain myself in pics below....don't worry, it was thrown "mormon" style.

" Wine....I mean, rootbeer and crackers anyone?"

We had a rootbeer tasting party. What a cheezy, but oh so funny blast! Picture perfect Jess & Luke

The party hosts in our sweet evening attire. I can't say I felt very cute at the party. Then I looked at the pics....nope, not so cute last night. But we sure did have fun.

Notice Levi. What a hottie (I'm not hittin on your man Becca. I promise). How come you can't find those kinds of sweaters in the store anymore?

We were all sick by the end of the night from drinking to much rootbeer.

Me and my hubbie.

Below is our white elephant gift exchange.

Here is Becca & Levi with their fabulous prizes. Yes, Becca (once again) picked one of the best presents....this one labeled "Making Love Work." It came with a video, guidebook, and oh yes, cassette tapes. Levi came home with a 750 piece puzzle. He doesn't have to go back to Law school til mid January, so he'll have plenty of time to put it together. Let's hope it has all the pieces!

Do you think Dylan's present will fit? Laura is now going to be able to play the NSync game.

Grape juice for me (which I will actually get to use, yeah!) and Bryce will workout his figure back to shape with Kathy Smith workout from I think, 1992. That is, if he can find a VCR to put it in.

You don't want to know what Jess came home with. I will give you the name though. "Jolly Pecker" is now the new family member of the Cook household. Congrats Jess! Luke is holding his holiday collection of Pezz dispensers.

Do you like their hats? I LOVE Nelson in this picture. Can he have made a better face wearing the hat? Kimberly also will now get to smell like the dollar store brand of Obsession for men.

Jody's kids will be excited that she is bringing home a quacking alarm clock. I wonder how long she'll keep that thing. You can't tell but Brian is holding a framed picture of Edward Cullens. I wonder if he is as obsessed with Edward, as much as the all the girls in the room are. He seemed pretty excited when he opened his present. jk. Brian.

As you can see, we had a great time. That is not all that was done at the party though. We took some sweet group shots in Kimberly's studio. To check those out go to www.tiltphotography.com/blog Hopefully those of you who couldn't make it will be able to come next year. We missed you!

My Daily Dose of Sunshine

2008-12-19T12:24:00.001-08:00

I went to Tilt Photography this week to get Levi's pics before he get's any bigger! Of course, he marked his territory during the shoot followed by many different episodes of spit up. Gotta love the baby picture day's huh! They turned out pretty cute anyway. Thanks for doing them Kimberly! And thanks to V. for the cute outfit!

once again...Levi showing his tricks

2008-12-18T14:47:00.000-08:00

The last video I put on of Levi doing this wasn't very good. So here it is again. Levi will be 3 months old on Sunday!!! The last 3 months being prego goes by SO slow. Then you have the baby and it feels like time get's put into turbo or something. I have completely enjoyed him since the minute he was born. He truly is the sunshine of my day. He LOVES to smile and talk to anyone who will give him the attention. Forget about any of that though, this is what makes Bryce proud.

Preschool Christmas Program

2008-12-16T12:30:00.001-08:00

Kenz had her program today. She did a great job at singing a ton of songs they had learned throughout the year.

After the program, she thought it would be funny to put her stuff on ME and take a picture. Do I look like Rudolph? Me and my girl! Do you know how to teach kids to "smile" with their REAL smile? I'm up for suggestions.

Kenz and Carson singing "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer"

More action shots of the singing

Aren't they adorable? Here she is with her 2 preschool buds Morgan & Carson. Notice, the only one looking at my camera is Kenzie, the other two happen to be looking at their mom's cameras while they take the picture. We train our kids right, don't we!

Charlie Brown Christmas House

2008-12-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

This is our wonderful house all lit up for the Christmas season! Do you like the look? Bryce spent all of this time putting up the lights but NEVER plugged them in before. When he got done hanging them, he realized most of them don't work! Our kids like it and that's all that matters. Hopefully they don't look at all the festive neighbors to closely! It makes out for a good laugh anyway. Every time I pull up at night to house I can't help but giggle, which usually turns to a belly laugh!

FHE Christmas Party

2008-12-12T11:55:00.000-08:00

This year Bryce's parents threw quite a Christmas bash on Monday night. They invited a bunch of people with at least 20 kids or so. Santa came and all the kids ran down stairs......at least everyone but Cache. All Cache was interested in was the train that was upstairs. He sat in the front room by himself watching the train go around and around. It's so cute to see how boy and how girl little kids come when they are born. To bad we discovered this fasination he has with trains AFTER we finished Christmas shopping!

After bribing Cache will candy, we got him to sit on Santa's lap....just enough time for a couple pics and then he was back upstairs and in front of the train.

If you know McKenzie at all, you know she is a talker! A lot of times to much of a talker! I don't think there is a shy bone in her body. Here we are trying to get a picture taken. All she can do is keep talking about everything she's done this year, this month, today, yesterday, what she wants for Christmas......Santa finally just looked at me and I took the shot. She didn't even hear me in the back ground saying "smile sweety, look at mommy sweety, there is still a long line of kids that need to see Santa McKenzie...."Santa sure does have to come with LOTS of patience! :)

He sung them a bunch of songs and also read them a couple stories. It was really cute.

During the holiday season I often wonder, where did this whole Santa thing come from? How come the whole world has become part of it? We make our kids believe that there is this magic man who visits each one of them at their own house on Christmas Eve, he's really fat and comes through a chimney (we don't even have one of those) to bring them presents. It's become such a big thing that EVERYONE has to play it up. I think it's really fun, but it is kinda messed up. Same with the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny.

Truly the "City of Lights"

2008-12-11T14:40:00.000-08:00

Above are some of the lighted things. The parade lasted a good hour or so!

Bryce, Cache, Me & Kenz waiting before the parade

Aunt Trisha & Dylan

Abby, Ellie & McKenzie

Our little bundle of joy bundled for the festivities

So I have talked about all the fun stuff Spanish Fork has to offer to families. Most of you who live in Utah have visited Spanish Fork during the holidy season to see the "Festival of Lights". This year I found out that they have a light parade. We thought it would be a fun festive thing to do with the family so we bundled up the kids and met up with our cousins. I was SO impressed! For being a podunk town (or so I thought before I moved here), I couldn't believe how well they did. We will plan on making this a regular tradition! It was so much fun!

I wanna be a ROCK STAR!!

2008-11-23T14:48:00.001-08:00

Forever Kenzie has been telling us that she wants to be a princess when she grows up. She also wants to marry Daddy. She is still sure that she will be marrying daddy, but the occupation has changed. Lately (I don't know where this came from) Kenzie has decided that she wants to be a "Rock Star" like "Miley Cyrus". She has always loved to sing, but this rock star thing is new. I find her singing in her microphone all the time. She also tries to bob her head "like a rock star" every time music comes on. As parents, do you help your kid achieve their dreams as a "rock star" or not??? That's my question. Here is a video of her talking about being a rock star.

Levi's Acrobatic Talents

2008-11-23T14:41:00.000-08:00

At 8 weeks old, Bryce already has Levi doing tricks!

Levi at 8 weeks

2008-11-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

Levi turns 8 weeks tomorrow. It goes by SO fast. I guess now I have to graduate from "weeks" and start calling him a 2 month old. So sad :( As least he get's cuter everyday.

Reflection of Life

2008-11-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

Today I went to my old bosses funeral. Chuck Warner was his name. He was my boss at Collision Safety Engineering for 6 years. He was such an amazing man. Knowing I would be going today, yesterday I was reflecting on the influence he had on the people who knew him. As well as the accomplishments he had achieved in this life. He has successfully created a multi-million dollar buisness, he had his PhD, he had 11 children, he was so strong in the gospel.....and he was an amazing teacher. He was a professor at BYU for quite some time before he started CSE (his company). He also always found time to play. He loved the outdoors and was always up for an adventure. When thinking of all his accomplishments, I thought about how he had influenced my life. He always pushed me to work hard. He also always believed I would be able to finish a project and make a deadline. He was hard to please at times, but when I came through he made me feel so proud. He truly cared about me as an individual, even though I was just his secretary. He had so many Christ life attributes. It really made me wonder where I stand and my influence on others. What am I doing to make a difference in other peoples lives? I came to the conclusion that I really have a lot of work to do. I can be of help to others more than I realize. Watching someone pass into the next life is always a good time to reflect on how short this life really is. There is so much for us to do in this life of good for our families and friends as well as our society. I hope that I can be a better more Christ like example like he was to me.

Still a princess everyday!

2008-11-13T13:37:00.000-08:00

McKenzie has a friend Morgan that lives down the street. The other day they were playing in her room quietly, and when they came out they looked like this. Both of them STILL (it's been over a year now that McKenzie has had the obsession) love to dress up any time they are together.

Our Handsome Little Devil!

2008-11-04T18:56:00.000-08:00

Before Church last week I couldn't help myself but to take some pics of Cache in his new suit. He is like his Daddy, he LOVES new clothes so he was strutting his stuff around the house, and I had to capture it!

Trick or Treating

2008-11-04T18:51:00.000-08:00

Here are the kids right before we went trick or treating. This was Cache's first year trick or treating and it was hillarious! He didn't quite understand why anyone would want to put the candy in the bucket. Eating it was so much better. Until he realized that he was getting ALOT of candy and couldn't eat it fast enough before he got more. Then he just started a system that went like this...candy in right hand, new candy in left had get's transferred to right hand - right hand candy goes into bucket. Left hand candy gets opened up until next house where it will be tranferred to right hand and old right hand candy to bucket. When we got home, there was a ton of opened candy barely touched as he didn't have much time to eat it before he got more. On top of everything else, we got to run down the sidewalk and stay outside for a VERY long time. He was a happy little boy! As for Levi, Bryce asked me why in the world would we put him in a costume when he wasn't even going. I answered "for all the people who come here to trick or treat". He still thought it was ridiculous....men just don't understand ;)

Pumpkin Carving

2008-11-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

Here is our pumpkin carving extravaganza. As you can see from our blog, we had the best fall season ever. It seems like it was jam packed with fun activities.

The Annual Wadley Farms Bash!

2008-11-04T18:19:00.000-08:00

Our little Levi at 5 weeks old

McKenzie & Lily

We had so much fun at the halloween party! Thanks Jess and Sasha for inviting us again.

Last hike of the season

2008-11-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we went up Payson Canyon and went on a short hike. The kids had a blast and so did we. When we went back to the car McKenzie was so sad. She kept asking to find another hike. We're hoping this little outdoors girl keeps it up! She sure is girly, but she loves the important things.....hiking, biking, running, fishing.....well the important things to us anyway. :)

Halloween Party Time!

2008-11-04T18:10:00.000-08:00

This is Kenzie and Cache at our cousins costume party! It was so fun seeing the chaos of all the kids high on sugar!

The Big Red Barn

2008-11-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

2008-11-04T18:05:00.000-08:00

We went to the Big Red Barn again this year. It is SO fun for the little kids. They get to take a hayride to the pumpkin patch, then pick our their pumpkins then we go back to the barn for apple cidar, donuts and homemade icecream. Such a fun tradition!!

Family pics

2008-10-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

Here is our updated family. They were supposed to be family photos, but this is the best one we got. Basically we will be taking them from Kimberly SOON so we could get some better ones. By the way, Kimberly Nelson takes "the bomb" photos so if you haven't tried her, you should. Her company is called "Tilt Photography" and she is just finishing her studio this week. She is SO talented. Let me know if you need her info and I'll email it to you.

1 month old

2008-10-20T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well Levi turned 4 weeks yesterday. He has been such a good baby. He is also sleeping 4-6 hours between feedings at night.....love it!! Why is it that after they are born time flie, but the last month of pregnancy is so SLOW?? Cache is finally starting to adjust to having this little one in our home, and I'm starting to get used to being a mother of 3. Cache has been so much happier and starting to be back to his happy self. I don't know how people used to have 10+ kids. I know that there are still a rare few who do, but it just amazes me. With only 3 kids I feel like I need at least 2 more arms. Think about it, if woman had 4 arms, men would be turned on by it because it would just be another feature that they don't have. Then we would be able to accomplish more with all of our arms. Right now I could be typing and holding both babies!!!

First week home with Levi

2008-10-10T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite position of newborns. Their arms look so funny because they stretch them over head and they don't even reach the top of their heads! It's so CUTE!!!

Pucker up!! His initials are "LOV".....he's already carrying out his name to the fullest!

Our new life.....all 3 of them always on either Bryce or I. If Levi's being held, Kenzie & Cache need to be to! :)

Here is Levi on Daddy's tummy the first day home.

At home with 3

2008-10-09T16:16:00.001-07:00

So I have been home for 2 weeks now with the little guy. HOLY COW!! It is rough. Each time I have given birth, it's such an adjustment adding the new addition to the family. I don't think I have had all 3 kids happy at the same time today. At least one of them has been crying at all times. I finally thought to myself.....I need my own time out. So I went out on the porch for a few minutes. It helped :). My neighbor came over with her daugher to visit and said as she entered in....."how's the kids?" I said "See for yourself" with a smile. She then asked "What is WRONG?" I replied. "I don't know, they just don't stop crying today." When she came over, all 3 of them were screaming their eyes out. Five minutes before she came I thought I was going to loose it. Then the door knocked and it was her. She took my 2 older kids to her house and they were fine once they had a change of scenery. It has always been hard for me to accept help. I have a hard time swallowing my pride. I am grateful for my neighbors and where I live, because they make me accept it and help me everyday. On a lighter note, I have absolutley adored and loved our new little Levi. I have forgotten what a sweet spirit newborns bring into the home. Straight from heaven, you can feel their new little spirit so strong. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to be a mother and learn and grow everyday....especially my patience :)

2008-09-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

Levi Oliver Vellinga was born Sunday September 21 at 8:25am. He weighed in at 8lbs even and was 20 inches tall.

McKenzie's Birthday

2008-09-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Kenzie's birthday. When she woke up, Bryce had some ribbon put around the house that she had to follow to find her present. We got her a bike. She was so excited! Then later in the day we had a princess party for her and her cousins and friends came dressed in princess clothes. It was so cute to see how excited they all were. She finished her day eating her favorite meal macaroni and cheese and having her grandparents from both sides come. It was really cute!

Shoe obsession!

2008-09-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

Cache has a shoe obsession. I have given up on keeping our shoes organized in our closet because he continually messes them up! He also (as you can see in the back ground) loves to clean. Not bad for a boy huh?! He loves to help sweep, mop, vaccumm, and he also enjoys picking up his toys. Pretty amazing. McKenzie still struggles with that one.

Our Handsome Little Devil

2008-09-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

This is our beautiful little boy Cache after he HAD to put one of our swim caps on. What do you think? Pretty sexy eh?

1st Day of Pre-school

2008-09-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

McKenzie started her first day of pre-school last week. It was so cute when she got home she ran through the door, ran into the kitchen and "Mommy, I sure had a great day today!" She then went on to tell me about her worm in the apple project and everything they did. Man, she is getting so big!!

No baby yet!

2008-09-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I haven't blogged in a while because my computer broke. I only get on when Bryce is home with his lap top (which is RARE). Anyway just wanted to up date you that I am STILL pregnant. We hope to have the baby sometime this next week. We'll keep you posted on that. Things are good here at the Vellinga household. Cache is now 18 months old. He can now go to nursery! Just in time for the new baby! Hurray!!! McKenzie turned 4 this week as well. I will have to load some photos of her birthday. It was quite a bash. I never thought having a princess birthday party for 4 years olds could be quite an ordeal. We had fun though. Nothing is new with Bryce. Just work, work and more work with some fishing inbetween. We will let you know when the baby arrives!

Perfect Date Night

2008-07-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

On Friday we went boating with some of our friends from our neighborhood. It was so fun just to go with couples and boat until dark. It's been a long time since we went boating without kids. You forget what it's like to not constantly worry about kids when your on the water. Everyone else got out on either the tube or wakeboard. I wasn't able to get out and do any skiing being pregnant, but it was still a dream to just sit there and enjoy the time with the people we were with. Bryce and I have continued to enjoy our neighborhood. There are so many great people on our ward that we have become close to.

Buckner Family Camping Trip

2008-07-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to Hobblecreek with my family and camped. As you can tell from the dirty kids the trip was a success. We had a lot of fun and it was so cute to see the cousins play together. I don't think that I have ever seen my kids as dirty as they were this weekend.

A Fishin' Family

2008-07-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

On Monday night we went fishing. I don't know if you know this, but Bryce and his Dad have always LOVED to fish. We went with Bryce's cousin Taylor, who I think might even love fishing more than Bryce. That's hard to do. McKenzie has followed right in their foot steps. She too, has found the love. From the pics you'll notice that she has her own princess fishing pole. Until this trip she had caught fish, but not on her own pole. This time, she not only caught 2 fish on her pole, she brought home the biggest one! We had a lot of fun. Cache on the other hand got to spend his time strapped into his stroller throwing rocks into the water. Last time we let him out he just tried to jump into the water the whole time. He LOVES water any form (hose, pool, lake, sink, ect.) he can get it.

4th of July

2008-07-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

Our 4th was full! We started the day sending McKenzie to the balloon lauch in Provo with her Grandparents and Bryce and I ran the Freedom run. I just ran the 5k (since I'm now 7 months along) and Bryce went for the 10k. He did awesome! He ran it in 42 minutes! Go Bryce! Anyway then we headed over to the parade. After the parage we had a big BBQ with my family. My mom took pictures of all of those events but I haven't got them yet. When I do, I'll blog them. We ended the 4th going to the Stadium of Fire. McKenzie loved it. The fireworks were amazing as always. She is still talking about it. I can't say I'm a huge Miley Sirus fan, but the Blue Man Group was pretety cool. Poor Cache was still to young so the only thing he did was get babysat and eat a BBQ with us.

Daddy's Little Girl

2008-07-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is pretty much how McKenzie is from the minute Daddy get's home until bedtime. Those two have a special bond that I can't even start to explain. It's so cute to see them together. She has him wrapped right round her finger. She also says that when she grows up she wants to be a princess and marry Daddy.

Celebrating 6 years!

2008-06-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

We just celebrated our 6th anniversary at the end of May. I am so grateful for Bryce and the love that we share. He has been such an amazing husband! Everyday I think that I totally scored! We have such a happy family and life together. I really can't believe that it's already been 6 years! It still just seems like we were barely married. I am gratefuly for him and our life together, as well as the father that he is to our kids.

This is us now (or at least a couple months ago before I looked majorly pregnant)

Finger painting fun!

2008-06-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

This is one of our daily activties so I took a some pictures of Mckenzie during the action!

The little climber

2008-06-08T16:51:00.000-07:00

So I thought that Mckenzie was a climber at this age...boy was I wrong. Cache is keeping us on our toes as he climbs up everything from stools, dishwasher, counter, dressers.....OVENS!!!! He has climbed up things that I didn't think were possible to climb up. It's pretty funny, and also scary!

Pre-school graduation

2008-06-08T16:37:00.000-07:00

McKenzie just graduated from her preschool class a couple weeks ago. They had learned a bunch of songs and a play that they performed for us. It was adorable seeing 8 three to five year olds singing and dancing together. She learned so much this year and loved going to preschool. The lady that Kenzie is with in the last picture is her teacher Miss Trisha.

Some more.....

2008-03-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures from Disneyland

Disneyland!!!!

2008-03-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

We went to Disneyland last week and had a blast. It was our first family trip there. McKenzie got to meet all the princesses she's been dying to meet. We first went to a "Princess ball" show type thing and when Sleeping Beauty walked out Mckenzie put her hands on her face, her mouth dropped open wide, she sat back in her chair and with amazement and she said "she's real mommy! Look it's sleeping beauty my favorite princess!" She couldn't believe her eyes. Then Bell and Mulan walked out. I think at that moment she was at her best moment she has ever had in life. She also was able to meet a bunch of other characters. Her Disneyland dream was a success. We also went to the beach which was cold, but really fun. Cache was amazed most by Mickey and Minney Mouse. He kept trying to grab their noses. Anyway it was alot of fun. A trip we won't ever forget.

I start them young....

2008-03-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

As you all (should) know I love to workout. SO... I make my kids workout regularly everyday. Are you serious? That is so mean!!!! Yeah right, like I would really do that. But, I will say that by observation they are catching on quick!

Our Vaccum Cleaner

2008-03-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

We stopped vaccuming because as you can see, we don't need to anymore. Our new little vaccum does the job just fine.....actually it's been funny to see how much this boy can put down (and how often) especially compared to his sister who we've fought every bit of the way to get her to eat anything.

First few steps...

2008-02-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

Cache is finally starting to walk. He still prefers to crawl but will walk if it isn't a far distance. Here is a couple video clips of him.

Stair Surfing

2008-02-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

McKenzie has figured out how to stair surf. She found out that she goes even faster when she wears full body pajamas. She now wears pajamas even more than princess clothes. Can you believe it? Kids can be pretty funny.....

Family pics

2008-02-25T15:37:00.001-08:00

Here are some fun pics that Kimberly took of the kids. Enjoy!

McKenzie's Dance Performance

2007-12-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

This week McKenzie had her first dance performance. It was the cutest thing ever. She felt like the prettiest princess alive in her costume. Her class is about eight 3-4yr olds. She is currently in Kindermusik and dance. We are starting her in preschool in January.

BATH TIME!

2007-12-23T08:08:00.000-08:00

Here's Cache at 9 months old taking a bath in the sink. He loves baths.

The Polar Express Heber Ride

2007-12-23T08:02:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of December we took the Polar Express Ride in Heber. It was so much fun. We rode to the "North Pole" and then Santa got on board with us and visited each child and asked them what they wanted for Christmas. We also got hot chocolate and cookies. If you haven't done it with your kid, go next year!!!!

First Snow

2007-12-23T07:57:00.001-08:00

For the first snow Kenzie and I went outside and she wanted to build a snow man. I couldn't build a big one because it kept falling. I talked her into making her a "baby" one and she was thrilled. Bryce has to laugh at my pathetic job of snowman making.

2007-11-25T20:14:00.000-08:00

Kenzie STILL dresses up like a princess EVERYDAY! My neighbors think that it's cute.....Bryce and I think it's debateable. I told her to get dressed in her big girl clothes to go "bye bye" so she put this vest over her princess clothes. She thought that I wouldn't notice the dress, the crown, and "glass slippers"....3 year olds are SO clever.

Cache and mommy

2007-11-25T20:04:00.000-08:00

This is Cache and I right before church. he is a total momma's boy which is fine since Kenzie can't stand to be apart from her dad. Bryce get's his kid and I get mine!

It's Halloween time!!

2007-11-25T19:48:00.000-08:00

Our Mornings...

2007-10-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

Kenzie being a spaz, and Cache being entertained by her.

Hide and Seek

2007-10-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

Cache is now moving like a champ. He crawls everywhere and is pulling him self up on the couch and moving around on furniture. He get's himself in sticky situations all the time. He always ends up under something whether it's a chair, table, crib.....we've even found him in the crevice between the bath tub and toilet. Mckenzie likes to play with him when he's in spaces she can fit too.

Pumpkin Patch Fun

2007-10-13T15:08:00.000-07:00

We went to "The Big Red Barn" in Sanatquin and road a tracker ride out to the pumpkin patch where you get to pick out your own pumpkin. When you get back to the barn you can eat cider donuts and drink apple cider. Yum! So much fun!

McKenzies fairy tale land

2007-10-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

So right now Kenzie's into pretending. She pretends EVERYTHING! Today she is Elizabeth Swan off Pirates of the Carribean, yesterday it was Cinderella. For 1 1/2 weeks she was Anastasia. When she wakes up in the morning, she immediatley puts on her princess dress ups. It's so funny seeing her imagination develope (and boy does she have one) but I have to admit, sometimes......it starts to get a little old :)