Stephanie's Cross Country

Stephanie decided to join the cross country team at school again this year with some of her cute friends. They had been training hard through September getting ready for their first race! Stephanie's school hosted the first meet of the year and it was a crazy WINDY day!
Cousin Hallie also races for her school (our school you cant race until grade 3) so she was all lined up ready for her race! This is such a fun group to watch...so darn cute!!

She ran hard and was having a GREAT time! So cute!

She slowed for a few pictures as she went by....

Finally Steff could line up for her race.

Im not sure how many were racing but we were guessing between 65-75.

Here is the cute cheer section, Paige, Ella and Hallie!

And they're OFF...

We couldnt see most of the race as the course weaves through a park right near the school. But near the finish we spotted a yellow shirt...and as the shirt rounded the corner we saw Steff racing her heart out!

She was BEAMING!!!

Just enjoying the home stretch here....

Coming into the finish line!

Proud Dad...luckily this was the one race he could attend! And it was so worth it to see Steff BEAM!! Way to go Stephanie!!

The fight to get Paige in her own bed....

We have a little visitor in our bed....EVERYNIGHT!! This has been going on for way too long. Paige has always been a snuggler and wants to be in our bed! (Thus the determination to start James in his crib..and Never let him get started in our bed) So we have been trying to come up with ways to get her in her bed. She seems to be terrified of every little thing which is making this effort very difficult! I love Paige and she is fun to snuggle...but she is the WILDEST sleeper ever so I really need her in her own bed!

So after trying everything I can think of...I finally resorted to money. The girls have been working hard and earning money for an upcoming visit to Phoenix...so I thought maybe it would motivate her. So I offered a dollar a night for every night that she slept in her bed! She thought that sounded pretty good...but was a little bit wimpiery as I put her in bed. So then she said...she could only do it if she had every stuffy in bed with her. I was a little frustrated by this time so I grabbed a huge armful of stuffy's off her shelf and put them in bed with her! She burst out laughing so hard...and so did I! She looked hilarious!!

Stephanie has promised to help us to keep Paige in her bed by encouraging and calming her.

Eventually, Paige did fall asleep...with every single stuffy! She must have been smoking hot with all those animals! But at least she was in her OWN BED!!!!

And her OWN ROOM!! If it could only last...

PS...What is funny is I have a picture as a little girl with all my dolls and stuffed friends in bed with me too! I guess it is genetic!

An Evening in Fish Creek

The start of school always comes before we are quite ready! The girls started school (I accidently erased their first day of school pics..ooops) and it was a crazy busy time getting back into the routine. We had a beautiful weekend and couldnt let it go to waste...so at the last minute a hot dog roast was planned and we headed out our back gate to Fish Creek for an end of summer evening! Oh it was beautiful! Luckily we found friends at the last minute to join us and we had such fun visiting! We are so lucky to have such great friends!!




The kids had fun in the river which was very empty at this time of year. Perfect for an evening dip!


I love it when the kids just take off and explore. I find they do way less exploring than we did as kids...so when it happens it is fun to see!

The gang all gathered!

James found the little wagon that was used to haul the firewood and he LOVED it! I dont think he left the wagon's side the rest of the night!!

Hours of entertainment in a little red wagon!

Georgia was so sweet to take him on many MANY rides!

As soon as the sunset we noticed a huge dip in the temperature...reminding us that winter is not far off. Our long lazy summer nights are coming to an end! What a fun night to enjoy!

Salt Lake City Weekend -- Temple Session

I was sooooooooooooo lucky over labor day weekend to make a fast and furious trip to Phoenix and Salt Lake City! A HUGE thank you to Christy for offering to take my kids so that I would be able to go!
I flew into Phoenix early Thursday morning and Kristin and Ben picked me up! We went back to her place to visit and to wait for Blake and Michelle to pick us up for lunch. We went to Cheesecake Factory (Oh those Avocado Eggrolls....YUM) and had a really nice lunch! Then we headed straight to the airport for our flight to Salt Lake. Mom and Dad met us at the gate and we were off to a pre-wedding gathering. What a nice evening! It was so fun to see Heidi and Devon and all the family before they got married!

After a late night visiting with my sweet sisters, we arose early and headed to the temple to do a session! I was married in the Salt Lake Temple (16 years ago) and each visit brings back such great memories of my wedding day! It was so nice to return!

It was so nice to be with my family!

The temple grounds were AMAZING! The flowers were stunning and looked just how I remembered them on my wedding day! It was a gorgeous September day and we couldnt resist snapping a few pictures in between brides walking by!




Sorry for all the flower pictures in my post! They were just amazing!

My sisters Kristin & Michelle

We had a few people telling us where to look and in not one picture are we all looking the same way! LOL! We laughed and laughed the whole weekend! It was so fun to be together and not a moment was wasted!

My mom and dad snuggling on a bench!

The temple looked so beautiful against the blue sky! It was hard to get a picture because there is a lot of construction in the area! Oh how I love the history of this temple!

This is my favorite shot of it...not sure why..just liked it.

Flower...

After we had a nice lunch at the top of the Joseph Smith building, we stopped into the conference center. There was neat art work display going on and we had an informative session about the auditorium. Things were a bustle as they prepare for the upcoming October conference. We had only a short time before we needed to be to the wedding so we snuck in an hour of shopping, a quick costume change and we were off to the wedding!

It is amazing how much you can accomplish when you arent packing 4 kids along!

Salt Lake City Weekend -- Heidi's Wedding

We were so excited to attend Heidi's wedding! Blake was asked to perform the marriage and was given permission at the last minute! He did an amazing job and the bride and the groom glowed!
The little flower girls were Heidi's Nieces (Taylor and Brynn) they were too adorable for words! They did a great job and were do cute to watch!

I didnt have a great postion for photos...but I snuck in what I could. Heidi and Devon looked so thrilled with one another! It was such a beautiful wedding and beautiful setting!

The newly married Mr & Mrs Gibbs

Grandma and Max looking stunning in their wedding attire! They also celebrated 16 years in August (they were married 2 days after Mike and I)!!

The wedding center piece...so pretty!

There was a fun dance after the dinner was done, it was out in the garden and was so fun! My sisters and I had no one to dance with so we had fun in other ways! We thought we were being so sneaky and decided to book my brother Blake and his wife a room in the hotel that they spent their wedding night in (he was currently bunking in with my mom and dad). So we booked a room and sent the confirmation to his email. Well, Mr Techno, has far to many email accounts and after a few texts telling him to look at his email we finally hinted that he needed to check his account. Well it wasnt the right account so he had to synch his email. AFTER waiting for like an hour he finally got his email.....we thought we were so smart...until he pulled out a key card for the hotel indicating he already had a room!! Dang. He was smarter than we were...we were only looking out for Kandyce ;). After the dancing was done...the bride and groom had a fun sparkler send off! Such a cute idea to see all the sparklers! I wasnt able to get pictures...but it was beautiful! What a great night! I just wish I had gotten more pictures!!

Congratulations to Heidi and Devon! We wish you all the best!!