The Dahle Family

Mullen Christmas Party Continues...

2011-03-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

After all the games and fun, we headed to our house had ate a delicious dinner of Smoked Goose and Jalapeno, Crab Cocktail, Chile Verde and so much more. It was delicious! Thanks everyone for all of the food. Then it was on to the fun part... PRESENTS!!! The kids all got their presents from Grandma and Grandpa, plus the presents from their cousins. It was a ton of fun! Thanks again to everyone for such a great family event. Merry Christmas!

All the Grand kids excited for present time!

Pillow Pets!!!

Mullen Christmas Party

2011-02-13T11:49:00.000-08:00

Our annual Mullen Christmas Party was a fun filled day here in Cache Valley. We started out the day with some bowling...

Back Row: Parker, Audrey, James and Spencer
Front Row: Isabelle, Claire, Madilyn, Myles and Lillian

Unfortunately, Todd and Mick weren't able to make it up in time to go bowling. We missed having them there, however at least our scores were a bit more competitive without Todd there beating us all. And you will notice in the picture above, Myles had a great time, even fell asleep with all the noise.

After the bowling we headed to our local church house and Lynn and I hosted the first ever Mullen Family Minute-To-Win-It Competition. We had some great games and laughs the whole time through.

Parker playing Separation Anxiety

Lynn doing This Blows

Grandma also doing This Blows

The youngest team members playing Defying Gravity

All the women - Me, Kris, Candace, Mick and Grandma all playing Hanky Panky

Parker the Dahle family champion apple stacker

Me playing Stack Attack

Kevin and Jim looking ridiculous doing the Elephant March

Lynn just finished the Elephant March

And for the Grand Finale, the men had an caramel apple eating contest,
however the majority of them were caramel onions. Ha! Ha!

The whole family!

Christmas Dance Review

2011-02-06T22:47:00.000-08:00

Madi's dance class had a quick dance recital right before Christmas. They performed 3 songs and it was adorable. Madi did an excellent job!

I don't know the names of the girls in her class, but Madi and Annie are in the middle on the back row.

Madi and her best buddy, Annie

Striking a Pose

Gingerbread Houses

2011-02-06T22:35:00.000-08:00

Somehow we have turned this into an annual tradition, and we love it! Every year the kids decorate gingerbread houses and eat tons of candy. We usually use leftover Halloween candy so it turns out great. Myles even had a great time this year and was a terrific taste tester. The kids did a great job and their houses turned out fantastic! Parker's had a fish pond in the back and Madi's was stuffed full with candy just in case she needed a treat later. Bring on the Holidays!

One last lick before we threw them away!

My My & Keely

2011-01-29T19:58:00.000-08:00

Val and Lannis' little girl, Keely, loves Myles. She calls him My My and loves it when they are able to play. The other day I was tending Keely, and her and Myles were having fun sharing some crackers. Keely would hand Myles a cracker and he would laugh and clap his hands then proceed to eat it. They were acting so stinkin' cute, I had to take some pictures.

Myles was pretty good at leaving the tree alone and then one day I
find him backing his way into the tree as far as he could go and
then he just stood there like he was the coolest thing ever.

This kid cracks me up!

Santa & the Grinch!

2011-01-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

Home Depot had Santa and the Grinch come visit. The kids were so excited to go see them so we headed off to the store. Once we were there, however they immediately froze. None of them wanted to talk to Santa, Parker was fine standing by him, but Myles and Madi didn't want to have anything to do with him. Then they weren't too thrilled with the Grinch either. He was a great Grinch, but none of the kids would go near him so I didn't get a picture. Hopefully Santa can read minds so that he will know what to get them for Christmas!

Chess!

2011-01-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

Lately Lynn has been teaching Parker how to play Chess. He is picking up on it quickly and it has become one of his favorite games to play. Madi humors him and tries to play, but it seems to frustrate Parker more because she doesn't know how all of the pieces move. Thank goodness he is patient. It's a great game and I'm glad Parker is learning how to play.

Grandma & Grandpa were here for one night and Parker had to
immediately challenge the Chess Master.

Cute little bugger!

Grandma loves to walk the kids to school when she is here, and the kids love it as well.

What are you Thankful For?

2011-01-28T16:40:00.000-08:00

Once again the Thanksgiving holiday was filled with plenty of family, food, fun and laughs. We were able to spend Thanksgiving day with all of Lynn's family and as always had way too much to eat and tons of relaxation. Then on Friday we headed up North to Island Park and spent the weekend with my family and had another delicious feast on Saturday. Who can complain about having two Thanksgiving meals and plenty of pie at each.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures taken at the Dahle festivities, however below are the pictures from Island Park (once again, I apologize for posting so many, but I had a hard time choosing which ones to use). There was even enough snow for sledding this year which hasn't happened for quite a while so the kids had tons of fun.

Madi & Claire waiting for Grandpa

The hunt for the day along with the grandkids & Tood -
Briggs, Pace James, Parker, Claire, Spencer, Madi, Audrey & Myles

Myles was pretty much stuck the whole time.

Spencer, Audrey and Parker waiting to get pulled.

Grandpa, Claire and Madi

Madi, Lillian and Claire

Jaygen

Like I said, Myles was pretty much stuck everywhere he went.

Isabelle


I don't know if it was a race between the brothers or the kids. Kevin pushing Audrey and Todd pushing Parker.

Madi loves to eat the snow. Thank goodness it was all white.

Lillian

Grandma joining the sledding fun with Parker and Audrey

Pace

Audrey

Parker

Claire

Grandma and Claire

Spencer

Madilyn

Grandma and Pace

Madi and Claire

Parker

Parker and Audrey on their snow horses

Hooking up the train.

And down they go!

WEEEEE!!!

All the kiddos! Madi, Claire, Spencer, Pace, Audrey
Parker, Lillian, Isabelle and Jaygen

Parker, Myles and Madi on the deck from our hotel room.


One of the main highlights was seeing Grandma Helen. Or Great-Grandma to all the kids. Briggs, Isabelle, Jaygen Spencer, James, Grandma, Parker, Madi, Audrey, Claire, Myles, Lillian and Pace

Let the feast begin! Thanks Aunt Mick for the hats!

Myles hanging out in our room.

Mom and Myles

Ready to head home!

I am so thankful for our family and love that we all live so close. It was a great Thanksgiving weekend and we had a ton of fun.

Tooth Fairy for a 13 Month Old?

2010-12-05T11:08:00.000-08:00

What is it about the 3rd kid? Myles is such a joy to have in our family however, it seems I have been asking myself lately what the difference is with this child. Maybe it is because there has been too much time between the other kids and Myles, and my memory is short or maybe it is because I am busier now and I can't keep track of his every little move, but this kid keeps me running. He is constantly in drawers and cupboards and pulling things out, he loves the toilet, bathroom cabinets, and the washer and dryer, he is a climber and tries to climb up on anything that is low enough to get his leg up onto. It pretty much seems like he likes everything that isn't a toy and everything that he shouldn't be playing with. Plus he is now walking full time so he just moves around that much faster. Below are some pictures of some of his mischievousness.

Now on to the Tooth Fairy story... Lynn and I have commented before that we feel like Myles might be the child that is a little more accident prone because he is already showing signs of bravery (i.e. climbing) that we hadn't seen in Madi or Parker at this age. Well, today he proved it. Parker, Madi and I were out on the back deck cleaning and Myles was busily walking around having fun on the deck. I had sent Parker to get the broom from the garage and on his way back to the deck Myles saw him on the ground and took off running to get him. He was running so fast and didn't even look down when he came to the stairs and needless to say, he went a rolling down the stairs.

It is only 4 or 5 stairs and it looked like he pretty much just rolled so I figured no big deal. Picked him up, brushed him off and gave him some loves. Then I saw the blood in his mouth. Figuring he had just cut his lip or tongue, I thought no big deal and washed out his mouth and tried to clean him up. However, the blood wouldn't stop coming. Finally, I pulled down his lower lip and his two cute bottom teeth were pointing forward laying flat down on his gums with the root up and all. Then the panic hit! I did pretty well and called Lynn's parents down (sometimes I really love that they live right next door), called the dentist and tried to figure out what to do. Finally we decided to head to the dentist rather than the emergency room because there didn't seem to be any other injuries besides the teeth.

Peggy drove while I sat in the back seat and held the poor little man and tried to keep him calm. Once we were at the dentist, he had me lay down in the chair with Myles laying on top of me so that I could hold down his arms. Dr. Gunnell pulled down his lower lip and said "Yep, we're going to have to pull those out." Then my tears came. I had held up pretty well until that point, but the thought of my baby losing his cute little teeth and having a gap in his teeth until he is about 6 or 7 years old just about killed me. Seems kind of silly now, I know, but I really think I could have handled stitches or a broken bone way better than going through him losing teeth at such a young age.

Anyway, Dr. Gunnell and his assistants (who I think are awesome!) moved quickly and had the teeth out in about 20 seconds. One of them came out easily and the other one had to be pulled a little harder. Myles and I bawled through the whole thing, but once they were done Myles took his binky and started to calm down. He wouldn't have anything to do with the doctor or his assistants and wouldn't even take a balloon they made for him until we were in the car. By that night he acted like nothing had happened and besides not being able to eat certain foods, he is right back to normal. He is such a trooper!

I tried to get some pictures of him that night just to show a little of what it all looked like, but he was not cooperating very well. So instead you just see his wet shirt. He seems to be drooling more now that his teeth are gone. Maybe the teeth also help keep spit in the mouth. :)

This is an old picture from September that shows the cute little teeth. A before picture if you will.

Who would have thought a 13 month old could also be in need of the Tooth Fairy!

To top this all off, just two days before this accident, Myles was in with the eye doctor getting the tubes taken out of his tear ducts. We had to hold him down while the doctor clipped the tubes and pulled them out. Hopefully this child won't have a fear of doctors now, with the fun week he has experienced!

LeAvEs

2010-11-13T21:32:00.000-08:00

We love fall and our kids absolutely love playing in piles of leaves. So I took the opportunity the other day to get them dressed up and have a bit of a photo shoot on my own. I'm always trying to figure out different ways to take pictures and after reading my camera manual for a bit I decided it would be best to just go and try taking some pictures. So we loaded up in the truck and drove around a bit until we found some great leaf piles. The pictures were pretty difficult to take and the kids weren't too excited about getting pictures taken again, but they put up with me and gave me a little bit of time to play. In case you are wondering, I dressed them in the same clothes as our family photos in hopes of getting a good picture of all 3 of them together. One day I will figure out a way to get all 3 of them to look at the camera at the same time, yeah right!

This one cracks me up. I thought if the kids would throw leaves in the air it would keep Myles attention for just a second, but oh no the minute they let go of his hands he was making his escape to get to the curb.

Of course we have to end with the goofy faces!

Family Pictures....finally!

2010-11-13T20:54:00.000-08:00

After a lot of rescheduling because of weather, work and everything else, we finally got our family pictures taken. My friend Brigitte opened a photo studio in the mall recently and we hired her to take our family photos. I think she did a great job especially since Myles wasn't the happiest guy getting the pictures taken, but amazingly enough we got some great smiles from him (maybe not that amazing considering he smiles all the time, but he was pretty ornery during the photo shoot). Plus the colors were amazing!

I am soooo lucky to have the best family in the world!

Halloween Time!

2010-11-12T20:21:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love Halloween? I know it is one of my favorite holidays even though it totally stresses me out trying to get costumes put together. Fall is definitely my favorite season as well and the Halloween candy is always a good bonus. This is a really long post and I apologize, but I figured it would be easier just to clump the whole Halloween experience into one post.

This year we started out our Halloween festivities by carving pumpkins. Thanks to Lynn's cousin Whitney for providing us with the pumpkins again.

Myles was very interested to see what was inside.

What is that awful smell?

One last look, I never could get him to look at me. I guess the pumpkin was way more interesting.

Madi did a great job scooping out the guts.

Parker was very excited to get carving.

On the Friday before the Halloween weekend, the Parker and Madi's school had a Halloween parade to show off their costumes. I went and helped with parties in both of their classrooms that day and then Myles and I got to watch the parade of all the kids in their costumes.

Tiger Lilly

Darth Vader without the mask.

That afternoon, we went to a nursing home here in town with my friend Amie and her kids, and got to go trick-or-treating. We haven't ever done this and it was actually a lot of fun. The residents were sitting outside of their rooms with candy in their laps. Some handed it to the kids and others just let the kids take a piece. Some of them were even dressed up a little themselves. It was great fun and a good experience for the kids.

Stockton, Parker, Myles, Madi, Abbie, forgot the name of Alice in Wonderland and Sawyer is dressed as Woody

Myles absolutely loved his first sucker.

It was adorable to see how happy he was with the treat.

Antonio (say it with an accent)

Then on the Saturday before Halloween day, we went and did our yearly tradition of trick-or-treating in downtown Logan with the Johnson kids. Julie and I have been doing this for quite a few years now and we always have a great time. It wasn't the warmest and luckily Lynn stayed home with Myles so that he could have a nap (Myles not Lynn). Julie also left her youngest home as well and we both commented on how nice it was to not have strollers this year. It went a lot faster. Which was good since it started to rain right as we were finishing up.

Parker, Madi, Porter, Lexi and Garrett

Now with masks...Darth Vader, Tiger Lilly, Bumblebee Transformer, Witch and the Grim Reaper

That night we were off to our ward Fall Festival Carnival. There were some great games and treats for the kids and everyone had a wonderful time.

Madi getting a little assistance at the donut eating contest.

Apparently Parker had a little assistance as well.

The Young Women were in charge of the face painting and did a fantastic job!

Madi at the cake walk, but really they got cookies so I guess it was a cookie walk.

Parker with one of his best buddies, Porter.

Antonio (say it with an accent)

After the ward party, Lynn took the kids trick-or-treating to some of the neighbors and I stayed home with Myles to hand out candy. Myles was cracking me up because each time I opened the door he would start crawling towards the door as fast as he could and try to escape. Some of the times he didn't make it in time and I shut the door before he was able to make it out and boy would he throw a fit. It was really cute.

The weather wasn't the greatest for the Halloween celebrations so I had my kids dress up one last time a few days later just so we could get some more decent pictures. Pathetic, I know.

Antonio (say it with an accent)

Parker, Myles and Madi

Cutest Tiger Lilly I've ever seen. Luckily her costume was the only one I had to make this year. She had two pumpkins, the one on the left is Sponge Bob that we carved at home and the one on the right is the pumpkin she won in her Kindergarten class. They carved some in class and then had a drawing to see who got to take it home.

The ferocious Darth Vader

Showing off his lite saber skills.

The kids didn't want me to wash off their painted faces, so I told them I would take a picture of them before we washed.

Parker's bat.

The flash is always to bright!

This is pretty much how happy Madi was by the end of the day. Messy face and all.

Pine Wood Derby!!

2010-11-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight was Parker's 2nd official pack meeting and lucky him they did the Pine Wood Derby. He was soooo excited and him and his dad have been having fun building the car. Parker drew the design of the car he wanted on the wood, Lynn cut it out, Parker sanded it and then painted it. The number of the car was 08 and he named it Rocket.

All the new boys in scouts: Sam Stallings, Tyler Gudmundson, Parker and Porter Saurey.

Apparently they honor the moms as well when the scout gets a large award. Parker got his Bobcat tonight and I was the proud mom who got to be there with him while getting the award. Way to go Parker!

The moms also got a Bobcat pin. Had I known this was all going to happen I might have dressed up a little nicer, oh well.

The supportive little sisters: Annie and Keely Christensen, Kiah Saurey and Madi

Let the race begin!

Parker was so excited that his took 1st in its weight class! Wahoo!

It was a great evening and the boys and dads all had a great time. It cracked me up to see all the dads hovering over the table at weigh in just as excited as the scouts. Good times!

Just a random picture of Parker he wanted me to take, and yes he slept that way.

Great to Be Eight!

2010-11-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

A friend of my has opened a photo studio in the mall and I decided it would be fun to get some baptism pictures of Parker in his suit so we had her company, Smiles Portraits, take the pictures and I think they turned out great. Of course it helps when the subject of the pictures is one handsome 8 year old :)

10 Years!

2010-11-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

Ten years ago I married my best friend and ten years later he is still my best friend and so much more. Lynn, you are a great husband and father and I am so glad we have eternity to be together!

I'm not very good at all the sappy stuff, but at least Lynn knows how I feel about him and that's all that matters. Our anniversary was on a Tuesday this year and we literally didn't do anything to celebrate, mostly because we were leaving for Las Vegas the next day, but also because I had to go to mutual so I was gone pretty much the whole night.

Spending our anniversary in Vegas was a lot of fun. It really brought back quite a few memories of our honeymoon. In case you haven't heard the story, 10 years ago for part of our honeymoon (the first part was spent in Island Park, Yellowstone and Jackson Hole), we went to Las Vegas with Lynn's parents so that Lynn and his dad could go to a trade show while we were there. And as if going on part of your honeymoon with your in-laws wasn't bad enough, we also got to the airport and had no luggage! Yep, we had left our suitcase sitting by the front door of our trailer house (yes, the first 8 months of our marriage we totally lived it up in a trailer court in Smithfield, but that is another story in and of itself). Luckily we remembered our luggage this year.

Vegas is quite the city. We have been going there once a year for the last 10 years and have decided that there really isn't that much to do there unless you have a ton of money, gamble or drink. However, we still had a great time. We went and saw the pawn store that is on the TLC show called Pawn Stars, I even got my picture with Chumlee! We had some great dinners and some incredible restaurants. Went to the Cirque du Soleil show KA. Went to the trade show and shopping at the outlets. And finally on the last day, we drove to the Vegas temple, just to see where it was located. It was a very nice and relaxing trip thanks to Lynn's parents, Kevin and Candace and Julie for all watching our kids while we were gone.

The Pawn Shop - just in case you couldn't tell. :)

Chumlee and I and yes he is pretty much as greasy in real life as he looks on the show.

Been going for 10 years and I still love the glass flowers on the ceiling in the Bellagio.

Awesome clouds and view of Vegas from our hotel window.

Another favorite of our is to just sit and people watch in St. Mark's Square in the Venetian

Isn't he a stud!

Vegas Temple

Thanks babe, for the best 10 years of my life. You make me laugh every day and I couldn't live without you!

What Was He Thinking?

2010-11-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

I'm really beginning to wonder what our Bishop was thinking when he decided to give me the call. Today I was sustained as Young Women's President in our ward. Lynn had done a good job convincing me that there was no way the Young Women's Presidency would be changing anytime soon because the Relief Society, Young Men's and Primary presidency's all needed to be redone first. So imagine my surprise when the bishop called us in and asked ME, of all people, to be the next YW President. I think my jaw hit the floor and tears immediately came to my eyes and I couldn't find a single thing to say. I'm feeling very humbled, scared, overwhelmed, excited and about a thousand other things right now.

We have some fantastic young women in our ward. I am always amazed by their faith, strength and the spirits they posses. For the past two years they have been lead by a terrific president and leaders and I know they love them very much. They have definitely left hard shoes to fill.

Ever since I received the call, I have been praying hard and have already had some pretty neat things happen. I am truly blessed and I know the Lord will be there to help me. I have some great counselors and a great secretary called and I love their excitement about the young women and I know this will be a great experience for all of us. Wish us luck!

My Cup Runneth Over....

2010-11-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

Wow! That is about all I can say. I am so full of emotions right now and never imagined what a huge step this would be and the effect it would have on me. Parker got baptized today! We are so proud of his decision and excited that he is now a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We are so blessed. It was a great day filled with happiness, family, friends, food and fun!

One of the funnest things about the whole event was that Parker's cousin Audrey was also baptized on the same day. It was Audrey's birthday as well and Parker and Audrey both thought that was pretty darn cool. They were blessed on the same day and now baptized on the same day... how lucky are they!

Isn't he handsome!

Madilyn and Parker

The Proud Parents

Parker and his two Grandpas! What great examples to follow.

The two lucky kids - Parker and Audrey.

Jim, Kris, Spencer, Audrey, James and Claire

The proud Grandparents!

Parker with Grandpa and Grandma Mullen

Don't they look handsome?

Lynn said that right when Parker came out of the water, the first thing he said was "I want to do it again!".
Then the night before Parker's baptism, I sat down with him on his bed and told him about my baptism. I still remember my Grandpa Ohlwiler telling me to pay special attention because when I get confirmed and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost it will feel like fire going through my body and that is what the spirit feels like. I shared this story with Parker and told him to also pay attention to what he feels like. As we were walking out of the church, he said to me "Mom, it did feel like fire!"

Friends and cousins enjoying their food. Madi, Jude, Parker, Claire, Audrey and Ewan

Myles discovered his nose holes today. He was having quite the fun time.
We didn't actually get a picture of the finger up his nose, but this was close enough.

Thanks to all our family and friends who supported us on this day!

Corwin and Karen catching some Zzzzzz's.

The birthday girl - Audrey!

Parker opening some baptism gifts.

Grandpa Dahle had a nasty fall off the porch the night before the baptism
and he had a great fat lip and stitches to show for it.

One of my favorite things that Parker said to me on his baptism day was the following:
Parker: "Do you want to know what my favorite gift was?"
Me: "Sure, what was it?"
Parker: "My scriptures (insert pause), no wait, my favorite gift was the Holy Ghost and then my scriptures."

This about brought tears to my eyes and after thinking about it even more I have realized that I hope he always feels that way. The Holy Ghost is one of the greatest gifts we can ever be given and we should treat it as such. I know he has helped me countless times throughout my life and will continue to do so. Parker, I hope you always remember this day and always live your life worthily so that you can have the Holy Ghost with you at all times. You are such a good kid and always have had such a tender heart and care about other people. We are so proud of you and excited for you on your baptism day!

1st Haircut

2010-11-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

Well, we did it! We finally cut Myles' hair. Well, I finally cut it. It was getting rather long, but I loved his little curls so I really had a hard time wanting to cut it, however I was also getting sick of it hanging close to his eyes. Soooo, I decided to just trim a little off the top and before I knew it I had trimmed some off the side and the back as well, I couldn't leave him with a mullet. I will have to say he is still stinkin' cute just looks a little older now.

Before:

The flash on my camera must have been extra bright today because
after about 8 pictures I could never get him to keep his eyes open.

After:

1 Year Old Already?!

2010-11-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

Seriously! Where does the time go. I can't believe Myles is already ONE! We had a great time on his birthday, Parker and Madi were very excited to celebrate his big day. On the evening of the big event, we had Grandma and Grandpa Dahle, Kevin, Candace, Lillian, and Isabelle over for dinner and cake. In addition, Garrett and Porter Johnson were here because we were tending them for the weekend.

Myles literally had a blast. He loved the pizza, presents and especially the cake. He was full of smiles all night.

Of course there was plenty of help from big brother and sister.

Once again, the wrapping paper has to be the best toy!

Myles loves balls and luckily he got plenty of new ones for his birthday!

Recently there has been a commercial on TV where a pig is in the back seat of a car saying "WEEEEEEEE" all the way home. Well, every time that commercial comes on, Myles stops in his tracks and watches the whole thing. He loves it! Thus, the decision to make him a pig cake.

As my friend Doree said... Which one is more round?

He was a little unsure about the crazy candle we had.

Trying to figure out what in the world this is!

Finally he starts digging in!

Yes, his fingernails are painted. A funny joke from Val and Lannis while they tended him. Ha Ha!

This stuff is pretty good!

Why not pick up the whole thing?

Hello?

Myles with his birthday gifts!

All-in-all it was a great day. Myles is such a joy to have in our family and is already keeping me busy and constantly cleaning and looking for things he can destroy next. He has already taken his first steps and will take 2 or 3 steps now. He waves bye-bye and tries to say it as well. He says Sketch, Dada and Hi and loves to carry on conversations like we know exactly what he is saying. Balls are his favorite toys and he loves to empty any cupboard he can get open. We love you Myles and are so glad you have already been with us for 1 year!

Eight is Great!

2010-09-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

Eight years ago today I was in the delivery room thinking I would be pregnant forever and then they broke my water and a little later the cutest baby boy with a head full of hair was born. Now he is turning 8 years old and is a joy to have around. Parker's birthday turned into more of a three day celebration, but we had a lot of fun. The day before his birthday we had a dinner and a cake and ice cream with Grandma and Grandpa Dahle, Kevin and Isabelle (Lillian wasn't feeling well so she and Candace stayed home). I asked Parker what he wanted for his birthday dinner and his request was meat loaf, potatoes and something healthy so he chose broccoli (with Madi in the distance saying NOOOOO, I don't like broccoli). I was so excited that one of my kids actually CHOSE broccoli to eat.

A telescope from Grandma and Grandpa!

Originally Parker wanted a Yoda cake, after doing some research online and realizing how difficult a Yoda cake might be, we settled for a Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker cake (thank goodness!).

Our rule about birthday parties is that our kids get to have a party every other year. This was Parker's year to have a party and I was not too excited about having 8 smelly little boys over for a party and finding a way to entertain them. So, I gave Parker the choice to have a party with 8 friends here at our house or he could choose 2 friends and we would go to Chuck-E-Cheese for dinner and games. Luckily he chose Chuck-E-Cheese and on the day of his birthday we left right after school and spent the evening in Layton at Chuck-E-Cheese. Parker chose to take his buddies Porter and Garrett. We all had a ton of fun and Lynn and I decided we really need to go there on a date sometime so that we can really bring on the competition. :)

Finally on the third day, we went to the park and had cupcakes with some good friends: Caleb, Annie, Keely, Ewan, Jude, Silvie, Eva, Ian and little Caleb. Ewan has the exact same birthday as Parker, he is just a year younger, so we had a little party for the two of them.

Caleb, Jude, Parker, Ewan and Annie

Ewan, Parker and Caleb checking out the new Scout book.

Madi giving the skateboard a try!

Parker with all of his birthday gifts! Thanks everyone!

Parker is such a great kid! He is a great big brother, an excellent student in school, a great helper to me and the most thoughtful kid I know. He has such a tender heart and is always thinking about the feelings of others. He loves to play with his friends, loves to read and play with Lego's. I am so blessed to be his mom. Happy Birthday Parker, we love you!

Elk Hunt

2010-09-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

Kevin's elk hunt started this last weekend and the kids and I headed up to camp for the Friday night and Saturday. We didn't spend the night because Lynn was working late on Friday and all day Saturday and I didn't want to try pulling up the trailer on my own. We had a great time, and the kids had tons of fun in the dirt, water and playing kick ball with Grandma. Lynn even made it up Friday night for some s'mores. Thanks to Kevin and Candace for letting us join their camp.

The rest of these pictures were all taken on Saturday. I apologize for there being so many, but Candace was using my camera by the river for a while and got a ton of cute shots of the kids, and I couldn't decide which ones to post... so I'm posting a lot of them.

Madi and Lillian

Aren't kids toes precious!

Since Grandma and Grandpa didn't know when we would see them next, they gave Myles his birthday gift at camp. He got a new basketball bath toy, which I'm sure he will love!

Clean kids!

Kids that have obviously had a ton of fun in the dirt!
We love camping!

Myles was having the time of his life!

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend already...what?! I can't believe the summer is already pretty much over. Lynn has been so busy with work this summer and the kids and I have been having fun it seems to have cruised on by. Thankfully this weekend was filled with some fun family time and Lynn was even able to get in a little work in as well.

Friday night we went up camping with Kevin and Candace at Franklin Basin. They had their trailer and were spending the night, but we just went up for dinner because Lynn had to go to work the next day. I love being in the canyon even if it is just for a short time. The kids have a great time exploring, Myles had plenty of dirt and rocks to eat and we were all enjoying the beautiful weather.

Myles already playing in the dirt!

Isabelle is fascinated with Myles it is really cute. Isabelle, Lillian and Myles

Cute cousins - Lillian, Parker, Myles, Isabelle and Madilyn

Baseball anyone?

Nothing like delicious tin foil dinners and hot dogs - Yum!

Goofy faced cousins - Lillian, Parker, Myles, Isabelle and Madilyn

Saturday night we were able to go to a Salt Lake Bee's baseball game. The Bee's lost by 1, but it was still a fun game, good food AND there were fireworks after the game. The kids were excellent and had a great time.

And finally on Labor Day we went to Wellsville with Keely and Mark, Kady, and Phil and Julie for the fantastic Founder's Day parade. The kids got a ton of candy and had a blast! Last but not least, we ended the day with grilled ribs, hamburgers and hot dogs with Mark and Keely, Kady, and Adam. It was a great end to a fun filled weekend!

The boys ready for the action to begin!
Ewan, Ian, Parker, Garrett and Porter

Madilyn

Madilyn helping Myles look at the camera

Pet Grasshopper

2010-09-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

The other day Parker and Madilyn were outside splashing in the puddles and making mud pies. Next thing I knew they were in the house with a grasshopper they had caught and were wanting to keep as a pet. Madi determined it was a girl and named it Belle, but Parker wasn't so sure so he named it Grassy. We found a container for it and they proceeded to find rocks, leaves and sticks to place in the jar with it. Belle/Grassy was allowed to be our pet for a few days, but then I told the kids it was time to let it go outside. However, before they could let it go, they carried it to each room in our house so that it would know what our house looked like (it was really cute listening in because they were even explaining all the rooms to the grasshopper). Then they had to get their pictures taken with their beloved pet...

Then the poor grasshopper had the fun experience of enjoying the kids Ninja moves.

Ba-Bye Belle/Grassy I am sure you will enjoy your freedom outdoors!

Myles 11 Months

2010-09-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

My baby is 11 months old going on 2 1/2 years old! I can't believe how old Myles is already. He is an active, active baby and already seems to have a strong opinion about everything, even the food he eats. As I've posted before he likes to get into everything and is curious about everything as well. He is crawling everywhere and walking along furniture. It is easy to tell when he is going to get into something that he probably shouldn't be getting into (i.e. the garbage can, Sketch's water bowl, etc.) because you hear the little pitter patter of his hands and knees speed up tremendously. It's pretty cute to see how excited he gets when he is going for something he shouldn't have. Myles has the best smiles ever and he will smile at anything. He has also started a little dance that he does when he gets excited, he bends his arms and twists he torso back and forth with a grin from ear to ear. He melts my heart and I'm so glad he is in our family! We love you buddy!

Our happy 11 month old!

Like I said, he is curious about everything
(I swear my other two kids never touched the candles and cakes when I took their pictures as babies).

... and into everything!

Madi wanted to show how he can stand on his own,
however he didn't want to cooperate - aren't big sisters fun! :)

Myles in August

2010-09-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

Myles seems to be into everything. He is such a busy boy and is constantly exploring. Here is some evidence of a few things he particularly enjoys.

He loves to be outside!

Loves to taste everything!

Loves his mom! (however, I really think he is a daddy's boy, but I'm still trying to convince him that he loves me more)

Loves to help me with the laundry!

One of his favorite treats is sucking on a rib bone! I know it sounds gross, but he really does love it.

Loves playing in the dishwasher!

He also loves going down the stairs (I've caught him once half way down), playing in Sketch's water bowl and stealing his bone, shutting doors, and pulling everything out of the cabinets he possibly can. This kid really keeps us on our toes. Luckily I have two great helpers to keep an eye on him and luckily he hasn't discovered the toilet yet. We love you Smiles!

Go RaPtoRs!!

2010-09-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

The night of Parker's first day of school, we had tickets to go see the Ogden Raptors. It was a late game for a school night, but we figured it's still summer right? He'll recover sometime. I'm glad we went, it was a great time. We had front row seats right by the dugout, Parker got a signed ball from the player that is living with Karen and Kim this summer (Jake the shortstop), the players would talk and play with the kids a bit, we saw Tommy Lasorda and the kids even got their mitts signed by him, numerous home runs, and last but not least, we had delicious garlic fries! Sitting on the front row wasn't the most relaxing place to sit, we were a little nervous about a line drive coming towards us, but Lynn, Parker and Madi all had their mitts ready to catch the ball each time a lefty was up to bat. The Raptors won by a long shot... YEAH!!!

Tommy Lasorda is right there in the middle. I forgot to take my camera when the kids got their mitts signed so this is the best picture I could get. Kind of neat to see a baseball legend.

First Day of School for TWO Kids!!

2010-08-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

It seems way to early to have school starting already, but I guess we don't have a choice, so here we go! Parker started 2nd grade (holy cow! 2nd grade already!) on August 18th. He was so excited to start and didn't even want me to walk him to school because he wanted to meet his buddy Porter on the playground. His teacher is Mrs. Stock and so far he seems to really like her and is liking the class. His favorite things about school are math and recess.

We are starting a new tradition of having the kids write what grade they are in and their name on a piece of paper for the first day of school. It's a great way to show how their writing progresses throughout the years. Isn't he cute!

Parker always has to get a picture of his backpack. He went with his dad this year to pick it out and was so excited because it has like 7 pockets or something. Oh the places he can store his treasures are endless.

Parker is just getting too old for his mom. After we took the pictures he hopped on his bike and off to school he went. He acted like it was just an ordinary day of school. It definitely makes it easier for me to send him off, but I was also a little bummed.

Madi's first day of Kindergarten was on August 24th. Her teacher is Ms. Flanery which is the same teacher Parker had for Kindergarten. Makes it kind of nice and Parker was so excited that she got the same teacher. He has been prepping her all week and telling her what they will be doing. It's pretty cute. She has been very excited to finally go to the same school as Parker. I am sure it will be a challenge getting both of these kids out the door by 7:50 each morning... with us luck!

One hair day down... 179 (or something like that) more to go! Isn't she a doll!

Luckily we were able to find the much requested Tinker Bell backpack!

At least she will let me still walk her to school.

Amazingly enough, Annie is in Madi's class again. They have had the last 2 years of preschool together and now Kindergarten. I don't know if they will ever know what to do once they don't have a class together. Lucky girls!

Madilyn ready to start her day!

I always hate sending my kids back to school. I miss having them around, however it will be nice to get back on a schedule again and into a normal routine. So far Myles and I have been spending a lot of time at home catching up on projects that have been postponed all summer (as pathetic as it sounds, my house is probably the cleanest its been all summer). Have fun at school, kiddos!!! We love you!

GoOfY kIdS!!

2010-08-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

Parker and Madilyn are the best of buds. They are constantly playing together and hardly ever have a disagreement. They are both such good helpers with Myles. Parker loves to read to him, scare him and play with him in his crib. Madi is always there to help me feed him, wipe him off and even get him out of his seat. She also loves to play with him as well.

They've decided they are going to open a candy store together when they grow up and they will sell Aggie Ice Cream and little men made out of Swedish Fish.

They also came up with the best plan the other day...

Parker: "Madi and I decided if we are ever building a brick house and someone asks us if we want to smoke, we would...."

Madi speaks up and shouts: "Throw a brick in their eyes!"

So watch out if these two are ever building a brick house. Apparently the bricks are good weapons. :)

Apparently items in the kitchen make you become great soldiers!

Notice that fashion footwear!

Ogden Dinoaur Park

2010-08-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

Our kids don't get to see their cousins near enough so Kris and I decided to meet at the Dinosaur Park in Ogden and let them have some fun. It was a great way to get out of the house and the kids got to have some fun with their cousins and dinosaurs as well! It was a fun filled day, the park, lunch and Olive Garden and a little shopping... thanks for joining us Mullens!

Parker, Audrey and Myles - the dinosaurs actually move!!

Madilyn not so sure about standing too close

James, Spencer, Audrey, Parker and Madilyn

Madi and Claire digging for fossils

Audrey and Parker digging for fossils

Madi - isn't she a cutie!

Myles playing peek-a-boo

Madi, James, Myles, Claire, Audrey, Spencer and Parker

Madilyn

Parker

Parker and Madilyn

Spencer and Claire

Spencer, Parker, Audrey, James and Claire
I made the mistake of saying it looks like the T-Rex is going to
eat them and then Madi refused to be in the picture.

Madi and Myles
Madi's favorite dinosaur is the Long Neck

Ward Camp Out

2010-08-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

We kind of got roped into going to our Ward Camp Out this year because Lynn was asked to be the MC at the talent show. I love going camping and even though it was a pretty short trip, we still had a great time and as always the kids had a blast.

My three favorite things...Parker, Myles and Madilyn

This is how I feel after sleeping in a tent!
Madi is our little pocket of sunshine!

Keely and Annie Christensen - trying to show Madi how to smile at the camera

Even after a lesson and having Mom and Myles in the picture, we still couldn't get a smile.

County Fair

2010-08-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

It's kind of sad that our kids look forward to the county fair as much as they do, but they absolutely love going. They love the rides, the animals and the food. It's pretty fun to see how excited they are and since we still haven't ever taken them to a real amusement park (poor deprived children), the rides at the fair seem to be the coolest things ever! Little do they know that there really are better rides out there that do a little more than just go around in a circle.

Caleb, Parker, Madi and Annie enjoying the roller coaster!

Caleb and Parker being such brave boys trying out a new ride -
luckily they left the ride with smiles on their faces!

Parker loved this ride so much he had to ride it with his dad!

Myles was such a good kid watching his brother and sister!

Golf Camp Again - Fore!!

2010-08-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

Parker and Madi love to golf, so we signed them up for a second session of golf camp at the Logan River Golf Coarse. They both did great and they both even won a prize from the contests they have throughout the week. Madi's was for the best chip and Parker couldn't remember what his was for, either longest drive or best chip. Way to go kiddos!

Madi, Lillian and Annie

Madi, Caleb in background, Annie and Lillian

Lillian, Madi and Annie

Nice chip!

Due to the fact that we have a new little one in our family this year, I wasn't able to get all the pictures that I usually get. The kids were in this golf camp with Lillian Mullen, Annie and Caleb Christensen and Joshua Gozart. They had a fun time doing it with some friends and everyone did great!

Eye Surgery Again!

2010-08-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

Poor little man Myles had to go through another eye surgery today. He has clogged tear ducts and in May they punctured them, however they closed back up with scar tissue. So this time they put tiny tubes up through his nose, out the lower tear duct, into the upper tear duct and then back into the nose and tied it in a knot. Sounds terrible, doesn't it? The surgery went really well and they were done in about 30 minutes. It took Myles about 45 minutes to finally settle after waking up and he went down for a nice nap once we got home, then he was just a little irritible all day. The tubes are about the size of fishing line and you can see them in the corners of his eyes. He will have them in for about 3 months and then Dr. Siler can remove them in his office. Hopefully this time it will work.

Before the surgery we were sure to get some shots of him in his cute little hospital gown.

And of course we couldn't resist taking some bare bum shots.

Hardware Ranch and Sunshine!!

2010-03-14T14:25:00.001-07:00

We finally saw the sun again!! After being in the ugly Cache Valley inversion all winter, one can forget that it is possible to have sunshine in the middle of winter. An impromptu trip up to Hardware Ranch with Jim & Kris, Kevin & Candace, and my cousin Kari (unfortunately Paul was at home with their sick baby) gave us the opportunity to see some beautiful blue skies again. It was wonderful and the kids enjoyed the sleigh ride and getting up close and personal with the elk, however Madi keeps referring to them as cows with antlers. I guess she is correct calling the females cows, it just keeps throwing me off. The horses that pulled the sleigh were named Ruby and Reba. How cute is that?

Lynn, Myles and Lillian ready for the ride to begin James, Peter, Ruth, Audrey, Parker and Spencer We couldn't get much of a smile from Madi, but she really did have a good time.

Lillian, Kevin, Claire, Jim, Kris, Peter and Kari

Lynn and Myles enjoying the view.

James

Audrey, Parker and Spencer

Uncle Jim helping Madi pet Ruby

After the sleigh ride, we had the chance to do a little sledding on the perfect hill. It was super fast and the only bad thing was that we had to dive and catch everyone at the bottom or they had to roll off the sled because there was a parking lot at the end and there would have a been a major collision with a parked car. It was great! Madi and Claire joined up together on one sled and laughed the whole way down the hill every time.

Thanks Kevin for the nice save!

Myles 4 Months

2010-01-30T13:41:00.000-08:00

Myles is 4 months old! I can't believe it! He is such a happy baby and always quick to smile. He's still not sleeping through the night and Dr. Odell says to make sure I make note that I can't eat ice cream or milk because it makes him spit up a ton the next day (a sacrifice to remind him of when he is a teenager). Madi is such a great big sister and Parker is a great big brother. We are so glad to have him in our family! We love you Myles!!

Madi's Braids

2010-01-25T14:09:00.000-08:00

Ever since we went camping with Lynn's family this last summer, Madi has been asking me when we can braid her hair like Tamsyn's. Well, I finally caved and about 2 hours later and 3 different sessions here are the results. It was really cute on her, I just need to figure out a faster way to get it done. I think we counted about 30 braids in all.

Myles in January

2010-01-25T13:50:00.000-08:00

Here are some random pictures of Myles throughout the month of January. Such a cute boy!!

Yes, my mom is still bathing me in the sink. Ugh!

The price you pay when you have an older sister!

Myles gives great smiles in the mirror and these are the best pictures I could get on my own.

My camera flashes a little orange light before taking the picture and he would pull this face each time he saw that light. I guess it freaked him out a little.

First time in the exersaucer!

My two favorite boys!

I Have a Hand!!!

2010-01-15T22:07:00.000-08:00

Myles discovered his hand today. It was really cute watching him stare at it for the longest time. Now to connect the brain and hand together so that he can grab things. It won't be long.

Madi is Five!!!

2010-01-11T21:56:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has already been 5 years since this beautiful little girl joined our family. Seems like that snowy January night when we drove to the hospital was just yesterday. Madilyn Pearl is such a special girl and we are so glad she is part of our family. She is such a tease and always keeps us laughing. I call her a little Lynn because she literally acts just like her dad. She has the same amount of stubbornness, likes her naps and loves to make people laugh. Hopefully she will grow up just like him and have the same love for her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, the same love for the gospel and the same caring/giving heart. Look at how she has grown! Madilyn's favorite things to do are: play with Annie, help me cook, dress-up, play with her princess dolls, watch cartoons, dance, eat ice cream, pastrami sandwiches and Mac & Cheese, go to preschool, camp, play on the computer, snuggle with 'Pink', and copy everything Parker does. We love you Madi... Happy Birthday!!! The kids get to have a birthday party every other year and since this was the off year, we just called a few of her close friends to go to McDonald's for lunch on her birthday. It made it nice and easy for me and she still had something special to look forward to.

The McDonald's clan... Madi, Ewan, Annie, Jude, Myles and Sylvie.

Enjoying some ice cream! Madi, Annie, Silvie, Ewan and Jude.

Did I mention that Madi's favorite thing to eat is ice cream?

This year she asked for an Ariel cake. Probably one of the easier cakes I've made lately (which I was thankful for) and she had fun helping me stick on the fish.

The night of her birthday we had Uncle Kevin, Aunt Candace, Lillian, Isabelle and Grandma & Grandpa Dahle over for dinner (Madi's favorite chicken and rice), cake and ice cream.

Lynn rode Madi's new bike down the hall for her to see it and she didn't show much emotion, just said "huh!" However, the next morning she was looking at the bike and said "That is super-duper what I wanted!" Thank goodness!

Parker, Myles, Madi, Lillian and Isabelle

Uncle Kevin was messing around with the glow sticks and got this picture of Parker. Pretty cool!

He'll Always Be With Me

2010-01-03T21:24:00.000-08:00

Parker is such a thoughtful kid. Out of the blue today he told me "Hey mom, you know what? Myles will never be ignored during the middle of the night because he will always be with me." It is so sweet to think that he was concerned about Myles even in the middle of the night.

HApPy nEW yEaR!!

2010-01-02T21:17:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is already 2010. It seems like just yesterday when there was the big Y2K scare and the anticipation of a new century. Bringing in the new year was a pretty quiet event for us this year. We were going to get together with Burke and Amie for a party, however Madi and Lynn had pretty bad colds so we ended up just taking it easy. The kids went to bed fairly early and Lynn and I rented Season 5 of Lost and watched quite a bit of that throughout the night. On New Year's Day, we took the kids to the movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. This is one of my favorite books and we thought the movie was pretty great as well. The kids absolutely loved it. The kids also had some fun building a snowman. They built it all on their own and did such a great job.

The day after New Year's, the kids added to their one snowman and made a little family of snowmen with Grandma's help. Unfortunately they didn't last too long because some deer came and ate the snowmen's noses and trampled them in the process. They were adorable while they lasted though!

Here is our little chubby snowman!

Thoughtful Mommy

2009-12-31T21:12:00.000-08:00

This morning, Lynn and I were lying in bed and overheard Madi playing in her room. She had turned on her Baby Alive doll and the doll said "Hi Mommy, I'm hungry." In a pretty angry voice, Madi yelled at her doll and said, "NO! NOT HUNGRY! YOU'LL GO PEE IN YOUR DIAPER OUT YOUR HOLE!" I know that sounds terrible, but it made us laugh pretty hard. It's a good thing she still has quite a few years before she starts baby sitting or has real children of her own.

Myles 3 Months

2009-12-30T21:02:00.000-08:00

Myles is now 3 months old and again I say, where does the time go? He is such a cute baby. I love the dimple in his chin and he is smiling all the time now. Madi has decided she can now carry him which keeps us on our toes, but she is doing a great job. Both Parker and Madi keep him entertained all the time and are always willing to help in any way they can except for changing diapers. Myles, we are so glad you are a part of our family!

I love how this one looks like his head is floating. :)

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T16:44:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS IS HERE!!!! After much anticipation and preparation, Christmas finally arrived. Luckily the kids slept in until about 8:00, which was very nice, however once they were awake it was hard to keep them contained until we could have everything ready. As you can tell from the picture below, they were sprinting down the hallway. Except for the funny thing is that they sprinted right to the empty cookie plate and milk glass first to make sure Santa had his treat. It took a while for them to realize there were presents for them on the couch. Parker and Madi sprinting down the hallway.

Aha! They finally found the presents!

Myles with his haul from Santa

Parker and Madi were more than willing to help Myles open his gifts.

The happy little baby!

Oh look! They can now be twinners with their dad. It's a blanket with sleeves!

This was such a fun year for gifts from the kids. Parker made us a 2010 calendar at school, bought Lynn a basketball clapper and he bought me a little tea cup that says Mom on it and has a kitty inside (priceless when it is coming from your child). Myles got a little football from Parker and Madi got a multi-colored marker. He picked them out all by himself at a little Christmas store they have at the school and he was so excited for us to open them. Madilyn made a Christmas ornament for us at preschool with her picture on it. Thanks kids, those were all my favorite gifts!!

Do you think this is a hint that I need to clean the house? Actually, I did ask for a small vacuum so I was very excited to get one. Lynn also gave us scuba diving lessons. I am sooooo excited to learn to scuba. Too bad we don't live closer to the ocean, but at least it will give us an excuse to go on some exciting vacations. Thanks babe for the awesome surprise!

Lynn got a new fly rod. At first he thought I just gave him a new case. It was pretty funny.

A nice stocking stuffer from Santa! Aren't they adorable?

Myles amongst the Christmas morning chaos!

The three monkeys in their Christmas pajamas.

We are so blessed. It was a wonderful Christmas for us all and we had such a wonderful relaxing day as a family. I think we were all in our pajamas until Grandpa Dahle (Grandma Dahle was sick), Kevin and Candace came over for dinner.

The only thing Madi asked for from Santa was a doll that has diapers she can change. Well, sure enough, she got a Baby Alive doll from Santa and immediately wanted to feed it some of the food it came with. After she fed it, she was in her room playing and all the sudden she was saying "Mooooom, come here." As I entered her room, she pointed to her doll and whispered "Look!" The doll had messed her pants and Madi wanted me to bring her a wash cloth. She was very embarrassed by it and told me "Don't tell dad, it's a secret." Later that day, after the embarrassment wore off a little, she finally told Lynn and pointed to her doll and said "She poops out that hole." Needless to say, she has refused to feed it any food since because she doesn't want to have to change her diaper. If only real babies were that easy.

Madi and her precious new baby that has diapers she doesn't want to change.

Our Lego master. Parker's favorite toys has to be Lego's. He does such a good job building with them and following the instructions. He had this ship completed by the end of the day.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-26T15:30:00.000-08:00

The morning of Christmas Eve began with one of favorite traditions. Bowling with the family! Todd and Mick and my parents were still in town so we were all able to go bowling together. However, we missed having Jim and Kris and the kids there. Of course there was a little competition going on for the best score as a couple and Todd and Mick ended up as the winners. Apparently Todd had a lot of practice bowling during his college days at SUU :) At least that is what we will blame it on. It couldn't be because of all the gutter balls I had.

Madi lining up her ball.

Parker after his first strike!!!

Parker lending a hand.

All of the bowling cousins... Madi, Isabelle, Pace, Briggs, Lillian, Parker, Myles and Jaygen

The rest of the day was very nice and relaxing. Lynn and I both did some separate shopping trips for some last minute things and the kids just played. Then we baked and frosted cookies for Santa. A few ended up with a pile of beautiful candy decorations and the kids were positive those would be Santa's favorites!

The cookies and chocolate milk for Santa. We also left some reindeer food and carrots on the front porch for Rudolph and clan.

After the kids opened one present from us and were all ready for bed, we did one of my favorite traditions of all...Lynn read the story of Christ's birth from the Bible. Each year when we do this tradition, I always think of my Grandpa Mullen and the times they would spend Christmas Eve at our house. I remember Grandpa reading the story of Christ's birth from the Bible as well, and then we would look out the window to try and find the brightest star in the sky. Oh, the memories....

I love the spirit of Christmas and the joy it brings each year. It is always such a stressful time with all the preparation, parties, shopping and such, however I love the feeling of peace I get each time we are reminded of the true meaning of Christmas and the greatest gift we ever received. I love my savior and am so grateful for the spirit He brings into my life. I hope my children will always know of my love for Jesus and strive to have a relationship with Him as well.

Mullen Christmas Party

2009-12-23T21:46:00.000-08:00

The annual Mullen Christmas party was held at Kevin and Candace's house this year and as always, we had a great time. They did a great job hosting and even sponsored the 2nd annual Amazing Race event. It was a lot of fun, they spent a ton of time setting up all the clues and activities and all of them had something to do with our childhood. For example, we went to Sky View for a few of the clues which is where my dad taught for 30 years, then we headed out to Newton and did some sleigh riding on the hill by our old house, clay pigeon shooting at Newton Dam and even went to the first house my parents lived in when they were married. It was a lot of fun to see all the old places and think of all the memories. Jim's family ended up being the winners of the race, I still can't believe he could remember the words to Sky View's school song. After the race, we ate a delicious dinner of my Dad's Chile Verde, opened presents and had a great hot chocolate bar and cinnamon rolls for dessert. Thanks Kevin and Candace for all the work you did in hosting the party. We had a great time! The kids spent most of the night sliding down the stairs. It was noisy, but they had fun and surprisingly, there weren't many bonked heads. Myles managed to sleep through most of it. Getting ready for the main event - PRESENTS! Myles and his new duck from Grandma and Grandpa.

Audrey, Lillian and Isabelle patiently waiting for their gift. Yeah!!! More Lego's!!

Myles checking out another one of his gifts from Grandma and Grandpa.

All the shopping accessories. I can't wait to go shopping!

Parker and his new hat from Claire

Grandma and Grandpa with Lillian.

Thanks to Jim for the gift Lynn has always wanted. It's a blanket with Sleeves!!! What will they think of next? And the gift that Jim has always dreamed of... a new welding helmet from Lynn! Awesome!!

Helicopter Ride!!!

2009-12-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

A friend of ours is training to be a helicopter pilot and today was our lucky day! He invited us to go on a ride in the helicopter with him. He was with an instructor and had to fly by only looking at the control panel (he was wearing a special blindfold and couldn't look out the windows the whole trip). Anyway, we got to enjoy the ride in the backseat and spent about 2 hours in the air. It was a first for both of us and we had a great time. It was fun to see the valley from a bird's eye view. We were both surprised at how much water winds its way through this valley. It was beautiful even covered in snow. An aerial view of the great town of Newton (my home town)!

The city pool near our house. I was a little too slow to get one over our house.

Logan Temple

Christmas Pics

2009-12-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

As usual, this Christmas season has been a very busy one. Thinking I would save myself a trip to a photographer, I decided to test my own photography skills and take some pictures of the kids in their new Christmas clothes. This is probably my first real attempt at taking professional-like quality photos on my own at home. It was quite an adventure, especially getting 3 kids to all look at the camera at the same time. I ended up taking about 350 pictures in all and these are a few of my favorites. There aren't many different poses, but I love the different facial expressions each of the kids have. They were all such troopers and had a lot of patience with me. I am such a lucky mom to have such wonderful kids!

First Snow!

2009-12-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

Today we got our first decent snowfall of the season. The kids were so excited and immediately got their snow clothes on so they could play. It was almost dark, but we still had to get a few pictures especially since this was Myles' first snow ever!

How Do You Make Water?

2009-12-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

Lynn took Parker to the High School wrestling match tonight and while they were sitting there watching, Parker leaned over and asked, "Dad, how do you make water? If Jesus made it, then how can we?" I love getting the slightest glimpse into their minds and what they are thinking about.

Mister Tickles

2009-12-08T20:56:00.000-08:00

Lynn always teases the kids that Mr. Tickles, Mr. Hugs or Mr. Kisses is coming to get them and then proceeds to tickle, hug or kiss them. The kids absolutely love it and always run screaming when one of the names is mentioned. Well this morning, Lynn was telling the kids goodbye and said that Mr. Tickles would be coming to visit them this evening, but Mr. Hugs was the one there this morning. They said their goodbyes and as he was leaving, Madi whispered to Parker "Parker, I think dad is all the misters."

Gingerbread Houses

2009-12-08T14:45:00.000-08:00

For the past few years, we have started the tradition of decorating gingerbread houses during the month of December. So for family home evening we pulled out the treats and the kids had a ball. This was also the first year I made the gingerbread from scratch. It was surprisingly easy and made the house smell delicious. I'm sure we will be doing that each year as well. Madi with her delicious looking gingerbread house. I loved the fish pond and the suckers stuck on one side.

Parker with his gingerbread house and candy house that he made at school. He also had a great fishing pond and was very precise in following a pattern with all of the candy on the roof.

Since Myles missed out on all the fun with the gingerbread houses, I'm including some cute pictures of the little guy that were taken around the same time.

I wish I could look that relaxed while sleeping. Doesn't he look peaceful?

He has found his fist and can't seem to keep them out of his mouth.

Best buddies!

Dahle Christmas Party & Baptism

2009-12-06T14:29:00.000-08:00

After Parker's last basketball game, we headed over to the big happenin' city of Rock Springs, Wyoming for Spencer's baptism and the Dahle Christmas party. We were a little worried about the weather, but ended up getting there safely and only had snow on the roads for part of the way. Saturday was spent with the baptism and dinner and then on Sunday we had the Christmas party. As usual we all had a great time! Spencer's baptism went great and he was a beaming new member of the church. We are so proud of him and the decision he made to get baptized. Way to go Spencer! Spencer, Nicole, Keaton and Myles

Dallin sneakin' candy from the candy bowl!

Myles hanging with the older cousins - Joseph and James

Lynn was able to find the best present ever for Karen. Gotta love Michael Jackson!

Lance, Lisa, Spencer, Nicole and Keaton opening presents.

Great present for Grandpa from Sharon and Lohn.

All of the grandkids got cameras from Grandma and Grandpa Dahle. Needless to say, this day was well documented.

Oh the admiration! Madi admiring her older cousin, Nicole.

Basketball Comes to an End

2009-12-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

Today was the last day of Jr. Grizz basketball for Parker. He really enjoyed playing and seemed to have a lot of fun. They had a great team and really worked hard. We are so proud of him! I love the pause and look pictures. Always need at least one of them.

The lighting in the gym was terrible so none of these pictures are the best, but at least you can get an idea of what it was like.

Myles 2 Months

2009-11-30T16:08:00.000-08:00

Two months old already! I can't believe it. He is such a cute baby and is smiling all the time now. Parker and Madi still adore him and love spending time with the cute little guy. He is really close to sleeping through the night and we are still working on getting a decent nap schedule during the day, but loving every minute! We are so glad to have Myles as part of our family!