Did anyone watch the Miss Universe pagent?

Miss USA fell down in the evening gown competition. I know, it's sad, but we watched it like 10 times (thanks to satellite tv) She ended up making it to the top 5, but the Mexican crowd was booing her. So sad... and yet, so funny.

makes it ALL worth it...

Just as I was falling asleep last night, Luke came to my bed. Since Aaron was still out playing volleyball, I let him crawl in with me under these circumstances.. no talking, moving or making any weird noises. (Luke is a beat-boxer and is always making some crazy sound.) About a minute later, I hear, "But mom, I really need to tell you something."

Me: "Okay, what?"

Luke: "I've loved you ever since I was a baby." (Now playing with my hair)

Me: "Wow! How can you remember THAT long ago?"

Luke: "When I was little I didn't know how to smile, but you teached me how to."

Motherhood is exhausting, emotional and really hard some days... but the paydays most definitely come!

California Dreamin'

We had a fabulous time in So. Cali.. The vacation was long overdue! Even though it was a little cold at the beach, we managed to have a good time.

Hiking out on a rocky pier... we got hit by a couple of big waves! It was fun, but a little scary with two adventurous boys and a crazy baby.

Zack LOVED the beach (as you can obviously see) this photo was taken about 5 minutes after we arrived. He went straight for the sand and I am sure he got his money's worth.

It's too bad we can't all look this good with our hair naturally blowing in the wind... yikes.

We found lots of crabs and starfish!

Swimming at our hotel after the beach..

The Animal

Zack's nickname went from "ZIGGY" (Thanks to Luke's creative little mind) to "The Animal" He is such a fun toddler, but BOY do we have our hands full! Zack is all over the place...getting into everything. Aaron started telling Ben and Luke not to let "the Animal" out of the house or else he would escape. and the name seemed to fit perfectly.

"Did you feed The Animal?" or "Who let The Animal on the table?" Aaron said last night that if he doesn't behave, he's going to have to sleep outside. It's probably a good idea to train him as an outdoor pet.

Zack thinks he can jump and insists on being on the trampoline with the boys.. not quite, kiddo.

He's doing really well with his animal sounds.. he knows all the farm animals, but Ben and Luke have taught him all their favorite animals sounds.. most of them made up. This is Zack doing his elephant impression.. trunk and all.

Zoo, Zoo and more Zoo

We are animaled out..


After an amazing Elephant show at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

Our little explorers.. This is how Ben and Luke spent the majority of the day.. (placing us on the map and trying to figure out which animal to see next.)









Zack saw Ben and Luke posing for the picture and knew exactly what to do! He was so excited to put his face in there and smile for the shot. He thinks he's a lot older than he is... and we love him anyway.


I LOVED having my husband around!! What a great vacation!

Ben's Stellar Performance

Ben played the part of an alligator in a little play.. "the Very Lazy Ladybug." Here the lazy ladybug is taking a ride on his back as he swims across the river. Ben was SO serious about his role (like everything else he does) Aaron and I couldn't help but smile when he was on stage.. We love our Ben!

Taking care of 8 Kiddos!

The kids and I headed to West Jordan to watch my sister's 5 kids! (Kristy and Randy went on a cruise for a week.. and they will watch our boys when Aaron and I go to Hawaii in August!) Anyway, it was a great experience.. really. The Kimball cousins are such good kids- we honestly had a party and the boys didn't want to leave their house. Wish I had more pictures of us on their new playset or playing kick ball in the backyard, but all I have is the day at the zoo (of course.)






Karlin and Avaree... two of our fav girls!

Karlin and her two kids came with us and as well as Grandma Bev. I couldn't have made it through the day without them! Good times, good times.

Twinner Cousins

I had twins for a week! This double stroller came in handy! Zack and Carson are best buds and were SO cute together. Zack often sees another toddler and says, "Car-car?"

Zack and Anna. She is one tough cookie and was so cute in her purple cast.. the second for her.

Zack, Anna and Carson swinging at the park.


Zack and I have a lot of pictures together. I wonder if that's because Ben and Luke love to take pictures. hmmm..