Let the count begin.

Last night was our first trip to the ER for stitches. Dallin fell into the bricks around our fireplace and split his forehead open. Nothing major, two hours at the ER and 5 stitches later he was good as new. I'm sure that this is the first of many visits and stitches. Tyler is nine and until now we have not had any broken bones or stitches (knock on wood). We have had one trip to the ER for a dislocated elbow, but that is it. I am just glad that it happened before we left town. Mitch and I leave tonight for a weekend getaway. My sis is watching all four of the kids for the weekend. Good luck Jess and Nate.

Family Pictures

My little sister has started doing photography. We went over to campus with her the other day and took some pictures. Not too bad. You will probably be seeing these again on our Christmas cards. Oh yeah, and she can take your pictures too.

Happy Halloween

This year we had Harry Potter, a cowgirl, a hula girl and Buzz Lightyear. It was the best weather on Halloween that we have seen in years. It was actually warm enough to trick-or-treat without jackets. All of the kids had Halloween parties at school and then we unleashed them on the neighborhood for the night. After trick-or-treating we drove around to a few friends houses to visit them. What a great year. Next year Dallin wants to be a giraffe and the girls want to be cheerleaders. Tyler is a last minute kind of guy. We see what they end up being after a year has pasted. Happy Halloween.

Soccer

So it has been a while since is posted last. This is just one of the reasons why. Mitch coached the girls varsity soccer team for one of the high schools here in town. He was pretty much M I A for the last two months. They had a great year and did really well. They were first in there region and made it to the semi-finals in the state tournament. Needless to say now our kids are all huge soccer fans. I think that they like hanging out with the soccer girls more that actually watching the game, but that's OK. We even scored a few babysitters. We enjoyed watching as many of the games that we could. The season was great, but we are glad to have Mitch back. Soccer started around the time that school started along with all of the kids activities. So with Mitch being so busy with soccer that meant that i was so busy with everything else. Now things have mellowed out and I actually have some free time on my hands to update my blog.

Happy Birthday Tyler

Tyler turned nine a few months ago. I can't believe that we have a nine year old. He had a great birthday. He opted not to have a friend birthday party so that he could get a really cool mountain bike. We had a fun family party together. Tyler is our little genius. He is incredibly smart and talented. He is currently taking piano lessons, wrestling and participating in cub scouts. He is always full of energy and keeps us on our toes. Some of his favorites are reading, riding his bike, playing sports, and video games. We love you Tyler and are so glad that you are in our family.

Scouts

The zucchini boat races are probably one of Ty's favorite scout activities. This month at pack meeting Tyler was awarded his wolf and arrow points. It was also the the annual zucchini boat race. The kids each carved there own boat out of zucchini and then race them down to canal. Some float and some flip over, but it is always a good time. Congratulations Ty!

Makayla Starts Kindergarten

Makayla had a her first day of kindergarten this week. At first she just wanted to ride her bike to school with Hanna. I talked her into letting me join her on her first day. Once we got there she was a little shy and nervous, but had a great day. I think this will be great for her. Dallin misses her already. So do I.

School Days

Back to school. Tyler and Hanna started back to school this week. Makayla will start next week and Dallin will start preschool the first week in September. All in all, everything went well. Tyler started at a new school which he was a little nervous about. I think that this year will be really good for him. Hanna has the same teacher that Tyler had last year that we really liked. She has a few friends in class with her and seems to be enjoying it. Makayla will start Kindergarten next week. We went in today and spent some one on one time with her teacher. Makayla is by far my shyest child. She has the same teacher that Hanna had which is good because it helps her feel a little bit more comfortable. I think that after the first week she will really warm up and have fun. Wow!! it is already quieter around here. Can you imagine what it will be like with all four of them in school? Bitter sweet.

Family Fun Triathlon

This past weekend the kids participated in a family fun triathlon. Hanna was the swimmer for our team, Tyler did the biking, and Makayla and Dallin ran. The distances were all different based on their age. The kids had so much fun that next year they might enter individually. At the end all of the participants were given medals and t-shirts. What a great way to end the summer.

Family Reunion

Mitch's Family reunion was up in Utah this year. Most of his family was able to attend. We had a great time getting reaquainted with aunts, uncles and cousins. The kids really enjoyed the water. It was really hot, but the kyacks and waterballoons sure helped to cool things down.

Happy 24th of July

For the 24th of July the kids got to ride on a float with all of the kids from our neighborhood. They threw lots of candy and had fun. It is a tradition every year and then we enjoy the festivities at the park and watch fireworks that night. This year Mitch wasn't here, but his parents and brother's family joined us. We had a great time.

Summer Vacation

On our way down to Mexico we stopped and stayed in Arizona for a few days. We spent some time in Flagstaff, Phoenix and Sedona. It was great to see old friends and family and spend some time at the creek. We had fun miniature golfing, playing at the park, spending time with friends, seeing uncle Grant, shopping, getting wet at Red Rock Crossing, and watching the movie on the square. All of the fun things that we miss about Arizona. The only down fall was that the AC in our Suburban went out. Nothing that a quick trip to the mechanic can't fix. Did you notice the pout face on Makayla when she is at the creek. That is because she fell in the water and lost not one, but both of her flip flops. Thank goodness there was a little bit of a dam built up down the creek and dad was able to save the day and rescue them.