Las Vegas

Paul and I went to Las Vegas for a work conference. There were over 20 of our co-workers there and we had so much fun! We were in conferences all day and we got to play all night. The really great thing for us is that the conference talked about young children with special needs. I got to get paid to sit and learn a ton of things that will not only help the children I work with, but help us in raising Keslee.

This is the brave group of us that rode the roller coaster at New York New York. It was a lot of fun, but really banged us around.

We stayed at the Paris while we were there. Our room had a view of the pool and the Bellagio water fountains across the street.

We went and saw the Lion King one night with a bunch of friends. It was so neat. We were wishing our kids were there to see it. It is a must see!

Here is a group of us at the Bellagio.

We ran into BumbleBee on the street one night. It was an amazing costume.

Jake's Birthday

Jake has now turned 15 and the streets are officially not safe anymore. :) Jake gets his learning permit and "he already knows everything about driving." He is actually a pretty good driver, but I still can't believe he is this old. He is such a great boy! The rest of our kids are lucky to have him to look up to. For his birthday he chose to go to Pizza Pie Cafe with some friends and family and then he wanted a Springville High Red Devils cake. This is the school symbol. It was a lot of fun even though Keslee got her tubes that day and Daxton did not feel very good. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE!!!!!

Snow Fun

We went up to the Uintas with my parents, my friend Ashlie and her boys. It was snowing and we were a little nervous that it would be too cold, but we stayed warm hiking and it was absolutely breathtaking. Most of us were in snow shoes. The kids took right off and were running and playing.

My Dad is amazing and took us through the most beautiful terrain. We hiked right along a river and even crossed it several times. The kids thought that was really cool.

My Dad took Daxton in the front and worked him all day. At the end, Daxton came home with his Winter Sports Merit Badge. He was really excited!

Keslee did so amazing! I only had to carry her a little at the end.

Rylan's First Cake

For one of Rylan's pack meetings in scouts, he had to decorate a cake and bring it for dessert. He chose to make a pinewood derby car. I baked the cake and let him decorate it all by himself. He practiced on the counter and then did it. He did such a great job that his friends did not think he really decorated it. Good job Rylan!

Josh's Birthday

Josh turned 13 in February. I can't believe we now have 3 teenagers. The next few years will be very exciting at our house! Josh picked a very unique cake for his birthday. At the top of this money sign he asked for it to read "My dad doesn't have to work on the weekends because we're so RICH". You have to hear Josh say it with his accent. It is so funny! I love that boy! Paul doesn't have to work on the weekends, but unfortunately it's not because we are so rich. Happy Birthday Josh! You make our home full of laughter and hugs!

Goblin Valley and Arches

At the end of January we took a trip down south to Goblin Valley and Arches. The boys all left earlier to go pheasant hunting and I brought the girls down after school. I do not have the pictures of the hunting yet and I am not sure I really want to see them. We will have to see. I have not been to Arches since I was young and it was my kid's first time. We had a lot of fun! We went with Grandpa Daybell and Jeremy and Uncle Matt and his boys.

Rylan caught a lizard and he was so happy and excited. Of course he wanted to bring it home, but he chose to let it live. At least long enough to get away from us at the end.

We also went hiking up some narrows in Deadhorse Canyon by Goblin Valley. The kids had so much fun scrambling up the walls.

It was fun to hike to Delicate Arch. It is so breathtaking!

Jake and Jeremy showing us how tough they really are.

Goblin Valley was as fun as I remember it being when I was young. We played tag and explored caves and ledges for hours!

TANGLED

Tonight I got to take Keslee to see Tangled. All the other kids wanted to go and see Harry Potter and I knew that there was no way Keslee could sit through that movie. There were a few times during Tangled that I didn't think we would make it through to the end. She got restless and she was having a hard time following the story line. We hung in there and she ended up loving the movie. I have to tell you that it was quite the process getting to the movie. Keslee had two babies, a stroller and a backpack filled with everything she just knew that her babies would need to make it through the show. This is nothing new for us....everywhere we go, Keslee has to pack and re-pack her bags taking a lot of time and great thought into what she needs. I have learned that it is best to just help her with this process or it will take us twice as long to get anywhere. Everywhere we go.....we are hauling around strollers, high chairs, cribs and bags and bags and bags!!! For those of you who know Keslee, you know that once she has made up her mind about something, there is no reasoning with her. You also know that I give in to her because I hate to see her upset. (You might call it spoiled....I choose to use the word SPECIAL) Well, tonight I am glad that I lugged part of our house down to the movie theater. When Rapunzel got home to her mom and dad, Keslee held up her two babies and yelled out "YES". It was so cute. As soon as the credits started, Keslee jumped out of her chair and started dancing up and down the aisle with her two babies. I was already crying of course because you can't watch that movie without bawling like a baby at the end. Keslee was in her own world and completely unaware that everyone was watching her and chuckling because she was so cute. She danced through the entire credits all wrapped up in her own little world. I just sat there alone in the theater crying like a fool (thanks to my Dad's genes) and watched my little angel dance her heart out at the front of the theater. I sat there and thought about how lucky I am to get the chance to raise such a sweet, pure and innocent daughter of God. I don't know how I was lucky enough to be chosen to be her mother, but I love that little girl so much! I am grateful for the gift of patience that I have been blessed with to raise a special spirit like Keslee. She has made so much progress this last year. That being said, I know that she will always be Keslee and that is just fine with me. I honestly wouldn't want her any other way. Anyway, I mostly blogged this so that I can always remember the details because tonight will always be a special memory of my sweet Keslee and the truly angelic girl she is.
Oh and Audrey, both of these baby's names are Lily, so now we have 4 babies named Lily and you only have one. :) (My sister just had the cutest baby girl and named her Lily. Now every baby we have at our house is named Lily because Isabelle has a baby Lily.)

Our Family's Top 10 of 2010

We did so many fun things this year that it is hard to pick just 10, but we have narrowed it down.....
10. SKIING/SNOWBOARDING We all had ski passes to Solitude and it was crazy getting all the hats, gloves and boots on, but we loved skiing (the pure sport) and snowboarding. Alyssa learned this last year and she was a natural. Bubba tried some snowboarding and all I can say is I am glad I make him wear a helmet. That kid has no fear and just took right off.
9. RIVER RAFTING We got to go up to Jackson Hole and run the Snake River with Paul's brother and his kids. The kids loved the rapids and hanging on to the boat being crazy. We also got to experience a huge hail storm!
8. CAPITAL REEF We got to go to Capital Reef with Paul's family for Spring Break. We had a lot of fun hiking, swimming and playing with cousins!
7. CALF CREEK We got to go to Calf Creek with my family. We had fun camping, hiking, jumping off waterfalls and cooking over the camp fire!
6. OAKLEY We always have so much fun going up to Oakley to see my family. The kids ride the golf cart, go hot tubbin', see cousins, throw tomahawks, play dress ups and we all play killer night games!
5. BOATING We love to go out on Grandma Daybell's boat. We swim, play on the beach and go absolutely crazy on the tube. Grandma is by far the most daring and we all have so much fun!
4. MOVING TO OUR NEW HOUSE Moving to Springville was a huge adventure for us this year. We love our new house and new schools. Everyone has made great friends and we love our new ward. Sometimes Daxton still misses Pleasant Grove, but I am so proud of him for how great he has been and I hear through the grapevine (Jake and his friends) that he is very popular at school.
3. SPORTS We have so many kids that love and are great at sports. Our year was full of getting to cheer on our kids. Amanda and Alyssa played softball. Jake played Football and Basketball. Daxton played Football and Basketball. Rylan played Flag Football and Basketball. They sure keep us busy, but we love seeing them excited about life and proud of their accomplishments.
2. BEACH We spend an amazing week in San Diego playing on the beach! It was the first time that my kids really got to enjoy a beach and we could not keep them out of the water. San Diego is one of Paul and his kids favorite places. They loved staying in a condo right on the beach. We got to see lots of our family and just enjoy being a new family!
1. WEDDING Now there is some differences in opinion as to if the beach or the wedding is number 1, but since I am writing this, I say definitely the wedding!!! This is one of the highlights of my life! It was the perfect wedding and the start of our fun family. We were surrounded by family and we got to spend a lot of quality time with our kids.

WOW! We really had a great year! So far, 2011 has started off amazing. So many great things are happening for our family. We have so many fun things already planned, so stay tuned...you don't want to miss out on any of our adventures.

Bubba's New Hair

So Rylan has been sporting his long hair for a long time now and he decided to get a new look. I had to take some pictures before he cut it and then some fun ones after. I think he is absolutely handsome either way. What do you think?