Vegas

Grandma and Grandpa Chalmers volunteered to watch the kids so we took off with Scott and Jenny for Vegas for the Fall Break. We saw shows: the Blue man Group, Jersey Boys, and the Beatles One Love Cirque du Soleil. 

We lounged at the pool (it was way too cold to go in)

Walked around the strip and went to the Hoover Dam. It was such a nice break, we had a great time.

Park City Trip

For the fourth of July, we headed up to Park City for the weekend with Scott and Jenny's family. We went to the 4th of July Parade, then headed back to the condo we rented to swim. Jenni, Brickley, Grandpa and Grandma came up for the day.  Ellie was sick so Jenny didn't come up until Saturday night.

That night my shoulder was hurting so I stayed home with Carter, Paige and Jaxon who didn't want to watch fireworks.

On Saturday, we swam all morning.

Dad and Uncle Scott took all the kids except Kylie to go hiking. My shoulder joint was really hurting so I stayed home again.

Bear lake trip

We spent the long weekend at a cabin we rented. Kent & Stacy, Scott & Jenny and Jenni & her boys plus all the kids were able to join us and we had the best time!

We went snowmobiling and sledding most of the time 

It was the perfect weekend with some pretty fun people. 

St. George

On the way to St George, the kids watched movies and Paul and I listened to a book. About an hour away, we tuned in to our neice Natalies baptism over webcam. It was so fun to be part of it, to see her dad baptize and confirm her. Technology is amazing!

We had some time to go swimming and to dinner. 

At a Mexican Restaurant for dinner. Paige and Jaxon had a blast opening and closing the door for customers.

The next day was Easter Sunday. For Easter Sunday, we went to church... 

These were the before and afters. We could not get a good picture of the kids lol.

then visited the temple grounds. It was a gorgeous day and a great way to spend a special day. This is the first temple I ever remember seeing/hearing about but had never been on the grounds. I loved it. Happy Easter!

Afterwards we went swimming, 

Then hiking at Red Reef Trail, then ate our Easter dinner at Outback where all the kids ate free :)

It was such a fun weekend, I'm glad we were able to get away and have Scott, Jenny and the kids join us. I think this may become a new tradition.

Bahamas Getaway

We are very fortunate for Paul to have the job he does. He's a hard worker and recently earned a Super Start Vacation in the Bahamas for the two of us. He was in the top three sales people in his division for hte first quarter. We left on Wednesday night and came home Sunday night. With Hurricane Sandy, our original flight was cancelled (the layover was in NYC) but luckily his company travel agent was quick and found us another flight. Some others had much longer flights. Ours wasn't too bad. We left at 1am MST and got there at 1pm EST.

The resort, Atlantis, was amazing. We had access to the Atlantis water park with 11 swimming areas, 11 water slides, two Lazy River Rides, our protected Paradise Lagoon, The Dig, the Predator's Lagoon, all of our marine life habitats, and the ocean beach area. We also got to swim with the dolphins (hands down my favorite) and go on a catamaran and snorkel.

It was a great vacation that was much needed for the both of us.

I ❤ Aruba

Paul earned an all inclusive trip to Aruba for work for the two of us. Six days of relaxation and fun... it was amazing.

Our first day we went on a jeep tour that took us all over the island. Such a fun day with fun people! At our first stop on the jeep tour, the island was rocky and wavy but beautiful. Then we went to a Donkey Sanctuary (there really is such a place). Then we went to a Rock Fort. The next day was full of snorkeling and hanging out at the hotel pool and beaches. The grounds were beautiful and I honestly loved it!

 

We were able to extend our trip one night and decided to try another hotel. It wasn't as fabulous but it did have its own island with real flamingo. We ended up spending our last morning on the island.

Some parts of Aruba I now know: It is a desert but you'd never know it from the resorts. There are lizards EVERYWHERE. Some are tiny, others quite large. The people are SO nice everywhere. Parasailing isn't as terrifying as I thought it was going to be. My favorite part of the trip was floating in the ocean for hours on a foam pad while Paul paddle boarded with the boys. It was comical and so fun! We ❤ Aruba and can't wait to go back!

Vegas Rock n' Roll Half Marathon Weekend

Paul loves running and luckily so does his sister so we headed to Vegas for the RnR Half Marathon. We had a blast with Kim and Aaron. I think this will become a tradition.

We went to eat and went to a Comedy Show. We walked A LOT...

 Kim and I, ❤ her!

The race was Sunday night... pumped up for the race.

During the race, there were 44,000 runners for the half and full marathon. It was awesome to see.

After the race, it was freezing cold but they both did awesome!

We had a great time in Vegas!

My parents met us in Vegas on Saturday and took the kids back with them to California until Monday. In California, the kids: made cookies with Nana, had a pizza party with Poppy, decorated Nana and Poppy's Christmas tree, saw the lights at Mission Inn, and saw Santa. They had a blast! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Mexican Rivera Cruise

Sometimes its nice to get away, its even nicer to be able to do it alone. This summer, Paul and I escaped with his brother Larry and SIL Jessica on a 7 day Cruise to Mexico. It was a ton of fun.

Fun on the boat...

Our first port in Cabo San Lucas. We were supposed to go kayaking but due to wind our excursion was canceled. It was actually a lot more fun to play at the beach then eat out. It was so hot in Cabo, it was perfect (the ship was pretty chilly).

 

Our second stop was Puerta Villarta. Paul and I did an excursion by ourselves called the extreme adventure. I was very nervous about it after reading the brochure but it was probably the most fun thing we've ever done. We rode a speed boat, saw piranhas in the water (there were supposedly crocodiles too!), rode donkeys, went off roading, zip-lining (coolest/scariest thing ever), repelled down waterfalls. It was seriously A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

We had a blast with Larry and Jess and can't wait for the next vacation!

 We always miss the kids but are so lucky we have great family to take care of them. While we were gone, Nana and Poppy took them to San Diego for a few days at the beach. Kade's favorite thing in the world to do is stay at a hotel so he loved it (so did the rest). They swam in the pool all day and had the most fun.

 My mom had a hysterectomy a few weeks before and was still recovering. The girls were big helpers to Nana and Poppy. Kade loved helping Poppy with the yardwork (he dressed himself this morning lol).

They had a blast with their Nana and Poppy.

California Vacation

Our vacation this year was a good one. We spent two weeks in California. Paul had to work so I drove the kids a little early to California. These kids are finally old enough that it wasn't too awful (even though it was almost 12 hours). The kids ate snacks, played with their toys, watched movies. They were very entertained. Did I mention Moose was with us :) ? We ended up driving to my grandparents home and stayed two nights. Great Grandma and Grandpa always provide  a good time. There was lots of spa time (the kids love love love the spa) and even Great Grandmas famous Mickey Mouse Pancakes with M&Ms.

Then we went to the San Diego Zoo with Nana and Poppy. This Zoo is our very most favorite and Great Grandma and Grandpa always get us free tickets which makes it affordable :) We ❤ it! My mom was still recovering from surgery but you would never know it. 

All the kids in the African Exhibit. It was super hot on this lion but they were such good sports.

Momma & Kids in front of the Zebras.

 All the zoo fun! Kylie's favorite was the flamingos, Bailey's were the bears and Kades were the Koalas. Jaxon loved being by Poppy. They are best buds.

 Then we went to Oceanside beach with Poppy, Nana, Great Aunt Robin and Uncle Jim (Poppy's Sister/Brother in law). It was freezing most of the day but you'd never guess it from how much Kylie and Bailey played in the water. They're pretty brave, we kept having to make sure they didn't go out too far. They loved the waves. Jaxon had no fear of the water this year either. It was a little nerve racking. Kade was much more interested in the sand. He built all kinds of sand creations. Beach day is usually my favorite. There's nothing I love more than sun, sand, and relaxation.

 

The last two days were spent relaxing and getting ready for the Cruise. It was a great week!

California Adventure

We love going to California. I miss living there but am so glad we get to visit at least once a year. This year, we decided to go while Paul was at his sales conference in Arizona. He was able to fly in and out of Ontario so he spent half the time with us. We all had a great time! I took way too many pictures again so I'm going to show you the highlights. For all our pictures click here

Day 1: Sea World
Our favorite were: feeding the dolphins (awesome!), shamu shows, fireworks, the polar bears (Kade), the dolphin show (Kylie), Seal show (Bailey), and just being together! The kids each got $25 to spend of their own money and spent it wisely. There was no asking over and over of anything and everything. Kylie chose a white seal stuffed animal and dolphin necklace, Bailey chose a baby shamu and turtle necklace, and Kade chose a polar bear. We had a fabulous time!

Day 2-3: Visit Great Grandparent
Monday morning Paul flew out and we headed to my grandparents house for the night. We ate mickey mouse pancakes and swam in the spa. It was so much fun and I'm so sad I didn't think to take pictures.

When we got back to my parents, the kids decorated their own beach pails my mom bought them. I made some vinyls before we left, they each chose what they wanted, then they decorated them. It was a lot of fun!

Click on the picture to see it larger

Day 4: Oceanside Beach

We sat in the sun, played in the sand and splashed in the ocean. L-O-V-E-D it!

Click on the picture to see it larger

Day 5: Hanging out

Paul came home around noon, so the two of us went to lunch. It was nice to spend some time alone. Then we ran errands (boring I know) and that night my Aunt Robin and Uncle Jim came to dinner. It was so much fun seeing them. Again I didn't take pictures. I'm not sure why I forget when we are hanging out at home... 

Day 6: San Diego Zoo

On our final day, my grandparents gave us 4 free passes to the San diego zoo. I <3 this zoo. It has every animal and is just beautiful. We saw tons of monkeys (they have a whole section of all the different monkeys), tigers, pandas, lions, elephants, zebras, bears, koalas, turtles, alligators, crocs, gorillas, hippos, and so much more. It was a great day and a great way to end the vacation!

Click on the picture to see it larger

We had a great vacation and can't wait to go back!

I Heart St. George... and will miss Auntie Amanda

Seriously I love St. George and I love vacations especially with family. Last weekend, we met up with my mom and sister. Neither of us had time to drive the full way (they live in Cali) so we met up half way in St. George and it was oh so fun! My sis is leaving for Thailand for two years to teach. We are going to miss her like crazy. My kids adore their Auntie Amanda and we had lots of fun.  We spent most of our time at the pool  (these pictures are not in order, I actually did them backwards. I didn't take the camera out until Sunday, I know... I'm lame lol)

 My super awesome kidlets playing in the pool. The girls seriously did not get out unless forced! They are such water babies. Kade enjoyed the "hot bath" (hot tub). He thought the pool was too cooooold (it wasn't).  Jax was okay with it once he got used to it.

 My mamma...

My sister Amanda... doesn't she look pretty! I'm gonna miss this girl but I think what she's doing is awesome and I seriously want to visit (I'm crossing my fingers, toes, legs whatever it takes that I'll get the chance)!

  Two of my favorite boys... Paul is seriously the best dad!

Breakfast... the "kids & Amanda Table (minus Jaxon)"

Jaxon

 Afterward... 

See Bailey's missing two front teeth. She lost those a few days before we left. Ky's still waiting patiently...

At the family fun center/arcade...

Jaxon was very popular...

On the trip home: The kids are not easy to travel with. They are loud (especially Jaxon) and had to make lots of potty breaks but we had the best time in St. George. Sometimes its just nice to get away and do nothing for a couple of days. Plus I love seeing my mom and sister (but missed my dad)!

We ♥ you, Amanda!! 

Have a safe trip and we can't wait to see you again!