The East Coast West Family

Family Shots

2010-04-13T21:54:00.003-05:00

Maternity Pictures 37 Weeks

2010-04-13T21:39:00.004-05:00

Dan and I had a really fun time taking some maternity pictures. I'm too much of a wimp to post the bare belly ones:)

A few more of Todd's departure...

2010-04-13T09:38:00.003-05:00

Watching Todd leave....

The boys saying goodbye

Oops! Forgot his ticket:)

We love you Todd! See you in 2 years!!!!

It's so hard to say goodbye...

2010-04-13T08:23:00.002-05:00

Todd left for his mission to Brazil on March 16!! We are so excited for him, but it sure was hard to say goodbye!

Todd and Jared

Mom and Todd right after Todd was set apart... March 15

One full time missionary and 3 future missionaries!

First Day of School

2009-10-01T06:29:00.003-05:00

Better late than never! Here are the boys on their first day of school. Kyle started 2nd grade this year and Nathan 1st.

Dallin's Con-grat-u-lations!

2009-07-08T09:55:00.002-05:00

Dallin had a blast going to Kyle's end of year swim party.

Mrs. Bright handed out individual, handmade, awards for all of her students (yes, Kyle hit the jackpot to have her as his teacher). She would explain their award then have them come up and give them a big hug. Dallin sat silently with the class. Near the end of the awards he ran up and gave her a big hug. Guess he figured he had waited long enough and it was his turn. Everyone got a good laugh.

Dallin made a good friend (Mrs. Bright's son)

After sitting through Nathan's grad ceremony, and watching award after award handed out, he started to feel left out. He asked me about 20 times, "where's my con-grat-U-lations?" So the next morning we had a little 'congratulations' before Dan and Nonnie went to work. Nonnie provided a goodie bag, and I provided the award. He felt very congradulated!

Kyle says goodbye to first grade

2009-07-08T09:44:00.002-05:00

Kyle is officially done with first grade! His SWEET teacher, Mrs. Bright, threw a pool party at her home to wrap up the end of the year. The kids had a BLAST. We are so proud of you Kyle!

Kyle and Mrs. Bright

Kyle got the math award for his grade!! (sorry for the bad pic, had the wrong lens)

All I Really Need to Know...

2009-07-08T09:01:00.004-05:00

Nathan is now a Kindergarten Graduate! I threw in this picture because he is so crazy about this bug keychain my mom gave him. It has a real beetle inside. We were at Kyle's end of year swim party and they had been swimming about 30 minutes. And he runs over and shows me that he had stashed the keychain in his trunks, so he could have it with him while he swam. He is very protective of his 'Green Rose Chaffer Beetle!'

A gift for Mrs. Simpson

What a great Kindergarten year!! We are so happy to have a great school for our kids to grow and learn.

I memorized this poem in 6th grade and recited it for Oral Language. It's one of my favorites....

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten

by Robert Fulghum

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I
learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school
mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things
I learned:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life--learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing
and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and
stick together.

Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The
roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but
we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the
Styrofoam cup--they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you
learned--the biggest word of all--LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love
and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult
terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or
your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world
it would be if we all--the whole world--had cookies and milk about three
o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or
if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where
they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are-- when you go out into the
world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

Artist

2009-06-26T12:32:00.001-05:00

Last night in Nathan's prayer he said, 'I know you love me Heavenly Father, because you created me and that makes me your art piece, and i know you love what you make.'

Well said Nathan!

Disappearing Tooth

2009-05-07T19:56:00.003-05:00

This is how Kyle came home from school yesterday. Looks like someone's trying to fit into the South Carolina image? Or is he just hard up for some cash?

Wagon Walk

2009-05-07T19:50:00.002-05:00

We just got back from a family walk around the block. Dallin held Maxter in the wagon for about 2 MINUTES. Then they both wanted out to walk. Dan got to pull an empty wagon. What a cute picture though!

Easter Surprise

2009-05-05T08:10:00.002-05:00

Dan went to the shed and found his bike helmet had been put to good use.

A few days later...

About a week after they hatched we went to check on them. Dan took the helmet down to get some pictures and they all bailed from the nest and started jumping around the yard. We raced to gather them back up and put them back in the nest. Of course Dan had to snap some pictures first. The next day they were gone.

"Are you my momma?"

Big Bad Wolf

2009-04-11T10:23:00.002-05:00

The school had a Family Fun Night this past week. This was the live bee exhibit. Notice the sign...'please do not touch!' Dallin was touching it and tripped and almost knocked the whole thing over. The bee keeper almost had a heart attack.

Nathan won a door prize... XXXL 2008 St. Patricks day shirt and YMCA shirt... hence the fake smile.

Kyle's class did a play (3 Little Pigs) for the whole school and all the parents. He was the big bad wolf. Wow!! What a star! He was so good, but I knew he would be. He made the play so entertaining and funny. Remember, I have mom bragging rights. We are so proud of him.

Here he is with one of his best friends after the play.

He passed out at the end...

Rubbing his tummy because he is so hungry for a little piggy. Shake those hips Kyle!!

Happy Birthday Dan!

2009-04-07T08:02:00.004-05:00

Kyle took all of these pictures of Dan Saturday... the day before he turned 32. He did great for a 7 year old. He did great for an adult even!! We love you Dan, happy birthday!

Husband Quiz

2009-03-25T09:13:00.003-05:00

One of our first dates. Good times.

The Husband Quiz

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? The Office, House, CSI or Soccer

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Tangy tomato or french

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Tomatoes ("they cause cancer"), ironically... see #2

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. His drink would be? Mountain Dew... no dew, lemonade

5. Where did he go to high school? Bonneville High

6. What size shoe does he wear? 9, sometimes 8 1/2

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Camera equipment

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Italian sub from Miggs

9. What would he eat every day if he could? Chips and salsa... I think he does.

10. What is his favorite cereal? Raisin bran crunch and captain crunch

11. What would he never wear? Anything that doesn't feel comfortable

12? What is his favorite sports team? He doesn't have one. He loves to watch any soccer

13. Who did he vote for? McCain

14. Who is his best friend? Me

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? freak out when he drives, he scares me

16. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? Chocolate

17. Did he play sports in high school? Yep, power tumbling (private)

18. What could he spend hours doing? Taking pictures, reading camera reviews

19. What is one thing you appreciate about him? He rarely gets even upset with me and is really easy to talk to and always makes me laugh hard. He is a really sweet dad too. Guess that was more than one:)

Soccer Starts

2009-03-17T22:00:00.003-05:00

Tonight was the first soccer practice for this year. Kyle and Nathan are playing Torro's and will have licensed coaches. Dan is excited about that. The boys had fun.

They were working on ball control and kneeing and heading the ball. Nathan was so cute and working so hard.

Stretching...

Kyle's ball control

Dan and Kyle have the exact same soccer cleats this year (different sizes of course). Kyle thinks that is SO cool, so do I!!

I just posted a bunch... keep scrolling down.

When Daddy's in Charge

2009-03-17T21:49:00.002-05:00

My mom and I were giving the puppies haircuts and Dan was 'supervising' Dallin and Nathan painting. I think we're still waiting on this one to dry!

Meet Maxter

2009-03-17T21:46:00.005-05:00

This is our new puppy Maxter, a maltese. He's a smart little puppy and we love him so much.

Hit the brakes!

2009-03-17T21:35:00.003-05:00

We were going on a walk last week and Nathan decided to ride his bike. We noticed that he was dragging his feet to stop. Dan and I were blown away that he didn't know how to use his brakes. He has been biking for 3 years now. So I was showing him how to use the brakes and of course the paparazzi had to snap a picture.

Dallin in Action

2009-03-17T21:24:00.004-05:00

Dallin taking a whiz in the backyard before heading out for a walk.

Playing in the park

Dinner and a present

2009-03-17T21:05:00.004-05:00

We went out to dinner with some friends and Nathan got a late birthday present. He got a huge box of art supplies. He has been in Nathan heaven creating all kinds of projects with his new supplies.

This is one of our friends son. He read Kyle's Star Wars book throughout dinner. Kyle can't wait to hang out with him again. Kyle said, "wow, he's a cool teenager mom!"

Dallin chatting with friends.

They cook your food right in front of you. The big fire scared Dallin at first and then he couldn't get enough.

Dallin loved the fish in the lobby. He went missing during dinner and we finally found him visiting the fish at the other end of the restaurant.

Baby Melonie

2009-03-17T20:50:00.004-05:00

Dan did another baby photo shoot. This time it was a newborn less than 1 week old. Very sweet.

Emma Camille

2009-03-04T20:37:00.003-05:00

Dan did a photo shoot of one of our friends' babies last weekend. She was a few weeks old. Here are a few shots. She was so fun to pose, and oh so cute!!

Snow Day #2

2009-03-01T23:06:00.003-05:00

Frosty...

Nathan rolled the base all by himself. It was pretty impressive.

Building Frosty...

What a cutie!

Snow Day #1

2009-03-01T22:32:00.003-05:00

The fat lady must be singing somewhere because we got snow today!

Dallin is a smart guy. He played in the snow with his beach toys and made 'snow castles.' His hands stayed warmer much longer this way.

Snow was blowing in his face...

It had just started to snow and Kyle and Nathan didn't waste any time jumping right in. Dan told them to get a black piece of paper to see the snowflakes better. Guess they couldn't resist having a taste.

Red Devil

2009-03-01T22:25:00.002-05:00

Dan use to give red devils to my little brothers when he was on his mission. Now our boys have the privilege of experiencing them. Dallin, just LOVES them. He asked for one and then just kicked back and enjoyed it. Kyle and Nathan were laughing so hard!

A West Weekend

2009-03-01T22:04:00.002-05:00

This is what Dan and I woke up to Sunday morning. Nathan poured Dallins cereal and Dallin helped himself to a straw for easier access to the sweet milk. We had a good laugh as he slurped up every last drop.

Kyle and Nathan playing with Maggie and Baxter.

I usually don't make the kids wear ties to church but Dallin saw Dan's and requested one.

Dallin's first official walk without his stroller. I leashed him up though, he loved it.

He always drags a stick on walks... stroller or no stroller.

The Wheels go Round and Round...

2009-03-01T21:49:00.002-05:00

We take lots of walks around the neighborhood. Now the boys always want to ride something instead of plain ol' boring walking. There's biking, skateboarding, heely's, or the scooter. Dallin, on the other hand, wants to ditch his wheels and walk now. I'll post those next...

Chewbacca

2009-03-01T21:35:00.002-05:00

Fast forward 40 years...

Couldn't resist these bath shots.

Nonnie's Birthday

2009-02-27T07:46:00.002-05:00

Kyle asked me how old Nonnie would be on her birthday. I told him 29. It's a good thing I did because between Kyle and Nathan all of Greenwood knew it was Nonnie's birthday and she was turning 29! Everyone we came across in stores they would say, 'Hi, It's our Nonnie's birthday and she is turning 29!" They get very excited about birthdays, who wouldn't cake and ice cream and presents. Nathan was quite disappointed that I hadn't planned any birthday games.

Nathan had a little birthday money to spend. He chose this nifty box with crayons and colored pencils and markers. He uses it all the time and is VERY happy with his purchase. Kyle kept trying to talk him into a toy or action figure at the store but this is what he wanted.

Went for a walk at Nonnies and played in the backyard. Bob was visiting so Maggie and Baxter, their Maltese puppies, were both there. They had SO much fun playing with the puppies. All the fun ended when we found the 3 boys throwing them up and letting them land in a big pile of leaves.

We took a walk with Maggie. It was a cold day so Maggie and Dallin kept eachother warm.

Happy Birthday Nathan

2009-02-10T11:24:00.004-05:00

Nathan turned 6 this weekend. Saturday he had a super-duper-luper fun swimming party at the YMCA. Then Sunday (his actual birthday) he got sick and spend the day vomiting. We were lucky enough to get the first set of puke all over the van. That was a real treat for Dan to get to clean up. He sent his breakfast flying across the van just as we were pulling into the church parking lot. I was lucky to have a speaking assignment that morning. Poor Nathan. He was sick all day Sunday and Monday. He is back at school today and our fingers are crossed that the curse doesn't spread.

Sorry for anyone with a weak stomach. There were much more graphic shots to choose from, so consider yourself spared!

Dino-Fun!!

My mom and I made the cake at the last minute. It was yummy!!

Random January Pics

2009-02-10T11:12:00.003-05:00

Kyle playing with the jets from Uncle Jim

Making carmel apples with white chocolate and cinn. for family home evening treats. YUM!

Daddy taking care of a a very sick little Dallin

Kyle skating at a birthday party. Nathan can also skate and Dallin is learning... and doing surprisingly well!

"It's just me!!"

South Carolina Blizzard

2009-02-10T10:57:00.002-05:00

Here is how this particular AM started off last month...

~5:30 AM~

Kyle: "Mom, wake up, wake up!"

Anna: "Is everything ok?"

Kyle: "You're not gonna believe it! It snowed SO much last night. I mean, it's just covered, and so deep. I'm so excited mom! I can't believe we got so much snow!"

Anna: Peeks out the window but can't see anything because it is so dark, hobbles downstairs in half sleep.... this is what I see, a LIGHT dusting.

Kyle: "Told you mom, cool huh?"

Needless to say they did get a 2 hour delay out of it and did their best to try to scrape a few snowballs off the deck. Poor kid, he just doesn't hardly know what a real snow storm would be like. I guess perception is reality.

Grocery Store Adventure

2009-02-10T10:25:00.002-05:00

Our family loves to take walks to a nearby grocery store. On this particular trip Dan had his camera in tow. As you can see from the pictures he had the boys hamming it up while I was innocently doing some light shopping.

Kyle stepped in an ant pile and quickly ripped off his 'zipoff' pants in a panic to remove the fire ants.

Surveying the damage

Not sure why someone would buy lard by the pound, but apparently they do...

YUMMY!

I was a little surprised when I looked at the pictures that evening and saw this. Dan can't be trusted with a camera alone with the kids! Something like this ALWAYS happens. I still get a little embarrassed that my child was in the freezer... I spared posting the one where he looks half frozen and miserable, didn't want DSS knocking at my door.

2009-01-28T08:17:00.001-05:00

The boys enjoyed a bubble bath. They were laughing so hard at Kyle's gotee...

Spitle

2009-01-28T08:11:00.002-05:00

Yep, that's spit. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do to get the job done...

More S'mores Please!

2009-01-28T07:50:00.003-05:00

Last week Kyle taught his first FHE lesson. WOW! He did a great job teaching us about family traditions. Dan was on treats so he treated us to living room s'mores. So yummy!

African Peacemaker

2009-01-13T20:52:00.002-05:00

Tonight I was reading Kyle and Nathan a book before putting them to bed. There was a little black girl in one picture. Kyle says,

"Wait Mom, this is really important! See that brown girl? Mrs. Hodges (librarian) said that all dark brown and black peoples' ancestors came from Africa! Every single one!" I'm glad he told me that urgent tidbit before we were out running errands in town.

I try to point out to the boys when they are being peacemakers. Tonight while reading bedtime books, I commended Nathan for giving up his soft chair to his brother. He then said, very seriously, "mom since I'm such a good peacemaker Heavenly Father's gonna want me right back in Heaven with him. Are you gonna miss me so much that you'll lay another little Nathan as soon as I'm gone?" I quickly explained that he will be alive for the rest of his life and that there will never be another Nathan quite as special as him. Didn't touch the lay part. I hope I won't have to for a few more years! It sure was cute though.

Gutters

2009-01-12T09:45:00.003-05:00

It was quite a chore to get the front gutters up on our tall eves with one tall ladder, on Saturday. Dan built the gutter and tied light rope and attached it to a board on our roof eve. My mom, Todd, Kyle and myself each took a rope and pulled the gutter up while Dan was up on the ladder helping to hoist it on the boards. It did twist on us but didn't do any damage. We now have gutters! Yeah! Kyle and Nathan got to help a lot in putting the gutters together. It was a successful family project.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-12T09:30:00.002-05:00

Never did post any Christmas pictures. Here we are Christmas Eve. Dan read the Christmas story and the boys placed the nativity scene.

JOY

2009-01-07T21:25:00.002-05:00

I added the little JOY... 'just organize yourself' link on the right column. There's lots of organizational tidbits. Who couldn't use more organizational ideas?

Dan the digger

2009-01-07T11:58:00.002-05:00

A little late getting a picture up, but here is Dan working on the pipes. This was the first hole. Now Dan is installing gutters on our house. I am the official gutter holder, while he drills. I know my job sounds complex, but I'm getting by.

Christmas Morning

2009-01-03T10:42:00.002-05:00

Our kids had a great Christmas this year. They didn't wake us up until 7am... that's good for our kids. We drug Dallin out of bed because Kyle and Nathan were just too anxious to wait a minute longer. We checked out what Santa brought and then opened presents. About 10am we went over to my moms and ate breakfast and opened presents with them. We stayed with them until bedtime as our sewer issues (see below) were in full swing). Todd got a Maltese puppy for my mom. That was a big surprise to her (in a good way) and the boys have loved playing with her. She named her Maggie. She is a sweet and good natured puppy. We only did videos this Christmas. We did get some shots with my moms camera and I will try to post those when I get my hands on them.

Busy December

2009-01-03T10:29:00.004-05:00

Dan has been really busy the last 2 weeks. The weekend before Christmas he had a wedding to shoot... Friday and Saturday. I'll post one of my favorite pics from it. He did a great job, as always. The day before Christmas Eve our sewer backed up. So he dug up our front yard and hit a water line in the process and had to fix that, leaving us with no water for a day. Needless to say a few dug up hedges and 2 large holes later he figured out it was not roots in our pipes. Him and Bob peeked in a manhole and they were thick with roots. So the county came out to fix them and we are draining fine. YAH!!!! We are in the process of doing some landscaping. I thinks it's either that or get kicked out of our neighborhood, with all the digging that has taken place. We are definitely NOT loving the southern red clay. I had to shampoo all the downstairs carpet as they were tracked with orange clay.

Snowmen for School

2008-12-24T01:02:00.004-05:00

I got this brilliant idea to make 40 snowmen out of marshmallows, prezel rods, and various candy for Kyle and Nathan's class parties. About 10 snowmen in I realized I was out of my mind. All the 'help' was 'fun' too. So I pushed through to 20 for one class and dipped prezels in the white choc and added mini choc chips for Kyle's class. They were both cute. Lesson learned: Making 40 of anything, even when it looks so cute and 'easy' in the magazine is not 'fun' at all!!

Santa Baby

2008-12-24T00:45:00.002-05:00

Santa came to our ward party earlier this month. Dallin is not yet a big fan. He wants to like him so bad and begs to sit on his lap. Once he gets close he freaks.

Nathan and Santa

Kyle asked for a Wii and a DS!

Kyle sang in the talent show and did great.

Stick em' Up!

2008-12-02T14:19:00.003-05:00

Bob took Dan, Eric, Nicole, Todd, Shelby (Bob's daughter) and myself out shooting. We had a blast. The cops even showed up and Bob explained that we were 'exercising our 2nd amendment right.' Thanks Bob for taking us out and for opening up your home for a fun and memorable Thanksgiving with family. And thanks mom and grandma for watching all the kids while we went shooting!

Dan the Man

Here's Shelby hamming it up

Yep, when you're packin' you feel pretty cool

Fun with our Cousins

2008-12-02T14:07:00.003-05:00

Trent is just playing with Dallin, but look at the pure joy in his face at the thought of slugging him. Don't think Dallin is feeling the same joy!

Nicole made blankets for all the kids on the last night. They had the best time playing pirates with all the scrap material.

'Give me your best pirate face!'

Dan took all the kids to the park by himself... twice. What a good guy. This picture looks posed, but they actually just all came down the slide at the same time.

Thanksgiving 2008 Knoxville, TN

2008-12-02T09:25:00.003-05:00

We went to Bob's for Thanksgiving again this year. Eric and Nicole and their 4 kids and grandma Genie also came to enjoy 5 days together.

Lots of card playing. Grandma Genie proved to be the master card shark. She still owes me a rematch to double solitaire.

Bob has a creek in his backyard and Dallin was of course drawn to it like candy. Needless to say he averaged 3 outfits per day.

Kyle traced his hand and wrote "you are it!" We all had fun sneaking it on each other. Dan had even more fun taking unsuspecting pictures of those sporting it.

Rope swing in the backyard.

Here is the whole gang (except for Bob's kids) taken Thanksgiving Evening

We put Dallin to bed and then stayed up another few hours. When we checked on him this is what we found. Dan went to give him a kiss and he felt greasy. Apparently he got into the lotion and lathered up and went to sleep. In his defense he did 'stay in bed' as I instructed as the lotion was in reach. Guess he was feeling a little dry?

Falling Leaves

2008-11-14T07:51:00.002-05:00

The boys have had fun with the leaves, especially Dallin. When we go to get in the car he insists on throwing at least one leaf first... "leaf! leaf! leaf! (throws one leaf) All done!"

Kyle the Monkey

Potty Training Success!!

2008-11-05T17:43:00.003-05:00

Dallin is potty trained! He started about 3 months ago when he was barely 2. He just insisted. He never really liked the little potty chair and always preferred the big boy toilet. Now he keeps his undies dry everyday (with a potty accident here and there). He loves to go in public bathrooms (fun!) and says 'pee pee' when ever he sees one just so he can 'go,' and then use the electric hand dryer. I still put a diaper on him at night but most mornings it is still dry. I am so happy to not be changing diapers anymore!! Now that's something to smile about :)

Statesville North Carolina

2008-11-05T17:15:00.005-05:00

We went to Statesville, NC last weekend to see Jim, Dan's brother in a skateboard competition. Our kids were sick but they were troopers and we had a great time. Jim is so funny and kept us laughing. Kyle just adored him and never left his side. Jim and Kyle skateboarded a lot. Kyle told me that he learned a lot from him. Today Kyle said, 'Man I really miss my friend Jim.' Here Jim is teaching Kyle by example why it is important to always wear your gear. Kyle said to me on the way home.. 'Mom, I'm just glad Jim didn't die when he fell, I would really miss him.'

PEACE!

Kyle is a little stud on Jims' board. He has his dads coordination

Kyle boarding with Jim... wearing Jim's gear

Jim took 2nd in his group

Trick or Treating

2008-11-05T17:01:00.004-05:00

Partaking of the fruits of their labor...

Kyle was up the whole night hugging the bowl after candy overload. We hope he learned his lesson.

Nathan, Lainey, Dallin, Reed and Kyle pose before dashing to the next house

Dallin showing off his light stick

My mom dressed up for work.... beau-T-ful!

A witch, a bat, a big black cat... I like scary things like that

2008-10-26T15:27:00.003-05:00

These pictures are from our church halloween party last night. We had a chili cookoff and then games for the kids, then trunk or treating. It was really fun. Dallin hung out in the car with Nonnie and Bob during trunk or treating... same as last year. Hey, who needs to work for candy when you have a Nonnie to spoil you?

Ring toss pro...

Super (silly) Nathan

Ben 10 morphing into Heat Blast (for those not in tune with 1st grade pop culture), dinosaur, Super Nathan

Hold still Dallin (yeah right!!)

YMCA Halloween Party

2008-10-26T15:07:00.003-05:00

Thursday we went to the YMCA for a halloween party. The kids had a blast. Nathan won brownies at the cake walk within the first 5 minutes of arriving. They had games and candy and bouncy toys for the kids to jump on.

Dallin was a little spooked at first when he saw some of the scary costumes.

Dallin and Lainey - Best Buds

No peeking Nathan!

Cutest Buzz Ever!!

Jared jumped in this picture so it looks like Dallin has freaky long arms.

Dan and Anna Pics

2008-10-19T13:25:00.004-05:00

Finally found them...

Making a Mess... I Mean Cookies

2008-10-19T13:03:00.003-05:00

We made sugar cookies for Kyle's class to celebrate his birthday.

More of Kyle's Party at the Park

2008-10-19T12:52:00.002-05:00

Must eat more cupcake!

Kyle climbing a tree

Even more Birthday Overload...

2008-10-19T12:35:00.003-05:00

Nathan at the park at Kyle's party

Eyeball Cupcakes YUM!

Make a wish...

'YES! STAR WARS!'

More Birthday Overload

2008-10-19T12:23:00.003-05:00

Kyle's Heeley's

Stick em' up!

Wonder what could be in this big bag...

Moon Shoes!!

And a pair for Nathan too!

Birthday Overload

2008-10-19T10:56:00.003-05:00

Kyle gets ready to open his presents from the family before his party

Kyle is excited about his Air Hog car that drives on the wall from Nonnie

Dallin trying to stack batteries. Why do we buy expensive toys?

Alright! A nerf gun from Grandma and Grandpa

A new soccer ball from dad, what else?

Kyle and I both celebrated a birthday this week. Mine was Thursday and Kyle's Friday. Kyle had his last soccer game on my birthday so we went to that and then grabbed some food and then went home. I opened a few presents and had ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Yum. On Friday Dan surprised me by taking the day off as one of my presents. We had a really fun day together and Dallin too of course. We ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant. We don't have many pictures of just Dan and I, so Dan set up the tripod and we took some. I can't find them on his laptop but will post them when he gets home. Saturday we celebrated Kyle's 7th birthday with a party at the park. He had a blast of course. He has had so much fun playing with all his new toys... Nathan too! After the party we went to the Patten's house for some games. The Pennocks came too. We left Dallin with my mom since he had a yucky cough. We ended up just talking and laughing and letting the kids play. About 10 minutes before we left to go the their house my eye swelled up and I looked awful! I didn't want to cancel so needless to say I was the butt of Dan's jokes the whole night. I may have scared a few of the small children too! Dan just told them I was gearing up for halloween. By the time we picked Dallin up from my moms he was having his first croup attack. He was up every hour last night with an attack. If your children have never had the croup then consider yourself lucky! Kyle suffered each year with it. Seems Dallin is the same way. He struggled to breath all night. We probably could have bathed a small village with all the water we used in the bathroom to make steam to help give him relief. Dan was such a trooper. He jumps right out of bed when he hears Dallin coughing. I have found that medication doesn't help a whole lot with croup. I will, however, be bringing to the doctor tomorrow. We will have about 2-3 more nights of this before it gets better. Poor Dallin! Dallin is so sweet through it all. He will be struggling to breath and lean over and kiss my cheek and say, all out of breath, "tank you mommy, love you," because I am taking care of him. Melts my heart. Ok, now some pictures of Kyle's party....

Morphing Cicada

2008-10-10T07:10:00.005-05:00

We were having a yard sale and one of the boys happen to spot this on our tree... a cicada coming out of it's shell. It was pretty cool and offered about an hour of entertainment for all 4 boys... Kyle Nathan Dallin and Dan!

Just starting to come out of the shell

Finally out but it can't fly yet

Kyle checking out the final outcome

Camping and climbing...

2008-10-09T20:31:00.002-05:00

Kyle climbing trees on our hike

Kyle Dallin and Nathan camping in the backyard with Dan. The flash was SO bright and they kept closing their eyes so i asked them to try and keep them open... this is what I got. They were laughing so hard.

Dallin riding the rail at Grandma Genie's

Nathan hamming it up at the park

Still catching up some pictures...

2008-09-15T08:49:00.005-05:00

Fun in the pool. Don't let this picture fool you, Dallin is always in control of the hose, or else!!

Nathan (or 'Nae Nae' as Dallin says) playing at the park

Nathan playing Ben Ten

I realized I hadn't put up as many Nathan pictures, so I added some. This is a cool picture.

Dallin at Sissy's saying hi to Butter Bean

Dallin snuggles mom

Cracks us up... he makes a horrible face shen he eats them, but keeps going back for more, so cute!

Dallin also had a party and Sissy's house. He talks about this cake all the time. 'Shishy's cake, blow, yah!!.' He is very excited as he watches me post this picture. I think he just broke the world record for saying Sissy the most times in less than a minute.

Fun in the ocean (Nathan)

Kyle playing in the ocean

Best buds Kyle and Nathan

Cheese!

And More pictures...

2008-09-15T08:28:00.005-05:00

We have three little monkeys... so we spend half our life at the park

Kyle about to go on a bike ride with dad to the park

Dallin at Sissy's house checking out the goats and donkeys

Playing at Sissy's

Dallin giving Bert a kiss at Sissy's. Dallin LOVES horses. he got to feed them apples and talks about it all the time. He will just bring it up out of the blue and smile from ear to ear thinking about it.

Potty training 101

Nathan the soccer star!

Mommy's little boys before going to church

Mom and Dallin, he really was picking me flowers *sigh*

What a cutie!

More pictures...

2008-09-15T07:31:00.003-05:00

Visiting our good friend Sissy in Brunswick, GA

Kyle holding a baby squirrel

Bubbles at Grandma and Grandpa's house March 08

Nathan the bubble master

Children's museum in Ogden, although you can't tell by this pic, the kids and adults had a blast!

I know! Sicko! Dan thinks it is a hilarious shot... I would be crying if I were Dallin too!

Visiting grandma and grandpa, UT March 08

Dan's way of making it into a picture since he is the one always holding the camera

Nathan eats it at Jekyll Island, GA July 08

We're Alive!!

2008-09-15T06:55:00.003-05:00

Kyle and Nathan Aug 2008

Nathan, Dallin, Dan and Kyle posing in a tree in the front yard.

Dallin is 2 years old! July 4th 2008

YUMMY! Party with some friends...

Dallin helping out with the baking Feb 08

It's been a long time, almost 2 years since I last blogged! I'm going to try to keep it more updated now. Where do I begin? Kyle is 6, Nathan 5 and Dallin 2. Everyone is healthy and happy. Nathan started Kindergarten last month and Kyle started first grade. They just finished building a new school less than a mile away and they are both doing great. Dallin stays home with me and helps keep me in line. Never a dull moment with a 2 year old. He keeps me laughing. He is insisting on potty training and I am surprised to say he is doing GREAT! Dan and I are both doing great, nothing has changed too much. I am going to post some pictures, Dan's specialty....

Thanksgiving 2006

2006-12-07T14:01:00.000-05:00

We traveled to Knoxville, TN for Thanksgiving this year to celebrate with Bob Markli (my moms new hubby). We had a really fun weekend. Kyle, Nathan and Dallin did great on the drive up. Thank goodness for DVD players. Dan had just got his early Christmas gift (the Nikon D200 camera). So he was in an exceptional mood. He has since them named 'her' D2.

Thanksgiving was really good. My favorite this year was the turkey. It was super moist and so flavorful (usually I lean towards the mashed potatoes and gravy). All of Bob's kids came over on Thanksgiving day and it was good to meet them. He has 3 girls and 1 boy. I think the highlight of Kyle and Nathan's trip was playing hide and seek with Ginger (Bob's 14 yr daughter) and Todd and Dan. Bob has a big house with lots of fun hiding places.

Dan had a blast breaking in his new camera and taking lots of pictures (as always). He also got to ride Bob's motorcycle and go shooting with his huge gun collection. Dan's dad use to take him shooting quite often. Bob and Todd were quite impressed with his 'skills.' Those cans didn't stand a chance!!

My mom and grandma and I were out the door by 6:30am for the day after Thanksgiving shopping. We got some great deals... of course. We laughed so hard together and had a blast.

On Saturday Bob showed us some of the beautiful homes he is building. Kyle and Nathan had fun climbing on the dirt mounds at the construction sites.

Hope everyone had a yummy Thanksgiving and enjoyed being around family.

It's a boy... again!

2006-11-17T13:56:00.000-05:00

I am going to give this blogging thing a try. Not really sure where to start...
On July 4th 2006 we had our third baby boy, Dallin Nicholas West. He is a little sweetie. I use the word 'little' lightly. He is pushing 20lbs and only 4 months old! He weighed 7lbs 6oz at birth and is just growing like a weed. Kyle and Nathan are pretty adjusted to their new little brother. They love to make him laugh. They think it is so cool when Dallin has a nasty blowout and laugh so hard. Dallin can roll over from front to back and back to front now. He is a super mellow baby, which I am very thankful. Dallin loves to suck his little thumb, which Dan and I think is so cute.
Nathan is 3 now and my little helper. He stays home with me and keeps himself busy. He is my independent boy. He has a very vivid imagination and likes to paint, build with blocks, play dinosaurs, dress up in costumes, and help me with anything I am doing. Nathan does not let any family member leave the house without hugs and kisses. He will chase us down the driveway yelling 'wait, hugs and kisses' if you try to sneak out. Nathan is a sweet boy with a heart of gold.
Kyle is our outgoing 5 year old. He goes to school for half the day and is doing well with it. He loves to ride his bike, play soccer, skateboard, and play baseball. Kyle was lucky to inherit his daddy's' coordination. This summer Kyle learned how to swim and is quite the little fish. Kyle is a natural leader and is always surprising us with his insight.
Dan is doing great... handsome and fun as ever. He is still working at CSA and loving it. His current obsession is the 'Nikon D200' camera. (--moment of silence--) In our house, we must pause for a moment of silence after 'her' name is spoken. He has been thinking of trying some photography work on the side and would like a more professional camera. I guess we will have to see if he has been naughty or nice when Santa makes his rounds this year.
This is all I have time for. I will try to post again after Thanksgiving....