Fabulous 4th of JULY!!

Just have to say can't wait until the 4th my most favorite holiday ever ever!! I wish my birthday and our anniversary were on the 4th of July! This year will be so fun Brynleigh was asked to be on the All-star softball team and gets to play that day and my mom and dad will be here!! Super fun!! Not to mention the Kaysville parade water fight, the best people watching ever in Layton and great fireworks set to music!! I LOVE AMERICA and feel so blessed to be here!! I will try not to be a blog slacker... if I was more on top of it I would have changed my blog to red white and blue! Maybe I will get around to it but for now just close your eyes and pretend!!

Happy Fathers Day!!

Happy Fathers Day Brian!! We love you so much! Thank you for being such a wonderful father to our children. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for you! I am so grateful for the father that you are. You are loving and kind and teach our children how to be wonderful people. You have a love of the gospel and lead our home in a way that shows us that. I am grateful for all the time you spend with the each of our children to make them feel special and loved. Thank you for all of your hard work to take care of us!! We love you!!


Can't forget our Dads either Happy Fathers day to Papa Chuck and Papa Jeff!!! WE LOVE YOU!

Bats in your Belfry or Birds in your Barbeque

So I happened to catch something out of the corner of my eye the other day outside. I went outside to find this........

And there was one egg in the nest.  We started watching it and found that it was a starling nest.  The next day there was 3 eggs in the nest.  I found out that it is a Starling and they can be a real problem.  I could not believe the amount of stuff he had packed in there.  What a mess.

We can't leave them there ( I read online that they would be there for 7 weeks uugh) we are having a bbq at our house today so we carefully moved it to a nearby tree... no we didn't touch the eggs so hopefully they will be okay.

{I just have to add...... maybe some of you think that we should have left the nest.. honestly I thought about it but come on 7-8 weeks of no bbq lets be realistic.  It's not that I don't like birds and nature.... we didn't cook the eggs just moved them}

Help me out please!

I just finished some pictures of Brynleigh and can't decide which one I like better.  Tell me what you think click here to see them.

Easter & St George

Easter 2009!!  You would think that you would be able to get a good picture of my own family...it is torture for them all to sit still and look at the camera at the same time.  This was the best we could do!

We went to St George for spring break and it ended up that not one of the husbands could come so it was just us 3 girls and 10 kids oh my!!  The kids had a lot of fun now the moms need a vacation to regroup and catch up on lots of sleep!! We swam and went on a hike, dyed easter eggs  and had a easter egg hunt!
The girls were blowing in their suits and making boobs for themselves this is Khloe so funny!!
These two had enough swimming and played their DS for a while you could not break their concentration.  Two peas in a pod! 

Brian's sister Brittney came up to visit it was so great to visit with her although I think we may have scared her with all of the chaos!!  These are actually all Brian's sisters (Emily was not here when we took the picture but she was down there too!)
We also learned another use for an easter bucket!  It can also be used as a throw up bucket betcha didn't know that!  Unfortunately 7 of us got sick!  Brynleigh, Stetler and I got it the night before we left so the ride home could not be fast enough luckily no one had to throw up..... I was wondering how I would do that and drive at the same time!!   We had lots of fun, but are glad to be home!!

Brace Face no more!

Bryn got her braces off today and I can't get over how much older she looks!! It makes me feel sad that she is growing up so fast. She is such a beautiful girl inside and out! We love her so much. She keeps licking her teeth and saying how slimy her teeth feel, and she can't stop smiling!!

   Here is  sneek peak of my Birthday Bash Sessions check the rest of them out at my 

photog blog

Congrats

I have chosen the winners for my Birthday Bash Giveaway.  Check out my photog blog!!

 I am celebrating the one year Birthday of Alicia Kinne Photography, and you get the gift!! If you have a little guy or gal turning one and want their pictures taken this offer is for you!! Take advantage while I am building my Birthday Bash portfolio. Bring a cake and let your little monkey tear into it and get some unforgettable pictures. Just leave a comment on my photography blog {click here}and 3 lucky winners will be chosen at random in 10 days.

 What will be your present? 

You will receive a free session a($100.00 value) and a huge discount on a image released CD, the best 15-20 images edited and retouched for only $50.00.

Session will include trashing the cake and more traditional pictures so bring your favorite outfit and a birthday cake!!   

Thanks for helping me celebrate my first birthday and for all of you who have supported my passion of photography!!

Keep in mind I live in Davis County and you will need to travel to my home.

Don't have your own busy one year old??  Tell a friend or family member everyone loves free stuff!

Glitsy Watches

So my Sis in law has been making bead watches for a while now and has decided to go gung ho with it.  They are so cute, check out the link on my blog to your left!  

She is so talented!

Are you kidding???!!!

I had the great opportunity to tag a long on Brian's work trip to Arizona.  It was a nice get a way and my mom was so great to come and stay with the kids.  They had a blast and didn't want us to come home.  I went to 2 years of High School there so I was able to hang out with 2 wonderful friends and I went to High School with my friend Jen in Sandy and she happens to live there now. We went to lunch and had a great time until this happened and I honestly was flabbergasted.  Do people really think this way!!

Disclaimer... due to my laziness in blogging lately I have totally copied this from my friend Jenifer's blog I just don't have the patience to type it out when she clearly did a great job of explaining.

We headed to TGIF's for lunch. A good family fun spot, right?  Two friends had some kids with them. Three kids total, and I can honestly say that I have never been with such well behaved kids. I almost forgot they were with us, they were so quiet! Imagine our horror when the lady behind us started ripping into us for one little girls behavior. Granted, she wasn't in her high chair, but she was quietly playing peek-a-boo with her mom behind her chair. This woman tells us that we are bothering all the patrons and that we need to watch our kids and discipline them. After our stunned silence and quietly talking amongst ourselves, she rips into us again! And told us we shouldn't be in a restaurant like that and we should stick to Chuck-E-Cheese. Say Whaaaat?!?!? Liz was so kind and patient, but you could tell her head was about to explode off of her body. And, once again, out in the parking lot, it started up again. But just to make it clear, our waiter and hostess went out of their way to let us know that she was a you-know-what and they thought the kids were great.

I was so mad afterwards.. and since I am so non-confrontational I said nothing 

out loud but was screaming on the inside. Good thing I have friends who speak up. 

The craziest part was when we walked out side they had a huge sign taller than 

me that said "kids eat FREE" duh lady!! I wish I could lock her in a restaurant

in Utah with a bunch of moms eating lunch all towing at least 3 kids all whom 

are not sitting or being quiet! All I can say is what goes around comes around!!

I love to see the Temple

  

                                                                                     

 Tuesday we went to the Draper Temple open house.  I have to admit I wasn't super excited about driving all the way down there and expecting quite a long night.  The kids were great. After waiting in a church gym and then watching a movie we loaded a bus to the temple.  Which the kids thought was great!   The Temple is in a beautiful neighborhood surrounded with houses how great would that be to walk across the street and go in the Temple!  It was so beautiful inside and the kids were so reverent and very interested in it.  There was such a calm comforting spirit while we walked through.  It was wonderful to be able to sit in the sealing room with our whole little family.  After some cookies and looking at some art work we got in line to load the bus.  While we were waiting Wyatt looked at Porter and said "Awwwww we didn't even get to see Jesus!"  So cute we always say that it is Jesus' house so I guess he just expected him to be there and I am sure he was.  I am so grateful that we went even though it was an exhausting thought.  How grateful I am to have an eternal family.

Granny and chocolate cake!!

My granny came out to our house while my mom was here, I just love her so much! She is such a great woman and I am so grateful that my children know who she is. This is only 6 of her 17 great grandchildren (if I am counting right) She has taught me so much and has always done so much for her kids grandkids and great grandkids. What a wonderful blessing she is!!

I love to look at this blog bakerella.blogspot.com she has the most wonderful desserts on there. And she is very talented and creative I wish I could do half of what she does. I saw this and had to make it. It has peanut butter cups on the inside and out. The frosting is dark chocolate peanut butter and heavy cream.... so it is pretty much fat free!! It does'nt look that pretty mostly because I can never wait for a cake to cool before putting the frosting on!! It was sooo good but you could only eat one peice (thank goodness) way too rich! This is why I go to the gym.... so I can eat things like this and not feel too guilty. I love sugar way too much!

Hitting the Slopes

Our Brother and sister in law were so kind to treat us to a day of skiing at Powder mountain. We had such a blast.

Brian convinced Emily and I that we could go down a black diamond run with no problems.... WRONG!! We so obviously didnt belong that people on the ski lift above us were shouting "the green run is over there girls" and the ski patrol came and followed us down. All the while we had 10 yr olds zooming by us. Can you say embarrassing. It was still fun to say we did it. We rock Em.

Brian put the kids in Ski school, they had the greatest time. Brynleigh did'nt even need to have edgy wedgys she can't wait to go back. The boys did so great I was expecting to come back with them whining to go home, and I could'nt drag them out of there. Thanks Brian and Emily for the great day we owe ya!!

Snow and more Snow

I did not know it was going to snow today . Wyatt and I went out to play and shovel and Dad let us drive the tractor around a little but I don't think I was being very efficient so he took over! Not that it matters because it is all covered with snow again!

My little buddy Wyatt

Major updating

Man oh man has the time gone by so fast!!! I finally have time to sit and BLOG...... no I have not vanished. I feel like I have been drowning the last month and now have come up for air. Now that Christmas is almost here and we have slowed down a bit I feel like I can start enjoying the holidays. So here goes sorry this is a long post and it could be a lot longer but my eyes and fingers are tired so here are some highlights of our life in the past month or so.

In november Brian's brother Tyler his wife Sunee, Braxton and Brollin were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. What a great thing to have shared with them we are all so excited about this great step they have taken together. I love that Families can be together forever.

Grandma Jo came out to visit for thanksgiving. We had a lot of fun!! We went shopping put up the Christmas tree and she had 3 little monkeys hanging on her the whole time. Every year she gives the kids a new ornament to put on the tree and a Christmas book. They look forward to it every year. It is fun to see them get so excited about looking at each ornament and placing it on the tree. I am so grateful to my mom, she is such a fun Grandma and she loves my kids sooo much and makes sure that they know that!!

Thanksgiving was at our house this year and we had lots of yummy food and fun. We had to break out the guitar hero and have a little competition. We have so much to be grateful for this year- wonderful families our health and the gospel just to name a few. Thanks so much for Jeff bringing in the turkey, stuffing and yams to put in my oven to make my house smell soooo good that is the way I like to cook (someone else doing it for me)!

My Aunt Barbara went through the Bountiful temple while my mom was here I am so grateful that I was able to be there with her and her family!

We also went to Layton Park to see the lights with cousins and friends. Little Hudson is soooo cute!!

Ice Skating

Every year we go to the Pitcher's ward party at the Gallivan Center to ice skate. So much fun. It was so cute to see the littlest kids out there skating all by themselves!! Preslie 3yrs Harlee, Landen and Wyatt 4yrs could skate with the best of them boy did they have a great time!! Thanks for always letting us tag along.

We made gingerbread houses for the first time this year. The kids really like doing it. The frosting it came with was horrible!! Do not eat it, it tasted more like wall paper glue than frosting!
We made our annual Christmas COOKIES which is always fun. I have been doing this with my mom and grandma for as long as I can remember and grateful I can do it with my kids too.


Papa Jeff and Grandma Eileen took the kids to a movie (Madagascar 2) and out to eat as part of their Christmas present! They love to go to the movies!! We went for dinner at El Burrito Santa and Frosty came to visit them and gave them a toy. I didn't have my camera with me, was disappointing because it was so cute! Thanks so much to Grandma and Grandpa for the memories!!

We had our Ward Party ISLAND CHRISTMAS! Wheewww it is finally over. I was on the committee and boy what a weight lifted off of my shoulders to not have to think or have nightmares about it. It was great we had a lot of snow that day and it looked really cool with the palm trees and tiki torches lit up outside. We had a Polynesian dance group come and we ate Hawaiian Haystacks I hope everyone had a good time, it was a lot of work trying to feed and clean up from 300+ people. Brian helped me so much I forgot I had volunteered for Porter's class party so he gladly filled in much to Porter's delight!

I am ashamed to say we have never taken our kids sledding. I know we are horrible parents!! We finally bought sleds and went to a park close to our house. The kids had a blast! We even played on the play ground and went down the slides! Much to our surprise the frozen snow made them really really slippery they came shooting out the bottom, Brian and I had just as much fun watching and laughing!! By the way you have to love Brian hat!! His brother Tyler made it for him. I tell him he looks like a girl with pig tails!!

Brian's parents took all the adult kids to dinner at Rodizio's we had lots of fun and were waaaay full!! Thanks Jeff & Eileen

Sunday before Christmas

So Sad

My grandpa had this sled in his shed, he collected many things for many years and after he passed away I got to keep it.  I just loved it.  I had used it for a friends pictures and put it in my garage after using it.  It is now missing and have come to the assumption that it has been stolen I have looked for it everywhere. If any one has seen it I would love to have it back.  I am so sad that it is gone it is one of the only things I got when he passed away.

This is an excerpt from a talk by Neal A. Maxwell from 1978. I stole it from my friend Emily's blog.  I have just been thinking about this a lot lately and I love this excerpt.

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt between two opinions. This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.
Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened....Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was,till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.'Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."

Trick or Treat Smell my Feet

The Gruesome Threesome

We could not have asked for better weather this year!! Not a single coat was needed!! They had a lot of fun dressing up and having Dad paint their faces. Our friends the Mcmillans invited us over for dinner and then they were on their way. Brian got another injection in his back today so he had to miss out on all the fun. We have waaayyyy too much candy. Brynleigh wants to sell all the candy she doesnt like back to the dentist, but the boys are keeping theirs. What a great Halloween!