Neeleyfam

Mike

2012-02-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am missing Mike. He is on a business trip and I won't see him until tomorrow night. I decided to look back on some old pictures and reminisce. I don't think I tell him often enough how grateful I am to have him in my life. Here are some pictures that express why I love him so much.

I love the song that I put on our blog and I love the memory of the two of us hiking around Silver Lake when we were dating. I think this song puts into words exactly how I felt that day. I love that this is "our song".

I love that he loves cats. He loves to talk goofy to them and call them silly little names. He also loves to scare them to death by sneaking up on them, lol. Here he is with Pippin, Abby passed away last year. I love that he cried with me and the kids when she did.

I love that he makes the kids Birthday parties so much fun, I love that he looks sexy as a pirate :)

I love that he loves all of Gods amazing creations, one of them being the mountains. I love that he will take deep breaths while closing his eyes and takes every moment in. I love that he wants to spend time with us enjoying the many beauties this world has to offer.
I love that he is a die hard Utah Fan. I love that he wants to share this with the kids. He loves going to games with them. Even though it can't always be easy with the many potty breaks, snack breaks and endless talking. I love that he wouldn't want it any other way.

I love that he makes Birthday cakes and does an amazing job! I also love that he makes delicious ice cream, cookies, caramel apples, and can mix up a a mean smoothie. The list could go on and on! I love that one of the many reasons he enjoys baking is to see the enjoyment others have when they try it. I love that he always wants to share what he makes.

I love that he enjoys traveling with me and enjoys going on little trips just the two of us. I love that he enjoys people watching just as much as I do. I love that we never run out of things to talk about.
I love how he likes to surprise me. I cannot count how many times he has surprised me, and seems to know when I need it the most. Whether it is a little email in the middle of the day telling me how much he loves me or it is taking me to Little America for my 30th Birthday and spoiling me rotten. I love that he enjoys doing it almost as much as I enjoy receiving it.
I love seeing him with our kids. It makes me love him more than I ever thought possible

Kissing little Emily.

Cuddling with Brett
Snuggling with Savannah.
Some of the first hugs with Liam.
I love how he is a big goof ball and a huge tease. I love how he doesn't care what anyone thinks about him and is just available to make people smile and laugh. I love how I am a better person because he helps me remember that life is more fun when you laugh.
I love how he offers comfort and peace when the kids get hurt. I also love that he can give a Priesthood blessing to our kids when needed. He can give a hug to a little boy (Brett) when he re injured the same exact spot on his head at least 5 times when he was learning to walk. Or, he can hold Savannah when she was so very ill and give her comfort. I love that he also gave me comfort and hope at that time, even though he was scared too.
I love that he tells me I am beautiful and makes me feel beautiful. Whether I am 9 months pregnant or have been running after 4 kids all day and have no make up on.....and still in my jammies. Or if I get all dressed up for a work party.
I love that he worked hard to get his Bachelors Degree in Business Marketing from the University of Utah. Going to work full time and school was not easy, yet he never gave up. I loved watching him graduate, so proud of him.
I love that he loves the Oregon Coast. I love that he listened to me when I told him that I wanted to go there on our Honeymoon, even though he thought I was a bit crazy at the time. We have since been back many many times. I love that he likes Newport, "The stinky old fish town" :)

I love that he is so close to his family and to my family and that he believes that family is the most important thing.

I love this picture and how he has a special bond with each and every one of our kids. He wants nothing more than for them to be happy. I am so lucky and have enjoyed being married to him for the last 11 years. Love you Mike.

2012-02-06T12:28:00.000-08:00

Liam is watching his siblings play in the snow. He was outside for a total of 5 minutes before he started crying because the snow is too cold.
Looking at me with his little car unimpressed. He cannot understand why he can't stay outside too. Yes, he only has one sock on. He always has one on and one off. Not sure why he likes this look, lol.
Emily, Brett and Savannah were attempting to build a ramp from the upper level to the lower. Surprisingly, they were able to make it work!
Poor baby, such is the life of a little one.....

Savannah turns 4

2012-01-19T19:40:00.000-08:00

Beautiful cake made for our little princess by her daddy. Strawberry cake from scratch with strawberry cream cheese - delicious!
Such a cute little girl. We love her so much. She has so much spunk, is terribly stubborn and bursting with personality. She adds so much to our family and I cannot imagine life without her. I told her on her birthday that she had to stop getting older and she said, "Mom I can't! Then I would never be a mommy and I want to be a mommy!"
Here is Emily reading her the present she gave Savannah. It says, "Ariel loves you Savannah and Emily loves you too!" At the bottom it says, "Emily loves you more". Savannah's favorite princess right now is Ariel so she drew Ariel by a horse. I love that my little girls are such cute sisters.
She got Ariel from my Parents and then Sleeping Beauty from us. She loves her Princesses.
You can't tell with this picture, but she also got really excited when she saw the new clothes from Granny and Grandpa. She loves getting new clothes.
Here is her Princess castle.
And her Papa, she loves him so much.
We had a friend Birthday party for Savannah this year. All the girls came dressed up as Princesses. Here is Eden with her adorable funky socks.
Mike helped out by painting butterflies, crowns and hearts on all of the girls. They thought it was so much fun and only made them more beautiful.
This was such a fun little game and a good alternative to our traditional pinata. The girls would spin the wheel and then see what color they needed. Once they pulled out the tab candy would come out and at the end it all came out at once. This is definitely a game for little girls. They sat there so patiently waiting for their turn.
I love that Brett was willing to be a part of the "Girl Party" but only if he could dress up as a ninja, lol.
We had a great time and more important Savannah loved it. She is already asking "how many days until my next birthday?"

Christmas

2012-01-08T16:03:00.000-08:00

Santa must be a Utah fan, he left all of the kids a swoop pillow pet for Christmas :)
Here we are about ready to go down the stairs. Emily's excited expression is priceless.
Liam got a little tent that he could crawl in and out of.
Here is what Santa left.
Emily got the doll she was asking for. She named her Sandie.
Liam got a ball pit which seemed like an ingenious idea for Santa to fill an inflatable swimming pool with balls. Too bad the pool lasted a week until Liam popped it.
Brett so excited to get the stars that glow in the dark.. He is excited to stick them on his ceiling.
The big gift was the foosball table for the whole family. This has been a huge hit, we play it almost every night.
And Savannah got a beautiful Doll House, I admit I am a bit jealous :). The girls in the family have had a lot of fun playing with it. We had a wonderful Christmas and I can't believe how quickly it came and went!

2012-01-08T15:00:00.000-08:00

I love the magic of Christmas in our home. The kids are at such fun ages right now! One of our favorite traditions is wrapping all of the Christmas books we have received in the past and opening one a night starting in December until we end with the classic "Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve.

Some other fun things that happened during the season was seeing Emily in her Piano Performance. She played two solos, both memorized. It is so amazing to see how much progress she is making and when I asked her if she was scared she said, "not really." She is such a beautiful little girl and it is so fun to see her perform. Here she is with her teacher and the other students.

We also made some yummy peppermint cookies in the shape of candy canes and some homemade peanut butter cups and chocolate dipped pretzels with peanut butter in the middle. I love that Mike was able to get some extra boxes at work so we could give our neighbors a delicious gift that looked nice too!

For the last three years we have been having Christmas Eve with just our little family. I love it. I love that we can spend time together and have a good time before the craziness in the morning. Mike's parents joined us this year. It was nice to have someone actually enjoy the meal we made. The kids are too excited to eat :)

Mike made an awesome Prime rib, it was a hit! I made the rolls you can see in the background. We also had mashed potatoes, corn and jello.
Here the kids are about ready to open their Christmas Jammies. Trust me, they looked adorable. I didn't remember to get a pic of them in their jammies that night. After dinner Emily and Brett preformed for Granny and Grandpa and then set out some cookies and egg nog and went to bed in record time. The magic of Christmas was in the air and they could not wait to get into bed, they didn't want Santa to pass them by.

Frenette Christmas Party

2012-01-02T19:27:00.000-08:00

This year we had a few changes to the Frenette Christmas Party. We used to have it with all of our cousins, but everyone decided it was getting to crazy and that we needed to break it up into individual families. We had it at my parents house and it was a lot of fun. We did a nativity for the first year and it was a hit! Baby Paige did a great job being baby Jesus and everyone looked great. I love how Emily played the part of Mary looking adoringly at baby "Jesus" the whole time.

Savannah played a wise man along with her favorite cousin Zoey. She kept telling me, we are the Princesses that came to visit baby Jesus and gave him presents.

Liam was scared to death when I put him on Santa's lap, but quickly stopped screaming and just stared. He must have thought if he sat really quiet Santa might let him go.

'
Brett telling Santa he wants video games, Santa tried to convince him that a ball might be more fun, but Brett wasn't so sure.

Emily with Santa telling him she wants a baby. Not a real baby she had to remind him, just a doll. She doesn't want any more little brothers or sisters, hahaha.

Cute Savannah, she was so excited to sit on Santa and to tell him that she really wanted a Barbie.

My Dad reading Brett the book Santa brought to him. It has everything you ever wanted to know about Reindeer's. Brett thought it was so amazing.

Mike reading Savannah the book Santa gave to Liam.
My beautiful little niece Paige. I just wish she didn't live so far away. Glad Mandi came with her family for the Christmas Holiday all the way from Texas.

Mom reading Poochie the Pup. This is a story my dad received when he was a little boy and we have read it every year of my life. I love how we all repeat phrases in unison, fun tradition.

Liam about ready to start un-decorating Grandma and Grandpa's tree, lol.

Emily playing Jolly Old Saint Nicholas while Brett does the actions and sings. They practiced every night for a week for this performance, so cute. I was so glad we could get everyone together for the Christmas Party. Kind of crazy having all the kids running around extra hyper on Christmas excitement, but it was so worth it.

Oh Christmas Tree!

2011-12-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is time to get a Christmas Tree! I have always loved looking for the perfect tree, and it is always fun with the kids and getting their opinions.
Liam was happy with his free little candy cane they gave away at the lot. He had a blast just running through the trees, he thought he was in some kind of amazing forest!

Emily posing as usual. She loved looking for the perfect tree.

Brett was more interested in playing with all of the sticks on the ground. He begged me to take like 20 of them home, I let him take 2.

Such a sweetie. This is the shot before she took a big bite of the candy cane. I wish I would have taken an after shot as she spit it out and all over the place. She didn't realize it was "hot".

We had fun decorating the tree, Liam was so excited to put on the ornaments. He is now enjoying "un-decorating" the tree every chance he gets.....

Emily with her New Baby ornament we got for her in 2002, I can't believe how fast time flies.

Brett begged Mike to let him put the star on the top, ha ha ha!

So innocent looking. This is right before he started to tear them all off, lol.

Brett really enjoyed decorating the tree this year and had fun reminiscing on all of the old ornaments he had. Because ornaments that are 5 years old are "really, really, old!"
I have around 10 pictures of Savannah in this exact pose with an ornament. She kept grabbing them and telling me, "Mom, take a picture of me with this one!"

I know our tree is really busy, and all of the ornaments do not match each other, there are some homemade ones that are pretty sad looking but I love our tree. I love that each time I look at it I can see ones my grandma gave me, see my first baby's Christmas ornament. Mike has one his Mom made in '85, we have some I made our first Christmas together and some from my mom. We have ones the kids made and some we got in our travels. I love the memories that are attached to them and for the rest of my life I hope that I will always have the crazy eclectic tree.

Once There Was a Snowman

2011-11-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

A few Saturdays ago when it snowed for the first time Emily and Brett could not wait to get outside and make a snowman. I was initially sad to wake up that morning and see so much snow. I cant believe it is already that time of year, my Fall went to fast! But, watching these two outside, having a blast playing in the snow and making snowmen brightened my day.
Yes, Brett is wearing Emily's old purple snow pants, and if he were to see I posted this for all the world to see he would be mortified. The only way I got him to put them on was by repeatedly assuring him that no one would see him in the back yard. :)
Cutest snowmen ever, complete with candy corn eyes a carrot nose and chocolate chip faces and buttons. Of course this activity ended with a nice cup of hot chocolate.

Halloween

2011-11-02T21:11:00.001-07:00

We had a really fun Halloween. Mike was able to take the day off of work and we had fun carving pumpkins, making potato soup and eating it in pumpkin bread bowls, watched the Headless horseman and of course there was a lot of candy.
My sweet Belle.

She set up this pose herself, she folded her hands and pronounced, "Now I look like a really real princess."

Cute little bee.

Yep, pretty difficult task getting this little guy to glance at the camera.

I love the spider on her face.

I love the costume we were able to put together! My friend made the pants and shirt, I made the skirt and we found some adorable socks to go with it. The cape was a Christmas gift I made for her last year.

Showing off his Ninja moves.
Doesn't he look adorable, even dressed up as a scary "Skeleton Ninja Fighter" as Brett puts it.

Mike did a great job painting the kids faces! I think this is something they will all request for now on.

Liam sat still the entire time Mike painted his face, I was impressed! I think he was just confused as to what in the world was going on!

All ready for Trick or Treating! It was the best weather, we were able to trick or treat for a couple of hours, Mike and I traded off taking the kids out so we could pass out candy too. The kids each brought in quite the haul!

Our pumpkins. Savannah and Liam's are in the front, Em and Brett's in the back.

Hope everyone had a spectacular Halloween! If you want to see some fun things we did for Halloween see the previous two posts.

Halloween Party at Grandma and Papa's

2011-11-02T20:41:00.001-07:00

This year we went to my parents house for a dinner and Halloween party on the 30th. It was so much fun and it worked out great that we could be together and see everyone's costumes. We missed Mandi in Texas.

When I took this picture Brett was just starting to squeeze the frosting on, when I finished I think practically the whole tube of frosting was on his cookie!

Sweet Cassidy with her cookie.

Yes, Mike did paint Emily and Brett's faces for Halloween and for the party. He also painted their faces for the Utah game and Brett's for the school parade! I was just glad he did it and that it came off fairly easy.

My handsome hubby with his sugar cookie creations, yum.

Liam dressed as a cute little Lion. On the way to the party Emily was teaching him how to roar, he picked up on it pretty fast!

Yes, this is my little princess chatting away on her pretend cell phone while holding her case. She asked me when she got ready, "Does Belle have a cell phone?" When I told her I didn't think she did she looked confused for a second, then grabbed it and said. "Well I do!"

Emily and Haylie looked so cute in their witch costumes.

This is the best picture I got of the grandkids. It was pretty hard getting them to all sit and look at the camera, lol. Aren't they a cute group of kids?

Pumpkins

2011-11-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

We went to Dicks Market this year to get pumpkins, might not be an awesome patch, but they had some amazing pumpkins! Liam loved touching them all, he was in heaven.
Emily and Brett each picked pumpkins that were over 15 pounds! The scale maxed out at 15, luckily they just charged us for that.
I notice since I am usually the photographer there are never any pics of me on the blog. So, here I am with my cute little man, even though he is distracted by all the pumpkins.
Mike is the expert pumpkin picker. He had a row of 8-10 pumpkins lined up that looked like they were worthy picks. He cracks me up, I love how he is just like a little kid and gets so excited about anything to do with holidays.
Brett, always the poser for the camera.

Now for the fun part, the carving! We picked out our pumpkins a couple of weeks before Halloween, but we actually carved them on the day of.
The kids all dug right in, I was impressed! No one was squeamish at all.

We took the seeds and baked them, so delicious!

Beautiful Heartbreak

2011-10-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing song with a beautiful message. We have all had heartaches in life and can relate in some way. Our strength comes in working through them. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Thanks Ashley for sharing it.
Remember to pause the music at the bottom of my blog so you can hear it. :)

Emily turns 9

2011-10-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little girl is 9, time just keeps on flying by...... I am so grateful to have Emily in our family, she is so sweet and loving, she is constantly helping out. She also likes to make everyone feel special. She is always working on some sort of project, surprising people with little gifts and pictures. I love this pic, she really likes to pose for the camera and so when I told her I wanted to take some pictures of her on her Birthday, she quickly grabbed the fake flowers to pose with, lol. Such a beautiful girl :)

Of course, Emily loving horses so much she just had to have a horse cake. Here is the awesome cake Mike made, she loved it. It looks great, but it tasted even better. Emily always has a pumpkin cake and so she requested it again this year. It was delicious with the cream cheese frosting and coconut.

Fun Balloons!

Emily and her Grandma, she loves her so much.
Mike put trick candles on the cake so they kept re-lighting. It was so funny to see how confused Em was about it. Such a fun day, so glad our family could come out and celebrate with us.

Emily's friend Birthday Party

2011-10-16T12:59:00.000-07:00

For Emily's 9th Birthday party we went to a ranch to see horses. Two sisters took my CNA class, they were telling me how they are true cowgirls. The are in rodeo's, ride horses, rope goats and do barrel racing. When I told them how much my little girl loves horses they told me they would be willing to do a Birthday party for her. It was amazing. They did such a great job planning so many fun things for the girls to see and do.

They had a bunch of cute bunny rabbits that we fed, held and petted. Savannah still talks about how much she loves all bunnies.

They had 17 horses on their ranch, we saw about 9. The rest were in the pasture by their home.

We were even able to hold chickens and pet them. Their feathers are so soft! Looking at this picture makes me smile. Brett was in heaven, I am sure he was wishing he was born on a ranch.

Emily brought 5 friends with her along with her siblings. Here is our cute neighbor and Emily's good friend Elsie.

Emily and her cousin Haylie. Haylie is 7 months younger than Em and they have always been such good friends.

Aliza on top of the horse with Savannah in the background. I was actually shocked that Savannah wanted to ride the horse. She is always kind of nervous around big animals, but she loved it.

The girls even had a chance to try and lasso the pretend cow while they waited for their turn to ride.

They were actually pretty good at it, I was impressed!
Emily loved riding the horses, later she told me that next time she just wants to jump on and ride the horse without any help and have it run. Notice the boots she insisted on wearing, she doesn't have cowgirl boots so snow boots will have to do :)

Here the girls are dressing a goat, yep you heard me, a goat. Each team had an item of clothing, pants, shirt, bandanna and a hat and they had to run up to the goat and see who could get their goat completely dressed first.

I seriously laughed so hard the entire time they were racing to get their goats dressed, it was hysterical! The girls loved it too, so much that they did it again. Each team had a turn at winning.

Liam was enthralled by the goat. I was a bit nervous it was going to try to nip at him since he kept touching it. The poor thing was probably exhausted after all it had been through.

Notice my poor guys little face, yep you can tell he is a typical one year old. Trips and falls constantly and his face shows it!

Even Liam got to set on the horse for a photo. He just kept smiling and laughing.

At the very end the kids had a blast searching for candy in the hay. We then took the girls to our house, watched Secretariat (a horse movie) and had pizza. There was a lot of giggling and playing, Emily said it was one of the best days ever - the party was a success.

School

2011-10-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the summer went by so quickly and now it has been over a month since school started! I am a bit behind on my school post, so scroll down below to the prevoius posts and you can see all the cute things the kids said about what they like, dislike and want to be right now. Mike's cousins wife posted this for her kids a few years back and I have been doing it every year since I started blogging. I think it is so fun to look back on. Here are some cute, and crazy pics of Em and Brett on the first day of school.

Savannah the Preschooler

2011-10-01T12:51:00.001-07:00

What is your favorite color? Um, my Favorite color is pink and red, and that color. Points to her orange shirt in the picture.

What is your favorite sport? What is a sport?

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play

What are you most excited about learning at school? That I think I will love it

Who are your best friends? Zoey and Emmie and what is her name again? I think it is Miya, except one day she told me I don't look pretty. But I always look beautiful

What is your favorite food? Um, cereal and chips and chicken

What is your least favorite food? I don't like potatoes and beans

What is your favorite animal? A Horsie

What do your like to do at home? Play with my Barbies and Babies

What is your favorite book? A Ariel book

What is your favorite movie? Ariel and Rapunzel

What is your favorite place to go? Into the Toy Room

What is your favorite thing to say? I love Mommy

What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a helper and go to school like Emily and Brett. But they don't go on a bus and I want to go on a bus.

Brett starts 1st Grade

2011-10-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

What is your favorite color? Green

What is your favorite sport? Go Utes!

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Soccer, cuz I am really good at it! And fishing with Daddy.

What are you most excited about learning at school? I can't choose recess, soooo learning about being nice and not hurting each other.

Who are your best friends? Cy, Caleb, Matthew, Andrew....I don't know anyone else. I can't remember their names.

What is your favorite food? Chicken, your chicken. You know, the good one you make?

What is your least favorite food? Potatoes, green bean and remember the long green things? I can't remember what they are called but we once ate them and I don't like them at all! (Asparagus)

What is your favorite animal? Cheetah, Lion and a Hippo

What do your like to do at home? I like dancing....I guess.

What is your favorite song? Brett: "Superman" Me: But that isn't a song that you sing, Brett: "Yes it is, dun da da da da dun dun....."

What is your favorite book? Gecko books, I love lizard books

What is your favorite movie? Superman and Harry Potter

What is your favorite place to go? To Oregon, Utah games and Las Vegas.

What is your favorite thing to say? "Arrrrrr!"

What do you want to be when you grow up? "A Boxer, you know like Dad is cuz he makes Boxes."

Emily starts 3rd Grade

2011-10-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

What is your favorite color? Purple

What is your favorite sport? Soccer, because I play it.

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride on my Bike with Brett.

What are you most excited about learning at school? Math, um like sometimes it is fun.

Who are your best friends? Haylie, Elsie, Stasia, Jayleen

What is your favorite food? Shrimp and Crab

What is your least favorite food? Macaroni

What is your favorite song? California Justice, I like dancing to it in the car

What is your favorite animal? Elephants and Horses

What do your like to do at home? Something Art, I like to draw and write

What is your favorite book? I love all books, I don't know my favorite. Maybe, Roald Dahl books.

What is your favorite movie? Um, it is Harry Potter

What is your favorite place to go? Oregon and Las Vegas

What is your favorite thing to say? Supercalifragilisticespialidocious!

What do you want to be when you grow up? A nurse, for sure!

Father and Sons Campout

2011-09-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

Ever since Mike was little he has had a tradition of going camping with his Dad and brother Scott over Labor Day. Now it has grown to include his nephews and Brett. I am so happy he is able to have fun with the guys and that my little guy can go with him. Before I know it I am sure Liam will be going with them too. For some reason Mike didn't think he was big enough to go on this trip. :)
Mike and Brett's tent.

Mike told me Brett was pretty obsessed with having a fire and wanted it going the whole day. At least he did his part in keeping them supplied with firewood!

Mike's Dad. Brett told me he loved having Grandpa up there with him.

Austin and Tyler playing Horseshoes, a Neeley family favorite.

I loved this pic! Brett totally tuckered after a long day of fun.

I am so lucky to have these two guys in my life, love them both so much. I think it was good for Brett to spend one on one time with his Dad. There is no one he admires more in this world. He is always telling me how strong Dad is, or how fast Dad can run, how Dad is the best Soccer player and that he is so tall. I love how he looks up to him so much. Found an awesome song about this if you want to turn on the music, a bit twangy but I love the message :)

So Peaceful, what a beautiful picture. So glad Mike took a ton of the trip!

Goofing off for the camera, hahaha.

Emily gets her ears pierced

2011-09-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

I have always told Emily that she can get her ears pierced whenever she is ready. She has wanted them for awhile, but has been nervous about it. After talking to some other girls who have their ears pierced in our neighborhood she decided to do it. Here is the final shot with no earrings!
Emily was so brave. She held my on to me and only had one teeny tiny tear.
She picked beautiful pink flowers for her studs, since it is her birthstone.
We went up to Layton Hills Mall as a family and all cheered her on. Way to go Em!

Bear Lake

2011-09-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks before school started we went to Bear Lake with Mike's family. We had so much fun being together for 3 days. One of the first things we did was to go Horseback Riding. Mike took Emily and Brett. Emily has been a few times before, but this was Brett's first time.

He loved it, and he looks so adorable sitting on his horse.

Here is Mike's sister Cheryl and Tanner

Connor
Kyle

Tyler

Brett loved playing with Connor, one of their favorite things was playing in the dirt in the back, building traps for grasshoppers and giant slingshots.

The water at Bear Lake was so high this year! This is at Rendezvous Beach, the only beach site around Bear Lake. We rented Jet Ski's and had a fun day. Here are the boys burying Connor. Can you see his head sticking out of the sand?

Savannah was scared of the Jet Ski's, but had fun playing in the sand.

Mike and Brett, of course Brett LOVED the Jet Ski's - he didn't want it to end!

Liam wandered around most of the time just taking it in. Here he is with Ashley and Mike's parents.

The biggest hit was the ping pong table in the cabin. So many tournaments were played!

Our view from the deck. We rented the cabin from a friend of mine at work.

Sad to have it end so soon........

Corn on the Cob

2011-08-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

We are a family who LOVES corn on the cob. The kids were so excited when Mike went to Brocks and brought some corn home.

Right now the kids really enjoy shucking the corn....doubt that will always be the case :)

This was Liam's first attempt at eating corn on the cob and he was really good at it and super impressed with how yummy it was! Even now if we are cooking some he will just point at it and make his yummy noise. "Mmmmm, Mmmmm"

Yep, he is a Neeley!

Fishing at Mill Hollow

2011-08-16T15:53:00.001-07:00

We went to Mill Hollow one Saturday morning to take the kids fishing. They had so much fun! Emily caught 6 fish, and Brett caught 7!

Hahaha, such a funny boy!

Mike convinced Savannah to try and reel a fish in that he had on, once she started to reel it in the fish pulled. Savannah freaked out saying, "It moved!" She threw the pole down and would not try again.

Liam loved seeing the fish. The first time he touched the fish he pulled his hand back quickly, probably because it was wet. Then he immediately put his hand out and had a death grip on the poor fish! Luckily we were able to pry his hands loose and let the fish go, it swam away. Hopefully it survived the attack!

The picture taken right before the death grip :)There is an amazing lodge up by Mill Hollow where you can rent it during the weekend. It belongs to Granite School district, but is available to rent to the public. Family reunion anyone? It would be such a fun place to go.

It was so beautiful in the mountains, I just love Utah!

They even had an amphitheater by the lodge. Aren't these two so cute?

My little boy is getting so big! I love that he lives life to the fullest.

On the deck at the lodge.

It was such a fun day! Hopefully we can get at least one more fishing trip in this year. Fishing is one thing I remember doing a lot growing up and I loved it as a kid. It is fun seeing my kids enjoy it too. I remember my Dad couldn't even get his pole in most fishing trips because he was so busy helping us. Mike couldn't get his pole in either, but had so much fun helping the kids learn how to fish.

Fun on the 24th

2011-07-28T14:50:00.001-07:00

It isn't a 24th of July celebration unless you go fishing at the Bountiful Park. I have done this as long as I can remember and it has been so fun going every year with the kids.

Savannah was all smiles at first, and then quickly became overwhelmed with all the kids and started to cry. I had to rescue her from the chaos.
That night we had some fireworks at our house with Mikes family. Liam loves being with Ashley, and I love that she helps me out with him :)

Everyone enjoyed throwing snaps, even Granny and Duke.
The boys had fun playing football.

Mike's sister Diane was visiting from Texas with Justin and Autumn.

That night a some of Mikes family made the walk up 1800 South with us to see the Bountiful Fireworks. My family was up there, and it was fun being with everyone. Here is my adorable little niece, Cassidy.
Stef and Aaron.

Brett and Alex love being together, and it fun to see them become better friends.
The girls love their Grandma!
Savannah really liked Diane, and was talking to her a lot that night.
Justin posing with his "tusks"
My sister Mandi and her husband with Zoey in the background. They were also visiting from Texas. I love watching the fireworks and it was so fun to be up there with family. It was an awesome production and lasted quite awhile. Savannah and Brett were right next to me and I loved hearing them make all the "Ohhhh, and Ahhhh noises right along with the crowd.

Oregon Coast 2011

2011-07-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

We went to Oregon with Mike's two sisters and their families. We had so much fun! Here is a slideshow of our awesome trip - enjoy!

4th of July

2011-07-13T19:19:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun this 4th of July being at my parents house. Here is our bounce house that we brought over. It was a huge success with all the kids.

Here comes trouble! One of my favorite parts of the night was watching Mike and Brett have a water gun fight, it ended with Mike dunking Brett in the pool. hahaha

Cute cousins!

Such a smiley little guy! Liam loved exploring and playing in the pool. His favorite thing was crawling in and out, in and out.....you get the idea, kept me busy all evening!

Look at his chubby belly!
It wouldn't be a 4th of July celebration without fishing for prizes! My parents gave them each a wooden snake that they painted, the kids loved it.
Liam loved having Papa push him on the swing.
Beautiful Em! Love this girl.
Savannah getting cozy to watch some fireworks. She loved it.
Such a fun day, good food and we loved all being together.

Liam turns one

2011-07-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

Big Happy Birthday to our little boy Liam Scott! I can't believe he is one, where did this year go? Here he is with his adorable toothy grin :)

His favorite gift of all were the balloons, he has had so much fun playing with them.

I made the cake and cupcakes for Liam this year, not quite as fancy as Mike's cake but I still think it turned out really cute. We did a sesame street party for Liam, cookie monster cake for my little monster.

Mike bought him a huge big bird balloon and he loved it! he loves playing with it and trying to knock him over. He loved sitting on his Granny's lap during the party. He was such a happy guy, waving to everyone smiling and of course trying to get into trouble.

Such a cool balloon!

I think Emily made about 10 different pictures and cards for Liam this week. She is so excited about Liam turning one and is such a great big sister to him.

Liam was really good at unwrapping all his gifts, he would get so excited about each one and then be ready to move on to what was next.

Yep, my little guy is starting to walk more and more! He is still super unsteady but is getting better day by day.

He loved mushing up the cupcakes and smearing it everywhere. He had a teeny tiny taste but was more interested in making a huge mess!

Happy Birthday Liam, our whole family loves you so much!
I just wanted to list some things Liam is doing right now and what makes him so sweet.

*His favorite thing to do is try and figure out how to get into the bathrooms, so he can play with the TP.
*He smiles all the time, I swear you just look at him and he grins his huge toothy grin
*He loves to cuddle, but only when he is getting ready to go to sleep
*When he drinks his bottle he always puts his right hand up on his ear, always.......and it melts my heart every time.
*He doesn't say much, just mama but he makes a ton of really funny noises and pretend talking.
*He gets scared easy if you sneak up him and then he has the cutest little pouty lip.
*He is a short little guy, 25% and really cute and chubby 75%. And like the rest of his siblings he is in the 90th percentile for head circumference.
*He loves music, the second some comes on he starts bouncing up and down. He also "sings" he was start saying "AHHHH, AHHHHH, AHHHH" through the whole song. Love it!
*He is super easy going and patient for the most part. He has to be with 3 older siblings!
*I truly think he is the most kissed baby on the planet. Since he was born the kids can't kiss him enough through the day. Of course he also gets plenty from Mike and I.

We are so lucky to have him be part of our family. Love you baby boy!

Liam gets a haircut

2011-06-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

Liam's hair is quite long on top. Here is a pic of his hair spiked up right before she snipped his cute little baby hair away.

He was so sweet and sat so still while she was cutting his hair. The second she would stop he would start jumping up and down in the car chair and beeping the horn. He loved it!

All done and super cute!

Graduation and Recital

2011-06-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

Brett graduated from Kindergarten today! I can't believe how fast this school year has gone by, seems like yesterday that I was taking him to school for the first time.
They put on such a great performance, they sang a lot of songs and the song Brett has been practicing and so excited to sing was, "What a Wonderful World." He told me when he sang it he would point to me on the part that said, "I Love You." I told him it would probably make me cry....and it did.

Here he is with his teacher Mrs Robinson. She has been amazing with him this year, so fun and so patient! He loved having her as his teacher.
All of the kindergartners made these cute poster boards of themselves. Brett's says, "My favorite part of kindergarten was PE." And, "When I grow up I want to be a Pirate." hahaha
Tonight we had Emily's piano recital. She did such a great job and has been practicing so hard. She played Whistle while you work, Magic Pony and a duet she played with her teacher called, Once upon a December. She also looks super cute with her new haircut! She has been begging me for almost two years to cute it short and I finally gave in. Thanks to Cassy for making it look adorable :)

2011-05-29T12:28:00.001-07:00

Liam will turn 11 months old this week and if I could choose one word to describe him, it would be busy! This boy is constantly on the go! I spend most of my day chasing after him, making sure that he can't get into anything that he shouldn't. As you can see, he LOVES to play with toilet paper. If any of the bathroom doors are left open, even for a second, Liam is in there unrolling the TP. He has also gone into the storage room and thrown cat food everywhere, pulled down books from shelves, taken off all the heating vent covers, and taken everything he can off the bottom shelf in the pantry. While I am attempting to clean up the mess he just made, he is making another or booking it up the stairs! He is my sweet little wave of destruction right now :). Isn't he adorable? Even when he is doing all this stuff I can't help but to smile, I love him. Can't believe in another month my sweet baby will be one!

U2!

2011-05-25T11:09:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Mike and I went to the U2 concert! It was postponed for a year since Bono hurt his back, and although I feel bad that he got hurt, I really liked having it this year rather than last year. Last year I would have been 8 months pregnant with Liam, crazy how so many things can change in a year!

There were so many people there, it was mind blowing! I heard that there were around 40,000 people at Rice Eccles. It was pretty awesome to party with U2 on the Utes football field :)

There are three stages that are set up in different areas around the world for the tour. It took the stage crew nearly a week to prepare for the concert with the set up.
Here is my handsome date for the evening :) There is no one I would rather party with at a U2 concert. So many of their songs bring back memories and fun times spent with him.
We had amazing seats and the concert was so much fun!

And of course, I could not post this blog without having some amazing U2 songs playing on my play list! Such an amazing night!

Brett's 6th Birthday

2011-05-22T13:19:00.001-07:00

I was so happy when Brett told Mike that he wanted to have a pirate party again this year! For one thing, he is so cute as a pirate and the bonus is that we have a lot of pirate decorations from last year!

Here is a pic of the crazy crew! They had so much fun.

Here is some of the Pirate booty they got to take home with them.

One of Brett's favorite gifts at the friend party, he loves this cereal!

Posing with the pinata before they beat it to pieces. The boys have been to enough of Brett's parties that they were all asking about when they got to hit the pinata the second they got to the house, lol.

My two handsome pirates. Mike dressed up again this year as Captain Redblood and the boys love it! Especially Brett.

Arrrrr matey's!

Birthday Boy, so big at 6! We love Brett so much, he really cracks me up on a constant basis with his funny thoughts on life, his silly accents and more. He also frustrates me at times with his stubbornness, but I love how he sticks up for what he thinks. I am so lucky to be his mom, and I look forward to being with him as he grows up. Love you Brett!

Hahaha, just had to post this picture! I love that Mike has so much fun planning parties for the kids. He does such a great job, and the kids always have a great time!

This year Mike made Brett a treasure chest cake. Brett wanted to have pumpkin cake, so pumpkin it was! Delicious!

I love how it turned out and Brett especially loved all the coins and rubies on the cake. After we sang Happy Birthday, all his cousins had fun picking off the treasure and eating it :)

2011-05-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

I think Liam loves Peeps almost as much as I do! When he saw his basket Easter morning, he grabbed the Peeps and stuffed them into his mouth, lol!
Aren't these 4 kids adorable? So cute in their new Easter outfits. And amazing that Mike got a fairly decent shot with all 4 of them!
I love this picture, such a smiley little guy!

Mike bought the girls Easter dresses months ago, Savannah was so excited when she finally got to wear it!
Handsome Brett.

And Emma looked beautiful as always.

Since we were all getting pics with our Easter baskets Mike thought we should get some of us too. Nope, the Easter bunny didn't forget us! I think all my chocolate Reeses mini eggs were gone that day. Easter candy is the best!

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-05-01T12:40:00.001-07:00

My Grandma and Grandpa have an Easter egg hunt at their house every year and we always look forward to it! I love being able to visit with my cousins that I only see a few times a year and it is always fun to see the kids run around to find their eggs.
Mike helped the kids make the bags to hold their eggs.

Savannah was so cute this year, she was so excited each time she found an egg and wanted me to take a picture of her after each one. So, I had a million cute ones to choose from, each with the same little pose.
Liam thought the whole idea of eggs was fun and couldn't stop smiling.
It took Brett awhile to find his eggs, he was so excited and just kept running around. He found them pretty fast once he started looking :)
Liam with my parents.

Emily is getting so big! I swear it wasn't long ago Mike and I were helping her find her eggs on her very first Easter egg hunt.
Reminiscent of last year, Savannah once again freaked out when it came to pinata time. She thinks the whole idea or hitting something with a stick is pretty barbaric I am sure. Maybe next year!
Brett, on the other hand was the complete opposite. Before I even had a chance to take a picture, he swung the bat so hard and the bottom half of the pinata came off! Hahaha, he is all boy that is for sure!
This is what the pinata looked like after my Dad pieced it back together, lol.
Emily having a shot, she wasn't timid either!
Liam and his first pinata, he was smiling the whole time

***on a side note, anyone else having difficulty with blogger uploading pictures that are grainy and blurry? My last two posts have had this problem!***

Mike's Birthday

2011-04-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

April 7th was Mike's Birthday. I have been wanting to try and make Orange rolls from scratch and I figured that his Birthday was the perfect day. They turned out pretty good!

Mike was able to take the day off of work, and it was so much fun to spend time together as a family on his Birthday! While Liam took a nap the kids had movie time with Dad. They watched High School Musical 3. I thought it was so cute that Mike picked that movie to watch with them since they love it so much. And of course, when you watch a movie you have to eat popcorn! :)

When Liam woke up we all piled into the car and headed for Leatherby's. We haven't been there for a few years and it was a lot of fun. There was a jukebox, and my favorite part was watching the kids get so excited when Mike put money in and chose some songs. They were so cute to watch dancing all around.

Yummy! Dig in!

Here is a picture of our gigantic sundae! It is called a Grandma Gracie's sundae. It has Peppermint and Swiss Milk Chocolate Ice cream with fudge, almonds and even a cherry on top! We loved eating it and took quite a bit home with us. Even Liam ate his first bites of ice cream and loved it. That night Mike and I went out. We went a saw a movie, Adjustment Bureau (it was really good) and then went to dinner at Thiaphoon, it is a delicious restaurant at the Gateway. We had such a fun night.

I really am so grateful for Mike, he is such a wonderful husband and father. With all the fun things we did, my favorite part was seeing him open all the presents that the kids made him. Brett made him a paper snake and some drawings, Emily made him a TON of cards and pictures. Even Savannah asked for a paper so she could make a drawing for Mike. When she finished she said, "Daddy is so handsome, I love him so much....in the name of Jesus Christ Amen." Lol, she is so adorable. Mike was so excited about every single picture the kids made and commented on all of them and thanked them. I loved watching the whole thing, they sure do love their daddy. Happy Birthday Mike, we love you!

2011-03-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

I just had to laugh when I was going through pics and saw what bib Liam was wearing, lol. Poor kid has to put up with a lot being the 4th baby. It made me remember this email I saw a while back, and I had to share. Some of it is a bit exaggerated, but still pretty funny!

First baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.

Second baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.

Third baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing For the Birth:

First baby: You practice your breathing religiously.

Second baby: You don't bother practicing because you remember breathing didn't do a thing. Third baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

The Layette:

First baby: You prewash newborn's clothes, color coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.

Second baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.

Third baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries: First baby: At the first sign of distress — a whimper, a frown — you pick up the baby. Second baby: You pick the baby up when their wails threaten to wake your firstborn.

Third baby: You teach your 3-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

Pacifier:

First baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.

Second baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.

Third baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Diapering: First baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not. Second baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.

Third baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities:

First baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.

Second baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.

Third baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

Going Out:

First baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.

Second baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.

Third baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home:

First baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.

Second baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.

Third baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Swallowing Coins:

First child: when first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand X-rays.

Second child: when second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for coin to pass.

Third child: when third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!!

Saint Patricks Day!

2011-03-17T11:14:00.001-07:00

For Breakfast we had the traditional green French Toast and Milk. The kids loved it!

Last night Emily made a trap for the Leprechaun in hopes they could catch him and he would take them to his pot of gold. Well, he followed their trail of treats right into the trap and then escaped. Luckily he left behind a few chocolate coins!

Winter......

2011-03-09T10:52:00.001-08:00

I have lived in Utah for my entire life, but no matter what every year when March comes along I have high hopes that Spring is near. Then, every year it snows, and is freezing. You would think I would be used to it by now! We have been doing a lot of things to keep busy, and have spent a lot of time being sick. Emily had Step throat for the 4th time this season, Liam had pneumonia and Savannah has yet another cold. Hopefully Spring comes soon!

We have spent a lot of time indoors, Savannah loves her baby brother

He is used to constant hugs and cuddling.

Emily and Brett came home from school yesterday and were ecstatic that they got to build at least one more snowman this season.

They turned out so adorable! Afterward, we did the tradition of having a cup of hot cocoa, so I guess there are a few perks to having snow around in March. :)

Because he is so cute......

2011-02-25T10:50:00.001-08:00

I can't get enough of my little guy, I just smother him with kisses every chance I get!

Jen took these cute pics of Liam when I went up with my mom and sisters to Bear Lake to quilt for the weekend. Since Liam is still nursing he got to tag along, he was such a good baby the whole time and got plenty of love and attention from his aunts and grandma.

Plates

2011-02-21T11:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas of 2009, (thats right not last Christmas but the one before) Santa gave us all a kit to make a plate. Finally a few weeks ago we decided to make them. We had so much fun! Here is the final result. Savannah just wanted her hands traced, I thought it turned out pretty cute!

Emily is the artist in our family! Didn't her crab on the beach turn out so cute!

Mike helped Brett make his, because he really wanted a shark and didn't want to draw one. Mike of course made a Utah plate.

Here is cute little Liam's plate. He didn't actually get a plate, since he wasn't born until 2010. But, I thought I would rather make a plate for him than for myself.

We had such a great time designing them and the kids were so excited when they finally came to our house! Here is the website if you want to check it out! Click Here

Utah Basketball

2011-02-10T12:11:00.000-08:00

Mike got a package deal 2 seats for 5 games to see the Runnin' Utes. We have all had a fun time going! Here is Swoop! I was with Mike when he came up into the stands, too bad the kids weren't there.

Mike and I went to the BYU vs Utah game, also known as the Jimmer Ferdette show....we got killed, but it was so much fun to be together for a date night.

Brett was so excited to go with Mike.......
so excited that he fell right asleep. Such a cute little guy!
Emily was happy to spend one on one time with Dad too.

Show us your "U" Em!

Even the little princess went with Daddy to a game. I love how she always poses like this with her hand up by her face. Such a cutie!

Even though the Utes lost every single game we attended, it was so much fun for the kids to spend time with Daddy!

7 Months old

2011-02-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby is already 7 months old! Here are a few facts about Liam.

He is starting to sleep better at night - finally! Makes for a happier mommy :)

He laughs and smiles all the time

He loves his big sisters and brother, except when they yell. It scares him and makes him cry.

He loves his Daddy and smiles super huge when he comes home from work.

He loves it when Daddy throws him in the air, even though it scares mommy.

He loves to nurse, and is even taking a bottle really well when I am at work - yay!

He does not like baby food. He wants real food. This has been kinda tough!

He likes to eat Yogurt!

He is kinda short, only in the 10th percentile for height.

He weighs 17.5 lbs at his 6 month checkup and is in the 50 percentile for weight

He is my only kid who doesn't have a 90 percentile head measurement, only 25th.

He loves to play with toys, and is getting really good at picking things up.

He loves his jumper, he just stared figuring out that he can actually jump in it!

He is the sweetest thing and makes our family feel complete.

We love our baby boy!

Sisters

2011-01-22T13:54:00.000-08:00

Aren't these two adorable? I love to see them playing and laughing together. I love having my sisters, and I am so glad that these guys have eachother.

Friends may come and go, but a sister is forever.

Fun in the Snow

2011-01-14T08:57:00.000-08:00

During the Christmas break Grandma came over with my sister Jenny's kids Alex and Haylie and we went tubing!

Haylie, so cute in pink!

Emma was so excited to go sledding. We haven't done it much in the past and the kids thought it was so fun!

Alex played for a bit, and then decided it was too cold and not very fun. He opted to sit in Grandma's car and watch. I told him he could watch from the house, but I think he figured when Grandma left he would be sure to go with her if he was waiting for her in the car. :)

Haylie and Emily loved going down the hill together. I love watching these two together, I hope they will always be friends.

Savannah would just giggle every time they would go down. Brett is wearing purple snow pants, he was mortified when his old black ones didn't fit and he had to wear Emily's old ones. He kept telling me, "I hope nobody sees me!". And me, being the loving mother I am post it on the blog for the world to see, lol.

Liam all snugly warm in his snow suit, happy to be in Grandma's arms.

I love this picture. Brett is such a good big brother to Savannah.

That night when Mike came home Em and Brett went tubing some more! Even Dad did it! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture. Just some video footage. One day I will figure out how to put video on the blog.

Afterward we all had some hot cocoa and got in jammies, what a great way to end a fun winter day.

Happy Birthday Savannah!

2011-01-05T11:48:00.000-08:00

Savannah turned 3 on January 2nd. She usually will correct me when I call her Savannah, saying, "I not Savannah - I a princess!" So, of course she had a princess party. Her favorite princess right now is Cinderella. With her Birthday just a week after Christmas, it can get kind of hectic planning it. So this year Mike planned it all and had everything bought and planned out way before Christmas! Thanks Mike for being so prepared, and for making it so much fun for her.

Our families came over on Sunday and we had cake and ice cream.

Mike made the cake, and it turned out so amazing! We asked Savannah what kind of cake she wanted, and she said "lemon!" I was kinda surprised, I didn't think she even knew lemon cake existed. The cake was a made from scratch, lemon cake with lemon cream cheese -so yummy!

Savannah loves to dress up, so of course she wanted to be Cinderella for her party. Isn't she a beautiful princess?

The cake turned out so cute, definitely fit for a princess! The Cinderella is made out of cake. Savannah was so excited to eat part of her dress.
I love this picture, I think it is so cute she is holding the present with her feet!
She got a lot of Cinderella stuff, a book, coloring book, and 2 Cinderella dolls! One from us and one from my sister. She calls them twins. One has a blue dress and the other is pink.
When she opened up this present with a baby in it, she was so excited that it came in a little bed. The cardboard box is in her room and the baby sleeps in it every night. I love her little imagination.
Happy Birthday Savannah! We are so lucky to have you in our family. You make me laugh every day, and although your stubbornness sometimes drives me crazy you really are my little princess. I love you so much.

Christmas Day

2010-12-29T14:32:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the abundance of pics! On Christmas morning the kids woke up and found their pillow pets on their bed. They were so excited, this was the main thing they had asked Santa for.
About to come down the stairs. Showing off the Zhu Zhu pets that were in their stocking.
Isn't my little guy just so adorable?!? He had fun watching the chaos and was more impressed with the wrapping paper than the actual presents.

Such a handsome guy.

Both of them so excited to have the "How to train your Dragon DVD"

Savannah was thrilled to get a phone from Santa. She loves to pretend to talk on the phone, just like mommy.

Emily with a leapster game.

Such a great book and a happy baby.

Planning ahead for the future Mike and I gave Liam this truck. It was one of Brett's favorite things when he was younger, and I am sure Liam will love it too.

We gave Brett a leapster. He was so excited to have one of his own, he loves to play Emily's.

We went to my parents that afternoon for lunch and opened more presents. It was so much fun to be all together. Savannah is such a girly girl - she would get so excited about the clothes she got.

Brett and Emily each got a pack on underwear from my parents. I love this picture of Emily, she looks so mortified! When it was her turn to open the present, she did it quickly and discretely. She didn't want anyone to see. It was pretty funny.

My mom made some doll clothes for Emily and Savannah's dolls. They are so pretty!

Savannah wanted a baby doll from Santa and she was so excited when she got twin baby dolls! She decided right away to name them Liam and Savannah. I have loved watching her play with them for the past week. Every time I nurse my Liam she nurses her babies, changes their diapers, feeds them baby food, burps them and puts them to bed. They pretty much follow Liam's routine. It is so cute to watch her, she won't let me call her Savannah. She tells me, "I am not Savannah! I am mommy!". My little sister Mandi made the cute blankets for the dolls and my mom made their PJ's.

That night we went to Mike's parents house for dinner. We must have been so exhausted from the day because we didn't take very many pictures. Here is Em and Brett with Ashley.

A tradition I had when I was young was my mom would give us a last gift of Christmas. It was always something that she made. It has been really fun doing this with my kids every year. This year I made them super hero capes.

Liam was a little Utah man.

I made Brett a pirate king cape. Don't you love his super hero pose?

I made Emily a Wizard cape since she really likes Harry Potter stuff.

And Savannah of course got a princess cape.

Here they are in their Micky Mouse Santa hats that they got for last Christmas. It was such a great day, we loved it. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas too!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was a lot of fun. We had it with just our little family. Liam was excited to see all the food, just disappointed that he couldn't eat any. He wasn't very impressed with the pureed carrots that I gave him. I think this picture of him and Mike is adorable. He loves his Daddy!

Our Christmas Eve feast! I don't know why I hadn't removed the foil for the pictures. We had prime rib, funeral potatoes, carrots, homemade rolls, sparkling apple cider and egg nog - delicious!

The kids in their cute Christmas Eve PJ's!

We had the kids do the nativity, and then we read Polar Express and the Night Before Christmas. It is a book that I got when I was a year old, and it has been fun reading it every year with the kids.

Then we left some homemade goodies for Santa, along with a carrot and apple for the reindeer. Emily added a dollar, a snowflake and some artwork she had made at school for him.

Anxiously looking out the window to see if they could see Santa. Such a magical night!

Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-22T11:58:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we make gingerbread houses at my moms. It was so much fun letting the kids each decorate their own tiny house. We came home and I put them on the counter, planning to put them on display later. The next day I looked at the houses and there was no candy left on them! I guess they were too delicious of a temptation!

Spaghetti Factory

2010-12-14T09:59:00.001-08:00

Last night we went to the Spaghetti Factory with my parents, sisters and their husbands. When I was young my parents would take my sisters and I there every year before Christmas. It is such a fun tradition and one that we have loved doing every year. We get babysitters for the kids, and it is fun to have a night with just the adults

My sister Stef and her husband Aaron.

My parents.

Jenny and Sam.

Mike and I. Mandi just moved from Kansas to Texas and could not be there with us. We missed her!

The beautiful outdoor fireplace at Trolley Square. It was such a fun night!

Decorating the tree

2010-12-08T06:29:00.000-08:00

We had fun decorating the tree, I love seeing all the ornaments year after year. Some are Mike's that he had when he was young, some are mine from my Christmas trees as a child. Then we have the ornaments I made the first year we were married, and all the cute ones the kids have either made or been given over the years. I love our Christmas tree full of memories.

I will post a final picture of the 2 trees once I rearrange some of the ornaments, the kids ( especially Savannah) clumped them together on one branch :)

Christmas Tree

2010-12-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went on the hunt for a perfect Christmas tree. Emily was so happy when we picked the tree that she had her eye on.

Savannah was a bit disappointed, because when I told her we were going to get a "Christmas Tree", she thought I said a "Christmas Treat!" So she just wanted to go home.

We have been getting two trees for the past few years. One upstairs and a little one downstairs. Hopefully I will be able to get the lights on them sometime this week and I will post pictures of the final result.

My mom offered to watch Liam while we went out into the bitter cold, so I gladly let her. He is getting so big, he is 5 months old today. His favorite place to be (other than being held by mom or dad) is his swing. Such a cutie!

Utah vs BYU

2010-11-29T10:02:00.000-08:00

We took Mike's niece and nephew to the Utah/BYU game on Saturday. It was a blast, especially since the Utes won!

Ashley and Austin are twins, Ashley is the only Utah fan in her family who are huge cougar fans. Austin looks less than thrilled in all the pics due to the loss. But, he still had a good time going to the game.

All the fans storming the field.

I took this picture of Ashley shortly after we won :) Notice how she is wearing a short sleeved T-shirt. She had a sweater too, but had taken it off toward the end.

I, on the other hand am dressed like it is 20 below. It was freezing, but so worth it to sit in the cold stands watching the Utes take victory over BYU.

Mike was in Provo last year with his brother and nephews, after the win Mike told Austin, "I know exactly how you feel." BYU won last year and now it was our turn. Never a boring moment in the Holy War!

I'm Thankful for.........

2010-11-27T09:52:00.000-08:00

A million things, but something that brings me so much joy is being a mom to these four little monkeys. Love you guys!

Halloween

2010-11-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

We had a great time carving pumpkins, all of the kids got right into it!

I was surprised that Savannah was okay digging into the pumpkin. Usually she hates to get dirty.

Liam even had a pumpkin!

Such a sweetie, Savannah told me exactly what shapes to cut for the eyes and nose, and to make it a happy pumpkin with teeth.

Brett, the proud Utah Football player!

Emily was Hermione Granger. To see a more on her Birthday see the previous post.

Savannah was a Utah Cheerleader.

Cute little Liam had two hand me down costumes, so we put him in both! Here he is as a caterpillar, and below he is a little pea in the pod. On Saturday I had to work so I dressed up as a Utah fan and then the kids came to the hospital to go Trick or Treating. It was nice to spend a little bit of time with them on Halloween.

Hogwarts Birthday Party

2010-11-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

I am so behind on blogging! We had a friend Birthday party for Emily. Right now she is really into Harry Potter, and wanted to have a Hogwarts Birthday Party.

Emily dressed up as Hermione Granger. Mike planned a lot of fun activities. The kids went on a scavenger hunt in Hagrids pumpkin patch. We hid little pumpkins all over the yard. Each of the kids got a cauldron and a wand when they came.

She had six of her friends come over.

We decorated the basement, trying to make it look like the Great Hall. I loved the idea of the floating pumpkins!

The kids were all so excited to see Dumbledore. It was such a great party, and Emily had so much fun! My favorite part was when we sorted the kids into their house with the sorting hat. Mike hid a walkie talkie in the hat and then hid in the other room. I would place the hat on the girls head and Mike would talk in a British voice and tell them what house they were in. The kids loved it! We also had a rat race, ate chocolate frogs and Bertie Bots Jelly Beans, and of course we had a pinata. Mike was so creative in planning the whole thing, and Emily thought it was amazing, she loved being Hermione for the day at Hogwarts.

Cereal!

2010-11-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

Recently we gave Liam his first bites of rice cereal. He wasn't too sure and kept making some funny faces, but he managed. He is getting better, but always gags his way through it. Our little boy is now 4 months old! I keep telling him to slow down and stay little for a bit longer, but he seems to be in a hurry to grow up!

Emily's Baptism

2010-10-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

Emily has been looking forward to her baptism day for a long time. Here is the cute invite my sister made.

About a month before her baptism, Jen took her out and took some photos of Emily in her baptism dress. I think she looks so beautiful and grown up!

Cute photo she took of herself right before we left our house.

This picture was taken right before Em was baptized, she was so excited and a little nervous. But, Mike had practiced with her and she felt a bit more confident. It was such a neat experience to see my little girl get baptized. I am so proud of her and the choice she made to become a member of the church.

Afterward, we went to the house and had a BBQ and her Birthday party. I will show more pics of that later. Here she is with her Granny. Granny gave her a picture of Jesus with the children that had a baptism quote, and a picture of Emily too. We have it hanging above her bed so she can remember her special day.

Great Grandma and Grandpa Frenette, so happy they could come!

Emily with her Grandma. She gave Em a journal, and she has already written in it, remembering how she felt when she was baptized.

Emily and Grandpa

With Papa and Liam.

When I turned eight, my mom made me a baptism quilt, and I wanted to carry on the tradition and make one for Emily. I couldn't have done it without every ones help! I had each family make a quilt block and then I put it together. When I gave it to her I reminded her that the Holy Ghost is a comforter. I hope that she will always remember how much her family and Heavenly Father love her even when things get rough.

Love you Emily!

Las Vegas - final post.

2010-10-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

Last Vegas post! Sorry there are so many, but I make a book from my blog and I want to capture a lot of the pictures! Here we are by "The Vegas Sign", you truly haven't been to Vegas unless you get a picture by the sign. This view must be shared by all, because there are always so many people waiting for their chance for a photo shoot.

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the giant fish tanks at Caesars Palace. We were there for over an hour looking at all the fish and chasing the sting ray - awesome entertainment, especially since it is free!

There were a bunch of interesting people in Vegas, always providing the best entertainment in people watching. I think to many we provided a great chance to gawk as we walked past them, Mike pushing Savannah in a stroller, Emily and Brett running to keep up and me holding Liam in the baby carrier. People would just stop and stare, many would be counting out loud as we walked by. Seriously, you would think we had 10 kids! I think we were great entertainment. A lot of people stopped us and either said we were so brave to attempt such a feat or that we had a very cute family. I agreed to both statements.

Here is a guy on the sidewalk with a snake, we saw a couple of them. Brett was impressed and was excited to touch it.

Another random character, Spiderman was super chatty and continued talking to Brett as we were walking off; telling him to stay in school, make good choices and to not do drugs. He was a preaching Spiderman, Brett thought it was pretty amazing, to meet Spiderman on the streets of Las Vegas.

Treasure Island! We didn't stay for the show, it is no longer "Family Friendly" apparently. The kids were excited to see the Pirate ships.

Emily turned eight while we were on the trip. We celebrated by going swimming and then going out to dinner at The Rainforest Cafe. Super expensive place for the mediocre food, but the kids loved the atmosphere and had a lot of fun. I will post later about Em turning eight and her baptism.

M&M World is a must when on the strip. The kids had fun looking at all the fun M&M characters.

One of our favorite places to eat is a restaurant called "Gonzalez Y Gonzalez" in New York New York.
We shared a yummy drink.

I thought this picture was too cute to pass up! Liam's hat says "Lil' Ute"

In front of the Luxor.

We found a park on our last day there and the kids had a great time running around and playing.

A Daddy is a perfect place to snuggle and take a nap.

The rest of the kids napped while in the car on the ride to the airport. It was so funny to see them all doing the head bobbing while falling asleep.

Savannah in one crazy position! Mike and I couldn't stop laughing!

I love Liam's face here, so funny! This is in the plane on our flight home. We had such a fun trip, but honestly, the best thing was being able to spend so much time together.

Bellagio

2010-10-13T20:02:00.000-07:00

Cute little Liam chillin on the bed while we unpacked. I was a little nervous about the adventure of taking a baby on a vacation. Especially one that involved flying. But, Liam did great! He really is an easy going baby, and such a happy guy.

One of my favorite places to go in Vegas is the Bellagio. I love the beautiful gardens they had and it was fun to see it with the kids.

Savannah liked all the pumpkins.

Next door they have an amazing store that makes crepes, cakes, chocolates. The kids are standing next to a chocolate fountain. Now, that is my kind of fountain!

Emily and Brett loved watching crepes being made.

Beautiful flowers everywhere.

Family picture!

I have always loved watching the fountains at the Bellagio. We went two nights and were able to see a few each night before Liam decided that he was exhausted. I loved watching the kids faces as they watched the water, they especially liked the really big blasts at the end!

Swimming

2010-10-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

The condo we stayed in while we were in Vegas had 4 swimming pools! The lazy river pool was the favorite, and the kids loved floating around on the tubes while they went around and around. We spent a ton of our time relaxing in the pool.

Even Liam went swimming, he was so adorable!

Now every morning when Savannah wakes up, she asks me if we can go swimming.

Hoover Dam

2010-10-11T08:26:00.000-07:00

On September 30th we woke the kids up with a surprise trip to Vegas. Mike started singing, "I'm leaving on a Jet Plane....." The kids were so excited to go on a plane ride that they didn't really even care where we were going! Back in July Mike got an excellent deal on air fare and with staying in the condo it made for a pretty nice cheap vacation!

This is what Liam did most of the time on the trip, snooze while I carried him around.

When we got to Vegas we drove to the Hoover Dam. Mike and I have never been there, but thought it might be a fun thing to see with the kids. We hit traffic when we were about 5 miles from the Dam and it took forever to get through! We couldn't figure why it was so busy, especially since it was a Thursday morning. When we finally got to the Dam it was packed, people were everywhere! Later we found out that it was a big celebration for the 75th Anniversary of the Dam. It was fun to be there on such a special day, crazy that we just happened to go! The kids were really excited about the free cupcakes.

They also had a car show for the celebration.

The President at the time of the dedication was Teddy Roosevelt, so they had an actor recreating the role. Emily and Brett were both pretty concerned about him smoking, lol.

The Dam itself was really amazing and we all really had a fun time being there.

Savannah sleeping on the way back from the Dam. Poor thing did a lot of quick naps in the car on the trip - every day we wore her out!

That night we went to the Hoferauhaus, a fun German restaurant. We loved the food, and the kids loved the atmosphere.

It was such a fun way to start out our trip. More Vegas pics to follow!

Mueller Park

2010-09-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night we went up to Mueller park. It was so much fun and so perfect to have such a great place a few minutes away from home. Liam just loved looking at the trees and later the fire.

Emily and Savannah had fun playing in the trees.

Beautiful girl, getting so big!

Brett and Mike, the fire builders. Brett ran around most of the time looking for things to put in the fire.

Liam fell asleep after walking him around in the baby carrier. This thing has been a life saver for me. He loves it! When he was having a hard time sleeping the first month of his life I would walk around with him in it every night. Brett in the background ripping apart the diaper box that carried the fire wood. Seriously, he is a pyromaniac!

We all loved being outside and having fun with each other.

I just had to put this picture on the blog. Savannah, being 2 1/2 has this expression on her face 90% of the day. We love her, despite her being in the terrible two's!

Brett is roasting a leaf in this picture. Even though we had chicken for dinner and S'mores for dessert I think he had the most fun roasting leaves and helping Dad make a fire.

I love these two!

2010-09-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

Last night I took these pics right before getting Liam in his jammies. I just love that he is getting so chubby! He was smiling a ton, so Mike and I were trying to catch a few smiles.

Finally caught a few smiles! :)

Football Season is here!

2010-09-13T07:45:00.000-07:00

Mike took Emily and Brett to the UNLV game on Saturday. They were so excited to go!

Go Utes!

Of course, every true fan has to have a Number one finger!
We love our "Go Utes" as Emily and Brett say. It is never Utah or the Utes, but the Go Utes......I love it.
What a perfect day for a Football Game.

Mike took them on top of the stadium after the game. The Utes won, 38-10 and they had such a fun time with Dad. Savannah and I stayed home with Liam and cheered. We are excited for a fun season full of Utah Football! Listen to our music to hear Utah Man!!!

Father and Sons Trip

2010-09-07T09:47:00.000-07:00

Every year Mike goes on a Father and Sons trip over Labor Day Weekend. He has been doing it since he was young. The nephews have come as they have gotten older and last year Brett went for the first time. He has been looking forward to this trip all year!

This is beautiful Mill Hollow, where they camped and fished. It is gorgeous! Makes me excited to go camping next year.

Mike says Brett is quite the pyromaniac! Great......

Brett collecting sticks to throw into the fire.

About ready to go to sleep in the tent. I didn't know he packed his pillows that Grandma made him. He loves to sleep with them.

The only picture of Mike on the trip! I am so glad that he took Brett camping, I am sure it was a lot of work, but Brett loved it and can't stop talking about all the fun he had.

Cute little man fishing! Mike said his favorite part was casting and then reeling in. He wasn't very patient with the holding the pole and waiting. Amazingly he actually caught a fish!

Grandpa, Tyler, Scott and Austin were at the camp too.

And of course, there was Football!

Brett trying to tackle Austin. They all had such a fun time. Brett asked me when he got home if Liam had fun being with all the girls. I told him he did. Then Brett said to Liam, "Sorry you had to stay with the girls; but next year you can come with us!" Somehow I think it will be a few more years than that. But, I am sure he will be going before I know it.

Watch me grow!

2010-09-01T07:54:00.000-07:00

Liam is getting so big, and so fast! I can't believe how much he has grown. Here he is 3 weeks ago. You will see as you scroll down that my little man is starting to get a little chubby, so cute!

I started teaching again and will start work soon so Mike has been giving him a bottle while I am gone. Here is his first attempt, he wasn't very impressed! At least he will take it.

Liam is such a happy baby, and will smile as soon as you say his name and start talking to him. He is such a cutie! Just two days ago he laughed for the first time. It was only for a second, but I am looking forward to hearing it more.

I took this picture today, after his bath. I love the smell of Baby Magic lotion on him and just thought he looked so cute. I don't think any baby in the world is kissed as much as Liam is. Mike and I constantly give him kisses and then his siblings want to kiss him every second he is awake! He is exactly two months old today and time is just flying by. We love having him in our family.

Savannah

2010-08-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

I thought that since I just did an update on Em and Brett, that I would do one for the other two as well! Savannah is 2 1/2, and full of energy. Mike and I call her the little Diva because she always wants things her way - and immediately! She loves to throw her little fits but will quickly come out of it when you give her a hug. She loves to be cuddled, and tickled. Lately when I call her Savannah, she will say "No Sa-na-na, I pinpuss". So, I have to then tell her, Princess it is time to pick up your toys, Princess come eat, Princess please stop yelling at Brett, etc. She is a little princess and we love her. Her favorite thing right now is her new baby brother. When he cries she will tell him it is ok and give him tons of kisses, she will tell me to feed him, change him, carry him everything! She thinks that she knows best, and needs to tell mom how to do her job better. She is such a great big helper and a wonderful big sister. We love her so much!

Emily

2010-08-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Emily is getting so big! I can't believe that she is going to be 8 this year. All summer she has been begging me to cut her hair, and finally before school started she got it chopped! I think she looks adorable and so grown up. She has been so excited to start school and see all her friends and her new teacher. Here are Emily's answers to the questions.
What is your favorite color? Oh....that is a hard one! Pink or purple.

What is your favorite sport? What does Dad like? I think it is football, because Dad likes it.

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play soccer with Dad

What are you most excited about to learn at school? Math

Who are your best friends? Elsie, Haylie and Jayleen

What is your favorite food? Shrimp and Crab and whatever you are making right now!

What is your favorite animal? An elephant, cause it starts with "E" like me

What do you like to do at home? Read

What is your favorite book? So far, Ramona books

What is your favorite movie? Harry Potter!

What is your favorite place to go? Disneyland

What do you like to say? "Lets move it move it!"

What do you want to be when you grow up? A nurse, like mommy!

Here's Brett and Emily doing their super hero poses. I just love these guys!

Brett the kindergartner

2010-08-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little boy is in Kindergarten! He has been so excited to go to school with Emily. On the first day, he ran right up to his teacher, talked to her and all the other kids. He was ready for the day to start. I thought it was sweet when I went to leave and he asked me if I was going to come and get him soon. He told me he was a little scared. That surprised me, this boy usually has no fear! I gave him a quick hug and kiss and he was off again.
Every year at the beginning of the school year I ask the kids these questions, it is so fun to see what they are thinking and to see how it changes year after year.

What is your favorite color? Red....I mean black. Can I have two?

What is your favorite sport? Go Utes!

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my new awesome bike, and my scooter.

What are you most excited about learning at school? To learn how to color.

Who are your best friends? Uhhhh...I don't know their names. Except for Cy. But, I like all my friends.

What is your favorite food? Macaroni and Ramen Noodles

What is your least favorite food? Potatoes, YUCK! I also don't like Green Beans, and other yucky dinners.

What is your favorite animal? Tiger and a Lion and a Cheetah!

What do your like to do at home? Hmmm, play and clean up. But, I don't like to clean up we just have to all the time.

What is your favorite book? Corduroy

What is your favorite movie? Harry Potter

What is your favorite place to go? I like to go to Boise and to Oregon

What is your favorite thing to say? Mom says it is, "Let me tell you something...." He says this at the beginning of every sentence.

What do you want to be when you grow up? Superman!!! Oh, and Ice man.

Bear Lake

2010-08-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

We rented my friends cabin with Mikes family and stayed for 4 days. We had such a great time! Last year we stayed there and I took Emily horseback riding, the horse she had was named Shoshone. All year I heard about Shoshone and she was so excited to see him and ride on him. This year Mike took her, when they arrived they told her that Shoshone was resting. Before Emily could get too upset, Mike's sister Cheryl quickly told her that she could ride Shoshone's twin brother. :) Yay for Cheryl! Here is Em on Ranger, or like she first told me when she got back, "I got to ride on Stranger." Ha ha!

Emily and her cousin Ashley with Cheryl. Too bad no one got a pic of Mike on the horse!

The family at the beach. I stayed up at the cabin with Liam. I am not gonna lie, it was kinda nice having some one on one time with him and relaxing for a few hours. Big thank you to Mike for taking 3 kids to the beach!

Savannah zonked out after some fun.

They rented a Jet Ski for 2 hours and had fun zooming around on the Lake. There was a bit of adventure when Emily and Mike fell off. Brett was left on his own sitting on the Jet Ski. Mike had the key attached to him so when he fell off the engine went off. Brett looked at them in shock and kept trying to get to them all the while screaming, "it is out of gas!" Emily was frantic and was trying to climb on top of Mike so he had to push her away, swim to the Jet Ski and then go get her. She was crying and yelling, "Daddy! Why did you push me away!" They survived, and were all very excited to tell me about it.
Austin with the freakiest fish I have ever seen!

We all had a really good time and look forward to doing it again next year.

Soapstone

2010-08-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

When I was young we used to go camping a lot. I love my parents for taking us. I have so many wonderful memories of playing in dirt, running around, fishing, hiking, playing games, eating s'mores, singing off key around the camp fire and sleeping in the trailer. Now with little kids of my own I know that a lot of work goes into planning and then taking kids camping, it can be a bit chaotic! So, thank you mom and dad for always taking us year after year :) Since Liam is so little I was not planning to go camping. But, last minute decided to go up for the day last Friday. It was a lot of fun and I loved seeing my kids running around and getting every bit as dirty and muddy as I did as a kid.

Liam loved the mountain air, he took a great nap in the trailer. He just loved looking at the trees and everyone around him.

Another fun activity we did when we were younger was painting rocks; yep that's right paint rocks. I know it sounds a bit crazy, but my sisters and I loved it! Here is Brett painting his rocks; it was a hit with all the grand kids. Such a great day and it was so nice to spend the day with my parents and sisters.

2010-08-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

Having 4 kids has been a bit crazy. Unfortunately it hasn't been a summer full of fun for the older 3 with mom trying to take care of a new baby. Even through there have been moments of meltdowns, I am so proud of these guys for playing with each other and having fun sticking close to home.

Emily has been doing a lot of reading. She loves to read to her siblings who listen......most of the time.

I just had to include this cute smiley pic of my little guy, he loves to smile and no one (not even mom who is with him all day feeding and changing him) can make him smile as easily as his Dad can. Yep, 4 kids has kept me really busy, but I am loving every moment.

Blessing Day

2010-08-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

On August 1st Liam was blessed by his Dad. It was such a wonderful blessing and we are so grateful to all of our friends and family who were able to make it - Thank you! It was a bit crazy getting ready for the day, but everything went really well. Except when Mike was blessing him; Liam pooped right through his diaper and onto his blessing outfit. My mom helped me get him cleaned up, rinse the blessing outfit and throw it into the dryer and it was as good as new. Crazy boy!

Such a beautiful baby!

My wonderful parents. I appreciate them so much, they have always been there for me and are amazing grandparents for my kids.

Mike's parents. I am so glad they could make it to this special day. They have had a tough year and I admire them for enduring through so much. They are also amazing grandparents to our kids.

Family photo! I feel so incredibly blessed to have Mike as my husband. He is an amazing man who I feel lucky to spend eternity with. I also love my adorable 4 kids. Being a mom of 4 is crazy for sure, but I love each and every one of them and feel honored to be their mother. Love you guys!

My Grandma and Grandpa Frenette. I love them so much, they make it to every single event we have. I love that family is so important to them.

These two men are huge examples in my life. They are hardworking and always willing to do anything for anyone at anytime. I am glad Liam has such amazing grandpa's to look up to.

4 generations. This photo is a little bitter sweet since my Great Grandma Meeks passed away recently. All of the other kids have a 5 generation picture. I am grateful for these women, and that they are in my life and my children's lives.

My cute sisters and Mom. I was so happy that they could all be here for the blessing. It meant so much to me. These guys truly are my best friends.

Mike's brother Scott. This is who Liam Scott is named after. Scott is one of the most patient and genuine people I know. He has always been a huge example to Mike, and has become one to me as I have been able to get to know him since joining the family. I can only hope that Liam will be a man like Scott one day.

24th of July

2010-07-28T12:51:00.001-07:00

This is the morning of the 23rd, right before Mike took the kids to the park. Liam either ate or slept all day so he stayed home with mom. Savannah loves her little brother and is constantly begging to hold him.

Savannah and Brett went on the swing ride and had a blast!

Emily went on the twirly ride with Haylie and Alex.
Mike, got his face decorated too! He said the kids were begging him to do it, and he let them choose what to put on his face. Somehow, I don't think the kids had to do much convincing. :)

Brett chose a Dragon!
And Emily got a beautiful flower. Savannah didn't want her face painted. Every year we let the kids get a painting on their face, and every year there are tears when they have to wash it off. They wish they could keep it on longer.

Mike took the kids to the Bountiful Fireworks that night with my parents and sisters.

Savannah loves her Papa.

Cute picture of my mom and Brett. My dad brought glow sticks and the kids had fun playing with them.I love this picture of Haylie!
Happy 24th of July! I hope everyone had a great one!

Grandma Meeks

2010-07-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

My beautiful Great Grandma Meeks passed away last Friday. She was an amazing woman, and I feel so blessed to have known her and to have had her in my life. Her funeral was yesterday, and it was so neat to hear everyone share their memories of her. There were so many people there, so many whose lives she had touched. I can only hope that I can be a woman like her. Below is a picture of my Great Grandma, my Grandma Durtschi, my mom and Savannah and I. It was taken last March. I feel so blessed to have had her with me for so many years! She lived to be 89, and up until 7 months ago lived independently in her home in Midway. I am so glad that she didn't have to suffer long once she started becoming really confused with Alzheimer's. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have that I will be able to be with her again one day. Love you Grandma!

Fishing with Dad

2010-07-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

Savannah didn't fish, but was entertained with a stick. :)

Emily caught the one and only fish of the day.

Mike took the kids fishing up to Mill Hollow for the day. They were so excited to go, and even though only one fish was caught they had so much fun being in the mountains with their Dad. They keep asking when they can go again. Thanks Mike!

Here is a really good story that came to my mind.....

In the faint light of the attic, an old man, tall and stooped bent his great frame and made his way to a stack of boxes that sat near one of the little half-windows. Brushing aside a wisp of cobwebs he tilted the top box toward the light and began to carefully lift out one old photograph album after another. Eyes once bright but now dim searched longingly for the source that had drawn him here.

It began with the fond recollection of the love of his life, long gone, and somewhere in these albums was a photo of her he hoped to rediscover. Silent as a mouse, he patiently opened the long buried treasures and soon was lost in a sea of memories. Although his world had not stopped spinning when his wife left it, the past was more alive in his heart than his present aloneness. Setting aside one of the dusty albums, he pulled from the box what appeared to be a journal from his grown son's childhood. He could not recall ever having seen it before, or that his son had ever kept a journal. Why did Elizabeth always save the children's old junk? he wondered, shaking his white head.

Opening the yellowed pages, he glanced over a short reading, and his lips curved in an unconscious smile. Even his eyes brightened as he read the words that spoke clear and sweet to his soul. It was the voice of the little boy who had grown up far too fast in this very house, and whose voice had grown fainter and fainter over the years. In the utter silence of the attic, the words of a guileless six year old worked their magic and carried the old man back to a time almost totally forgotten.

Entry after entry stirred a sentimental hunger in his heart like the longing a gardener feels in the winter for the fragrance of spring flowers. But it was accompanied by the painful memory that his son's simple recollections of those days were far different from his own. But how different?

Reminded that he had kept a daily journal of his business activities over the years, he closed his son's journal and turned to leave, having forgotten the cherished photo that originally triggered his search. Hunched over to keep from bumping his head on the rafters, the old man stepped to the wooden stairway and made his descent, then headed down a carpeted stairway that led to the den.

Opening a glass cabinet door, he reached in and pulled out an old business journal. Turning, he sat down at his desk and placed the two journals beside each other. His was leather-bound and engraved neatly with his name in gold, while his son's was tattered and the name "Jimmy" had been nearly scuffed from its surface. He ran a long skinny finger over the letters, as though he could restore what had been worn away with time and use.

As he opened his journal, the old man's eyes fell upon an inscription that stood out because it was so brief in comparison the the other days. In his own neat handwriting were these words:

Wasted the whole day fishing with Jimmy. Didn't catch a thing.

With a deep sigh and a shaking hand, he took Jimmy's journal and found the boy's entry for the same day, June 4th. Large scrawling letters, pressed deeply into the paper, read:

Went fishing with my dad. Best day of my life.

2010-07-12T08:38:00.000-07:00

My sweet and talented sister Jenny took some pics of Liam. We want to use one for his birth announcement. I just can't decide which one! So, let me know what you think - please!

Liam

2010-07-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

On July 1st at 1:54pm Liam Scott Neeley was born. He weighed 7lbs 5 oz and is 21 inches long. Making him the biggest baby out of the 4. We are so happy to have him in our family. Here are a few pictures!

Brett with his brother. He was so excited when he came into the room and wanted to see him right away. Such cute boys.

Emily walked into the room and instantly started to cry. She was just so happy to see her little brother finally. She later told me, "I just didn't think Liam would be that cute! But he really is so adorable."
Savannah wanted to be right by mom and couldn't give Liam enough kisses. She kept coming up and kissing him over and over again.

Here he is on his way home from the hospital. I can't believe how teeny tiny he looks in the car seat.

I had to put this picture up to show off his hair in the back - he has tons of it! I know in a few weeks it will probably all fall out, but it sure is cute!
He is such a sweet little guy. And he, like the others loves nothing more than to cuddle up on his daddy's chest.
A big thank you to everyone who wished us well, and especially to our families for being there for us. We appreciate you all so much!

Oregon Vacation

2010-06-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time in Oregon with my side of the family. I took a ton of pictures, and thought the best way to share them was on a Slide Show. If you want to read about each picture just point the mouse on the pic and a caption will appear. Thanks Mom and Dad for planning such a great trip!

Pirate Party!

2010-06-07T09:25:00.001-07:00

Brett turned 5 on May 16th, I can't believe how big he is getting. Right now he is really into Pirates, so we planned a couple of Pirate parties!

My amazing husband made this cake, I think this is the best one yet. Brett was super impressed and kept saying over and over, "It is a really real pirate ship!"

The whole ship is made out of yummy chocolate cake with butter cream frosting.

We had our families over for a BBQ and then cake and ice cream. It was a really fun day.
We also had a friend Birthday Party for Brett, Pirate themed of course! I would love to say that I had part in all the cool decorations and planning, but Mike did it all. I don't know who was more excited for the party, him or Brett!
Our whole basement was decorated with balloons, pirate flags and of course Jack Sparrow! Pirate music was playing in the background too. Perfect for a party!
Brett loved the big banner outside, we kept it up for a few days! :)

I love this picture of Brett and Emma posing.

Some of the Pirate crew! When the boys arrived we gave each of them a sword, eye patch and a pirate bandanna to make them pirates. They loved it and for the first 1/2 hour of the party ran around chasing each other with swords.

The highlight of the party was Captain Redblood aka Mike. He dressed up as a pirate, spoke like a pirate and fought like one too! He had a sword fight with each of the boys and then read them a story about Pirates, the boys loved it! Thanks Mike for playing the part.
Pretty awesome pirate huh?
It was such a great party, complete with hot dogs and root beer for lunch, Pirate games, a scavenger hunt and even a treasure chest pinata. We all had a great time! Happy Birthday Brett!

32 weeks!

2010-05-11T19:05:00.001-07:00

We are getting excited to meet our cute little guy! Only a little bit longer to go.

Sunday Mornings

2010-04-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

I have always loved Sunday mornings, especially with having church in the afternoon. It leaves time for lounging in jammies, morning walks and relaxing. Here are my three cute kiddos, I can't believe how big they are getting! Yes, they fight like normal siblings do but get along more often than not. This morning they were sitting on the couch laughing with each other and I just had to take a picture. I love them and I am so blessed to be their mother. On a side note only 70 more days until baby number 4 comes! Yep, I am now 30 weeks down, 10 more to go. We are getting really excited, but there is still a lot to get done. We still have not decided on a name for the little guy, and we need to get Savannah out of her crib and decide room arrangements. Plus, I still need to do a post of my getting larger every day pregnant tummy. I promise that will be the next post. :)