Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Fun stuff
These pictures are all out of order, but you get the idea.
Kaili was also at the birthday party, but I didn't get her in any pics. :( This is from one night last week at our place. We love her to pieces.
Here's a picture of the birthday boy (Aaron) holding up his gingerbread man. His mom Brandy made a super cute cake of Red from Cars for him...and it was yum, which was a bonus.
We went to our friend's Derek & Brandy's for a little party for their son Aaron and the kids got to decorate the tastiest gingerbread men ever.
Cole was pooped out after a Christmas party. I checked on him just before I went to bed and this is what I found. He's usually on the floor next to his bed or partway under his bed. I was able to put him back in bed. :) Each morning we'll ask him where he slept and he'll say, "Big boy bed. Floor." It's funny!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Cookie Swap
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Ready to go swimming!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Kalahari
This is Brayden shredding...at the Kalahari Resort. :) The past few years we've gone to Great Wolf Lodge (indoor waterpark hotel) for a few days at Thanksgiving and this year, we tried out the Kalahari Resort. Pretty much the same thing, only it was WAY BIGGER. We've met up with our friends every year there and had adjoining rooms so all the kids can have free reign of the joint, but this year we did a combo room that slept 12 of us and was basically like a large apartment with bedrooms, it was fun. Kai loved the fireplace, Saydria loved the jetted tub and we set up the projector for the kids to watch a movie on the wall (after a little rearranging of the furniture.) The waterpark has a wavepool and the flowrider (they actually had 2) and it's open from 9am to 10pm, so you can run yourself pretty ragged for a few days and it's a pretty awesome feeling. They bring in animals and you can get your picture taken with them. We saw a baby kangaroo and a baby tiger, but we didn't pay the $$ to get pics with them...plus, I had bed head still. :) But they were fun to see.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
2nd tag
Thanks to Cassie for the tag. :)
CRAZY 8'S
8 T.V. SHOWS I ♥ TO WATCH~
1.} 24...Kevin and I just watched the 1st season and it was really good. We need to get the 2nd season. Yeah, we are slow.
2.} Smallville...we watch these on DVD also, but we are only 1 season behind.
3.} Dancing with the Stars...except I couldn't stand that Cloris lady on there, she was terrible and I'm sure they kept her on there to make her happy, so I quit watching for a while.
4.} I watch tv when I run on the treadmill and it's usually during Dancing with the Stars.
5.} Don't have cable
6.} but if we did
7.} this would all
8.} be filled in and that's why we don't. :)
8 of MY FAVORITE RESTAURANTS~
1.} Genji
2.} Smoky Bones
3.} Panera
4.} Chipotle
5.} Mexican food
6.} Pizza
7.} Cheesecake Factory
8.} Sushi joints
8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY
1.} Cole said a pretty good sentence! "Alex. Jason. Downstairs. Watch. Funny." (Our friends dropped their kids off here and Cole was saying that he was downstairs watching a funny movie with Alex and Jason!)
2.} It snowed a little.
3.} I went out with some girls to see Twilight. (The book is better...aren't they almost always though?) And I made a conscious effort to bring my camera. I'll post a picture later. :)
4.} I sang Old MacDonald like 10 times to Cole. He loves that song.
5.} Saydria lost a tooth at school, her 4th one.
6.} Kevin and I danced in the kitchen.
7.} Kevin danced with Cole in the kitchen.
8.} Kai and I tried to make an ice cube outside, but we got a leak in our little bucket.
8 THINGS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO~
1.} A vacation
2.} Kevin coming home any second.
3.} Making some food for the guys this evening. Kevin deserves a good break...he had 7 kids for 6 hours while I was gone with the girls.
4.} Seeing friends and family we haven't seen in a while.
5.} My baby turing 2!
6.} My husband turning 32
7.} Summer
8.} Hanging out with friends this evening.
8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST~
1.} Move back to Hawaii like yesterday.
2.} A really amazing heat wave to strike, and have it last for like 4 months.
3.} Qualify for the Ford Ironman in HI and then be able to complete it there.
4.} Time could just slow down because my kids are growing too quickly!
5.} That I could shoot a handgun with better accuracy.
6.} I'd like to own a private island, but keep it private...so even if it happens, only Kevin and I will know about it, not even our kids. They can just think we like to visit this little island and play there and not worry about other tourists.
7.} I wish I could surf better, so that when we do move back to Hawaii, I can enter the Eddie Aikau and win the grand prize. (I don't know what it is for sure, but at least I'd win, right?)
8.} When my little Cole is 12 years old, I'd like to have all of us SCUBA certified and do a liveaboard somewhere in the South Pacific.
8 PEOPLE I'M TAGGING~
1.} Meghan...even though you probably already did this like 5 years ago. :)
2.} Amanda
3.} Allison
4.} Amy
5.} Annie
6.} Jenny
7.} Kelly
8.} Emi
CRAZY 8'S
8 T.V. SHOWS I ♥ TO WATCH~
1.} 24...Kevin and I just watched the 1st season and it was really good. We need to get the 2nd season. Yeah, we are slow.
2.} Smallville...we watch these on DVD also, but we are only 1 season behind.
3.} Dancing with the Stars...except I couldn't stand that Cloris lady on there, she was terrible and I'm sure they kept her on there to make her happy, so I quit watching for a while.
4.} I watch tv when I run on the treadmill and it's usually during Dancing with the Stars.
5.} Don't have cable
6.} but if we did
7.} this would all
8.} be filled in and that's why we don't. :)
8 of MY FAVORITE RESTAURANTS~
1.} Genji
2.} Smoky Bones
3.} Panera
4.} Chipotle
5.} Mexican food
6.} Pizza
7.} Cheesecake Factory
8.} Sushi joints
8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY
1.} Cole said a pretty good sentence! "Alex. Jason. Downstairs. Watch. Funny." (Our friends dropped their kids off here and Cole was saying that he was downstairs watching a funny movie with Alex and Jason!)
2.} It snowed a little.
3.} I went out with some girls to see Twilight. (The book is better...aren't they almost always though?) And I made a conscious effort to bring my camera. I'll post a picture later. :)
4.} I sang Old MacDonald like 10 times to Cole. He loves that song.
5.} Saydria lost a tooth at school, her 4th one.
6.} Kevin and I danced in the kitchen.
7.} Kevin danced with Cole in the kitchen.
8.} Kai and I tried to make an ice cube outside, but we got a leak in our little bucket.
8 THINGS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO~
1.} A vacation
2.} Kevin coming home any second.
3.} Making some food for the guys this evening. Kevin deserves a good break...he had 7 kids for 6 hours while I was gone with the girls.
4.} Seeing friends and family we haven't seen in a while.
5.} My baby turing 2!
6.} My husband turning 32
7.} Summer
8.} Hanging out with friends this evening.
8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST~
1.} Move back to Hawaii like yesterday.
2.} A really amazing heat wave to strike, and have it last for like 4 months.
3.} Qualify for the Ford Ironman in HI and then be able to complete it there.
4.} Time could just slow down because my kids are growing too quickly!
5.} That I could shoot a handgun with better accuracy.
6.} I'd like to own a private island, but keep it private...so even if it happens, only Kevin and I will know about it, not even our kids. They can just think we like to visit this little island and play there and not worry about other tourists.
7.} I wish I could surf better, so that when we do move back to Hawaii, I can enter the Eddie Aikau and win the grand prize. (I don't know what it is for sure, but at least I'd win, right?)
8.} When my little Cole is 12 years old, I'd like to have all of us SCUBA certified and do a liveaboard somewhere in the South Pacific.
8 PEOPLE I'M TAGGING~
1.} Meghan...even though you probably already did this like 5 years ago. :)
2.} Amanda
3.} Allison
4.} Amy
5.} Annie
6.} Jenny
7.} Kelly
8.} Emi
Monday, November 10, 2008
Group of kids
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Baby girl, ballerina and a head-hunter
Halloween
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Pumpkin Festival
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Sushi for dessert!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Field Trip
Here's some pics from Saydria's field trip to the pigeon roost farm. It's a fun place to visit. We've gone there with just our little family and the kids have gone there each year with their classes as well. This year, I took Kai and Cole to Aunt Sarah's to play while I spent the day with Saydria playing. I had to remember to take some pics of her though!
This is Saydria with her friend Eli on the left, from her Kindergarten class last year. They hug every time they see each other, it's so cute. And Seth is on the right. He goes to our church and he's a really nice friend of hers as well. The three of them were going through this hay maze together and Eli's dad kept taking pics of them, so I thought I should, too. :)
Feeding a goat.
Saydria loved these rocking horses! She kept telling me she wanted to stay on them the rest of the day. I'm thinking she may need a trip to Idaho! :)
Petting a camel.
I had such a fun time with you Saydria! Running through the corn maze and getting lost and spooking ourselves in the enchanted forest also! You are a super sweet little girl! I love you to bits and pieces!
This is Saydria with her friend Eli on the left, from her Kindergarten class last year. They hug every time they see each other, it's so cute. And Seth is on the right. He goes to our church and he's a really nice friend of hers as well. The three of them were going through this hay maze together and Eli's dad kept taking pics of them, so I thought I should, too. :)
Feeding a goat.
Saydria loved these rocking horses! She kept telling me she wanted to stay on them the rest of the day. I'm thinking she may need a trip to Idaho! :)
Petting a camel.
I had such a fun time with you Saydria! Running through the corn maze and getting lost and spooking ourselves in the enchanted forest also! You are a super sweet little girl! I love you to bits and pieces!Friday, October 17, 2008
Brayden's latest adventure...
Brayden fell off the trampoline...he was swinging off the bars that hold the net...so lesson learned. He's been told time and time again not to do it. This is why. It happened on a Tuesday evening and we iced it and he was gaining more movement in it and he didn't seem to have much pain from it. He even shot a basket with his friend Tyler that same evening! (It hurt him a little though.) It wasn't swollen and we decided to see how it was in the morning. By morning, he said he was fine but we told him we'd take him to the doctor anyway just to be sure. He said he wanted to wait until after school so that he could get perfect attendance. Nice. After school we took him to the doctor and I've never seen a little boy be so excited about getting a cast.
We took him to his 1 week orthopedic appointmet. The doctor said it was healing well and they could shorten the cast so that he could move his elbow. Oh, I had to take him out of school 30 minutes early, you know what that means? No perfect attendance award. :( He's okay, no need to call.
Here's his new shortened cast. He's sitting in the dining room texting Uncle Trent about elves and hobbits. He will get this cast removed on November 5...missing another 30 minutes of school, so no perfect attendance next quarter either! (He's never been concerned about this perfect attendance thing in the past, I think it's just one more award to collect and so it's just fun!)Tuesday, October 7, 2008
If I Were President...
If I were President, the first thing I would do is "get my paperwork done".
If I were President, I would eat "ice cream".
If I were President, I would travel to "West Virginia".
If I were President, I would have "a pet cat named Bubblegum".
If I were President, I would pass a law that says "no school on Fridays".
If I were President, I would "help people".
by Saydria Christensen, 1st grader.
(She obviously did this for school and I wish I could scan the pics she drew from her little book. For the page where she said she would help people, she drew a person with a cast on their leg and a bubble box saying "awww!" it's cute. The front cover of her book is a wonderful transformation of a drab Oval Office into a blue throne complete with red and purple desk and crown on Miss President. Princessy, yet chic.)
If I were President, I would eat "ice cream".
If I were President, I would travel to "West Virginia".
If I were President, I would have "a pet cat named Bubblegum".
If I were President, I would pass a law that says "no school on Fridays".
If I were President, I would "help people".
by Saydria Christensen, 1st grader.
(She obviously did this for school and I wish I could scan the pics she drew from her little book. For the page where she said she would help people, she drew a person with a cast on their leg and a bubble box saying "awww!" it's cute. The front cover of her book is a wonderful transformation of a drab Oval Office into a blue throne complete with red and purple desk and crown on Miss President. Princessy, yet chic.)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Bites of watermelon
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Hocking Hills
This was from our trip to Hocking Hills. It was a quick day trip since they were booked up for over-nighters. We hiked around 4 miles that day and found some fun caves and trickling waterfalls. (We hear the waterfalls are usually pretty awesome, but we had been without water for about a month.) This was a rock that we passed on the hike and the kids loved climbing the vine and sliding down...they had dirty bums! I had them wear their trunks/swimsuit just in case we found some great waterpools...and we did!
Kai, Brayden and Saydria in Old Man's Cave. This wasn't much of a cave, but it was a huge space and the view looking out from the cave was beautiful.
Cole had a good time in the pack most of the time. He hiked a little and played in the water also, but had a fun time playing with Kevin's head and watching the kids act silly every time we came to a bridge. (We pretended there were trolls living under them and we kept trying to wake them up!)
Cole and Kevin all smiles. Kai is ready to keep moving!!

Kai, Brayden and Saydria in Old Man's Cave. This wasn't much of a cave, but it was a huge space and the view looking out from the cave was beautiful.
Cole had a good time in the pack most of the time. He hiked a little and played in the water also, but had a fun time playing with Kevin's head and watching the kids act silly every time we came to a bridge. (We pretended there were trolls living under them and we kept trying to wake them up!)
Cole and Kevin all smiles. Kai is ready to keep moving!!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Courage of a 9 year old
Monday, September 22, 2008
4 year old's perspective on death
Kai has been talking a lot about death lately, not anything that worries me though. Here are a few things that I've heard him say lately:
After finding a squished toad in the road...
"Oh, that poor little froggy. He is dead and in heaven now. Why didn't he stay close to his mommy? Well, I guess he's dead and in heaven now, huh?"
After killing a fly with a flyswatter...
"I got that stinkin' fly with the flyswapper! Now it's dead and in heaven!"
After Brayden shot Kai with a play gun (obviously) in a game of shooting or whatever they were playing...
Brayden: "You're dead Kai!"
Kai: "Oh, you shot me! HA! I just got resurrected!"
After finding a squished toad in the road...
"Oh, that poor little froggy. He is dead and in heaven now. Why didn't he stay close to his mommy? Well, I guess he's dead and in heaven now, huh?"
After killing a fly with a flyswatter...
"I got that stinkin' fly with the flyswapper! Now it's dead and in heaven!"
After Brayden shot Kai with a play gun (obviously) in a game of shooting or whatever they were playing...
Brayden: "You're dead Kai!"
Kai: "Oh, you shot me! HA! I just got resurrected!"
Friday, September 19, 2008
Tagged
Jessi tagged me! (This is the first time I've been tagged, up until now, I've managed to avoid it!) Thanks Jessica!
1. Where did you meet your husband? We met at college in Idaho (BYU-I, formerly known as Ricks.) We lived across the street from each other. We didn't date pre-mission because we were both dating other people, but we did hang out a lot and became good friends. (We wrote every week on his mission and that was so cool!)
2. How long did you date before you married? He got home from his mission in Feb, came to see me in HI (now I was at BYUH) and we were engaged 2 weeks later. We were married 3 & a half months later. Yep, when you know it's right, you just jump on in and let the fairy tale begin. :)
3. How long have you been married? Just celebrated 10 year wedding anniversary in July.
4. What does he do that surprises you? He literally surprises me...loves to scare me when I'm coming up the stairs and he's hiding around the corner. It's like living with a teenager. He gets me a bag of Riesen's every now and then and it's so nice to hide them from the kids and have my own treat! (He gives me flowers and the occasional girl movie, too, but who's husband doesn't? That's kind of becoming a prereq.)
5. What is his favorite feature of mine? He tells me everyday that I have the perfect butt. :)
6. What is your favorite quality of his? He's a good example when it comes to helping people. He'll drop just about anything to help someone out or give whatever to help people out, even if they've already ripped us off in the past.
7. Does he have a nickname for you? Usually just calls me Steph or Babe.
8. What is his favorite food? Pizza
9. What is his favorite sport? Basketball/Football
10. When & where was your first kiss? Laie, HI...1998
11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We go on a date each weekend and at the end of our date, we always get ice cream someplace and hang out and talk. That always ends up being my favorite part.
12. Do you have any children? Yes, 4 great kids.
13. Does he have any hidden talents? He is a great dancer and singer. He sings to the kids each night and he sings so good. I love it. He and I dance at home, but we've never gone anywhere public to dance. He's a great dancer and I just follow his lead.
14. How old is he? 31
15. Who said I love you first? I did, but if you ask him, he would say he did.
16. What is his favorite music? He likes Hawaiian music (mainly Israel Kamakawiwo'ole) and he likes 80's and 90's stuff.
17. What do you admire most about him? He works hard to achieve goals he's set for himself and for our family.
18. What is his favorite color? Blue
19. Will he read this? Yes, but only because I'll ask him to. He doesn't do the blog thing. :)
20. Who do you tag? Meghan, Megan, Heidi, Jen, Kelly....you know what, just everyone that reads this can go ahead and do it. :)
1. Where did you meet your husband? We met at college in Idaho (BYU-I, formerly known as Ricks.) We lived across the street from each other. We didn't date pre-mission because we were both dating other people, but we did hang out a lot and became good friends. (We wrote every week on his mission and that was so cool!)
2. How long did you date before you married? He got home from his mission in Feb, came to see me in HI (now I was at BYUH) and we were engaged 2 weeks later. We were married 3 & a half months later. Yep, when you know it's right, you just jump on in and let the fairy tale begin. :)
3. How long have you been married? Just celebrated 10 year wedding anniversary in July.
4. What does he do that surprises you? He literally surprises me...loves to scare me when I'm coming up the stairs and he's hiding around the corner. It's like living with a teenager. He gets me a bag of Riesen's every now and then and it's so nice to hide them from the kids and have my own treat! (He gives me flowers and the occasional girl movie, too, but who's husband doesn't? That's kind of becoming a prereq.)
5. What is his favorite feature of mine? He tells me everyday that I have the perfect butt. :)
6. What is your favorite quality of his? He's a good example when it comes to helping people. He'll drop just about anything to help someone out or give whatever to help people out, even if they've already ripped us off in the past.
7. Does he have a nickname for you? Usually just calls me Steph or Babe.
8. What is his favorite food? Pizza
9. What is his favorite sport? Basketball/Football
10. When & where was your first kiss? Laie, HI...1998
11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We go on a date each weekend and at the end of our date, we always get ice cream someplace and hang out and talk. That always ends up being my favorite part.
12. Do you have any children? Yes, 4 great kids.
13. Does he have any hidden talents? He is a great dancer and singer. He sings to the kids each night and he sings so good. I love it. He and I dance at home, but we've never gone anywhere public to dance. He's a great dancer and I just follow his lead.
14. How old is he? 31
15. Who said I love you first? I did, but if you ask him, he would say he did.
16. What is his favorite music? He likes Hawaiian music (mainly Israel Kamakawiwo'ole) and he likes 80's and 90's stuff.
17. What do you admire most about him? He works hard to achieve goals he's set for himself and for our family.
18. What is his favorite color? Blue
19. Will he read this? Yes, but only because I'll ask him to. He doesn't do the blog thing. :)
20. Who do you tag? Meghan, Megan, Heidi, Jen, Kelly....you know what, just everyone that reads this can go ahead and do it. :)
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Ike visited us, too...barely
Well, we didn't get much of Ike, only some wind, but it was strong enough to bring a little excitement into our lives. We had been home from church for a few hours and I had made a couple apple pies for after dinner. Well, we decided to drop by Lonnie and Sarah's (my brother and his fam) who live about 10 minutes down the road. We loaded up the kids and pie and headed their way and the wind just began to really pick up. By the time we got to Lonnie's, there were branches in their driveway, their cars were parked away from any trees, so we took the hint. We had to dart across their lawn pretty quickly because walnuts were shooting out of their trees like bullets, it was pretty crazy. Little did we realize we'd have dessert and a show! We sat on their front porch watching branch by branch crack and fly off the trees as we ate apple pie and ice cream. They had already lost power by this time, so we were wondering what it would be like when we got to our place! It was an exciting drive home with trees and power poles and lines down, but our home only had a few branches down (darn it...we have cottonwood trees and I would have appreciated a few more branches down) and a few spots of shingles off of our roof. Thankfully, we had power, but we do have a generator and it's always fun to fire it up. We are thankful that Kevin's dad was visiting this weekend so he could help Kevin replace the shingles on the roof the next day. Our thoughts and prayers really go out to our friends in Texas and Illinois who were in much worse situations than ours. We hope you were kept safe in the midst of it all.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Here's some pics
Our friends visited a few weeks ago (from Cleveland) although we know them from Idaho. Kevin grew up with Dale. Dale married Meghan and we were friends from day 1. They ended up moving to Ohio for Dale to attend Podiatry school and so it's been so nice to have them close by because we get together every so often. We're going to miss having them close when Dale's done with school. Meghan took some nice pics of my family while they were here last and we went to the temple with them, etc and posted them on her blog. So, click on the link below to view them if you like. :) This is we how lazy bloggers blog!
http://www.pyperellecrew.blogspot.com
http://www.pyperellecrew.blogspot.com
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Photography
I thought I'd post this picture because I haven't uploaded the pics from my camera to our computer as of yet, and this was one from our Snapfish account. This photo was taken by my dear husband, Kevin. Here we were with some of our friends on a gondola ride (l to r: Ben, me, Levi & Rachel), Suzy was on the other side of Ben and Kevin was at the other end of the boat); they strategically placed us this way for whatever reason...and we all, at one point, tried to tell Kevin that the strap to the camera was in the way, and he was absolute in his response, "No, it's not, I can see you just fine." Rachel & Suzy have great photography skills braided into their DNA, I just smiled and let it all happen, then later had Rachel take a legit pic. So, that's the reason I kept this strange picture, there's a great story behind it. :)As for the wiggler, Saydria's tooth fell out while she was at a birthday party on Saturday. Very exicting! I will try and get some pics posted later of a great hike we took to Hocking Hills. We explored a cave and "beach" area and had a fun time.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Another wiggler
Saydria has another wiggly tooth, so we are expecting it to fall out on its own while she's mushing on soggy cheerios or something (that's how the 1st one emerged), so you can count on a picture of her mouth again in about a month. :)
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
I'll tell you what's up!
Brayden jumping...
Saydria jumping...Brayden and Saydria started school a week ago (3rd and 1st grades, respectively) and Kai and I have been busy doing other things when Cole is sleeping. I definitely need to prioritize and spend more time on the computer, right? :) Actually, we've had no rain for about a month (until today) and we have several trees losing leaves BIG TIME and Kai helps me rake and bag leaves while Cole is napping. Today we even trimmed up some trees that are on either side of our driveway. (trees that drop all those pink berries everywhere and make a mess of your shoes). I will post more pics later, but thanks for the harassing emails anyway. :) These are pics from when we were at Myrtle and I wanted to post them earlier, but didn't/forgot. Also, we went to another local fair and ate no food this time, just put the kids on rides. Brayden went several days in a row with his friend and their family and apparently he's a celebrity on the bull riding machine. I went on a giant slide with Kai and it felt like a roller coaster to me. Yeah, I need to get out more. And, I've still not read Breaking Dawn, I'm on the waiting list at the library because I'm too cheap to buy the book brand new. That's it for now folks!
Monday, August 11, 2008
My little cowboy is home!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)




