Happy Halloween! Wahhhhhhh

Sadly enough Halloween is over, I love Halloween and so do the kids. The first day of October I made orange pumpkin pancakes to kick off the festivities. But, Halloween started way back last Spring, when the kids helped plant pumpkins in Grandpa Miner's Garden. They had a blast picking their pumpkins out of there very own patch. Christian of course wanted the biggest one and lucky for me Mallory was nice enough to gut all three of the kids pumpkins for carving. The Monday before Halloween we headed down to Granddad and Grandma GG's house for a little FHE Pumpkin Carving. The pumpkins looked awesome, thanks mom and dad(the kids were sad to throw them away) Christian had a Halloween Program and Trunk or Treat at school which was a lot of fun. I started preparing early for my annual Halloween Party. The kids and I had a blast picking recipes and decorating for the party. We enjoyed a yummy soup bar with lots of fixen' and a dessert table with lots of treats, costume contest and charades. The party went into the wee hours, and we all had a blast. Thanks everyone for coming, it makes all the hard work worth it. Halloween Day was lots of fun, started with a Birthday Breakfast for Mom Grover at Mimi's Cafe (Happy Birthday Mom We love you) Sadly Joe had to miss going to the U game but got to watch some of it. We had dinner, trick or treating, and relaxed/visited with family and friends. The kids had so much fun trick or treating, Mercedes kept singing 'Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me treat' I just love the holidays with kids they are such a blast. Happy Halloween!!!!

Lake Powell - Mercato Trip

We had a great time with the Mercato Team in Lake Powell. We did a little surfing off the back of the boat, fishing, lots of games, and of course lots of yummy food. It was nice to relax and catch up on some zzzz's. The kids stayed with Nana and Papa Grover for a few days. They did really well and had lots of fun. However, after we got home Christian ran out the door in a panic, hugged me and wouldn't let me go. After a few minutes he pulled back and said "This...this won't happen again." Needless to say he is a mama's boy. Mercedes didn't seem fazed at all and Lincoln kind of looked at me odd like where have you been? It was fun to get away and spend sometime with Joey and the Mercato team they are a blast. Can't wait for the next trip!!!

East Canyon - General Conference Weekend

It has been a family tradition for years to go to East Canyon for General Conference Weekend. I look forward to it every year, we listen to Conference in the fifth wheel. It's great to be in the mountains away from everything while listening to the prophet and apostles of this great gospel. In between sessions we hike, fish, swim, and play games. On Saturday evening the boys head to the Priesthood Session and the girls head to the Outlets for a little shopping. We meet back at the trailer to have dessert and talk about conference before heading to bed. Thanks Mom and Dad for giving us the opportunity to strengthen our testimonies by listening to the Lord's Servants. We are so grateful for your example and the many Conference Weekend memories we have made. We love you!

SOD PARTY - YAH!!!!!

The sod party was a blast and everything went really fast with all of the great help we had. These pictures are 3 months old ahhh(I can't believe I am so behind on my blog) Anyhow, on August 1st (my birthday and my baby sisters, we share) we finally got the sod put it after weeks of sprinkler work(Thanks Joe and Dad you are the best) We love our grass and it has made such a difference, the kids can't wait to get a playground and a trampoline. Thanks to our wonderful families that helped us so very much, we couldn't have done it without you. We have planted some tree/shrubs and look forward to a little garden in the back next year. Thanks again everyone!!! We love you all

Disney Days- Gallivan Center

Horseback Riding with GranDaddy in the Backyard - YEEHAA!!!

Joe's 10 Year High School Reunion - The Grand America

Life is just better with RED Mac n' Cheese

Happy Birthday Mercedes!!!

Our little princess Mercedes has turned 3 and we had a blast celebrating with family and friends. We had a special guest Princess Ariel join us, Mercedes was star struck and soaked up every minute of it. Mercedes loves taco salads, so at her request we had a lovely taco salad/burrito bar. Princess Ariel read the kids a story, sang/danced, and blew out the Birthday candles with Mercedes. We followed up the the usual pinata, which I think the adults enjoy more them the kids. Everything went perfectly, thanks to everyone that came. Mercedes is such a sweet and sassy young lady, we love her so very much. She has been begging for a sister for months now. However, with Christian back in school and Lincoln getting a little bigger, I've caught her combing, blow drying, and 'curling' her baby brothers hair. Lucky for her, Lincoln loves the attention and mothering she shows him (most of the time:)Mercedes, our little princess we love you so very much. You are such a sweet little lady and are so soft/gentle with Lincoln. On the other hand you are Christian's best wrestling buddy an partner in crime and they just adore you. Mercedes has come so far in the last year, she is very smart and wants to be just as big as Christian. She potty trained herself over a year ago, knows her colors/shapes, can count to ten, and can read a dozen or so words. Mercedes loves princess, doing hair/make-up, shopping, and animals. She wants to be a ballerina when she grows up and is going to marry her imaginary boyfriend JACK. Mercedes begs her Daddy on a regular basis to get her ears peirced, not yet. Mercedes we love and adore. We feel so blessed to have you in our lives and in our family. Thanks to all of our family and friends for coming and support Mercedes on her 3rd Birthday. We love you! Thanks

Ogden Rodeo - Mercato Partner

We had a blast going to dinner and the Odgen Rodeo with the Mercato Partners Team. The kids got to wear their new duds from Grandma GG and Grandad Murphey. We had a wonderful time and the kids can't wait to go again!

Spiderman Birthday - Christian 5 & Lincoln 1

Happy Birthday to my sweet boys Christian and Lincoln. You are both getting so big, stop growing so quickly. What a wonderful party it was, we celebrated the boys birthdays together because they are only a couple weeks apart. I was worried Christian wouldn't want to share the spotlight and told him that, he could have his own party if he wanted to. He said 'No mom I want to share my Birthday with Lincoln, he is my dude.' Christian is a very sweet, caring and sensitive child. Don't get me wrong anyone that knows him also knows, that he loves to wrestle, he loves Karate, and he loves superheros. But there is a very sweet and tender side to our little Christian boy, and being his Mother I get the blessing and honor of seeing it the most. Christian is a wonderful brother, he is constantly helping his siblings and playing with them, or simply making them laugh. Christian, we are so blessed to have you in our family and to be a part of your life. You are also a very strong, independent, and particular person(like father, like son) You are a perfectionist in many ways(I don't know where you got that from ;) and you strive to be the best at all you do. Christian is a great artist and will draw and color for hours. One of his favorite things though is Wednesday nights with Daddy at YMs. Christian, we are so very grateful you are our Big boy and Big brother to Mercedes and Lincoln, they adore you. We are so proud of you. We love you, to heaven and back.

Lincoln, Lincoln, I been thinking. You're the cutest boy around. All the girls will soon be winking, thinking your the cutest one.(Nana)
Lincoln is my little angel and a little piece of heaven here on earth. From the very first day, Lincoln has had a wonderful, easy going temperament(he would have to, to survive his older brother and sister) Lincoln is a cuddlier and a Mamas Boy, I love that. He has the best little giggle, he loves babies and kitties, and HATES Dogs. Lincoln LOVES goats milk and refuses to give it up even though he is over a year now. He only has one tooth but is working on another. He does the very best he can to keep up with the older two, and they are great to hold his hand along the way. Lincoln, we love you so very much and as Christian would say 'Lincoln is GOLDEN'

Gateway with the Rays

Early in July Mindy Ray(my BFF) and I took the kids to play at the Gateway. The kids had a blast playing in the water and soaking up the sun. My kids just adore Lillie, Max, and Eli. I can tell Mercedes looks up to Lillie so much and every time she plays with Max, for days after wards she talks about how nice he is and that she should marry him. How cute. They are such good kids and we love spending time with them. Thanks for being great friends to us, we sure love you guys!!!

Christian's Ball

Shortly after returning from Florida, Christian came to me and said 'Mommy, I want to have a "Ball" with Mercedes. Will you help us get ready. Christian got himself all dressed up in his suit and I helped Mercedes get all fancy. They danced and played all morning in the front room, it was so much fun to watch them play and interact with one another. My sweet little Christian boy is getting so big. He is such a little gentleman and is always taking care of his younger brother and sister. Christian I love and I know Mercedes loved the 'Ball'. Thank you for being my little Christian Boy

Crescent Beach

The second half of our trip was spent on the heavenly Crescent Beach. We relaxed on the beach everyday and had a few outings. We celebrated the twins 21st Birthday- Mallory and Mitchell, by going out for some Italian. Christian had his first taste of calamari, and loved it. We asked him if he knew what it was and he said "ya octopus". So, Mercedes seeing how much he was enjoying it said "I want some Ursula too" We all cracked up and she loved it too. It a amazes me what my kids will eat. We went into St. Augustine for a day and did a little shopping, went to the Fort, and had a picnic at Washington Park. But, mostly we swam and sunbathed...and the kids loved every minute of it. Thanks to our families for making it all possible. We love you very much and cherish the time we spent with you.

DISNEY WORLD!!!!!

Well, we are sad to be home from our 2 week vacation in Florida (our home away from home.) It was a blast and by far our favorite family vacation thus far. We spent our first week in Orlando at a resort and went to Disney World 6 days in a row. It is all kind of a blur now, but we had a ball. Watching the kids beam with excitement over the Disney experience, brought tears to my eyes. We went to Epcot/Animal Kingdom for a day each and Magic Kingdom/Hollywood Studios for two days each. Every park was wonderful and offered a variety. We went with my whole family, it was so great to have everyone together for a family vacation. The kids can't stop talking about Disney World and can't wait to go back again!!! We took over 1000 pictures but here are some of our favorites :)