Fall Soccer

This year Mason was old enough to start playing city soccer. He cried the day I signed him up. He did not want to play and that he would not play. Well his first game came and he was hooked! Watching 5 year olds play soccer can be a little frustrating, but so much fun!!!! He is a great little soccer player and can't wait for Spring soccer to start.

Kayla decided to hang up her dancing shoes for soccer cleats last year as well. She joined the All-Stars competitive team. It was a new experience for her, but she caught on quickly! She was the smallest player on her team, but very quick! She was one of the only girls who had not played on the team before, and I was so proud of her hard work and determination. She is getting ready for the new season to start next month.

I guess you could say I am now officaly a soccer Mom. It is a bit tiering getting the kids to and from all their practices and games, but so worth every minute of it. I enjoyed watching the girls dance, but for me watching the spoting events are so much fun!!! Maddi is also playing fast pitch softball and just got done playing her first season of Basketball. I will get some of those pictures posted one of these days as well.

Marlie's Major Messes

Well all of you who have had a toddler know that they can make messes faster than you can clean them up. I also learned the hard way that putting a 20 month old in th car for 5 minutes to keep them safe from wild lambs, can turn into a 2 hour adventure. Luckily the Officers were nice enough to not take me to jail for child neglect, but then even drove to Dave's work to get the extra set of keys for me. As you can tell Marlie even had my cell phone in the car with her. She thought it was pretty fun at first to tear apart my car while we all watched, but as it got darker she got a little concerned. It was definitely a night to remember.

Not long after the great lock down, I left her with my Dad so I could color my Mom's hair. She was being a little,too quiet so he went to find her, this is what he found. No, this is not Gene Simmons from KISS. Just Marlie playing with Mommy's mascara. What a crazy girl!!!!

You think I would learn not to leave her alone for more than 1 second alone, but I always want to think that she is playing with her babies like a good girl. This is what I find more than not.... A HUGE MESS!!!!! The top picture is Marlie painting her toe nails, then the next two pictures are really gross, but I had to make the best out of a "POOPY" situations. (Sorry if it make you sick!) Then the last pictures are Marlie doing her hair and using a lot of hair wax!!!

I would love to say that these are the only messes that she has made, but not so lucky. Thank goodness she is so stinking cute!!!!

Back to School

Yes I know school is 2/3 's over, but finally her are the pictures.

McKayla started 6th grade this year and entered into the Intermediate School. I was a little nervous for her, but she adjusted very well. She even let me walk her into school and take a picture of her. I am sure that won't last long. She opened her locker on the first try. She has had some big assignments to do this year like the Mesopotamian project, World Fair, and the Science Fair. She has worked really hard and they have all turned out so nice.

Maddi started the 3rd grade and was so excited because she got the teacher she really wanted. She also had a few of her very best friends in her class. She is learning her multiplication and passing off her times tests.

Mason started Kindergarten this year and I think It was harder on Me than it was him. He got an Awesome teacher and loves everyday of school. He only goes a half day, I miss his big hugs while he is gone. He is learning to read and write and is learning so much!!

Fair time again!

(I know this is 6 months late, but I still need to do it!!)

This is the 3rd year that McKayla has raised a lamb for the fair. It is always one of those things that half way through we wonder what we have gotten ourselves into, but it always ends up being a good experience and we are glad when it is done.

Here are some pictures of the kids racking, washing ,and walking their lambs. They spend many hours in the heat getting their lambs ready for the big day.

McKayla did a great job and her hard work paid off. She got 1st place (Star Choice in her wight group.) Then she got to got the final round with the top 50 to compete for grand champion. (There were over 300 lambs total this year in the fair.) She hung in there for a long time and ended up getting 6th place over all, we were all so excited and proud!!!! Next year Maddi gets to raise one ,so we will have 2!!!

Maddi's 9th Birthday, Family reunion, and Photo Shoot

On August 15th was Maddi's 9th Birthday. This year we were actually at a the Williams family reunion in Idaho. I made her a sign and Dave's cousin brought some balloons. Aunt Tammy and Uncle Dave got everything set up for us so when Maddi woke up and opened the trailer door, she could see the sign and balloons. We sent Maddi on a scavenger hunt to find her present. When she opened up her new pink i-pod she was so excited. It was fun being able to spend her birthday with family that we have never celebrated a Birthday with before.


The grounds for the reunions were beautiful! It was acres of green grass, a ball field, a covered Bowery, and lots of space to ride bikes.
We had a yummy dutch oven dinner and played lots of games. It was actually a really cold weekend for August and woke up to frost, but it was a lot of fun! Marile loved playing with her little cousin Deegan. They are only 10 days apart and get along really well. It is always so much fun to spent time with Dave's extended family! We look forward to the reunion every year. Dave's Grandpa Williams had a stroke 2 years ago, he is doing pretty good and we are so happy that he is still able to come camping with us!

We had some fun playing on the swings and other cool toys that were there. We got some cool pictures of us all jumping off of the swings. I thought I did pretty good, but the kids informed me that walking off the swing is not the same as jumping.

While Dave and I were packing up the trailer the kids took the camera to take some pictures. We were so surprised when we got home and started looking at the pictures that they took. I guess Mason wanted the girls to do a photo shoot of himself. He posed himself and I think it is hilarious! I love the serious looks, and the side views. We were absolutely cracking up when we saw the picture of his eye with the mit over his face!!! Actually a pretty cool picture!!! I just had to put these on here!

Summer Swimming

Kayla and Maddi took swimming lessons 5 years ago, but I have never put Mason in lessons. I decided this summer to sign them all up for lessons. The girls loved refreshing their skills and learning to dive. When we went to Bear lake they liked to practice everything they had learned.

Mason has always been a little afraid of the water. He didn't even want to swim in the big pool until he was 4. He has never liked getting is face wet, so I was a little afraid of how lessons would go. The first day he got right in the pool and when his teacher asked him to put his head under water he did! (I was thinking, this is going to be great!) He jumped out of the pool and would not go back in. Dave and I tried bribing him with anything we could think of, nothing worked! Another teacher got him into the pool and he screamed the whole time! The next day he cried while he was in the pool, but then every day he got a little more comfortable with the water. By the last lesson (they only had 9) he was jumping in and putting his face under. He learned to tread water and actually can swim! I am so proud of him and for overcoming his fear! When we went to Bear Lake we could not keep him out of the water!

Marlie was a little too young for lessons (I didn't want to get into a swimsuit with her everyday), but we will put her in lessons next summer! She was a very good little sister and watched ever day from the bleacher and cheered everyone on. When we went to Bear Lake she enjoyed splashing, sun tanning, and she even tried putting her head under water!!

Island Park Summer Vacation

Every summer we try to plan a family vacation and go some where different. This year we took off to Island Park Idaho, just 30 minutes from West Yellowstone. It is so beautiful there. We rented a cabin on Bills Island and had so much fun! Here are some of the things that we did. I know it is a lot of pictures, but this is my scrapbook, and I couldn't put just a couple. It was great to have everyone together. My brother in law Cam and Daniella's daughter Dalene could not make it, and they were missed.

Our first stop was at Bear World In Rexburg Idaho on the way. You can drive around while bears and other wild life walk around your car. It is very cool, and the kids love it! After you are done driving around they have a petting zoo, and some fun carnival rides for the kids to go on. It was lots of fun!

It is a little stressful trying to pick out a cabin on the Internet. There are many great cabins to chose from. We were so pleased when we arrived and saw the cabin. We knew it was on an Island, but had no idea how beautiful it was there! Next time we will need to bring a boat!

The cabin and the scenery were so beautiful! The trees were so thick, I didn't even know that there was a cabin next to us because I couldn't see it. There were miles of four wheeler trails and I could have stayed there for weeks!

My parents are always so nice to make sure everyone is comfortable and happy. I think at almost every vacation they are sleeping on the couch or a blow up mattress so we can all have our own rooms! We all appreciate there sacrifice so much! I have to keep teasing Tim and Kim about the room they landed this time. It was the master suite with the most beautiful view of the lake and a walk out balcony. They also had a huge bathroom and a walk in closet almost the size of the room that all 6 of us slept in!! I know they felt guilty, but it was really the room that worked best for them! I am just calling the master suite next time! HAHA!!!!

As soon as we jumped out of the car the kids jumped into their swimming suites. They would have been happy never leaving the cabin! We were right of the lake and I knew that would keep the kids entertained for hours, which it did. The adults even got into the fun and were helping the kids catch crawdads and frogs.

No matter what time of day it was the view from off of the front deck was amazing! This is a beautiful picture that Marlon took on our last night there.

My most favorite part about any family vacation is just getting to spend time together and relaxing. This vacation was great because there was enough room for everyone to hang out do what they wanted. We played a lot of board games, and the boys and the kids had lots of fun playing against each other on the Nintendo D.S.

We took a drive to Big Springs to feed the fish! My Dad's parents were actually married at a little chapel just down the road from there. Kind of fun to actually see it.

We were so close to Yellowstone that we could not pass up the chance to go there. We only saw one Bison and one Elk, but we did get to see Old Faithful and some other geyser's.

I had to put these pictures on here! TOO, funny! each one of my kids came running out of the outhouses plugging their noses and gasping for air!!!

The Men and Daniella went further into the park while the ladies and kids decided to head back to the cabin. This is the beautiful things that they got to see while we stopped in West Yellowstone to shop with 7 kids! What were we thinking? We got back to the cabin 30 minutes before they did!

On our way out of Island Park we drove to Mesa Falls! They are absolutely amazing!
I think so far that this family vacation has been my favorite! ( I saw that every year!) Don't get me wrong , there are always a few bad moods and some not so perfect moments( You can't have 16 people in a cabin for 4 days without a few run- ins!) but they usually turn out to be funny,too! Dave has to throw at least one fit about all the family pictures that we want to take. We all love each other at the end of the trip and that is what matters! The time I get to spend with family are my greatest blessings! We are already planning next years vacation, and I can't wait.