Pope

Preschool Graduate

2011-05-29T19:17:00.005-06:00

Oh, what a bittersweet moment. My baby girl graduated from Preschool. While I have been anticipating having all of my kids in school and enjoying some nice "Alone Time" I'm feeling a little sad at the same time. It seems like as soon as they start Kindergarten those school years just fly by and before you know it, they are all grown up and ready to graduate. I have absolutely loved being able to stay home with Kaisley the last few years, it's so nice having that one on one time with her every day. She's my little buddy and we have had a blast going on lunch dates and just hanging out at home together. I'm glad that she will only be going to Kindergarten a half day next year so that we can still have a little bit of that time, I'm going to try and cherish all of those afternoons with her. She is such a little firecracker, so full of life, and has the funnest personality. Although I don't want it to happen too fast, I can't wait to see what life has in store for our little KAYZ E BUG!!!! Kaisley found Grandpa as soon as we got there and had to set on his lap the whole time, this girl LOVES her PAPPA!!!

We have loved Teacher Celeste and Teacher Aunt Nett and will miss them sooo much!Bye Bye Preschool!!!

Field Trip!!

2011-05-29T18:57:00.003-06:00

I had the pleasure of joining Kambree's 5th grade class on a Field Trip to USU. With the exception of the completely, out of control bus ride, it was a pretty great time. The kids were able to have a little tour around campus, have a small lesson on science in one of the classrooms, check out a museum, launch their pop bottle rocket, eat their lunch and play games on the quad, and best of all...tour the Aggie Ice Cream plant and have a serving of their favorite kind! Aggie Blue Mint, made all of the torture that I endured on the bus worth it!!!

Amma and Sidney

I seriously can't believe that these two are done with Elementary School, They have only been in different classes one year from Kindergarten through 5th grade. I honestly don't think that the two could be any more alike if they had been born twins.

Easter

2011-05-23T12:57:00.008-06:00

Every year, when Easter rolls around, I think how much fun it would be to have an Easter Egg hunt for our neighborhood, well this year I decided to just go ahead and organize one. Being my first year, I think it turned out pretty dang fun. Every kid in the neighborhood was able to participate, therefore, we had about 45 kids in all. I have THE best neighbors ever, and even a lot of the older empty nesters wanted to participate. It was so great, the kids were able to run around the whole neighborhood collecting eggs and treats. The best part was, we didn't even have to fight for parking!! The day was absolutely gorgeous and I think everyone had a lot of fun. Hopefully this can become a yearly tradition.Getting Ready.....

Kaisley's age group

Cute Girls

Oh my, we just love Ryker

Kailey and Avery

Checking out their baskets, there was a little swapping going on

I couldn't find Kaisley after the hunt, I came in the house and this is what I found...

EASTER DAY at GRANDMA'S

Easter Egg hunt at Grandma Grace's

After the hunt and dinner at Grandma Grace's, we went over to the pasture and sling shotted boiled eggs, it was a BLAST and Kaisley was AWESOME!!!

And then it was time for one last hunt and dinner at Vicki's

All the Porter grandkids except for Kort

Baby Dayne

Bahama Cruise 2011

2011-05-22T20:31:00.013-06:00

Over Spring Break Chad and I went an absolutely amazing vacation, we flew into Florida and stayed in Miami for a few days, Chad scored us a deal on this sweet convertible Mustang and we had a blast driving around in the warm Florida sunshine with the top down.We LOVE Bubba Gumps and just had to find one as soon as we got into Florida

We were so excited to board the Carnival Destiny Cruise Ship for a 5 day cruise to the BAHAMAS!!!!
Of course anyone knows that the best part of a cruise is the FOOD, FOOD, and more FOOD!!!!!

Gotta love the nightly towel animals and mints.

It's kind of fun getting all dressed up for fancy Dinners, we don't do that too often at home

This could possibly be my favorite picture EVER!!! Haha, poor Chad was SO fried!!

So Fun!!!

Our first stop was the beautiful island of Grand Turk, we did nothing but bask in the sun and just enjoy each other's company. The beach we were on was a little rocky, we played in the water a little but I was holding on to my poor hubby for dear life so that I didn't fall on the rocks.

I think this must be what Heaven is like.

We were about the only ones there, it was GREAT!!

Lovin' those rays

Our second stop (and very favorite) was Half Moon Cay, this is a private island and is absolute PARADISE, the water was like nothing I have ever seen before, just as crystal clear as you could imagine, and the sand was incredible!! We loved this island so much. It took everything we had to get back on that ship

Ooooooo I LOVE that sand!!
This is exactly how I felt about Half Moon Cay

This must be the cutest bar ever!!

We rented a tube and just played and played in this water.

Our last stop was Nassau Bahamas, definitely our least favorite. Nassau is a lot like Cabo, dirty, dirty city with an awesome beach. We took a cab ride over to the Atlantis resort and that was an experience that we won't soon forget....haha!!!!

Fun in the Sun!!

Honestly, I think I could hang out on a beach every day for a year and NEVER get sick of it, I really should have been born an islander.

Chad and I were lounging in these beach chairs when the hugest wave came and just DUMPED right on top of us, It was pretty funny.

Of course before we got back on the ship, we had to check out what was going on in here....

This was such an incredible vacation, I am so lucky and blessed to be married to my best friend. I love him so much and absolutely love spending time with him. We have so much fun together, and he loves to spoil me rotten. There's no one else that I would rather have by my side on this voyage known as LIFE!

Out with the Old, In with the New

2011-05-22T17:29:00.004-06:00

Two years ago, Chad bought a small motorcycle, mainly just to ride to work and back...WELLLLL..... after going on several rides with Friends and Family, we decided that we were hooked, and wanted more of a touring Bike. We've been debating on what to get, of course, all I cared about was a super comfy seat. After much research and thinking, we decided on a new HARLEY, So far, we have loved it!! We haven't had too many good days to take it out, but we can't wait to ride, ride, ride, this Summer!! Chad's brother Jeff got one the same day, this is them riding away from the Harley Shop

Here's the old.......

and here's the NEW!!

Kaisley turns 5

2011-05-22T17:08:00.003-06:00

My baby is 5 years old, I can't believe that this Fall she will be off to Kindergarten. She had a great Birthday, she got a Powerwheels ATV, that she absolutely LOVED, and of course a whole bunch of other great presents. For her Birthday, we went to an Aggies game, Aggie Basketball is our favorite new thing to do as Family.
Lovin' the cold hard CASH

Her Barbie Cake

Despite many spats, these two are still the best of buddies.

Happy Birthday Little Kaisley Bug, we sure do Love you!!

A Missing Tooth

2011-05-22T17:03:00.002-06:00

Kaisley lost her first tooth on Christmas Eve. That tooth had been loose for a few weeks, as she was eating Christmas Eve Dinner at Grandmas house, it just fell right out. She was really excited to put it under her pillow, however, she knew Sant was coming that night and didn't want he and the Tooth Fairy to run into each other, so she opted to put it under the next night. The Tooth fairy brought her 5 DOLLARS!!!

Christmas 2010

2011-05-22T16:44:00.008-06:00

Chriistmas truly is the best time of the year, it seems that Christmas lasts the entire month of December with all of the activities and fun that goes on, Here are just a few pictures of what Christmas had in store for us this year.

ELEVEN

2011-05-22T16:38:00.004-06:00

On December 18th, my little Kambree Kay turned 11. She's such a sweetie, we love her so much!!

Lagoon

2011-05-22T16:28:00.004-06:00

We've always wanted to go camping at Lagoon but have never done it, UNTIL NOW. October of 2010 we went down with Jeff, Sheila and girls and spent the weekend at FRIGHTMARES. We had a great time, although we experienced a little trouble on the way home: Our trailer had a problem with the wheel axle, we made it, but pulled into town with smoke billowing from the axle.

Big Changes

2011-05-22T16:19:00.003-06:00

In October 2010, eight years after starting up our own buisness, Chad, Boyd, and TJ decided that it was time to sale to a bigger company. The three of them built Last Mile Wireless from the ground up and really never imagined that it would grow into the buisness that it did. It's been stressfull, time consuming, yet fun and rewarding, all at the same time. This has been a big ajustment for all of us, it's been scary, yet exciting to see what the future holds in store for us. Chad stayed on with the new company and is now literally CLIMBING TO NEW HEIGHTS!!

Halloween 2010

2011-05-22T15:58:00.006-06:00

Oh how we love the SPOOKINESS of Halloween!!Mama Clown and Baby Clown

Rockin the 80s hair!!

Headin out to get some CANDY!!

This mysterious visitor just showed up on our front porch!1

OUR HAUNTED HOUSE

17

2011-05-22T15:39:00.002-06:00

On September 3rd 2010 Kort turned 17 years old, my how time does fly!!!

Summer 2010

2011-05-22T15:14:00.008-06:00

If you know anything about us, you know that at our house, we LOVE summer. Summer 2010 was no exception, Here is just a little of what we did this Summer:
Camped at Redfish Lake, one of the most gorgeous places on the face of the Earth.

Went Fishing

Ate TONS of popsicles with neighbors

Chad and I went on a fun anniversary trip to Jackson Hole on the motorcycle.

ate square ice cream

Did a lot of camping and got Really dirty.

Spent a lot of time at Waterparks!!

Slid down some Sand Dunes

Caught Frogs and Minnows

Camped at our favorite spot, Warm River

Visited West Yellowstone

Basked in the SUN!!

Spent lots of time at the POOL!!

Went on a Helicopter Ride

Went to Vegas with Great Friends and saw AEROSMITH!!!

Summer 2010 did not disappoint, we love to cram all the fun we can into Summer, and we certainly did!!

2011-05-22T15:05:00.001-06:00

Kaisley took Dance from Dance Dynamics this year, at the first of the year, she wasn't too sure, but by the end, she was quite the performer.

2010 Family Cruise

2011-05-22T14:27:00.004-06:00

In March 2010, our family was able to go on a Super Fun vacation, We flew to San Diego and stayed and played there for a few days before we hopped aboard the Carnival Elation with a lot of extended family on the Porter side. What a BLAST!! This is Kaisley's first time flying, she absolutely loved it, and as you can see she takes the safety rules very seriously. Our Family on Beautiful Coronodo Beach in San Diego.

Yay, here's our home for the next 5 days!!

Cousins all dressed up for Dinner

Because room service is free, of course we had to order treats every single night.

Our first stop was beautiful Cabo San Lucas Mexico, Kort was trying to score a new little brother.

Yummy Drink!!!!

The kids had a great time playing in the waves with Grandma

Kambree and Kendall had a lot of fun at Camp Carnival, here they are getting ready to hit the SUPER LATE NIGHT party. They stayed out till 3:30 in the morning.

Our next stop was Ensenada, can't go to Mexico without doing a little dancing in the streets.

Kort is the only one that doesn't have a cousin his age, so he was able to take Tanner to be his buddy AKA partner in crime, they had a lot of fun, and here they are with our awesome waiter Godfrey.

Kaisley and Carson, ready to fly back home after a great trip.

What an amazing opportunity this was for our Family, It's so great to be able to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and just spend some good, quality, family time together, and some sun, beach, and delicous food, isn't too bad either!

Blog Slacker

2010-04-24T17:43:00.003-06:00

Yes, a blog slacker is what I am!!!! I have been horrible at keeping up this year, I have added Kaisleys 4th Birthday and hope to have everything else caught up soon!!!

Kaisley turns 4

2010-04-24T17:11:00.002-06:00

On February 6th, my baby turned 4 years old. I cant believe that is she is no longer a baby or even a toddler anymore. She is a KID now....crazy!!! This little girl has a mind of her own and is so dang independent. I often find myself having to remind her who the boss is because she continually tells me what to do. She is so smart and has the funniest personality ever, because she's the baby she is spoiled rotten!!! I think if I had to choose one word to describe her at this point in her life it would be SPUNKY!!!!! We had a fun little Princess party with all of her little friends...

She got tons of presents

We had rice crispy treats for dessert and let the girls paint them with chocolate, strawberry, and carmel syrup.

Sage is Kaisleys very best friend at this stage in life (quick story about Sage), last Summer Kaisley learned to ride her bike without training wheels, Sages parents had been trying to teach Sage to ride without training wheels as well but were having no luck. Sage told Chad she wanted to ride like Kaisley and wanted him to take her training wheels off, he hesitantly did so. 3 year old Kaisley walked over and told her how it was done, Sage jumped on her bike, Kaisley jumped on hers and off they went and haven't stopped since!!!

Kaisley got a new bed from Mom and Dad!!

Our friend Hannah made this cake and we LOVED it!!

Happy Happy Birthday to my little Princess, we love you soooooo much!!

A Sunbeam, A Sunbeam!!!

2010-03-02T14:29:00.003-07:00

Can't believe that my baby is a "Sunbeam" She was so excited to go to Primary, although she really loved Nursery. She must have been a good girl too because she was awarded "Reverent Child" on her very first day!!

The Store

2010-03-02T14:19:00.002-07:00

Kambree and Kaisley just love to play store, they spend hours getting their merchandise ready to sell and setting up shop, here is the billboard that you will see as you journey up our stairs.... and the fine emplyees

just a little of what they have to offer...

and there is even a shopping cart for your convience!

It's so fun to see the girls getting along and playing so well together, it makes a Mama's heart happy!!

Snow Fun

2010-03-02T14:11:00.002-07:00

Chad built this super fun snow hill for the kids to sled down, it has provided endless hours of Winter entertainment. One morning Kambree went out right after she got up, she didn't come back in until I forced her to well after dark.

So nice to have a good Dad that makes fun snow hills and even nicer to have a whole neighborhood of kids to share it with!!

2009

2010-02-01T18:01:00.002-07:00

WOW, that is the one word that I can think of that describes the year 2009. I have been so blessed this past year, I can't even believe it. It started off with THE best vacation of my life...Hawaii. Maui is the absolute most amazing place on earth and I can not wait to go back. It was so nice to be able to reconnect with Chad without having to worry about anything else. We had so much fun together, and just relaxed and enjoyed each others company. To follow that up, I went on my very first Cruise with My Mom and Sister, we had so dang much fun, and laughed for 5 straight days. Soon after that, Summer was here and the kids and I had a BLAST bouncing around from water park to water park. We did lot's of camping and I so enjoyed watching my kids run around our neighborhood all Summer long, playing, playing, and more playing. In September, I was able to go to another favorite destination...VEGAS with some of my very favorite friends and we had such a blast there as well. That led us into another amazing Holiday season filled with Family, Friends and of course lot's of yummy FOOD!!!
Our family has all been blessed with good health in 2009, and what is better than that? I say nothing. I really hate to see the year go because it has been so good to us, however, I am excited to see what 2010 has in store for us. If it's anything like last year, I CAN"T WAIT!!!!

New Years Eve

2010-02-01T17:28:00.004-07:00

We had a Super Fun New Years Eve, Chad, Kort, and a few friends went to Pocatello to watch a fight so the Girls and I decided to head over to Grandpa and Grandma Timothy's house and have a PARTY!!!! Here is our Party Princess Alyssa!! We had to do a little begging, but we were able to get our favorite Party Animal, Aunt Julie, over to play!

Chad and Kort made it home before midnight, and I was so glad. I haven't rung in a New Year without my honey for a long time. Yes, we like to eat, and there is never a food shortage when we get together.

Welcome, welcome 2010!!

4 Goofy kids

4 Goofy Kids that LOVE Aunt Julie!!

Mandy and Jay

Grandma and Kais

CELEBRATE!!!!!

SPARKLERS!!

Ahhh... a little party princess in training!

No better way to top off the night and the New Year than with a little ROCKBAND!!!

Goodbye 2009, you've been good to us...Hello 2010..can't wait to see what you have in store!!

Ten

2010-01-18T14:01:00.006-07:00

So I'm only about a month late posting this but "Better Late than Never" has always been my motto. My sweet little Kambree turned TEN on December 18th. Her Birthday started off just perfectly with Dad cooking her a great big breakfast!! It got even better as we listened for her name on the radio and guess what?? She won the Birthday Roundup woohoo!! She got a super cute Birthday outfit and looked so dang cute going to school!! This is the Cupcake tree that we made for her friend party. The girls loved it!!

PRESENTS!!!

FRIENDS!!!!!

such cute little Girlies

MAke a wish....

happiness is a kitchen full of friends

Kais LOVES cupcakes!!

That night we had our family party, of course she was spoiled completely rotten.

We got her the new Nintendo DSI

She wanted a monkey cake and although this wasn't exactly what we had in mind, it worked.

Hope all of those wishes come true.

FAMILY!!!

Happy Birthday to my Kambree Girl. I love you so much and don't know what we would do without you, you are such a huge help to me and are the best big sister to Kaisley. You have such a tender little heart and are always so concerned for everyone. You are such a great example to me and I can't wait to watch you grow up and see what you become.I love you!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-02T23:38:00.007-07:00

"Holy Christmas Batman" We have been so busy partying that I haven't had time to sit down and blog. Here's a photo overload of everything that we did within about two days. We started out with our traditional Christmas Eve party at my Parents house. Of course we had a lot of delicious food and the kids got spoiled rotten. Kort got some sweet new goggles to hit the slopes with.

Grandpa and Grandma gave the kids Beatles Rockband..woohoo!!!!

Kambree and Kaisley both got these super cute coats, complete with matching hats and gloves.

Mandy's trying out her drum skills

Jay is getting ready to rock the guitar.

Kort decided he was man enough to do two things at once, so he was drumming and singing. He got a little sweaty so he had to take off his new flannel shirt that Mandy gave him.

When we got home that night we had to put out the milk and cookies for Santa. My sweet little Kambree also left him some paperwork to fill out.

CHRISTMAS MORN!!!!! Emptying the stockings. Santa left me that sweet suitcase. I plan on getting a lot of use out of it!!

Kort gets a season pass to Beaver for Christmas so therefore that's about all he gets. Santa did bring him some Muscle Milk though.

Kaisley is happy with anything that she can feed a bottle.

HAHA...now Chad can play the real thing...not just facebook farkle.

Kaisley's already eyeing up one of Kambree's gifts.

I've never done this but I actually made a list of what the girls got for Christmas from Santa and Dad and Mom. I think it will be kind of fun for them to look back and see what they got, so here goes...

Kambree- bubble bath, spin brush, dry erase markers, chalk, Polly Pockets, Hair Flowers, Doodle pro, slipper socks, bubbles, gel markers, candy, Littlest Pet Shop Pets and trading cards, socks, blanket, bendaroos, Heeleys, vest, Madame Alexander doll, 3 pair of boots, pixos, 3 dresses, 5 shirts, pajamas, tights, leggings, and a skirt.

Kaisley- Strawberry Shortcake movie, socks, underwear, slipper socks, lip gloss, weeble wobbles, spin brush, mermaid barbie, candy, ice pack, Littlest Pet shop backpack, huge pack of Littlest Pet Shops, Cool School for the computer, Baby Alive, tutu, tights, fur real friend, boots, porcelain Belle Barbie, Barbie and the 3 Musketeers doll, 7 shirts, 2 jeans' 2 pajamas' 4 dresses, 3 skirts, and leggings!!

They also got a big easel that has a dry erase board on one side and a chalk board on the other...SPOILED!!!

Christmas afternoon we went over to Laurie and Curtis's for our Mattson party.

Kort sure loves his Grandma!!

This is what Kaisley got from Great Grandpa and Grandma Mattson.
Ahhhh. Grandma loves him too!!!

Jay, Mandy and Jayse

My cute Grandpa and Grandma...

This was a fun Christmas present for us,/My cousin Levi got home from his mission on December 23rd. So fun to see him again.

The day after Christmas , we kept on partying. We had Chads family party here at our house.

Craig and Mo

Jenna

Some of the fam gathering around the food.

Kaisley's getting ready to dip.

Mmmmmmmm...

That night we went up to Hollie and Wood's for the craziest party of all...The Timothy party.

I would like to take the credit for this cute gingerbread house but I can't. Our Home teachers brought this over.

This pic is totally out of order but these are the kids at the Mattson party.

And to end it all off, we've been keeping these instruments hot. Playing Rocband in all of our spare time.

I sure hate to see Christmas go. It gets so dang crazy and there is so much to get done but when it's all over and done and you look back on it you really see how blessed you are...the excitement in the kids faces, being together with family and friends, the warm feeling that comes from giving..Priceless!!!

December Fun!!!

2009-12-24T00:23:00.007-07:00

WOWSERS!!!! What a crazy, busy, but super FUN month December has been. Here's a photo post to show a little of what's been going on with the Pope Familia this past month....December must be kicked off right with the traditional 1st of December jammies!! Neighbor Gifts are a big deal around here and it's always nice to have them finished up and delivered. I think we delivered almost thirty this year!!

Me, Kambree, My Mom, Mandy, Alyssa, Sheila, Kendall, and Vicki had an awesome Girls Night Out...We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then to the Pickleville Playhouse production of "Once Upon a Christmas".

The girls with a fun elf from the play.

Kambree got to check in with Santa

Love our Girl Time

Kambree and I went to this production a few years ago and just loved it...went back this year and it was just as good, I think it will definitely become a tradition.My Mom even won on ipod...woohoo!!!

My little Kaisley won the coloring contest at A.A. Hudson. She was super excited, her gift was a doll..someone knew exactly what she would like!!

....here is the masterpiece

Chad has worked so hard putting up all of our Christmas lights outside, and the kids have helped a ton!!

I am the wimpy cold-hater and prefer to do my decorating inside. I have really been into the decorating this year and have had so much fun with it.

We ventured to Salt Lake the first of the month for the annual Pope Family Christmas party. It's always fun to get the whole family together. The girls just love to play with all of their cousins.

Uncle Dan gave the kids gift cards to Toys R Us. We had to stop before we returned home that night. It took a looooong time but the gifts were finally chosen. Kambree got two new Nintendo D.S. games and Kaisley picked this shopping cart that she absolutely loves!!!

it even came with a few groceries.
Kort got his new Board and is ready to hit the Beav!!

Kambree had an Orchestra Concert and a violin recital both on the same night. She did an amazing job, especially on her solo at the recital.

Here we have the twins..haha may as well be since they are pretty much clones. The BFFs after the recital

Kaisley had her very first dance performance.

Doesn't she look excited...well she wasn't. She told us she wasn't going to dance when she got there and she stuck to her word. She just stood there and watched everyone else dance. Oh well she looked cute.

Kambree and Kenzie played Silent Night and the Nativity Song in Primary

Honestly, how is Christmas really complete without SUGAR COOKIES?? The girls had a ball making and frosting sugar cookies AND looked amazingly cute in their brand new aprons that Sheila made for them.

Even Kort got into the action by drizzling the oreo balls. We have done a lot of baking...We did fudge twice, two different types of cookies, these yummy oreo balls, cupcakes, and Muddy Buddies to name a few.

Whew..no wonder I'm exhausted and haven't had time to blog for almost a month. Although it's so busy..I have to admit it really is my favorite time of the year. We have been doing a little Secret Santa for one of our neighbors and it's so neat to see the kids get excited about giving.We truly are blessed. Merry Christmas to all!!

Meet Nickel from the North Pole

2009-12-01T10:12:00.003-07:00

As Kaisley and I were pulling out of the driveway to go and get Kambree from school, she spied something hanging from the mailbox. We were in a hurry and didn't have time to investigate so we ran and got Kambree and hurried home to see what it was. To our surprise, the mailman had delivered a package that had been mailed right from the North Pole. The Girls were so excited and immediately tore it open

This is what we found inside. Santa sent us our very own "Elf on the Shelf" we weren't sure what this was all about but it came with a story book and so we sat down and read it. It turns out that Santa has given us our very own little Elf to keep an eye on the kids and see how they are doing. The story says that all day long the elf will watch and then at night he flies back up to the North Pole and reports to Santa how the day went. Every morning he will return BUT in a different spot. The story also goes on to say that he is very magical and if children touch him, he will lose his magic. He also made a promise to Santa that he would only watch us and that he would not talk to us. He is however, able to hear us and so the kids can tell him what they would like for Christmas and any other important messages that they have for Santa.

Here is a picture of our new little friend. It says in the book that you must give him a name. Kaisley immediately came up the name Nickel (think it had something to do with St. Nicholas but not real sure)

It's been so fun watching the kids with Nickel, whenever Kaisley does something a little bit naughty, she runs right over and apologizes to him, also whenever she sees something that she wants on TV, she will run over and tell him all about it. They love to look for him as soon as they get up in the morning. Nickel has been a great addition to the season. It says in the book that as soon as Christmas is over he must return to the North Pole. I certainly hope that he decides to return to us again next year!!

Jammies

2009-12-01T09:59:00.005-07:00

We have always had the tradition of opening a new pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve, this year I thought that we would shake things up a bit and get some new pajamas on the First of December, that way we can be Snuggly, warm all month long!!! Kort got some pajama pants as well, unfortunately he has taken a month long hiatus with his x box so no photo was available!!

Indulgence and Craftiness

2009-11-28T21:16:00.003-07:00

Last Thanksgiving we decided that the time has finally come that we must take turns every other year with our Families. In the past we have always just tried to hit both, it just didn't seem fair though that we never really got to spend the whole day with one family. We were rushing to get everywhere we need to be and so we are now doing the every other year thing. Last year we spent Thanksgiving with The Porters so this year it was the Timothy side turn. We went to my Mom and Dads and had a delicious feast. Soooooo yummy, everything you could imagine and more!! Kaisley got ahold of my camera and snapped a few shots.. This must be before we ate,afterwards Kambree was pulling a much different face.

No Thanksgiving would be complete without a little brother/sister wrestling going on!!

This year we decided to do a craft for the kids after dinner....they LOVED it!!

Kambree made this super cute Christmas Countdown..

Kaisley did these cute little Thanksgiving blocks.

We had a Great time, Thanks Mom for the Delish meal!!! Now all I have to say is .........

and I hope that every one of those days are filled with Holiday Cheer!!!!!!

Thankful

2009-11-26T10:23:00.002-07:00

I feel that I am a pretty grateful person for the most part, however I know that I don't always express my gratitude. Seems that today is a pretty good day to day that. I am so thankful for the family that I have been blessed with. I have a husband that loves me and would do anything in the world for me, whenever I am down or have any kind of a problem he is always right there for me and he makes everything better. He truly is my Best Friend and we have such a great relationship and have so much fun together. He is also one of the hardest workers I know and the best Dad in the world. Some Dads grumble if they have to watch the kids, but he absolutely loves spending time with his kids and taking them to do fun things. Speaking of the kids, I don't think that I could have got any better ones than I did. Kort is a teen now and still acts like he likes me, Kambree is the sweetest little thing in the whole world, and is such a great helper with Kaisley, and Kaisley is so dang cute and keeps us all laughing. All three of them are healthy and great kids. Besides just my own little family, we have a wonderful extended family. I'm so thankful that my kids have so many Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins that love them so much. I also am feeling very grateful lately for good friends, I have been blessed with the best friends ever!! They are all such good examples to me and I love every single one of them so much for what they do for me. Last but certainly not least, I am so thankful for the gospel in our lives, sometimes people try and make us believe that it is silly to try to obey Gods commandments, and sometimes we feel a little out of place for doing the things that we believe are right. Looking back at our lives when we weren't making the best choices, and seeing how things have blossomed for us since we took those vows to keep Gods commandments, is proof enough for me that our Heavenly Father really is there and blesses us so much if we just do our part. I am so thankful that we were able to go to the temple and be sealed for time and all eternity. Knowing that no matter what life throws at us, I will always be with my family, gives me a peace of mind that is priceless.
There are just so many blessings in our life, Chads business is just thriving in this this economy, I am able to stay at home and raise my kids, we have a beautiful warm home and plenty of food to eat, we have amazing neighbors,and we have the Priesthood in our home. I recognize Gods hand in our lives each and every day and am so Thankful for all that we have been blessed with.

A Priest

2009-11-22T22:11:00.002-07:00

Chad ordained Kort to the office of a Priest today. I really wish that I would have taken a pic of the day he was ordained a deacon and a teacher. Would have been to see how much he has grown, as you can see he is now taller than both of us. Congrats Kort we love you and are so proud of you!!!

Disney on Ice and Weekend in Salt Lake

2009-11-18T11:30:00.005-07:00

This first pic has nothing to do with Disney on Ice or Weekend in Salt Lake, I came across it when I was taking pics off of my camera and found it 100% blog-worthy!! Amy Burbank and I decided that we would take our Girls to Disney On Ice this year. The theme was princesses so that of course, fits them all perfectly. The guys decided that they would come along (not to the ice show) and we decided to get a hotel and make a weekend out of it. It was a good thing that they came along because we drove down in a terrible snow storm. We stopped before the show to have a little lunch at Rumbi!!

They dropped us off at the show and then went and checked into the hotel. Chad took Kort to Murray and he was able to spend the day with Albanie and her family. He was pretty excited about that!!

You just can't go to Disney on Ice without dressing in some very fashionable Princess Wear.

Here are all 4 our princess's watching very carefully!
Ahhh...Cinderelly and her Prince
No Disney show is complete without these two...
We had really great seats, we were on row 7 and they were perfect!

One of my little Princess's and I.
That night we went to Dinner at Joes Crab Shack. Chad and I had a huge steampot of Crab Legs...YUMMMMM!!!! The kids had a great time playing in the play area. I think that these are just the funnest desserts...you paint a rice crispie crab with a paint brush, the paint is actually strawberry, chocolate, and carmel sauce. We went back to the hotel and the girls were able to get a little swimming in before bed.
The next day we went back to Murray and picked Albanie up, she was able to hang with our family for the day. We had lunch at the Mayan and then did some Christmas Shopping.
I love to be able to hang out with my little family, and I love it even more that they all still want to hang out with me!!!

Family Photos 2009

2009-11-10T09:58:00.006-07:00

Thanks so much to Katie Eavenson for doing these amazing pics for us, she is so talented and one of the funnest people to be around!!

This is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween...........

2009-11-08T18:19:00.008-07:00

Another Halloween has come and gone..(sigh). I love Halloween and just cant get enough of it. It seems like we celebrated for about two weeks straight and it still wasn't enough. This year we were invited to a Super Fun Adult Party. The guests were mainly my Bunco friends and their spouses, what a fun bunch!! Here we have Mr. Dentist and his best friend Mrs Toothpaste. Ahhh...what can I say about Bob and Carlee? We knew that it would be something hilarious before they even showed up, by the way..they won the costume contest!!

Janet and Michael are lookin GOOD!!

Ken and Kris are pretty much the cutest hippies ever!1

This very adorable Pirate couple was also our Happy Host and Hostess!!

Julie and some random hot Chick hat she brought with her..hahahah Kevin looked Awesome and played the role very well!!

And here we have Wendy the Pregnant Nun, her husband the Priest is around here somewhere!

Jenni and Brady looked great, I love this pic, looks like the convict is trying the offer the cop something that she's in deep thought about...haha.

Lisa went all out on the food, everything was so delicious and the games that we played were a blast!

Despite it looking like puke, this dip was sooooo yummy!! We sure did have a great time. I think that we have some of the funnest friends possible!

Kaisley got plenty of use out of her costume this year. She had a party at Dance and at preschool. Her she is with her BFF Sage at Dance.

All of the little cuties at Dance

Oh, look at the teacher, Mrs. Banana!!

Kambree had an Orchestra Halloween Concert, they all got to wear their costumes and play spooky numbers, she is really getting good on her violin.

Little Princess Belle all ready to head off to Pre-School

The night of Halloween, we decided to have a little dinner before we sent the kids out Trick or Treating. We ate some Witches Brew Stew and drank some Spider punch!! Here is a pic of our whole gang!! Don't worry I didn't let Kort go Trick or Treating.

Off they go...

Cute little Trace had to stay at the house and help answer the door. He loved seeing all of the different Trick or Treaters. This neighborhood is so dang fun at Halloween, it seems to just come alive. We gave out about 500 pieces of candy this year...LOVE IT!!!

Brooklyn, Jada, and Coen were amongst the crowd.

My friend Janet dropped by with Kallie, and then Ken and Kris dropped by with their kids. I invited them all to stay and watch a movie (we're always up for a party around here) They all stayed and we watched Hocus Pocus and munched on candy and popcorn. I made the kids these cute little desserts, they were pumpkin ice cream sundaes served in a real pumpkin. We all had such a blast, thanks to all of my family and friends fpr making this a Halloween to remember FOREVER!!!!

Pumpkin Walk

2009-11-05T16:07:00.005-07:00

This year the girls and I made it down to North Logans Pumpkin Walk, it always amazes me to see how creative people are, the things that they come up with are just unbelievable. It was such a beautiful day and we had a great time checking out all of the pumpkins.

Fall is sure beautiful around these parts!!

This was the "Where the Wild Things Are" display...so dang cute!!

I Love my baby!!! Are those the cutest trees or what??

She certainly is a "Wild One"!!!

After the Pumpkin Walk we decided to head over to Spoon Me for a delicious (and somewhat healthy) treat. What a cute place.

I sure do love these little Girlies, and times like these are priceless!!

Halloween Party 2009

2009-10-25T20:35:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was the annual Pope Cousins Halloween Party and boy was it "Spook-Tacular" We ended up with 55 kids this year and 12 adults. The plan was for the whole party to be outside but being the end of October, you never know what the weather will bring. It was pretty cold and blowing so we decided to move a few of the stations inside. Sheila has worked her buns off getting an old barn behind her house turned into a spook alley. It turned out amazing and the kids absolutely loved it. This party is always a lot of work but always turns out so dang fun. I'm so lucky to be realted to such creative minds. This is Kambree and one of her best friends Erica holding on to their hats so that they dont blow away. My girls and I made these fun bat cupcakes.

Erica, Calli, Erin, Kambree, Grace, and Sidney

Munchin down at the Monster Cafe

This is what we used to wash down the yummy Bones dipped in blood, eyeballs, and bat kabobs.

Kambrees Group before turning off the lights and listening to a Spooky Story.

The little ones at the eyeball relay

Awwww CUTE!!

Princess Libby

Some of the madness, I mean fun!!

My little pirate LOVED the cupcakes!!!

Hmmm....not sure the little mermaid should be so close to a pirate.

Here we have the Mexican Gunfighter...soooooo funny!!!!

Kieran and her friends were our spook alley employees. Kinley was a with stiiring her brew, Kieran was the dead Zombie and Olivia was in the black light room....sooooo cool!!!
You could touch the ear, hand, eyeballs, or brain

or the heart or veins!!!

You do not want to fall in there!!

The spook alley was seriously COOL!!

OH NO She is ALIVE!!!!!

I sure hope that everyone had as much fun as we did. Thanks to Sheila for all of the time and hard work that she spent getting everything ready. WE LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

2009-10-22T15:53:00.002-06:00

On October 17th my Mom turned 35 (again) We decided to celebrate by having a "Girls Day Out" Ok, so it actually ended up being a Girls morning, day and all night Out. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, we sat outside and enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, did a little shopping at the mall, had a great time at Gardner Village, hit Rod Works, Tai Pan,and Target and had dinner at Red Robin. The car wasn't all the way full at this point so of course we had to make a midnight stop at WalMart on the way home. Hope you had a great day Mom!! There is nothing cuter than Grdner Village this time of the year!!

Thriller

2009-10-22T15:35:00.002-06:00

I went to "THRILLER" with Sheila, Vicki, Kaylynn, Trista, and Elaine this year. It was Great!!! Odysssey Dance Company put on this awesome dance production, all centered around "everything Halloween" Besides the amazing dancers, the zombies that roamed the audience and halls kept us highly entertained. We started the night off by trying out the new Texas Roadhouse....mmmmmm!! Thanks girls for the fun night, I'm thinking it needs to turn into another Halloween tradition of ours!

A Festive Meal

2009-10-09T19:13:00.002-06:00

So I finally made "Dinner in a Pumpkin". Not only was it festive, it was quite delicious!! Thanks for the recipe Christina, I sure do "heart" your cooking blog.

Homecoming 09

2009-10-07T21:55:00.002-06:00

Homecoming was Kort's first official date. His date was Selina Larios and they went with about 6 other couples. They weren't able to do the traditional "day date" because they all had soccer games that day. They picked the girls up and took them to Sawyers Grandma's house for a meal that I've heard was very delicious and some really fun games, they then headed to the dance. I was out of town that Saturday so I didn't get any pics but I helped Laurie set up and decorate the tables the night before so here is a shot of that. He said that he had a great time and assures me that he was perfect gentleman.

Miley Cyrus Concert!!!

2009-10-04T13:33:00.006-06:00

What a super fun day I had with my little Kambree girl last Tuesday. About 3 months ago I surprised her with some Miley Cyrus tickets. She was so excited!! I figured that this would be the perfect time to teach some work ethic to her so I told her that she would need to earn the money to pay for half of her ticket. She worked out a deal with Chad because he needed lots of help picking up rocks before we could lay our sod. He agreed to pay her a penny per rock that she picked up. That girl worked her little buns off picking up rocks, she was able to get some help from a few neighbor kids, and she never complained. The big day finally came and all of her hard work finally paid off. Melissa and Addie went with us and we decided that we should make a whole Girl Day out of it. Here is Addie and Kambree shopping, no Girls Day is complete without a little shopping!! We took them to the new Elements Restaurantt in Logan for lunch. It's a really nice place and the girls were quite impressed by these fancy little butterballs.

Addie and Melissa, our Awesome neighbors and friends!!!

My cute little Girlie and I.

We then took the girls for a pedicure...what fun!!

Pink of course for Kambree

Ahhhh....the life of a princess!!

We stopped at Wal Mart to stock up on Miley attire. Kambree is getting pretty dang excited!!!
Too cute!!
We have arrived and can't wait!!

We found Kassi at the concert. They weren't far from us and we actually had a few empty seats next to us so she sat by us. I love this pic!!

Here she is!!!

In the middle of one of her first songs, she ran off stage and her backup singers finished up the song for her. We thought that maybe she was just doing a costume change or something. Her manager came out and said that she hadn't been feeling well and had a touch of the flu, but that she just need a minute and she would be back. I was a little worried that she wouldn't be able to come back and the girls (OK and myself) would be so disappointed, but after about 10 minutes she came back and "Rocked" the whole rest of the show. She took a few breaks between songs and said that her Mom was taking really good care of her. Poor girl I can't even imagine being sick and trying to preform like she did. She's a trooper!!

She put on an AMAZING show. She sounded awesome and the whole production was just unbelievable.

Kambree and I both agreed that this was our favorite. She rode on this Harley above the audience while she sang"I love Rock n Roll"

And she made it through.....This was seriously on of the best concerts that I have ever been to. We will definitely be going to the next one!!

One last pic... Yep that's me, I'm delighted to say that Kambree is not yet embarrassed by her mother. Kort on the other hand, totally different story. We had so dang much fun together at the concert being crazy and rocking out. I love hangin' with my girlie!! Thanks Kambree, you are the best!!!!!

It's Green!!!!

2009-09-28T16:17:00.004-06:00

Before.... And After..................

Our landscaping is finally complete,and it looks fantastic, if I do say so myself. I can't even begin to count the hours that my hubby has spent on this project this summer. He has dug out trenches, installed sprinklers, stayed up all night getting sprinklers to work just right, spent days on the tractor, hauled rocks away in the Ranger, about broke his back getting big rocks to landscape with, hauled wheelbarrow loads of gravel, and planted trees and shrubs. He is such a hard worker and I love him so much for all that he does for us. I also can't forget to Thank our incredible neighbor, Mike. He has put in almost as many hours helping us as Chad has. I don't know what we would have ever done without all of his help and ideas.

Kaisley even helped out with the sprinklers

The day that we had waited for so long for.....GRASS!!!!!! We had about 30 people show up at 7 a.m on a Saturday morning to help us lay our sod. We had it done in an hour and a half. It was amazing to watch the transition from brown to green. We sure do have some great family and friends!!

Even Kort managed to roll out of bed.

Eli worked his little tail off.

Kambree helping Dad

Time to start on the front

Finishing up...

We had two neighbors bring doughnuts, snacks, and drinks.. We love our neighborhood!!!

I was so excited to have grass that I couldn't even sleep the night before. I felt like a kid at Christmas!!

My hardworking hubby seeing the fruits of his labor.

Chad and I laying the very last piece...YAY!!!!!!!!

I have to thank everyone that came and helped us lay the sod : Alex Mitchell, Boyd, Cindy, TJ Burbank, Mike and Lance Hollingsworth, Lynn and Margene Eskelson, Corey and Eli Waddoups, Chris and Jared Barton, Adam Mckenzie, Dave Bosen, My Dad and Mom, Dustin Burnett, Jeff Pope, Craig Loveday, Austin Brackin, and of course Kort, Kambree, and Kaisley. Thanks to the Cromwells and the Alders for the treats. You guys are the best!!!!

Girl Trip to Vegas

2009-09-28T15:01:00.004-06:00

So my Bunco group decided that we needed a little more excitement than just the monthly Bunco night (which by the way is nothing less than exciting) so we planned a trip to "Fabulous Las Vegas" We flew out on Saturday morning and got back Monday afternoon. It was soooo dang much fun!!!!! Five of the eight of us were able to go and we sure hope that next time everybody can go. Here is Terri, myself, Lisa,Kris, and Janet in front of Ceasers Palace. The plane has landed and Janet is READY!!!

Lisa is going to audition for the "Price is Right"

Vegas just brings out the Supermodel in us all!!!

Lisa got a temporary tattoo. It helped her fit in a bit more, we all felt like we were wearing way too much clothing and not sporting nearly enough tattoos.

This poor guy was a nail art salesman. He spent an hour with us showing us how cool his product was and all the while we were jewing him down. He finally got so sick of us that he just let us have them for a bargain price.

He was wearing some really cool shoes, we tried to get him to throw those in as well but it just didn't happen.
This guy really is real and he was sticking his finger in Kristens ear...gross!!

On Sunday, Lisa was nice enough to do all of our hair. Perhaps she just didn't to be embarrassed by us!!

Checking out the decor in our room

Ready to SHOP!!!!
We decided to play a little Keno. We weren't even really sure what the heck we were doing but on Kris's very first card she had 5 numbers picked right. The little lady working behind the counter was jumping around so we had a feeling it something big.....SHE WON 1000 DOLLARS!!!!!

Janet, Kris and I went and saw Cher perform at Ceasers Palace, she was awesome!!! I can't believe that she is 63 years old and looks like she does. I could go to that show a million more times and never get sick of it.

We spent a lot of time here......yummmmmm!!

After the Cher show we had to pick up some cheesecake at the cheesecake factory and then try and make it back to New York New York before the roller coaster closed at 11. We ran our butts off, only to get to the roller coaster at 11:04 and have it all locked up...grrrr, our cheesecake was a wreck too!!

Chad likes to tease me about all of my friends: my Bunco friends, my school friends, my neighbor and ward friends, my "good old day" friends etc. I feel that I am just so incredibly blessed to have so many good friends to be able to share this journey with. There is nothing quite like staying up until 3 a.m with a bunch of girls and laughing until you cry, no matter how old you get!!!!

Neighborhood Car Wash

2009-09-28T14:52:00.003-06:00

After we got the sod laid, we were cleaning up and Kambree decided she wanted to wash cars. I let her start with mine and then she, Kassi, and Avyree went around the neighborhood drumming up buisness. I think that they did about 6 vehicles and they only charged a quarter. Pretty good deal considering they spent about an hour on each one. The Cromwells were even brave enough to bring over their Lexus!!
Tanner decided to join in the fun.
Looks like Tanner is spraying a little more than just the cars, they really did have a blast and it kept them entertained all day long. The next day, the church parking lot had some pretty shiny cars!!

Preschool

2009-09-28T14:36:00.002-06:00

I can't hardly believe that my baby has started preschool!! She is going to Teacher Celeste and she just loves it. The first day that I picked her up she was really mad at me and asked why she couldn't stay longer. It's just so crazy how time flies, seems like she was just barely a newborn and now she's off to preschool. Here she is with her friend Libby. All ready for the big day!!

Have to get a shot of the teddy Bear Backpack.

Sweet Sixteen

2009-09-13T18:35:00.004-06:00

It's hard to believe but on September 3rd Kort turned SIXTEEN years old. What an exciting age, now he can date and drive at night. To celebrate the big day, we went to dinner at Iron Gate Grill. Here he is with a super yummy dessert!! Kambree sure does love shrimp.
This was Kambree's delicious raspberry tart dessert.

Grandpa Terry, Grandma Mary Beth, Mandy, Alyssa, and Tanner all joined our family to celebrate.

These two are quite a pair....been friends for a long time!!

Our goofy little Kais

Close your eyes, and I'll give you a big surprise....

I don't know where this goofiness comes from....must be the Pope side, I tell Kaisley that her eyes are going to get stuck like that, but like everything else I tell her...she doesn't listen.

What a fun time we had. It's so crazy for me to think that my boy is growing up so dang fast.Seems like just the other day that he was starting Kindergarten. He has been such a blessing to our family. Although he has his "teen" moments he is such a great kid and always keeps us laughing. We love you Kort, Thanks for all of the joy that you bring into our home!!

Eastern Idaho State Fair

2009-09-13T17:50:00.003-06:00

Since there was no school or no work on Labor Day we decided that we would take the kids and go to the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot, apparently everybody else in the state had the same idea..There were so dang many people there. It was just absolute chaos. I'm not sure that we will ever do it again but at least our kids can never say that they've never been to the sate fair.

The girls thought theses rides were fun, we thought that they were highway robbery. Four Dollars per kid per ride!!

Kaisley loves the carousel.

Kambree got really brave and tried out this roller coaster...she loved it and went twice.

Kort was just super impressed by the whole experience...NOT!! He has a major fear of Carnies!!

No need to go to Disneyland anymore, Dumbo has run away and joined the carnival.

The Potato Museum was closed unfortunately, however we couldn't miss out on this opportunity for a 4th grade Idaho History picture.

So the fair wasn't that great but it's always fun to hang out together as a family!!

No More Training Wheels

2009-09-13T17:33:00.002-06:00

Kaisley has conquered yet another milestone....she's riding her bike without training wheels!! Before we left to go up to the fair Chad and the kids were outside, he told her that she should try riding her bike without the training wheels and she whined a little and didn't want to. Well the Dad at our house never takes "NO" for an answer and made her try it, about 30 seconds later she was off and riding all by herself like a champ. Only three years old....I'm sure she's some kind of a genius!!

Now she can go on bike rides with the "big kids"

And she's off.....The only downfall is that we seem to be looking for her a lot more these days!!

Ride For The Fallen

2009-09-09T19:31:00.003-06:00

Chad and I went on our first group/charity ride the end of August and had a great time. This particular ride was called "the Ride for the Fallen" It was to honor those soldiers whom have paid the ultimate price for our country. All of the proceeds go towards scholarships in the names of these great soldiers. It's too bad that it takes an event like this to make us really think about how truly blessed we are to have the freedoms that we do. It's so easy just to go through life enjoying our freedom and not always being grateful for all the sacrifice that goes along with it. I was thankful for the opportunity to be able to reflect on that. What a great experience and a ton of fun!! TJ and Boyd before the ride began.

Jeff and Sheila getting ready to go

TJ in the lineup

This was as we were pulling out of Elk Ridge Park in Hyde Park. We didn't hear a final count but there were well over 300 bikes.

It was a gorgeous morning

We rode through Logan Canyon. Here's TJ coming down into St. Charles.

We stopped in St. Charles for a little ice cream break.

Biker Mama!!
Boyd and I just being cool,,,haha

We came back down through Strawberry and headed into Preston. We took a water break at Fackrell Park and then headed back towards Hyde Park.

Lovin to Ride!!

When we got back into Hyde Park we circled around the cemetery. There were American flags marking the graves of the Fallen Soldiers.

We then headed back to the park for a great dutch oven lunch, on our way we passed this home. This is the Allred family home. They lost their husband/dad a few years ago in the war. I am so thankful for all of the families that sacrifice so much in order to give me and my family so much. God bless this Great Country!!!!

First Day of School '09

2009-09-01T14:41:00.002-06:00

It's hard to believe that the lazy days of Summer are pretty much over and it's already time to send the kids back to School. We had a pretty fun-filled Summer, but I think that all of us were ready to get back into a routine. Kort is starting his Sophomore year at Preston High and Kambree is a 4th grader at Oakwood Elementary. My little fashionista has been sooooo excited for school to start. Her 4th grade teacher is Ms. Moore. She did her student teaching in Kambree's class last year and she just loved her. This will be the very first year that Kambree and Gracey have not been in the same class, hope they can survive.

Coming home after a very successful first day.

Cherry Hill

2009-08-27T16:57:00.007-06:00

The First week in August we took a trip to Cherry Hill. This is my very favorite of all Water Parks, so I was probably even more excited than the kids. Here is Kambree and Gracey chillin' in the Lazy River.They have a fantastic Kiddie Pool.

They have these old fashioned shops all the way around the lazy river. They are so cute and at random times the town "explodes" and water goes everywhere.

Kambree and Gracey loved these Blue Dragon slides. They have fog and lights inside so it's like you have enterd a dragons belly.

Using a mat to gain speed!!

Sword in the Stone and two buff maidens.

Kort and Albanie getting their tubes to hit the Cardiac Canyon

and here they go........

Ahhhh...don't hit the waterfall Albanie!!!!

HAng on Kambree...here we go...

Entering the BLACK HOLE
This is my favorite slide ever. I think that I went on it about 20 times that day.

I had to help kambree get unstuck a few times

Some pretty cute little pirates

Sailin away

Albanie and Kort manning the cannoons

AHHHH...we have dicovered the LOOT

Albanie and Kort walking the river

Here's an overview of the Cardiac Canyon slide.

Of course we had to go to dinner here..............

Kort was sure he could eat a large size......his eyes were a bit bigger than his stomach this time.

and of cours no Pope trip down South is complete without a late night stop here.............

Pope Family Camping

2009-08-13T12:14:00.003-06:00

Last weekend was the Pope Family Camping trip at Willow Flat. I don't have any details about it because I wasnt there. Kort had to work and so he and I stayed behind. I must say that we had a fabulous weekend. While he was at work I think that I got more accomplished here than I have all summer. He got off around four and we headed to Logan. We did some school shopping, had dinner at Wingers, and went to a late night showing of Star Trek (which I thought I would hate but I LOVED it). The others seemed to have a good time camping. Here are a few random photos that Kambree took. Cute Kieran

Kaisley lookin like a camper

Grandpa and Grandma Pope with Shay, Sammy, and Kendall

Izzy, Shay, and Sammy

Dancing Queen

2009-08-13T12:06:00.003-06:00

My little Kaisley just started dance. She loves to get all dressed up and her friend Teyha is in her class so she was really excited about that.

Rodeo Weekend 09

2009-08-11T15:55:00.005-06:00

Rodeo weekend has once again come and gone. We took the kids to the rodeo with us Saturday night because Carson rode in the Muttin Bust. Other than that, it was the pretty much the same ol, same ol. Kambree and Kaisley loved the carny of course.

This caterpillare roller coaster was their very favorite.

Just can't go to the carnival without hitting the carousel.

Kaisley's all ready to hit the sidewalk sales

Some of our parade gang.

Kambree and Addie rode in the Big J's train on Friday night.

Waiting on the excitement!!

Jammin'

2009-08-11T15:46:00.002-06:00

The girls and I made jam out of all the delicious raspberries that we picked out of Grandma Grace's garden. Kaisle did such a great job prepping the jars.

They were both excellent smooshers. We did six batches of jam and it is soooooo yummy!!!

Porter Family Camping at St. Charles AKA Pukefest 09

2009-07-31T16:18:00.008-06:00

Two days after we got home from our camping trip to Lava we restocked the trailer and headed to St. Charles Canyon for our Porter Family Camping Trip. This one turned out to be quite eventful as well only not all in a good way. The first night that we were there, we were all watching the Space Shuttle in the sky (which was way cool, by the way) Kieran got sick and was throwing up, after that the stomach bug ran wild and was getting everyone. People were puking all over the place. Fortunately for us, our girls were the only ones who caught it. They were both puking the same night so I only had to stay up one night instead of two. It was the craziest thing, therefore there are not a lot of pics of people because they were usually off in the bushes or laying around in a quiet, shady spot. Anyway, we actuall did have fun despite all the sickness. we spent a day on North Beach at Bear Lake. Kendall and Kambree were not pleased that Kaisley kept plopping down in their moat.

Cute little Beach Babe

Cona brought this craft for the kids to do...Bird feeders.

On Saturday we went sailing in the Brackins sailboat. We weren't out more than 5 minutes and Kaisley was puking. I'm not sure if it was the heat, sea sickness, or just the beginning of her bout of the "forest flu"

Austin and Jason putting up the sail

Checking out their hard work.

Out in the middle of Bear Lake some decided it was too hot and needed to take a dip to cool off.

Ahhhh...our family on the Sailboat.

Kendall, Kambree, Kaisley and myself at the Marina.

Chad's trying to figure things out.

Some of the dirty kids.

Not sure how much the birds enjoyed the bird feeders, the chipmunks, however, loved them!!

Right before we came home we decided to hit Minetonka Cave. I haven't been there since I was in 5th grade and the rest of the family had never been there. It was pretty cool and some super excercise. You hike a total of 888 stairs.

Kaisley was quite a trooper. She did most all of the stairs without being carried.

Hey, it's a Cave Girl.

Chad and Kaisley outside of the cave.

Except for the vomiting and mounds of dirty clothes we had a fun time. Everyone in the whole family was able to make it this year, even Chad's step-brother Jason that we havent seen in over 13 years. Thanks to Mo and Cona for working so hard on the preparation to make it a success. Next year we will hope for just a little less excitement.

Mattson Family Camp Trip at Lava

2009-07-31T15:35:00.004-06:00

We had our annual Mattson Family Camp Trip at Lava this year. It was a great place to have it and there was plenty of fun to keep everyone entertained. It's so nice just to be able to relax and enjoy each others company for a few days. Kambree loves to play cards and games with Dad. Here they are with Kaisley and Dillon. My cute little cousin Dillon chillin at the pool.

Chad decided that it was time for Kaisley to go down the Water Slide. He took her up to the top and just pushed her down (this is how Kambree learned to love water slides) It didn't have quite the same effect on Kais, usually when kids come out of the slide, they are going so slow that they barely even get wet. She came shooting out like a cannon ball. I think that she was throwing such a fit she spun around the whole time. Fortunately Grandma caught her just in time. Needless to say she didn't go down again...we'll try again next year.

She's starting to act just like him....watch out world!

We enjoyed a lot of time at the pool. We would usually go back over after dinner and swim until they closed. we don't usually get Chad to the pool with us so it was sure nice to have him there.

The best part of any camping trip is sitting around the campfire together at night. Here's Grandpa and Grandma.

from the first day we got to Lava the kids wanted to tube the river. I floated it several years ago and remember thinking that it was a blast, I guess I'm getting older because I took a look at it and wasn't so sure. Some of the older kids went down and they all came back scraped up. I don't think one person went down without flipping at some point, by the second day i don't think that there was a band-aid to be found. We finally figured out that the bigger raft-type tubes seemed to be going down better so we went and rented one. Sure enough that was a much better option. Here are the kids waiting for Mandy to get the tube.

Kambree really didn't want to go down, but as you can guess Chad didn't give her a choice. She ended up loving it.

Kaisley didn't get a choice again either and just like the slide, hated it.

I do believe that this was the only injury that came from the 4-man tube.

Kaisley just loved riding her bike around the campground all day long.

Kort thinks that he's too old to give his Dad hugs, so Chad has to force them out of him.

Tube town USA

Hittin some rapids.

Even Grandma got in on the action.A fun time was had by all. Thanks to Laurie and Curtis who planned this trip. It was so good to be able to spend time with everyone!!

Cowabunga Bay

2009-07-10T17:26:00.010-06:00

My kids and I are suckers for a Water Park so when we heard about a new one in Draper, we knew we must go and check it out. It ended up meeting our expectations. Mandy and her kids went with us, as did Albanie, Vicki, Carson, Kieran, and Kendall. We all had a great, wet day!! Kaisley wasn't super impressed with the slides but she loved this toy.

Kaisley loved the "cat pool" we couldnt figure out what she was talking about but I soon realized it was the kiddie pool she meant.

Vicki and Carson in the Lazy River

More of the "cat pool"

Trying to sneak Mamas caffeine.

What better thing to do on a hot summer day??

My TIKI girl!!

Kort and his "friend" Albanie

The whole place is just so cute and bright. You just can't help but smile!!

Kort, Albanie, Mandy, Kambree and Jayse are up there.Jayse shot out of this slide like a cannon Albanie came out with a lot more grace but was holding onto that suit for dear life.

Such a fun place !

Kort and Albanie racing

Kort about went right out the end

Just want everyone to know that this is what I'll be driving when I move to Maui (water coming out the back and all)

Kaisleys new Candy Land towel kept her well entertained.
This is my Super Brave Girl, last year she was kind of a chicken...this year she is a ROCK STAR!!!

A bunch of pretty cool kids!

You know that I can't go anywhere without doing at least a little bit of shopping so here we are checking out the outlet mall that is right behind Cowabunga Bay. It's a pretty sorry excuse for a mall I think it has two stores and one is going out of buisness.
It was time for dinner so the kids all voted that we go to the Mayan. They love that place and I have to admit that I do too. Heres Kendall learning to do a bird thing.

This was Vicki and Carsons first trip to the Mayan experience. I think Carson may have been more impressed with this than he was the Water Park.

We all had such a great day. Summer is so much fun and spending it with Family and Friends makes it even better, I feel so blessed to have so many great people in my life to enjoy this journey with. This sign was at the water park and I couldn't agree more.....

Bear Lake Round 2

2009-07-10T17:14:00.003-06:00

We went back to Bear Lake on Tuesday and had some more "SUN FUN". The day was beautiful and the kids had a ball!! Kaisley was quite content right her. After all, what's better than a big "ol mud hole to play in?? Her's Grandma taking the kids ot for some floaty fun.

Awww a foot soak feels so good on a hot day.

Grandma is supervising the sand castle situation.

How it all began...

Bear Lake is just so much fun in the Summer. This is actually my kids third time because Grandma and Mandy took them while I was at Girls Camp. I'm pretty sure that this is far from our last Bear Lake trip of the summer.

Fun on the Fourth

2009-07-10T17:00:00.004-06:00

Our Fourth of July wasn't super exciting this year but that's OK. Mandy had an early morning yard sale at her house and this was Kaisleys favorite part of the day. She spent quite some time playing with all of the yard sale treasures. We finally made it to the Lewiston parade for the very first time. Quite impressive I must say.

Hey the bearded lady's suppose to be in the circus not the parade.

Some people are just soooo talented!!

That afternoon Chad and I enoyed a nice, long ride on the bike. We went over to St. Charles and visited with Brent and Jolene, then went down to North Beach and visited with Vicki. There was a sand castle contest going on which was fun to see. On our way home we stopped at Emigration and hung out with the Burbanks for a bit. That night we took the kids to Lewiston for the fireworks. Oh how I love summer, bikes, parades, my kids, and my hubby!!!

Heber Valley Girls Camp 09

2009-07-05T21:33:00.005-06:00

Last year we put our name on the waiting list for Heber Valley Girls Camp, we had heard that this place was amazing and so we thought that we would try and get in. A few months later we found out that we had been invited. We were so excited but wasn't sure that it was going to work out, when you decide to go here it's a pretty big commitment. All leaders and girls must stay the full 5 days (no coming and going) ...anyway to make a long story short everything ended up working out and we were able to accept the invitation. I can't even begin to tell you how awesome this place is. The Girls just kept saying "there is no way you can describe this place to someone" That is the honest truth and it was seriously one the most spiritual experiences of my life. This is the first thing you see upon entering.

These are the cabins that we stayed in. Each Cabin will sleep 16. We put the girls in one and the leaders took the other, we did this thinking that the leaders would be able to get some sleep.. I seemed to notice that the Girls lights weren't usually the last ones out!! We had a great time staying up and visiting.
Our whole Gang!!

We had no idea when we got there what a treat was in store for us. We stayed in the Marjory Paye Hinkley campground which was personally dedicated by President Hinkley. For months our Young Women have been learning about the life of Sister Hinkley. We were thrilled to have President and Sister Hinkleys daughter, Kathy Walker, come and talk to us and share some great stories about her parents.

The fearless leaders.... Jan you're the best, Thanks again for everything!!

These pics aren't in very good order but this is me all geared up for the Challenge course.

An after-hike foot soak (we hiked 4 hours at about 8500 feet elevation)

Here are a few pics of the Challenge Course. we had to climb up a telephone pole, shimmy across a little wire, using nothing but ropes that were hanging above our heads till we made it to a platform, then we got to zip line down!!

Every single one of our Young Women were able to do this. It was incredible to hear them cheer each other on.

OK for real it was WAY higher than it looks in this picture.
We had 11 girls and they were all GREAT. They all stuck together the whole time, never excluding anyone. we had so many compliments on their behavior.

We were able to canoe and Paddle Boat on the Legacy Lake. While we were out there we had 2 minutes of silence and thought about this scripture and all of our many blessings.

Jan and Becca at the Heber Overlook on our hike. It was beautiful!
Legacy Lake

This was a long, hard hike and there wasn't one complaint!!

MUCH better than a tent! Plus we had showers and super nice bathrooms.

I feel so bleesed to have had this experience. We were told that you will find Heber Valley under "temples" on the Church's website because they refer to it as "the Temple on the Mountain" I believe this because there is a spirit there that is undeniable. The whole place has been dedicated and they say that you can literally watch a wild animal become tame as it steps over that dedicated line, we had deer walk right through our camp. President Hinkley had a big part in this place coming to be, his Daughter said that the first time she came up to see it she went back and said to him that she couldn't even imagine the cost that went into it (the road alone was 60 million dollars) his response was "The Young Women of this church are worth every dime."

Chad's Bike Trip

2009-07-05T21:14:00.003-06:00

Chad went on a Bike trip a few weeks ago with his Dad, Brother Jeff, and some other guys. They went down through Southern Utah, over to the Grand Canyon and back home through Colorado. They were gone 5 days and rode a total of about 1800 miles. Here are a few pics of the trip. Here's a pic of Biker Dad and his Biker Boys!!
The whole Gang!

Some Sweet Bikes!

He had a lot of fun getting away but had a sore toosh for a few days.

So Cupcake

2009-06-19T17:06:00.006-06:00

Since Chad and Jeff were away on a bike trip, Sheila and I decided to take the girls to Salt Lake. (Kort had to work) It just happened to be Kendalls Birthday on Saturday so we wanted to do some fun Birthday-ish activities. Sheila had heard about this little shop called "So-Cupcake" We checked it out on the internet, it looked really fun and they hosted Birthday Parties. She called and arranged a Party for Kendall, we kept it a surprise till we got there. The shop was just darling, the cupcakes delicious, and the staff was soooo friendly. This little buisness has a really neat story behind it, in a nutshell it was inspired by the owners' daughter with Cerebral Palsy. If you get a chance check out the website at www.socupcake.com The site is almost as cute as the shop. I have a feeling that we will be making a stop at So Cupcake whenever we are in the area from now on. The girls were able to take a tour of the baking area.

They were each able to frost and decorate 2 mini cupcakes.

Kaisleys icing bag is about as big as she is

Getting some instruction

Kendalls Birthday cupcake and our cute helper Hailey.

Each of the girls received a part bag and these stylish glasses were included.

Strikin' a pose!!

Lookin' Good Girls!!

Last but certainly not least.....Presents!!!

We enjoyed several other fun activites that weekend, however, Sheila and I were experiencing some major camera stress. So the rest of the pics are here, there, and everywhere. I'll try and get them together and post some more.

Rain, Rain GO AWAY!!!!

2009-06-11T15:27:00.003-06:00

So normally I would have an endless supply of pool, camping, and all other sorts of "Sun Fun" pics to post 3 weeks into Summer Break, but not this year. I don't suppose anyone would be interested in seeing pics of my kids fighting, watching T.V, and destroying my house. That's about the extent of the fun we've been experiencing with all of this rain. We are also trying to get our yard in and that is obviously on hold as well. COME ON SUNSHINE, POUR DOWN THE LOVE!!! In other Pope worthy news, Chad left today for a "Guy Trip" He is headed to The Grand Canyon with his Dad, Brother, and a few others on their ROAD BIKES. I guess it is his turn. He'll be back home for 5 days and then I leave for 5 days to go to Heber to Girls Camp. I'm pretty excited about that, I really do love Girls Camp and this place is suppose to be amazing. Sheila and I are heading to Salt Lake with the kids this weekend for some "Kid Friendly" fun. So stay tuned for lots of pics next week!!

Blog Slacker No More....6 New Posts!!!

2009-06-05T16:27:00.002-06:00

Wow, Where has the last month gone? I've turned into a total "Blog Slacker" but I am here to redeem myself. As I look back at all of these pictures I see why I haven't had much time for blogging. Here are 6 new posts of a little of what's been going on with the Pope Fam.... Enjoy!!

Bear Lake

2009-06-05T16:17:00.003-06:00

The Girls were disappointed that we weren't able to go to Bear Lake when we went camping over Memorial Weekend, so we decided to take them the following weekend. It was still a little chilly but they had a great time anyway. After the lake we headed up to the canyon to have a cook out with Grandpa and Grandma and Jeff and Sheila and the girls. Kort wasn't able to come along because he had to work. As you can see, the chill of the water didn't bother Kaisley a bit. Taking a break

A Beach and a Book...... That's what I'm talking about!!

Kaisley refers to this as "Muddy Puddy"

Memorial Weekend

2009-06-05T16:08:00.003-06:00

We Never, Never, go camping on Memorial Weekend. Every time that we have ever attemted it, it has rained and even snowed. This year was going to be different though...haha. Brent and Jolene are Camp Hosting over in St. Charles Canyon this year so we decided to pack up and go hang out with them for the weekend. It turned out to be pretty cold and wet but we still had a nice relaxing time. Mmmmm Teddy Grahams!!

Warming up with some Hot Chocolate.

Cramming in the trailer for a little lunch.

Guess who loves Chocolate Pudding?

Field Day

2009-06-05T15:48:00.002-06:00

One of the things that I'm really going to miss about working at the school next year (besides my best buds) is the fact that I won't be there for every one of Kambree's activities.. guess I'll be doing a lot of volunteering. On the last day of school, they had the annual Field Day. It was the greatest Field Day that I have ever experienced. The PTO did an absolutely fabulous job this year. Kambree and I are both sad that the time has come for her to leave Mrs.Smart. She has been fabulous.

Kambree and Gracey still Best Buds!
These three crack me up!!

Yay for Mrs. Smarts class. The best Third Grade Class of the Year!!

A Sure Sign

2009-06-05T15:42:00.002-06:00

This is a sure sign that my little baby Girl is indeed growing up. She was one of those "Big Kids" handing out programs at the Rising Stars Concert this year.

Primary Drive In Movie

2009-06-05T15:15:00.006-06:00

Our Primary Leaders organized a really fun activity for the kids....a Drive In Movie. You were suppose to construct a cardboard car at home and bring it to the activity. The kids were able to earn "moolah" during Sharing and Singing times that led up to grand event, you could use your moolah to purchase tasty items such as popcorn, cotton candy, ice cream, and drinks.As you can see by some of our pics, Kambree didn't make her car entirely on her own. When I asked Kambree what the movie was she told me that it was suppose to be a movie about Joseph Smith but nobody was paying attention and so they just put CARS in and everybody liked that,go figure!! It turned out to be a fun time and the kids had a ball!! How it all started...

The Master Designer

Should have went to Maaco!

The finished product

I tried to get her to put "Honk if you love Jesus" on her bumper sticker but she just wasnt going for it.

I loved the DeSpains bus.

Kenz and Mel, our cute little servers

Kambree's New Look!

2009-06-05T15:08:00.002-06:00

Kambree decided that it was time for a new do, so we took her into Lisa and told her to give her a cute new style, length was no object. This is the end result. Kambree loves it and I love it as well...so much easier. The only downfall for me is that it makes her look so much older!

Cruise 2009

2009-05-20T21:33:00.007-06:00

Wow!! Seems like it has been forever since I have posted. Well I have plenty of pictures to make up for the last few weeks. On Mothers Day My Sister, My Mom and I left for a cruise. We were all first time cruisers so we really weren't sure what to expect. Well we ended up having such a great time that we decided we need to make it an annual event. We were suppose to cruise to Catalina Island California and Ensanada Mexico, well because of Swine Flu, we were only able to stop at Catalina. That's OK because the boat was so much fun that we were fun just to have an extra day at sea. Here's a pic of Mom and Mandy as we entered Catalina. This is the cutest little island. The way these houses are built is crazy.

We decided to rent a Golf Cart and take a tour of the city. That's pretty much all anyone drives that lives on the island. There are even golf cart Police (which we found out the hard way haha)

A palm tree and a cruise ship, could life get any better??

Hangin' out on Catalina

Waitin for some lunch.

This was our formal dinner night. It was kind of fun to have a reason to get all dressed up.

She's bringin' sexy back!!!

Is this rude or what?? We couldn't get off the boat in Ensanada so we just sat there for a few hours and looked at it. WHAT????

The first of three towel animals. This one about scared the bejeebers out of us.

Mandy received this lovely medal for being a judge of "The hairy Chest Contest" Woot Woot!!

Mmmmm!!! Pina Coladas and Lava flows were where half of my calories came from (non alcoholic of course)

Our new friends. We had some very enjoyable dinners with these two. They are from L.A. He is a lawyer and she is a professor. We loved them!!

Mom and the girls!

Our cute waiter Saul. He was the best waiter ever and he talked just like Pepe La Peu. We wanted to stuff him in our suitcase and bring him home. A super cool bunny!!

We all slept like babies with the rocking of the boat, therefore we slept in a lot. One morning we managed to pull ourselves out of bed and hit the track for the Breast Cancer walk. Yep we walked a mile. It was awesome to help raise money for a good cause and it also worked off about hmmm maybe 100 calories of the 50,000 we ate while on the ship.haha

The last day on the ship was really nice. We basked in the sun literally all day long.

6 straight hours of this. OH YAH!!

Ice sculpting

Mom and Mandy in the buffet line AGAIN!!!

Getting ready for a show

Our last towel animal.

We decided that we would spend an extra day in San Diego and go to Sea World. Once we found our way from the airport to the hotel we had a great time. California traffic is something I dont hope to do again anytime soon. This is the bird that enjoyed my ten dollar sandwich at Sea World. Grrrr

Mandy and Mom getting ready to see Shamu

Lovin the California sun!!

Ahhh Shamu

We took this picture from the sky ride that goes over Sea World

We are all back at home now enjoying laundry, dishes, fighting kids and trying to lose all the weight we gained from the the delicious non stop food. We had such a great time and can't wait to go again. Thanks guys for the fun memories!!!

Kaisley Talk

2009-05-02T23:15:00.002-06:00

Just had to jot down a few quick Kaisley stories before I forget them.

The other day the news was on and of course they were talking about the swine flu (what else would they be talking about?) anyway , Kaisley looks at me all serious and says"Mama, I hope Dora doesn't get the Fine Slew".

The other night we were all at the dinner table and I handed her a roll. She said "do you think that you could put butter on this Crabby Patty?"

Last week in Sacrament Meeting we gave it our best shot to keep her quiet, but by the end she was about done with the quiet thing. The man got up to give the closing prayer and she folded her arms and everything. As soon as the man said Amen, Kaisley yelled YAAAAAAYYYY !! We did however , have a few people tell us that they felt the same way.

Tonight we were at Sizzler and they brought her out a little cup of jello with whipped cream on top. She stuck all of her finger in the whipped cream and held up her hand and screamed OOO La La !!

She is one funny girl alright!!

Random

2009-04-24T17:44:00.007-06:00

So I was going through my camera and happened upon some pics that were blogworthy but just hadn't been blogged yet, so here are some events that have taken place over the past few months. First of all our brand new washer is having some major issues so we have spent a lot of Saturdays here....

Now this what I call team work!

Chad and I went to the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Pocatello. Sooo Fun!!

Kambree passed her Monster Test YAAAAAAY!!!

My cute girls. I love these fun outfits!

Me and my baby girls!!

Ahhh.... a rainbow in the neighborhood!

Chad took Kort snowmobiling.

And finally our favorite new means of free babysitting!!