Christmas

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas. It really is nice just to spend time with family. We had a Christmas Eve dinner at our house and the kids got to open their jammies. Ryan fell asleep around 9:30 (so did I), and Damon and the girls played games until about 11:00. I was SHOCKED to find the girls actually ASLEEP at 12:30 a.m. They usually talk and giggle for hours with excitement.
Here they are in the new PJs

We told the kids they could get up at 6:00, but not any earlier. I got a text from Kaylie at 6:01 asking if they could come up. LOL They came and woke up Ryan, who was SOOOOO excited to see that Santa had come. They all had fun seeing what Santa brought them, and opening their presents.

Kaylie LOVED the Twilight stuff and keyboard she got.


Emma enjoyed all her clothes, toys, new games for her DS, and American Girl clothes.

Ryan was ecstatic to get some new Transformers and a Leapster.


Then came my surprise to everybody. I had wrapped a stocking embroidered with the name Tyson filled with baby boy stuff. They opened it up and were STUNNED!! The girls had no idea I was even pregnant, and Damon thought we were expecting a girl, so it was fun for everyone to get a surprise!

Happy Birthday, Ryan!!

Wow!! I can hardly believe he is already 5 years old. It really does seem like yesterday that I was holding him for the first time. Ryan truly is a joy to be around. He always says the sweetest, funniest things. He is quite witty! This morning I went in his room as he was waking up, and said "Good morning, Buddy! Happy Birthday!!" He replies, "What?! You mean I'm 5 now?" Our family is blessed to have him in it.

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

We went and got his pictures done this morning. Here is one of them.

Our Halloween

We had a fun Halloween. The girls were out of school for a "Teacher Work Day" so we had some fun around the house during the day and then headed over to Paul and Stefanie's trunk-or-treat. The kids really enjoyed how great the weather was. I don't remember the last time they didn't even need a jacket for trick-or-treating. After the trunk-or-treat they went around a couple of neighborhoods for some more candy and then we headed back home. Nothing too spectacular, just nice, calm, and 'quiet' (as quiet as Halloween can get, I guess).

Long Time, No Blog

I know. I know. I'm a blog-slacker. I'm not sure where to find the time for everything, so the blog had to take a backseat. I won't bother trying to catch up on what has happened, so I'll just start fresh.

This past weekend I was able to head up to Bear Lake for some much needed scrapbooking time. :) I went with my mom, sister, aunt, cousins, and BFF, Kris (which I also consider a sister). I took Ryan so he could play with Alex. It is always so fun to see those two together. And equally just as sad to see them say goodbye. Luckily this time Ryan was still asleep when Alex left. I got lots of stuff done and even fit in a nap. Here's a picture of my mom and dad's new place in Bear Lake where we stayed. The Red Rooster:


In other news...we got our Twilight tickets!! We are all set for the midnight showing of Twilight. I can hardly wait. I think maybe I'll read the book again to pass the time. LOL I stole this pic from Kris's blog...thanks!




That's all for now. I will TRY and keep things caught up. Also, thanks to Kaylie for fixing my playlist. She finally just made a playlist of her own that she can listen to while she is on the computer.

Our trip to Rexburg

The kids and I went to Rexburg in the middle of August to have some fun. And boy did we have fun! Our week was jammed packed with excitement.

We met Leslie and the kids in Idaho Falls to do some shopping and lunch at The Great Wall. (yummy)

The little kids wanted to do this fake "build-a-bear" at the hobby store where Adam got his TOTALLY AWESOME remote control car. The animals were pretty lame, but the kids loved it.


The next day we spent at Twin Bridges. Emma was pretty quick to take the plunge...


...quite a few times, in fact. Go Emma!!


Ryan hung pretty close to the big kids. No bridge jumping for him.


He loved playing with the boys in the fast current of the river.


Adam and Chelsea taking a breather.


Ryan was the perfect size to fit in the holes in the rock. He said it was his bathtub.


After bridge jumping, we went to dinner at Big Judd's.


Chelsea and Emma enjoyed decorating their fry sauce.


Dig in!! Huge, huh?!


Oh yeah...and Leslie made me help her paint her dining room. UGH!! I think she forgot that--Andrea doesn't paint!! Turned out nice, though.


Maren and Emma had a fun week of playing together. They enjoyed lots of Disney Channel, and playing house with their babies. Cute cousins!


John took us to get popcorn quite a few times at his office. While we were waiting for the popcorn to pop, he let me take a few tractors out for a spin.

The Rexburg temple on our way to get popcorn. A little blurry picture, but such a beautiful temple.


This one was my favorite, the Gator. (I'm pretty sure because it was the easiest to maneuver.)


That's right...hang on, John! I practically jumped the curb...LOL.


This one was fun, too. A little slower than the gator.


And this was the big one I drove. I had a little trouble driving this one. John said it was because I was in 21st gear instead of 1st. Go figure!!



Next time I visit maybe I'll try something bigger!!! Thanks guys for such a fun week. We all had a blast!

Jepsen Family Party

After Oneida we camped in Uncle Garland's property to get ready for the Jepsen Reunion. We roasted hot dogs and s'mores and had lots of fun. The next day, August 2nd, was the reunion and we got to see all our extended family. Here are a few pictures.

Ryan roasting his hotdog.


Enjoying lunch.


Kaylie, Chelsea, and Lyndsey performing their hula dance.


Grandpa and Uncle Paul working the waterslide.


Emma at the bottom of the waterslide. :)


Kaylie reading "Breaking Dawn". It was released at midnight.


Tough-guy Adam, taking good care of Breanna.


We had a fun vacation and it was great to see all the aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Oneida

We were able to make it to Oneida Reservoir this year...NO FIRES, YEA!!! It was a little windy, but still so much fun. The four little girls were putting on a show for everyone. I love the picture of them taking a bow.

Ryan's Stitches

Well, we made it 4 1/2 years before any of the kids needed stitches. Pretty good, I'd say. Ryan fell and hit his head (ear) on the toy box. We went to the Urgent Care and the doctor flipped his ear inside-out and out popped some cartilage. ew!! So, Ryan got to have 6 small stitches. For being such a brave boy, he got to go to Build-a-Bear with his cousin, Brandon. They had tons of fun choosing their animals and clothes. Grandma took us all out for ice cream afterwards.

Here are some pictures:

Trip to Bear Lake

We had a super fun vacation with our entire family. We went to Bear Lake from July 6-10. It was fun to get away and enjoy each other and the great water. Bear Lake is always a fun place to go. (Except the shopping is limited to a meezly 5 stores. No worries though, I made it to all 5!)

Grandma gave all the grandkids a shirt to decorate however they wanted...most enlisted the help of Aunt Stefanie. :)

We spent all our day boating on the lake. Tons of fun...and tons of sun!!

The kids loved playing on the beach. Here's acute shot of Emma and Cassey.

The boys coloring another project from Grandma. So cute!

The girls loved having their hair done everyday.

Juanito Bonito...from The Pickleville Playhouse. Always a favorite.

Emma and Cassey after the play.

On our way to get shakes, the little girls were so cute looking at the program from the play.

Ryan and Cassey enjoying a rousing game of Sorry.