Happy Birthday Scott and Jen

Yes. It is true. We have aged! Scott celebrated his birthday in California on Sat., Dec. 9th and Jen enjoyed an evening out with her bo on Wed., Dec. 13th! We are officially members of the 30-Something Club! Scott just turned the weeee-age of 37 and Jen is a whop'n 33! Some say that we should be nice and mature, but I say . . . (well the picture says it all!)

Disneyland in December

We have just returned from another wonderful stay at the happiest place on earth . . . Disneyland! We love this place! We enjoyed having Grandma and Grandpa Hall join us on our little get-a-way as they always add an element of pricelessness! We drove to California on Wednesday and spent all day Thursday and Friday on "hopper passes" giving us the option of Disneyland or California Disney. Thursday was absolutely amazing simply because the park was empty! We literally just walked onto rides all day! The temperature was great and the trip was perfect. Once again, the kids were in fantasy heaven :o)

Thanksgiving in Denver, CO

This year we are on Track 5 on a year-round school schedule. With being on Track 5, you get out of school on November 21st and you do not retun to school until January 2nd! With that information, I told my husband that we needed to plan a few trips, or I'll go stir crazy! We had enjoyed Denver, with Scott's family, last year for Christmas, so we thought that coming just one month earlier this year would be equally as fun! It was great being able to see everyone! The kids absolutely adore their cousins and Grandpa Flinders keeps all of the children in a constant giggle! The food was delicious and the company was wonderful. P.S. Great Grandma Flinders, now just 96 years old, was the star of the show and we wish her all of our love and prayers for her gentle heart and precious wisdom.

Soccer Season Comes to an End

Yet another Soccer Season has come to an end! For three months . . . Scott, Chase and Grandpa Hall wake up every Saturday morning, bright and early, to enjoy time with one another as they share their love for soccer! I realized, about two years ago, that this was the only time Chase has some time with only the men in his life; And, believe me, when you are surrounded by the head-strong women that Chase is in company with on a daily basis, it's a much needed break! Here are just a few pictures of his last day of the season. Way to go you guys!

Halloween 2006

Boo! Another successful Halloween has come and gone. We had our friends, the Barney's, and Grandma and Grandpa Hall join us for the festivities. First, we gobbled up some chowder soup with homemade bread for dinner along with some Halloween treats! Then, we hit the road for Trick or Treating. While the dad's and kids played, Grandma and I carved out the rest of the pumpkins and decorated the sugar cookies. When the kids returned, we had hot cocoa and cookies and fire dancing pumpkins ready to be enjoyed! What a wonderful evening :o)

Autumn in Zion

What an amazing experience! This last Friday was recognized as Nevada Day, so our family was able to enjoy a three day weekend. We decided that it might be fun to take a quick trip up to Zion National Park to enjoy the season in the mountains. So, we packed up the van early this morning and, along with Grandma and Grandpa Hall, we headed on up to Zion!

It was perfect in every way! It was wonderful to be able to picnic with family while we ewwwed and awwwed over the scenery. The leaves were every color in the rainbow and the temperature was just right. The kids played hard while collecting leaves, playing with stick swords, and watching the wild deer that were all over the place!

As we were all driving home we decided that this was going to have to be an annual tradition. Today, was truly an unforgetable memory :o)

Reagan is 2 Years Old!

WOW! Can you believe that our "little munch" is 2 years old?! As happy as I am, it breaks my heart, she is getting so BIG! She is even showing-off her "oh-so-big" piggy's :o) She is pretty darn cute.

We held her birthday at the park, but the sun decided to go to bed sooner than I had expected, so we sang her birthday song in the dark. Whoops! However, the picture still came out pretty good. Crazy enough, we ran into some folks from a family that we had known in Houston at the park; Christy and Walter Scott's kids. First, their youngest daughter arrived and then their oldest son joined in. Emmett and his wife have 4 children and Amy and her husband have 1.5! It was fun being able to share the festivities with old friends.

Reagan, of course, invited her very best friends, Grandpa and Grandma. Her favorite sentence to say is, "Grandpa, come here!" She takes his pinky and runs him everywhere! Although, I have figured out that Reagan may take her grandpa by his pinky, I'm pretty sure that it's dad who is wrapped around her tiny little finger! She's pretty lucky . . . I should know :o)

Grandma and Grandpa Flinders were not too far away with surprising her with a Weeble Wobble Castle! Needless to say, Reagan looooveeees the Weebles! Thank you grandparent's! You make all of their special day's perfect!

Happy Birthday Sweet Reagan! We love you tons and tons and tons and tons . . . xxxxx's and ooooo's!!!

Kindergarten Field Trip . . . Tree's!

Abbey's Kindergarten class took a field trip down the street to one of Henderson's most beautiful parks. Her class has been learning about different types of trees. So, last Friday, October 20, 2006, she got to spend an entire day with "hands-on" experience. She had a blast! She also got to be in the same group as her two best buddies, Emma and Mallory. The Three Musketets! It was a great day :o) Abbey, keep up the hard work! We sure are proud of you . . .

It Snowed in Vegas . . In October?!

I had to take pictures to believe it myself! It actually hailed and snowed on October 14, 2006 in . . . LAS VEGAS?! It was incredible, not to mention, cold. Thank goodness when this stuff came to Vegas, it fortunately, did NOT stay inVegas :0)

Happy Birthday Chase!

Can you believe that another year has already gone by?! Our "Chaserman" is officially 9 whop'n years old! We are so proud :o) Here are just a few photos of spending an evening with Chuckee Cheese, family, and Chase's best friend, Matthew Kuan. We are so blessed. WE LOVE YOU CHASER!!!!!

A Quick Trip to Utah

Well, here is a first entry to October! What a fun month we have planned. It will be fun to keep you all posted.

This weekend we took a quick trip to Utah! Scott and his brother, Craig, had tickets to go to the BYU vs. San Diego game. It was a bit rainy and cold (remember, we start to get cold at around 70 degrees and it was a whopping 49!) They also went out to the shooting range and shot-off some hand guns. It's always fun to watch Scott with his brothers :) Needless to say, they were in "man-made" heaven!

The kids and I ran up into the mountains to enjoy the smells and colors of Fall! It was amazing :) We then went to Thanksgiving Point and went to the Dinosaur Museum. After the museum we went right next door to the Utah Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch (unfortunately, it had been raining for several days prior to our visit and the fields were all flooded). It was fun to see the Fall vegetables in their natural domain and we got a few good "farming" photos.

After we left the fields I promised to warm the kids up by taking them to the Lion House Restaurant to get some hot cocoa and banana cream pie! We took a brief detour to Temple Square and even met a horse that was pulling a carriage that wore his very own cowboy hat. Reagan really enjoyed meeting Mr. Ed :)

To top-off the trip, after we got the kids all snug into their beds, Scott and Craig stayed home to watch a movie while I ran-off with one of my dearest friends who just happend to be in Salt Lake that very same weekend. Jenny Moore and I met with her little sister Jessica in Bountiful for three hours of none-stop laughter! It was the best! Sweet friends truly are some of life's greatest gifts!

Well, that was our super-quick weekend that will have lasting memories! Thanks Andrea and Craig for being so hospitable. It was a fantastic visit :)

Where Did September Go?

So, I've been a little slow this month! Sorry, for those of whom are loyal bloggers :( I'll try to be better this next month; October that is. September started with a trip to Indiana to visit my little brother and his family. The Midwest is gorgeous! My adorable niece and nephew are absolutely scrumptious and Chad and Annette's home is beautiful. I loved the old farm houses and downtown Indianapolis was a blast! Of course, we had to visit the famous Indy 500 track. We took a tour bus around the track and the driver asked where I was from and the conversation went from racing to, "Ya gotta love Vegas." It actually made me homesick. Who knew that the Mojave Desert could actually grow on a person :)

School started, and Reagan is just loving the lone-time; as noted in her "first day of school" photo. The kids are getting so big. Abbey rides in a carpool with two of her best friends, Emma and Mallory. She is just eatting Kindergarten right up! She loves to read and write and just waits for a challenge. We are pretty darn proud of that girl! Chase is absolutely booming this year! About a month before the new school year begins I go into over-drive to make sure that every "t" is crossed. It doesn't necessarily do anything for the stress lines developing across my forehead, but it pays off in the long-run :) Chase has a brilliant team this year that is enthustiastic and open-minded! We are seeing huge progress in our little man! We are really enjoying being able to watch his confidence just explode. Way to go Chaser Man!

Of course, the annual Pinewood Derby. Chase did an awsome job, and so did his Dad! Scott serves as our Cub Master and he would be busy greasing down wheels, until he heard Chase's name, he would run over to the track; black hands in all. When Chase would win, Scott would literally jump up and down and just shake Chase with excitement. It was wonderful! We really enjoyed laughing and cheering as a family. Scouts Rock!

OK, I think that just about covers everything! Chase also started soccer this month and Abbey began tumbling classes. So, I'll be sure to post some pictures real soon. Next month, we are jammed packed with activities! We can't wait! So, look for our updates, there will be a lot to share :)