Here we go with another big post!

We ended 2014 on a great note!!

Jakes 17th birthday. 

If you can see the look in Jakes face, he was very pleasantly surprised this year. Jake went to EFY in August. While there he lost his EFY bag, complete with his scriptures, driver license, and a $200 pair of Bose headphones he wears when he is running. To make a long story short, he called once, maybe twice, to see if anything had been turned in, but no such luck. I made it very clear I was not going to replace his headphones. So, all he asked for his birthday was a new set of scriptures, which I told him I would get some. About two weeks after EFY I decided to call the Provo extension, even though he attended EFY in Rexburg. Before I was able to track down a Provo number that day, they called me. They had found his bag and it was in Provo.  Later I told Jake I got him a present for $14.00 that he was going to love (that was cost of shipping)!!! He tried to guess for a few days but was unsuccessful. Well, he had no idea, but his reaction to his present was priceless. He had opened the box just enough to recognize the EFY bag and he squealed like a girl. It was great!!

With the fall brings hunting. Here are some pictures of the kids with their first antelopes, and Tom with his antelope and his elk. The elk antlers are mounted and hanging in the basement, lucky me!

Halloween was a little different this year. I ended up with just Matthew to take around the neighborhood. Amee and Zeke both were with a friend. Not sure where Jake was and Sami was home with her dad cutting the elk meat off the bones. Good old fashioned daughter father time!!

Amee wanted to be an Indian Princess

Matthew is obviously a turtle of some sort (haha) and Zeke, his has a story behind it. He saw a costume of that Slenderman person and thought that would be pretty cool. Neither one of us new anything about slenderman, except what he looked like and that he was some type of game. Well we got online and ordered a white bodysuit that would cover his face also. He was excited. Well a day or two later I heard something about kids murdering kids because they were wanting to make Slenderman happy. Zeke and I did a little research about Slenderman and he quickly decided he did not want to be Slenderman. Well we still had the body suit and nothing to be for Halloween. So he added some black to his costume and there you have it.

 The businesses on main street have treat for the kids the Friday before Halloween. We went with the Woodfords.

Matthew and Ashlyn

Matthew is 7!!

Breakfast in bed used to be a normal tradition, but now birthdays are all too often on school days and it doesn't always happen. But for Matthew he got lucky this year!! (Actually he kept telling me to go get him his breakfast in bed and he wouldn't get out of my bed)


We forgot to get a picture of his cake before it was cut. He saw this cake at a cake auction we had in August and he simply had to have one for his birthday!!!

The older we get the less fun birthdays seem to be, but Sami is always needing a reason to make cheesecake!

Amee is 10!!!

And into clothes and volleyball just like her sister!!!!

Christmas 2014

Christmas is getting to be filled with clothes and shoes instead of games. All Sami wanted was stuff for painting fingernails. She is becoming quite the fingernail artist and probably changes her nailed twice a week, spending about two hours on them each time.

Matthew wanted a remote control helicopter. He played with it nonstop, until it broke. It took a crash landing :(

Amee wanted beads for making things and clothes of course!

I do enjoy seeing them play together, even though its not the traditional games we use to play. I think they are playing mine craft, which is a game that seems so boring to me

Jake got a set of Legos, which he is not so sure about . . . they were actually for Matthew but ended up being wrapped for him

Matthew hugging his Denver Broncos hat.... not sure when he became a Broncos fan. This house is pretty faithful to the Patriots and Tom more or less likes anyone playing the Broncos... maybe he takes after his Uncle Jared.

Matthew has been asking for a suit for two years.... since Zeke was going to be turning 12 and Jake had grown out of his, we decided to get a suit for all the boys. Matthew was more than excited!

Zeke with his headphones and a new jacket. Zeke likes anything that is bright and fluorescent!

Our big trip for this year was back to New York and Eastern Canada. Suzie's parents are serving in the Palmyra Temple mission. Tom served his mission in Toronto Canada so we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to take the kids to see where their dad served.

Lay-over in JFK Airport

First stop, Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls in Canada is so beautiful! Everything was so green and the homes and parks were so beautifully landscaped. They had flowers and plants unlike anything I had ever seen. The kids kept asking if we could move there, and I really think they would have!

We took a jet boat ride down the Niagara River and were able to experience the rapids. It was awesome! Unfortunately, due to the amount of water we were submerged with, we were not able to have phones and cameras on the boat. Jake and Sami sat in the front row and were more that wet when we returned. It was awesome! 

Seeing Fort George was pretty neat too. In the picture below we are standing in Canada and looking at New York. We are actually standing on the fort where cannons were used to fire at the US during the War of 1812. It was neat to have a visual on many of the smaller battles at Fort George and what they may have been like.

Sami and Amee enjoying Canadian ice-cream!!!!

Originally we thought we would take the kids to a Blue Jays game, but opted to take the jet boat ride down the rapids instead. While visiting the CN tower we were able to participate in the opening festivities for the Blue Jays game.

This lady on stilts was walking around tossing a ball to kids. I am pretty sure that between my three boys, they played catch with her more than any other one person. Matthew and Zeke were in heaven!

Zeke and Matthew both did the pitching challenge. Zeke was pitching in the 11-14 age bracket. The record was 57, held by a boy who was probably 13. Zeke's fastest pitch was 55. Although the machine was having a hard time reading his pitch because of the way he was standing, as he is a lefty. Some of his other pitches seemed to be faster than the 55 that registered.

Matthew was pitching in the youngest bracket. His fastest pitch was 37, which was good enough to get his name on the record board!

Below is the view of Toronto from the CN Tower. While up there we were able to watch them open the roof of the Blue Jays stadium. That was pretty cool. I think it took a good 30 minutes and I am pretty sure Zeke stood watching the entire time. This might be the first time he has stood still for that long. He was pretty heart broke that he could not go inside the stadium, but I guess that gives him something to look forward to doing at another time.

Our trip to Toronto would not have been complete without making the drive out to Brampton to see the Temple.

We were able to find a nice beach along Lake Ontario, but were not to excited about all the teeny, tiny bathing suits, so we selected a less desirable place to play, but it was still fun!

Niagara falls was quite a sight! While getting as close as we possible could, Amee, standing up as high as she could safely get, dropped a flip flop. She reached down to get her shoe, which was just laying on the other side of the rail, and someone bumped her, causing her to push her shoe over the ledge. I had seen something fall and then saw Amee jumping and crying. My head started to race trying to figure out who or what had fallen. I was very relieved when I discovered it was just her flip-flop.

We teased Amee about the fact that this was a pretty smart way to try and get a new pair of shoes. Amee however did not like the teasing.

Our time in Canada and Niagara Falls was very fun and we will have many memorable experiences. However, it seemed a pretty unanimous consensus that Palmyra was the funnest and neatest part of our trip. Having family there was definitely a positive factor!!! Without hurting any feelings, I might have to say the Ezra was the highlight of our trip!!!

Peter Whitmore Home

It was here in the Peter Whitmore home that the church was first organized!

The Sacred Grove was so beautiful! No picture can even do it justice. While we were there I went running a couple times, both times I passed by the Sacred Grove and I could not go past without stopping and going in for just a minute. The spirit there was so strong and it has such a holy feeling!

Below is a picture of the Smith home that was being built by Alvin before he died. The Smith family finished the home during the years after Joseph's first vision. Under those bricks are where he hid the plates.

This tree is the Alvin Tree. It was planted the day Alvin died

Thank you Grandma, Grandpa, Ben, Jamee, and Ezra for making our trip so wonderful!!!!!!!

So, I am a bit behind on my blog. I didn't want to put 50 new pictures on in one day, so here is the first of what I hope will be a weekly or even bi-weekly post for a couple of weeks.

We ended the 2014 school year on a great note and we have had a great summer and the kids are all enjoying school so far this year.

This is a video of Jake's mile race at state. Jake took first at state in the one mile, 2nd in the 800 and 5th in the two mile. As a sophomore this was awesome! Sami also had a great year of track, especially considering she hated every minute of it! She has decided running is not for her, even though she would make a great runner! She is on the dance team and volleyball team. I am sure there will be pictures of both later. Zeke did baseball and soccer this summer and is now doing cross country and football. We might just have another runner. Zeke has been athlete of the week for the past two weeks in middle school, and is running faster than all the 7th and 8th graders. Amee is still my little gymnist and Matthew just loves anything with speed!

Spoiled rotten!!!!!!! 

That would be my children!

Here is the newest toy for our children!

Trampoline day 1 - where do we want this thing? And what grass do we want to sacrifice?

Day 2 - the excavation 

Day 3 - building the frame

Day 3 1/2 - And there it is! 

 

Day 4 - back fill

Day 5,6,7 and I lost count. Back filling by hand is hard work! Then we had to haul off the excess dirt, which still remains out back. One day I hope to create a new flower bed or two!

Some other things we have done since spring include an Easter egg hunt with both sides of the family, camping in the backyard, installing a basketball hoop and taking little kids to slide rock

(So, I am quickly learning that the quality of my phone camera is not that great. So, sorry about the picture quality.)

I only took one picture, how sad! All of Tom siblings were there and I think all of mine that live in Utah, except Jared and Adrianna. There kids were there, but they were in Porto Rico seeing Adrianna's father.  The kids really did have a good time, and I think the parents did to! Tom and I are blessed with wonderful brothers and sisters. It was funny because neither one of our parents were there. My parents are in Palmyra on a mission and Dick and Linda were off playing in another country. 

This is the best way to camp!

This is the hole we had to dig for the basketball hoop. As you can see the hole is almost as deep as Matthew is tall, and we dug the hole by hand. And when I say we, I mean the little kids and me. Tom was helping the neighbors with drywall, and I think Jake was at an away basketball game. It was hard work but the kids did great and never complained!

Selfies?? What's up with that? I for one do not like taking selfies

Amee and Sami selfie

Even Tom is taking selfies these days (but I think it was to prove that Sami still loves her daddy)!

And why the funny faces?? I don't get it! I guess that's why I am the mom

Happy Birthday Zeke

For his birthday Zeke wanted a pair of running stilts, but his dad surprised him with his first 22. Jake was 12 before he got his first gun, but was supportive of Zeke getting one at 11! We are blessed with such great children! And next year, we will have another priesthood holder in the family, wow!!! How time is zipping by!!

Thanks to Tom.... Sami is wearing Zeke's cake! Everyone except Matthew was laughing and though it was funny. Matthew was so upset that his dad had destroyed Zeke's birthday cake! Matthew is always the first one to defend any of his brothers or sisters!

Happy Birthday Sami!!

All Sami wanted for her birthday was a guitar. Mom had told her no, it was not in the "birthday budget" and that her dad had already bought her a present. One that I had no control over. . . . the children had convinced her he had bought her a 22 like he did Zeke.
Over Sami's birthday we were in Casper for state basketball games. So her dad took her and Jake to the mall so she could find a jacket for her birthday. Well, she couldn't find the jacket she wanted so she ended up with only a skirt for her birthday. However, Jake found a jacket he wanted, so for Sami's birthday Jake got a new jacket and sami got Jake's old jacket. In the video below she is wearing her new old jacket and her new skirt. Sami was a great sport, even though she was not getting much for her birthday. When we got home Sunday the kids gave Sami her present from her dad, and much to her surprise it was not a 22.

Jake's first Prom!

In Lovell you can only go to prom if you are in 11th or 12th grade, or if you are asked to go by someone who is. Jake was asked by Kim Robertson. Although he is in 10th grade and she is in 12th grade, there is only 14 months between them. They spent the day four wheeling, hiking, and exploring with another couple. They had packed a picnic, so instead of going for dinner that night they went and had frozen yogurt. Kim was crowned Prom Queen. After the dance the bowling alley had free bowling and pizza for the students. Jake and Kim both had a track meet the following day, so they ended their night earlier than most (which was just fine with mom and dad).

 I am pretty sure Jake and Kim are exact opposites! Jake loves to be silly and draw attention where Kim does not every want to draw attention, and I am pretty sure Jake does all the talking!!!!

We do love the snow!!!!

I can honestly say that we have missed the ease of playing in the snow that surrounded us in Star Valley. Tom and I did however finally take the kids skiing. There is a small resort just past Cody. Zeke spent the day snowboarding with some friends and Sami, Amee, and I spent a good part of the day  skiing together, waiting for Tom and Matthew to find us.

Below is a picture of Matthew being lowered down off the ski lift. Just after Sami, Amee and I got off the chair life, it stopped and they could not get it started again. So, they had to manually lower them down with a type of a chair pulley system. They were about 30 feet in the air. Tom thought it was awesome, as he always wondered how they handled such a situation!

It was a great day!!!! I am just not sure why we don't go more often. . . probably because we are usually at a sporting event for one of the other kids on Saturday :)

Below are some video clips of Matthew and his first wrestling meet. He did great!!! There was one kid, who was a year older, that gave him a beating. . . but it was early in the day and he was a little unsure of himself. It would have been fun if they could have wrestled a second time. . . but he did great anyway!!!!