Fun in the Sun!!

Josh and I just spent an entire week ALONE in Florida...it was as amazing as it sounds. My mom stayed at our home with our kids and we partied without them...whoo hooo!

We loved our trip to and from Florida. No cell phones...no work ...just us! We stayed the first night we were there in Ft. Lauderdale. Josh found an authentic Argentine restaurant and the food was great (whats not to love, everything is deep fried and full of garlic...mm mm)

Friday we made our way to Miami Beach. Since we were staying a whole week we rented a convertible so we could soak up as much sun as possible. We were cruisin' along with our top down enjoying the perfect weather and the clouds started moving in . We headed to the hotel to get settled in and wait out the storm. When we went to park the car the top would not go up. We were thinking holy cow those clouds look big and we have to go get a different car. So we go to the Alamo by our hotel and they don't have another convertible for us, but found one for us at the Miami Airport. No big deal right...! As we started for the airport the rain started coming down harder and harder. Before we knew it it was POURING, not Arizona sized raindrops, we're talking HUGE raindrops and hail. The twenty minute drive became an hour drive and the car was flooded. We were soaked and thought it was hilarious. The funniest part was people were honking and pointing telling us to put the top up...like we didn't think of that...heehee.

After we changed cars and made our way back to the hotel the visibilty was like 3 feet. We heard a huge bang about 100 yards away from us where lightening struck a power line and there were sparks everywhere. The wind was blowing so hard, with gusts at 80 mph, that a palm frond that was about 8 or 9 feet long fell on our car while we were driving.

So we finally got to the hotel unpacked and went to get dinner. We parked valet and waited over an hour for our car. The manager finally came and told us our car was stuck for the night and we would have to take a cab...welcome to Florida!!

We finally made it to the restaraunt(it cost a fortune to get to the restaraunt because the taxi had to go so slow through the flooded streets)...Joes Stone Crab, the best place we ate this trip, at South Beach. The food and service were great. (I don't think Josh remembered not to play with his food)

K...so we got back to the hotel and had to evacuate, the storm knocked out power in half the hotel. They made arrangements for us to stay in the resort next door which was still really nice so we were not too upset.
The next morning I woke up to my cell phone ringing. It was Josh. "I'm stuck in the elevator, with 7 girls, without a shirt." I'm not joking...he let me sleep in and was on his way to the pool when the elevator stopped. After 45 minutes of feeling akward the firemen finally rescued him.

Josh was able to get us a free upgrade to a suite and this was the view from our room. It was the most beautiful room we have stayed in.

The first few days were very exciting, but the next 3 were perfect. We sunned, swam, and ate. That's it for the rest of our time at Miami Beach.

The last 3 days of our trip we spent in Key Largo. This was the view from our balcony.

Seafood and key lime pie were staples on this trip. ohhhh was it good!

Beach and pool area of the resort in Key Largo.

Catching up...again!

Easter Sunday we had my mom and dad and Josh's dad over (his mom was down with back issues)to celebrate Easter and my dad's birthday.

Matty's kindergarten musical...she told me everyone was suppose to wear red or pink...being the only girl in pink she really stands out in the crowd!

SCHOOLS OUT!! The kids celebrated the last day of school at the park with their friends. The weather was perfect outside. It is usually really warm this time of year, we got pretty lucky. Cody's school didn't get out for another week so he wasn't at the park with us.

Matty attacked a chicken wing and won, but it was a messy battle!

...how long has it been?

Josh finally got his Harley and can't get enough of it!!! He is always taking someone for a ride...and he LOVES it! (I will take a better picture this weekend when it's light outside)

This is my pretty black cast...I landed a back handspring wrong...not much more I want to say...!!!

We went to kiss the kids before going to bed the other night and this is what we found. Matty and Kayla asked Gavin to read them a story before bed and they fell asleep.

We were suppose to go to the zoo with the family a couple of weeks ago because our pass was about to expire, but we weren't able to make. Kayla was heartbroken. Josh and I decided to take her for a special zoo day while the others were at school. We had so much fun...isn't she adorable (especially her red smile from the snow cone)!!!

(Ok somehow Gavin's Christmas pic ended way up here and I can't seem to move it)

I was so lucky to go on Matty's field trip to the children's museum at the beginning of the year. There were tons of hands on activities for the kids to do. She painted a house, pretended to be a pizza maker, made here way through a noodle jungle, and climbed the wall outside. She said it was the most fun field trip she has ever been on!

Santa came to grandma and grandpa's house on Christas Eve to visit the kids. Isn't funny how the oldest seems to be the most comfortable on Santa's lap! We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my parents and Josh's family which is always so much fun. It's nice when we can enjoy the whole family at Christmastime.

Last night Josh and I were hanging out with the kids when Matty came out with the most adorable shirt. Cody got some fabric paint for his birthday and Matty found it. This was the masterpiece that she came up with. The one on the left is me and the one on the right is Josh. If you look closely Josh has a black goatee, and I am dressed like spongebob. I'm not sure where she gets her sense of fashion when it comes to dressing her creations...maybe that's what Josh and I really look like to a five year old...where smokin' hot!!!

Ward Campout

When we arrived at the campout there was another ward there and our porta-john was in their camping area, so Josh, Steve and a guy from the other ward moved it to our site. Josh was overseeing the move and he took his job seriously!!!
There was this old stump that Kayla climbed on and I had to take a picture! I think it turned out so adorable.
Matty climbed on the same stump for a picture. On the way down she got stuck and said "mom hurry and take a picture". I thought it was hilarious that she saw the humor and wanted a picture of it!
Michelle took a picture of Josh and me and I thought it looked pretty good especially for a camping picture (you know with the hair tied up and makeup worn off)
It was chilly at night so Josh and the girls snuggled up around the fire and made s'mores. I'm not sure what had more chocolate the girls tummies or their faces.

Kayla and Kyra had so much fun together on the campout! Their favorite things to do were play in the rocks and play with Bella.
These two are so cute together. There is only an 18 month age difference between these two. Matty looks so much older than Tatum (and bigger too)!
Gavin and Collin had so much fun together playing on a rope swing they found. It was over what looked like an old stream that had dried up. They kept busy for hours on it!
Cody and Connor just hung out and played guitar while we were there. There may have been a game of capture the flag at night when all of the girls from the ward got there.


This log was the perfect for a pic of all of the kids. In order from the top we have Gavin, Collin, Kayla, Kyra, Matty (and Bella), and Tatum.

Welcome Home Baby Bella!!!

As you can see Josh finally said yes (or atleast he didn't say NO) to me getting a dog and I found baby Bella. She is a precious little Morkie (Maltese and Yorkie). Last night was her first night away from her mommy and she did fantastic. She is going to the bathroom outside already, and hasn't had any accidents...yet!

We didn't tell the kids that we were getting her (who am I kidding Josh didn't even know until I called to tell him her name). I waited for Josh to come home so we could suprise the kids together. It was so fun to see there faces, it was like Christmas morning for them. They all wanted to hold her and love on her. She is so sweet and patient that she let them.

She will be WELL loved between all the kids and me (I think Josh too)!