a work in progress

"Opening day!!"

2011-12-10T08:38:00.006-07:00

Friday morning, Max woke up saying, "Opening day! Opening day!" I honestly had no idea what on earth he was talking about. He knew.. he was stoked.. he had been talking with his friends at school about Opening day at Sundance. My 4 kiddos love the mountain. We didn't end up going skiing on opening day. We decided to shop around.. find boots to fit everyone.. wax skis.. and check gear. We did ski the next day. The kids could not get enough!! They skied their little hearts out and loved every minute of it. Hopefully the snow starts falling so we can have a super fun ski season.

Stop my heart..

2011-12-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

OH MY!! For a boy that was terrified to sit next to a girl.. Max has sure come a long way!! It was so much fun to see his moves on the dance floor. I was half giddy watching him offer his arm to the ladies... turning the girls around.. and around.. and his fancy footwork was awesome. He has been attending an after school program twice a week.. I honestly had no idea what to expect, but I think we may have a little lady slayer on our hands. It was really exciting to see him in action. Way to go Max..

Grandma Time ♥

2011-12-04T20:24:00.001-07:00

I had the unique opportunity to spend the weekend with my grandma.. not just stop in and check on her.. but spend the night .. care for her kind of weekend. It was a privilege and an honor I will never forget and always be grateful for. It was mostly, me, Grandma, Jacq, and Taylor. Tim, Lola, and the boys would pop in and check on us.. but mostly it was a "girls" weekend. The girls.. and by the "girls" I mean all of us!! Grandma was right there with these two crazy girls chiming in.. insisting she be apart of everything. We did everything from *coloring * beads * nails * cookies * movies * pizza * lots of "Fox news" * popcorn * visits with Grandma's friends * math games * bath times * gymnastics * brownies * clean up * reading * funny faces * lots of funny faces! * Bedtimes * and even more bedtimes *
It was fun! An experience I will never forget! I love you Grandma! ♥

Decorating the house!

2011-11-28T22:16:00.003-07:00

I wish I could say that I have this amazing eye for decorating. The truth is I struggle. I have never been much into putting a lot of time, energy or $$ into making things look beautiful. {I wish} Hopefully someday. I love a beautifully decorated home. Right now I am all about being functional. I know LAME!! That is me.. functional and practical. So when it comes to Christmas decorations..we keep it pretty simple. Just enough to invite the spirit of Christmas, but I don't over do it! Wish I could claim these pictures.. but these are how Max sees our house.. well.. and about 100 other pictures. He may have gotten a little carried away taking pictures.

Photography

2011-11-28T21:32:00.003-07:00

Promise.. promise.. I won't blog every single scouting adventure. Look at this face. My Max is a crack up. He took the photo of himself all by himself. He decided to work on his "photography" merit badge.

There is seriously never a dull moment at this house. {Never} I know I will miss it some day.. so I do try my best to soak in all the chaos! Here is his story in photos!
Ready..

Set..

Down!!

A Conley day!

2011-11-27T21:37:00.009-07:00

Without fail, I laugh every single time I write.. say.. or think... "Conley." For the first 2 years of Jon and Alyssa's marriage I thought my sister's last name was Connelly. . Ha! We had a good laugh we when both put it together. I will probably still be laughing in 50 years. Anyway.. Big day for the Conley's. Big day for this little guy! So much fun to be apart of Jaxson's blessing day. He is such a cute guy!
I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the little family. I guess this one will have to work. Congrats you two! Beautiful blessing ~ beautiful day!
Me and my cute sister, Alyssa.

Just had to throw in a sissy/mom picture.. All the Utah girlies!

Kind of love that it was at my house. We got to sneak in a little extra time without feeling like we were intruding. This so happened to be the day that my kids decided they wanted to maul Jaxon with lots and lots of love!! Too much fun watching my babies {I know... they aren't babies} hold babies! They are babies!! :)

Congrats to Grandpa Barrett and Lorraine ~

2011-11-26T21:07:00.002-07:00

I have been so blessed in my life to have lived near all my grandparents at one point or another. And even better to have their influence in my life and in my children's lives. SUCH. A. BLESSING. I just love my Grandpa Barrett. I really do think the world of him. I have learned so many valuable lesson watching him over the years. Lorraine seems to be a pretty special lady too. I was so excited to hear that they were going to be sealed in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. Tim and I were able to witness the sealing of Grandpa and Lorraine. What a special event and a privilege to be there with them. We excited for the both of you and the new adventures that are ahead! Congratulations!

Happy Birthday!

2011-11-25T20:49:00.001-07:00

Tim's birthday often times gets overshadowed by all the excitement of the holidays. He is always such a good sport about it. Tim's Birthday was Friday.. we got around to celebrating his birthday on Sunday. {sorry babe} And to top it off.. while we were enjoying his birthday dinner.. he was out wondering the neighborhood with a little boy looking for his parents {he had been lost for hours!!}. That gives you just an inkling of what kind of a guy Tim is.

Tim went out the morning of his birthday.. I can't for the life of me remember where he went, but he was out. While he was out.. the kids made big signs.. that now hang in our garage.. These signs let him know how much they care about him. .. and they really do love him so much. Tim is such an amazing dad!! He takes that job very seriously!! His priorities are; 1. His God. 2. His Family! And his kids know it!! He takes time to be in the moment with them... each and every one of them. To read with them. To help with homework. To work with them. To play with them.. {sometimes too much :)} To create memories. He is such an amazing man and such a huge support to me. I am so blessed to have a family with Tim. I love you! I hope you had a great Birthday.

Temple Square

2011-11-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

children's museum * lights * olive garden * "give the poor guy some money!" {alexander} * lights * parking and re-parking * freeze your bum * jumps at crosswalks * Lola "dead" on the couch * tradition * 2010 * 2009 * 2008 * 2007 *

Happy Thanksgiving.

2011-11-24T15:42:00.005-07:00

Gobble gobble.. We usually go to the Watson's for Thanksgiving. This year they took off to the east coast. That left us to our own thanksgiving.. We were planning on just doing our own little thing and slowly our party grew. Wahoo!! I love me a party!!
I found this fun craft on pinterest. So cute. I didn't get the feathers painted.. but it didn't stop the girlies from having fun..

Dinner.. yum.. everyone chipped in.. I am all about stress free.. I made what I would normally make for my family.. and everyone added to it.. so it ended up being a feast.
This is my very favorite fruit salad. YUM!! I can't ever make it as good as my mom does.. glad she was able to make it for us.
I branched out this year. {YIKES!}

I am usually terrified of yeast.. But I decided to make homemade rolls this year.. and.. and.. they turned out amazing. Why did I ever purchase rolls before?? You have a party... I'll bring the rolls. :)

I heart this guy.. Whip cream anyone??

My big boy!! He is full of personality. I have no idea what he is doing here.. but it makes me laugh!

Cousin time..

My beautiful momma.

Sissy..

Grandma.. Love this lady.. So grateful she was able to spend thanksgiving with us.

Two of my favorite boys..

Brooke and I put together this fun little craft.. The kids had a blast with it!

We got a surprise visit that evening.. not the best picture.. but we wanted to include them in our very fun day. Thanks for stopping by..

So much to be grateful for. So blessed. Happy Thanksgiving..

Turkey Trot

2011-11-24T10:21:00.001-07:00

These boys got up bright and early with their dad on Thanksgiving morning. They headed out to run in the local turkey trot. They played and played their little hearts out before the race even started. Lots and lots of practice runs left little energy to actually "race!!" By the looks of these pictures everything turned out just fine... because these boys had such a great time being with each other. I love these boys and their daddy. I hope they will always be the bestest buddies.

Museum

2011-11-14T12:26:00.000-07:00

Scouts switched to Wednesday nights. Wednesday for us have always been our busiest afternoon/evening. {boo!} That meant. .. no scouts for Max. I love the scouting program {and so does Max} so we try to participate when we can and we are having a blast passing things off at home. For this activity we went to the Bean Museum on BYU campus. We decided to invite Grandma and cousins!! Everyone had a great time.. Grandma all the way down to Lo*bug!!

Trafalga

2011-11-08T11:10:00.001-07:00

Trafalga is one of our favorite places to go.. Unlimited fun times. So with Papa and Nana in town we jetted down after school to burn some energy and build some memories.. . I took pics of some of our favorite activities..
Rock climbing..

"The frogger." Lots of laughs on this silly ride.. I've been on it! I don't get this ride.. It's not fun for a 34 year old momma, but the kids LOVE it!! Laugh on kiddies!

Lazer tag.. . this is one of my favorites. Especially when the group all breaks up and you can be against each other. Lots of fun.

And lastly, and most importantly.. THE PEOPLE!!! So much fun to play our hearts out with some of our family. These three didn't do a lot of the activities but it was so much fun to have them there with us..

Thanks for the fun times everyone!

Welcome to Utah!

2011-11-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

Brooke and her girls moved to Utah!! How much fun to have one more sissy here and more and more cousins!! We need to work on Brother Joel and his wife Mandy now. :) We had a little impromptu gathering. It was so much fun to have everyone together. I got my camera out long enough to capture a couple pictures.. Welcome sissy to you and your girlies!

Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

I have this awesome love/hate relationship with Halloween. I seriously love it.. but I hate it. I love it because I had the most amazing Grandmother that put her whole heart and soul into Halloween. She was the "gatherer" of our family and gather she did! Halloween was not just an ordinary holiday but a full on celebration! On the other hand.. I just don't love the whole idea of trick or treating.. Maybe it's because I never did trick or treat as a kid! Nope Never! I won't be sad when we outgrow that part of Halloween. Anyway.. the children love to "trick or treat" so we do it. This year was surprisingly one of my favorites years.
This year was a costume box kind of year. Our costumes either had to be in the costume box or the children had to "think it up!" This is what they came up with.

This is my hospital run-a-way! My injured little man! This little friend wanted to dress up with one of his bestest buds. So he did! He was outta here this year. Once he met up with his friends .. it was over. They trick or treated all over the neighborhood and made a haul!

Oh my.. This costume is a keeper. It has been on someone for at least 4 years. Every year it rotates, but it never goes unused. Alexander loved playing up the part! He is my overly animated child. He too disappeared. He ran into a friend and was gone for the night!

Look at my little mu.mu.mummy. He is my boy. I could seriously just kiss that face! He was pretty excited about his mummy idea.. and we just happened to have an old white loner bed sheet. Perfect! He disappeared with Alexander.

This is the only picture I could find of my little snow skier. And this snow skier costume idea was all her. She is going hard core on the slopes this year. She is way ready to get up there.. like YESTERDAY!! Since the boys ditched us it turned into a girls night+ dad. Jacq mostly wanted to find "her people" She didn't super care about how much candy she collected or what kind.. but she wanted to find her favorite teachers.. her favorite friends and just hang out with us. Loved every minute of that. ♥

The babes. My wild woman. And boy is she a wild woman. She couldn't decide what she wanted to be for Halloween. Nor do I think she really cared. One minute she was Tinkerbell.. or Snow white.. The next a mummy or running around with Max being injured. I think she just liked being apart of all the commotion. Lo girl really just loves to be apart of all the chaos around her. She is my sweet tooth girl. So this girl loved the idea of candy. When she figured out she was trick or treating for treats.. it was "GAME ON!" She was running from house to house.. "please.. treat!" "..thank you!" "..thank you!" Pretty cute!

Last minute I was thinking we needed a little Halloweener surprise dinner.. So I threw these mummy dogs and apple teeth together.. I personally liked the idea of dinner in a pumpkin.. but we did that last year and it was a huge flop. The kids thought it was the most disgusting thing EVER. So dogs and apples it was.

Until next year ~

Halloween Performance..

2011-10-28T20:26:00.004-07:00

This was the most adorable school program! All these kids just sang their little hearts out. Especially Jacq. Poor Jacq. My little snow skier was so sick that day! So so so sick. She worked so hard with her class on these songs and got up their and did her best! That's Jacq for you. She did all the actions.. she was so animated.. and sang her little heart out. After the program the girl was sweating buckets. She probably should have been a cat that day. :)
Here are a couple cute pics.. Jacq singing and Jacq with her 1st grade teacher.

Here a couple clips of too much cuteness.. that's my girl. Too . Much. CUTENESS!

I wish!

2011-10-26T20:18:00.002-07:00

After a three hour full speed ahead go at potty training.. this lady decided.. "NO PANTIES!! NO POTTY!!!" She can do it.. she just doesn't want to.. Dang Lo*Bug.. maybe next month?? I hope so. Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like no more diapers. :)

Quick trip!!

2011-10-24T17:02:00.002-07:00

We decided to take a quick trip to St. George/Zions National Park for fall break. I wasn't super excited about going anywhere.. I never really am. I am such a homebody. I like to be home. Such a bore. Tim really wanted to get out of town ~ so off we went. We spent most of our time doing three things.. Zions. Played at the condo. Pioneer Park. I think I have hundreds of pics.. {ugh!} I mean.. {Go ME!} I'll just post a few of this latest adventure .. .

Zions.. Highlights for the kids were the wild life. SERIOUSLY!! The kids could have cared less about the historic sights and/or hiking, but they played with the fish.. lizards.. chased butterflies.. took massive pictures of squirrels and deers and could have played ALL DAY LONG. They were totally in their element. Very fun.

Played at the Condo.. Of course swimming.. swimming .. and more swimming. Late night movies.. shuffle board.. and lots of treats! YUM!

Pioneer park. What a blast! The kids could have stayed at this place forever. In fact we went two days in a row for many many hours! Jumping rocks.. hunting lizards.. playing king of the rock... exploring the little nooks and crannies.. of these beautiful red rocks.

So glad we decided to get away. It was so much fun!

Jacq turns 6!!

2011-10-20T20:49:00.003-07:00

Oh my! This girl! My girl! She's six!! I can hardly believe it! She definitely couldn't wait to join our family! I never felt so strongly in my entire life that "she".. YES. I knew deep within my soul before she arrived in our family .. that "she" was a girl. I also knew that she needed to join our family at a very specific time {YESTERDAY MOM!!}.. It was a very wild and busy time.. {I don't know why.. but she needed to be with her brothers.} It was a physically exhausting time in our life.. {We never got any sleep.. Tim and I both wiped bums all day.. {x3}.. filled sippy cups.. {x3}.. loved crying babies.. {x3}.. shoveled food into hungry little mouths.. {x3}.. same thing at night..{x3} I think you get the idea.. {x3}. I loved it but it was {x3} the babies and one ready to join our wild family!

Jacq is a wild woman. So full of spunk. So full of love. So full of little girl feelings and emotions. Anything you can do.. she can do better.. and she will.. even if it kills her. I heart her. Not that she is trying to show you {or brothers} or anyone up. Just that she knows she can dig deeper and work harder and accomplish things... ANYTHING! I heart her determination. She is one of my biggest challenges, {she really is} but also one of my greatest joys. She is so talented. She loves fashion. She loves to draw and she is so good at it. She is so thoughtful of people around her and loves deep. She loves to read {although I am certain she will not admit it} She loves music. piano. singing. bike riding. skiing. She walks.. runs.. skips.. and jumps to the beat of her own drum and doesn't give a darn who is watching because she is doing her thing. Our Jacqualynn is a very special lady and this is her very special birthday celebrations.
Birthday Breakfast! Everyone's favorite. :)

Got to add the candles. Pink Candles!

Presents!!

Our Watson Grandparents / Auntie Nana were out of town, but made sure to drop off a couple treasures that made this girl smile!!
This girl has been begging for earrings!! Ma Deb / Papa Rick to the rescue! What a fun Birthday date for Jacq.. earrings and ice cream! I forgot my camera. {boo!} Jacq was practically floating into Claire's because she was so excited.

Nana stopped in for a surprise visit. She brought her a special birthday card that has been decorated time and time again. A couple days later they headed out to Yogurtland where I think Jacq had more yummy treats on her birthday creation than actual yogurt! YUM!!

FA papa and Sandi remembered Jacq's special day with a text message that made her squeal.. but waited until they could surprise her in person with some new Harley Davidson gear. I don't think she will ever take it off. :)

This girl was spoiled ROTTEN during her special month. She is truly surrounded by people that love and care about her. I know that she felt so important. Thank you everyone! Happy Birthday Jacqualynn Gracie Goose!! We love you!

Lola's 2!!

2011-10-16T19:25:00.004-07:00

This is all about our Lo* bug! We sure love this girl. Let me just say first off that she is personality plus. When I say that I mean she is way intense.. She knows exactly what she wants.. when she wants it.. how she wants it.. and she will get it. If you won't help her she will just do it herself. She will move chairs.. sneak in bedrooms.. climb cupboards.. wonder outside to find the kids. Being the baby of 5 she doesn't wait around for anyone to help her .. she just takes care of things all by herself. She is a busy busy little lady.. from the minute she wakes up in the morning she is on the go go. Lo is funny. She likes "her people." And if you aren't one of her people that day or week or month.. forget it!! She loves to sing.. we make up songs together all the time. If I sing something she doesn't like... she is quick to scream (sing loudly) the "right" words. She loves balloons.. babies.. she loves to shake it .. shake it.. and dance! She gives the BESTEST HUGS ever. She holds on long and she hugs tight. She for sure has a sparkle in her eye. She is living in her very own fairytale. That's my bugs and here is her day!

On a typical day, our Lo is a sleepy head. Usually she is the last one awake. On her birthday she was the first one awake and ready to start her special day. She was thrilled to see a room full of balloons just for her. Oh and she knew that they were just for her. She let everyone know that they were her balloons.

Sissy's Birthday Breakfast. Girlfriend doesn't eat much, but she loves her some pancakes and strawberries.

Her birthday was on a Sunday this year.. {BOO!} Not just any Sunday, but Primary Program Sunday. (This mom was helping with the music.) So while we were busy we managed to celebrate in a simple but prefect way for Bug!

Yummy treats!

Very rich, but they were fun.. and seemed to all disappear.

As an extra Special surprise we put glow sticks in the "tubby!" She could have stayed in that "tubby" all night long. Girlfriend thought for sure she was in Heaven.

Happy Birthday Bugga .. We love you!

Halloweener

2011-10-09T05:13:00.001-07:00

Every year we have some sort of Halloween gathering.. It is not usually very elaborate. There are not normally 100's of people. The details are usually always different.. cookies? sometimes. Pumpkins? Most times. People? different crowd every year. One thing remains the same.. People gather.. we eat dinner.. and do something Halloweenish! This year it was pumpkins and apples. Yum! and Fun! I like that one.

tradition?

2011-10-08T20:27:00.004-07:00

The boys have been taking turns fishing with Grandpa Watson and LOVING every minute of it. They usually call Grandpa up and set up a little half day adventure. From what I gather they go fish one at a time.. for far too long {at least for this lady} .. have some good times.. then pick up a yummy treat on the way back to the house. {Pretty spoiled} Who knows.. all this fishy business could turn into a tradition!?!

Girlies

2011-10-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

Oh dear.. these girls.. oh how they warm my heart. {Not always} But when I stumble upon spontaneously adorable moments like this, I am quick to slow down.. stop the laundry.. let the dishes pile up.. and just enjoy the moment from a distance. Grateful I have them. Grateful that they have each other.

Grateful for this moment.

Max's Birthday Week

2011-09-30T19:18:00.002-07:00

Love this kid! Max turned 9!! I can't believe I have a 9 year old. .. Right? What? Did I really just write that my babes turned 9!! I did. He is such a good boy. I heart just about everything about him. He is good natured. Little Max, Maxy Doodle, smelly cat... whatever we call him.. he is pretty amazing. Max is the one who takes care of others. He is a great example of how to love. How to live. And how to have a good time. That elephant remembers everything!! He just so happens to bring "funnies" up at the most opportune times. He is a great kid to have around! He is TO. DIE. FOR!

We started his birthday celebrations with a "Minute-to-win-it" themed birthday party the weekend before. It was wild. Crazy. And definitely an all boy celebrations. Good times for sure.

At the Watson house we start our "birthday day" out with the perfect breakfast {Max's choice}. Max's choice was our new "go to" pancakes... with Strawberries.. syrup.. whip cream and.. AND.. you can't forget the candles!! YUM!!

A birthday wouldn't be a birthday without a special trip to their classroom. Lola and I got to go to Max's 4th grade class and share ice cream. It couldn't be just any ice cream but Max requested Creamies. The boy knows what he likes!

This is me on Max's birthday.. "Max, what kind of cake would you like?" "Do you want to go to dinner?" "Do you want to go swimming?" "Trafalga?" "Anything?" Well.. this boy decided that he wanted to play night games with his best buddies and roast smores. Love it! Easiest.. most fun .. birthday day ever!!

Birthdays are a lot of work!! So worth it!! Love this kid to pieces. He's my babe!

Canyon!

2011-09-17T20:17:00.003-07:00

I wish I took more and more and more pictures! I always think that. I am getting to be a way lazy lady at documenting our adventures. Auntie came to town for a visit! It was a party!! It always is!! We headed to the canyon for a campfire dinner/smores. What a fun time!! Seriously love going to the canyon.. even in the rain! We love visitors at this house. The more the merrier. Come visit us any time. Our weekend with Auntie was full of adventure. Too bad my camera died! :( BOO! More pictures of our awesome time.. NEXT TIME!

seriously?

2011-09-10T09:32:00.003-07:00

Where does this girl come from? Seriously! I just about died when Jacq's school work started coming home like this. She is a very special girl. Only Jacq would take the time to make her name a piece of artwork. {Love her}

Fall Soccer

2011-09-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

I love watching these boys play soccer. I'll have to admit that this has not always been the case. In fact, we took a couple years off. When we first started playing instead of playing soccer my boys were picking flowers ... laying down in the grass during game time and it became evident that the end of games treats are what kept them coming back. I waited patiently for these boys to decide that they wanted to be apart of a team. I decided that it had to be "their idea." Sure enough this was the year. All three boys did their best. They practiced hard. They played harder. Awesome defense. Great offense. Scored some goals. They all had a great first half of their season. GO TEAM WATSON!!

Maxie boy

Alexander

Barrett

first day of school

2011-08-23T21:08:00.005-07:00

Lola woke up just in time to tell the "Big kids" good-bye. Everyone had their backpacks on and they were ready to head out the door. Thank goodness Jacq re-gifted one of her old backpacks so Lola could feel apart of the whole "back to school" morning. We literally packed that bag around with us all day. Most of our conversation today consisted of..
LOLA ~ "Jacq..?"
Mom ~ "Jacq's at school."
Lola ~ "oh.. Maxie?"
Mom ~ "Max is at school."
Lola ~ "oh.. Barrett?"
You get the idea.. Than REPEAT!! She was missing all her little buddies. {Alexander she loves you.. she just has the hardest time saying your name. So most days we have two Barretts. :)}
Here is our awesome Watson Crew.

Max {4th grade}

Alexander {2nd grade}
Barrett {2nd grade}
Jacq {1st grade}

Everyone had a great first day. Jacq didn't look back.. she followed the neighbor boy right into class and never looked back. That girl is really something. Full of independence. Alexander and Barrett love love their teacher more than ice cream. And Max stopped begging to be home schooled. I'll take that as a good sign. Lola has been surviving her days with mom and quite likes visits to "Old Grandma's House!"

I ain't gonna paint no more.

2011-08-20T21:38:00.001-07:00

Yuba

2011-08-17T20:50:00.001-07:00

I'll be honest. This lady does NOT love her a camping trip. Nope. Not really. Nadda. No Thank you! I love hiking. I love biking. I love to explore. I love smores. And night games. I really do love being in the outdoors. But camping. NOT REALLY MY THING! Yes I am shouting. :) It is A LOT of work. And to be honest with you.. the reward for me often times is not big enough for the amount of work. Maybe in a few years I will enjoy it, but for now.. I am so ok with backyard camping and our once a year camping trip. Wahoo Yuba!!
Couple big things this year. This big sand hill was a huge hit.
READY

SET

ROLL

The water.. always fun times.. .

add a little boat ..

and .. and.. some fishing poles.. makes for an almost perfect trip!

Maybe next year we can get Lola to sleep. She kept checking on everyone.. it was just too much fun having everyone together in the same place at bedtime. It was a tough one! Love her!

Temple Square

2011-08-15T19:48:00.002-07:00

I just love this place. There really is no place like Temple Square. I love that it is a stones throw away. I love the museums that provide a hands on experience. There are so many tender experiences that I can sit back and watch unfold. I love it! I smiled as Jacq lit up when she saw a sister missionary. "A girl missionary!" Or when Lola saw Jesus everywhere. She said softly over and over again, "Jesus.. Jesus.. " pointing in every direction. I enjoyed so much watching the boys run from one awesome exhibit to the next excited to learn and experience temple square. Such an awesome visit.

After our visit to Temple Square we cooled off in the fountains at Gateway. I didn't take many pictures. I was just busy enjoying our day, but there were a couple moments I just couldn't help myself. Melts my mommy heart to see my "big kids" love their sister so much!!

Lindon days

2011-08-13T18:58:00.001-07:00

I have noticed over the years that I have unintentionally tried to encourage my children to develop the same interest and hobbies that Tim and I have. Maybe it is that whole {A family that plays together ~ stays together}. I don't know .. but so far it is working for us. There was a time when I liked to run. Tim likes to run. During Lindon days we headed down to this little children's race and had a good time.
The boys all lined up. Look at that body language. They are nervous!! Well except for my boy Max. He could really care less. He doesn't like to run.

This kid showed up first. He is my racer ~ This kid is going to be a runner. He is all heart!

Maxie boy was next. He is a shuffler. He just doesn't have heart. Love him.. but no heart. He will find it but right now he doesn't care.

Barrett was right behind him. So close behind him that I almost missed him. He tries so hard! He says he is "Bellybutton." I say "funny boy!" I don't know? :)
Here is my girl. In her skirt. Like usual. {funny girl}

Our youngest runner with her dad. {darling}

I love these days with these special people. {So blessed!}

Lo*bug

2011-08-09T13:05:00.004-07:00

Oh my.. this little "pumpkin" melts me. She is one spunky kid. Our Lo*bug is definitely our babes! She is spoiled to her core. I just love everything (almost everything) about her. We are entering those terrible twos. {woof} Twos never really got to me .. but the fifth time around I am kind of over the twos! Here are my theories on lots of almost two year old type things. "You don't want to eat.. don't eat.. I am not going to be mad or frustrated but I'm not going to chase you ~ you will eventually eat when you are hungry." OR "You want to have an irrational 2 year old melt down... you go girl. You'll figure it out as I move on with my day!" Here is another one.. "You want to look like a mismatch little lady or wear shoes two sizes too big. You go the heck for it.. because you are my beautiful babes no matter what you wear." The one that kills me every single time. I am a sucker for it. .. "more.." and "more.." and "more.. " at bedtime for "more" songs.. or "rock" meaning will you rock me a little longer? She is the babes so I will always sing one more song.. and one more song.. and one more song. I will never pass up a chance to rock her a little longer. And I will always take an extra snuggle bug hug. It might just mean we need to start bedtime a little earlier.

I am happy to say that even though we have lots of terrible two moments.. we have lots of these quiet happy moments with our Lo*bug. Lots of reading time. Lots of singing with actions. Dancing. Smiles and hugs for everyone. Prayers. She loves to pray. Nice long prayers that prolong bedtime {smarty pants}. Water and swimming. Keeping up with those big kids. She is an all around happy kiddo living in her very own musical. She came into this world living in a musical and I hope that never changes.

I {heart} these two!

2011-08-08T19:46:00.000-07:00

And chubby little fingers at the piano.

Ulcer

2011-08-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

We did it! We {I} made it to the finish line one rest stop at a time. I had a blast riding on my bike for over 100 miles {gasp} and even more fun hanging out with just Tim. Lucky me!

Lacrosse Camp

2011-08-05T20:09:00.004-07:00

Max had so much fun with some of his best buddies @ Lacrosse Camp. Most days he came home exhausted. Excited about trying something new, but pretty stinkin' tired. I looked forward to his stories every day and hearing how cool it was to ride with the radio up and the windows down. {Mini vans and moms are sometimes so uncool!!}

Date nights

2011-08-04T20:59:00.002-07:00

This summer Tim and I decided to have individual "date nights" with each of our 4 oldest children. Oh my!! The kids have been talking about "their" special date.. at "their" special restaurant... and "their" special activity NON STOP!!! SERIOUSLY ALL THE TIME!!! I love it! They loved it. During their special night the kids beamed. They were in heaven having a night all to themselves with all of mom and dad's attention. It was all about them. We didn't get pictures of everyone.. at least I can't find them. .. :( but I have a few from Tim's phone.

Max .. Lucky ducky to be our first born!! He was the first one for "date night." We went to Texas Roadhouse {yum}. I have to say that the rolls were a huge hit! {Still talking about those rolls.} And you can throw peanuts on the floor?? Awesome.. weird!! Can't forget about that saddle. FUN TIMES!! Then off to Barnes and Noble. I love a visit to the bookstore. On the way home we went miniature golfing the "right way." Love him and loved spending time with just Max!

Alexander.. Off to Red Robin. This kid was in heaven.. chitty chatting it up with us.. our waiter.. lots of please and Thank yous.. {That's my boy} Red Robin was a huge hit with Mozzarella sticks and mud high pie. Heck yes ... {Still talking about that mud high pie.} We played a quick Watson style miniature golf game and ended the night with swimming. {Spoiled}

With Barrett boy we headed up to Chipotle. I love that place and so does Barrett. Pretty regularly Barrett talks about how we all need to go to Chipotles!! "You get rice.. and chips.. and soda.." :) Then off to miniature golf/Trafalga rides/Grocery shopping! Barrett does not love pastry/ice cream type treats.. but he loves him certain kinds of Candy. So Barrett was really excited to pick out a movie theater size candy treat.

Jacq was last and it was almost killing her to wait for her turn. We made Jacq's special date extra special just for her. We ate at Maglebys. Chocolate cake!! {YUM!} Fresh rolls!! {YUM!!} The stand out for Jacq was the giant root beer the waiter brought just for her. She thought it was amazing!!! After dinner.. we picked out a little outfit for back to school.. {lucky girl} Someone has been a little crazy for a bird.. so we stopped at the pet store just to take a peek. Lastly.. miniature golfing. I still don't know how we fit it all in with that girl!!! {Lucky ~ lucky girl!!}
Tim and I both enjoyed spending one on one time with our kids. It was so much fun to watch them beam and soak up every minute. It has even been more of a reward for me to hear them go on .. and on.. and on.. about "their" special date months after their date. {love them}

Peaks

2011-08-01T19:25:00.002-07:00

7*peaks has been a regular hang out for us.. for years. We aren't crazy to go every day, but you can find us there quite often. All 5 kids love going and I love watching the smiles on their faces.
{picture overload}

I love it that these boys make fun out of just about everything. If there is fun to be had they find it. Playing checkers with Gummy bears.

Max is growing up way too fast for this mom. He just kind of does his thing. He checks in here and there and is off doing his thing with whatever brother or friend he can drag along!

Brothers

Alexander is one of our little daredevils. He couldn't wait to get on the big slides this year. Makes my mommy heart pound just about out of my chest.. every kid.. every year .. every time.

I love it that these two have each other. They are so different in so many ways but are truly the best of friends.. {even if they say they aren't} One of my favorite things to do is to sit on the side lines and watch their interactions. Makes my mommy heart smile.. again and again..

Barrett Boy

When it comes to most things.. if the brothers can do it.. so can Jacq. She is one Krazy.. brave.. tough.. chicka!

I {heart} goggle pictures!

Tim is such a good sport! Best dad EVER. He will go on the toilet slide.. over and over and over again with this crazy girl. And.. she loves it! {Most favorite slide EVER!}
Or take these girlies around the lazy river.. again and again. :)

Lola fits right in with the four older kids. She LOVES the water.. that little fish. She isn't happy unless she is "Swimming." This is Lola "Swimming!!" {Ha}

I could watch this every single day!

And this.. {Precious} This girl is going to be so lost when her built in buddies go to school. Someone is always packing her around. She hearts every single one of them and they her.

I love making memories with my little family. Best time ever. I am so happy. So grateful. So blessed.

Swim Team

2011-07-20T21:06:00.001-07:00

Some days these fish complain about swim team. . but the truth is they love to be in the water and they wouldn't want to be any other place. Their swimming is really coming along. A little more time in the water and they will be swimming like their dad!

Highland Splash Park

2011-07-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

{I heart them. Every single one of them.}

Work Party.

2011-07-14T19:35:00.001-07:00

BBQ * Friends * Dunk tank * Blow ups * Fun times * and yes I deserve mom of the year award .. I got soaked!!

"The Twins"

2011-07-11T19:12:00.001-07:00

Late Birthday presents are the BEST! At least these two guys think so. The neighbors may think they are hoodlums, but these two just think they are "bad to the bone!" Thanks FA Papa!

Stewart Falls

2011-07-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

Big Bang

2011-07-08T13:48:00.001-07:00

I love taking advantage of recreation that I can get a big bang for my efforts. To me biking is one of those things. There is little to no prep work. We hop on our bikes... find a nearby park.. and we are all smiles for the night.
Tim and Barrett showing muscles. {Boy power}
Looks like Max was going to just about die after that hill! Don't worry he survived. He is all show.

Alexander really is my boy that is all heart and smiles. I tell my boys, "You can make it up any hill.. you just have to dig deep and PEDDLE PEDDLE PEDDLE! It's all about heart!" And here he is all smiles.

The girls getting pulled by mom. They just chit chat back there and have a good old time enjoying their free ride. {and of course Jacq is in a skirt.. she is in a skirt just about every day!}
There are entirely way to many things wrong with this picture. {ha!} Tim teased me about the hat under my helmet pretty much the whole ride. I honestly didn't even think about it. I grabbed my helmet and off we went. Oh to be the mom! I love it!

4th of july

2011-07-04T23:02:00.000-07:00

Family * Food * Fireworks * Smores * Rain * FUN

Freedom Run

2011-07-04T21:50:00.001-07:00

This is one of my very favorite runs. To be honest I have NOT ran consistently for years.. I got up that week and decided I was all over this race. Why not? I signed up for the 5k. {Tim actually signed me up} My goal was simple.. DO not walk. I did it and felt great!

The 4 big kids decided to run the 1 mile. Everyone did great and the kids are beyond excited about their medals. It really is all about the medals. Alexander told me the other day that one of his talents from Heavenly Father is to be a runner. That kid has got HEART. {I heart him} He just may be a runner some day.

Bridal Veil

2011-07-02T21:18:00.001-07:00

I love a visit up the Canyon. We had such a beautiful evening.

Believe me we stayed clear of this river. It was roaring. {scary roaring}

This was our Master Chief. He is a pro at the dutch oven stuff. It was yummy yum yum food. Thanks Rick and mom!

Maxie boy.. I didn't even ask how he ended up with two plates. {He was probably finishing off someones treat} Anyway, this picture makes me laugh. He loves to match. .. green shirt with green shorts. Makes me smile! Orange is by far his favorite. .. orange shirt with orange shorts. :)

The kids were obsessed with sticks.. fire.. BUGS.. and all things dirty..

Oh Barrett boy.. maybe one treat next time. :)
I heart Jacq's new haircut. I haven't touched it for days and it is still darling. She was as bad as the boys. She has some worm crawling all over her all night. GROSS!

I could write an entire separate post just about Lola and the water. She was in heaven. You name it and she did it. She was throwing rocks.. sitting in that freezing cold mountain water.. giggling like crazy.. I am telling you water heaven.

Thought I would throw in one more picture of the group. Thanks for the fun time Mom and Rick!

Balloon festival.

2011-07-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

Love the 4th of July in Utah.. {or the 2nd} The balloon festival is such a fun family tradition. I am just in awe of the beauty of Utah. I really do love these mountains.

This balloon was one of my favorites. It's just so festive! This girl is proud to be an American!

Most of the crew.

Mom and sister.

My cute Maxie boy. I just can't tell you how much I love this kid. He is such a good boy. Pretty dang cute too!

{Melt my heart} Tim is such an amazing Dad! All our children just adore him. And so do I! Love those twinners to. Shh.. don't tell anyone but Alexander has his pants on backwards and his shirt inside out. Must have been a rough morning. :)

Beautiful Jacqualynn. This cute girl, with her new cute girl hair cut, told me the other day.. "Mom, I think I am too cute to be called Jacq. I should really be called Jacqualynn." On a side note.. She is NOT a Jackie. No way! No how!
Lo*bug. You can't tell by this picture, but this girl was in "Balloon" heaven... "Ba. ba.. ba.." pointing every directions. I tell you colorful balloon heaven.

We just kept on playing.. Doughnut time

until next year.

Already?

2011-06-30T17:19:00.005-07:00

June has come and gone. I am loving this time with my kids. I. HEART. THEM. {every single one of them}
June has been full of...
Soccer camp + Swim team + 7-Peaks + Grandma Lettie Visits + backyard slide + Chess club + diet coke + library time + Parks + Piano practice + JOBS + JOBS + JOBS + Bike rides + Reading + hose in the sandbox + friends + Lots of otter pops + Hiking + Sundance + pool time + Smores + Trampoline + Birthdays + Visitors + lots of runs for Tim = perfect summer for the Watsons!

hiking the "G"

2011-06-25T16:28:00.000-07:00

Hiking has kind of become "our thing" this summer. The big kids are old enough to actually hike without whining and Lo*bug just sits there lovin' her free ride. We get out of the house.. enjoy the beauty of Utah. .. get some exercise .. . everyone wins. We had a hard time finding the trail head for the "G".. so we hiked all over the mountain side. Eventually half the crew decided to head back. Tim {dead tired}, Lo {Free rider}, Jacq {focused on picking flowers}, Alexander {Searching for Indian arrowheads} and I {I wasn't going home until I found the top of the "G"} kept going. Finally we found the trail and braved it to the top. The kids were so disappointed that it was made of trash. Oh well.. still a beautiful hike and a very fun outing with the fam.

Strawberry days

2011-06-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

We ran. We relaxed. We talked about giant stuffed lovies. We paraded. The end.

Birds and the bees

2011-06-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

We did it! And we all survived, "the big talk." About a month ago we started talking to Max about a special date he would have where he got to learn about the most awesome.. most wonderful thing.. {birds and the bees} He was just sure it was a trip to Hawaii ... a new lego.. or something super amazing to an 8 year old.

Don't you worry I didn't go into this conversation blind. I used this resource which recommended this and both were an amazing guide for me. I would have stumbled through it horribly by myself and Tim didn't get super helpful until the end. Anyway.. I have to say that I am very grateful that we stumbled upon this book and we had this talk early. I love it that our family can talk about anything and I want the kids to feel like they can come to us about anything. A talk like this definitely opens up all the lines of communication. 8 years old really did seem like the perfect age for "the most wonderful thing" talk. I hope Max feels like he can talk to us about anything. There were some giggles.. (max) and some roaring laughter (Tim) but all in all it went great. I suppose I need to be gearing up for the next two "most wonderful thing" talks in 6 months.

Max choose Texas Roadhouse as his restaurant. {That's my boy} Love that place. We even convinced him to sit on the saddle. Then we headed to Barnes and Noble to chat in a little quieter environment. We ended the night miniature golfing the right way.. taking turns and keeping score {49~49~50). I need to talk to that score keeper {Tim}. I don't know how I came in one point behind everyone else. :) Great food ~ Great talk ~ Great fun!

Sundance

2011-06-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

It's my birthday!

2011-06-10T18:09:00.004-07:00

I woke up on my birthday and decided I wanted the kids to like my birthday as much as I do!! So we had an all day .. non stop party!!!
I woke up to this.. {Hi my name is Shauna.. I like diet coke!! Maybe not this much but it was a funny surprise.}

8:30 am * Swim Practice
9:15 am * Krispy Kreme donuts and a quick Grandma visit.

10:30 am * Lola Dr. appointment {The girl got tubes this week .. you can tell she is pretty excited about it. She survived the six minute surgery and did awesome.. we love having our happy Lola back.}

11:00 am * Trafagla {Mini golf and games}
1:30pm * Naps and playing with friends.
4:00 pm * Sleepover at Grandmas (Kids) while Tim and I went out to dinner (red robin) and rode our bikes to the hot tub.. {woot woot}

Thanks everyone for the birthday love.. the cards.. the messages.. the lunches.. and the memories! Happy Day to me!

Spring Piano recital

2011-06-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

Song 1 {i should really look up what these songs are called.. but I am just that lazy tonight.. song 1 will have to work ;)}

Song 2

Getting good Max! Keep up the good work!

Fundraiser * 3k

2011-06-02T20:07:00.001-07:00

This is by far my favorite school fundraiser. I love it. My kids love. Forget the cookies ..and the wrapping paper. {let's RUN!} It is good fun for everyone.

My Cowboys

2011-05-31T18:45:00.002-07:00

Priceless.

Battle Creek Falls

2011-05-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

My Little Graduate!

2011-05-26T20:17:00.007-07:00

Jacq had a great year in kindergarten. She L*O*V*E.. loved her teacher.. Ms. Cynthie. No matter what Ms. Cynthie said it was law at this house.. No matter who or what someone else might have taught Jacq.. it was Ms. Cynthie. {wish I carried that much weight} She adored her teacher. Center Stage was the perfect place for Jacq this year..

This is girlfriend breaking her karate board , "It was so easy mom!" My favorite part of the karate presentation every single time is when the kids all shout, "I know how to fight, but I choose not to!" and "Yes ma'am!" So stinkin' cute!

Who knew?? When Jacq grows up she wants to "be a ballerina." She is all girl right to her core.. lucky me. I mean look at that face.. she is going places. :)

Kindergarten graduation is funny. Who graduates from kindergarten? I have to admit.. I loved the program.. I love the kung fu panda karate routine.. Singing.. dancing.. the little caps and gowns. .. I loved being apart of it... but.. it's still kind of funny..

What makes my girl happy ~ makes her momma happy.

Catch the Reading bug!

2011-05-20T19:06:00.005-07:00

Alexander and Barrett worked so hard on their end of the year "reader theater" program. The songs were darling. .. actions were super cute... the reading parts flawless. I smiled.. I laughed.. I laughed so hard I couldn't keep my camera straight... I even felt nervous for them.. {I didn't need to.} It was a*dor*a*ble
{I loved my little Dr. and Humpty Dumpty!!}
I thought I would share a little snip from the program.

{proud momma}

Hiking the Y

2011-05-14T20:29:00.001-07:00

"I'm going with it"

2011-05-09T21:37:00.001-07:00

Why not?

Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T10:09:00.003-07:00

I feel like one very blessed Momma Bear!! When I was a little girl..I didn't play with dolls! I didn't coo over babies! I didn't particularly enjoy babysitting. I never had this overwhelming desire to mother. I could be considered a little cold. I held my feelings all on the inside. Nurturing was not my number one quality. I remember feeling very career minded. I was going to change the world {sigh}. While in High school I was going to work for the FBI.. A field agent.. Something fast paced and exciting! Once married.. I was leaning towards marriage and family therapy. I am fascinated with relationships and the way people can work together to create something beautiful. But once these babies started coming into our home.. There was no question. I knew without a doubt I was going to be first and foremost a MOTHER!

I know there is a miraculous plan. I am baffled when I try to comprehend the details. I believe that Heavenly Father is there. Somewhere. And sometimes he is in every last detail of our lives.. guiding us. And sometimes he lets us make our own decisions. {Big decisions} The decision to mother.. and mother 5 .. and mother these children somewhat close together was definitely directly inspired from up above. While I wouldn't change it for the world, I would have NEVER planned my life this way. I am grateful every day. Grateful for giggles. Grateful for tears. Grateful for hugs. Grateful for adventures. Grateful for interesting conversations. Grateful to train.. nurture.. teach and learn. Grateful to be a MOTHER!

{max}

2011-05-07T21:19:00.001-07:00

Max: "Mom, my friends said that they don't "play" anymore.. "
Mom: "Oh yeah.."
Max: "Yeah.. they said they "hang out!"
Mom: {chuckle} "Ok.. what do you think of that?"
Max: "Whatever.. I'm going with it."
Mom: "Oh yeah.. You're going with it?!" {More chuckles}
Max: "Sure.. why not?!" {with a big smile}
Mom: "Sweet.. when are we "hanging out?!"

I love that kid! And when I'm lucky he will still hold my hand. "I'm going with it" has become a little catch phrase at our house!

SUMMER

2011-05-07T21:07:00.002-07:00

We are ready for summer at this house. This Lola girl would spend every waking minute being busy OUTSIDE. She is constantly on the go ~ go! When she is outside.. she is happy.. content.. and loving her world. And... so am I!!

Fifth Water Hot Spring

2011-05-07T20:09:00.002-07:00

Breath taking * Family time * Smiles * Waterfalls * Hand holding * red rock * Beautiful * one on one time * perfect length * one hour there * 45 minutes back * swimming * Hot springs * powerbars * Missing lense cap * steep cliffs * Running * Two thumbs up * Perfect Saturday Morning *

Team Watson

2011-05-06T19:50:00.001-07:00

This summer we are learning to work.. HARDER. {Work Hard ~ Play hard} Thought we would start with this big boy!! Actually starting with all of them.

We started using this program and we are loving it.. .

Party ~

2011-05-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

We like to party at our house! Any reason to celebrate ... Last minute we decided to celebrate us some Cinco de Mayo! {Woot Woot!}

Movie Night

2011-05-01T19:22:00.002-07:00

{CUTE!} I love it when these five create a "warm my mommy heart moment!" Love every one of them.

{warms my heart) xo

Christ is the Reason

2011-04-25T21:38:00.003-07:00

I am grateful to know that Jesus lived. Died. And lived again all for me! And you! And that we can all be together someday. xo

Easter

2011-04-24T21:07:00.002-07:00

These are some fun snap shots from our Easter morning.
I {heart} the colored piles of eggs.
The Easter Bunny hid Max's eggs extra hard this year. That will teach him to taunt the Easter bunny.
The boys were instructed, "Do not wake Mom or Dad until after 7:30am." Totally worked. They were showered. Dressed. And playing card games when I went down to fetch them.
Love this sweet boy. Pretty sure he is surveying the goods! Lots of eggs for everyone!

I {heart} tender moments!
Beautiful girl.

CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY!! {heart her}

Only Lola would walk around all morning with Jacq's flippers!

easter goodies

2011-04-23T20:39:00.001-07:00

I think I love the Easter holiday more than I love Christmas. I love Easter baskets.. i love it that each kid has a specific egg color they hunt for.. I love egg hunts .. with mostly loose change and hardly any candy (I think we used a half a bag of candy). I like to "welcome us some spring time." We have had Easter swimming baskets for as long as I can remember. This tradition melts my heart. I am so ready for the snow to melt and the sunshine to come out when Easter rolls around. Happy Day!

Easter fun times.

2011-04-23T19:55:00.001-07:00

Easter preparation are underway in full force at our house. Grandma Watson had an Easter Egg dying party at her house.. so that left the making cookies to us. While the boys were out the girls whipped up some yummy sugar cookies.. Lots of fun with these two bakers.

Then it was time for the decorating!

Do you think there are enough sprinkles? {he he} I remember when i was the major micro manager.. "oh ... oh.. careful.." "Not too much frosting.." There was a time I did all the frosting. "What the sprinkles?" "Don't mix!" "WOW! Holy sprinkles!" Now I put everything on the table and let them have at it. Amazing how time changes us. It was so stressful to manage their creativity. Now I just clean up after it. Easter fun from last year.. HERE!

The girl and her dog!

2011-03-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

Lola loves her Wall*e dog almost as much as her dad! {that's a big deal}
When I say love ... I mean L*O*V*E*!!

Like kisses through the window..

I love this crazy girl..

And that silly dog too!

Soldier hallow

2011-03-20T19:19:00.001-07:00

Yippee Skippee for another successful trip to Soldier Hallow. The kids love this place. {Picture time}

Winter

2011-03-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

I love so many things about winter time. Skiing. Snowball fights. Hot chocolate. Sitting by a fire. Sledding. Midway. Solider Hallow. Cold Walks with Tim. This winter has been a rough one for this little pumpkin. Little pumpkin has been sick 90% of the time. We need this winter sickness to end and end SOON!! So our crazy*wild*running non stop*Lola can return. {Not that she has slowed down much, but just so that she can feel better.} So winter GO AWAY come again another day {next year}.

Feeling Lucky?

2011-03-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

If I have said it once ~ I have said it a million times.. "any reason to celebrate." Love me a holiday. I think I got pinched pretty much the entire morning. I learned my lesson.. I am wearing green to bed next year and a lot of it.

Workin' Hard!

2011-02-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

{woot woot} Way to go! Keep up the good work!

Birthday Party

2011-02-21T19:20:00.001-07:00

Alexander and Barrett begged.. pleaded.. and convinced this mommy that it was time for their very first "friend" birthday party. I don't know what it is about the month of February, but I never seem up to birthday parties. This February I knew there was no way out of it. We decided on a "Going on a bear hunt" theme and it was tons of fun.. we went through the grass.. the river.. the mud..etc.. these two boys are a kick and their party was crazy.. wild.. and.. and.. wild and crazy. We ate lots of food.. opened presents.. and ended with the projected movie.. Open Season 3. Too much fun!

Happy Birthday Birthday boys! We love you!
{i love love love it that they occasionally match themselves!}

Alexander's first tooth!!

2011-02-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

Now this is a big deal.. Alexander finally lost his first tooth. The permanent tooth was practically already growing in right behind the baby tooth. I finally tricked him into letting me pull the thing out. "Alexander.. please let mommy just take a look." {That trick will never work again! :)}

Valentines Day

2011-02-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

These were the Valentine's of choice this year.

You can see why...

Loads of fun..

Loads of fun for everyone.

We made yum-o sugar cookies for the people we love..
Ma Deb surprised us with these fun Valentine's Day bags.. {we love them}

The treasures the kids found the next day were a huge hit!

T-shirts and reading books for everyone. YEAH for another successful holiday down in the books. Love these 5 kids just about as much as I love their Daddy! Happy day to all the people I love the most!!

Birthday celebrations..

2011-02-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

We had a great time celebrating Alexander and Barrett's birthday at the Brick oven. The kids were well behaved and it proved to be a successful outing.
The Birthday Boys!

Alexander

Barrett

The kid group.

The Dad and Big boss. :)

Some fun tag-a-longs..

And a beautiful babes..

After yummy pizza, our little family went to play some miniature golf. These kids wouldn't let a little snow scare them away. :)
Our crew..

Maxie boy

Birthday boys. Yes! They matched themselves on their day. Something they DO NOT do on a regular basis.

Jacq

Lola Marie.. clapping for herself! She is a kick in the pants.

What a great birthday outing. Big boss is a rocking planner.. if I do say so myself.

Birthday Boys!!

2011-02-12T19:06:00.001-07:00

We don't do birth *days* at our house.. it is more like birth *weeks* and I love every minute of it!!
Here is our 2nd born .. {he he} Alexander (age 7). Alexander has a very playful personality.. He is loads of fun to be around.. If Alexander is in the room you will know it. There is never a dull moment with this kid. He has the most contagious smile. Friend, is a friend to everyone. He is friends with every stranger on the mountain (screams hello to everyone ~ that's his deal) to the sixth grade girls chasing him at recess. He also has a very sensitive side. He has been saying the most thoughtful prayers. He thinks of everyone that might be in need. No one is excluded .. even 'old Grandpa" in heaven. Big personality ~ Big heart!

Barrett boy * third born {he he} (age 7) Love Love Love this boy!! He is one amazing kid! I can not say enough things about our Barrett Boy. When you are Barrett's bud ~ You are buds for lifers. Barrett will learn what you like.. what you don't .. get your phone number.. plan some fun play dates. On the other hand if you get on his bad side. Oh wowser.. you watch out. He holds a grudge like only his momma knows how. Barrett is smart.. persistent. .. and finds ways to get what he wants. This boy loves him some electronics. If I left him alone with a computer.. dsi.. or wii he would be in his very own Barrett Heaven. Barrett is such a good helper and so tender with our Lola baby. Always there to be a good friend to her. Love this boy!

Love it that these two love being "twins" so much! I could not .. COULD NOT imagine life without each one of them. Happy Birthday Alexander and Barrett!

Winter Recital

2011-02-05T19:37:00.001-07:00

I keep telling Max.. "I promise.. someday you will thank me for having you stick with piano!" {hopefully I am right} I love to see Max's eyes light up when he masters his newest piece. I love to sit back and listen to him play. I love to watch his little fingers play up and down the keys. He is getting pretty good at Piano. Max rocks! Piano rocks! Max rocks at piano!!

{Go Max!}

Not this face.

2011-02-04T22:04:00.003-07:00

This is piano practice nap time style!!! Love me those headphones. Got me a second pair just so I could make sure they were not pulling a fast one on me and faking a piano practice. Not that this face would do that.. Not him. No way!

Trafalga

2011-01-24T20:23:00.001-07:00

Trafalga has been a favorite Watson hang out this winter. We have loved our family time at this place. It has provided hours and hours of fun memories. Some of our favorite activities have been..*rock climbing * Miniature golf * Lazer tag * big toy * bumper boats * roller coaster * Carousel * You can tell by these faces that it has been too much fun!

Sundance

2011-01-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

We are loving our fun times on the mountain this year. *L.O.V.I.N.G. I.T.*

What is it about kids strapped to skis? Hello.. NO FEAR!! Seriously! All four of these kids are rockin' the mountain. Can't do a post about skiing and not thank Auntie Nana! Thanks Auntie Nana for helping make it all happen!

Max said..

2011-01-02T20:57:00.004-07:00

"We have the best family ever!"
{♥ him}

Christmas

2010-12-25T20:36:00.001-07:00

My camera was away most of Christmas but it was Merry and bright! Love these six.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T19:45:00.001-07:00

*Santa*crocodile tears*Eating*YUM!*cousin*pickle*baby Jesus*Mary beating up the inn keeper*tarf*PJ's*lots of pictures*wresting*Christmas eve*Perfect*Again*

Temple Square

2010-12-23T17:32:00.002-07:00

2009, 2008, 2007!

It's tradition!

2010-12-22T16:22:00.005-07:00

Oh my! I love my kids! Can I write that? This holiday season my Max has been pointing out every single Holiday tradition. "This is a tradition," in his big brother boss voice. I'm not going to lie.. makes my heart happy. So when we headed to midway to sled and swim over and over again.... .they quickly remembered that "this is tradition." Every winter we make a trip up to midway.. and we do.. 2009, 2008, 2007... I love traditions.. Thanks Mom and Rick!
Sledding! Alyssa took about 300 pictures sledding and I love them all.. So I tried to pick just a few...it turned into a few ten...or more.. ..

Swimming!

Gingerbreads

2010-12-21T21:17:00.002-07:00

I love this time of year.. way too much time ... with way too much family. I just can't get enough. I love being surrounded by loads of family. Love all these faces! Annual Gingerbread House Party... PARTY! PARTY!

more skiing..

2010-12-20T20:54:00.002-07:00

Our four oldest had too much fun racing all around the mountain.. it was especially fun because Ma Deb and Papa Rick were there to chase them. The boys were so excited to have friends on the mountain with them.. They were yelling from chair to chair.. yelling to them while we were racing down the hill.. and talking their ears off in the lodge. Definitely fun times!

Christmas Sunday

2010-12-19T13:44:00.007-07:00

Merry Christmas!

Love,
The Watsons

Priceless. That's my girl.

2010-12-17T19:44:00.001-07:00

Classroom programs

2010-12-17T13:00:00.000-07:00

Alexander and Barrett's first grade class had a very fun show.. it was specifically for the grandparents, but the crazy parents were invited too. :) It was fun to see the boys actually singing this year.. and doing the actions.. and and.. just having a good time. It was a lot of fun to watch.

Where's Barrett? Where's Alexander?

Jacq's school is fabulous! She is so lucky that not only does she get to do school work (which she loves), but she gets to have a karate class.. 2 dance classes.. and a singing class. She loves her friends .. her school.. and her teachers there..

Thanksgiving Point

2010-12-09T21:18:00.005-07:00

We love to go and see the lights.. This year Thanksgiving point had 3-D glasses. The 3-D glasses were a must. We had a couple snowflake pair. So we saw lots of snowflakes. So awesome! The kids had a ball with them.

Thanks Auntie Nana for the pass!

Cheese Touch

2010-12-09T20:48:00.009-07:00

Family pictures 2010

2010-12-09T20:11:00.004-07:00

*All the Watsons**Original Watsons**Sibling Watsons**Watson Grandkids*
*Our little fam*
*And one last one with Lola*

a work in progress

"Opening day!!"

Stop my heart..

Grandma Time ♥

Decorating the house!

Photography

A Conley day!

Congrats to Grandpa Barrett and Lorraine ~

Happy Birthday!

Temple Square

Happy Thanksgiving.

Turkey Trot

Museum

Trafalga

Welcome to Utah!

Halloween!

Halloween Performance..

I wish!

Quick trip!!

Jacq turns 6!!

Lola's 2!!

Halloweener

tradition?

Girlies

Max's Birthday Week

Canyon!

seriously?

Fall Soccer

first day of school

I ain't gonna paint no more.

Yuba

Temple Square

Lindon days

Lo*bug

I {heart} these two!

Ulcer

Lacrosse Camp

Date nights

Peaks

Swim Team

Highland Splash Park

Work Party.

"The Twins"

Stewart Falls

Big Bang

4th of july

Freedom Run

Bridal Veil

Balloon festival.

Already?

hiking the "G"

Strawberry days

Birds and the bees

Sundance

It's my birthday!

Spring Piano recital

Fundraiser * 3k

*My Cowboys*

Battle Creek Falls

My Little Graduate!

Catch the Reading bug!

Hiking the *Y*

"I'm going with it"

Mother's Day!

{max}

SUMMER

Fifth Water Hot Spring

Team Watson

Party ~

Movie Night

Christ is the Reason

Easter

easter goodies

Easter fun times.

The girl and her dog!

Soldier hallow

Winter

Feeling Lucky?

Workin' Hard!

Birthday Party

My Cowboys

Hiking the Y

Christmas Sunday