Best time of the Year!

Olivia hit the stage for her first time today and did awesome. She has loved being a dancer and I think she looked beautiful in her outfit. She was so proud of herself.
Big sister Savannah danced like a pro even when told by a parent that her act was on and it wasn't she did her very best to follow what the other girls were doing. She was a good sport because we her parents messed things up. She of course was beautiful like always.

Our little dancing queens had a performance today (12/13/08). We were fortunate to make it through the blizzard. Joseph and Isabella were great supporters.

Who looks the most like Santa Claus? Liv, Joe, Sav or Bel?

Uncle Justin was awesome and came over during the first december snow storm (12/8/08) and made a 'huge' Snowman (according to Joe) with Joe. When Josh went out there to look at it Joe told him to go back inside. joe did not want to share his uncle Justin time and was so proud of their Snowman.

It was our 2nd annual GingerBreadHouse decorating competition. Grandpa Hays had a blast putting his yard together and didn't mind using all the sprinkles. Joseph got at him a little because he used up all the Halloween sprinkles. Savannah, Joseph and Olivia did a great job decorating their houses and did an even better job at eating them before the weekend was out. It was fun to see their creative minds at work. Isabella just ate candy. Seth made the best one in our household, but probably because Josh and I didn't do our own!!
Temple square is a yearly tradition. It has to be. The temple is amazing surrounded by all the colorful lights and the kids love it. It also provides an opportunity to talk about the true spirit of the season, our Savior. The different manger scenes are awesome.

Who doesn't love HALLOWEEN!

Halloween is the best holiday of the year. Everything about it is so fun. Decoration, costumes and of course candy. Isabella can speak two words great and one of them is Halloween. Anything that could be considered part of Halloween she will point and say 'Halloween'. I think she has realized at the age of one the greatness of the holiday. Anyway, we had a family party and got all dressed up (sort of). We have three Disney princesses (Aurora, Jasmine and Cinderella), two Hawaiian vacationers and one Diego. And just so you know Joseph takes his role very seriously. If you try to call him Joseph when he is obviously Diego, he will quickly correct you and not respond until properly addressed. Imagination runs strong in our home and we laugh a lot!

Musical Chairs

Ghost Pinata

Joseph looked more scary while be were cleaning him up.

Utah Seasons

You have to love the weather in Utah because it is so unpredictable. I love the fall and in Utah the colors are amazing and they can change drastically....for example on October 9th we got a great picture with the fall colors and Mt Olympus

and on October 12th a winter wonderland! We built a tiny snowman.

Josh is 32 and We climbed Lisa Falls!

We had an exciting weekend full of birthdays and adventure (at least that it what Joseph calls it). We went up Big Cottonwood Canyon and hiked up to Lisa Falls. Savannah wanted more adventure so we did a little rock climbing and trail blazing to get to higher peaks. The kids did awesome. It was slippery at times and they enjoyed sitting on their bums to get to the next rock or tree. Nobody came home bleeding so we felt successful. Savannah was the leader until we'd come to a drop off or need to climb up a crevasse and Bella didn't understand what a drop off was so we had to keep her on a tight leash. It was beautiful up in the mountains with perfect temperatures. How blessed we are to be so close to greatness. We had a great weekend!





Notice both Savannah's and Josh's eyes. They both love the drunk look!

Joe and Liv are THREE!

Time has gone so quickly. To think that it has been three years since the arrival of Joseph, who is five minutes older than Olivia; and Olivia is crazy. I wish I could slow down time. Isabella will be 18 months next week and life is getting a little less crazy and the kids are so much fun! Joe and Liv had a blast making their cake. I have to admit they did more watching than making, but fun none the less. Presents were a hit and the fair was a new adventure. Isabella loved the farm animals and Pony ride. Joe wouldn't get on a pony and Sav, Joe and Liv got sick of the farm animals quickly and wanted to ride the BIG rides (they were a total rip off by the way)! It was a great day to turn 3!

Party with Pat and Fran

Gerry, Erin and Iain Lanphier (Gerry Lanphier is Grandpa Hayses older sister) were up for a couple of days so Fran put on a party. It did also happen to be Fran's birthday and she does know how to party. She filled up her backyard with toys galore and Iain and my four kids had a blast. We had great food, great company, fishing and a great ZOO trip. We hope to do it again!

Alex Pingree and Autism

Many of you know the Pingree family and know that their son, Alex, is autistic. This link is to their blog. Read the short intro and then watch the video. It is well worth it.

http://thepingrees.blogspot.com/

The Thai National Anthem

I was reading an article by the sports columnist Rick Riley today. He was making fun of some of the various national anthems that we will be hearing in the upcoming Olympics. It made me think of my mission to Thailand. Everyday in Thailand at 8AM and 6PM, the Thai National Anthem is played. All TV and radio stations pause to play it as well as all public address systems. The whole country comes to a stand still to listen to the anthem. The video is taken from one of the Thai channels and its broadcast of the anthem.

Marathon Woman

Jill is awesome! She ran the Deseret News Marathon yesterday. She finished in 4 hours and 17 minutes. She did such a great job. She described the last 6 miles as, "like running on needles." The last couple of miles sounded like torture. The temperature was rising, the asphalt was getting hot enough that she could feel it through her shoes and she had already run 20+ miles. She said that the only thing that kept her going was the motivation of the next water station. I probably would have started crying and quit at about mile 10. Not Jill though, she ran the whole thing. She had some mild cramping in her calves and her feet were sore from running on them for 26.2 miles but beyond that she felt pretty good at the end. After a hot shower and then soaking her feet in Millcreek for a while, she felt good. Her body is plenty sore but it doesn't seem to bother her too much. She is very satisfied with having finished and I couldn't be prouder.

She has worked extremely hard over the last 3+ months as she has trained for this event. She has been getting up early (regardless of how much rest she got the night before) and training. She has been eating right, stretching, doing sit-ups and other things to get her body ready . She is grateful that her body held up through the whole thing. She had been fighting a bout with plantar fascitias. But thanks to some great tips and a funny little boot thing that she wore to bed her foot didn't give her any trouble.

I am so impressed with her dedication. One of the best things I can say about my incredible wife is when she commits to something she goes all the way. There is no quit in her when she decides to do something. I believe that quality is what makes her such a fantastic wife and mother. Way to go Jill!

Fredrick Family Lagoon Day

It was a hot one but the kids had a blast on the rides. Savannah wanted to ride others that she wasn't tall enough for so she'll have to wait for next year. Our favorite ride was Rattlesnake Rapids because it cooled us off.

Joseph and Olivia were especially partial to the Tidal Wave.

Tiny Dancers

Just wanted to share some really cute pics of the kids. Savannah looks so awesome!

Savannah's Spring Recital

She danced to 'A Spoonful of Sugar' and 'Let's Go Fly a Kite'. Savannah did such a great job and had no fear. She was of course the cutest kid on stage!

Millcreek 5K - Triple Jogger Division

Think of the most lopsided contests you can imagine.

-Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinx

-Michael Jordan vs. Bryon Russell

-Tiger vs. The Field

Now you can add another Goliath to the list:

The Hays Family vs. The Field in the East Millcreek 5K - Triple Jogger Division.

I am usually not one to brag but it wasn't even close. I really don't even remember seeing another competitor anywhere near us. It was as if all of the other triple jogger contestants didn't even show up. Apparently they were too afraid to cross our line of sight. We were that intimidating. To my knowledge there has not ever been a better 5K time posted than the one we posted today - 45:23. It's odd that the two numbers that were our finishing time had the same two numbers that Michael Jordan wore during his dominating basketball career. The parallels are uncanny.

OK. The real story is Jill had already run 10 miles this morning and I was ready to pass out at mile marker 1. She probably could have won the race but her husband and kids were dragging her down. We really did win the triple jogger division and it was no contest. However, we were the only triple jogger to show up.

The kids were real troopers to wake up early and go running with us.

The best part for them were the Otterpops and apples at the end

Mmmmm...Restroom Bacon

Missing the Point

The Death of a Deer

So we came home a couple of weeks ago to a dead deer under the mailbox. Someone hit it with their car and then thought that our mailbox looked like the ideal final resting spot for Bambi. It only took Utah Wildlife 5 days to come and pick it up. By then a really attractive trail of blood was oozing from its nose. There was also some weird looking pink stuff that showed up nearby as well. We assume that it was the breeding area for the maggots. Why do my blog posts seem so gory sometimes?

FHE at Temple Square

We had family night at Temple Square a couple of weeks ago. It was fantastic. The weather was perfect and no one was there. We felt like we had the place to ourselves. The kids had a blast and have been asking to go back.

Of course the water was the most exciting part of the night.

The night ended with the kids trying to get into the temple. They all just about bloodied their knuckles knocking on the door hoping someone would open the door.

Meal Time

I don't know why but our kids lose their minds at meal time. It doesn't matter if it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, they just fight us to the death to finish their food (or even start eating). A few nights ago was no different. Joe was just not willing to eat. We were begging him to just take a few bites. He was whining like he does so well when all of the sudden it got real quiet. It took us a couple minutes to notice but Joe fell asleep right over his plate!

Sunday Bloody Sunday

It is Tuesday April 8th and I am starting our blog. I don't know if Jill and I will be good bloggers or bad bloggers but we will give it a go. Sunday night after conference, we bathed the kids and got them ready for bed. We were in the basement playing with them when Joe took a nasty tumble off the back of the couch and cut the back of his head open. Blood was everywhere. We went through 3 towels between the time it happened and our arrival at the hospital. Joe only cried for about 3-4 minutes of the entire ordeal. He was so tough! He ended up with 5 staples in his head. That's right staples and not stitches. The staples stay in for 7 days and then we go back to the ER to have them removed. It was pretty crazy to say the least. We are grateful for Grandma and Grandpa Hays for reacting so quickly and coming to babysit while Jill and I took Joe to the ER at Primary Children's. In the second photo below, Joe is holding the syringe that was used to clean his wound and he is holding up 5 fingers for the number of staples in his head. Sorry if the pics seem a bit graphic.