Entertaining Kids!!

Having kids is always entertaining. The girls love to dress-up and Joe is always trying to help me cook. We have a lot of fun and we love to go sledding!

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!