This is reality at our house: messy house, messy kids...BIG SMILES (c;

They are always up for helping when it involves tasting....

Daddy got the opportunity to hike the Grand Canyon with the scouts this summer...what a cool experience!

Caden of course helped him pack...

The gorgeous canyon

The falls

The campsite...pretty awesome (c:

Is there anything more fun than a good ol' wrestling match with grandpa?

I could be wrong, but I think Caden won (c;

There are perks to Mommy being the cubmaster...you get to go to awesome activities like
meeting the local firemen and getting to tour their AWESOME truck!

"Official" firemen helmets and *everything* (c:

Firemen are now officially the coolest guys *EVER* (c;

Somebody may or may not have turned the big 3-0 in May...

In honor of the big day, all the girls got to come visit for a fantastic girls' night out...

Well, Tyce got to come, too...(c:

The birthday girl with her two favorite little people...

I think the kiddos might have enjoyed seeing grandma and grandpa a little *too* much (c:

Good times, good times (c:

We took the kiddos to a water park in Tempe earlier this summer and this is what Skylar wanted to do the whole time:

This is her "smiley" face:

And then she was telling me a story about something...

Probably about the fact that Caden spent a good portion of this outing in a time out:

It's a hard lesson to learn that you can't try and dish out retribution if you don't get out of the way soon enough on the water slide. *sigh*

For a while this summer we were attending story time at the local Pottery Barn Kids religiously...until they found out that swimming was *WAY* cooler. Literally. (c:

And yes, my little princess is doing what you think she is doing.

You are welcome teenage Skylar. You're welcome. (c:

Why yes, as a matter of fact I *am* the worst blogger in history!!!

Oh, that wasn't your question?? Oops. (c:

But seriously, where does the time go? I think ours goes in to a heat induced stupor here in AZ because it is like living in an oven, my friends!!!

But to prove we are still alive, or at least we were at Easter time...

Our attempt at Easter pictures...I put all these up so you could see how well Caden and Skylar cooperate:

Not a Christmas card worthy one in the bunch, but they sure are cute, aren't they? (c:

Chillaxin'...

So glad to have the pool this time of year...especially when we get to go with Auntie Carleigh (c:

Bad blogger, Bad blogger!

Yeah, I know...no one is reading this blog anymore due to my shocking lack of posting...I have no excuse. Well, I have no *good* excuse...but for those of you still checking my blog (hi mom!), I thought I would give you an update on the fam:

Caden is raising heck more every day, but is darn cute when he spontaneously hugs/kisses mom or decides to share his toys (gasp) with his sister.

Skylar is now talking up a storm, and let's be honest, is pretty sassy! She is so much more of a handful than Caden was at this age...her favorite hobby right now is getting as messy at possible, usually from playing in the dirt in the backyard.

Josh is still in school and getting ready to go into finals. BOO!!! Finals are seriously of the devil, but after this round, year one of law school is done! Yay!!! Shoot...two more to go.

Aubrey is taking care of munchkins and working at Pottery Barn...I know, you're jealous, right? But unfortunately, she is a really bad blogger who never posts about anything!

And what you really came for:

Aubrey at Ragnar, my first long distance race since high school. Awesome.

Daddy built and painted birdhouses with the kiddos...we have yet to actually *utilize* said birdhouses, but they are darn cute!

Caden has a girlfriend. I'm pretty sure they are getting married.

Oh and he has taken up drinking. Root beer, that is...(c:

What the...???

Can somebody tell me how I have a 4 year-old??? When did this happen??? More importantly, when did he get so BIG???

He is so hilarious, he keeps us laughing (sometimes not "ha ha funny", more of the "ha ha you are in so much trouble")...the other day he was being pretty crazy and so daddy threatened him with a spanking. Thinking super quick and with hands raised to the defense told dad "Let's just get one thing straight!!! I DO NOT LIKE SPANKINGS!" Josh was laughing so hard that he obviously didn't recieve said spanking. (c:

He is totally obsessed with trains, too (I mean, what kid isn't???)...that is pretty much how we keep both of the little crazies busy most of the time. And while of course they don't get along all the time, he is a pretty great big brother and enjoys torturing...er, I mean *playing* with his little sister, even when she destroys EVERYTHING he ever builds. (c:

We can't help but be a little (okay, maybe a lot) proud of him and we LOVE that he is part of our family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADEN!!!

Confession time

So my embarrassing lack of blogging may or may not be due to the fact that I cannot for the life of me figure out how to download my pictures off my camera to this computer. I can do it from our laptop, but not this computer. It's just pathetic. I know.

However, I am very good at stealing photos off facebook and so that is what I did. Mwah ha ha. I know, it's totally ridiculous that I don't just figure it out. (c:

So without further ado, I give you my stolen Christmas pictures. Thanks Auntie Moriah and Papa Pat!

Everytime we ask her to smile, we get this:

My hansome and getting way too big boy

Skylar with her Uncle Eli


This was hilarious...Caden found a shield at the house and is *CONVINCED* that Grandpa Ron uses it to fight dragons. And of course, Grandpa Ron is doing his best to make sure that he stays convinced...(c:

This is as good as it gets for a family picture this year. So close, and yet, so far...

The kids are absolutely *LOVING* the time with Daddy home...can't you tell?

I guess Daddy is enjoying it a little, too.

Hope you all had a great Christmas, too! Happy New Year!!!