Holiday Cheer!

Bartlett's and Jaxson viewing the Christmas lights on Thoroughbred.

Trying to get a picture of all the kids.

Jaxson and Jack holding hands. How cute are they.

This picture is taken in front of our favorite house. It is a little off the path, but well worth the extra walking.

The Hartman's. This is Taryn's second year being pregnant; however, this year she was able to walk it with us.

Tyson came straight from work, he looked very dressed up for the occasion.

Family photo at Bass Pro Shop, after visiting Santa. All three did very well. NO tears for my kids.

The kids had a great time in the kids room at the Creche Festival.

Thanksgiving in So Cal

The Beach in November. This is one of the many reasons why I love living in Southern California. We spent the day with my sister, Shauna, and her family at New Port. We had a great time. Jaxson even went in the water.

Jaxson makes friends where ever he goes. He found an older gentleman who was enjoying his afternoon at the beach by himself. He walked right up to him and started to talking. He didn't seem to mind Jaxson's company.

Carson trying to feed Uncle Alan food that fell in the sand.

Carson eat shovel after shovel of sand. He loves the stuff. He would drop a chip or cookie in the sand and proceed to eat it. Yum Yum.

Our Trip to Long Beach Aquarium

Grandma and Jaxson at the sting ray and shark pool.

Jaxson wanted to find all the fish on the poster in the tank. It was very cute.

One of the sting rays came half way out of the water so we could touch it. It was the coolest thing. I was very proud of my self for touching it since I was stung by one in my teenage years.

Seattle Trip Day 7

On Day 7 we had a lot of things planned. We started off by going to Pikes Market. That place was a lot of fun. Seeing fish fly through the air, eating pastries, and of course the golden pig.After Pikes Market we went on the Mono Rail to the Seattle Center where we Rode the Ducks. These are guided tours through the city on the back of what they call a duck. It's basically a car and a boat all in one. You get a guided on the water also. We saw the Sleepless in Seattle house on that tour. We had a tour guide that was a riot. He had music that went with almost every attraction we saw as well as costumes that went with those songs.

Perry and DeDe went out and bought the kids some toys that day, which the kids really loved. We also went down to the locks. These are like a miniture Panama Canal. To get the boats from the salt water to the fresh water is a big process. The water levels are almost a fifteen foot difference. It was cool to see the locks work. We also saw a beautiful Great Dane. The kids loved it. We also went into the Bar where the final episode of The Deadliest Catch is always filmed. That was cool too.

Seattle Trip Day 7: Pikes Market, Mono Rail, Ride the Ducks, and the Locks.

Seattle Trip Day 6

Alright I think it is about time for us to finish posting our trip.

This day was a special day because it was Jaxson's birthday. Tyson and I hadn't bought him a present because we didn't want to haul it up there just to turn around and haul it back. We ended up buying a gift for him anyway because that's kind of lame not to get a gift on your birthday. He ended up having to sleep with the dump truck we bought him because he wouldn't part with it when it came time to go to bed.

That day we went to the Seattle Aquarium. The kids loved it. Carson sat in his stroller the entire time, mezmorized by all that was going on. The only part he didn't like was when he touched one of those spiky things in the pool. I don't know what they are called, but their spikes really do hurt. Why wouldn't they? They're spikes!

That night we had dinner with DeDe and her boyfriend Perry. We had a little birthday party for Jaxson. It was a great day.

Seattle trip day 6 Aquarium and Birthday party.

Hours of Fun

A while back I made this tent for a birthday party, a few people seemed interested in having a tent of their own for their kids. I thought it might be a great Christmas present for family or friends. My kids love playing in it and they are so excited whenever I pull it out.

Since material is such a personal choice, you are more than welcome to buy your own material. I would probably recommend doing that and I will sew and put it together for you. Option 2 is to have me buy the material which then will be added into the total cost.

The first 3 people to order will get a price break at $18.00 and there after $25.00. Please contact me if you have questions and to place your order.

Seattle Trip Day 5

We woke up the next morning ready to hit the town. DeDe had a ton of things planned so we could get the scope of what Seattle was like. We started off that morning by going to the Seattle Center and visited the Pacific Science Center. We found a great place to park which was right in front of the whole Seattle Center block, what we didn't realize was that the Pacific Science Center was on the opposite side of the whole block. Another thing we didn't know was that Bumbershoot was going on. A huge music festival where groups like Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry, Sheryl Crow etc. So the whole block was blocked off unless we wanted to buy tickets to the festival.

We walked all the way around the block, in the rain, then got to the science center. We couldn't have chosen a better place for the kids to go and play. They loved to learn about the bugs and the dinosaurs. We spent some time in the Tropical Butterfly House. The butterflies were every where. It was beautiful.

Seattle Trip Day 4

Sunday morning came along and we decided to go to church at Tyson's ward on his mission. There were so many people he didn't get to see the day before so it was good for him to see all those old faces. Most people recognized him. He was in Zillah for a year so it didn't surprise me. They were all so nice and welcoming, even though our children had the worst Sunday of all time.

After church we drove up to Seattle. About a two and a half hour drive. The pass was pouring rain. The whole way. It was a down pour. The Seattle area was welcoming us to it's city with its typical rain.

We got to my sisters house and went right out to a park to let the kids run around. We found a little park where there was a fountain. The kids didn't care that it was 50 degrees outside. They ran through that water and played for about 30 minutes. They couldn't get enough of it. They were soaking and shivering by the time we got back to DeDe's place.

Seattle trip day 4, church, driving in pouring rain, kids almost dying of hypothermia, and enjoying our time with DeDe.

Seattle Trip Day 3

So now that we were in Tyson's mission we were on his turf. Granger is a little tiny town 20 miles outside of Yakima Washington. There really isn't much going on there, it is, however the "Land of the Dinosaurs". It was named the "Land of the Dinosaurs" because they have dinosaurs that are made of cement. No other reason. There are no dinosaur exibits, bones, or anything like that to have it named the "Land of the Dinosaurs".

That didn't matter to Jaxson, he loved the dinosaurs.

After Tyson took him to see all the different dinosaurs in town, we went into Zillah to see some of the members in his ward. It was Saturday morning so only one family was actually home. We sat and talked with the Sainsbury's for about an hour. They are a wonderful family and that was definately one of the highlights of our trip in Tyson's mission.

While we were there, Tyson picked up this little chihuahua that was running down the street. He brought the dog into the van and gave it to Carson. Carson was elated and wouldn't let go of the dog. When we left the Sainsbury's, Carson cried and cried because he didn't want to leave the dog.

That night was the first BYU game of the season, and if you know my husband, he can't miss a game. So we watched it over at the Aylings (the owners of the barn house). They had a huge BBQ for our family many of their kids and grand kids there to join in the festivities. BYU won so Tyson couldn't have been any happier.

Seattle trip day 3, Fun with the Dinosaurs, visit with Sainsbury's, and BBQ at Aylings. Pretty fun day.

Seattle Trip Day 2

After a good nights sleep, we took our time getting going in the morning. We were planning on going to Tyson's mission area, but that was only a 6 hour drive, so we had all day. We got up with the kids and had waffles for breakfast then were off on the road at about 10 am.

If you haven't ever taken the drive up the 62 and on to the 97 I highly recommend it. It's a two lane highway, but the scenery is breathtaking.

Once again, the kids did really well for such a long drive. They cried quite a bit, but I couldn't have expected them to do any better. On our way into his mission, Tyson rolled down the windows and said, "Take a wiff of that." I thought he meant he farted, but in reality he was telling me to smell the peppermint. His area had peppermint fields that had been freshly cut. It was wonderful. Such a pretty area with all the apples, peaches, asparagus, peppermint, hops fields.

We arrived that day into Tyson's mission area of Zillah/Granger. Some members of the ward there invited us to stay at their house. Their house is literally a barn. It was converted into a home many years ago. We had the whole upstairs to ourselves. We got there kind of late in the day so we basically got there, ate dinner, then crashed for the night.

Seattle trip day 2, more driving, arriving in Granger.

Seattle Trip Day 1

So we decided to go to Seattle. My sister DeDe lives up there and we thought there wouldn't be a better time to go. So I told Tyson that I would be leaving. He, somehow, was able to get the time off even though our estimated depature date was two weeks ahead. So we left on Sept. 3rd.

We left at about 6:30 A.M. and drove for 6 1/2 hours and stopped for lunch in Sacramento. My brother Robbie and his wife Carla live up there, so they were able to join us for lunch. We continued on our way and made it to White City, OR 5 hours later. We stayed at my friend Emily and Dusty's house that night. They were such great hosts and we had an enjoyable time seeing them again.

Seattle trip day 1, a lot of driving.