THE HOYT FAMILY

I PASSED!!!!!!!

2012-01-18T22:25:00.000-08:00

I PASSED MY STATE BOARDS!!!!

I AM OFFICIALLY A NURSE!

YAY!!!!

Family Pictures 2011

2012-01-15T14:59:00.001-08:00

FAMILY PHOTOS 2011

My entire family was in town this year for Christmas, so we decided to do family pictures. My family hasn't had a family picture done since I was 2 years old, and bald :)

So, this was a big deal! We got everyone together at the State Capitol building, and my amazing friend and photographer, Tasha Whitmill (cherishthesemoments.blogspot.com) did a fabulous job! I wish that I could put all of the pictures up on here, but there were SO many good ones! So, I picked a few and put them up. I hope you like them :)

Proof

2012-01-07T14:14:00.001-08:00

I'm a GRADUATE!!!!

Last night I graduated as a Licensed Practical Nurse! It has been a long, hard road, and I couldn't have done it without the support of my family and friends. I just want to thank them for the encouragement, support, and listening ear. Love you all!!

The Holidays

2011-12-26T16:22:00.000-08:00

The holidays were a blast this year! We were able to spend time with extended family, and to spend time as just our own little family.

On Christmas Eve we spent the day with my family doing our traditional "play day", and then on Christmas day we were surprised with gifts from Santa, had a wonderful time at church, and then visited with Chad's family.

My favorite part of Christmas time is watching the pure excitement of my girls. They make Christmas worth every penny, every long line in a store, every late night wrapping....you get the idea. Christmas is just so magical for them, and seeing them so happy is magical for me.

Here is a picture line of Christmas Eve to Christmas Day:

Breakfast with the crew

The bounce house: I think this picture says it all!

Look who stopped by for a visit....

Those sneaky elves....they must have snuck in when Santa was visiting to drop off new jammies :)

A lot of hanging out....

This year we decided to only have appetizers for dinner. It was a huge success!

(I'm not exactly sure why my forehead looks so huge in this picture...just focus on the food :) )

Of course we had to play the chimes!

Christmas Day:

Yay!! Santa came!

Visiting at Grandma Beverly's

This is a picture of one of the coolest presents the girls got this year. Drew and Kirstin gave them these hair clips. Can you tell what they are??

We have been SO blessed this year, and we have the most wonderful families in the world! We love you all!

Merry Christmas!!!

Echo's of Christmas

2011-12-23T14:46:00.000-08:00

David and Paige invited us to go to Echo's of Christmas this year. I had never heard of it before, but they do it every year at Liberty Park, and it is a live walk-through story of the birth of Jesus.

You walk from one section to another, and they tell a portion of the story, but they don't just tell it, they sing! And, they have really good voices!

As we walked through, it started to snow, but Grandpa was prepared with had warmers to go around. And, the snow was wonderful because it gave the atmosphere such a peaceful feeling. The girls had so much fun, and I really liked taking a break from all of the commercialized Christmas stuff, and putting the focus on what Christmas is really about.

It worked fabulously, and I think that we are going to try and make it up there every year. To top the night off, David and Paige brought hot cocoa (with marshmallows, Yum!) and cookies. Warmed us up, and brought a smile to little ones faces! Thanks you guys!

Sorry, the pictures aren't the best. I guess that is what you get when you take them with your phone :)

Licensed Practical Nurse

2011-12-14T17:45:00.001-08:00

I'M DONE!

The time has finally come, and believe me, it has been a long time comin! I finished my last final today for my LPN Program! When I first started this program it seemed like there was no light at the end of the tunnel, but now that I am done, it seems like it went by in a blur.

I have had so much fun, seen so much drama, and made some of the greatest friends! It is bittersweet for me to be done, because I am going to miss these wonderful people like crazy!

I'm excited to be starting this new chapter in life, and thinking about getting a job makes my stomach do flips! I haven't had a job in........7 years???? Wow!

I still need to take my state boards, and have my graduation ceremony where I will be pinned, but I am done!

The support that I have had from my family has been amazing! I couldn't have done it without them! I know that this isn't the end of the road, but it is a huge stepping stone, and I am really proud of myself :) I will be starting the RN program soon, but while I am in between semesters, I am going to soak up EVERY second that I can with my girls and Chad! I have missed that part of my life SO much while I have been in school. Life might feel normal again for a little while :)

I plan on getting a job as an LPN, so, WATCH OUT Utah! I might be your nurse soon!!!

Life Flight Clinical

Some of the greatest friends!!

Mindi, Brittney, Me, Sarah, Kelsi, and Lisa

Lab group

This was after we took our finals 1st semester....

Jade, Bobbie, Me, Brittney

Zoo Lights

2011-12-13T17:17:00.000-08:00

FABULOUS!!!

This was the first year that we have ever gone to the zoo lights, and I have to say that I was quite impressed. They were really good! It was perfect weather, and there weren't very many people at the zoo, so we didn't have to fight any crowds. The girls loved seeing all of the lights that looked like animals, and they thought it was "super cool" to see the animals at night. The tigers were up, walking around and roaring at each other. Eeek! It was kindof scary :)

We are definitely going to try and hit the zoo lights every year from now on. Plus, you get to meet some of Santa's reindeer! What could be cooler than that??

New Calling

2011-12-11T17:14:00.000-08:00

Chad has been released from primary!!!!

This has been a LONG time coming. He has been in primary for about 3 years, and was ready for a change.

He is now........the 11 year old SCOUT LEADER!

He isn't quite sure what to make of this new calling, but he is excited.

If you have any great ideas that 11 year old boys would like, let us know!!

DisneyLand Part II

2011-11-08T14:33:00.001-08:00

Our trip was wonderful!! Almost my entire family was able to come (we missed you, Jared and Lauren!!), and Drew and Kirstin were able to come for a couple of days as well. It was so nice to have a break from "life" and just be able to play! And play we did.

I have over 300 pictures, not including the ones that we had taken at DisneyLand by their "people" (when I get those I will probably do another post :) ), so I tried to go through and just pick a couple.......There are a TON in this blog, but I think I did pretty good :) Enjoy!

6am...on our way!

M&M Factory in Vegas

Walking the Strip ( We got ALOT of stares! lol)

Waiting for the Bellagio show

All snuggled together in one bed. Surprisingly they slept better this way then they do at home.

Watching a movie in the theater room at the house we stayed in in Anaheim

Uncle Drew and Pemberlynn

Aunt Kirstin and McKinzley

Star Tours

Fairy Godmother

Walking down Main Street

In their princess dresses

This picture was taken right after I accused Snow White of holding hands with Chad. Ya, turns out she wasn't really holding his hand. I'm pretty sure I scared the crap out of her.

Taylin dancing with Phineas and Ferb

After Grizzly Bear River Run. Soaked!!

Being there at Halloween time was so much fun!

Eating icecream :) So yummy!

The Beach. It was one of the coldest and most windy days of the week. The girls loved it!

Seaweed is a really strange plant.

SEA WORLD

Looking at the dolphins

Starfish

Exhaustion is starting to set in.

Face painting!!

SAN DIEGO ZOO

They let them pet the tortoise!! So neat!

I wish I could have put all of my pictures on here! We had such a fabulous time! I'm SO glad that we were able to go, and that the girls were able to have this experience. We decided on the way home that we are going to try and go back in about 2 years. It really is a magical place!

I'M THREE!!!

2011-11-04T16:03:00.001-07:00

Pemberlynn is three!! I can't believe it! She is so grown up now. I swear it happened overnight.

For her birthday we headed to Jungle Jim's Playland (NOT my favorite place in the world), but we were the only ones there, so it turned out to be really fun!

Then we came home and she opened her presents. Her two favorite things she got were a pretend cell phone, and a purse that my mom got for her. It is pretty fancy. It reminds me of a Flapper girl :) She carries those two things around everywhere.

After we ate dinner we had some scrumptious cake. Pemberlynn asked if she could have "a ducky cake". My best friend Cami made it for Pemberlynn. Not only was this cake delicious, but it was the cutest cake ever! I seriously think she should go into business! It is absolutely darling, and Pemberlynn LOVED it! Thanks Cami!!

I took a ton of pictures of everything, so I tried to minimize how many I put on here.....it didn't work so well :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEMBERLYNN!!

Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

DisneyLand Part 1

2011-10-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

9 Days, 1700 miles driven.....

Had a BLAST!!!!

EXHAUSTED................

(Pictures to come as soon as I can get the energy :) )

Bullies

2011-10-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

Lets just say that I really despise them.

Today I got a call from my girls elementary school, but since I was in class at the time I wasn't able to answer the call. When I had a break I called the school back (they left no message) and the secretary, after finding out who I was, told me that Taylin had been threatened by someone. This is how the conversation went:

Me: "What happened?? Who threatened her??"

Secretary: "The student is with the principle right now"

Me: "What did the kid say to Taylin?"

Secretary: "Ummm....the student is with the principle right now"

Me: "Can you at least tell me if it was someone that was older than her, or someone in her same class?"

Secretary: "It was a student in her class"

Me: "Is there any way that I am going to be able to get any information from you?"

Secretary: "Well, ummmm, well, the student told your daughter that he was going to light her on fire."

Me: "WHAT???!!!! Is she okay???"

Secretary: "We contacted your husband, so if you need more information then you should talk to him."

Me: I hung up the phone.

Seriously? Why in the world would they not tell a mother what was happening to her child?? I was really, really upset. I called Chad and got the rest of the story. I found out from Taylin when she got home from school that the boy had been suspended for 3 days. But really? My daughter had to tell me? There was no call from the school telling us how things had been resolved. It is amazing how quickly my "momma bear" instincts kicked in as soon as I called the school. And my biggest worry now is, how is Taylin going to feel when this kid is back at school? Is she going to be scared? Will this kid be mad that he got in trouble and take it out on Taylin again? I despise bullies!! And really? "I'm going to light you on fire" ??? Where did this kid come up with that? I wish that I could talk to his parents. All of this just makes me scared for what kind of world my girls are growing up in. My girls are still young, but they are being exposed to some of the uglier things in this world. I hope that this will stop here, because if something happens again, I'm pretty sure that they won't like how involved I will be.

Along The Same Lines.......

2011-09-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

I found this little quote today, and it would have fit perfectly with my previous post.

So, I decided to share it.

It is completely how I feel right now in my life.

"There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad, and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living. Being alive is a gift, being happy is by choice.."

Are You Happy?

2011-09-16T15:40:00.001-07:00

I just love this!

It is so true! If we want to be happy, then we need to figure out the things that make us happy and go for them! It is just a waste to sit and complain about the things that we have control over. I am going to really try and do the things that will make me and my family happier.

So, my new goal: BE HAPPY!

My shy little preschooler

2011-09-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

BREXLYN IS IN PRESCHOOL!

Brexlyn started preschool this week, and she loves it!

I was nervous because she is a little shy, and I wanted her to enjoy herself.

I was sad for 2 reasons: 1) She is growing up too fast. 2) I didn't get to take her on her first day....I had school :(

BUT, she went in like a trooper, and had a ball!

I'm so excited for her to be able to have this exposure, and help her to come out of her little shell!

Bear World, Part II

2011-09-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

We loved Bear World so much when Chad and I went, that we decided that we were going to plan a time to take the girls back.

For Chad's birthday, his brother Ryan gave him a coupon to get a carload into Bear World. This helped speed things up :)

We decided on Friday night that we were going to wake the girls up early and drive up to Bear World (4 hour drive) for the day. We figured we would drive up there, spend the day, and then drive home when it was bedtime so that the girls would sleep. We didn't tell the girls that we were going until we were in the car and on our way. They were SO excited!

We spent most of the day at Bear World, and then we went to some parks that we found in Rexburg to try and wear our girls out so that they would sleep on the drive home.

After we played for awhile, we went over to Chad's brother Ryan's in-laws house for a BBQ. It was delicious, and we are so thankful that they were willing to have us over!

We left right when it was bedtime, and we thought we were going to have a nice quiet ride home, but of course that didn't happen! The girls didn't fall asleep until almost 10pm, and then once they were asleep, Pemberlynn kept waking up crying because she couldn't get comfortable. Poor little thing :( Other than that, we had a FABULOUS trip!! It was nice to take a little family vacation in the middle of all that is going on in life right now. It felt good!! Here are a few pictures of our little jaunt.

We couldn't quite get them all looking at the same time :)

I thought this picture of Taylin was SO funny! I have no idea what she was doing.

First Day's

2011-09-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

The first day of school is always an exciting day. New clothes, new teachers, new friends, meeting up with old friends, etc. The girls could hardly wait to get out of the house. McKinzley is now a 3rd grader, and excited to learn how to write in cursive. Taylin is a 2nd grader, and loves the monkey bars. And Oaklee is in Kindergarten. She is excited to just be able to go to the "big school". Here they are on their first day.

Taylin and McKinzley

Oaklee

Brexlyn and Pemberlynn (they didn't want to be left out of the picture taking fiasco :) )

Brexlyn starts preschool on Tuesday, and she can't wait!! For three days a week Pemberlynn will be the only child home. That will be interesting......:)

Cheers to a great school year!!!!

Immunocompromised

2011-08-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

I had a very sobering experience yesterday. For my nursing program we were able to have a clinical at Primary Children's Hospital. I was assigned to be on the Immunocompromised Unit, which in normal english means, pediatric oncology. Cancer. Little kids. Scary!!

I was excited to be able to have this opportunity because there is a really good chance that I will never have this type of opportunity again. But, I was also scared, nervous, and anxious about whether or not I would be able to handle it emotionally. I tried to mentally prepare myself before I got there. I kept telling myself that I just needed to focus on the patients, as if they were just normal patients........not that they had cancer and how it was tearing their lives, and families apart.

The first couple of hours went really well, and I was thinking to myself, "Wow, I am doing really good at keeping my emotions in check". This is probably the point that I should have told myself that the reason that I was doing so well was because it was 6:00am and all of the patients were still asleep. Everything seemed pretty normal. They were like any other patient that I have had to work with. Of course there were the slight differences that reminded you that they were cancer patients, such as their cute little balding heads. But nonetheless, it was like most other clinicals that I had been to before.

I helped do a blood transfusion, platelet transfusion, different kinds of medications, but when it really started to hit me was when we started giving them their chemotherapy. My patients were 6, 4, and 3 years old. We went into the 6 year olds room to start his chemotherapy for the morning and the nurse I was following handed me a special gown, gloves, and goggles to put on. I was shocked. We looked like the hazmat people going to clean up some toxic spill. But, then I realized, we were dealing with something that really is that toxic. What was even worse was seeing the look on the face of the mother of this child. Complete horror. The fact that we had to put so much protection on to protect ourselves from this drug, when in turn we are putting it directly into her child's body. Like any parent she asked us why. And I listened to my nurse explain to the mother that we needed to wear this protective gear to protect ourselves and her child just in case there was a leak in the IV bag that contained the chemo so that if it splashed on us, we would be protected, and also it would protect her child because the nurse puts themselves between the patient and the chemo bag while hooking it up to protect the patient just in case. I can't imagine how that mother felt. Having her child have to be subjected to toxins to try and win the harsh battle against cancer. That was when my emotional confidence started to waiver.....

Then we went into the 4 year olds room. He was by himself. No mom, no dad......no family at all by his side. This little boy was going through chemotherapy by himself. I was told that his mother would come for 1 hour a day to be with her son, and that was all. This poor little guy literally had a zero on his immune test, so he was not allowed to come out of his room because of the chance of him getting sick. So, he laid, curled up on his bed. My heart broke. I found myself judging his mother. I was thinking to myself that if it were my child, there would be no way I would leave them alone for a second. And, who could leave their 4 year old to face something like this by themselves?? I really had to put myself in check. One of the most important things we learn in nursing school is not to judge people that don't do things the way that we think they should. I wasn't being fair. I didn't know the circumstances of the family, and maybe there really was a legitimate reason that it had to be this way. Maybe she had to work, maybe there was no other family around to help, maybe she didn't have neighbors that she could ask to help. I was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. Then, my nurse told me. There was no reason. She just didn't come. She was at home the other hours of the day, and she would only dedicate an hour to her child. My nurse also told me that it wasn't something that was uncommon. Again, broke my heart, and my emotions were on the brink of explosion.

Then we move on to my third patient. A little 3 year old. This little one had a brain tumor that you could see bulging off the back of the head. You could see a shunt just underneath the skin on the child's scalp that was supposed to be helping to drain the fluid away from the brain, and you could see the scars that covered the child's head from the many surgeries that they had been subjected to. I had to help hold this little 3 year old down while the nurse removed a needle that was hooked into a device that was inside the chest that the child received the chemo through. As I am holding this little 3 year old down, the child is crying and is looking at me and saying, "No, no, no, pwease don't huut (hurt) me!" "Pwease weeve me awone!" "Mommy! Make them stop!" I about lost it. It took everything I had to keep my composure while doing this. As a nurse you are wanting to help people, do everything in your power to help their bodies heal. I felt like I was betraying this little one. We were terrifying them. And what was sitting in the back of my mind, that made it even harder, that made me think we were doing all of this in vain, was the fact that, this child was going to die. They don't think that the child will last past October. Despite this diagnosis, the parents are continuing the chemo, they are continuing to fight even though there is less than 1% chance it will work. The brain tumor is inoperable. And, here we are, inflicting pain on this little one that should just be able to enjoy life as much as possible. I had so many thoughts and emotions going through me at one time. I was so sad that I was having to help on a procedure that hurt, and terrified this little one. I was angry that the parents were choosing to continue this awful treatment even though their child was going to die with it. I felt they were being selfish. I felt guilty for being judgmental because I put myself in their shoes and I found myself thinking that I would be the same way. I would fight every way I could to have my child stay with me. I was hurting for the mother and what she must be going through. Knowing that if she were to stop doing the chemo treatments would be like saying you were okay with your child dying. And I was angry that this little one had to go through this at all. That any of these kids have to go through this. It just seems so unfair. And then I felt it, the Holy Ghost. A sense of peace washed over me. And I knew that Heavenly Father knows of these children and what they are going through. He knows their pain. He knows what the families are feeling. I knew that even though that little boy didn't have his mom with him, he was not alone. And I knew that there was a reason for all of this to happen to these littles ones. I don't understand it, but I know that Heavenly Father is protecting them how they need it, and comforting them. I don't know that I could explain it in words more than that.

I wouldn't trade this clinical for anything. If I could go back and choose a different department, I wouldn't have. This was such a faith and testimony building experience for me. I thought that I would get some great nursing skills on this unit, but I ended up getting so much more than that. These children are angels here on Earth, and I am so blessed to have been able to be in their presence and learn from them.

Happy Birthday Brexlyn!!!

2011-08-10T09:14:00.001-07:00

My sweet Brexlyn turned 4!!!

We have so many birthdays that we celebrate during the summer, but each one is as fun as the last!

I know, its corny, and I say it all of the time, BUT, I REALLY can't believe how fast my girls are growing up!

Brexlyn's birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so we celebrated with presents and cake on her birthday, and then a couple of days later we took her to the "Kid's Pool" in Provo to swim. (We sure love that place!) Although, I don't have any pictures of us at the pool because it is against the rules to take pictures inside the pool area. Just know that we had a blast anyways :)

We had the missionaries over for dinner on Brexlyn's birthday which she absolutely loved......more people celebrating with her :) She had a TinkerBell birthday cake, and most of her presents had to do with TinkerBell as well. She wore them around the entire day.

SHE IS SO CUTE!!!!

Here are a few things about Brexlyn...

1. Her favorite color is green.

2. She loves stretchy pants and tu-tu's

3. She can be stubborn :)

4. She has a fabulous imagination!

5. She has taken Pemberlynn under her wing, and hovers over her like a little mother hen.

6. She loves chapstick (it doesn't last long in her hands though because she tends to take little nibbles of it when she is putting it on her lips)

7. She loves to snuggle.

8. She sings to herself quite often.

9. She loves to color.

10. Her favorite animal is a giraffe.

11. She is tender-hearted.

I'm so excited to watch her grow and change over the next year!! Happy Birthday Brexlyn!!!

IT'S OVER!!!

2011-08-03T10:36:00.001-07:00

Summer semester is finally over!!!! I thought I was being Soooooo smart taking 5 classes over the summer so that I could just get everything out of the way as fast as possible. What I realized about half-way through the semester is that someone should have slapped me upside the head and told me not to do it. It was extremely stressful juggling 5 classes, 5 kids, and a husband working out of town most of the summer. I am SO thankful to my mom who helped out a TON!! She is the absolute best!! And, now that the semester is over, I really am happy that I just buckled down and got these classes out of the way. I now have my Associates Degree!! Here are a few stats of the semester:

5 classes

9 weeks

9 papers

2 group projects

27 tests

45 discussion posts

4 dance performances

1 REALLY mean teacher

1 loopy teacher

3 non-exisistent teachers

But the redeeming quality of it all????

Straight A's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Triathlon

2011-08-02T15:11:00.001-07:00

I SURVIVED!!!!

This past Saturday I participated in the Layton Triathlon.....Mini Triathlon, but a triathlon none the less.

I headed up there Friday night and met my friends to get my packet with my racing number, and get my body markings. (I felt really fancy walking around with this number scrawled down my arms and the back of my legs :) ) Plus, I got a T-shirt! Its not the fanciest shirt there ever was, but it proves that I was involved :)

After we got all of our papers in order we headed to Olive Garden to fill up on a carb-filled meal to give us energy in the morning. I'm not sure if that kind of thing really works or not, but I like to believe that it does, so that every bite of that pasta is for a valid purpose.

We headed back to Kelly's house, because we figured it would be better to sleep at her house so that we wouldn't have to get up as early in the morning to be at the race. Well, the idea was good, but it didn't really happen that way. We stayed up late talking, laughing, and having some EXTREMELY interesting conversations, but it was SO much fun to be with these girls. I love their guts!!!

Despite the late night, and the early morning start (6:00am), we headed to the race all pumped up. I found out that most triatheletes don't swim, so our little group started off the ENTIRE triathlon! It was a complete adrenaline rush!!

It is hard to tell what is going on in this picture, but this is where we started the triathlon, and in the pool you can see a little group of heads in the pool by the wall.....thats us!!

These pictures are slightly out of order. The next few are of us getting ready for the triathlon.

Getting our numbers pinned on.....

We are were really excited about the numbers on our arms :)

And this is us after we all finished the triathlon... champions!! (Seriously though, my friend Anna took 1st place over all in the womens!!!)

The energy in the racing atmosphere is amazing! You can feel the adrenaline running through everyone else, and it pumps you up even more. We started off with the swimming, which went really well, and then we headed to the biking. I was about half-way through the biking portion, and the gears on the bike stopped working. I was in the middle of a neighborhood, so I pulled off to the side, luckily right in front of a couple that was having a yard sale. Somehow a shoe lace had become tangled in the gears of the bike, and made it so I couldn't even peddle. I was at a loss of what I was going to do. I was starting to think that I wouldn't be able to finish the race and I was frustrated that this was happening, and to be honest, I was getting a little teary-eyed. But, this sweet man who was having the yard sale ran inside his house had brought out some scissors and his tool box, and sat and helped me unscrew parts of the bike, and cut the shoelace out of the gears. I was so thankful to him for being willing to help me! Such a beautiful act of service to me. I really hope he knows how thankful I am to him. He was such a great guy! And, not only did he spend the time helping me, but he didn't even make me clean up the mess, he just said, "Go! Don't worry about it, I can clean it up. Good luck!!". Such a sweet man.

From then on it went really well. The rest of the biking was great, and the run was on a paved path that went along side a little stream, and was for the most part covered in shade. The best part was when I crossed the finish line. It was kind of like a scene out of a movie....All of my friends were cheering for me, and running behind me as I crossed over the line. Such a sense of accomplishment! I felt great!! I was so proud of myself for finishing. When I decided to do this I figured I could do it once, and then check it off my bucket list and never have to do it again. But after finishing this one, I WANT to do it again! I loved the feeling I got while doing it. My friends and I decided that we are going to do this every year. I can't wait until next year!

Tradin 'em In

2011-07-24T14:20:00.001-07:00

After over 8 and a half years of changing diapers (sometimes having 3 girls in them at one time), I am SO excited to say that.....WE ARE DONE!!!! No more diapers in the Hoyt home...WAHOO!!! About 2 weeks ago Pemberlynn traded these.....

In for these.

We have had no accidents, and we are still going strong. She absolutely adores her Dora panties.

We figured while we were doing the whole "tradin" thing, that we would trade this.....

In for this.

Our Pemberlynn is officially a little girl. (In the picture she is giving a thumbs up).

I can't say that I am sad that I am out of this stage of life, because I'm not, but I am sad to acknowledge that my girls are growing up, and fast at that. I'm so excited to see how they will grow and experience life, and at the same time it terrifies me right out of my skin! I just want the best for them, like every mother out there. So, I will enjoy every second of them growing up into beautiful young ladies. On to the next phase!!!

She could HARDLY wait!!

2011-07-22T14:00:00.001-07:00

While Oaklee was in preschool this past year she met her future husband (according to Oaklee). His name is Walker. Walker is the best thing that has happened to Oaklee since rice with butter (her favorite thing to eat). She talks about him non-stop, she plans their future together. And if it comes true, I will be the proud grandparent of at LEAST 20 kids, all from Oaklee and Walker. She even has names for these kids, although most of them have repeating names, but that is a minor detail that can be worked out later. To say it simply, Oaklee is smitten with Walker. And Walker is smitten with Oaklee. They have played together at Walker's house since preschool has gotten out, but they haven't had a play date at our house yet. Well, that day finally came today. Oaklee was up at the crack of dawn asking me every 2 minutes if it was time for Walker to come over. Finally, at 6:30 am, I told her that she needed to get dressed and ready before Walker arrived. I thought this would distract her, and maybe give me a little reprieve from the questions. Well, she got ready all right. She wanted to make sure that she was "all sparkly and magical" when Walker saw her. Thanks to Taylin's new make-up collection, Oaklee was able to make herself presentable........

Walker is one lucky little fellow!!!

Sometimes its hard....

2011-07-20T16:10:00.001-07:00

...to find excitement in watching your dad build a deck........

Can't Get Enough

2011-07-18T21:36:00.001-07:00

I just can't get enough of our cabin! We just returned home after spending a week up there. It is an absolute care-free environment. I love the fresh air, and my girls being able to play in the mountains. This is the second week that we have spent up there this summer, and I am already trying to weasel in some more time. I have so many great memories from my childhood while at the cabin, and it has been so much fun to see my girls having the same experiences, and to be able to love it as much as I do. Cherished moments!

I'm 7!!!

2011-07-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLIN!!!

I know I sound like a broken record, but I really can't believe how fast my girls are growing up! Taylin has become such a beautiful girl in the past seven years. She is tender-hearted, a great friend to everyone, a fabulous big sister, and so kind and sweet.

Every year on her birthday, Taylin chooses to go to the Veteran's Pool in Provo. We LOVE this pool! Great price, and so much fun! We spent the day at the pool, where I did have my camera, but I neglected to take any pictures :) Then we headed back to the cabin for what else??? It wouldn't be Taylin's party if we didn't have...

After we gobbled down our pizza it was time for presents. She came away with a bunch of fun things.

And then there was the cake

Everyone was able to enjoy Taylin's presents :)

Happy Birthday Taylin!! I love you!!

The 4th

2011-07-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday of the year. This year was full of games, fireworks, chatting, laughing, and just plain fun. Here are a few (Okay...a lot of photos) of the festive weekend.....

Audrey and McKinzley

Kirstin and Pemberlynn doing snaps, and also collecting potato bugs

Brothers

Kirstin's family and friends came for some of the fireworks and Pemberlynn made some new friends :)

Playing at the cabin

Walking up the camp to see the creek

Best buddies

David and Paige gave Taylin and I some wonderful gifts for our birthdays while we were visiting on the 4th. Taylin got some make-up that she absolutely LOVES!

I received this beautiful picture of the Timpanogos Temple. Thank you David and Paige for making us feel special!!

Minute to Win It....Hoyt Style!

And of course.....FIREWORKS!!!!!

Fabulous holiday weekend! So blessed to live in this free country, and have the life that I do!

The Call of Duty.....

2011-07-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

Jury Duty that is......I wasn't able to talk my way out of it this time. Apparently being a full-time student, having 5 little kids, and having a husband that is out of town are not good enough reasons to shirk my duties. So I am officially "on-call" for duty. I will let you guys know if I am part of anything exciting!

To: My Man

2011-06-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

I've debated on how sappy to make this post. Well, because, I'm pretty sappy right now.

After a little bit of a debate, I think I'll save the sappy stuff for his card.

Your welcome :) (readers and Chad)

So, I'll say a few things.

I love Chad.

He is the best person I know.

He is the best daddy I know.

He is the best friend I know.

He is the funniest person I know.

He is the best non-famous singer I know.

He is the best builder I know.

He loves me, I know.

I'm lucky, I know.

He would do anything for anyone.

He holds the Priesthood, and honors it.

He is so sweet to me, even when I'm grumpy.

He is super handsome. In fact, that's why I married him. Did you not know that? Yep. It's just a bonus that he is the greatest guy I know. Super bonus. Cherry-on-top bonus. (I really didn't marry him just for his looks, I was fibbing.)

To me, he is pretty much perfect :)

I'm so happy that you were born 31 years ago today Chad! I love you with all my heart!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Love!!!

HOYT REUNION 2011

2011-06-27T14:23:00.001-07:00

HOYT REUNION 2011

The 1st annual Hoyt Reunion was held this year, and it was a BLAST!!! Jam packed with fun activities, people, and food!

It's a Party!! (This wasn't even all of the shoes that graced the doorway) Love it!

We decided to write names on our cups so that we didn't go through so many....

Will those Hoyt boys ever be serious??.....I doubt it :)

Cousins

The kickoff to our reunion started on Thursday night with a delicious steak dinner! Ryan and Corinne were generous enough to provide the steaks, David and Paige the BBQ, and everyone else a delicious side. Then we celebrated all of the June birthdays/Father's day with cake and icecream......2 kinds of icecream :)

After we cleaned up, we had a little FHE about emergency preparedness and made 72 hour kits for our cars. Corinne did a FABULOUS job putting those together, and it made me really think about getting my family ready and prepared in case there is ever an emergency. We need a plan!! Thank you David for giving the lesson, and some great ideas to get us going!

Thursday Pictures

On Friday the girls headed up to Park City for the day to shop and play. We found some GREAT deals at Old Navy (much to the boys dismay, they received matching shorts....we couldn't pass up a deal like that!! :) ) We chatted at lunch, walked up and down main street and just had a great time! Love you ladies!!

Saturday we woke up, ate breakfast, and then it was time for games!! While we were waiting for it to warm up a little bit, Kirstin painted ALL of the little fingers and toes. They looked SO cute!

Then, it was down to the park for kickball tennis, and traditional kickball.

The boys wanted to have girls against boys teams, so we made a few rules for them:

1. They had boundaries to where the ball had to remain in

2. They had to run backwards all of the time....Ha! This part was hilarious!!

I'm pretty sure we creamed them :)

Then it was off to Bridal Veil Falls....after finding parking spots for everyone we headed up the trail. The river was unbelievable! The water is SO high, and SO fast this year!

We finally made it and we were rewarded with some nice cool water to dip our feet into.

After we had our fill of the freezing water we parted ways. It was so much fun to hang out, chat, laugh, play games, and just be with each other. It couldn't have turned out more perfectly! We are definitely going to keep this up every year! Love the Hoyt's!!

I loved SO many of the pictures that we took this weekend, and I wish I could have shared them all, but that would have been too long of a post. But, here are a few more that I wanted to share :) Enjoy!!

There were probably about 30 butterflies on the ground, but I scared most of them away trying to take a picture :)

This is what happens when you play hard all day and then stay up until 11:00pm.....you don't quite make it to your bed.

Three Bears Trail

New Hair Do's for Summer

2011-06-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

The girls have needed haircuts for awhile now, so I finally got around to making hair appointments for ALL 5 of them. They have also been begging me to let them have feathers in their hair. I gave in and we headed down to Kristy's house and she made them fabulous! :)

This was the first time that Brexlyn and Pemberlynn had ever had their hair cut and they did wonderful!

Lots of pictures :)

MCKINZLEY

Before

After

TAYLIN

Before

After

OAKLEE

Before

After

BREXLYN

Before

After

PEMBERLYNN

Before

After

It is hard to see them in the pictures, but the girls each got a feather that is their favorite color. So McKinzley had a yellow feather, Taylin-pink, Oaklee-orange, Brexlyn-green, Pemberlynn-purple. And they LOVE them!! Thank you Kristy!!

5 Tattoo's???

2011-06-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

This quote pretty much sums it up...

"Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face.......you kind of want to be fully committed."

I absolutely adore that quote. Yes it is from a movie...any guesses? And, NO, I am not making an announcement.

I have just been thinking lately how much time and effort goes into being the mother of 5 children. It is truely a constant. A 24 hour a day job (and maybe even then some!) I do love my little girls, they are truely joy in our home.

I am happy to have tatooed my face so beautifully 5 times. I LOVE MY GIRLS!

Pure Bliss

2011-06-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

Trampoline + Sprinkler= 4 hours of non-stop fun!!!

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT I'M GOING TO DO??

2011-06-05T14:41:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went to lunch with a bunch of my gal pals that I haven't seen for a couple of months, and we just sat, relaxed, shared our stories, and enjoyed delicious food from Pei Wei. The whole afternoon was refreshing! Love those girls!

So, during our conversation we all decided to do a.....................

Did you guess it????

We are all doing a MINI TRIATHLON together!!!!! I honestly am worried about DYING while I am doing it, but I am really excited! One thing that I can check off of my bucket list :) So, I am going to have to get my rear in gear and get in shape! And I am really excited to be doing this with my friends. Wish us luck!!!

BEAR WORLD!!!! (I know, SCARY right?)

2011-06-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Chad and I headed up to Rexburg, Idaho for the blessing of his brother's new little baby Rory. Since we don't get very much time together with school, work, and just life, we decided to make it a weekend away for just the two of us.

We found a couple of amazing people to take our girls (THANK YOU Mom, Maria, and Cami!!!) and we headed out on Friday morning. We took our time getting up to Idaho by making few fun stops. When we made it to Rexburg we dropped by Ryan and Corinne's to say hi (and for me to hold Rory :) She is so tiny, and SO adorable!). After a quick hello we headed out to dinner at Frontier Pies. It actually was fantastic, and we stuffed ourselves to the brim. We were going to see the new Pirates movie, but we still had a little time, so we decided to play a little bit of mini golf. We had the entire course to ourselves! We made it through pretty fast, so instead of hitting our balls in on the last hole we decided to go back to the beginning and race through the course as fast as we could. I was in the lead for almost the entire time, but then Chad decided to cheat...just kidding, he won fair and square. I made the mistake of hitting my ball off the course and not being able to find it :)
The movie was fantastic!! I would definitely recommend it!
The next day we headed out early to BEAR WORLD!! Most people that know me know that I am TERRIFIED of bears!!! Seriously! They scare me to death! I won't even go camping because I am afraid of them. I might reconsider the camping thing if we could find an electric fence to go around the tent..... BUT, Chad really wanted to go, so I braved it and went. I do have to say that it FREAKED me out!! Do you realize that you drive through the park in YOUR OWN car?????? The bears are just walking around!!! I about had a heart attack when one of the bears stood up on the car in front of us!
We did go on a tour bus that lets you throw food to the BIG bears! They even stand up against the side of it. I stayed completely inside, and just took pictures while Chad fed the bears.
I did have a chance to feed a baby bear.......AMAZING!!!! I was SO nervous, and I still was even after I had been doing it for a minute (they are feisty little suckers!), but I am so happy that I did it! The baby bears were probably the best part of the whole thing for me.
After Bear World we met up with Chad's brother Ryan, his sister Breann, and their kids and hit the zoo. They were having a bird show, and they were talking about a hawk, and instead of giving it a piece of meat they gave it a tiny little baby chicken!!!! Yellow feathers and all! It was so sad!
Then all of us met up with David and Paige and we hit the bowling alley. It was so much fun! I broke 50!!! I was so proud of myself :) Chad was bowling on the kids lane (with bumpers) and barely broke 100 :) Then we hit the college deli, which was quite delish. Lots of catching up, and chatting, and just plain fun.
On Sunday, Ryan and Corinne treated us to a wonderful potato bar and fruit. Then we headed to church for the blessing. It was beautiful! The whole weekend was amazing, and much needed! So fun to be able to reconnect!

Here are a BUNCH of pictures from Bear World, and a few others.....

This is at Frontier Pies....they served their drinks in these huge Mason Jars.

I like the ones that can't really eat you

GRIZZLY BEAR!!!! They tell you that they are behind electric fences because they are territorial, but who are we kidding??? It is so that they don't eat you!!

This is how close they were!

Baby deer that was born early in the morning on the day we were there

Cute little guys

Me and my cute hubby :)

They would stand up.......

Or sit and beg for food.

EEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!! SO CLOSE!!!

Absolutely amazing experience! (The look on my face is kind of half smiling and half scared)

This hat totally fits Chad's personality!

A potato museum?? We HAD to stop and check it out!

So fun to have a weekend away, but so nice to get home and see the girls!!

So long for now....

2011-05-23T14:24:00.001-07:00

The month of May marks the end of a few things that have been consuming our lives over the past months...

(My computer is being LAME, so these pictures are old, and you might have seen some of them before, so I apologize)

PRESCHOOL GRADUATE

This picture is of Oaklee on her first day of Preschool last year. She was SO excited to go! I can't believe that she is almost in Kindergarten. She just had her graduation on Saturday, and I got a little teary-eyed. My girls are growing up so fast!! BUT, she is so excited to start Kindergarten. She told me that she KNOWS she is ready for kindergarten because she can skip sideways. Definitely a requirement for Kindergarten :)

DANCING

This has been McKinzley's second year of dance with the studio Dance by Denise. She absolutely loves it! She is sad that they take a break for the summer, but we are planning on signing her up again in the Fall. When she first started dancing she was like her mom and pretty uncoordinated, but she has made progress in leaps and bounds, and is quite the little dancer now!

BREXYLN'S SOCCER

The BlueJays season has come to a close. It was an adventure having Brexlyn in soccer. She had her days where she loved going, and then she had her days where she would rather pick the grass. What do you expect from a 3 year old? Her team did really well, and only lost 1 game. She loved getting dressed in her uniform, and often added accessories to it, such as a pink tutu, princess gloves, and striped pants. I think her favorite part of the game was snack time :)

NURSING SCHOOL....SEMESTER 1

First semester down!!!!! I have had so much fun at school! I have learned so much, and have met and become friends with some of the coolest people on the planet! I am glad that we have a break over the summer, but I am sad not to be able to see all of these wonderful people every day. I'm glad that we already have plans to get together numerous times over the summer :) My school plan is still on track, and I can see the tiniest little light at the end of the tunnel, and I am enjoying the ride!!

I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!!!

The animals, they came on by twosies......

2011-05-19T11:15:00.001-07:00

I guess I should start building an arc.......

When will this wet weather go away for awhile???

I need some sunshine!

WELCOME SPRING!!!

2011-05-13T14:23:00.000-07:00

WELCOME SPRING!!!

I'm SO glad that you have FINALLY decided to join us!!

The Dress

2011-05-04T12:25:00.003-07:00

Since McKinzley had her stitches taken out the morning of her baptism, we decided to wait for a couple of weeks before we had her pictures taken in her dress. I LOVE how they turned out!! My friend Tasha took them, and she is wonderful!! (If you want to see more of her work you can look at her blog, www.cherishthesemoments.blogspot.com) Thanks Tasha!! Here are a few of my favorite (It was so hard to pick just a few!)

MY BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL

Easter Weekend

2011-05-04T12:25:00.001-07:00

We had a fabulous Easter weekend this year. It was full of events, and a few dates for me and Chad :) On Friday morning Oaklee had her preschool Easter Egg Hunt. It was POURING rain! But, rain or shine the Easter bunny still comes, so the hunt was on. It only lasted about 30 seconds, and then all of the kids tried to huddle under a little tent with the Easter Bunny while parents took pictures and got soaked :) The kids LOVED it!

Later that night my parents watched our girls and Chad and I went to the temple and did some sealings with David and Paige. The temple is always such a peaceful place to be. I can literally feel the burdens of life slip away while I am in there. It is a sanctuary! And, I love to hear the Sealer's speak and give us their insight on how our work affects people on the other side. It is such a wonderful feeling.

Saturday was completely booked. We started out the morning early with getting McKinzley's pictures taken in her baptism dress (pictures to come in another post). It was FREEZING, but she did so good! I love how they turned out, and you can't see any sign of her little accident :) After she hammed it up for the camera we headed home to my parents house for our annual Easter egg hunt. It was a little warmer outside by this time, and the kids had so much fun. Unfortunately Chad had a really bad headache, so he missed it, and I wasn't able to get very many pictures, but, it was fun nontheless.

Later that evening we met up with David and Paige, and Drew and Kirstin at Red Robin (Yum!) and then went to the movie Hanna. The food was delicious! The movie was............not so good. I'm just not really into all of that violence, and then not really having any closure, plus, most of the good guys died. We decided that next time the girls will pick the movie (maybe the next 10 times, just for good measure). Despite the movie not being so good, we enjoyed hanging out and laughing. It was so fun to get out and have adult conversation :)

That is pretty much our weekend in a nutshell... Here are a few pictures......

Oaklee's Preschool Class

So happy, even in the pouring rain :)

Under the tent with the Easter Bunny

Easter egg hunt at my parents

HAPPY EASTER!

Don't Quit

2011-04-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will.

When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don't YOU quit...

Success is failure turned inside out.

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit.

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

--Author Unknown

Brings a smile to my face

2011-04-18T09:52:00.001-07:00

Brexlyn: Mom! Come here quick! I don't have any arms or my tummy anymore!!

These are her pajama pants....

Funny little things like this bring a smile to my face and make me so happy that I am their mom!!

McKinzley's Baptism Day

2011-04-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

McKinzley's baptism day couldn't have turned out any better! I am still having a hard time thinking that I have an 8-year old! I didn't think that I would be to the point in my life where I could say "It seems like just yesterday that I was preparing for her arrival" so soon. But, here it is! She has grown into such a beautiful young lady! She is thoughtful, smart, genuine, helpful, a good friend, amazing sister, and one of the best daughters that anyone could ask for!

Her day started out EARLY (5:30am), so that she could drive up to Primary Children's to have her stitches taken out (such a blessing how all of that worked out perfectly!). Then when she got home it was off to our neighbors house to have her hair done up so that after she was baptized it would still look pretty and not require any maintenance. It looked SO pretty! I should have gotten a close up picture of it. But, it worked like a dream! After she was baptized her hair still looked perfect :) Then, after she got her hair done we headed down to the church to get hers and Chad's baptism clothes fitted, and then we took some pictures beforehand. I was super smart (insert sarcasm) and forgot to take ANY pictures of her in her baptism dress!! I was going to have some taken a little while after her baptism so that she didn't have her cut on her face, so I guess I just spaced it......oh well. After pictures we headed in to the chapel to wait for the baptism program to start. It was short and sweet! My girls sang the baptism song, and it was SO cute!! Taylin lifted Pemberlynn up to the microphone so that you could hear her singing, and she sang every word perfectly, even the word immersion :) After that we headed in to the R.S. room for the actual baptism, and I will have to admit that I got a little teary-eyed watching Chad baptize McKinzley. The Spirit was so strong, and it was just such an amazing experience! The Gospel has blessed our lives so much, and I am so proud that 1) my husband holds the priesthood, 2) he is able to baptize our children, and 3) that McKinzley chose to be baptized. After she came out of the water and I went in to help her change I asked her how she felt, and she said "I feel SO clean mom, but I am FREEZING!!!" :) After she got dressed we went to the priesthood room so that she could be confirmed. Again, the Spirit was so strong! So many of our family and friends came to support McKinzley, and it mean't so much to her and Chad and I.

We had a lunch at my parents house after the baptism was over. I had so much help with the food! Between my mom, Paige, my sister Maria, and my sis-in-law Kirstin, all I had to do was buy the rolls :) And, afterwards David and Paige took the three younger girls to their house so that we could have a little bit of a break after the baptism. It was SO nice!! The older two girls were playing with some friends, so Chad and I were able to sit and just talk and catch up on our crazy life :) And, boy did those little ones have a great time! All three of them were sacked out by the time they came back home :) Thank you SO much to everyone that helped! Here are a bunch of the pictures that we took. I will put the ones of McKinzley in her dress on here when I get them done :) Enjoy!

OUCH!!!

2011-04-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

I had a clinical in Orem on Monday and when I had a break I checked my phone and saw that I had some voicemails from Chad. Odd. The first voicemail: "Um, Nicole.....The school called and said that McKinzley split her lip and that I need to go get her....Call me when you have a minute." The next voicemail: "NICOLE! Call me AS SOON AS YOU GET THIS! I am taking McKinzley up to Primary Children's Hospital." So, after hearing these messages, I am starting to freak out...ALOT! I called Chad and he said that the school had called him and told him that McKinzley had fallen and split (not really the word I would have used) her lip open and that he "just needed to come up there right-away". He went up to get her and took her to the insta-care. They told him that he needed to take her up to Primary Children's to see a plastic surgeon because of where she had lacerated her face.

I left my clinical and went to pick up our other girls from our good friend Cami who so graciously took the other girls while Chad took McKinzley to the doctor. Thank you Cami!! I got home to the microwave beeping at me and all the fixings for lunch out on the counter. I checked the beeping microwave and there were chicken nuggets still in there, and in the oven there were some corn dogs. He really did drop everything and leave :) I am just glad that he turned off the oven before he bolted out the door :) Anyways, long story short, she had the plastic surgeon sew her back up so that they could make sure that they lined her lip back up so that it wouldn't look funny as she grows. They also noticed that one of her teeth had been smashed back up into her gums. They didn't do anything for it there. They just told us to wait about 2-3 weeks to see if it will come back down on its own. If it doesn't, then they will have to do surgery to pull it back down. Both of her front teeth are permanent teeth, so they said that she will probably have to have a root canal done on the one that was smashed, and maybe on the other front tooth that was knocked loose. I am debating whether to wait that long before I call the dentist?????

When she got home she was still a little loopy, but she said that she felt perfectly good except that her lip felt fat :) Chad told me that they gave her something to snuff up her nose so that she wouldn't really be with it when they gave her a shot in her lip to numb it. So, she was really out of it, but I guess however the doctor was holding her face when he was sewing it up was pushing against her teeth, so she kept saying "ouch". So the doctor kept giving her more shots. Chad said that it was after about the fourth shot the doctor finally noticed that it was because he was pushing on teeth that she was saying ouch. But, McKinzley was too loopy to say where it hurt. So, needless to say, she was REALLY numb! It was sad because that whole half of her face was droopy. She actually slept really well and wanted to go to school this morning. And, the best news of all.....she doesn't have to postpone her baptism!! They are taking the stitches out early in the morning (like 6:00am) on Saturday, so we are cleared for the baptism. She will have a bruise, and maybe still be swollen, but she was NOT going to wait on her baptism :)

Sorry, long story! Here are some pictures....

This picture really doesn't do it justice. It was cut all along the inside of her mouth up higher than on the outside...

After it was sewn up....Looks a lot better!
See that tooth that looks like it is just coming in? Ya, that used to be a normal tooth before it got shoved back up in her gums. And her lips are stained from all of the blood :(
This is her cute little "boyfriend" Rigdon that came over to give her a hug and tell her that he hoped she got better soon. (They are planning to marry each other....just ask them :) )
We also had a visit from the girls cousins who wanted to make sure that McKinzley was doing okay. These are her cousins Allyson and Brooke.
She also got a call from Nana Paige to see how she was doing, but all she told her about was how the nurse's sister works at Sea World with the buluga whales :) It made her feel so special to have so many people concerned for her. Thank you all for your concern and prayers! We love you all!

Mommy-Daughter Shopping Day

2011-04-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

McKinzley's baptism day is sneaking up on us pretty fast! On Friday McKinzley and I headed out on a mommy-daughter shopping date to find her a dress to wear on her baptism day. But, what would a shopping day be without going out to lunch first?? So, I checked McKinzley out of school and we headed to Chili's (Yum) for a delicious lunch and a brownie sundae. McKinzley absolutely loved her mac-and-cheese and side of pineapple. She told me that she wanted to be healthy and that is why she got the pineapple :) Funny girl. This is her enjoying her "awesome" lunch. Who knew mac-and-cheese could be so cool?

After we stuffed ourselves full of deliciousness we headed out to shop. I took her to the store White Elegance, and as soon as we walked in she was BEAMING. The sales clerk was so cute and took McKinzley by the hand and told her that she was going to walk her around the store and pull down any dress that McKinzley liked and wanted to try on. Needless to say, this is what we ended up with...(most of the dresses have one or two dresses hanging up behind them...I think we ended up with about 12 dresses that she wanted to try on)

SHE WAS IN HEAVEN!!!!!

I think that standing in front of this mirror was one of her favorite parts :)

We ended up getting a GORGEOUS dress that she looks SO beautiful in! We did end up trying on EVERY single dress (she has turned out to be quite picky), and she narrowed it down to two. I think it took her about 20 minutes of trying one on and then the other over and over again before she made the decision of the one that she wanted :) I am so excited for her! She is so excited to be baptized! I can't believe that she is so grown up. It was so much fun to spend the day with her and listen to her chat about all of the things that are important to her. She cracks me up! I am so proud of her! I will post pictures of the dress she chose with her baptism pictures........

THEY'RE OFFICIAL!!!

2011-03-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

I had this really great idea of putting Chad and Drew's fancy logo on here, but I have learned that I am EXTREMELY technologically challenged. So, just imagine the following words as an AMAZING looking logo......

HOYT CONSTRUCTION, LLC

GENERAL CONTRACTING AND FRAMING

But, there you have it! They are now officially in business!!! WAHOO!!!

I HAVE AN 8-YEAR OLD!!!!

2011-03-23T14:03:00.001-07:00

They say it, and it is really true...TIME FLIES!!! I can't believe that McKinzley is already 8 years old! This year for her birthday she wanted to just take her 2 best friends out for a "Princess Day Out". On her actual birthday she opened her presents and then had cake and her favorite dinner (breakfast for dinner) that night. I had a clinical so I wasn't able to be there for her blowing out her candles :( But, I was able to take her and her friends on their girls day. It was SO much fun!

It ended up being about 2 weeks after her birthday that we went on the "Princess's Day Out". We had it planned for the first Saturday after her birthday but her little friend was sick, so she decided that she wanted to wait until she could come.

We started out by going and buying them each a pair of flip-flops that they could wear after they got their mani/pedi, and a crown for each of them to wear. After we had those in tow we headed over to the salon to be pampered and boy did they love it!! (I'm getting them hooked early in life!)

So grown up!!

Gotta let them dry..

Finished product

Aren't they cute???!!!!
After they were pampered I took them for dinner and icecream. They were SURE that they needed the "regular" size icecreams from Leatherby's, and since it was for her birthday I let it slide. They each ended up only eating down the the top of the glass and they were full :)
I had just as much fun as these cute girls did! I can't believe that McKinzley is growing up so fast! She is such a sweet, kind, genuine, beautiful young lady. I am so proud of who she has become in these short 8 years. And, I am so excited that she has chosen to be baptized in April!

I love you McKinzley!!

Oaklee's 5th Birthday

2011-03-23T13:47:00.001-07:00

I was really bummed this year because I had clinicals on both Oaklee's and McKinzleys birthdays. So, we decided to celebrate Oaklee's a couple of days early. She decided that she wanted to go to Incredible Pizza (by the way, way too expensive for what you get), with that being said, we had a BLAST! My pictures are a little out of order, but oh well, on of these days I will figure out blogger :)

Oaklee, the morning of her birthday opening presents.

Incredible Pizza Place
This one just makes me laugh! I think Oaklee just scored on McKinzley

Lunch at Incredible Pizza

I absolutely LOVE Oaklee's expressions and enthusiasm!
This was her spotlight at Pre-school
This is the part I missed :( Getting ready to blow out her candles!
The Cake!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OAKLEE!! I LOVE YOU!!

What we've been up to....

2011-02-23T13:44:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since I have posted anything on my blog, but to put it mildly, I am BUSY!! I started the nursing program towards the end of January and it is extremely time consuming, but I am loving every minute of it! Ok, well, not every minute. I really hate carrying this load of books around every day...

And, when I get home, this is what my bed looks like while I am trying to do my homework and study...
But besides feeling like I have a broken back all of the time, I am enjoying school so much! I am finally taking classes that I am interested in. None of those silly prerequisites :) Our cohort is so much fun, and I have made so many fun, new friends.

I was worried that when I went back to school that I would be stressed over the daily things that I used to do at home. Like, thinking "Oh, I have so much laundry to do when I get home", or "I've got to get the rooms cleaned and the bathroom clean". But, I was worrying for NO reason. Can I tell you how wonderful Chad is?? Every day that I get home the laundry has not only been washed and dried, but folded and put nicely away!! The dishes are always done, floors are vacuumed, toys are picked up.....I could go on and on. He has been so WONDERFUL!! The girls have LOVED having their dad home. He has taken them to Cabela's to look at the animals (yes, I know they are dead, but they still love it), to the park, and the zoo a couple of times...

and he lets them wear whatever they want.... Could life be any better??
Things couldn't be working out more perfectly :) Yes, it is stressful with the amount of time that school requires, but I have loved the times that Chad and I have set aside to spend time with each other. One of my favorites, is just sitting down together after we have put the girls to bed and chatting about our days, maybe watching one of our favorite shows and sometimes gorging ourselves on Hostess cupcakes :) (Have you tried the new strawberry ones??? They are to die for!) I love that man!

I start my clinicals in the hospitals this next week, and I am really going to miss our time in the lab. We always had a blast! Here are a couple of pictures from lab...

"Wound Day"

NG Tubes
LOVE my lab group!!!!
Hopefully I will be able to keep my blog updated a little more often :) But, the Hoyt's are doing great!!

Feeling Pretty Special

2011-01-16T17:31:00.000-08:00

Over the past year Chad and I have had to decide on some big decisions that would be affecting our little family. One of these decisions was for me to go back to school to work on getting my RN degree. Up until now it has just been one class after the other to get to the point that I am at today....starting the nursing program! It is hard to believe that the day is finally here, and that there is the tiniest of lights at the end of my tunnel. :)

When we made the choice that I would go back to school we both felt like it was the right thing to do, and that it would be the best move for our family. As I said in an earlier post, I have been SO blessed during my schooling. Not only have I been able to get "A's" in all of my classes, but my family has been well taken care of while I have been in school. Then, I applied for the nursing program, and I was accepted!!! I was EXTREMELY excited! Everything was going just how I had planned...........until now. Some things you can't foresee happening. And some of those things happened to us. I would rather not go into specifics, since this is a public blog, but our situation made me really start to second guess the decision to start the program. I couldn't see how I could still go to school and all of the pieces of our life would be able to fit back together. After more prayer, and fasting, and a GREAT temple experience, we still felt like me going to school is what we are supposed to be doing right now. I decided that I would just have to take that leap of faith, and know that everything is going to work out (this is a REALLY hard thing for me to do! I like to have control :) ). Aside from my own personal experience, I have had an outpouring of love and support from people in my family. I can't tell you how much it mean't to me to have the encouraging texts, emails, conversations on the phone, etc. And my parents, WOW, how much help they have been to us! I know that having us live with them can probably be hard, but they have always been loving and supportive. I don't know what our kids will do when we move out :) Thank you, Mom and Dad!! It is so much easier to get through a trial in your life when you have a support system! With that being said, on Friday I had my orientation for the nursing program, and to say that I was overwhelmed is an understatement. Driving away I was thinking, "How on Earth am I going to be able to go to school Monday-Thursday 8:00am-2:30pm, complete 12 hour clinicals, study, and STILL have time to be with my family and not go insane??" And then I saw a little note in my cup holder that was from Chad, telling me how proud he was of me, and how he loved me, and KNEW that I could do it! I felt so special! (Can I tell you how much I love that guy!!!). And then I came home to this........

A beautiful bouquet of balloons from David and Paige with an amazing letter of encouragement, love and support attached to it. Their support through this last year has been phenomenal! Thank you guys so much!! And, thank you again for the balloons! They made me feel SO special!

So, here we go on our next journey, and I know it isn't going to be an easy one, but I have NO doubt that it is going to be a good one!!!

Just for fun: McKinzley consistently wakes up between 4:30-5:00am. So, since she has a lot of time before she has to get ready for school, she spends her time making cute little signs that she hangs up around the house. I love getting little notes from her! Here are a couple of her recent signs that made me smile....

These signs are on the girl's bedroom door.....

(No boys alawd (allowed) p.s. Just Dad and Grandpa)

Love it!!!

Dear Tooth Fairy.....

2011-01-03T09:25:00.001-08:00

McKinzley lost a tooth the other day and left this note for the ToothFairy. It says:

Dear Toothfary,

What do you do with my teeth.

Please write back under the line.

Merry Chritmas.

______________________

The ToothFairy left her with some money, took the note, but hasn't written back to her yet (She is starting to get impatient :) ). So, my question for you is, What DOES the ToothFairy do with our teeth? Any ideas?

Happy New Year!!!!

2010-12-31T15:59:00.000-08:00

"For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning." ~T.S. Eliot

Wishing you all a safe New Years Eve, and a New Year filled with adventure!

FA LA LA LA LA!!!!

2010-12-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was so much fun! I love the traditions that come from both sides of our families. My families traditions begin on Christmas Eve. When we were little my parents would get us up really early, and we would spend the entire day doing a whole bunch of activities so by the time bedtime rolled around we were exhausted and went straight to sleep. This tradition has been continued on to include the grandkids and friends that want to join :). A fun tradition that has come from Chad's side of the family is on Christmas Eve every year the "Elves" bring you new PJ's for Christmas, but the Elves don't only bring them, but they hide them and the girls have to find their PJ's. The girls LOVE looking for their jammies and being able to wear them. Christmas day has always consisted of opening up gifts and then heading out to visit family. I love being able to visit and give gifts! It really is a special time of year. Here are a few (okay, a LOT) of pictures of our Christmas adventure this year!

Christmas Eve: We start the day with breakfast. We ended up having a little bit of a breakfast fiasco this year and we weren't able to start breakfast till around 9:30am instead of 8:30am. Here is our crowd of 19:

Pemberlynn was REALLY hungry!
Gotta love the kids menu that comes with crayons :)
After breakfast it was off to the bounce house..........

This is Chad doing jumping jacks.....HA HA HA!
A train? Drew, McKinzley, and Kirstin
Can't you just tell that they are about to cause mayhem?

After the bounce house everyone came back to our house and watched the movie Despicable Me, followed by some snacks and games. One of the games that we played was UNO. We played the "Normal" way for a little while and then Kirstin and I decided that we needed to show my family how to play with the "Hoyt" rules! It was a blast!..........And, of course Christmas Eve wouldn't be complete without a surprise visit from the big guy!!
After Santa left with the reindeer we had a scrumptious dinner of soup in bread bowls, salad, tater skins, and brownie sundaes.

I just couldn't pass this picture up! TWINNERS!!! So cute!
After dinner we had a program and the kids put together the manger scene throughout the story.
CHIMES!!!! Christmas Eve just wouldn't be the same if we didn't play the chimes. It is always interesting :)
Jammies from the "Elves"!!! (We were starting to get into meltdown mode at this point)
Christmas Day: Started out bright and early at 6:00am with stockings.....

Up the stairs we come to see what Santa left
Yippee!!! He came!!

For some odd reason Oaklee is in LOVE with Luigi

This picture is out in the garage when the girls saw that they got a trampoline.
After we cleaned up, ate breakfast and got ready we headed out to visit Chad's family. David and Paige invited everyone over to their house for lunch, games, gifts, and LOTS of laughs!! We had a HUGE group there! Even two of Chad's uncles and their families joined the party. We played a huge game of PictureMan, and I REALLY wish I would have taken a picture because the girls KILLED the boys in that game!! I think the final score was 15 to 6??? It was a great time! We had a

fantastic lunch of ham, cheesy potatoes, jello salad, broccoli, and lots of treats. After dinner we opened presents and played games the rest of the night!

Kids table

Drew and Brexlyn hung out the ENTIRE weekend! If Drew was there, Brexlyn was with him :)
Opening gifts......

Cousins playing
This was right before we were leaving. I just thought that this picture was really funny :)

Like I said earlier, Christmas was SO much fun this year!! Thank you to everyone that joined us on our Christmas Eve excursion, and thank you David and Paige for inviting us to your home and throwing a GREAT party!! I also want to thank everyone that gave gifts to my girls and Chad and I, you were all very generous! Thanks to both sides of the family that were involved with making our Christmas special this year! We love you guys!

I can't wait for this next year to come! SO many changes on the way, but I can't wait!! Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy New Year!!!

$5?? Sure, why not....

2010-12-21T15:10:00.001-08:00

At Chad's company party the other night I learned some interesting things about my husband, one of which is that Chad will do almost anything to make people laugh, vomit, or fork over a couple of dollars. I heard a story about Chad drinking a cup of water that had been sitting in the foundation of the building they were building for at LEAST a week all for $5!! Ummmmm....GROSS!!! Of course all of his work buddies thought this was hilarious, including Chad. Fast forward to the work party. Every year they do a white elephant exchange, and this year Chad received some word-search books, pencils, and this REALLY disgusting, homemade (in October) gummy brain thing that was swimming in a pink liquid. Just looking at it made me gag a little. Why did MY husband, out of everyone there, have to pick this present??? I'm sure you can guess what happened next. Someone threw out a number "Chad, I will give you $5 if you eat that whole thing", "Chad, I will pay you $20 if you eat that whole thing", "WAIT! Don't start yet, I have to grab the camera!". I started cringing, and hoping that for just this once he would say no. But, he just couldn't pass it up. I think he thought it was going to be a lot easier than it was. When he took his first bite his teeth got STUCK! I couldn't help it, I started to laugh! I was completely grossed out. It was one of those horrible things that you want to look away from but you just can't help but stare. The funny part was how it kind of backfired on him. It was so tough that he actually ended up having to cut it into pieces with a steak knife! It took him 5 minutes to eat each piece! All in the name of a few dollars and ALOT of laughs! I think he was the highlight of the party :) I love that guy! I might never kiss him again, but I sure love him! :)

Getting ready to take the first bite

Playing to the crowd

Teeth stuck, and laughing really hard
Licking the goop off of his fingers
Starting to second guess his decision
Maybe feeling a bit queasy
He did finish the whole thing, and earned every penny of that $25 :)

Amazing Math

2010-12-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

The title of this post might be a little misleading.....I actually DESPISE math! But, I wanted to write about the math class that I just finished so that I can remember what a hard, but amazing experience it was for me.

The decision of me going back to school was not something that we were planning on doing until all the girls were in school, but sometimes, well, most of the time, life doesn't go how we have things planned. I was excited to start back into school, but I also felt a heavy weight on my shoulders. There is so much weighing on me doing well school, and getting my degree. I don't have any room for re-taking classes, or dilly-dallying around :) I was also worried about the toll it would take on my family. Going to night school mean't that I would barely see Chad at all, and I wouldn't be there to help with the night time routine. I wouldn't get to kiss my girls goodnight 5 out of the 7 days a week. I wouldn't get to just sit and talk with Chad about our days, and how we were doing. He walked in the door, and I walked out. But, I decided to be as positive as I could because we both felt like this was the right move for our family.

As with every other program, the nursing program requires certain classes to be able to get in to the program. I have been able to cruise through most of the classes, but one of the classes that I was required to take was a math class specifically for health-care professionals. For most people this wouldn't be a big deal, but for me?? HUGE deal!! Just the thought of a math class makes my heart start to race, I start sweating, things start to get foggy....well, not really, but you get the idea :) But, I really do have a hard time with math. Just ask Chad. Give me a addition problem and I can do it, no problem. But, if you start to throw in subtraction, division, multiplication etc. I start to have issues. Imagine my reaction when I went to class the first time, cracked open the book and saw LOGARITHMS, MOLES, EXPONENTS.......I started to panic! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to pass this class, when this was the one class that had so much weighing on the outcome. How I did in this math class would determine if I would be able to continue on into the nursing program, or have to retake it and lose my spot in the nursing program.

The first day didn't help squash any of my concerns. I found out that the head over the department was going to be the one that would write all of our tests, including our final. So, we would be taught by our teacher, and then have to take a test from someone that has a very different teaching style. He was also requiring us to do around 100 homework problems per chapter, when we were covering about 4 chapters every class time. On top of that, he also wanted us to write a service-learning paper. Thats right, a PAPER in a MATH class! But this wasn't any normal paper. He wanted us to go to a hospital or a clinic and volunteer doing something that pertains to our medical math for 15 hours and write our paper on our experience in serving. Okay, 1) We are in night school. OBVIOUSLY we have something that we do during the day that makes it so we can't go to school, so what makes him think that we have 15 spare hours? And, 2) You can't do anything "volunteer" in a hospital or clinic that has anything to do with anything medical. It is against the law. I needed to figure something out because this paper was worth 5% of our grade! Ridiculous! Fortunate for me, I have recently done my CNA certification and I was able to use my clinical hours for my paper. I was wondering what other people were going to do. But, relief came soon for all of us. There must have been a lot of complaints, because about half-way through the semester we were told that the paper would now be extra credit, and not required. I decided right then and there that I wasn't going to worry about doing it. I was already SO overwhelmed by all of the math crap that I was going to have to fill my brain with.

This is where the "amazing" part comes in (and a little bit of bragging :) ). I have worked SO hard this semester to learn the things that are going to be important for my career, but I have also had SO much help! This is where it might get a little mushy for some of you......But, I KNOW that my Heavenly Father has been watching over me and helping me through this class. I was constantly asking for help throughout this semester to not only do well in the class, but to make sure that I was also able to juggle keeping the house clean, getting my homework done, making sure that I was spending enough time with the girls, and being able to spend time with Chad. I know that Heavenly Father is blessing me to be able to juggle all of these things because this is what I am supposed to be doing for my family at this point in our lives. I have had a feeling of calmness every time I have gone to take a test, and I have been able to recall the things that I need to know, and I have been able to REMEMBER them! (that is amazing all in itself!). Chad was MORE than amazing! He was always willing to help me when I had questions, and never once complained when I was studying or doing homework and the girls were melting down. His constant support and love is always amazing to me! He is really is a dream come true!

I was feeling pretty good about how I was doing in the class, so I was still thinking that I wasn't going to do my service-learning paper. It seemed silly to me. But, I kept feeling like I should. I decided that I would just do it because, what could it hurt? At this point I was excited because I knew that I was going to be able to do well in the class. I figured that doing the paper would just boost my grade a little bit. So, I did the paper and turned it in on the day that I took my final. I felt really good about how my final went and figured that I would be somewhere in the range of "A to A-". When I checked my final grade the next day I had an overall percentage of 95% (which I was thrilled with!) but as I scrolled over I saw that our teacher had just tacked the extra credit to our final percentage. So instead of having a 95% overall in the class I passed the class with 100%!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it! I am so glad that I was prompted to do the paper. Not because I wouldn't have been happy with a 95%, but with how much I have struggled with math in the past, this just filled that whole in my heart, where I didn't feel like I was smart enough. I feel confidant that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. I might not understand why my family is in the position that it is right now, but I know that my Heavenly Father loves me, and that he is looking out for us!

Christmas Lists To Santa

2010-11-29T12:10:00.000-08:00

A few days ago the girls wrote letters to Santa. Here are a few things that were on their lists that made me smile....

1. Pig

2. Birthday present for Santa

3. Triangle

4. Pot thats a toy

5. Cottage Cheese

6. Eyebrows

7. Flowers

8. Treat

9. Drink of water

10. Toothpicks

Happy Holidays!!!

New do and a fantastic lunch too!

2010-11-20T17:51:00.001-08:00

For the past week I have been dealing with puke, puke, oh ya, and MORE puke! My family caught a nasty little stomach bug that took a couple of them out for an entire week, including Chad. It was HORRIBLE!!! By the end of the week I was in desperate need of some time to relax. And what could be better than getting a new hair-do and going to lunch with a great friend??

I started out bright and early to go and get my hair done. Ever since Chad and I have been married he has wanted me to have dark hair with bright red streaks. I have put it off over and over again mostly because I wasn't sure if I would be able to "pull off" a hair-do like that. But, I figure that I needed a little pick-me-up and I decided to get it done after all. I am SO glad that I did! The pictures below do NOT show this hair-do justice! Plus, I took the picture after I had been outside when it was really windy, ya, I don't know what I was thinking :) Anyways, I lOVE it, and Chad loves it too. I had Kristy (my amazing hair dresser) give me a different cut as well. I just told her to do what she thought would look good, and I am glad that I left it up to her! I feel so spunky! :) Thanks Kristy!!

First picture is a little windblown in the back, and in real life the highlights are WAY brighter red.....they look a little orangy in this picture

Side view of my new cut

To continue my relaxing day, I met my great friend Paige for lunch. It was so fun to chat, laugh, and catch up on life with each other over some delicious Chili's food! So nice to be able to take a break from the "grind" of life and just enjoy a good friends company. AND, it is extremely therapeutic!! Thanks Paige! I had a blast!!

I came home to one of the most wonderful things......a clean house!! Chad and the girls cleaned the house while I was gone so that I would be surprised when I got home. I love you guys!!

And to top the day off I get to snuggle up with Chad and watch a movie while we snack on some treats. So happy to have everyone healthy and happy again!!

Thankful for...

2010-11-05T12:07:00.001-07:00

Even though we aren't to Thanksgiving yet I wanted to share a few things that I am thankful for:

1- Above all things, I am thankful to have the most beautiful and loving girls in the universe. There are times when this rock called "mom" feels like crumbling and my girls are always there to say something funny or make me feel good. People often make off the cuff comments about the fact that I have 5 kids-but let me tell you, I couldn't imagine my life without them. McKinzley, Taylin, Oaklee, Brexlyn, and Pemberlynn, I LOVE you so very much and I am thankful for you.

2- My husband, the first man to ever truly love me, and whom I love with all my heart.

3- The Gospel- We would be lost without it.

4- My family, who even though they sometimes don't see it, I love unconditionally and I always will.

5- I am thankful that my family believes in and supports us.

6- My friends, without whom my life would be empty and humorless.

7- I am thankful for my health, and that of my family, really thankful.

8- The gift of education and the opportunity that lies before me. The chance to make a new and better life for myself, and my family.

9- Having a roof over my head, clothes to wear and food to eat. Many many others around the world don't have half the things I take for granted each day.

10- That my life is full of rich opportunities that didn't exist last year.

11- That I see a world of hope and possibilities instead of constraints and necessities.

12- I am thankful for trials. Although they are hard, and sometimes the worst things we've gone through, I know they are important and a necessary part of life.

13- I'm thankful to live in this country. I'm thankful for the soldiers as well as ordinary Americans who are fighting too.

14- I am also thankful for Dr. Pepper. It is the Nectar of the Gods!

My Sweet Pemberlynn

2010-11-03T20:32:00.001-07:00

Two years ago we welcomed Pemberlynn into our family! I can't believe how fast time has gone, and I know that everyone says that, but now that she is 2 I am realizing that I don't really have a "baby" anymore. This is definitely bittersweet for me. I am so thankful that we were blessed to have Pemberlynn in our lives. There are SO many things that I love about Pemberlynn that I can't name them all, but here are a few: I love her smile, chubby cheeks, her sideways stares that say "Really mom?", her attitude, kisses, hugs, snuggles, bossiness, and her tender heart. I love you Pemberlynn!!

HALLOWEEN

2010-11-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

Halloween seemed quite long this year, but we took full advantage of it, and had a blast! On the Friday before Halloween, Oaklee's preschool class had a costume parade. It was so much fun to watch because all of the kids are just SO excited to be dressed up! (Oaklee is the Firefighter)

On Saturday we went down to visit Grandma Kartchner and Grandma Beverly...

Grandma Kartchner had yummy puff balls and candy for the girls, and she even sang a song to the girls about a skunk (since Pemberlynn was a skunk for Halloween). It was one of those moments that I wish I had my video camera so that we could have that precious moment forever....

When we made it to Grandma Beverly's she wasn't home. It was a bummer! But, Chad's Uncle Evan was there and he let the girls pet his blood hounds. While the girls were busy with the dogs, Chad was hanging upside-down on Evan's thingy. Not sure what it is called, but it is supposed to really help your back. Once the girls saw daddy doing it, they of course wanted to do it! So, Evan and Chad let them each have a turn hanging upside-down. They thought it was great!

These are some pictures before we headed out to the Trunk or Treat.

McKinzey--> "Starlet"
Taylin--> Little Red Riding Hood

Oaklee-->FireFighter

Brexlyn--> Tiger
Pemberlynn--> Skunk (she wasn't to happy about having her hat on)
Before we headed out to the trunk or treat we had a fun visit from Nana Paige and Grandpa Hoyt. The girls were so excited to see them and show them their costumes. Pemberlynn was surprised with a birthday present (she is almost 2!!!) from Nana and Grandpa. They got her some bath toys with body wash. She LOVES them!! She already loves taking baths, and these just add to the fun :)

Here we are at the Trunk or Treat. As you might be able to tell the wind was blowing and there was a really big storm that was about to roll in.....it was COLD!! So, we started out through all of the trunks, and when we were about halfway through was when the rain started to fall. Even though it was raining we all had a really good time.

After we finished at the Trunk or Treat we headed over to Drew and Kirstin's apartment to "trick or treat". Kirstin and I chatted for awhile while the kids and the husbands played Toy Story 3 on the Wii :)

On Halloween day we went over to our friends house for a dinner party. The kids all played well together, and the adults were able to laugh, and catch up on life! It ended up being a great weekend!!

Murder Mystery Dinner

2010-10-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Chad and I went on a DATE!!! It might seem silly that I am so excited about this, but it is hard to find time between work, school, kids, etc... to find time where the two of us can get out of the house together. So, on Friday night we hit the town with a couple of our friends and went to see "Twilit and the Full-Blooded Princess". It was a spoof on Twilight, Harry Potter, and then for some reason Frankenstein and his Bride were in the play as well :) Anyways, we didn't realize before we got there that this was actually a murder mystery play! I was delighted!! If you know Chad very well, you will understand why he wasn't as exuberant about this little detail as I was :) But....We had a blast!!! We ate a nice BBQ dinner while we watched the play and then we had times throughout the play that we were able to go and talk to the characters to try and figure out who killed.....get ready for it.....BELLA!!!!! At first Chad just hung out at the table with our friend Tyler while us girls went and started the investigation, but after a few minutes they joined in and we had so much fun! In the end we all guessed wrong. Ha! Oh well :) During the play they made it point to Hermoine as the killer, but we thought that they were trying to trick us into thinking that. It just seemed to easy, but, as it turns out you don't really have to think very hard at these things. Hermoine was the murderer. We thought that we were so clever to figure out that they were trying to trick us :) Not that this will make any sense to anyone that hasn't seen this play, but my favorite part was a dance-off between Jacob and Ron to see who possessed more magic. It was hilarious!!!! After the play we headed to our favorite icecream place, Leatherby's, and had yummy icecream and great conversation! It was just nice to get out, and be with the person I love most!

This is us waiting for the play to start

Cami and I heading out to start our investigation
Everyone mingling around
Us questioning Frankensteins Bride....
Chad and I with the cast (I do have to say that Bella and Edward were REALLY weird!)

Casting Call...

2010-10-22T11:50:00.001-07:00

I present to you the next "Ralphie" for the movie "A Christmas Story"...

"You'll shoot your eye out, you'll shoot your eye out!"

So far.....

2010-10-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

So far this week my life has consisted of this:

Are you jealous yet???

There's More!!!!

2010-10-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

Since it took me 7 and a half years to do my family pictures, it has taken me even longer to have pictures of just Chad and I done as well. The last time Chad and I had our pictures taken were for our engagement pictures 8 and a half years ago :) And even then, we were cheap and had Chad's brother Ryan take them. They turned out really good though! So, since we were having our family pictures taken, I decided to set up a time where Chad and I could have our pictures taken, professionally, for the first time. I love how they turned out! Once again, we had Tasha from Cherish These Moments Photography take our pictures (she did our family pictures as well.....check out her blog at cherishthesemoments.blogspot.com).

FAMILY PICTURES!!!

2010-10-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

We FINALLY had family pictures taken!! It took us 7 and a half years to do it, but I have to say that I LOVE the results!!! Even though I don't think that there is one picture that either everyone is looking at the camera or smiling, it is the time of life that we are at, which makes them THAT much better!! So, since I like them so much I posted a bunch of them. ENJOY!!

(pictures by Tasha Whitmill....cherishthesemoments.blogspot.com)

Not for everyone...

2010-09-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

My job is not for everyone, I have to admit. Some days my goal is just to take a shower or use the bathroom with the door shut. There are early hours, late hours and middle of the night hours. Some days my laundry stack is taller than I am. And other days I am trying to figure out how to get squished carrots out of the carpet. But I love my job. I would not trade it for anything.

I love being a stay at home mom because...I have learned to enjoy shows like Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer. I never thought these shows would be riveting television for me. But, when I see my one, and three-year-old's eyes light up at the sight of one of their favorite characters or hear them laugh when something silly happens, I enjoy it more than any "grown up" show.

I love being a stay at home mom because... I get to see all of my children's "firsts." Most of the "firsts" my girls have had (first smile, step, etc) have been during regular business hours. Had I been elsewhere, I would have missed them.

I love being a stay at home mom because... I don't have to deal with office politics. Around our house the only "promises" made are those that involve what will happen if you eat your peas or what will happen if you hit your sister again.

I love being a stay at home mom because...I get to dry my children's tears. Whether it is something that hurt their feelings or a "boo boo" they got by falling down, I am there to comfort them. While I know I will not always be there when they need comforting, I know that during these important formative years I am the one they go to when they have a problem.

I love being a stay at home mom because... I am there when my children need me. Some days this is the most trying part of the job. When my children need me is often at their crankiest. I have to push all of my pride aside and give them what they need most...T.L.C.

I love being a stay at home mom because...I do not have to keep up on all the latest fashion trends. My attire on most days consists of sweatpants and a T-shirt that is conducive to games of hide and seek and playing with Play-Dough .

I love being a stay at home mom because...everyday is "quality time" with my children. I do not ever feel like I need to carve out time for my children. I get it every day. Whether it's blowing bubbles or drinking smoothies together, every day is full of "quality time."

I love being a stay at home mom because...I get to see the world through the eyes of my children. When I feel like I look terrible yet I see my child's eyes light up when I walk in the room, I am reminded that life is about much more than we think it is. Life is about loving each other, not judging each other.

There are women who have to, or choose to work out of the home. There are days when I want to join them. Sometimes I question my sanity by choosing to be up to elbows in dirty diapers and sticky sippy cups all day. But this is what I have always wanted to do. I aspire to be the best stay at home mom I can be. And that's enough for me.

Oquirrh Mountain

2010-09-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

Things have been so busy lately that I haven't been able to write about a really great experience that Chad and I had. Last week we were able to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple with David and Paige and do some sealings. With school, work, raising kids etc.. it has been awhile since Chad and I have been able to go to the temple besides for weddings and such. Just walking in the temple doors I felt a calming peace that I wish I could have with me all of the time.

While we waited in the marriage waiting room we were able to chat with David and Paige and catch up on life and the changes that are coming our way. We were also able to take in the beauty of this temple. Chad showed me that all throughout the temple there are circles. Ones that are linked together in a forever chain representing eternity and ones that are linked together like the infinity sign also representing eternity......there were no breaks in the circles...a never ending chain.

As we were doing the sealings it was so amazing to be able to listen to the blessings that Chad and I were promised 8 and a half years ago when we were sealed for time and all eternity. It was overwhelming to me, and the Spirit was so strong. It was also really touching to be able to see Chad and his dad together in the temple. I am SO glad that Chad holds the Priesthood, and that he honors it! I am thankful for the blessings that the priesthood brings into our family! And, I am thankful to Chad's dad for being an example to him in many ways.

I have decided that I want to make it a point to go to the temple as often as I can, and I am so thankful to David and Paige, and many other friends that are willing to help me with this goal. I can't wait to go back and feel that peace, and remember all of the blessings that I have in my life.

Oaklee's First Day of Preschool

2010-09-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

Oaklee had her first day of preschool today, and even though she went to preschool last year she was so excited to start school again. I took a few pictures of her before she left, but after the first one that I took she told me that it was "too boring" and that since she was going to preschool for the second time she needed to have a "fancy" picture taken of her :) So, the first picture is "boring" and the second one is "fancy".....

"BORING"

"FANCY"
She had a fantastic time at school! After I picked her up she told me that it was the "best time that she had ever had this year in her life!!" I love that girl!!

From McKinzley

2010-09-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

This just made my heart really happy :)

Playing catch up

2010-08-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

Here are a bunch of pictures of some of the things that we have been doing over the summer.

Lazy days at the cabin...

Random picture :)
Taylin and Brexlyn's birthdays

Random picture: Pemberlynn loves corn on the cob!
First day of school

McKinzley

Taylin
Best Friends!!
My girls showing their true colors :) I LOVE it!!!!
Girls night out: Club Habit, Kareoke Night!!

The end....

Just a quote

2010-08-24T12:22:00.001-07:00

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. Don’t worry about searching for who you are; focus your energies on creating the kind of person you want to be! You will discover that as you pursue that journey you will not only find yourself, but chances are you will be pleasantly surprised and proud of the person you find along the way."

Junkin'

2010-07-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life just seems to overwhelm us. I know for me, I spend my days taking care of my girls, playing with them, feeding them, trying to keep the house clean, the laundry done, make sure my homework is caught up, actually making it to school......and the list goes on and on and on. It all piles up until at the end of the day when you think to yourself, "Did I even take a shower today?" as you are trying to secretly smell your armpits. Or you look in the mirror (at the end of the day) and realize that you have some foreign substance smeared on your cheek, that you didn't know was there, and NO ONE in the 5 stores that you went to that day was courteous enough to tell you. Or, you walk out of your door to do your errands, and you don't realize until you are halfway through with them, that you forgot to put on your bra. I don't know about most people, but all of these have happened to me, and sometimes I don't know whether to laugh or cry about it :)

Don't worry, all of this rambling has a point.......I was talking with my best pal Cami, and we decided that we wanted to plan 1 ENTIRE day where we could go and do whatever we wanted, go wherever we wanted and just have fun. So we planned one whole Saturday and went "Junkin". This was one of the funnest days that I have had in a really long time. We were having such a good time, that we forgot to take pictures for most of it :)

We started our day bright and early at 8:00am and went to breakfast at IHOP. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon "junkin", which was hitting every yard sale and thrift store that we came across. Let me tell you, we found some AWESOME deals on stuff. Chad was most impressed with my find of a Game Boy with 4 games for $5!! We did hit a few stores that aren't "thrifty". Tai Pan was having their sidewalk sale, so there was no way that we could miss that, and then we went to the Quilted Bear to see if we could get any creative inspiration.

After the "junkin" part of the day, we picked up our awesome friend Heidi, and we headed off to get pedicures, have dinner and see a movie, while all of the husbands and kids came to my house and had pizza and watch one of the World Cup games. Us girls headed to Cafe Rio, YUM!!, and then we went and saw the movie "Killers". It was a really cute, and funny movie! We ended up getting home right before the clock struck midnight. I couldn't believe that I had spent an entire day, from 8am-midnight, out doing whatever I wanted. We had a BLAST!!! And I do have to say, that my husband is amazing! He was so supportive of my little day out :) I love his guts!

Here are a few pictures, when we actually remembered to pull the camera out:

These are some bug catchers that I found at Tai Pan for an awesome deal! ( I know, I look like a dork.....but I'm okay with it :) )

This awesome hat was in the Quilted Bear......they actually came over the intercom to remind guests that picture taking was not allowed....Oops!
This is my beautiful nightgown that I am going to go back and buy when I am 90 years old
We found some pretty awesome prom dresses at one of the Thrift stores that we went to.....this is Cami rockin the pumpkin colored dress :)
We tried to make it so that you could see both of our prom dresses, oh well.
I love pedicures, but they tickle me SO bad!!! I was laughing so hard when they were scrubbing the bottom of my foot!
I couldn't get this picture to turn, these are my pals Cami and Heidi enjoying their pedicures
Finished product
This is the only picture that we have from the movie theater, and the reason that we look so goofy is because right before we took this picture Heidi was telling us that 90% of the time people get lice from movie theaters!!! Can you believe that??!! Well, I guess it makes sense, but it really grossed us out thinking that there might be some little bugs crawling onto our heads, so we pulled our hoods on :) We had such a fun time!
I love my family SO much, but it was really nice to have one day ALL to myself. I think I might have to make this a yearly tradition!