Worst blogger ever!

So, obviously I am the worst blogger there is.  I started this blog to help me keep little notes and reminders of the fun things that are going on in our little family.  Well, it has now been almost a year since my last post.  It wouldn't be worth going back and typing in all of the different things that have happened over the year, because frequently I am long-winded, and no one would want to read that big of a post :)
This past year has definitely had some ups and downs for our family, but it has been a year full of tender mercies and blessings.  I am so grateful for the things I have in my life, and know that I am blessed daily.  We keep going forward and plugging our way through life, enjoying (almost) every minute of it.  So instead of typing a long post, I have asked the girls to help me come up with a list of things that have happened throughout the year...here we go:

Built a snowman
McKinzley turned 10
Taylin turned 9
Oaklee turned 7
Brexlyn turned 6
Pemberlynn turned 5
Chad got a new job as the Director of Maintenance at an Assisted Living Facility
Nicole graduated with AS in Nursing and got a job as an RN
McKinzley and Taylin donated their hair to Locks of Love
McKinzley went to Mill Hollow
Played all summer at Seven Peaks and the Cabin
Went to Lagoon
Visited Yellowstone
Went camping for the first time as a family.....and with extended family :)
SCHOOL STARTED!!
Nicole started Bachelor's in Nursing Program
Nicole got a new Stake calling over the cooking classes for the stake (What the?) I know, I don't get it.
All 5 girls started dance- McKinzley, Taylin, Brexlyn, Pemberlynn all in Jazz/Lyrical, Oaklee-Hip Hop
We have started the process of looking for a house!  Finally!

I'm sure there are many more things that have happened over this past year, and I'm sure we will think of other things to add, but the attention span of my girls only lasted about 5 minutes :)  Maybe I will make a New Year's resolution to be better about blogging, but that might just be setting myself up for failure ;)  I hope all of you are doing well, and that your families are happy and healthy.  I haven't really been a very good friend/sister/wife/mother/daughter/you name it, this year, and I apologize.  I hope that things can settle down, and I can work on it :)

A Breather

The semester is over!!  Hallelujah!!!!

It has been hard.

Interesting.

Time consuming.

Full of laughs.

Frustrating at times.

Lots of caffeine.

Practicing skills.

Grossness.

New friendships.

Memorization.

TESTS!!!!

But, all worth it!

I am one semester away from my goal of getting my RN.

It is SO close I can taste it :)

So glad to have this little break to soak up time with my girls and enjoy the holidays.  I'm going to take advantage of every second!! 

Turkey Day!

Next to the 4th of July, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays!  This year we were able to spend it with Chad's family.  Since the family keeps growing and growing, we reserved a church so that there would be lots of room to play.  It was a GREAT day!  We had great food, great conversation, great games (although, I have discovered that I need to work on my line-jumping skills), laughs, and GREAT desserts!  I forgot to bring my camera, so I was only able to take pictures on my phone.  They didn't turn out the best, but it captures a smidgen of our fun filled day.

Thank you Hoyt's for a fabulous holiday!!

Cold Play

Since it was a cold and frigid day today, we decided to take advantage of it and play.  We started off with icecream from Wendy's....

Then on to the ZOO!!  It was the perfect day!  No one was there but us :)

We even got to catch some snowflakes on our tongues :)

Perfect day to spend with my little family.  Love them!

Pemberlynn's 4th Birthday

My baby is 4!  Another year has slipped away, and she has grown so much.  Pemberlynn, you are so sweet, funny, mischievous, tender-hearted, creative, snuggly, and adorable.  I am so blessed that you are mine.  Love you!!

Opening presents on her birthday. (yes, that is christmas paper.....don't judge.) 

 Blowing out the candles

 Spotlight at Preschool

 Cute little 4 year old!

 Celebrating at the Dinosaur Museum with cousins, aunts, and uncles

 So enthralled with what the "dinosaur lady" was saying.  It only lasted about 30 seconds :)

 Hiding in the dinosaur cave

 The water....their favorite part!

 They were SO excited when I made them all stand in for this picture ;)

 Chomp Chomp

 Super cool on Uncle Drew's shoulders

 And of course, looking for dinosaur bones.

Happy Birthday Pemberlynn!!  Can't wait to see how much you've grown and changed by next year!  Love you!!

Halloween 2012

We LOVE Halloween here at the Hoyt house!  This year was no exception.  McKinzley planned a party, and we made sure we made it very Halloween-ish.  We started off by carving pumpkins:

 Then it was on to dinner.  It was filled with delicious disgustingness....

Earwax pops

 The worms for our worm sandwiches

 And delicious stomach acid to drink

 They gobbled it right up!

 And then, Halloween wouldn't be complete if Grandma didn't teach us how to make slime!

 Time for trick or treating!!!

We had a fabulous time this year.  Can't wait until next year!!!

Gardner Village

We always hear about how fun Gardner Village is, so we decided to take our girls there and check it out.  We had so much fun!!  We went to the petting zoo, went through the hay maze, rode some ponies, stopped by the candy shop, and of course, got our faces painted :) I think we will be visiting again soon!

First Day is Here Again

The first day of school is here again, and the girls couldn't be more excited!  They were up at the crack of dawn, hair done, new clothes on, and backpacks ready to go :)  I am not so happy that the summer is over so soon, but I am excited that my girls love school so much!  Hopefully that doesn't change anytime soon ;)

2012-2013 is going to be a GREAT year!!

McKinzley- 4th grade

Taylin- 3rd grade

Oaklee- 1st grade

Brexlyn- Kindergarten

Pemberlynn- Preschool

Summer 2012

Our Summer has been PACKED full of fun adventures!  We enjoyed swimming, hiking, BBQ's, the cabin, family parties, reunions, puppies, horseback riding, rodeo's, and the list goes on and on.  We were able to spend a lot of time with family, and it has been really nice.  With a lot of things that have happened throughout the Summer, our families have grown closer together, and there is a much greater sense of unity.  Family is the most important thing we have.  

Now that I am off of my soap box ;)  Summer is almost over.  The girls start a new year of school tomorrow, and life goes back to being much more scheduled. *sigh*  Until next year!  Here are a BUNCH of pictures from our different adventures.