Family Pics!

We had our family pictures taken a few weeks ago by a good friend of ours! She did a great job, if only Livy would have cooperated! She took some more pics of us again a few days later to see if we could get Liv to smile & not bawl her eyes out. A friend came a long & really helped things to run a bit more smoothly! They turned out great & I hate to sound prideful, but I sure do have a cute little family! She seriously took well over 400 pics, so these are just a few of my faves! The collages sorta cut off a little here & there, but at least you'll get the jest of it! Enjoy!





Teagen Kiley--7 years old!

Brayden Thomas--5 years old!



Olivia Beth--18 months old!


Cute Kids!


Our little family2008!


Ahhh cute! 9 years & counting!

YMCA!!!!!

Sometimes I find myself complaining about having to owe so much of our time to the Military-They paid for Kiley to go to Medical School, which was 4 years & so after his 4 years of residency (almost have 2 1/2 years done), we owe 4 more years of pay back time. I am proud to be an American & am grateful that my husband has the opportunity to serve our country & know that this has been a wonderful experience thus far. So what I am trying to get at is this.....there are many things I could complain about the military, but there are MANY great aspects of the military as well! This past Monday, a friend of mine called me telling me that I could join the YMCA for free because we are a military family. I asked her what the catch was & she didn't know. So, after having our family pics taken & then dinner at McCallisters, Liv & I drove up to the YMCA. Sure enough, the whole thing is legit! We got all signed up & I must say that I am thrilled! The child care is free, we get a discount on the different sports teams that they offer, the pool & splash pad look awesome & will definitely keep us busy this next summer, Teagen & Brayden can both do the rock climbing wall whenever they want. All we have to do is show up 8 times a month. If we all go, that counts as 5 times, so really that's a no-brainer! I asked them why they could offer such a deal, because here in San Antonio, it seems that LOTS of people are in the military. The guy told me that the military has joined up with the YMCA & donate a LARGE grant each year & in return, we get to be members for free! This is a nation wide deal, so if you are in the military & have a YMCA near by, go check it out!

Kelly Airforce Base Air Show

We decided to take our kids to the Air Show yesterday. Truthfully, we should have just stayed home. It was hot, everything was EXPENSIVE, we didn't have a stroller for Liv, & we were all ornery! We parked at Lackland Air Force Base & rode a shuttle (bus) to Kelly base. The ride over there should have been a clue....the bus had the HEATER on & it was well in the upper 80's yesterday! Not fun! Our humungo jogger stroller didn't fit on the bus & we didn't pack the small umbrella one, so we had to lug Olivia around & she is not light! I really shouldn't complain because at least we went out together as a family. We were watching one of our friends kids, so at least the boys had a friend to run around with & keep each other entertained. It was cool to see & hear the Blue Angels & the other jets......Will we go again next year??????? I don't know, we'll see what next November brings!

Happy Halloween!

The boys both decided that they wanted to be something else at the last minute, so they both ended up being Power Rangers. We had a fun dinner before heading out to go trick or treating. Our good friends, the Meiers came over to have dinner with us. Dinner included: a pumpkin shaped pizza, blood Kool-aid, and eyeballs (grapes). I took Liv just around the circle & Kiley took the boys all over the neighborhood. Liv loved getting all the candy & really understood the concept of trick or treating. She did want to stop in the middle of her trek & eat her candy. In fact, when we got home, she threw a nasty fit because I told her she couldn't have any more candy. She ended up in bed! The boys got back & helped me give out candy. I must say, here in good old San Antonio, we get some VERY interesting trick or treaters. Now no offense to any of you who may do this, but we thought it was very strange......we had grandma's trick or treating by themselves, young couples with a BRAND new baby trick or treating, moms trick or treating with their teenagers, etc. I could go on & on, but I won't. After we ran out of candy, which was pretty quick, we headed across the streets to our neighbors house. They had a Halloween party & the kids had a ball! I stayed out & helped pass out their candy-it is much more fun to sit outside & pass out candy because there are hundreds & hundreds of people out & it's fun to watch! We had a good time & were wiped out! Thank goodness this only happens once a year! TOOOOOO much candy! I haven't had the heart to throw it all out yet, but it will be happening soon!

Carving Pumpkins....

We are pretty lame parents when it comes to holidays, something I am trying to improve! Any how, we finally carved pumpkins the day BEFORE Halloween. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it was fun & the kids ran around enjoying the beautiful weather while Kiley & I carved a skeleton & a ghost!

Halloween Partay!

THE CONEHEADS!

Last weekend a few of our friends put together an adult Halloween Party! It was so fun to see how all the different couples dressed up! The food was great & the games were a blast! We played Fear Factor & I must say it was pretty nasty! We also played the funniest game-the snorting game. I went first & couldn't stop laughing my head off! Definitely a game that we will include at all gatherings! Thanks Sabrina & Becky for putting this all together! It was a blast!

Meiers & the Mortensens

The Snorting Game! If you

want to know how to play it,

let me know!

Good Times!

Annual Ward Trunk Or Treat!

Our ward Trunk or Treat was the week before Halloween. The kids had a great time! Olivia figured out the whole take your bag & look cute & people will drop candy into it thing! She had 20 suckers hanging out of her mouth......she is following her brothers suit & is a candy-aholic. Teagen dressed up as a Vampire & loved having blood drip down his mouth. Brayden was Spider Man, again. The costume I had Liv wear was from when Teagen was 1 years old & he was Bambam with our cute little friend back in AZ days, Mads who was Pebbles. We decided because Liv is so spunky, she would wear it & be a wild amazon woman! Needless to say, she was adorable in it!

Mitchell, Brayden, & Ezra

Jack & Olivia

The Nelsons~ I had to

put it in guys, you won

the contest for best

dressed in my eyes! :)

Liv after all the fun begging

for more candy!

Medina River last weekend!

We enjoy being outdoors & doing anything that includes water, so when some friends mentioned that a bunch of people were heading out to one of our favorite river spots last weekend, we knew we didn't want to miss out! This would probably be the last time to play in the river, seeing that it is now starting to feel more like fall here. I must say, this was such a fun day! Teagen had a soccer game early that morning & so when they got home, we got everything packed up & headed on out to Medina River. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, the food great, & the company splendid! All the guys jumped off the log, and a couple of the ladies did, too! Way to go Andrea & Aubrey! I will have to add more pics to this post when I get them from one of my friends.....I couldn't find my camera until the end of the day. There is a fun bridge that everyone likes to jump off & Teagen & Brayden love to do it as well. They also LOVE to do the rope swing. This was the hit of the day! There is a rope swing that guys have named the "Widow Maker". I don't know exactly how high it is---around 40 feet high. All the guys decided to give it a shot, well almost all of them! :) Kiley was so funny! Check out the videos to see his amazing jumps! It was such a fun weekend!

Sea World...Jack is Back!

The crazy Geese like to peck pretty much anything

out of your hands!

What a fun weekend we had...Last Weekend! We decided to just take it easy & spend some quality time together as a family since it was Kiley's first weekend back home with us. We went to Sea World last Friday evening. We ran into some of our good friends there & spent the evening with them. Teagen & Brayden love the Journey to Atlantis ride & so of course, that was the first stop. It is so fun to be there this time of year. It is all decked out with skeletons, zombies, werewolves, scarecrows, freaky looking clowns, and of course, Jack-he is a pumpkin head dude that hosts the Shamu show & then a fun musical/dancing/firework show at the end of the evening. Kiley & Ian went on the Great White & the Steel Eel. We went to check out the Haunted Forest, but I guess after 6pm it turns into a not so kid friendly forest. We walked over to it & the kids decided that it was not something they were remotely interested in! The Shamu show was great, but the closing show was the best! The music was loud, the dancing fun, & the fireworks were fantastic! We all enjoyed ourselves & hope to go back before the Halloween season is over! When we do move, it will be sad not having Sea World in our back yard!

Checking out the penguins!

Watching the Jack is Back show with Shamu!

Vidoes of our weekend in Corpus!

Here are some fun videos from our weekend in Corpus!

Our weekend in Corpus Christi, TX

Liv ready to go out!

The kids & I drove down to Corpus last weekend. It was a little over a two hour drive-very do-able compared to our long road trip to Utah over the summer! Teagen & Brayden had early out day on Friday, so we left a few hours after they got home (Liv had to nap!!!!). We had such a great time! Kiley's little apartment was just perfect for our little fam. We didn't really have a whole lot of time to go do something that first night, so we just took the kids out to dinner. Our idea of eating out is Subway. We should buy stock in Subway seeing that it is our fave, but we did decide to branch out & went to Applebee's. WE WILL NEVER GO TO A SIT DOWN RESTAURANT WITH OUR CHILDREN AGAIN (or at least until they are older, a LOT older)! I think we have pretty well behaved kids, but a sit down place is just not for us. I will spare you all the details, but the jist of it all is that our kids can not sit still...not even our 7 year old! I was so ready to go to bed after that wonderful experience. Saturday was a blast! Kiley took us to the pier on base where we were staying. We walked down it & enjoyed watching all the people fish. A nice man brought a small fish that he had caught & let the boys & Liv touch it & then he let Teagen help him throw it back into the water. After that, we headed out to Mustang Island. We found a great spot on the beach & enjoyed ourselves for several hours! It was a little rainy every now & then, but the water was warm & the kids loved it! Olivia was CRAZY in the ocean! She scared me to death any time she went in, but she truly LOVED it & had such a great time! She would just run right into the waves, fall on to her back on purpose, & swallow that nasty salt water. It didn't faze her in the least bit! Teagen also loved jumping & diving into the waves. He seemed to be in his element. Brayden on the other hand complained that he was cold after he played in the water & so he sat in a chair for quite a while & entertained himself while he covered up under a big towel. I do have to admit, it was a bit chilly every once & a while, but when the sun would peak out behind the clouds, it was perfect! We built a big sandcastle with a moat around it. Liv helped, but ended up being more like Godzilla & destroyed just as fast as we built! Love that girl! That evening, we went bowling at the bowling alley on base. It had a Subway inside, so of course we chose to eat dinner there. The boys LOVE to bowl, especially Brayden. I started off pretty well, but then some how ended up coming in LAST place. Let me remind y'all that the kids had the bumpers, so that is my excuse! Kiley bowled his highest game ever! Good job babe! The next day was sunny & hot! We took the kids to this fun outdoor mini golf. They did pretty well & learned a lot of great tips from their daddy-o! Our boys are so stinking competitive! There is this cool surf/beach shop on one of the main roads in Corpus & the entrance to the store is this enormous shark. We had to stop & take pics in the sharks mouth! Just across the street from there is a nummy pizza place. We attempted to take the kids there for lunch. It was a little better than the Applebee's experience, but not much! The pizza was great-if you are ever headed down there, be sure to eat there! Well worth it! That night we went to a really fun Race track & had a GREAT time! The kids got to drive their own go karts & they thought that was the coolest thing. We had such a fun day---we were all exhausted & ready for a good nights rest. It was so fun to be together as a family again! We really have missed Kiley & are so glad that he is FINALLY back! Kiley had to work on Monday, so the kids & I loaded up Monday morning & drove home! They had a birthday party that day, so I was able to unload the car, clean it out, & get things put away while they were gone. It was such a fun trip & we will definitely take a trip to Corpus again!