Family of 8 Road Trip!

All these little monkeys followed me around for 8 whole days. We had fun and what is more fun then staying home in Vegas but a ROAD TRIP with our 6 little munchkins! Damon and I packed up the car and headed up to our favorite little get away, Saint George for a little R & R. Well, as much as you can get with 6 kids!When I was little my Grandpa Stewart would take us mini golfing at Fiesta Fun and I loved taking my kids there too. Here in Vegas there is indoor mini golf so my boys were confused with being outside! We loved it. Shane lost his ball 3 different times to the water, Gabe once, and Zoe one time too. Good thing the older girls can help get those much needed balls! Damon loves all the commotion of our "family" this week. Taking them places and having fun.

Trevor was excited to see the dinosaurs but was upset he couldn't feed any real ones. He loves dinosaurs and reading his book about them. A small museum but interesting.

Finally putting use to those back seats and filling up our car! Damon even got pulled over for speeding!! Haha Detective Young. His badge got him off the hook but he was told to set a better example!

For some reason it didn't stress Damon out shopping with 6 kids at his favorite Utah store but when I wanted to stop any of my favorite stores (I have 3 that I must stop at each time) it was just too much to shop with 6 kids! He should have let me because I'm sure I wouldn't have bought much with 6 kids to look after!

Typical boys being nasty and picking the deer's nose!

And what is a trip to Saint George without eating lunch at the Pizza Factory! The kids loved the bread sticks and just being together.

It was a short trip but always fun. We'll be back soon Saint George because for some reason we can't go a week without visiting!

4 extra blessings

This past week has been a whirl wind! Being a mom of 2 is fun, sometimes stressful, but never too crazy. Being a mom of 6 is fun and pretty much always crazy! We added 4 extra blessings to our home for 8 nights and had a blast with our ever so fun Frye friends! Life in our home was completely different doubling our family but I can say there was never a dull moment with 6 kids from the ages of 9 to 3! We had a blast. We shopped, saw movies, baked, did projects, swam, played the slip n slide, rode bikes, had many BBQ, and sometimes relaxed and watch a movie!

Girls are so different from boys. They played Batman with the boys and instead of killing each other they asked for boyfriends and who was going to marry who. We enjoyed a night at the circus.

Always fun seeing the elephants.

Trevor begging for more treats!

Flip Flop day at Tropical Smoothie... can I have 6 please for ALL my children! We even had our super cute friend, Shelby, with us. He mom too which saved me having to take all 6 kids to the grocery store. That is one thing I didn't try with them!

Break down of items used/cleaned in a day (however, I never got around to real cleaning just surface stuff):

• 2 loads of laundry daily
• 2 loads of dishes daily
• Empty large kitchen trash 1.5 times daily
• Sweep the kitchen
• box of Capri Suns
• More cereal, cheese balls, and grapes then I can count!
• 6 cute little faces to kiss and tuck in for bed

These are their beautiful pet rocks they all made! It is so nice having the big girls to help. They are so helpful with Trevor!

Swimming was a blast. 6 kids to sunscreen up take forever! I almost forgot Trevor one day. One day I forgot me!

Cool Mr. T!

One thing I was surprise with were men picking up on me while out shopping! Just randomly coming up to me and asking questions or talking about small stuff. Hello, what do all these kids mean about me!

The only thing I was sick of by the end of the week was the comments by strangers. They came every few minutes and the stares were constant! Some of the things heard or asked:

• 6 kids. Really!?!
• Look at all her kids!
• Are they all yours?
• God Bless you. (As this lady did the cross with her hands!)
• You have your hands full
• It looks like a field trip. Haha
• They are all so beautiful. (I like this one)
• How do you do it?

I would hear a lot of those over and over, all day long! I love crazy and as crazy as it was we had a blast. Damon even loved having a full house. I was tired each night. Needed quiet time, but all the kids were perfect together! Life is quiet right now. We miss "our 4 kids!" I even picked them up yesterday to go swimming so we can have fun together again! I don't think I'll have my own 6 kids any time soon but it is a great adventure to have every once in awhile. We can't wait to watch them again. Thanks Zoe, Olivia, Ella, and Gabe for a fun week. We had a blast with our 4 extra blessings!

Father's Day Fun

I love Father's Day because the boys get so excited to do special things for Damon. It was a 2 day event/celebration in our house. We are always ready for a party and what better way to celebrate our wonderful dad. Yesterday we had a yummy BBQ with the Hussons filled with hamburgers, hot dogs, and even yummy fried zucchini. We even made little mini cupcake dessert hamburgers and french fries found on Bakerella. It took the guys awhile to be able to eat their dessert. Very tricky to the mind! The french fries are my favorite... sugar cookies sprinkled in sugar. The burger is just a yellow cupcake, frosting, and brownie. Yummy and surprisingly is wasn't too much work! I took the kids to go shopping and they picked out some new clothes from Damon. That was all I was going to do but I was feeling bad. Every year I make Damon something for Father's Day and this would have been the first year I haven't! Well, I decide to not end the tradition and made him a book on Dad full of pictures of him and the boys and quotes on being a dad.

Damon always loves the mini albums I make him and the boys. I love that picture of Trevor and Damon taken in Nebraska last year. Today we celebrated with breakfast, presents, cards, and then another great dinner with the Bakers. Thanks again for a fun day!

I always thought Damon would be a good dad. When we were first married we were camping in the Tetons, Damon fishing and me reading a book, like always. One time I look up and there are a line of kids waiting for Damon to bait their hooks and helping them fish! That is the first time I knew he would be the best Daddy. We have been blessed with two precious boys. He adores them which makes me adore him even more. Thank you Damon for always putting your family first and loving us. Happy Father's Day!

Hiking the Narrows

A road trip week-end with 2 other couples was pure bliss and just what Damon and I needed! We packed up our car the first week-end of June and headed out of Vegas to Zion Nation Park to hike the Narrows. It was early but we were all excited to get away and have a great week-end together. Don't we look professional? Ready to hike! It is suggested to rent boots with water socks and hiking sticks which ended up saving me from many of falls into the ice cold river!

The weather was perfect. Not too hot and not too cold.

I'm not sure how far we hiked or which spot we hiked to. All I know is we had a great time. Hiking, laughing, talking, and enjoy being together without the distraction of our wonderful children.

None of the pictures give justice to the beauty of Zion. It was breath taking and so is my man as he hiked away!

Us girlies, Karin, Maren, and I, stuck together and never once fell into the water which pretty much amazed me! During some parts the water was flowing pretty fast but we always made it across.

I love spending time alone with Damon. We have spent too much time not doing stuff for us as a couple. I'm loving that we are able to do more things together again. He always makes me laugh and I don't think anyone knows me as well as Damon does.

I love how this pictures give perspective of how small Jason and Damon are compared to our surroundings!

We found a new refuge to escape the big city. It's close to make short week-end trips but far enough away to enjoy a lifestyle of relaxation. We'll be back soon enough as we are already planning another week-end away soon. This is the view right outside our hotel room, so beautiful! While we were relaxing the week-end away our fabulous friends, Eric and Nikki, were watching our 2 little men. Not only did they take excellent care of them Nikki was able to get both my boys and yes that means Mr. Non Veggie Consumer Trevor, to eat peas! They love them and request them now. Thanks for again for not only watching our children but getting them to eat something besides french fries!

Graduation Day

My little Shane is getting so grown up. I didn't think life would happen so quickly, but it has. I remembered how shy he was to start pre-school 2 short years ago. He wouldn't leave my side and his teacher even asked if someone besides me could drop him off until he was use to it! Today he grew up right before my eyes and graduated from Pre-school. Look at the cutest little graduate EVER!With Pre-school graduation comes a lot of preparation. First there was the making of grad hat cupcakes which were oh so cute and oh so easy!Then there was the teacher gift completely handmade by my sweet Shane! He was so proud to finally make her something on his own and not mommy help. Plus we got the cutest necklace that says "teacher with class" and an apple. Shane got all handsome with his new shirt and was ready to graduate.As the kids walked in the graduation song was playing and they marched in holding flags. This is when the tears started! Not my first born, how is he old enough to graduate from pre-school? They led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and then diplomas were given.

Shane and his wonderful teacher Ms. Dolores. He adores her and so do we. She was the perfect match for Shane to provide him the comfort his cautious personality needs yet enough push to get him out of his shell to learn and explore.

Proud parents!

Best of buddies, Shane and Gabe.

He had a wonderful class of 6 and as you can tell had so much fun together. Good friends...

and diploma in hand. Shane is now ready for Kindergarten!

He's come along way baby!

• First year, when asked where lived he said, "by my neighbor Aaron with a pool." He now knows he lives on F. Hills in Las Vegas!
• First year, could count to 14 and now he can count to 30.
• First year, recognized 5 letters. Now, recognizes all letter and their sounds!

It is amazing how much they can learn in a few years. His end of the year evaluation states he is attentive to learn, always cooperative, respectful to others, and very likeable by his peers. Damon was so excited he was the best Daddy ever and took him to Target to pick out whatever he wanted! We are so proud of you Shanners. You are so kind and so smart we couldn't ask for a better graduate! Life and school has just begun for you so continue with this zest for life and learning!

A day trip to St. George

On Saturday the boys and I were lucky enough to make a trip to one of our favorite places, Saint George! Something about this small town appeals to both me and my boys. We went to go watch Tara's kids while Jon's brother was getting married. Shane was so excited to go to the temple and walking around."Look Trevor, it's HUGE Jesus. He's here to help us!" I love that Shane takes care of Trevor.We played around on the grass and even went "bear hunting" AKA Hide and Seek.

Crazy fun having a yummy lunch and I'm sure driving all the other customers crazy!

And what is a trip to St. George without some good shopping at Roberts.

We had a great day even though it was short. We always have a blast with cousins and family. Next time Shane request we stay the night. He loves hotels and kept saying he was tired but all he really wanted was to be in a hotel!

Memorial Day Fun

It is important to Damon and I to teach our boys about our country and why we are so lucky to be Americans. We decided to head out to Boulder City to go to the Veterans Cemetery and pay tribute to the heroes of our country.

I loved seeing all the flag and going from statue to statue teaching Shane and Trevor about the sacrifices these men and women have done for us.

We told them how Cowboy Grandpa and my Grandpas fought in WW II.

Once we were done we were hot and decided do Shane's favorite thing to do in Boulder City... GET ICE CREAM! For some reason he always want to go to Boulder City for ice cream and he loved this day to finally get some of that ice cream!

I loved seeing all the flags all in a row.

Once we got home naps were taken and then off to a neighborhood BBQ of the BEST ribs ever with great friends. We had a firework show in our little community which was really quite good but we missed a lot of the fun games because us adults were too busy eating our BBQ!

These 2 were walking around pushing a stroller and they looked like My Two Dads. Sorry, but you can't do that without making people think!

Trevor liked the one and only game we played.I love spending the day together as a family and having a good time. I enjoy teaching my boys and I hope am teaching them to respect our country by not taking advantage of where we live. I love being able to walk over to our friends for dinner and then over to watch the fireworks. Life is good.