Entering the TEENAGE years.....

The newest and first TEEN of of our house...... He didn't seem to mind the shirt ,I got him, for his special day....maybe because he still doesn't quite get it. :o)
What a good kid to pose for the camera!
Tyler and his cousin Cayden. Cayden got to come and stay with us for 4 days. It was very fun to have another boy in the house.
Happy Birthday dear Tyler...............
The requested Tri-tip dinner being prepared.....
Present time....what do you get a Teenage kid?!?!? That was hard one....well, he got money,(and lots of it!)....his very own camera...more video games.....and some clothes, oh yes and Hershey bars....his fav!
Getting ready for a Nerf gun battle..

The day before Tyler's birthday we took the kids on the boat. We had a great time and Uncle Daryle was keeping score on how many times he was able to throw Cayden off the tube.
Natalie's friend Sarah was the Junior Portuguese Queen for the Catholic church this year. Natalie was asked to be an Attendant in the parade with her this past weekend. They were so pretty!

Time flies....

How can my Baby Boy, be turning 13 years old today??!!??

Wow, looking back at these pictures, it just doesn't seem that long ago....

I love you Tyler....I can't believe you are a TEENAGER!

Happy 13th Birthday and many, many more!

Hello....*U*T*A*H*

Off to Utah we went last week....we hadn't made a trip in over 2 years and thanks to the extra TAX check that came to us in May, we found a way to put it to good use! The kids were so excited...they love going to Utah.... seeing everyone and getting to know more of our family....It's really fun to see my kids, getting to know and love the extented family, I grew up with and giving them a relationship with each other. Everyone was so good to us.

Our first official day, we went to go see my Grandma. The kids were very happy to see their "Bana" as they call her....We went to lunch and then to see, "Wall-E"~(have you seen it?...I do not recommend it.....talk about DUMB!) The kids loved it though....Grandma and I had a different opinion! Grandma said I was not allowed to take any pictures while I was there.....(yea-right, does she not know me??!!?!) I talked her into a few and then I caught this one of Tyler walking her out of the mall...they were holding hands and it was so dang cute! You can tell by the look on her face she isn't happy, I am taking a picture...and she has nowhere to run!
We made sure to visit everyone while we were in town... including the ones we have loss...
Both of my Grandpa's graves are a sad reminder, that they are no longer with us... I guess, I always feel like they will be here when we come strolling into Utah to visit....and reality comes back to me, very quickly...I miss you both....Utah is not the same without you both there. Not only to make me laugh but, to hear the same stories...over and over and over again....
Uncle Dennis brought out the homemade "Jenga" game that Grandpa Bob made. Although, he renamed the game..."Watch out!" I guess its because each colored piece is made out of a 2 x 4.

Nothing like a little "puttin" practice in the backyard....
Uncle Dennis impressed us with his German pancake making abilities....I almost forgot how yummy they are.....almost! Thank you Dennis and MaryAnn for letting us stay with you! I know its hard having people invade your home....especially 3 little people......thank you for being so good to us! We love you both very much....
A view from the Copper pit. What a neat place. Not so neat on how you get there.....sign..
My Cousin Alisha, Grandma Margot and Me
Some of the Davis' clan....we sure love visiting with everyone!

Tyler was so good with both of his Great-grandma's. What a nice little gentleman he was. Right there helping when they needed it...opening doors, helping up and down stairs, giving them lots of kisses and hugs....he made me so proud. What a good boy we have.
We were double lucky this trip to have my Grandma Margot in Utah as well. She lives in Arizona and decided to come for a Utah visit too! and it just happen to be the same week as us!!

Talk about lucky!

Me and my Grandma....I sure love you! It is always fun to be spoiled by your Grandma....no matter how old you are! We pooped her out each day.
My Uncle John, Grannie and Uncle Ray....I loved getting to visit with everyone. It is so nice to be around my Dad's family. It just gives me a sense of peace & comfort......with my Dad no longer here. They are all such good people....we love them all very much....
Lindsey and Bana were looking at each other like this and just giggling....I think its because they were able to look each other in the eye~ standing up!
Us and some of our Pickup cousins..I really enjoyed visiting with each one of them. What nice young people each one of them is. I only wish we could see each other more often.
See Andrew.........I told you, I would be putting you on my Blog! :o)

What we've been up too.............!!?

4th of July.......we went to Grandma's Country Club and watched fireworks and had a yummy BBQ feast....Natalie spiked a 103 temp that afternoon right before we were set to leave....(and being the good mother, I am.....)I loaded her up with Motrin and off we went!
Cousin Ashley's wedding.....We got to see most of our Cousins....except for Cayden...he was off at his All-stars baseball game and hit a 3 run home-run! Way to go cuz!

There's nothing like a good-ole California wedding! I love Cousin Drew covering Natalie's eyes in the background.
Lindsey loved the dancing...
Daryle, his Dad, Bruce and eldest brother Mike. I forgot to post the picture that Tyler caught the garter....he said to me, "what's this mean??" and I said, "it means you are the next to get married!' He had a very puzzled, scared look on his face.
Tyler and Daddy went fishing over the weekend and caught 3 catfish. We had them for dinner that night...they were pretty tasty!

Natalie and I went and saw this years AMERICAN IDOL concert. We sat pretty close and could see the sweat dripping off their faces. My ears have never been the same since...we had these teenage girls behind us and whenever any of the guys were out...the David's or Jason, the screaming was UNBELIEVEABLE.
The kids did Six Flags Day camp again this year....our 4th year in a row! This time they extended it 2 more hours. I had freedom from 9am-5pm for a whole week! It was a bit strange. Uncle Chris came over and I got to watch my new nephew for a few hours one of the days and Chris said, "its so quiet in here...(the house! no kids!)
A new toy for us! Thanks Aunt Joan!
And, we are off tomorrow to UTAH for about a week to see my Grandma and lots of other family....we haven't seen in over 2 years....she would hate this picture of her if she knew I put it on here...its the only one I had on my computer though.....nobody tell!

Mexico 2008!

Home sweet home..... yes and no......loved being on vacation but, its always good to come home, I guess! We came home from Mexico on Sunday and we had a really nice, relaxing time away....I took over 300 pictures-( who me-? I know that doesn't surprise anyone!) so, I sifted through them and decided to make a slide show with what I liked the best. It would of taken me forever to post! We arrived in Mazatlan on the 20th of June, with our friends, The Jones' and had 8 full days of doing whatever we wanted or nothing at all.....and we did a whole lota of nothing! It was great.... For the most part, we just stayed at the resort and swam, ate, drank, swam, ate drank, painted and.....just ate, ate, ate! I think my stomach was on overload....Daryle went fishing with his Dad one day..they caught plenty of Dorado and Mahi Mahi. A restaurant in town cooked it for us one night. They cooked it 3 different ways for us.. The fried was the best of course! We did spend one day out and took the kids horse back riding on the beach...Tyler chose not to go so, the girls got to go up and down the beach twice! They loved it....their butts hurt but, they loved it. We tried many different restaurants around town.....people said..."I bet you are sick of Mexican food....?!!?" But, actually what was big there, is their steaks and the seafood. We ate a lot of both....the shrimp was wonderful! We did not have one bad meal. The best part about our vacation was spending some much needed time with our family...reconnecting and having fun together. We loved being with our favorite Jones' family..we always have such a good time together...Can't wait to go again!

Father's day 2008

Better late than never..........FATHER'S DAY.............we had a nice, relaxing, quiet day....Just hung out and went swimming............in the bitterly cold swimming pool at Grandma's house. We had a nice turkey dinner and wonderful dessert. It was a great day to celebrate the special man in our house!