I'm making a goal.....

Yes it's true I'm making a goal right now to post at least once a month!  That is manageable to me and it will ensure that I don't fall too far behind on my blogging.  To play catch up....in the middle of May we got the go ahead to start our pool!! We have been waiting for so long and we were soooo excited!!  The school year ended and summer started!  Kyle had a 3 day day camp for scouts, then zach had a week of scout camp up at Camp Raymond and then Sydney and I went to Girl's Camp.  It was so fun, I love being at camp with her and seeing her be a leader and interact with other girls.  I love to see the silliness and to hear them laugh with each other.  Camp is very spiritual and I relish in those moments with the YW and especially my daughter.  I forgot to mention that Sydney's friend Taylor Heyman left on his mission to Concepcion Chile while she was at camp and it was very emotional and hard on her but she survived!  When we got home from camp we jumped into our brand new sparkling pool and loved every moment of it!  Sydney then left the day after for EFY with her friend Ashlyn Bishop, they went to the U of U and had a wonderful time and had some great spiritual experiences.  She then stayed with grandma and grandpa Brereton for a week and then drove back to AZ with Keith and Pat and Jessie and her kids.  Jessie made the decision to move to AZ after she got a job, hopefully she likes it here and will be happy with her choice.  The rest of the summer was just swim, swim, swim and summer movies!  School started July 23 and Chloe is in 2nd grade and has Ms. Shaheen (kyle had her too), Kyle has Mrs. Nordquist and is in 5th grade and Zach is in 8th grade at Santan Jr. High and Sydney is our senior........boo hoo, she can't do this to me! I'm not ready for her to be almost gone.  Sydney is now working as a nanny for 2 hrs a day and makes good money.  She is busy with her studies and is enjoying a half day now, I enjoy seeing her more at home.  Zach made the Santan soccer team and he is also on the Santan Legacy soccer team, he is very busy, plus juggling school.  Kyle is playing soccer and Chris is his coach and he is going to scouts and enjoying school.  Chloe is loving school and has really loved having her cousins live here!  She is starting dance at Dance Matrix on monday and is so excited.  Life is so good, we are just busy with the usual activities and we look forward to fall break in October!

BUSY

Busy, Busy, Busy!

This week starting with Sunday has been so busy!  Not sure why Sunday is called the day of rest, I was gone from 9:40 am until 8:45pm that evening.  I had meetings, church, family dinner and then a camp meeting.  I was soooo tired and just fell into bed that night.  I've been working a bit this week and the kids are busy with homework and school.  Kyle had a baseball game on monday and did great!  ZAch had a volleyball game on monday as well and they won 2 games to 1 against Payne JH.  Zach consistently plays each game for the entire time.  Tonight the youth are going to the temple for Baptisms.  I am excited to do that with them, what a wonderful opportunity.  Sydney has her dance recital wed, thurs and friday of this week and I can't wait to see it.  She has been working on it all year.  Sydney has also been busy with prom plans!  She was asked on saturday by Jamison but I soon found out that another boy was going to ask her that same night too.  She has been helping all these boys ask these girls in cute ways.  I love that they are going to go in a big group and some are blind dates so I hope that turns out well.  Grandma Gardiner is making her dress it's a pretty soft, yellow, chiffon dress that goes to the floor.  I can't wait to take pictures!!!  Chloe is loving every moment with her friends, Thea came over and they play so good now so they had a good time.  Life is so good, now if we could just get our pool plans approved it would be even better!  We are going on waiting 6 months now......

Seriously.........It's been how long??

Wow, I can't believe that I only blog like 3 times a year now, it's pathetic! Anyway I need to sum up what has been going on before I forget what has been happening.  Let's start with Sydney...Beautiful Sydney is very busy!  She is busy at HHS going to school and taking her ACT's. Sydney was awarded the HHS student of the month in February for her attitude and work.  (so proud!!!!!) She is the Laurel secretary at church and has been working at Origami Owl.  She takes the photos of all the product for the website and the models.  Her work will be published in their catalog today. Check it out at www.origamiowl.com.  She enjoys hanging out with friends and going to concerts like Taylor Swift, Hunter Hayes, etc...  SHe has a very cute sense of style and loves to pick out and buy her own clothes.  She if very independent and drives herself everywhere, it's hard because i don't feel like I see her much and my time with her is slipping away as she will graduate next year.......:(

Zach has been very busy as well.  He has been working hard at school to keep the grades up.  He is a boy scout and just got his Life on sunday night, the next step...Eagle (finally)!! He finished up the Santan Legacy soccer season in March and he then jumped right into Volleyball.  We were kind of surprised but he loves it and he plays for the Santan Jr. High team.  Zach is busy each week with sports, scout hikes like to Fat Man's Pass, Picacho Peak and Weavers Needle.  He loves to hang with his buddies and I especially love to see him pass the sacrament each sunday.  

Kyle is doing great!  He is working hard at school and enjoys his class and teacher a lot!  He finished up fall and winter soccer which he did extremely well and loved to score goals and run down the field like a pro.  He then jumped right into baseball with his buddy Tyler Moore and Chris and Brad are coaching the team.  They have been undefeated until last week they lost by 1 point.   Hopefully that will motivate them to win the rest of the games.  Kyle is a fantastic team player! I can always hear him in the dugout cheering teammates on and talking to them on the field and being positive.  Kyle is in the webelos in scouts and when baseball is over he can finally start to go back.  He is so sweet and loves to give us lots of hugs.  He still likes to get up super early in the morning and play xbox or watch TV and he enjoys watching some fun reality TV with me like The Amazing Race and The Voice. 

Chloe is the last but not least, she is our little princess. She loves to go to school and be with her friends.  She is taking a gymnastics class called Tumbletown right at Fulton every Monday, and she enjoys coming home and showing us what she has learned.  Chloe is learning to read fluently and spell words and be a good student.   She LOVES her friends and wants to play every second that she can.  Her 2 best friends are still Maya and Thea.  She comes home every Sunday and tells us that she has learned about Jesus and enjoys her primary class.  Chloe is very loving and gives big hugs and kisses that make my day.  She has recently discovered the hula hoop and boy can that girl hula!!  She is so good at it and loves to walk around the house saying "watch mom, watch mom"  I love it!  

Chris and I are doing good.  I'm still in YW as the president and Chris is the Ward mission leader and we both keep quite busy with our schedules and the kids activities.  Chris and I ran the Ragnar Relay with my family in February and it was so fun!! We could have trained more but we did our best and had a great time.  I did have to run some hills in Fountain Hills that were KILLER, I never thought that I would finish.  Thanks for the support of my awesome team and some prayer I made it!!   We are hoping to build a pool as soon as the plans are approved, we can't wait to play out there all summer!!  We also had some of our animals deliver babies this spring. It was so neat to see  them be born and to witness the baby goats and lamb get up and walk just minutes after coming into this world.  We enjoyed having Chris's parents with us for a bit and they really helped us with our yard to add to it and clean it up.  I started a new job as a Marketer for an Orthodontist office in February.  It has been so fun! My friend Angela called me and asked if I would be interested in helping her do this and I have loved it ever since.  We enjoy working and then shopping at DI or goodwill for fun treasures.  Most fun job I've had and the office we work for is fantastic! 

We are SO blessed and love our life.  I'm sad it's going to so quickly so I'm trying to enjoy every second.

Christmas

I absolutely LOVE this time of the year, who doesn't right? It's been so fun this past month. We celebrated Kyle's 10th birthday. He got breakfast in bed which was eggo waffles and bacon. He got cupcakes at school and for dinner we went to Chick-fil-a with Grandma and Grandpa G. He got a movie, clothes, new shoes, etc... We love you Kyle!! That next week Grandma Luck passed away so we were off to Utah. She passed away in her sleep one morning as peaceful as can be. Her funeral was very nice, Chris spoke and I led the music. That afternoon Chris was priviledged to give Keith the Priesthood! He was found worthy by his bishop to receive it and it was a very special moment for all of us to witness. I can't wait when we can all go to the temple together! The next day we were supposed to go to Vernal for the burial but it was snowing and bad weather, so I stayed home with my kids (except Sydney) and some of Jessie's and they just played all day. It was so nice I just watched Hallmark Christmas movies and Christmas shopped online in my pj's all day. You can't get any better than that! For Thanksgiving we went to the Moore's house and the kids played and played while we ate and talked. That night Hayley and I braved it out and went black friday shopping at Walmart. Let's just say that it was the craziest black friday I've been involved in. It was so crowded and I had to fight for my items and the lines were insane. But we were home and in bed by 11:30, I like it so much better that they open at 10pm on thanksgiving night. I decorated for Christmas the following day and I love making the house twinkle and sparkle and seeing the tree go up. My favorite part is putting the ornaments on with the family and each kid talks about the memory of where and who gave it to them. I treasure these moments dearly. It's been a busy december. Keith came to stay with us and help us with things around the house, we have been painting like crazy and we are going to put up more fans. He is always willing to help and I appreciate it. Zach played in a soccer tournament this weekend and on saturday night scored both of the teams goals, I was so proud. Kyle played his first basketball game and scored 8 points, I love to see them all excel. Chloe had he dance recital at Fulton and she danced to the Macarena and Michael Jackson she was so cute and I loved seeing her try her best. Sydney has been all about work and school, she is so busy and I hate having her gone for long periods of time but she enjoys making money! We are busy with our callings Chris is ward mission leader and I'm always busy with the YW. Life is good!! This week we celebrate Zach!!

I always feel like I'm calling these- Catch up!

Yes, Yes it's been a long time since I've posted anything and I feel bad. I'm such a slacker! Ok well things are always busy in our house and for our family. Let's see I'm going to sum up the last 10 months quickly. In February we traveled to Utah for Bailey's baptism and it was so fun going to the BYU bookstore and buying BYU sweatshirts for the whole family. We were also able to see a missionary that used to serve here and we had a great time with the Brereton's. My cousin Mallory Sackley came to visit Sydney for a week and they had a great time going out with Sydney's friends and riding the neighbors horse and just being together. They love to laugh and be silly! Mom helped me put up new curtains in my home, yeah! In April my grandma Black passed away so I flew up to Utah with Mom and dad and we then drove to Idaho and stayed at my Uncle Dan's house. We went to the funeral which was nice. Dad spoke and did the best job! We toured around Rupert and saw where day grew up, it was nice to be with them. On our way home we went to temple square and to lunch and then flew home. It was nice to go and honor grandma. For Easter we had dinner with my family here at our house and an easter egg hunt, it was so fun. Sydney played soccer and as always, did well. The boys finished up baseball with CNLL. Our beloved dog Daisy passed away (she got cancer) and so we got another dog. Her name is Lilly she is an Australian Shepherd. She is amazingly smart but very much a puppy and she drives us a little insane at times. Sydney finished 10th grade, ZAch graduated from elementary and finished 6th grade, Kyle finished 3rd and Chloe graduated from Kindergarten. When I went to watch her sing her songs at the school, there was one she did not sing and afterwards I asked her why she didn't and she said that she had already sung that one in pre-school....very stubborn girl at times. Summer arrived and Kyle went to cub scout day camp for 3 days and loved it! Then we went to a resort up in Phoenix for 3 days. We called it our staycation, Chris's work paid for it all and we just relaxed by the pool, swam and ate yummy food. Next year we are headed to Washington DC, I'm so excited about that one. The following week, Zach went to Camp Raymond with the boy scouts and was sick for the first 2 days (Yucky). Sydney and I headed up to girl's camp for the week. Wow what a wonderful and spiritual week it was for me. I thoroughly enjoyed being there with Sydney and all of the girls. I truly feel lucky to be a part of their lives. In July, Jessie and her kids drove down to visit us for a week and we had a great time! We swam, watched movies, went walking, the kids played and played. We watched fireworks for the 4th of July from our Balcony with Hayley and Bill and kids as well. One night I was gone to one of Zach's baseball games when a HUGE haboob (massive dust storm) hit the valley and it literally blew like a huge snow storm would have. It went on for a good hour or so. Let me tell you.....the dust that was in my house from the reservation across the street was unbelievable and the bad part was that Jessie had just finished cleaning my entire house!!! I felt so bad, so yep the next morning we cleaned it again. (Just what she wanted to do on her vacation...) She took Sydney home to Utah with her and she stayed for a week and then flew home, it was weird having her fly all by herself. Well then once again school started and Chloe is in 1st grade with Mrs. Ferber, Kyle is in 4th grade with Mr. Shimizu (Zach had him last year for 6th) and Zach started Jr. High at Santan and Sydney is a Junior at Hamilton HS. Its very surreal for me to think that Sydney will be going off to college soon enough and my kids are just growing so fast and I don't like it at all. I want time to stand still. Sydney had her birthday and she got her first flowers sent to her from Taylor Heyman. We took her to dinner at the Olive Garden, Grandma and Grandpa G came with us too. We also made her breakfast of course that morning. We secretly planned a surprise party for Sydney (we couldn't resist, it's her 16th!!) The friday following her birthday her friend Taylor Williams took her to Skateland and blindfolded her everywhere they went. In the meantime all her friends showed up to our home and when she got here we all yelled surprise and and she was shocked!! I loved her face, she had no idea. The next surprise was we decided to buy her a car, we got her a Volkswagon New Beatle. It is silver and black and is convertible. We parked it out front with a note and hoped she would find it and when some of her friends did they went and got her. She was STUNNED! It was so awesome, she did not expect it and was so happy. Who wouldn't be? So it was just a great moment for Chris and I. We were so happy to give it to her. She got her license the following monday and then life changed. She started driving herself to school ( I had a hard time with that at first), she got a job at Origami Owl at the mall. She works selling jewelry at a Kiosk for a girl in our ward, Bella Weems. She really likes it and they think she does a great job. I'm very proud of her. It was just so weird for me to see her become so independent and grown up so quickly. Then it was Chloe's birthday and we celebrated with her friends and got here a large bouncy water slide for the backyard. For 2 hours they played and then we ate corn dogs and chips and had donuts for dessert! She had Thea, Maya, Abbie, Tricia, Mariah, Peyton Shore, Jillian and Bradley, Katie and Callie. She had such a great time turning 6! Zach decided the beginning of the summer to try out for the Santan Legacy soccer team. Keep in mind he had only play one soccer game in his life. But lo and behold he made the best boys soccer team in the league! He is very agile and quicky and did quite well. So now he has been playing soccer since August. We went to Flagstaff for a tournament, Chloe came with us and it was so pretty up there the weather was great. They won all their games except the last one. It's really fun to watch him play. Kyle is also playing soccer and Chris is coaching him, he loves it as well and scores almost every game! September rolled around and it was time for Homecoming for Sydney, her first school dance. Taylor Heyman flew back home from BYU and took her. They went with Jordan and her date Nate. They went to dinner and then to the dance. She was thrilled that he came down. Well for fall break we took the kids to Cancun Mexico. It was a blast! We left our house at 2:15am and flew to Houston at 5am, from there we flew to Mexico. It was awesome. We stayed at the Barcelo Tucancun all inclusive resort. We had a condo on the beach that had 2 bedrooms and a main living area and 2 bathrooms. We looked right out on the ocean. It was beautiful. The first 2 days we played on the beach and read and swam and drank salt water (boy does that sting the eyes)We rented boogie boards and just played! On wednesday we went on a guided tour to Chichen Itza with Helaman and 2 other couples. It was really cool to see the ancient Mayan ruins and then we swam in a cinote! It's a lush underground natural water spring. The water was refreshing and cool to our sunburned skin. The boys jumped off the cliff into the water and had a blast. Chloe was such a trooper and got in the water as well she didn't care that there were fish swimming in the water around her. We had a great buffet lunch and then headed back to the resort! The last day we woke up and it was raining and thundering and lightening, I was so bummed so the first part of the morning we stayed inside then we ventured out and and played in the pool and read. The cool part about that day was that little sea turtle hatched out of their eggs underground and we were able to hold them for the first time. They were so cute! Friday we headed home and this was an adventure. We left the resort at 4am and left Cancun at 7am, flew to Houston, then flew to LA, had a long layover ( the Yocums were there too coming back from Hawaii) then we flew home. It was a long day! We love Mexico and could go back every year. Halloween--Chris and I went to a 70's skating party at Skateland with friends from the Ward, it was so much fun especially since I actually remembered how to skate. This year the kids dressed up and Kyle went as a ketchup bottle and Chloe went as a tinkerbell fairy. Zach and Sydney are too old of course....We went to our old neighborhood and had dinner in the cul-de-sac with the neighbors and the kids trick or treated, it was a great night to see everyone again. Thanksgiving was at the Moore's this year and it was a nice quiet dinner and we enjoyed their company. That night Hayley and I met at Walmart for our annual black friday shopping, it was super crazy (worse than before). I bought a Shark mop, 2 tupperware sets, a scentsy warmer, clothes. Now it's Christmas time and the tree is up and all the decorations are up and life just moves so fast. I am vowing to do better and write more often. Life is so good and we are happy and so thankful for all wonderful things we have. Here are some random pics throughout the year.