Tuesday, July 27, 2010

July 24th with Grandma Olsen

We were up in Panguitch for the 24th this year and had such a fun time being with Melanie! She grew up there and gave us such a great tour of this adorable little town! The highlight for the little kids was the parade! We hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before, but Melanie was such a great sport about making it fun for the kids! Carter and Taylor also loved playing in Melanie's old yard! I couldn't believe how green the grass was. We are used to Vegas where everything is dead I guess!

Thanks Melanie for making this such a fun trip for the little kids! We are so glad we have been able to spend some time with you before we take off! We sure love you!!!

Ryker running through the yard!

Hunter playing in the yard!

The twins were SO excited to find an escape route through the fence!

Melanie and the boys on our way to the parade!

Taylor- the happy guy! That what he just said when he saw the picture!

Some chairs all set up for the parade!

Carter and Hunter getting ready!

Carter entertaining Ryker!

Taylor eating a stick!

Melanie and her brother Clem and his wife. They were so great up there!

Mommy having fun at the parade! This was really the first parade the kids have been too and they LOVED it! They got so much candy! It was crazy!!! It was fun to wave to the people and I'm glad that Melanie got to visit with a few of her classmates! Thanks for letting us stay up there with you! Sorry the babies refused to SLEEP!

Arizona Trip

We were able to go to Arizona a couple weeks ago with my family! I will sure miss crashing their family vacations when we're in Japan. We have had a blast seeing new places with them every year.

Anyway, Heather is moving there in a couple of weeks and I haven't seen her in almost three years so she flew into Vegas and we drove to Phoenix together! It was so fun to be able to see her and visit! She had me giggling while we told stories of our naughty little kids! I'm glad I got to see her before we leave. We had a great time with Jenny, Grandpa, and Grandma too. Ryker is like glue with Grandma and loved to swim with her!

All the kids had a great time swimming and playing in the hotel!

Hunter fell asleep on the way to the pool!

Ryker leaning in for a kiss!

Ryker playing with Grandma in the water!

Cooling off with some ice cream bars!

Me and Heather! I love you girly! It was fun to see you again!

Thanks mom and dad for the fun trip! We just love you!

Aunt Jenny playing with Hunter!

Me and my little ones!

Ryker throwing a fit! He has recently been throwing his face on the cement when he gets mad!

Little Taylor- Always posing!

The babies while Heather tried to get some good pictures!

Carter is growing up so fast! I can't believe what a great helper he is now! He is so excited to move to Japan and start first grade!

Monday, July 26, 2010

I had NO idea!!!

I had absolutely NO clue that when I accepted a ring from this guy---

I would also get this "fantastic" guy, and I couldn't have been LUCKIER!!!

Holding the babies the day they got blessed!

Ken, you have truly been an inspiration to me and my children! We have loved you from the very start! You made me feel welcome into the family and treated me as you would a daughter and I love and appreciate you for it! Our relationship has grown so much in the past 7 years and I was so LUCKY to have met and got to spend so much time with you!

Ken passed away just over a week ago! We will love and miss you Ken!

I just wanted to write down a couple of my favorite memories of this wonderful guy!

When we lived in Hawaii, he and Melanie came to visit us! He got so turned around and was always losing his way. I thought it was funny because in the states he can tell me the fastest way to get anywhere!

He was always a great dresser and made sure he got dressed up for all dates including going out to see a movie! Oh and he always smelled so good! I thought it was a little odd when we took them to Sunset Beach and he had on a button up shirt, a pair of dockers, and penny loafers, but that was Ken Olsen!

He told me once that he hated the trips to California in the truck- He didn't get paid as well, and he hated the traffic, but that didn't stop him from coming to see us every chance he got! We would meet up for KFC and it always made me smile when he called Melanie to rub it in that he was with the grandkids! He always had us get close together so he could take a picture on his phone! :) Then we would look through all the old pictures he had taken on the road!

He also picked up me and the kids on several occasions to drive home with him in the big truck! The little boys were in HEAVEN! I loved that they slept on the bed and watched TV, so it made it a fast trip home! I will always remember the discussions we had and be grateful for his funny sense of humor! He was the ultimate tease!

We were both avid price is right fans and had several phone calls about how lucky contestants were! I loved when he was lonely and would call, we would talk about the kids and all the crazy things they were up too, and he would tell me where he was and what he was hauling. I will really miss all the phone calls!

I LOVE that he and Rhett got to golf together! It was many hours that they got to spend together doing what they loved!

He was such a GREAT grandpa and ALL of my kids absolutely adored him! Ken we sure LOVE you and can't wait until we see you again, but until then--- I would love if you would help me keep track of all these little boys! They can certainly use a guardian angel! :)

Here are just a couple pictures of this wonderful man that we were so blessed to have in our lives!!!


Holding the twins a week after they were born!

Playing Santa for all the elementary kids.

Holding Hunter during the graduation ceremony!

The plane ride back from Hawaii.

KFC with grandpa was my kids favorite thing! They got so excited when he called and said he was coming into town!

McDonalds in Hawaii.

Golfing with Rhett!

Rhett's dental school graduation! Always SO supportive!!!

Goofing around!

Thank you for ALL the great memories together!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Tournament of Kings~ Again!!!

WE have been to see the Tournament of Kings a couple times while living here, but it is still one of the kids favorite places to go! Julie was taking Brendan and Sarah and invited us to tag along and we jumped at the chance to see it again! It was fun to have Jessie come. We had a really fun group!

We also had a few minutes to burn in the arcade! Carter and Taylor loved the fishing game and even caught a few fish!

Jessie, Brendan, and Carter waiting while we bought the tickets!

Taylor fishing for a prize!

Carter with his prizes he won at the arcade!

Taylor with his little fishes!

Mommy and Taylor sitting down right before the show! He was my little lap sitter so he got in free!

Me and the boys! We had a blast together!

Carter with his chicken! He loved the tomato soup.

Taylor with his chicken leg. They were both fantastic boys! I love spending time with them without the babies. It's nice to give them a little extra attention! Thanks Rhett for watching the twins. I love you!!!

Me and Jessie in front of the sign!

Bad mommy moment of the week-

So the big boys were at Julie's swimming and we were running a little late to get to the show! I had set out their clothes so when she brought them home I just threw the clothes on- I didn't realize that poor Taylor was in Carter's pants until we got there and he was up up on the counter fishing and his pants fell all the way down! Poor kid-- I guess I had better make sure I have the kids in the right clothes before leaving the house from now on!

4th of July

I was SO excited for the fireworks this year! The babies were so little last year that they fell asleep long before we did any fireworks! I thought it was going to be a blast for them this year and I couldn't wait! The big boys were pretty stoked too! We started the fireworks at 8:00. The babies usually go to bed at 6:15. They were in a pretty good mood to start off, but right as we started I could tell they were NOT going to like them!!

Rhett getting everything ready to light~

The group so excited for fireworks~

Carter holding the babies back while one was lit~

The BIG boys loved them~

Ryker HATED them from the start-- Hunter was just a little nervous~

Then he was confused~

Then he was scared~ This pictures pretty much depicts exactly how much the twins liked fireworks!

This is them hauling butt to the front door to go to bed! Oh well, I guess my expectations were a little high! Hopefully next year they will like them better!