I love my view!

Of course, this is pre-housing development, so I am hoping that we don't lose too much of it!

Why dogs bite people....

Here's the coat I promised.

"Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat!...."

Okay, so our goose isn't getting fat, but whose is???! I can't believe that Christmas is a few days away! Of course I say that to myself every year, but I think it comes faster each time around. We have successfully given out our teacher/neighbor gifts, but as for the Christmas cards.....hmm....yeah, probably not going to happen. So I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause :), but if you were looking forward to a good update/recap and some cute pictuers--keep reading my blog! In the meantime, here is a picture of the girls in their cute dresses. The boys got new ties too, but by the time they got dressed there was no time for more pictures.

Kaylee can't take a picture in a dress without making this pose--notice the pinky, I don't teach her this stuff, I promise! (if you look at the Halloween post you can see what I mean!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone has a good and happy day! Really, how could you not? It's the only day you are allowed to eat constantly without guilt, right?? Plus, you get the added benefit of a little workout in the morning while playing football! Well, at least we are going to.

This year my grandparents came down from Oregon and my Aunt/Uncle/cousins came from California, plus Vince's brother from BYU, so we have a good crowd.

Happy Turkey Day!!

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Ashley turns 2 today! Vince had to go on a campout this night, so we delayed her birthday party until Sunday, but here are some pictures--finally!!

Before....

Vince has decided to undertake a project this year: painting his bike! Yeah, I know, I have already thought of all those questions and I trust him completely (after reading over his business plan/cost analysis, no seriously I made him do that).

Hopefully in the Spring, I will be posting an "After..." picture with everything in tact except for the color of choice which is midnight blue with some metal flake.

We voted, did you???

Then, of course, went home and got a cookie to reward ourselves for doing such a good thing!

It may be a little too late to vote since the election is over and all, but it was still a cute picture and I thought I would document it for posterity anyway!

Taylor or Ashley???

Can anyone see a cousin resemblance here? So cute! (I took this picture from my sister/brother-in-laws website, hope you guys don't mind!) Speaking of family resemblances, there is no mistaking that its Vince's brother, Drew, in the picture with Tay.

Halloween

Well, we made it through the sugar rush! We are all coming down from it quite well--this year Vince and I decided to let them eat it all, whenever they wanted until it was gone and it was so nice!! No asking for candy 24/7 because they knew they could have it and when it was gone, they knew it was gone! Daniel finished his in about 2 1/2 days, and it only took a little longer for the other two to finish theirs. Here they are: a vampire, the Thing, Snow White and the bear.













Along with Trick-or-Treating we got to go to some parties and have lots of fun! Thanks to aunt Naomi for doing Kaylee's makeup! Grandma Denos and Julie got to come to Myla's ward party with us, and we have Daniel bobbing for apples and the boys practicing a useful skill with the doughnuts!

Bottling food....is it worth it???

So I have been quite domesticated lately by my friend Kamy and therefore been doing a lot of bottling. As a consequence, my house is a mess, no clean laundry and my kids have probably watched way too much TV! So, I have done applesauce, grape juice, more applesauce and earlier in the season was peaches.

It makes me feel really good that I am doing it for food storage, but everything else gets left behind and I am wondering if it wouldn't be easier to just buy it at the store and have a lot more time for the kids and the house???? What do you think?

"I know!"

We have been working on potty-training, using nice words and doing nice things like NOT kicking the dog, so I asked Kaylee one day:

"If you know this stuff already, why don't you do it?"

So she tells me "Because my red brain tells me to do all that stuff and my pink brain tells me not to. If I only had a pink brain then I could be nicer and do that stuff!"

The last concert.......for a long time!

Unless I win tickets on the radio, of course! Naomi bought tickets a few months ago to the Reba McEntire/Kelly Clarkson concert and couldn't find anyone else to go, so I got to buy them. (This is getting way too expensive!)

It was a blast! We had lots of fun, and for the opening act they had Melissa Peterman (Barbara Jean from her sitcom) do some comedy and it was great--way better than more songs, if you ask me! Here are some pictures and a video of the event.

8 is Great!

Turning 8 is a huge deal for so many reasons that I will just put them all in one post!

Matthew's Birthday: He decided to do blue-light mini-golf, then we went to the Pizza Factory for dinner where they sang "Happy Birthday" and gave him a big cookie sundae which we all shared. After that, we had his cookie-cake and presents at home! Matthew got a new bike, a scout uniform, a Venus Fly Trap and some fun toys to play with. It was a fun day!

Matthew's baptism:

The night went great, the spirit was very strong and everyone who participated did a wonderful job! We are so greatful that Grandpa Hilton could be here from Virginia, along with all the other family and friends who came out to celebrate with us. Matthew got a journal as one of his gifts and he has been using it quite a bit!

Myla got a video clip of Kaylee singing, so here it is!

Cub Scouts: Matthew is now in Cub Scouts, and this picture was the night of his first Pack Meeting. He got his Bobcat award, so now he is an official Wolf. He was so excited to be in scouts that when I gave him his Wolf book he read it for 30 minutes!

Costochondritis

Yesterday, Matthew came home from school early with his chest hurting, only being able to take shallow breaths, on the verge of crying because "either something is wrong with me or theres not enough oxygen around my head, and it hurts to take a deep breath!" So we get out the nebulizer and give him a few treatments--didn't do a thing. I call a neighbor who happens to be a nurse and she suggested I take him in.

When we get there Matthew is still close to crying, hurting severely trying to breath, but by the time he gets his token--breathing fine, nothing wrong, etc. Why do they do this???

The doctor checks him out and says that it isn't Asthma, and the chest x-rays don't show any abnormalities in the lung area. He came to the conclusion that is was costochondritis--big word that means the lining between your lungs and ribs is inflamed, but there are no real causes or treatments and it is perfectly harmless!

So, now we are all a little smarter for having read this blog!

I'm Bonified!

Naomi and I passed our motorcycle classes--finally! It was a long and stressful 2-Saturday course, but we survived. We can now ride anything under 649cc, and if we ever want to ride something bigger, we just have to test on that bike and then we will be "legal" for that size. The chances are very low that I will have the urge to ride anything bigger, but I know what to do if I get the urge!

Sorry I don't have any pictures, I wasn't thinking about that at the time. Maybe I will just sit on Vince's bike and pretend I can ride that! (I can't even get it off the kickstand without help)

Long awaited

Matthew has been waiting for this day since I can remember and now it's here! He is so excited, and I can't believe he's that old--or maybe I am finally getting old too?

Here is an invitation for any of those I haven't gotten to yet. We would love to see anyone who is going to be in the area, if you can make it.

Happy Birthdays!

Vince's birthday was on Sat., he turned 31 and Matthew turns 8 tomorrow! He has waited for this birthday since he can rememeber! We have scheduled his baptism for Oct. 3, he gets to go to scouts and he has already done a few activities with them.

Vince's birhtday was pretty uneventful, but once he was home from his campout (at about 4pm--being scoutmaster, you can't skip those things!) we gave him a few little presents and then he and I went to dinner and got his car washed!

Matthew is still deciding what he wants to do, but I think we will be going bowling as a family, then home for cake, ice cream and presents! He did mention that he wants a big cookie cake, so we may get a little creative, who knows!

There are also 3 other September birthdays in my family, so on Sunday we get to go to Myla and Mike's house and celebrate with everyone! You can't have too many parties, right?

Better late than never?

School started a few weeks ago and I have been so busy doing other things that I am finally getting those pictures up here. Here is Matthew--3rd grade, Daniel--1st grade, and Kaylee--Preschool.

Kid pics

I got these taken at Target, so I thought I would share. I had to scan it in, but I think it looks pretty good! Every time Ashley sees this picture, she tilts her head to the side and puts her hand by her face, its so cute.

Updated Hair, look below

Here is Ashley watching me take a picture of myself, I just wanted to see if she would copy me, and it just so happened that the one that turned out okay was me sticking out my tongue!

Kaylee is...

Kaylee wanted to do it, so I reworded some of the questions for her--she actually had very strong opinions on some of them!

You Are Ariel!

Headstrong and fiesty. You have a mind of your own that's full of romantic dreams about the world around you. Exploring exotic places is your ultimate dream, and although you can be a little naive you'll realize that there is something to be gained from your family's wisdom.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

So I have too much time apparantly...

I saw this on my friend's blog--it only takes a few minutes, you know you want to. It was a close second with Cinderella.

You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)







Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.
Which Disney Princess Are You?

Good bye, Electa Hilton

Vince's grandma passed away last night. It was a good thing, not that death is good, but she was 95ish and confined to a wheelchair in her nursing home. The nurse said when she went to go check on her at 3:30am she was kneeling by her bed in prayer, so we believe she went peacefully with our Heavenly Father's blessing. We are glad she has been relieved of her mortal struggles, in a place where she can be reunited with her husband Lyle and her daughter Donna.

I remember that Vince's parents had a license plate with the letters EQC on it and she would always say "Do you know what that stands for?--Electa, Quit Cussing!!" We all would get a good laugh at that, I guess Electa had a mouth on her when she got mad. This picture is classic though, only comfortable in her house dresses, but wouldn't be seen without her heels!

They are having the funeral in Arizona, but an open house in Virginia. We may go to the AZ one, but we will see what happens when all the details get put together!

An Earthly good bye, but a Heavenly Welcome Home.

It's just hair, right?--UPDATED

Well, I got my hair done today. I am not sure if I like it, and I am not sure I will post pictures for a few days just so I can get used to it and be okay with the "world" seeing it. My sister talked me into it and I was really excited, but then after it was done...you know how it is. It wasn't that the lady didn't understand what I wanted, it just may not be my thing. So, I guess we will chalk it up to trying something new, and I will give myself credit for that!!

If I decide I can live with it, I may post a picture, or I may not and just leave you all in terrible suspense!

Alright, I got a perm! I know I made it sound like I cut my hair short, and that it may have been an "orange mohawk", but here it is. It was supposed to be loose, and it ended up tighter than I wanted, thus the drama. Not the best picture, but when have I actually loved a picture that I was in??

Okay, so maybe I was being a little dramatic, but you have to understand, that I only change my hair every 10 years! Plus, the first few days I was having major flashbacks to Middle school and who wants to relive that!??? So after I figured out what I was doing and I was able to wash my hair, it has relaxed a bit and I guess I don't hate it anymore. I am actually starting to enjoy it! So, my advice to anyone looking to get a "loose perm" is to not go outside for at least a week, then you may be happy with it--eventually

Bear Lake!

We finally bit the bullet and went camping! Our last camping experience, we went to Antelope Island, which wasn't good at all and I was expecting something similar, but this time we went to Bear Lake. We kept hearing everyone talk about it so we figured we better give it a try and it was really great! We only stayed for one night--we like to keep it simple--the 3 older kids had a tent and Vince, Ashley and I shared the other tent. The only thing that we would have changed is the movie going on at the site next to us (really, they were projecting movies onto the side of their canopy tent!)

I forgot to mention the best part--almost no bugs!!

We did S'mores, and read a story by the fire.

The campsite had a nice trail to the beach, and it was shallow forever, so it was great for the kids!

Of course, we couldn't resist skipping some perfectly shaped rocks!!!

On our way home, we stopped at a Pizza parlor that makes a 28" pizza! We really wanted to get it, but there was no way we could have eaten it all. And, of course when you are in Bear Lake, you have to get a raspberry shake!!

We are already making plans for "next time" and I am actually excited about it!

Motorcycle license--crazy or practical??

Well, between all the talk about getting a motorcycle license by my sister, Naomi, and Vince, I have decided to take the course with Naomi in the fall. Now, I know some may think it is an irrational, crazy move on any one's part, especially since I don't own a bike I could ride, (Lets face it Vince's is 10 times too big for me to even get off the kickstand!) but I figure it is inevitable, seeing how I am married to Vince! So on the practical side, if I ever do get my own bike I would save a lot on gas--especially since by the time I got one of my own, in 10-15 years maybe, the gas prices are inevitably going to be worse.

Congratulations Kirk & Stephanie Hilton!!

Vince's brother got married yesterday in the Salt Lake City Temple, and it was a beautiful ceremony followed by a very fun reception! We love our new sister-in-law and they are as gooey as newlyweds can be! We can't wait to get to know her better in the years to come!!!

The whole Hilton gang (that was there)--now we have more girl power, yay!!

Here are all the Hilton brothers, aren't they a handsome bunch???? Sorry ladies, only two left and one's 14! :)

Kirk is so happy, and he should be. You can just see it on his face--"She's mine!"