It's Finally Done!!! Well Mostly!!

At the end of the Spring we started talking that our backyard was just not usable. The slope from our house to the back fence was so steep that the kids really couldn't play on it. No flat grade for a pool or a swingset or a trampoline. We knew that if we didn't get it done before our neighbors wanted to get a fence in that it would never happen so we decided to go for it.

We thought we did our due diligence and had so many landscapers come and give us bids and thought we picked the right guy. Boy were we wrong. This is what he did to our yard...

He showed up with this giant tractor and started to tear up our backyard. We had given the guy half of the money needed to do the job. The guy never returned to not only finish his work but to never return our money either. Needless to say it put us in a very bad spot. He wasted two months of our summer with us trying to get him back out and giving him every chance in the world to make it right.
Since he had tore up our yard we still needed it to get finished so we started the process all over again and found an awesome landscaper. He was so great and has worked so hard for us. I am sorry to all of the neighbors for all of the mess that has been around for the last month. It has been such a giant job for us and for them.

The finished product is awesome. I am so glad to be rid of all of that dirt.

We obviously have finishing touches of planting trees, shrubs, and flowers and putting the trampoline mat on but the big stuff is done. Thank goodness that there are some good honest people in this world to make up for the ones that aren't.

9 YEARS!!!!!

Us then..........................................

Us Now.......................................


What a difference nine years makes. Gray hair and three kids later. Who could ask for anything more!!!
We celebrated our anniversary by going up to Park City (our usual place) and spending the night. It was great to take a little break. I love you Dave!! Thanks for being such a great husband and a great dad to our kids. Here's to many more years to come!!!

Soccer Season

Tanner had his first Soccer game today. He loves it. He is playing with his friends Caleb and Bradley. Their team is actually pretty good.

Tanner I think made one goal and was able to get some good kicks on the ball. His team is called the White Sharks. They are all so cute. I love this age of soccer because they are just so excited to run and chase the ball and get a few kicks in.

He ran so hard one time and someone stepped on his shoe that it came off. Poor coach.

He looks like a real soccer player out there.

Way to go Tanner!!! Go White Sharks!!

1st Days of School

Where does the time go? I can't believe summer is over and the kids are all back in school. My Tanner boy started his 1st day of preschool on August 7th. He was so excited to go back. His teacher is Miss Sheila and he really likes her. He was so confused why he didn't have his old teacher at first so that took a little bit of explaining.
He now goes three days a week and we put him in the afternoon. It makes for some really big quiet time in the afternoon. One more year of preschool and then off to the big school.

Kaya's first day of 1st grade was on August 18th. She was so excited to go all day so that she could eat school lunch. If only it could stay this way. They did the colors for the first two weeks and so they had them wear the color of the day. The first day it was red so we really had to scrounge for something red. She loves her new teacher Mrs. Milne. She seems like she will be awesome. She is super organized and has great structure in the classroom.

Kaya and her cute friends Carlie and Ellie on the first day.

It is so hard to watch your little ones getting older but so fun to see the little people that they are turning into. If only time would just go a little bit slower!!

St. George Birthday

So for my birthday this year all I wanted to do was escape. So we took off with our little family and some friends and went to St. George. We pretty much spent our days at the pool swimming. It was pretty hot the first day, like 112, so we definitely stayed in the water that day.

The kids couldn't get enough. They played so hard and swam so much.
The pool had a great little shallow end that Cole stayed in almost the whole time. It was perfect for him. He still gets a little nervous going into the deep water.

Tanner loved diving into the water. This kid is such a little fish. He would let Dave chuck him up into the air and he would splash in the water. He has gotten so good at swimming under the water too. He is going to be a great swimmer.

Kaya did a great job swimming too. I thought she would get tired of all the boys around her and being the only girl but she did great. She had so much fun.

Then at the end of the day this is what would happen. It doesn't get much better than that. Sleeping Kids!!! AHHH!!

It was a great birthday. Some good sun, awesome pedicure, good relaxation, great friends!!

Dave also gave me an awesome new video camera which will be great. Thanks babe for a great time!!

Thanks Brooke and Jeremy for making it happen!!!

My BaBy is 2!!

Cole at 1 1/2 months old1 year old


2 YEARS OLD!!!!

I can't believe it but my baby is 2 already. He is such a sweet boy! We celebrated his birthday this year with two parties. On August 1st we went to my brother Jared's house and took our big waterslide to have a big Summer Birthday Bash celebrating all of the birthdays during the summer. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast playing with their cousins in the water and jumping on the tramp. We had a great BBQ too.
Then on the 2nd we had all of Dave's side of the family over to our house to celebrate it. Dave BBQ'd for us and we had a great time watching the kids play and Cole open up his presents.

We sure love our Cole Bear. He is a bundle of energy and growing up so fast. He talks so great and is a little parrot of Tanner. He loves his big brother and wants to do everything like he does. Lately he has been way into Thomas the Train and loves everything about him. He is definitely all boy with loves of cars, trains, balls, tools, and anything else that boys are into. Oh yeah can't forget his army guys and tractors.
Happy Birthday Cole Bear!!! We love you!!

Guitar Hero Pros!!

One of the kids most favorite things to do is play Guitar Hero with daddy. It is so cute to watch because they all get into it so much. Even Cole Bear has to wear one of the guitars and totally thinks he is playing along. Kaya and Tanner usually just help Dave. One of them will push the buttons while the other one does the Wammy thingy.

Neighborhood Bike Parade

On July 11th our neighborhood and ward put together a children's bike parade and breakfast. The kids had so much fun decorating their bike and scooter. Daddy was a great help. Here they are all lined up waiting for the parade to start.

They rode all the way around the big park!!

Grandpa and Grandma Newman came to watch the kids. Grandpa had fun entertaining little Cole on the swings while kids were riding around.

Then once the parade was over we ate some yummy food. It's great to have such a fun neighborhood with good friends.

4th of July 2009

The 4th of July this year was a busy but fun day for us. We started out the morning by heading up to Donut Falls for a great kid friendly hike. We went with our great neighbors the Curtis'. The kids had a great time and did so awesome. We found these little backpacks that they could wear with their own water and treats and then they had little leashes on them for little Cole especially so he couldn't run off. Even he did awesome and wanted to walk by himself most of the time.
After the hike we went over to Dave's dads house for a BBQ. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins Ethan and Eli. Grandpa Newman did a great job hosting a BBQ since Grandma was gone to Kentucky at the time.

Then that evening we went up to my parents house to do fireworks and see my side of the family. Here Kaya is with two of her cousins Maddie and Audrey. They loved being able to pick out their fireworks and then help their dads light them and run away. Then we were able to watch Layton and Kaysville fireworks from their house. I can't believe how good the Layton ones were. They lasted like a half hour nonstop with multiples at a time. They were awesome. We were definitely all tired by the end of the day but had a great 4th.

Kaya Lost her 1st Tooth

Just yesterday Kaya was at her friend's house eating an apple when she realized she had a loose tooth. Today it just got more loose every minute. She played with it all morning with her tongue. We went for a little walk/bike ride and when we got home it basically just fell out of her mouth. She is so excited and has wanted this day to come for a long time. She is especially excited for tonight to see what the Tooth Fairy brings.

You just have to love those toothless grins.

Kaya's Dance Recital

Kaya had her last dance recital. Well at least for a little while. She loves to dance but she loves gymnastics even more. So for that reason we have decided to give ourselves a little break for the next year. She was excited for her recital but mostly because she was going to do a cartwheel in her performance. She did such good job. She is a great little performer with such a big smile. Great job Kaya!! You really are a great little dancer. We are so proud of all you were able to learn throughout the year.

She is the one in the middle in the splits.
Her and her cute friend Carlie.

Tanner on his bike

Okay so I swore I would not let him do this already but how do you not let them when they can. Tanner totally learned how to ride his bike without training wheels already. Dave just ran with him like one time and he took off. His little legs can still barely reach the ground but he does so great. He hasn't quite mastered how to stop without totally tipping over but I think that is because his legs don't quite reach the ground. Way to go Tanner!!! You are getting so grown up.

All done with Kindergarten!

I can't believe it! Kaya is all done with Kindergarten and off to 1st grade. She had a good year and was able to be in the same class with her friends. They did such a cute little program for the end of year where they had a fashion show and each of the kids were recognized. Then they sang all the songs they had learned. She has grown up so much this year. She is way excited for 1st grade to start though so she can eat lunch at school.

Tanner's Preschool Program

Tanner finished up his first year of preschool and loved every minute of it. They did such a cute little program where they were able to sing the songs they had learned. They are so fun to watch when they are this little. The poor little girl with her fingers in her mouth stayed like that the whole program. Too funny. Tanner was so serious though and sang the songs so great. He told me after that he couldn't look at us because he had to keep his eyes on Miss Heidi the whole time so he didn't mess up on the songs. He is such a funny boy. I just can't believe how fast they are growing up.
Here is his cute teacher Miss Heidi. Tanner loved her as his teacher. She was so great with the kids.

Gymnastics Recital

Kaya had her gymnastics recital today. She did so great. We are so proud of her. She was able to start doing her roundoff backhandsprings again about a couple of weeks before and so she was able to do them at the performance. She loves gymnastics and is always doing flips around the house. She is so talented.