Decorating Christmas Cookies

The boys had a blast decorating cookies for Santa at Grandma's house.

Our Hawes Scholar

We received wonderful news on Monday- Sean was awarded the Hawes scholarship! It was given to eight of the top MBA students and is a $10,000 award. We're so proud of him and so grateful to the Hawes family. He feels very honored and humbled.

Thanksgiving

We went to Sean's brother's house for Thanksgiving this year for dinner and to my Aunt Janet's for dessert. The boys had a blast playing with their cousins all day and with my cousin Blake that evening. And of course we enjoyed the turkey dinner and the pies!

Isaac crawls, stands, and gets his first haircut!

Our little baby is growing up! I can't believe what a difference his haircut made. I shouldn't be surprised, because it was practically in his eyes, but he looks so much older now, and a lot like his older brothers. Especially now that he can pull himself up to a stand and is getting faster and faster at crawling.

Joshua rides without training wheels!

So Josh comes running in this afternoon and yells, "Mommy, Daddy, I rode Kaia's bike all by myself!" (Kaia is the little girl in the picture, one of his best friends.)

He was as excited as ever and told us to come out and watch. Sure enough, he'd learned to ride a two-wheeler all by himself. It was like he'd been doing it for a long time, riding all the way down to the end of the row of apartments. He did great! We're so proud of him!!

Playing in the leaves

Yesterday we had fun playing in a HUGE pile of leaves out back. The boys had a lot of fun, so much in fact that I couldn't get them to sit still for a picture.

Fall 2008

BYU Football with Beth and Matt

This last weekend Beth and Matt (Beth is Sean's sister) came to visit and came the BYU football game with us. We had a lot of fun with them and at the football game. We've been really grateful to be able to go to all of the games this year. Thanks Dad, for season tickets! Here are a few pics...

A bit of family history...

We had a chance a week ago to drive up Hobble Creek Canyon with my parents and find a monument to Edwin Whiting, one of my Mom's ancestors. It was really neat to see where his farm was up there and to get pictures of it. It love family history and visiting places like this really brings the stories to life.

The sun was really bright and right in our eyes that morning!

Playing on the rocks by the farm!

Halloween 2008

Joshua was part of the Lightning McQueen Pit Crew!

Nathan was a football player!

Isaac was the cutest pumpkin you've ever seen.



We had a fun Halloween this year. We went to the ward party on Wednesday and went Trick-or-Treating at Helaman Halls this year. It was great! Door to door and all inside. The boys were excited to see where Uncle David lives in May Hall.

They were so excited for their costumes that they've worn them every day since we bought them.

Happy Birthday Sean!

Today was a very busy day, but I still wanted to post something about our wonderful husband and father! Sean is such a blessing to all of us. He's my best friend, my support and is everything to me. The boys adore him. They look up to him in everything he does, including tonight's activities- sports. We are so grateful to him and want to wish him a Happy Birthday! Thanks for being born 32 years ago.

First Week of School!

We survived a very busy first week of school. I started a couple of classes on Tuesday after having been out of school for several years, so I was very nervous. I think I'm going to enjoy them a lot though. It's funny how different my attitude is about school now- it was so nice to be able to go and just sit! I'm so used to going, going, going, that it was really nice to let someone else do all the work and to be able to just sit and learn. I'm might be saying something different when mid-terms roll around, but for now, I'm enjoying reading the New Testament and about World Civilizations.

Sean's schedule seems to be completely taken up between taking 18 1/2 credits, and being in charge of a project with the Athletic Department, being the head Sherpa, and serving in the OBSA presidency. He's doing a great job, but I think we both agree that last summer was really nice, having so much time together, and being able to leave work at work. It'll be a fun, crazy semester!

Our Wonderful Boys

Sean and I have always felt so blessed to have our three wonderful boys, so I wanted to post about how special they really are. They bring so much joy to us and we don't know what we'd do without them.
Joshua had his first soccer game on Thursday! We so proud of him. He loves sports, and always enjoys getting out and playing with his dad and brother outside, (or inside). He's also very talented at music and art. He loves to make up songs, to dance, and to draw. He's very sensitive to others around him and is very caring. I supposed we're biased, but we think he's very smart and is the greatest 4-yr-old around. We love Josh!
Nathan is our sweetie, who always has a smile. You'd have a hard time to find a kid who loves sports and balls more than he does. He's loved them since before he could walk and often falls asleep with a ball or bat in bed. He's a tough kid who loves to follow his older brother in whatever he does. He's advanced for his age and again, we think he's the best 2-yr-old around! (Aren't parents allowed to be biased?)I think Isaac is the easiest baby in the history of babies. Besides the fact he still wakes up once at night, (and then immediately goes back to sleep after I feed him) he is so sweet tempered and relaxed. He's fun to be around and loves to play with his older brothers. Boy, won't they have fun when Isaac gets bigger! We love Isaac!

Bridal Veil Falls

It's been a while since we've been able to post on this, since we've been a bit busy getting settle back here in Provo. But it's been really nice to be back at home, in our own kitchen and our own stuff, and not being worried that the boys are going to break something that's not ours. (One plate wasn't too bad.) Anyway, we decided to go up to Bridal Veil Falls on Saturday, and enjoyed being up in the mountains again. (They don't have any of those in Cincinnati.)

Oregon Vacation

We've been having a great vacation here in Oregon these past few weeks! We can't believe that we'll be back in Provo on Wednesday. We spent some time with my parents in Albany, and now we're in Reedsport with Sean's parents. We've had a blast horseback-riding, hiking, swimming, playing at the beach, and most importantly, spending time with family!

Farewell Mallard Crossing

Well, Sean officially moved us out of Mallard Crossing today. It's been a wonderful place to live for the summer. It was REALLY nice having the extra space, (1350 sq ft) washer and dryer, dishwasher, pool, pond, jogging trail, air conditioning, and the park across the street. I think the best part though, was having Sean's work less than two miles away so that he could come home for lunch most days and not have to commute. That in itself was worth the money. Here are a few pictures of our summer '08 home...

The boys feeding the ducks

The pond

Nathan's room

Living Room

Kitchen

Pool surrounded by the other pond

Joshua's Room

Week Ten- Kirtland

Well, Sean "nailed" his presentations this week! According to his manager he did a tremendous job. We're so proud of him, although we're not surprised. He's getting down to the end and we can't believe how fast the time has flown. He's really enjoyed his time with Procter & Gamble this summer.

This last weekend we got to meet Mom, Dad and Ryan at Kirtland! Ryan looks about the same as he did two years ago, but you can tell he's grown in other ways. His nephews were very excited to see him. We had a great time seeing the sights in Kirtland. My favorite was the temple. It was a special place. We got to see the Newel K. Whitney Store and other buildings from "old" Kirtland and went out to the Isaac Morley farm, who happens to be one of Sean's ancestors. That was another special place. There's a path that goes up the hill that they think Parley P. Pratt (another of Sean's ancestors) traveled down with three of his missionary companions to come teach Sidney Rigdon and his followers. The path leads to an area where there's a plaque marking the spot where the schoolhouse was that Joseph said the quote,"...this church will fill North and South America..." Here are some pictures:

Kirtland Temple

Whitney Home

Schoolhouse

Isaac Morley Farm

Newel K. Whitney Store

Seeing Ryan again! Doesn't he look great?

We had to get gas in Columbus, so why not stop by the stadium? It's huge!

Well, the boys and I are down to our last few days here in Cincinnati this summer. We fly out on Thursday and Sean will join us the next Friday. We've had a lot of fun, but we're excited to see family and then to get back to Provo and get started with the new school year. Time to pack up!