Daniels' Family

December 2011

2012-01-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

Another month has come and gone. December was lots of fun with all the usual holiday traditions.

Elisabeth performed with the Eaglecrest Choir at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on Temple Square. We also saw the lights on temple square.

Rebekah and Elisabeth performed in a mini ballet and jazz recital. It is so much fun to watch them dance and progress.

We went to Jason's Parents for Christmas Eve. We made gingerbread houses and acted out the Nativity.

We had a fun Christmas. Jason got a new phone and waders for fly fishing. I got new appliances to match our new cabinet doors. Elisabeth got some new hair stuff. Rebekah got an ant farm. Jonathan got a fish. Jacob got a remote control car. Kayla got doll stuff. Justin got a high chair for the table. Everyone loved the Wii that we got from my family.

It has been nice to not have school or have to be anywhere for a few days, but back to the "rat race" tomorrow.

This month we stripped, sanded, stained, and polyurethane on the 2nd story wood banister. We love it. It matches our wood floors so much better than the yellow oak. It was a lot of work, but glad it's over.

Jacob and Kayla are in a bunk bed now. We got them new bedding. They were excited.

Merry Christmas from the Daniels

2011-12-18T15:44:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

We feel very blessed and grateful for this past year and of course for all of our family and friends and how you have each enriched our lives. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and pray that you will all enjoy an even better 2012!

Happy Holidays,
Jason, Kristine, Elisabeth, Rebekah, Jonathan, Jacob, Kayla and Justin

Jason – Jason has been busy. He was promoted at work to a manager position. He was a Senior Patrol Leader for Wood Badge, and is now the Elder’s Quorum President. With everything going on he still had some fun hunting and fishing. This year he got another buck, but still hasn't caught his 5 lb trout.

Kristine – Kristine is busy with keeping the house going smoothly. When she gets some free time she likes to do genealogy and playing the Wii.

Elisabeth – Elisabeth is growing into a beautiful young lady and is in 5th grade this year. She loves singing in the school choir. She also takes ballet and jazz. She is starting to play the piano. Performed the Star Spangled Banner for the Utah Flash game. Elisabeth also has some new pet fish.

Rebekah – Rebekah is in Advanced Learning Lab (ALL) an advanced 3rd grade class. She is learning a lot. She is taking gymnastics, ballet and jazz. She wants to start playing the clarinet and piano next year. Rebekah donated 8 inches of hair to Pantene Beautiful lengths. Finally, Rebekah is sporting a great smile with her new braces.

Rebekah and Elisabeth were doing All Star Cheer and got 1st place. They both mastered their round-off back-hand-spring.

Jonathan – Jonathan is in 1st grade and thriving. He is playing soccer, basketball, and is in gymnastics. He is smart and funny. He likes sports and Nintendo.

Jacob- Jacob went to preschool and is now in gymnastics. He just went up a level. He is very good at using a screwdriver and has taken apart a few things around the house.

Kayla – Kayla is super cute. She loves keeping up with Jacob and playing with her dolls and dressing up like a princess. She is taking gymnastics.

Justin - We had a new baby, Justin Brian. He was 9 lbs 9 ozs and 21 inches long. Kristine ended up with a botched epidural, low blood pressure and a spinal headache. Justin just got his first two teeth and is crawling everywhere and trying to put everything in his mouth.

Our Family Vacations:
Trip #1: Bryce Canyon, Fremont Indian State Park, Trailer Camping @ Panguitch Lake.
Trip #2: Kristine went to see Kari’s new baby Alyssa Rose being born.
Trip #3: Staycation with the kids- each picked their own day for fun,
Trip #4: Zion’s National Park, Mansion @ Mt. Carmel w/ friends.

Other Coming and Goings:
We enjoyed going up American Fork Canyon on Sunday evenings for campfires, tinfoil dinners, s’mores, and fun with friends. We had a leak in our basement and mold growing up the wall. The leak was from the washer and dryer pipes in the wall. Jason’s brother Jared and his family lived with us while their house was being built for 5 months. Jason and the kids were in the Lehi City Parade. They were Dopey and Dr. Suess Characters to go with the float.

A few trips to the Hogle Zoo, Dinosaur Museum, BYU Bean Museum, This Is The Place State Park, Highland/Alpine Splash Parks, V Chocolate Factory, Sundance Summer Theater, Water Slide Park, miniature golfing, rock wall climbing, laser tag shooting, geode finding, bike riding and hiking to Secret Lake has keep us having fun.

November 2011

2011-12-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

This month we were busy with cabinets, birthdays and turkeys. We changed our honey oak cabinets to an espresso with Rusteoeum Cabinet Transformations. It was alot of work, but less work than sanding. The new cabinets led to new stainless steel appliances. It looks really good. I need to post a picture....

Rebekah, Jonathan and my Mom had their birthdays this month. We went to Trafalga with our passes. Another year older and wiser.

Justin just got his first 2 teeth =).

We had Thanksgiving at our house. My sister, brother and mom came over. We had our first dairy free Thanksgiving. We changed a few of our regular sides, but overall it was better than I thought it was going to be.

Elisabeth, Rebekah, Jonathan, and Jacob participated in the primary program. Elisabeth did great. Rebekah closed the whole meeting with her testimony. Made me cry.

Jason's brother Jared and his family have been staying in the basement. Their house is now done and they have moved out. Kayla and Jacob are adjusting to their playmates moving out.

October 2011

2011-11-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

Another month of fun....

We rented a huge house in Mt. Carmel, right next to East Zions. We stayed there with three other families. The views were amazing. We got a super amazing deal on the place and had tons of fun. It was up in the mountains. Elisabeth, Rebekah and I went bike riding. Jonathan and I played chess. Jason went rifle shooting. We went swimming and hiking. Zion NP is so pretty. It was nice to get away from everything and be up in nature. The day before our trip everyone got the stomach flu... We went anyway. By the next afternoon we all were feeling better and ready to party.

We have a tradition with our family vacations. We get postcards from wherever we go and when we get back everyone writes on the back of their postcard their favorite things about the trip. It is fun to see what everyone remembers and think is cool. Jonathan liked the mile long tunnel in Zions. Jacob liked catching the lizard. Elisabeth loved making a new friend.

We tried to take a family picture. It failed horribly. Getting everyone to look at the camera and not have a weird face is quite an experience. I thought you would get a laugh out of some of these pictures.

For Halloween Elisabeth dressed up as a a witch, Rebekah a wizard, Jonathan a pirate, Jacob a ninja, and Kayla a witch. Jason and I dressed up as Salt and Pepper (not the group).

We got a brand new swing set a couple of months ago, a Lifetime Playset, so we finally said goodbye to our old swing set that we have had for 9 years. Lots of fun memories. Picture is of old swing set.

September 2011

2011-10-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

School is in full swing. Jacob is enjoying gymnastics. Jonathan is doing great at soccer. Elisabeth and Rebekah like jazz and ballet. Rebekah likes her Advanced Learning Lab class. Justin is rolling over and is now 5 months.

We went on a hike to Cecret Lake with some friends. Good times.

Went up the canyon for dutch oven and smores with some friends. It's so pretty.

I took Elisabeth, Kayla and Jacob to the zoo with my Mom and Alisha. They had a great time.

Jason went to a work confernce in LA, a block from the beach, and learned lots.

August 2011 Part 2

2011-09-04T15:22:00.001-07:00

School started for everyone. Jonathan is in 1st grade. Rebekah is in 3rd grade and Elisabeth started 5th grade. They are all excited about their classes.

For Thanksgiving Point's $2 Tuesdays we went to gardens and dinosaur museum.

We had a birthday party for Kayla's B-Day and Brian's B-Day.

Jason got a new car and Greg bought Jason's car. I will miss Jason's old car I bought it in college.

Jonathan started soccer. He loves to run. Next week the girls start dance: ballet and jazz.

Summer 2011

2011-08-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated this blog since Justin was born. I guess I've been a little busy having too much fun with six kids....

In May, the girls went to a Daddy Daughter Dance. The boys went on a Father and Sons Campout. Kari visited and we went to the BYU Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, BYU's Paleontology Museum, Lehi's Indoor Pool and the playground. We blessed Justin. We all went to the kids Gymnastics Exhibitions. It was fun to see their progress. We went to the kids dance festivals for school. Memorial Day weekend we found a leak in the basment from the washer and dryer pipes in the wall. A few months later the whole mess is now fixed.

June

The kids have been out of school since June 3. That day we left for a 4-night and 5-day vacation. We went to Bryce Canyon National Park. We rented a trailer and pulled it with our Honda Pilot. We went to Fremont Indian State Park. We camped at Panguitch Lake. Our campsite had a beautiful view of the lake. The kids had fun riding their scooters, making smores, climbing trees, and hiking. We did some hikes in Bryce Canyon and Red Canyon. The kids all did well. We went fishing at the lake. The kids were all excited about the fish they caught. At night we played games in our trailer, took showers, and ate chocolate cookies. My brother, Brian came and spent a couple days with us. Trailer camping is a lot easier than tent camping. We celebrated Elisabeth's 10th birthday while on our trip. Her cake was twinkies =).

In June we also went to the This is the Place State Pioneer Park, Thanksgiving Point Animal Farm, V Chocolate Factory Tour, Lehi Swimming Pool, and Miniature Golfing. The kids were also in the Lehi Roundup Parade. Jonathan was a dwarf and the girls were Dr. Seuss characters. Jacob had surgery too, everything went well.

July
During July I went a spent a week at my sister Kari’s house with my mom and sister Alisha. I got to help Kari and see her brand new baby be born: Alyssa Rose Martin. The night before we were sitting at CPK thinking of middle names. I had a light bulb moment and thought that Rose would be good and it was so…. It was fun to visit and nice of Jason to watch our other kids so I could go.
Jason and the kids went to Seven Peaks Water Park and an Owen Family Reunion with snow cones, games, cousins and lots of fun. Jason’s Aunt Teresa and sister Sarah came for dinner. It was fun to visit with them.

We also went to the Alpine Splash Park, had a family BBQ. Rebekah got braces. Went up AF Canyon for campfires on Sunday Nights. Jared, Jason's brother, moved in our basement with their four kids while their house is being built. Our kids have had fun with their cousins.

Jason spent a week at a work conference and then spent another week as a senior patrol leader for wood badge.

August
Jason took me to Sundance Summer Theatre and we saw Sound of Music for my Birthday. For our anniversary we went to the new Pirates movie and to Olive Garden for dinner. We have been married 12 wonderful years. We had a stay-cation with the kids. Jason took days off of work and the kids each had their own day to pick what we did. They had $10 to spend on what ever activity they wanted to do. They also got to pick what we ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Rebekah's Day - We went to the Dugway Proving Grounds and found Geods. We also went fishing at Tible Fork.
Jonathan's Day - We went to Seven Peaks Water Park with our season passes and then rode our bikes to trafalga.
Elisabeth's Day- Mystery Hike, Dimecade, Board Games, Swimming
Jacob's Day - Shooting at Cabela's, Ward Picnic, and Grandma's and Grandpa Daniels

The staycation was fun. We originally did it since we spent a lot of money on a swing set, but I think it would be a fun tradition to continue.

Tuesday school starts. I have mixed feelings. It will be good to have more of a schedule, but I will miss seeing my kids all the time.

March/April -- Justin's Birth

2011-05-08T16:32:00.001-07:00

MARCH

Rebekah cut off her hair and donated it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. She donated 8 inches.

Jacob turned 4 years old. He had a fun birthday, we went to Pizza Pie Cafe for dinner and had popsicles instead of a cake.

Brian had surgery on his ACL. He stayed with us a few days while he recoverd. It was fun to see him. Jason and him played with their cell phones the whole time.

Elisabeth performed the Star Spangled Banner at the beginning of a Flash Basketball Game with the Eaglecrest Choir.

APRIL

The last day I was pregnant. wahoo!!!

We have been truly blessed over the last couple of months. Justin Brian Daniels was born April 7, 2011 at 4:37 pm. He was 9 lbs 9 ozs and 21 inches long. Justin was breech until I had a blessing the night before I was to be induced. We were so grateful that he was head down so I could be induced. The anesthesiologist messed up my first epidural. The top half of my body was numb which was giving me low blood pressure. Not good. The second epidural numbed my bottom half which was good. After being in intense pain in my shoulders for two days I found out I had a spinal headache and spinal fluid was leaking from my messed up epidural. They then had to give me a blood patch. A blood patch is when they take 20cc [7 ozs] of blood from my hand and put it in your back. After the blood patch I felt better.

At Justin's two week appointment his bilirubin was very high [19] and we had to put him on the lights. He wasn't at birth weight either so they were a little concerned. After one day on the lights and a priesthood blessing he was back to normal and close to birth weight.

The girls did a funny dance for our ward talent show.

Jacob graduated from preschool.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

2011-05-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

Elisabeth and Rebekah doing the Sweater Dance

2011-04-26T22:32:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJkbsGMfPgQ&feature=player_embedded

February 2011

2011-03-06T15:07:00.000-08:00

This month was one day at a time. The girls performed at a Flash Basketball game twice and a Cheer Competition. They got 1st place at that competition and all their other competitions this season =). This was their last month for cheer. They were both sad, but they will have more free time to play with friends and help their mom with the new baby. They are going to take a tumbling class.

Jonathan finished Jr. Jazz up. Him and Jason had fun practicing basketball.

Rebekah tested for A.L.L. It's an advance class for thrid graders. We'll find out next month if she made it in.

Our power went out this month while Rebekah and Jason were at the Flash game. It motivated us to get our 72-hour kit in order.

Everybody was feeling kinda yucky. We took everyone in for Strep test and everyone tested positive, except Kristine. Their symptoms were all mild, we were surprised everyone tested positive, but glad everyone is now getting better.

Kristine is 34 weeks pregnant now. Only 5-6 weeks to go.

December 2010 and January 2011

2011-02-06T14:28:00.001-08:00

Rebekah turned 8 years old. We had a fun birthday party; went minature golfing, had pizza and an ice cream sandwich cake.

For her birthday Rebekah wanted Jason to go on a school field trip to the Festival of Trees with her 2nd grade class.

The most exciting event was her baptism on December 4.

Elisabeth performed in a few choir concerts. One was at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building at Temple Square. Elisabeth went skiing for the first time. She went as part of a school field trip. She wants to go again.

Jonathan built the cutest gingerbread house at kindergarten.

Christmas was great. We got family passes to Trafalga, Seven Peaks, Flash Games, and Owl Games. We've already been minature golfing 3 times and played Laser Tag 5 times. Jonathan was a little hesitant about the rock wall, but now he is all for it.

Jonathan and Jacob got power ranger swords. They make clinking noises when they sword fight.

Rebekah got an apron and sudoku. She loves figuring out the puzzles.

Elisabeth got an origami set. She now makes the flapping bird for the kids sitting around us at church out of the sacrament program.

Kayla has the cutest cheese smile and curly hair. She has Jonathan's watch on.

We went for a short hike one Saturday in Mapleton Canyon. We saw lots of elk and deer.

Elisabeth and Rebekah performed at the Flash Basketball Halftime. They did a great job. They also placed first in the two competitions that they did for cheer.

After a couple months of keeping her room clean, Elisabeth got three goldfish. She is sooo excited about her new fish. Here is everyone helping setup the fish tank before church.

Christmas Letter 2010

2010-12-30T15:48:00.001-08:00

We hope this holiday season finds you happy and healthy. Our family feels very blessed and grateful for all that we have. We had a very busy and fun year: a trip to San Francisco Bay Area, Disneyland, Dinosaur Land in Vernal Utah, A getaway for Jason and Kristine to Steamboat Springs, CO. The real fun though is spending the time as a family. Here is a short summary of what we all have been doing and things that have changed this year.

JASON is still employed with FamilySearch at the LDS church and has been working on adding Discussions feature to the new.familysearch.org website. Jason was released as 11 year old scout leader and is now the Elders Quorum president. He still plays basketball in the mornings, tries to go fishing, went deer "hunting" (who knows what he does up there, cause he didn't bring anything home).

KRISTINE is pregnant with #6, a boy and is due April 15. She is busy with our other five kids doing carpool, homework, laundry, etc. She is a Valiant 10 teacher and activity days leader. She does a fabulous job of keeping the kids going - homework, carpool to cheer, all the little things that make a Mom a great Mom.

ELISABETH (9) is in 4th grade. She loves choir and just performed in a few concerts. She is also very much enjoying cheer and tumbling. She just got her round off back handspring. =) She just went skiing for the first time with her 4th grade class. She loved it so much that she is hoping to go again with her Dad. She is our creative one, always painting, drawing, cutting, knitting, cross stitching. She loves school and playing with her siblings and friends.

REBEKAH (8) is in 2nd grade. She is too smart, excelling in her math and reading - beyond what they test for in here grade. She loves learning, so much that over the summer vacation all she wanted to do was work on her workbooks and then a month ago, she made her own set of multiplication flash cards. She too is in cheer, and loves doing round off back handsprings any time she can. Last week both she and Elisabeth won 1st place at a competition. She also enjoys reading and cross-stiching. She was baptised this month and it was a fantastic experience.

JONATHAN (5) started kindergarten and is always excited to go. He is turning into a good reader and loves to sing all the songs they are teaching him. Second only to playing any video game, he absolutely loves going to gymnastics and just graduated to level 2. He is our dependable one, loves to help, and is really good at keeping his baby sister happy.

JACOB (3) turns everything into a gun and tells you he is going to shoot you (or dragons, dinosaurs or monsters). He is super "helpful" and independent (about as independent as any 3 year can be) . He LOVES to watch Curious George and started preschool this year.

KAYLA (2) is our happy girl, always smiling and looking super-duper cute! She is 100% girl and is always carrying a doll and blanket around. She loves to cuddle with her Daddy before going to bed.

We feel very blessed and grateful for this past year and of course for all of our family and friends and how you have each enriched our lives. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and pray that you will all enjoy an even better 2011!

Happy Holidays,
Jason, Kristine, Elisabeth, Rebekah, Jonathan, Jacob and Kayla

November 2010 - It's a BOY!!!

2010-12-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

We found out that we are having a boy =). That brings our total to 3 boys and 3 girls. Everyone is excited.

Overall, life has been the same oh, same oh. Jacob is in preschool, Jonathan is in gymnastics, Rebekah is in all-star cheer and tumbling, and Elisabeth is in choir and all-star cheer and tumbling. Elisabeth and Rebekah both have their round off back handspring back handspring now. Elisabeth has gone from not liking it to loving it. Funny how kids are that way.

During Thanksgiving week we went to Family Reunion with Jason's Family at a house in Sandy. It was fun. Robin and Alan blessed their baby Zachery. We took Family Pictures. We had a catered Thanksgiving Dinner. Had a talent show. Rebekah and Elisabeth did part of their competition routine. Jonathand and Jacob did some ninja moves. We played games. Rebekah's favorite was Phase 10. We did an adult temple session at the South Jordan Temple with 8 of Jason's brothers and sisters. Jason and his brothers played football in the snow. Went swimming in the hot tub in the back yard. They would run and roll in the snow and then jump back into the hot tub.

We celebrated Jonathan's b-day. Jonathan is now 6 years old.

September / October 2010

2010-10-31T08:52:00.000-07:00

In September we went to Southern California. We spent one day at Disneyland another day at the beach and on the way home we went to Calico Ghost Mine. It was a fun trip. We avoided the crowds by going while school was in.

Jason's brother Stephen got married in the West Jordon temple. It was a fun day to see all the family.

Elisabeth and Rebekah performed with the Utah Flash for the Utah Buddy Walk.

We went to the Fun Run. Jacob kept up with everyone. He is super cute.

Jason did the deer hunt. He had an unsuccessful hunt. Better luck next time.

We had a fun Halloween. Lots of trick or treating at Jason's work, our ward party and my mom's ward party. On the night of Halloween Jonathan, Jacob and Kayla decided they didn't want to go door to door. The had a blast handing out candy. Elisabeth was a princess, Rebekah was Mulon, Jonathan was a Ninja a few times and a pirate, Jacob was a cowboy and a ninja, and Kayla was a giraffe and a hula girl.

August 2010

2010-09-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

Another fun and exciting month. At the beginning of the month Jason and I spent a day at Raging Waters with Elisabeth and Rebekah. They performed there with their Flash All Star Cheer Team and did fantastic.

Later in the month we went to Northern California for 10 days. For the first three days we watched Kari's kids while her and Jeff went to Pismo Beach. Then Kari and I played for four days while Jason worked from California. We went to the Jelly Belly Factory, the San Francisco Zoo, Ocean Beach, swimming, and the Golden Gate Bridge. They loved going to the beach and collecting sea shells. They were only going to get their feet wet, but ended up getting wet up to their arm pits. Jason and I went to see Wiked in San Francisco. It was lots of fun. Then on the last day we went to Yosemite. We were tired when we got home, but had fun. Thanks Kari for all the fun =).

Jelly Belly Factory

Yosemite

Ocean Beach

San Francisco Zoo

Our annual 2 buck Tuesday trip to the dinosaur museum and the Children's Gardens at Thanksgiving Point.

Dinosaur Museum

We also celebrated Kari, Brian, Kayla and my birthday and Jason and my anniversary. Kayla loved getting clothes and toys. It's fun to see her personality coming out. She now can say "no" and "mine" very well and nod her head up and down for yes. Here is Brian trying to blow out his trick candles.

School is back in session. Elisabeth is in 4th grade, Rebekah in in 2nd grade and Jonathan is in Kindergarten. Aren't they cute. They are all loving school. The times for kindergarten don't line up at all with Elisabeth and Rebekah.

Jonathan's First Day of School

Jacob, Rebekah, Hannah, and Elisabeth

It's a ... (Well, we don't know yet)

2010-08-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

July

2010-08-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

July has been fun filled. We started the month with Jason and I going on a trip with no kids. We were gone for 4 nights. My sister Kari was super nice to come take care of our kids. She was watching 7 kids under 9 with some help from my mom and sister. We went to Steamboat Springs, Colorado on our trip. It was lots of fun. We went to the Vernal Temple. We went white water rafting in a double ducky down the Colorado River. We went four wheeling on ATVs. We went bike riding. We hiked to a waterfall. We went to the rodeo. We watched movies and did nothing. It was lots of fun. Steamboat Springs was a fun, beautiful place. I'd go there again.

It was too quite one day. So I went looking for Jacob and Kayla. I found them in Jason's car. Jacob in the driver seat an Kayla in the passernger seat. They are soo cute.

We went to This is the Place State Park. I found out they had a free day in celebration of Days of '47. Jason and my mom were able to come with us. I am soooo greatful for all of our modern conveniences.

We went camping to Payson Lakes for two nights. We had a campfire, slept in a tent, went fishing, went around the lake in the boat. Jason and Brian caught 33 fish in 3 hours one morning. They had fun.

We went on a hike with Brian and Michaela to Cecret Lake. It was lots of fun. We also went to the Days of '47 Rodeo.

June 2010

2010-07-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

Summer is in full swing. It is so fun to have the kids out of school. We've been busy and haven't had time to get bored. We traded our Toyota Sienna in for a Honda Pilot. The Pilot is roomier than it looks. We gained an extra seat. It is totally more fun to drive. The DVD player is great. If the kids start getting cranky we just turn it on.

This summer the girls are doing reading group on Monday and Flash All Star Cheer on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Jonathan is doing reading group on Monday and gymnastics on Tuesday. Jonathan is a fantastic reader. On Tuesday we also go to the Cinemark for their summer movies. The kids love it. You see 10 kid movies for $5 over 10 weeks. We also go swimming a few times every week.

Elisabeth turned 9 years old. She is turning in to such a young lady. For her birthday we ate dinner in the basement of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and went to an oldies concert at the Assembly Hall. We were rained out of the park. Thanks to everyone that came.

For Father's Day we cleaned the garage for Jason. Then we surprised him with a fishing trip to the Green River. We picked him up from work on Friday with the car pack and ready to go. He had no idea where we were going. He was super surprised. For dinner we went to a Chinese Buffet and then went swimming at the hotel. On Saturday Jason went fishing and I went on some hikes with the kids. Then we went and saw a fish hatchery. We all got lots of Mosquito bites from being next to the river. I forgot the bug repellent. Next we went and saw Dinosaur National Monument. Jonathan and Jacob loved it. We saw the last thing at the park as the sun went down. We got home at 1 am on Saturday night. It was tons of fun.

Jason set up a slip and slide in the backyard on Friday night.

We went to the Lehi Roundup Parade. Lots of candy and free stuff.

May 2010

2010-06-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

This month we went the Brian and Callie's Baby Blessing, Brenda and Ric's Baby Blessing, and Greg's Homecoming. Kinda Busy.

The girls had a recital for Flash All Stars. They did a fantastic job.

Jonathan lost his first tooth. Completly unexpected. At dinner, while eating his burrito he said Mom my mouth hurts. His tooth was dangling out of his mouth. He lost his first tooth a full year before the girls lost any teeth.

The girls danced the the school dance festival. They had a great time.

For Memorial Day we went fishing up Provo Canyon. Rebekah caught the biggest fish, even bigger than her dad =).

Jonathan and Jacob did itty-bitty baseball. They were soo cute.

Rebekah was Tacky for a school play. She had the same part that Elisabeth had when she was in 1st grade.

April 2010

2010-05-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Easter was fun, but way tooo cold. Spring break was good. Didn't go anywhere. It was nice to have a week of getting up early and doing homework.

Elisabeth and Rebekah performed at the Utah Blaze Indoor Arena Football game. They did a fantastic job and had lots of fun. Brian came out to watch and we all went to dinner =).

Went to the Highland lake and feed the ducks and then had a picnic. It was good to get out and do something on a sunny day.

Jason and I spoke in sacrament on accepting callings and assignments. The following Tuesday he got a call from the Stake Executive Secretary to meet with the Stake President for half and hour and to have his wife come too....... Jason is now the new Elders Quorum President.

March 2010

2010-04-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

Jonathan did itty bitty ball this month. He learned how to play football, soccer, volleyball and baseball. He hit the baseball soo hard that it got stuck in the rafters.

We had a dinner with Jason's cousins from the Owen side. Kristin was a great hostess. It was a good time to hear what everyone has been up to. The next day we went to Shaela's Baby Blessing. Jason's cousin from the Daniel's side. Good stuff.

Jason went to a Java conference for work in Las Vegas. Rebekah had Dads and Donuts while he was gone. Brian was soo nice to come and take Rebekah at 8am.

Jacob turned 3 this month =). He decided he was too big for a diaper and is now potty trained =). For Jacob's BDay we went to Gma and Gpa Daniels for an early Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. Then on Sunday we had another family party at our house.

February 2010

2010-03-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

Here's what we did in February, should have posted a couple months ago.......

Can't believe another month has past.... We celebrated Jason's Birthday this month. Another year older another year wiser (maybe). We had a fun family party with mushroom veal patties and banana cream pie (his favorites). I think his favorite present was a new garage door opener. He has needed a new one since his truck was stolen.

We went sledding up American Fork Canyon at Tibble Fork. It's pretty sad that we live in Utah and we had to drive 30 minutes up to the mountains to find enough snow to go sledding. We went with Brian and Micaela. Jason tried to snowboard (a little comical at first), but he figured it out =). The picture is of Brian.

Elisabeth and Rebekah performed at a Flash Basketball Half Time at UVU. They had a fun time. Jon and Rachel came too. Their little one is super cute.

For Valentines Jason treated to a Paul Cardall concert. He is a fantastic musician and very inspiring person.

We did a babysitting exchange with another couple and went out on a date. It was nice to go out to dinner and not to worry about the kids making too much noise. It was an extra bonus 'cause Brian, Alisha, Mom, and Micaela came too. We also went to the temple. Fun Night. =)

January 2010

2010-02-07T09:36:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year. I can't believe it's 2010. We have been busy as always, but having fun =). We had a fun Christmas. The kids liked all their presents. We had a great time with Kari and Jeff. We played their new wii games while we were all sick with the stomach flu.

Jason shot an cow elk. He was super excited.

Christmas Day we went and spent some time with Jason's family. We went sledding and had a great time. Our favorite was doing the train.

Elisabeth and Rebekah participated in the schools science fair. Rebekah's report was on crushing a can. She boiled water in the can and then put the can in ice cold water and it crushed. She place 1st for 1st grade. Go Rebekah =). Elisabeth did her report on the phases of the moon. She used a basketball and a flashlight to simulate the moon and its phases. She placed 2nd for 3rd grade. We were proud of both of them.

Elisabeth and Rebekah joined Flash All Stars Cheer and Tumbling. They are having fun working on routines and their back walkovers. They were in a competition this weekend and did a super job. They were soo cute.

Jonathan participated in itty-bitty basketball and gymnastics. He loved running and making baskets and learning new things. Jonathan is the boy on the top left with the great smile =).

We also put in the last piece of wood flooring. We started in October. We replaced the carpet in the living room, family room, stairs and upstairs hallway with wood flooring. We love it.

Christmas Letter 2009

2009-12-23T17:59:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! What an exciting past year and we feel blessed to reflect on what we have experienced and felt.

One highlight of this year was a family vacation to Yellowstone. The kids had a fantastic time. They liked seeing the bison up close so much, they even said they liked it better than Disneyland (don’t tell Mickey). We also went on a weeklong family reunion with Jason’s family in Afton, Wyoming. We all had fun hanging out with everyone. The highlight of the week was Elisabeth’s and Rebekah’s pyramid at the talent show.

JASON is still working for the church. He is excited that they have now deployed the new family search site everywhere so everyone can use it. If you haven’t been to the site you are missing out (new.familysearch.org). In August, Jason managed a merit badge camp for 3 stakes with 80 twelve year olds. He was busiest he has ever been in his life, but had fun. In October, he finally got a buck after 6 years of trying. He was recently released as 2nd counselor in the stake young men’s presidency and is now the 11-year-old scout leader

KRISTINE is a busy Mom of five kids: making lunches, doing homework, carpooling, wiping fingerprints off the wall and reading bedtime stories. In May, she visited her sister, Kari, in Atlanta, Georgia and helped with her brand new baby Emma. Spending her extra time doing geneology. Her current church calling is managing the RS Blog and RS Chorister.

ELISABETH (8) turned eight this year and was baptized on July 4th. She told everyone that the fireworks were just for her. I don’t think she’ll ever forget the day that she was baptized. She is enjoying life in 3rd grade and loves participating in jazz, ballet and tumbling. This year she donated 11 inches of her hair to Locks of Love. At first she hated her short hair, but now she loves it.

REBEKAH (7) loves life and is having a fantastic time in 1st grade. This summer she lost her first tooth. It was a much-anticipated event. She also loves going to jazz, ballet, and tumbling. She just had her birthday party and we had a blast as a family doing glow in the dark miniature golfing and watching Wipeout to celebrate.

JONATHAN (5) loves dinosaurs. He can tell you many of their names, which ones are plant eaters or carnivores and plays with the all the time. He especially likes to watch Dinosaur Train any chance that he gets. He just started gymnastics and loves it.

JACOB (2) turns everything into a gun and tells you he is going to shoot you (or moths, dinosaurs or monsters). He also plays dinosaur with Jonathan. He is super helpful and independent.

KAYLA (1) has started walking and goes everywhere. She is our happy girl, always smiling and looking super-duper cute! She is 100% girl; she is always carrying a doll around.

We feel very blessed and grateful for this past year and of course for all of our family and friends and how you have each enriched our lives. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and pray that you will all enjoy an even better 2010!

September/October

2009-11-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

I am trying to remember what we have been up to in the last couple of months. I know we have been busy... I'm starting to remember.

In September we did the Family Fun Run, Olsen Reunion, Dance, School, Ian's Mission Homecoming, Laci's Baby Blessing, Jason's Muzzleloader Deer Hunt, Rachel's Baby Blessing, Primary Program, and Doctor's visits. After 6 unsuccessful years of hunting Jason got his deer. Elisabeth had a talk for the Primary Program about her baptism and how it made her feel. She did fantastic and wasn't even nervous.

In October we watched General Conference, school pictures, more Doctor Visits, and Halloween Parties. We tried to go on a hike to granite flats, but we were rained out. Jason was released as Second Counselor in the Stake Young Men's Presidency. He loved serving in the young mens. For Halloween Elisabeth was Julliet, Rebekah was a witch, Jonathan was a pirate, Jacob was a cowboy, Kayla was a pumpkin, Jason was a Hawaian tourist and I put on some army camo pants. Jacob did not want to dress up at all. He wouldn't were his costume or keep it on. Only after telling him he could only get candy if he wore it did he tolerate it. The cowboy only worked becuase it was the closest to everyday clothes.

I came downstairs one morning and found Jacob and Jonathan eating ice cream for breakfast. Gotta love 'em.

The family after trick or treating. We pulled out the carpet in the family room and the living room. We are installing the wood floors next week =).

Aren't they cute: Rebekah, Jonathan, Jacob, and Elisabeth
Jason and his deer.

Kayla is happy. Crawling everywhere and almost walking.
Doesn't she make a cute pumpkin. Aiden, her cousin was also a pumkin.

Stuffed August

2009-09-06T17:11:00.000-07:00

Rebekah went to Jump On It for a friends birthday party and sprained her foot. She did not like it. It was black and purple. She didn't let it slow her down.

Jason's sister Rachel had a cute little baby girl. Josephine Omeara Goss was born August 2, 2009 at 8:18pm. She was 9 lbs 2 oz and 21 inches.

I had a birthday. I am now 31 years old. I know you all thought I was only 22 =).

Jason went to Zions Camp for 9 days. He must of had fun time.

Alisha had a cute baby boy. Aidan Joesph was born August 16, 2009 at 3:03am. He was 7 lbs 13 oz and 18 inches.

We went fishing with Jason's old scoutmaster, Paul Ricks. Rebekah outfished everyone =). All together we caught 12 trout.

Jason and I had our 10th anniversary. WOW can't believe it has been 10 years. We went to a Lonestar Concert. It was lots of fun.

Rebekah started 1st grade and is super smart.

Elisabeth started 3rd grade and is soo smart and making new friends.

Ian (my cousin) came home from his mission from South Africa. Everyone came over for food and fun.

Kayla turned 1. She is pulling herself up on everthing and crawls wherever she want to go.

July Fun

2009-08-17T15:37:00.001-07:00

Wow, it's halfway through August and I'm finally writing about what we did in July. July was lots of fun.

We went to Cris and Tiffany's new baby's blessing. They had a cute baby boy.

We went and visited with the Ostlers at their campsite up American Fork canyon. Jim (Jason's cousin) and Megan and their two kids were visiting from California. We had smores and dutch oven potatoes and desserts (yummy).

We went to lavender days with Alisha and my mom. The fields in Mona were all purple from the lavender. It was pretty. They had a brunch, josting, boat rides, princess tea party, western shoot out, and a climbing wall. Jason and I did the climbing wall. I was pretty impressed with myself for getting to the top. Here is a picture of Kayla eating at the brunch.

So, Jason was out doing yard work at night and came running in the house. He told me there was a skunk running around our yard. I was totally surprised. We haven't seen a skunk ever in the 9 years that we have lived in our house. Here's a picture of the skunk in our yard.

Elisabeth and Rebekah went to BYU Cheer Camp for a week. The had a lot of fun. Rebekah says she wants to be a BYU Cheerleader when she gets big. Total surprise to us. She is soo cute.

We went to Yellowstone for a day with Brian, Trina and Madison. I'm glad we went. The kids loved seeing all the sites: waterfalls, old faithful, painted pots, buffalo, elk... We have one picture with us all looking at the camera (very rare).

We saw lots of wildlife. We went and saw a waterfall and when we came back to our car their was a buffalo eating grass right by it. Wow. Never been that close to a buffalo before. The kids said that I picked the best parking spot.

We went to Afton, WY for a family reunion with Jason's family. We had lots of fun. The kids played together great. We had a talent show. Played soccer games. Went bike riding. Jason went fishing. Played on the playground. We went on a hike to Intermetent Falls. It was super pretty. During late summer it suppose to turn off and on every 15 min.

We are super lame and have no other pictures from the reunion. Send us pictures please =).

June Happenings

2009-07-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

This month has been exciting. We started the month out with Elisabeth and Rebekah performing in the Sleeping Beauty ballet. They were bluebirds, sooo cute.

Elisabeth and I both donated our hair for Locks of Love. Elisabeth had 11 inches cut off and I had 13 inches cut off. It's been fun to have short hair. It is alot easier to style and cooler for the summer. They cut more than I wanted them too...

We went camping with Jason's family in American Fork Canyon. It was fun. We had pizza for dinner and did smores. My mom watched Kayla and Jacob. We were worried about Jacob running in the river. It is amazing how much less work it was not having Kayla and Jacob.

Rebekah lost her two front teeth. She is sooooo happy.

Jason's truck was stolen =(. We only had it for 6 months. We were surprised that someone took it. It was a '97 Toyota T100. It looked nice but was older. Now we are working with the insurance company to get what the truck was worth so we can replace it.

Laci (my cousin) gave birth to a baby boy. June 9, 2009 Stede Richard. He is super cute.

June has had some weird weather. Almost the entire month the temperature didn't make it above 80 degrees. It rained lots too. The kids kept asking when they were going to be able to go swimming. I loved the nice cool weather. One day they had fun running around in the rain.

Rachel (Jason's sister) had a baby shower at our house. She is having a girl in the middle of August. It was a fun shower. Played lots of games and had yummy food.

Alisha had her baby shower at our house. She has nice friends. It was a good time.

Kari, Jeff, Bradley and Emma visited from Georgia. They were here for a couple of days. It was tons of fun. We went swimming at the legacy center and at my mom's pool, went fishing, went out to dinner, played Risk, had a baby shower, had a baptism, had a BBQ, and did fireworks.

Elisabeth turned 8 years old this month. She had a friend party. They watched part of High School Musical 3 and had pizza and cake and ice cream. Then they did a pinata. They had a fantastic time dancing to the movie and eating candy.

The most exciting thing that has happened in our lives is Elisabeth's Baptism. She was sooo excited to get baptised. We were grateful for all of the family support. Elisabeth was baptised on the 4th of July. She said that all of the fireworks were for her.

It's a Girl!!

2009-06-14T06:10:00.000-07:00

May was lots of busy and fun.

We went and saw the tulips on temple square. They were super pretty.

I went to Atlanta, Georgia for a week (no kids) to see Kari, Jeff and Bradley. We went shopping, to the aquarium, mexican food, Red Robin, Underground Atlanta and to the hospital.

Kari went into labor the night before she was to be induced. She went into labor at 12:15am Monday Night. Got to the hospital at 1:15am and was at 10 cm. Emma Katherine was born at 5:07am and weighed 8 lbs 6 oz, and was 21 inches in length.

Jason did a great job taking care of the kids while I was gone.

Elisabeth and Rebekah had their Jazz dance recital. They did a fantastic job and love dancing.

Elisabeth and Rebekah also had their dance festivals at school. Rebekah did a cute hawiian dance and Elisabeth did a country line dance. Both did fantastic and were super cute. They got straight A's in school and are now out of school for the summer.

For Memorial Day we went fishing with Brian and his crew. We didn't catch anything. The water was too murky from the snow runoff and the rain. It was nice to be in the mountains. It was super pretty.

2009-04-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

Easter was a lot of fun. We had my mom, Alisha, Brian, Trina, and Madison over for dinner and an easter egg hunt. Rebekah wrote a letter to the Easter Bunny to hide her eggs and her basket. The Easter Bunny accomadated and hid eggs everywhere: basement, upstairs, downstairs, outside ... They had a great time.

On Saturday we went to an Easter Egg hunt in Highland. It was great. They even had sugar cookies to decorate afterwards. That evening we dyed easter eggs.

For Easter Sunday I got the kids all matching outfits. They looked super cute. Here is a picture. I figured it was time for a family picture.

Basement is Finished!!!

2009-04-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

More of the basement =). Yeah it's done. Jason, Brian, my mom and I installed the tile and wood floors.

Basement is Finished!!!

2009-04-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

Part of finished basement =), Hi Kari.

Life

2009-03-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

We've just been living life over the last couple of months. Since Christmas we've been having our basement finished. We installed the flooring and the cabinets. Wood floors in the living room and hallways and we put tile in the bathroom and laundry room. In the basement there will be 3 bedrooms, a laundry room, bathroom, kitchen, and living room. It's going to be super nice. We added a couple of huge windows along the back. Our basement is a walkout. The view from the back is great. It'll be so nice to have it done. Thanks Brian for your help with the floors. Jacob's contribution to the project was breaking the lamp.

We celebrated Jason's Birthday. He is 34 now and loving life. We watched movies and had some cake.

We also attended the Draper Temple Open House. It was such a priviledge to take our family and be able to tell our kids about all the rooms and explain their purpose.

I've been called to be a Relief Society Specailist. I'm in charge of creating and maintaing a blog for the Relief Society in our ward. Check it out http://eaglecrest2ndreliefsociety.blogspot.com/

Merry Christmas

2008-12-20T05:22:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas, another year has passed and we feel so blessed for everything we have. There have been some major changes and accomplishments this year. So here is and update of what has been going on.

Jason finished his thesis and now has a Master's in Computer Science from Utah State University. YEAA!!! We have been doing lots of happy dances since then. He worked on it for four long years (since before Jonathan was born). Jason loves his job at the Church working on the new family search project. He is currently serving as the second counselor in the Stake Young Men's Presidency. He has been asked to plan a week long merit badge camp for the 12yr olds for 3 stakes. It is a major undertaking and time consuming. He loves scouts and helping the boys. In his spare time he squeezes in fishing, hunting and basketball.

I am enjoying my family. We are having a lot of fun. This year we've been to donut falls, hidden falls, Knotts Berry Farm, camping, swimming, sledding, dance recitals, playgrounds, dinosaur museum, fish museum, Thanksgiving Point Gardens, movie nights, family dinners, missionary farewells, baby blessings, graduations, and a funeral. No wonder I've been tired... In my rare free time I teach Rebekah's primary class, go shopping, and do family history. My Grandmother Nona passed away in November. We miss her so much. We look forward to being reunited with her one day.

Elisabeth is an intelligent and happy 2nd grader. She loves helping out. She is a beautiful ballet dancer, a great big sister and loves playing with her friends. They play school almost everyday. This year she has been so excited about Christmas and picking out presents for everyone in the family.

Rebekah is in kindergarten this year. She started kindergarten already knowing everything. She enjoys going to school and playing with her friends. She is a fantastic reader, loves dancing and is very creative. So creative that the drawers and shelves are over flowing with all the drawings and pictures she has drawn and colored.

Jonathan is a very active 4 year old. He likes helping out and likes riding his scooter and playing. His special love is for anything dinosaur. His favorite game is "Dino and Bull" where he pretends to be the dinosaur while Dad pretends to be bull and they wrestle until someone taps out.

Jacob is 20 months. He is super adventurous, tries to do everything that his older brothers and sisters do, and is always busy...I mean neverendingly busy. The tip of the iceberg example happened just yesterday, he turned the bathtub water on and then proceeded to put everything he could find in the tub: library books, scriptures, telephone, papers ... Everything was soaked! What can you do but laugh, after you cry.

Kayla is 3 months old. She was born August 28, 2008 at 4:29 pm and weighed 7 lbs 11 ozs. She has acid reflux and an allergy to soy and milk. She is now on special formula that has helped to lessen the impact of her colic. Now she is smiling, cooing and watching her brothers and sisters.

We are so grateful for our loved ones and would love to hear from all of you. We hope this letter finds you healthy, happy, and enjoying the Christmas season. Merry Christmas! May you feel the peace and love of the Savior, and may this coming year bring much joy.

Love,

Jason, Kristine, Elisabeth, Rebekah, Jonathan, Jacob and Kayla

October

2008-11-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

This past month has been fun and exciting and busy.

We went to Cascade Springs and had a picnic. Jason was looking for elk the whole time. Jason went hunting. He had a fun time walking around in the woods. He didn't get to spend as much time as he wanted to between work and kids. He didn't get anything this year, but is hoping for something next year.

We went to Cornbellys Corn Maze. They had a bunch of fun activities. They had a big trampoline, playground, go-carts, princess-land, and a corn maze. The princess land was cute. The girls all dressed up in princess dress and got into the cinderalla carriage with the pumpkin princess. Jason and Brian both tried on the wigs. Brian's pink wig looked great on him. We cheated on the corn maze and didn't do the whole thing.

Jacob is always busy and getting into things. All day we try to keep him from getting into trouble and hurting himself. I found him up on the counter when I came back from speech with Jonathan looking for candy. He now knows how to sign for candy.

Elisabeth is a super girl and always helping with Kayla. They are both super cute. Kayla was still jaundiced she's not anymore.

We finished our garden boxes. Five years after we started (haha). The kids had fun helping hammer and carrying the rebar.

We hiked to Donut Falls with Brian, Trinna, Maddie, Alisha, and Mom. It was a nice fall hike. Elisabeth, Rebekah, Brian, Trinna, Maddie and Jason hiked to the top of the falls.

We went fishing to Tibel Fork. Didn't catch anything. Usually we catch something. At least we got to eat some pizza at the lake.

We went to Jason's cousin's mission farewell. He is going to the Ukraine and will do fantastic.

We went trick-or-treating, to the pumpkin parade, and to the school costume parade. Jason was a clown, Elisabeth was a wizard, Rebekah was a cow girl, Jonathan was a lion, Jacob was a elephant and Kayla was a pumpkin (It is hard to take a picture where everyone is happy). They all got lots of candy. We had friends over afterwards and watched Casper and had carmel apples and carmel popcorn.

My Grandma Nona is sick. We have been visiting her. It is peaceful to sit and hold her hand. She wanted to hold Kayla. Kayla is starting to get chubby cheeks.

Goings and Comings

2008-09-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

We've been busy with five. We've been doing homework, laundry, dinner, elk scouting, changing diapers, etc...

Jonathan was potty trained. For his reward we went to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. Jonathan loves dinosuars and we didn't want to have three kids in diapers.

Elisabeth started 2nd grade =). She is loving it and having a fun time.

Rebekah started kindergarten. She is fantastic at reading and making lots of new friends. She had a caterpillar that hatched into a moth. She loves watching bugs.

Kayla is super cute and is still mixing up her days and nights

Here is her crib that we spray painted. We now have two cribs. One for Jacob and one for Kayla.

Kayla Kristine Has Arrived!

2008-08-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

The quick fact first, then the pictures and then the long story

Kayla was born Thursday August 28th, 2008 at 4:29 pm (MST). Doesn't 8/28/2008 just have a nice ring to it?. Anway, she weighed 7 lb 11 oz, 19.25 inches long, with a head circumference of 35 cm. She cried enough to let us know she was alive and doing well, but doesn't appear that she will be a loud one.

Here are some pictures from the day she was born

Here is a video I took while she laid on the warming table - just getting used to this world.

Here is a another video of Kayla getting weighed

Here are several more pictures from Kayla's first 5 days of life:

July Stuff

2008-08-03T08:43:00.001-07:00

We had a get together for Kari and Jeff at Debbie's. Played badmitton and had a BBQ.

Went swimming a few times with everyone. Went fishing with Brian and Trina.

Jason, Kari, Jeff, Alisha, and Brian hiked Mount Timp. It took them 10 hours. For some reason they wouldn't let me go... They left at 11:30 at night and then saw the sunrise.

Had a good Pioneer Day. We set off fireworks. Rebekah and Elisabeth dressed up as pioneers.

Went on a campout up Spanish Fork Canyon. Lots of fun. Rebekah was the only one that caught a fish. Brian kept saying that there were no fish in the river. My whole family came camping: Mom, Alisha, Kari, Brian...

Went to BYU Computer Science Alumni Social. It was fun seeing people from school. Rebekah, Elisabeth, and Jonathan did a pinata and played on the bouncers.

Moved Kari, Jeff and Bradley out of their place. They are moving to Atlanta, Georgia where Jeff is getting his Master's in BioInformatics. We are going to miss them lots and lots and lots.

June Bug

2008-07-07T11:31:00.001-07:00

This month was lots of fun. It is so nice that the Elisabeth isn't in school. No having to get her to school by 8:00 and then doing homework in the evenings. Elisabeth had her birthday this month. She turned 7. We went fishing at Cabelas, to the Children's Museum and had a family party to celebrate. We had a cupcake decorating contest. There were some creative cupcakes. Elisabeth got a new bike for her birthday. It left her speechless (which doesn't ever happen). It was fun.

Since Jason's thesis is finished we went fishing every Tuesday evening for the month of June. Elisabeth, Rebekah, and Jonathan loved it. Each time they caught 3 or 4 fish each. My mom watched Jacob, that was so nice, otherwise he would have tried to jump in the lake. We go fishing at Tible Fork in American Fork Canyon.

For Father's Day we went on the Hidden Falls Hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon and then drove up to the lake and fished a little. Everyone had fun on the hike. There was still snow on the lake.

For family home evening one Monday we got out our fire pit and did marshmallows in the backyard. My family came over so that was cool. It almost felt like camping if you looked out at the field while you roasted the marshmallows. We didn't have graham crackers, so we improvised and put chocolate chips inside the marshmallows while they were roasting, yummy.

We went to the Lehi Parade on the 28th. They threw lots of candy, so that made it more fun. We left before it was over. I was done.

Fourth of July weekend was fun. Elisabeth and Rebekah had a sleepover at Debbie's and went to the movies and to the Provo Parade. They had a ball. Jason and I worked on staining the deck for a little. We had everyone over for a BBQ (ribs yummy) and fireworks. We watched the Thanksgiving Point fireworks. I watched some of them from my couch. We love our view. It's way cool. We went swimming on Saturday. We go to Kari's pool. Elisabeth is getting to be a fantastic swimmer. She was practicing jumping in on the deep end of the pool and working on her cannon ball. Jason and my mom took on Jeff and Kari in a chicken fight (quite funny), we declared it a tie.

I'm so happy that I only have eight weeks left of being pregnant. I've been "nesting" and working on a bunch of projects around the house. Jason is trying to figure out how to get me to do less projects, especially since I have him finishing the projects I start =). We painted under the island, stained the deck, painted bunk beds race car red for Jonathan's room, hung some pictures, went through all the baby clothes, hung curtains for Jonathan and Jacob, hung Rebekah's curtains, painted chairs for Elisabeth and Rebekah's desk, added another layer on the garden boxes .....

May - shouldn't it be warmer??

2008-06-22T16:25:00.001-07:00

May was lots of fun, but it should have been warmer. It was crazy cold all month. I wanted more heat.

May 1st Jason defended his thesis =). He is now done with his Masters in Computer Science. He has been working on it since I was pregnant with Jonathan (3 1/2 years). We are going to get our Saturday's back, yea. He did a great job. His thesis was on Hiding Data in Covert Channels of Word Documents. He defended on the last day possible to graduate for Spring Semester. He cut it real close.

Jason spent the entire first week of May at the Java One conference in San Fransisco. Work sent him. He learned lots. It was a long week to have all the kids all by my self allll day and night long, no relief. We survived. I bought a lot of prepackaged stuff, so didn't have to cook. The kids love those dino nuggets from Costco. We made wraps out of them.

Elisabeth had a bunch of school performances last month. She did the musical Grease, did a 1st grade presentation, Hawaiian day, dance recital, and dance festival. She did a great job in all her performances. Rebekah and Elisabeth danced to the High School Musical song Fabulous for their dance recital. They did a fantastic job. Thanks to everyone who came and saw them perform. We went to dinner after at TGIFriday's to celebrate.

The last weekend in June Jason and Jonathan went on Father and Sons. They went to a campground near Jordanelle Resovoir. They had a great time and caught a couple of fish. Jonathan keeps asking when just him and dad will be going out fishing again. It was the last outing for Jason's truck =(. It won't pass emissions and it will cost to much to fix it, so to the Junk Yard it goes. It will be missed.

April's Goings and Comings

2008-06-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

Wow it's been awhile since we posted. Going to post each month separately. I'm going to try to be more regular with my postings. Here are some of April's happenings.

Had a fun weekend with the Daniels Family. Friday, we ate dinner with Brenda and some friends and family at a Brazilian restuarant in Salt Lake City. It was nice to eat dinner with out any kids =) and fun to see everyone. On Saturday night we drove to Perry to stay the weekend. Brenda blessed her baby and Greg had his farewell. Brenda's baby is cute. Her name is Patsy Mae Daniels. Greg is leaving on his mission. He is going to the Italy Rome Mission. Everyone from the family was able to be there, except Jared and Laura (we missed you). It was a fun time. We stayed a Brian and Callie's (thanks you guys were great).

Graduations were later in the week. Laci and Rachel graduated this semester. CONGRATULATIONS. Laci graduated in Speech from BYU. We went to a party are her house to celebrate (Jason was speaking at a YM event so was a little late). We had catered Olive Garden, yummy. Great Job Laci. The next day we celebrated Rachel's graduation from BYU. She graduated in Marriage and Family Science. We had a fun baked potato bar at her place. They both worked super hard and it was fun to celebrate with them.

It's a Girl!!!!!

2008-04-06T07:05:00.000-07:00

We went and got our ultrasound on Friday 4/4 and found out that we are having a girl =). We are all very excited. We were happy with either. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful healthy children. We've decided to name her Kayla Jean and name her after Jason. His middle name is Michael and somehow Kayla is derived from Michael. We could change what we name her (It's happened before:) ).

Well this month has been an eventful one. Jacob pinched his finger super bad and partially amputated it. We took him up to Primary Children's Hospital and they stitched it back together. He got three stitches. They took x-rays to make sure he didn't get any of the bone, luckily he didn't. They almost had to sedate him to put the stitches in. He wouldn't stop crying and moving around while they were numbing his thumb, one of the nurses was holding him down to give the numbing shots. Right as it was time to start the stitches he fell asleep and sleep while they put the stitches in. He woke up right after they were done. We count it as a blessing.

The finger he injured happened to be the thumb he sucks on. He was so mad and tore the bandage off twice. We put a sock over his whole hand to prevent him from taking the bandages off. His finger is looking a lot better now. Oh ya, didn't tell you how he pinched it. We have a picture frame bi-fold thing that is about 5 feet tall and hold a bunch of pictures. He crawled behind it, put is finger in the crack and pushed it over, all in a matter of seconds. I was sitting right there. His fingernail looks yucky. They said it'll probably fall off.

So you would think one trip to the emergency room would be enough. We took Jacob on Friday and then on Monday Elisabeth came home from her friends house and injured her neck playing crack the egg on the trampoline. She was crying and complaining about how much her neck hurt. You would touch her knee and she would yell that her neck hurt... So back to the emergency room. They took a couple of sets of x-rays and said that she whip lashed her neck and that since she was young it would heal fast. She stayed home from school a couple of days and is now doing better. A month later it still hurts to do some thing.

We celebrated Jason's B-day. We did a family party. He is now 33 years old. He got a couple of ties and basketball shorts for his birthday. I tell him he is old.

Jacob had his birthday too. He turned 1. We went the the Salt Lake Children's Museum and saw the new Sesame Street Exhibit for his birthday. He started walking the night of his b-day party. It was really cool. During his party the fire alarm went off. Jason and Jeff went to look for a reason the alarm was going off. Jason found a space heater in flames in the boy's room. Luckily we were home and their was no damage. The previous day we weren't home at all and wouldn't have been able to put it out. The space heater was just a few years old, afterward we found out their was a recall on it. What a blessing that we were able to prevent any damage and no one was hurt.

Easter was fun. It seemed to early to be having it. It was a sunny weekend. We went the the Young Living Farm with Alisha, Kari, Jeff, Kathy and did a bunch of Easter activities: face painting, Easter hunt, boat rides, bunny hop, pony rides. The eggs in the hunt had free movie tickets, free bowling, and Rebekah found a free Chilli's kids meal. They are super excited to use them and weren't disappointed about their not being much candy. On Sunday we went to Debbie's for Easter dinner and had an Easter egg hunt. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and get together. The food was super yummy too. Brian's the tall one in the group picture.

Elisabeth and Jason went to a Daddy-Daughter Princess night at the elementary school. Elisabeth had such a good time. She and Jason danced and ate cotton candy.

It's a ......

2008-03-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

We are expecting our fifth baby. I'm due September 6. Rebekah wants it to be a girl and Jason wants it to be a boy. I'll be happy with either. It would be fun to have a girl. Our youngest girl is 5 now. We find out on April 4 what we are having =). I forgot how much "fun" being nauseous all the time was.

In Febuary, we went the aquarium in Salt Lake. We had alot of fun. We went with my mom, Alisha, Kari and Jeff. Jason helped plan and went to Youth Conference. They did a mini trek and hiked alot in the snow.

For fast sunday we went to church (8:30 am), but after the second hour they told us all to go home becuase it was snowing so much. The stake cancelled all the rest of the meetings for the day. We couldnt get in our driveway because of the snow. Jason had to snow plow our driveway to get in the driveway. Jason went out and shoveled snow for a couple hours. He helped get a few cars unstuck. It was kinda fun becuase the whole neigborhood was out shoveling and helping everyone out. The kids played in the snow for awhile. The piles of snow were bigger than they were =).

Later in the month was another memorable storm. This storm was not nice at all. The probelem was the wind. It blew all of the snow around. It was blowing so hard that all of the screens on the house were covered in snow. They closed two of the roads next to our house. The snow blowing made it impossible to see, whiteout. Luckily we were home and decided not to go to dance and didn't get caught in it. Jason's commute that usually takes 1 hour took 3 hours. Here is an article about the storm http://origin.sltrib.com/ci_8258628.

Jacob is getting lots of teeth and trying to learn to walk.

January Happenings

2008-02-18T05:37:00.000-08:00

January was an exciting month with a lot going on. Greg, Jason's brother, got his mission call to Rome, Italy. He will be leaving in April. We are super excited for him and know he will do a fantastic job.

My sister Kari had a handsome little boy. They named him Bradley Allen. He looks so much like his daddy Jeff. He was born January 12 at 2:30 pm and was 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 21 in. long. I was priviledged to be their for his birth. It was the first birth that I witnessed. It's amazing, the feeling in the room when a spirit comes from heaven and gets a body. Jeff and Kari will be fantastic parents.

We went sledding at Soldiers Hollow with the Schwartings. It's an annual thing now. We had a ton of fun. It was so pretty up their. It was Jonathan's first time and he had a blast.

For FHE this month we decorated cookies. At Christmas we got a sugar cookie decorating kit. It was fun to decorate the cookies and see the different designs that everyone came up with.

For another FHE we built a sledding hill in our backyard from all of the snow. The kids love the sledding hill and have fun going down it. I think Jason might have had more fun building it though =).

My brother, Brian moved back from Cali. He's not used to the cold. For most of the month the tempature hasn't been abouve 35 degrees. I think the warm air made him grow a couple more inches. He's 6'5" maybe 6'6".

Jason is the second counselor in the Stake Young Men's presidency. His latest project is helping plan the stake youth conference. They are going to a lodge and doing snow activities. The boys are sleeping outside in tents and the girls are sleeping outside. They are doing a pioneer trek to get into and out of the lodge. It is amazing how much time is spent to plan a youth conference. It should be lots of fun.

Jacob is almost 10 months. He is a super cutie. He is pulling himself up on everything.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-28T14:17:00.000-08:00

This year was very busy and full of fun: a new baby boy, camping, dance recital, trip to Disneyland, family reunion!!!

Jason - Jason is employed with the LDS church and is working on the New Family Search website. After 4 years he just has to finish his thesis to complete his masters in Computer Science. Jason was released as Scoutmaster (5 years) and is now serving as the 2nd Counselor in the Stake Young Mens. He is enjoying his new calling, but he wish he had more hours in the day. His favorite thing he did this year was going to Disneyland for 10 days with his family and his Mother-in-law =).

Kristine - Kristine is busy with our four children and her numerous other hobbies and projects. She works on genealogy and likes to spray paint anything she can. She spends lots of time with her Mom finding great deals. In between everything else she still finds time to put on bridal and baby showers, help Jason stay on track with his thesis, keep the house clean and still look amazing!

Elisabeth – Elisabeth is 6 years old. She started 1st grade this year and loves to read. She was excited to lose her first tooth when Dad tied floss around it and then Mom yanked it out, sending it flying somewhere onto the kitchen floor, which took us 10 minutes to find. She loves to dance. She’s a big help with her new brother.

Rebekah – Rebekah is 5 years old and is super smart and an absolute delight to be around. She is our early riser and always the first one to wake up. She got a hearing in October and loves to wear it everywhere. She is looking forward to kindergarten this coming fall. She knows all of her letters and numbers and has already started to read easy books.

Jonathan - Jonathan is 3 years old. He is amazing at figuring out how everything works: buttons, switches, screw drivers, computer games, etc. He turns everything into a rocket ship or a truck, especially his roll at dinner.

Jacob - Jacob the newest addition to our family this year is 9 months old. Jacob Ethan was born March 27, weighing in at a whopping, 9 lbs 8 oz, and 21 inches. He is a is always smiling and enjoys all the attention from his brother and sisters.

We are so grateful for our loved ones and would love to hear from all of you. We hope this letter finds you healthy, happy, and enjoying the Christmas season. Merry Christmas! May you feel the peace and love of the Savior, and may this coming year bring much joy.

With Love,
Jason, Kristine, Elisabeth, Rebekah, Jonathan and Jacob

A few photos from 2007

Birthdays and Snow

2007-12-16T08:52:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of weeks we celebrated Jonathan and Rebekah's birthdays. Jonathan turned 3 years old and Rebekah turned 5 years old. Jonathan helped make his own cake and is surprisly very good at breaking eggs. Jonathan got a Thomas the Train Set, some clothes, and a log building set from Grandma. He is super excited. For three days he watched the train go around the track and deliver mail.

For Rebekah's Birthday we had cupcakes and pizza. Everyone came over: Jeff, Kari, Alisha, and Gaw. Rebekah got some "magic" paper from Crayola, magic glue markers, and a bead set. She made a bracelet and a necklace, with my help, on the first days that she got it. Instead of a friend party we went to the Discovery Children's Museum as a family. Alisha came with us. Rebekah really wanted her to come. It was fun to spend the day together as a family.

Jacob is crawling lots now. We have to put a blockade at the bottom of the stairs so that he doesn't climb up the stairs. He is starting to pull himself up on things. Super cute.

It snowed last Saturday, so pretty. The kids went out an played in the snow 3 or 4 days last week. They have been playing with their friends Hannah and Spencer. Jonathan went out the first day, but hasn't been out again since then. Guess once was enough for him. I found Rebekah standing on top of the wood pile with a long piece of wood in her hand trying to knock down the iceccels from the roof line. She is full of fun ideas. There is a slight hill on the north side of the house that makes a great sleding hill.

We set up the Christmas tree and had a fun time. Jacob has already pulled some of the ornaments off.

For family night we made gingerbread houses. Alisha and mom came over to help to. I think the kids ate more candy than what was put on the houses. Jason figured out a way to made frosting and houses out of gingerbread for our family reunion with the Daniels. We are in charge of gingerbread houses. The reunion is over Christmas.

Elisabeth is enjoying reading and is finally getting used to her new glasses. She likes the five "diamonds" that are on the side of the glasses. Jonathan picked up the glasses on the second day that she had them and broke them. Luckily the waranty covered that. =)

Finally...

2007-12-07T10:53:00.001-08:00

We started a blog, can you believe it. We've been talking about doing to forever. Jason and I have 4 super children, Elisabeth (6), Rebekah (5), Jonathan (3), and Jacob(8 months). This picture is at Ocean Beach in San Diego from our trip during Thanksgiving.

Disneyland Trip

2007-12-07T10:41:00.000-08:00

Just got back from our trip to Southern California. We vacationed for 10 wonderful days. As part of our adventure we went to Universal Studios, Disneyland (3 days), Ocean Beach, San Diego Zoo, and Sea World. We had lots of fun. My mom came and was lots of help =). We stayed in a castle in Anaheim. Jonathan keep saying it was his castle. Rebekah's favorite ride was Splash Mountain and Soaring over California.