Dec 29, 2011

another adventure...

I swear, we can not go 4 wheeling without having some kind of problem! Everytime we go, something goes wrong but someone can usually fix it.  We were so excited for the nice weather cuz Monday we planned on going for a long ride with the entire gang. There was my parents, Kasey, Meridee, Jackson & Addi, Teri, Cody & Josh and our family.
Anyhow, we headed out around 11am towards Lime Kiln and got to the red rocks where the kids climbed all over. We made a fire and roasted hot dogs for lunch, some of them shot guns, we were having a great time! We decided we better get going and we were on our way to wherever we were going next (still not sure where that was)! My parents and our 2 nephews were ahead of us and we got going and the belt broke and we stopped. We thought they'd turn around but never did so Nick and Teri headed back to get the truck and trailer. So Kasey, Meridee, Brooklin, Mason, Addi and myself just hung out for about an hour and a half waiting.... the sun was going to set behind the mountain soon  - luckily we had the matches and some gasoline so Kasey started a fire for us. Finally the boys and my parents showed up and we exchanged stories (they had seen some guys that passed us and they told them we were somewhere completely different) and 5 mins later Nick and Teri showed up. By this time it's dark and cold! The kids, my mom, Nick, Teri and myself pile in the truck and head to Whitney Pockets so we can come home on pavement while the others just head back. We hit pavement and Nick checked the tie downs and everything looked good... 5 mins later, he looked behind and said, "The ranger is gone, it's not on the trailer." Teri and I were like shut up, what are you talking about. They got out and couldn't find it on the road and Teri just happened to catch one of the reflectors and it was probably 200-250 ft off the road, standing upright. I couldn't believe it! We called my dad and they headed out with his truck and trailer in the meantime, 2 guys stopped to help us. They helped roll it up on the trailer so we could get it tied down and on our way. We finally made it home in one piece!
Seriously, it was such a crazy day! But we had a good time despite a few mishaps!! If you ever want an adventure when you go 4 wheelin, just give us a call :)


b was so nice to let jackson sleep on her!

my 2 mountain goats


jackson and mason







cody, josh and brooklin

roasting hot dogs

the gang

addi was sportin quite the little outfit!


teri showing the boys how it's done!


stranded...

addi found the hot tamales!


mason giving the boys a welcome back!

all smiles - just found out the ranger was off the trailer

there it is...

good thing for reflector tape

the kids are going crazy!

i think santa came & grandma bought way too much!!!!

My parents church was at 9am so we needed to get an early start! We thought the kids would be up bright and early but they were still sound asleep at 7.... I cranked up "I Believe in Santa Claus" and soon everyone was coming out of the woodworks!
It was so fun to be with family and see how excited the kids were! We let them open the Santa gifts and play with them and then we got ready for church. I had to make a quick trip back to Mesquite since I left the biscuts sitting in the freezer and nothing was open. So I was late to church but I made pretty good time ( I realized this at 2:30am and Nick wouldn't let me go then)!
We came home and Nick fixed biscuts & gravy and my mom made an apple french toast. By this time the kids were ready to open PrEsEnTs!!! We were all spoiled and once again my mom made it special for everyone and did way too much... Here's a list of what we got from everyone, including Santa:

Nick: a jar of money that said "ipad fund", a drill, tie, swimming suit, ac/dc for guitar hero, and an angry birds shirt
Steph: a kindle fire, money, gift cards, a watch, itunes card, a book, coke stuff, a blanket, a cute turtle necklace and a new griddle pan.
Brooklin: a bike, lalaloopsy doll, bike helmet, litte crafty things, clothes, a crayon maker, sorry slide, purple boots, golf clubs and other odds and ends.
Mason: a train table, glow dome, monster truck, clothes, hat, tie, golf clubs, operation mater, spin art, marshmellow gun, and other odds and ends.

And we gave the kids a DISNEY CRUISE we're taking in Feb!!! We are so excited and we've been keeping it a secret for a few months now... We're going with Tietjen's and Woods! The kids were pretty stoked and have been asking how many days until we leave - maybe I'll be able to bribe them for a few more months to be good!!!!  My mom had gone to Disneyland with the school a week before Christmas - so I had made a sign that said "Pack your bags, you're going a CRUISE!!!" I sent that with her and told her her only task was to get a picture with any character holding that sign. She did a great job and got one with Cinderella, Pluto, Mickey and Santa -- she said everyone standing around thought it was so cool. So thanks mom for being a sport and carrying a sign around Disneyland!

~picture overload~

mason's loot


brooklin's loot


she's been wanting a diary...

our little princess - she was hilarious!




mason got b an inkoo





skater boy!


b got mason operation mater


ipad fund jar

kindle fire

grandma came through with the lalaloopsy doll since santa didn't bring one...


there were gifts in each box leading up to the big present!






a DISNEY CRUISE in feb!!!


kasey had one of my grandpa's guns restored - pretty cool!

cute owl hats from grandma - karen bowler made them

golf clubs from gpa and gma
We had a wonderful Christmas and we were so
blessed to spend it with some of our
favorite people!
After we were done in St. George we headed to
Beaver Dam to eat dinner and spend some time
with Teri, Joe, Josh & Cody! The kids love
teasing the dogs and playing with the boys.
We also got more fun toys from them - minne mouse
pillow pet, new wii game, a little robot bug...