What A Week!

Last week was amazing, crazy but amazing! Last Monday we took off to Salt Lake to see the lights, go shopping, rest, and spend time with family.

We spent 2 nights and 3 days at the Kimball with my parents and had so much fun.  On Tuesday we went shopping at the South Town Mall.  Well my Mom went shopping and we played.  The girls so Santa, rode on a train that goes across the mall, and rode on the carousel. Then my sister Wendy came to see us and we all went to see the lights.  Bailey kept saying "This is the best Christmas ever!"  She also loved holding Aunt Wendy's hand and dragging her all over temple square.

On Wednesday we loaded up and came home. Ben went to work and I attacked the laundry.  On Thursday we took off for my parents house in Idaho.  We had to drop some stuff off at my brother Todd's house and he invited us to dinner so we had a good dinner with him and Brenda.

On Friday I got my nails done and we got ready to take off to Boise to see my brothers.  We stopped at my brother Scott's house for awhile and then went and had dinner with my brother Eric.  It was awesome to see all of my brothers and sisters in a 4 day period.

Saturday was Bailey's birthday and we had a party at Scott's house and then most of the boys in the family went to the Idaho Famous Potato Bowl.  They had lots of fun.  Sommers and I went shopping with our kids who are basically the same age so it was like having 2 sets of twins.

Sunday  we left Boise around 10am and with a stop at my parents made it home around 7pm. It was a good week with 4 different destinations. Bailey slept in 5 different houses.  We had an amazing, crazy week, but it was so good to see everyone.

A few highlights

So I haven't blogged in a LONG time and I've decided I'm not going to catch up, but just do the highlights.

We made our yearly trip to the Hogle Zoo in September. 

My parents and my sister Wendy joined us for the day.

We had so much fun.

We carved our first pumpkins this year.

Bailey kept playing in the pumpkin gutts and saying

"This is disgusting!"

Bailey was a ladybug for Halloween this year and Hinkley was a bee!

I don't have any picture from Thanksgiving, I guess I'm not really sure where November went! Hoping to do better at keeping up on my blog!

New York Part 2

I wasn't in the States when 9/11 happened.  I was on my mission in Guatemala. My companion and I were walking past an electronic store and I saw a TV in the window that was showing the first tower had been hit.

I remember thinking it could not be real, it had to be for a movie, but as I kept watching I realized I was watching a news show and knew it must be happening, but I couldn't believe it. I told my companion I needed to go back to the apartment.  They pulled all the missionaries in and had zone meetings. But I just couldn't believe how the towers could really have been hit.

Since I wasn't in the States when 9/11 happened, I have tried to learn about the events of that day.  When we were in New York, our hotel was literally right next to Ground Zero. We were able to see and hear the construction from our hotel room and see the corner of the fountains.

This is the new Trade Center Building. In New York, we were able to see the 9/11 Museum. It was very emotional.

This is "The Survivor" he sits right off of Ground Zero.  He was there before 9/11 but was blown off of his seat.  They found him and put him back where he belongs. He now has marks and scratches from that day, but he survived.

All the fire trucks in New York now have all the names of the fireman on their trucks that were lost from their stations.

The City view of where the Twin Towers used to be and were the new Trade Tower is. Our last day in New York we went to the Miracle Church that is right across the street from Ground Zero, where the rescue teams rested and got their meals.  It was the only building around Ground Zero that did not have any structural damage.

 I still remember hearing from a news show someone said, "We were running out as the rescuers were running in."

NEW YORK! Part 1

Ben had his yearly training early this year and in NEW YORK! How cool is that? We took a red eye out on Saturday night, OUCH, and landed in New York about 6am the next day. The girls had been shipped home with my niece Lyndsie to stay with her, Todd, & Brenda.  Brace yourself for a lot of pictures, I'm going to break the trip up into three parts.

The subway! I was way nervous about the whole subway thing at first, but Ben and I actually got pretty good at finding our way, yes we got lost but it was all good.  It was really hot and humid in NYC while we were there and the subway was always at least 10 degrees hotter and it smelled really bad.

Turtle Pond at Central Park

The Clock Tower at the Central Park Zoo.  I was kind of bummed because they didn't have a giraffe, lion, hippo, zebra, like in Madagascar! I'm a dork, but that's what I expected!

Belvedere Castle in the Shakespeare Garden part of Central Park.  It's huge and awesome!

Times Square where they film Good Morning America, I almost cried! I watch GMA almost every morning.

Times Square, it was so awesome, unreal and amazing to be there, with about a million and one other people!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art! I went one day while Ben was in trainings.  I got lost on the way cutting through Central Park and in the Subway on the way back.  I spent over 3 hours just on the main floor. It was amazing and getting lost wasn't bad, just made a memory!

A New York Tax and just like Buddy the Elf says in the movie Elf "The Yellow ones don't stop!"

25 again!

I had a great birthday we didn't get any pictures except for the cake!

My niece Lyndsie made the cake it was a 2 layer cake

The bottom layer was chocolate chunk surprise, it had rollos in it!

Lyndsie had planned to do lunch with the girls and I, but when we got to the restaurant my sister in law, Brenda and driven 2 hours just to have lunch with us and do some shopping and then she drove 2 hours back home! We all got Cafe Sabor take out for dinner and had a great day with my family!

Bear Lake

Ben's sister called one Saturday morning and said she was at a cabin in Bear lake and asked it we wanted to come and hang out, so we did.

My super cool baby, on the trip there.

She didn't know her treat opened!

Bailey and Corbie ordering ice cream and fries, so cute!

Bailey, Aunt Misti, and Jack. A fun trip!

Oh what do you do in the summer time?

WE SWIM...

By ourselves

Yes, they both have a pool, one had a ton of holes in it, so we bought a new one, but I was able to do some amazing work with some duck tape and now we have 2!

They swim together,

And with friends!

We do a lot of swimming!