Fishing

This is what we love to do for fun lately! The kids got fishing poles for Easter instead of candy! This particular afternoon we caught 9 fish total (or the same fish who just loved our hot dogs) Alissa, Kenzie and Taft all love practicing reeling in the the line over and over again! And Daddy loves fixing bobbers, poles, hot dogs and hooks the whole time!

Spring

Spring time is so lovely in Arizona. The weather is amazing and we try to spend every waking moment outside if possible. We are lucky to have a water way or small lake area by our home where we can go and relax and watch the water and look at the mountains. We love to play with the ducks and especially keep progress on the growth of all the new baby ducks! The kids are all growing so fast and I love seeing what great friends they are!

Ryan Turns 30

For Ryan's birthday this year I wanted to make it very special! He wanted to go away for his birthday with me, but due to Emily this was not quite possible yet. Thanks to a dear friend I got the idea to go for his 30th birthday celebration. Monday night I told Ryan we were going to go check out new video cameras for him. He has been wanting one for awhile so I thought I had the perfect excuse to whisk him away! We went to go get gas for the car and I told him it might be fun to do something a little different first. I asked him he wanted to go play laser tag and he was definitely on board but surprised that I wanted to go do something so "fun and active" (hee hee)

On our way to Laser Tag I was trying to hurry him up because I did not want to miss our first game. (I had reservations) When we got there we went inside and a few of our friends were there. Ryan said he thought we were just meeting a few couples. With in the next 15 minutes we had several of our favorite people ready to play three games of laser tag. I have to say it was quite out of the ordinary for a bunch of middle aged couples but we had a great time.

My favorite parts were watching some of us pair off with others to try to win or when Ryan rallied everyone together to try and beat all of the eight year olds we were up against. It was so much fun and everyone had a fun time! I was so excited to actually surprise Ryan because I am never good at keeping secrets. After we all went to Ryan's favorite yogurt shop Ocean Blue and had dessert! Ryan was truly surprised!!! I still can not believe I forgot to take pictures

Now, for the actual birthday!! Ryan went to work and (I will have to remember what happened at work before I can put it here)

Ryan had fun in the afternoon at a meeting with his friend Danny!

When Ryan came home the kids were absolutely ecstatic to see him! They planned a whole party for him. Including decorations! In Arizona there are three restaurants that give you $10 on your birthday and they are all fairly close together. So we ordered take out and drove around getting enough free food to feed our whole family dinner! We ended at a farm grill and the kids had all their presents and homemade banana cream pie ready for Daddy to share! Then, we came home and they had another party for him including his favorite Italian ice cream Spumoni! Ryan got lots of wonderful gifts! He got new running shoes, money and several gifts for the kids from the kids! He said this was his favorite birthday ever and I am so glad we could make it that for him!

Here are some of the gifts from the kids with the Spumoni!

I have to say most of all, I love that he wore this shirt today! I seriously feel like I am so blessed to have married such an Awesome man! He is soo good to me! Better then I ever truly imagined a man could love a woman, he loves me! I always feel so special from him and for that I am thankful! He is such a wonderful father and so involved in all the kids do! He takes the time to "date" them and get to know them and gives us almost all of his time! He sacrifices by giving up the "fun" single things to be grown up and work for the "responsible" things. I am so thankful for him and all the love and sacrifice he give to us and to our eternal family!! Happy 30th Birthday Ryan!

Easter Weekend!!

Wow!! What a busy weekend and week we have had. I think I need to write about it now before I forget everything.

Playgroup Easter Egg Hunt

On Thursdays we go to playgroup here at a local park in our community! My friend Karen loves to put parties together and put a little egg hunt together with all the kids! I took Alissa out of school early this day so she could come! I bet there were at least 30 kids there! We played all day and Taft was especially excited to have found the square Sponge Bob egg! My kids love Sponge Bob because I do not let them watch it. Emily had fun eating everything she could find off the ground too! The kids sure love all of their friends and especially Spinnaker Bay Park!!

Easter Pageant

On Thursday night we decided to go to Easter Pageant. We like to go on Thursday each year because the kids are out of school on Friday so staying up late isn't as big of deal. I was so excited this year because Alissa and Kenzie are now both old enough to sit and listen through the whole thing. They even asked questions and were even concerned about the "man" (actor playing Jesus) really getting nails put in his hands. It was so fun to watch their faces as they sincerely focused on the true Easter celebration! Taft and Emily did pretty well too! We were a few minutes late to the production due to an accident, but Ryan and his friend Steve had gone early to save seats! We had dinner as we watched the show! It was adorable to see the kids trying hard not to fall asleep on the way home. Note to self driving alone to the Easter Pageant with four kids and trying to hall them and all the stuff by yourself is not the best idea! All in all we had a great night and got to focus on our Savior and the sacrifices he has made for us!

Good Friday

It was nice to have a day to relax.....Garner style as our friends would say. We spent the morning relaxing. I did some shopping and the kids got to play around at the house! Ryan was home by 10:30am because he only had a half day!! Got to love half days when your day starts bright and early! When Ry got home he took Kenzie and Taft to a birthday party and I baked all day. We had some very special friends, Lindsay and Danny and their sweet kids come over for dinner. I was realizing this is the first time I have had dinner guests since we moved here that was not family. We always go to other people's houses so this was fun! I made coconut shrimp and chicken, fresh pineapple apricot salsa, spinach artichoke dip, twice baked potatoes, two cakes, veggies and prepped for the Easter crafts! Our friends came over at 6 and we had a wonderful time. Dinner went really well!! We made homemade birds nests out of chow mien noodles and chocolate and colored eggs!

Easter Saturday

Easter Saturday started early and wonderful! Alissa and I left the house at 5:30am to start the morning with Bountiful Baskets. I have started a site here in Val Vista Lakes and we are getting about 30 baskets each week!! It is a lot of fun and I love having the opportunity to serve the community!! This was Alissa's first time coming with me and she had so much fun helping sort and count things! I will definitely be bringing her with me again!

After that we rushed over to the Ward Pancake Breakfast and Egg Hunt. The kids love spending time with their friends and I really feel like we have a great "Ward Family!" We have made some truly great friends here and I would say they are our family too! The Easter Bunny made an appearance and when I tried to hand Emily off for a picture she screamed!

Next we jumped in the car and drove straight to Dobson Ranch to my Dad's house for Easter fun! They have a carnival and Egg Hunt here and the kids love all the free stuff! They have games, bounce houses, face painting, snow cones and popcorn for free. It is very safe and the kids have fun running from thing to thing. This was Emily's first Egg Hunt she participated in! They got healthy baskets from Grandpa John and Grandma Debbie and eggs with money too! We were so excited for all the healthy stuff! Ryan also got a very special birthday present from them! New Vibram shoes! He had put a hole in his last set of shoes so this was a favorite birthday present! He was soo excited!!! My grandparents also showed up to the Egg Hunt and we all sat at visited while the kids ran around!

After this we hopped in the car and drove quickly to Kenzie's baseball game! He had a few great hits and had fun at the first game of the season he attended! I love that there are no outs or strikes. It is very helpful in just teaching the kids the basics of the game without negativity! He loves baseball and I think we will keep him playing in the future!! He has several friends on the team too from out ward which is fun! While at the game Ryan, Alissa, Emily and Taft were doing tricks on the fences and running all around! I love how active my family is!

Next we went home for a bit to relax and Mema took Alissa Easter dress shopping! Alissa loves to have one on one time and found a beautiful dress!!! It is amazing how even one hour of just relaxing at home feels!

For the evening we spent time with the Garner side of the family! Ryan's grandparents live near by and have a potluck one a month with all of the family that lives here! There were about 10 kids and plenty of adults! Ryan has two Uncle's and one Aunt that came and they even had an Egg Hunt with real eggs! It was so fun to spend hours chatting with family and getting to know all the cousins better! We truly are blessed to have so much family around! Ryan has a first cousin Alissa's age and one Kenzie's age so it works out great! They love to play with cousin's! Ryan stayed at his grandparents a bit longer to get to visit!

I have to say my favorite part of the day is bedtime!!! The thing is that it is not because the kids go to bed. Every night Ryan spends at least a half hour extra reading to our children. It is their "daddy time" and I love to listen in! They all lay in bed as Daddy reads to them from the scriptures and teaches them the great lessons there. Then they read chapter books like Chronicles of Narnia or Peter Pan! I know that this time will always be special to them! I can not wait until Emily is a bit older and won't need her own bedtime routine and we can all participate in "Daddy time!" This is when Ryan really took time to teach them about Easter and the resurrection of our Savior!

Easter Sunday

This Easter we did a few things differently. We tried to focus less on Easter Bunny, the kids did get baskets though and had 33 eggs to find! Luckily we didn't have a lot of candy and the kids were so excited to each find a fishing pole! A few weeks ago our friends The Blake and Ami invited us to go fishing at the lake here! Ever since then, the kids have been saving for fishing poles. They were so happy to find they each got one! Emily was not very happy she could not get in the crinkly paper the kids were eating. She loved her big stuffed bunny!!

In the mid morning we were invited to go participate in egg racing at a local park with our friends! This will definitely be a new tradition! Each person decorated and named two eggs! We had a blast racing them down the hills and then playing Peter Cottontail! I am so thankful for good friends! The kids had soo much fun!! Most of the eggs lasted longer then I though until the cement racing!

We got ready for church and the kids loved their new clothes. Both of the boys got their own church suit!! And the girls looked like princesses! Alissa had the scripture today in Primary and spoke about the Resurrection! I am so thankful for all they are learning from church! They know the scriptures are true and have their own testimonies of Jesus Christ! It is so fun to see hoe much they truly listen when we think they do not.

After our busy weekend I sat and reflected....we are so truly blessed to have so much good in our life. I am thankful for opportunities to look back and see all that good. We are thankful for our family that surrounds us. We are thankful for good friends that influence us in so many aspects of our lives. We are so lucky to have the gospel of Jesus Christ to guide us right now at this time in the world where there is so much confusion out there. We know that families are the central purpose of God's plan and that we are blessed to have such a special one! Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter remember our SAVIOR, for her truly is our Savior if we will come unto him! We love you all!

Playing in the Sand

I love this picture! I do because it reminds me of all the hours we spend playing at Spinnaker Bay Park. My kids love to play at this park because it is so big and spacious! They love it because several of their friends always happen to be there when we go! This is the only shot I could get with all of them together because they move around so much! I am so thankful we live in such a great area with such wonderful people! I love my kids they are soo cute!

If Life Could Stand Still

It seems as though life has been crazy busy, and yet it always is. I seem to find ways to pack every moment of everyday to the max in goal to get as much done as possible. And yet I find that I miss out on so much still in the process. I wish life could stand still, so that I could:

Spend more time teaching my children

Play more games with my children

Read more books with my children

Find the time to exercise again

Sit and read a whole book

Have quiet time(I think I have forgot what that was completely)

Blog more about our many adventures

Prepare More the things I need to take of for myself and my family

Teach my children more about the gospel of Jesus Christ and about all things secular and spiritual

Educate myself

Date my husband more each week and spend time getting to know him better. (Actually have a decent conversation daily)

Make my house a house of order in all things!

The list goes on an on.......

Well you get the idea. My goal for the next few weeks is prioritize and cut out everything that does not fit in my priorities to God, my life and my family. These are things that matter most to me and I want to let them know that in all I do!

Snow Day!!

Our snow day started off with and adventure to Colorado City, AZ. We tried to find snow along the way but no luck. So, we purchased raw cheese and milk and headed off the other direction to find snow. We ended up at Kolob area. This was fun because the town of New Harmony was right across the way. This was the town we dreamed of living and having five acres of land. Now, as we ook back, we can not honestly see how or why we dreamed that. It is gorgeous there but not right for us. We love having the opportunity to spend time in this area with family!

The snow was perfect this day!! We did not have to drive far and were able to have fresh snow! Below is a picture of the snow fort in preparation for a snowball fight. Shayna and I were able to take the babies in the car and park nearby so we could watch them playing and sledding, but also keep the babies warm!

I love this one of the kids having a snowball fight with Grammy! I love Taft's stance. This shows how close to the road we were due to the recycle bins.

This is the REAL snowball fight between Dad and Ryan! I am not sure we had a winner! I absolutely love watching them together. Ryan and his dad have such an amazing relationship! They have so much in common and I am so glad Ryan has that! They were also able to go on several runs together! I always like to think someday they can meet up places and do races together!

Braxton and Papa playing in the snow! My kids had so much fun with the cousins!

Yup, he is mine! I am so glad I still feel that way 99% of the time. :) I am very blessed to have such a wonderful husband who truly loves his family! He takes such good care of us! He played with the kids the whole time in the snow and the best part is that we finally had to tell Dad and Ryan it was time to Go! Kenzie didn't want to leave either.

Emily getting her first sledding lesson. I have to tell the story of these sleds. These sleds are from Christmas, Kenzie asked for a sled for Christmas and he had seen these ones at Costco and thought they were perfect! We decided we needed two so everyone could have a turn but were not quite sure when we would ever use them. I seriously feel this was a blessing and answer to prayers. We packed the sled with us for our trip in hopes to stop in Flagstaff on our way home and play. We did not really want to drive through Flag due to ice and cold but knew this may be our only chance to see snow. Luckily, it snowed in Toquerville on Sunday and gave plenty of snow to the North for our Monday play day! It is amazing how happy this made Kenzie! He is our only child, so far, who wants to live in the snow when he grows up! And thanks to Grammy and Papa for sharing their gloves!

Toquerville Trip

We got the opportunity to head to Toquerville in February. For about the last year or so we have a had a lot of things go wrong with our car. A big part of that was from when we were in a an accident a few years ago that nearly totaled the car. We thought they had fixed the car, but we should have known that a car will never be the same after a bad accident. So, we had a great opportunity to save a ton of money by taking it to a little shop in La Verkin, Utah for some of the final work.

I have to say this was probably my all time favorite Toquerville trip. Last year when we went it was a complete mess. We had just moved to Arizona from Hawaii and everyone got sick and Ryan and his dad packed a Uhaul for us. So, this trip was a lot smoother and pretty low key. The kids had a great time with their cousins and grandparents! It snowed too! And I have some pictures to share!

Here is a picture of Grammy and the kids playing a game with the kids. Kenzie loved this game and wants it for his birthday! I can not remember the name but I remember the fun he had!

This is Ryan saying good bye to his grandma for possibly the last time! I had so much fun with her and was glad we got to see her!

This picture is one of my favorite pictures. If you look closely Taft is making Grandma smile. It was said that the kids stressed he out, but I do not believe she is the one they stressed out. We had a great time with her and it seemed to fill her days some!

Emily loving on Aunt Shayna and Braxton!

The kids all trying to keep dry from the rain!

Snuggles

I have to say one of my absolute favorite things about my kids is all the snuggles! For awhile there Alissa and Taft went through a stage where they didn't like to snuggle, but now at any given time they will hop up on my lap and just squeeze away. I am so thankful for the love they give me! Emily is so active she rarely likes to lay her head down on me so this day was a real treat!

First Post From Phone

I'm sad to say I haven't been blogging much. I get so busy sometimes that I forget to take time and journal about our family. I need to prioritize it so that I have it for the future. Life is going pretty great right now. We are about to head off to Toquerville to stay with Ryan's parents while our car is getting fixed once again. The car shop is giving us a great deal and we get a trip out of it!

This picture is a recent picture of Taft in his "new bike." He calls the bike trailer his bike and we go on bike rides a lot now that Emily can sit in the trailer too. Hopefully I will post more this way!

Emily Helping Alissa

Parade's

Tempe Parade

Alissa is right above the T

Gilbert Days Parade

I love having a camera on my phone for this purpose. We have been busy the last few weeks with Alissa's performances for her dance group Studio 3, in their Applause Group. She had the opportunity to be in the Gilbert Days Parade and the Mill Avenue Tempe Christmas Light Parade! She also performed at the Superstition Springs Mall and Tempe Marketplace. There they did a Holiday Hero Show! She is having so much fun in dance and was asked to join the Showstopper group which is two hours a week and audition only. I think we will probably stick with this one though! Less time and money. :)

Thanksgiving 2010

Well, here we all are. I look at this picture and can't help but want to cry. I have everything I ever truly wanted. I have an amazing husband and four precious children who all make my life crazy and lovely and amazing all at the same time. We may not have the riches of the world but we have the very best kind of true love. I am so thankful for my family this year and my extended family also. I have the best mom in the whole world. She isn't perfect and we don't always get along but she is part of our family and I am so thankful for all she does for my family. I am thankful for amazing in laws who I think about daily in the way they raised their children and how to use their strengths to our advantage. I am thankful to have brothers and sisters of all kinds to share the good times and the bad with. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father who has given me all I have and ever will have and who is patient with me through my daily imperfections. I am soo blessed and what is better then that?

Now, for the details. Thanksgiving Day was going to be jam packed with multiple Thanksgivings, Ryan gave the okay last minute and I just decided to take it easy. We go go go all the time and it was nice to take it slow. We woke up and had pumpkin waffles, hot chocolate and watched the two Thanksgiving Parades on TV. It was great just to hang out in our pajamas until 11am. I had fun making things for the dinner and then we headed over to My Uncle Jim and Aunt Hopes house for a yummy meal! The best part was the kids playing outside and playing tag! When we got home Ryan's grandparents came over and played games with us and we had a blast!

Friday was Black Friday and this is one of the few years I did't go overboard. I bought very little in fact. One small present for each child and a few work clothes for Ryan(who thankfully still has a job after his employer just laid off 700 people) That afternoon we went over to Tim and Sonia's house and had an amazing meal! It was one of my favorite Thanksgiving meals ever with Spicy Turkey and Avocado stuffing. It is so wonderful to be by Ryan's Brother and his wife Sonia. We absolutely adore them and love having them around as often as possible. We are lucky to live close again!

As for the rest of the weekend I have more pictures to come!

Soccer!

Well, Kenzie just finished his first year of soccer. Alissa played for three years but decided she didn't want to play this year. Kenzie is such a cute kid! He is always hugging someone or loving someone. He is so kind and considerate of others also. He liked soccer but sometimes preferred to be socializing instead of kicking goals. One game though, he scored seven goals so it just depended on his mood. Kenzie wanted to name his team the White Scooby Doos but they settled on White Polar Bears. He was so excited to get a trophy because this is his first trophy. The best part of the season was at his last game, when a member of the other team fell and got hurt, Kenzie walked over to help him up and give him a great big hug and make sure he was okay. I am so proud to have a son who is so caring of others and their feelings. Thanks Kenzie for always being a great example of how we should treat others!

Sisters

I am so blessed to have two beautiful girls! I absolutely love both of these little ladies. I am surprised already what a great relationship they are gaining. When Alissa comes home everyday from school Emily gets excited to see her! She evens say Hi to her and they play this sweet little game saying Hi back and forth. I know for a fact Heavenly Father has a purpose in the way he times our children because the space between these two is perfect! Alissa truly is like a little mommy to Emily and loves to hold her and play with her. I can not wait to see as they grow how they grow together.

Alissa's Seventh Birthday

After the party Alissa and Ryan playing Santa with her gifts!

They didn't have a farm cake so we added our own animals to their scenery. One little girl left early so we cut a piece for her.

A few of the kids who came we ended up with over 20 kids!

Ryan was in charge of games and they had a blast, especially with the potato sack races!

I can not believe my baby girl is 7 years old. She has grown so fast and is maturing quickly. As she continues to grow I mostly think about the things that she is becoming....does she know she is loved? Does she know how much God loves her and how much of an impact he can have on her life is she listens to him? What will she choose for her life? How can I be the best mom she needs? Anyways, the list goes on and on, but I find the questions arise more as she grow up.

Alissa is an amazing young woman and I am so thankful to all she teaches me everyday. She is a joy to our family and a great leader. She loves to read lots of books and especially like to be outside. She loves to dance, sing and act and is the star of her class! She is very smart and doing great in school! She has already passed off six Articles of Faith and loves to answer questions about the gospel of Jesus Christ. She loves being a big sister and helping take car of her siblings. I love watching her leave for school holding Kenzie's hand as they get out of the car and walk to class. And although we definitely have our moments with her, where her stubbornness shows, I wouldn't change it for anything because she helps us grow!

For Alissa's Party we waited until the week after Halloween because the 29th is always full of Halloween Festivities. Alissa handmade about 30 8.5x11 Birthday Invitations with a barn drawing on them. We celebrated at the Val Vista Lakes Clubhouse next to the tennis courts. We had hot dogs, chips, pudding with dirt, cake and punch just as she wanted. We played lots of fun games like pin the tail on donkey, follow the leader, potato sack races and tag. Afterwards about ten of the children came to swim in the heated pool. We had a great time and she felt very loved. She got a lot of presents too. I think we counted 27 total and $50 worth of cash and cards. I was shocked at how generous everyone was. I love how much fun Alissa's Party always is!

Where to Start?

Well, I'm not quite sure where to start, so I started with the first picture I pulled up. This is Taft as of a few weeks ago. He fell of the bed in the middle of the night. Luckily it was a weekend and Ryan could get up because I was already helping Emily, so he helped Taft. He was such a trooper! I seriously think it will scar but he says its all gone because it doesn't hurt anymore.

On a side not pertaining to this time of life. My mom went out of town for most of October and I think I seriously got a taste of humbling. Everything that could have went wrong did and it was seriously to the point where I would just start laughing the next time something happened. We seriously had everything from two washcloths flushed down the toilet, to marker all over our slide, to flooded patio, to every ouchy you can imagine. It was totally awesome because I got to see things from a different perspective. I don't know how many know but I would assume most people know that when I have a baby I end up holding the baby about 10 hours of the day at least, probably more. Now there are many people that would say that is my fault or I do it to my babies, but I happen to know this is not so. My only default, is that I do not like to let them cry. I personally feel there is no need and so life is hard for awhile. Well, my mom is there so much to help me out. Even if I prefer to do things on my own. I am so blessed to have her help and am thankful for all of it. I am glad I had these few weeks to better appreciate what I have and to learn great lessons!

Halloween 2010

Taft the pirate!

Alissa and her best friend Sela!

Alissa with her half Uncle Johnathan.

Emily with her Grandpa

Ryan in a sword fight!

Me with my dads daughters, we all have different parents(lol).

Ryan and the boys!

Half sisters and Emily!

At the Halloween Howl!

Halloween this year was crazy busy. We did WAY too much! Alissa also had her birthday on the 29th and celebrated at school with lots of friends. I will post about her real party later. So, Wednesday we went to the Val Vista Lakes Halloween Howl. They had lots of little carnival games and trick or treating for the kids.

Friday was the school parties and the Costume Parade. Alissa took donuts that were shaped and decorated like candy corns for her class and was excited to hear her name over the intercom at school.

Saturday, Kenzie had a soccer game and afterwards we went to Trader Joe's where each child was given a pumpkin to carve. Daddy helped with that! They also did face painting and had a petting zoo for free! It was also our Ward Party! Ryan cooked his super hot chili this year and it sort of became a black market treat! The men would slip into the kitchen to scold their mouths.

Men are crazy, gotta love them. By this night Alissa was already feeling sick, so I pushed her around in the stroller. She helped Mema pass out candy at the trunk or treat and didn't want any for herself, although each boy came home with about 80 pieces. The boys loved all the games and had a blast! By Sunday she was completely sick.

Sunday night we went and spent the evening with my Dad and his wife and her family. It was fun because all my dads kids were there. Alissa was going to stay home but last minute decided she really wanted to go. She didn't want to dress up though so I turned her into a baby(see above) and her Uncle pushed her in a stroller. After awhile she got tired even doing that so my dad took her candy bag around for her. What a nice Grandpa! All in all it was a great holiday but hopefully we will simplify next year! I hope I got it all in there!

Doing Well

I am so sorry we are so behind. I need to get caught up on blogging but we are doing great! Emily is now six months old and Alissa just turned seven this weekend. I am making a goal to get 10 posts done by next week and be caught up by the end of November! Hope you are all great!

Emily is 6 Months Old

Wow, how times flies. I seriously feel like I just had Emily and yet I know it can't be. This little munchkin is now six months old. She weighs about 14 pound and is 24 inches long. Emily is starting to make a lot of fun sounds and says Hi. She also can wave and loves kisses. Emily is such a joy to our family! She is good at making everyone laugh and is finally getting to that "fun" phase as I like to call it. I love when they are awake all the time and happy and smiley and learning. Emily starting her first goat milk bottles this week. She gets two a day and is loving feeling full. The first time I gave her one, she drank seven ounces after her feeding so I knew she was hungry! She is starting to crawl and loves to stand up and hold onto things. I am so happy to have another girl in the family! Now, if she can just stop waking up four times a night!