Camera still broke!

So my camera is still not fixed and I'm tired of waiting! I will try to start catching up, more for myself than anything, and hopefully will have some updated pictures soon! So I left off right before we said good-bye to my brother for 2 years! He left on his mission in mid-August 2009 and guess where he went??? Salt Lake City, Utah!!! Yes, that's right! We tried not to poke fun but who could resist :-) He is having the best experience of his life and it has been such a blessing for him and our family! We are so proud of him and can't wait to see him again in 5 months!

My mom and dad moved to Dallas, TX about a year and a half ago and my mom is LOVING the warm temperatures! And as much as I loved visiting them in NY, I love it even more visiting them in TX. They are driving distance away and I am a 100% summer girl so I love the warm temperatures too!

We've also moved a few times. We got a job offer in Houston, TX so we sold our house, for full asking price, before we had to be in Texas. We got a rental home in Littleton, CO closer to where Brock currently worked until we were needed in Texas. A month or two after moving into the rental we found out that the company in Texas changed the job location to Louisiana and the guy who hired Brock quit, because he didn't want to go to Louisiana, which left us out of a job. Fortunately Brock had never gave notice to his current job and we are still with that company. We finished out our rental lease and moved back to Highlands Ranch, CO in September. We are currently in the same apartment complex we started out in 6 years ago when we first came to Highlands Ranch and the same ward! Which we LOVE!!!

The kids are growing like weeds! Josh isn't a baby anymore, sad :-( Ella is enjoying her first year of pre-school and is the biggest princess ever! Kiera is enjoying Kindergarten and doing so great with math and reading and some personal goals she has set and Kayla is our social butterfly. In first grade now and doing so well she has a birthday or a play date every week! Life is busy and hectic and fun and exciting. We are soooo grateful for all that we have and know that the Lord has his hand in our lives!

Terrible!

I know I've been horrible at keeping up. I can't believe I let it go this long! We've had a crazy year and honestly, I don't know how much of it I'm going to post because it would take forever to catch up so I may just start with the present. Our camera is broke right now so I can't even post pictures but I just wanted to let you all know that I'm planning on posting again if you're interested and I hope you're all doing well! Look forward to getting back in touch.....again!

Kayla and Kindergarten!

On August 12th Kayla had her very first day of Kindergarten! I can't believe she's in the big school now. Time just flies. I had so many people ask me how I was doing and I think they were surprised to hear that I was excited for this day! It's a little sad because I know, now that Kayla has started, the rest will follow very quickly. With that said I was counting down the days I got one out of the house, even if it is only for 3hrs. She was so cute and she thinks she is so big. She loves her teacher and her class and even has a few of the girls from church in her class. She is so excited about school and I'm so grateful because it makes getting her out the door very easy! We are so proud of our big kindergartner!

These first two pictures were actually taken in her classroom during an orientation

First day of school

Walking to school

All the kids have to wait in a line outside and the teacher comes out and takes them into the classroom

Bye family

Utah

We took a trip out to Salt Lake to visit with Brock's family for a few days. It was so fun seeing all the kids and how much they've grown. Our kids loved playing with their cousins and it was fun to watch them all get together and interact. We just hung out, played some football, watched Sadie(one of the cousins) play soccer, had a sleep-over with Aunt Brit, celebrated Hunter's and Ella's birthday and went to Lagoon. We had so much fun we kept forgetting to pull our camera out! I have a few from the day we went to Lagoon and that's about it. Sorry. It was a great time and look forward to the next time we can get together!

Ella's the one waving and she's sitting with Grandpa

Happy Birthday Ella!

On August 11th we celebrated Ella's 3rd birthday with our friends Jeff and Jamie and their kids. She is finally talking and is my biggest drama queen by far! She is also my girliest girl. She loves princesses and dresses and getting her nails painted. She is so fun and we love her tons!

Rachel and Ryan

On Aug. 1st we were in NY at my parents for my "baby" sisters wedding. They got married in the Palmyra Temple and had a reception in my parents backyard. Most of you know my Dad's not a member so because he couldn't attend the temple ceremony Rachel had a seperate one in the backyard as part of the reception. Me, Jes, and Sarah were bridesmaids and she had Kayla, Kiera, and Ella as flower girls and Josh as the ring bearer(with Brock's help). The idea was that we would play the wedding music and we would all walk down the isle with our escorts followed by the flower girls and the ring bearer and then my dad would walk Rachel down and pass her off to Ryan. Sounds adorable right? Unfortunately it didn't happen so smoothly. All of us bridesmaids were wearing shoes with a very long heel and as beautiful as they were they were very hard to walk in. My shoes kept piercing through the isle we were walking down and I was dragging it behind me. My escort, Ryans brother, was bringing his knees up to his chest to avoid tripping over the isle. Somebody saw that my shoe picked up the isle and pulled it off and I think tried to hold it down so that we could get down the isle. We made it and stood in our places while everyone else came down. Kayla and Kiera made it down good but Ella, who was carrying a cute basket full of flower petals, tripped over the isle and flew forward face planting right in front of the mirophone. The basket of petals went everywhere and she of course was upset and crying. Then Josh was screaming so Brock had to carry him down the isle and the cute pillow with the rings tied to it. Needless to say it didn't go as planned and I'm so sorry Rachel. Good memory though right?

Some of my Dad's side of the family drove up from Maryland to be there too and it was so good to see them! Starting on the right going counter-clockwise is my cousin Crystal, my Aunt Lynn, my Grandpa and his wife Mary lou, my cousin Jeff and his wife Brooke and Crystals husband Brian(the guy in the yellow striped shirt).

My Uncle Jeff, very left of the picture, and my Aunt Robin with Josh

My Uncle Ron

After a yummy dinner it was dance time. It of course started with Rachel and Ryans first dance

Then the Daddy/Daughter dance

Then everybody else

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jes with Kiera

Uncle Ryan and Aunt Rachel with Kayla and Ella

Cousin Crystal and Brian

Uncle Jeff and my mom

Cousin Jeff and Brooke

RJ and Aunt Robin

What cute boys!

Look at these party animals!!

What a cute couple! It was a beautiful wedding and we're glad we could be there. We are very excited for you Rachel and Ryan and know that you will make each other very happy (most of the time). We love you and wish you the best!

Happy Birthday Joshua!

Whew! It's been awhile. July 25 we celebrated Joshua's 1st birthday. I can't believe how fast this year has gone and the older they get the faster the years go by! I love this stage of life. It is so fun watching his personality come out and interact with his sisters. He is so happy and active! And already a tease! I just love this little man!

The ribbon was his favorite thing the whole night!

Daddy's taking the ribbon away so we can have some cake.

Oh, poor baby:-(

Mmmm cake.

A birthday's not a birthday without your birthday suit.