The Utley Family....

December Happening....

2012-01-02T14:40:00.001-07:00

Wow November flew by fast! We had Thanksgiving dinner this year with the Lundgreens! It was pretty fun! We had some good laughs and good food. so overall it was a good day! sorry, I didnt take my camera,so no pics! December came and we were so ready for Christmas, (I actually decorated my house the weekend before Thanksgiving) I celebrated my birthday on the 20th. the big 3-2! sheesh!! LOL Had a good day overall. We got out of school for the start of Christmas break on the 22nd. we went to my moms on Christmas Eve and had yummy ham, mashed potatoes (my assignment), salads, and rolls (my assignment too, homemade even!) We had a great time, and even had a special visitor come! He brought each kid a present and then left to get ready for his big night of flying around the world! :) Then the kids put on the nativity and after that the kids opened their Christmas pjs. It was time to head home and go to bed so santa could come! I am so terrible with picture taking! I ALWAYS take pics of the kids in their jammies and totally spaced it off! AND I always take a pic of them in their new church clothes! BLAH!!! I forgot again! Probably because we had 9:00 church! anyways, Christmas morning we woke up at 6 and opened presents then got ready and went to church! It really is special to celebrate Christmas on a Sunday! What better way to celebrate Christ's birth than going to church! after church we came home and let the kids play with their toys before it was time to go to Utley Christmas party. We had a great Christmas this year and hope you all did as well!

Love, Love this pic of MaLeea looking at Santa and Santa looking at MaLeea!! so cute!

Christmas morning!! seeing what they got!

We had a pretty good 2011, but am exciting to see what 2012 has to offer and may this year be a great one!!!

October events

2012-01-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

We had our annual Utley Pumkin Days at the end of October. We ate lots of yummy food, bobbed for apples, and painted and carved pumpkins! Then we went on a wagon ride around town. the kids had a blast!!
Brynlee and her cousin Shaylee stirring the witches brew!!

painting her pumpkin...PINK of course!!

bobbin' for apples!!

cousin Eli got an apple!!

cousin Scarlet's turn to bob for apples

Porter's turn.....looks like he is giving that apple a big kiss!! haha

cousin Violet on the wagon ride!!

This year for Halloween, Brynlee was a bumblebee! she was the cutes bumble bee around!!

yep! we even dressed up for the event! haha!!

80's chick!! yep....I am THAT cool!! LOL

Porter went as an old man!! and of course when I took pictures, Braxton was already gone with his friends. And when he came back home, he was already out of his costume. bummer! :(

Porters Birthday, Back to School, and Labor Day Weekend

2011-12-27T10:14:00.003-07:00

Porter turned the big 10 back in August, He didn't want a cake this year. Instead he wanted baseball cupcakes. I got a whole 2 pictures and not sure what happened after that! He had a great birthday. He got to take some of his friends over to the bowling ally and bowl. He asked for money from everyone and he also got a new bike! Happy Birthday Bud!

We started back up with a new school year with all 3 kids in school this year! Braxton is on his last year at the middle school.... *GULP* I still can't believe he will be in high school! Porter started the 4th grade and is in Mrs. Larsen's class. Brynlee started Kindergarten and is in Mrs. Elmers P.M class. she absolutely LOVES school!!

Over Labor Day weekend we went for a ride up on the mountain and had tin foil dinners. we had a great time even though it kept raining on us! The drive up there was GORGEOUS!! The color of all the trees were stunning!! The pics do not do them justice at all!! It was a great way to end the summer!!

what??...another post?!

2011-08-03T16:55:00.000-06:00

Sheesh....something must be wrong with me!! I have posted two days in a row! LOL
The most recent event we celebrated was the 24th of July! This is one of my favorite holidays! Maybe because its 3 days worth of entertainment and things to do! :) My awesome grandpa was in the parade this year so I had to post a pic of him!! Love him so much!!

Brynlee and her two little friends, Emjay and Laken watching the parade and catching candy!

Braxton watching the parade!

Porter was in the parade this year with the All Star team...this is the only pic I got because I did not want to get squirted with the water guns LOL He is the one with the boot on! :)

We had our annual Utley Family Reunion the middle of July. it was Kort and Gingers turn to pick. We went up on Monroe Mountain and had a great time! we had good food, good company, and crazy horse shoe tournaments! Next year it is our turn!! cant wait to come up with some fun things to do...already writing them down!! hehe

LOL...I always tell my husband that whatever pictures I take I put on the blog....well.....he chose to pull a face and well....lets just say I have a special man! haha

and....my darling daughter has taken after her dad!

BEST FRIENDS!! These two love playing with each other and always have the best time together!!

Cute Little Eli! so shy yet he wants to be your friend!

Wish this kid would let me take his pic more often! :)

Brothers!

Can you believe I am posting?!?!!

2011-08-02T18:39:00.001-06:00

I know I am such a slacker!! But how many people really care about my blog or read it?! :) So much has happened since I last posted! so this will be a super long post! I will start with the most recent....

Braxton celebrated his 13th birthday in July....13!!! Holy cow I can't believe he is that old!! He is such an great kid and so fun to be around! We love you bud and are so proud to call you ours!

Here he is showing off all his money...he wracked in a grand total of 225 smackeroos!!

His favorite cake....Strawberry Cake! YUM!

We went to Yuba Lake a couple weeks ago with Jason and Lori Mitchell and had a BLAST!! The kids had so much fun!! Thanks for taking us with you!

My baby girl celebrated her 5th Birthday in May! She was so excited to be turning 5 because that means she gets to go to Kindergarten! yay for her....boo for me! I cant believe she is growing up so fast!!

For her birthday cake this year she wanted a Candy Land cake...and boy was it ever!! Totally loaded with all kinds of candy! I think everyone was on a sugar high after eating this cake! But she couldn't have been any happier with it!

Brynlee had her year end recital in May and she did UH-MAZING!! she is such a little dancer and loves to perform and shake that booty of hers! LOL One of her dances was to a...are you ready?....a JUSTIN BEIBER song!! she LOVES him and was so excited to be dancing to his song!

Porter went down to Panguich to play in a baseball tournament and they won it! Great job Porter!! He is such a good little player and has gotten even better throughout the season! He was on the 9U all-star team this year and played so good! we were playing state in Richfield and were down to two games left when we had to take him in to get his foot checked because it had been bothering him now for 2 weeks! so come to find out it had been FRACTURED!!! the poor thing had been playing ball with a broken foot for 2 whole weeks!! what a tough cookie!! so he was so upset he couldnt finish off the season, but he played awesome!!

Brynlee's graduation program from preschool! she went to Mrs. Bradshaw and LOVED her!! Happy Graduation baby girl!

One day it started raining really hard and then turned to HAIL!! they were coming down HARD!!

Looks like the Easter Bunny made his visit this year! Braxton would NOT let me take a pic of him this early in the morning! LOL

On another note....Josh and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary! I can't believe we have been married for that long! It seems like just yesterday we were on our way to get married! Time sure does fly! I love him more and more everyday! My heart still pitter patters when I see him! (yes mushy, but its the truth LOL) I cant wait to see what the next 13 years has to offer!! I think thats about it for now! I do have some pics from camping and the 24th I need to blog about but this will have to do for now!!

Brynlee learned the Pledge of Allegiance!!

2011-02-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

Christmas 2010

2011-01-08T19:32:00.001-07:00

We had a GREAT Christmas this year!! The kids all got what they wanted and then some!! I think they got SPOILED! Anyways, we woke up around 7:30 and started the chaos! Then it was time to go hit all the parties throughout the day! It was great to spend time with all the families and enjoy eating TONS of food and enjoying everybodys company! Now that Christmas is over, it can stop being cold and get me WARM weather! LOL

showing off their Christmas jammies!

of course there HAS to be a silly one! They make me laugh!

Brynlee was SOOO excited that she got an American Doll....which she named Kailey. :)

All dressed up in their new church clothes!

HOPE EVERYONE HAD A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!! WE SURE DID!!.....now seriously bring on the warm weather!!

My Birthday!

2010-12-21T17:09:00.002-07:00

This is the surprise I got while at work today!!! LILLIES! They are GORGEOUS! Thanks to my hubs! he is the BEST! I seriously was so shocked that they were mine! I also got a new outfit, that I LOVE!(sorry no pic) and we ended the night on a date to Steves Steakhouse which was absolutely DELISH!! The steak ends were to DIE for! perfect way to end a birthday!

Gingerbread houses and SANTA!

2010-12-15T19:41:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday was the Payne's annual Gingerbread house making and a special visit from the big jolly guy! my mom made wonderful soups again this year! clam chowder and chicken tortilla soup! they were sooo yummy!! I went down on Friday to put all these darn gingerbread houses together.....10 of these suckers!!!

This is what happens when you let a 3 year old get ahold of the red frosting! LOL

Brynlee and her finished gingerbread house!

Porter and his finished house! Braxton wasnt done with his yet and then santa came and I totally forgot to get a pic of it later!

here is Elder Harlan sitting on santas lap telling him what he wants for Christmas!!

Brynlee telling santa what she wants!

Braxton telling Santa what he wants!

and Porte telling him what he wants!

Brynlee was SO excited that she got not only a Barbie, but a BELLE one!!

Pumpkin Days and Halloween!

2010-12-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

Once again we had our annual Pumpkin Days with the Utleys. we had great food, and great laughs! we always have a good time carving and painting our pumpkins! But I didn't get any pics of the after looks.

Braxton and Eli (what a good babysitter!)

Porter picking out his pumpkin!

Best Friends!
Brynlee and Scarlet

painting their pumpkins!

of course we went apple bobbing!! always a good laugh! Porters turn!

Brynlee's turn!

and......she got one! :)

I was TERRIBLE about taking pictures on Halloween! Terrible I say! But here is Brax all decked out!

Porter....not quite sure what he is suppose to be...I guess some wierd baseball player! LOL he changed his costume about 3 different times!

cute little witch!!!

and then there is this..........
*
*
*
*
*
Josh decided it would be a great idea to go and scare people (family members) by just walking in their homes and not saying a word. just walk around and then walk out of the house! he said it was the FUNNIEST thing EVER!! LOL! he said he has never seen some of the people so scared before! Nobody ever thought it was Josh because he normally would not do anything like that! He sure looked scary though! we had a good laugh!!

Gooseberry!

2010-12-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

At the first of the school year, Porter got to go on the anual Gooseberry Field Trip where all the 3rd grade get to go to a little camp and stay overnight and learn about many different things! I got the opportunity to go along with him! (and I got paid to go too...BONUS! thats the perks of working at a school!) anyways we enjoyed being up there and Porter got to learn about Fire Safety, Mapping, ATV Safety, Wildlife, and of course we can't forget about seeing Annie Bangs that night! she was the talk of the whole grade!

This was a live BAT! eewww! sick!

Ellie the Elephant was even there!

Smokey the Bear stopped by for a visit and we got a group picture!

making the tree cookie! (yep the still do that)

Then, after a couple of weeks after we got home, the 3rd graders had a program where they sang lots and lots of songs about Gooseberry for the entire school and Smokey the Bear even made a special appearance!!

postings....

2010-11-21T16:35:00.002-07:00

new posts coming soon! I promise!!

HELP!!!

2010-11-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

K. I need help!!! I am trying to go private and I have no clue what to do, I can't figure out where you go to do this.....can anybody help me?!?!

R U KIDDING ME?!?!?!

2010-10-22T21:16:00.000-06:00

so I was searching around and stumbled across this..... this is TOTALLY freaky!!! If you go to Stats on ur Dashboard and click on audience it will tell you how many people from each country are viewing your blog!! In one month this is who has viewed my blog! HELLOOOOO.....who in the heck would be looking at my blog from ITALY?!? or MALTA?? or how bout RUSSIA?!?! I mean come on!!! this is a little freaky!! I guess this means I will be going PRIVATE!!! cuz I dont need these wierdo people checking out my family!!!!

United States 867

Italy 23
Canada 17
Malta 10
Germany 6
Russia 5
United Kingdom 4
Luxembourg 4
Brazil 3
Netherlands 3

Ordination

2010-09-11T17:56:00.000-06:00

On July 25th Brax got ordained a Deacon! I seriously can't believe he is old enough to pass the sacrament!! My kids are growing up way too fast and I am not liking that!!

Family Pictures

2010-09-11T17:52:00.001-06:00

Brynlee seriously makes us laugh all the time!! I told her to pose and she just went at it!! she was doing all kinds of poses! it was hilarious!! she was having so much fun coming up with what to do! :)

First Day of School!!

2010-09-11T16:55:00.001-06:00

I can't believe its already time for another school year to start! summer went by way too fast!! heres the scoop for this year!

Braxton Jay: 12 yrs old- 7th Grade: Mrs. Parsons (homeroom teacher)

Porter James: 9 yrs old- 3rd Grade: teacher: Mrs. Twitchell

Brynlee Mae: 4 yrs old- Preschool: teacher: Mrs. Bradshaw

of course as soon as she got there she went straight to the babies!!

Porter's Birthday!!

2010-09-11T16:44:00.000-06:00

Porter turned 9 on August 21st! I just can't believe he is that old already! it seems like just yesterday he was 2! Porter is a pretty good kid when he wants to be!! he loves being outdoors! his favorite new thing is his rip-stick he bought with his birthday money! he rides that sucker everywhere and loves it! he is pretty darn good with it too! his dad is pretty good with it too! :) me....not so much! LOL! I can't seem to stay on it! This kids got attitude!! when he is in trouble or doesnt want to do something, we all know it! :) we are working on that :) but he is getting better the older he gets! But he can also be the sweetest boy ever! We love ya bud, and hope you had an awesome birthday!

Krew enjoying those blue frosting cupcakes!!this is what Porter wanted instead of a cake! Let.Me.Tell.You....blue frosting + lots of little kids=stained faces and MESSY!!

MAJOR RAIN!!

2010-09-11T15:02:00.000-06:00

We have had several major downpours here! everytime it happens our front yard gets flooded! so i snapped a few pics! The city finally came and fixed in front of our house, so hopefully this doesn't keep happening because everytime it rains heavy like this, it gets closer and closer to our basement windows!!

Braxton turns.....

2010-09-11T14:37:00.000-06:00

12?!?! what?! I can't believe he is that old! it sure doesn't seem like he should be! My little boy is no longer little, he grew up and is now....TALLER than me! aahhh!! I never thought that would happen! (well I always hoped it wouldn't!) Brax is such a great kid! he is always so willing to help me out and pretty much does what I tell him! (most of the time) He really is the greatest kid ever! he is so smart about everything, and he teaches me so much!! We are so proud of all that he has done and accomplished! We love ya Brax and hope you had a happy 12th birthday!!

everyone enjoying the talking!

I had to put this pic of Stacey showing her food! :) ahaha!! sweet baby Hadlee! Aunt Jeanie, Brax and Grandma Mert

all the little kids enjoying an otter pop!

Utley Family Reunion....

2010-09-11T14:08:00.000-06:00

This year the Utley Family Reunion was held on July 16-18. Kelly was in charge of it so we went to Fishlake! we had a lot of fun, even with the mosquitoes that about ate us alive!! seriously....they really did! we all had so many bites it was CRAZY!! my poor niece got bit all over her face, and when she woke up the next morning she looked awful! her poor face was so swollen she could barely see! so sad! the kids had projects they did, and colored shirts again this year. we had some GREAT food, good laughs, lots of rain and cold, but we had fun!! I of course forgot my camera, so i didnt get really any of my kids since I didnt have my darn camera! so heres what I stole from other family memebers! :)

Grandpa, Kathleen, and all the grandkids that were there!

Brynlee and Trayl family picture...

this is my poor niece Scarlet, seriously...this picture does NOT do it justice~you seriously could not tell she

even had a nose if you looked at her profile!

4th of July camping trip Payne side!

2010-07-13T15:29:00.000-06:00

every year for the 4th of July we all hi-tail it out of the caos of the parade and heat and head up the mountain to have some relaxation and great time! we had a great time eating wonderful food, playing games, riding motorbikes and just laughing! we extended the stay longer than usual, which ended up being for 5 nights! talk about tons of laundry when we got home!! Since the 4th fell on a Sunday, Richfield chose to celebrate on the 5th. so we came home that afternoon, and went and watched the fireworks. They were kind of long, but they were good.

playing on the swing!!

motorcycle rides *Bryn and Saylor*

Braxton and Morghan

visiting...

more swinging

Brianne and my dad

Rhett climbing trees!!

horseshoe tournaments....

me and the hubs!

marshmallow roasts!

my husband is special! :)

eating dinner

Porter and Hayden playing baseball

watching the fireworks!!

awards,birthday and anniversary all in a bundle!!

2010-05-30T09:46:00.001-06:00

This is going to be a long post because.....

So much has happened this past couple of weeks I haven't had time to do anything but go, go, go!! I haven't had time to blog some important events that have happened lately!! First, Braxton received an invitation to attend the Honors Program at the middle school. This is for students that have earned the "Principals Award" which means they maintained a GPA of 3.7 or above for the school year, as well as having to be a member of the Silver Panther Club (for good citizenship) at least 3 out of 4 quarters. Another special priviledge they got before the rest of the school was that they received their yearbooks before the rest of the school! This year Braxton has done outstanding in school. He has received so many different certificates. He was in the Silver Panther, Honor Society Award (which is a G.P.A. of 4.0) (he got an A- his last quarter so he didnt receive it for quarter 4, he was bummed!) and the Straight A Club *all 3 of these were for 3 out of the 4 quarters!!* He also was in the 100% club, High Standard Science, Most Outstanding 6th Grade Drama Student, Outstanding 6th Grade Language Arts Student, Certificate of Excellence in Keyboarding and he was The Student of The Month in February!! He is such a super kid and is ALWAYS doing his very best in all he does! We are so proud of him and how he makes such an effort to continue to do his best!! ok, off my soapbox! :)

Porter passed off his addition and subtraction before leaving the 2nd Grade. he was almost done passing off his multiplication too!! He really did well this year, and improved so much in every area! He is so ready to be a 3rd Grader!!!

He also played minors this year in baseball....and I didn't get one picture! I know awful....but I forgot my dang camera everytime! He did alright moving up to the minors, but he struggled with hitting...next year he will be even better! :)

Brynlee's birthday was on the 27th. I am so late at getting it up here, but with Porter's baseball games, thats about all we had time for!! We celebrated by taking her and a couple little friends to McDonalds. They had such a good time playing! she got some fun gifts and was happy as ever! I can't believe my baby is 4!! It makes me sad and happy all in one! :) if that makes sense!! sad she is not a tiny precious baby anymore, but happy that she is old enough to go and do things with me and is a big girl about it! it is so much fun being able to spend time with my little girl!

Laykin, Brylee, Gracie, Brynlee, Stockton, & Saylor

Happy Girls!!

eatin lunch! happy as ever with presents!

she was so excited she got a Leapser! she had originally wanted a DS but I just couldnt buy one just yet! I figured she needed to be a little older. :) she got lots of fun stuff and was so excited she was finally 4!!

Josh and I also celebrated our 12 year anniversary together on the 30th!! I still can't believe we have been together for 15 years and married for 12!! so now I can officially say we have been together HALF of our lives! haha!! I am so happy to be married to him, he makes me happy! I hear people all the time say they struggle through certain years of marriage, and I can honestly say that we have never been through that! I mean we have had our ups and downs, but nothing big! I am so glad I chose to spend the rest of my life with him! I will have him forever!! I cant wait to see what the years to come will have in store for us!! I love you babe!!

GOING PRIVATE???

2010-05-28T09:00:00.000-06:00

I always said I hated when people went private because you can never just click on their blog and see whats going on, but after receiving NUMEROUS wierd comments in different languages, I just think that for my kids' safety, I am really thinking about going private! I won't do this for a couple weeks, but if you want to be able to view my blog, leave me a comment! thanks a bunch!!

getting caught up....

2010-05-23T19:17:00.001-06:00

I found some more pics of Easter. We are coloring our Easter Eggs and we had so much fun!!

UPDATE....

2010-05-23T17:58:00.000-06:00

so I am way behind on the bloggin stuff! so much has happened since the last post. so here is a picture recap of what has happened!

In April I went up to Kort and Gingers house (my bro n sis in law) and watched their two kids from Friday afternoon till Sunday night. we had a great time playing and enjoying the awesome weather we had! the kids were able to wake up and go out and play outside pretty much all day long. we ate GREAT food while there! I didn't get a whole lot of pics just cause we were so busy!

Braxton and Eli hanging out till bedtime

Brynlee and Scarlet in their matching jammies that Ging bought for them!

Here's Easter...we had a good weekend but it sure was COLD! here are the kiddos with their basket of goodies!

my mom had an Easter egg hunt for the grandkids. this is right before they were sent off on it!

Brynlee had her year end dance recital and she did AWESOME!!! she sure loves to shake her booty!!! I was so proud of her for getting up there and struttin her stuff!

Brynlee and her best friends Allie and Gracie right before they were to perform!

I still have a lot to catch up on, including more easter photos, but this will have to do for now!! :)

Quick Funny

2010-04-27T21:10:00.001-06:00

I know I haven't posted in a really long time, but I will get back to it soon. But for now, this is it! Last night Brynlee was laying down by her daddy watching some basketball and she was asking who was playing and what each color of the teams were and all sorts of questions. well the Denver Nuggets were playing and they happened to loose, and Bryn replied with, "well looks like the Chicken Nuggets lost!" hahah! gotta love her!

New Hair...

2010-03-24T18:01:00.000-06:00

I did it.....I cut her gorgeous hair OFF!! I can't believe I did, but it happened! I was just so sick and tired of it ALWAYS getting into her food, face, major static issues, trying to comb out globs of who know what, and well.....you get the picture! I do miss her long locks, but it sure was easy this morning not having to fight her on how to do her hair! She wasn't too sure about it at first. It actually took her till this morning to like it! good thing!!

BEFORE:

(this is actually clear back from Halloween, I forgot to snap a pic before her locks got cut off! so it was actually longer than this)

AFTER:

2010-02-24T20:33:00.001-07:00

Brynlee gave her very FIRST talk a couple Sunday's ago in Primary! she did such a SUPER job!! I am so proud of her for getting up there. she started off a little shy, but soon found out it was fun to talk in the microphone!! :) she talked about her family and why she loves each on of them!! GREAT JOB Brynlee! we are so proud of you!!

I put her hair in sponge curlers to see how her hair would turn out! when I got done she went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror and this is the face she pulled and put her hands out and said, "What the crap?" LOL! it was funny! she is always saying things that make us laugh!Josh was trying out his new backpack and it is big enough to fit Brynlee in! she thought is was so much fun being packed around! she would get down in it so we couldnt see her at all and then she would pop up and say peek-a-boo!!

Saturday we went to Porter's wrestles. The power was out until about 10:00. so we sat in the dark for quite some time waiting! what a day!! (glad its over) anyways, Porter did a great job! He didnt do as good this year as he did last but its the experience that counts!! he got pinned his first round and his second he lost by points. his third match he pinned the kid FAST! he took third place so he got a metal! he was pretty darn happy! we are so proud of him, he did a great job!!

Then we came home from the wrestles and the kids wanted to play in the snow we received overnight! we built forts and had snowball fights, white washing, snowman building and had lots of fun!

major catch up!

2010-02-15T20:33:00.002-07:00

So it has been a couple weeks since I have posted anything and there has been some things that I haven't posted about. First off, my father-in-law got remarried this past Friday to a gal named Kathleen. Congrats to them and wish them the best of luck! glad to have Kathleen in the family!!. Then Josh and I went up to Salt Lake with Josey and Jenn for a little getaway without the kids! (thanks to my sister who is always so willing to watch my kids, she is AWESOME!!) we went to the hunting expo(boring, but oh well :) ) then we met up with my brother and sister in law (Kort and Ginger) and ate at Market Street Grill! oh so flipping good! I had delicious salad, the guys tried oysters, we had spinach dip, then I tried the steerhead(which actually tastes better than salmon) with brussel sprout. to top off the night I endulged and had the BEST dessert EVER!!! the raspberry almond torte! OH.MY.GOSH!! so good! I want one now just thinking about it :) we stayed at the Marriott on University Park(which by the way, I lOVE that hotel) got up the next morning and went to Einstein Bagels for a little breakfast and headed off to Cabelas to let the guys be in their "heaven" then headed on to Target for a little shopping and lunch at Olive Garden. we had a GREAT time. its always nice to get away even for one night!

Today I decided to take the kids to lunch and then bowling. my sister came with her kids. we had a BLAST bowling! we are such goof offs!

Brynlee and Scarlet at the wedding!

the bride and groom

the whole family! (not very easy getting everyone to look at the camera at the same time! )

here we are bowling!!

HapPy BiRthDaY!!

2010-01-29T17:40:00.006-07:00

He has officially hit the big 3-0!! yep thats right! He has now caught up to me! LOL :) I just want him to know that I don't know what my life would be like if he wasn't a part of it! He is my everything (ya mushy, I know) but its true! he is an amazing husband and father! His kids truley love and adore him! I can't believe we have been together for half of our lives!! WOW! It is crazy! But it has been an amazing, awesome, crazy ride, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!! I love you babe!! and am proud to call you my husband!

WHAT THE HECK????

2010-01-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

o.k.....
I for the LIFE of me can NOT figure out why I can't change my font colors. UGH!! help...does anyone know what to do?? For some reason, it will not let me change them. It worked just fine when I changed the background and colors before Christmas, then when I want to change it now, it comes up as error!! does anyone know how to fix this??

Christmas Recap!

2009-12-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

We had a GREAT Christmas this year! The kids got what they wanted, we ate yummy food, and had a great time with family!! what more could you ask for?! On Christmas Eve day, the kids played in the snow because there was so much of it!! 8 inches at our house!! they had so much fun in it! Josh pulled Porter and Brynlee around in the sled, and had a lot of fun! Porter got dumped a few times! Then we went to my moms house that night to eat and play Christmas Bingo, open our Christmas Eve presents which were jammies, act out the nativity, and watch a little video of the true meaning of Christmas.....Our Savior! It was short but very sweet!! It showed pics of Jesus from birth to when he was older, while the song O Holy Night was playing! it was awesome!! Then it was time to head home and go to sleep! We got up at 7 on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought everyone! The kids had a great morning! We then headed back down to my moms to eat breakfast and open gifts from them! all the kids got T.V. blankets that my mom made (so she made 11 of them) and each a movie! they loved them!! we then headed home to get ready for the day and head up to the other side of the family for lunch and gift exchange! (I forgot my camera for this, darn it!)
We hope everyone had a great day like we did!!
Now on to the New Year!!

She was so excited to get Snow White!

A new DS game

yay!! just what he wanted! LOL now he can shave his "Rico" mustache!! haha

walkin in to see what Santa brought!

Christmas Eve....

showing off her new jammies and slippers!

Braxton's new pjs

Porter's new pjs

posing for a pic! showing off the new jammas!

dont ask me what they are doing here! maybe too much excitement?!

having fun though!!

Christmas Eve day! playing in the SNOW

Porter gettin it good with the snow!!

got him!!

ready for some more!!

well its here.....

2009-12-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

It's official....I have hit the big 3-0! WOW! I remember when I was younger thinking that 30 was SO old! well now that I am here it is far from that! LOL It was all around a pretty good day! I went to 2 sacrament meetings (because my cousin had his homecoming and then we went to my own ward and then taught my primary class) then went to my moms house for our annual gingerbread house party! we ate yummy homemade clam chowder and vegetable beef soup! we then started our gingerbread houses and got a suprise visit from the jolly old man himself! the kids were so excited to FINALLY tell santa what they wanted for Christmas since it was almost here! We had a blast and I enjoy keeping the traditions going and really do appreciate my mom for doing this every year even when there is chaos!

P.S....the pics are all in reverse order....

P.P.S.....I was too lazy to fix them, so you can start from the bottom and work up if you would like! :)

ALL the grandkids getting a pic showing their finished gingerbread houses!

Porter telling Santa what he wants for xmas

Brynlee's turn....

Braxton telling the big man what he wants! (he thinks he is too old to sit on santa's lap, but he wouldn't receive a present if he didnt sit! haha

I was taking pics of kids workin away at their gingerbread houses and this is what happened!! he just LOVES his auntie!!

Porters house

Brynlee's house! she did such a good job at making hers. she told me where to put the frosting and then she went to town on it!

Dad and Porter working very hard!

Braxton concentrating

she kept picking at the goods on her house!

working away!

Grandpa helping Braxton get his house together.

waiting patiently to start decorating

putting the house together....

Thanks again mom for another night of fun and memories!! (even if we did struggle with those darn gingerbread houses and got frosting ALL over everything! and Ledger's house struggled for a while and sprinkles were dumped all over, and some gingerbread houses fell apart long after we were done with them!) those are the good memories, right?!?!

2009-12-20T20:39:00.001-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Little Holiday Cheer!!

2009-12-18T23:33:00.001-07:00

these are so fun!! and addicting too!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

2009-12-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

so I am major slacking in the bloggin department. But I do have good reason....I have been busy! (that good enough?) Anyways, we have done a lot since my last post, but no pictures at the moment. The first of December, we got to go down the Las Vegas to the NFR! first time ever!! It was so much fun!! It was so nice to get away and hang out with family, laugh and have a great time!! of course I left my darn camera sitting on the computer desk at home. NICE!! I also have started working full time the first of December at the school, and let.me.tell.you......I never thought it would be that hard to switch from 4 hours a day to 6, but WOW!! I sure don't have the time I used to have to get things done! :)
Last weekend we got together with Josh's side of family and make TONS and TONS of sugar cookies! yes I did take pics, but I am too lazy right now to upload them :) Then the next night we done our annual Utley Family Christmas Caroling! This year we rode on a haywagon, boy was it COLD!! (I think half of us got sick from it) But anyways, we each pick a family to go and sing to and deliver a small basket of goodies to. I pretty much choose the same people every year! :) Just cause I LOVE them! (and they love me :) ) LOL! Love ya Barbara and Michelle!
Last night was Braxton's middle school Christmas Dance. I also took pics of it, but they all turned out kind of dark, so that's that! other than that I have been so busy getting ready for Christmas that I dont have time to do anything else! there's the news on us this last little while!

tHe cOunTdOwN hAs bEguN!!!!

2009-12-03T16:31:00.000-07:00

only 22 more days till Santa comes to town!!

hApPy tHanKsGiVinG!!

2009-11-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

hope everyone has a veryHappy Thanksgiving!!!

Quick Funny.....

2009-11-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

Brynlee came out of her room saying she had a baby inside of her while looking like this! Then she kept saying, "I huge, mommy, I huge!" LOL....what a silly girl! she makes me laugh everyday!

****For The Record.....I have NO clue where she is getting this from because I am NOT, I repeat NOT pregnant, nor plan to be!!! Thank you****

hApPy HaLLowEeN......

2009-10-31T21:45:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!!
I know we did!

DR. MAD....

2009-10-30T18:24:00.001-06:00

Braxton had a Halloween Party at his friends house tonight, and he had to go dressed up! so he went as a Dead Mad Scientist! He sure played the part well. LOL! I wanted to take some pics of him, and he kept pulling faces, sooo...........
I present to you Dr. MAD

this is his "I am thinking" look......

I really can't explain this one...... LOL.....
maybe his "aha, too many explosions" look!

This is his "WHOA, that explosion scared me" look

This is his "I AM DEAD" look

He is such a goof! he is always making me laugh. :) Hope he has a FUN, SPOOKTACULAR time at his Halloween Party with his friends!!

Pretty Little Princess!

2009-10-28T15:49:00.001-06:00

Today was Brynlee's preschool Halloween Party! So they all got to dress up in their costumes for school. Brynlee was so excited!! But due to the terrible weather, I made her wear a pink shirt underneath her costume, and she was NOT happy about that!! I don't really blame her because it doesnt look as cute! :) They were also planning on doing a trunk or treat for the little preschoolers, but again since it was snowing, we just done it indoors, but the kids still had fun!
The pictures are all backwards, and Ididnt want to fix them! :) so....
here is a picture of Brynlee and one of her best friends, Ally.
Two princesses......Belle and Ariel

The whole class! what some cuties!!

Striking a pose! what a goof!!

I had to throw in what her back looked like! it turned out so cute!! we even finished her hair off with some gold glitter!!

can you say EXCITED!!! ........

close up shot

Beautiful Brynlee......(or in this case Belle) :)

another pose!

LOTS of stuff!!

2009-10-25T19:12:00.000-06:00

WARNING......lots and lots of pictures! because I have been a slacker in the blogging department, I have some catching up to do!! we had our annual pumpkin days yesterday and had TONZ and TONZ of fun!! we painted faces, carved our pumpkins, painted pumpkins, ate, and had a great time!

Brynlee and Gavin showing off their painted faces

Porter and Markell (LOL...I told them they looked like rodeo clowns :) )

Trayl and Tamara cleaning out the pumpkin

Braxton cleaning out his pumpkin

Grandpa Ron and Kathleen watching all the fun!!

Trayl and Shaylee

Braxton working away at his masterpiece

the "newest" grandma! Kari with baby Violet

Brynlee cleaning out her pumpkin...she pretty much cleaned out her whole pumpkin by herself!!

Porter cleaning his out!

Brynlee's finished pumpkin! she was pretty proud!

Brax with his finished product! it took him quite awhile to do.

I realized I didnt take any pictures of Porters finished pumpkin, and didnt get any pics of the spray painted ones that we did either but they turned out way cute!!
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
Braxton had his 6th grade play the other night and did an AWESOME job!!! they did the play The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and he was the lead character......Ichabod Crane!

He did so good and was sooo proud of him for memorizing all his lines and adding "extras" in with it!! His teacher was so impressed with how well he did it! It really was a great play and all the students that were in the play did a super job! way to go Brax! we are so proud of you and love you very much!!

this was hilarious!!! who would of thought to make a horse like this?!?! so cute!

This is one of Braxtons best friend....Bridger.

Braxton, the headless horseman (who "killed" him at the end of the play) and Bergum Jensen

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Porter got BAPTIZED!!! yeah, this was awhile ago, but anyways, I feel HORRIBLE I didnt take any pictures but this ONE! can you say "MOTHER OF THE YEAR" award?!?! I know, I know, awful. I do feel awful! I had my camera with me, and had EVERY intention on taking pics, but I simply forgot! But besides that, We are sooo proud of Porter and couldn't be happier for him in choosing to be baptized and become a memeber of the church! We love you bud!

Desert Big Horn Sheep Hunt.....

2009-10-06T18:16:00.000-06:00

a couple of weeks ago, Josh went hunting Desert Bighorn Sheep, with Reggie, John, & Josey. they went for 4 days and packed in. Josh's pack weighed 55 lbs. They hiked lots and lots of miles! It was about 95 degrees during the day, with no shade, so it was a pretty hot hunt. But they had lots of fun, and had a great time!
This is how they slept the first night.....

this is how they slept the other nights..... (I would have stuck with the tent! )

John, Josh, & Josey

This is what happens when you hike for a long time! :)

PoRteR's bApTisM piCs...

2009-10-05T17:03:00.001-06:00

I took Porter to get his pictures taken for his Baptism pictures last week. He chose the places that he wanted to get them at. so we drove around and took the pics.He had a fun time deciding where he wanted to go, and I had fun taking them! I can't believe he is already 8 and is getting baptized! where does the time go?! he is getting baptized this Saturday and he couldn't be more excited! Good Luck Porter and we are so proud of you for making this decision! We love you!!

Our trip to the zoo!!!

2009-09-22T12:34:00.001-06:00

we took a trip up to the zoo before it got too cold. The kids had a great time and enjoyed seeing all the animals! Brynlee absolutely LOVED the monkeys that were swinging around and making LOUD noises!! (I dont remember the kind of monkey they were, but they were so funny) anyways, it was perfect weather, and we seen all the new baby animals that were born! The baby elephant was so darn cute, it kept playing with a red ball. not too many pictures were taken cuz my camera is broke and so I borrowed my moms, well I get up there and turn on the darn thing and its battery is DEAD!! aaahhhh! so I ended up using only my camera that is on my phone. I did take a pic of Bryn if front of the big tortoise but somehow it got erased from my phone, but it was so cute. oh well, atleast I got SOME pics, right?!
Braxton in front of the mountain lion

Brynlee showing how big she is next to the gorillas! she is the size of a juvenile gorilla!!

Braxton showing how big he measures up! Almost the size of the adult one Brax....almost! :)

Porters gotta give it a try too! ooohhh the size of an adult female!

Brynlee on the 2 second train ride! haha, thats about how long it was!

Braxton and Porter on the train ride.

Brynlee's First Day of Preschool!!!

2009-09-09T14:21:00.000-06:00

well the time has come....I can't believe my baby is old enough to go to preschool!! it makes me so sad that she is growing up on me so fast. I want her to stay little forever! (I want all my kids to stay little) I think we all wish for that!! she has been looking forward to this day since the boys started back. everyday she would ask if its her turn. she is such a silly little girl! we just love her to pieces!! she sure has her brothers under her thumb :) she did great on her first day of school. she has Mrs. Bradshaw as her teacher and is so excited!

ready to go to school!

I was trying to get a decent pic of us.....but of course I ask Bryn to smile good this is what she does!!!
attempt #1.....

attempt #2....

attempt #3....

attempt #4.....

OH WELL!!! I tried right?! thats why we love her so much cuz she keeps us laughing! :)

just refreshing....

2009-08-27T20:10:00.000-06:00

this is what we had for our dessert after dinner tonight. it just looked so good sitting there before I devoured it, so I snapped a pic so you could all enjoy the look!! :) let me tell you....it was sooo yummy and sooo refreshing! just thought you all would like to know that!

Happy Birthday Porter!!! (a little late)

2009-08-21T14:56:00.001-06:00

Yesterday my Porter turned 8!! wow I can't even believe it!! I just don't want my kids to grow up...it makes me sad! I want them to all stay little and they wont. :( He is such a great kid (most of the time) He is such a silly kid. I seriously don't know what I would do without him. He may argue with me or get mad at me a lot but I wouldnt trade it for anything! It wouldn't be Porter if we didn't have that! He is such a sweet heart but only when he wants to be, which is getting better as he gets older. He makes me laugh! Hope you had a GREAT Birthday Bud! We love you so much! for some reason I cant seem to find any pics of when he was little on my computer....is it just because I needed some?? so I will continue to search. when I find some I will put more up.

this is when Porter was only a couple days old.

First Day of School....

2009-08-19T16:59:00.000-06:00

was a great success!! Braxton LOVED his new school and loves his teachers!! he had an exciting first day of 6th grade!! Porter also had a great day being a new 2nd grader! He also loves his teacher!
Brax ready to head out and to the middle school he goes....

Porter excited to start his days as a 2nd grader....

Brynlee also had great success at the new babysitters today! she absolutely LOVES going there and is always wanting to go there. I have a hard time getting her to leave!
(this pic is when we had just got home from the babysitters house)

success at school....aw the first day is down!

but of course what would it be if Porter didnt get hurt on his first day of school.

happy to be home from school but can't wait to go back!

hope everyone has a GREAT school year!!!

She should have been born a FISH!!

2009-07-28T09:33:00.001-06:00

Seriously....she should be a fish! this girl could swim ALL day and ALL night long if I would let her!! she loves the water. She is NOT afraid of anything. She dives in and goes underwater and loves EVERY bit of it! :) She will swim even when she is shivering half to death and her lips are turning blue. she doesn't care at all. she has so much fun playing in the pool.

here is a little video of her swimming! she is so funny!!

24th of July Festivities...

2009-07-26T18:50:00.000-06:00

This is one of my most FAVORITE holidays!! I love that it lasts for 3 days. It starts off with the 3 on 3 for the little kids on the 22nd, followed by the Childrens Parade, BBQ, and 3 on 3 for adults on the 23rd, and then on the 24th there is the parade, the activities on the park, yummy food is found there, and running into friends from the past, and then in the evening is the fireworks. The kids have a ball all 3 of those days.
Brax at the parade

Bryn and me loading up her bag with candy

Porter and his cousin Parker

Gabby helping Brynlee get candy....

so happy to be here!!

everyone from the sidelines....
(my dad, Lori, Jamilee holding Krew, Aunt Suzy, Jake, Braxton, and my mom in front)

Jake (oh so serious) and Braxton

Porter watching the parade

Love these 3 kiddos!!!

After the parade we went to the park and ate some yummy food, played a few games, and ran into "friends from the past" that I hadn't seen in YEARS!! It was so good to see everyone!!
(thanks Laura for taking a pic, I stole it from you :) )

Taryn, Tiffany, Me & Laura

After all the fun we had at the park, we went to the Lundgreen Family Reunion at the other park. (sorry no pics...I forgot my camera) We had a great time catching up with everyone and had some good laughs. It was so good to see everyone! They were serving watermelon and Brynlee told them that she didn't want a little one, and that she wanted a BIG one! so this is what they gave her.......

and she was in HEAVEN!!!

waiting for the fireworks to begin...

Bryn and me

Brax with the sparklers

Gabby and Bryn at the 3 on 3

go Porter, go Porter, go Porter!!!

Porter got to play in the 3 on 3 for his first time! he was so excited he could play! his team did really good. they got second place! (second place prizes were actually better than the first place prizes, they got a new basketball while first got a little trophy) his team did awesome!! he made new friends that night also!

way to go team RIM RIDERS!!

the RIM RIDERS....Cooper Hessey, Emmit Hafen, Porter, & Trey Simms

getting careful instructions from the coach...

we had so much fun this year! we are sad that its all over and we have to wait another year for it! But we made some fun memories that will last a lifetime!

Utley Family Reunion

2009-07-22T10:40:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was the annual Utley Family Reunion! We had so much fun up on Monroe Mountain! It was nice throughout the weekend with only a little bit of rain. We played horse shoes, made tye-dyed shirts, made homemade ice cream, ate yummy food, went "snipe"hunting, and had many good laughs and a great time!! almost everyone made it to the reunion this year, so we had a great turn out! can't wait for next year!!

Braxton turns 11.....

2009-07-12T11:02:00.000-06:00

I can not believe I have an 11 year old!! Time just flies by so fast. It seems like just yesterday that he came into this world. Being 6 1/2 weeks early, we weren't sure if he would have any problems or would have to stay in the hospital or anything. But to our surprise, he came out healthy as ever and we only had to stay in the hospital for a day and a half. He is such a blessing to our family. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have him. He is always so willing to help out with tending, cleaning, or whatever I need help with. He is so easy going and is very well mannered. He is such a smart little cookie too! He has an amazing ability to write stories! He can come up with the most amazing things. his imagination is wild! I feel so blessed to have such a great boy that I get to call mine!! I just want him to know how special he is to me and how grateful I am to have him as a son. being the oldest isn't always the easiest, but I am sure glad you are the example that your siblings get to follow!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUD!! WE LOVE YOU

SO MUCH AND HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

Here are some pics of Brax throughout his life!!

here he is at 4 days old

here he is at 3 1/2 weeks

4 months old

7 Months

11 months

1 year old

I still can't believe it has been 11 years since you came to our family!!

Hope you have a very Happy Birthday Brax!! we love you!!

Seven Peaks and new baby cousin....

2009-07-11T16:58:00.000-06:00

I took the kids up to Seven Peaks this past Wednesday. They had a BLAST!! It was really hot and crowded. I couldn't believe how many people were there during the middle of the week. Brynlee really enjoyed the rides! she didnt even want to play in the little kid ones, she wanted to ride on the BIG rides! and then the wind blew towards the evening and it started to get chilly. So Bryn and Slade didn't want to play in the water anymore, so we sat on the grass and enjoyed cups of ice cold water! :)

But overall, we had a great time and can't wait to go back!! after our Seven Peaks adventure, we slept at my sisters house in Lehi and then woke up Thursday and headed up to Sugar House to see the new baby! Bryn absolutely LOVED him! He is so small that he just fits into her arms like her babies do. she is such a little mommy and loves taking care of babies, even real ones!~ :) we spent the day hanging out with Kort and Ginger and their two little ones and had a great time. Then it was time to come home. We had a great time!!

The purple and blue slides were Brynlee's favorite!!

Here is Parker just after he come off of a ride.

Porter just getting off a slide....I was waiting at the bottom to catch him coming out of the slide but missed him...nice huh?!

Slade enjoying the sun and chicken in a bisquite crackers!

I told Bryn to smile and this is what i got....lovely!

Brax coming off a slide

Braxton coming out of Cave In....a favorite for all the kids! he is the only one I got a pic of coming out of a slide! Its a little hard to take pics of the kids especially if you are on the rides yourself!! :)

Here is Eli Kort Utley!! he was born on June 29! he weighed 5lbs. 14 oz. he is such a tiny little thing! Brynlee absolutely loved him and couldnt get enough of him!

Payne Family Reunion

2009-07-07T08:47:00.000-06:00

We went camping for the 4th of July weekend for the Payne Family Reunion. We had a great time, although the mosquitoes were AWFUL!!! the weather was unpredictable, it was really nice Thursday and Friday, but rained Saturday. it would be cold and then hot in a matter of seconds. But we still had a good time. we ate awesome food and played games. the kids rode their motorbikes pretty much the entire time! It was great to escape to the mountains for a few days and just relax and have a good time. although, we did miss my two sisters, they couldn't make it. hopefully, next year they will be able to come!!

couldnt get a pic with all of them looking, as usual!:)

bryn and grandpa...she had to have izzy in the pic.

brax riding his motorbike.

Porter, Hayden and Landen gettin ready to head out on a ride.

the only fish that was caught the whole time!

morghan tryin to catch a fish

bryn managed to catch a frog instead of a fish! this was the highlight of her trip!!

bryn and dad. showing us the frog

mom and bryn playin with the frog

porter, hayden, and porter dowell

bryn and porter watchin dad fish

SuMmEr tiMe FuN!!

2009-06-25T15:28:00.000-06:00

Today we played in the pool and had some fun with the slip n slide! the kids always have so much fun playing in the water. we had our good friends come over and join in the fun! we played until it clouded up and the wind started blowing and it started to sprinkle. even then the kids did not want to come in! I think this will be a daily event if the weather cooperates with us!!

here is Brynlee and Brylee stoppin for a quick drink of water straight out of the slip n slide!!

Brynlee, Porter, and Stockton

Bryn and me tanning!!

Brax is drying off and enjoying the sun!!

BRING ON THE RAYS!!!

Porter slippin and a slidin'

Bryn's turn!

Brax was getting camera happy! :) but don't u love my new swim suit?! I sure do! oh how I love to lay in the sun!!

HAPPY SWIMMING AND SUNBATHING EVERYONE!!

camping trip

2009-06-14T16:32:00.000-06:00

we went to Fish Lake to go camping this weekend. we had a lot of fun, even though it rained everyday and the mosquitoes were AWFUL!!! we had yummy food, and had a good relaxing time. Thanks Josey and Jenn for coming with us!

Brax target shooting

getting ready to leave...Bryn was being very naughty and would not look at the camera.

yummy smores!

roasting marshmellows!

playin on a stump

Porter choppin away at the stump

bryn and Josey by the fire

her face was SOOO dirty the ENTIRE time!

brax, Jenn, & Bryn sitting around the fire

11 years of happiness...

2009-05-31T20:50:00.000-06:00

***I couldnt blog about this earlier because my STUPID computer had SERIOUS issues...but now its fixed so here is a little late post.****

11 years!!!! wow I have been married for 11 years to the best guy on earth! we celebrated our anniversary on Saturday! we went down to Mesquite with Reggie and Linsey and had the BEST time! we had so much fun! we left our kids with my mom (thank you so much mom!) and headed down Saturday morning. we stopped off in Cedar real quick to drop some things off to Tara, then headed on down to St. George. we ate at Red Lobster, shopped at the outlet mall and hit Old Navy. we drove around and looked at car lots for a bit then headed on down to Mesquite. we spent most of the night at the Eureka where we ate dinner...so yummy! then played a little black jack and bingo. we had so much fun laughing and having a good time with some good friends! we went back to Linseys grandparents house that they have down there (they only live there during the winter) and went to sleep. this morning we woke up and went and ate at the Virgin River then headed on back to St. George. we did a little more shopping at the outlets and the mall and made our way back to Monroe. it was so nice to just get away, even if it was for 1 night! (I didnt take my camera but Linsey got some pics so I will have to steal them from her)

now back to my husband of 11 years!!! he is the greatest guy and I couldnt imagine my life without him in it! he is ALWAYS making me laugh! He keeps our house pretty entertaining! He is the best dad to our kids and they love him so much! I am just so happy I chose him to spend the rest of my life with! (I know kinda mushy, and sounds so cliche, but its sooo true!) anyways, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABE! I love you!

OH AND IN OTHER NEWS.....SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER!!! yeah the kids are so excited about it! not sure if I am just yet...we will see...

hApPY biRThDay PriNCeSs!!!

2009-05-27T08:15:00.001-06:00

wow I cant even believe that my little baby girl is 3 years old today! Time goes by way too fast! She has grown so much in these short 3 years. she is seriously the funniest girl! she keeps us laughing all the time, whether its the things she says, does,or the expressions on her face. When I first found out I was pregnant with her, I went and bought all the letters for her name because I KNEW she was a girl! everyone kept telling me I was crazy for buying girl things when I didn't know what I was even having, but I knew. :) she has been such a blessing to our family, I couldn't imagine my life without her. (well any of my kids) She is such a girl though, she is crying one minute and laughing the next! when she does this, I always say to her, its either laughin or cryin! so now when Porter cries, she says that to him. she absolutely LOVES babies (real or fake) and with her little babies, she will even change their diapers (she is actually really good at it too). she loves flip flops, purses, and jewlery. pretty much anything that is girly she loves! but she also loves to play outside and get dirty! we just love this little girl so much!
so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR PRINCESS!!
here a some pictures of Brynlee the last 3 years of her life!

the day she was born

about 2 weeks old

5 1/2 months old

1 year old!

14 months old

2 years old

2 1/2 years old

3 years old!

Happy Birthday Bug! We love you!!

Brynlees 3 year old pictures

2009-05-23T22:42:00.000-06:00

we went up north today for my nephews birthday party, so while I was up there I went and had Brynlee's pictures taken. they turned out sooo cute! it was so hard to choose what I wanted. the pictures are a little small, thats how they turned out when I downloaded them, not sure why, so hope you can see them!

It's finally here....

2009-05-20T20:38:00.000-06:00

My mother in laws headstone has finally been placed. It looks sooo nice! we are very pleased with how it turned out. Its nice to have it in.
the kids showing the front of the headstone.

the back of it.

ear tube success!!!

2009-05-19T16:25:00.000-06:00

Bryn went in this morning and had ear tubes put back in her ears for the second time. she did sooo good! I was really worried about it because it was a little later in the morning than I had wanted and usually as SOON as she wakes up she is asking for juice. But she didn't even ask for it once! she was actually excited to be there at the hospital and thought it was pretty cool. we got there 7:45 a.m. and they didnt take her back until 9:15. so it was kind of a long wait, but she passed the time with coloring and watching cartoons. I walked her back to the OR doors and handed her over to the nurse, and that is when she looked at me with her little eyes tearing up and said mommy. that was a little hard for me cause I could only imagine having your mom hand you to a complete stranger and take you back into a big scary room and lay you on a table. I just sat there wondering what she was thinking! I am sure she was SCARED to DEATH. so anyways as soon as she got done, they came and got me and I went back there and she was still sleeping. she soon woke up, she said ouch my toe hurts. (cause they had the moniter on it) and pulled it off. she didn't cry ONCE!! she wasnt even irritated or nothing. I was sooo happy for that. she just sat up and wanted some juice and her blanket. so it went very well and we are happy that she has them in again, so now she might quit getting those darn ear infections!

showing our bracelets...

all suited up and ready to go...

she might just be the HAPPIEST little patient EVER!!

pLaNTinG tHe GaRDeN wiTh gRanDpA!!

2009-05-18T21:03:00.000-06:00

Brynlee seen grandpa in his garden while she was playing outside on her swingset this morning and ran down to see what he was up to. well she found him planing the corn in the garden, so grandpa was PATIENT enough to let her help him. it was soo cute! he would dig the hole, and she would put the corn kernels in the hole and he would then cover it up. they got 2 rows done together, and then we had to go. She had fun helping grandpa, this was her first year helping plant and she thought it was the coolest thing!

proud planters!!!

a DAy aT GrANdmA's....

2009-05-18T20:44:00.000-06:00

Last Friday, my mom watched Brynlee while I was at work. we pulled up and I seen my mom out working in her yard and said to Brynlee... Look whos outside. and she looked and said, Grandma, are you kidding me? oh I laughed so hard, she is so stinkin funny! so now thats her new thing. are you kidding me. what a girl!
so it was such a nice day out, grandma let Bryn play with the bubbles and oh does she LOVE them. Luckily grandma was smart and snapped some pics of her, since I never remember to take pics!

2009-05-02T19:42:00.000-06:00

Josh and I made a quick trip up to Sugar House to help Kort and Ginger move into their new house. we went up last night and stayed the night then helped them move most of today. it was a quick trip but it was sure nice to just get away for little bit to spend time with each other. it was soo great to see them and spend the day with them. so I didn't take any pictures of anyone, but I sure did remember to take them of the food we ate!!! leave it to me to do that :) but it all was soooo yummy!! pics are not too great since they were taken with my phone.
this is last nights dinner, we ate at Market Street Grill and it is sooo freakin good let me tell you. I had the fresh atlantic salmon with pan fried green beans and boiled potatoes. oh it is seriously the BEST salmon you will EVER have!!

this was lunch today...it is pizza from the pie pizzaria. this is seriously the best pizza I have ever eaten. this is the vegetarian one and it was awesome!!!

this is what we ate on the way home. we stopped at Liberty Heights there in Sugar House before we headed for the freeway and got us some awesome sandwiches. this one is soo good. its turkey with sun dried tomatoes, avacodo, brie cheese. it has the crusty bread, like brushetta that is oh so delish!!

so ya we pretty much ate the entire time we were away, but it is all so good, be have to get it all when we come up!!! makes me want to eat all of it AGAIN!!

what I have been doing...

2009-04-29T09:35:00.000-06:00

I have been very busy painting rooms in my house. I am "updating" it. It has been a project, let me tell you. my room was by far the hardest and longest than any others. it took me 2 days just to do the stripe wall. then it took me 2 more days to paint the rest of my room. but I am pleased with how it turned out and it is by far way better than plain white walls :)

the striped wall. ( I still have to get a headboard, I havn't found one I like yet and paint my other nightstand)

I painted all the other walls this light tan color but up on the shelf I painted it brown. no decorations yet, I have to buy new ones. :)

the bathroom downstairs..in this picture you really cant tell what color the blue wall is, but its blue/green. the boys love it!

just another shot of the bathroom. the other walls are a really light tan.

now for my next projects....include: my kitchen, front room, and the downstairs family room. so I will be one busy bod. but it will be fun!!

Easter 2009 (a little late)

2009-04-20T09:07:00.001-06:00

so I am really late getting these pics up, but it has been so busy around here. Easter morning was a little crazy at our house, trying to do our easter egg hunt to find the kids' baskets, to trying to get to church on time because it was my nephew's mission farewell. then after that we had the luncheon followed by two easter egg hunts. one on Josh's side and then my mom did one. so it was a very busy day! but I havn't slowed down even long enough to post the pics.

starting the hunt for their baskets...I made them go on a little scavenger hunt and gave clues as to where their baskets were hidden.

they found their baskets!!! yeah!! oh the excitement

brax showing off some of his goodies.

porter doing the same.

bryn's 2 favorite things in her basket.

I have more pics to post of easter egg hunts, but my mom has them on her camera so I have to get them from her. and of course since it was such a crazed fiasco on easter morning I didnt even get pics of the kids in their easter best...so I will get one and post it.

Mighty Hunter...

2009-04-17T21:54:00.000-06:00

so I am a little late getting this up, but here it is. Braxton got his first turkey last Saturday. He was super excited that he drew out for it and that he got one opening morning!! They had fun hanging out and having a good time. Good job Brax! I am proud of you!

showing off his kill.

Grandpa Ron, Brax and Porter.

my 3 boys!

eAstEr EgG cOLoRiNg...

2009-04-09T17:45:00.000-06:00

so today we went up to my sis-in-law Tamara's house for the annual easter egg coloring. the kids had so much fun. but of course just because I took my camera with me, the stupid thing decides to run out of batteries. but hey, at least I got one picture of each of the kids. so I will have to get more batteries put in and then take them of all their finished eggs.

meet Krew Kent Redd....

2009-03-25T15:39:00.000-06:00

He is finally here! my neice Tara had her baby on Tuesday March 24 at 12:39 p.m. weighing in at 6 lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 in. long. we are so excited to be adding another little one into our family! now we just have 2 more to go this year!!
Congratulations Jav, Tara and Jaggar!!

In Memory of...

2009-03-22T11:11:00.001-06:00

well today marks the one year anniversary of my mother in laws passing. its been so hard trying to go on without her. she was such an amazing person. I just can't believe she is actually gone. We all miss her so much! We wish you were here with us still. It has been such a hard adjustment for my kids, especially the boys. they basically lived at grandma's house from the time they were born. she was always tending them for us so we could go to school, work, etc. they loved going to her house and spending time with her. its hard because sometimes they wonder why they had their grandma taken away so soon and that she isn't here to watch them grow up. how blessed we are that we know we will be with her again!
We love you Grandma Sheen!

Porter and Grandma

Porter, Grandma, & Grandpa camping

porter, braxton, and grandma

grandma and brynlee on her birthday

this is the last picture I have of grandma and brynlee before we found out about her cancer. it is so special to me.

this is the first time the kids got to see grandma after her surgery. they were so excited to see her.

grandma and braxton celebrating their birthdays. (they are 1 day apart)

this is on a sunday. grandma had to give a talk in sacrament meeting and she wanted braxton to give a short talk with her. she was soo proud of him.

a late St. Patty's Day Post...

2009-03-19T09:59:00.000-06:00

so I am late as ever to post these pics, but since I had every intent on posting them on St. Patricks Day,and I took the time to take the pics, I figured I would still post them. I painted the boys hair with green paint, but in the pics you can't see it. darn it! my boys wanted green eggs for dinner, so we had a breakfast dinner consisting of green sausage patties, green eggs, and green milk. of course I didn't get a pic of the food, cause by the time I thought about it, they had already devoured it. so hope everyone HAD a Great St. Patty's Day.
I have decided this wasn't the best wall to take pictures on. :)

of course, Porter has to be silly....

then Bryn seen him being silly so she had to be also...

bEsT cOuSinS...

2009-03-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

Brynlee's cousin Scarlet came down from Salt Lake to visit. They had the best time EVER! They got along so well and giggled over everything. They were being so silly! Thanks to her daddy for bringing her down and letting us tend her for a bit. They had a ball!

They would look at each other and just start laughing.

Bath Time...

Soap heads!

All cleaned up and ready for bed!

Thanks Kort and Ginger for letting Scarlet come play...we had so much fun with her! hope to do it again soon!!

2009-03-02T19:33:00.000-07:00

PAY IT FORWARD....

The first three people to respond to this post will get something made by me!

My choice--for you!
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make NO guarantees that you will LIKE what I make! (I can only hope)

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It WILL be done this year.

4. You have no CLUE what it’s going to be … it may be cards, a bookmark, something delicious or a complete surprise to you (and me!) … who knows?

5. Most importantly, you MUST offer the same deal on your blog - the first 3 people to comment on your blog get something made by YOU!

sO MucH tO cAtCh uP...

2009-02-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted anything. there have been a few things going on to keep us busy, but not too much.
first off, we put tile in our bathroom and in our entry way by our front door. I can't believe I put carpet in those two places when we built our house....what the helk was I thinking?! we like how it turned out though.

next was a snow storm we had back in January. Bryn wanted so badly to go out and play in it. well this is the first time she has actually had the chance to play in it. she hasnt had boots or pants that allowed her to play in it. so I finally bought some and she absolutely LOVED playing in it.

here is porter....white-washing himself.....confused that a child would want to do this....not if you know porter!

making snow angels

for valentines this year we decided not to fight the crowds and just stay home and spend some time with the kids. we barbequed steaks and grilled cut shrimp. (they taste like lobster) mmm. it was sooo good. the kids thought it was a hit. but of course i forgot to take pictures...not a big surprise there.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY.....

2009-01-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

Today is Josh's birthday.....yep the big 29! I just want him to know how much he means to me and how much I appreciate all that he does for me and our kids. He is such an amazing person and I couldn't have asked for a better husband and father! he is so good to our kids and they love him and look up to him.
Happy Birthday hon! I love you!

wHaT a GiRL....

2009-01-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

This girl is always doing something funny!
I was in loading the dishwasher and cleaning up the kitchen and Bryn
kept coming in and getting some of my cooking utensils.
I could hear her in her room making racket and saying,
"mmm...this corn is good."
all while smacking her lips together. she loves to help me cook
so her doing this is so her. so I had to snap a few pics cause she is
just a funny little girl!

wisking away!

she heard the camera, so she looked up and smiled. :)

SUPER NEWS!!!

2009-01-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

My nephew MICHAEL, got his mission call today! yea! he is going to.....Orlando Florida! He leaves on April 15. we are sooo excited for him and are proud he has decided to serve a mission. this means also, that in two years, all of us get to go on a BIG family trip out to Florida to get him and go to DISNEYWORLD! another yea!! Go Michael, we couldn't be happier for you!!

2009-01-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would show how cute Brynlee's apron is that my mom gave her for Christmas. she is so excited that she has one that she gets to wear to while helping me out in the kitchen. It is way cute. it has her name on it and says princess down around the bottom of it. these pics are on New Years Eve day while I was making things for that evening and she had her on along with myself and I thought I would snap a few to show how cute hers is.

modeling the apron.

I thought this would show more of our cute aprons but oh well. you get the picture!

future Chef Brynlee

OUT WITH THE OLD....

2009-01-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

AND IN WITH THE NEW!!

the other day we FINALLY took Bryn out of her crib and into a big bed. she was sooo excited about it and just kept saying, "I got new bed., and you put new sheeps on!" no thats not a typo, she really calls them sheeps! ha ha. she has to show everyone that comes to the house her new bed. ya, I know most of you are probably thinking, um...hello, she is almost 3. ya I know, but she is my baby and I just havn't gotten around to doing it. so DEAL with it!! I wanted to keep her room Hawaiian and I found her crib set at pottery barn, but when I was looking clear back in the summer (yes I have had her new bed set since then and just havn't gotten a bed till now)...I know pretty pathetic huh?! anyhoo, when I was looking at pottery barn, the Hawaiian one just wasn't as cute as her crib one, so I didn't get it. my sis was up north one day and came across this at Target and so I had her get it. I think it is darling and Bryn LOVES it because its PINK!! I also bought her bed sheets that go with it that are flip flops that are also darling.I havn't got the headboard yet, I am still looking. I can't decide what to get. so its just the bed for now. It's sad to think I no longer have a BABY but I am sooo enjoying her years right now!! anyways, I am so proud of her for wanting to be a BIG girl and sleeping in a big bed, being almost potty trained (working on the night times) and also for throwing away all her sippy cups! yea!! BIG steps for her!especially that darn sippy. GIVE A LITTLE YEA FOR BRYN!!

ChRiStmAs rEcAp...

2008-12-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

wow I can't even believe Christmas has come and gone and we are approaching the new year. time sure does fly!! we went to my mom and dad's for christmas eve and ate yummy food, then played christmas bingo, (where the kids get gifts when they win) and read the christmas story as the little ones acted out. yes, it gets a little hectic with 11 kids trying to act it out. then it was time to open our christmas eve presents (always pjs). this year we opened our gift exchange with everyone that night cause my little sis had to go back to Lehi that night so she wasnt there for christmas day. the kids had a blast with all their gifts. we then went home and it was off to sleep we went. dont worry, i forgot my camera most of the time. yes i deserve... MOTHER of the YEAR award!

its christmas morning....what did everyone get?!

Bryn got a doll house, strawberry shortcake movie, baby doll, clothes and other stuff.

Brax got playstation 2 with few games, a cell phone, clothes, cd, and few other things. Porter got a basketball hoop and movie, clothes a other small things. we also got them Guitar hero. (which is a TOTAL blast!!)

after seeing what santa had left at our house, we went back to my moms to have breakfast. we do this every year. and we give them their gifts. then its back to our house to play with our toys and get ready for the day. then it was off to Johnny and Karis house for our Utley christmas party. more eating, laughing, playing guitar hero, more eating and finding out we are adding not one but TWO new little ones in 2009!! (thats not including Tara's either, so really we will have 3) and dont get your hopes up....mother, its not me expecting either! so this is the result after a very long and exciting day of non-stop plauying with cousins and having TONZ of fun!!

.

CHRISTMAS CAN BE ROUGH!!!

hope everyone had a great christmas....I know we did!!

Birthday...

2008-12-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

I normally...well I don't think I have ever posted solely about ME! so here it is.... but ONLY because its my BIRTHDAY!! yes that's right. Happy Birthday to myself. I am officially the big 29! so I just wanted to give a little shout out to well....myself! so there it is. enjoy!! sorry no pictures of myself either. aaawww too bad!

Busy, busy, busy

2008-12-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

just thought I would post about the cute things I have been very busy making to give away as gifts. this first one I have had done since before December, but I just havn't posted it yet. its our advent calender. for each day there is something we get to do as a family. the kids have had so much fun with this and they look forward to seeing what the next days activity is.

I made 8 of these ones. I made for friends/neighbors gifts

this one me and my mom made 10 of these. I gave 7 of them as gifts to my co-workers at school.

1st Grade Christmas Program

2008-12-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

Porter had his Christmas program yesterday. it was really cute. he got to be Santa. they sang songs and had parts. they put a lot of time into it and it turned out nice. GOOD JOB Porter! you did awesome!!

here he is leading his reindeer

I can't believe I got FLOWERS...

2008-12-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

that right.... my father in law went and bought each one of us girls (meaning, Tam, Kari, Kelly & me) some of these beautiful Poinsettias, which I like to call "Christmas Flowers" I am not even sure if they are in the flower category but oh well. I will still call them flowers. :) he did this because he thought each one of Shirlene's "angels" needed some. I'm not really one of her own angels, but he told me I was. They are so beautiful. I was so excited that I had actually received this because it has been a VERY long time since someone has given me flowers. yes, that's right folks, I haven't received flowers from my hubby since before we were married! I believe it was the night he proposed to me that I last got some from him. Don't get me wrong here, he does and gives me so much, and I love him for that. (I have told him in the past that I would rather get something else besides flowers, so I guess it is somewhat my fault) so even though they were from another man :) I was ecstatic! my FIL is an amazing guy and has been through so much. I am so glad I have him for a FIL. he is the most unselfish person I know, and I love him for that. Thank you so much for these GORGEOUS flowers! I LOVE them!!

top view

side view

these two turkeys thought they needed a pic with them.

GiNGerBrEaD hOuSes & sAnTa, oH mY!

2008-12-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had our annual gingerbread house making and a special visit from Mr. C himself! we started the night off with my mom's awesome homemade clam chowder. mmmm..yummy!! and homemade rolls. thanks mom it was delicious!! then we started our work on the gingerbread houses, and was followed by none other than Santa Clause! the kids LOVE this and look forward to it every year. they all make them sooo cute and they do so good on them.

Brynlee working on her house. she basically did it all by herself this year. all i did was put frosting where she told me to. she had so much fun

heres Brax working away at his soon to be awesome gingerbread house

Ledger was having fun making his (although I think he ate a lot while decorating)

Bryn, Saylor, & Morghan

Porter and Hayden just having fun

Parker & Landen

this is where SANTA came. so all the kids are sitting there waiting patiently for their turn to sit on his lap.

Bryn was second to last to be called up. she was excited and scared at the same time. it was soo funny cause she would NOT look away from him for nothing! but she sat there and told him all that she wanted without crying! what a big girl she is!

Braxton telling SC what he wants..

Here's Porter telling what he wants...santa asked him if his room was clean, and by the look on his face he wasn't quite sure if it was...so he was looking at me wondering what to say. luckily for him....it was!! yea! (you can see Josh in the background there....he got to be SANTA'S helper tonight and pull the presents from santa's sack to give to him. he was super excited!!!

Brynlee got a pretty pink purse with a phone, lipstick, fingernail polish, perfume, (yes all fake of course) sunglasses and a phone. let me just say she was in HEAVEN!!

Brax got some finger skateboards

Porter got a remote control four-wheeler.