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They Just Keep Doing It...

2012-02-07T13:49:00.000-08:00

These kids of ours won't stop growing up. Claire turned four last month. It seems like we just brought her home from the hospital! This girls is super easy to please on her birthday. All she wanted was to have a pajama party and a giraffe cake. Done and done. While the big kids were at school, she, Jaren, and I went to the aquarium where we were able to enjoy lots of fun stuff. Plus, we stopped at McDonalds for a happy meal.

For Christmas, Mallory got a house like this full of kitties. Why wouldn't Claire want one full of puppies? We certainly need more stuffed animals in this house.

Over Jake's and Hannah's anniversary weekend, we were able to have a sleepover with their girls while their parents escaped for an evening. Her are all the crazies snuggled up for a movie and popcorn. All of the Oyler girl cousins, minus one...Courtney's baby. Girl power.

Let's not forget our little man. He had fun with the cousins too.

Little Junie was loving the slipper sock over her footies.

Last week Courtney came for a few days with her little sweetie pie. Who couldn't love this face?

Or this one? She is smiling and cooing and all that fun stuff.

It's been a while since a snapped a picture of our bunch all together. Here they are before church. I don't know what it is about that sweater Jaren is wearing. He just drools non-stop when he wears it. Ha. Don't they all look so grown-up? Stop IT!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2012-01-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

To begin this post, let's start with this handsome little devil...so handsome, but kinda devilish. He really is teaching us A LOT about what it means to "baby proof" your house. Amazingly, our tree mostly survived him this Christmas and despite all the horrid things he eats and does, he continues to survive as well.

Here is another shot. Doesn't he look so cute, and innocent?

Libbie decided she was too old to visit Santa this year...sniff, sniff. Or she was just chicken (more than likely the truth). Jaren wasn't loving Santa or Mrs. Claus.

Claire at her first Christmas recital. Nothing cuter than a little girl in a tu-tu.

On Christmas Eve, we had Caleb, Marci, and their boys over to kick off the celebrating. Here is Mia, Dad, and Mallory decorating donuts they left out for Santa. Mia and Gavin came up with some great plans as to how they would prove Santa is real. The idea Mia settled on was leaving tin foil by the tree and the fireplace where she hoped Santa would step and leave his boot imprint. In the morning, she discovered Santa tricked her by wearing Dad's Crocs on the tinfoil. I guess Santa is a real thinker...and someone else is not!

Most the kiddos opening the traditional new jammies.

Skyping with all the family in Iowa.

Posing in their new digs.

We may be the rudest parents in the world, but we put off present opening until after Church on Sunday. However, the kids were able to see what Santa brought them before we left. Jaren was drooling over his new basketball hoop - in case you didn't notice.

Santa brought Libbie this cool keyboard that teaches her how to play primary songs. She is getting pretty good.

Nothing makes Mallory more happy than a stuffed animal of any variety. Lucky for her, Mia gave her a mouse Webkinz she's had her eye on for a while now.

Nathan and I undertook the task of making all the girls quilts for Christmas (remind me not to do that again). They have LOVED them so much though, all the long nights have seemed totally worth it.

Mia with her quilt.

On Christmas Day, my mom, brother, sister, Jason, and Olivia came to hang out with us. Jake and Hannah bought puzzles for all of us and Mia really wanted to do hers. Thankfully, Jason obliged in helping her and soon after Courtney joined in. We were doubtful they'd finish but they were sooo determined that they accomplished their goal by the end of the evening.

Grandma and Olivia.

Over New Years we were able to go to Tremonton for a few days to spend time with my dad who was in town and Jake and Hannah's family. Here are some cute cousins playing Sleeping Queens. We sufficiently gorged ourselves on sugary, buttery foods and rang in the new year playing games. On New Years day, Courtney and Jason had little Olivia named and blessed. She is just so precious!

Thankful for Many Things

2011-12-02T18:04:00.001-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year we headed south to see Ben, Mara, and Jade. The company and the weather could not have been more perfect. We tried to soak up as much sun as we could and ate lots of good food. Sunshine, food, family...doesn't get any better than that if you ask me. Thank you Ben and Mara for putting up with our crazy bunch. You guys were so kind to feed us and entertain us. We will miss you.

These guys were great friends during our visit. Our girls simply adored their little cousin.

Is she a great aunt or what? Look at that tribe of children surrounding her and forcing her to take crazy pictures of herself on the Ipad.

These guys were the best of buds. So fun to watch. We will try to forget about the fact that I was NOT Jade's number one fan. Sniff, sniff.

The last evening we were there, Mia, Libbie, Ben, and Nathan had a fun game of soccer. The guys even toted around our littlest kids during the game because they wanted in on the action too.

Uncle Ben treated everyone to a horse ride that wanted one at his parent's home. Jaren was in heaven.

Claire thought it was great fun too.

What a cute cowgirl!

Mia getting some instruction...hold on tight.

Both the kiddos wanted Nathan to hold them inside the pasture so they could see the horses up close.

Nathan couldn't have been more excited to hold onto Patsy while Ben ran to get her saddle.:)

Ben's parents have a wonderful orange grove on their property, and we were lucky enough to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The kids went haywire picking oranges. I guess we need one of those in our backyard.

It was so fun when Jaren occasionally saw Jade as a playmate instead of a punching bag.

We enjoyed lots of time in the sunshine at all the fun parks.

Our dear friend Ilario and his wife Delores welcomed us into their home again for a quick visit and, as usual, treated us like royalty. We got to have a yummy dinner of grilled veggies, steak, chicken, potatoes, and bread shortly after we arrived. They also hooked the girls up with lots of fun gifts and treats. They really are so sweet and generous! Thanks so much you guys! It was great to catch up for a bit.

Creepy and Cute Creatures

2011-11-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween this year complete with Trick-or-Treating on Lehi Main Street and in our own little neighborhood with our cousins Gavin and Henry. The weather was simply delightful too.

Libbie decided not to dress up this year...ha ha. What a cute nerd.

Mia as a vampire...if her eyes look a little odd, that's because I pretty much glued them shut several times trying to apply fake eyelashes. Beauty is pain?

Mallory as Silver Mist (a fairy on the Tinkerbell movie f.y.i.).

Claire as Rapunzel. What a cutie!

Because Jaren doesn't exactly know how to use his words yet to tell us his costume choice, we decided to humor ourselves and have him be Nacho Libre. Thanks Aubrey for the fun idea. It was hilarious.

Mallory with my darling, sweet new niece Olivia. Courtney came to our house for a couple days so we could snuggle on her new baby. I was supposed to be "helping" her, but with Jaren around I was mostly doing damage control. Thanks for sharing her with us anyway Court.

All About Her

2011-10-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

Mia was recently baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We had lots of wonderful family come to town to celebrate this special day.

Proud Parents

Papa and Grandma Cardon

Grandma and Grandpa Oyler

All the cousins on the Oyler side.

Mia had an arts and crafts themed birthday. Here she is with her paint pallette cake.

All Mia's fellow crafters.

Painting sun catchers.

Frosting their own cupcakes for dessert.

Mia played her first season of soccer. The jury is still out on whether she loves it or not.

Last Hoorah and the Beginning of Another School Year

2011-08-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

I am a little bit proud of the fact that something actually grew in my yard this year. These dahlias have been so fun to watch grow and bloom over and over again. I thought I should share and gloat a bit by posting a picture of one of the blossoms. Thanks for humoring me.

All our beauties on the first day of school. Such a fun/sad day.

Mallory all ready for her first day in first grade. That's right, I have 3 in school all day. It has been eerily quiet around here this week. We miss our buddies but are enjoying our somewhat casual days while they are away learning.

Mia is in second grade and looking quite darling if I do say so myself.

Libbie proving that we aren't getting any younger. Time has gone too fast! She is in the fifth grade this year. It seems like yesterday that I was in the fifth grade.

Grandpa flew in for a quick visit last weekend with perfect timing to catch one of Libbie's games.

Jake and his girls paid us a visit recently while Hannah was on a little trip. It was fun to do a few things together including pizza, a splash park, and the zoo. Grandma Jill and Courtney even joined us for our trip to the zoo on one of the hottest days of the summer. We won't talk about how the orangutans scarred me for life. Horrendous I tell you, horrendous.

Cutest turtle we saw at the zoo for sure.

Good thing this picture turned out decent. We waited in quite the high-stress line to get it. A lady got after us for letting our "out of control son" ruin the picture they were trying to take. Only, the boy ruining their picture wasn't our son. Ha ha. So when we couldn't locate the kid's parents anywhere nearby, Jake tried to help everyone out by removing the child and started to look for someone he would know. Lucky enough, the boy's clueless dad was looking on at the whole thing unfolding from about 500 feet away and just wasn't saying a thing. Some people and their children...

Mia perfecting her leap over one of the sprinklers.

Molly

Jake and Little Junie

Claire and Annie

On our way to the splash park in Herriman, we spotted the "Up House" and had to take a quick detour.

Slipping through my fingers

2011-08-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we only have two weeks until school starts again. Summer goes waaay too quickly in my opinion. Though I won't miss the nearly constant arguing that happens during the break, I will miss seeing my girls more often and having them around for some extra company. There's just nothing better than lazy summer nights and hot summer days. Here are some pictures of our recent activities.
On Sunday Claire and Mallory wanted to be twiners in these dresses and with their hair dos. Which reminded me that Libbie and Mia did the same thing so we had to take some pictures. And I threw in a throw back of the older girls too. Awww. Quit growing now! Before I get really depressed I better stop writing...the end of summer approaching and my kids are getting old. Barf.
Mallory and Claire in the dresses.

Libbie and Mia in the dresses.

Libbie is looking so grown up lately it's creepy. And Jaren is looking...well creepy in this picture. Ha ha.

Libbie took this funny picture of Mia before church the other day.

One afternoon when we had Caden and Macy over we went to a little splash pad. "Little" being the key word. As we pulled up the kids said, "This looks boring." While I do think they had some fun, it certainly didn't last very long. But here are some fun photos of our time there.

Nathan ordered an x-large pepperoni pizza from one of our favorite pizza joints. When he went to pick it up they said, "Oh, you are the one." "The second one tonight to order an 'Oh my heck pizza!'" We were wishing they would have told us this information when he ordered. The box barely fit through the door to our house. Here is Mia showing you her "I am afraid of this pizza it's so big" face.

We had a fun Pioneer Day celebration at our house when Grandma, Papa, Rachel, Brennan, Caleb, Marci, and "the boys" came for a visit. After some backyard baseball and an ice cream treat, we went to the front yard for some serious sparkler action.

Aunt Rachel corralling Jaren during all the sparkler fun.

Summer Stuff

2011-07-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

We headed to Idaho City for the annual Smith/Palmer reunion over the 4th of July. We love the facility/location so much - beds for everyone, awesome kitchen with a walk-in freezer, a giant bell the kids loved to ring, and amphitheater, basketball court, horseshoe pits, perfect gathering place, a playground, and nature all around. Aunt Sydney planned lots for us to do including balloon making by Tad, fingernail painting by Mikki, painting t-shirts by grandma Jill, skits by Aunt Dawn, Bingo by Aunt Cherie, Minute to Win It by Jake, Hannah and us, Karaoke by Smitty, crafts by Angie and Heidi, Pinata by Syd, tons of good food by all, a parade in town, and THE MOST INTERESTING FIREWORKS I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED IN MY LIFE provided by Idaho City (let's just say I feared for my life and my lungs for over an hour). It really was so fun, and I count myself so blessed to have all these people as part of my heritage.
Aunt Cherie was the master at this game...

Libbie and Desiree working hard on their Minute to Win It challenge.

Some intense games of speed/knockout/lightning/bump were played.

Even if Jake is being a total dork in this picture...just look at his little gal Junie Bug.

I just adore these pictures of my sweet aunts helping my children. So precious.

Jaren was first to take a whack at the pinata.

Here the kids are all excited about our sleeping quarters for the next few days. Jake, Hannah, their girls, and my mom were all patient enough to bunk with us crazies. We are quite the challenge to sleep with, but we survived none-the-less.

Our kids spent a great majority of their time on this swing set. Claire and Annie swung on the horse swings pretty much constantly. Here some of them are looking super sweet. Look, even Nathan couldn't resist.

Who doesn't love a popsicle on a hot, summer evening?

Double-Digits

2011-07-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

Libbie has been guilt-tripping me for months because we found out I would be leaving for Young Women's camp on her birthday. Therefore, we celebrated for nearly 4 days straight to compensate for my bad parenting. Wyatt was willing to share his first birthday celebration with Libbie so we had a little family gathering on Sunday night before her birthday. She requested Angry Bird cupcakes and that's what I attempted. Nathan was also patient enough to brave the torrential downpour we had that night as he grilled us up some pizza. Libbie is sure getting so old and mature! We can't believe our baby girl is already 10. She is such a help to us and pretty darn funny.

This year Libbie invited just a few friends over for a little party. I think it turned out pretty fun if I do say so myself. We played a few games and had a scavenger hunt. Here are some pics of different tasks they had to perform in order to get clues.

Libbie decided to take a few of her buddies to a local restaurant to do one of their new eating challenges "Ethel's Challenge". They had to eat 12 scoops of ice cream (one of each of the flavors they offer) plus every topping they have. Although they say it got pretty gross at the bottom of the bowl, but they managed to finish in less than 20 minutes.

Lovin' Summer

2011-06-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

Summer is in full swing around here. We just got back from a trip to Iowa to see everyone there. As usual Grandma and Papa had lots of fun things for us to do while we were together...crafts, treasure hunts, games, food, an amusement park, and a water park. It's not an easy task keeping 24 people fed, housed, and entertained, but they manage to do it. One day they even organized an Amazing Race for the adults where we had to collect clues from all around town...including coordinating t-shirts for the teams to wear (thanks to Crystal for that too). It was so fun and creative.

Mia enjoying some ice cream at a shop up town.

Caden is such a great cousin. He helped us keep track of Jaren many a time and loved to tote Jade around all over the place. Here he is giving her a push on the swing.

The kids checking out a snake at a local park. Ewww.

Last summer at our reunion Uncle Rich introduced us to "The Family Auction". Everyone donates homemade items that are put up for auction. We earn play money to spend at the auction by doing chores or tasks throughout the reunion. It has proved to be a highly anticipated event. It's so fun to see every one's creativity and to get to take a little piece of one another home.

Gavin throwing his hat in the ring for another fabulous auction item.

Libbie with some loot she bought at the auction.

These moments are the best...Grandma telling the kids a story with her fun Little Red Riding Hood puppet.

Jaren catching some Zzzz on Uncle Brennan.

More proof that marrying a Cardon guy is a great thing. Here are two dads changing poopy diapers at the same time.

Some of the smaller ones waiting for the bigger ones to get off a ride.

Jaren on the carousal with Daddy.

Once upon a time, I told my sister-in-law Rachel it would be fine to put her sunglasses in our back pack...they would be protected. Well, it wasn't fine and they broke. Then upon another time, I let Claire wear Rachel's sunglasses at a water park, and apparently these ones broke too. I really hope it wasn't Claire's doing, but then again here is proof that it may have been. Sorry again Rachel.

Mallory at the water park...trying to save her eyes from the very bright reflection.

One day when we were at the mall, Papa went to the church and set up an obstacle course in the gym for the kids. They had to climb over things, crawl under things, run, and dribble a crazy ball. It was so fun to watch them try to better their time. What a fun grandpa they have.

Claire and Mia taking care of Duke. They all love this dog so much.

Parachute in Grandma's yard.

Jaren loved to go through Grandma's recycling box and find treasures. He spent a lot of time with this container. Ha ha.

Macy suggling Jaren at a rare quiet moment for this busy boy.

We can't believe it but Mallory celebrated her 6th birthday this month. We were in Iowa so it was fun to spend it with our family there.

Mallory asked for a plasma car for her birthday this year. Here she is trying it out.

Mallory had a "puppy party" with some of her pals before our trip Iowa. The kids were great sports and went along with all our silly dog games...even competing to see who could lap up a bowl of water the fastest.

The first of many swims in the back yard with friends.

Jaren is taking after his daddy and has developed a great love for any type of ball. And he has an awesome kick, let me tell you.

We had a fun time watching Mallory perform at her kindergarten graduation. She had a speaking part and did a great job saying it loud and clear. Here she is posing with her best buddy Cambrya.

May Stuff

2011-05-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

Despite the rain and the cold so far this month, we've had some good times. And, when the sun finally decides to shine, we sure do enjoy it. Tonight, before the giant hail began to fall, we headed out back to relax and to watch the girls do tricks on the trampoline.
Claire and Mia showing off their twiner shirts Papa brought them from Washington D.C.

Mallory doing toe-touchers...the trick of choice around here.

Mia and Mallory had their dance recital this weekend. Here they are all gussied up.

We had gray skies the entire week last week...it rained and rained and rained. Then one night, it was such a welcome sight to see this rainbow.

Claire torturing (I mean loving) our cat Penni.

Grandpa came home for a quick visit so we were able to go see him and see some fun cousins at the same time.

Claire and Annie sharing a chair at Grandma's.

Jaren looking snappy in his 70s tie.

Paradise

2011-05-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

Nathan and I were fortunate enough to go to Oahu for a very fun trip with his business partner/friend Donald and his wife Amy. We stayed at Turtle Bay on the North Shore and had an extraordinary time relaxing, eating waaay too much yummy food, and seeing some sights. Nathan's parents held down the fort and gave our children a wonderful time at home. They were very gracious and kind. To top it off, they acted as if taking on our brood was no problem, but a pleasure. Thank you, thank you. These pictures come in no particular order...I just didn't have the concentration or brain power to be organized.
Our view at Haleiwa Joes (restaurant) during our last dinner on the North Shore.

Nathan and Donald watching a playoff game through the window of the restaurant we were waiting for a table at.

The last couple days of our vacation it rained pretty much constantly. During one of the breaks in rain, we decided to go for a walk on the beach and got caught in the rain...awww romantic. Here we are trying to take cover...but not really succeeding.

Here we are eating at "the shrimp trucks"...although technically Romy's wasn't out of a truck at all. The shrimp was tasty and garlicky. They even provided this sink outside with a handy ketchup bottle to dispense soap after this messy meal.

Unfortunately for us, I forgot my temple recommend at home so we weren't able to go inside. The grounds were beautiful though, and we enjoyed exploring them.

Getting yummy pie at Ted's Bakery.

The Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center...not the tastiest dinner we ate on Oahu.

Me at the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. It was a tad bit windy.

Amy and I leaning how to do some Tahitian dancing.

Amy, Donald, and Nathan during the river floats at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Here we are at the Dole Pineapple Plantation. We didn't take the tour, but we did treat ourselves to some delicious pineapple ice cream. We drove passed the plantation several times. I never got sick of looking at it...it was just so gorgeous and amazing.

Nathan and I are not good sleeper-inners. Most mornings we were up by 5. The second morning we were there, we headed out early to hike Diamond Head, get some Malasadas (yummy doughnuts at Leonard's Bakery), and be to Pearl Harbor early enough to beat the crowds. We did all of that by about 11. We know how to pack it in I guess.

Let's just say that it rained A LOT while we were in Hawaii...couldn't get me down though. It was still beautiful, and we got to enjoy this rainbow after one rainstorm.

One of my favorite things we did at the resort was lay in these hammocks just outside the rooms. As you can see, it doesn't take too much to please or entertain me.

Nathan doing two of his favorite things...surfing the Internet while watching people surf.

A not-so-good self-timer photo of us outside our room.

We did some fun snorkeling at Hanauma Bay before it got too crowded. However, it was a bit chilly and windy that day which are not my favorite weather patterns when I am submerging myself in water.

Nathan catching some rays at Ko 'Olina.

Our first full day on the island. Here we are after an entire day of soaking up the sun on the beaches around Turtle Bay. It was bliss...at least until we realized our skin was toast. Ha ha.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed to Grandma's house for our Easter celebration. We got to spend time with lots of fun people and eat some tastey food. Grandma grew her lawn super long just special for our annual Easter egg hunt too. The kids had a blast looking for their finds. And, I am not quite sure why none of my captions will go with my pictures these days so I guess you can play a matching game to figure out what goes with what.
Jaren and Little Junie hiding in the grass.

Grandma gave all the kids new summery pajamas. Here are all the older girls in theirs. They loved them.

One of my many failed attempts at a nice picture of all the kids in their new Easter clothes.

Jaren got a soccer ball in his basket...which he was quite excited about. And here he is in his new springy shirt all ready for church.

A funny, toothy grin from Jaren.

Saturday night we colored eggs.

Claire's favorite egg she colored.

Libbie had her first soccer game this weekend. She did a great job and was quite thrilled to get a header.

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home...

2011-04-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

...Glad as I Can Be. Wrap My Legs Around His Neck and Climb Upon His Shoulders? Can you tell he's been missed a tad over the last couple months?

The girls had spring break last week so we planned out some fun stuff to keep us busy since sometimes being together every day, all day can be a challenge (that included me bribing them with a dollar a day that they were on their best behavior and didn't fight). Ha ha. My mom was thoughtful enough to come over this weekend to watch the kids while Nathan and I went out to celebrate our survival of tax season. We went to breakfast at Ruth's Diner (so tasty) and did some fun, kid-less shopping. Anyway, here are some pictures of our spring break happenings.
Libbie, Mia, and Jaren playing on the computer.

Chiquita Banana hats courtesy of a lunch at McDonald's.

Our girls have been begging, and I mean painfully BEGGING, us to get them a cat for months. When we made New Year's resolutions back in January, Mia even listed one of her goals as "to convince Mom and Dad to get a cat." So being the wonderful parent he is, Nathan came up with a plan to have the girls "earn" a cat. All of tax season, Libbie was to run a mile 5 days a week, and Mia was to run a mile 4 days a week and then we would get them a cat. And through no lack of much, much, much tears and complaining nearly every day for 6 weeks or so, the girls accomplished their goal. I really am proud of them even if it was like fighting tooth and nail each and every mile they ran. I knew they could do it. And here she is...Penni the kitten. Our fun friends that live behind us even adopted Penni's sister who they named Daisy. Here's hoping for some great vole catchers.

Marci and her boys invited us to the zoo. The weather was great and most the animals were out doing fun things we could watch. The high-light of the trip for the kids was seeing the baby armadillos that had been born the previous day...admittedly they were pretty darn cute. Gavin kept entertaining the idea that the zoo might give them away as pets...and what his mother would think of that. Cute, cute.

We got out the paints too. The girls did this for quite some time...quietly and with out even fighting. Those moments are pure bliss.

Say It Ain't So

2011-03-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

One year ago, we brought home this tiny little boy...oh my goodness he was soooo tiny. And now, well, he is soooo big. But our love for him is soooo big too. We just adore him and are so thankful to have him as ours. We had a little party in honor of the birthday boy with Caleb, Marci, and their boys. And on a sidenote, Jaren started walking last week. Good thing too, because Nathan likes to threaten our children with banishment if they aren't walking by one. Glad he got the message.

Since he isn't quite "in to" anything yet, I went with a basketball cake (it is March Madness season and basketball is THE one sport I can really get into). Thankfully Aunt Marci was there to protect the cake from destruction before the birthday song.

He loved his cake.

All the party animals.

Fun Friends!

2011-02-27T20:00:00.001-08:00

We were lucky enough to have Mara, Ben, and Jade come to visit last week. It was our first time meeting Jade so we were so excited to play with her. There's just nothing quite like meeting one of our cute new nieces or nephews! Jaren was especially excited to see Jade. He loved to dart across the room to attack the poor girl who is only a fraction of his size. He'd give her a few soft pets and then BAM (so sorry Mara and Jade). It was so fun to catch up with Mara and get to hold her little sweetie. Extreme chaos and winter boredom at our home is at it's max, and we are so thankful Mara and Jade were able to endure it with a smile. Thanks so much for all your help and for making the trip.
In the Cardon Clan, we had 3 babies born in 2010...two giants and a dainty little girl.

Jade is only smiling because at this exact moment Jaren wasn't trying to claw her eyes out. Or maybe it's because she is just a happy, sweet baby.

Claire and Jade.

We Love Pizza!

2011-02-15T06:39:00.000-08:00

We had a quick/but fabulous dinner last night to celebrate Valentine's. Nathan made it home to eat with us, we only had two drink spills, and the pizza was yummy. The only big flop of the night was dessert. I watched Rachael Ray last week where she taught everyone about "brownie waffles". What could be better than plain waffles? Anywho, they looked great topped with whipped cream and strawberries so I thought that would be the perfect Valentine dessert. Well, it wasn't. They just burned and stayed mooshy in the waffle iron. So two thumbs down Racheal.

Sucker for Love Day

2011-02-14T08:38:00.001-08:00

I really do LOVE Valentine's Day. Not because I am a hopeless romantic who loves to get flowers and chocolate but because nothing is better than a day dedicated to expressing love to those around you. It's a day of cheeriness and brightness and heart-shaped pizza for dinner. So Happy Valentine's Day to all our loved ones!
Here is Jaren enjoying his first-ever sucker...and by the way, he LOVED it.

Hibernation

2011-01-23T15:38:00.001-08:00

When the excitement of the holidays has come and gone and tax season upon us, we tend to hibernate for the next few months. You see, winter is not my friend. I try not to leave the house unless I have to. We are still alive however, making fun memories indoors. And, here are some of the things we've been doing.
Celebrating Claire's THIRD birthday, Dora style.

Enjoying fun birthday presents.

Giving birthday spankings.

Perfecting our cheesiest/most adorable grins.

Spending precious time together puting together a puzzle.

Becoming an expert at finding hidden treasures in the carpet...ewww.

Making fun ice cream treats Grandma Cardon sent for Christmas.

Helping Mom and Dad in the kitchen nearly every night.

Sleeping...or rather cat-napping. His naps have been really far too short.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T13:28:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. We were able to spend a day or so at my moms. We played games, ate good food, and visited until Christmas Eve night when we headed home for the main event. The kids were so cute this year. Everyone acted nice and loved what they received...even Claire. You see, at around age 3 it seems all our other kids have been so grumpy on Christmas morning and could really care less about anthing at all. So we were pleasantly surprised that Claire was happy the whole way through present opening and saved her orneriness for later that morning.

Jaren didn't ask for anything this year. Santa guessed he would like this cute pot full of food. Truth is, just like any other baby, Jaren much prefers ribbon, or boxes, or wrapping paper to any present.

Claire asked Santa for a baby for Christmas. She is loving it.

Mia has been doing hair for 5 days straight. Santa brought her a barbie head with a caboodle full of hair stuff. Yes, they still make caboodles. Awesome!

Libbie asked for a functioning Lego train from Santa but got this cool wii tablet instead. She didn't even complain.

From Santa, Mallory wanted a giant unicorn chair and a unicorn pillow pet. Santa did not disappoint. Today Libbie was getting so mad at her for lugging the thing around everywhere she goes. Ha ha. I love that she loves her unicorn soooo much.

The girls giving 2 thumbs up for their new pjs.

Jaren would be happy to chew on a dirty shoe.

Hanging out with Grandma J at her house. Fun stuff.

Good Times

2010-12-16T13:23:00.000-08:00

We just returned from a fun trip to California with Jake, Hannah, and their girls. We stayed in Newport Beach at a very nice resort thanks to Nathan's partner Donald who shared his time share with us. Thanks Donald! We spent three fun/hectic days at Disneyland and California Adventure and one glorious day at the beach soaking in all the sun we could. Note to self and others who think going to Disneyland around Christmastime will be uncrowded: Disneyland at Christmas is the opposite of uncrowded. It is at max capacity...not even kidding. The first day was wall-to-wall people and thankfully the other days were considerably better. We created quite the stir and stare fest with our plethora of little girls in tow. And when the parents would take turns to ride the "big kid rides" without fail we'd get at least one onlooker to stop and ask, "Are they ALL yours?!!!" Ha ha. Most of the time we really felt like we were on display with someone announcing in the background, "Come one, come all, and look at the freak show." Anyway, we really did have a good time together.

Libbie in Toon Town.

We even got to see Santa at California Adventure. And doesn't Claire look thrilled about that?

The little lady.

The big guy.

A quick snack while the moms and dads took turns riding The Tower of Terror.

The girls found this couch and decided to pretend they were asleep.

We were able to go to the beach in Newport one day. The weather couldn't have been nicer! Ahhh, heavenly. The kids played and played (without even fighting) for hours. It just could not have been any more perfect. Anyway...here are some hi-lights.
Jaren enjoyed the sand quite a bit...at least the taste of it anyway. Which is why we had to hold him the entire time we were there.

Claire sat in one spot nearly the entire day at the beach. She loooved the sand so much.

One of our many attempts to get a good photo of our crew at the beach. At least it is an accurate representation of our trip...a little crazy but a lot of fun.

All the girls with Ariel.

Claire and Annie patiently waiting in line to see the princesses.

Many an hour spent in line holding our mini line-backer.

The Holidays and Some More Fun Stuff

2010-12-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

We headed to see the lights at Temple Square this week. The weather was decent and so was the crowd size. We had a fun evening together. Never mind the picture below where it looks like Libbie could drop Jaren at any second. To her defense he is quite large.

The evening wasn't complete without a "silly" picture.

Such a trooper in the cold and in the stroller.

The Setting Up of the Tree

As a tradition every year we set up the tree, all the girls take a turn trying to put the star atop the tree. Mom is not usually included in the "all the girls" category, but this year they all insisted I try it out. Here I am in all my glory. And I am happy to say Nathan didn't spin really fast with me on his shoulders like he does to our little ones.

Nathan found Mallory silently torturing/loving Jaren. He was laying so still and being so patient. Awww...

We had Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year with a good-sized crowd. I was a ding-dong and forgot to get a picture of our whole group, but here are some of the fun highlights: many a fashion show, dance party, and music concert.

Cousin story time under the table. Pretty darn cute!

Will you just look at what my baby is doing lately...pulling himself up into standing position. Makes me happy and sad.

Jaren is somewhat of a picky eater and is very leery of anything we try to put in his mouth. He's getting the hang of the whole solids thing slowly but surely.

We've had some great snow...at least great for the kids anyway. I just stay inside where it's warm.

Spook-a-licious

2010-11-02T13:17:00.001-07:00

Although it rained on Halloween this year, the kids had a great time trick-or-treating with Dad and some fun friends. Mom and Grandma Jill held down the fort. Here are the cuties in their costumes...we had a pirate, a black widow, a cowgirl, Nemo, and a pumpkin.

This family is weird part II...

2010-10-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

But we clean up pretty nice sometimes. Our friend Amy was nice enough to take some photos of us this summer. Here we all are looking summery, just in time for it to start looking gloomy outside.

This family is weird...

2010-10-26T12:52:00.001-07:00

But we sure did have a fun time carving pumpkins this year.

Claire was pained by the innards of her pumpkin. She thought it was quite disgusting.

Jaren checking out his first pumpkin. He liked it...for licking anyway.

We Love Fall Break

2010-10-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

For fall break this year we headed down south with Caleb and Marci and their boys. The first day we spent some time in Zion hiking a crowded, but fun trail. The kids had fun picking up every rock and stick in sight and looking at a couple lizards and the friendly squirrels. We got to ride the bus, have a picnic, and our visit was quickly halted by the explosion of Wyatt's diaper. Thankfully the babies were very cooperative in all our travels. What troopers we have.

The kids "trying hard" not to get too muddy or wet.

Uncle Caleb was nice enough to carry Claire for quite a while...even if she wouldn't give him anything but a death stare.

We spent some time in Snow Canyon. I had never been there before. I thought it was gorgeous! The kids (minus Claire) had a great time climbing the rocks that were perfectly sticky for their little feet.

Mallory asked me to take this picture of her while "she pretented to climb". Ha ha. So cute and funny.

We went to the gleaming white St. George temple for a quick visit.

Jaren was super excited to be at the temple.

Caleb's and Marci's friends were generous enough to let us use their vacation home in the St. George area. It was fabulous! The kids had a great time playing tennis in the backyard, climbing the brick wall to their "secret fountain", and swimming in the community pool. The first night we were there, Nathan and Caleb walked the kids to the pool to just check it out. It was an adventurous outing to say the least. Henry tripped and fell, Mallory tripped and fell twice (one of the times in a puddle...she was soaked), and while the guys were talking to a stranger, Claire decided to drop trou because "she needed to go potty". Not sure when she decided that was protocol.

All the kids took a turn standing by the palm tree in the backyard.

And a couple fun pictures of our little boy who isn't so little.

A Family is Forever

2010-09-27T12:25:00.001-07:00

Saturday we had a great day in our family. We were able to go to the Timpanogos Temple to be sealed to Jaren. The girls looked so beautiful in their white clothes. I hope it's something they will remember forever so we can all be inside the temple again someday when they are older. Jaren was a trooper and slept through the majority of the time we were there. I was a little worried about the older ladies who were going to have to lug his chubby self around, but I guess as soon as we left him in the nursery, he fell asleep and they were able to push him around in a stroller. Awwww...Anyway it really was a fabulous day. Right after the temple sealing, we headed to our church house to bless Jaren as well. Here he is looking super cute in his white clothes.

People who came for our day, minus a few who snuck away.

Saturday was also Mia's birthday. It was fun to have quite a bit of family around to help us celebrate. I hope she had a good day.

Mia with her Lego Cake.

Holy Smokes...that was a Great Summer!

2010-08-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Back to life...we started school today. I've been a little apprehensive about the beginning of the school year all summer because I just really enjoy the laziness of summer days. Thankfully, the girls proved to me over the last few days that it was definitely okay for them to return to school. The fighting was really getting to me and my orneriness was reaching peak levels. We sent our 3rd to kindergarten this year, which means that for a few hours a day, it's just me, Claire, and Jaren at home. Claire was a bit confused by the whole disappearance of her sisters and kept insisting that she should be going to nursery today. She also said her favorite part of today was when she rode the white bus...not sure which white bus she was riding, but it was her favorite. Ha ha. Cute and sad. She's going to be hanging out alone with me and Jaren for a few more years.
Here are all my darling, fun school girls with some of their best buddies. So glad to live by such great people!

Thought I better to a little (or a lot of) bragging in this post about our little guy. He's growing up...sitting, eating rice cereal, and actually just rolled over today. Yay! I was beginning to wonder if his chubbiness was holing him back a bit too much. But alas, he did it! We are all sooo adoring him still.

At the end of July, we got together with Nathan's family for a few days in the Deer Valley area. The house we stayed in was gorgeous and the company wasn't too shabby either. Denice and Jeff had lots of great things planned for us to do and yummy food for us to eat. They sure do treat us right. We hiked, biked, played the Newlywed Game, had a fun auction where Rich was a fabulous auctioneer, and many other things I am sure I'm forgetting. Anywho, here are some pictures of our time together.
On our last night together, there was THE MOST gorgeous sunset. Check out the view from the deck. Breathtaking if you ask me. And...the kids were able to play in the hot tub while we enjoyed the evening.

During one of our afternoons, we entertained one another by playing Minute to Win It. I thought it was great fun to watch and laugh. Good thing there are so many good sports to humor me.

These next folks are attempting to get the cookie from their foreheads to their mouths. A few of them were actually quite successful.

The kids loved Grandma's tickle book.

Uncle Rich patiently helped Mallory do a fun craft where she got to make a dog. Cute!

Weren't these guys so helpful? They were delighted to be handling meat for our first dinner at the reunion!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-07-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe but our first baby turned 9. She's such a fun girl. We sure do love her.

Libbie chose swimming for her birthday activity. We went to a pool we've never been to before, and it turned out to be very fun for them. I kept Jaren in the shade, and Nathan was a good dad and cared for all our crazies in the pool. Brave, brave soul.

All the kiddos before our swimming adventure.

We were able to keep Caleb's and Marci's boys for a day while they were in the hospital getting their new little one. We had a great time swimming in the back yard and also ventured out to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. Here are some of the fun hi-lights.

Henry was THE BRAVEST one and would stick the corn right in the goats' mouths. At one point when we were by the Clydesdales, he found some stray hay and started feeding them. One horse nearly ate his fingers, but he didn't seem to mind...pretty sure his parents would have minded.

For the 4th, we went to McCall for the annual Smith reunion. It sure is gorgeous up there...but always stinkin' cold! The girls didn't seem to mind though and had so much fun being dirty and running around with cousins all day. They got to do lots of fun things like paint t-shirts, play bingo for prizes, hit a pinata, make other fun crafts. They also witnessed two cleanings of fish...ewww, but they were fascinated and don't seem to be scarred in the least. It was so fun to see people we love that we don't get to see very often. Next year though, I say we head to Hawaii. What do you all think?
Here are the girls playing in the tent.

We got in some good grandma time.

These girls had such fun together. They played and played so nicely. It was sue great to see them together.

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Summer Lovin'

2010-06-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

With one month of summer already down (depressed sigh), we are really trying to cram in a lot of fun stuff. This last weekend, we went to Vernal to see Jake, Hannah, and their girls. They just moved into a new home, and we wanted to check it out and spend some quality time together before baby number three arrives. If you are looking for a great place to go, Hannah's house would be a perfect option. I feel pretty bad about it, but she spent most of our time together fixing us yummy food. The peach pie was DELICIOUS! Thanks a bunch! On Saturday we ventured to the Flaming Gorge area. It was fun to be out in nature together. Jake and Hannah were in the Dam Gift Shop with all our girls and their own. People were quite surprised to see them with so many children...all of them cute girls. They were quick to correct them that they were not all theirs. We got a good laugh at what they might have been thinking seeing them with six girls and Hannah being pregnant too. Ha ha. Maybe someday Jake and Hannah, maybe someday.

Enjoying our tinfoil dinners, corn bread, and watermelon supper in the campground. I love this kind of stuff. Summer is the absolute best!

Despite the look on Claire's face, can we just say that she REALLY enjoyed the watermelon?

Here are some fun pictures outside Flaming Gorge Dam and a couple at the base of the dam where they let you feed the fish. Good times. And the higher-ups at the Flaming Gorge Dam should be very pleased with at least one of their tour guides. She took her position VERY seriously and knew pretty much EVERY detail one could ever know about the building and functioning of a dam.

We got to have a cousin party in the backyard last week. The kids had a great time on the tramp and in the pool. Each of them took turns being the swim instructor. Pretty sure they learned some new, mad swimming skills.

Mallory turned 5 this month. Here she is with her slightly ghetto cake. She wanted a flamingo party with flamingo cupcakes, but changed her mind the day of her birthday and wanted a flamingo cake. The kids took on the decor of this cake and enjoyed eating it as well. I cannot believe she is going to school in the fall. Time is going by so quickly.

Perfect

2010-06-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun day on Monday. We took the kids to Lagoon and had a great time. The weather was perfect and so were the crowds. The girls had so much fun on all the rides, and we had so much fun watching them on the rides. We forced Libbie to go on a few rides she did not appreciate, but with the bribe pay-off of $1 I think she's forgiven us.

Smiley

2010-06-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

Chubby and cute for sure.

Just a Joke

2010-05-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

The title of my last post (May snow brings June...) was just a little jab at the less than desirable weather we've had this spring. I didn't actually think it would snow at the end of May! But, much to my dismay, we awoke to about an inch and a half this morning. Say it ain't so...

Mallory and I went on a fun date to a place called Color Me Mine. You get to pick out pottery and paint it. Then they fire it for you, and you pick it up a few days later. We had a great time painting together. She loves her plate.

Friday night Libbie and I were able to attend a mother/daughter activity at church. We got to wear matching outfits (our Aggie gear), make necklaces together, and we got to do one another's hair crazy-style. Lucky for me, Libbie hasn't quite mastered "the elastic band" so my hair wasn't too crazy. I think I may have stumbled upon to new hair-style for little girls though. Ha ha. I know I'll be seeing all your children with this do.

Mia and Mallory had their dance recital on Saturday. Mia took tumbling/cheer this year. It was so fun to see her perform. She did a great job and had a fun time being on stage.

Not to brag...okay I am bragging...but Mals did sooo good at her recital. She nearly brought me to tears with how well she did.

May snow brings June....????

2010-05-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Jaren show...again. He's sure growing up in a hurry, chubby fingers and all. I even gave him his first hair cut last week. Apparently I cut off all his fine, straight hair and now he's sporting a cute curly do. I think he looks so handsome and mature. I just thought how ironic the shirt he's wearing in the photo below is, since the space program is becoming nearly obsolete (right Mom). What type of world do we live in when I kid can't aspire to be a Rocket Scientist? Well anywho, enjoy the abundance of pictures of this little guy and a few of our little girls too.

A blurry little smirk, but it's the closest to a smile I've gotten.

Claire is quite the character. Not sure it's a good thing she's becoming more verbal. Trying not to create too much of a mental image, but the other day I was getting out of the shower while Claire was hanging out in the bathroom (not a moment of peace I tell you). She looks at me sideways, which I really try to prevent as much looking as possible, and she questions, "Your bum?" I reply, "Ummm, yep, sure thing, my bum." She says frankly, "It's bigger." Indeed my friend, indeed.

Aunt Cherie made Jaren this darling hat and sent him the outfit to match. It finally warmed up enough for him to wear the clothes so I thought I better take the chance to snap some photos before it decides to snow again. He looks like a little angel.

Mia could hold him for hours. The girls are such good sisters to him.

Jaren looking spiffy in his Sunday best.

When Denice was here visiting last month, we headed over to the Tulip Festival...one of my very favorite places. It's just sooo beautiful. Here the girls are in the Secret Garden.

Jaren loved his first Tulip Festival.

What do you do on Sunday night?

2010-04-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday night Mallory invited us all to her "silly party" which ended up being very, very silly. All the girls had a great time dancing and wearing their undies on their heads. Did you know there are many, many ways to actually wear underwear on one's head? This picture displays one of the configurations our girls came up with.

On Saturday, Rachel (Nathan's sis) and I ran in our very first half-marathon. I think we both had a good time. The trails were gorgeous through the Thanksgiving Point gardens and golf course. I'm in no way a fast runner, but I've found it's something I really enjoy doing and a great way to get some "me/release" time. Thanks to Nathan for helping me accomplish my goal, as well as Crystal (Nathan's other sis) who encouraged me to do it in the first place.

This post is a "tad" overloaded with Jaren pictures. In my own defense, my sister-in-law Hannah asked for more photos of him (see comments in previous post). I do enjoy showing him off though. We think he is just soooo sweet and sooo cute. He's not too big on smiling yet, but when he does, it melts my heart.

Grandma Cardon is here for a visit. She never fails in bringing a hefty supply of gifts and goodies for the kids. Here they all are in their new Sunday clothes she brought them.

Very cute big boy outfit from Grandma Cardon.

Mia was thrilled to feed her little bro a bottle. She did a great job too.

Jeans and a Henley...ummm...I am sorry, but he's a doll.

Jaren sporting a very cute button-up Marci let us use. He is a handsome boy.

Very cute Easter dresses brought to us by Grandma Jill. I thought they looked so darling...even if the picture isn't the greatest.

Eggcellent

2010-04-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

We got to spend Easter/conference weekend with my family. It was a good time. Sunday afternoon the weather cooperated quite nicely, and we were able to have an Easter egg hunt. I think hunting for eggs at Grandmas's house is one of my girls' favorite traditions.

Yes, Claire does have telekinetic powers.

The sun was shining and they just could smile or open their eyes.

All I can say is awww...sweet.

My kind mother and lovely cousin Dayna. Dayna was sweet enough to hang with us crazies for a couple days this weekend. We had fun with her - very easy-going and helpful.

The Easter Bunny made it to Grandma Jill's house this year. The girls were quite excited about it and peeked at their baskets before their parentals had woke up. They did a good job of pretending to be surprised when we finally arrived to watch them check out all their stuff.

The girls had a great time coloring eggs this year and were grateful Claire was so good at breaking her eggs so they could eat the insides.

Jaren is growing up some...no longer in the preemie size and nearly out of the newborn size. That's good to see. He's still an angel and we are all loving him.

Mallory's preschool teacher is having a baby in April so she called it quits a little early in the school year. We got to go to her graduation last week. It was so fun to see her sing her best and show us some of the things she learned this year.

3 weeks.

Before church.

And...some more

2010-03-23T06:24:00.000-07:00

This first picture needs an introduction. It's a letter to the leprechauns Mia had been learning about in school. She was hoping to make a trap do go under the sign, but we didn't have time for that...It reads...
Dear Leprechaun,
I don't mean to capture you and all your other friends. All they want is the gold. I really want some too, but I don't want you and your friends to die. Well, you should be going right now. By the way, my name is Mia.
Anyway, just thought that was too cute not to share.

Per request from Jake and Hannah, here are some more pictures of Jaren. He is sleeping sooo much better and is still a little angel.

More Pictures of the Little Man

2010-03-17T13:11:00.001-07:00

We sure are having a good time with our little brother. He is such a good baby so far...I am knocking on wood right now. Our only dilema is his sleep pattern. He doesn't move a muscle during the day, but moves all his muscles at night. Hope that aspect improves soon. Anywho, thanks for all your notes, calls, comments of concern and support. You guys are the best!

Surprise

2010-03-13T13:54:00.001-08:00

Back in November, Nathan and I began the adoption journey. This week we received our little blessing. His name is Jaren William Corae Cardon. He was born on March 11 and weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz. and was 19.5 inches tall. He had quite the cone head so we assume he will be shrinking a bit. The whole process was an emotional one, but we are sure it will be well worth it to have Jaren as a part of our little/big family. We already love him and are so grateful to his birthmom for her willingness to share him with us. So far he is a dream baby who mostly sleeps. His cry is a little squeak. We are hoping those characteristics will continue but will not be holding our breath. The girls are in heaven having him around and want to constantly stroke his shiny, black hair. Unfortunately, Libbie decided to get the stomach flu last night so she has been unable to hang out with him. Anyway, here is our little string bean...

Love

2010-02-16T06:45:00.001-08:00

While our Valentine's Days aren't always full of "romance", they are definitely filled with LOVE. We had a nice evening together...candlelit dinner and everything: heart-shaped pizza, fluffy strawberry jell-o salad, cherry 7-up, and chocolate cake for dessert. When Nathan and I went to bed, we found sweet Valentine notes on our pillows from the kiddos that declared we are "THE BEST PARENTS IN THE UNIVERSE". We better frame that statement. Anyway, it was really sweet even if they probably don't think that's true most of the time. Happy Valentine's all my loves!

Her Day!

2010-01-22T10:54:00.001-08:00

We CAN'T believe it, but our baby turned 2 this week. How could this have happened? Well, anyway, we had a good couple days together celebrating. The day before her actual birthday we had a party with with Caleb, Marci, Gavin, Henry, Rachel, and Brennan. On her birthday, we took her to Build-a-Bear. She really couldn't have cared less about the experience or the end product. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right? After the bear experience we headed to Bountiful for some El Matador with Gma, Gpa, Great Grams, Courtney, Jason, and Nathan. Claire humored me with her birthday dinner "choice". We were supposed to go there for my birthday dinner, but we were all sick that day. We really do love having this little girl as a part of our family. She brightens up all our days.

Opening her gifts with many helping hands.

Claire's dog/bunny cake.

Claire got a train for her birthday. It's been a hit.

Another Grandma Post

2010-01-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, Grandma gives the girls new dresses. She did a great job again this year. Here they are in all their glory. Ha ha.

It's difficult to get a good picture of Claire these days. She does this thing when you say "smile"...tilts her head up as high as possible, closes her eyes very tight, and grins a very BIG grin.

Our Merry Month

2009-12-29T14:31:00.001-08:00

Our December month was a good one. We tried to fit in as many winter/Christmas activities as possible. The first picture is a random one...this is what "nap time" at our house equates to. Not much napping and a lot of playing. Mallory had lined our banister with every stuffed animal she could find. Did I mention we have a stuffed animal "problem" in this house. Well, it's true.

A couple weeks ago the snow was absolutely perfect for a snow man and a little sledding in the back yard. Here's the proof.

Mallory had a small winter recital at the dance studio. She sure looked like she was having fun.

Libbie finished up her first season of all girls basketball. She was killer on defense.

The lights at Temple Square with Gavin, Henry, Caleb, Marci, Brennan, and Rachel.

Well, to say that our Christmas holiday has been uneventful would be inaccurate. We've each taken a turn over the last week and a half at being sick for a few days. It's been lovely...not. I do think we are finally on the mend now (crossing my fingers). We've certainly had our fill of barf and such. Thankfully we were all somewhat well for the main event. Sadly I received word that we were gracious enough to pass this grand disease on to my brother's family (so sorry and quick recovery to you all). Here are some of the hi-lights.
Frosting cookies for Santa.

The girls in their new fuzzy pajamas. Usually I buy them too big, or they shrink, or they hate them. This year I think I was finally successful at picking some Christmas pjs.

Libbie let Santa decide her gift this year, and he brought her a few Legos.

Santa brought Mallory the twin to her American Doll bitty twin. She loves it.

Here's Mia with "Rebekah".

Claire wasn't pictured with her gift from Santa because she wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole. So instead here she is with a Christmas gift she loved...a candy cane.

Libbie has had her heart set on a Snuggie for some time now. Luckily she has a handy grandma who rigged her one up. Grandma Cardon made all the girls Snuggies in fact. They are having fun cuddling up in them.

Mia's Christmas breakfast was topped off with a lost tooth in her muffin. Yay for no more snaggle tooth!

Good Times in Sunny Arizona

2009-12-01T06:47:00.001-08:00

For the Thanksgiving holiday, we took a trip to Arizona to spend some time with Nathan's sister Mara and her husband Ben. The weather and company could not have been more perfect. We played games, went mini golfing, saw some sights, went to the Christmas lights at the temple, and ate some very good turkey. On our way to Mara's house, we stopped to see Nathan's friend Ilario and his wife Deloris. They were so good to us! Not only did we get to enjoy seeing them, but Ilario's 80-year-old mother made us authentic Italian pizza. And let me tell you, she made A LOT of pizza. It was sooo yummy. They also gave the girls some very fun, sweet gifts. Although our visit was short, we had a great time! We walked with Ilario to the outlet mall where they have to biggest decorated tree in Arizona. Here the girls are in front of it. Thank you guys! You were so kind to us!

The day after Thanksgiving, we met Ben at his parent's house for some horse riding. We were bit leery to mount the horse because while Ben was bridling it, she decided to get a little wild and then lay down. However, she was very kind to us and let the girls ride her bucking free for a while. It was fun. Here are some of us waiting to ride the horse.

Libbie riding a horse. Yee Haaw!

Mia taking her turn.

Aunt Rachel riding the horse with Mallory.

Ben's parents have an orange grove. We were all excited the oranges were coming on, and we were able to pick some oranges to take home. Yummy.

Libbie and Mia with Strider, Ben's parent's dog, and their new best buddy.

As we pulled into town, Libbie was super excited by the cacti everywhere. Her request was that while we were there, could she please have her picture taken by a cactus? Wish granted.

Another one of our activities was at a park near Mara's and Ben's house. They had free fishing for kids and a lot of ducks to watch. Mallory convinced Aunt Mara to try to catch one of the ducks. I sure do wish I would have taken some action shots of this. Sadly that never happened nor did the catching of a duck. Ha ha.

Uncle Ben was a real trooper in helping the girls try fishing for the first time. They had a blast.

Halloween

2009-11-01T16:46:00.001-08:00

Here are all our cute gobblins. I think we all had a good time dressing up and trick-or-treating. Grandma and Grandpa Oyler came for a visit as well to admire our little monsters. It was so fun to watch Claire answer the door with Grandpa and greet all the people seeking candy. Yeah, good times!

Mia as our fancy witch.

Libbie as our soccer player.

Belle as a Blonde, but still quite beautiful.

Cute Black Kitty!

Fall Break and Other Fallish Things

2009-10-28T11:28:00.001-07:00

Due to the very small pumpkins our garden grew this year, we opted for the painted pumpkins. I think the girls had a good time with this variation of pumpkin decorating. I decided the mess is equal to, or worse than, carving them.
Nathan made his pumpkin as a self-portrayal.

Me with my pumpkin who I think looks a bit like Barbara Streisand.

Libbie and her little guy.

Mia's cute pumpkin.

Mallory with her new friend.

Claire's masterpiece.

Nathan's business partner helped us get a fantastic room at a fantastic price in Park City for the girls' fall break. Mom was able to come bond with us (endure our craziness). We had a fun time shopping at the outlets, eating some pretty decent food, swimming in the pool, and relaxing in the room. We've done this little jaunt the last few years. And while it isn't the most adventurous or new vacation spot, we continue to have a great time together.
Here we are at Red Banjo Pizza...which I must say that Nathan chose. Poor service, dirty environment, and mediocre food. Let's just say that it was a letdown but nonetheless memorable.

A quick tour of Olympic Park. Mom was kind enough to sit in the car with Claire while she snoozed, and Mals was in no mood for a photo shoot.

On the little scarecrow path in the Park City Area.

The girls enjoying a snack and some tv.

Mia went to the season's first Halloween party. A little boy in her class announced to all his friends on the bus that he was having a party that day. When Mia got off the bus, I assured her that I had talked to his mom that morning, and she said nothing of the sort. Well, apparently his mom is super nice because she decided to let her son have this unplanned party on that very day. We got Mia dressed up really quick and off she went. She had a great time, and I must say this mom is a great one because she really knew how to throw a fun party together in a very short amount of time.

Must Share

2009-10-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well, this post is pretty pointless. Mostly Grandma worthy. Just wanted to share a few precious pictures of my cute/funny kiddos.

Just had to include these pictures of my not-so-little little girl. Doesn't her hair look long and luxurious? Can't believe it.

This little stinker got into the bathroom while Mia was bathing and decided to have her second bath of the night.

After two long days of conference, we were all in need of a little fresh air. Unfortunately it was FREEZING, but the kids didn't seem to mind. I think this picture is pretty sweet.

Mia practicing some moves from her new-found-love tumbling and cheer.

Uncle Caleb was nice enough to share free Jazz tickets with us one night last week. Mia, Claire, Gavin and I sat really far away from the rest of our group during the game, but we still had a great time playing Mia's favorite game. It's called "Where are the Cheeleaders Now?"

Stuff and Things

2009-09-27T13:51:00.001-07:00

This past month has been pretty darn fun. We've been enjoying time outside, savoring the final days of great summer temperatures. Here are a few hi-lights of how we've been spending our time in no particular order of importance.
Teaching our little ones that socks and sandals are a definite fashion no-no.

Practicing our best funny faces...I think she need not practice anymore.

"Hiking" to see Bridal Veil Falls.

Pretending to be a ragamuffin while picking green tomatoes.

Playing ball in the best backyard neighborhood in America.

Fun daddy time.

And being cute while wearing blankets on our heads.

Six

2009-09-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

We got to celebrate Mia's birthday this last week. She chose the ever-popular theme of Gingerbread Boy. Her cake request was the Gingerbread Boy giving a balloon to his girlfriend. Let me tell you, this girl is an interesting one, but she always keeps us thinking. She had a lunchtime party with some friends from school and then a fun dinner party on her birthday. Thanks to all those who came and joined in on her great day.

First Days!

2009-09-02T13:29:00.001-07:00

Here's Mals on her first day of preschool. She is really liking it.

Mia FINALLY got to start Kindergarten. She was very nervous about the whole bus thing and making friends, but luckily she had a great first day. She loves school so far.

Here's our third-grader. I can hardly believe it's true!

Last weekend we headed to Logan for the Top of Utah Half Marathon. Nathan, Jake, and Marci did the race, and they all did great. After the race we went to Tremonton for the fair...that part was great too! I love the fair and the yummy burgers.

This is the Place

2009-08-20T07:52:00.001-07:00

For our "end of summer bash" we wanted to live it up and be crazy kids. So naturally we decided to spend the day at This is the Place Heritage Park. While this location isn't exactly wild, it really ended up being a lot of fun. They had lots to see and do for adults and kids. Interestingly enough, I think the girls' favorite part was doing laundry pioneer style. I guess I better put them to work in my own laundry room.
This is a picture of the girls riding the mini train around a mini lake.

Stamping some leather at the saddlery.

Libbie and Mia in front of Brigham Young's farm house...which we found out he never spent the night in even once. I don't get it.

They had a fun little petting zoo with a sheep and a goat running loose. The kids had a great time getting up close and personal.

This picture came just before Claire touched the little lamb. When her fingers met the wool, she got the willies and quickly ran away.

One of the crafts they chose to do...decorating a mini flour sack.

The girls found these hats in the gift shop. They thought they were pretty hilarious.

Dressed in White

2009-08-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Libbie was recently baptized. Thanks to everyone who made the journey to share in her special day. It sure was a great time for our family

Grandma and Grandpa Golf Ball

Grandma and Papa

Subway

2009-08-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

Nathan's brother scored some passes to hike the Subway in Zion so we along with Caleb, Marci, Jeff, Crystal and Rich headed down for the adventure. The night before the hike we had some very unsettled weather which equals no sleep in a tent. We found ourselves being woke up all the time to the loud crashes of thunder and the very bright lightning. Lucky for us, the morning turned out chilly, but clear, so we decided to start our journey. A fun fact about me is that I HATE cold water, and I cannot swim...both key elements to the hike. I am happy to say I survived, and I "swam" a bit, and I had a pretty good time despite nearly freezing to death. It was beautiful down there and some amazing sites were to be had. Let's not forget the patient people who prodded me along in the deep waters even though they were freezing to death too. It was a great experience for us.

A cool hole in the rock we got to climb through.

This is my "I'm freezing my tail off" face. Or maybe it's my "hypothermia is setting in" face.

One more post...

2009-07-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

One more quick post of some pictures I took of all the girls together when we had Jake's and Hannah's kids. We had a great time.

One of our adventures...this one is at the dinosaur museum.

It's Great

2009-07-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Libbie's 8th birthday this week. We can't believe she's so old...which makes us sooo old. Anywho, I think she had a good day. She decided on a Monsters Vs. Aliens party with her friends where we thought of everything "monstery" to do that we could.

Here's Libbie with her gift from her sisters. I am not sure who's more excited.

Libbie with her best bud Gage.

Here are the monsters defeating the aliens in a rousing game of bocce ball.

Creating horrifying monsters.

Designing monsters blind-folded.

The humans running from asteroids in a game of "dodge the asteroids".

Good thing Libbie has some great grandmas. They fulfilled one of her dreams by getting her a basketball hoop. Now the real obstacle comes...will Dad ever get it put up?

More and More Fun

2009-07-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well, we've had a great few weeks in the Cardon Family. Last week included a trip to the Escalante area. We got to stay in a gorgeous cabin, eat great food, see the sights, and visit to our heart's content. We had a great time I would say. Here's the whole Oyler bunch taking advantage of a great photo op.

As Grandma always reminds us...GIRLS ARE GREAT!

Nathan and Libbie at Bryce Canyon.

I guess the beauty all around had an interesting affect on the girls.

Here we are at Devil's Rock Garden. It took forever and a day to get there on it's very rocky road, but I would say it was worth the torment. We had a good time climbing around for a bit.

Let's just say that Claire NEVER sits still. But looky here...she's sitting nicely on Grandma's lap at Calf Creek. I am glad we were able to document this momentous occassion.

Jake and Annie checking out the mini slot canyon we went to.

Grandma Great and Mia entertaining each other. Never were there two girls together who had so many life questions.

We've had a great few days hanging out with Molly and Annie, our cousins. Their parents are busy moving right now so we jumped at the chance to keep them for a while. The best part is heading out into public with 6 cute girls and watching the heads turn at such a sight. Six heads of hair in the morning (seven if you count my own) has been quite the undertaking. I think we are keeping things together quite nicely so far though.

Molly helping Mals fix her hair. Awwww...sweet.

All the girls on the Fourth of July before the fireworks began. Never a cuter bunch. We found an uncrowded park nearby and camped out for a couple hours. Oh those summer nights!

PaPa the Science Guy

2009-06-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

Papa was kind enough to open his lab to teach the kiddos some fun science. The best part was the liquid nitrogen ice cream. A lot of the kids got to take a turn stirring the brew. Not only was is fun to watch and make, but it was soooo delicious. We had two flavors...chocolate and fresh strawberry. Yummy!

Big Day

2009-06-25T19:36:00.001-07:00

Nathan's sis Rachel got married last week in Nauvoo. It was so fun to be there to witness their marriage and spend time with all our family. Here are some of the hi-lights of their special day.

Here is another Happy Couple.

Uncle Ben and Little Claire

The Guys

An attempt to capture all our cuties with the bride and groom.

Heritage and History

2009-06-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

Nathan's sister was married in the Nauvoo, Illinois Temple last week. Before the wedding day we were able to take in some of the sights of the historic city. Here is the family by the Mississippi.
Here is Claire's great new grin.

Nathan and Mia got to make some rope pioneer style.

Aunt Mara helped Mallory try her hand at stitching a quilt.

Turning 4

2009-06-25T18:41:00.001-07:00

We were able to celebrate Mallory's birthday while we were in Wisconsin and Iowa. We went Circus World Museum during the day of her birthday and had her My Little Pony cake the following day. I think she had a great time seeing the tigers and elephants, watching the magic, and riding the carousel. And what else is better than being surrounded by cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents on your special day?

And the Winner Is...

2009-06-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

The men of the Cardon bunch decided to punish their wives by having a mustache growing contest. I honestly could not look Nathan in the eye for nearly a week. And let's not forget the sweet camo sweatshirts Rich picked them up for a cool 89 cents at Old Navy. Without them, their look wouldn't have been complete. It was a happy day for all when the facial hair was shaved off.

And the Winner is...

2009-06-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

The men of the Cardon bunch decided to punish their wives by growing mustaches for a little contest. Can I just say BLECHY! I could not even look Nathan in the eye for nearly a week.

Dance, Dance, Dance

2009-05-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

Libbie and Mia were able to be in the same dance class this year. It was a lot of fun for mom...maybe not so much fun for them. They had their recital today to show us what they've learned. They sure looked cute.

Much to my dismay, I think this will be Libbie's first and last dance recital. She was not a fan of the outfit in case you can't tell. She had us rolling on the ground with how much she detested the costume. Some of her describing words as she tore at it on her body were..it is the itchiest, shortest, ugliest dress, and she felt like she was wearing a DIAPER when she was putting it on. She still did a great job on her dance and looked beautiful on stage.

What a cute little ballerina...if I do say so myself.

Mals wasn't so sure about riding a pony this year at Thanksgiving Point, but she braved it. By the end of her ride she was riding by herself, petting her pony, and smiling. Doesn't she look cute!

Claire really enjoyed her trip to Farm Country. Here she is visiting her sistas' in the slammer.

Don't know if anyone else remembers this wig, but we broke it out for yet another photo. Jake was over the other day, and he was kind enough to try it on.

Happy Endings

2009-05-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

Another one of my babies is growing up on me. Not fair. I felt a little silly getting teary-eyed at Mia's preschool graduation, but it's true...I did. They sang lots of cute songs, got a certificate of graduation, she had two speaking parts, and we got to watch a slide show of all the fun things she did throughout the year. It was a great/sad time.

Libbie had her end-of-year program. It had a patriotic theme. They sang "Coming to America" by Niel Diamond and everything. It was great. She even had a speaking part and did it flawlessly.

Just the Two of Us

2009-05-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks to some beautiful, forgiving, sweet people, Caleb and Marci, Nathan and I escaped for a few days to Los Angeles. They were real troopers in watching our four yay hoos for so long. When we picked up the kids, Marci was even smiling...oh wait...that may have been simply because we were picking them up. Anyway, we were celebrating our 10-year-anniversary. Wow! Has it really been that long? It was so fun to get away and spend some one-on-one with each other...sleeping and eating and sight-seeing.

We spent quite a bit of time at the beaches in the area. Here we are on our last day at Venice Beach. We loved watching the interesting people: the fishermen, the surfers, and the street dancers. Oh yeah, and I think every person in L.A. owns a dog. No kidding.

The last day we were in L.A. we visited the Getty Museum. It was HUGE! The gardens were gorgeous and so was the architecture. However, if you are immature like us, the art INSIDE the museum may not be for you. Mucho, mucho, mucho bare-chested women. I just don't get that. There are so many other beautiful things to paint...right?
Here is just one of our favorite pieces at the Getty. Nathan's interpretation was "jungle gym" mine was "light bulb cut in half". What do you think? We are sooo artsy.

See the floating shrubbery? Love it.

I loved these things. So gorgeous.

One of the days we spent in So Cal we went to Magic Mountain. Can we just let it be known that we are officially old farts? After the second ride, we were both sooo sick. Blahhh. We had to wait about 45 minutes between rides for some recovery time. I know, I know...pathetic. We were disappointed in ourselves as well. We did have a great time people watching though. And eventually found a few rides that were more our speed (slightly geezerish, but still fun).

Being in California, we learned that capris are "in" for men. So here is Nathan trying to pull off the look at the beach. Woo woo.

Our stop at the tar pits. Waaa Hooo!

Festive Tulips!

2009-05-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we headed out to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point with my parents and siblings. The weather was a little drippy but pleasant. It was so fun to spend time with each other and to see the splendorous flowers in bloom.

We had a rather large case of "the grumpies" on our outing. It was like pulling teeth to get a happy photo. Here's the proof.

Little Sweetie Pie

Cute Mom and Dad humoring their daughter with a photo op.

We had a fun FHE the other night. We met up with Caleb and Marci at the "U" for some bowling. I stunk REALLY bad. Next to Henry, who is 2, I had the worst score...a 62. Henry got a 61. I guttered nearly every first ball I bowled. I guess the Wii has messed with my stellar real-life game. Ha, ha, ha. Oh yes, that never existed.

Thanks Grandma!

2009-04-20T11:24:00.001-07:00

The girls in their very pretty new dresses from Grandma. Thanks mother dear.