Twilight at Midnight!!

Ashton and I are huge Twilight fans. We bought our tickets days before the movie opened and went to the midnight showing!!
We went with the Smith family, my friend, Casey, and Ashton's friend, Kenzi. Her other friends came later. We went to Aliante Station at 9:30 and waited in line.

At one point, we sat on the floor and played telephone. It was funny to hear what everyone came up with at the end. The ushers thought we were taking up to much space so they made us stand back up. That was a bummer.Once we got inside we settled in with everyone. We were a little tired but it was fun to go!!


We thought the book was much better, but the movie was fun!! I am a huge Jacob fan but I was disappointed with the actor they chose to play him. I guess when it comes to the movies, I am an Edward fan but when it comes to the books, I am still devoted to Jacob.

The movie was silly and could have been done much better at certain parts, like Edwards diamond skin. It was odd to hear the teenagers laugh but it was silly at times. Ashton, Kenzi, and I went to see it again a couple of days later and it was much better. I guess when you are tired it is not that good. Edward was still yummy at the second showing!! The best part of Twilight is sharing it with my daughter!! Thanks Ash!

Craig's new sport

My camera stinks!! Craig is in the middle, number 10. He decided he wanted to try a new sport- basketball. His dad has never been more proud of him. Basketball is Allen's favorite sport to play.

Craig is still learning how to play, but is trying very hard. He hustles across the court to stay in the game. I am very proud of him! It is nice to see him taking the initiative to play and pay attention. I had forgotten how much I love to watch the sport. When Allen and I first got married he played church ball. I loved going to the games. It would be awesome if Craig stayed in this sport!!

Trick or Treating

Every year we go trick or treating in San Destin. Most of the people we know live in this neighborhood so we link up with them and go. This year the Woolf's were in town so we found them with the Redd's and the Kiester's and went trick or treating with them.

Here are Craig and Mollie coming out of a house
Craig was a rock star!

and Blake followed
Here's the gang at one of the houses. It was a good place for a photo!


Ashton went with her friends around the same neighborhood but not with us of course. She is in the red - she was a vampire. Her cousin, Richard, came across town to go with her. Ashton and her friends had a little scare. She called us frantic because some masked kid on a skateboard was terrorizing them. Allen hoofed across the development to help the kids and gave all the boys grief from not helping the screaming girls. It was funny to see them scared after we realized it was not a big deal.
After trick or treating, the family returned home for chili. We took pictures in our grave yard we have out front. It was nice to be with my nephews and brother.


It was a perfect Halloween!!

Preschool Halloween Parade

We are so blessed to have Blake in Ms. Kathy's preschool. She is a dream!! This is his class getting ready for the parade down the street. Ms. Kathy is on the right and Blake is the Storm Trooper.
I love Blake's pose, hand on the chin resting on his leg. He seems so serious.

Here is Blake and his buddy Tony. They are best buddies and love to wrestle. They are so funny together!

Blake loves his sports!!

We finished another season of t-ball this October. This time Blake was on a team with his buddies, Kai and Tony. Their dads were the coaches. Blake loves playing any sport and was so excited to go every week.

I love this picture of him. He didn't want me to take his picture but I did anyway. He is very serious about his sports and was angry because someone had tackled him for the ball. He knew this was not how you play t-ball so he hauled off and punched the boy. I had him sit down and take a rest to calm down. Not a good time for a picture but it turned out great. I think we are in trouble when he is a teenager!!

He made it to first base and was waiting to take off running!This was awards night and Coach James giving Blake his trophy. He was beaming!! He got a big trophy like his brother and sister. When he was little he wanted a trophy so bad that we went to the party story and bought him a small plastic trophy and his brother and sister gave it to him for being the best little brother. His face didn't beam like this, though.


Here are the boys with their trophies - Blake, Tony, and Kai. They are very proud!!

Fall is here!!

I love fall. It is amazing to me that a pumpkin can grow from this flower. It is a beautiful part of our world and I love to watch the children as you show them a pumpkin on the vine. This past weekend Allen and I took the kids to Gilcrease Orchard to pick pumpkins and apples.
Ashton, Craig, and Blake all picked a pumpkin to take home. There were a ton of people and not many big pumpkins left. They ended up with small pumpkins and loved having them.
Here is Blake in his baseball catcher pose. I have no idea why he wanted to pose this way but he did in most of the pictures. He cracks me up!!

After pumpkin picking we picked okra, eggplants, and apples. It took us awhile to find apples, but when we did we had a blast getting them. We had to get inside the trees to get the apples. It was a great day. Craig said it was the best day ever!! I agree.

First Day of 4th grade and preschool

The boys are getting so big!
Craig started 4th grade this year. He is doing so well. He is going to be a peer mediator and had his first training today. A peer mediator helps other students with disagreements on the playground. He will be great at this job, he loves to help others. He also tried out for basketball last week. He was amazing for never having played before. His dad and I are so proud of him for trying a new sport and not being afraid!! I was looking back at his baby pictures the other night. I can't believe how much he has grown. I love that his playful side is coming back and that he is loving life again. (Craig has a hard time with change and moving houses and schools has been hard for him. It only took 4 years to adjust - I think we will have issues when he goes to college:) He is doing so great!!!
Blake started preschool again this fall. He is at Ms. Kathy's this year. He is going with his friends Kai and Toni. They also play t-ball together. Ms. Kathy has turtles that Blake loves to talk about. She is doing amazing activities with the children. Blake comes back on cloud nine on preschool days.
This Blake and Kai on their way to preschool on the first day. I am so blessed to have Ana and Holly who take and pick up Blake. I can't wait until track break when I get to be carpool mom!! They think I am crazy, but I think it sounds like a blast. Thanks ladies for helping me with my boy. He is very happy!!

Happy Birthday Craig!!

Craig turned 10 on July 28th. He is an amazing young man. Unfortunately, he had to wait to have his birthday party. His grandfather died the day before his birthday. We were out of town but my great friend, Jennifer, kept Craig and made his day extra special. He had a great attitude and didn't complain once about not being with his family. I think he had more fun with Jen than he would have had with us. Thanks again Jen!!

After being out of town, we had a few friend over to my dads house, his other grandpa, and had a small party. He had his cousins, some good friends from our last school, and a good friend from our current school.

The kids swam and had pizza and cake. It was the perfect last minute party. Thanks everyone for coming.

There is nothing like good friends!! I love you Craig and am very proud of you for being so positive about your birthday!!

Craig's 3rd grade play - The messenger

I know we have started a new school year but I am still trying to get caught up on last year. Please bear with me. I want to make sure to get all these great memories saved. at the end of the school year Craig's class put on a play called The Messenger. He was a ship captain. He did such a great job. He is standing right behind George Washington (Taylor). He was so funny because he would not practice in front of me. I was not allowed to hear his part. Kind of scary on my part. I thought he really didn't know it, but to my surprise he did fantastic. He knew all his lines. I watch the performance 3 times and by the time it was the parents performance he was relaxed and whipping out his lines.

Mr. Friedrich did a great job with Craig this year and really helped him come out of his shell. I am very grateful for all he did!


We are proud parents of our ship captain. Great job, Craig!!

Softball Camp - Go Cougars!!

Ashton's softball team, the cougars, was fortunate enough to attend BYU softball camp together, thanks to a generous donation from a parent. The girls spent a week in the dorms at BYU and went to the softball fields daily for instruction. She headed up to camp on Sunday with the Adams' on her first airplane ride. Our family went up on Friday to pick her and Maggie up from camp. This is a picture of her on the last day sitting on the field!
After camp was over the girls were able to get balls signed by the BYU players!

I am very grateful she was able to have this experience again. It is a good motivator for college and her sport! Maggie is on the right in the baseball hat. All the girls had a ball! The Cougars are the best! Both BYU and our Vegas team!!

Cheer Awards (yes, more blogging about Ashton)

Ashton's cheerleading squad has a big banquet at the end of the year. We had a nice dinner first and then the trophies were given out.
Ashton received 5 trophies for cheer this year. Isn't that crazy! We were all overwhelmed by the number of trophies.
The best trophy was this one. She received a trophy for getting straight A's. This is the group of cheerleaders that received that award. The coaches really push good grades and I love that!! It was a fun night and we are very proud of her!

Blake's 4th Birthday - Everything Fast!!

Blake is a huge fan of anything that moves fast: cars, motorcycles, monster trucks. In April, he turned 4. For his birthday, we had a race theme. I can not believe he is 4 already. He is so smart and notices everything. He is also very tough - he scares me because he has no fear. He also knows what he wants. I knew he was going to be a spit fire when we had our first ultrasound. He was moving his little arms and legs back and forth like he was waving. I was only 11 weeks pregnant. He has been going ever since. He is my fountain of youth -he keeps me young. I love this boy with all my heart and know that if I need a hug he will be the first to give it to me. He is my angel!!

Margaret made these fantastic cupcakes. She is trying to start her own cupcake business on the side called Sweet Cakes. They were so yummy and Blake was amazed at the way they look like a racing flag and had little race cars on them. Thanks tons Margaret.
Everyone agreed they were yummy!!
We opened presents then went out front for a race car pinata.
The party ended with a water play on our new slide. After all his preschool friends left then all the families came over and we BBQ and watched the kids on the slide. Blake had a great time and thank you to everyone that came. We all slept well that night!!