The Martinez Family

Mia's Baptism

2010-11-03T15:57:00.001-07:00

Mia's Baptism

Here a couple pictures that Matt took of her in her baptism dress:

The baptism took place on October 24, 2010. We didn't have much family there, but we had Matt's parents, my mom and a great turnout of friends who came to support Mia. The grandmas gave the prayers, Matt and his dad gave the talks and Bradyen played a song on the piano. It was a really nice program.

Here are Matt and Mia just before the baptism. She was so excited.

Mia had a lot of friends there. They were so cute and all came up and hugged her when the baptism was over. Here is a cute picture of Mia and her friends.

Mia and Matt after the baptism. Mia was glowing. She was so happy to finally be baptized.

Matt and I with Mia outside the church.

We had a dinner at our house for our family and friends after the baptism. Here are Matt and I with our kids, my mom and Matt's parents. I'm not sure what happened to Brayden's tie. He was wearing it at the baptism.

Grandma and Grandpa Martinez with Mia.

Mia had a wonderful baptism. It was a beautiful day with family and friends. She was so happy to finally be baptized. We love you, Mia!

Mia turns 8!

2010-10-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

Mia turns 8!

Mia turned 8 on October 1st. It was the last day of school before fall break and it was a free dress day (meaning no uniform) for school. I brought her Chick-fil-a for lunch to the school. Here are a couple pics on her big day.

Since it was still warm on her birthday, we decided to have a hula, swim party. Everyone wore their swimsuits and got grass skirts and leis to wear. The grass from the dollar store skirts was all over my house by the end of the night, but girls loved them.

Here's a group shot of most of the girls. A couple of them came late. (l-r: Camilla, Ellie, Riley, Makell, Kinley, Mia, Maddie, Kylie, Tanner, Addi and Marlee)

Here's the group with Allee and Lia who came a little late.

Kylie decked out in her hula attire.

As the girls arrived, we got them all ready in their hula skirts and leis.

The limbo contest. Here is Addi looking good. I think she won.

Mia!

Tanner just walked under the limbo stick.

Tanner and many leis!

Swimming!

Some of the girls decided to make their own little "oaisis" in the palm trees.

We BBQ'd for dinner.

We printed out group pictures of all of them and then they made and decorated frames to put them in.

Presents!

We had cupcakes with cute little tropical umbrellas. The party was a success and they had a great time. Happy 8th Birthday, Mia!

Twins B-day 2010

2010-10-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

Tanner and Riley turn 5!

I can't believe my twins are now 5 years old. It has been over 5 years since I was last pregnant. Where does the time go? August 30 was their official birthday. They went to school and came home with their b-day crowns that Tanner didn't want to take off. Since they are only in school half day, I took them to their choice for lunch. They chose McDonalds. I must love them, because I really don't like McDonalds. We had a fun lunch there.

Tanner enjoying his delicious McDonalds lunch!

Riley loves her chocolate milk.

Bug and Flower Birthday Party

That afternoon we had a "Bug and Flower" birthday party for the twins. I found some cute ideas online for boy/girl twins. It turned out to be cute.

Since they are only 5, I didn't want to make it too huge. Here are the kids (minus Lilee and Olivia who came late). Camilla and Mia were my "helpers".

Rylee (or "Big Rylee as Riley calls her) came to help out too. Here she is with Brayden. Rylee is like my 3rd daughter and a good friend of Brayden's.

The kids are lined up to play the exciting game of "Pin the Flower on the Ladybug". Notice Tanner is still wearing his hat from school!

Riley acts like she's Tanner's mother. She's spinning him for the game.

The kids had to find the hidden bugs around the family room for the next game. If it hadn't been 110 outside, I might have hid them in the backyard.

The Pinata!

PRESENTS!!

The Bug and Flower cupcakes!

You think I could have possibly done Riley's hair for her birthday party?

Cute pic of Rylee and Tanner. It was a successful party! I'm getting pretty good at throwing last minute parties!

Jonas Brothers - Sept. 14, 2010

2010-09-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

Jonas Brothers Concert

Jamie discovered that general admission tickets to see the Jonas Brothers was only $10. We got a ton of moms and daughters together to sit on the grass and watch Demi Lovato, the Camp Rock Kids and of course, the JoBros. My girls were so excited to go. We had a bunch of full cars in our group. Melissa, Jamie and I rode together.

Getting ready to leave my house. Mia, Kylie and Marlee all had to wear their rockstar shirts they made at Kylie's party.
Here are the coolest moms in the world!! We were as bad as the kids trying to get us to look at the same camera. Unfortunatley Marcee, Chelsea and Jamie are looking the other way.

Here I am with Mia

And here I am with Riley

The Rockstar girls!

Riley with Lilee

This was the closest we could get. Here the girls were waiting for the Jonas Bros to come on. The grass seats weren't the greatest, but the girls had a fun time.

Here are some of my favorite girls- Allie and McKenna. They're also Brayden's good friends.

Lilee and Riley expressing their love for Nick. Unfortunately there's some weird shadow.

By the end of the night, Riley had crashed on the blanket and I had to carry her most of the way to the car-and she isn't light!!

After the concert- all rocked out and Riley had barely woken up. It was a late, but fun night for the girls.

1st day of school 2010

2010-09-19T13:24:00.001-07:00

1st Day of School 2010

Where did the summer go? When you're in Chandler School Disrict, it's over pretty fast since school started on July 26 this year. That is way to early. We had barely gotten back from 11 days in California in time to meet the teachers, frantically get school supplies and start school. Mia and Chase still have to wear uniforms, which they are pretty much used to. This year Mia decided to go for the uniform dress with her pink sandals and pink flower in the hair for the first day of school. Girls are so cute how they want to plan out what to wear in advance. I think Chase didn't think about it until he woke up in the morning.

Mia- 2nd Grade

Chase - 5th Grade

Mia with her friend, Makell, who is once again in her same class.

Brayden started 8th Grade. His last year of middle school. I can't believe it. I had to take a picture of his standard shoe and sock look that most the kids go for around here. His black, high Vans socks with Vans sneakers. Too funny! I can't believe he actually let me take a picture of his feet!

The twins started school a couple weeks after the rest of the kids. I have them going to 1/2 day Kindergarten at a charter school close to my house. I wasn't ready for them to go to all day Kindergarten. They're my babies!!

Riley-They have a weird dress policy at their school. You are not allowed to wear shorts, unless you are wearing the school uniform. Riley did not want to wear a uniform, so she opted for a dress. Tanner wears the uniform. He doesn't seem to mind. When it's 110 degrees, I'm not making my kids wear jeans.

Tanner

I keep thinking that one of these days Tanner is going to grow and be as tall as Riley!

I like this picture of them holding hands. They really do love each other. They are in the same class and their teacher sat them next to each other. I think it was nice for them to have each other close by. They had a great first day of school!

Jamie's 30th B-day

2010-09-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

Jamie's 30th Birthday

Jason, with help from Marcee, threw together a surprise birtday party for Jamie since was turning 30. Don't I wish I was still 30? He got a bunch of fun couples together for dinner at Cantina Laredo. We were all there when they arrived and pulled off the surpise.

Cute Jamie and Jason

The whole group, minus Chelsea, who didn't want to be in the picture since her husband wasn't there.

Cute girls pic and Chelsea got in it!

The guys-of course my husband came straight from work and didn't get to change!

Mortenson's Visit Aug. 2010

2010-09-19T09:23:00.001-07:00

Dinner with the Mortenson's

Some of our very best friends, Jeff and Melissa Mortenson, were in town from Lousiville for a few days. We had them over for dinner one night, and the next night we went out without the kids. It was so fun to see them. They are the type of friends that you always have a blast with no matter how long it has been since you last saw them. We went to dinner at a Mexican restuarant and stopped by the Mesa Temple on the way home.

Camping Labor Day Weekend 2010

2010-09-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

"Pickles Reunion 2010"

We went camping with some of our great friends over Labor Day Weekend. Scott and Nicole Pickles came up with the idea and scouted out a great spot a little past Payson the weekend before. They posted "Pickles Reunion" signs and pitched their tent in hope of holding our campsite until the next weekend. Sure enough the sign was still there, as well as the tent, and the campsite was still ours. The Figgins, Erikson's and us all slept in tents (ours was borrowed from the Pickles') while the Pickles' and Young's slept in the lap of luxury of their newly purchased tent trailers. We still had a great time, but I found myself envious of those with the tent trailers!

Scott and Nicole found us a really nice spot to camp.

Tanner really got into finding wood for the campfire:

Jason took the kids to look for wood and everyone got into it:

Here the kids are enjoying all their hard work around the campfire. Everyone looks so beautiful after a night of camping!

Riley!!

Kylie and Mia

Tanner, in desperate need of a haircut!

Mia, Riley, Mikayla and Kylie.

All the kids at the campout. As usual, Brayden was the oldest.

Us moms, looking lovely after a night of camping.

Tanner with some huge bug on his shoulder.

Riley

Kosty with his new short haircut!

Scott seemed to keep all the kids entertained with different activities.

Jayden made a friend that everyone wanted.

We went to Christopher Creek to let the kids play there:

We left after playing in the creek since Matt would not miss the opening BYU football game. We were bummed since the Herrera's came up with their quads and we didn't get to ride on them. We had a fun time camping with great friends, and yes, Nicole, we would love to go again!!!

Halloween 2009

2009-12-02T20:02:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2009

Halloween this year ended up being a crazy day. Since it was on a Saturday, we had 4 ball games and Riley and Mia were not feeling all that well. We had a bunch of neighbors over to grill and have a potluck in front of our house. Then we took the kids trick-or-treating, followed by a movie that we projected to a wall on our driveway. Brayden, being a 7th grader, chose to go trick-or-treating with his friends (10 girls and 3 boys). When they were done, I took them to a haunted house some friends of ours put on each year. It was a fun Halloween for everyone.

My one picture of all the kids. Everyone seems to look pretty happy in this picture. Riley was a fairy, Tanner was Anikan Skywalker, Mia was an Asian princess and the older boys traded each others costumes from last year. They couldn't figure out what they wanted to be, so they dug through my costume bin and Chase ended up as Slash and Brayden was and "old school rapper".

Brayden with his good friends, Jack and Grady.

Rylee was the girl in the green scarf from Confessions of a Shopaholic.

Chase with Jake, who was a piece of Papa John's Pizza!

Chase, AKA Slash!

A bunch of the kids on our street.

I took Brayden and his friends to the Jenson's house to be towed around their neighborhood on a trailer. They had a great time.

Here's the group that Brayden trick-or-treated with. I joke that it's his harem. He has such a great friendship with these 7th grade girls that we go to church with. In typical fashion, notice the 3 boys to 8 girls (plus 2 little sisters). Isn't that how it always is? More girls than boys!

Erin and Allie. I loved Erin's cat costume!

On the trailer!

I ran back over to our neighborhood to take the twins trick-or-treating. Chase and Mia had taken off with their friends, leaving me with Riley and Tanner. Riley's was starting to feel sick again by that point and she didn't want to walk, so I had to get the wagon out.

After trick-or-treating, everyone came back to our house to watch Monsters Vs. Aliens.

Mia sorting through her candy

Trunk or Treat

The night before Halloween, our ward had it's annual Trunk-or-Treat. It was fun, but sad since we knew our ward was getting split 2 days later.

Riley was feeling really sick. I probably shouldn't have brought her, but this picture pretty much captured her mood for the night.

Tanner was Spider-man since we couldn't find half of his Anikan Skywalker costume. Fortunately we found it in time for Halloween.

I don't think the twins look happy to be with me!

Lia, Mia and Camilla

Bray with Allie and Rahgan, who was the "Balloon Boy."

Brayden and Rylee goofing off as usual.

Melissa, Chelsea and me.

With Chris and Michelle Jenson.

Jason and Jamie were dressed as Jon and Kate Gosselin. I loved the wig!!!

Jake and Chase, who had abandoned his costume by this point.

Preschool Halloween Party

The twins had their Shining Stars Halloween party. Here are a couple pics from that day:

Riley with Madison and Sadie, a couple of her best friends.

U2 Concert - Oct 2009

2009-11-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

U2 Concert

On Oct 20, Matt and I took Brayden to the U2 concert in Phoenix. We had a blast. Matt is a diehard U2 fan and has seen them several times. This was my second time seeing them. It was a great concert and took me back to the good old days of high school and college. I love it when they play their old songs. When the tickets first went on sale, Matt and I were planning on going alone. But, Matt really wanted the boys to go and was contemplating buying 2 more tickets. In the end, Matt's boss gave us an extra ticket that she had, so we decided to take Brayden (on a school night). We didn't get home until 1 am, but Brayden still made it to school the next day. Bray has grown up listening to U2 and I think he enjoyed his first concert experience. Here are some pics of the night:

Outside the University of Phoenix Stadium before the concert.

Here we are U2 came on.

Here are some pictures during the concert:

Bono's starting to get old, but U2 still puts on a great concert. What a fun night!

California 2009

2009-10-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

California

July 2009

Yep, it's pretty pathetic that I'm still blogging about our summer. We went to CA for my sister's California wedding reception. My brother, Jim, and his family came too. We only stayed for a few days, but I was able to see some of my best friends. I was able to go to the beach with my friends, Traci and Melissa, from Louisville and see my good friend, Tara, that I grew up with.

Here are some pics from the kids swimming with their cousins at my mom's house:

Mia had a little photo shoot in front of my mom's house next to the palm tree that I stood next to for every picture on the first day of school, etc, while I was growing up:

Oceanside

We decided that meeting in Oceanside was a good central place to meet my friends, Traci and Melissa, since they were in San Diego with Traci's family. We didn't have a whole lot of time with them, but I had such a fun time seeing them. It was just like old times. They're friends for life! Here are some pictures from Oceanside:

Mia with Sydnee Mortenson. They were great friends when we lived in Louisville.

Brayden looking studly!!!

Me and Melissa. I can't believe I'm putting this picture in, because I look terrible, but Melissa looks great and I had so much fun seeing her at the beach and then again when she came to AZ in August.
Traci and Melissa. I hope no one's mad about swimsuit pics, but they both look great. I love these girls and I miss not living near them.

The Martinez, the Mortenson and the Underwood kids! It's hard to think Kari is now 14 and I still remember Melissa telling me she was pregnant with her.

San Clemente

Beach # 2 was San Clemente. This is our favorite beach to go to in California. We went their with the Haslam cousins. Here are some pictures that look very similar to the pictures of Oceanside:

Oakley, Riley and Sadie all in their Old Navy swimsuits!

Jen and Spencer's California Reception

Since Brayden wasn't in Utah for Jen's wedding, he didn't get to see my grandmother. I made sure I got a picture of them together.

Spencer and Jen - the newlyweds!

Here I am with Tara Bullock. She's one my best friends from growing up. It's always great to see her. She looked great having recently had a baby boy. I always feel short around Tara!

Utah Trip- July 2009

2009-10-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

Utah Trip

July 2009

I'm so pathetic that I'm finally blogging our trip from 3 months ago. After my sister's wedding, we went back to AZ for about a week and a half and then turned around and went back to Utah. It was pretty crazy! We had planned to spend the week of the 4th of July in Utah long before my sister was even engaged. We had already paid for Brayden to go to BYU baseball camp as well. So here are some highlights (and way too many pictures) of our trip:

4th of July

We stayed at my brother, Jim's, house once again. They're great hosts and my kids love their cousins. Here are some pics from that night:

I don't know what it is about my kids, but they never want to go to classes when we go to different ward. We had photo shoot before taking the 3 youngest home.

Sunday Drive

It was such a beautiful day that we decided to drive the Alpine Loop. We checked out some springs and went up to Sundance.

I had to snap a picture of Sundance as we drove down the Alpine Loop.
The kids loved seeing where they had skied just a few months earlier.

Sundance

Matt and I standing where our engagment pictures were taken over 15 years ago. I don't think I look 22 anymore!

BYU Baseball Camp

Brayden went to BYU Baseball Camp for the first time this year. He was roommates with his friend, Taylor Plewe. They were next door neighboors with a couple other friends from Gilbert. They had a great week. Besides playing baseball all day, they had counselors and fun activities at night. They even got to go to Seven Peaks. It was well worth the money. Brayden had a blast. Matt's dad flew out to Utah to see the kids and check out baseball camp since he didn't get a chance to get out to AZ for Brayden's baseball season this year. We ended up hanging out with him watching a lot of the camp.

Brayden stayed in Helaman Halls. You got to love the lovely block walls of the dorms!

Brayden with his roommate, Taylor.

Ready for baseball camp to start!

Here are some shots of Brayden at camp:

Serge, Matt's Dad arrived. Here he is hanging out with Chase.

Chase and Grandpa went out and practiced pitching after camp ended for the day.

Riley!!

Here are some other pics around BYU

Chase posing in front of Ty Detmer's Heisman Tropy.

Boating

We went out on the boat with the kids one morning. We didn't have much time so we just kneeboarded and tubed.

Chase, Tanner and Oakley

Chase on the kneeboard

Oakley and Riley on the tube

Oakley and Tanner on the tube. Oakley was the one person the twins trusted to take them on the tube!

Bryce and Tanner

Mia on the kneeboard

Lucy and Mia

Dinner at Cafe Rio

We met Matt's sister, Melanie and her husband, Brady, for dinner at Cafe Rio. Our good friends, Kristi and Todd Hamilton came as well. It was so fun to see everyone.

Todd, Kristi, me and Matt

Melanie, Serge and Matt

Here I am with Kristi.

BYU Creamery

We had to go to the BYU Creamery for ice cream. It was filled with EFY kids. It made me totally nostalgic for my days as an EFY counselor. We took some of the cousins and Grandpa Martinez came too. He wouldn't miss out on ice cream.

Cabella's

Jim and Diane live totally close to Cabella's. We hadn't ever been before, so we decided to check it out. It was really cool. The kids loved it. They loved all the cool animals and the big fish tanks. Chase loved it so much that he went twice. He went the first time with us and then he took Grandpa Martinez back for a second time.

I guess the "triplets" are done with Cabella's!

Last Night in Utah

We went out to eat at The California Pizza Kitchen our last night in Utah. Brayden finished up with his baseball camp that day and Serge was leaving on a late flight that night. Melanie came down from SLC to hang with us.
Right before Serge left, the boys all played ball in the parking lot of University Mall.

The next day we left Utah for California for our next leg of our summer trip.

2009-09-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Mindi visit Arizona!

August 2009

A few weeks ago, a couple of my best friends, Melissa and Mindi came to town for a conference. It was so fun to see them. We used to all live in Louisville together. Melissa still lives there, but Mindi now lives in Reno. I hadn't seen Mindi in about 3 years and it was just like old times. We went to lunch one day, went to a movie and I just hung out their hotel one night. We had a blast. I just love those kind of friends that even if you've been apart for a long time, it's like you never left. They're coming back next year for the same conference. I can't wait!

Mindi and Melissa

All of us at lunch

Some pics at my house. Why do I look pregnant?

First Day of School

2009-09-02T22:17:00.000-07:00

First Day of School 2009

July 27th is WAY TOO EARLY to start school!!! There's something wrong with going to school when it's 110 degrees outside! We should be in the pool instead. That's the way it is here. My kids have gotten used to it. Mia started 1st grade, Chase started 4th grade and Brayden is in 7th. Yep, Bray's in middle school! Mia and Chase still have to wear uniforms at their school, but Brayden is finally able to wear normal clothes again. He was pretty excited on that first day.

Mia - ready for 1st grade! She was fortunate to get in a class with most of her friends from last year. She had a great first day of school, but started getting a little sad by the end of the first week. We had to bribe her to be happy and not to cry at school I'm not sure why she was so sad and didn't want to go to school. She didn't have any problems with Kindergarten and she's old for her grade, being almost 7. She finally got over it after a couple weeks.

Chase-ready for 4th grade. Chase has had a great year so far. He has several friends from last year in his class and his teacher is in our ward. He pretty much lives for playing soccer at recess with all of his friends. He's bummed when it's over 110 degrees and they can't play outside!

Chase and Mia in front of their school.

Brayden right after the first day of 7th grade. I totally forgot to take a picture of him before school. He looks a little hot. Could it be because he just walked from the bus stop in the Arizona heat? He had a great day too. He ended up with a lot of friends in his classes and his lunch period. I know that middle school can be a yucky time, but he's been doing really well.

Shining Stars Preschool 2009

Once again the twins are going to Shining Stars Preschool with Miss Nicole and they LOVE IT! They were bummed that a few of their good friends are no longer there, but Riley is thrilled to still be with Madison and Tanner is stoked that his buddy, Damon, is in his class too. It's hard to believe the twins could start Kindergarten next year. Since they have August birthdays, I'm holding them back. I want to hang on to my little buddies a little bit longer. I'm not ready for them to grow up. Preschool is perfect! A little break, but not all day. Here are some pictures from the first day of preschool:

Tanner

Riley

Tanner and Riley with Madison at school.

Jen and Spencer's Wedding

2009-08-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

Jen and Spencer's wedding

June 23, 2009

My sister, Jen, married Spencer Roberts on June 23rd in the Draper, Utah Temple. My friend, Kelly Norton and I, set them up. Last fall, Kelly, and her husband, Chris, invited us over to have dinner and watch a BYU football game. We started talking about my single sister, Jen, and Kelly's single brother, Spencer, and how they both lived in Utah. We thought we ought to set them up. I told Jen that she needed to ask Spencer to be her friend on Facebook. Kelly told Spencer about Jen. Not long after a Facebook friendship, they started dating, and a few months later, they were engaged. Here is their engagement picture:

June ended up being a really crazy month for us. We went to Las Vegas, Brayden and Matt had scout camp, Brayden was doing all-star baseball and we had the wedding in Utah. We decided to let Brayden stay home from the wedding since he couldn't miss his all-star games. I had to be up in Utah before the wedding for the bridal shower. Matt stayed with Brayden in AZ and flew up to Utah the morning of the wedding. That meant I drove up to Utah alone with my 4 youngest kids. I can't believe I did it! I was very proud of myself. I did it all in one day. I think the longer I'm married, the less I do things like that. When I was at BYU, I would have done that drive in a heartbeat. In the last 15 years I've gotten used to having my husband around for the long drives!

Family Bridal Shower

My sister-in-law, Diane and I threw a family bridal shower for Jen the day before the wedding. Her are some pictures from the shower:

Jen and I

Here I am with, Jen and Kelly

Jen with Camilla and Mia. Camilla is Kelly's daughter and one of Mia's best friends. They thought it was the coolest thing that Mia's aunt was marrying Camilla's uncle. Their entire Kindergarten class and teacher knew the story. Mia and Camilla think they're cousins now!

My mom and Jen

The Haslam and Roberts women

Opening the presents

Camilla, Mia and Lucy

Swimming with the cousins

It was Jacob's 13th birthday and we celebrated with a pool party at Stephanie's mom's house.

Family Dinner

The night before the wedding we had a nice family dinner. No one seems to do the wedding luncheon thing anymore. That's what we did after we got married. It was a nice, relaxed evening with both families.

The happy couple!

Here I am with my one living grandparent-my 91 year old grandma. She looks great!

Mia and my grandma. Mia and my grandma both have the same beautiful light blue eyes. I had to get a picture of them together. You can't really see their eyes very well in this picture.

Chase and Oakley

Uncle Jim, Aunt Sherry, Grandma, Dad and Joyce

Who left the "triplet"s unattended???? There's bound to be trouble!

Sadie! I'm loving the curls!

Diane and Sadie

Lucy, Oakley and Mia

Front-Chase and Mia. Back-Jared, Cameron,Lucy and Oakley

Mia and Camilla-who hurt herself at the shower that morning.

Here are some other miscellaneous pics from the dinner:

The Wedding Day

I had to get all the kids up and ready to pick Matt up at the airport and get to the Draper Temple on time. All worked out perfectly and we got there with plenty of time. The only problem was that I forgot to charge the camera battery. It died right before Jen and Spencer came out of the temple. I did get a few pics from Diane's camera , but she didn't too many herself.

Both families at the temple.

While we were waiting for Jen and Spencer to come out of the temple, Matt took a ton of pics of the kids sitting outside a little window of the temple.

Mia and Camilla were very eager to see the bride!

The twins entertained themselves with Matt's sunglasses.

The Reception

The reception was held at The Old Meetinghouse in SLC. Here are some pics from that night:

Jen and I. I was the maid of honor. I'm looking too old for this sort of thing!

This was not a great picture, but here is my side of the family, minus Brayden!

Matt and I looking like we should be going to prom!

Matt and 2 of the boys!

Grandma and I

Camilla and Mia

The twins!

The "triplets"!

Tanner with his Great-grandma Haslam

Oakley and Tanner. My nieces are so sweet with the twins. I wish I had them around more often!

Sadie, the present taker!

Another prom pic of Matt and I!

Cousins!

Sadie and Oakley

Lucy and Mia

Tanner and Chase

Matt's sister, Melanie, and her husband, Brady came to the reception.

Jen and Spencer cutting the cake

Spencer and Jen heading for the car.

The very next morning, we got up at 4:30 in the morning to get back to AZ for and All-Star game for Brayden. The newleyweds headed off to Hawaii. We were exhausted, but it was all worth it. It was nice to have Matt with me for the drive home and good to get back to Brayden. I still can't believe I played a part in my sister getting married. Is there anyone else in need of being set up? Just let me know!

Las Vegas - June 2009

2009-08-09T16:27:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas

June 2009

Matt and I went to Las Vegas for his annual Immigration Lawyers Conference held each June. Last year we went to Vancouver, British Columbia which was a lot more exciting than Vegas, but we were happy to leave the kids with my mom and get away for a few days. Each year we get to see some of our best friends, Rusty and Vicki O'Brien from Louisville. Rusty is also an immigration lawyer. We had a blast hanging out with them. The conference was held at the Palazzo Hotel which is attached to the Venetian, so we spent a lot of our time there. Here are some pics from our first night there and hanging out with Rusty and Vicki:

Matt and I in "Venice"

Vicki and I

Rusty and Vicki

At the Grand Lux Cafe in the Venetian

Here are some other pics from us walking the strip:

One of our nights in Las Vegas, we went to a dinner for immigration lawyers honoring succesful immigrants. There was a cool artist from Belgium that would paint a canvas upside down to music with only his hands. He would then flip it around when he was done. He painted a great one of the Statue of Liberty and one of John Lennon. He was amazing. He would paint one in about 5 minutes. Our pictures didn't turn out very well, but here is the one of the Statue of Liberty:
Carlos Santana was also honored and was there to accept his award. He gave a very strange speech, but it was cool to see him in person. Unfortunately, he didn't play his guitar. Again, the lighting was bad and the pictures didn't turn out very well.

Matt with his law partner, Nancy Jo, with the John Lennon painting behind.

Here I am with the MC of the night, a comedian named Alex Reymundo, who is and up and coming comedian and supposedly the next George Lopez. He was really funny and super nice. His wife is from Louisville and Alex had a ton of Kentucky jokes. Afterwards, we got to meet him and his wife. We ended up hanging out with them at the Palazzo pool the next day.

Hanging at the Pool

Vicki and Rusty hadn't ever had In' N Out before, so Matt and Rusty got it for us and brought it to the pool.

The exciting part of the day was our brushes with fame at the Palazzo pool. It turned out the Today show was filming a segment on Las Vegas when we were there. Natalie Morales from the Today show was there with a bunch of women training to be "Bond girls". Mario Lopez was also there for a bar scene. I'm not even a Mario Lopez fan, but it was pretty funny when we saw him. It was all about getting a picture of a celeb!
This would be Mario saying hi to me as Matt took a picture! Nice wife beater t-shirt! He was on the way to the "adult pool" at the Palazzo where tops are optional! As you can guess, we didn't go to the adult pool! Here are some pictures with Natalie Morales and Mario Lopez as they were filming: Vicki and I being complete dorks! We were trying to get the scene behind us.

Vicki with Natalie Morales. After this little brush with fame, Matt was in the elevator with Vicki and the rode up with Jan from The Office! It was one celebrity after another!

We had dinner at a yummy Mexican restaurant at the New York New York Hotel.

We were walking down the Strip and got mobbed, as usual, by the people handing out cards for prostitutes. This Mexican girl was handing them out while talking on her cell phone that was held to her head with a rubber band! Matt called it "the poor man's blue tooth!"

Here we are at the Bellagio waiting for the water show:You pretty much see everything in Vegas...including Jack Sparrow! He really looked like him. I had to get a picture with him!
Last year when we were in Canada, we got crepes every night. They were so yummy! It is now a tradition that we have to find crepes when we're with the O'Briens. We determined the best place to find crepes had to be at the Paris Hotel. They were good, but not as good as Canada. Here we are chowing down on some good crepes:

We pretty much ate our way around Las Vegas. I guess that's what happens when you're Mormon and can't do much else!

On our last day, we wanted to go to the Bellagio buffet, but the line was huge! We settled for Paris, once again. We had to have crepes one more last time.We had so much fun in Las Vegas this year. Even though we've been to Vegas tons of times, it was so much fun to be with our good friends, Rusty and Vicki. Next year the conference is in Washington DC. I hope we can find crepes somewhere there!

Little League and All-Star Baseball 2009

2009-07-21T20:46:00.000-07:00

Little League Baseball 2009

Brayden played on the Blue Jays in the Majors of Southeast Diamondbacks Little League. Once again, Brayden was a pitcher and played shortstop when he wasn't pitching. Brayden's team didn't win many games, but he really liked his coaches and the boys he played with. Here are some pictures of Bray pitching on opening day:

Here's Brayden at bat:

We didn't video much this season, ( I think this was the only game), but we did get Brayden hitting a double.

Brayden with his head coach, Chris, at the end of the year pizza party.

The Blue Jays!

Tanner was ready for opening day! He brought his sweet green bat and his batting gloves!

SEDLL All-Stars 2009

After the season, Brayden, was selected to play All-Stars again. He played with many kids that were on All-Stars with him last year. He also played for the same head coach, Dan Whillock. After losing many games during his regular season , it was nice for Brayden to switch to a winning team. In fact, they won all of their games except the final game before going to the State championships. Their semi-final game against Gilbert National Little League proved to be the best game. We had been pretty much destroying all of our competiton until this semi-final game. We found ourselves down 9 to 4 in the last inning. We came back in that inning with 6 runs. Brayden hit a double in that inning and ending up scoring the winning run. Unfortunately, our next game wasn't as successful, but there's always next year!

Like a dorky mom, I made Brayden pose before the first All-Star game of the year.

Here are some pics from some of the games:
One of Brayden's best friends, Cameron Harris, made All-Stars this year too.

The Martinez fam after a victory.

Candy and I with our SEDLL shirts!Some of the Deacons Quorum came to support Bray in one of his games.

Before the final game, everyone got very spirited with the face paints. Here are Tanner, Riley and Presley.

Chase and Jake got into it too!

Even Brett Harris got his head painted. The SEDLL All-Stars 2009!
Brayden with his coach, Dan Whillock.
We look forward to All-Stars next year!

Chase's Baseball Season 2009

Chase played in his first year of Minors Baseball. He played on the Dodgers. It's a big change when they switch from coach pitch to kid pitch. He was definitely a little timid of the ball at the beginning of the season, but improved tons over the season. His head coach was Lisa, who was actually a grandmother of a boy on his team. She turned out to be a fantastic coach and she had a nice motherly, nurturing side that was nice for the boys. They had a great season, finishing 2nd overall in the regular season and then went on to win the Playoffs! Here are some pictures from some of his games:

Mia and Tanner goofing off at Chase's game.

The Championship Game against the Yankees

Chase had been pracicing pitching all season in hopes of becoming a pitcher. Matt and Brayden had been working with him for a few months, but his coach hadn't ever given him a shot. Finally, at one of his last practices, one of the assistant coaches noticed that Chase was really starting to pitch well and thought he should have a chance. Chase ended up pitching the final 2 innings of his last 3 games. After he finished out the final game, he made a comment about how hard work really does pay off if you don't give up. We were so proud of Chase!! Here he is pitching in the final game:

The Dodgers won in the rain!!! The won the League Championships for the Minors.
Great Job, Chase!

End of School 2009

2009-06-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

End of the School Year 2009

Here are pictures from some of our end of the school year activities:

Preschool Graduation

It's hard to believe the twins completed their first year of preschool at Miss Nicole's Shining Stars Preschool. They have loved every minute of it. When it isn't a preschool day they still want to go to school. They learned a ton too. I feel like when you have 5 kids, you don't work with your youngest kids nearly as much as you did with your oldest. Thanks Nicole for all they've learned from you!! Nicole gave a super cute graduation program complete with graduation caps!

Riley!! Great smile!

Tanner, love the fake smile!

The class doing the Pledge of Allegience. I'm noticing that Riley is one of the few kids that actually has her right hand over her heart!

Yep, they really are twins!!! And Tanner really is 14 minutes older!

Riley with Miss Nicole and her cute packet of stuff she sent home.

Tanner really loves Miss Nicole, but for some reason doesn't look too happy!

Kindergarten Graduation
CTA put on a great Kindergarten graduation program. They had a cute program with singing and speaking parts. Mia recited a short poem. I was so impressed that my shy little Mia actually did it. We ran off to Mia's dance recital right afterwards, but it all worked out. It was also nice that my mom was in town for all of it.

Mia with her wonderful teacher, Mrs. Moore .

Singing one of their cute songs. Belle, the little blonde girl behind Mia, was in the same dance class as Mia. She already had her make-up done for the recital!

After the main program, Mrs. Moore had a slide show and award ceremony. Here is Mia waiting for it to begin.

Hailey, Camilla, Mia, Taylor and Avery

Mia, Kinley and Camilla

Mia and Lia

Mrs. Moore and Mia. We love you Mrs. Moore!

Brayden's Last Days of 6th Grade

It's hard to believe that elementary school is over for Brayden. For the last few days of school, the kids were given free dress days, had field day, played Survivor and had the traditional 6th graders against the teachers softball game. I stopped by for field day and the end of the year party and yearbook signing. Here are some pics from field day:

Here are some pics from the end of the year party and yearbook signing:

Brayden with his best friends: Brayden, Trevor, Cameron, Dallen and Jack

Brayden with his homeroom teacher, Mrs Suhre, along with Zane, Brendan, Noah, Nathan and some other kids.

The twins got in on the yearbook signing. Tanner is signing McKenna's yearbook!

Brayden with his friend, Emily Malm

Goofing off in the hallway with a bunch of kids from church: Lauren, Brooke, McKenna, Kaylie, Devin, Loren, Brendan and Brayden

Brayden, Trevor, Cameron, Dallen and some other kids with Mrs. Pisano, Brayden's other 6th grade teacher.

Tanner and Riley continued signing yearbooks!

What a great school year the kids had. I'm sad I didn't get any pictures of Chase's end of the year party. When I stopped by his class they were watching a movie with the lights off!

Brayden Turnes 12!

2009-06-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

Brayden turned 12 on May 5

I can't believe Brayden is now 12. It's amazing how fast he's grown up. He is such a great son and a wonderful example to his younger brothers and sisters. I'm so proud of him. Here is a picture of him at church right after he receieved the priesthood and became a deacon.

Here is a picture of him (that didn't scan very clearly) of him 10 years ago when he was 2. These years have gone by so fast. It seems like yesterday. What happened to my little blondie?

Matt and Brayden

Matt and I with Brayden. What is up with my hair??? I'm just going to assume it was windy outside. It was actually Mother's Day that day and I was so rushed getting everything together for my calling, I didn't even have time to wash my hair. I had to throw it in a pony tail!

Brayden with our bishopric: Brother Hancock, Bishop Guttery and Brother Poulsen.

For Brayden's actual birthday, I went to the school and brought him lunch. I also brought Krispy Kreme donuts for his class.

Brayden with one of his best friends, Trevor. It was his birthday too. They both have the same birthday! You've got to love the school uniforms and the lovely school cafeteria background!

That night we had dinner at In-n-Out. Since Chase had baseball and it was a school night, we didn't have time for much else. But, who doesn't love a good In-n-Out burger?

Brayden chose a chocolate bundt cake for his birthday cake. Tanner kept calling it the "butt" cake! You got to love Tanner. I guess Brayden wanted to light his own candles!

Opening the presents.

A couple weeks later, we had his birthday party with his friends. We came up with a "Fear Factor" theme where they had to perform different tasks and eat some nasty food. It turned out to be a hit. We also bar-b-qued and the boys topped off the night with capture the flag at the park when it got dark.

Left to right: Jack, Loren, Trevor, Bray, Cameron and Dallin. Brayden has such a nice group of boys that he hangs out with.

Devin and Rylee came to crash the party and be the judges for Fear Factor.

Nice look, Bray.

Do you think Cameron was a little hungry? The funny thing is that he had at least one more hot dog after eating all that!

One of the first Fear Factor challenges was a basketball and free throw competition.

Here are the very intimidating judges, Rylee and Devin.

After basketball, sucking on a lemon for a minute and eating some yucky foods such as pickled beets, the boys had to find a piece of gum in the pudding and blow a bubble without using their hands.

What a surprise, Brayden wanted a BYU football cake!

We had a great time celebrating Brayden's birthday. Happy 12th birthday, Brayden!

BYU Women's Conference 2009

2009-05-23T10:09:00.000-07:00

BYU Women's Conference 2009

April 29- May 2, 2009

A big group of girls got together and flew up to Utah to go to Women's Conference at BYU. Our husbands were brave enough to take care of the kids and hold down the fort while we were gone. I know that Matt tried to work from home one of the days I was gone and he quickly realized how little you can get done with the twins around. There were six girls in my group. And there was another group of six of our good friends in the dorm next to us. I felt like I was in college again. We stayed in Heritage Halls. Our particular dorm, Whitney Hall, looked right out at where my dorm in Desert Towers used to be.

We were so excited to go to that we had to take a group pic in the Phoenix Airport. Our airplane was full of women going to Women's Conference. Even the sky cab guy at the curb asked if we were going to Women's Conference. Are we that obvious??

Here we are on our plane probably driving everyone crazy!

How is that lady behind Angie actually sleeping through this??? Kristen and Amity failed on making the crazy faces!

We made it to SLC. Everyone looks very happy here. They were all dying by the time we got to Provo. We rented an SUV and I was the designated driver since I had lived in Utah for so long. We could BARELY fit our luggage in the car and we had to cram 4 people in the middle. They were a little car sick by the time we got to Provo. Everyone survived even though they all seemed a bit nervous with my driving. Is my driving that bad? I havn't had an accident since I was 16!

We tried so long to get a group pic while using the automatic timer. Our group of 6: Vonda, Marcee, Angie, Amity, me and Kristen in the front.

Cute picture of Marcee and Angie!

Angie, Nicole and I on our way to the first class. We booked it so fast to get seats that my shins were so sore the next day from running in flip flops.

Amity and Nicole in our first class. Check out those seats!

Angie, Amity, Kristen and I. Check out the Y behind us.

We had to pose by the pretty tree. We loved all the flowers. Arizona isn't quite so colorful. Yeah, we're pretty much dorks!

We found the perfect parking spot outside our dorm and didn't want anyone to take it when we went to dinner. Kristen and Marcee came up with a great idea to move the trash cans in our spot! It was still available when we got back that night.

Before dinner we stopped by the Service Booths. I saw my good friend's daughters, Jen and Ashlee. They both grew up in Louisville. I was showing my friends from AZ what Kentucky girls look like-they're not hicks. When we were talking, I saw my friend, Tiffany who had also lived in Louisville. So here I am with Ashlee, Jen and Tiffany. Why does everyone else seem to look so cute and I look totally trashed and tired?

Dinner at the Pizza Factory. We followed that up with a movie at good old Movies 8. I felt like I was in college all over again. Why am I holding the menu in front of me?

The next day we went to several great classes including one by John Bytheway. I had known him while in college and I was an EFY counselor. We used to go running together around Provo. I had to go up and say hi. I wanted my kids to know that I really DO know John Bytheway! I felt like I was getting my picture taken with a celebrity. There was a line to talk to him!

Here we are in the Marriot Center after the closing session given by Elder L. Tom Perry. It was awesome. We were so sad for it to be over. It was so cool to be there with all of those LDS women from all over the country.

Here we are right outside the Marriot Center after it ended.

In front of our dorm, Whitney Hall.

Angie!

We hooked up with the rest of our group for dinner that night. We started out at the movie Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, but walked out because it was so trashy. We ended up at Bajio and then played games back at our dorm.

The next day, we drove up to Salt Lake, did some shopping and went to lunch on top of the Joseph Smith Building. We had an awesome view of the Salt Lake Temple.

Back in Phoenix! When we left Salt Lake, it was cold and rainy. We were a little over-dressed for the 100 degree weather of Phoenix. We had such a great trip. I'm so glad I went. We were all exhausted and eager to see our families, but I hope we can all go to Women's Conference again sometime!

Mia's Broken Arm

2009-04-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

Mia Breaks Her Arm

Last Friday, I was shopping at Target when I got a phone call from Mia's school nurse. Apparently she had fallen from the jungle gym at recess. The nurse didn't seem concerned, but Mia was in pain so she thought I should pick Mia up. I took her home and she was in serious pain. Her arm didn't look swollen, but she couldn't extend it without it killing. Being a Friday afternoon, I knew I better get her to the doctor. I should have gone straight to the urgent care which I now realize is only a $15 co-pay, but I always thought it was really expensive to go there. I went to the pediatrician who thought it could possibly be broken, but couldn't tell from looking at it. Since they didn't have an x-ray machine, they then sent me to an imaging center. I had to hold Mia's arm down for one of the x-rays that was extrmely painful for her. They confirmed she had a fracture in her elbow and since it was after 5pm, I was sent to urgent care to get a splint. So, I basically spent my entire Friday afternoon and evening at the doctor and I was coming down with the flu. Also, I managed to pay a co-pay everywhere I went. Mia survived the weekend with her splint. Matt came home with flowers and candy for her. I think Mia kind of enjoyed all the attention she was got.

Rylee, Devin, Kamryn and Jake came over with a card and some cookies for Mia. Unfortunately, Mia was already asleep when they came by.

Kamryn, Devin, Rylee and Jake

On Monday afternoon, we got in with the orthopedist who confirmed the break and put Mia in her sweet hot pink cast. She only has to wear it for 3 weeks and her hand was left out of the cast so she can still write. The Immigration Group at Matt's law firm were so sweet and sent Mia a cookie boquet. She was so excited to get it and so were the other kids when they got home from school and started eating the cookies.

Mia with her cookie boquet.

Mia was eager to go to school the next day so that her friends could sign her cast, but Mia came down with the flu that the rest of us had and stayed home from school for the next 2 days.

I was supposed to be running the Boston Marathon last weekend, but the race had already filled up when I tried to register a month before the deadline. Then I decided to run the SLC marathon, which was also last weekend, but when I started having hamstring problems, I decided not to run it. I am so glad I didn't run either of them. I would have felt so bad if I had been in Boston or Salt Lake when Mia broke her arm. Also, I ended up getting the worst flu/cold thing that I've had in a long time. There is no possible way I could have run either of the marathons feeling like that. I figure everything worked out for the best. I'll find another marathon to run soon. I'm so glad I was there for Mia. She really needed her mom when she broke her arm.

Pinewood Derby and Blue and Gold Banquet

2009-04-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

Pinwood Derby and Blue and Gold Banquet

I'm a little slow getting these on the blog since the Blue and Gold Banquet was in February and the Pinwood Derby was at the beginning of March. For the Blue and Gold Banquet the kids had to make a cake that represented a state. Of course, Chase chose Kentucky. We made green coconut grass, made a white picket fence out of popsicle sticks and put a bunch of plastic horses on top. Here's how it turned out:

Chase won a compass as his prize for most creative cake.

Pinewood Derby

Once again, we scrambled to get Chase's Pinewood Derby car put together. He and Matt started making it just a couple days before the race. It actually turned out pretty well since he got 6th place out of over 30 cars! He ended up winning most of his heats until the very end. My trick to a good car is buying the pre-cut cars at Michaels!

It was quite an elaborate set up for the big race.

Parker and Chase before their heat.

Chase with his sweet silver car!!!

Brayden and Trevor cheered Chase on. Check out Bishop Guttery in the background.

Brayden and Trevor with the girls who happened to TP us later that night!!! It's OK, Brayden and Trevor got them back the next week!

Ice Skating

2009-04-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

Ice Skating

We had been wanting to go ice skating at the new rink in Gilbert for a few months now. Thanks to Amy, who planned it, we finally got together with a few other other families and did it. When I was young, I wanted to be Dorothy Hamill, after seeing her in the Olympics. I even took figure skating lessons for a short time and proved that I really didn't have a talent for it, but I have always enjoyed it. My friend, Candy, and I were trying to pass off a merit badge for ice skating for Brayden and Cameron. It was pretty funny trying to figure out what we had to do to pass it off. Does anyone know what it means to do a "shoot the duck" on ice skates? That was something to pass off for the merit badge. We totally guessed on that one!

A couple group shots of some of the kids in our group.

Cameron and Brayden being too cool.

I pretty much had to hold onto Mia's hand the entire time. She was pretty unsteady. She was starting to get the hang of it by the end of the day.

Candy had a similar experience with Jillian. She couldn't let go of her much.

Here I am with CJ, Mia, Devin and Devin's friend.

Kristen with Lexie, Savannah and Avery.

Jake, CJ, Mia and Chase

Jillian and Mia. They actually let go of me and Candy for a short time!

Chase!

Jake, CJ, Chase, Bray, Lexie and Allie.

The Grand Canyon

2009-03-22T21:05:00.001-07:00

Our Trip to the Grand Canyon

We thought that since we live in Arizona, our kids needed to see the Grand Canyon. I hadn't been there since I was a kid and Matt hadn't ever been there. So, a couple of weekends ago, we made the 3 1/2 hour trip up there. We spent the night in Flagstaff, AZ, which is beautiful and in the mountains, and then headed about an hour north to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. It was 80 degrees back in Phoenix, but at 7000 feet, it was pretty chilly at the Grand Canyon. Fortunately, it was a beautiful, sunny day. It was AMAZING. It was so cool and the kids loved it. Brayden and Chase were very nervous that the twins were going to go over the edge. Most of the rim doesn't have a fence around it, but Matt and I were very careful with Tanner and Riley and they survived. The funny thing is we bumped into Matt and Andrea Cowley and their kids as we were walking around. They live about a half an hour from us in Phoenix, but we hadn't seen them in about 6 months. It was fun to see them. These pictures don't do it justice, but here are a few shots of us on our trip:

With Matt and Andrea Cowley and kids

This was a replica of the first boat that went down the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River.

Tanner and Riley at the hotel

The kids all wanted to hide in these little caves at an Indian store.

Mia, Chase and Bray outside Flagstaff.

The Jonas Brothers 3-D

2009-03-08T08:13:00.000-07:00

Jonas Brothers 3-D Movie

Last weekend we went to see the Jonas Brothers 3-D movie on it's opening night. We went with some friends and it was a girls only night! Mia was so excited to go. I will have to admit I actually enjoyed it and found myself singing along with a few of the songs. It's amazing how many Jonas Brothers songs I actually know! I was sitting next to a girl who was so in love with Nick Jonas and she would scream everytime he was on the screen. Everyone pretty much screamed for Nick and Joe, but not so much for Kevin. I'm so pathetic that I actually know their names! It was fun night that ended with treats at Sonic. Once again, we might win the cool mom's of the year award!

The gang in front of the theater.

Mia and Kylie. They were so excited to go, but were pretty mellow compared to the other girls that went with us.

Devin and Rylee-the cool older girls!

Karrin's mom, Karrin, me, Nicole, Melissa, Jamie and Jamie's friend, Julie.

Yep, definitely cool moms of the year!! Especially in those cool 3-D glasses!

The cute girls!

We finished the night with Sonic!

My Birthday

2009-02-18T21:45:00.000-08:00

My 37th Birthday

I officially no longer like my birthdays. I think I'm getting a little too close to 40. But, I'm trying to not focus too much on that. I tell my kids I still remember what it's like to be a teenager, but for some reason, they don't believe me. A few days after my birthday, a bunch of us went to lunch to celebrate my b-day as well as Karrin's and Crystal's. The funny thing was that Crystal is 10 years younger than me. She turned 27 and I turned 37!! I really feel like we're the same age! Here are a couple pics from Cravings:

On my actual birthday, we decided to spend the afternoon with the kids, and take them to dinner that night. Matt came home early and I had a few visits from some of my favorite girls-the 6th grade girls from church. I've really gotten really close with these awesome girls. I always joke that they're Brayden's harem, but they're like daughters to me. Devin Palmer and Rylee Christenson stopped by after school with a cute card and some other fun things. They are so sweet. Rahgan Jenson brought over some cookies.

Devin, Rylee, me and Brayden

These girls really boost my confidence!

We went to dinner that night at El Rico's-a yummy kid-friendly Mexican restaurant. Matt's brother, Mark, was still in town, so he joined us as well.

Mia and Uncle Mark

That night, Allie Hancock and CJ Galvan came over to "heart attack" me and tried to do really wimpy TP job to my house, but Mia caught them.

Allie, CJ, me and Amy

Check out that impressive TP job!

Allie's ready to attack Brayden with a heart on a popsicle stick!

Everyone came inside for cake and ice cream. We didn't have candles except some number ones. We came up with 3, 4 and 1 which represented 3x4+1=37. My kids do know math!

The Christenson's came over and brought Rylee and Devin back. My low-key birthday ended up with a lot of kids-which I love!

When I took down all the "heart attack" sticks, I had to take a picture of them. They cracked me up. They know how to make me feel good by telling me that I look young! Keep them coming girls!!! They are so sweet. Thanks for making it such a great birthday, girls!

Phoenix Suns Game

2009-02-15T20:24:00.000-08:00

Suns Basketball Game

We went to a Phoenix Suns game with our friends, Troy and Sarah Plewe. We've known them for a long time and I have been friends with Troy since I was bout 14. We had a great time. The Suns won by about 50 points, so it wasn't the most exciting game, but it was still fun to get out for the night and hang out with some good friends. Matt's brother, Mark, was in town for business and came with us as well. We were in Matt's firm's suite which was really nice. The only other time I have been in it was when I took Mia to see the gymnastics all-stars!

Matt and I

Sarah and I

Troy and Sarah

Matt and his brother, Mark.

January 2009

2009-02-08T20:46:00.000-08:00

January 2009

I'm getting so behind, I just wanted to recap what we did this past month.

Super Bowl 2009

Actually on Feb. 1, not January, but close enough. Once the Arizona Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl, it was pretty much AZ Cardinal fever everywhere. On the Friday before the Super Bowl, the kids were able to dress down that day if they were wearing Cardinals shirts. Brayden, being a "cool" sixth grader, wore red knee-high socks to complete his outfit!

Of course I had to go out and buy them Larry Fitzgerald shirts!

On Superbowl Sunday, the Harris' came over for dinner to watch the very disappointing Super Bowl. Even though the Cards lost, it was so fun to actually have a team we cared about in the Super Bowl.

Chase showing off his Cardinal body art!!! I found that all my eyeliner had been used for his masterpiece on his face!

We even had Cardinal cupcakes! Mia, Sophie and Jillian wanted to show theirs off!

Girls' Night Out

We decided to have a girls' night out at a different restaurant each month. For the first official one, we went to Red, White and Brew. Thanks, Kristen, for planning it!

Running Club Race

My 3 oldest kids are all in the running club at their school. They ran their first race in January. Being a distance runner myself, I had high hopes for my kids in their mile and half race. They all did really well. I also think they have a new admiration of their mom running 26.2 miles!

Brayden running through the finish line.

Chase totally sprinted through the finish line.

Mia was actually running when as she finished, but her main concern was getting an Otter Pop.

Chase with his good friend, Gavin.
The kids with some of their friends after the race.

Chase and Devin.

Preschool Field Trip to the Fire Station

Shining Stars Preschool took a trip to one of the Gilbert Fire Stations. The twins were so excited to go see the fire trucks. They were disappointed to see that the fire trucks were white instead of red. Fortunately they had an old fire truck on display that was red.

The firefighter put on all of his gear and let the kids touch him. Riley wouldn't go near him, but Tanner was brave enough to feel his coat.

The best part of the field trip was the free fire helmets! We finished the day with a trip to Chick-fil-a.

Moms of the Year!

Amy, Terri, Vonda, Michelle and I all decided to have lunch with our kids on the same day. We all have 6th graders and we thought we better have lunch with them while they still want us around. For some reason, I think they won't want us to eat lunch with them at middle school. Terri and Amy ended up bringing their husbands too. We had so many people, the lunch workers gave us all our own table.

Brayden had Jack and Cameron eat with us too. Brayden's bangs look about 12 inches tall! Thanks to gel, he was still able to spike it up.

I just love all these girls - CJ, Allie, Devin Rahgan and McKenna. They're all like adopted daughters to me.

Cute little Allie and CJ

Melanie's Wedding

2009-01-29T13:29:00.001-08:00

Melanie and Brady's Wedding

Jan. 3, 2009

Matt's sister, Melanie, married Brady Leavitt at the Mt. Timpanogos Temple on Jan. 3. It was a beautiful day with blue skies and fresh snow from the night before, but it was freezing! They are such a cute couple! Here are a few of the pictures we took:

Here's Tanner freezing his tail off!

Tanner, Chase and Bray

The Reception

The reception was held at the Woods on Ninth in Midvale, Utah
The Martinez family wives were the bridesmaids. I could BARELY squeeze into my dress after all of the eating that I had been doing over the holidays, but somehow I got myself into it. I just couldn't breathe much!

The Martinez brothers and brother-in-law, Greg with Brady.

Riley, Mia and Morgan. They were the only granddaughters that would stay for a picture. I just wish Riley would smile. I thought these dresses were so cute. Morgan was a good sport wearing a girly dress when she's 11 years old.

The Martinez family grandsons minus Mateo. He wouldn't stay in the picture. They looked so cute in their matching ties.

We found Mateo

Here I am with Riley. Would Riley please smile?

Jess and Suzi

Brayden with his cousin (on my side), Sadie.

Melanie, who has a beautiful voice, sang a solo for Brady.

Here I am with my brother, Jim and his family, and my sister, Jen.

Diane, me and Jen.

While the band was playing, Brayden, Chase and Parker started making up dance moves to the music. It was hilarious. Mia hopped in after a while.

Lucy, Oakley and Mia.

Tanner and his best friend, and cousin, Bryce!

Utah part 2

2009-01-26T13:35:00.000-08:00

Utah Part 2

I had so many pictures from Utah I had to break it up into a few posts. I'm so behind, but I'm trying to catch up.

Temple Square

We went to see the temple lights at the Salt Lake City Temple with Matt's mom, Linda. It wasn't nearly as cold as it was last year. Because of that, it was much more enjoyable for the kids. I love seeing the lights there.

Here I am with Matt at the exact location where we got engaged. Oh how things have changed in 15 years - 5 kids, some gray hair and some extra pounds!!!

Brayden and I in the Tabernacle.

Skiing at Sundance - Day 2

Matt took Brayden and Chase to go skiing again at Sundance. It was just them and they had a great boys day. They spend the entire day on the back mountain. Matt convinced the boys to go down a few black diamond runs and Chase was so proud that he had a "no fall" day.

Bray and Chase at the top of the mountain. You can barely see Provo way back behind them.

Bray!

Martinez Family Dinner

We had a dinner the night befor the wedding with all of Matt's family and Brady's family. There were so many people it had to be held at a church.

Brayden, Parker, Chase and Cullen. They pretty much were inseperable the whole time. It's so sad the these cousins live so far away!

We tried to get a picture of all the Martinez grandchildren. The only way Mateo would stay was if Tony was holding him You can barely see Mark holding Suzy and Bella wouldn't be in the picture. We tried our best.

Bray and Tanner

The grandsons, minus Mateo.

There was a photographer there taking professional pictures too. While Matt's parents were posing, we took this nice picture of them.

Riley and Daddy

Tanner!

Utah Part 1

2009-01-22T21:07:00.000-08:00

Utah Trip

Dec. 26, 2008-Jan. 5, 2008

We left the day after Christmas to go to Utah and didn't come back until Jan 5. We had a great trip. I can't believe Matt was able to miss that much work, but with his Blackberry, he was never really too far from the office! The original reason we went to Utah was for Matt's sister, Melanie's wedding. We were able to make to make a fun trip out of it.

Daxton's Blessing

My younger brother, Ron blessed his new baby, Daxton, while we were in Utah. My mom came up for the blessing too. It was nice to have almost my whole family there.

The Haslam Family after Daxton's blessing.

Brayden with his cousin, Oakley.

The twins

Mia

Sledding

We stayed in Lehi with my brother, Jim's family. We had a lot of fun hanging with them and their 4 kids. Even though their oldest 3 are girls, my boys get along great with them. And my twins love their cousin, Bryce, who is just a couple of months older than them. One day with went to a park to go sledding. Living in Arizona, the snow was a big deal to my kids, especially the twins.

Lucy, Chase, Sadie, Mia and Brayden

I had to put a picture of Mia in her awesome hand-me-down snow suit! Great colors!

Tanner had seen a cartoon where the kids make snow angels. He was pretty excited when he finally got to do one of his own.

The Triplets! We called Tanner and Riley, along with their cousin, Bryce, the triplets. There were never far apart.

Skiing at Sundance

We went skiing at Sundance with our 3 oldest kids. Matt, Chase, Mia and I skied and Brayden snowboarded. Brayden and Chase were looking forward to trying out their new snowboard and skis they got for Christmas. Because Mia hadn't ever skied before, we weren't sure how she would do and tried to get her to stay home with Grandma. She would NOT give up and we decided to let her come. She pretty much spent the entire day on the tow rope, but by the end of the day she really got the hang of it. We had such a fun day with cousins and aunts and uncles from the Haslam side and the Martinez side, along with Matt's dad.
Our family before hitting the slopes. Sorry Mia that you're cut off!

With the Haslam cousins.

Brayden with his cousin, Parker. They were the only snowboarders of the family.

Bray!

Chase at the top of the mountain.

Grandpa Martinez with Mia (demonstrating a very wide snowplow) and cousin Morgan.

Lunch with the Peterson's

We were able to meet up with some of our best friends from Louisville, Lisa and Steve Peterson and their 4 boys. We looked forward to being in Utah at the same time and actually getting together. Even though we weren't able to spend much time with them, it was just like old times.

Lisa and I.

The boys had a blast spending time with Jackson and Dallen. Chase was so excited to see his "best friend", Jackson. They are so much alike and love to see each other. By the way, they are drinking root beer!

Hanging with the Martinez Family

Matt's parents rented a great house for the week. It had 7 bedrooms, a pool table and even a hot tub. The kids loved jumping all over the bunk beds and playing pool. Now that we live out west, we don't get to see the Martinez cousins very often. The kids had such a fun time hanging out with each other.

One of the many games of Uno!

Tanner with Grandpa Martinez

The older boys loved playing pool.

Grandma Martinez entertaining some of the little kids.

Hanging out with the Haslam Family

Sometimes it's a little crazy when you have to juggle both families at the same time, but we were able to have a night with my family. We had dinner and afterwards played games and played Christmas songs on chimes. The kids really got a kick out of the chimes.

My niece, Sadie, and Brayden led us in the chimes.

We look like we were really concentrating on the chimes.

My sister, Jen, and I.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-16T14:39:00.001-08:00

Christmas Sunday

I can't resist buying matching Christmas outfits for my kids each year. Now that Brayden' s turning 12 pretty soon, I'm thinking this could be the last year I can have him match the other kids. It's just too easy to go to The Children's Place and buy 5 matching church outfits. This is what they wore this year:

All the kids. As usual, this picture was about the best we could do when church was starting in about 5 minutes!

The twins! Tanner and Riely just love each other. I wonder if Riley realizes how much taller she is than Tanner!

The girls!

The boys! They couldn't live without their hair gel!!!

Mia and I! I tried to look a little "Christmasy".

Christmas Eve

My mom came to town a couple days before Christmas to spend the holidays with us. We decided to wait to do the gingerbread houses until she was there. When we lived in Louisville, Matt's mom always made her gingerbread houses from scratch and we would go to her house to make them. Now that we live in Arizona and I'm on my own as far as gingerbread houses, so I buy the pre-made kits!

Tanner was most interested in eating the candy. The boys did their own gingerbread house. It ended up being a BYU house. What a surprise!

Go Cougars!

Mia and I with the lovely gingerbread house that we made. It wasn't as neat as the boys' house!

The finished houses! Once again, Tanner is going for the candy!

After the gingerbread houses, we got our new PJs on, had our traditional Christmas lesson and program, looked online to find out where Santa was, put cookies and milk out for Santa and tried to get the kids to bed. Tanner was soooo scared to go to bed. He thought Santa was going to come into his room and get him. Tanner kept sneaking out of his bed and hiding in the closet. With Tanner doing this, Riley would not go to sleep either. Finally they went to sleep watching a movie in our bed. Seriously, I don't think everyone was alseep until about 11:00. Matt and I were dying! Then we got to work wrapping and setting everything up. It was so late when we finally got to bed ourselves! Christmas for parents isn't ever relaxing!!!!

Christmas morning

Brayden and Chase claim that they were up at 5 am, but I'm not so sure about that since the kids didn't wake us up until about 7:30. We felt like we slept in, even after a late night the night before.

The traditional morning pic! Santa brought Brayden a guitar, Chase an I-pod Nano, Mia a Barbie Dreamhouse (which is huge!), Tanner a basketball hoop and Riley a kitchen set.

The family room before the destruction of opening presents!!

Riley with her Princess saucer chair. Tanner got a Cars one. They love them.

These are the only pics we got of Christmas morning this year. Matt was more into the video camera this year. As usual, it seemed like the kids got way too many presents, but some of the other favorites were a snowboard for Brayden, skis for Chase, Mia got a bed for her American Girl doll and Matt bought me a bike. Once again, we had a wonderful Christmas.

School Christmas Parties 2008

2009-01-11T19:31:00.000-08:00

This was the first year I have ever gone to all my kids' school Christmas parties. I've always had a little one (or two) at home and was unable to go. This was a treat to be able to help out and stop by each of my kids' classes.

Mia's Class

In Kindergarten, Mia's class made the traditional graham cracker on the milk carton gingerbread houses. I think all my kids have made a few of these over the years, but it was fun to do it with Mia this time. Here' Mia with her friends, Belle and Camilla.

Here's Mia with long way to go on that gingerbread house!

Chase's Class

Chase is in a 3rd grade class with more parent volunteers than they could use. So, they didn't need anymore help with the party, but I stopped in and said hi.

Chase with his good friend, Gavin. Since the kids have to wear uniforms, they love to have the occasional dress down day. Chase and Bray both chose their BYU shirts. What a surprise! Gavin is a big ASU fan, hence, the thumbs down at BYU!

Chase with Sam. He and Chase were on the same page as to what to wear to school!

Brayden's Class

Here's Brayden with his friend, Zane.

Brayden's 6th grade class played a game where they stuck a sucker in their mouth each time they couldn't guess which Christmas song was being played. I think Brayden had to put about 10 suckers in his mouth. It was pretty gross!

Twin's Preschool Party

Tanner and Riley made some graham cracker gingerbread houses too. I think Tanner ate all of the candy off of his before we even got home!

Riley was more interested in eating the frosting than decorating her house!

The gift exchange.

The class sang some of their songs to us and did the pledge of allegience for us. I'm can't believe how much my 3 years olds have learned this year. They love Shining Stars Preschool.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2008
Sick Kids and Sloppy Joes

This year for Thanksgiving we decided to stay home. We thought about going to California to spend the holiday with my mom and sister, but Matt really wanted to have a Thanksgiving just our family. We made plans to go to some friends house for pie, but the main course was just us. It turned out to be a good thing since the night before, Brayden and Mia both started throwing up. With a bad night's sleep I got up and ran the Mesa Turkey Trot 10k and Matt snuck out to play a little football in the ward Turkey bowl. By dinner time, the kids were feeling a little better, and were able to eat some dinner. I cut out a bunch of turkey feathers from construction paper and the kids wrote different things they were thankful for. Then at dinner, we talked about what they wrote. Some of them were pretty funny. This one takes the cake: Yes, Chase is thankful for SLOPPY JOES!!!! Gross, I don't even like sloppy joes, but they're Chase's favorite and he's thankful for them!

Look what else Chase is thankful for...his hermit crab!

I know it's surprising that the kids are thankful for BYU. They're pretty much obsessed with BYU. I hope they can get in when it's time for college.

This one is by Mia. I love how Kindergarteners spell!

Chase and Bray are just too cool!

Mom and Mia

Chase was the one child who wasn't at all sick. He really enjoyed that leg of the turkey!

Yep, my 3 year old, Tanner, is guzzling Diet Pepsi. You can thank Matt for that!

It was a great Thanksgiving even with sick kids and kids that are thankful for sloppy joes!

Chase's Birthday

2008-11-24T19:50:00.000-08:00

Chase turns 9!!

On November 17, 2008, Chase had his 9th birthday. How is Chase already 9? Being the 2nd child, he seems to have gone from age 3 to 9 without us noticing sometimes. He often feels like a neglected middle child. I wanted to make it a great birthday for him. On his actual birthdy, I brought him lunch from In-n-Out and took it to school. I also bought Krispy Kreme Doughnuts or his 3rd grade class. After school, I took the kids to see Madagascar and dinner at one of his favorite restaurants, Panda Express (yuck!). He loved it. A couple days before, we had a party for him with some of his friends at our house. We had pizza, played night games (capture the flag at the park) and went in the hot tub. A few kids even jumped in the pool which is too cold for me! It was a fun night.

Sam, Gavin, Chase and McKay with Chase's favorite - a cookie cake!

Some crazy 9 year olds eating pizza!

More crazy 9 year olds! They really can't smile normal for a picture. Sam, Nathanael, Jake, McKay, Chase, Tanner and Gavin.

In the hot tub. Poor Mia is the only girl!

Mia spent a lot of time to make this card for Chase.

The boys were all dressed up in silly costumes for a game we played.

Gavin and Chase

McKay and Tanner

Nathanael, Sam and Jake

Chase and Matt on Chase's real birthday

Brayden, Mia and Chase.

Florida 2008

2008-11-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

Florida Trip

November 2008

I was able to visit my friend, Judy, in Sarasota, Florida along with my good friends, Vicki, Laurette and Heather. All of us had lived in Louisville, KY at the same time. With job changes and transfers only one of the group still lives in Louisville and the rest of us live all over the place. I came from Phoenix, Vicki came from Louisville, Laurette came from Dallas, Judy lives in Florida and Heather came from Budapest, Hungary. Heather came all the way from Europe for the weekend. We hadn't all been together for a few years. We had such a blast. I seriously haven't laughed that hard in years! The weather was beautiful too. It was just what I needed - to get away and have a great time with some girlfriends. It's amazing how many magazines you can read flying across country without kids! Matt was a wonderful, supportive husband to take care the kids and get them where they needed to be. He even took all 5 of them to the Fall Festival at school!

Here we all are a few minutes after I got to Judy's house. I was the last to arrive. Judy had left her husband's car at the airport in Tampa and somehow GPS got me all the way to her house in Sarasota without getting lost.

Heather, me and Laurette

Of course I had to go running while in Florida. Judy lives on a golf course with ponds all over the place. Judy said alligators live in those ponds. She's seen them from time to time. So, I was a little nervous to find one while out running. I ran in the middle of the street to be as far away as possible-just in case one decided to venture out to the street!

Laurette and I taking over the kitchen.

Vicki and I on the way to the beach

Heather, Vicki and I at Siesta Key Beach

Laurette, Heather, Vicki and I

Ryan, Heather's 5 month old son, was our little mascot for the weekend. He is the BEST baby. She said he was great on the long flight from Europe and he hardly made a peep the whole time we were there. He makes me ALMOST want to have another baby!

Being in Florida, the average age at the beach was about 75 years old!! Lots of leather-looking ,wrinkly skinned people in bikinis and speedos were around us. This guy was sitting right by us flaunting his great physique!

Too much excitement for Ryan!

Vicki and I ready for a night out on the town.

Judy's husband, Jerry, was in CA so we had to take most of our group pictures with the camera's timer! This is before our night on the town!

While in Florida, you have to go out for Cuban food! Especially when your husband is part Cuban, like mine. We went to a well know Cuban restaurant in a super cool area called St. Armand's Circle.

The weather was perfect to eat outside.

On Saturday, we went shopping and had to have lunch at Jersey Mike's -Heather's favorite from when we lived in Louisville. Then we went to the beach once again.

Vicki, Heather, Judy and I in the hot tub.

The girls!

All of us right before we left for the airport. We all got the same Nike pullovers at the Nike outlet the day before. They were such a great deal and totally cute and comfy. We look like total dorks !

We were crammed in the back of the Escalade on the way to the airport. We were all leaving at about the same time. Even Judy, was flying out to CA. So with 5 women, one baby and all the luggage-we barely fit!

I'm so glad Vicki pinned us all down and made us commit to this girls weekend. It was so much fun. We stayed up late talking and laughing each night. I was so tired after the weekend and we pretty much ATE EVERYTHING, but it was worth it! We already have made plans to do it again in 15 months. I'm already looking forward to it!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

Halloween Night 2008

On Halloween, we had a block party in front of our house before the trick-or-treaters came by. I wondered if Matt and Brayden would even be there. The night before, Brayden had hurt his thumb at football practice and we were beginning to think it was broken. We decided to take him to the doctor to check it out. The pediatrician thought it might be broken and sent Matt and Brayden to another office to have it x-rayed. After waiting for a while, Brayden was not happy about the possibility of missing Halloween with his friends. He convinced Matt to get his thumb x-rayed on Monday since. even if it was broken, it was too swolen to set. That's what we did and Matt and Brayden made it home just as people were coming over for the block party. Brayden stayed about 15 minutes then went with his friends to trick-or-treat in another neighborhood and help his friend run a haunted house. We didn't see Brayden until about 11:00 that night. The other kids were stuck with us. Chase and Mia ran off with a bunch of kids in the neighborhood and Matt and I walked around with the twins. After trick-or-treating a bunch of families came over for a movie on the wall in the front of my house. It was a fun, exhausting night.

Chase and Brayden

Jake and Chase

Rylee, wearing Brayden's costume from last year, with Brayden

Attack of the 80s hair bands!

Mia and the twins. Mia could not find her Halloween costume. She has worn it 2 days earlier, but somehow between Wednesday and Friday, she lost it. I couldn't find it anywhere. I gave up and told her to go pick out a dress in her dress up box. This is what she came up with-some Barbie princess. It turned out that I found her costume a couple days later stuffed in her dresser. Oh well, she still looked cute as a princess.

Mia and Makell

Chase

Tanner-he really is a happy kid and smiles a lot!

Preschool Halloween Party

The twins were so excited for the Shining Stars Preschool Halloween party. Here are a few pics:

Halloween

2008-11-02T07:09:00.000-08:00

Trunk-or-Treat

A couple days before Halloween, we went to our ward's trunk-or-treat. There were so many kids! I kept losing my kids, but by the end of the night, we left with all 5! As usual, somebody has to throw up. Riley was the winner on this night. Too much candy for Riley and you know what happens-a nice puke in the car seat on the way home!!!

Here's Brayden dressed up as "Slash" from Guns 'n Roses, but more recently known for being in Guitar Hero.

Riley and Tanner not looking at all like twins. Would Riley please stop growing!!! Riley dressed up as Belle and Tanner insisited on wearing Chase's old Green Bay Packers uniform.

Chase dressed up as an"old school rapper"- at least that's what the tag on the costume said. He looks like the Run DMC guys. He's showing his best rapper look for us.

Mia was a witch. I just wore the witch hat for about 5 minutes before it started driving me crazy.

Brayden with his harem of women!! We always laugh about the fact that there are tons of girls his age at church, but very few boys. Here he is with CJ, Devin, McKenna, Allie and Lauren. He's secretly loving it!

Chase with Jake, AKA Napolean Dynamite.

Brayden trying to look his coolest. This time with - McKenna, Erin and Devin.

RILEY!

Mia and Camilla.

Raghan and Brayden.

Fall Break Fun

2008-10-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Fall Break Fun

With 2 1/2 weeks of Fall Break to fill, we tried to keep busy. We went to California for the first week of Fall Break, we still had a lot of time to do some fun things. We went to the zoo, the movies, the park, a farm, bowling, and played with friends.

Bowling

We went to the bowling alley with the Harris' and the Greene's. The boys loved it and Mia got bored of it after a few bowls. She and Jillian pretty much goofed off and ate french fries. The twins even tried to bowl a bit - with the bumpers, of course.

The boys all thought they were pretty cool. They bowl a lot better than I do!

The girls!

Jillian and Mia

Riley and Tanner with their best friend, Presley!

Candy, Erin and I

A Day at the Farm

OK, it wasn't really a day, more like an hour or two, but I took the kids out to a farm that was open to the public. A bunch of friends went too. Brayden, being the oldest, and none of his friends were going, pretty much got dragged there. I explained to him that the twins would love it and we took him to places like this when he was little. I think he actually enjoyed it. It didn't compare to some of the places we went to in Kentucky, like Huber Farm, where the Fall colors were everywhere and you could pick apples from trees and pumpkins growing in the ground. But, it was a fun trip. The twins loved the animals...from a safe distance! A day at the farm was topped off with Chick-fil-a for lunch!

On the hayride

Jamie and Chelsea with their kids and Mia. Jamie was counting the days until her baby came. It was only a few days later.

Kylie and Mia

With the Glazier's and the Drogosz's

What you can't see is Tanner about ready to fall off the seat, because Riley was pushing him off.

It was a fun trip to the farm!

Mia's Birthday

2008-10-15T21:59:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday, Mia!

Mia turned 6 on October 1st

This is a picture of my little Mia when she was about 3 months old. We got our first digital camera right around when this picture was taken. So, most of my newborn pictures of Mia were taken with a regular old fashioned camera with film. After having 2 boys, I was so excited to finally have a little girl. I was totally convinced I was going to end up with all boys. When I found out I was having a girl, we painted her room purple and everyone gave me pink and purple gifts. I loved it. Mia is such a girly girl and we have so much fun shopping, getting pedicures and doing girly things.

Mia's Party

We threw together her birthday party last minute since we had just gotten back from California. Mia wanted to take all of her friends to go see the movie, Beverly Hills Chihauhau. First we had 10 girls over for pizza, cake, ice cream and presents. Then we went to the movie. The party was a hit and the girls loved the movie. The movie was pretty cute, but Matt and I found ourselves looking at our watches a few times wondering if it was almost over.

Here's the birthday girl, Mia. Why does she always seem to have a stray hair in every picture we take?

The girls getting a little crazy!

Mia and the birthday cake, courtesy of Costco!

You think we could have turned the birthday cake around for the picture.

Tanner looking very pretty. This is what happens when you let 10 girls loose in the house with make-up...your 3 year old boy ends up looking like a girl! He doesn't look too happy with it!

Family Birthday Party

On Mia's actual birthday, Oct. 1, we got pedicures and then came home to have some cake and open a few presents as a family. One of her favorite presents was her American Girl Pajamas. Earlier this year, I took Mia to the American Girl Store in LA and bought her the doll of the year- Mia. The Mia doll is only around for the year 2008. Ever since we bought the doll, Mia has wanted the Mia doll's pajamas that had matching big ones for her. Her Grandma and Grandpa Martinez sent them for her and the Mia doll. She was so excited. Here, she is modeling the pajamas with her doll.

Riley had to pose for a picture too.

Another big hit, was the Easy Bake Oven Mia had been asking for. I totally had one when I was a kid, but it wasn't as cool as this one. I think my boys were just as excited as Mia was to bake their first cake!

What a great mom Mia has. As she is trying to light the candle of her own birthday cake I am reading a magazine ignoring her. I should have at least been cleaning the kitchen. What a mess. Fortunately, Mia and Brayden didn't burn the house down.

Blowing out the candles. Where's the rest of the family?

We love you, Mia! Happy 6th Birthday!

California Fall Break 2008

2008-10-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

Southern California for Fall Break 2008

Now that it is an easy trip to California, we've been there several times since we moved to Arizona. Since my mom lives in Orange County, we always have a place to stay. Here are a few things we did while on vacation there.

Newport Beach

We hadn't been to Newport Beach for a couple years, so we decided it would be fun to go there for a change. We usually go to Laguna Beach or San Clemente. It was a beautiful day and no one was there!! It was so nice since we went on a week day. We had the beach to ourselves.

A cute family picture. Notice I'm not in the picture. There is no way a picture of me in a swimming suit is going on the blog! There was a guy in a canoe in the background.

Matt and Brayden waiting for the perfect wave.

The twins were afraid of the water and were content with their sand toys on the beach.

This was Riley's model pose!

Tanner pulled the boogie board around and around for the longest time. It was cracking me up. It was Brayden's board and Tanner wouldn't let him use it.

Since we were in Newport, we had to go on the Balboa Ferry to Balboa Island. This brought me back to the good old days when I was growing up.

Knott's Berry Farm

After having been to Disneyland and Sea World in the last year, we decided to try out Knott's Berry Farm while in California. I don't think I had been there since high school. We had a lot of fun. They've added quite a few roller coasters since I graduated from high school in 1990. It was dead there. We walked on all the rides and were able to ride roller coasters over and over again. The one bummer was that Mia was about an inch too short for almost all the roller coasters. She was so sad that Daddy had to appease her by buying her a big stuffed animal. We had a great time. I hadn't ridden roller coasters like those for the longest time. I was feeling great all day long, but after lunch, my stomach didn't do so well on them. I felt pretty nauseous by the afternoon. I finally got over it while Matt and the boys kept riding those roller coasters. By the time the park closed, Matt, Brayden and Chase all looked like they were going to puke!!! But, they didn't...Riley managed to do that at the restaurant where we ate dinner. Why does someone always throw up?

This was the famous shot where we always posed for pictures when we went to Knott's Berry Farm as kids. That's the log ride behind us.

Tanner and Mia with my mom.

Matt with Mia and Brayden after getting soaked on the rapids.

The whole family with Snoopy. Riley was petrified of him!

Newport Beach Temple

For all the times we've been to California in the last couple years, this was the first time the kids saw the Newport Beach Temple. It was really pretty and built in a really nice area.

Going to Grandpa's House

My dad lives about 15 minutes from my mom. We went over to his house to BBQ and celebrate Mia's b-day a few days early. It's so nice that I can see my parents much more often than when I lived in Kentucky.

Mia and my Dad

Mia, Brayden and Chase with my Dad and my stepsister, Megan.

San Clemente

San Clemente is our favorite beach for the family. It was a super warm day, but for some reason the clouds were hanging just over the coast and no where else, making it a little dreary looking. The kids love riding their boogie boards at San Clemente and watching the surfers on the other side of the pier.

Another great day at the beach and a fun trip. Why don't we live in Southern California???? It doesn't get much better than California! I still say I'm from Southern California even though I left for college over 18 years ago. I just can't quite give it up. It will forever feel like home.

BYU vs UCLA

2008-10-02T23:06:00.001-07:00

Boys Weekend in Utah - September 2008

Matt took Brayden and Chase to Utah the weekend of Sept 12 for the BYU vs UCLA football game. They had the greatest time. I know I wasn't there, but I had to write about it. Matt and I both graduated from BYU, and have always been BYU football fans, but Matt has pretty much become obsessed in the years since we left BYU. He's passed that love of BYU football on to our boys. They had this trip planned for a few months. Brayden and Chase were so excited to have their weekend with Dad and BYU football. Matt's parents flew out from Kentucky and Matt's Dad went with them to the game.

The boys walked around campus and went to a pep ralley before the game. They were all decked out in their BYU shirts and hats.

Here are the boys with their Grandpa. We were impressed he was wearing a BYU shirt. Grandpa is a huge Notre Dame fan! Notice the Y in the background.

This picture totally cracks me up. At the pep rally, the boys got their picture taken with this BYU cheerleader. Brayden doesn't seem to mind much, but check out Chase's face!!! How short is this cheerleader? She's the same height as Brayden, who's 11!

Matt's good friends from Kentucky, Jeff Mortenson (his BYU roommate) and Josh Perkey met them at the game.

It was a blowout!! Check out the score - 59 to nothing!

Bunco

2008-09-24T12:37:00.001-07:00

Bunco's Back!!!After a few months off for the summer, my Bunco group is finally back into full swing. Last night, we had a great time at Lisa's house. As usual, I didn't win anything, but the take-home prize. That's OK, it was some yummy lotion and it was fun to be back with the girls. Lisa's new house is beautiful! We thought her awesome staircase was a perfect spot for a group shot.

We had to be a little dorky and have goofy shot!
Jen, Nicole and Crystal!
Vonda, me and Liz.

Our host, Lisa, with Vonda. Terri and I.

Tammy, Crystal and Trish.
Angie and Terri.
The whole gang on the staircase. We originally were going from oldest to youngest, but for some reason, Trish wanted to be a little older and skipped ahead of a few people. With 5 kids, it's so nice to have at least one night a month that you know you can get away and hang out with the girls. Next month, Halloween at Jen's. I'm so glad Bunco's back!

Tanner's Goggles

2008-09-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

My kids all love to swim, but Tanner and Riley have really gotten into it this summer. They took swimming lessons and they're actually swimming pretty well. We have tons of goggles laying around our pool, but for some reason, Tanner has taken to the blue ones. These are HIS goggles and no one else is allowed to use them.
He is consantly having me adjust his goggles to get them to the perfect fit!
A rare moment where Tanner is not wearing his goggles. Does he look like Chase or what?

Running

2008-09-11T14:08:00.001-07:00

Running with the Baby Jogger Today was a great day. It was finally cool enough to run outside and push the Baby Jogger. With Arizona being so hot, my summer running consists of going at 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning or hitting the treadmill. So, my running stroller has been collecting dust all summer. Finally, this morning after all the kids went to school it felt like fall was in the air. It was probably 80 degrees at that time, but it sure beats 100! I think the high today was about 95, but it's nice to be in the double digits again. After about an 1 hour, I was still dripping in sweat and a little sunburned , but we had a great run.
The twins love the running stroller. I just throw them in (they don't even need shoes), bring some snacks and juice boxes and they have a great time. I've had my double jogger for almost 9 years. I've run hundreds of miles with it, and it's not as nice as the newer models, but it's still holding up.

The Twins Go to Preschool!

2008-09-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

After 11 years of always having at least one kid with me, Tanner and Riley have started preschool at Shining Stars with Miss Nicole and Miss Melissa. They love it! It's only 2 mornings a week for 2 1/2 hours, but those 5 hours are precious! It's amazing how much you can get done in 5 hours each week when you're not hauling twins with you.Yes, Tanner and Riley really are twins even with the 6 inch height difference!

On the first day of school, they went with their friend, Lilee. The twins love going to preschool with her. They love it when they see her black car pull up to preschool.
Riley with her pink princess backpack!
Tanner used his Thomas the Train backpack for a couple days until he realized it wasn't big enough to put his papers in without bending them, so now he uses his new Lightening McQueen backpack.

They act and behave like a married couple. I just wish Tanner could grow a few inches!
Riley walked right into preschool and said, "Bye Mom" and didn't even care that I was leaving.

Tanner was a little more cautious, but had a fun first day. I'm not ready for the twins to go to school all day. I think I'll have a hard time when they actually go to Kindergarten, but having a little break for preschool is good. They have been with me nonstop for 3 years

First day of School

2008-09-05T09:13:00.001-07:00

Brayden, Chase and Mia started school on July 28. Brayden is a 6th grader, Chase is a 3rd grader and Mia finally started Kindergarten!!!! It's about time. She missed the cutoff for kindergarten last year by a month, so she was pretty bored last year. Fortunately, it is all day Kindergarten here just like Kentucky. Since 6th grade is still in elementary school, I get to have one year with my kids all in the same school.Since they go to a traditional school, they have to wear red, white or blue collared shirts to school. The night before school started, the kids were all very excited to pick out which shirt to wear. For some reason they aren't that excited anymore as they've been in school over a month!! As it turned out, they each chose different colors.

Mia insisted on wearing this brand new headband that we found at the Children's Place. She would wear this headband everyday if I let her!

Chase had to switch schools this year so I could have all my kids in the same school. He was nervous, but came home having made a bunch of new friends.

Brayden, being a 6th grader, pretty much went to school feeling pretty cool.

Mia, Chase and Brayden-I have no idea why there is some weird reflection on Brayden's shirt and if I knew anything about photoshop, I would have fixed it!

The Twins are 3!!!

2008-09-03T21:45:00.001-07:00

Tanner and Riley turned 3 on August 3o! 3 years ago (and a few days) I looked like this. I was ready to pop, but I had a really good tan from spending the entire summer at the pool. Just when I was ready to give up and think that I would never go into labor, I did. At 37 weeks, and the day that Hurricane Katrina was blowing in, I finally started going into labor. Tanner was born at 3:06 pm, without any problems, weighing 6 lbs. 3 oz. Riley was born 14 minutes later at 3:20pm, weighing 5 lbs 12 oz. She was born by a C-section. Yep, I gave birth both ways ( I don't recommend this). It was a little scary, but here we are with two healthy 3 years olds today.

This was one of my favorite pictures of them not long after they were born.

This picture really was right after they were born. Riley was rushed off the NICU right after this picture. They thought she might have been deprived of oxygen from her placenta detaching too soon...hence, the emercency c-section for Riley. I look completely dead on the table behind.
Big brothers, Brayden and Chase, holding the twins. I'm not sure where Mia was.

Build-a-Bear

We took the twins to Build-a-Bear on their actual birthday. Tanner picked a dog that he dressed in pirate clothes with sunglasses and Riley chose a bear that she dressed as a princess. I think that their older brothers and sisters got into it even more than the twins. Mia insisted that she would help Riley and Brayden and Chase fought over who would help Tanner.

Chase is helping Tanner give his new puppy a bath.

Riley kept changing her mind which princess outfit she wanted to dress her bear in. Even after she ripped the tags off and dressed her bear, she was looking for an even better princess dress. These were the final choices for their animals. They would not look at the camera!

Party!

We had a couple families, the Harris' and the Christenson's, over for cake and ice cream. Presley Harris and Damon Christenson are two of Riley and Tanner's best friends.

Riley and Tanner wanted a Dora and Diego birthday cake. Mia and Jillian were ready to blow out the candles if Riley and Taner weren't able to.

How do 3 families make up 14 kids?

Tanner and Riley - 3 years old. I've survived 3 years with twins!