Family Pictures

So its Fall which means we get new family pictures. So I thought I'd post some of my favorites. (All pictures were taken by Abbey Kyhl)

GOING PRIVATE -please contact

Guess we all have our reasons....anyways I think I want to go private on the blog. So if you could get me your email addresses please, that would be awesome. If you dont want to send them over the blog, just email me at sneakrz22@yahoo.com

Thanks!!

No pictures but still a lively update

Camera status: still broken from a lively shove off of the top of the stairs by a child who shall not be named....who rhymes with Meth.
Alright an update for you....(who am I kidding with my sparse and sporadic posts I fear my audience are few and hard to come by)...so an update for posterity.
2 weeks ago we were all miserable around here. All of us were sick at the same time. And not just "cough, sneeze, snot coming out of your nose, but still go to church and pretend your not sick" sick. I am talking about miserable sick. Jaq's eyes were goopying out horrid amounts of...what only can be known as "gunk." To the point that she would literally scare Seth and I when she'd wake up first thing in the morning cause her one eye would be half glued shut like Quazimoto and the rest of her looked like she'd gotten in a terrible fight with some sandpaper-like tissue. Poor girl. To top it all off I we think she has some sort of problem digesting whole milk cause she'd be up 2-3 hours a night with really bad stomach pains until we stopped giving her the stuff...and finally when we'd get her to sleep, Seth's hacking cough would wake him up to delight us with a mid-night (rather early EARLY morning) rendition of 20 questions...only they werent questions....more like demands. Yes, 20 demands. I need a drink. I need medicine. I need to go to the hospital (which we finally had to tell him that unless your DYING you cant go to the hospital....but that was dumb cause soon he was now "dying"). I need to watch Super Why, I need to pee, I need to sleep in your bed...the list goes on. Dont you love the age when everything becomes, "but I NEED that?" Well anyways on top of miserable sick kids, both Cordelle and I got some weird flu bug and were achy and tired and cranky and tired and tired.....and...yes well you get the point. Lucky for me we tag teamed for about 4-5 days naps, sleeps, rotating movies for Seth (who after a couple of days miraculously recovered and became ULTRA SUPER SETH with incredible amounts of energy and enthusiasm and spunk and he wouldnt stop humming, or singing, or running, or bouncing, or jumping or yelling). In retrospect I suppose he was normal and it was I who was over-proportionalizing (totally not a word) things to a whole new level because of the previously mentioned lack of sleep and illness.
Alright needless to say, we recovered and got better (how redundant). And we have pretty much done nothing UNTIL Saturday. Okay, this is one of those days you really want a camera. Go figure. We went into town (how "Little House on the Prarie" huh?) for Cedar City's annual pumpkin festival. We just missed the sheep parade so we were bumbed about that. What? Never heard of a sheep parade? Get this. Its a parade full of tractors and farmers and then a grand finale of hundreds of sheep walking down the street from the mountain. I'd be more specific, but we WERENT there. But truly disappointed to miss such a spectacle. But the pumpkin festival was so fun...IF I was to have a kid who liked that kind of thing. No, it was really cute, but Seth is so painfully shy that getting him to play any kind of game is torture. He did decorate a cookie, paint a pumpkingand go down the blow up slides so I guess it wasnt a complete failure. And then what to our astonishing surprise? Another parade had begun. So we stayed and watched SUU's homecoming parade. Glad I'm out of college.
Then that evening we met up with some friends from the first apartment we lived in as a married couple. We all are oldies now with kids and morgages....but it was fun to see everyone all into real life and such.
We topped our day off with watching the BYU vs. TCU game which we had THANKFULLY recorded while we were out partying. "Thankfully" not because it was a game of epic proportions that I want to one day pass on to my children and my children's children, but "thankfully" because if I had to watch that onslaught of a game with all the commercials, TCU touchdowns and real time BYU beating I would have withdrawn shamelessly into my couch and simply waved a white (and blue) flag of surrender.
Well thats us for now. Hopefully I'll find a camera to use before this weekend (Halloween) otherwise I'll be posting VERY amateur drawings of my kids' costumes on the blog.

Pictures from Jaquelle's first birthday

All I can say is that we were picking apples all morning, had a late lunch and as a result her naptime had been put on hold....needless to say it wasnt a very "Happy" birthday party. But it was funny to watch her.

She kind of went ballistic when we showed her the cake....so tired.

You want me to do what with that cake? Just give me my blankie please....

Eventually we did get her to play in it....still not too keen on actually eating it.

I made her this tutu which also was NOT a hit. She would not put her arms down to touch it. Also it turned out kind of big (more for a 2-3 yr. old) oh well maybe I'll save it for another year.

However she made out with some fun toys and a cute Britney Spears outfit from Grannie Annie.

And this is the closest thing to a smile we got out of her all day. Ah well, cant win them all.
Happy Birthday Princess!!

Really liked this....thought I'd share

http://www.anothertestamentofchrist.com/

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAQUELLE

Well my little girl has turned one! Can you believe how fast that year flew? Crazy! She is the sweetest thing in the world and I seriously cannot stop kissing and cuddling her chubby little body. Jaq's been crawling for only a couple of weeks (yes, a "slow" one) but she is into everything; correction, she is into everything Seth is doing....and driving him nuts. But she really is so much fun. And for as much as she terrorizes him already, no one can make her laugh like he can, and her laugh is priceless. I'd share the pics from the birthday party but Seth threw my camera off of our banister/wall thing down the stairs and busted it up pretty good. Got to love them kids. (I'll get some from my mom and post those later :)

I'm so proud of myself.

The other day I strapped Seth and Jaq in the bike trailer for a bike ride. I got no further than across the street when Seth said, "Mom, good pedaling." Pleased with myself I told him thanks and gloated all the way home.

The next day I was helping him retrieve a soccer ball out of the widow well with a rake and once the trickier-than-it-seems-like-task was completed, he looked beamingly into my eyes and said, "Thanks mom, you're such a good helper!"

Finally some recognition for all my hard work. :)

PUNCH DRUNK JELLO LEGS RAN THE RED ROCK RELAY!

This last weekend I finally got to check something off of my life-time to do list! I ran a big race! I know many of you are pros at this but this was my first and it was a blast. I ran the Red Rock Relay. Our team of 12 started in Brianhead, ran 3 legs each and after 30 hours, 187 miles, and a descent of 8,000 feet we ended up in Ivins (down by St. George). It was crazy. Basically you have two vans that switch off and everyone rotates running so there is always one person running the entire race. Your van stays with you your whole run and cheers you on during your assigned legs (so its kind of hard to quit with the pressure of 5 other people screaming you to keep going every mile of your run).
My first leg was a killer climb in Cedar Canyon to the top of the C-Trail where I ascended up 900 feet in just over 2 miles. But the adrenaline of getting my first road kill (passing someone in the race) made me book my trash up that mountain. 4 roadkills later they almost had to scrape ME off the road.
My 2nd leg was my longest but by far my favorite. I started running at midnight down from Hurricane into Sand Hollow and it started raining...it felt so good cause other wise it was icky HOT. Then there was this big lightning storm right around me that I perhaps should have been fearing for my life with, but it was too awesome to watch as I ran. The last half of my run was a heavenly downhill next to the lake with a full moon. Ah it was so awesome!
The last leg of my run was pretty dry with another large hill but I think it would have been okay too, if I had of slept more than an hour and a half the night before. But for some reason my whole van were insomniacs when we tried to sleep before our second legs and then before our third legs it started pouring down rain so we tried to all cram in a mini van and sleep which DID NOT WORK WELL. (It was crammed, stuffy and I had some weird gastrointestinal issues that only long runs can bring) and so finally at 5 AM we gave up and headed to our next exchange point which was a church parking lot in Gunlock. By then though it had stopped raining, so I booked it to the bathroom, then grabbed my pillow a small blanket and crashed on the most comfortable slab of cement I have ever laid upon just outside of the church and got really the only good sleep since the night before: an hour and a half. Then we had to get up for the next exchange.
We had some pretty funny conversations during the 30 hours of time in that van (thanks Lisa) and definitely in those early morning hours we felt punch drunk for sure! Oh yea, did I tell you that was our name? Punch Drunk Jello Legs. There was absolutely some punch drunkenness AND jello legs on our team, but it was all very memorably fantastic! I have to be honest though, I'm kind of glad its over. Training for something like this bites....hard. I cant wait to sleep in next week and eat whatever the heck I want. :)

Our Team before our first leg in front of the Ultimate Punch Drunk Jello Legs Van,
all matchy, matchy in our pink and black

Me. Running.

There were 3 Huge hill legs that were called Diablo 1, 2 and 3. Angie had the first, I had the second and Lisa had the third. So when we saw this at the top of the mountain we had to snatch our picture by it.

Inside the Van

Lunch at Burger King (NOT A GOOD IDEA in the middle of a race) Wicked crowns though.

Me pointing to my name. Oh yea, after each leg we ran we had to draw a line with permanent marker on our arm or leg until we had all three standing for the Red Rock Relay.

Our van of girls flexing our guns with our Red Rock Relay signs after the race was over.

Our whole Team...although, I dont know very many of the ones in the other van very well, everyone was way fun and it was a cool bonding experince even with the people we didnt know.

What a week! (2 weeks ago...sorry I'm a little late posting)

OH SETH WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH YOU?
Okay so Thursday he is out playing on his swing set and I go out my back door to check on him and he's climbing on his rope ladder. (In my head, I think I should tell him he shouldnt climb on it without be being there, cause its wobbly and unstable as rope ladders are) at that moment, I see him reach the top and the FALL BACKWARDS onto the ground. My stomach sank and I ran out and picked him up only to find that soon both of us were covered in blood. Turns out he somehow gashed the back of his head open really bad (whether just from the blunt hit of the ground or on the stairs that climb up to the playhouse part of the swing set). After being VERY brave and actually quite happy at the insta-care. He came home with 3 staples in his head (apparently they dont do stitches if its in the hair because they're not worried about what it looks like...unless he's bound for baldness then the poor kid's doomed). But lucky for us, no dizziness, concussions or things of that nature but for sure an adventure nonetheless. I always thought I'd be pretty cool and collected in emergency situations but hey, turns out I'm not as calm as I assumed when blood is gushing out of my child's head. Go figure.

(Its kind of hard to see but you can see the staples)

Then get this, two days later...I see him doing this! Thats right that is his rocking horse on top of the couch in a dire attempt to retrieve the helium balloon from the vaulted ceiling. This kid is bound to make his second home in the emergency room. Now, however before he does something dangerous he asks me, "mom is this dangerous?" but then proceeds to do it, until I reaffirm to him that we DO NOT do dangerous things.
Crazy as he is, that didnt stop us from having a rockin' birthday party for him on Saturday. He turned 3! He got a remote control train that he LOVES and can finally stop coveting the one he plays with non stop at the neighbors. We spent the day playing, going to the park and just letting him do what he wanted. My parents came down for a very short birthday visit and of course we invited Madi and Wyatt over for cake and icecream. I cant believe he's three! But I really love the kid to death. He is the sweetest, funniest kid I've ever met and has the dance moves of a pro. We're like little buds and it actually is fun for me to just hang out with him during the day and have little conversations. Well anyways Happy Birthday Sethers!

Do you like how I am now a-once-a-month blogger?

UPDATE time. On the 23rd my two sisters came up just to visit for the day! (Aren't sisters the best? Please nod in the affirmative.) It was so fun to have them BOTH here. They brought their kids and we spent the day swimming in some sweet pools Tallie bought (even though her baby is like 6 months old?) Anyways the rest of the kids had a blast with them. It was so fun just to laugh and have the cousins play....Seth was besides himself. And although its crazy to get them all asleep it was fun. Heaven knows I need that now and then. Its kind of smelly living so far from the fam. (hum...I tried to use a phrase synonymous with "it stinks" but it just doesn't have the same effect saying "Its smelly" Ah well.)

Jaquelle and Alexa in the pool

THEN on the 24th of July, my home bro NEALIO came for a visit. Woot! Woot! We talked each others ears off...seriously we were without ears when he headed for home. Politics, healthcare, family, girls, past girls, current girls, of course the mish, Snow (not like the fluffy white stuff, the school), and who knows what. We took him swimming cause ya know, its exmay on the mission, so it had been awhile. We went to Enoch's 24th celebration. And I drug him to 2 parades! He was a good sport, and Seth loved getting to know his uncle Neal.
Then the very next Monday, because of the wonderful supportive daughter I am, we drove all the way up to American FARK Canyon for my mom's family reunion/get together thing. It was so great! Kids love camping so they were entertained the whole time. I was pretty nervous cause Jaq had ran a fever all weekend and was a little beastly because she was teething, and even when she had cried the whole last 45 minutes of our drive, once we got there and stepped outside, it was like immediate silence, contentment, peace and I heard a bird flutter through the air (what?). Anyways she was great the rest of the time. Nothing like some good ole' outdoor medicine.

The best part came on Tuesday where my mom and little cousin volunteered to watch my kids while Cordelle and I went on a hike together. So needless to say we were up and out of there like a cartoon character whose rear end has just been set on fire, before they could change their minds. We booked it up this really steep trail up to an AMAZING place called Silver Lake. It was such a perfect day and because its quite the hike up there, there was no one at the little lake. (I love places that you can only get to by a good strenuous hike with no vehicles). So we dared each other to jump in and then just dried off on the rocky beach. We decided we'd run the whole way down the mountain and it was a blast. Seriously it was like one of the most fun little mini-dates we've gone on in a long time. We got to just talk the whole way up, get some exercise, make fools of ourselves at the lake and all with no piggy back rides or detours to follow butterflies. I attached some pictures...mind you it was windy at the top and we were sweaty and well in some of the pics I look like a man (my hairs all pulled back and with that hat...oh who cares?)Okay so there is this ledge on top of the dam that is preventing the lake from going into this valley...so this is the view on one side of the dam....

And then you turn around and here's part of the lake right up against this gray mountain or silver mountain...hence, silver lake...genious.

And this picture is just funny to me cause apparently there seems to be a magnetic pull in the air that my hair is responding to....yes, I have metal hair.

And here is my manly picture....but its with my hunk so I wanted to include it.