"We Love the Pumpkin Patch, The Pumpkin Patch..."

Total tradition...we go to the pumpkin patch every year and we HAVE to go at the perfect time of day. Which is when the sun is getting ready to set and the air is just glowing all around. There is no wind, it's just peaceful and beautiful. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I have to try and explain this to Troy every year. I LOVE it. Well, that perfect time was just before six o'clock and the Highlands Nursery closes at six so we were kind of rushed. Dang it! It was still a lot of fun though. We got some good pumpkins! "We love the pumpkin patch, The pumpkin patch..." is the song we all made up while driving there. Tyson loves to help make songs up. I love the fall weather...

The Miss Became the Mrs.

Well, it's official. My sweet little sister Brianne is married to Jackson for time and all eternity. Brianne looked so beautiful and she was so happy. They looked just like Barbie & Ken. Just perfect. (Thanks Laura, I stole your picture!) The day started out with the breakfast/brunch at The Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. It was so beautiful and delish! We had quite the breakfast with french toast, scrambled eggs, cream cheese or fruit filled danishes, to-die-for bacon, sausages, hash browns, fresh fruit, crescent rolls, yummy hot chocolate, orange juice, and apple juice. It was a big buffet so we all got pretty stuffed. It was nice to see all of our extended family and meet some of Jackson's family as well. After we ate, some of us got to stand up and say a little something about Brianne & Jackson. I got up and said that if he ever hurt her...
Next, a bunch of the girls got ready at Bridgette's house and then booked it to the wedding in the Salt Lake Temple. It was beautiful. Cold, but beautiful. Brianne was just glowing. She is so pure.
Then we raced home to where the reception was held at Somewhere Inn Time reception center and Bed & Breakfast.

The reception was nice but we didn't have much time for pictures so I hope the photographer got in some good ones. The kids were totally wild from the long day without naps. They just pretty much ran around the whole time grabbing candy to keep their energy up. Here is a picture of Troy holding Logan. Oh yeah, and Logan was up all night before with congestion. Poor little guy had a totally red nose from all the wiping.

The bridesmaids....Me, Celeste, Brianne - the bride, Bridgette, Sophie, & Cristyn.

Mommy and my handsome boy Logan lookin' all sharp.
Cristyn and her boyfriend Braden. Aren't they cute?

Tyson and his cousin Beau marching down the stairs about to destroy....

So innocent...yeah
All the little cuties in their adorable outfits. Beau, Tyson, Jackson holding Brooks, Brianne holding Logan, Sophia, & McKinley.
Then it was over....what a day!! Brianne and Jackson, we wish you the VERY BEST!

35 GREATS....Happy Birthday Troy!

1) Loves spending time with us more than doing anything else
2) Makes me laugh all the time
3) His armpits actually smell really, really good!
4) Very Organized
5) Makes us pancakes every Sunday morning - except fast Sunday's
6) Is awesome at giving advice on any subject
7) Very, very smart
8) Most handsome man
9) Big baby blues
10) Loves cuddling with me
11) Will only sing to me
12) Has the nicest hands...
13) Loves his little Troyskee juniors
14) Knows his cars...
15) Awesome at grilling anything - I just have to do the marinating
16) Very hard worker
17) Passionate about what he does
18) Very giving - to anyone
19) Can get along with anyone
20) Outgoing
21) Loves the outdoors - I know I'll survive out there with him!
22) Kills the spiders for me
23) Loves to go walking with us
24) Great with computers
25) He's amazing at writing letters
26) More amazing at writing cards - makes me cry every time
27) Thinks he can school me at anything (it's cute ;))
28) Is AWESOME at driving in the snow & ice.
29) If there's blood, he'll help the child while I panic
30) Great with numbers and calculating
31) Hates video games
32) Best bowler I've ever seen or played with
33) Cooks for us all the time while I'm pregnant
34) Can actually scrapbook better than me
35) Makes the cutest babies!

Happy Birthday Troy & Daddy! We love you forever!

Four Greatest Years...

For My Wife, My Love

"The man who is deeply in love with his wife is a man who has all he could want in this life."

You smiled at me,

and I saw beauty.

You held my hand,

and I felt magic.

You kissed my lips,

and I knew love.

You married me,

and I found everything

that any man could hope for in this world.

Happy Anniversary Melanie

For My Sweet Husband...

"Somehow,

in this great big universe,

I found

the right man for me.

And ever since,

life's been sweeter...

better...

fuller...

You make me happy -

happier than

I ever thought possible.

I can't imagine life without you,

love without you,

or any other good thing

without you.

You're the only man for me.

Happy Anniversary Troy

Journey to Bear Lake...

We went up to Bear Lake this past weekend with Phillip and his family. It was a last minute trip because I was dying to go somewhere. Anywhere. So Phillip and Holly said they were going to be up at Bear Lake that weekend and wanted us to tag a long and stay with them in a sweet town home there. I had never been to Bear Lake before so I was so excited. Troy has gone a few times when he was little. Tyson called it "going on a journey" the whole drive up there. He was so excited to see his cousins too. So we packed up our new Honda Accord (better for gas mileage) and headed north. It was such a beautiful drive. The trees were starting to change and the weather was just perfect. Here are some pictures of the journey...


Isn't Logan just adorable!?

It was gorgeous up there and we're seriously looking into buying a vacation home up there with Phillip and Holly because we loved it so much. The views were incredible. It reminded us a lot of Hawaii - except it was in the mountains and colder. Golfing was probably our favorite part as a family. Holly and I just drove around with the kids on the golf carts and hit a few balls. Tyson got to try some fishing for the first time and he just loved it. It was so adorable. One of those moments where you just love life and are so happy. I love my husband and children. They truly are my joy.

Brianne & Jackson Gettin' Hitched

My little sister Brianne is getting married! She met a great guy named Jackson this summer and they just hit it off. Everything is going so fast and we've been BUSY planning a wedding in such a short amount of time. It's still crazy to believe that my little Bri is "of age" and that she's going to be somebody's wife. She is a great example to me and I love her to death. I hope her day is the fairytale she's always wanted. :)

Zucchini! - Updated

Okay, so my post before about how wonderful my zucchini garden is and I'm just so excited about it all...Times have changed, and now I want to burn it all. I have zucchini coming off the roof - there's so much. I've never grown it before, but apparently I have magical soil that will grow the stuff from an inch to nine inches in a day. I planted 19 plants. Okay, so I didn't know!! Troy comes home from work and asks me if I've picked the zucchini yet, and I just want to run away! I don't go out there anymore to look at it. There's too too much!!! I'm seriously scared to go out there. I don't know what to do with it all. People want it, but only like two at a time. That's simply not enough!! My counter doesn't have enough room for it. We have it all the time. AND we went out to Marie Callender's dinner the other night after Troy's cousin was sealed in the temple (we're so proud of you Marcus & Becky!), and what in the crap did I order?? ZUCCHINI!!! I was sooo mad. I actually PAID for the stuff!? What in the heck was I thinking!? I have no idea but I wanted to cry the whole way home. At least I got pie. Anyway, zucchini sucks.

Catchin' Up On All the Fun...

It hasn't been that long since my last post, but we've done a lot. Here is just a bit of what we've been up to. We went to Lagoon a couple weeks ago with Troy's sister Lynn and family and her friend Michelle and family. It was a lot of fun with the kiddo's. Tyson REALLY loved it there. I thought he might have a little bit of a motion sickness going to happen because he's thrown up in the car a few times while we were driving, but he did awesome! He loved most all of the rides. The swinging chairs he wasn't too fond of.

Here is a picture of Tyson and his cousin Brayden flying the airplane. I love the cute kid rides. We never went to them while growing up because we just did the adult ones. Well, I'm sure we did, I just don't remember. I love that they have them. It's so much fun to see your little baby having the time of his life.

Here is a picture of Troy and his nephew Steven going on the Catapult ride - twice. I was so nervous because we don't have life insurance for him. ;) Troy loves those kind of dare devil rides. No way I'm going on them... Below is a picture of Troy and Tyson riding the dragon ride (in the very back). Tyson was yelling "yay, yay, yay!!" the whole time.

Our baby boy Logan being as cute as ever just hanging out in the stroller.

This is Tyson on the bumper cars...he was crying because the "big" kids kept bumping into him and he couldn't move his car. He just stayed put the whole time...he tried to get our half-way and try a different car.

My uncle David and his new wife Michelle came up to see us from California. They were going to drive his new Harley the whole way but thought it would be a bit too hot. Oh yeah, it's a sweet bike. We all went up to Deer Valley (Park City) where my Aunt Shirley & Uncle Jeff have a condo their remodeling. It's so beautiful up there.

Tyson was in a gymnastic class this summer. He mostly thought that it was just a time to play around with his cousins Ethan & Sophia and friends. It was pretty cute to watch him every week. Especially the stretching....soooo adorable!

Troy's family had their yearly reunion at Cherry Hills water park & campground. This was first year that we were able to attend. Here is some pictures of Tyson chugging down some fruit punch. Gotta love camping....and afterward using up a whole bottle of Spray & Wash on all our clothes.