Bryce Bunch

Chayli is here

2010-09-01T09:27:00.002-07:00


She's here

Complete with little pink bow

Chayli was born on August 23, 2010 at 1:04pm. She is a tiny little girl weighing in at 6lbs 8oz and 20 inches long. She even had a tint of red hair when she was born but now we are not sure. She is so much fun to have at our house. The boys all love her and just check on her every 5 minutes. It's really cute how much they care about her.


The boys 1st time to see her. Gunner was asleep in the car with Grandpa.


Going home!! Thanks for the bow to match Aunt Abbi!

All ready to go. Grandma Jann and Aunt Abbi surprised us with a pink car seat cover that she made.

We have had a few run ins with the Gunner bear not being the baby anymore. First off, he has been running a fever thanks to his 2 yr molars that are coming in and was a bit grouchy. I was holding and rocking him and he soon jumped down and ran and played. I then picked up Chayli and was rocking her and Gunner came back in and started crying and pointing at Chayli. He looked at me and said, "No mom that's my spot not Chayli's." It was cute and sad all at the same time.

I also picked Chayli up and said come here little princess. Gunner looked at me and said, "that's no a princess that's Chayli." He is very cute and definitely a little out of place having someone else being the baby. He hasn't attacked her yet so we are good.


So excited we are all home safe and sound

Carson, Peyton, and Parker are all big helpers and love to hold her and help mom get the diapers and wipes. They can't believe how small Chayli's diapers are. They are all being really good with the new addition.

Carson the big 1st grader

2010-08-11T11:17:00.002-07:00

First day of 1st grade


Carson with Star Wars Backpack

School started for Carson this morning. He is going to Pioneer Elementary this year since we moved we changed school boundries. We went last night to meet his teacher and are very excited for Ms. Sullivan this year. We loved Mrs. Pfeiffer last year and hope this teacher will be just as great. A lady in our ward says that she is really great and most of her kids have had Ms. Sullivan.

Carson with Ms. Sullivan

He picked out his clothes and made sure his Lego Star wars backpack and lunch box was filled with his school things, and was excited to go this morning although I think he was a little scared which he has every right to be. I hate new things dealing with change and I could sense he did too. Anyways I had Jeff come sit with the other kids while I took Carson to school. As we were pulling up he asked if he could ride the bus home. I told him I was planning on picking him up but if he wanted to ride the bus he could. He chose the bus.

Once we were there he also asked if I could take him to the playground and help him find his teacher. I told him I would and off we went. We found Ms. Sullivan and she showed him were to put his backpack and off he ran to play. I know he will do really well in school.

I also hope he has a better first day this year than he did last year. A little kid stole his lunch last year on the first day. It was sad. I made sure his name was written on everything and in plain site this year.

We love you Carson and I will admit I was really sad when I got back to the car. You are such a good little helper with your younger brothers that I will miss your help. Love you buddy.

Off to play!!

Bye Mom

Playing Catch--Up

2010-07-13T10:00:00.004-07:00

Once again it has been a while. Lots has happened and still waiting on others to happen.

APRIL

Gunner turned 2 on April 5th. He got a scooter for his birthday and has loved it ever since. Little did we know when we bought it that he would be a #1 fan of Buzz Lightyear! He even thinks he is Buzz Buzz. He has been so fun to watch grow up. He follows his 3 older brothers and does (tries) everything they do. He has the cutest facial expressions and is pretty much a happy boy!!

Chad and I also attended the Nascar races out at PIR!!! What a rush they are to watch. My favorite part is watching the flyover during the National Anthem each time.

We also moved from our apartment into a house. We have double the room and the boys are in heaven. They can play hide-n-seek and it actually takes them a while to seek out their brothers. There are so many hiding places. We also have a backyard. It is just rocks but they each have a dump truck so it's not so bad. We were able to bring the trampoline down and they have enjoyed being outside. (not so much anymore in the 105 degree temps)

MAY

The exciting May news probably most already know is...we are having a baby GIRL August 30th. We are very excited and a little scared all at the same time. During all my Dr. visits my Dr. would do an ultrasound to measure the baby. We were never really able to tell if it was a boy or girl. I just kept asking for an ultrasound every time I went in until we were able to determine it was in deed a girl. He told me he couldn't get a good enough picture to print out for me. I told him I didn't need a printed picture of girl parts just verbal is good enough for me to start gathering girly things. Glad my sisters and sisters in laws all have practice with girls because they will definitely have to help me out.

Chad taught Peyton and Parker to ride their bikes with no training wheels. They caught on really fast and are now pros. Way to go boys. Carson and Gunner also enjoy riding their bikes and scooters in the cul-de-sac.

Carson finished Kindergarten May 27th. They don't have kindergarten graduation but are sprinkled by the principal with 1st grade dust. Carson was not a fan and tried to dodge Mrs. Apel but she did get some dust on his head. We are sad that he won't be going back to Val Vista Lakes Elementary but will now be a Pioneer Prospector. We lucked out and had an awesome teacher for Kindergarten. Thank you Mrs. Pfeiffer and Mrs. D. for all your hard work in teaching Carson.

We are proud of you Carson and hope you have as much fun in 1st grade.

We have also been enjoying swimming as much as we can to stay cool. The boys love the pool here in our community because the hot tub and the pool are connected. They just have a wall in between so they just climb over the wall to get warm in the hot tub. Chad is a good sport and does most of the swimming with them. They love to jump off his shoulders and do tricks into the pool with him.

JUNE

In June we went and visited Marci in Eager to bottle some chicken. I had not been to visit for about a year. I was not in town 30 minutes and her neighbor told us that a plane just crashed into the high school. Wow can her town come alive. There were people everywhere. Police officers all over the place. Fire engines surrounding the school putting out the blaze. News media choppers flying overhead. It was crazy.

(This is the part that burned)

I was working on my friends baby shower invites and the boys caught on and wanted to stamp with me. It was not so bad. They had fun and it kept them occupied for a while.

JULY

For the 4th of July we headed back up north to the cool country of Greer. Chad's parents rented cabins and the whole family was there. The kids had a great time playing legos, swimming in the jacuzzi, playing in the creek, eating donuts and fishing.

Chad decided he was going to go hike the mountain up to the rocks above. Off he went. We got a call about 30 minutes later to walk out back on the porch and look. He made it to the top of the rocks.

We also went into Eagar for the parade. Grandpa Ric and Grandma Jann took the mules over for the Haw's to ride in the parade. Since we have a few connections we got to ride with them. I will admit it was hot but we had a lot of fun.

July 8th Abbi, Marci and my mom came down to my house for Ami's birthday. No Disneyland this year due to my status. Maybe next year we can go again. We did have fun though. We went to the Diamondbacks game on Thursday night where they did win believe it or not. We all got a free cookie from Subway and because they scored 10 runs we got free tacos at Taco Bell. Way to go D-backs.

Friday morning after cashing in our free cookie coupons we all went and got pedicures. Wow that was awesome. We now all have pretty toes.

That night we were going to go bowling but went and ate at Chili's first. Ami had a coupon for free appetizer and also a free desert for her birthday. So by the time we ate our meal in the middle we were all very stuffed. When we were done we were all so stuffed there was not going to be any bowling for us. We opted to go and walk around some stores and do a little window shopping.

Saturday morning we planned to do some more shopping. It included a trip to Ribbons~n~Lace to get ribbon so Abbi could make this sweet baby girl some bows. She informed me the "I'm going home" bow was going to cost the most but it is a special one. Abbi was in heaven in that store and said if she lived here she would get a job there. We then went and ate lunch at Cracker's and Co. What yummy sandwiches they have. It was a great weekend and hope Ami had a great 26th Birthday. We love you Mame!!!

You Know You Live In A House Full Of Boys when...

2010-03-21T16:59:00.003-07:00

Your 4 BOYS are sitting at the table eating Sunday dinner. Blessing has been said and Chad and I had just sat down on the couch. Peyton pipes up and says, "hurry, quick Parker pull my finger." Chad and I lost it and were trying not to let the boys see us laugh. It was so hilarious. Wonder where they learned that from, NOT their mother. Boys will be boys!!!

Where Have I Been???

2010-02-15T13:16:00.032-07:00

Well I have taken a blogging break and have decided I will try to remember some of the fun things that have happened in our family since Halloween.

November---

We were able to go to Snowflake for Thanksgiving. It was just my family this year. The kids had a blast hanging out playing in the dirt and chasing Smooch around. We had a wonderful dinner with plenty of leftovers. We then loaded up poor Jill and Lil and went for a mule ride around the block.
We stopped at a neighbor of my parents and loaded them all up with us. We had quite the load and Jill and Lil were amazing. We then came back put the saddles on the mules and rode them up and down the road. I will admit I have not been on a horse in who knows how long and when I got up on Jill I was terrified. She went over on the side of the shop and my dad had to come rescue me. My parents and sisters all had a good laugh at me trying to tell this big beast where to go. We finally made it to the end of the road and back. I was scared the whole time. Good times were had by all.

December---

When we came home from Pima first part of December we brought the Christmas tree back so the boys could decorate it. Boy were they excited. It was pretty for a few days then half the lights decided they didn't want to work even though the tree was only 2 years old. Oh well the boys still loved all the decorations. The older boys went back to Pima a few days before Christmas with Cindy and Allison and I had the tree down and in the dumpster before Chad and I left for Pima. I was done with the ugly, broken tree. But I found a new one for next year so all is good. (hopefully)
The boys all sat on Santa's lap over here at Dana Park. We went with Cyndi and Todd and the kids all did good. They gave each child a candy cane, a coloring book and some reindeer food to put out for Santa and his reindeer. It was a fun night.
Carson got to go shopping for Christmas gifts at his school store this year. All by himself. He was so excited. I had to send in money and they helped him shop, gave him bags to wrap them in and he was set to go. He came home from school that day and was so excited to wrap them for all of us. He truly is a sweetheart and thinks of others all the time.
On the 20th of December there was garden train show going on in the valley. We decided to go check it out. This man has a huge back yard that is full of model train track. His shop is full of engines and freight cars. The boys were all in heaven and thought it was the coolest thing. He was going to expand his track even more. How fun would that be to go out and drive trains all day in the backyard. Some of the trains had more than 50 cars at a time. He had about 5-7 trains going at a time. It was amazing.
We were in Pima this year for Christmas. It was wild and fun all wrapped up together. Aren't the boys so handsome all dressed up in there Sunday best.

Christmas eve we ate at Uncle Jim and Aunt Brenda's Mexican fiesta. That food is the best...Red chili, tamales, taquitos, and rice. We had a special visitor. Santa showed up and a few of my kids were in tears. They don't like Santa. But being the mean mom that I am grabbed them and made them sit on his lap. Everybody needs a picture of them crying on Santa's lap. I have my fair share and I was like 10.
Where is Parker you might ask? Parker was holding on with dear life to Chad and Chad would not let me have him. That's why there is not a picture of him. Good thing I got one of him on his lap in Gilbert. We then went over to the stable and participated in the live nativity that the Alder's put on every year. Carson was a wise man who traveled afar. I couldn't get the twins to dress up. Oh well maybe next time.The kids had a fun time and it was fun watching them come down the hall Christmas morning.
They all got trains, remote control cars, a batman thingy, and plenty of hot wheels.
We also had good company the whole time we were there. The kids love going outside and just running around and I love not having to worry about them. They were definitely worn out each night. This is how Parker fell asleep one night.
They can't get out and run in Gilbert unless I go down and watch them. It is fun to have cousins to play with and have fun with.

New Pictures---

I had my friend take the boys pictures for me. They turned out awesome. I love them. The one of the twins crack me up because this is my life everyday. Someone is always being picked on.

January---

We started January off with Carson losing his 1st tooth. He came home from school and worked on it all by himself. He was sitting by the couch and I was at the table. He came over and said, "mom I have a loose tooth." I just thought it was a little bit loose but when I felt it, it was really loose. I told him to pull it out. He reached in grabbed a hold and pulled it out. It was disgusting. I could hear the roots break loose and he handed it to me. I can remember laying across my dad's lap and him having to pull all my teeth. He has since lost a second one and he pulled that one all by himself also.

We put Carson in soccer. It is his first year playing and he actually does pretty good. His first soccer game happened to be on his 6th birthday.
So we were off to soccer and then straight to Red Robin to eat for the birthday boy. Grandma and Grandpa Bryce came down to watch and Aunt Mame and Chelsie came also. He had a good time and we all enjoyed the great food and company. He got a new legos police headquarters, a DS, books, nerf gun, and clothes. Thanks for all the gifts and phone calls, it really made his day.We partied so hard Gunner could not make it and almost fell out of the high chair. Good thing Grandpa has quick reactions and was able to catch him before he fell.
He also wanted to decorate his birthday cake by himself. It was beautiful and full of sprinkles of every color.
We have spent many afternoons at the park with friends. The kids play, the adults socialize and fun is had by all.

We also took a trip to Snowflake to surprise my dad for his birthday. It didn't exactly work because he got sick and couldn't come eat at La Casita with us. The rest of us went without him and went back to the house for cake and ice cream. He got to feeling better a few days later and took me and the boys out to the new windmills they put up on the way to Holbrook. We went to the office and he asked if we could drive up to them. A guy escorted us right up to where they were. Those things are huge. February---

Peyton and Parker were asked to go to there room and not come out till the room was clean. A while later Parker comes in the living room and I tell him to go back and clean. He then informs me Peyton is not helping cuz he fell asleep. This kid can sleep anywhere. Every 2nd Tuesday of the month the Alder cousins that are here in the valley get together and pick a restaurant to go out to eat and enjoy each others company. Dad gets left home with the boys so mom can go hang out. This is how hard babysitting is here. Give em a bowl of popcorn with a movie and they are all happy. Chad is really good with the boys and they love having him stay with them. Us girls have a blast. We just eat and laugh and laugh at all the fun memories we used to have living down the road from each other. This month was on Cassi's birthday. Happy Birthday Cassi!!
Carson also had his first music program at school the Friday before Valentines. They sang a few songs about Valentines for us. It was cute.

March---

We tried our hand at swimming the other day with the kids. The main pool here at the apartments is heated so we thought no big deal. The weather was nice let's go. We got over there and the water was freezing. I asked the maintenance man if it was heated year round and he said it usually is but the heater went out the other day. Bummer!! But we still had fun swimming in the hot tub with dad.
That is all for now. Sorry it is so long. I will try to do better but really no guarantees.

Trick--Or--Treat

2009-11-02T10:38:00.007-07:00

The boys were so excited to get to dress up and go trick-or-treating. Carson was a hunter, Peyton and Parker were cowboys, and Gunner with an elephant.
Saturday night our ward was hosting the trunk or treat. They had several trunks decorated and handing out candy and fed us hot dogs with chili and cornbread. Yum!!After the trunk or treat we went to Aunt Mame's to trick or treat and see her jail bird costume. It was so cute and the little elephant wanted nothing to do with her and screamed the whole time we were at her house. The other boys thought she was funny. We then went down to Cassi's to trick or treat her neighborhood. Some people really get into this holiday. I am not one of them, it is definitely not my favorite holiday. It was lots of fun. I bet Josh made us walk two miles around the neighborhood but the kids were troopers and loved it. Parker was wearing out and Aunt Jane asked him if he wanted more candy and he just shook his head no. He was done. Carson was trying to be brave with Tessa and Paige and not let nothin' scare him, including Clint and Josh hiding in the bushes. They did jump a few times but still were brave in the dark. Peyton would just run from house to house and had a good time. Gunner just hung out in the stroller and loved the life of being pushed to all the doors and not having to run with the rest. It's a good thing we had the stroller cuz our buckets were so full of candy the twins couldn't carry them and run so it became the bucket holder. A good time was had by all and glad we got to spend it with friends and family. We won't be needing to buy candy for a long time around this household.

Kindergarten Halloween Party

2009-10-30T11:26:00.006-07:00

Carson got to wear is costume to school today for the Halloween parade. He wanted to be something nice. He chose a hunter. It was also his first class party. Since I happen to be the room mom for his class it was up to me to make it fun. We had the best time and all the kids were pretty calm. Mrs. Pfeiffer kept saying how proud she is of all the kids because they are being so calm and quiet. Me and another mom in the class told her wait till all the sugar kicks in. Aunt Ami even make special pumpkin cookies for me to take in for the class even though we aren't supposed too. Oops!!!

They were yummy. We split into groups and they made spider's out of suckers, we ate at one group, we played bingo at another, and we painted each kid's foot white and stamped it on a black piece of paper to make a ghost with googly eyes. They turned out so cute. After we were done with our groups we took the kids outside and split them into two teams. They each had to dress up in the clothes to become somewhat of a scarecrow and run to their teammate, undress and off the next would go. It was lots of fun and each class member got the chance to become a scarecrow. It was so cute. I hope Carson will remember how fun school is (at least when your in Kindergarten). He really loves school and couldn't wait for Fall break to be over so he could go back to school.

Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns

2009-10-30T11:11:00.004-07:00

Carson came home from school on Monday and asked when we were decorating our pumpkins for our house. I looked at him thinking I guess he is old enough to know that is what you do on Halloween. So Monday night we ate dinner and I went and got pumpkin to carve for the boys for family night. Chad got roped into designing our faces and I helped cut. By the time we got to the third one, the boys had all went back inside the house and Chad and I were the ones outside with the pumpkins. It was fun for the short time we were out there all together. The boys were excited to have pumpkins on the porch.

What's wrong with this picture?????

2009-10-21T14:43:00.006-07:00

Besides the mess that my lovely 3 younger boys made today, can you spot the problem?

I told Peyton and Parker to go and clean the 2 rooms that they destroyed and I didn't want to see them come out till it's all clean. Parker came out a little while later and I told him to go back and help Peyton. He told me Peyton was asleep in Carson's room. I went to check and could not find him. He wrapped himself up in a fitted sheet for Gunner's crib and fell asleep under it. I ran and got the camera to take pictures with out trying to wake him. I wasn't sure at first if he was really asleep or if he was playing possum. He is a pretty good "faker" at sleeping when he gets told to go and clean. He was really asleep under the sheet and is still asleep as I type. What a crazy kid.

Twins turn the BIG 4!!!

2009-10-13T16:45:00.008-07:00

Starting out 4 years ago at 6 lbs 2 oz (Peyton) and 7 lbs 4 oz (Parker) I thought they would stay babies forever, but I now have two very active wonderful boys that are so excited for their cowboy birthday. They really are fun to be around. They get along great with each other and really are inseparable.
Today the twins turn 4. Wow has time flown by. We started the day off at the park with friends. We let the kids play and had a picnic and cupcakes. The kids all had a good time and the mom's got to have their own conversations with adults. It was fun had by all.

I attempted to make their cakes but they didn't turn out as cute as I pictured. They wanted a cowboy birthday so they chose horses to be on their cakes and boots to be on their cupcakes for the park. They of course loved them. It is exciting to have your kids think that you can do anything they ask.
They received plenty of presents between the two. Lots of cowboy stuff like Grandpa Ric. They got boots, hats, cowboy clothes, games, cars, and cap guns. They were really cute all dressed up like a cowboy. Parker was in heaven and didn't want to take it off to go to bed. I assured him he could wear it tomorrow. I had a fun day and hope they had a blast.

Family pics

2009-10-05T11:09:00.003-07:00

Here are the pictures of our family pictures for Chad's family. Melissa Alder took them and they turned out AWESOME!!!

Busy Busy Busy

2009-09-18T12:00:00.005-07:00

I don't know where the time has gone. But it is now the middle of September and have been writing the little stories down that my kids are saying and wanted to post them. We are all doing good and having fun. First off....

Carson was helping me sort coupons the other night and I would give him a stack and he would sort them and then we would file them and give him another pack. I was filing some and he was sorting them by amounts. He would say this is $1 and this goes with $2 and came to one without the dollar amount. He asked me what that one said. I told him that was FREE. Without hesitating he starts singing "F-R-E-E that spells free credit report dot com baby." I busted up laughing. If anyone does not recognize it is on the free credit report commercial on TV. It was cute.

He then kept sorting and all the sudden he says and this goes in the Zantac pile. I saw this on TV. I know that is Zantac. He is getting too smart for his own britches. He keeps us going with all his songs and cute things he is learning in school.

Today he had a Teddy Bear Parade at school and parents were invited to attend. They were supposed to make a float out of whatever they wanted (a shoebox, a laundry basket, a stroller ect..) and take their favorite stuffed animal to go in their float and all the kindergartners parade around the front of the school pulling their floats. It was really cute. Some floats took time and others didn't. Chad wasn't too happy when I tied a bow on Carson's float. I told him, he blessed me with 4 boys and an occasional BLUE bow might show up every now and then. He just said ok fine (while shaking his head). The first picture is Carson's teacher with her own son dressed up as her bear. It was cute.

Peyton was sitting on the couch with Jeffey Jeff (as Peyton calls Jeff Barney). Jeff was playing the wii and Peyton was watching him. He told Jeff to go to that spot and get a Yoshi. Jeff told him to hold on and have some patience. Peyton looks at Jeff and says, "I had patience yesterday." He definatly keeps us on our toes with his little intelligence. He is very smart and always has to be in charge. We love him.
My favorite of the week comes from Parker. He snuck a piece of bacon that I had just cooked and was eating it at the table. I looked over and he was rubbing his greasy hands all over the kitchen table. I said Parker don't get your greasy hands all over the table. So what does he do. Takes his hands and rubs them on his pants. I again said "Parker don't rub them on your pants. Come on use your head." He took that answer and ran with it. He took his hands off his pants and was rubbing his head with his greasy hands. He is hilarious with a very mean streak. We love him when he is lovable and love him when he gets mean. He has finally came out of his shell and likes to compete with his brothers on things. He used to just sit back and take whatever toy was left and was happy to be playing with something. Now he goes to fighting for the toy he wants. I tell people that somedays I wish he would go back in his shell and be my sweet little Po-Po.
Then there comes the Gunner-Bear. Wow! Is the best I can describe him at the moment. He has so much energy and uses it to it's fullestHe does not give in to his brothers. He jumps right in and wrestles with his dad and brothers, play punches with them, rolls all over them. He keeps our house laughing with the cute things he does. He calls me daddy as well as Chad, loves balls and trains, and is really starting his first words.

We are practicing for our primary program and I needed to help with my sumbeams so I took Gunner into nursury. He has 3 weeks till he is legal so I said maybe they will keep him so I can help with practice. My V.T. partner was in there so I said she will watch him for me. About 3/4 the way through she comes through the door and said we need you. Gunner fell and busted his lip open. I am so sorry. I said no big deal and went to check the damage. He was crying a little but had blood all over his white shirt. I took him to the bathroom and got him cleaned up and striped his shirt off so I didn't scare the kids when I went back to primary. He did fine but woke up Monday with a pretty big fat lip. Needless to say, don't send your kid to nursury 3 weeks early in Gilbert. J/K... he tripped on a toy.

I Survived the First Day of Kindergarten

2009-08-10T15:55:00.006-07:00

He made it. Mrs. Pfieffer said he had a great 1st day. He was still very happy about being at school and all the fun things they got to do. I asked what he did today and his reply was, "we had a writing center, a reading center and a play center. We got to go to recess 3 times. I made some girl friends and some boy friends. It was so fun Mom!!"

I then asked about lunch and he said, "But Mom, a mean boy stole my lunch box and ate my peanut butter and jelly sandwich." I will admit I got tears in my eyes. I was so sad for him. I asked him if he drank his Capri Sun and he again replied the mean boy drank it. I asked him if he ate anything and he said that the cafeteria has a kitchen and a lady made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I asked what he drank with his sandwich and he said that the kitchen had some orange juice for him. I was mad.

I can't believe he could have so much fun but then have it ruined by a mean boy stealing his lunch. I am glad he got something to eat, but still. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better lunch time. I spoke with his teacher and Mrs. Dee is the one to take them to lunch not Mrs. Pfieffer and she didn't say anything to Mrs. Pfieffer about it. But she also informed me that it was such a crazy hectic lunchtime. Mrs. Pfieffer said she felt horrible and will ask Mrs. Dee what happened and make sure he gets his own lunch box tomorrow. Man is it hard being a mother of a kindergartner.

Tonight he told Chad and I he did not want to go to school anymore because after lunch you have to rest with your head on the desk and he did not like this. He is too cute.

Carson's 1st Day of School

2009-08-10T08:43:00.003-07:00

It's official, Carson is a Val Vista Lakes Viking. He started school this morning and was so excited to be going. He woke up happy and ready to start getting his new clothes and new shoes on. On the way he was just all smiles and kept telling his brothers that he was going to Kindergarten. We are so proud of him and hope he stays excited about school forever and not just today. His teacher is Mrs. Pfieffer. She looks like a really fun teacher. He can't wait to ride the bus and make some new friends. Hope your day is full of fun Carson. We love you!!!

24th of July Celebration

2009-08-08T17:53:00.005-07:00

The 24Th of July, we spent the weekend in Pima. Boy was that a busy weekend also. On Saturday we attended my dad's Uncle Kenneth's funeral, I had a baby shower that I didn't make it to, we celebrated Grandpa Joe's 78Th birthday with cake and ice cream, and were riding in the parade to celebrate Grandma Evelyn and Grandpa Joe. We are grateful we are part of there family and so thankful for the support they have been to us through all our years. My mom and dad bought some mules back in May and have been working so hard to build a wagon that we could ride on during the parade. It was AWESOME!! The kids played in the wagon forever and were so excited to be in the parade. Thanks mom and dad for your hard work to get this done. It was fun.

The rest of the summer has been mostly spent at the pool with the boys. They love to swim and are getting very good at it. Carson starts school on the10Th of August and will be going full day so his summer is about to end. We are loving our busy life and trying to keep up with our busy boys.

Disneyland

2009-08-08T17:03:00.010-07:00

The 10Th of July, my sisters and I took off to California for Ami's 25Th birthday at Disneyland. It was a weekend without kids but pretty much filled up with business to do. We told the kids we had to go to a meeting in California and they bought that. Dad and Grandma Cindy were here with the boys while I was gone. We got to our hotel at 10:00pm. We then went swimming and decided we should go to bed as we had a busy 2 days planned. We went to Knotts Berry Farm from open to close and had a blast riding all the roller coasters. The next day was Disneyland for the birthday girl. We got there shortly after opening and we were there to close the park down. It was lots of fun to hang out with my sisters and be carefree for a few days. Thanks for the fun girls.

Greer 7/4/2009

2009-08-08T16:57:00.008-07:00

For 4th of July, we got to go up to Greer with Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Ron. We fished and played with all the cousins. We went to Eagar for the 4th of July parade and watched the Eagar fireworks that night. The adults played many rounds of Dominos and ate all of Aunt Lacey's yummy treats she made for us. It was lots of fun to kick back and relax for a few days with family. Thanks for the invite and we can't wait to go again.

Summer Happenings

2009-08-08T15:46:00.015-07:00

Back in June my friend from Texas came out for a funeral. About 5 families from Buckeye all decided we would go to the McCormick Railroad Park in Scottsdale so the kids could play. It was a lot of fun and of course my boys love the train park.

One morning after Ami got off graveyard shift, she met us at our house and we got to go to Snowflake and spend a few days with Grandma and Grandpa. Abbi and Marci came over and all the kids had fun playing outside, helping build the wagon for Jill and Lil, and playing with Smoochie. It is always so nice and cool up there compared with the heat of Gilbert. We planned a picnic at the park one day and we (including adults) played games with the kids. We played frisbee's and freeze tag. Boy am I out of shape. The kids got to go with Grandpa to the brown store. That's always a treat.

My cousin Jodi was preparing to go to Girls Camp and needed to do a service project for that. They were planning on going to a home for orphaned children and play games with them. They were going to teach them to make ice cream in a zip lock bag. Jodi decided she should probably practice and make sure it worked before it failed with the children. So she invited us over to see if it works and boy was it good. Ciminy and her kids were down also so it was fun to play with Riley and Aiden and get to see Cheyanne. Thanks Aunt Jodi (that's what my boys call her) and Aunt Ami. My boys love you.

Comedy of the Day

2009-08-07T22:25:00.006-07:00

My boys have been full of it lately and before I forget I will post these and then go back and fill in all the exciting things we have been doing for the past 2 months.

Parker has turned himself into a little cowboy. On Monday, he snuck into Carson's room and got Carson's boots from the closet. He got himself dressed in some jeans, a button shirt and the boots. He then comes and finds me and asks if he is a cool cowboy. I of course told him he looked like a cool cowboy. The boots never came off until he went to bed. The next morning he comes out of his bedroom and finds me. He is all dressed in the same clothes as yesterday and yes the boots are back on him. The kid is pretty smart and when I told him that he wore those cowboy clothes yesterday he told me, "no those are in the laundry basket. These are Peyton's." Sure enough he had pulled out the same shirt, & same jeans to make himself another cool cowboy. He has wore the boots everyday this week and always asks if he is a cool cowboy.

Today him and Carson were playing Grandpa and Dad. Parker was Grandpa Ric cuz he always wears cowboy boots and Carson was the Dad. Parker walked up to Carson and says, "Dad, you ready to go to the brown store?" My dad always takes the boys to the "Brown Store" (minit market) to get a treat whether in Pima or in Snowflake. This obviously is a memory of Grandpa that will hold on for a long time.

He even wants new cowboy boots and a cowboy hat for his birthday. We shall see...

Ami was over today and playing the wii. Parker loves his aunt Mame. He came and asked me where the lotion was cuz he needed to rub lotion on her feet. He rubbed her feet for 30 minutes with tons of lotion. He also decided to make himself look like a little warrior (see above picture).

Carson is starting school on Monday. He will be attending Kindergarten at Val Vista Lakes Elementary. He goes all day. Last night Chad, Carson and I went to meet the teacher. He has Mrs. Pfeiffer. She is very cute and looks like she will be fun to have. The classroom has lots of cool things he says. A reading station, a writing station, and some toys too. He is getting excited and so am I for this big adventure. I will miss him during the day as he is quite a good little helper with his brothers but we will manage. It's also a big change for me as I hate mornings. I don't know how I will manage to get up but my sleeping in days are over.

He is quite the little swimmer. He goes from one end of the pool to the other. He runs and jumps off the side, does belly flops and also plays timber and falls like a tree. It has been fun taking the kids down to the pool to cool off from all this heat.

Gunner is turning into his nickname that we have called him from day one. Gunner Bear. He is 16 months old and is already starting to throw little fits and tantrums. He watches his brothers way too close. I had them down at the pool yesterday Gunner and I got out to dry off. The older boys wanted to get in the hot tub so I told them they were going to burn themselves but go ahead. Gunner walked over to them and was talking and pointing his little finger at them. I was sitting in a lounge chair right close by the hot tub. I told Gunner to get away. He just looked at me and turned back around to yell at his brothers. I started to get up knowing that he was going to turn around and fall to the ground in one of his tantrums but there was nothing else I could do. I got up and sure enough he turned around and flopped down right into the hot tub. This was the first time he has ever went under and he did it all on his own. I was right there to pull him out but the funny thing is, I knew exactly what was going to happen before I even got up to get him. I love the terrible two's that are starting.

The above picture is him throwing a fit because I took Maci's (Cyndi's baby) bottle away from him and gave it back to her. He loves his fits.

If you watch this video at the end of it shows how Peyton plays the wii. He thinks that if he throws his arms high in the air it will actually make Mario jump higher. It is too cute.

Today Peyton was playing with the Wii remote when Chad got home. He had one end of it in his mouth. Chad told him he better get it out of his mouth. Peyton then comes over to me while wiping the remote off with his shirt and says, "I better wash this off or my dad will smack me!" This kid is crazy funny with the things he says. It was cute and Chad and I just laughed at him.

He is quite the computer and wii nerd. He can beat his brothers and mom in mario kart but only likes to be 1st player. He also does NOT like to lose. He will reset the game in the middle of it if he is loosing. Boy does he have some lessons to learn growing up.

As he was playing Mario Brothers (mom's favorite) he kept dying. Carson thought it was funny cuz Peyton throws fits when he dies. Peyton had had enough and yelled, "Stop laughing at me Carson or you're going to get the hiccups. The boy knows when he laughs too much he gets the hiccups and I guess everyone else does to in Peyton's eyes.

Hamburger Helper

2009-06-13T16:24:00.003-07:00

Gunner has decided it is fun to feed himself. We were on the balcony eating and he took his bowl and put his face in it to eat just like a dog would.

He was too cute and is getting to big for his britches.

He gives the cutest looks. He tips his head down and looks at us wrinkling his forehead.

Train Park

2009-06-13T15:49:00.006-07:00

Last week the kids and I went to Scottsdale to the Train Park to meet some Buckeye friends their and have a picnic. We went one other time but the twins were like 8 months old. It was a ton of fun. There are about 5 different jungle gyms for the kids to climb all over

that are mostly covered.

There is also a train to ride

and a carousel to ride.

The boys could not wait to ride the train. They sat on one of the playgrounds and watched the train load and take all the other passengers.

Finally it was our turn and they ran to the gate to board with tickets in hand.

It was lots of fun to catch up with about 5 girls from Buckeye.

As we were leaving we took a picture by the big engine. Notice who is not in the picture. That would be Peyton and he was the photographer. He told me he wanted to take a picture so I let him take one of the engine. He then looked at me and said there are no people so we all had to go and stand in front of the train so Peyton could take a picture with people. It was fun.

Look mom "We are Jesus"

2009-05-30T19:41:00.002-07:00

The kids have been watching the Primary songs videos. They are really good at singing the songs.

The other night we got them in the bath and they were getting dressed. They like to wear mine and Chad's big shirts to bed as their jammies. Well on this night Parker was putting on his shirt and got one hand in the arm hole. The other arm went through the head hole and down under his arm. He came running to me and said, " Look mom, I am Jesus." Peyton thought hey that was funny. So he did it also. I immediately started laughing. I hollered at Chad to come and see what they were doing. We were both laughing so hard. Ami came around the corner and asked what was so funny. We told her and she also busted up. I then told Chad that we have failed as parents. We are just grateful the sweet, innocent 3 year old's know and can recognize who Jesus is. So maybe we are teaching them something. We love them all and are glad they keep us laughing.

We are alive

2009-05-30T18:48:00.007-07:00

I am the biggest blog slacker. I just couldn't bring myself to update the blog, so I have alot to tell you about.

WHAT WE ARE UP TOO

As you all are probably aware of we moved to Gilbert. Yes, back to the city. I love it. We are living in an apartment so we have 2 pools and a hot tub here on site. I have always hated

swimming but down here it doesn't matter what size, shape or color you are you just get it and stay cool. Needless to say we have spent quite a bit of time in the pool with the boys. Carson is a really good swimmer. Peyton holds onto a kick board with no floaties and jumps off the sides of the pool. He is going to be a fish by the end of summer. Parker is getting braver with swimming. He wasn't to sure of it at first but like to float by himself at times. Gunner still isn't too sure about the whole thing, but goes along for the ride cuz that's where the rest of us are.

Chad works in Scottsdale back with Rummell Construction. He is an estimator and puts together the bids. He loves what he does and is pretty good at it also. The first week he was doing new things on the computer program they use for estimating that nobody else could figure out. All the people he worked with before are still there and he enjoys them all.

I am staying home with the boys and trying to keep them in control. Trying to come up with activities to keep them busy and cool inside. We have made a trip to Val Vista Lakes beach with some friends from the ward and had friends over to play.

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GUNNER TURNS "1"

We celebrated Gunner's 1st birthday in the process of the move at grandma Cindy's and

grandpa Ron's. We had enchiladas and cake and ice cream. Grandpa Ric & Grandma Jann were even in town to come and celebrate with us. He received many fun gifts from all the family. A noisy lawn mower from his brothers (what was I thinking when I bought that), books, bath toys, and clothes. Thank you everyone for the presents. He sure enjoyed opening presents and also the famous "1" year old cake. We can't believe he is already one but we are so happy that he is growing and developing like he should. He is very big for being one and I get so many comments on his size from everyone. He is our feisty little red head with a big red head attitude. He causes lots of fights with his brothers and enjoys destroying all their Lego works of art. We sure do love having him.

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EASTER 2009

We all traveled up to my mom and dad's house in Snowflake for Easter. It was fun to be with the whole family. The kids played really well together and had fun coloring Easter eggs and also hunting for them. Gunner had his first try at a bright blue peep and loved it. Grandma made all the kids matching Easter outfits for church on Sunday. They were very cute once again.

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NASCAR 2009

Chad and I left the kids with my mom and dad and went to nascar both Friday and Saturday races. It was lots of fun to see how fast the cars really go.

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Gunner has learned to walk now and is all over the place. He has also mastered drinking from the straw. Now there is one more person that gets to share the huge Doc's mug soda's.

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Ami has finally graduated from school. Yippee!!! We are so proud of her for the patience and hard work throughout the last two years. Way to go Ami!! Since all the family was here for her graduation all the kids wanted to go swimming. Abbi, Marci, Ami and all the kids came over to go swimming. It was lots of fun. Thanks guys for the swim party.

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I took the kids to the park the other day and tried to get a few pictures of them. The sun was especially bright and that explains all the squinting. They had fun playing and it wore them out when we got home.

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That's about it for now. Just wanted to do a quick update and let you all know we are still here.

Carson figures out the move

2009-03-19T15:17:00.003-07:00

Carson is having a really hard time about us moving to Mesa. Last night he was in tears, I was in tears and I think even his dad shed a few tears. He is really nervous about leaving all his cousins and his friends. Chad and I were trying our hardest to comfort him and let him know that he will meet new friends in Mesa at Church and at school and we didn't think he would have a problem meeting them. Carson then wipes his tears and says. "I know why we have to move. When you see mice in your house or have to find a new job you have to move." He then looks at his dad with a look like he has it all figured out and says, "Am I right dad." He is too smart and too cute. We are really trying our hardest to be happy in this situation but have to remind ourselves that Chad does indeed have a job and many others out their don't. Thanks Carson for reminding us that we do have a mouse and so we must leave.

Memories

2009-03-02T22:57:00.007-07:00

I need to post the cute things the boys are saying and doing these day. The boys are too funny and come up with the cutest things. I told Chad I really need to start writing these down. So here goes.

We have made 2 trips to Mesa these past 2 weekends for Cade & Lacey's wedding. We stayed in hotel both weekends. Danny got us rooms at the Hilton so we were their for 2 nights. We walked in the first night and Peyton with huge eyes looks at me and says, mom is this our new house. It was too cute.

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After that, we went to the elevator. Carson pushed the button and the doors opened. Peyton of course runs in with excitement. Chad and I were not very quick as we had the 4 kids and all the luggage in one trip. The doors start to close without anyone else making it inside. Peyton being the only one inside. His eyes were as big as they could get. He was scared to death about being in their by himself. Chad stuck his hand in the door to make the doors open back up. From then on, one would push the button to open the elevator and Peyton would immediately put his hand in front of the door so they would not shut on him.

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Robert and Marci were blessing Harli on Sunday the 1st of March. Since Cade got married on Saturday with the reception down in Gilbert that night we had to make the decision of going Saturday late at night, or Sunday before the sun came up. Chad said he would rather go in the morning. We left the hotel at 5:30am. We put the kids in footed pj's at night. Sunday we woke them up and changed their diapers and loaded them in the car hoping they would fall back asleep. As we were coming across top of the world Peyton said he had to go #2. I told him to hold it we were going to stop at McDonalds in Globe. So we get to McDonalds and I take Carson & Peyton in to potty. Peyton however is scared to death of the toilet flushing. So I get Carson in his stall and I go in with Peyton to sit him on the potty to do his business. Carson tells me he is done and needs help. So I leave Peyton sitting on the potty and go to Carson's stall to help him. I hear Peyton's potty flush. I immediately think oh crap, Peyton is going to freak out. So I hurry and get Carson's pj's back up and Peyton potty flushes again. I was dying laughing by this time thinking of the terrified little boy that is sitting on this potty that is randomly flushing. So I hurry out of Carson's stall to go comfort Peyton and I met him out in the little hall type thing. He bailed off the potty cuz of the flushing. I was laughing so hard. I told him he had to get back on the potty so I could wipe his buns. He told me, no mommy that potty is scary. It scared me mommy. Needless to say we got him wiped and back in his pj's and I had a good laugh the whole day. When we got home from Eagar. We dropped Chad and the boys off at the house and my mom and I were going up to the hospital to see Grandma Evelyn, Chad is on the phone with his mom and is pointing to the bathroom. I told my mom to look and we hear the toilet flush and then out runs Peyton with his chonies and pants at his ankles. We all started laughing and it made the story that much funnier. We love you Peyton even if the potty is scary. Chad says has to have some type of phobia with the flushing potty. Chad came up with Comodaphobia.

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Parker and Carson were playing Hide and Seek. I was folding laundry right there in my room. Parker runs in and says, "mom where's Carson." I told him I don't know he ran into the family room. He said, "no he didn't where is Carson." We went back and forth a few times this way. I finally said, "Parker I saw him run out mom's door. I know I am the mom and you are the son." He looked at me with his huge eyes and said, "no mom I am the boss."

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One last story and I am done for the night. Parker was picking on Peyton like usual. I said, "Parker." He turned and looked at me and said I am not Parker today I am Po-Po today. Only when it is convenient. Good one Po--Po.

Family Photo

2009-02-18T21:10:00.003-07:00

Just a picture I found that I think is pretty darn cute of my little family. They needed a picture of all the families in our ward for the primary bullitin board. We did not have a very current one so we had to run over to Chad's parents before church one day and have his mom snap one of us. She did great.

Accomplishments of a 10 month old

2009-02-05T12:03:00.003-07:00

Gunner is 10 months old today. Wow time flies. Dr K. questioned me at his 9 month check up that 1) he wasn't holding his own bottle 2) He wasn't getting up on all fours 3) he wasn't really rolling a lot and 4) he hasn't sat up from being on his belly or back. Being 25.12 pounds I told Dr K. he was just too chubby to roll and sit up. Chad and I were just fine with him just sitting there being happy and being served by his brothers. Well that appointment must have done it with Gunner. Two weeks later he was sitting up from back or belly, holding his own bottle, becoming quite more active rolling everywhere and at 10 months he is crawling. He is even starting to pull himself up to the couch. We are so proud of him and all his accomplishments. It is so fun to have a baby in the house and wonder what goes through their little heads. Keep it up Gunner we are proud of you.

Happy Birthday to me

2009-02-04T12:50:00.002-07:00

January 24th I celebrated my 29th birthday. I was at work and got off at 12:30am. Chad put the boys to bed at his moms and called and met me at Denny's for breakfast at 12:30am. When all my sisters are here we always go to Jerry's at midnight. Chad stays home with kids and never goes with us. So he decided since Denny's opened up that he would take me at midnight. It was fun and so good. Nothing beats french toast at 12:30 in the morning. Thanks Chad!!

Carson turns "5"

2009-02-03T19:55:00.005-07:00

Carson turned 5 years old on January 9th. We had a little party over at Grandma & Grandpa Bryce's house. He is very excited to be 5. He got a three city hotwheels, trains, books, clothes, and cars. Thank you everyone for coming and spending the evening with us. I even attempted the cake again. It is kinda fun. He didn't care what it was as long as it had something to do with

trains. Cyndi, Tessa, Haven & Macy came down to visit. They made it in time for the party.

We love you Carson.

Before Cyndi went home I asked her to trim Gunner's hair. It was starting to hang over his ears. I should just learn to cut boy hair. I have a feeling I will be doing quite a few cuts over the years. Gunner was so good he just sat there happy as can be. Thank you Cyndi. You're the best.

Guess Who?

2009-02-03T19:23:00.004-07:00

Can you guess who this is? Aunt Mame hates to have her picture taken. She was getting ready to leave and go back to the valley to work and Abbi & I chased her around trying to get her picture for about 45 minutes. This is all we could get. Partly cuz she did have mom on her side telling Abbi & I to leave her alone. We understand she is the princess but we just wanted your picture. We did manage to get a few of just the eyes, and some of just the fingers but this is it. We love you Mame.

Christmas

2009-01-23T21:22:00.009-07:00

We spent Christmas this year in Snowflake. We had lots of fun playing with all the cousins. The

boys were so excited for Santa to come. Carson, Peyton & Parker got bikes, a Thomas tent, Thomas action canyon, remote control trains, lots of clothes & I spy games. Gunner got a cookie jar shape sorter, a walker, clothes and an I spy game. We enjoyed having Grandma Evelyn & Grandpa Joe up for Christmas. Hope we weren't too loud for you.

Thank you everyone for all the gifts.

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-22T09:29:00.004-07:00

Here are the boys in their Christmas outfits. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Lines for the outfits. They were adorable and it was nice not having to worry about it.

Peyton

2008-12-19T19:15:00.002-07:00

Quick story on Peyton..He has always been right there watching very closely to everything we do. Whether it is changing a light bulb or a tire, mopping, or on the computer, he is always asking questions trying to figure out why or what you are doing. Well Tuesday I was wrapping presents and the boys were supposed to be playing trains. Sweet little Peyton came in and was watching each step I was doing. I was wrapping a shirt for Grandpa Ron. This was our conversation.

P: mom what you doing

Me: wrapping a present for grandpa

P: grandma cindy's grandpa

Me: yes, grandpa ron

P: why you do his laundry

It was too cute I couldn't help but laugh. We love Peyton and are so glad he is here with us to keep us on our toes. He is so sweet.

Carson

2008-12-12T13:07:00.003-07:00

Carson makes us laugh alot lately. He attends preschool with Mrs. Bryce and Mrs. Crockett. I went to pick him up on Thursday and they handed him a book called Preschool Quotes Christmas 2008. I started laughing before I ever opened it up. Last year he got a similar book. They ask the kids throughout the semester questions and then write down the answers just as the children say. We are proud of Carson for being so willing to learn from his teachers. I am going to write down his questions and answers to remind me what exactly I need to be teaching him. J/K. We think he is very cute and we are proud of him.

1- What is your favorite thing to do in the summer? I like to go swimming. I go with Kyia. I like to ride the kicking boards. I like to play with my trains.

2- If you could buy anything in the whole world, what would it be? A Thomas carnival.

3- What does your mom do all day? She makes food for us. She makes yummy cinnamon rolls. They have frosting on them. She losted her phone. She was mad. Parker had it and he might have put it somewhere but he can't tell us where.

4- What does Dad do all day? He gotted a new dump truck. It's yellow. They drive around his work. They go in front of my dad's truck. He has to stop. Then he goes.

5- How old is your mom/dad? I think my dad is 60. My mom is 11.

6- What are your chores? I help her make some food. Whenever my dad gets home from work I pick up the toys. That's just it.

7- What is a rainbow and how is it made? It's made of colors. I would make one out of dirt. I would wave on the ground to make a rainbow. When it stops raining a rainbow comes out of a cloud and goes to another cloud. That is "clifting" and that starts with c-c-c. (don't really know what clifting is)

8- What is a veteran? Thomas the train. He's blue!

9- Who is your favorite person in the whole world? Why? It's Justin. He lives by my house because he has legos and trains.

10- Who is the Great Pumpkin? The big one. He comes for Halloween and he says, "Oh my, it's getting late."

11- Why do we have Thanksgiving? My mom doesn't tell me about things like that. (This question shows I don't tell him about the important stuff)

12- What did you have for Thanksgiving? It was marshmallows and meat, a roll and cookies. the cookies were my favorite. My mom gave me new coaches for my train!

13- Tell me about Santa? Where does he live? Way up in the sky, because we can't see him. He lives by where the jets go, but they don't hit his house. When it is Christmas he gives us presents. He's happy.

14- What do you want for Christmas? Thomas action Canyon--you can break down bridges and go down waterfalls.

15- And his preschool cookbook entry is Cereal. You need some cereal and some milk. I eat crunch berries. Fill it all the way to the top. Add one handful of mild. I like crunch berries, but parker likes fruit loops.

Parker--the accident prone

2008-12-10T14:18:00.003-07:00

Chad called me on Saturday while I was working and said we have a problem. I asked him what was wrong. He told me that Parker is limping. I asked what he did and all he will tell us is, "Carson stepped on me." I talked to Dr. Bryce yesterday while at work in the ER and he told me to just take him to his office today and he would take an x-ray. So I loaded up the kids and went to see Carol Sue McNamara P.A. cuz Dr. Bryce was in surgery. She poked on his foot and right above his 2nd toe Parker pushed her hand away. So they took the x-rays and Sue ran them over to Dr. Bryce in the O.R. at the time to see what he thought. She shows back up and asks, "what color blue, green, red, yellow." I looked at her and said you are joking. Nope she wasn't.

I guess right above the toes is a growth plate and they are worried about that being injured. So we get to sport a nice blue cast for the next 2 weeks. I just have to keep him off of it for 2 days till the cast completely dries. That will be fun. He is going to work real hard and show Gunner how to crawl. I put him down in the play room next to the Thomas track and I was in the living room talking to my mom on the phone. Next thing I know is Parker is crawling around the recliner on his hands and knees. This ought to be fun.

GUNNER

2008-11-13T20:07:00.003-07:00

The older 3 boys love to make Gunner laugh. We were down at Ami's and she has a big love sac bean bag thing. Peyton was standing at the top and would fall and Gunner would just laugh. So Peyton kept doing this and Gunner was laughing so hard I had to film it.

Family Vacation

2008-11-13T19:39:00.009-07:00

NASCAR AND POLAR EXPRESS

Tony Stewart Kyle Busch

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeff Gordon

Sunday we loaded up at 7:00am and left after I got home from work at 6:00am. We went to Mesa and dropped the boys off with Aunt Mame (Ami). They had fun with her, I am just not so sure she had as much fun with them. She is awesome and I want to thank her for watching her for such a long period of time. Thank You Mame. Chad and I headed to pick up Stacie (aka J.P.M.) and Danny at their hotel so we could go to the NASCAR races. On the way out Danny swore Stacie drives just like J.P.M. almost putting a car in the wall the night before. It was a blast.

Stacie and I were dressed in our bright orange Tony Stewart shirts to support Chad's driver. He didn't win but was involved in 2 pretty good accidents. As we were sitting there in the sun, all of the sudden it started to rain. Here is a picture of us after the rainstorm. Stacie and I were glad it was rain and not some druck person spitting on us. The red flag went up and the drivers were stopped for 22 minutes. We just sat there in the rain and enjoyed it for the time being. Soon the sun came out and dried up all the rain and the race got underway again. It was crazy. PIR turns into it's own little city out there with all the redneck NASCAR fans. It even has its own tent city Bashes. The hill was covered with people and lots of fun drunk people you get to see.

Jimmie Johnson won the race and this is him doing his victory burn out down the track.

We got back to Ami's about 8pm and the boys were exhausted. We crashed at Ami's house for the night to get rested for the next day.

We went down to Cyndi's so she could cut my hair and we let the boys play with all the girly toys. They loved the kitchen, shopping cart, and all the other toys girls play with that we don't have at our house. Thank you Cyndi for the much needed haircut. We then got back in the car and drove to Williams to ride the Polar Express Train.

We had so much fun. We boarded at 6:30 and took off for the North Pole. They served us cookies and hot chocolate read the story polar express to us and sang christmas songs. We arrived at the North Pole and saw Santa and his elf. Santa boarded the train and walked through each car and handed each child a silver jingle bell like in the movie.

It was really cute and the boys had a blast. We got back to the station at about 8:10pm.

After we got loaded we then headed on our way to Snowflake to see my parents and stay the night with them. Thank you Mom & Dad for the place to crash, pizza and ice cream. The boys love going to grandma and grandpa's cuz they have a cool wooden train tracks and of course it is the home of Smoochie. We had a lot of fun on our fast and furious vacation.

Duck ponds and Halloween

2008-11-03T21:10:00.003-07:00

Here are some pictures of the boys. The day before Halloween we drove by Mike Grauer's house and saw his duck pond (he has quite a few ducks there). Carson asked, "mom, what do ducks eat?" I said bread. He then asked, "what else?" I replied I have no idea. Then the little smart boy said, "well then we will have to go to the library, check out a book on ducks and see what ducks like to eat so we can feed them. I told him Dad might have to look on the internet and we might be able to arrange to go feed the ducks. Chad had halloween day off so I text him and told him we were going to the duck ponds out at the fairgrounds. It was actually lots of fun. Next time we will have to take the boys bikes. I forgot about all the cement out there they could ride on.

We also went trick or treating for the 1st time. The kids, especially Carson has never been interested. But this year, he was so excited to go. They had a party at school on Thursday and he got to wear his costume. Since Carson had his on Peyton & Parker demanded they get to were their's also. So we practiced on Thursday for the big day of Halloween. They were so excited to get all the candy in their buckets. They all went as Nascar drivers. Carson was his dad's favorite Tony Stewart, Peyton was Dale Earnhardt Jr. (the amp energy sponsorship fit him to a T), Parker was the blue Jeff Gordon (as opposed to his green and yellow car he sometimes drives) and Gunner was Kyle Busch (the m&m boy). It was fun to see their excitement that night. I think I like my childhood tradition of going out to eat for Halloween instead but it was fun.

10 year Reunion

2008-10-22T13:16:00.008-07:00

PIMA HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1998

Albert Sanchez, Landon Morris, Raul Luzania, Dusty Luster, Gary Bell, Enos Manor, Kody Bartlett, Vernon Batty, Lehua Natividad, Hannah Hoopes, Jason Gojkovich, LaRee Braithwaite, Chad Bryce, Heidi Lines, Danielle Ray, Shari Whitmire, Fara Ward, Sarah Kilbride, Bridget Preston, Amy Terry, Boyce Bingham, Aaron Maxwell, Byron Smith--(not pictured Manuel Treviso, Tayson Hatch, Armida Montiel, Levi Holl, Phillip Farr, Cara Langley,Melanie Smith)

October 17th and 18th we had our 10 year class reunion. We kicked off the reunion with the high school parade. Hannah rounded up the train cars and built all the signs for our kids to ride in the parade. We had signs with the kids names and who they belonged too. Yes, Chad and I are the only one besides Tayson that has 4 kids. What a goal to reach for your ten year. No, we wouldn't trade it for nothing.

Then Friday night, we had a hotdog cookout on the baseball field and then watch Pima play against Tempe Prep that night. On Saturday, we all went out to Bridgets parents house for a BBQ and just to sit and catch up on what everyone has been up to, and had a jumping

castle for the kids to play on. Then that night the adults went to Gabi's Cafe for dinner, dancing, a live band (Hannah's husband is the drummer) and more catching up with everyone. It sure was fun to sit and visit with you all. Thanks to all who helped plan this. We had a good crowd at all the events. See ya in 10!!

Two 3 year birthdays!!

2008-10-22T13:04:00.005-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEYTON & PARKER. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

A little late, but better late than never. We had a party for the twins on October 13 for their 3rd birthdays! Wow time flies. We can't believe they are already 3 but they are.

We are so happy to have them in our family. I got a little creative this year and made their cakes. Peyton wanted a train cake and Parker wanted a race car cake. They turned out really cute. The presents were quite funny. Having two 3 year olds opening presents at the same time made it look like Christmas morning.

They were ripping them open so fast and then throwing it and moving on to the next. They got legos, tinkertoys, computers, clothes, movie, puzzles, books and green and

orange bath soap. They were too cute. Thank you everyone for the gifts.

Carson

2008-10-02T09:13:00.003-07:00

He has been very funny lately.

The other day we were driving down by the post office and we saw Tyson Draper (Clint's dad) driving to the school on his Rhino. Carson from the very back of the car shouts, "Mom, I just saw Clint's dad driving. Did you see him. I rode on that at Clint's party." I then asked him if he was on his Ranger and he replied, "No mom he is riding his Rhinoceros (Rhino)." It was too cute.

Back in September, I was going down to Mesa to see Ami and Cyndi was going to cut my hair. We were getting the kids to bed the night before I was to leave and Carson was having a bad day all around. He would just get puppy dog face and cry. Finally I took him to our bed and was laying with him trying to see what was the matter. I told him that his dad was going to pick him up from school and thought that would make him happy. Nope, made it worse cuz he thought I was just going to work. I told him I was going to see Aunt Mame and Cyndi. I then asked him if he wanted me to bring him something back from the store for him. He started to cry and said, "my brothers backpacks are bigger than mine." It was so sad. So needless to say we went to Target to get him a new backpack. I bought all the boys the same one, the same size so no more complaining about that one. He will have to think of something different to complain about.

Way Overdue!!

2008-08-28T20:10:00.006-07:00

It's been awhile for updating the blog so this kinda sums up the last month and a half. I am not very good at this blogging thing.

In July, the 3 older boys got to go up to Snowflake to spend a few days with grandma and grandpa Lines. They had a really good time. While they were gone I went to vist grandma Evelyn and grandpa Joe. As I walked in grandpa was in the kitchen and asked if I wanted to go to 3 way with them to look at the big crane. He heard from a friend that a 300 ft crane was up there working on the new bridge they are building. Notice the U.S.A. flag flying on the top of the boom. So Gunner and I jump in the car with them to go for a drive. We went out on a little dirt road that you probably aren't supposed to be on to get a better look. Grandma kept saying that we probably shouldn't be on this road, but grandpa replied, "they can't stop me from going down to my friends house along the river." So we were safe. We were not getting closer to the crane to get a better picture, we were going to visit grandpas friends. I love spending time with grandma and grandpa. It was a good Thursday afternoon drive.

Carson started preschool last week with Mrs. Bryce and Mrs. Crockett. He loves to go to school to learn and his brothers hate seeing him leave. They really are good friends. He is working on writing his alphabet and so far has completed his A and B. He loves to play the computer and is teaching his brothers to go from game to game. Believe it or not he still enjoys building train tracks and driving his trains all over the house.

Peyton is just being Peyton. Always on the go and thinking of the next task he needs to get accomplished. He is following in his dads footsteps and can get to where he needs to get on the computer as well as the Nintendo Wii. They are all pretty good at Wii sports. He also enjoys trains and tracks. But best of all he loves to pester his brothers and on the other hand is so sweet and gentle to Gunner.

Parker is getting pretty fiesty himself. He and Peyton have their fair share of fights lately and I am not looking forward to age 3 (in October). It seems like Carson was worse at 3 than 4. Parker is also such a little peace maker. Parker will give up a toy he is playing with to make someone else happy. He finally is getting to play the computer as well as the Wii. Trains are one of his hobbies also.

Gunner, on the other hand, is the sweetest little boy. He is always happy and just content to sit and watch his brothers play. He is already 4 1/2 months old and weighed in at 20 pounds 8 ounces and was 27 inches long. Thinking back he is probably my biggest boy at this age. We are so greatful for all of our little boys in our family to keep us on our toes 24/7. We love them.

The boys love when their dad comes home from work. That means 1 big wrestling match.

We are still alive, just busy!!

2008-07-01T15:51:00.002-07:00

T-ball is over and I don't know who is happier about this. Carson did not really like it in the beginning but his last game I will have to say he did really well. He hit the ball hard all 3 times and ran as fast as he could around the bases. He is really cute when he runs the bases because he has this little jump kick type thing he does in the middle of running. Anyways, we are proud of him for playing hard. He just started the 2nd session of swimming lessons and really looks forward to going to the pool for that.

The twins are just wild as ever. I caught them the other day playing in a diaper box. They would both sit in the box and act like they were driving a car and then they would fall over backwards in the box. They are always having so much fun together and it amazes me the ways they keep each other entertained.

Gunner is just growing like a weed. He is such a good baby and very content to just sit and look around and watch his wild brothers. He was 15 pounds and 23 3/4 inches tall at his 2 month appointment and Dr. Kartchner called him "Tiny!" We were thinking maybe 12 pounds, but they put him on the scale and said 15 pounds and I just laughed. He makes life so fun.

Chad and I are trying to keep up with the kids and are so thankful for each one of them. There is always a wrestling match going on at our house.

Family Pictures

2008-06-02T15:05:00.002-07:00

I asked Chad one day if we could get family pictures now that Gunner is here. He agreed. I knew I had to act fast. I called my cousin Jodi Alder on Monday to see if she was coming to Pima anytime soon, and if she was would she like to take our pictures. She agreed and we just said we would talk to each other later. I went to a candle party at Ciminy's house on Thursday and Jodi was there. She came up and asked me if Friday evening would work. I said sure. Knowing I did not know what we were going to wear for sure and that we are only limited to pretty much Wal-mart for clothes and such.

I forgot I agreed to go to the park with my friend Becca and her two boys on Friday morning so my time is limited to find clothes for pictures Friday evening. We went to the park and played for a few hours and then we went to Becca's house to see what shirts she had as backup to what I could find at Wal-Mart. We finally got to go to Walmart. I went with my 4 boys by myself. I have been avoiding walmart during the day cuz I did not know how to function Walmart with 4. We managed to do ok. The boys were very cooperative and stayed on the basket. We got out with white shirts for the boys (cuz there were no black in little kid sizes) and a black shirt for Chad and a white shirt for me (cuz they had no black for me either). Still very nervous about how this was going to work. I had a white collared shirt for Gunner, so I decided on the boys in white and Chad and I were in black. (Thanks Becca, I did have to wear one of yours). I am very excited how they turned out. Thank you Jodi, Sharleen and Aunt Joyce for helping to get this all done on such short notice. They turned out really good.

Catch Up!!

2008-05-23T10:59:00.005-07:00

I am finally getting around to posting the picture of Gunner in his Blessing outfit. He looked so handsome. Grandma Jann made the outfit for Carson's blessing and then had to make another one when the twins were blessed. Isn't he cute!!

Carson also hit a small milestone in life. He graduated from preschool on May 15th. He got to go to Mrs. Kim Crockett's house where Mrs. Gayle Bryce helped out. They learned the Pledge of Allegiance, nursery rhymes, counting and they did lots of coloring. He enjoyed school very much and looked forward to going. At the graduation ceremony, they recited their nursery rhymes, the Pledge, counting and they signed the ABC's while saying something cute for each letter. Thank you Mrs. Crockett and Mrs. Bryce for your time and effort in teaching these little ones the things to prepare them for kindergarten.

We are embarking on a fun new adventure this summer. We have signed Carson up for T-ball. He is very excited. We went to Wal-Mart to get him a glove and of course Peyton & Parker knew we were up to something and they wanted one. So they all got to get a glove. When we got home Chad took them out to practice catch. After a little while of practicing Chad comes in the house and asks me if I can come out and help. I asked what the matter was and he replied, "Carson needs help throwing the ball. He is not stepping and throwing." I had to remind Chad that he is only 4 years old and that this is his first time playing t-ball. I assured him that he would learn to throw the ball the correct way. The twins also had a good time practicing with there dad. Even though Parker had his glove on the wrong hand. It will be fun and I can't believe Carson is old enough to finally play.

The boys and I took a trip up north to visit family before I go back to work next week. We left Monday morning and went up Mule Creek to stop in and visit Marci and the girls and Robert. The kids all played very well together. Yes all 7 of them. Gunner got to just hang out with Aunt Marci and mom. Marci also gave me my box of food supply items (blueberry muffin mix) that I ordered from here. (You will need this info for my next story.) We then went and watched Karli play t-ball and then the boys and I headed out to Snowflake to visit grandma and grandpa. The boys were really excited cuz they got to see "Moochie." My parents boxer dog named "Smoochie." Aunt Abbi, Riann and Brax also were there and it was fun to see them. We just hung out and enjoyed spending the time with family. We came home on Thursday and brought the rain and cool weather with us. Thanks everyone for letting us invade.

Finally, Friday morning we all got up after sleeping so sound in our own beds. I decided I would make the boys blueberry muffins. They all love muffins. I went to the car and got my box. I brought it back in the house and opened it up to get the can of mix out. I had 2 cans of blueberry mix and 1 can of corn meal. As I was pulling the cans out of the box that was also stuffed with newspaper, something moved and caught my eye. I looked closer and saw it was a lizard's tail. Yuck!! As I examined it even closer I realized it was just a fake rubber lizard, but still. Come on!! I called Marci and asked who's little boy helped stuff the newspaper into the boxes cuz they put their pet lizard in my box. It was funny because Marci thought the lizard was inside my can of mix, but I had to tell her it was only in my box of newspaper. So if anyone in Eagar is missing a lizard I have it. Wow, what a surprise!!

Gunner's Blessing

2008-05-07T11:46:00.002-07:00

This past weekend we held Gunner's blessing. He was blessed by his dad who did a great job. We had lots of family come into town for the blessing as well as a lot of family that already resides here in Pima. It was fun to have all the cousins here and to have all the little cousins playing with each other once again. My mom and Marci entertained all the kids outside of Grandma & Grandpa Alders house Saturday night. They had them playing: Red light, Green light; Wheelbarrow races; Simon says; and just plain races. I appreciate both of you for keeping the kids busy with the games we used to play as kids. After the blessing we went to G&G Alder's for taco salad and just some catching up with each other. We had a lot of fun. I will post pictures of the weekend when I get my card reader back from Ami. It sure was a great weekend. Thanks everyone.

Life is becoming normal again.

2008-04-24T15:54:00.003-07:00

The baby is here and all is going well. I am healing well and Gunner is growing everyday. The 3 older boys are adjusting to a new baby around the house. They are just enjoying driving their big Tonka's outside in the dirt.

Bryce Bunch

Chayli is here

Carson the big 1st grader

Playing Catch--Up

You Know You Live In A House Full Of Boys when...

Where Have I Been???

Trick--Or--Treat

Kindergarten Halloween Party

Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns

What's wrong with this picture?????

Twins turn the BIG 4!!!

More Stories from the Boys!!

Family pics

Busy Busy Busy

I Survived the First Day of Kindergarten

Carson's 1st Day of School

24th of July Celebration

Disneyland

Greer 7/4/2009

Summer Happenings

Comedy of the Day

Hamburger Helper

Train Park

Look mom "We are Jesus"

We are alive

Carson figures out the move

Memories

Family Photo

Accomplishments of a 10 month old

Happy Birthday to me

Carson turns "5"

Guess Who?

Christmas

Christmas Pictures

Peyton

Carson

Parker--the accident prone

GUNNER

Family Vacation

Duck ponds and Halloween

10 year Reunion

Two 3 year birthdays!!

Carson

Way Overdue!!

We are still alive, just busy!!

Family Pictures

Catch Up!!

Gunner's Blessing

Life is becoming normal again.