Ramsden Family

2012-01-30T22:53:00.001-07:00

A Day at the Mount!

Peyton loves her grandad she just couldn't get enough of him.

Syd was our little kiwi girl. She had so much fun at the beaches and LOVED boogie boarding.

After a long hard day at the beach we went and relaxed in the hot mineral pools. The best part of the day was seeing our long lost friend Pup Smith and his beautiful new wife Lynda. It was so fun to spend the day with them and to see Pup so happy.

2012-01-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

Christmas Morning 2011

Yes, there is a stocking for every member of the Ramsden family, either hanging on the line or along the fence. I couldn't believe it! The kids...and adults had so much fun opening their bags and seeing all of the treasures inside. It was such a beautiful morning, we had a lovely breakfast and sat out on the back porch and talked and laughed with family. It was perfect.

My sweet little elf!

There were so many presents for each person that mum Ramsden got everyone a pillowcase and most were stuffed completely full.

2012-01-24T11:12:00.003-07:00

Coromandel

What more can I say the photos tell it all! We had so much fun in Coromandel. The most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. Crystal clear turquois water, and the beautiful white sand.

When the tide was out we went exploring. We found a few star fish, some pipi's and tons of seashells. It was so fun to wade through the shallow water and explore.

Cathedral Cove.....what an amazing place. After a 40 min walk through the most beautiful bush we descended down about 50 very steep stairs and found ourselves at Catherdral Cove. The girls were so excited to be at one of the many places that the movie Narnia was filmed.

Nothing like a sandy sandwich at the beach!

Peyton and Sydney had so much fun playing in the water and sand.

Hot water beach is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. When the tide goes out you can dig holes in the sand and they fill with hot underground spring water. I am sure it looks a little weird with about a hundred people staking their claim, digging and then marinating in the soothing hot water. But it is a once in a lifetime experience and we had so much fun sharing it with all of our family.

2012-01-23T21:28:00.001-07:00

World Famous in New Zealand. L&P.

2011-12-28T01:51:00.001-07:00

Black Water Rafting at Waitomo Caves

Scott, Haylee, Jaxon (our nephew), and I went black water rafting to see the glow worms, I have to admit I was a little nervous at times knowing we were in a cave, but it was so much fun, and the glow worms are alway cool to see.....P.S. arent the wetsuits sexy?!

2011-12-26T14:38:00.001-07:00

Auntie Jodi has cute little Bantum chickens, Peanut has spent so much time chasing them all over her yard.

2011-12-24T20:47:00.001-07:00

Cape Palliser

So we took one of the most beautiful drives on Sunday to Cape Palliser. After about an hour and a half of a few twists and turns and some beautiful country side we ended up at this beautiful (working) lighthouse. I can't remember the exact count but there were over 200 hundred stairs to the top. My calves told the tale the next day...they were soooo sore! Despite the chill in the air, the rocky beaches were breathtaking the lighthouse was amazing and the climb was so worth it!

Watching Scott climb up the stairs with Peyton made me so nervous! One false move and they would have been toast!

Nobody ever told me how horrible seals smell!!! But its true they are so nasty smelling! But the babies were so cute.

2011-12-24T20:01:00.002-07:00

Off to Welllington

From Hastings we drove the rest of the way to the southern tip of the North Island. Wellington is a beautiful, windy city. The best part of the trip was seeing Scott's sister Maree's family. Sydney and Bella are two peas in a pod and have so much fun together.

We went to Weta Studio's, home to movies like The Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Kong, and Avatar. Peyton wasn't so sure about Gollum. And Sydney hated those men in the photo below. Sorry can't remember their names so feel free to let me know so I can post it. All I know is that they are from Lord of the Rings.

Did I mention it rained almost the whole time we were there? Considering we were expecting summer and didn't bring really any cold weather clothes we were a little chilly!

2011-12-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

Napier and Hastings

On of the girls favorite Maori stories is Pania. So we had tot get our photo next to her statue in Napier.

if you want to hear the story here is a link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pania

After that we went to visit Uncle Charlton and got icecream at Nana Ramsden's favorite place. Rush Munroe's.

2011-12-24T19:16:00.002-07:00

Huka Falls

After our trip to Rotorua we drove to Taupo and swam in the hot pools and stayed the night there. And to our pleasant surprise the sun was shining when we woke up. So we drove to Huka Falls, the water is the prettiest blue color and looks like churning sugar as it goes down the falls. Which is how is got its name because Huka in Maori means sugar.

2011-12-23T18:24:00.000-07:00

After we arrived in New Zealand we were off and running! We started with a road trip to Rotorua to Rainbow Springs. Oh ya and it was pouring!!!!

The Ramsdens are major tree huggers.

If you look closely you can see the fish! What I wouldn't give for a fishing pole right now! Yum, yummy! Peyton just wanted to swim.

Did I mention it was raining?!

Then we were off to the Agrodome. To see New Zealand agriculture at its very best.

Syd got to milk a cow.

They had so much fun feeding the baby lambs.

Peyton just wanted to hug and snuggle them.

I have a photo of Haylee sitting on this exact same bird when she was 3.

We had so much fun see all of the Native New Zealand birds. This is a Morepork. Um...did I say it was raining?

All raining aside, we had so much fun in Rotorua we even got to see a real live baby kiwi bird!

2011-12-23T13:24:00.001-07:00

International Ramsden's Christmas Vacation

Seven months after purchasing tickets we were so excited to finally go on our trip down under. So....after more than 20 hours in airports and on airplanes we finally touched down in beautiful, WARM Brisbane Australia. Uncle Brent, Uncle George and Bailee met us at the airport to wisk us away on our Australian adventure.

After we dropped off our luggage we went to the beach and to a little wading pool with the kids to unwind and relax. But were quickly chased away by a big dark rain cloud (which was to be only the first of MANY rain storm on our trip)

After dinner that night Uncle George got out his guitar and we all sang Christmas songs together.

Fun with new cousins!

The next day we Corrumbine Animal Sanctuary. Peytons favorite part was riding the train. Mom's least favorite part was being pooped on by a nasty little bird, which they say is good luck. But else would you say to make something like that a good thing!

We got to see lots of Kangaroos and Peyton love petting them and seeing their little Joeys in the pouches.

Sydney got to hold snakes and a baby crocodile.

Haylee got to hold a reall Koala, which she said was very stinky.

Scott got a free mannie and peddie. Courtesy of his niece Courtney.

On our last day in Aussie we went to Courtny's house and swam in her backyard pool. The girls had so much fun swimming and listening to the Kookabura's laughing in the trees. Although our trip in Aussie was short we had so much fun seeing our family and getting to spend some time with them.

2011-08-28T23:05:00.010-06:00

Peyton is 2

Peyton is 2! I can't believe it! She is getting so big! This years we had a perfectly pink party for her. She wasn't quite sure about blowing out the candles she got scared when the flame flickered. But she loved her new tricycle and all of the Thomas the train stuff. And the Jesse doll that nana gave her.
This year her favorites are:

The color yellow

Anything about trains

her BFF Norah StClair

her two sisters

her daddy (she loves when he gets home from work)

Elmo

grandpa

Koalby

singing skin a ma rink

reading books

playing on mommys Ipod (apple)

2011-08-28T22:47:00.002-06:00

First Day of School 2011

So starts another school year! Haylee is in Junior High! I can't even believe it! She was so excited to start at a regular school (without uniforms) She saved her money and bought most of her own school clothes and took great care in picking them out and finding just the right thing for her. She looked so beautiful the first day she has turned into such an amazing young lady! She loved her first day. Especially French class. She is kind of nervous about math this year though. I am sure if she works hard she will do fine.

Sydney was so excited for 4th grade. She has two of her best friends in her class this year. Her teacher is really fun and she has not had even one complaint since the first day. They play a really fun game called night in the museum that she always talks about. Of course she hates having to wear a uniform. But she tries to dress it up each day with her own style.

I love my girls! I can't believe how grown up they are.

2010-10-04T22:01:00.006-06:00

Christmas 2009

We had such a great Christmas this year. Peyton loved the crackly paper and the lights.

2010-10-04T21:54:00.003-06:00

Owens Grinch Party!

We all met at the temple and went to look at the lights then came back to our house where the real fun began. The girls dress up as Whos from Whoville we had yummy food and treats and watched the Grinch on the big screen it was so much fun!

2010-10-04T21:51:00.001-06:00

Ramsdens 2009
Here is our family photo for this year! Aren't our girls beautiful! It was soooo cold when we got this photo taken but the girls are such good actors you can't even tell.

2010-10-04T21:37:00.005-06:00

Thanksgiving 2009

Page and Peyton

Sheila and Ainsley

We had Thanksgiving at Uncle Larry and Aunt T's restaurant. It is always good to see our family. And to spend time with them. Even though all the cousins are all grown with kids of their own, its fun to see our kids all playing together. I have always been so grateful for the family I have been blessed with. My cousins have always been like my brothers and sisters and my aunts and uncles have always been extensions of my parents. Sometimes its sad that we have all grown and got our own families so we dont have time to talk as much but it is nice to have times like this to be together.

2010-10-04T15:28:00.004-06:00

Halloween 2009

Is it possible that three little girls can be so cute! Halloween was so fun this year, with Peyton in tow. Haylee and her friends were Zombies and Syd was the cutest pirate ever!

2010-06-09T13:48:00.000-06:00

Our little P is growing so much. She has aquired 3 nicknames P, Peytie Poo, and peanut. She is a pretty good baby. She is fussy in the evening but sleeps pretty well at night. The girls love her so much! I thought that Syd would get jealous but she doesn't at all and loves to hold her and kiss her ALL the time.

2009-12-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

So I know this is a little out of order. Although I do this post for our friends and family I also do it as a family record. So I figured I need to have at least one photo to chronical my pregnancy with our little P. This is at about 7 months. And if you are wondering who the wonderful photographer is....that would be Syd.

2009-12-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

Our New Little Angel

We are so excited to welcome Peyton to our family. She looks just like her daddy and is practically perfect. We love her so much!

2009-08-09T18:55:00.000-06:00

Christmas In June

In June we went to Union Station in Ogden to see the Disney's Christmas Carol train. Haylee, Sydney, Cloie and I waited in line for TWO hours to tour the train and see how they made the movie. It was fun but I don't know if it was worth the wait. It was very hot that day. But the girls got to see a bunch of other train engines and they had Christmas Carolers, snow makers and lots of other fun stuff.

2009-08-09T18:39:00.000-06:00

The First Annual Ramsden Backyard Campout

We decided on Memorial Weekend that we would do a campout in our backyard. It was a lot of fun. We roasted hot dogs, and marshmallows over our tiny BBQ grill and put up our tent and had all the comforts of home ten feet away.

2009-08-09T18:36:00.000-06:00

Yep its true! Scott is 36. Haylee was the balloon designer this year and made him his awesome hat. We love him so much and we are so happy that he is our dad and husband. What a great man.

2009-08-01T11:35:00.000-06:00

Back to Baton Rouge

I got to go back to Baton Rouge in March for the first time since we moved. It was so much fun! And so good to see my friends and the town. I missed it a lot. I stayed with Sandy and her family and got to see a lot of people from my ward there and my friend Alina. It was good to be back in the southland!

2009-08-01T11:11:00.000-06:00

Our Trip to Cali!

2009

We went to California with Scott's sister Jodi and her family in February. It was so much fun. The girls had never been, and it was not hot or crowded. It was perfect. We got to go to Knots Berry Farm, Disneyland, California Adventure, and Sea World. It was a busy week but so worth it. My favorite ride has always been Pirates, Scott was just glad that the Its a Small World ride was closed, Haylee loved the California Screamin ride and Syd was so excited to meet Tinkerbell.

2009-03-15T13:51:00.000-06:00

2009-02-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

Christmas 2008

We had such a good Christmas this year! It is so much fun to see your kids doing the same things you did as a child. Syd loves to be Mary, she was so excited to have Paxton as Joseph and little Atticus as baby Jesus. Haylee was a wise woman this year.

Haylee got a digital camera some converse shoes, and a knitting loom (she has been making hats non stop! Syd got a baby alive and fancy decorations for her room including satin sheets. Ooooo La La! Scott got an MP3 and the news we are going to have an addition to our family in Sept.

2009-01-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

My New Nephew!!!

Zach and Melinda had a little baby boy in November. He is so cute! They named him Addicus. He is the sweetest little boy we all love hime so much. Especially Sydney she can't seem to get enough of him.

2008-12-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

Temple Square

They have nativities from all of the world but the girls favorite is the New Zealand nativity.

We went to Temple Square and saw the lights, it like always was so beautiful, but freezing!

Countdown Til Christmas

2008-12-14T09:30:00.001-07:00

Christmas Countdown & MySpace Layouts

2008-12-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

My New Fireplace

So the bottom photo is the only photo I have of our old fireplace. But I am so in love with the new one. I took out all of the white tile and put in slate and then painted the mantle white. It looks sooooo much better. I am really starting to love this house. We have done so much to it and it is slowly becoming ours.

2008-11-23T14:43:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2008

Syd decide that true to form she wanted to be someone truely amazing! She has fallen in love with a series of books called Fancy Nancy. Which is about a little girl that loves all things fancy. So she decide that is who she would be this year.

It was so nice for Halloween this year. Haylee was finally old enough and in a safe enough neighborhood to go trick or treating with her friends. They all decided to be Rocker girls and had so much fun they even came back to check in often but were out and about the neighborhood the whole evening. It was so good to see her with her friends. She is such a good girl we love her very much.

2008-10-22T22:10:00.000-06:00

Haylee is Ten! Wow double digits!

I can't believe that Haylee is finally ten! She is turning into such a sweet young lady! She is so good to her family and especially her sister. WE are so lucky to have her in our family.

2008-10-22T21:40:00.000-06:00

Its Autumn Time!

We went on a hike up in the mountains a few weeks ago. I love fall, it is so amazing to see all of the beautiful colors. And kind of sad to think winter is coming, but I have to admit I love the snow too.

2008-10-01T22:29:00.000-06:00

My Family

Andrew and Amanda were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on September 13. It was so fun to have our family minus my niece Tati there for the event. We all love Amanda so much she has been such a wonderful addition to our family.

2008-10-01T19:11:00.000-06:00

Yea, School is back in Session!

First, first day of school photo!

Second, first day of school photos!

So we started school at the public school and then I got a phone call after their first day telling me that the girls had been accepted to a charter school we had been on the waiting list for. So they were pretty excited to get 2 first day of school photos. One without uniforms and one with. Not to mention the 2 lots of school clothes I ended up having to buy.

2008-10-01T18:39:00.000-06:00

Our Trip to Spokane

Mishonne and Haylee had so much fun on the

paddleboat and in the water.

We had so much fun in Washington with the Marks.

The long drive was worth it.

Syppie couldn't quite overcome her fear of the deeper

water but she still had fun hangin in the shallows.

2008-08-27T22:48:00.000-06:00

Summer Fun!

Haylee had so much fun fishing this year!

WE went on a hike up to an old coal mine. Not sure what this is but it sure was fun to climb on.

OOHHHHH!

Syd lost her first tooth!

We went to Hoover Dam! Although it was stinkin hot, we couldn't believe how amazing it was.

My little princess! Couldn't resist this photo of her by the Excalibur.

Syd and Cloie best cousins and friends.

I can't believe that Syppie is 6! She is so beautiful and ful of energy. She is so funny and is constantly keeping us laughing.

Haylee also did softball this summer. She loved it. She did a great job. Their team only lost a few games and won most of em. It was fun to watch her. We love summer! And always try to book it chalk full of stuff so we can enjoy the weather while its nice. WE love being together as a family and going out and exploring the world.

2008-08-27T22:45:00.000-06:00

Haylee recieved the most improved reader award and perfect attendance from the principal on the last day of school. She was so excited, she went from a 2nd grade reading level to a 5th by the end of the year not bad for a 3rd grader. We are sooo proad of Haylee!

2008-08-27T22:39:00.000-06:00

Syd had here kindergarten program back in May and she was her typical clown self making faces and basically doing nothing that the other kids were doing. What would we do without her.

2008-08-27T22:35:00.000-06:00

The Sacred Grove

The highlite of our trip to New York for me was our trip to the Sacred Grove. It was one of the most reverent places I have ever been. It was so amazing to know that this was the place where God appeared to Joseph Smith I could have stayed there all day and just soaked in the spirit. It was awesome.

2008-08-27T22:30:00.000-06:00

THE Savage Ring

Scott was so excited to get his SAVAGE ring. Apparently it is a huge deal for this company, so now he has some sweet bling on his right hand. And he loves it.

2008-08-27T22:23:00.001-06:00

New York, New York!

Scott and I had the opportunity to go to New York with Scotts company in June. It was sooo

much fun! WE got to see so many things and just to spend that alone time that is in such demand was so awesome.

2008-06-08T15:06:00.000-06:00

Scott and I spent all Saturday a few weeks ago cleaning out the garage and putting up some shelves. It was hard work but so worth it to have all of our moving stuff out of the garage and somewhere besides the floor to put stuff.

2008-06-07T23:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Scott!!!

Scott is now 35! Wow wee! He is getting old! But so much cuter every year. He had to have his traditional chocolate log cake and we just had a small family party for him at home. I love Scott so much and I am so happy that we are able to spend our lives together and beyond that. He is such a good man. I am very lucky to

have him in my life. Happy Birthday Babe!

2008-06-04T21:32:00.000-06:00

Spring Soccer

This is Sydney laying in the middle of the field during her game.

This is Sydney playing in the Goal Net.

This is our little Syppie, that hates soccer now and never wants to play again. I don't think that I will need much persuasion spring soccer in the West is FREEZING!! The parents of the other children loved her. They always told me she was so entertaining and funny, dancing, spinning, talking to the coach, basically doing anything but playing soccer. Her favorite thing to do was to help up any other kid that had fallen down, it didn't matter what team they were on. But doesn't she look so cute in her uniform!

Haylee on the other hand loves soccer and had so much fun.

Her team did really well and so did she.

2008-04-16T21:42:00.000-06:00

I am so lucky to have such a great family I love my brothers and my cute hubby so much! And its been so much fun getting to know Vanessa and Amanda this year since we've been home.

The boys had fun hiding eachothers Easter baskets. Bens was found in the top of a tree in the back yard thanks to Zach.

Dustin girlfriend Vanessa brought their dog down. The girs loved it but no one more than Tati. She loves animals of all shapes and sizes.

The girls had so much fun finding their Easter baskets.

2008-04-16T21:23:00.000-06:00

K So Easter was a little colder than we are used to. I was so jealous of my friends in Baton Rouge having their nice warm Easter but we had fun anyway. We went to my parents and had dinner with our family and it was so much fun. The girls loved being with their cousins. And I loved seeing my family. We were all together which is not a usual thing. Cloie and Davis got new bunnies so we went and got photos in the girls Easter outfits with the bunnies. (on a sad note one for the bunnies tragically lost its life when Davis left the cage open and he had a losing battle with a cat) But Cloie and Davis don't know this so if you see them don't say anything.

2008-04-16T21:09:00.000-06:00

Haylee played basketball for the first time this January. She really enjoyed it. She was very aggressive and loved to steal the ball from the other team. She often had the whistle blown on her for fouls but loved every minute of it.

2008-02-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

Mardi Gras!

I decided that we needed to have a Mardi Gras Party at our house this year because we are really missing our friends is Louisiana. I was surprised to find that our local party store actually had Mardi Gras decorations. We just invited Sheila and Dax and Drew and Amanda this year but next year I am hoping to make it bigger since we had so much fun!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-02-26T17:36:00.001-07:00

2008-02-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day!
XOXOXOXO

K So its been a while. But that doesn't mean I haven't been taking photos. Its just been a crazy time!!! These are our special Valentines Day Pics. We made pancakes in this cool cast iron mold my Aunt gave me and had a yummy breakfast. We picked secret Valentines in our family and did nice things for them all week. Haylee took home the grand prize for most Valentines spirit when she took a dry erase marker and decorated every tile and mirror and the toilet in our bathroom with hearts for Scott, at first I wanted to be mad but it was so funny. The bad thing is that I forgot to take a photos so you will have to use your imagination.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-12-19T22:03:00.001-07:00

2007-12-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

Ramsden Family Christmas Card

Well this is the Ramsden family Christmas card. Sorry it didn't get out this year but I've been really short on time. Just want everybody to know how much we love them and appreciate their support and prayers this year when we needed them. We have been so very blessed to be in Utah and to have this wonderful new job, and new home. We are so excited about our new life here and can't wait to make lots of new memories for our family. I hope ya'll (my last tribute to the south) have a wonderful holiday and a very happy New Year.

2007-12-01T22:42:00.000-07:00

The Ramsdens finally got to play in the SNOW!!! We have been waiting for so long! And it is finally here! I had to teach the girls how to make a snowman because they didn't know how to get the big snow boulders. But they were so excited. And I must admit so was I. We were totally unprepared though because we had no snow shovel so we had to barrow the neighbors. Sydney the queen of doing no work had a blast trying to shovel the drive way.

2007-12-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

Nobody loves olives better than Sydney and Davis! They loaded up with them before the turkey at Thanksgiving dinner. It was so fun to be with family again this year. But we really missed our Baton Rouge Thanksgiving buddies!! You know who you are!!

2007-12-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

We got to go up into the mountains this year to get our Christmas tree. We were expecting snow but there wasn't much. The girls were in heaven though. It was a lot more work than going to Home Depot which we had been doing in Baton Rouge. But it was worth it. WE got an awesome tree.

2007-11-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

After we put a bid on a home we moved in with Dax and Sheila (my cousin and her family) They were so kind to let us stay in their home. I know it was a lot cramped but they never complained and we just made it work. Anyway we went up to Kaysville and went on a hike with the kids. It was a lot of fun and they loved getting out of the house. Arent they cute! ITs a lot of fun living near them. I have always wanted to live near Sheila she has been like a sister to me my whole life and her husband and kids are so great too!

2007-11-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

Sydney knew what she wanted to be from the very beginning-a winter fairy. Big surprise there. I thought it would be fitting this year for our return to the cold, which I have not been enjoying as much as I thought I would. There is just something about trick or treating in the warm 80 degree weather of Baton Rouge that I find wonderful. But anyway Syd looked beautiful as always. And has already decided that next year she would like to be either a summer, or spring fairy to cap off the fairies of all seasons. I wonder what she will come up with after that.

2007-11-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

Halloween was so much fun this year! Haylee finally decided that she wanted to be Hannah Montana who is her very favorite person right now (besides the whole cast of High School Musical 1 and 2) She was really excited until I put makeup on her which she did not like. (Oh, if only it would be like that in a few years) But she survived and got a lot of candy!

2007-11-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well I have finally found a few minutes to catch up on my posts. We have had a great past few months. We have finally purchased our new home and are loving living in Syracuse Utah!!! It was so wonderful to have an Autumn this year with the most beautiful leaves! We took the girls to a Halloween party in Salt Lake City and they had a lot of fun! This is a photo I took there

with the very beautiful fall colors in the background. Did I mention I love fall!!!

2007-07-28T16:40:00.000-06:00

Andrew and Amanda asked me to do the photos for their wedding. I was really nervous! It was hard to do everything and still be part of the family for the wedding. But it was fun. This is one of my favorite photos. It couldn't be because of the beautiful girls in the photo. By the time we had taken almost 200 pictures the girls were sick of it. But they did good.

2007-07-27T18:06:00.000-06:00

So here is the new and improved Owens family. Minus Scott. HHMMMM maybe I could photoshop him in. Aren't we all fabulous?!! From the top Left: Koalby, Dustin, Ben, Drew, Amanda, Laura, Stan, Zach, Selina, Bottom from left: Tattianya, Sydney, Haylee.

2007-07-27T17:57:00.000-06:00

We decided to take a photo of all of us at the Texas border on our road trip this summer. We thought we might do it at every state but quickly found out that we didn't want to stop that much we just wanted to get on with our trip. So this is us Haylee, Me, Mishonne, Haley Marks, Syd and Sandy.

2007-07-27T17:31:00.001-06:00

Haylee finished her first year of gymnastics. Because she loves cheerleading so much she wanted to do gymnastics so that she could learn to tumble as well. These are some photos of her gymnastics review. She took first place in balance beam which was her favorite thing. She did a very good job and we loved to watch her. These photos are a little blurry because they are from far away and on the observation deck.

2007-07-27T16:46:00.001-06:00

Sydney graduated from Pre-School in May. She was so excited to wear her graduation hat. She has had so much fun these past two years of school. She is so ready for kindergarten.

2007-05-20T22:17:00.000-06:00

Pretty as a princess in her ballet costume. They danced to "When You Wish Upon a Star"

2007-05-20T18:17:00.000-06:00

Finally after months and months of negotiations Sydney had her dance performance. It turned out very cute considering I litterally had to drag her there by her hair every week. JK! We had already paid for the costume and I told her she had to finish out the year and then we would find something else for her to do. She had so much fun that night, and was especially excited about the teeny tiny amount of blush and lip gloss she got to wear, and the sparkle spray she got to put in her hair.

2007-05-02T14:59:00.000-06:00

2007-05-02T14:55:00.000-06:00

Watch out everyone Scott is 34! Although if you ask him he will say that he is 32. His birthday was on Sunday the 29th. So we just had a little family party for him. And since we are the only family we have down here we were the only ones that were there. Sydney picked out Shreck decorations. So we all got to where our Shreck ears.

2007-04-18T19:50:00.000-06:00

This photo was taken Easter morning. The girls (especially Sydney) were having a hard time sitting still to take a nice photo so I got some of them being silly.

2007-04-09T23:09:00.000-06:00

Scott likes to pretend that he doesn't like to dye Easter eggs with us but when it comes time to do it he is the one that does the most artistic eggs. He is so quiet on his own end of the table working on his masterpieces. This years best egg was a very nice replica of the New Zealand flag. (go figure) He also did an American Flag so his Yank daughter Sydney wouldn't feel left out.

2007-04-05T21:41:00.000-06:00

The Azaleas are also a beautiful part of spring down here in the southland. They bloom for about 2 weeks and then are usually an ugly bush the rest of the year. But everyone has one (including me) And when they bloom it is breathtaking.

2007-04-05T21:33:00.000-06:00

One of our favorite things to do each year is go to the St. Patricks day parade. They are a lot cleaner than the Mardi Gras parades so we don't worry too much about what the girls are going to get an eye full of when we go. Although the highlight for Haylee this year was when she caught a pair of green panties that said Happy St. Patty's day on them.

Unlike any of the other parades I grew up going to. There is no candy thrown at parades in Louisiana. We get lots (I mean lots) of beads and stuffed animals, flowers, toys and much more. So if any of you are ever looking for beads just let me know cuz I have a few bags full.

2007-04-05T21:28:00.000-06:00

I went to LDS Time Out for Women in Houston with my friend Sandy Marks. We had so much fun! It was so quiet and child free we almost didn't know what to do with ourselves. Its a good thing we both have wonderful husbands at home who will watch the kids for us so we can do these kind of things! The highlight of my trip was to meet Micheal Mclean. He hosted the event and I was lucky enough to get a photo with him at the end of the meetings.

2007-04-05T21:02:00.000-06:00

Haylee just finished up her 3rd year of Upward Cheerleading. Upward is a cheer and basketball program. The cheerleaders cheer every Saturday for the basketball games. She had so much fun and did so well this year! Her movements were really sharp and she knew all of the cheers by heart. This year she was also awarded the most Christ like award for her team. (I told her to tell them that she learned everything she knew about being Christ like from the Mormon Church) That should make the Southern Baptist church that sponsors the program very happy!! The highlight of the season was when she got to lead all of the cheerleaders into the building for their final performance.

2007-01-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

Haylee's favorite part was feeding and touching the dolphins. The weather was supposed to be bad that day so the crowds were way down, and we got to enjoy the whole thing with only a little rain. But that wasn't the case on the way home as it rained the ENTIRE way home. And I'm not talking a drizzle I felt like we were in a hurricane complete with road signs laying in the middle of the road. The wind was like Wyoming wind (which people are not used to down here). Although it was scary I think that was my favorite part because Scott and I got to talk the whole way til 3:30 in the morning. Needless to say we both went through a couple of energy drinks.

2007-01-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

And of course Sea Word. Syd really loved Shamu. She had a lot of fun, watching the different shows like the Killer Whales, dolphins and she especially loved the Sea Lion Show.

2007-01-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

We went to the Alamo which was a great treat for me. It was so neat to be in a place with so much history! And of course Sea World, the high light of course was feeding and petting the dolphins.

2007-01-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

After Christmas we went to San Antonio and visited all of the fun sights there. We went to Sea World and to the Alamo, and walked around the city. It is such a beautiful city. It has a river that runs right through it. And at night they've put lights in the trees that line the river. And there are outdoor restaurants all along it as well. We got to go on a little river boat that takes you around the city and talks about the history of a lot of the buildings. It was fun.

2007-01-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

We had a great Christmas. I was worried about the girls coming downstairs in the middle of the night. But Syd even decided to stay in her own bed for a change and they were up at 7 am. Which was kind of early for Scott and I since we didn't go to bed til 2:30am. Syd's list was pretty short this year all she asked for was a Barbie dressed in a wedding dress. So Santa brought her an Ariel and Prince Eric in their wedding clothes. Haylee wanted a new scooter, and a new bedspread. So they were happy on Christmas morning to find all that they had put on their list. Scott got his Christmas present a little early. He had been dreaming of an LCD TV for a while so we bought one just after thanks giving. I got all that I asked for too, in the form of Scrapbooking stuff and a gift certificate. So all in all it was a good holiday.

2007-01-03T10:52:00.001-07:00

Ok so I was told that I need to keep this blog more up to date. So here I go. Its the first part of January and I have a ton of things I need to improve on so why not try to improve this as well. Christmas was relatively quiet this year. It was our first Christmas not at home in Wyoming with our family. Due to the sky rocketing price of airline tickets we were unable to make it home this year. So we spent Christmas with friends and ourselves. Christmas Eve was spent in a little town called Gramercy Louisiana. It is right down on the levee and every Christmas they have Bonfires on the Levee. People rent a spot and build these pyramid looking towers and then set them a light on Christmas Eve. I was told that in the olden days it was to lead Christians to church but then people started telling their kids it was to lead Papa Noel (as he is called down here) to their homes. Almost all bonfires are also equipped with boxes of fireworks at the top, so once they are set on fire they really explode. What is really cool is as far as the eye can see are all these bonfires set up along the river. It is a really great Christmas tradition So some friends of ours invited us to a party their parents have every year and we went down and watched the bonfires. Despite the rain it was really fun and something that I have always wanted to see down here.

2006-06-12T20:32:00.000-06:00

It gets soooo hot in Louisiana, there is a little water park near our house that we like to go to to cool down.
Syd just runs around like a mad woman, she can't hold still for a second!! She loves the water!

2006-04-12T13:38:00.000-06:00

We went to Buloxi Mississippi to look around. We had been there a few times before the hurricane and like to go to the beach there. It was such a beautiful town! The old homes running right along the beach with the huge trees. They are all gone now, it is so sad. We did get a chance to walk down to the beach though and the girls had a lot of fun picking up sea shells and playing with the dead jelly fish.

2006-04-12T07:40:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we went to the Strawberry festival. Haylee and Syd got to play a few of the games and won some "awesome" stuffed animals. And the best part was getting to have strawberries painted on their faces, and the strawberry sno cones or sno balls as they are called down in the south.