Mother's Day

Mother's Day was so much fun. Travis woke up and made breakfast for me. The boys came up to our room about 10 times telling me I couldn't come down yet. Then they started bringing me presents. Cards they had made, reeses peanut butter cups (my fav) and a card from Travis. After breakfast Travis offered to teach my class that day. I teach the sunbeam class with another lady in my ward and it was my turn to teach. Travis looked over the lesson and said he would go ahead and teach. So, when we got to church I told the other teacher she could go to Sunday School and Relief Society and I'd stay with my hubby. It was so funny to watch him try and teach the lesson with 4 and 5 year olds telling him every few seconds they were hungry, or needed to go to the bathroom, or they needed a drink. He did good though, he got through the lesson before class ended and even made cookies for the kids as a treat. Right after church we went and visited families. First to Trav's parents house and then to mine. I love and hate holidays, it so much fun to see everyone but it's such a busy hectic day. After visiting with Trav's family we went over to my parents house and got to talk to Kevin. He got to talk for a really long time, it was great! I can't believe we get to talk to him in another 6 months. This year is just flying by. So, for Mother's Day, Travis gave me money to go and get my hair done. I called Kathryn as soon as I could and made an appointment. It had been a year since I'd done anything with my hair. It need some TLC in a bad way. It looks amazing now, I love when I cut it short and it takes me half the time to get ready!!!

Our spring break staycation

This year for spring break Travis took some time off and we played around here. We went and saw how to train your dragon with Aprille, Joe, and Marcus. The boys had so much fun and they all looked so cute sitting together with their 3-D glasses on. I guess I didn't get that pic because I couldn't find it on my camera. We took the kids swimming at the legacy center. Austin and Alex love swimming there. They have a playground right in the middle of the pool and every few minutes a huge bucket above the playground falls over and dumps water on everyone. This was Keira's first time swimming in a pool and she had a blast. She loves bath times so we weren't too worried. We took her to the baby pool and she sat and splashed forever. We even let her go down the slide a few times. We had a BBQ and grandma and grandpa Gray's in their firepit. The boys got to roast marshmallows and hotdogs. The boys were really looking forward to going to the zoo. I was just glad it wasn't freezing. You never know what kind of weather you're going to get in Utah in April ( or May for that matter). Alex loved the elephants, Austin loved the penguins and the reptile house. He actually took the picture in the reptile house while I waited outside. I wasn't squeamish or anything, Keira had fallen asleep in the stroller and there were no strollers allowed in the reptile house. Oh well, I'll have to catch that one next time. Keira loved watching the monkeys. Oh, and I can't forget the train ride. We waited for like 40 min. just to ride the dang thing. Keira missed out again because she was sleeping but the boys had lots of fun. Austin thought he was so cool sitting at the very front all by himself. After the train ride we took the kids to the playground there at the zoo and let them run around. It was a fun day and they all fell asleep on the way home. Mission accomplished! Well, that in a nutshell was our spring break adventures.

Spring Break at the Zoo

Some pictures from our zoo trip. This is Keira while we were lunching. She looks a little mad at us, to be fair I did feed her first then ate. I guess our food looked a little more appealing.
The boys loved watching the giraffes. There were a few that were right at the fence line and so they got to watch them eat. Alex thought it was funny that they had long black tongues.
My little trouble makers hamming it up for the camera.
THE BABY ELEPHANT!!! I didn't think we were ever going to leave the elephant encounter, the boys were mesmerized. They loved watching the baby run around it's mom and play "hide and seek" at least that's what they thought she was doing.

Spring Break photos

As you can see we had a lot of fun at the park. Keira enjoyed going down the slide and watching the boys run around and play.


Austin decided to master the monkey bars
Alex did too, with a little help. At the very bottom of the picture you can see my head. I was holding him while he went across. Daddy decided to show everyone up and do a cherry drop. I'm impressed he could still do it.

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter Weekend. Before Saturday morning conference we went to the Eagle Mountain Easter Egg Hunt and then between conferences we went to Grandma Gray's house for a BBQ and another Easter Egg hunt. We dyed eggs Saturday and the boys (and I) had so much fun. I love dying eggs. We showed the boys how to make designs on their eggs and then when we dyed them their design showed up. The Easter Bunny came to our house Saturday night and wanted to hide our eggs. I told him he should wait and come back the next day but he didn't listen to me. So, when our kids woke up their eggs were under over an inch of snow. It finally melted and we took them outside. I think Keira liked this egg hunting thing. She didn't let go of her basket and wanted to hold every egg she could get her hands on. We then watched the last session of Conference and then headed over to my mom's for Easter Dinner. It was delicious!! Ham, salads, rolls, potatoes, all the good stuff. After dinner we had one last hunt at Grandma Carpenters. I think my kids got a little spoiled!!! It was a great weekend and we got to spend a lot of it with family which made it even better.

Austin's First Grade Program

Austin had his program at the end of March. I can not believe how many people were there to watch the first graders. It was crazy!! Their theme was dances around the world and Austin's class did the Virgina Reel. He did such a good job, I was so proud of him. At one point he lost his hat and instead of turning around and going to get it, he just kept dancing and got it when he went around again. Here are a few pictures of our cute little cowboy!

Bowling Rewards

First grade has been a learning experience for us. Reading, writing, and math homework every week and then the spelling words. Austin goes back and forth on his spelling words. He'll do great one week and then the next not so good. Well the last week in Feb. he came home with a note from his teacher saying that he was greatly improving in his reading in front of the class and he'd gotten 100% on his spelling and DOL from the week before. Austin couldn't wait for Travis to get home so he could tell his dad his good news. Travis was so proud of Austin! He told him we would go bowling the next day as a reward for his good work in school. So, we met Travis in Lehi and went to the new jack and jill's in Lehi. The boys had so much fun bowling. Austin and Alex both got a strike (with the bumpers) and they had fun watching the ball come back from the ball return. They thought it was cool that the bumpers popped up when it was their turn.


After bowling we went and got pizza for dinner. That whole week I would here Austin start singing to himself whenever he was washing his hands, making his bed, or playing in the toy room. He would sing over and over again, "my daddy is so proud of me". It was so cute!!

Valentines Day and almost Cali trips

We started the day off at Kangaroo Zoo. This is a Gray family tradition, one that the boys love. We got there about 10:30 and they played until 12. The boys had so much fun running around and going down the slides with their cousins. Keira just sat on my lap happy and content. Travis is the Men's Stake Athletic director and had games all morning so he didn't get to come with us this year. After all the bouncing at Kangaroo Zoo we headed home. We grabbed some lunch and I started getting ready for my date with Travis. We got my cousing Lexi to watch the kids for us while we went to dinner and a movie. When Travis got home from picking up Lex he had a HUGE bouquet of flowers for me. They are beautiful!!!! I found out later that my mom put the bouquet together. She does an awesome job! So we left the kids and went to dinner at Spaghetti Mama's. It's one of our favorite places to eat. Breadsticks, salad, pasta, and ice cream. We don't go there very often but when we do holy cow can we say CARBS! I made an early reservation so it was nice to sit and enjoy dinner and not have to worry about rushing through to get to the movie on time. We went and saw Valentines Day :D. I picked the movie, this is not something Travis would pick . . . ever. He said he liked it though. It was a cute movie. While we were at dinner Travis mentioned he might have to go to California early the next week and I said it was too bad he couldn't leave Sunday night because Austin didn't have school Monday and we might be able to work out me going too. That's all that was said pretty much until Travis called me Monday mid morning and asked how fast I could get packed and find someone to take the kids. I was to his mom's house by 2 (I was pretty impressed with myself). We didn't leave until almost 4 though. We just went to St. George that night and then we were waiting for Trav's brother Tuesday. While we were waiting I convinced Travis that we should look around the outlets. I have to say, he did pretty well. We waited until about 3 again and then decided to get back on the road. We made it to primm when our trip came to a halt. Trav's trailer was too long and he couldn't get the permits he needed to go into Cali. So he talked with some people and then dropped the equipment in Primm and we headed back. We made it to Cedar City before we pulled over and then came the rest of the way home Wednesday. It was a long trip but it was fun to spend time together. I'm glad we have such a great family that helps us out short notice like that.

Alex's 4th birthday party

Alex loves Toy Story and Buzz Lightyear. He told me after Austin's birthday last year that he was going to have a buzz lightyear party for his birthday. My kids change their minds a hundred times before deciding what they actually want. So I was surprised that this stuck. And with the 3rd Toy Story movie coming out this year and Buzz Lightyear being so popular you would be able to find party supplies for a Buzz birthday. Nope! You have to order everything online. I have done this before but didn't have time to do order this time. So we made due with what we had. When the kids got to the party they got to choose a name. I had written down all the well known characters from the movies and they chose one to be for the day. They got to color pictures, until everyone got there, of Buzz Lightyear and Zurg. Then we split everyone into two groups and they had to go on a scavenger hunt. We had placed toy story toys, stickers and pictures around the room and the team who collected the most won! It was madness as kids took off in all directions. Then they got to have relay races on Buzz Lightyears' shoes. The last game we played was a version of pin the tale on the donkey. The kids took their name badges that they got when they came in and had to pin it on buzz. With lots of candy and prizes all over we decided to have cupcakes and ice cream while Alex opened presents. I was going to make a cake for Alex but the figurines I needed sold out. Let's just say this birthday wasn't up to my normal par :(. Alex had fun though and that's what matters. So with all the cake drama I just gave in and did cupcakes. We put army men, woody, and buzz lightyear on the cupcakes that were purple and green. Alex loved opening presents and got a lot of fun stuff. Then we gave everyone their goody bags and sent them on their way. The thing I look forward to most after Alex's birthday, being when it is, is Miss America. We run around, play games, eat too much cake and ice cream, keep kids happy while the birthday boy opens presents and then when they leave I go home fall on the couch and relax. And I can't think of a better way to do it. I'm sure Travis can but he did watch it with me this year. He said it was only for the swimsuits . . . but he watched all of it. Love ya babe!!

Alex's Birthday

We always take our kids out for dinner on their birthday. It's usually to Chuck E. Cheese but we decided to try out Pirate Island Pizza. The boys loved it. They are very into pirates right now and they had a blast. We let Alex open his presents on his birthday from our family. His favorite present by far was his camera. He takes that thing everywhere. He can take pictures with it, add a border or make a picture look funny. He can also play games on it as well. After eating and opening presents we went to the arcade and played some games. They got enough tickets to go and get a prize. And Austin being the great big brother that he is :) let Alex choose something with the tickets. Alex got what he wanted and told Austin to choose something. *sigh* I love it when my boys get along like that. It just makes my heart happy.

Temple Square trip

So, when you have two cameras it's best to download pictures of them at the same time or you forget one. That is exactly what happened. Travis got me a little cannon powershot for Christmas so I didn't have to take our nice camera everywhere. I love our Rebel, but I can't just throw it in my handbag and think it's "safe". I've been downloading pictures from my little cannon but not the rebel so when I hooked it up to the computer I found. . . lots of pics from around Christmas. This was our trip to temple square. The boys had lots of fun looking at the lights and the temple. Keira even liked it for awhile, well until she got hungry :). We had her bundled up so tight and warm she was sweating when we got her to the car. I don't know what's better because we were all freezing. I wouldn't trade it for anything though.

Just to keep the spirit alive!!

No, I am not talking about the Olympics. I love them and watch them every chance I get but that's not what this post is about. I just realized that I never posted pics from the BYU vs Utah game. The game was so exciting and when I came across the pictures I couldn't help myself. I had to post them. Have I mentioned before, I LOVE my camera!!! Oh and this picture is not just of a couple of random guys. Well, I guess one of them is a random guy. The guy in the gray jacket is Bryan Kehl. He played for BYU and was drafted by the New York Giants. Love him!!

Oh and this is Austin with all his loot after the game. T-shirts, towels, lanyards, mugs, footballs, tatoos. . . I think that he won everything you could down there. Even a few shirts for mom :)

It's AMAZING

It's finally happened. I didn't think this day would come. . . . My little Keira has finally rolled over!!!!!!! We tried and tried but that fat chubby belly of hers kept getting in the way. Yesterday I guess she was tired of being left out or sick of looking at the couch cushions, whatever it was she rolled over. Now we just have to work on her sitting up by herself. Once again that little tummy of hers is holding her back :). I love my little princess and just wanted to share her little milestone. It was a long time coming.

Mom's birthday

My mom's birthday was on the 10th. My dad made dinner and invited all of us over to spend the day with them. A birthday wouldn't be complete without some ice cream and my little boys were the first in line. Don't they look like little ice cream monsters!! This was also the day Keira tried ice cream for the first time. She loved it!! Travis couldn't feed her fast enough. This is not going to help my little chunker at all. She sure is cute though. And with all the pictures I took that day I didn't get one of my mom. Sorry mom!

Sledding fun

Travis and I were lucky enough to have a couple of days off together between Christmas and New Years. We made plans with his family to go sledding. We just went to the amphitheater by our house but the kids loved it. Austin discovered not to long after we got there that he could jump off his sled when he was almost to the bottom and got a lot of attention from people. I think the first time he hit and bump and went flying but after that he tried to get off his sled. Boys are so funny. Alex was a little different in his approach. He would get about half way up and just get on his sled and ride down. In the same place where everyone was walking. He said he was just too tired to make it all the way up. When he was done sledding he found a playground and he andKelsey got on the swings and went down the slides.
After all the sledding and playground fun grandma and grandpa had donuts and hot chocolate for everyone. Even Keira had fun all bundled up watching everyone sled down the hill.