Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We didn't send a letter with our cards this year so I just wanted to give you all a brief update as to what we've been up to.
Scott finished his internship year and has started his second year of residency in pediatrics. We were always told that the second year is not as busy as the first. Oh how we wish that were true. It seems like he pretty much lives at the hospital. I think he sees his co-workers more than he sees us. I guess that's what we get for him choosing this profession. Don't get me wrong though, he loves what he does and that makes me happy. He pretty much lives on no sleep, and I think he'll be tired until his residency is over. If you are talking to him and he falls asleep don't take it personal.
I am still doing the same as always, nothing really new with me. I have enjoyed spending time at home with my kids, although sometimes it seems that I am busier than Scott is. Three kids has been a lot of work, but very fun and I love every minute of it.
Kennady turned seven this year and is in the second grade. She loves school, dancing, and playing the piano. She is truly one of the most caring little girls ever. We love her so much.
Brooklyn turned four this year and she is still as full of it as ever. She has a funny little personality and cracks us up all the time. She is in pre-school and can't wait for kindergarten next year. She also loved dancing and swimming.
Easton turned one and he is also very full of it. He is so fun to be around. My new favorite thing he does is crawl up and say "bite" when he wants what you are eating, and you can't help but smile and give him some. He also will glare at you if you tell him no or when he gets in trouble, and it's so cute that you can't stay mad for long. He is stubborn and refuses to walk, but I'm tired of him crawling so I really want him to walk. Raising a boy has been a new experience for me, so any pointers would be greatly appreciated!
We have had a really great year. We went to Disneyland once (of course, our favorite place) and we went to Utah three times. We also started camping this year and have been to some very pretty places (the Pacific Northwest is beautiful and we're going miss it when we leave). We hope you all have had a great year and we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are truly blessed to be able to celebrate the birth of our Savior as a family.
With love,
Scott-Tara-Kennady-Brooklyn-&-Easton

My Baby is One!!!

Wow! I can't believe my baby is one! This year has flown by. I swear I just had him. It is amazing how fast they grow. While we were looking back through all of his pictures we couldn't believe how much he still looks like he did when he was born.

Easton you are such a joy. I love you so much! You make my days better. I love when you crinkle your nose. I love when you get embarrassed and hide in my neck. I love when you cuddle me, and I especially love when you say mama.

Easton Happy First Birthday! We love you so much.

First Day of School!

Kennady decided that it would be fun if her and Brooklyn wore the same thing for their first day of school. Of course I thought it was a great idea and it took a little convincing, but I talked Brooklyn into it. (I thought it was cute that Kennday really wanted them to be the same). Kennady started the second grade this year and Brooklyn is in pre-school. They are both loving school and I don't really know what to do with both of them gone at the same time. When Easton takes a nap I am all alone, which is kind of a weird feeling when I'm used to having all three with me all the time.

10 Fabulous years!

Happy Anniversary Scott! I can't believe we have been married for 10 years. It has flown by. We have done so much in those years. We have both graduated from college. We have had three amazing kids. We have moved nine times (including four different states.) We made it through medical school. We have been to Disneyland more times than I can count. We have traveled to New York to see the Yankees. We have also been to Hawaii, Texas, Florida, and many other fun places. We also have lots of fun school loans to pay off. We have grown so close together through our journey and I know we have so much more ahead of us. I am so excited and I feel so blessed that I get to have Scott by my side through all eternity. Scott I love you and I want you to thank you for all that you do. You truly are the best husband and I love you so much!

HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY!

Cowgirl Kennady

When Kennady was little we took her to a rodeo in Utah. When she saw the little kids riding the sheep she told us she wanted to do that someday. We didn't think she was serious, but for the last few months she has been reminding us that she wants to do it. We still didn't think she would go through with it, but Grandpa Lynn signed her up for it anyway. As the rodeo got closer she started to get a little nervous (as you can see at the start of the video), but she suprised us all and actually got on and did really well. We were so proud of her.

Tara in Forks!

Tara was a little embarassed to be taking the picture at the top, but I figured since we drove about 4-5 hours out of our way just so that she could say that we went to Forks, then she had better have proof of it.

Happy Birthday Kennady!!!

Our little angel Kennady is seven years old! I can't believe how lucky we are as parents to have a child like this. Kennady is one of the most caring and loving people I have ever met. She has an amazing love of life and is such a fun person to be around. I would gladly take her anywhere with me. She is growing up way too fast, but I am so happy that she doesn't think she is too old to still hold our hands and give us a kiss goodnight. We love you so much Kennady! Thanks for being such an amazing daughter.

Happy Fathers Day!

I just want to wish Scott a Happy Father's Day. He really is the most amazing dad. He is more than I could have dreamed of for my kids. They adore him. Here are a few of the fun things he does with them:

-He loves to wrestle them

-He flies them around the house like an airplane

-He pulls then on a blanket and plays taxi

-He will even play barbie with them

-He does the best pretend voices for their stuffed animals

I really could go on and on. I just want him to know how much I love and appreciate all that he does for our kids. Happy Fathers Day!

Scott and Kenna

Scott and Brooklyn

Scott and Easton

I would also like to wish my dad and Scott's dad a Happy Father's Day.

They are both amazing fathers and Grandpa's.

Dad I love you and want to thank you for all that you have done for me and my family. You have always been there for me and I can't thank you enough. Happy Father's Day.

Lynn I also want to tell you how much I appreciate all you have done for us. You have been such a great father to Scott and you taught and raised him so well. I have you to thank for such a great guy. I hope you have a great Fathers Day also.

Easton's Blessing

For Easton's blessing we were able to take our first family trip home to Utah. Scott was only able to stay for the weekend but we enjoyed every minute. The blessing turned out great and Easton did so well. He was a little old for it but we really wanted to be able to go home to be with our families.

Grandma Celia and Grandpa Don

Tara's Family

Grandma Diane and Grandpa Lynn

Scott's Family

Great Grandma Ruth and Great Grandma Thelma

It was such an enjoyable day, even though it did snow (in April). I'm so thankful for Scott and the beautiful blessing that he gave Easton. It was a lot of fun to see our families and friends again.

We hope to come back soon.

Spring Break 2009

I know that this is long overdue since we went to Disneyland in April. It has just been a little crazy so here are some pictures of our great trip. We had so much fun and we were ready to go back even before we made it home.

Easton's first Mickey Shirt. I think it is pretty cute!

Here are a few family pictures.

If you know us very well we take Disneyland pretty serious and we take advantage of every minute we have to enjoy everything possible, so at the end of the day our kids usually look like this. You can see we got our money's worth. It was a BLAST!

Seaworld

The girls loved going to Seaworld, but while we were there they kept asking when we could go to Disneyland. They were so brave and went on a huge roller coaster that they got wet on. I could not believe they even dared go on it at all. I really don't think they know what they were doing though, because when it was done I asked them if they wanted to go again and they prompty answered

"no thank you!"

Five Months

I finally did it. I moved Easton to his room and in his crib. I also started him on rice cereal and he loves it. He is really starting to jabber and giggle a ton. We just can't get enough of him.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

Our little Brooklyn is four years old. It seems like just yesterday we were moving to Phoenix and I was expecting her; now we live in a different state, Scott is done with school, and we have another baby. Brooklyn is just like her dad, we call her our little "button pusher." If she sees something interesting she has to touch it and play with it. She is always getting into new things. She loves to push Kenna's buttons and boy does she know how. She loves her "sunky" (silky blanket) and is by far our most snuggly child. In the morning all she wants is her chocolate milk, sunky, and to snuggle on the couch. She also loves to dance, and asks me everyday if it is Tuesday and if she can go to dance class. It is her favorite thing to do. She also has a little bit of a temper which we are tying to work on. It is amazing just how infuriating and cute she can be at times. Our home would definitely be boring without her.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn, we love you!!

Easton is 4 Months Old

I really can't stand how fast he is growing up. Scott laughs at me because I still have him sleeping in our room in a bassinet that he has pretty much outgrown. Scott also said that we can start feeding him solids, but I refuse because it just means that he is getting older. I really don't like my kids growing up. I want them to stay small. We have been looking at old pictures and have decided that he is a boy version of Kennady. Her six and seven month pictures look exactly like he does right now at four months. It has been so much fun having a boy, we love him so much.

Brooklyn Made Me Cry

By far the biggest challenge I have had to face so far as a doctor is the amount of time I have to spend away from my family. I love my job, but when I come home I try to leave my work at the hospital. Several weeks ago I had to start studying for step 3 of my boards. I tried to study at the hospital as much as I could (between appointments, standing in line at the cafeteria, waiting for the elevator, etc...) but as the test got closer I had to start studying at home too. A few days before the test I was spending every waking minute studying. I knew it was hard on both me and my family, but I didn't realize just how hard until Brooklyn made it clear. I was in my office taking a practice test and I could hear something just outside the door. I didn't think anything of it at the time and went back to studying, but when I finished the test 45 minutes later I stood up to take a break. As I opened the door I looked down and saw Brooklyn lying on the ground with a pillow and blanket. I asked her what she was doing and she said (in her sad little 3 year old voice) "Just waiting for you to be done studying". I felt horrible. She had been lying quietly on the hard ground for over 45 minutes without making a sound because she knew that she wasn't supposed to be bothering me. It just about broke my heart. I couldn't help but pick her up and snuggle on the couch, her favorite thing to do.

Kenna & Brooklyn's First Date

Every year the city where we live has a "Daddy Daughter" dance. The theme this year was "Happily Ever After" and the girls were so excited to go on a real date with their daddy. They were counting down the days. A few days before the date I asked Kenna where they were going to go eat. She looked at me and said "Probably Olive Garden or Red Lobster, maybe even Outback." Most kids would say McDonalds or Wendy's, but not my daughter, she goes right for the good stuff. She doesn't mess around when it comes to eating out. I just laughed. Brooklyn said Subway or Panera (she doesn't have as expensive taste as her sister). They ended up eating at Olive Garden and I think Scott was the proudest dad around. He loved that everyone asked what they were doing and where were they going. After dinner they went to the dance had their pictures taken and danced for a while. They all had a blast. Scott even had them home for curfew and he got a goodnight kiss on each cheek before they went to bed.

Three months old!!

I can't believe it has been three months. These kids are growing up way too fast. I wish they would just stop right where they are. Whenever I tell Kennady that she has to stop growing, she tells me she has to grow up. Brooklyn has already planned her fourth birhtday party, so she made us a deal that after the party she will stop growing. I wish it were that easy.

I think he is pretty dang cute. He is such a smiley baby. Don't get me wrong he has his mad times too, but he really is a good baby.

Easton's two favorite things; his blankie and his binkie. I have just recently learned that if I wrap him up real tight and give his binkie then he is good to go for a nice long nap. I hope it lasts.

Check out these muscles.

He loves to be talked to. Whenever I am on the phone he always thinks I am talking to him and he will smile and talk right back to me. We love you Easton!