Scarcy Family

Beach Trip

2011-06-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

For some reason the font wasn't showing up on my post, so I decided to add the text separately. Sorry for the insane amount of pics....just had a lot to show you all.

I haven't posted anything for so long...I'm not even sure how to start telling you what we've been up to. I looked through TONS of pictures from 2011 so far and I got so overwhelmed, so for now, I'm just going to start with the more recent stuff, since it's fresh on my mind. Over Memorial Day Weekend we went to the beach and stayed for a few days. I LOVE the fact my kids don't care that when you put your toe in the Oregon coast water, it starts to throb in pain...they were out boogie boarding and splashing like we were in Hawaii. We also went on the amazing hike that had a beautiful waterfall and this fun suspension bridge, oh yeah, and LOTS of mud. At first I was worried about Ryan keeping up with us, but he ran at least half of it through the muddy trails, it was so funny! I kept worrying that he was going to slide off the side of the trail, so I had to run with him...it was actually really fun! There are many things we love about Oregon, besides the people...we love how beautiful it is here. I hope you enjoy some of our pictures!

Beach Trip May 2011

2011-06-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

October fun!

2010-10-26T10:02:00.001-07:00

We've had so much fun this October and I just wanted

to update our pictures with some of the fun things we did.

A trip to the pumpkin patch was a blast and the best highlight

so far, for most of us was Elena and Tyler's Halloween Birthday

Party! Between the 2 of them, we had 24 of their friends over.

It was a blast! One of the best parts of the night was when most

of the kids left, we found Brooklyn and her friend Piper in the

playroom doing karaoke! They were sooooo cute! Anyways, enjoy

the pictures!

Mason turned 6....well, about 5 1/2 months ago!

2010-07-18T22:45:00.000-07:00

I know this is VERY late, but hey, better late than never, right??? Mason turned 6 last February! There are so many thing to say about my "middle child!" Mason is always making us laugh and he's always suprising us with the things he knows. He is such a fun, smart and handsome little guy! He may seem all tough on the outside, but he is really a sweet and sensitive little boy on the inside. One of my favorite things to do is to cuddle with him at night, I wish I could do this every day. Mason loves anything that boys love...Pokemon, Bakugan, the Wii and most of all, Legos! I'm always amazed at his creative mind and the things he designs and comes up with. Just the other day, he took the hose in the backyard and attached it to some pipes, made this neat design, and then he put a cup at the end of it to catch the water, it was pretty impressive. His brain is ALWAYS thinking of things he can do, you can see it in his eyes, I love that about him! I also LOVE that Mason has no fear. Nothing scares this kid and he always tries new things and excels at them, I'm so impressed by this. Anyways, I could go on for days, but for this year, this is it! I love you Mason, I hope you have a AWESOME 6th year!!!

P.S. The to picture is Mason's first tooth that he just lost this last month...he was sooooooooooooooooo excited!

Daddy's little girl!

2010-04-30T11:51:00.001-07:00

Ever since birth, both of my daughters have LOVED their

dad. I think it's so sweet and I love to see how close they are.

I took these pictures one day when Scott fell asleep with Brooklyn

cuddling up to him telling him stories! She has the best imagination,

and you will either find her singing or making up the craziest stories.

I just think it's so sweet that she'd lay there for hours if it meant she

could spend time with one of her favorite people!

Tulip Festival 2010

2010-04-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

We recently took a trip to the Tulip Festival. Of course we

took a TON of pictures....so here are a bunch of our favorites!

One of the funniest things was watching Ryan and his obsession

with his kettle korn. Anyone who came near him was a threat and

treated as such. He would run and scream. He was so funny!

Spring Break!

2010-04-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

For spring break we went down to southern Oregon

to visit with some friends from BYU and we also went

to the Wildlife Safari Park in Roseburg, OR! We had such a

great time, eventhough Mason got a fever. The best part of the

animal park were the grizzley bears. They were so playful and

cute. The scariest animal was the emus that would come right

up to your car and make this horrible sound, which I believe came

from the velociraptors in Jurassic Park, Scott even decided to roll his

window up when it got just a little too close.

The friends we went to visit, have the same amount of kids we do, just

in the exact opposite order. The kids had the best time playing together,

it was as if they had known each other forever! While in Roseburg, we went

hiking to a beautiful waterfall and went canooing in a river right by their house.

Overall, it was a great vacation and we making plans to travel down there again

this summer!

Mason turns 6!

2010-03-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

So far, 6 years old has been great for Mason. There are so many

wonderful things to say about Mason, I'm not sure where to start...

So, I'll start from when he was a baby. Mason was my BEST baby!

From birth, this kid was on a schedule and wanted to be just like his

big brother and sister. Once 18 months hit, I wasn't sure if we were

going to keep Mason or ship him of to live with the grandparents!!! He

definitely became very stubborn, very quick. But, I think being stubborn

is in some ways a good thing. He learned at a very young age how to get

his way. I'm not sure how he does it, but he's is an excellent salesman. For

example, he'll ask me for something, and at first I say, "only one," then somehow

he tricks me into letting him have two. I think he will make a great salesman

one day. Mason has a special love for fire...at all the campouts, he never strays

too far from the flames! Definitely keeping an eye on this fascination!

Mason has a big heart, even though he puts on the "tough guy" act.

Deep down, he's so sweet and there's nothing he wants more than approval

from Elena and Tyler. He loves his brother Tyler most of all, and it shows.

They are the best of friends, whatever Tyler is doing, Mason wants to do it too,

whatever Tyler is wearing, Mason wants to wear it too and whatever Tyler is

eating, Mason wants to eat it too! Along with being sweet, Mason definitely has

a talent for sports! Lately he's become quite the little soccer player. Lastly, I love

how Mason is always taking us by surprise, whether it's by the funny things he says

or the fact that he knows most of his addition and subtraction facts. I'm so excited

to see what new things come this year because of our sweet little 6 year old! I love

you so much Mason and am so proud of who you are becoming!!!

Recent Pictures!

2010-01-04T12:30:00.000-08:00

Elena reaches a decade!

2009-12-07T15:19:00.001-08:00

I can't believe Elena is 10 years old...and she reminds me of it every day by saying, "I'm 10 now!" Elena is such a beautiful, funloving, funny, creative and confident young lady. Elena has a great sense of humor, which of course, she got from me!!! Recently we've noticed one of her talents, she is a great artist. I believe she inhereted this from my grandma! She is also quite the litte photographer! One of Elena's favorite things to do is read. I often find Elena off in her own world as she reads. She is an excellent reader, she reads so fast, I think one day she could be an auctioneer! Being a great big sister is one her best qualities. When I was pregnant with Ryan she told me if it wasn't a girl, she wasn't going to "love" the baby. And now, after a year of having another little brother, I always tell her, I can't imagine if we had a girl, because I can't imagine her loving anyone any more than she loves him. Now that she is the "BIG 10," she is a great help to me. She gets in these awesome moods where she wants to organize....I believe that this is definitely inhereted from my mother, and me (before I had 5 kids). One of my favorte things is putting the other kids to bed and then hanging out with Elena, since she's older now, she gets to stay up a little later than the others. I love this time! She is such a wonderful daughter and such a great example to me of being a great missionary. I'm so grateful she is in our family and setting such a great example for her younger siblings! I know that with all these talents inside one little body, she will have so many options open to her when she grows up! Keep up the good work baby! Love ya!

Tyler is 8! (I know this is a couple months late, but hey, better late than never, right?

2009-10-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

Tyler is now 8 years old, and I can hardly believe it. When everything in our home is crazy and and kids may be crying or whining, I can always count on one thing in our family to bring us peace, and that's Tyler. I'm not sure how to explain how awesome this little guy is. I guess I'll just give an example of what his kindergarten teacher once told me about him. She put her hand over her heart, got all teary eyed and said, "Tyler is such a good boy, you can just feel it!" He has such an amazing calmness about him, and let me tell you, with 5 kids...life can be crazy, but whenever Tyler is around I feel this amazing Spirit around him! Our family wouldn't survive without his sweet presence. I'm always so impressed how caring and kind he really is. His concern for others feelings and happiness is always present. Besides his emotional growth this year...I have to mention his physical growth...now that he is taller than his older sister(which she hates), I know the day will soon come when he'll be taller than me. He's already almost to my chin. I love it! Tyler takes after his dad in many ways, his love for the outdoors and his great talent he has with animals. They feel so comfortable around him, it's so neat to watch this. I hope one day he'll work with them. Tyler has this amazingly contageous laugh, and it's hard not to bust up laughing just by the sound of it! It's so wonderful to see what a great brother he is and we are just so blessed to have him in our family! I love you Tyler and look forward to this next year of watching you grow ! Thanks for being you!

Attempting to make cakes!

2009-10-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

So, here are a few of my recent attempts at making cakes.

Please remember I'm no professional...obviously, it's just

something I love to do for my kids on their birthdays!

So, enjoy the pictures! One of my favorite things was

the rainbow cake I made for Tyler. The inside was so

bright and colorful. The kids loved it!

Ryan

2009-09-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy! It was one of the greatest days of our lives. It's amazing how with each child, you feel your heart grow that much more. Ryan was definitely a surprise baby and he continues to surprise us every day. Sometimes he seems much older and smarter than a 1 year old. His favorite activity now is climbing our 3 flights of stairs. Never having stairs with any of the other kids, we are so impressed with how cordinated he is. It only took about a week of going on the stairs to master them. Throughout the last year, it's been very fun to watch Ryan grow. He seemed to hit all the major milestones right on schedule. For instance, around 11 months he decided that he's just going to start walking. Same with crawling, he all of a sudden just decides he's going to crawl, no practice at all, he just started crawling. It's amazing. It's like secretely knows how to do these things, but he's just waiting until the right time to do them. He is obsessed with cars and balls, but he does have a strange phobia of ball pits. Go figure! Any time he can be the center of attention, which is quite often, he always laughs and smiles when people laugh at him! He knows he's being funny! It's so cute!

My favorite thing about Ryan is his little dimpled smile. He lights up the room just by smimling. He's also the best hugger. Any chance he gets he's giving everyone loves. Such a sweetie, it just melts your heart. All of his older brothers and sisters love him to death. They are so great with him, he's never at a loss of attention! He's definitely the most loved little baby ever. Happy Birthday little buddy, we love you and look forward to many more amazing memories!

P.S. I love how the kids are always sticking things on his head and face, poor little guy!

Summer Fun

2009-08-10T08:23:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from our beach trip. We spent a few

days at the beach with some friends and had a great time!

I love how the kids play in the ocean water as if it was the

slightest bit warm...on the contrary, after getting my feet in

the water, they started to ache because it was so cold! I guess

kids are more resilient.

Brooklyn turns 3!!!

2009-07-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I love about Brooklyn, so I'll try to narrow it down to a few of the best things about her! First of all I love her

little squeeky voice , her big beautifully exotic eyes, her petite little

figure. She's such a dancer...always twirling and spinning. Singing is

also one of her many talents! I love hearing her dancing around singing

the most recent song she's heard! Being the 4th child and being surrounded

by boys has definitely made her a tuff little thing! You don't need to worry

about her getting bullied around, she can definitely hold her own. For instance,

when someone hurts her, she just nails them back and yells out something

like, "piece of junk" or "baby!" Lovely, I know. Being one of the younger ones,

she is definitely learning things much younger than she should. Brooklyn is such

a sweetie, she's always willing to cuddle or "make-out!" I ask her for a kiss and it

ends up being a make out session...don't worry, I keep it G-rated, she really does just

love kissing and hugging. She will cuddle up to me at night and say, "I love you,

I miss you!" Sooooo sweet. Of all the memories I have of Brooklyn, one of my favorite

was her first day of dance class a few weeks ago. I never knew a human could smile

that big, she was in heaven. Thank you Brooklyn for being you, we love you and

wish you a Happy Birthday!!!

2009-07-02T07:54:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day!

2009-06-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day we were able to go to my cousins house for
some great BBQ!!! I had to take a picture of the beautiful cookies
Scott gave me from the best bakery in the whole world!!! I love
all the flowers around our yard...the roses are blooming everywhere,
the Calla Lillies are as tall as the kids, and the trees that were once
twigs are loaded with vibrant colors. I didn't realize how much I've
missed spring, it's so beautiful! It was a wonderful mother's day being
around the family this year. Thanks to my wonderful husband and children
for making it a great day!!!

Tulips, tulips and more tulips!!!

2009-06-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

So, back in May we went to the tulip festival in Woodburn. To say it was beautiful would be an understatement! It was amazing! Rows and rows of tulips as far as the eye could see. On the way there Elena was asking where we were going, I explained to her what it was, and she said, "That's all, how boring!!!"Leave it to my daughter to bring out the theatrics. Once we got there, we gave her the digital camera and she just disappeared into the tulips. I think she took about

200 pictures. They were awesome pictures. Hers were better than ours. She would lay right down on the ground and aim the camera straight up the stem of the tulips, it was so cool looking. She had so much fun taking pictures that she was sad when we had to leave...so much for being so bored!!!

Are you kidding me?

2009-05-10T22:44:00.000-07:00

You know there's something wrong with your outfit when your 2 year old looks at you and says, "Are you kidding me???" Isn't this what being a mother is all about...taking fashion tips from our children??? Of course, I went back into my bedroom and changed after that! Who knows, maybe she has a real eye for fashion!

Fun Times!!!

2009-04-18T16:01:00.000-07:00

Last week the kids had Friday off, so we decided to head to the beach. We went to Cannon Beach and found a fun little cave to play in. The kids had a blast jumping the waves and looking for shells and neat rocks. In one of the pictures is of Elena throwing a huge fit because she lost her shoes and socks when a giant wave came up on the shore. I really thought she was kidding because she was screaming and whaling for at least 10 minutes....I haven't seen her do that since she was 2. It was actually very amusing, I was laughing my head off, I felt bad at first, but once we passed the 3 minute point, it was just plain funny! (I guess I'm not the most sensitive mother, besides they were not her best shoes).

The kids were so cold in the wet clothes, and at one point, we looked up the beach, and that last picture is what we saw...what the heck, is this a nude beach??? So funny though! Also, if you look in the picture with Tyler and Mason jumping the waves, Mason is actually in the air....pretty sweet!!!

Mason Turns 5!!!

2009-04-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

So, this is a little late, but hey, better late than never!!! On February 26, Mason turned 5! To me, this is strange, because in my mind, Tyler is still 4 years old and Elena is 6. So, I'm not really sure how this can happen, but it has!!! Time has really been going fast lately. Now, on to our son. Mason is so full of life and personality, it is hard to capture in words what he means to us. Mason is one of those kids you look at and you can just see his mind working. He is always wondering how things work, who made things and why things are the way they are. Sometimes I feel inadequate to answer his inquiring questions! Way too smart for his own good. I love the way Mason can adapt so well to any situation. When we moved to Portland, we signed him up for preschool. On the first day of school, his teacher told me, "You couldn't even tell he was new, he just fit right in." I love that about him, it makes life so much easier just to roll with the punches, which he is doing great at. If I'm having a rough day, all I need to do for a little laugh is think of the many funny things Mason has said over the years. There are just a few posted on the side of our blog, check them out, they are pretty funny. One of my favorites is how picky Mason is with his hair, always telling me how to do it. The other day I was doing his hair in a mohawk, which is usually his request, and he says, "Mom instead of doing a mohawk, why don't you do 2 horns!!!" I keep telling myself I'll get a journal and write it all down, so I won't forget how funny these things are. Anyways, Mason is just tons of fun, always testing new limits and pushing himself to new heights, literally, he climbs this tree in our backyard, and each day he gets higher and higher. I'm not sure if I want him to get all the way to the top, it's about 25 feet in the air, but if I let him, I'm sure he could. Exploring and going on adventures is at the top of hist list. So, thank you Mason for filling our life with fun, love and laughter!!! We love you!!!

Caramel Brownies

2009-03-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

These are my caramel brownies that my grandma used to make, they are amazing.

1 package (14 oz.) Kraft caramels
1 can (5 oz.) evaporated milk
1 package German Chocolate Cake mix
2/3 cup butter, melted
1 package milk chocolate chips (Guittard are best)
3/4 cup pecans (optional)
1 cup flaked coconut (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat caramels and 1/4 cup of the evaporated milk in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Mix cake mix (dry), butter, remaining evaporated milk (3 oz.) and nuts (if desired). Spread half of the dough in ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 6 minutes exactly. Remove and sprinkle with chocolate chips and coconut (if desired). Drizzle caramel mixture over top. Drop remaining dough by teaspoonfuls onto caramel layer, spreading evenly as possible. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until slightly dry to the touch. Refrigerate until firm.

Fruit Pizza!!!

2009-03-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

This is quite possible one of the best things in the world. On behalf of Kristina's request, here's my fruit pizza recipe. Enjoy!!!

Crust:
2 yellow cake mixes
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 eggs
Mix dry ingredients in bowl until crumbly, and then add eggs.
Press dough into jelly roll pan and bake at 325 degrees for approximately 15 minutes, or until golden. Remove and cool.

Topping:
2 cubes (16 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
Mix with mixer and spread on top of cooled crust.

Arrange fruit on top in any design you like:
(these are the fruits that work the best)
Strawberries
Blueberries
Kiwi
Bananas
Mandarin oranges
Grapes

Grateful

2009-03-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes housework can be overwhelming, and let's face it who loves doing laundry??? Not me, that's for sure, so right now I'm so grateful for my mom who took 2 huge bags of laundry, washed it and folded it by the next day...I've got my own laundry service..life is great! Thanks mom for all your help!!!

2009-03-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder if all these posts I'm writing are just for me! I kind of look at it as a journal entry to help me remember good times, but it is fun to share it with people. So, if you are reading my blog, please let me know, even just a little comment to let me know you care, thank you!

I've Finally Got It!!!

2009-03-06T09:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I finally have got a hang of having 5 children. I know, you might say, "well, the baby is 6 months old now??? What have you been doing???" With each of my other children it took about 4 months until things started to get a little easier. With this last one, it's taken a little longer. Maybe moving in the middle of it all didn't help, but at least now I am enjoying every moment with my kids, yes, even when they are fighting, rolling their eyes back at me when I ask them to do something, crying and just everything they do that makes them each special and unique. Having children is amazing. It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever done, this is including the actually pregnancy, birth and raising them, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. They are such wonderful people. I'm truly blessed for having the opportunity to raise such strong, amazing little spirits. I love Elena and how funny she is becoming. She reminds me a lot of me...ha ha ha. No, really, I did used to be pretty funny back in the day. I love how confident she is in herself, that is very rare in girls these days, just this morning as we were doing her hair, she asked me, "Mom, do you think everyone in my class thinks I'm the prettiest girl in our class?" I said, I bet they do, and she said, "I think so too." I love it, such innocent confidence. And, I really do think she's the prettiest!!! She is so great at coming up with creative, clever things to do. She's very artistic and loves writing stories. One day I think she'd like to be a writer. Tyler is so fun. He's always so sweet and loving. His heart is as big as they come. I think this kid has the memory of an elephant, he remembers everything!!! He is also such a hard worker, he reminds me so much of Scott. Just laid back, carefree and kind. I love it, I can ask that kid to do something, and he NEVER complains, he just does it. He has such a strong love for his family and friends, children like him are one in a million. This brings me to Mason, for those of you who know him, he's a very active, fun little boy. He is always making everyone laugh (or cry!). He's so passionate about learning, I always find myself so perplexed by the questions he asks me, I wonder how a boy who just turned 5 could be so smart. His brain is always thinking and wondering how everything works. So amazing. I'm lucky if I can remember my phone number. Mason puts on a tough exterior, but on the inside, he's a loving, sweet, cuddly boy. My favorite thing is to lay in bed with him in the morning and just cuddle. He acts so tough, but he does love to cuddle, when no one's looking. Onto our little Brooklyn, or as we call her, "Brookie!" This girl is so obsessed with the color pink, I can't believe it. If it's not pink or does not have ANY pink in it, she's not wearing it. It's so funny. I love her cute, squeaky little voice, and her big beautiful blue eyes. She's so silly, always dancing, twirling, running in dress-up shoes, singing, "Shake your bootie," pushing her dolls in strollers, playing "puppy" with the other kids or chasing her BIG brother Mason. She loves him, anything he does, she wants to do. Not sure if this is quite the path I want her to go down! J/K!!! When I want a really great hug, Brooklyn gives the best hugs, she just melts in your arms, it's so sweet. I love that her hair is always wispy and all over the place, I swear I really do her hair! Now for our baby boy, Ryan, whom my children have renamed, "GOOEY!!!" Not sure if they got this name from the CRAZY amounts of drool that flow from his mouth, or they just think he's so cute, but nobody seems to call him Ryan anymore. Sometimes I forget it's his real name. He even responds better to the name "Gooey!" He's sitting up now, rolling all around, saying "Da Da" and just the other day, he started scooting backwards. Call me crazy, but I don't REMEMBER my other kids doing this until at least 8 or 9 months. Maybe he's just has super-strength from all the exercising I did when he was in my tummy!!! Ryan has been so funny lately, he just knows that our whole family revolves around him, and he loves every minute of it. He is always getting attention from one person or another, and if he's not, he let's us all know about it. You can always find him with the biggest smile on his face, sometimes I wonder why he's always so stinking happy, but hey, I love seeing that cute, dimpled face light up. Time is going way too FAST, and he is just getting bigger every day! Before I know it, all of my beautiful children will be grown up having FAMILIES of their own. So, for now, I'm just enjoying every minute of it! I am truly blessed with a wonderful family!!

Our School

2009-02-23T16:36:00.000-08:00

We love the school the kids are going to. It reminds me of when I went to school. The size of the rooms are huge, unlike their old school, there was barely any room to move around. They have an awesome playground, and they even have swings!!! They have PE 2 times a week, and music on the other 2 days and on Friday they have Rhythm, which is where they learn dances. They even have Spanish on the days they have music. It's so fun. The kids have made a lot of friends already, and they love going to school. I think being the new kids was actually really great for them, because everyone would fight over who gets to sit by them or play with them, it has been fantastic. I also have to mention how much I love the homework....only 1 page a night. Much better than Elena's 60-90 minutes at her old school. In music class, Elena is learning to play the recorder...I love it, I still remember how to play it!!!

My New Best Friend!!!

2009-02-10T08:28:00.001-08:00

So, I've discovered a new best friend. Scott and I have been trying to eat more vegetables, so we started trying these Ziploc Zip n Steam bags. I absolutely love them. We've cooked chicken in them and it was so fast and so tender. Every night with dinner we throw zucchini, broccoli, carrots and sometimes red potatoes in the bag and it's ready in less than 6 minutes. My children are loving it as well, Brooklyn can't get enough zucchini, which she calls, "pickles!" Anyways, just wanted to share this with all of my friends and family in case you are interested in eating more veggies, and needing a new way to cook them!!!

Winter

2009-02-08T21:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our winter wonderland!!

The first pictureis the view we get out our front window,

the second one is the kids going to catch the bus in the snow!!

They loved it. It's been a long time since any of us have seen

snow like that!

Prayer!!!

2009-01-29T22:31:00.000-08:00

So Booklyn has now started saying her own prayers, we are so proud!! It's quite adorable actually, she might say something like this, "Heavenly Father, thank you to food, Heavenly Father, thank you to broccoli, thank you to mommy, thank you Linguine make good food (she had just watched Ratatouille) thank you Jesus Christ, amen." Might I add as she says "amen," she raises her hands straight up in the air. Anyways, the other night she went on and on and on and finally after about 2 minutes of nonstop worship, Tyler, who is the most patient of all of us shouts out a sigh and says, "I just can't take it anymore!!!" It was hillarious!

P.S. Today Ryan said "Da Da!" Of course, Scott thinks it's because he loves him the most, I just nod my head, and say "of course, Dear!!!"

West Hills Ward

2009-01-24T01:55:00.000-08:00

The ward received our records in our new ward this Sunday and were officially welcomed in. After Sacrament meeting the members we greeting us with phrases like, "Did I hear right, you have 5 kids?" and "You're the new family with 5 kids." I guess we stick out a little. In the Summit ward it wasn't all that uncommon for us and our friends to have that number, or more!
We were invited over to our new friends Jeff and Natalie Call's house after church. I told Jeff that my grandmother was a Call, and that my dad was born in Afton, WY. After chatting for a while, Jeff decides to go on the church's new website (new.familysearch.org). What do we find out?..... his grandfather is my great grandfather, or in other words, his father and my grandmother are half siblings. (My great grandfather and his first wife had my grandmother, she died and he remarried and with his second wife had Jeff's dad!) Cool. I can't wait to talk to his Jeff's dad when he gets off his mission.

The West Hills ward is also setting a lot of records for the Humphrey family as well. Since receiving our records on Sunday, we've had the primary president, the bishopbric and the Relief Society Presidency come over to our house. Wow. Is that a welcome or what. I can't recall in my entire life ever having the Bishop ever coming over to my house. They really know how to make us feel important. I can't forget the Elders quorum, in our new ward either, they came out in numbers to help us move in to our new home. Thank you. I would be ungrateful if I didn't thank the Summit ward's Elder's quorum for helping us move out, Thank you as well.

The wonder of it all

2009-01-24T01:13:00.000-08:00

All in all we had a wonderful vacation/trip up to Portland. None of the places we went to were busy at all, which allowed the kids to wander and explore as much as their parents would allow. Hearst Castle was the only hard part for the kids, as it was a living museum and no flash photography was allowed in or OUT of the castle grounds. The younger kids were getting a little rowdy outside the front of the castle and the guides suggested that they go inside to a quite room to play. This allowed Darcy to feed the baby and allowed Brooklyn to play with some toys, and get some of their energy out without disturbing the other visitors.
Sequoia was great. I think we saw maybe a dozen other cars the whole time we were there. It felt like we had the whole park to ourselves. The kids and I loved it. (Darcy was not comforted in the fact that no one would hear our screams, if a bear or mountain lion attacked) The kids could be as loud as they wanted and not disturb anyone. We had an amazing experience seeing the wonder of the some of the largest trees in the world. The few visitors we did see were mostly foreigners. It reminded me of when we went to the San Diego Zoo in October (kids are free for the whole month). A lot of people were speaking in foreign languages. The zoo wasn't that crowded then either.
Yosemite was awesome. Again not a lot of people. We did meet up with a family from England that we met in Sequoia, and their daughter, who was about Elena's age, and about her height too. If Brooklyn hadn't gotten sick we would have been able to have hiked a few more trails. She was able to ride "shotgun" on Darcy's lap. Maybe it was the insanely windy roads or the entire pack of ice breaker sours that she ate that made her throw up. We knew when it was time for her to throw up because she'd say, "Don't like it throw up." Not very enjoyable for Darcy who had to hold her for the hour trip on these curvy roads. We all wish we had a few more days there to see the grandeur of it all. We were able to get up to Glacier Point before they closed it the next day for the winter months. Hiking up to Glacier Point and Moro Rock and seeing the views were breath taking.
I think I should be out of work more often. j/k

All in all the trip was great. The day before we left Fontana there was a car chase that ended in front of our house to wish us goodbye with Fontana PD and Sheriff lights flashing all around, and even a helicopter overhead for over an hour wishing us goodbye. One of the suspects only broke in and barricaded himself in our neighbors house for an hour or so.
Arriving into OREGON, we were greeted with snow. Lots and Lots of SNOW. Roads were closed. What should have taken us 8 hours took over 13. Did I mention there was lots of snow. Record breaking snow. It broke records dating back to the January 1950. Welcome to the cold Humphrey family.

Best picture ever

2009-01-13T17:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, for 4 months we've been trying to take a picture of Ryan
that shows just how cute he really is, I think we nailed it!!!
Call me a little biased, but I think he looks just adorable!!!!!

Ryan was priviledged to have his first taste of real food a

couple days ago...Mason thought he'd be nice and share his

gummy bears with his little brother(the one time Mason has

been willing to share!!!). Thankfully Scott was right there and

noticed Ryan choking and was able to turn him over and give him

some good back blows, but the gummy bear managed to slip down

his throat into his little tummy. Scott said after the fear of the whole

situation was over, he couldn't help but laugh as Mason sat there crying,

saying, "Why didn't you tell me he couldn't have gummy bears???"

I guess what had happened is while Scott was installing a shelf in our

kitchen cupboard, Mason was helping him out and Scott vaguely remembers

Mason saying something about "Ryan" and a "Gummy Bear." It was one of those

not so great parenting moments where you barely hear what your child says and

you agree to it anyway. So, poor Mason was so confused about why dad said he could

have a gummy bear one second and the next his little brother was choking to death.

Life is just full of surprises, I guess the earlier he learns this the better! ;-)

Yosemite

2009-01-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

I love the picture of Ryan pointing towards the sky, I thought is was cute. Anyways, Yosemite was so fun. Spending 2 days there was barely enough time to see everything we wanted. We were able to go on a couple hikes and drove to some pretty spectacular view points. Half Dome is so beautiful, and just the waterfalls, there were too many to count.

And, what's a family excursion without Mason acquiring some major injury...that's right, he decided to walk along a wood fence about 3 feet in the air and did a lovely face plant onto the cement! Luckily no stitches required this time.

Sequoia National Park

2009-01-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

The highlight of the whole trip for Scott and I

was the 400+ steps up Morro Rock. The view

was one of the most amazing thing we've ever seen .

We were able to make it to the top just before the sun was setting.

You could see forever. We took tons of pictures, but none of them do it justice.

The only thing in my book that comes close in comparison is seeing the

Delicate Arch at Arches National Park in Utah at sunset.

This was such a feeling of awe and amazement to see one

of the most beautiful of God's creations.

Solvang

2009-01-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are here in Portland and now I finally have a little time to update the blog. I know it took forever, sorry, things have been a little busy. My parents spent tons of time getting the house ready, but there was still a lot to be done, so we actually just had our first night in our house on Jan. 9th. Before that, we were staying with my parents. First of all, we would like to update you all on our amazing trip up here. Since we have so many pictures, I'll be updating them in sections.

We started our trip in Solvang, CA...it was so much fun. The kids ate their first abelskeiver

(a danish dessert, kind of like a round puffy pancake), they loved it so much that Mason and Brooklyn licked their plate clean.

Hearst Castle

2009-01-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

After our relaxing 2 days in Solvang, we were able to head
up the coast to see the beautiful Hearst Castle. Scott,
having served a mission in Spain, has been priveledged
enough to witness these amazing structures,
but I have never seen anything like it.
Words cannot explain how pretty everything was.
My absolute favorite part of the whole thing, was the
outdoor pool. The view of the ocean from that spot was
so beautiful. I would love to go for a swim and step out
of the pool to that view, heck I'd just be happy to have
a pool!!!

Best of all

2009-01-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

There were many wonderful memories on this trip up to Portland, but my favorite by far was this sign we saw outside a gas station in California. I laughed so hard I actually had to take advantage of this facility.

Sometimes it's just the small things in life that make me happy!!!

Gratitude

2008-11-27T08:18:00.000-08:00

Lastnight Tyler had his first sleepover. It started out as a play day and then Jared's mom called asking if he could stay the night. So, with little time to prepare myself for this, I found it strange with him gone. I know that may sound wierd, but I'm one of those who needs to be mentally prepared for certain things, like; when my husband will be home from work-I need to know there's an end in sight, also when my children will be spending the night at someone's house. Don't get me wrong, I love when they do, but each child brings something different to our family. For instance, with Tyler gone lastnight, I realized what a sense of peace he brings to our family, even when he's not being the most peaceful little thing, there is still such a strong sense of goodness and he has such a special spirit about him. I love it. So, hopefully on this Thanksgiving day we can all take a minute what blessings are in our lives, because I promise you, at times when you feel all alone and like you have very few blessings, you will be amazed at the truly wonderful blessings you really do have!!!

Moving

2008-11-23T22:40:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know yet, we are moving to Portland. We leave in 2 weeks. We are very excited for the move and look forward to being by Grandma and Grandpa. They are even more excited!! So, this blog might not be updated for a while.

Happy 9th Birthday Elena!!!

2008-11-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that only 1 year ago, Elena was getting baptized.

Now, she's turning 9 years old. I don't feel old enough to have a daughter that is 9.

I guess I'm in denial.

For her birthday, Grandma Humphrey gave her an American Girl doll,

which she loves, and her Aunt Susan and Uncle Spencer gave her a

nightgown to match her doll. Thanks by the way, very thoughtful,

she keeps twirling around in it and saying how warm it is. Also,

thanks to the other aunts and uncles who gave her some clothes,

books and other accessories to go with her doll. She loves everything

about it and becomes more excited about her doll, the more she learns about her.

Elena has been such a wonderful daughter. She always loves to help with

the baby and she even loves to help clean. She gets in these cleaning moods,

where you'd better stay away or else!!! I have no idea where she got this from???

J/K!! If you know my mother....she's the same way, but even worse!

There are so many things I love about Elena....I love how sweet she is with

her little brother. She will make such a wonderful mother one day. She is always

planning such fun games and activities for us and somehow she's always got a

surprise up her sleeve, it's wonderful. I love watching her play soccer, she has

progressed so much over the years. I love how confident in herself she is. Just the

other day, she said she was looking at herself in the mirror for "like and hour"

because she is so pretty. I love it. Girls these days are way too hard on themselves,

so I hope she will always believe this because she truly is beautiful inside and out.

Elena has been blessed with such a special heart and has a great desire to always

do good and to please her Heavenly Father. She loves the gospel and reading her

scriptures, and as a parent, I couldn't ask for anything more!

I'm so proud of you Elena!!!

Preserving Marriage.org

2008-10-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

Elder David A. Bednar and a group of young adults from California discuss Proposition 8.

Prop 8

2008-10-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

Our brother-in-law's sister, Shelley, is in this video about Proposition 8. She auditioned for it and got flown out to San Francisco to film. Congratulations Shelley! Oh, and we totally support Prop 8 too. Thanks SS Thurman.

I SPY!!!

2008-10-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

There is a hidden image in this picture, see if you can see it!

If you find it, leave

it on the comments and we'll see who figures it out first.

Hint: It's little and green and alive!!!

Our Trip to the San Diego Zoo

2008-10-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

During the month of October, kids are free at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, so we decided to take advantage of this. We took the kids out of school last Wednesday and went on an adventure to the zoo. Here are some pictures from our trip.

It's the small things!!

2008-10-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

There are some things in life, that just make me smile...

Brooklyn at our trunk-or-treat at church. Every time she went up to get candy, she said, "Trick or treat. Thank you Birthday! Bye!!!" I'm not sure why she always says thank you birthday, but it's hillarious. She also says this on the phone to my parents every time too. I love how she is dressed as a butterfly, but wearing Tyler's pirate bandana with dreads. And, nothing is cuter than a little girl in cowboy boots and underwear, call me crazy, but I love it. Too bad we can't all look that cute like that. Also, Every time Brooklyn is holding Ryan and he starts to cry, she just says, "Shhhh!!!" If only it was that easy. Sometimes when life is crazy and hard, it's the small things and special moments in the day that make everything worth it!! It's these moments we need to hold onto and cherish, because before we know it, theses little rascals will be all grown up.

Happy 7th Birthday Tyler!!

2008-10-08T15:13:00.001-07:00

On October 6, Tyler turned 7 years old. Since he had a big Halloween birthday party last year, this year we just went to John's Incredible Pizza with his wonderful Aunt Michelle, Uncle Mat and Tyler's friend Luke.

Every birthday, the kids get to pick which cake I'll make them out of this fancy cake cookbook, so this year he picked a pirate ship...much easier than Brooklyn's carousel cake. Since I only had 30 minutes to frost and decorate it, I think it turned out allright.

It's hard to believe that 7 years ago our family was blessed with such a special little boy. I'm not sure how to explain how sweet and loveable Tyler is. I think his Kindergarten put it best, she put her hand over her heart, and with tears in her eyes, she said, "He is such a good boy, you can just feel it." He has such a big heart and is so gentle. So with that said, here are some pictures of our amazing 7 year old.

Is there anything in there???

2008-10-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

Please grab a flashlight and shine it through my ears, you will see light coming through the other side!!! I really think my brain is no longer there. Sometimes I wonder how I can function on so little sleep. Ryan is not the best sleeper, he's just like Elena used to be...every 2 hours or less he wants to eat. Fun stuff. It's pretty amusing though, my brain is only able to retain information for about 5 minutes. You may think I'm joking, I only wish I was.

I find my days flying by with laundry piles that put Mt. Everest to shame, homework, wining children and soccer every night I really amaze myself that I'm able to stay awake. I thought this would be my easiest recovery since I'm in such good shape with this one, but it's almost impossible to get any rest, so this has been the hardest recovery. I'm grateful for all my friends who have brought me meals though, if not for these meals, we would be eating cereal for dinner every night. So thank you, from me and my family.

Here are some more recent pics...notice the one of Ryan lying on our Mt. Everest of laundry!!! He seemed to really enjoy it up there!!!

BYE BYE DIAPERS!!!

2008-10-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, Brooklyn decided out of the blue to start going potty in the toilet. Of course, after just having a baby, I wasn't really planning on this now, but I thought, "Hey, what the heck?" Why not, right??? Anyways, she's been doing fantastic. She's been dry all day and even most of the nights, which for our family is AMAZING!!!! We are so proud of her, way to go Brookie!!

Blessing Day!

2008-09-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, September 14 we were able to bless our new little baby. Thanks to all of the friends and family who attended this special event. Thanks to my mom for helping with such a wonderful lunch after church. It was delicious!!!

Loving our brother!

2008-09-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

We have had so much fun with our new little boy these past 2 weeks. I'm always amazed about how much love we can have for another one, especially the kids. Elena is so cute, before I had Ryan, she said she didn't want to come to the hospital if it was a boy....funny girl. But, she is so in love with him, it's hillarious. She always wants to hold him as soon as she gets home from school. I can't imagine her loving any baby more!

Brooklyn on the other hand, has had a little more adjusting to do. She still loves him, and always says, "Baby hold me." But I'm not sure how she feels about not being the baby anymore. I think she throws about 6 tantrums a day. Fun times, let me tell you. We also had an eventful night last Friday...Elena was helping Brooklyn out from behind the giant Love Sac that we have and she was so strong that she pulled Brooke's arm out of the socket. So, off to the Urgent Care we went, I asked them if they give out Frequent Flyer miles...they laughed. Anyways, they just popped her elbow back into place and took some x-rays. Yesterday our pediatrician showed me how to put it back into place, because he says it will probably happen again. Anyways, eveyone is doing well here, I'm amazed on how little sleep I can survive on. Ryan is getting bigger every day, he now weighs 10 lbs. 2 oz.

More Ryan pics

2008-09-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures of Ryan, he's now 5 days old and getting better every day. At first he seemed to be crying if he was awake, but now he's actually awake and happy just sitting there or being held by one of the many willing participants. He is never by himself, I guess that's what happens when you have 4 older siblings. Brooklyn always jumps over by us and says, "Baby hold me!" She loves holding her little brother. She is so funny, every morning, she wakes up and kind of looks around the house and when she sees the baby she gives him this look like, "what are you still doing here???" It's pretty amusing.

Baby Ryan!

2008-09-04T15:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some close up photos of the baby. As you can tell, he has been blessed with tons of hair. Finally one of my babies has hair, to bad I can't put it in pig tails!!!

2008-09-03T21:57:00.001-07:00

It's a BOY!!!
Ryan David
9 lbs. 10 oz.
21 inches
September 2, 2008
7:14 pm

Our new addition!

2008-09-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

So, it's finally here. Our sweet big boy. He weighed 9 lbs. 10 oz, 21 inches long....yes I know, BIG, especially his shoulders. My doctor called and said she was worried the baby was getting big, so she suggested I come in and let her break my water. So, 4 1/2 hours after that, out he came. Everything is going great, he's a very sweet and beautiful baby with 10 toes and 10 fingers!!!

Big Family!!!

2008-09-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

2008-08-26T17:14:00.001-07:00

http://s394.photobucket.com/albums/pp23/scarcy31/

2008-08-11T11:07:00.001-07:00

I was tagged by Tiffany a while ago, so here goes: Sorry it took so long!!!
My 3 Joys
1. My best friend in the world. My husband. It is so amazing to have this wonderful relationship with someone who you couldn't imagine your life without. Sometimes I wonder what I've done to deserve him. He is the best and he helps me out so much. I always tell my kids they have the best dad in the whole world, and it's true!!!
2. Sometimes, my 4 children are my greatest joy!!! ;-) J/K. Every day is full of adventures and funny things they say or do. I'm not saying life with 4 crazy kids is easy, but at least once a day, there's that sweet moment where Brooklyn hugs Mason, or Tyler hugs me and tells me how beautiful I am or Elena goes on one of her cleaning sprees and organizes her whole room!!! It truly is wonderful having children, and as they grow, I seem to appreciate it even more!
3. Working out. I know that sounds crazy, unless you're a member of my family, we're a little obsessed with this! I love going to my 24 hour fitness, it's right up the street, and I love the classes they have there. I started about a year ago, going 6 days a week. My favorite class is the Core Central class. It's so amazing how much it's helped my body. Not that I look wonderful yet, but in another 6 months to a year, I will be down to my wedding size!!! That's the plan. I love the feeling I get from exercising and sticking with it, it's very rewarding!!!

3 Fears
I have so many, where do I begin....
1. Losing a child/spouse would definitely be the worst thing imaginable.
2. This a toss up between bees, sharks, bears, mountain lions, spiders, snakes, etc....basically anything dangerous. I know it's pretty stupid to be so scared of bees, those of you who know me I'm sure have many stories of me running at olympic speeds to get away from a bee. What's really funny, is when I do nothing, I get stung, but when I run, I never get stung! For example, we were at the beach a couple weeks ago, and I was wading in the ocean about knee deep when I felt a sudden stinging sensation on my leg. Sure enough, there was a bee stinger in my leg. So, when I'm doing nothing, it takes me by surprise!!!
3. Being alone. I hate if Scott goes out of town and I have to sleep alone. I know that's really immature, but it's like every scary thing I've ever seen or heard comes into my head at the moment I turn out the lights to go to sleep. It does help if I put Elena or Tyler in my bed with me. I know, what's a 6 or 8 year old going to do to protect me, right??? Sounds crazy, but I just feel better when they are there.

3 Goals
1. My biggest goal right now, especially after I have the baby is to get back to my wedding size.
2. Find a bigger house. Right now, we only have 3 bedrooms, and with the new addition coming soon, we really are feeling crammed in this house.
3. Read my scriptures every day with my kids. We are pretty good at this, but we usually end up missing 1-2 nights a week. I want it to be a perfect 7 days a week.

3 Obsessions
1. Obviously working out. But, I figure that's ok to obsess about. It's also a nice break from the kids every day. Not that I don't love my children, but I need a little "Me time!!!"
2. Baking. There is something so fun and comforting about baking.
3. Grooming my children. I am obsessed with the boys hair being short. I cut their hair once a month, this includes my biggest boy, Scott. I love the nice clean cut look. It drives me crazy when it gets long enough for them to wake up with bed head.

3 Random Facts
1. I've always wanted to be able to play the guitar. My son Tyler really wants to learn it too, so maybe in the next couple years we'll take lessons together!!! Nothing is hotter than a boy/man who plays guitar, so I think it will be a requirement for Mason too.
2. I went to a hypnotherapist to help me lose weight. I went one year ago, I lost 40 lbs, and I plan to lose at least 40 more!!! It was awesome. For those of you who know me, I'm sort of made out of chocolate. This became a horrible obsession and I knew it had to stop. So, I went to this place called Positive Changes, a hypnosis center. After my first appointment, I no longer had cravings for sweets, soda, or anything else that wasn't healthy for my body. It was amazing. And, for the first time in my life, I feel that it's a change that lasts forever.
3. I really wish we had little cousins close by for my kids to play with. It's sad, my kids don't really have a best friend. Don't get me wrong, we have friends, but sometimes I feel like they are more our friends than we are theirs. Does that make sense??
Anyways, this has fun hopefully you've enjoyed reading a little more about me!!!

Prego Darcy

2008-08-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

So, here I am...big tummy and all. Now that I'm almost at the end of this experience, I figure I would post my last picture of me being pregnant, one can only hope it's the last pregnancy, right???

Anyways we are getting so excited to find out what this little baby is. We'll update this as soon as he/she is here!!!

The Birthday Girl!!!

2008-06-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a tribute to the Birthday girl. Brooklyn is 2 years old today!!!! Hard to believe how quickly she's growing up. She started out this sweet, easy little baby and now she's so full of personality I'm afraid she's going to burst. She always keeps us on our toes and definitely keeps all of us laughing. Having a great sense of humor is definitely in her personality. And, every time there's music playing, she's dancing!!! Happy Birthday Brooklyn, we love you!!!

My new baby!

2008-06-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

2nd Birthday Party!!!

2008-06-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

She believed her pinata was a real pony!!!

Little cuddlers!!!

2008-06-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

Who would've ever thought that Mason was such a cuddly boy. I guess his sweet side is in there somewhere. It's moments like this that get us through the other ones!!!

Elena Diving!!!

2008-06-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

Elena loved swimming lessons this year. She did

a great job with diving and also learned the butterfly

stroke and breast stroke.

Tyler Diving!!!

2008-06-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

We went to a birthday party and Tyler spent

2 full hours diving and jumping off the diving board,

we couldn't get him off of it.

For Grandpa Ecklund

2008-06-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hey Grandpa Ecklund, this video is for you!!! Sorry we didn't send anything fancy in the mail, we figured this would be more fun!!!
Love you lots, have a great Father's Day!!!

We love melons

2008-06-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

One of Darcy's cravings is Souplantation, or Sweet Tomatoes. The kids love it there. We down all the cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon as soon as they put it out there. It's a great summertime snack even though Brook shouldn't be climbing or eating on the counters, she just helps herself, no regrets. Kids are amazing, they're not ashamed of wanting or asking for anything. It's a good thing that this is healthy for her.

So much for my Sunday afternoon nap

2008-06-12T15:27:00.000-07:00

So here I was laying on the couch halfway asleep when Brook decides to hop on me. Ok, fine, she was just wanted to eat her apple, no problem. She wasn't bouncing or anything, no big deal. Well Mason came along (You know the one who has had more hospital trips than all our other kids combined) I'm sure he's thinking to himself "alright daddy's down! Time to Hop on Pop!" He's making all sorts of noises and soon Tyler and Elena come out and want to join the fun. I wish all that jumping around on me would make me a little bit thinner, but no, just a few tender spots around the ribs and some smiling faces. Darcy of course thought this was pretty funny. She was relaxing on the other couch herself with nobody jumping on the pregnant mom (this time at least) so she snapped this photo and voila! One squished dad, and no nap.

The Gabber Wauki

2008-06-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

So I know that girls like to talk on the phone, but call me a little concerned when my daughter, who is not even 2 years old yet, loves talking on the phone to Grandma and Grandpa Ecklund. She'll grab the phone out of my hands and just babble away, it's hillarious. Too bad we have no idea what language she speaks so fluently. Every now and then we'll hear a May May(Mason), Ty Ty(Tyler) or Nena(Elena).

Also, every time we ask her where the baby is, she either lifts up my shirt or hers. So, at the beginning of the video, it's her showing her baby!!!

Our Little Musician!!!

2008-05-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

Here is Tyler at his first piano recital. After sitting through the 2 hour recital of dance and piano, we were very pleased with his performance. He played 2 pieces, each about 1 minute long. He's only played the piano for a couple of months! Great job Tyler!!!

Mormon Rocks

2008-05-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day we decided to head to the Mormon Rocks, about 20 minutes from here. We have always seen them as we drive to the mountains, so we decided it was time to climb them. It is probably a 2 mile hike around this trail that ends up on top of some of the rocks. The kids love hiking and they all stated that this was "the best day ever!!" Which is something we hear them say at least once a week!!!

2008-05-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

Look at us, aren't we quite the little

"trailblazers!!!"

2008-05-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

2008-05-28T16:20:00.000-07:00

This was a neat rock filled with tons of little caves. This was the only one we could get the kids into. They loved it!

2008-05-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

2008-05-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

Look how cute I am....I am a big girl now.

Brooklyn wanted to walk all by herself, very independent that one. She also loved looking at the bugs on the ground. Every ant hill we passed she would squat down right above it and shout, "Oooooooooo, bee." Considering there were about 200 that we passed, this took a little longer than planned, but hey, it was fun.

2008-05-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

2008-05-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma Ecklund with Elena!

2008-05-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

Elena and Mom on our "Girls Trip" to Portland.

2008-05-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

Dont we look handsome in our

new clothes from Grandma and

Grandpa!!! Thank you!

Elena and Brooklyn enjoying ice cream at

one of our favorite restaurants,

Souplantation!!!

Fathers & Sons aka Aaronic Priesthood Commemoration

2008-05-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

I was put in charge of doing the water balloon toss. I decided to put a twist on things. Water Balloon Launchers! These are just a few pics I was able to take. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take too many of Ty and May. I was able to take a few pics after everyone got started having fun. Between the three of us we were able to send some over the fence you see in the background. We got bored sending them over into an empty field so we turned around and sent them into the Frisbee golf course, the parking lot and the metal roofed building (which sent out a loud BOOM! from the impact). Well that got their attention. What took me a couple of hours filling the balloons got used up within an hour. It was fun. Almost all the kids from the stake came over to join the fun, only two families from my ward came over. So what did we do? We sent the balloons hurling over trees, over the parking lot and onto the make shift baseball field the summit ward was playing on. :)
We did end up making some more water balloons some time later and firing them off at each other within the ward.

Fathers and Sons '07

2008-05-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

I had to post these pics of last years Fathers and Sons at Santa Fe dam.

2008-04-14T21:17:00.001-07:00

Cute girls!

2008-04-14T21:13:00.001-07:00

2008-04-14T21:00:00.001-07:00

Pictures from our hike up
Etiwanda. The kids loved playing in the water at the top of the waterfall.

Brooklyn was obviously exhausted
from the hour hike up to the falls!

2008-04-14T20:54:00.001-07:00

Soccer Days

2008-04-14T19:44:00.001-07:00

This is how Brooklyn plays on her zebra!
I think surfing might be in her future!

2008-04-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

My big brother and I have a very
special relationship!!!

2008-04-14T18:32:00.001-07:00

Brooklyn loves her
penguin that Grandma and Grandpa sent her!!!

2008-04-14T18:28:00.001-07:00

Tyler definitely has a way with
our rabbits, they love him!

2008-04-14T18:24:00.001-07:00

One of our bunnies many
adventures! She also likes the
slide! WEEE!!!

2008-04-14T18:21:00.000-07:00

We (Scott) finally caught one
of those crazy lizards in our yard,
it only took 5 years!!!

2008-04-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn, Mason and Tyler
love playing "Ring-Around-
the-Rosie!"

2008-04-14T18:14:00.001-07:00

Tyler and Elena
Brooklyn and her friend Landon

2008-04-14T18:11:00.001-07:00

Easter 2008

2008-04-14T18:00:00.001-07:00

I love pudding!!!

Spring Break

2008-03-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

It was spring break this week, so on Wednesday, we decided to get up at the crack (5:30 AM) and head down to the beach and see the tide pools. The kids had a ton of fun exploring the rocks for different types of marine life. We brought home about 5 pounds of shells! Mason had no fear climbing on the rocks, he would follow Scott way out to the big rocks without a second thought. Sometimes he had to jump 3 feet to get to another rock, pretty crazy. At least we left this experience without any head wounds!!

Scarcy Family

2008-03-27T16:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it. I gave into peer pressure and decided to create our own blog!!! I just realized the pictures I wanted to send to people were too big of a file to send, so I thought this might be better! Enjoy reading and looking at our adorable little family!!!