Thanksgiving Weekend

BVTT '10 - AKA "B" vs Turkey Triathlon 2010

For Thanksgiving this year we met up with Bri and Andy in Sunny St. George. We experienced the joy of Black Friday shopping, and found a deal on these scooters. Dad decided to buy one for each of the kids to use in our first bi-annual "B" vs. Turkey Triathlon. For some of us, it ended up only being a duathlon, because we don't all have bikes, and the pool was packed.
Pre-race family photo

The first leg consisted of riding the scooters, and let me tell you, scooting is hard! My legs were burning for sure! There was a bit of a hill, so going up was tough, but coming down was pretty fun. Andy got going so fast that he melted his back tire. Sweet.
The second leg was running, my favorite! I don't remember how long we went, but it was nice to be able to run outside, and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
The third leg was a bike ride, for those that were interested/had bikes to ride. Apparently they had a lot of fun on that leg of the race too.

We had a great time eating, playing games, and relaxing together. It was great seeing Dane and Campbell play with toys that my siblings and I used to play with when we were little. I love my family, and am so grateful that we are close. I hope that we will always have strong friendships, and remember how important family is.

Thanks Mom and Dad for a great weekend!

Dinosaurs and Pumpkins

I'm sure I should be posting about Christmas, but seeing as how I have yet to show off the cutest dinosaurs EVER, I thought Halloween should come first.

Dane has been obsessed with dinosaurs, and knows more about them than most adults. So I got ambitious, and decided to make his and Campbell's costumes this year.

I found the cutest knit hat pattern on Ravelry, and had tons of fun knitting them. The outfits turned out just as cute as I had imagined, though next time I won't wait until the week of Halloween to start sewing.

Rawrrrrrr!

Brock's birthday is around Halloween, and he had class that night, so I surprised him by taking cupcakes to his work. They were really fun to make, and tasted pretty good too.

At Brock's work, Halloween is a pretty big deal, and each year they have a costume contest with prizes and such. Brock was a mariachi player, complete with mustache and guitar. He came in second place in the "funny" category (I think that's what category it was). We'll have to be a bit more creative next year.

They also invite the kids to come and go trick-or-treating around the office. It is really fun!

Brock's side of the fam threw their first annual Halloween party. I had spent so much time on the kids' costumes, that I had to be a pretty lame cowgirl. Isn't Brock's mustache delightful? I'll post more pics of that gem later.

Adam and Sheridan planned the party, and it was tons of fun. Dane LOVED bobbing for apples, and was the first one to actually get one (though he got the stem, it still counts, right?).

Each year we carve pumpkins as a fam, and it was really fun this year with Dane actually choosing his own pumpkin, and wanting to help carve it. It was a great night together as a family.

California knows how to party!

The whole "A" clan got to travel to sunny San Diego to support Sheridan and Adam as they became an eternal family. Such a great excuse to get away:). It was a pretty short trip, considering all day Saturday was spent with the wedding festivities, but it was great to be together.

Dane absolutely LOVED his first trip to the beach. The water was cold, and he didn't mind one bit. He'd get knocked down, and pop right back up for more. It was a bit too chilly for Campbell to get a taste of the ocean, but she did experience the sand, and was all smiles.

Saturday was a long day for everyone. We were up and at-em pretty early, and just kept going, going, going. Dane didn't really get much of a nap (he slept for about 20 minutes while we were driving to the luncheon), so he was an absolute peach (HEAVY on the sarcasm) for pictures on the beach afterward. (I wish someone could have helped him understand that when you are in a tux, you don't superman onto the sand!)

All in all, it was a great trip, and we are so excited for Sheridan and Adam! They are a wonderful match, and we're all so happy to have him in our family now.

Here's a little taste of our adventures:

Campbell kickin' back

Dane enjoying the sand with a couple cousins

Campbell looking deliciously adorable
Dane LOVING the waves!
(Can't tell you how long I waited for this shot.)
A small glimpse of the joy that Daner experienced:

The happy family:)
Sooo tired
At least one of them woke up happy:)
Superman aftermath. Lookin' good:)
Let's hope the photographer got at least one good picture ;)

Forgotten Pictures

I totally forgot that I never posted the family pictures we got taken for our Christmas card last year (that, incidentally, never got sent). My sister Brookie is a great photographer, and was nice enough to take some pics of our family of three in the FREEZING cold weather. Love you, Brookie.

I'm so glad these pictures are now outdated, and we are a happy family of four! Life is good:)

Halloween?!? Yes, Halloween

Admittedly, I should probably just skip right over this holiday, seeing as how it was, oh, 4 months ago. But then you would miss out on the adorableness (yes, it is a word) of our little elephant.

The back was padded, and so cute!
We went with the zoo theme, and I even got domestic and made Brock's mane. I am a black panther, in case you couldn't tell:)

Dane wasn't quite ready for the whole trick-or-treating aspect of this special day. But we sure had fun trying:)

State Fair

Seriously ENORMOUS bull: Big Red. We had a hard time getting a good picture with the front end...

Brock and I decided that we wanted to make it a family tradition to go to the fair every year. We wanted to do that, because we thought Dane would LOVE looking at all the animals. We were right. We had such a great time, and were even blessed with the company of my dear friend Liz, and her husband Michael (who we are still getting to know, but who must be equally amazing since he snagged Lizzy).

Dane loves to "wok, wok" now that he is a big boy. I just love this pic!

Dane wanted to touch all the animals, though he was a little unsure about them. Inquisitive, yet cautious.
Love him!

Lizzy and Michael with Daner. They'll be such great parents to their own little boy who will be coming in less than a month! Love having friends for Dane!

I saw this huge tractor on our way out of the fair, and just had to get a picture of Dane sitting in the wheel. He was not really sure what he thought about that idea at first, but we finally scored a DARLING picture of him. (After, may I add, the huge crowd gathered around to watch the whole production.)
The first picture he's signing "Please" (he wanted to get down). The second pic, he thought he'd just try and take matters into his own hands. The third one he's finally starting to realize it's kinda cool. Then finally, VICTORY!!! Isn't that the cutest picture ever?!?

Summer Lovin' Happened SO Fast!!!

Summer went by way too fast this year! We had a great time getting together with friends (though not as often as we would have liked), family (sometimes more often than we would have liked--Just kidding!), and especially enjoying each other. Here are some pics from our summer fun activities.
(These are in no particular order)

Dane's first Birthday

Family Reunion

Cherry Hill

Demolition Derby

Camping

Bountiful 24th of July Carnival
(Dane won a frog at the Fishy Pond)

Bountiful 24th of July Parade