August

August was a very busy month! We had 2 major vacations planned! At the beginning of August, we went to Yellowstone with my family. It was so much fun! My parents booked condos for all of us, and we went to see all the sights.

Yellowstone was amazing, of course. Our first day there was very drizzly and wet. We all thought, as we waited for Old faithful in the rain, that we weren't sure this was going to be a great week. But the weather was great after that day!

It was so fun to see all of my family, and to spend the whole week with them! Besides Yellow stone, we also went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone village. The kids loved to see the bears eating and hang out with their cousins all day!

Each evening, 2 families were assigned to cook for everyone, and we would all get together for one big meal. It was a crazy, chaotic time, yet really fun time.

We also all went swimming together a few times. That's what's great about staying in condos!

There were 5 babies born into our family in 2010. This was the first time we were able to get them all together! Left to Right- Evan and Jared Rappleye (August), Alyssa Rappleye (July), Briggs Ford (May), and Sean Doyle (November). It's amazing how similar they all look! They must be cousins.

Over all, It was a great trip to Yellowstone, but best of all was the reunion with my family. The only ones who were missing was Richard and Callie. (They went away for the summer to install alarm systems.) Bottom left corner-Monica and Ruston Ford + 6, front right- Mom and Dad, middle right-Mindy and Lafe + 4, top right- Roger and Tasha + 1, top left-Ryan and Jocelyn + 3, across the middle- The Doyles.

On our way home from Yellowstone, we decided to stop off at the Idaho Falls Temple. It's a beautiful place, and a beautiful Temple!

At the end of August, we went to Lake Powell again. This has become a yearly trip that we’ve taken with some friends of ours. John’s taken up skiing and he’s getting better every time.Erin went cliff-jumping, knee boarding, snorkeling, and swam so much that she came home with swimmers ear. She also learned to ski!!! She’s tried before, but this year she was successful. She loved it. Devin went cliff jumping too! And he really liked knee boarding and the jet ski, but his favorite thing to do this year was tubing. He was always asking if we could go tubing. Colin slept on the top of the houseboat for the first time this year. In years past he’s slept inside with me, but he was a big boy this year! He also just loved going out on the boat and especially loved the jet skis. I was kind of worried about taking Sean to Lake Powell, but he slept great, even for naps. And he was easily entertained by swimming, going on the boat, or playing in the sand. He loved it!

What a busy Week!

My Birthday was Sunday the 19th, and between My Mom and Dad bringing me a cake on Saturday, John taking me on a date to see Harry Potter and shop for home decor, and time to scrapbook on Sunday afternoon, I had a great Birthday! Devin was sick that day, so John took care of him all morning. I didn't have to clean up any puke and that makes it a great Birthday! Not to mention that John made dinner and Erin brought me breakfast in bed! It was really nice.

On Tuesday, we met up with one of my good friends from CA, Andrea Barney. They came into town for the week, so we went to the museum of Natural history with them. The kids had a great time, and it was great to catch up with the Barneys again.

On Wednesday, I drove to Delta to help my Mom and Dad get ready for company. My Sister and her family were coming from Iowa, so everyone was coming to see them. We had the whole family there except for my little brother Richard and his wife Callie. (We missed you guys) It was a full house, so I helped Mom clear out a room for an extra bedroom.

My kids had great time playing with their cousins! We played cards, ate a ton of good food, and had a great time catching up.

We also went bowling while the babies were sleeping. It was fun to see some of the techniques used.

Great Form!

Did I mention that we went to a parade on the 24th of July. It's a holiday here in Utah where we celebrate the day the first pioneer settlers came into the Salt Lake Valley. Erin and Devin got another huge bag of candy each at that parade! Erin decided to make some money and go door to door selling it. She made $2.10! Now that's a little entrepreneur we have!

Yesterday was Erin's first day of 2nd grade. Yes, we are on Year round school here, so we start in July. She had a great day despite missing the bus home. She even lost a tooth on her first day of school! Now how many people can say that happened to them?!!!

We're still here!

OK, so it's been a while. A lot has happened in our house and it's time to get everybody up to date. John lost his job. Yes, it's true. Apparently they brought in a new upper management boss, and he was penny pinching. He didn't like what John was being paid, so he got the ax. He's been out of work for 3 weeks now. So what's he doing with his time?: He's been looking for a new job like crazy. He finally cleaned out the garage from the move. And he's finishing our cold storage room with sheetrock, paint, and shelves. He's been really busy, and I think that keeping himself busy has kept his sanity.


He looks busy doesn't he.

Well, John got himself a job already! He's going to be working for GMAC as their finance manager. (It's GM's bank that they use for financing cars etc.) He starts on Monday the 10th. We are very excited and relieved that he got a job, and we're feeling blessed that he got a job so quickly! He's a little anxious about starting a new job, and about being gone all day. I think he was starting to get used to being home and getting all his projects done.

So, What else has the Doyle family been up to lately. A lot. Devin finished up playing soccer. His team was so cute to watch, cause they just run around and chase the ball. Devin would get so frustrated if he couldn't kick the ball. But one time he got the ball and took it all the way down the field. After that, he never complained about going to soccer again. He loved it!


He was so excited!

My youngest Brother, Richard, got married about a week ago. I hosted a bridal shower for his Bride, Callie, early in October. We had a lot of fun. Callie had to answer questions about Richard. If she didn't know the answer, she had to eat a piece of gum. She got a lot of answers right, but she had a huge wad of gum in her mouth when she was done.

The next weekend, we went up to Wolf creek with my family to a one of my parents' condos. We spent a long weekend up there, because John didn't have any work to go back to. We really enjoyed the time off together. We went to a dinosaur museum, but I forgot my camera, so I still need to get the pictures from my Mom. We also went to Huntsville, and a beach at the reservoir there It was a beautiful day! We had a picnic and played in the sand! What a beautiful day for October! Outside in t-shirts!


The week after that was Richard and Callie's wedding. They had it a beautiful reception center in Lehi. It was a nice ceremony and a great day. Callie and her family did such a great job decorating everything. It was truely gorgeous. My sister Monica drove all the way from Iowa for the wedding and it was great to see her and her kids. Our kids had a great time playing with their cousins. We are all really happy for both Richard and Callie and wish them the best of Happiness.

Last week, we had Monica over to our house for dinner. It is so fun to see her and her kids. I wish they lived closer so that we could have them over more often. Erin and Savannah have become really good friends. When they moved away about 3 years ago, Erin was 2 and Savannah about 4 or 5. That is a big difference. but now, they almost seem to be closer in age.

They sure had a great time together.

This last weekend we spent home. Halloween was fun! We went out trick-or treating for over 2 hours. That was not the plan, but that's how it happened. Because we were out for so long, not only did our kids get lots of candy, but we also didn't give out all the candy we had at our house, so we have candy coming out our ears! I love Halloween!

Saturday we went up to my sister Mindy's for Jana's baptism. We're so proud of Jana. We had a great day there. After the baptism, we went back to their house for lunch and stayed for quite a while. It's nice to be able to do all these family things now that we're back in Utah.

Well, That was a lot. I think I'm going to try to blog more often, so that I don't have blogs go so long.