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!

I'm Back!

I think it's about time I posted. It's been a while, so I'm going to do a quick overview of what we've been up to. So much has happened that I think I'll split it up over a few different blogs, so it doesn't seem so daunting.

My Brother Richard took his sweetheart, Callie to the temple on April 6th. It was a great day! My brother Ryan and sister Monica were both able to fly in to Salt Lake for it! I'm so happy they chose to go through the temple! In the picture L-R: Monica, My Dad, Tasha and Roger (behind), Callie and Richard (front), Ryan, Mom, Mindy, and Me and John.

Also in April, Erin did a science project at her school. We started working on it in February. She observed our chickens, and the change in weather to see if the warming weather had a affect on the number of eggs our chickens produced. Turns out it does, but that's not the best part. She won a first place ribbon at her school, and was told she should submit it for the School District as well. It turns out that she got a first place ribbon there as well! We are so proud of her! It was a lot of work, and frustration, but she hung in there! Great job Erin!

For Easter this year, we went to Delta to stay with Mom and Dad. We had a great Easter with Four-wheeling, hunting for eggs, coloring eggs, eating good food, and playing games. Thanks Mom and Dad for a great time.

The Past couple of months

I've been a little busy, and this is the first I've been able to blog in a while. Let me give you a brief overview of the past couple of months. Here are a few pictures of Sean in the hospital.
My Mom & the boys.

John's Mom Came to stay with us for a few weeks around the time he was born, so we were well taken care of. It was nice to have someone there to do everything, so that I didn't have to worry about it.

John's brothers also came to visit shortly after he was born. We had a great time with them here. We had a nice Christmas dinner one night (thanks to my Mother-in-Law and John) and John took them up to temple square to see the lights.

My Mom and Dad and Brothers Roger and Richard came to see us too. My dad: This is Richard and Callie

Here is Roger, Tasha and Sean's cousin Alyssa who's 4 months old here.

Here's Sean at 1 week old.

John and the kids did all the decorating this Christmas. It was so nice! and it looked beautiful.

We had a very quiet Christmas here at home this year. We played out our own nativity scene with our very own real live baby "Jesus". It was fun to have a new baby at Christmas time this year, though tiring. He's a cutie.

Santa was really good to all of us this year. It was a fun day for everyone.

And before we knew it, Sean was 1 month old!

We had a great new years eve too. We played games and ate great food. Then at 10:00 we celebrated the new year with New York and sent the boys to bed. If we were smart we would have all gone to bed, but Erin really wanted to stay up til midnight. So we did.

Sean came home to a house full of eager siblings. They all love him and want to hug him and hold him, and feed him, and entertain him. They just can't get enough! Especially Colin! I think Sean has been so good for him. He now feels like he's one of the big kids. He's even finally decided to go in the potty and stop sucking his thumb! What a big boy. Erin is always wanting to help. She'll wash her hands just to hold him and she'll entertain him for half an hour sometimes! Devin is not quite as motivated, but if I give him the job of watching the baby while I do this or that, he is so happy, and has a great time. In fact, Devin is really good at getting Sean to smile.

This weekend Sean turned 2 months old. I can't believe it's gone so fast! When I go through this blog I can really see he's changed so much! The house may not be clean or the dishes done, but we're getting by. Sean and I are learning together to find out what makes his tummy happy, and we're having more and more good nights. Happy Baby makes Happy home.

Thanksgiving!!!

Ok, I know it's way past time to blog when my camera's memory card gets full. I've got a little bit of catching up to do!

First of all, We had a great Thanksgiving at my Mom and Dad's house in Delta. While we were there we went to see Santa. Erin asked for a video camera. Devin asked for Wolverine Fingers (It's a wolverine glove with retractable claws)

Colin wanted nothing to do with that strange Man with a big white beard!!!
Ryan and Jocelyn were there too with baby Brad. Richard and Callie came later, and we saw Roger and Tasha part of the time too. We went to see New Moon, decorated a gingerbread house, played guitar hero, and watched the BYU vs. Utah game. My Grandma Sorensen joined us for the BYU game. With half the gang rooting for BYU, and half rooting for Utah, it was an exciting game.

When we got back Erin and John got their blue belts. They are really cruising toward black.