Riley helps with the move

While we were packing, Riley built a fort in the kitchen by pulling out every drawer and opening every cupboard. Here's the finished product:









Grandma and Grandpa Harris came to help pack on February 27. They helped so much! Especially when it came to finding the right box to put Riley in!





These posts are out of order, just so you know.

The Big Move Part 1

We loaded up all our stuff into PODS on Thursday March 4 and Friday March 5. We decided to rent out our house while we try to sell it, and the new tenants were moving in on the 6th so we had to hurry up and get out. Dave started working at his new job at Fire Mountain Gems and Beads in Grants Pass, Oregon on February 22, so I had the fun job of packing up the house. Thank heaven for great family, friends and neighbors who pitched in so many hours of help with the packing - I never would have made it through this without you! When we were done we had more than 160 boxes packed. I guess that's what happens when you have 7 kids!



After we left our house, we stayed in a hotel for the night in Provo. The kids love to stay in hotels because it always means a great time swimming. Grandma and Grandpa Morrison were in town for the weekend to help with the move and to see Brooklyn's blessing, so they stayed in the hotel with us.


Grandma and Grandpa spend time at the pool with Brooklyn!

Happy Birthday, Austin!!!

Austin turned 15 on February 16th. He enjoyed bowling with his friends on Monday at the new bowling alley in Lehi, Jack and Jill's. It's owned by our Home Teacher, and had just opened that morning. We ate dinner at Pizza Pie cafe, an all you can eat pizzeria, then our family went to see the new Percy Jackson movie.

On the 16th, he wanted to go shopping with the money he received as gifts. We took him to Game Stop where he bought Jurassic: the Hunted. We had strawberry cheesecake for dessert. He said it was a great day, and he hugged me a bunch of times so he must have been pretty happy. I love getting hugs from my teenagers!

We've been busy! Brooklyn arrived in January just a couple of weeks before Dave got a new job. He left today so he can start on Monday, it's in Grants Pass, Oregon. Our family will move there in a couple of weeks, so I'll update the blog with more info and pictures after we're settled a bit.

Fall Birthday's with the Morrison's!

Happy Birthday, Parker!
Parker turned 13 on November 1.

He celebrated with his friends Clayton, Leif, Chase, Devon, and Grayson.

Three of them brought exactly the same gift - Zelda Windwaker for the Game Cube!

He was so excited - now when one gets scratched, he has back ups. Apparently, he told all of his friends that they should give him that game as a gift. That's Parker for you!

Happy Halloween!!!
Riley and I were Pumpkins for the school parties on Friday.

Brynlee was a princess - how appropriate!
Spencer was a Ninja!

Carson was Darth Vader!

Riley was Pac-Man for trick-or-treating!

Happy Birthday, Spencer!!

Spencer turned 9 on October 12!

Spencer celebrated his birthday with his friends Hayden, Noah, and Jayden.

Happy Birthday, Carson!!
Carson turned 5 on September 1. We had a little party for him at the park with his friends Michael and Ryan and his little brother Riley!

Carson opened presents with the family, too - he got a scooter!

Summer 2009 . . . We went to visit my sister Carlene and her family in El Dorado Hills, CA in June. We had a great time swimming in their pool!

Riley warms up on the swing with his cousin, Carmen.

Carson learned how to jump in the water with a life jacket on!

A great shot from the back of Spencer jumping in.

Brynlee is a great big sister! She wanted to help Riley get comfortable in the water.

Say cheese, Spencer!

Spencer got sick on our 3rd day there. Turns out it was the swine flu. By Friday, all but 2 of our 11 kids had it. The moms and dads got it the next week. It really was not a fun sickness to experience!

The Rilenator Strikes Again!

I love my little Riley so much! He's such a fun little guy. His two nicknames are

'The Rilenator' and 'The Grin Wreaker' because he wreaks havoc on so many things and he smiles the whole time! It can be difficult to clean up after him sometimes, but he is truly such a joy to be around!

"Riley, that really can't be very comfortable!!"

March 3, 2009

Riley decided this was the best place to take a nap. Good thing Mom was doing TONS and TONS of laundry that day!

Apparently, his nap was a really good one! Later that afternoon I was trying to scrapbook and I thought to myself, "Wow, Carson and Riley are playing so well together! They have been quiet for such a long time," which of course every mother knows is a BAD sign! Just so you know, there are many, many cards in Apples to Apples!

This room was one of two that were victims that day . . .

. . . this would be room number two!

We decided to worry about this at another time!!

March 4, 2009

"My ducky needs a bath!"

Riley carried this ceramic ducky around all day. He had a blast giving the duck baths in this crate several times. SO CUTE!!

A week later I was trying to take a nap (another huge no-no for a mom, hello!!) when I woke up to Riley saying, "I need a paper." He repeated that a few times till I was fully awake and wondered why he would need a paper. I was a little surprised to see the ink on his neck (later that day we found lots more ink on his tummy - he'd colored down his onesie) but the couch took the cake. Thank heaven for alcohol!! The rubbing kind, of course. It took all the ink out!! Yahoo!

Yes, this is the garbage can.

Do I need to say more?

Riley vs. the Treadmill:

the Treadmill wins!

March 30, 2009

I was running on the treadmill Monday morning while Carson and Riley were playing in the basement with me. I guess Riley thought there was a toy under the treadmill and he reached underneath it and the belt sanded off the skin on his forearm. We ran to the nearest Instacare, and he cried "I need a band-aid" all the way there. So sad!