Nothing Too Exciting

Hi just wanted to post quick and say that not much has been going on too exciting around here. At least nothing that we took pictures of. Mothers Day was nice. Paul had given me 2 dozen very pretty red roses. Carly and Aaron made me coupon books, Kenzie said she needed someone to take her shopping to get me something, and Brianna was still working on a collage on photoshop that she is going to get printed on a large piece of canvas. She has since finished it - it's really cool. Last week, Paul and Aaron went to the Father/Sons campout and got super dirty! The girls and I had gone to see a musical of Little Women at a theatre in Everett on the 15th. It was a lot of fun and a great chick bonding experience. And that's about it! We have a lot of bark spreading in the yard this weekend, so if anyone's bored - come on over and give us a hand! Later...

Friends

I found the pics from yesterday... We had a great day! We went to Clayton and Mel's new baby, IRIS', blessing at their ward in West Seattle. Then we all gathered at their house for yummy food and hanging out all afternoon. It was a lot of fun seeing their new home remodelling completed. They did a lot to an old house from the 50's. Julianna's parents, sister and family also came from S.L.C. It was great to see them again and it's wonderful how they continue to love and support Clayton. Here's the star of the day - baby IRIS:

That hair is for real too! Just curls straight up like that. When we got to the church and Aaron looked back at her, he said, "She needs some major gel!" We tried not to laugh too hard during church. Don't you just wanna chew on her though!?!?!?

Clayton and daughter #1 - Hadley. She's a big sister now! Oh and she loves marshmallows!

~ Matt being Matt ~

Big kids playing some card game - man they've grown up! We met these friends back when Brianna was 9 months and Peter was 2 months. I firmly believe that ward, in Seattle, and the friends we gained and kept all these years was a gift from the big man upstairs!

Howard, Matt, Paul, Brianna, Amy, Mel holding Iris, Mary, Victoria, Clayton and Blythe

Thanks for a great time Clayton and Mel - you were great hosts. The house looked amazing - loved all the color and the food was yummy! Thanks to everyone for your love and friendship over these many years - here's to many, many more! We love you!

Kenzie turns 14! and Snow in April!

OK, so the every week thing isn't working all that well. I'll make a couple posts to highlight the past few weeks. First, Kenzie turned 14 on April 19th. We had a family celebration on that day:

I should also include this picture, out our back door, from that day. The day was April 19th I should remind you:
Yes, that's snow coming down like gang busters. It had been doing this for a couple days - got a total of 4 inches this time. Didn't stick around too long, just irritated us, cause - For Crying Out Loud - it's April! The next weekend was Kenzie's birthday slumber party (btw - next year is going to be a slumber party free year - I declare it now!) She invited some really cute and fun girls:
As soon as I get the pics up from this past weekend, I'll make another post. They're on Brianna's camera. Later...

Spring Break #2 - Aaron's Birthday and Baptism

On to spring break #2. Aaron's 8th birthday was on the 7th. He had to go to school for the first time on his birthday - normally it's during spring break. The girls were out of school though.

Decorating Aaron's cake. Aaron's first day at cub scouts on Tuesday. A thrilled boy!

On Thursday of that week, Paul decided to take the kids up for one last ski day. The snow was still quite amazing, with fresh powder when they got there. The ski season was ending on the 13th, so how could they pass up on the opportunity?

Aaron had his birthday party on Friday. We ended up with 8, 8 and 9 year olds, at our house for a party and a sleepover. I know, we're not all that smart!

Then, on Saturday afternoon, Aaron was baptized. We had a nice turnout and a very nice program. Grandpa Leavens and Brianna gave talks and Brie and Carly sang a special song. It was quite the eventful weekend!
Us outside the Stake Center after the baptism. A beautiful day! Mt. Pilchuck in the background.

As you can see - a very busy week. We breathed a sigh of relief when it was all over and we had a peaceful Sunday.

Spring Break #1 - Zoo Day

We've been having internet problems, so I'm a couple weeks behind. Thus, I'm going to make two postings today to separate events.

We had two, count 'em, TWO weeks of spring break around here. Aaron was two weeks ago and the girls just finished theirs last week. So, really, there was no real, BREAK, around here. During Aaron's spring break, Aaron had a few play dates and during one of the days, I picked the girls up a bit early from school and we took a trip to the zoo with our neighbors. Here are a few pics from that day. We lucked out and had decent weather.

Mitchell, Bernadette, Carly, Samantha, Aaron and Mackenzie - standing next to a very stinky lily. Supposedly it smells like rotting flesh - I wasn't interested in verifying this fact...

Notice the baby gorilla in it's mom's lap. It was SOOOO cute! Such expressive eyes and I swear it smiled at us at one point!

This is an orangatan. This one was cracking us up. It had it's face, I kid you not, shmooshed up against the glass with that piece of burlap over its head. It was just staring straight ahead, looking at no one in particular. At one point, this 2 year old little boy, was right in front of him, kissing his lips against the glass. Very cute!

Ok, this may be tricky, but can you figure out who the REAL monkeys are?

Easter videos

Steve's failed landing.

Aaron's sweet jump! The kid has no fear. We would go down this path over and over so the kids could practice their jumps. Aaron's goal, I think, was to crash cooler each time.

Carly's Olympic bound! She likes speed.

Steve and Sydney - just too cute not to include. Sydney's 2 1/2 and working on the balance thing.

Everyone snaking down the mountain. As you can hear - not Aaron's favorite thing to do.

Easter Ski Trip

So, its been a bit since I posted last.... Man, Easter sure was early this year. We had planned a spring ski trip with Steve, Susan and kids over a long Easter weekend. We went to their favorite stomping ground, Schweitzer Ski Resort, near Sandpoint, Idaho. We skiied Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. I discovered that 2 days of skiing is enough for my out of shape body, but the kids and Paul could have kept on going for days more! There are more pictures coming from Steve and Susan and from our big camera, but here are some that we took with Paul's camera:

At the base of the mountain. This place was beautiful. We were blessed with beautiful weather for all our skiing days.

Brianna and Aaron on the lift. Not sure why Aaron does that cheesy grin thing. It kinda bugs!

Kenzie and Rachel heading up the lift from the easy hill.

Amy and Aaron on their way up too!

Ok, our condo was the top middle unit in this complex. The one with where the peak is in the middle. That peak was to the loft where a couple of the kids slept. Steve and Susan were on the same floor at the end - the unit on the top all the way to the right.

This is a view from that loft looking out at our amazing view! The lake you see in the distance is Lake Pend Orielle in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Paul, Brianna, Aaron, Alise, Steve, Sydney, Kailey, Rachel, Susan, Carly, Amy and Kenzie from the top. That's Lake Pend Orielle in the background. This picture is more for the view. Breathtaking, huh?

Just our family in the same spot without the goggles.

The Abominable Snowmoms (Susan and Amy) - the wind was blowing and we didn't wanna be cold! Moms are cranky when they're cold!

More pics and video will be coming. Just wanted to get these up while I had a moment.

Climbing Fools

This weekend found Paul, Brianna, Carly and Aaron going to Vertical World with Landon and Brandon from our ward to climb. Landon had been wanting to take Aaron before he left for his mission. Aaron was thrilled. They also discovered what an amazing climber Carly was! We already knew about Brianna's skills. Here are some pictures from their adventure:

His favorite superhero isn't Spiderman for nothin!

Brianna at the top.

Flexible Carly!Perspective - that's Carly at the top!

Mackenzie stayed home to work on her talk for Sunday. She and I also checked out a great scrapbooking clearance sale, went to the new Fred Meyer, in Snohomish, for the first time, then went to Target for a bit. It was an eventful Saturday.

Updated Look

How do you like this look? My sister, Becca, turned me on to this website: http://www.cutestblogontheblock.blogspot.com/ that had some cute templates. I like this one...

Here's a picture from Carly's 11th birthday on the 4th - all she wanted were legos - that's just what she got!:

This past weekend, Carly had a party/sleepover with friends:

That's it for now. Later...

That video...

OK, here is another attempt at that video I mentioned below. It's of Paul biffing it at Whistler.

I'm really gonna give this a try!

My sister, Becca has inspired me to finally do something with this blog. My friend Jeannie, made me start one last summer, and here it is March! Sorry Jeannie!

Life at the Leavens home seems to move along at lightning speed. Brianna is a Junior in high school. What that really means - is I am the mother of a Junior in high school. Just let that sink in for a moment. Mackenzie is in the 8th grade and doing well. She keeps all of us in stitches with her sense of humor! Carly is back at school full-time and doing rather well. We're grateful for that! It's actually Carly's 11th birthday today! Aaron is still enjoying school, although he may very well deny it if asked. He'll be 8 in April and is excited about getting baptised.

I'm getting my schedule back to "NORMAL." I've added working out back in to my life too. I joined CURVES and do that 3 days a week and try to get on the treadmill the other three. Still haven't lost a pound, but am feeling better and have a bit more energy. Besides shuttling kids around, I'm still finding time to scrapbook. It's my one sanity outlet!

Paul just got home on Saturday from a 3 day trip to Whistler to ski with his brother, Steve. He now needs to visit the chiropractor after a couple of the falls he took! He has the video to prove it! Work is keeping him busier and more stressed than he likes.

Now I'm going to try and get a few pics loaded on this...

Paul on top of the world in Whistler, B.C.

Paul and Steve at Whistler. This statue is found all over the mountain in preparation for the 2010 Olympics being held there.

In February, we went to some friend's, the Lavering's, cabin up Stevens Pass, by Lake Wenatchee. There was well over 5-6 feet of snow. Had to dig our way in to the cabin. This is a picture of us coming back from church on Sunday. Most of us stayed single file. Try doing this is heels!

Above are numerous pictures of our kids in the snow during this trip to the mountains. Right above are Paul and I on the left, Kevin and Natalie in the middle and Matt and Mary on the right. It was a great weekend full of relaxing, games and LOTS of food!

First Post

Our family's recent trip to Kauai, Hawaii.