Gunnell Family Happenings

Miscellaneous Nature Pictures

2010-09-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

As much as I love to take pictures of my children, I also love to take pictures of nature. Here are some of my favorites from this summer!!

A Beautiful Rainbow, seen from Bruce's gravesite

How many frogs do you see? The kids caught at the pond after a storm at the cabin.

A daddy bird keeping watch over mama and her eggs

Daddy bringing Mommy some dinner!

Kayaking on Glen Lake in VT, the day started out cloudy and overcast....

....but ended up with a gorgeous blue sky!!!

A favorite childhood play area, it grew up, just like me!

Getting Caught Up, Part 2!

2010-09-01T14:58:00.001-07:00

Next was my "mom-cation". That's right, I went to Vermont for a vacation. It was my 20 year High School Reunion as well as a Brisson Family Reunion all in the same weekend. Sally, my AMAZING mother-in-law, took the kids to the cabin for the week, since Michael was having to work. They had a great time and so did I. It was great to see my parents and my brother surprised all of us and showed up Friday night to be there for the family reunion, Thank you Peggy, for talking him into that one!! We had a great weekend together at the reunion and kayaking and just hangin' out. It was quiet and relaxing and the weather was AMAZING!!

My class reunion was so much fun, it was great to see everyone who was there and reminice about "the old days". I think all of us who were there had a good time!! Thank you to Brandie, Michelle, Carrie and Jenni for all of the hard work that went in to planning the weekend!!

The family reunion was great as well. There were about 180 people that were there, the food was great and the company was even better. It was a beautiful day to be at the lake and from what I hear the entertainment that night was great as well, I went to the class reunion that night. I missed hearing my cousin, Kevin, perform and from what I hear he's pretty darn good.

It was an awesome week, but it was good to get home to my family as well. The kids were excited to see me and it was time to gear up for school to start. The fun began of taking stock of what each child needed in the way of clothes and school supplies and then the shopping took place. Michael and I divided and conquered this year and I think we now have a new tradition. We went to the same store, but he took the boys and I took Ashleigh. Needless to say, he and the boys were done and anxiously waiting for us, but it saved me a lot of time and turned out to be a fun day!!

Now here we are at the end of August and the kids have been back to school for 3 weeks and Austin is adjusting to mornings with just mom around, Jared is enjoying being a Kindergartener and I am adjusting to the hectic schedules that Ashleigh and Jordan have with school, sports, band, scouts and church activities. Boy oh boy are we busy!!!

Getting Caught Up!! Part 1

2010-08-30T23:03:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! It's been a busy summer, School has already started back up again and I never finished blogging about the end of the school year. May was a busy month with Ashleigh in band and piano and Jared played t-ball this year and graduated from pre-school. Ashleigh loves playing the clarinet and was able to play with the Advanced Band at school for the last half of the year. I was really impressed with how good they were for an elementary school band. The teacher prides himself on having The Best band in the area, the kids put in a lot of work, but it definitely pays off!!

Jared LOVED playing t-ball and can't wait for next spring so he can get back to the ball field again. He especially loved playing on a team with some of his friends from pre-school. It is so much fun to watch all of these 5 and 6 year olds running around the field, not really sure what they are doing. It makes for an hour of great entertainment!!

School ended just in time for Memorial Day and we headed to the mountains to escape the heat. It was a great time, aside from Austin's many accidents which I have previously recorded!! Sally and I took the kids to Pinetop for a beautiful nature walk along the rim. As usual the kids all had a blast playing with cousins, hunting for critters, feeding the birds, playing in the treehouse and working in their clubs.

Summer is always a busy time and doesn't usually feel much like a vacation, but keeping the kids busy prevents them from complaining about being bored all summer long. Ashleigh and Jordan both took summer band, Ashleigh continuing with the clarinet and Jordan following in his dad's footsteps and trying out the trumpet. They both enjoyed that very much and each day we went straight from the school to the pool for swimming lessons for all four kids. All of them love the water, although Austin did not care for his mommy and me lessons, but was happy as could be when we would just go swimming in the afternoons. He did great with arm floats on and was happiest climbing out and jumping in.

We continued our annual tradition of heading to the cabin for the 4th of July holiday. We had a great time in the cool mountain air and hangin' out with family. We had a parade around the ranch, treasure hunts and pinata, then fire works that night. It was a great weekend.

Then it was time to celebrate Austin's 2nd birthday!! My how time flies, my baby is growing up so fast, especially since he has older siblings who he is always trying to keep up with. He is still a mama's boy, but he is definitely learning to be a little more independant and his personality is so fun!! He is a ray of sunshine for all of our family!!

April in Arizona!!

2010-06-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

April brought Easter, Ashleigh's 11th birthday, a cub scout 3-mile hike, and Grandma Brisson coming for a visit. Easter was a little different this year for a few reasons, it was General Conference on Easter weekend so we didn't have our normal church services and all of the extended family was in the mountains so we had a quiet Easter here at home. I made a nice breakfast to start the morning off and the kids had their Easter Egg Hunt in between the conference sessions. Later in the day we had a nice ham dinner. It was a very peaceful and enjoyable Easter Sunday in the Gunnell household!!

Ashleigh turned 11!! How is that possible? She wanted to have a party with some friends this year and I decided to do something a little different. We had a SPAtacular Party, complete with Pedicures and a massage for each of the girls!! I did the pedicures and an amazing friend donated her time and massage table to help out, THANK YOU Margo!! While the girls waited for their turn they each made a pair of ribbon flip flops. Due to the fact that I was giving pedicures there aren't any more pictures, but fun was had by all, the mom's all wished they could have participated!!

Towards the end of the month the entire Cub Scout Pack went on a 3-mile hike on the Wind Cave Trail. All of the boys, leaders and parents had a great time, it was a beautiful morning for a hike. When we reached the caves we had a snack and took some pictures then headed back down the trail.

We finished off the month with a visit from Grandma B. She wanted to do something fun and memorable with the kids so we took them to Home Depot and each of the kids got to pick some flowers and/or veggies to plant and Grandma helped them plant what they chose. Thanks to John and Elizabeth for the pots and soil!! It was definitely a memorable experience for all of us and now we are trying to keep the flowers alive, not an easy task since we are into the triple digit temps!! Thanks Grandma for teaching my kids about gardening, maybe one of these days your green thumb will rub off on me!!

Spring Break and much more!!

2010-06-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

March started out with Austin having a mild case of Chicken Pox!! Thank goodness none of the other kids got it and it was only on his arms and legs and they scabbed over almost as quickly as they appeared!! They were gone in time for us to enjoy the kids Spring Break, which usually includes a fun outing or two.

This year we continued our tradition of going to Fountain Hills for St. Patrick's Day and this year Becky and the twins and Ashleigh's friend, Breanna, came along with us. We enjoyed a picnic, complete with green grapes, cucumbers and green jello (a tradition started by Grammie Atwood about 5 years ago), followed by running and playing in the grass and on a really cool tree and then it was off to the overcrowded play ground.

It was a fun afternoon and that night we were excited to welcome Grammie and Papa Atwood here for a visit. They spent the first few days at a hotel and the older kids took turns having an overnight with them and we all enjoyed using the swimming pool!! We had a fun day at the Phoenix Zoo, Austin was in his glory with Papa. He got to go and do whatever he wanted, instead of being stuck in the stroller all day. The favorite part for the kids was the petting zoo and the tractors. Papa was even able to teach the kids how to milk a cow!! It was a great day for the entire family!!

Mom and Dad spent the weekend with John and Elizabeth in the mountains and the kids were back to school when they got back, but Austin had plenty of time to bond with his Papa and Grammie and enjoyed every minute of it. Ashleigh and I took my parents to the dress rehearsal of the Easter Pageant at the Temple. We got there early enough to get pretty good seats, as usual it was an amazing performance!!

After spring break it was time for the Pinewood Derby for Jordan's Cub Scout Pack. He was awarded "Most Realistic Car" and was a great sport again this year, congratulating all of the racers after every race. We are so proud of him!!

At the kid's Track and Field Day at school Ashleigh brought home 4 2nd Place ribbons, for Hurdles, Long Jump, Obstacle Course and 60 yard Dash!! Way to go Ashleigh!! Maybe we have a future track and field star on our hands?!

February

2010-06-07T09:25:00.000-07:00

February was a busy month for our family with some fun times and easily the most difficult moment in our family as well. The month started out with Jordan finishing his second season of basketball. He had a great time and improved a lot over the course of the season.

Also in the beginning of the month was Papa Gunnell's 64Th Birthday!! All of the adults enjoyed a nice evening out at Black Angus and the next night we had an open house for his birthday with family and friends coming to celebrate with us. It was a special time that we all enjoyed, made even more special by Glen and a few of his kids being here to celebrate with us!! The following week was Valentine's Day and then came the weekend that we all knew was inevitable.
Bruce took another turn for the worse on Friday morning, he slept for most of the day and Sally had Hospice bring in the hospital bed. Saturday (same day as Jared's bday party) he slept a lot of the day, but was awake for visitors that night and was even able to crack a joke or two. He had had a turn similar to this back in October and he had bounced back after a few days, so we all thought that maybe it would be the same this time around. We didn't go over to visit because we would be there the next day for Sunday dinner. However, on Sunday within minutes of arriving home from church we received a phone call from Michael's sister, Natalie. She was at her parent's house and the nurse was there and the news wasn't good. Dad didn't have much time left and we needed to get there to say our goodbyes as soon as possible. We rushed right over and as the family all arrived we all gathered around Papa's bed, Becky suggested that we sing some songs so we started singing our 2 "Family Songs", "Let us all Press On" and "Sing Me a Song". Just as we started to sing the last of the family arrived and while we were singing Bruce peacefully passed away, surrounded by his sweet wife, children and grandchildren. I know that he could feel the love that we each have for him and that he was welcomed with open arms by family who was waiting for him on the other side. I know that he is no longer in pain and that we will all see him again someday. I am so grateful for my knowledge of Eternal Families and for the opportunity that I had to spend a few hours every Tuesday morning with Bruce during his illness.
At the funeral all of Bruce's children talked about their dad and the memories that they have and the lessons that they learned and we all got up and sang our family songs. It was a wonderful tribute to a very loving man. We love and miss you Dad(Papa).

January 2010

2010-06-07T08:49:00.000-07:00

I'm back, trying to get this blog up to date. In January we had a few birthdays, but other than that it was rather uneventful (not a bad thing). Austin thinks he's one of the big kids and is a BIG help around the house, especially when it concerns the refrigerator. He also appears to be a natural at playing the piano, he watches Ashleigh and then takes his turn!!

Jared turned 5 and had his very first birthday party!! His birthday celebration lasted for about a week, from our family to extended, where he shares the celebration with his cousin Josh, to his party. We invited cousins and friends from school to Peter Piper Pizza for pizza (of course) and games. Now that he's 5, he is really excited to start Kindergarten in the fall!!

Memorial Day Weekend (Part 1)

2010-06-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

I will post about our great weekend in the mountains another time as well as continue to update about our last 5 months, but I wanted to record my sweet little Austin's accident prone weekend before I forget all of the accidents that he actually had. My mother-in-law nicknamed him "Dennis the Menace" and it was the perfect name for him, if there was trouble to find Austin was the one to find it this weekend. Let me just start with Day 1, Austin was managing on the cabin steps pretty well until he had an Otter Pop in his hand and that took his attention from the stairs and down he went, not only was he scared and hurt, but Jordan scared us all even more by yelling across the yard "OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH" over and over, just panicking and not being able to do anything else. Luckily there were no broken bones; a cut lip, goose egg on the forehead, scraps on arms, legs and face. Austin is a tough kid, after a hug and kiss from mom he was back to playing with his cousin. Later that day Jordan came in crying because he got a big cut on his leg from a stick and Jared was jumping and playing with Zach and he fell and got a bloody nose. All of this was in just a few short hours on our first day. Day 2, Austin was trying to open the door to Natalie's cabin when someone opened it and he fell head first into the door frame, goose egg #2 on his forehead. Dad was to the rescue that time. Day 3, Austin climbed onto the counter in Granny's kitchen and turned on the stove burner and touched it, OUCH!! Hot!! Day 4 Austin fell off of the picnic bench while having lunch, scrapped his chin. He finished his lunch in the house, but pushed against the counter and caused his chair to topple over backwards, goose egg #3 and pinched 2 fingers between the chair and the floor. Thank goodness we made it through days 5 and 6 without any accidents and Granny hasn't changed her mind about taking the kids for a week in July, yet anyway!!

All of the accidents aside we had a great time with family and I will post all about it with pictures another day!!

It's been a while!

2010-05-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how bad I have been about posting, but we have had a lot going on in our lives over the past 6 months. To start with I was called to be the Primary President in our ward and that is very time consuming as well as rewarding. The last time I posted was the day before Jordan's 9th birthday. For his birthday this year he invited some friends to go to the movies with him. At first I thought I was crazy to tackle that, but the boys were very polite and well behaved and all had a great time.

Jordan's birthday is always the start to a very busy few months with the holidays and family birthdays that follow. This year was no different, except for the fact that we were all cherishing the little moments that we had with Bruce (Dad Gunnell, Papa) because we didn't know how much time we would have with him. Granny and Papa wanted to take all of the grandkids to visit Santa at the Bass Pro Shop so we all went along to help out with the kids. The wait for Santa was kind of long so we just took some pictures and the older kids went to play and have quality time with their grandparents.

Our ward had a very nice Christmas party with a "Back to Bethlehem" theme, complete with dressing for the time, food from the time and a wonderful program to re-enact the Birth of Jesus Christ. It was fun and spiritual and everyone had a great time. We all dressed the part, even Austin.

Christmas was great, we had lots of fun gathering with extended family and doing activities to celebrate the Birth of our Savior. We had our Annual Family Progressive Dinner were we had Appetizers at our house, Dinner at Natalie and JJ's and dessert at Becky and Scott's. It was fun to have all of the family at our home for food and fun and to see how we decorate for the holidays. We also had a Family Home Evening with the extended Gunnell family, we were told the story of the 4th Wise man and we sang our Traditional Christmas songs. It was great to see all of the Aunts, Uncles and cousins!! My favorite part of the Christmas season is on Christmas Eve when we gathered at Bruce and Sally's for the kids to act out the First Nativity. The kids love doing it and this year we had 4 little boys ages 1-2 years old, talk about entertaining!! Ashleigh and Austin were Angels, Jordan was a shepherd and Jared was a Wise man. The kids each got to open 1 present from Granny and Papa, then one from us when we came home.

Christmas morning with 4 kids is always INSANE, especially with a 1yr old who doesn't quite get what's going on. It's really hard to get them to slow down long enough for me to get some pictures, but I was able to catch some great shots this year. Ashleigh is at the age that it's all about the clothes, Jordan is a HUGE Star Wars fan, Jared is our Rock Star and Austin is in early training to be a doctor. Also, Santa brought our family a basketball hoop so that we can spend time as a family having fun and exercising as well.

My parents found a pop up tent with a tunnel for the boys and that was a huge success, especially the tunnel portion!!

We were then off to the Gunnell's for Christmas breakfast and tree with Granny and Papa. Bruce was feeling pretty good during the holidays and enjoyed having his kids and grandkids around, although we were missing Glen and his family. Becky had a great idea for a gift for mom and dad, we all contributed pictures of each of our children and a family picture of each family and she made it into a quilt. It came out beautifully and Bruce and Sally loved it. The big boys all got R/C Cars and had a great time racing them in the street. It was a fun filled day for all.

Well that brings us to the end of 2009 and the beginning of another year. It was a busy and emotional year for the Gunnell family with lots and lots of memories. Hopefully it won't take me another 6 months to get started on blogging about 2010!! For a preview of things to come we have basketball season, a funeral, St. Patrick's Day, Grammie and Papa visit, more birthdays, T-ball, band concert and much more!! Stay tuned...

What a busy Autumn!!

2009-11-28T22:58:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it has been 2 months since I have posted anything at all. It has been a busy time for us, but not a lot to post about. We have just been busy with work, school and extra curricular activities, church and also putting in our time helping out with Michael's dad.
October was General Conference time again. It was so nice to sit and listen to the leaders of our church counsel and teach us the things that they feel are important for us at this time. Michael's brother was here visiting and helping out with his dad for a few days as well. It was great to see him and have him here. We all thought that Bruce was at the end of his earthly journey, but miraculously he turned the corner and has been doing really well since the beginning of October. He is up and out of bed every day, eating 3 meals a day, sleeping good at night and we are all looking forward to having him around to enjoy the holidays with his family. What a blessing it has been to have him around longer and for each of us to spend time with him and Sally in service and love.
During October Break from school Michael was able to take some time off and we spent a day taking the kids and their cousins to a fun train park in Scottsdale. It was a beautiful day and fun was had by all!!

We got a new kitten and are enjoying the energy of an 8 week old kitten in the house. Spooky is very cuddly and very spastic. Austin loves that there is a creature little enough for him to pick up and carry around, although we don't let that happen very often.

Halloween came and went very quickly this year. Our ward normally does a Trunk or Treat in the church parking lot, but this year we were asked to be good neighbors and stay at home to pass out candy and Trick or Treat in our neighborhoods. My kids had a really hard time deciding what they wanted to dress as this year. The boys couldn't decide so I suggested zombies and they both loved that idea. Ashleigh wanted to be a cheerleader, but was pretty specific on what she wanted to look like. I couldn't find what she wanted so she went as Alex Russo (Selena Gomez, Wizard's of Waverly Place) from the Disney Channel. The day before Halloween Jordan decided that he didn't want his face painted so he wasn't going to be a zombie. He wanted to be a spy, but didn't really want to dress in a costume. We went around and around with many different ideas for him, but he wasn't changing his mind. We finally told him that if he didn't dress up as something then he could stay home and miss out on all of the candy. Can you believe that at 8 1/2 years old he actually refused to dress up and stayed home with Michael handing out candy. What a party pooper!! Austin was cute little lion and the kids had a great time around the neighborhood.

Also in October a friend from church took some pictures of the kids while on the temple grounds. We got some really good ones of the three older kids, Austin was really tired and didn't cooperate very well for group pictures. She did get some really cute candids of him though!!

November brought Cub Scout Scout-o-rama, the kids school Fall Festival, Thanksgiving and Jordan's 9th Birthday(that will be another post). Ashleigh started playing the clarinet in band this year and her first performance was at the fall festival. She did a great job and she loves playing an instrument other than the piano. The festival was a lot of fun. It was the first time in 5 years that we haven't suffered from a heat wave on the same weekend as the festival. It was in the 70's and even had a few sprinkles of rain every once in a while. Much better than the 90's and going home with a sun burn like years past.

Thanksgiving was very nice. We had it with the extended Gunnell family this year, there were about 35 people. It was a beautiful day so we were both in and outside. The kids had a great time playing with cousins. We have much to be thankful for this year, topping the list are our amazing families, friends, jobs and good health!!

Ward Family Campout

2009-09-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was our Ward (Church Congregation) Family Campout. We have lived in the ward for 5 years now and haven't made it to a single campout. Ashleigh wanted to go last year, but there was no way I was going camping with a newborn baby. So we decided that this would be the year we would go. Michael and I would be in Chicago the weekend before the trip so we figured it would all work out, until Michael found out that he had to be on call that week. The kids were really disappointed so I thought it over and decided that if my dear friend Lori was going with her kids (her husband had to work as well) that I would go with my kids. I got the kids out of school early on Friday and we were at the campsite by late afternoon. We had a great time, it's always nice to escape the heat for a little while. I owe a great big Thank You to Lori, Kendall and Isaac for helping put the tent up and Ashleigh was a HUGE help keeping an extra eye on Austin. Jordan got to work on some of his Cub Scout requirements by helping cook dinner and learned how to start a campfire. We roasted hot dogs over the fire and had s'mores later in the evening. It got pretty cold during the night, but we were all fine in the tent and Austin even slept through the night!!

The next morning we had breakfast and the kids went off to play games and explore the area. The kids had fun playing kickball, football and shooting air soft BB guns. The adults visited and we eventually started playing a really fun game of Bowling ball Croquette. I also owe a big Thank You to Taleen Vezina and Rondal Jones for trying to keep Austin preoccupied while I played.

While we were playing the clouds started to roll in and we could hear it thundering off in the distance. My thought was that I would go pack up the sleeping bags and blankets when our game was over, NOT!! Half way through our game the heavens opened up and we all went running for our cars and tents. The boys and I hunkered down in the tent and Ashleigh went into her friend's car to play games. I got as many blankets and sleeping bags rolled up and folded as I could with 3 boys in the tent with me. After about 20 minutes the hail stopped and the rain let up enough that I took the boys to the car and put a movie on for them so that I could finish cleaning everything up. Before long the rains had returned and I was scrambling...yet again I owe a huge Thank You to Lori and Kendall for helping me get all of the wet everything into my car and for helping me get the tent down in record time!! Even though our camping trip was cut short we had a great time, so much fun in fact that we are going to try to go camping as a family a few times a year, only next time we will make sure Michael can come with us!!

This was my first time camping as an adult and I did learn a few things...1. Don't forget flashlights!! 2. Hobo dinners Rule!! 3. Bring all parts of the tent!! I forgot the tarp that goes over the top of the tent, Thank You Brother Harmon for having an extra one for us to use. 4. Can never have too many blankets!! 5. If you see rain clouds and hear thunder, don't wait till later to clean up!!

What we've been up to lately!

2009-09-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

WOW!! It's been a long time since I have posted anything! Summer was very busy and fun and we are all glad that school has started back up again. I have a hard time with summer, I love my kids, but I have a hard time finding things to keep them busy and Arizona is just too darn hot so the last place they want to be is outside. We love the month of July when we can spend most of it at the cabin in the mountains. Needless to say the kids were excited to get back to school and see there friends and I was excited for them to go back so they weren't complaining about how bored they were. Now that school has started we are busy as ever!!

Ashleigh is now in the 5th grade and she is playing the piano still and is also playing the clarinet in the school band. Now that she knows how to blow into it she is really enjoying her new instrument.
Jordan is in the 3rd grade and is looking forward to basketball starting up this winter. He also loves Cub Scouts and is always looking for something to do that will get him closer to earning his Wolf Badge.
Jared was the most excited of everyone for school to start. He is going to preschool this year and he LOVES it!! He is up and dressed before everyone else on the days that he has school. He is learning the sounds that the letters make and lots of words that start with each letter. He loves learning and playing with all of his friends.

Austin isn't quite ready for school yet, but he is growing so fast. He is walking everywhere and he LOVES to be outside. He enjoys "helping" mommy in the kitchen as well, although his "help" usually requires added clean up time.

Michael is very busy at work and when he came home one night in July saying he had to go to Chicago for work in September I was very excited. I wanted to go, you see, my brother, sister-in-law and nephew live in Chicago and Brayden is only a week older than Austin. What a perfect opportunity to visit them!! We were so lucky to have many things fall into place so that Austin and I could go with Michael. My wonderful and amazing mom was able to get time off from work to come stay with the older kids, my awesome grandmother gave my mom a free airline ticket, I was able to get the time off from work and Michael's company was paying for his airline ticket and the hotel room and Austin is under 2 so we only had to purchase my ticket!! Brian took a day off from work so we could hang out with the little boys and we were able to have dinner all together the night we arrived. The weather was amazing the entire time we were there and Austin was so good. He spent a lot of time in his stroller and never fussed about it at all. I think he was just so excited to be outside and not roasting in the AZ heat. The most fun we had was just watching the boys interact with each other. Thanks to Brian and Peggy for your hospitality!! We had a great time!
Cousins meeting for the very first time!!

Downtown Chicago from Navy Pier

Playing in the park

Austin and Mommy in Millennium Park

Boys chasing each other

Austin, Aunt Peggy and Brayden

While we were in Chicago, my mom was here taking care of the older kids and they had so much fun with Grammie. She took them Goofy Golfing and they went to the mountains to spend some time with my uncle and aunt. They had so much fun. They got quad rides, picked veggies from the garden, built and painted a bird house and went swimming at Fossil Creek. They couldn't stop talking about how much fun they had with John and Elizabeth...thank you guys for giving my kids some great memories!! Pictures from grammie to be posted at a later date.

Gunnell Family Pictures

2009-07-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

When Glen and Rachel were here we had a family picture done on the Temple Grounds. It turned out really well, none of us was pregnant and even with 15 grandkids we were done within 25 minutes.
Adults only

Entire family

Fun in the summer heat!!

2009-07-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

Every July our church does Primary Softball, it's for the kids ages 9-11 and because of the heat the games are at 6am. This is Ashleigh's 2nd year and she really enjoys it, she doesn't even complain about getting up before 6 every morning. She was actually kind of disappointed because she missed the first week of games while we were at the cabin. Jordan is looking forward to being old enough next summer.

We also use the canal water to irrigate our yard every 2 weeks and if it's not in the middle of the night the kids love to play in the water. It's not the cleanest water in the world, but they have fun. Besides, they're not drinking it anyway. They have water fights and turn the toddler slide into a water slide. They also like to line up lawn chairs and pretend they are boats on a river. It's really nice when they can have fun all together. It's one way to stay cool!!

Austin and his Birthday Cake!!

2009-07-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

Finally a smile with his teeth showing!!

These pictures are too funny not to post. Austin had fun opening his presents, but way more fun getting into the cake. We all had a pretty good laugh and he went straight to the bathtub when it was over.
It's a really messy face, but look at those cute curls!!

More photos from the cabin

2009-07-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

After the 4th was over the kids and I were able to stay another week and so did Natalie and her kids. The kids all had a great time. They found creatures...Ashleigh found a snake and Cade found a Horny Toad.
We went to pottery hill in search of some cool Indian pottery and the kids found a stash of bones while out riding quads.

Austin had fun playing in the rocks and on the porch. He was always checking out what the other kids were up too.

My kids also love it when they get quality time with dad while at the cabin because it usually means a pretty long ride, he didn't disappoint. They all had a great time. We are hoping that next time we can do a family ride.

It was a great week and we are looking forward to getting back to the mountains in another week, one last time before school starts.

4th of July Weekend

2009-07-15T10:21:00.001-07:00

Well it's that time of year again...the annual Gunnell Gathering at the ranch. We all had a blast. Glen and Rachel and their family was here from Oklahoma and we were all gathered together in the mountains enjoy the cooler air and spending time with family. There was lots to do or nothing at all to do, whichever you preferred. Granny had treasure hunts planned for the kids, one for the younger kids and then it was the older kids turn. Marie (Gunnell)Wood was there with her parents and kids and her kids had a blast being apart of what was going on. The kids had fun playing in their clubs(forts) that they have been working on, doing crafts, hanging out with cousins and they always are up for quad rides around the ranch. We were lucky enough to get rain every afternoon leading up to the 4th of July, but once the 4th arrived it was warm and dry.
Tanner, Zach, Jared and Max finding their treasure
Heading out on a hunt for treasure
The older kids finding their treasure

On the 4th we started with a family flag ceremony and short devotional, then it was a big family breakfast. What a great way to start the day. Later on there was a family parade around the ranch, which included singing Patriotic songs and waving to all. The kids had a blast.

Then it was time for the big boys (grown men) to head out on their own ride for a while and then they came back to the Annual Horseshoe Tournament. JJ Martinez was the winner this year and family friend Cory Tucker had a trophy ready for the event.

After a BBQ dinner it was time for the Pinata. The kids all lined up, youngest to oldest, and each had 3 swings at it. Fun was had by all and when it still wasn't cracked open Papa took the last swing and broke it open for the kids to have at the candy and toys.

Then it was off to the fireworks!! It was a great day, I am so proud to live in this wonderful country!!
Sunday was church and then we had a really nice adult testimony meeting. It was so sweet to sit out on the lawn and be spiritually uplifted by each persons testimony of the gospel and the importance of family. Monday rounded out the holiday weekend with a Family Home Evening lesson about Patriotism and our country's flag. After the lesson the kids all gathered around to color patriotic pictures and have treats.

It was a great weekend, it was so fun to have the entire family together. I want to extend a huge Thank You to Arlene and Dennis for the use of their cabin, you guys are great and we really appreciated it!!

Happy 1st Birthday Austin!!

2009-07-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been a year already. My baby is growing so fast. He isn't quite walking on his own yet, but he's close. He has 6 teeth and is working on another. He laughs alot and loves to hang out with his sister and brothers. He especially loves it when Ashleigh sings to him. He makes us laugh with the things that he is doing. We call him the family billy goat, he is always head butting people and furniture. It will be nice once he starts walking so that he won't go head first into anything in his path. This last week we were at the cabin and he discovered stairs and ladders. He loves to climb now, yesterday I caught him trying to climb the ladder to the top bunk bed. Boy do I have my hands full or what?! Austin is a great eater, he loves anything we give him, as long as it's not baby food. I have finally been able to cut back to just a bedtime nursing and we are just waiting for the day that he starts sleeping through the night. Hopefully that will be any day now:) He is also starting to give really good kisses and he waves hi and goodbye as well.

Austin is such a joy to have around. You would think after a year that the older kids wouldn't be so interested in him, but they still fight over who was playing with him first or who is going to sit by him in the car. It's really kind of sweet that they love him so much and he returns the love all the time.

Happy 13!!

2009-06-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been 13 years. It's hard to believe, it's gone by soooo fast, yet feels so much longer at the same time. On June 22, 1996 I had the pleasure of marrying the love of my life. We had the privilege of getting married in my parents beautiful back yard, although it was a very rainy June day. I just wanted to let Michael know how very much I love him and am blessed to have him for my Eternal Companion. You are my best friend and I love you. I look forward to whatever life has in store for us as long as you are by side. I love you forever!!

A Tribute to the Fathers and Mothers in our Lives

2009-06-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

A few days ago it was Father's Day and I wanted to pay tribute to the amazing fathers in my life and since I didn't get a chance to pay tribute to the mothers around Mother's Day I thought I would include them as well. I will start with the fathers.

First, I would like to honor my amazing husband. Michael is such a hard worker, at work, home and with church. He is a wonderful husband and father and we love him more than words can say. He always has time for his kids and tries to spend individual time with each of them as often as possible. He has a great sense of humor and is always making us laugh. The boys, including Austin, love it when daddy gets home from work so they can have their daily wrestling match and Ashleigh looks forward to her one on one time with dad. Me, I love our date nights. Michael is really good about making sure we have at least 2 date nights a month and it is so nice to be able to have that time with him without the kids around. He is my best friend, the one I lean on when I am sad and the first one I talk to when I'm excited about something. I look forward to that time that we have together. We are truly blessed to have Michael in our lives. We love you!!

Next is my father, Jordan "Butch" Atwood. He is an amazing man, someone I have always looked up to and turned to for advice. I have always admired my father for the hard work that he does and the love that he has for his family. He always has to be doing something, whether it be a project around the house or a book in his hand he is always busy. My dad has a great sense of humor and can make me laugh at any situation. He has been a rock for me to lean on for my entire life and I am so grateful to have him as my father and my kids absolutely adore their Papa Atwood. We all wish that he lived closer so that we could see him more that once or twice a year, but we cherish the time that we do get to spend with him and we have some great memories of our visits together. Thank you Dad for all of your love and support, you are the best!! I love you Dad!!

Lastly, but certainly not least is my incredible father-in-law, Bruce. I couldn't have married into a better family if I had been trying. Bruce is a wonderful person, who loves his family more than anything else. He is a great example to all of his family and he has an amazing testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is a hard worker and is always busy with something. He loves his gardening and loves to find a project to work on while at the cabin. He has taught all of us the meaning of hard work and we are better for it. He is always willing to share his love of the Savior with those around him as well. He is a great example to all of us. We love you!!

We as a family are also blessed with some pretty amazing brothers and uncles. Brother's Brian, Glen, JJ and Scott are great examples to all of us. They are all hard workers and amazing father's to their children and great husband's to their wives. Thank you all for your examples. We love you all!!

Happy Father's Day to all of you!!

Now on to the mother's in our lives. We are blessed to have two amazing moms and a pretty amazing grandmother as well.

First, my mom, Linda. My mom is a wonderful person, she is a loving mom and Grammie and she is my best friend, second only to my hubby. There was a time that she was so involved in my life that I couldn't stand it, but now I look back and appreciate all that she did for me and shared with me. She always put her kids and their activities before anything else. She has always been supportive of our decisions and loved us unconditionally. She is an amazing woman and we love her so very much. My kids look forward to their time with Grammie, she makes every visit special so that they have memories to last a lifetime. With my parents living so far away we only get to see them a few times a year and we look forward to seeing them as often as we can. We love you Mom!!

Next is my mother-in-law, Sally. She is such a strong and amazing woman. She has raised an amazing family that I am now blessed to be a part of. She is a good friend, mother and Granny. She is always taking time to do special things for her grandchildren and they love the fun activities and projects that they get to do with her. She is especially loved for her great treasure hunts at the cabin and on the holidays. She also was the pre-school teacher to her older grandchildren and they all still talk about how much they loved going to Granny's for school. Sally is a very talented and loving person. She is always willing to serve others and has taught all of us the meaning of Charity. She has a very strong testimony of the Gospel and a love for her Savior, Jesus Christ. She shares that will us often. She also has a great love for her ancestors and we have been blessed to have stories of them told to us so that we may pass them on to our children and grandchildren as well. Thank you for all you do, We love you!!

Next, is my grandmother, known lovingly in our house as Grandma B. My Grandma is such a strong woman, she has been through so much in her life and she is all the better for it. She is a very faithful and loving person. She loves her family and cherishes the time that she has will all of us. As the only granddaughter I feel like I have a special bond and I had the privilege of spending weeks at a time at my grandparents house in the summers when I was younger. We had a great time. I think I owe my strong personality to my Grandma, I think it's a good quality to have, so thank you. I also have learned that it's okay to disagree about things and still love one another. My Grandma is such a loves life type of person and she is more active than some people half her age. She is a force to be reckoned with, and that's a good thing. We love you Grandma, thank you for all that you do!!

We also have some amazing sisters and aunts who are wonderful examples to all of us as they willingly raise their children in today's world. Thank you Natalie, Peggy, Rachel and Becky, we love you all!!

Personal Journal Entry (Papa Gunnell)

2009-06-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

I know that I haven't made this a private blog, but one of my reasons for doing this is because I am horrible about keeping a journal and I want to be able to record what is going on in my family's lives. This post is a way for me to put into words what I have been feeling lately and for my children to look back at someday and hopefully see how strong of a testimony of the gospel I have. Our family has been thrown a huge hurdle to deal with recently. My dear father-in-law Bruce was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and it has been very hard for all of us, especially telling the kids. We are so blessed to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and to have the knowledge of the gospel to bless us at this time. To be able to tell our children that their Papa is very sick and that the doctors can't help him get better was very difficult and then came the question of is he going to die? The answer was something like this: well, all of us die some time and yes Papa is going to die sooner than we thought and sooner than the rest of us, but we are an eternal family and we will all see him again someday. Even though we are sad that he is going to die, he will get to be with his mom and dad and sister again. We need to just let him know how much we love him and try to make happy memories with him while he is still here. That is what we have done...Memorial Day was all about making memories with Papa and so will be the same with 4th of July and the rest of the time that we get to spend with Bruce and Sally at the cabin this summer. It has been very difficult for us to process the diagnosis, it still seems so surreal. Bruce has been a wonderful grandfather to our children and his love of the gospel and his family is a wonderful example to all of us. He has an amazing testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and he loves his family and isn't afraid to show that love. Our kids have had some really great outings with Granny and Papa and have some amazing memories because of the time they are willing to spend with their grandkids. We love them both so much. As a family we have already witnessed so many blessings that have come about since the cancer was diagnosed and we all feel the love that so many people have for this sweet man and his family. I know that we are being watched over by a loving Heavenly Father and Savior and I know that we will all be together again. I am so grateful for eternal families and for the amazing family that I come from and that I married into. Prayers have been answered and I have no doubt that they will continue to be answered throughout this entire process. We love you Bruce, Dad, Papa!!

Austin update

2009-06-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

Austin is now almost 11 months old, but on the day that he turned 10 months he finally cut his first tooth. The very next day he cut his second tooth and less than 2 weeks after that he had cut 2 more teeth, this time top teeth. Considering how many teeth he has cut in such a short amount of time he has been a pretty happy boy. Along with the teeth he has started eating more table food. Last night at dinner he didn't want what I was feeding him, he wanted what I had so he ended up having potato and fruit salad along with his turkey and rice dinner. He also loves ice cream for dessert. He is a very happy boy who loves his siblings and lights up when his daddy gets home from work every night. He is without a doubt a mama's boy. When he is tired or upset the only person who can make him happy is mom.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-06-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well the kids were done with school in time for Memorial Day weekend and it was our first trip up to the cabin for the season. We were looking forward to some great weather and fun with cousins and Grandparents. The kids had a great time. The weather was great, a little on the cool side, but it was nice. The kids spent about 5 hours on Friday building a club house with their cousins and it turned out to be look more like a luxury suite than a club house.

Then a few days later the girls decided to build their own club so they started from scratch on a new one in a different location. They all had a blast finding things and there was little to no bickering from any of the kids. The even better part was that they were all so busy with their project that they weren't asking for quad rides all day long.

They had fun feeding the birds with Papa and they all worked hard with their dads raking up the pine needles from around the cabins.

We were even able to have a bonfire one night and sing songs and just hang out.

All in all it was a really fun weekend and some great memories were made. Even Austin had a great time, he enjoyed the hammock alot more than the tire swing!!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot a funny story. It's much funnier in person with the hand motions and expression but it's one that has to be recorded none the less. One afternoon Jared and his cousin Zach were each sitting on a quad, facing each other and playing a game. The game entailed each of them having special powers and they were each taking the others' powers away. While they were doing this one of the twins was also sitting on a quad between the two of them and looked like he was watching a tennis match with his head going back and forth between the two boys. Eventually the game got out of hand and the boys were yelling at each other. Natalie and JJ were watching the entire thing and said they thought the boys were going to start throwing fists so they stepped in and told the boys that they gave each of them back their own powers, but that wasn't enough for Jared. He yelled out, "No, Zach still has mine!" Needless to say the game was ended, Jared came to me crying and all of us adults spent the rest of the weekend laughing hysterically about the incident and wishing that someone had caught it on video to capture it forever.

Ashleigh's Piano Recital

2009-06-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

Ashleigh has been taking piano lessons this year and she is really enjoying it very much. She is a very conscientious and careful student. She wants what she is learning to be done perfectly and most times she succeeds. We all love listening to her play, she works on her pieces for her lesson and then teaches herself the next song in her book or one of the hymns. She did an excellent job at her recital and we are very proud of her. She was also very happy to have Granny and Papa Gunnell and Uncle Glen there supporting her as well. Thanks to all of them.

What's new in our world!

2009-05-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

I feel like it's been forever since I have posted, yet when I look at my pictures there hasn't been a whole lot new to post about. We have been busy, just with the everyday things. The school year is coming to a close and I can't believe it is summer again already. My baby will be a year old soon and he is not so much baby anymore. He is crawling EVERYWHERE and getting into EVERYTHING!! He turned 10 months this last Friday and he FINALLY cut his 1st tooth and then the 2nd tooth cut through the next day. I am told that the older they are when their teeth come in the healthier their teeth will be, check back in 10-15 years to see if that is the case or not!! Austin is a joy, he is always smiling and laughing and when his dad gets home from work he just lights up when he hears daddy's voice.

Jordan just finished his first season of basketball. He had a great time playing and learning some basic skills. He had some great plays throughout the games and we are hoping that next season he will even get a chance to score. Most importantly he had fun and we are very proud of him.

Ashleigh had to do and AZ animal report for school this year and had to do an oral presentation for her class about it. She wanted to make a diarama to go along with it so Michael, Ashleigh and myself all worked together to make a really great coyote habitat. We had a fun time making it and the finished product was really good, if I do say so myself!

Jared will finish up pre-school and he had loved being able to go to school, just like the big kids. Even though he only goes 2 days a week he wakes up every morning and asks if he has school that day, even on the weekends. He looks forward to hanging out with his friends and learning something new. He will love it in the fall when he gets to go 3 days a week.

We are all excited for our first trip of the season to the mountains. It has been brutally hot the past 2 weeks here in the valley so we are looking forward to some cooler temperatures and the smell of the pines. The kids will be busy for the month of June with basketball camp and swimming lessons and then we will spend some more time at the cabin. Should be a fun summer with plenty to keep us all busy, just the way we like it!!

Oh Yeah!! One more thing!! I have joined a gym and I am in training for the swimming leg of a Sprint Triathlon in August. Michael's sister's and I are going to do it together. I will be swimming 625 meters. I am very excited about it, I've never done anything like this before, but am looking forward to getting active and into shape and loosing some weight will be great as well. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Austin is quite the "little helper"

2009-04-20T17:23:00.001-07:00

Austin is now 9 months old and he is crawling everywhere. He loves to follow everyone around the house and he is enjoying his freedom. He is also starting to pull himself into a standing position every chance he gets. The funny part about that is when he's been standing for too long his legs start to slip apart into a split position and he hasn't quite figured out that he can just sit himself down, instead he cries until someone comes to his rescue.

Some of the things that he likes to help mom with are laundry (throwing all of the folded clothes all over the room),

and dishes (emptying out the cupboards).

He also loves to wrestle with his brothers and dad.

He has also discovered the baby in the mirror and he spends an awful lot of time smooching and laughing with his new playmate.
He is so much fun and brings much joy and laughter into our home.

Happy 10th Birthday Ashleigh! (a little late)

2009-04-20T17:21:00.000-07:00

2009

On April 14th our little princess turned 10!! I still can't believe that we have a 10 year old. Last year our church had a little program for all of the girls 8-11 years old and they asked the parents to write a little something about their daughters, the following was my write-up about Ashleigh...

Ashleigh is the oldest child and the only girl, she is our princess. She is a beautiful girl both inside and out. She has an amazing testimony for someone so young and loves to share it every chance she gets. She knows that she is a Daughter of Heavenly Father and she loves the gospel and her family. She is always willing to help out around the house with the cooking and cleaning. She is a great help with her baby brother and he loves her so much. When she is singing to him or playing the piano he is just mesmerized by her. She is a very talented and well rounded young lady. She loves to sing and play the piano, she also enjoys playing soccer and basketball. She also loves to do crafts of any kind, she is always surprising us with a card or poem or picture of some kind to let us know how much she loves us. We are very proud of her and all that she does. She is an example to all of us and we love her so very much.

Ashleigh blessed our home on April 14, 1999. She was a beautiful little girl and we fell in love with her instantly. She was born with a left club foot and we were concerned about that and the treatment that would have to be done. She was in a full or half leg cast for most of her first 6 months of life. At 15 months old she had her one and only surgery to correct the club foot and then was in a cast or brace until she was 18 months old. As soon as the brace came off she was off and running, luckily since she became a big sister a month later. She was so excited to have a baby around and she was a wonderful sister to Jordan. They would pal around all of the time.

Loved reading @ an early age

Loves to pose for the camera

Look at that hair!!

1st day of Kindergarten

7th Bday in Rocky Point, Mexico

We didn't enter the digital photo age until after Jordan was born so I don't have any baby pictures to post, but she was a beautiful little girl and she is even more beautiful now.

Baptism Picture

9th Bday Princess Party

Becoming a sister for the 3rd time

She is a very talented and helpful young lady. I would like to say that she is a girly girl, but she also loves the outdoors and playing sports so I guess it's safe to say that she is a pretty well rounded person. She is also very smart and loves to read, math is her favorite subject in school. She enjoys spending time with her friends and is always asking if she can have a dad/mom and daughter day. She also LOVES spending time at the cabin and with her cousins.

10 years old!

We love her very much. Happy Birthday Ashleigh!!

It's been a busy month

2009-04-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that April is already almost over. We have had a busy and fun month, but now I have a lot of catching up to do. Early in the month we were excited to have my grandmother visit us from VT. She is known as Grandma B to the kids and they were so excited to have her here. She was only with us for a day and a half, but we loved every minute of it. She brought the kids autographed pictures from Jack Hanna. They thought it was so cool that she met him and he signed a picture to each of them. Thanks Grandma!! She also got to meet Austin and we just had fun visiting and hanging out.

After Grandma left it was time to get ready for Easter and the Bird Family Reunion (Michael's mom's side of the family). The reunion was south of Tucson at Uncle Bill and Aunt Clarice's house. We went down a few hours early and went to Karchner Caverns. They are living caves in Benson, AZ. It was a really neat place and all of the kids seemed to enjoy it. Granny and Papa watched the 4 little ones so the rest of us could go through without any problems. Thanks again Bruce and Sally, it was a great time!! They don't allow any pictures to be taken in the caves, but click here for more info and pictures. It was truly spectacular.

After the caves we headed to Tucson for the reunion. It was great to see family. Sally's sister and brothers were there and some of their kids as well. Unfortunately alot of the family is spread all over the country so they were not all able to make it, we missed all of them. :) Friday brought a yummy steak dinner, thanks to Bill for the cooking. Saturday brought wind, rain and colder weather. We started with a big group photo and then individual family photos at a really nice park.

The Bruce & Sally Gunnell Family
(Glen & Rachel's family is missing)

The Bird Siblings ~ Jim, Sally, Bill, Margot Lynn

If the weather had been better the kids would have had a blast playing,but the cold and rain sent us back tho the house for jewelry making and arts and crafts. The rest of the day was at the church: lunch, easter egg hunt, dinner and talent show. The evening program was alot of fun, there was a magician that performed in between the talent acts. The family talent was great, the Gunnell Family Grandchildren performed a few musical numbers using boppers, there was singing, violin playing, dancing, comedy and story telling. It was a great night of entertainment.

On Sunday we had a really nice program about our Savior and his resurrection along with singing some beautiful hymns. Then we headed to church and then it was time to head home.

Back at home we had Easter dinner at Granny and Papa Gunnell's house with a fun Easter Egg Hunt after dinner. It was a fun weekend with lots of memories made.

Baby Milestones Made

2009-04-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

Austin is now 8 1/2 months old. He has been mobile for some time now, but by way of rolling around the house. Just last week he hit two milestones in one day. He started crawling and get this, he pulled himself up to a standing position in his crib. He now crawls everywhere and is very fast. I spend alot of my day prying things out of his mouth, it never ceases to amaze me the things that babies find on the floor to put in their mouths. He is also pulling himself up on the furniture and me, if I am standing still long enough for him to do it. Last night he pulled himself up to the gate at the front door so he could watch his brothers playing out front. He still hasn't cut a single tooth though. We are waiting for that to happen anytime now.

St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

As usual, St. Patrick's Day has fallen during Spring Break for the kids. They were kind of bummed out because Grammie (my mom) tends to come and visit at this time of year and always does something special for the holiday. This year she came about a month earlier. So it was up to me to make it a fun holiday. I decided in the spirit of my mom and St. Pat we would have a picnic, with as much green food and I could find in my house. We had green grapes, green jello cups, snow peas, sour cream and onion pringles and I made us PB&J sandwiches. We packed up and headed to Fountain Hills where they dye the water in the fountain green on this day every year. The kids loved to see the green water shooting up into the air and they fed the ducks and played on the playground.

We were lucky enough to find a shady spot for our picnic and we met some people with a very friendly dog, who the kids were quite taken with. Just a side note, my kids tend to be timid around dogs and not one of them was even alittle bit scared. The dog loves kids and was very gentle with all of them.

We had a great time and the day wrapped up with sleepovers with their cousins. The girls at my house and the older boys at their house. The girls, Jared and I made green cupcakes for dessert to round out the tribute to St. Patrick. All in all fun was had by all, especially Austin. He loved being outside and watching his sister and brothers play.

Growing Up (A Funny Story)

2009-03-04T08:18:00.000-08:00

So, anyone who knows my dad knows that he is quite the storyteller. I was a very gullible child and believed a lot of what my father told me. My daughter, on the other hand, not so much. While my parents were here visiting my dad told my kids a story about me and my brother, I don't remember all of the details but it was quite a tale. Ashleigh and Jordan were pretty interested in what Papa was saying and when it was all done Jordan asked who that happened to. Here is the funny part of the story, Ashleigh's response to Jordan was "You believed that?", then she turned to my dad and said "I'm so glad I'm an adult now". It may not sound funny to read it, but to hear it and see her mannerisms it was hysterical. My parents and I were laughing so hard Michael came in from the other room to see what was so funny. It will be a moment in Ashleigh's life that we will laugh about from years to come.

Ashleigh gets Glasses

2009-03-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

I can't remember if it was before or after Christmas vacation, but Ashleigh came home from school and said that her seat was in the back of the class and she couldn't read the spelling words on the board. Her teacher moved her to the front of the room and I made and eye appointment. Sure enough, she has her mother's eye sight. Not only does she need glasses to see the board, but she needs them all of the time. She chose her frames all by herself and she did a great job. She looks so grown up in them and she is amazed at how much better she can see things now. She got a neutral color frame, but she still sometime thinks that her clothes need to match the glasses.

Grammie and Papa Visit!!

2009-03-03T15:36:00.000-08:00

All month long we were counting down until my mom and dad arrived for a visit from Vermont. We were all very excited to have them here. It was to be my dad's first time meeting Austin in person and the kids were looking forward to some special time with there grandparents. Austin and Papa hit it off right away. Austin was all smiles for his Papa, it was so fun to watch how excited he would get when my dad would walk into the room. A bond was definitely created between those two. We had a great time with them in the short time that they were here.
I was able to get some shopping in and spend a gift card I have had for quite some time. It is so much easier to shop and try things on when you have some extra hands and eyes to watch Jared and Austin.
I also was able to put my Amazing Dad to work. He turned a closet into a pantry with built-in shelves and did some work in our bathroom as well. I am so excited and so grateful for his time and great work. Thanks Dad, your the best!!

We let Ashleigh and Jordan take a day off from school to spend some quality time with Grammie and Papa. They were very excited and we had a fun day. We started by hiking the Merkle Trail at Usery Pass Park and then we played at a playground and had a picnic lunch.

We came home and rested for a little while then headed out again, this time to take pictures of the kids. I am now kicking myself that I didn't have my parents jump into the pictures at all. I can't believe I don't have any pictures of all the kids with my parents from this visit.

Later that night was Jordan's first ever Pinewood Derby. He had a lot of fun making his car with the help of his dad and mom, even Papa helped out with it. He did a great job and had lots of fun racing his car. He won half of his races and was a great sport. He congratulated every scout when the race was over, whether he was racing them or not. He won the Best Sportmanship Award and he was very proud of his Ben 10 car. We were all very proud of him.

The next day mom and dad headed home. They were leaving 80 degree temps and headed back to enjoy a Nor'easter headed their way. We loved having them here and were sad to see them go so soon. The visit flew by and we are looking forward to the next time they are here and hope it can be a longer stay next time. We love you Mom and Dad, thanks for the work and memories!

Family Fun

2009-03-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been a month since my last post. We have had a lot going on and with a little one around I find it hard to do much more than check my email unless I am lucky enough to get him to take a nap longer than 20-30 minutes at a time. Austin is actually awake right now, but Ashleigh is home and always eager to play with him.

For all of you who are not familiar with Arizona in the winter, it is much like autumn in the Northeast, except that it isn't as cold. We had some fun raking the leaves in our yard into a few big piles and before we loaded them into the garbage bin the kids got to jump and play in them. Might I add that we only have palm trees in our yard, the leaves are thanks to our neighbors tree. The kids had a great time and it reminded me of my own childhood.

Our Growing Baby Boy Update

2009-02-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it has been just over 6 months already. The time seems to just fly by. Austin is growing so fast and he is a complete joy to have in our home. He brings laughter and smiles to everyone who sees him. He is now 6 1/2 months old and yesterday he had is well checkup at the doctors office. He is 18 lbs. 14 oz. (50-75th percentile) and he is 27 1/2 inches long (75th %). He is sitting up on his own and has been since before Christmas. He is rolling all over the place. I put him down on the floor to play and he is all the way across the room as soon as I turn my head. He still has no teeth, not that he isn't trying, the poor kid has a river running out of his mouth most days. The doctors said his gums are smooth and there aren't any teeth even close to coming through. He had four shots and I have to brag on him for a moment, he didn't let out a scream until the 3rd shot was in. I also have to give kudos to the nurse, she did a great job. Austin also had a breakthrough a few weeks ago and we are finally doing the baby food thing on a consistent basis. It is great, he loves just about everything that I give him, except for the rice cereal (he can't stand the stuff). We are working on drinking juice and water from a sippy cup and we are hoping that he will start sleeping through the night very soon.

Chillin out in the cabin while the rest play in the snow

Hangin out with cousin Josh

A Hike in the Desert

2009-02-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

Last week a friend called to let me know about a toddler hike that was being held on Saturday at Usery Pass Park in East Mesa. It sounded like a lot of fun and since the weather has been AMAZING lately I thought it would be a fun thing to do as a family. As it turned out Michael was helping with an Eagle Project, but the kids and I thought it would be fun. The path that the hike would be on was accessible to strollers so taking Austin wouldn't be difficult. We filled water bottles and got some snacks and headed out for the morning. When we got there some friends from church were there also. The kids were excited to have friends to hang out with while on the 1 mile hike. It was a pretty big group of people there. The hike was geared toward 3-6 year olds, but the older kids had just as much fun. Ranger B told them about the animals that live in the park and about some of the plant life as well. One of the stops along the way was Rattlesnake Alley and the ranger taught the group about what to do if you ever see a rattlesnake. The 3 S's are Stop, Spot and Slowly go around. The kids learned that if you don't bother a rattlesnake it won't bother you. The ranger then told us that it was still too early in the day and cool for a snake to be out. In all of his morning hikes he has never seen a snake, but when we got to the end of the hike someone heard a rattle. Upon looking to the side of the trail he saw the snake slither away from the trail and curl up on a rock under a bush. All of the kids got to see the snake, from a safe distance, and we all put into effect the 3 S's that we had learned earlier. The kids then received their Jr. Ranger badges and our hike was complete. Fun was had by all and I am looking forward to doing more of those in the future. They have a nighttime hike that you take a flashlight along with you and see what all of the creatures do in the dark. Sound like a great adventure to me. For info on any other activities at Usery Mountain Park go to www.maricopa.gov/parks or check out this blog for great events happening in and around Mesa.

Happy Belated Birthday Jared!!

2009-01-30T16:20:00.001-08:00

I haven't been very good about blogging lately. Last week was our sweet Jared's 4th birthday.

We had a fun and lazy day together. We spent all morning lounging around in our pjs and playing the Wii. When a friend showed up at lunchtime to drop a gift off for Jared I was mortified by the fact that I was still in my pajamas, but we were having a good time so it was all worth it. That night he opened gifts while dinner was cooking, he was so patient all day, I couldn't put it off any longer. His celebrating actually started on Sunday when we had his birthday with the Gunnell family. He was able to share the day with his cousin Josh, who was turning 1.

Jared is such a fun little boy to have around. He has the cutest personality and likes to think he is older than he really is. He brings such joy and laughter to our home. He always has a funny expression on his face or a funny comment to add to the conversation. We love him so much. He is a wonderful big brother and I have to say that he is a mama's boy. He always wants to sit by mom or have mom do things for him. He would rather wait for me to get him what he needs than have dad or Ashleigh do it for him. It's actually kind of annoying at times, but cute as well. His passions these days are Ben 10, Bakugan and Legos. He also is really good at Wii Sports. He is very excited to start pre-school in the fall.

When I was pregnant with Jared we decided to NOT find out what we were having. We already had a girl and a boy so it didn't matter to us. We were looking forward to being surprised, although Ashleigh really wanted a sister. This pregnancy brought on Gestational Diabetes for the first time (again with Austin) and I found out right after Thanksgiving. Nothing like having to go through the Christmas season not being able to eat sweets:( Anyway, I was able to control my sugar levels with diet and all was well. Jared was born on his due date, January 27, late in the day. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 21 inches long. We had thought that he would be bigger, because of the diabetes, but he was my smallest to that point. It was a great moment to have him make his entrance into the world and have the doctor announce "It's a boy!" We were very excited and had a name already picked out for him. Ashleigh was a little disappointed that she didn't get a sister, but her big sister/mommy's helper instinct kicked right in. She and Jordan were both so happy to have a baby to play with and love and help out with.

Jared has been trying to catch up to his brother and sister almost since birth. He has always loved to do what they are doing and wants to be big like they are. He has had moments of dressing up in Ashleigh's jewelry to playing video games and light sabers with Jordan. He started walking on his 1st birthday and hasn't slowed down since. He loves to ride quads at the cabin and pal around with his cousins, especially Zach. He has also been our most accident prone child. At 1 1/2 years old he put his hand on the treadmill, while I was running on it. It tore the skin off of two of his fingers and it took months to heal. At 2 1/2 he and his brother were horsing around and he cracked his head open on another piece of exercise equipment and that required a staple on the back of his head. He is a trooper and always gets right back up as if nothing happened.

We are so blessed to have Jared in our home. He is a sweet and loving boy and we love him so much. It was so much fun to celebrate him and his birthday last week. WE LOVE YOU BUDDY!!

Go Cardinals!!!

2009-01-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

OK, I am a New England Patriots fan who lives in AZ, but I have to say that the Cardinals have surprised us all this season. After they got stomped on in NE I really didn't think they would go very far in the post season. I am happy to report that I was wrong. We are now 1 game away from the Superbowl. Michael was hoping to go to the NFC Championship game with his best friend, but the game sold out in 6 mins. :( Anyway, while we were watching the Cardinals first playoff game Michael was cheering because they scored and Austin started laughing hysterically at Michael, so we rewound the game and taped Austin's reaction. It is really cute. Anyway, GO CARDS!!!

Fun in the Snow!!

2009-01-14T12:06:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Day we headed north, to the cabin, for some fun in the snow. Ashleigh and Jordan got to play in the snow a little bit last year, but for the rest of us it was the first time in a long time. I was really looking forward to it. We stopped in Forest Lakes on the way up, it was beautiful to see all of the snow. There were people pulling off the side of the road all along the way. We parked and climbed up and over an enormous snowbank. I threw a few snowballs at the kids and Ashleigh made a mini snowman then it was back on the road to reach our destination.
There wasn't as much snow at the cabin, but still enough to have some fun. We all got gloves and jackets on and headed out for a snowball fight. The next day we did some sledding and the kids just had a blast being out in the snow.Later in the day we headed out to the back lots with the quads and sleds for some more fun.
On our last morning there we went out sledding for one last time and I wanted to make a snowman, but the snow wasn't right for snowman making. We found a really good hill for sledding and had a blast doing that.

Soon it was time to hit the road, we had to make it back home for the AZ Cardinals playoff game.

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-14T11:51:00.000-08:00

We had a fun New Year's Eve at home with the kids. I made lots of appetizers and we had Sangria and Martinelli's to drink. We had a bowling competition on the Wii, I don't know who won. The kids watched The Disney Channel and we ate lots of food. They all wanted to stay up until midnight and were really close to making it. Jordan got a little carried away, with the food and drink, and at 11pm didn't feel very well so he went to bed in hopes that his tummy would feel better. Jared fell asleep on the couch about 15mins later. Ashleigh and I played a sing and dance game on the Wii so she was able to make it to the New Year. She and Michael and myself rang in the new year with a toast and some poppers in the front yard. We had a good time and to make it even better Austin didn't wake up until after 4am so I got some sleep in as well.

Christmas Eve and Day

2009-01-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

The big day was finally here. The kids had been waiting forever, so it seemed. They were all so excited. We were going to have a celebration at Granny and Papa Gunnell's house for Christmas Eve. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the reason for the Christmas season, so it is only fitting that our celebration be centered around him. The kids are given costumes and they re-enact the First Christmas as the story is read from the scriptures. This year Ashleigh was an Angel, Jordan one of the three wise men, Jared was a Shepard and Austin shared the roll of baby Jesus with his cousin Josh.
The rest of the program was singing. Michael sang Birthday of a King, Natalie and Bruce sang O Holy Night, Natalie, Becky and myself sang Mary's Lullabye and Ashleigh and Emily sang Angels We Have Heard on High. It was a wonderful night and the kids had a great time. Best of all, we all were thinking about the reason that we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. The kids got to open one present from their grandparents and then we headed home.

At home is was time to open a present from Mom and Dad, pajamas, and then off to bed so that Santa could come.
Christmas morning was fun. Believe it or not, Michael woke up at 7am and I was feeding Austin and the other kids were all still sound asleep. He woke them up and after family prayer it was time to see what Santa brought. The kids were so excited, they all had some toys, but the hit was the Wii that Santa had delivered. Austin was so cute, he didn't care what he got as long as it could go in his mouth, wrapping paper and all. Ashleigh was excited to get an I-dog, Jordan got some Star Wars Legos and Jared got some Ben 10 toys. Everyone was happy.
We talked to Grammie and Papa Atwood and then it was off to the Gunnell's for breakfast and tree with them. It was a great day, the rain held off so that the kids could play outside with their cousins and when we got home it rained so they had fun playing with all of their new toys and we all enjoyed the Wii. Thank you Santa, Gunnell's, Atwood's and Martinez's for a great Christmas.

Getting up to date

2009-01-14T09:35:00.000-08:00

WOW!! I can't believe it's 2009. The month of December was a busy one for our family. I will try to do a brief recap. Early in the month Jordan was baptized and became an official member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are very proud of him for making the decision and it was a very special day with friends and family.
After the baptism was over it was time to start gearing up for Christmas. The Gunnell family always has lots of fun activities for the holidays. We started out with a Progressive Dinner that gives us the opportunity to go to each of the family homes and see the Christmas decorations and have a fun evening with family. We started at Becky and Scott's house for appetizers and a fun game of Christmas Carol Pictionary, that the kids loved. The food was yummy, thanks Becky. Next we travelled to Natalie and JJ's home for dinner and a musical recital. The soup and corn bread were delicious, thanks Nat, and the entertainment was great as well. Ashleigh, Emily and Matt all played some great Christmas songs on the piano and Emily added some with her clarinet as well. Finally we travelled to our home for dessert and a Christmas story. I made apple crisp this year and the story I chose was The Miracle of the Wooden Shoes, a very touching German Christmas story. All in all I think everyone enjoyed themselves, it was a great way to kick off the Christmas season.
The following weekend Michael and I were able to enjoy a wonderful evening with his parents and siblings and their spouses. Bruce and Sally started a tradition a few years back and we look forward to it every year. They invite all of the adults for a delicious muli-course dinner and evening of fun. We truly appreciate all of the hard work and thought that they always put into that special night. We had a great time visiting and playing games. Oh yeah, I won the game of High Roller that we played. I have to record that for history because it probably won't ever happen again.
Christmas Break had finally arrived and the kids were so excited to not have to go to school. Granny and Papa Gunnell decided to take the grandkids to Santa's workshop for a fun filled day with them and their cousins. They all got to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas and do some fun activities as well. Fun was had by all.

Christmas was finally here and that deserves a post all by itself.

Jared Visits Santa

2008-12-03T09:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I finally managed to take one of my kids to visit Santa at the mall. We were there getting Austin's pictures taken and we went to get lunch at the food court and passed right by the Santa set up in the middle of the mall. Jared was so excited to sit on his lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas. He had the cutest smile on his face the entire time.

After he was all done and we had left the Santaland area he took my hand and said to me, "Mommy, that was a fake Santa!" When I asked him why he thought that he said that he sounded "way different than the Santa at our house." Last year for a family progressive dinner Santa visited our house to see all of the kids.

Christmas '07

Now let me remind you, last year Jared was only 2 at Christmas. That little boy amazes me at every turn. He also is always saying something to make me laugh.

Happy Birthday Jordan!!

2008-12-01T09:54:00.001-08:00

WOW! Where has the time gone. I can't believe that my oldest son is 8. It seems like just yesterday that I was giving birth to him, at least I can remember it as if it was only yesterday. We lived in Austin, TX at the time and I was working at Red Lobster. I went in the day before my due date for my last doctor's appointment and the doctor said that I wasn't making any progress toward labor (still only dilated to a 1) so he set me up to be induced the following week. I arranged for my good friend Sara to watch Ashleigh for the day that I would have him and I went to work for my last shift. The next morning at 4am I awoke to contractions. Considering what the doctor had just told me I just went out to the couch so that I wouldn't wake Michael and I timed the contractions for a few hours. They went from being every 20mins to every 8-10 mins over the course of 3 hours. Finally I decided it was time to call the doctor. I woke up Michael and Ashleigh and called my friend and asked if she could watch Ashleigh a week earlier than expected. We rushed to the hospital in Rush Hour and when I finally made it to the Labor and Delivery Room my contractions were right on top of each other and I was dilated to a 6. That was a 9:45am. I quickly accepted the offer of an epidural and the doctor arrived just in time to deliver Jordan at approximately 10:30am. I am truly grateful for the opportunity I had to go into labor on my own and also that they had time to give my an epidural when I finally made it to the hospital. When Dr. Phillips told me to stop pushing because the cord was around Jordan's neck I honestly don't know that I would have been able to stop had it not been for the epidural. The doctor was able to loosen the cord and Jordan was born a very healthy little boy. He weighed 8lbs. 1oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. We had no family with us at the time, but we had great friends to help us out. Thank you to Latina and Sara!! We were all so happy to have him in our home. He was a happy baby who loved his sister more than anything. They were the best of friends.

At the Cabin

Aunt Becky's Wedding '04

Jordan & Jared
First Day of Kindergarten

Halloween '07

Jordan & Austin

Now here we are 8 years later and Jordan is still a joy to have in our home. He is a great brother to his sister and his younger brothers. He has a very tender heart and wants to be a friend to everyone. His biggest love is video games, following in his father's footsteps. He is also starting to really enjoy playing such sports as baseball, basketball and soccer. He loves playing with legos and star wars. He also loves playing with his cousins and spending time at Granny and Papa's cabin. He is looking forward to his baptism in a few weeks and we are very proud of him for wanting to be baptized. It is a joy to watch him grow as a boy and in the gospel.

At the cabin

We love you so much buddy, keep Choosing the Right and continue to be a good friend to everyone.

Growing Too Fast!

2008-12-01T08:45:00.000-08:00

OK, Austin is now 4 1/2 months old and the kid is growing like a weed. At his check-up last week he weighed in at 17 lbs and measured 26" long, 75th% for both measurements. He's grown so much since birth that Ashleigh can barely cradle him in her arms anymore.

He is such a happy baby and he is so chunky that he is just irresistible. He loves his brothers and sister and is always so happy to see his daddy, of course I, being his food source am his favorite person in the world. He is starting to be very talkative, although his talking is more of a screeching at this point. He is also trying to roll over, but hasn't quite made it yet and he can sit up a little bit, although it's more of a balancing act than sitting up.

He is truly a joy in our home, he loves it when Ashleigh will read or sing to him or play the piano. He is all smiles when the kids are playing with him.

Happy Halloween!!

2008-11-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

Well Halloween has come and gone. Our kids had a good time preparing for Halloween this year, although they missed having Grammie around to make it even more special. They had fun opening the Halloween calendar that Granny made for them and just as much fun deciding what they were going to be this year. Ashleigh knew last year what she was going to dress as this year and she never changed her mind. She was a cowgirl and we had everything for her costume except a vest. She wanted me to buy her one, but she was pretty specific with what she wanted so I made one instead. Yes, you saw correctly, I made her a vest. She was happy with the final product and she made a cute cowgirl, not that I am biased or anything. Jordan was the easiest, he wanted to be a Clone Trooper from Star Wars the Clone Wars. That was readily available at any store that sold costumes. Jared was our difficult one this year. He changed his mind multiple times a day, everyday for more than a week. He mentioned such things as the Hulk, Batman, a Ninja Turtle and a Rock Star. We finally decided that a Rock Star was going to be it. He was so excited when I found a toy guitar for him to use with his costume. He is such an animated child, he was so funny once he had on the entire costume. Because of soccer schedules and Michael and I doing scouts it was difficult to find a night that we could carve pumpkins so on Friday when the kids got home from school they designed their Jack-o-lantern faces and I spent a few hours carving them before we needed to get ready for Trick or Treating. The kids and I went to our ward's Trunk or Treat and Michael handed out candy at home. Then we switched and Michael took the kids Trick or Treating around the neighborhood and I handed out candy at home. All in all the kids had a blast and got plenty of candy. The only problem that I had with Halloween this year was the temperature here in AZ. You would think I would be used to it by now, but Trick or Treating when its 85 outside is just not right. My mom said it was 45 in VT, somewhere in the middle would be just perfect in my book.

It's Soccer Season

2008-11-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

This year is the year that my kids are really getting into playing sports and it's fall so that means it's time for soccer. I have to say that I am grateful that Jordan chose soccer over football, don't get me wrong I love to watch football, but given the choice for my kids I would definitely choose soccer. Although that could have something to do with the fact that where I grew up, we didn't have a football team in my town, it was and still is a soccer legacy that Proctor is known for. Both Ashleigh and Jordan are playing soccer at the moment, Jordan is playing on a team and has games every Saturday and Ashleigh is playing after-school sports. Both of them are loving it so far. Jordan is doing great and improving with every game. He has seen a lot of playing time as Goalie and some time as a defender and just a little bit as a forward. He enjoys being Goalie, but did comment after the last game that he likes being a forward as well. Here are a few pictures of him at practice and his 1st game.
During Jordan's soccer practice the other kids like to roll down the hill and feed the ducks. It's a good way to pass the time.

October Break at the Cabin

2008-10-15T16:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have been thinking alot lately about how I am as a mother and I have felt inspired by some other moms that I know or know of. I decided that I was going to do my best to be a better mom, one who doesn't yell so much and makes life for my children a little more fun. October Break gives my kids a 4 day weekend and I thought it would be a perfect way to make some fun memories. The kids and I were going to the cabin for the weekend, unfortunately Michael couldn't go with us. We go to the cabin alot, so I wanted to do something that would make this weekend more memorable than some of our past trips. I didn't hook up the video player in the car and I packed us a picnic lunch to have along the way. It was a beautiful fall day (for AZ standards) and we headed out around noon. We stopped to have our picnic in Christopher Creek and the picnic area was very nice. After lunch we hiked down a hill to the creek. The kids had fun looking at the water and walking on the rocks. There were alot of spiders along the banks of the water and that freaked them out alittle bit, but they still kept going. After our lunch break and hike it was time to get back on the road.

We arrived at the cabin and it was in the 60's. The kids changed into jeans and sweatshirts and were outside playing for the rest of the afternoon. It was pretty windy and the stronger the wind got the more Jared stayed inside. For some reason he was very scared when the winds were gusty. I seriously think he was afraid he would get blown away. On Friday it was cold and windy again, but we bundled up Jared and Austin and took a walk down to the pond. The kids played in the sand pile, we did rides on the tire swing and we played on the lawn.

Saturday brought rain and even colder temps and more wind. It was a good day for movies, crafts and games. Jordan spent some time playing with his cousin Daniel at his cabin, but the rest of us stayed at Granny and Papa's cabin. Ashleigh was a little bored not having anyone to play with, but she was good to play with Jared and read to Austin. I enjoyed having time to do things with my kids. The only thing that could have made the weekend any better would have been to have Michael with us. Thank you Granny and Papa Gunnell for the use of the cabin for the weekend. I know I had a blast and I am hoping the kids did also.

Busy Family Life

2008-10-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

Life is busy, as usual. I was talking with a friend the other day and we both felt like we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off, she has 2 kids in Junior High and 2 in Elementary School. I feel lucky that mine are only in Elementary School, I am busy enough with their schedules as they are now. Ashleigh is taking piano lessons and loves every minute of it, she is doing very well. She is a perfectionist so I have no worries about her passing her songs off each week. Her teacher says she is doing great. She is also going to be starting After-school Sports in a few weeks. She is looking forward to playing soccer at school with her PE teacher being the coach. Jordan starting playing soccer a few weeks ago with a youth league here in Mesa. He loves it so far and his games start this weekend. I am so happy that he is having fun learning to play sports, hopefully he will want to spend more time doing sports than playing video games. A mom can only hope!! :) Jared is a bundle of energy and is just happy if he can go along with anyone. I am looking forward to the weather cooling down so that we can go to the park during the day once in a while. Austin is 3 months old today. He is such a cute baby. He is talking and smiling and laughing now. He tries to sit himself up when he is laying back and he has grown like a weed. At his 2 month check up (he was actually 2 1/2 months old) he weighed 13 lbs. 14 oz. and was 24 1/4 inches long, that was the 90-95% for both measurements. I couldn't believe it. I knew he was growing, but that blew me away, even moreso when my sister-in-law told me that was almost exactly what my nephew was at his 6 month appointment. I refer to Austin as our little Budda Baby. He has all of the same fat rolls as a budda, only they are a lot cuter on Austin.

General Conference

2008-10-15T15:56:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I have had a chance to sit down and update. A few weeks ago was the Semi-Annual General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It gives the members of the church the opportunity to listen to our beloved Prophet and other church leaders speak on different topics that they feel inspired to share with the world. There were 2 sessions on Saturday and 2 more on Sunday. I always look forward to Conference, I always feel spiritually renewed after listening to the Prophet and Apostles of the Lord speak words of inspiration. Especially this year, with an election and the worries of the economy I was eager to hear from our religious leaders. I am putting links to a few of my favorite talks.

Saturday AM ~ Neil L. Andersen ~ We may not know it all, but we know enough
~ President Dieter F. Uchtdorf ~ The infinite power of Hope
Saturday PM ~ Jeffrey R. Holland ~ The ministry of Angels
Sunday AM ~ President Henry B. Eyring ~ Unity
~ President Thomas S. Monson ~ Find Joy in the Journey
Sunday PM ~ Russell M. Nelson ~ Marriage

These few talks are just a sample of the conference as a whole. If any of you would like to read or listen to more I promise that you will be uplifted as you do so, just click on the link at the beginning of this post. I have been spiritually fed from this conference and I appreciate the love that my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ have for me and for all of us.

Proud to be an American

2008-09-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure if I was going to do a post about the tragedy that struck our country 7 years ago, but I decided that there were a few things that I wanted to say. I remember that day as if it was yesterday. I was in the car taking Michael to work when we heard it on the news as the second plane hit the WTC. I was completely stunned and all I could do for the rest of the day was sit in front of the television. I also spent the day trying to make contact with my many friends who lived and worked in NYC. Luckily, they were all safe.

On this September 11, 2008 I would like to express my love for this country and for the men and women who are fighting to protect us all over the world. I don't know anyone personally who is fighting in the wars in the Middle East, but I pray for their safety and appreciate the courage that they have to get up and do their job day after day. To me, this picture from 7 years ago is what we need to remember the most. That no matter what devastation is thrown our way we will always be a free country and we will always pull together in our times of need. May God bless all of the families who lost someone on 9/11/01 and fighting for our country from that day on and may God bless all of you as well.

Jared's Air Guitar

2008-09-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

Jared loves music, he loves to sing into Ashleigh's microphone and he also plays the air guitar anytime we have music on in the house. This video was taken while we had XM Radio playing on the TV one day. He is a total crack up, he keeps us laughing on a daily basis. When we got home from church on Sunday he told me that he taught the kids in his nursery class the song "Who Let the Dogs Out", he learned that from a Valentine's Day song card. All I could do was laugh and hope that is what his nursery teacher did as well.

Austin's Special Day

2008-09-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

Sunday Sept. 7th was Austin's Blessing Day. He looked so cute dressed in his white blessing outfit, although he has grown so much over the last few weeks that it was actually a little small on him. His daddy gave him the blessing, with Papa Gunnell, Uncles JJ and Scott and the members of our Bishopric all participating. The blessing was beautiful. Through the gift of the Holy Ghost, daddy blessed that he would know that his family loves him and that he is also loved by his Heavenly Father. He was blessed that he would choose to be baptized at the age of 8 and that he would be blessed with the Gift of the Holy Ghost. He was also blessed that he would choose righteous friends throughout his life and that when he was 19 he would serve his Heavenly Father by going on a mission. The blessing also promised that when he returned home from his mission he would find a worthy young woman to marry in the temple, for Time and all Eternity. Austin didn't make a sound through the entire blessing, he is such a good baby. I think he was caught up in the excitement of the day because that little boy would not take a nap for longer than 15 minutes at a time for the rest of the day, luckily he was happy and not crying all day. I am grateful to be blessed with such a happy little boy, he is getting a cute little personality. He smiles at all of us and he makes those cute little baby noises of a baby trying to talk. I am also grateful for a wonderful husband who has been able to give beautiful blessings to each of our children, thank you Michael. I love you!!

How Quickly They Grow

2008-09-05T22:53:00.000-07:00

Austin will be 8 weeks old in a few days and it amazes me how quickly time flies and how much he has changed in just 2 months. I thought I would post some random pictures of him over the last few weeks to show how he has grown and changed. Just a tidbit of information: at his 5 week check up he was 10lbs 4oz and 22 1/2 inches long. I couldn't believe that he was over 10lbs. He is a very good eater and looking at him you can tell. His whole body has filled out and he is just too cute.

All smiles for Daddy

All smiles for Mommy

Look at those cheeks!!

A Tribute To Snoopy

2008-09-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday Aug 19th in the early morning hours our beloved cat Snoopy was hit by a car in front of our home. She was a member of our family for more than 11 years and we loved her like we love our kids. The kids loved her like a sister, they were always including her in their daily prayers.

From the moment she came into our home we knew that she was right where she belonged. She was taken out of her carrier and jumped up on Michael's lap and the two of them were the best of pals from that moment on. I remember many occasions when Snoopy would greet us as soon as we drove in the driveway and she would chase oranges around the yard as if she were a dog chasing a ball. We have lived in many different places and Snoopy was always very good to adjust to her new surroundings, as long as we were around she always would come home.

When we started having children we weren't sure how she would do with the babies, but she never did anything to harm the kids. She was the exact opposite, she loved them as much as they loved her. She would sit near them when they were babies as if she was protecting them from harm. She would watch TV with the kids. One day Ashleigh and Jordan were watching a video about baby animals and Snoopy sat right down and started watching with them, then she started trying to play with the animals that were on the TV. It was hysterical. While we lived in Texas we tried getting a dog, but Snoopy wanted no part of sharing her family with another animal. She was very territorial with other animals.

Ashleigh and Jordan w/Snoopy

Snoopy playing with animals on TV

Snoopy napping with Jared

Snoopy w/Austin

She was the most loving cat. As she got older she wanted to stay in the house more often and we would find her sleeping in the funniest places. She loved the back of our closet and we often found her in Ashleigh's room laying amongst her babydolls or stuffed animals. You could hardly tell she was there because she blended in with everything. When Michael would come home from work and set his bag on the bed and take off his shoes Snoopy would immediately curl up either on the bag or on top of his shoes. She also would curl up on the computer desk while Michael was working. She loved to be around all of us. She would curl up next to my legs at night to go to sleep and in the winter she would crawl under our covers and snuggle up to my feet. I'm not sure if she was trying to keep herself or me warm.

It was heartbreaking to loose her when she still had so much life to live, our family was very sad and we miss her very much. Snoopy was 12 years old and was a very small and friendly cat. She was immune to the noise of our household and she was very tolerant of any visitors that we had, especially children. When she had had enough she would just get up and go find a quiet place to lay, if that didn't work she would go under the bed to be alone.

We love and miss you Snoopy!!

Grammie Atwood Visits

2008-09-05T11:14:00.001-07:00

When Austin was 10 days old my mom came to visit and meet her newest grandbaby. She actually arrived from Chicago after visiting with my brother and sister-in-law and there new baby boy, Brayden James Atwood, who was born 1 week before Austin was. He is adorable, except he looks exactly like my brother, poor kid, Just Kidding:) He really is beautiful and the kids are excited to finally have a cousin on the Atwood side of the family.

Brayden Atwood

Mom was an amazing help, she spent time with the older kids and did lots of cooking and cleaning. I felt kind of like a slave driver except that she did it all without me even asking. We were truly blessed to have her here and we love and appreciate all of the hard work that she did on our behalf. The only thing that would have made her visit any better was if my dad could have been with her. We look forward to the next time they can both visit. The kids had a great time with Grammie. She always has presents of some kind for them, usually clothes and books, and they love to be able to read with her. She was also nice enough to treat the kids to a fun day at Jeepers, an indoor amusement park. They all had a blast. Jordan couldn't get enough of the bumper cars and Ashleigh was a great big sister and went on all of the rides with Jared. I enjoyed having mom here to visit with and I loved having all of those home cooked meals that I didn't have to cook. Thank you MOM!!

Ashleigh almost got sick they were spun so much on this ride.

Although we don't have very many pictures of mom with Austin, I know that she loved seeing him and he loved bonding with his Grammie. It was while she was here that we did "tummy-time" for the first time and he immediately rolled onto his back. We were shocked to say the least.

Austin Meets Extended Gunnell Family

2008-09-05T10:53:00.001-07:00

Granny and Papa

Aunt Natalie and Cade

Matthew(holding Austin), Zack,
Josh(on lap) and Jared

Emily and Ashleigh

Aunt Becky and twins, Benjamin and Caleb

Austin Meets His Family

2008-09-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Our Newest Arrival!!

2008-08-29T16:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Austin is now almost 7 weeks old, but I am going to get this blog up to date if it kills me while I try.

Austin David Gunnell was born on Tuesday July 15, 2008. Here is our story. It was a long day, but well worth the wait. I was scheduled to be induced that morning at 7am. When we arrived at the hospital we were sent home, they had a mad rush of women who were in labor right before I arrived. We went to get some breakfast and before we were done eating the hospital called and said they had some more women show up whose water had broken so I needed to call back around noon. When I called at noon they told be to call back at 2pm. Finally at 2 o'clock I was told to come on in, they finally had a room for me. The best part about being pushed back was that I got a really good nap in and Michael kept the kids quiet for the day. We took them to Michael's parents house for the night and told them we would call them as soon as the baby was born, unless it was after they would be asleep.

We got checked into the hospital and settled into the room and the induction process was started. My goal from the beginning was to have a completely natural delivery. I wanted to go without an epidural, if possible. The contractions didn't seem to be much of a bother for quite a while. Michael and I were just hanging out, listening to music and I was reading a book. All was going very well and actually kind of slow. My doctor checked in at about 5:30, on his way to his son's birthday party and said all was well and he would be back between 8 and 9PM.

Just before 7PM, as the nurses were doing shift change, my nurse checked my status. I was very soft, but only dilated to a 4 (have to get to 10). That nurse went home and my contractions started to get very intense and very close together. By 7:30 I decided that I was giving in, I couldn't take the intensity any longer, get me the Epidural!! My contractions seemed to be right on top of one another, I felt like I could barely get a breath in between each of them. Michael was great, he was very attentive and just kept the ice chips coming and the cool cloth on my forehead. Anyway, by 8:10 the epidural was in, but not working at all and the nurse checked my status. Remember I was only at a 4 a little more than an hour before. I was now fully effaced and I was dilated to a 10!! I am one who has never had to push for a long time so I was worried that my doctor wasn't going to make it in time. I asked them to page him, immediately and he walked in the door right after that. I pushed a few times, feeling everything. Although I did have an epidural it didn't work at all. It finally took effect about the time they were wanting to take me to my new room, they helped me to a wheelchair and my left leg completely collapsed.

Back to giving birth, this was the first of my four kids that I was able to hold immediately upon delivery. It was an amazing experience. Austin is a beautiful baby boy who was so wide eyed and alert it was amazing to all who were in the room. He was born at 8:33PM and was ready to greet the world. His eyes were so dark it was hard to tell if they were blue or brown, but they are definitely blue and they always seem to be open. He was also a great eater right from the start. He weighed in at 6lbs 10oz and measured 21 inches long.

We called the kids and our parents to let them know the news. The kids were all getting ready for bed, but were very excited. Michael stayed with me and Austin until we were settled in to our new room. I sent him home for a good nights sleep and he would be back in the morning with the rest of the family.

4th of July Weekend

2008-08-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

After the kids were done with Basketball for the summer it was finally time to spend some much needed time in the mountains for some cooler weather and time with family. Michael's family has property in the White Mountains and we enjoy escaping to the cabin as often as we can, but a July due date didn't allow for much more than a weekend away. Michael's brother and his family were in town from Oklahoma and all of the Gunnell clan was in the mountains for the holiday weekend.

We had a great time. The kids love the freedom that they have at the cabin. As soon as we arrived they were off on their adventures with their cousins. They spent most of their time riding quads, looking for critters at the pond, going on scavenger hunts around the property and making forts. It's great to not have to worry about them when we are there, they find their way home when they are hungry. It gives us adults plenty of time to visit and get some good R&R in.

On the 4th of July, Sally(Granny) made a pinata for the kids and hid clues all over the ranch for them to have a scavenger hunt with great treats and prizes at the end. The dads were elected to take the kids on that, it was alot of fun to see all of them in a parade of quads going from one clue to the next. It filled a good hour of the day and another hour after playing with the planes and bubbles and eating the treats. That night the extended family got together for dessert, homemade ice cream and brownies and then we broke out some fireworks. The kids had a blast and didn't even miss the big show that we didn't make it to this year. A great time was had by all.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. It was alot of fun to see all of the babies in the family. We have 4 nephews who are 6 months to 1 year old and it gave me a good idea of what Austin will be doing next year. The weather was amazing, definitely worth the trip up the mountains for the weekend. Now it's time to prepare for having a baby.

When we got home from the cabin it was time for Ashleigh to do Primary Softball. We were up every morning to have her at the field for her 6am games. She had never played softball before, but was excited to learn. In her first game she had one hit and in her last game she had 2 hits and she asked to play 3rd base instead of the outfield and she got the last out of the game. She was so excited. I couldn't be there, but Michael and Ashleigh told me all about it. She loved playing, even if it was 6am.

Jumping Ahead!

2008-08-17T15:40:00.000-07:00

I am going to jump ahead about 1 1/2 months to the present. I wanted to post this video because it is too big for me to email to anyone and I wanted to show you how cute Austin is. It's about a minute and a half long, but the end is worth the wait. He is just too cute (not that I am biased). This video was taken on the day that he was 1 month old, but he has been rolling over like this since he was 2 weeks old. At first my mom and I thought it was a fluke that he rolled over, but every time we put him on his tummy he rolls himself over onto his back. It amazes all of us and makes us laugh, but at the same time I can't help but think to myself, What's next?, walking by 6 months?

I've Entered the Blogging World!!

2008-08-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

Well I am finally joining the wide world of blogging. With all of the family and friends that we have spread across the country I thought this would be a great way to keep everyone up to date on what is going on with our family.

It has been a very busy summer so I will probably take a few posts to get everything updated. I guess I will start at the beginning of the summer. I wanted the kids to have activities to keep them busy and having fun and since we were awaiting the arrival of a new member of the family in July all of their activities took place in June. All three kids were in swimming lessons for 2 weeks and they all had a blast going to the pool everyday. Although I must say, it wasn't very much fun for me, sitting in the triple digit temperatures waiting for their classes to be over. After the first week I finally sat on the edge of the pool with my feet soaking in the cool water. That definitely made it a little more bearable. Ashleigh and Jordan also participated in Basketball Camp for the month of June. They were in different age groups and they both had a blast learning the fundamentals of the game and they both improved significantly. Ashleigh can't wait for After-school Sports to start so she can get more playing in.