September Celebrations

     School has now been in session for more than a month, and we're all settling in to a normal routine, complete with marching band, soccer, homework, and friends and family.

Becca's Birthday Sign

     September came with big parties and dates. Dad and Becca celebrated their birthdays. Dad is now 49 (almost 50!! What?), and our little Becca is now 10 years old! None of us can believe she's already that old. Time just keeps racing by!

Liz being asked to
Homecoming 

Liz and James

     Lizzy was asked to Homecoming by James. Even though they had to race against the clock after a marching band competition, Liz and James had a great time. Lizzy looked stunning in her dress! She is also teaching art lessons, and absolutely LOVES teaching others about one of her passions.

     The family was also able to go to the Brigham City Temple Open House. It was an amazing experience to walk through the temple and know that we're a forever family.

Brigham City Temple

No Braces

     Anna's biggest highlight of the past few months was getting her braces off. Look out, world! Here comes Anna--brilliant, gorgeous, and braces-free! Anna still loves music, especially 1 Direction. She just got the tickets for their concert next summer and can't wait to go!

Jellyfish Costume

     Becca is getting ready for Halloween. This year she has decided to be a jellyfish. She's really excited to go trick-or-treating this year and show off her great costume.

     Mom, Kirstie, and Pat are going to Ohio in a few weeks to visit the Burnham's. We all wish we could join them, but hope they enjoy themselves! Ella is growing up so fast (she's almost 1!), and we can't wait until we get to see them again.

     While the family keeps staying on top of a busy schedule in Farmington, I'm loving being down here at BYU and am enjoying being a college student.

     Mom and Dad are still just as supportive and encouraging, even with everyone going in a million different directions. We're so lucky to have them as parents!

Wedding, Trips, Trips, and even more Trips

Summer has been busy, busy, busy! The two major highlights for the family were Nikki, Darrin, and Ella coming and, of course, Pat and Kirstie's wedding!

The Bride and Groom

Pat and Kirstie went to Florida on their honeymoon and had a great time. They also went to Peru with Mom and Dad to see the people Pat met and taught on his mission. They loved meeting these amazing people and had a fun time sight-seeing. Pat and Kirstie then went to Canada with Kirstie's family. They had a great time visiting grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins!

Happy Family! With Ella trying to figure out
what the tractor does

Nikki, Darrin, and Ella stayed here for a month to come to the wedding and go to Lake Powell with the Burnhams. We loved having them here and can't wait for them to move back permanently!

Mom and Dad took me (Em) to Europe for my senior trip. It was amazing and gorgeous! We had a lot of fun seeing the old cultures of Venice, Croatia, Athens, and Olympia.

Liz has been busy with marching band. She's in pit this year and loves learning her part on the vibraphone. We can't wait to see the show!

Anna's bass drum

Becca's violin

Becca, Nikki, and Ella
(Anna is behind the camera)

Anna and Becca visited Ohio for the month of July. They kept Ella happy and loved to spoil her with their attention. They had a lot of adventures (including a loss of power for several days and a trip to the hospital), and Nikki and Darrin appreciated their help.

Mom, Dad, and Camel

Becca and Liz took a turn

The family went to Cedar City and St. George to see Les Miserables and Aladdin. Tuacahn is always amazing, and this year was no exception. One adventure we had was riding a camel. We loved spending time as a family!



Anna and I got a ride

Aladdin and Hairspray

Liz and Shakespeare in a deep,
intellectual converstaion

Now we're all getting ready for school. Becca will be in fourth grade and is excited to follow in all the siblings' steps and have Mrs. Gundry as her teacher. Anna will be in 8th grade and is excited to continue band and be on yearbook staff. Liz will be a junior at Viewmont and is the section leader for pit in marching band. I am all moved in down in Provo and am excited to start college. Pat and Kirstie have started classes at the U and SLCC. Darrin, Nikki, and Ella are in Ohio, and we can't wait for Darrin to finish law school and hopefully move back here! Mom and Dad are trying to figure out everyone's schedules, and trying to get used to having half their kids out of the house.

Takin' Over the Blog :D

Since my mom is busy running the household, I (Em) figured I would take over the blog. :) Since October, we've had a lot of things happen. The newest, cutest addition to our family is Ella. As the first grandbaby on our side, she is SPOILED! But she's just so cute we can't help ourselves! Mom got to fly out in November to see her, and they came out for Christmas. She's growing up way too fast, though.


We're going to be getting another addition to the family. Pat's engaged to Kirstie Pepers!! We can't wait til they get married on June 15th. He proposed on December 31st and, luckily for all of us, she said yes! He's working for JetBlue as a customer support person (ok. So I'm not sure what his exact title is...).


I'm planning my graduation trip and my last summer without responsibility! I'm going down to BYU in the fall. And though I haven't fully 'converted' to being a cougar fan, I've decided I won't take my Utah paraphernalia down to Provo. Hopefully I'll get my CNA license so I can get a job down there.


Liz got to go to Europe for her 16-year-old trip. None of us thought it was really fair, but Mom and Dad took her anyway. She loved going to Paris and London, and even got a caricature of her and Mom from a "real-live French artist!" She is still living life to the fullest, and loves playing any instrument she can get her hands on.


Anna's excited to finish her 7th grade year. She just got accepted into the yearbook staff and can hardly wait! She LOVES band and is getting to be as good as Liz on percussion. She still loves photography and keeps amazing us with all her fantastic pictures.


Becca is still ruling our house. She's so smart that we keep thinking she's much older than she really is. She loves reading, and she has gotten to be quite the little bookworm. I'm so proud. ;) She loves learning and currently has mosquito eggs in a bowl upstairs so she can watch them hatch (don't worry, it's covered).


Mom and Dad? Well, when they're not busy going from one kid's event to another's, doing yardwork, attending meetings, or trying to figure out schedules, they love to spend time with us and each other. I don't think they've had a day all to themselves in years, so hopefully they get one or two by the time we all move out...But we're so grateful to them both for always being there to support us and cheer us on.

Liz the Artist

I found the pickle this year!!

Family Pics

Ella awake at 1 in the morning!
But isn't she adorable?

Dad, Becca, and Laila on the roof.

We got to go to Disneyland
with Dad's side for Christmas.

Becca did Darrin's hair
when they came out...

This is the only picture of Pat and Kirstie
that I can find... Aren't they cute?