Hogle Zoo

The kids had a day off school last week, so we made the trek to the Hogle Zoo with our friends. Kyle is used to going to the animal museum, so I was anxious to see how he would react when he found out these animals were real. We all had a great time!

On the train...

What a good lookin' group of boys!

If you count, we've got 6 boys here and 1 girl. Someday she will appreciate those odds:)

I love this shot. I promise I didn't pose them, this was just how they were standing.

Riley was awesome, as usual. He even took a nap in the stroller. What a champ!


This is the end of the day. I think Kyle had had his fill of the zoo. Notice the "army hat." It's his hat of choice these days. He didn't take it off the entire day. I love 2 year olds, especially this one!!!!!

Family Reunion

This post is way late in coming, but here it is nonetheless. We had the greatest family reunion with the May Family. We stayed at Hidden Springs Ranch (http://www.hiddenspringsranch.biz/) and had a BLAST! We rode motorcycles and 4 wheelers, swam in the pool and hot tub, climbed the climbing wall, played volleyball, ate YUMMY food, shot clay pigeons, fished, had s'mores around the campfire, and so many other things. The place is amazing! I didn't get many photos because I was too busy playing, but here's a couple I scrounged up.

Okay, this may be my favorite picture of Riley, ever! He's chillin' by the pool.



Jason and his cousins hangin' out in the hot tub.


A reunion isn't complete without a day of shooting targets and clay pigeons.

San Diego Sibling Trip

I have a disclaimer before I post these next pictures...

I cannot be held responsible for any actions taken while in the presence of my brother and sisters. As individuals, we are calm and reasonable people. However, when combined we become a scary and not-so-mentally-stable beast.

Now that we have that out of the way, I'll tell you a little (though not all) about our recent trip to San Diego. We were in an Urban Adventure Race, which is like the Amazing Race. We had to solve clues to find places and take our pictures there. We could walk/run or use public transportation. Note: Riley is currently nursing, so he joined us on this road trip and adventure via the front pack:)

The race has prizes, which we really wanted to win something. Remember, not responsible for actions and/or appearance. Since we are not familiar with the area and do not possess an i-phone to help us solve the clues, we decided to try for the costume contest. Yup, we won! A $50 gift certificate to a bar, no less:)

Don't judge me--we had a blast! Thanks Bryan, Christie, Amy and Kari for a super fun weekend!

I love Riley's face on this one...yes, public transportation means the bus!

Did I mention that we all had superhero names?

Bryan: Heat Stroke

Erin: Empress Marsupial

Christie: Elusive Butterfly

Amy: Rainbow Raider

Kari: She Cat

This was one of the clues we had to solve and take our picture in front of (it's at Balboa Park)

Riley was amazing! He never fussed, took a nap in the front pack, and by the end of the day he had cut his first tooth. WOW!!!! (Yes, he has a costume and mask too)

Kyle Quotes

Kyle is at the funnest age. He is 2 1/2. He talks non-stop and has something to say about everything. Here are a few conversations we've had recently...

I had a ribbon in my hair, which apparently I don't do very often.
Kyle: Why you have a girl...? Why you have a girl...?
Me: Why do I have a girl bow?
Kyle: Yeah.
Me: Because I'm a girl.
Kyle (in his deep growly voice): Nooooo.
Me: Yes I am a girl.
Kyle: Noooo.

Then, a couple of weeks later...

Kyle: Mom, you a girl?
Me: Yup.
Kyle: No, you a boy.
Me: No, I'm a girl.
Kyle: Where your girl feathers?
Me (stumped): My girl feathers?
Kyle: Yeah, in your hair.
Me: Oh, I'm not wearing girl feathers today, but I'm still a girl.
Kyle: Noooo.

Also, in primary we've been learning the 4th Article of Faith this month. It talks about the principles of the gospel that we believe in.
So one day I sit down at the piano and start to play and sing it for Jason and Kyle. Kyle yells out, so excited, "Like American Pie, HOLY GHOST!" I guess we need to play more primary songs in the car and less Madonna.
(If you don't know the lyrics to American Pie, then you obviously didn't grow up in my family. It says "and the 3 men I admire the most; the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost.")

Spring is in the Air!

Ahhhh... it was warm enough this week to break out the jogging stroller, play football in short sleeves, ride bikes, and take the cozy cover off the baby carseat. YES, spring is here...well, almost. While I'm writing this, the boys are outside riding bikes with their shirts on their heads. No, it's not that warm, but don't try to tell them that.

Ben took a Sunday nap out in the sunshine today. Life must be good.

I'll be keeping my parents up to speed on the family through this blog while they're in Hawaii on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They are serving in the Kona temple and doing some teaching and reactivating as well. They are so excited to be back "home." We are already missing them, but are sure they are right where they are needed.

Riley is growing and changing all the time, it seems. He loves to interact with the big brothers and see what they're doing at all times.

Kyle is the comedian of the family. I took this video not knowing that our camera doesn't do sound. You can still get the idea though:)

Jason is the ultimate big brother. He plays with Kyle and Riley and is my right-hand man when I need an extra one.

Sean is the next Heisman candidate. He dreams, reads, plays and talks football non-stop. His highlight each day from school is the type of play he made that day at recess. One day it was a "total Rothlisberger play. I fell as I threw it and didn't see where it was going. I looked up and my friend had caught it. It was like backyard ball." He's so fun.

Here I am reading the boys a bedtime story.

Motorcycles

What do you do when you have 4 boys? You embrace it, enjoy it, and get a few motorbikes. Oh yeah, and if you're the mom, you get a rockin' pink helmet! We took a trip to Vegas to spend the weekend with two of my sisters and their families and ride our motorcycles where it's warm. The only hiccup was that it rained in Vegas. That's right, it rained in Vegas. Didn't stop us! We had a blast! Here are some pictures...

We stopped on our way to Vegas, since it was sunny, and rode around in a failed subdivision somewhere in the middle of nowhere. It was perfect for the boys. This is Jason.

Sean on the new bike we got for Christmas and hadn't ridden yet.

Kyle on the 4 wheeler, in the rain. What a trooper!

Riley kickin' it and trying to grab his toys. (This was the sunny day, don't worry Mom)

Me in my sweet helmet. I never knew the desert could be so much fun.

Ben with our gear...I had to show this because I think our trailer full of toys is so cute. Can you see the rainbow in the background?

It was raining pretty good, so Amy took cover with her girls and our littlest boys in the car. By the time we were done, we were soaked all the way through our coats, pants, etc.

The newlyweds, Kari and Dan, brave the rain.

Winter Wonderfulness

It's been a while, so I'll post a little of what we've been up to lately...


It's not everyday that you get all the grandparents together. We have Grandma May, Sean, Grandpa Heers, Great-Grandma Heers, Riley, Great-Grandma Silvestri, Jason, Grandma Heers and Kyle. What a great looking group!


After several hunting trips, Sean and Ben finally had a successful one! We ate duck for dinner...believe it or not, the boys absolutely love it. Yes, we're a little weird around here:)

Jason, Kyle and Sean in some serious powder!

Cousin Carlie and Kyle sporting their awesome bandanas. Kyle has worn his every day this week. He calls it his "hat costume" and says he is ready for Halloween.

We went to Temple Square to see the Christus statue. What is so neat, besides everything at Temple Square, is that the voice of the Christus Statue is Ben's dad. So our boys got to go listen to Grandpa May. It brought sweet tears to my eyes.

My angel baby!

Jason on our snow cave/igloo. We all worked hard on this one!

This is New Years' Eve with cousins. Bonnie is in the background and Kyle is hugging Madsen. We had so much fun playing with cousins, hanging in the hot tub, watching a movie and having yummy gingerbread waffles for breakfast.