The Robinson Family

Jace's 6th Birthday Bash

2010-04-25T20:36:00.005-06:00

Okay so the theme that Jace wanted for her big day was transformers. So I get online for some ideas. Can I just say there are some pretty creative ladies out there with lots of fun ideas. So I printed off some games and then below...this is our "pre" party activity...coloring transformer pages! They loved it! We did this until all the guests had arrived!

Jace and his birthday badge.

Even cousin McKayla got into the coloring! Pretty coloring McKayla!

One of my fun games I found. I think this one was bingo!

This was a game...not sure if it had a name or not but I printed off the "good" transformers and the "bad" transformers (I know they have specific names but I can not think of them at this time) and they had to find the bad ones I think. I did learn a lot planning this party...all about the transformer world. Kind of fun!

This is the "don't eat Pete" game. This game I got from a friend of mine a few years back and it has become a HUGE hit at all my kids parties. They love it. I just print off a grid of charactors. We then have one person leave the room, another person chooses who is going to be "pete". The paper has a candy on each charactor. The person who leaves the room tries to eat the most candies...when them come to the charactor that is pete, everyone in the room screams "DON'T EAT PETE!" The really do get into it.

Opening presents!

The kids posing with their transformers masks!

Now funny faces!

Cake time!

Look at this cute cake! Well I thought it was a cute cake on short amount of time. Rather then buying a fancy trasnformer cake pan or trying to do something on my own, I just made a regular rectangle cake and added transformer figurines on top. Jace loved it! Then Mike strategically added the candles. He had fun with this too!

Make a wish!

Christmas Morning

2010-03-15T16:28:00.007-06:00

Christmas morning is always an exciting time in our house. Here are some pics capturing this event!

Remember I was pregnant at the time...just wanted to remind you as you look at these pics! That is a baby...not just a big belly!

Mike using our Christmas present...a new camcorder! Yeah!

Boy was this the ever exciting present of the year! Kids could not stop screaming!

Games for the Wii!

Ella by all of her Christmas present! Santa spoiled her!

Jace by all of his goodies!

Halle showing off her new toys...except for that hot wheels item...didn't realize that was in the pic! :-)

I had to add this picture in here. This was after Christmas but this is Ella sitting on the heater vent. This is where we always find Miss Ella...she loves the warm air coming out!

The Lights at Temple Square

2010-03-15T14:34:00.005-06:00

I have been wanting to take the family to temple square for the last few years and we just never find the time to go. This year we did. We probably have not done this since Halle was real little. Anyway, the evening was pretty chilly but the kids liked seeing all the lights! Just beautiful!

Halle took this pic (above).

Fail Family Chirstmas Party

2010-03-15T13:55:00.004-06:00

Every year at Christmas time, we get together with the Fail family where we socialize, eat, and get a visit from Santa. Here are some pics!

Ella wasn't so sure she wanted to sit on his lap...she warmed up to the idea though as you can see with the picture below.

Thanksgiving with the family at Bear Lake

2010-03-15T13:24:00.008-06:00

It is hard to get all my brothers and sister and their families together because we don't have a big enough place to hold us all. My uncle has a cabin at Bear Lake. We have visited before so we decided to do it again. We got everyone there and had a blast! The kids love spending time together and us adults too! I think we might make this a tradition!

The little girls playing princess dress up game. This is Ella, Aubrey, and Briann.

The boys playing the classic Acquire game! I have only played this game I think once but the boys can not get enough of it!

The 3 amigos watching a movie!

Playing games is the highlight of this trip!

Grandpa just relaxing!

Troy and Kaylynne relaxing!

Andrea playing on the computer!

Hot tub time. I know my mom and sister are going to kill me for posting this! The hot tub was a big hit in the evening! Too bad I was pregnant...that would have been a nice treat!

Kevin and Connor!

Hot chocolate with whip cream! Kaylynne brought a ton of whip cream and adding it into hot chocolate was just the treat we needed!

Tanner crashed out!

Halle, Amylynne, and Kayty! These 3 were always together!

Breakfast with grandpa!

Playing the card game RAGE! Even though this was a little too old for some of the kids, we managed. The last round where we put the card up to our forheads was our favorite part. Me all prego! Don't judge!

The kids playing with Connor!

Dad was doing magic with the kids and so Tanner had a trick of his own!

Time to say goodbye! We had a great weekend with the family! Glad we could all be there together! Hope to do this again next Thanksgiving!

Halle turns 8 and is baptized!

2010-03-15T13:13:00.004-06:00

Halle could not wait until she turned 8! She was counting down the days. Originally we were going to have her baptized in October but due to a family funeral, we had to reschedule it. She was then baptized on November 7th! And she will tell you that too! She remembers that day! We are so proud of her that she made the choice to be baptized!

Leaves, leaves, and more leaves!

2010-03-15T13:00:00.003-06:00

Now that we are all moved into our new home, looking at these pictures makes me sad as I will miss our trees at our old home. It was always tradition to rake up the leaves and jump in them and of course I would always capture it on film.

The BOO Crew

2010-03-15T12:06:00.008-06:00

I finally discovered that buying halloween costumes on clearance for next halloween is the best way to go! I was surprised what I found last year...the kids even liked the costomes. Jace is a skeleton pirate dude. Halle is cougar or something like that. I always go and visit the kids school on halloween to see them show off their costumes during the "halloween parade." Below is Jace showing off his pirate costume.

Jace during his kindergarten parade!

Ella decided to joy the parade as well. She is a fairy princess!

For whatever reason, every time I went to go and take a pic of Jace, this is the funny face he would give! What a silly kid!

After the parade, I helped out in Jace's classroom. His teacher had some fun things for the children to do. Ella joined in the fun!

Here is Jace getting a stamp on his face along with paint!

Time to join Halle in her parade!

The kids posing by their pumpkins just before going trick-or-treating!

Begging for candy at the neighbors!

We visited a scary, decorated house in the neighborhood. There was even smoke in their front yard. Kind of fun! Ella wanted no part of it!

Another decorated house in the neighborhood. Time for pictures!

This next house is know for their decorations each year! So fun! This pic and then the ones below are all at this house! We make sure to visit their house each halloween!

This was a funny decoration located on one of their trees in the front of the house. It would talk to you. Ella was a bit confused!

Crazy Hair Day!

2010-03-14T20:18:00.002-06:00

The kids had "Crazy Hair Day" at school! I had to take a pic although the wig on Jace did not last long. It was too ichy he said! Still, they looked great!

American West Heritage Center, Logan

2010-03-14T19:00:00.010-06:00

There is always something fun to do at the American West Heritage center. We usually go for animal days but this year we went during fall and they had loads of things to do for the kids. We met Mike's sister and family there and the just had a blast!

Here are the kids posing in front of the lobby area! Had to stop and take a pic!

Ella riding a pony! Love that helmet!

Halle's turn...now that is a helmet! They made the kids wear them but at the same time, they were old and did not stay on their heads!

Jace and a pony!

This was a big pile of hay for the kids to do whatever! They decided to jump!

Tunnels in the hay!

The big slide! This is Jace on his way down!

A different view of Jace!

Halle's turn! Ella wanted no part of it!

The corn maze! It seemed like we were in there forever! The kids loved it though!

Pose for a pic kids!

Train ride! Ella with cousin Ian and Aunt Carrie!

Jace, cousin Talmage, and Halle!

Petting zoo!

The kids were looking into this area at a very angry goat! Well he looked pretty angry! I wasn't going near him!

Swing time!

They couldn't get enough of the chickens!

Jace and Talmage on a big tractor!

Ella loved the horses!

A great pic at the end of a fun day!

Miss Ella looking soooo cute! What a great time we had!

Halle's 8th Birthday

2010-03-14T17:31:00.005-06:00

Halle turned 8 in October! I know...way late posting but that is what happens when being pregnant and trying to move. But like I have said in other posts, I need to post events in order...so I thought I would try to catch up today.

So I wanted to make a cake for Halle and Aunt Keri suggested this fun cake pan that creates a heart in the middle of the cake when you fill it with whip cream. So I did this...but apparently I did not wait for the cake to cool...so the cake started to fall apart! We had to hurry and have the party before the cake fell apart even more. You can see in this pic that the cake is leaning a bit! I tried! Halle wanted sprinkles and so we added sprinkles...a lot of sprinkles!

Here is a close up of the fallen cake!

Halle opened a card from grandma and grandpa Robinson and loved what she found inside!

Hurry...light the candles and fast...the cake is falling!

Make a wish!

Oh boy...it is really falling apart!

Can you see the heart...kind of!

Opening presents!

Present from the Yeaman crew! Well that is the party! Last year we had a big party with friends and I thought, I can only do that every other year and so that is what we did...this year was with family...next year with friends!! But we had fun and Halle received some nice gifts and a beautiful cake from her mommy!

School Days - First day!

2009-12-29T20:54:00.005-07:00

Always a fun time of year...a new school year! Jace was super excited because he was starting Kindergarten!

Just before heading to the bus stop!

Waiting in line at the bus stop with cousins Tanner and Nathan! So fun to go to the same school as their cousins!

The bus! Jace just absolutely loves riding the bus!

Jace's classroom!

Jace sitting by his bed bud Austin!

Halle all ready to learn!

Fail Family Reunion

2009-12-29T20:23:00.005-07:00

This year the Fail Reunion was up in Payson Canyon.

This is Ella and her cousin Aubrey playing.

Craft time with grandma.

What Halle ended up making during craft time.

Bundled up near the fire pit.

Heading home, we stopped in the canyon and took a short hike to a little waterfall. Here is Ella posing.

Halle posing!

Walking across the little creek on our way to the waterfall!

I told you it was a little waterfall!! The kids loved the hike though...Ella now not in the mood to take a pic!

Me and the kids!

Jace posing!

Ella on our way back to the car. She decided to slide down a little hill rather than walking down it!

Playing Ball! Summer 2009

2009-12-29T17:02:00.007-07:00

Jace playing t-ball and Halle playing machine pitch is one of our highlights throughout summer.

Jace hitting the ball.

Random pics of Jace catching and throwing the ball from the outfield.

Jace getting bored and playing in the dirt.

More catching the ball. I kind of got picture crazy!

Time for a break!

Running to home base!

The fans! Cute pic of Halle, Ella, and their favorite cousin McKayla!

Halle's turn! Look at that stance!

Her turn to be catcher...getting all geared up!

Play ball!

Pineview Reservior July 24th

2009-12-29T16:46:00.003-07:00

July 24th is a holiday here in Utah as well as Grandma's birthday. We celebrated by going boating at a nearby reservior! We come here often every summer! Too much fun!

My niece McKayla and I braving the tube being pulled by the boat! We lasted for a bit but then got a little nervous and tired!

Halle and I on the tube. That girl of mine has noooo fear!

Halle and Uncle Dave! Again...no fear! Dave said she was laughing the entire time!

Mike and Ella relaxing on the boat!

Jace getting tired of being in the sun!

My cute little Miss Ella!

Halle Magoo as we call her!

I love this pic of Jace. This was a tube that you can pull behind the boat but it is pretty crazy to do so...the kids just played with it in the water instead.

Ella having a blast in the water by herself!

Halle again on the tube with her cousin McKayla! Boy do we enjoy grandpa's boat! Thanks for taking us grandpa!

Celebrating July 4th!

2009-12-29T16:39:00.003-07:00

We usually just sit in front of our house to see the local fireworks every July 4th. We have a great view!

Soooo memorizing!

Sparklers!! Ella was a bit nervous but then got used to the idea!

Robinson Family Reunion

2009-12-29T16:06:00.006-07:00

This year, grandma and grandpa Robinson opted to rent out this absolutely fabulous cabin that happens to be Mike's cousin's. It was soooo much fun!! The cabin had 11 rooms and so it was perfect for the entire Robinson family. We loaded up the van and headed out. There was a pond in the back for canoeing plus Mirror Lake close by to go fishing. Lots of fun stuff to do. We stayed for a week and just had a blast! Here are some pics!

Mike and the kids canoeing!

Fishing at Mirror Lake! This was a beautiful spot!

Mike looking like a somewhat fisherman!

Halle and Mike!

Love this shot! Look at the tongue action Halle has as she casts her fishing pole!

Like father like daughter!

Red light green light on the balcony!

Halle and I 4-wheeling! This was fun! I want a 4-wheeler now!

Going for a walk!

Halle...I swear everytime she gets in front of the camera, she looks sooo dang cute! The camera loves her! This was at a small old cabin we found just behind the cabin we stayed at!

Family pic!

I thought this was a cute pic the way Mike decides he is going to hold Miss Ella on our way back from our walk!

Ella found some flowers to give to mom...along with a funny facial expression!

More fishing at a little fishing spot near the cabin!

Halle found a funny little stick and of course struck a pose!

Just a cute pic I thought walking back from fishing!

Mike and I decided we would take a romantic get away on the 4-wheeler! Pretty fun!!

Jace and his cousin Talmage playing dress up at the cabin!

This was on our way back home where we stopped at a waterfall along the Provo River. Another fun week of summer!

Lagoon 2009!

2009-12-29T15:37:00.006-07:00

Every year we go to the amusement park nearby! The kids absolutely have a blast. This year Halle was tall enough to go on the big kid rides although as I say that, I realized we don't have any pics of her on the big kid rides...oh well! We went with Mike's sister and family! Our kids and their kids are the same age so it works out well!

Dad and Ella all wet!

The bumper cars were a hit. We always spend a lot of time on this ride! The kids just go again, and again, and again!

I love these little boats! They got a new paint job this year. I have pics of me as a young child in these boats!

The rare pic you see of me! Of course I am usually behind the camera but Carrie, my sister-in-law was gracious enough to take this pic! Ella looks a bit frightened!

Man we got all wet on this ride!! But I think we laughed the most here!!

Halle could not get enough of this ride! Uncle Jeremy was happy to take the kids a few times more!

Train ride!

Mike and I on the little train!

Sky ride! I am always so nervous on this ride!! Nothing to buckle you in...we made it across alright though! Another fun filled day at Lagoon!!

Splashing' Good Time

2009-12-27T17:37:00.004-07:00

Alright, it is time to update again on the Rowdy Robinson's. Yep it is December but I am uploading summer pics. I got to go in order you know...don't want to miss any event in our lives so here ya go!

These pics are in the front yard on the ever so famous splip and slide we have had for a bit. Kids sure have fun on it though!

Local pool in our area...we love to go often. Halle this year started jumping off the diving board. Look at this neat shot!

Kiddie slides!!! Ella was a little nervous at first but then we couldn't get her off them!

Ella and Jace lounging!!!

All the kids (with some cousins) all beating up on Mike! Mike is like a kid himself!

Mike and Ella on the bigger slide!

Jace on the kiddie slides! We love to go to the POOL!

Pool Party in Henefer!

2009-10-18T18:11:00.004-06:00

Every year we go and spend the afternoon with Mike's aunt and uncle in Henefer. They have this reallyl nice pool and it is nice to get together with extended family. It ends up being a really big party with lots of people. The kids had a blast!

Halle's End of the Year Play

2009-10-18T17:18:00.006-06:00

At the end of the year, Halle's 1st grade class put on a play for the school and parents. She really did have fun with this. Here are a few pics. The play took place in Korea I believe. She is my born actress. Watch the video...she played her part just right! The mic was not on at first and so it is hard to hear but you can hear Halle pretty good!

Here is Halle after her play posing by her picture of herself. I guess they laid down on the ground while someone traced an outline of their body...not sure what the bulge on the left right side of her body is...but cute!

Mike's Random Pics of the Kids with our Springtime Flowers!

2009-10-18T17:05:00.003-06:00

Mike decided to show me that yes, my camera does work. I was complaining that I don't know how to use the dang thing! We had some springtime flowers popping up, so the kids did the posing and Mike took the pics. Usually I would have had the kids hair (well Ella's really) all done up...but again, this is Mike's doing!

These 3 pics above are in front of our lilac bushes. Too bad they only bloom for a few weeks!

Ella's 3rd Birthday!

2009-10-18T16:52:00.002-06:00

Okay, so for whatever reason, I could not work my camera very well this evening and so the pics are the greatest, but we did have a good time. Grandma and Grandpa Robinson came over as well as Aunt Keri and family to celebrate Ella's 3rd birthday. She is growing up wayyyy to fast!

This is of my cute cake I made Miss Ella Boo. My sister has all kinds of cake pans. We have used this one a few times for Halle. Anyway, the frosting was kind of thin but it turned out okay. Too bad I took the pic after the candle's were taken out...kind of making the cake look funny...but it really was a cute cake!

Ella all dressed up. One of her presents she got were the tinkerbell shoes. She already had the dress of Tinkerbell, so she decided to model for us her new shoes to match her dress!

The most important part of the party...the cake and ice cream!

Jace's Preschool Graduation

2009-10-18T16:38:00.003-06:00

Jace graduated from preschool! Yeah! I just absolutely love his teacher. She does such a great job. She uses lots of music in her lessons which I like. Anyway, they put on a show for the parents with music and some of the different things they learned throughout the year. Halle wnet to the same preschool and I was anxious to put Ella in next year but was sad to find out that she will not longer be teaching preschool! Anyway, here are some pics of this great moment, graduating from preschool!

Soccer Season

2009-10-18T16:21:00.004-06:00

Alright, these pics above are of Jace. This was his first year playing soccer and he loved it. He had a lot of fun...maybe too much fun as it was a little hard for him to concentrate....but he did good when he had the chance to kick the ball!! Go team!

Okay, so I didn't get many pics of Halle playing soccer. In fact, all of these pics are from both Jace and Halle's last game and they were at the same time. I just forgot to take my camera throughout the season. So this is the only pic of Halle's game. She is on the red in the middle. Oh well. Next year I will get some more. She loves to play soccer. This year though it seemed that she was in a more advanced team...it must be that she is getting older. They worked more on techniques which was good.

Easter Egg hunt at Grandma Fail's

2009-10-18T15:46:00.006-06:00

Ready, Set, Hunt for Easter Eggs!

Down the stairs we go!

Coloring Eggs - Easter 2009

2009-09-30T16:44:00.006-06:00

Alright, I thought I better catch you up on the happenings at the Robinson household. It has been like 7 months since I posted....but I can't just pick up on what is going on now, so these first few posts are going to be mostly pics, not a lot of comments. I hate skipping events so here is goes...we are going to start with Easter 2009. Below are some randpom pics of the family coloring eggs. I honestly dislike this activity. It is stressful for me because I hate the mess of it all. But we did good! We colored eggs the traditional way and then we painted eggs which this was was kind of fun. Mike got into it as well...and of course, you don't see me in any of the pics because I am the one behind the camera.

Mike posing!

Ella decided she wanted to try tasting the colored water....

Pearl Harbor

2009-04-05T16:40:00.007-06:00

Alright, this is my last entry from our trip to Hawaii I promise. I know I have posted a ton of pics but we had such a great time, I had to share our pics with everyone.

So our last day in Oahu we decided to tour Pearl Harbor. It was Sunday and we thought that was a good Sunday activity. It was pretty amazing. Here are a few pics of the US Arizona which is the battleship that sunk during Pearl Harbor Invasion. Over 900 lives were lost that day solely on this battleship (please let me know if I got this wrong but I am pretty sure that is what I learned the day we toured Pearl Harbor). They have built a memorial that stands over the sunken ship where you can still see parts of the ship sticking out of the water. Every day, 2 liters of oil escapes the ship. Everyday for over the last 60 years!! Just standing there looking all around, I was just in awe imagining what it was like that sad day. And then looking at all the names that were lost alone on the US Arizona...just amazing! There was a stillness that you can not describe.

This is inside the memorial that was built over the top of the Arizona.

The over 900 names of those lost.

Can you see the oil on top of the water?

This is the US Missouri. It is almost identical to the US Arizona. It is now docked at Pearl Harbor and a tour that people can take while visiting there. We did not take the tour of this battleship due to the lack of time. Just looking at it from the outside is amazing, I can't imagine how it was in the inside.

Also at Pearl Harbor is a submarine called the Bowfin which is yet another tour there. Again, we did not take the tour but just looking at it from the outside was pretty amazing.

Well, that is it. That is the last pic I am going to post. After Pearl Harbor, we set off to the airport and played cards until our plane was too leave. We were sad to leave but anxious to get home to our kids and show them all the fun things we did while we were gone. Stampin' Up! was so wonderful to us! What an opportunity!! If you have every thought you might want to visit Hawaii, do it! It is beautiful there and so much history too! Aloha!

Polyneisan Culture Center in Oahu!

2009-04-04T20:05:00.013-06:00

Alright, just warning you, there is a lot of videos and pictures on this post. This was an awesome place to visit. We definitely were entertained this day and learned a lot! If you don't mind reading and looking, I am going to take you through the different villages here at the PCC. But first, here is us posing for yet another pic.

The first village we went to was Samoa. The guy doing the presentation here was quite funny although I did not get any pics of him. How dumb is that? I did take a pic of one of the kids climbing a palm tree though. Pretty cool! And then they said he was going to jump...I thought, is he crazy? He was kidding.

This village is of Aotearoa, or in other words, New Zealand. This was one of my favorite villages we visited. As we watched these people, we were wondering what was with their eyes? Every once and a while, they would open them real big. Kind of weird looking. Watch just one person in the video and you can maybe catch it. Anyway, they explained that they do this to emphasize a word at that exact moment or message. Very interested!

This video shows the Aotearoa/New Zealand people again. I just liked this village. Watch the girl in the middle. She opens her eyes really big. And the guys...they sure love to slap their chests! They were hurting by the end I am sure!

The next village was Tonga. This guy in the red grass skirt was hilarious! Check out this video below as he was trying to get a Korean guy out of the audience, to copy him and then finish the beat! I was laughing sooo hard! So was Mike as you can hear him in the background!

These next few pics and videos are of the Canoe Tour that the center does. Every afternoon, every stops and watching this tour as each island is represented with dancers on canoes. Very entertaining!

Check out these girls! Who can move their hips like that? I tried to learn but my hips did not cooperate! At the Tahiti village, I actually asked one of the girls if it hurt to move her hips like that? She said no but that it can be tiresome! They were amazing!

These are the people of Fiji!

Island of Aotearoa or the island of New Zealand.

This video is of the Hawaiian people! The moves of the Hula!

More of Oahu!

2009-04-04T19:39:00.004-06:00

Alright, so after our amazing stay at the Hilton on the Big Island where it was all paid for by Stampin' Up!, we decided while here in Hawaii, we wanted to visit the island Oahu. We went with about 5 other couples. Most of us stayed at the Marriott on Waikiki beach. We arrived here pretty late after going to Waimea Falls. We got all check in and found that Mike and I were on the 26th floor. I got out on the balcony and took a few shots and then ended up getting a little nervous and dizzy. It was cool being up that high, but would have been more comfortable a little lower to the ground! :-) Anyway, here are a few night shots from our balcony. We could kind of see the beach but more of the hundreds of other resort buildings. Waikiki area is kind of like downtown New York you could say. A lot different from where we just came from on the Big Island. We are city folks here!

Here is a day shot from our balcony! The sad thing again is that we did not spend too much time here at Waikiki beach but that is okay. What we did find during our few days here was awesome!

On our way over to the Polynesian Culture Center, we stopped and took some pics of the awesome beaches we passed. I am not for sure what this beach is called but it was close to Hanama Bay (sorry, not sure of the spelling but is famous for snorkeling if anyone knows of this place) and where they call the "Blowhole."

Here is a pick of the Blowhole where water comes shooting up in the hole in the lava rock. Very windy here but fun to watch!

Here is an actual video of the blowhole!

Leaving the Big Island and arriving in Oahu!

2009-04-03T20:36:00.001-06:00

Alright, how cool is this airport? It is all outside in the open! Not the kind of airport I am used to!

This is Mike as we are headed onto the plane to fly from the Big Island to Oahu! No terminal or anything. Just walk up some stairs onto the plane. It took only about 30 minutes to get to the next island!

Once we landed in Oahu, we got our rental car and were out again exploring. We shared a rental car with my dear friends the Barnards and the Williams. We decided to head up toward North Shore and find Waimea Falls which we read about in our famous "blue" book!

Look at this awesome shot! This is Waimea falls which if I remember right, means something to do with the color of red. I think that is what Waimea means. And the reason for the name is because at some times, the falls look red from the lava. We actually swam in this little pool area. This is the only waterfall in Hawaii that you can actually swim in. Kind of cool. The boys were all for it and got into their suits as soon as we got there. Brandi and I had to be convinced a little. You see, this is all fresh water meaning COLD. We did finally get in with our life jackets of course and then swam over. In this shot, Mike is over there somewhere. The boys and Brandi all swam into the fall where there is a little nook I guess. I tried and failed and then chickened out. Oh well!

This place where Waimea Falls is, has now turned into um...I guess you would call it a nature park of some sorts. It was pretty awesome! The scenery was amazing. Here is Mike playing ancient Hawaiian games.

Here are Mike and I playing another ancient Hawaiian game similar to bowling I guess except a little different. We had to roll these little type disks between the 2 sticks poking out of the sand. I of course was a pro at it!! :-)

Another shot in the garden park. Just really pretty in here and we had the park all to ourselves. We got there kind of later in the day and the park closed at 5:00. So all the people had already left and we were there exploring on our own. The ranger did not mind at all!

Brandi, Melanie and I stopped for a pic near the pretty flowers!

This was just a funky tree again in the garden/nature park.

More funky trees! Pretty cool looking though!

These were vines hanging from the trees. Mike wanted to play George of the Jungle!

Alright, these next few pics are some of the beautiful flowers found in this nature park. I had to take pics! Anything can grow on this island. The soil was just right!

More and More of Hawaii!

2009-04-03T09:28:00.002-06:00

Every night, Stampin' Up! would leave pillow presents on our beds in the hotel. We first got a cute bad with red and black Hawaii flowers on it. The guys also got a more manly looking bag. I didn't take pics of all the gifts. This pic above is another gift left for us. This is just a bag of treats wrapped up in leaves I believe from the the Banyan tree but not sure. It was soooo cute the way they wrapped it up. I guess this is a traditional way to wrap gifts too as we saw something similar at the Place of Refuge. Other gifts included a Hawaiian wrap (I know there is a word for this wrap but I can't think of it right now) and a necklace that says Aloha on it.

This is what was inside of our little bundle of joy!

This is a sea turtle we saw while on a little beach with Mike's sister Jennifer and family. I stood and stood forever to wait for this little guy to come up for air like 3-4 minutes. Didn't get a good shot though when he did finally come up for air. He was too busy eating the algae on the rocks.

Mike and I at the Stampin' Up! luau. It was dark and a lot of things going on so the pic did not turn out so good but still wanted to remember the moment!

Arriving in Hawaii!

2009-04-03T08:40:00.007-06:00

I got so excited posting pics that I probably should have done them in order. This is what we saw once we walked off the plane in Kona. Stampin' Up! loves us!

This is Mike on our balcony of our room. Some people got ocean views we we got the golf course view. We are not complaining, we are in Hawaii!! Still pretty!

Me out on our balcony with my beautiful lay Stampin' Up! gave us the night before once we landed!

More pictures of this amazing resort!

Another pic of resort.

Pool area of the resort. The sad thing is that we really did not spend any time at the pool area. We did hit the hot tub though!!

This is a whale that we saw just standing on the resort property. It is kind of far away but I tried to zoom in as close as I could. Pretty cool though huh?

Tuesday we headed off on a shuttle tour around the island. We stopped at Black Sands Beach. It was really windy here but beautiful and yes, the sad was black!

More of the view at Black Sands Beach.

Okay, so sea turtles are endangered species here and if you touch one, you get fined. Well this is the turtle I about stepped on. It was soooo windy and I was looking at the scenery not the ground as I was walking and then all of a sudden, some other demonstrators started yelling, "Don't step on the turtle. It is right by your feet!" Yep, can you image me in jail in Hawaii for touching a turtle? He kind of looks like a rock really!

This is right as we were entering the Lava Tube at the volcano! Not a very good pic I am afraid.

The crater of the Mauna Loa volcano!

We saw a banana tree at one of the stops. Thought I would take a quick pic!

Videos of Hawaii!

2009-04-02T17:15:00.008-06:00

The Luau that Stampin' Up! had arranged for us was totally awesome. The food was amazing but the entertainment was even more amazing! The people of Hawaii are fabulous! This video is of some tall dudes (on stilts of course) and we rushed to go get our pics with them. Mike's got the camera. Sorry about the last part of it with me kind of in the corner of the shot. But still awesome! Not much of a close up but fun to watch!

More video of the Luau! Just awesome people!

Men with sticks!! I think they are called the warriors!

This guy was pretty funny! He was trying to get the crowd involved which they did. You can tell with my yelling. He did not have a microphone at first and so that is why the sound is not very good but he does eventually get it working. Pretty funny video!

Here is some more of this guy (above) with his friends. They were kind of funny. The commentary was entertaining too!

Place of Refuge, Hawaii

2009-04-02T16:58:00.007-06:00

This post shows all the pics of an ancient Hawaiian village called the the Place of Refuge. This is an ancient Hawaiian village where kings once lived. During this time, those that may have broke a law, fled here to escape execution. Those fleeing had to swim across a bay know as the sharks den. If they survived, the chief was required to offer them sanctuary. This was a pretty amazing place and very peaceful.

This is an ancient Hawaiian game. This is how some of the Hawaiian people would solve conflicts, by playing this game and would win prizes like their first born child or wife. Pretty crazy!

More Hawaii!!

2009-04-02T11:00:00.005-06:00

These are more pics of the place that we kayaked and snorkeled to. This pool below is what they called a queens bath. Believed to be a place where the queen of the area did bath. It comes from fresh water from waterfalls rather than the salty ocean water. Mike stuck is hand it and it did feel to him as though fresh water.

These are some ruins around the Captain Cook monument. Our tour guide pointed them out to us and told us the story of the anceint Hawaiians living here. This is where Captain Cook appeared and the anceint Hawaiians believed he was a God. After a while, they stopped believing because of Captain Cooks actions and eventually the Hawaiians killed him. That is a very short version of the story but wanted to quickly add it here with the pics!

This pic just shows where we actually snorkeled. We parked our kayaks here and swam for about an hour and a half just enjoying all the fish! There was a shark in the area at the time but we did not see it. Thank goodness because I would have freaked!

This pic kind of shows the actual bay that we kayaked. I thought we got a better picture but we did not. We were too interested in kayaking and snorkeling I guess!

Hawaii!!

2009-04-01T19:24:00.004-06:00

Some of you may know, but we just got back from an all expensed paid trip to Hawaii all thanks to Stampin' Up! I had a great year last year and earned their incentive trip and boy, do I not want to miss another incentive trip. They sure treated us well!! Just real quick are some pics that we took there! Oh I miss the Islands already! It was not fun to come back home to snow...There were many of my great friends there as well with all their spouses. We had an absolute blast and hope to return soon!

Here is a pic just on the resort itself. I can not even describe this resort. It was amazing! There were 3 towers where all the rooms were and to travel from each tower, you could take a boat or tram, but we mostly walked to get some exercise. They had a little lagoon and an area were they had dolphins that you could swim with for a cost...but really, we did not spend a whole lot of time on the resort. We were out traveling all around the island. Oh and by the way, we were on the Big Island or Kona is what they call it but really, the Big Island is actually referred to as Hawaii. Anyway, loved it all. We spent some time in Oahu before leaving and I will share those pics a bit later.

This pic too is on the resort. You could spend hours just walking around this resort. This was just under a man mad waterfall of course but it was still a fun pic to take.

This is a real waterfall that we visited. It is called Rainbow Falls. It was a stop on one of our tours. It was beautiful!

Here we are at the active volcano there on the Big Island, Mauna Loa. It seems like I remerupting and you can see the lava at night, but we were not there at night during our tour. Mike was a bit bummed about that but still amazing to see!

This pic is just before entering a lava tube close the to volcano site. Pretty cool stuff!

This is us with our rental car loaded up with kayaks. We went on a kayaking tour across a famous bay (the name is escaping me right now but I will add it later when I remember) where there is great snorkeling. It is over by where the Captain Cook monument is if any of your are familiar with the area. This was a blast. We had our own personal tour guide. We then stopped and did some snorkeling and then had lunch and headed back. Oh and while kayaking across the bay, we saw spinner dolphins right by our kayak. I took pics with the water proof camera but haven't developed those yet. But it was awesome!

This is a different kind of starfish we found while snorkeling. Looks spooky huh!

It was soooo funny, we ran into Mike's sister and family in Kona while there. They actually won a trip to Hawaii and it happened to be at the same time we were there. Of course we knew that in advance and we just did not "run" into them, but it kind of felt that way! We spent the day at Hepuna beach with them which is famous I guess for boggie boarding, but not so much that day. The ocean was very calm. Of course I only get pics of Mike in the ocean but I too was out there trying to body surf. No such luck but it was fun to be back in the ocean after all my years in California 15 years ago. The water was an amazing color and so warm! Loved it!

This was at another smaller beach that we went to with Mike's sister Jennifer and family to do some more snorkeling. By then, it was freezing cold...well not freezing but I didn't want to get in the water too much. Mike did some snorkeling here plus we saw like 4 sea turtles here too. Will post some other pics of those later. But this pic I just took of the sunset. Pretty cool!

Happy Birthday Jace!!

2009-02-11T08:20:00.005-07:00

Okay, so it is February and I am just getting to posting Jace's birthday pics. His birthday was in January. In fact, Jace and I share the same birthday...but today was his day! The theme: Spiderman!!

Here we are playing a game, capture the villain (using TP). We also played pin the Spidey on the Web. Mike drew a web on posterboard and I printed off a few spiderman guys...it actually was a very cute game. Too bad the pics did not turn out very well. I also had the spiderman song playing in the background and the kids danced and when it st oped playing, they froze! Remember those kind of games when we were young?

Check out my Spiderman cake!! I think it turned out pretty cute. I saw the idea on the Internet somewhere. All it is is cupcakes smooshed together to make a face!! Pretty good huh?

Jace blowing out the candles with the help of his...what the heck are these things called? Blower thing...the name of this escapes my mind at this minute...but you know what I am talking about from the pic. He started blowing the candles out before we even finished singing the happy birthday song!

Pic of Jace and his friends with spiderman masks! They loved this!

And last but not least, opening presents! It was a great day!

A Family is a Gift that Last Forever!

2009-01-13T15:40:00.005-07:00

Okay, so we haven't really every had family pics done and I thought, I am going to send Christmas cards out this year and we need a family pic to put in them. Well I thought that like 2 weeks before Christmas. I got the pics done, but didn't do the cards! Maybe next year I will get organized! Anyway, here are the pics! They turned out way cute I thought! Jace was not too interested in having his pic taken and Ella smiled her cheezy smile, but they turned out great I though!

Short Ice Skating Clip

2009-01-13T15:16:00.003-07:00

This is a very short clip of ice skating before our camera died! It is cute though! Check out my face at the end!!!

Holiday On Ice!

2009-01-13T14:45:00.002-07:00

We went ice skating with Mike's sister and her family (an annual thing we like to do at Christmas time). Unfortunately, the camera battery died! So we only got a few and well, Halle and Mike are not in any of the pics. But we got a rather short video too right before the battery died, and Halle is in that. We like to go to this particular ice rink because they have those walker things for the kids to help them stayed balanced on the ice. This year, Jace and Halle didn't even use them! They were off running and of course falling occasionally. But I was surprised! They did quite well. Ella used the walker! She is a funny girl. At first I stayed behind her to help her but then she kept pushing my hand away wanting to do it herself. And she did just that, skated by herself with the walker. It was a hoot to see! People were asking how old she was! She is only 2 but was just a cruising! It was a sight. We are going to try and go again soon because it was soooo much fun! The pics are kind of bad with the white...

Christmas Morning Magic!

2009-01-13T14:12:00.006-07:00

The joys of Christmas morning! Presents galore, grins and giggles, wrapping paper everywhere, and lots of pictures.

Ella was anxious to play with Mickey! She absolutely loves mickey. I guess we need to get her to Disney land soon!

Each year, Jace gets more stuff to add to his train set. This year Santa brought him an airplane.

Easy bake! Didn't we all have one when we were younger! Hopefully she will have some fun with this gift!

Ella loves dress up! She already has a tinkerbell dress up! Why not add Tinkerbell's friend!

Jace is loving the Hulk! Now I was asking Mike just yesterday, was the Hulk a bad or good guy? I always thought he was a good guy but everytime I see something with him on it, he always looks so angry!

Halle and her High School Musical. I finally have seen the 1st 2, now it is on to High School Musical 3. They are kind of fun!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2009-01-13T13:53:00.003-07:00

This was a few days before Christmas! We had a major snow storm. I got out our snowman kit and the kids had a blast (along with dad). I stayed on the sidelines. It was coming down like mad! A lady from the paper even drove by and took a pic of the kids. They ended up in the paper the next week!

Then it was time to shovel the driveway! The kids love to help Mike with this chore! Can I just say, snow is not a favorite of mine! I just look at these pics and think "how cold!" but the kids love it!

Santa is coming to town!

2009-01-13T10:59:00.002-07:00

I added that last posting intending on posting a lot more pictures of what has been going on with the Roudy Robinson's, but then got distracted and then went out of town. So pardon me for not posting as often as I would like. Here are some pics from one of our family Christmas parties. The kids love to sit on Santa's lap! Ella absolutely would npot sit on Santa last year so this year we weren't too sure, but here she is!

Halle and Ella get hair cuts!

2008-12-30T14:39:00.006-07:00

Okay, so it has been awhile since I have posted! Sorry, the holidays came and things got busy. But here is some post as to what the Roudy Robinson's have been up to! Hair cuts for the kids! I know...that isn't real exciting but we had to post pics! Ella's hair was really long and it had been like 2 years since she had a hair cut soooo we thought it was about time!

Here is Halle before the hair cut! She actually already had a hair cut to make is short but then we added an A-line cut to style it a little more.

Here is the after shot! She loves it! Me...I am not quite sure! I guess she has always had long hair and so it is hard to get used to. I have to style it a little different too and maybe that is why I am unsure about it! But she is cute either way! Thanks Amy!

Here is Ella's before and during shots! Here hair was really long! In fact, this might be embarrassing to say but I don't remember really ever giving her a hair cut during her 1st 2 years of life. Maybe a trim but this time, we really chopped it! Again, hard for me to get used to but soooo much easier to take care of!

Here is Ella's after shot! What a doll!

Stamp Creations!

2008-11-09T21:14:00.005-07:00

Alright my friends. I thought I would post some pics of my side business that I run. I am sure many of you know that I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. I do this along side of taking care of the kids! It has proved to be a very good business for me as Mike and I will be heading to Hawaii in March all expenses paid! Yep, I earned a trip to Hawaii with Stampin' Up! So check out my Stampin' Blog if you would like. Here I just wanted to share with you some Christmas cards that my classes will be making in these next couple of weeks! Anyone interested in making some let me know! Here they are:

Oh and a scrapbook layout using stamps. This is from my scrapbook club that I hold each month in my home. I don't have any pics on it yet as my business is making me a bit busy but there will be. Really it is because I haven't printed pic in forever. I love digital cameras but the down side is now I don't ever go get them to print. Anyway, here ya go. Go to my Stampin' with Sherri blog if you want to see any other scrapbook pages! I really do love to scrapbook...I just wish I had more time to do it! I really love the cards too. You can really get creative with cards!! Enjoy:

Tagged- well by myself!

2008-11-09T19:56:00.005-07:00

Alright, I have all these wonderful cousins that are posting this fun "photo tag." Upload the 4th picture from your 4th folder. I don't think I was really tagged so I tagged myself. Can I do that? What a fun idea! This is what I got: Halle at Animal Days in Logan 2004.

So can I copy this little "tag" thing (being tagged is kind of new to me...but fun). I want to do this again for all of you out there that read my blog (not that there is many). Anyone that reads this post, you are tagged and I want you to post a pic from...lets say, folder 12, pic 5. Here is what I got:

Fail Christmas party from 2003! Me (big and pregnant), trying to convince Halle that Santa is nice! You can't see her face but it is bright read. She is screaming. I remember, just before this, she had her head covered by her blanket there. She was sooo scared of Santa for about 2-3 years. Did not want anything to do with him. She is over it now!

Dance Fever!

2008-11-09T15:29:00.003-07:00

Ella has quite the moves. Everytime she hears music, she is just a wiggling. Here is a bit of her today dancing. (Don't mind the mess in the background! It is Sunday right? No work on Sunday!)

Too Cute to Spook!

2008-11-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

I went to go wake up Halle to get ready for school and I saw this. I ran to get my camera! Isn't this so cute! Well I thought it was!

Halle at her school parade!

I don't know what it is, but every time I get the camera out to take a pic of Miss Ella, she gives me this face! Funny girl!

The kids at the neighbors begging for candy! Isn't that what trick or treating is all about? Begging for candy? What kind of holiday is this? The funny thing is is that Mike and I were pushing them right along to beg for that candy! We knew in the end we would be getting some of that candy too!

The Boo Crew! Halle is Super Girl, Jace, the Hulk and Ella, Tinkerbell!

Pumpkin Walk in Logan

2008-10-28T16:36:00.001-06:00

We love to go to the pumpkin walk in Logan each year. They sure come up with some fun scenes all with pumpkins. Jace was not to fond of taking pics that night but we got a couple.

Love this face! Don't you?

Halle wanted her picture by the soccer pumkins! She starts soccer in March!

This was my favorite scene! Love the elephant bums!!

They had these fun things for the kids to poke there heads in and take pics! It was a great family home evening!!

We rake, we pile, we jump!

2008-10-27T15:05:00.000-06:00

We love this time of year! Our city is famous for its trees and we have some big ones in our yard. Every year about this time, we make a big pile of leaves and play. Here are the kids doing there thing! So fun! Got some cute pics too!

One Lap to Go!

2008-10-20T15:35:00.001-06:00

Mike had his 20th high school reunion this month (I know, I am married to an old man!) and him and is good buddies decided to race some go karts before heading over to the dinner! I went with and took some pics and video. I am still trying to get used to this camera so most of the pictures did not turn out so good but here ya go! Here ya go Lance! See if you can see yourself in this video. I am not good at taking video either. I apologize! Some still pics are below!

Bowling Birthday Bash!

2008-10-08T10:43:00.001-06:00

So I decided that this year, instead of having a million kids at my house and a mess to clean up afterwards, we went bowling where the kids could run around and they get to clean up the mess. So easy and they even supplied the cupcakes and ice cream. No baking for me (although I kind of enjoy that...next year I guess). So a Bowling Birthday it is!

Patiently waing for the bowling ball to come back!

Someone did well!!

The bowling balls are kind of heavy!

Waiting for the score! This was their favorite because on the screen for their scores, they had fun clips to show what they had done. Kind of fun for the kids!

Presents, cupcakes, and ice cream, OH MY!

Group photo at the end of the party! All around it went well. I was a little worried with just me and 11 kids but once they were off and bowling, things went pretty smooth. They did get tired of bowling around 7 turns, but I think they all enjoyed themselves! Happy Birthday my sweet Halle!

It was too quiet!

2008-10-05T10:34:00.000-06:00

Okay so I am not very good at taking pics with my new camera. I apologize for the blurry pics. Anyway, it was too quiet one day and this is what I discovered when I opened the bathroom door....Ella again with my makeup! She loves to watch mommy put makeup on and then try it herself. Of course I had to get the camera out!

Then Jace and Halle decided that playing in the laundry shoot was fun too...so why not take pics of that as well!

Look what I have been doing!

2008-09-25T15:08:00.003-06:00

Yep, I am a domestic diva! My husband never knew he was married to one. I had a neighbor that had extra peaches, pears and apples and was so kind to give me some! I had canned peaches last year so I knew how to can them put pears and apples I had to read up on. The peaches were wonderful. The skins came off soooo easy! The pears on the other hand were beasts! They were kind of small so that made it a little more time consuming. The skins I just peeled off with a potato pealer. I had heard that was the easiest way. I haven't got to the apples yet but I plan to do applesauce! Yummy! Mike then had a ton of tomatos from his garden that needed to have something done to them. My wonderful friend Amber called me up and said she was on her way over and that we were going to can tomatos! I died! My kitchen was an absolute mess so I had to straighten that up before she came over. You have to have your kitchen cleaned before you do any canning I have figured out. It is a complete process and you need lots of space. It only stays clean for a second. Soon you will have juice and sugar all over the place. My feet were sticking to the floor! This was all after the peaches and pears. Anyway, so we did do the tomatoes yesterday and they were so quick and easy. Especially with 2 people. Last year we had a ton of tomatos but I had no clue how to can tomatos and it was almost a daunting task so they went to waste last year! So sad! But not this year! I told you I am a domestic diva! And I think I have my husband convinced to buy me a pressure cooker. I had to borrow the water bath canner to do my peaches and pears and my friend Amber brought over her pressure cooker to do the tomatos! Oh boy, that pressure cooker is SWEET! It goes so much faster in the pressure cooker! Okay so now that I have talked on and on about canning, see my pics and how nice they look. Well they look nice to me! There is not a ton like some of the other ladies are doing in the ward but more than what we had. I am trying to get my hands on some more FREE peaches to can. It was sooo much fun and so rewarding in the end!

Tyler's Birthday Party!

2008-09-25T12:42:00.004-06:00

My nephew turned 16 this month. For his birthday, we went to an arcade place with miniture golf, go carts, and laser tag. Kind of a fun place. Halle had another party to go to so I left Ella at home with dad and it was a day with just Jace and I. We had some fun! We played arcade games a lot and then did some minature golfing. There are some pics of Tyler, McKayla, and Keri as well! Here are some pics of the fun day!

New Camera!! Some Silly Shots!

2008-09-25T12:32:00.004-06:00

Alright! I got a new camera and so it is now time to play! Here are a few shots of the kids. I was playing with the different settings! The kids love making funny faces for the camera!

Peach Days 2008

2008-09-25T11:38:00.003-06:00

Brigham City is famous for their annual Peach Days! Here are the kids waiting for all the candy they pass out at the parade! Hence the plastic bags! Also in the pic is my niece McKayla and my nephew Nathan. Also present is Caleb, who Halle is going to marry according to the both of them! :-)

Halle was on a float this year! Here dance academy always has a float in the parade. Her dance was picked to be one dancing during the parade. She was super excited about this but a bit nervous since the flatbed truck was moving at the same time. She did wonderful!

Anothe year at Peach Days which means going on the carnival rides!! I swear I had some of Halle... Halle was mostly on the "big kid" rides and that is probably why I don't have any pics. They were moving too fast!

1st Day of School

2008-09-01T11:28:00.000-06:00

Wow! Summer just flew by but having the kids back in school I don't mind at all! Here is Halle on the first day. She insisted on wearing her Hanna Montana shirt and headband to go with it. She is just starting to get into Hanna Montana. I guess that is okay.

Halle again in front of her classroom. She was sure excited to be going to school ALL DAY long. Although, a few days later she told me she did not like it because it was soooo long! I told her to get use to it. That is how it is here on out. I think too it was just all the administration stuff going on during the first week too. Now she is loving it. She loves being able to eat lunch at school too! Funny kid!
Halle in front of her school bus. She loves riding the bus!

Jace started a week after Halle did! He loves his preschool. He goes 3 times a week for about 2 1/2 hours. I love him going to preschool too! :-) He is learning lots and comes up singing songs about letters!

Here is Jace again in front of a sign with his preschool name on it. But because of my funny camera, it is not so clear. Oh well! It was a great though!

Fail Family Reunion

2008-08-24T11:15:00.001-06:00

Well, I haven't posted for awhile. I thought I should catch you up on our last summer adventures. The post date is the month the pics were taken. I thought I got more pics at the reunion, but apparently I did not. Here are the kids hola hoopping . Again, my camera is a little blurring but you will be happy to know that I did purchase another camera! Yeah! Also we have a pic of Ella playing a fun game that one of my cousins brought. And then we have kids running around the campfire pit. See, not too many pics and not very exciting pics either. Sorry but we did have a great time hanging out with cousins and lots of family!

Swimming in Henefer!

2008-08-22T21:54:00.003-06:00

Alright, so here is when my camera gets a little weird. I think I dropped it, so from here out (until I get a new one) my pics are all fuzzy in this one corner! Ugh! I am bummed. So I am looking for a new camera. If any of you have any suggestions, I am all ears!

Anyway, every year Mike's aunt and uncle who live out in Henefer has a pool party. They have a beautiful home and this fabulous pool. The slide we call "wicked" because when you get to the bottom of it, it sometimes flips the kids over! It is a hoot to watch though. And there is my dear Ella, our dare devil (well all of my kids are pretty much dare devils). She really has no fear of the water. I just let her climb up the top and she kind of flops down on the slide and comes on down. I don't 'even catch her. I just let her go into the water by herself. She of course goes under but with the floaties, she is all good. She pops right back up and ready for another trip down the slide. It was actually really fun to watch her. Everyone just could not believe how brave she was!
Here she goes again. I am there at the bottom ready to rescue her if needed! She is at the top. Her cousin Ian is at the bottom. He would just go down but not into the pool. Once at the bottom of the slide, he would then hurry and get off the slide. Quite the pair those two!
Here is Halle. She is one of my other fearless kids. Going on her stomach with this evil of a slide! She loved it. I don't have any pics of Jace. Mike is taking the pics and just before we decided to get the camera out, he was in the pool, without any floaties because he was trying to show me what a "big" boy he was and how far he could go into the pool still touching the bottom. Well when the water got to his chin, he got a little nervous and starting yelling for help and well it was kind of a scary moment and so he was done for the day! All in all though, we had a fun time. I get to chat with Mike's side of the family and it his kind of fun!

Zoo-mania!

2008-08-22T21:23:00.006-06:00

Here is their albino alligator. Ella was absolutely facinated by the thing. She is talking now and it is so funny to hear her say "alligator." I love this stage where they begin to talk!

In the Asian Highland area where they had all the big cats, they had this little house. They called it "grandma's house" or something like that. We went inside because it was nice and air conditioned. Once inside they were many things for the kids to look at and play with. They especially liked the drum thing!

Halle and Jace's turn!

Ice cream break! You got to have one of those while at the zoo! Mike looks a little tired doesn't he?

My silly kids! Here they are trying to imitate an elephant with their arms being the elephants trunk. Very cute! I wish they had a different area to take pics of the kids by the elephants. This is not a pretty picture with the fence all around them. I guess it has got to be that way!

Halle and Jace posing for the camera. This is kind of a fun thing...this huge elephant thing that makes noises as you get closer to it. I think at one time, there used to be water that sprayed out of his trunk. A few years back, Jace would not even get close to this elephant but today he was fine. It was Ella's turn...she wanted nothing to do with it.

Here is my attempt to make me a part of some pictures this day. Of course, I am always behind the camera so I asked Mike to take a picture of us in this boat! Jace always making a face!

This is Ella, goofing around! That child is always climbing or hanging off of something!

Halle and Jace posing for the camera. Ella was not to excited about siting on top of the tigers...or whatever they are suppose to be...maybe they are bobcats!

Crazy kids again posing for the camera with their funny faces! Even Ella tries to gets her funny face on!

Well, we are at the end of the day and the kids wanted to go play on the zoo's playground. Don't you just love this kid's smile?! This kid is adorable! I have a pic of Halle probably at Jace's same age here from a few years back! Such a fun pic to take.

Then there is Halle, pretending to be a turtle! What a cutie!

Halle goofing off on the playground! She was enjoying herself though. And, this is a good way to get all that energy out for our trip home!!

Summer Time Fun

2008-08-22T21:10:00.005-06:00

Halle and Jace's neighborhood friends invited them over to play on their big blow up water slide. They had a lot of fun. Ella was even invited! This was a fun play date on a hot summer day! These kids of mine, they have no fear! Wait until you see them at the local pool...

T-Ball 2008

2008-08-22T16:28:00.003-06:00

I am posting these pics a little late. They were actually from July of this summer...but hey, summer got busy and I didn't have a lot of time to blog...but here ya go!

These are pics of Halle and Jace playing T-Ball. Halle played last year but Jace was not old enough. This year he was so excited to play and especially on the same team as his older sister. Halle tried to teach him a few things but it was dad that mostly taught him all that he needed to know. Jace has an arm on him. He does well at both throwing the ball and hitting the ball. It is when he is out in the outfield or on base that he gets a little distracted. Halle did well this summer too. She was able to pay a number of different positions (they rotate them every inning) but she loved them all. She was the only girl on her team so that was a little different for her but she loved it just the same.

July 4th fireworks!

2008-07-04T14:02:00.003-06:00

July 4th nights we usually head on over to Mike's parents backyard to watch the local fireworks. The have a good view from there. Ella was not to sure about them so she hung close to grandpa. Mike, Halle and Jace plopped themselves down on the blanket to watch them. And I of course am always behind the camera snappings pics. After the show we did some sparklers that I have add for several years. I buy them, and then I forget where I put them or forget them when we do go to Mike's parents. Anyway, sparklers are what I remember about July 4th celebrations when I was little. Ella didn't want anything to do with them, but for Halle and Jace, we could not get them another one fast enough!

Lagoon with the kids!

2008-07-03T13:41:00.003-06:00

So we did a bounce back day at Lagoon with Mike's sister and family! The kids are pretty close in age. Halle was so excited because she is tall enough to go on some of the bigger rides. Her favorite was the Colossus (sp?). She loved it because it went upside down. She could not stop talking about it and wanting to go on it over and over again. The bumper cars I think were the favorite of the little kids. Ella even got on! And then of course the water area...they loved this and were just soaking wet!

Family Night Bowling!

2008-05-23T13:21:00.000-06:00

Alright, I finally realized that I can post more than 5 pic...I just click on the "add image" button again! How dumb am I? All this time I am trying to post my best 5 pics of an event. Alright, I am trying to update my blog here and add some pics for you to see. Soooo behind! Here are some pics of a night of bowling! I am not sure why we have not done this before. The kids had a blast! Check out that dohicky thing to help the kids get the ball down the middle! Cool...where was that when I was little! Halle did not use it much but Jace and Ella loved it.

Soccer Season 2008!

2008-05-23T11:07:00.004-06:00

Here is Halle enjoying her soccer season. It takes her a bit to get going at first but with some coaching, she is off and running!

Halle's Dance Recital - "Move It!"

2008-05-22T17:49:00.000-06:00

Halle's dance recital theme this year was "Move It." She did such a good job. She was in 3 dances. Her 1st one was called "Daisy." This is the pink ad white costume that is just soooo cute! Her next dance was a combined dance with other classes called "Fabulous." They are on the beach in this dance. I think this was a favorite of the entire recital. The song was just sooo cute talking about being a girl and the fun things girls do. I heard lots of audience members say how cute this dance was. And then the 3rd dance was the finale. Mom and Dad are so proud of her!

Halle's Kindergarten Graduation

2008-05-14T17:58:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it! Halle will be going into 1st grade next year! Kindergarten is over....

Here are some pics of the Kindergarten Graduation program and one with her teacher. Doesn't she look cute all dressed up! She loved Kindergarten but can not wait to go to 1st grade. She is so excited about eating lunch as school. Isn't that funny!

Ella's 2nd Birthday!

2008-05-05T17:39:00.005-06:00

Ella turns two! Boy is she a handful! Love her though! See my cute cake I made too?! We had a BBQ and invited my sister Keri and her family and then Mike's parents! Sister Halle was trying to teach her how to blow out her candles. Then of course brother and sister had to help her unwrap her gifts!

Baby Animal Days

2008-04-12T17:26:00.002-06:00

Oh Baby Animal Days! We try to do this every couple of years with Mike's family. It is a lot of fun! The kids love it! Here we have Mike helping Jace with shooting a deer. I guess this is maybe one way the pioneers did it I guess. It was a cute moment. The rest of the pics are just various animals oh and the last one is kind of funny. There was this company that I guess has a local TV show (in Logan) and I guess they dress up and sing songs...anyway, they came out to this event and gave the kids some dress ups and well, they are worms if you can't tell. Interesting but the kids had fun!

Easter Egg Coloring and Hunting

2008-03-22T17:12:00.002-06:00

Oh the joys of coloring eggs...NOT! No I do like it, it is just a stressful event for a moment. You know, trying to get your kids to look at the camera without spilling the cup full of colored water. Ella thought about drinking the water instead of putting the eggs in there. We had to color fast and then we let her help by making the finishing touches with markers. We then were off to aunt Keri's house for some egg hunting. Jace was a speedy egg finder so I did not get a pic of him, but I got some of Ella and Halle and then the whole gang of cousins!

Halle Loses a Tooth

2008-02-24T17:06:00.001-07:00

Halle has lost a tooth. These pics are actually her 2nd tooth that she has lost. Mommy forgot to take a pic of her 1st tooth before the tooth fairy took it. We actually thought about writing the tooth fairy a note to bring it back so that we could take a pic but that did not happen. So instead, we take a pic of her 2nd tooth. She lost it shortly after her 1st. Anyway, she was excited!

Bear Lake Cabin

2008-01-21T16:42:00.008-07:00

Alright, I have not blogged forever. I was having some computer issues. Well now we have a brand new computer that is much faster and so it is now easier to upload some pics. But we are going to go backwards starting with winter of 2008 and events happening then. I am going to use the date of the pics as the posting date (although I am actually posting now June 2008).

These pics are of our little family gathering at Bear Lake at my uncle's cabin. We had so much fun! My sister Keri is now living here in Utah, actually down the road from me. And then my brother Troy and his family came down from Idaho. So we had everyone there. It was so nice to have everyone together! These are just some misc pics of the events that weekend. We celebrated Jace's birthday there. I thought that would be kind of fun for him and his couosins. We also played games and then a pic of the grandkids with grandma and grandpa.

2008-01-03T15:46:00.000-07:00

We love to got skating around Christmas time. We did this last year and it was a hit. This year...not so much. Of course Halle loved it and could have stayed longer, but Jace did not want anything to do with it. Last year both Halle and Jace were cruising! I think this year Jace just was not feeling so well. We brought Ella this year and her and Jace took turns in the stroller! It was a lot of fun and we hope to continue t his tradition!

Still some more Christmas pics!

2007-12-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

More pics of Christmas morning!

2007-12-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

Christmas Morning!

2007-12-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

Christmas morning is finally here! The kids had a blast opening their presents. Halle got some barbie stuff, a baby doll, roller skates and other misc stuff. Jace got a pirate ship, more pieces for his train set, a fun game and other misc stuff. Ella got a baby doll too! Boy did she want a baby! She also got some Little People items and a doodle pad for her very own. Both her big sister and big brother have one and she is always wanting to take it away from them. She loves to draw! As for mom and dad, well we got new couches for downstairs (not showing), a new remodeled bathroom (still working on that), a little vacumn and a blender too! Things we needed! Christmas time is so much fun! How grateful we are for this time of year, for friend and family and the chance to spend time with both! Especially grateful for our Savior and his birth. We have been blessed with so much! Here are some pics to remember Christmas 2007!

Fall Leaves

2007-11-13T23:57:00.000-07:00

Brigham City is famous for their trees which means we have lots of leaves to rake up! We decided to make a big pile and have some fun! We do this every year too around this time! The kids have a blast! Ella would not sit still long enough for me to take a picture though!

Halloween is here!

2007-10-31T23:49:00.000-06:00

The kids could not wait to dress up in their costumes! Halle was a "Ruby Queen." You could not call her a "princess." She was a "Ruby Queen." We had her sleep in curlers the night before to make her hair realllllly curllllly! Jace did have a mask but could not see through it so without the mask we go! We hit the trunk or treat at our church first and then went to a few houses in the neighborhood. Ella just was a hoot to watch! She wanted to walk up to the houses just like she was one of the big kids! She looked so cute with her halloween basket!

Carving Pumpkins!

2007-10-30T23:38:00.000-06:00

Carving pumpkins, a family tradition for many! I think we all enjoyed ourselves! Halle managed to carve her own pumpkin. Jace loved the jack-o-latern dad helped him make. He wasn't too thrilled about touching the slimmy insides though. Ella on the other hand thought the slim and raw pumpkin seeds were kind of yummy! Dad even got into it. We pulled out some halloween cookie cutters for a different look!

Pumkin Walk in Logan

2007-10-22T23:27:00.000-06:00

Always a favorite thing we like to do around Halloween is visit the Pumpkin Walk in Logan. It is a park full of scenes made up of pumpkins. Very creative! Lots of people and kind of cold but we had fun! My sister Keri and her family joined us this year as they are living just around the corner from us now! Yeah! Jace was a bit scared fo the whole thing! There was soms scary music at some of the scenes and then some of the pumpkins looked like real people. Kind of confusing for a young child I guess! He just was not too sure about it.

Halle turns 6!

2007-10-08T23:17:00.000-06:00

Halle has been counting down the days until she would turn 6! We invited a few friends over (well more than a fee) to help us celebrate! Oh and look at the cake! Yep, I made that cake! Isn't it just so cute!

Yum!

2007-09-01T22:59:00.000-06:00

Okay so I have not blogged for a bit (about 4 months). Here are some pics to catch you up on what the Ropbinson family is up to (publish date will show when pics were taken). Just had to post these pics of Ella. She is now interested in feeding herself. She freaks if you even try to feed her from a spoon she is not holding. Little miss independent!

Halle's 1st day of Kindergarten

2007-08-27T13:22:00.000-06:00

It is finally here. Halle has been counting down the days since she graduated from preschool as to when she would finally start kindergarten! She absolutely loves school so far! She can not wait to get up in the morning! She loves riding the bus most of all. She was kind of upset that she was the last bus stop and so she is only on the bus like 5 -10 min in the morning before they drop her off at school. On the way home, the bus driver drops off each kindergartener at their own house. She is only half day kindergarten so it is not that many kids that need to be dropped off. But this way, she gets to stay on the bus longer! The bus driver is so cute too with the kids! He knows all their names and just a fun guy! Halle even eats breakfast at her school. At first this was a little worrysome to me but one day I went with her to see if she was capable of doing it all by herself and she is. The breakfast is free so why not! She is just growing up!

Party in Heneffer!

2007-08-15T12:53:00.000-06:00

Mike's uncle invited us up for a party at his house! The kids had a blast on the motor boats! Ella just loved playing with the water that was popping up! There was also a wicked slide but for some reason I did not get that picture. Everyone could not believe Halle and how she had no fear. As soon as she would hit the bottom of the slide and about to go into the pool, the way the slide was, it would flip her around landing her in the water backwards! Crazy! I swear I took a picture, but it can not be found!

Bear Lake with the Sorensens!

2007-07-29T19:21:00.000-06:00

Our family and the Sorensen's family decided to take a quick trip up to Bear Lake for the day! We meant to try and go camping this summer but we were too late trying to book a campsite! But we sure had fun at the lake! The kids loved the water and playing in the sand! Ella enjoyed running around in her b-day suit!