The Wood Family

Panguitch Lake July 2010

2011-12-20T10:01:00.000-08:00

Every summer we try to go camping. July 2010 we went camping at Panguitch Lake in Paguitch Utah with the Hurley Family. Jared and the boys spent the ENTIRE day on the boat.. from sun up to sun down. Matthew made the biggest catch of the day with his trout, which Jeff fried up and it was delicious!

New York City

2010-06-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

We also got tickets to the Dave Letterman Show. To be honest, it was cool to see what goes on when the cameras are off, but Dave Letterman wasn't that funny to me. We watched him every night in NYC, before we went to the taping, and he did the same jokes almost every night. I thought he would be more personable with the audience, but he came out about 30 seconds before the show went live, and took one question from the audience. The guest that night was Don Ruckles, who is an older comedian. He was a lot funnier than Dave. It was exciting to go, plus it was free, so you can't beat that.

We were suckers and paid $60 to go on a 20 minute horse drawn carriage ride through the park. But hey, it's a once in a life time thing, so we can say we did it.

Central Park

Down town sky line as we were heading over the Brooklyn Bridge. We were sitting on the top of a double decker sight seeing bus.

This was Jared's favorite part of the trip, the sight seeing buses. We bought a three day pass, and went on the down-town, up-town, midtown, Brooklyn and night Brooklyn tours. We had some really good bus tour guides who told a lot of the history of the city.

TIMES SQUARE

We stayed in Midtown, Times Square was about 2 blocks from the hotel. We walked to Times Square almost every night. It was insane in Times Square, people and police everywhere. Three weeks prior to us going to New York, a terrorist attempted to blow up a car bomb in Times Square, so police were out in full force the entire time we were there.

Famous FDNY

Tribute on the outside of the Midtown fire station. They lost 11 crew members in the 911 attack.

World Trade Center- Ground Zero. They are rebuilding new towers, the tallest tower on the right is the new tower 7. There will be a Tower 1 and a tribute tower, and a few smaller towers. We went on an amazing guided tour of Ground Zero. The tour guides were people who were personally involved during 911. One of the guys was a "captain" for the waste company, who was heavily involved in the aftermath cleanup. The other tour guy, his brother was a captain on the fire department, who was killed when the towers collapsed. It was so interesting to hear their perspective of the day, and the aftermath. We went to a museum after the tour that had artifacts that were found during clean up, such as shoes, watches, keys, pieces of the building. They also had a wall, and pictures posted of all those that perished. It was a gut wrenching visit to the site, such a devastating loss.

Snapshot in a window of the bus we were riding on. You can see that the movie Sex and the City was being promoted on every bus. In fact, while we were there, the red carpet premiere at the famous Radio City Music hall took place.

Statue of Liberty, in all her GLORY

We waiting in line for over 3 hours to get on the ferry that goes to the Statue of Liberty. As you can see Jared has the "I can't believe I am standing in this line" face. It was miserable. It was hot, and muggy, and we were hungry and thirsty. By the time we actually got on the ferry, we were exhausted from standing and didn't feel like waking much. We stayed at the Statue of Liberty for about 20 minutes, and then took the ferry to Ellis Island. This is the immigration station that approx 12 million people went through as they immigrated into the United States.

For our ten year anniversary Jared and I went to New York City. We originally were going to go to Hawaii, and then I decided I wasn't bikini ready, and we had never been to the East coast, so I talked him into New York. What an amazing city. I never realized how many movies, and TV shows are filmed, or based, in New York. What I loved the most was the history behind the city.

It was great to spend a week with Jared. We don't get a lot of time off together, let alone a vacation together without kids. Our wonderful mothers, Carma and Kathy, shared babysitting duties so we could have some much needed time together. Thanks moms, and thanks Jared for such a great trip. I love you and can't wait to see where we go for our 20 yr anniversary. ;)

GoodBYE JOE

2010-04-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

We attempted having a dog, and it lasted a year. The Easter bunny surprised the boys for Easter 2009 with a new puppy. But, the love didn't last long. Poor dog. Little Joe was a cute little dog, but poor thing was neglected by those who were supposed to love him the most. The boys loved him in theory, but when they went into the back yard to play, Joe jumped on them, chased them, and nipped at their heels. It got to the point where we put Joe outside in the morning, and brought him in at night for bed. He was starved for attention, and Jared was the only one who really gave him any. Plus, I am not a fan of dog hair, and he shed like crazy. So, we found a new loving home for Joe with a family in Reno. Matt had a rough few days, and Joe was "his" dog, but I don't think he has spoken his name since. Wish I could say, We miss you Joe, but I don't. (sorry for all the dog lovers)

Easter Sunday

2010-04-04T14:20:00.000-07:00

We told Aiden he had "vampire" teeth, so for a few days he walked around showing everyone his scary teeth.

Every year on Easter we go to Grandma Carma's house and have an Easter Egg hunt. This year the boys hunted with Kale and Toby Nelson.

Monster Jam

2010-03-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

Dad and his boys! Oh he is so Lucky!

Aiden held his hands over his ears most of the night. He didn't like the loud sounds from the trucks.

Aiden hanging out with dad.

Matt had the night of his life, as he says. He LOVED the monster jam. He and Jared would stand up and cheer, and yell, and get loud.

We surprised the boys with tickets to Monster Jam at the Silverbowl. We actually told the boys, Matt and Zach, that we were going to an outdoor church event, and they had to get up and sing a song. On the car ride to the Silverbowl, we had them practicing singing church songs. They were both terrified and nervous and NOT happy. As we pulled into the event, and Matt saw all the people, he got mad, and said he wasn't going in. We kept telling him it would be alright, he just had to be brave.. I know I know, kind of a mean joke... but we wanted them to be really surprised, and think we were going somewhere they wouldn't really want to go.. i mean really, what kid wants to go to church on a Saturday night, and have to sing in front of thousands of people. As we walked in, the kids were of course complaining and scared... and then all of a sudden they hear this ROAR from a truck and they both stopped, and looked at each other, and smiled. They instantly knew this wasn't a church function, but something probably FUN. So, we told them, and they both stood in utter relief and starting screaming and laughing and jumping for joy. A priceless moment indeed. We had a blast, most of us at least. Zach was bored by the first hour, and actually fell asleep in my lap. Aiden didn't like the noise, but was really good. Matt and Jared had the most fun, and will definitely go back next year.

San Diego-Spring Break

2010-03-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

Pacific Beach

Zach and his BFF-Dominic. We roasted hotdogs on the beach

World Famous San Diego Zoo

Every year, well for the last 5 years, we have been going to San Diego for vacation. We take the trailer and camp at Campland on the Bay, which is an RV resort located on Misson Bay. This year we went during the kids spring break from school which was the last week in March. We went with the Hurley, and Castenada Family. What a blast.. We spent a day at the beach, went to the zoo, roasted hot dogs on the beach, went to Seaport village, took a 6 mile bike ride from the RV resort to Pacific Beach, (with 4 kids on bikes, and 4 adults) San Diego is definitely one of our family's favorite places to go for vacation. We can't wait for next year!

February 2010- Dumont Dunes

2010-02-14T14:03:00.000-08:00

Aiden is READY to RIDE

Matt and Zach on the quads

Zach making doughnuts

Matt making doughnuts

Aiden sitting on Jared's quad

Dominic, Zach, Gabriella, EmmaGrace, Matt, Aiden, and Garrett.

For the last couple of years, over President's Day Weekend, we take the trailer and quads to Dumont Dunes. This year we camped with the Hurley Family, Aughenbaugh family, and Castenada family. The kids had a blast, all they wanted to do was RIDE RIDE and Ride. poor Aiden, can't wait for the year when he can ride. We took up a battery powered quad, but it wouldn't move on the sand, so he spent half the time just sitting on someone's quad.

January 2010 Snow FUN

2010-01-25T13:47:00.000-08:00

We live across the street from our good friends, the Hurley's, so almost everyday the kids get together and play. Today, they decided to play football with Jared and Jeff.

Dad and the boys.

We took a family trip to the house in Hatch in January for a weekend of snow fun. We have a favorite place we like to take the intertube on Cedar Mountain. This particular day was pretty awesome for me. **Disclaimer, I don't claim to be the smartest person in the world**

Jared had taken Matt and Zach up to the top of the hill, and I was standing at the bottom with Aiden taking pictures. There was another little boy and his friend who had come down the hill, and crashed into each other. They were both crying, and one boy was screaming that his back was hurt. Jared was waiting at the top, along with the other boys family. Since I was so close to the hurt boy, I figured as a mother, I should go and see if he was okay. I walked over to him, and asked if he was okay, he said no, and he couldn't move. I am no doctor, no medical training at that, so figured I shouldn't move him in case he was really hurt. I looked up at the top of the hill, and the boy's mother, and a friend were coming straight down the hill to help him.. but headed right at him. I think in my head, oh no, she is going to run right into him. I am thinking, what kind of mom heads straight down a steep snowy hill, on a sled, towards her hurt child. Well, obviously not a very smart one. Then I do something even smarter.... I decide I am going to STOP her on the sled from hitting her child. So I stand right in front her, thinking that I can stop her. Well, she hits me, I fly in the air, and land head first in the snow. Thank GOODNESS, i wasn't seriously hurt. With my track record, it could have been worse. Sore back for a few weeks, but nothing permanent.

Needless to say, I learned my lesson. I am not a superhero. I do not have the ability to stop 300 pounds of people on a sled.

Soccer SuperSTAR

2009-12-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

My little superstar!

Zach doing a little " Oh YEAH" cheer for himself.

Aiden, lounging, while watching the game..

Zach getting in the mix of the game. Go ZACH.

Zach and one of his favorite team mates... Jayden

Zach has been such a good sport the last few years always being on the sideline while Matt has played baseball. This year, we put Zach into soccer and he LOVED it. Zach is such a goofy little boy, for those of you that know him. He is really smart, but can be a total SPACE cadet. He was really fun to watch playing soccer because he would chase after the ball, and then stop and do a summersault. He would kick the ball the wrong way into the other teams goalie... He was just fun to watch. GO TIGERS!!!

Polar Express

2009-12-27T08:59:00.000-08:00

This was the snowstorm we hit leaving Arizona. It was beautiful!

Warming up at the fireplace with Evan and Matthew Vendetti after the snow fight.

Playing in the snow..... I didn't realize there would be so much snow, and didn't pack snow clothes for the boys. thank goodness they did bring gloves and warm jackets...

Matt and Zach fell asleep on the train ride back from the North Pole. We were on the late train and they were TIRED...

Santa Claus giving Zach his magical bell... " I do believe, I do believe."

Aiden watching out the window, looking for the North Pole.

On the TRAIN...

Daddy and Aiden outside the hotel. It was so cold there.....

The Fam, standing in front of an old train... Photo moment.

The kids waiting in line to see Santa before we headed to the North Pole.

On Monday, December 21, we took a road trip to Williams, Arizona (about 4 hours from Vegas) We stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, and took the Polar Express to the North Pole to see Santa. I will have to say that one of my FAVORITE Christmas movies is the "Polar Express" starring Tom Hanks... I guess I was expecting the train ride to be more like the movie, and so were the boys. They were so excited on the train to get to the North Pole, and when we stopped and didn't get off, all the excitement was gone. That is until Santa got on the train to pass out magical bells. Overall.... was it worth the $500 it costs...hmmm I would say I don't know. Will we do it again?? not sure. Maybe in a few years when I forget how terrible the food was... I will convince Jared to take us again. The boys did have fun... in fact the best time they had was the next morning when we woke up and there was new fresh snow on the ground. We ran into our friends from Vegas, and all the kids played in the snow for a couple of hours. That was their favorite part.

October and November Highlights

2009-11-30T13:36:00.000-08:00

Once again, I have been terrible about blogging. Here is a quick recap of some fun things that happened in October and November!!

Matt turned 7 on November 24th. We had a small family party at our house, and then Jared and I took Matt, Zach, and some friends and cousins to Laser Quest to play laser tag. It was actually REALLY fun, and everyone had a blast.

AIDEN turned TWO, on November 7! Happy Birthday baby.

While we were camping my dad, and Jared taught the boys the basics of repelling. For those of you that know my dad, he is an avid rock climber. He wishes all his sons and grandsons would climb with him. He put the boys in a harness, and they "repelled" down a tree and a rock climbing wall.

We did a lot of fun activities for Halloween this year. We had the school "Fall Festival", a Halloween party at our friends, home, and we spent Halloween in St.George. We also pulled our trailer up to Zion River Resort, in Utah, and camped for the rest of the weekend.

Aiden has turned into quite the little "ham." He loves having his picture taken, and this is basically the same smile I get from him everytime. I just love this little boy!

Apparently my brother Kris took this picture when I wasn't looking. So for payback, I am posting it on my blog. Oh, and he is still looking for a wife.... contact me if you know of any single ladies ;)

October- Matt finished up his 3rd Baseball Season. This was "fall ball" and played on a team called the Aces. Matt isn't the best player, but he seems to enjoy the game. I was a little frustrated with the coach this year, because instead of helping the kids get better by letting them play all different positions, he stuck the worst players in the outfield for ALL the games. Matt got bored towards the end of the season, because he was in the outfield, and decided he didn't want to play anymore. We will have to see if he changes his mind in the spring when it starts again.

We had to do a school project for Zachary's class.. We had to disguise a turkey, so Zach chose a CLOWN theme. I went to the party store and found this wig. Aiden loved it, and wanted to wear it all day. Of course, this is his new CHEESEY smile.

October 1st, Matt lost his first "real" tooth. He had his top tooth pulled out a year ago because it was injured, but this was the first tooth that feel out on it's own. Actually, it didn't fall out on it's own. The tooth had been loose for a few weeks, and Matt would NOT let me touch it, wiggle it, or inspect it at all. I figured it would fall out when it was ready. One Sunday after church, he was playing "puppy dog" with Aiden.. He had the leash in his mouth, and Aiden grabbed the leash, and it hit the tooth and knocked it out. Of course, his mouth filled with blood and he was HYSTERICAL. You would have thought he lost his arm. He cried that he wanted me to put the tooth back in. It took about 15 minutes to calm him down. In fact we called my youngest brother Jared, who is in dental school, and he convinced Matt it was okay the tooth came out, and that bleeding was normal. Needless to say, it was a traumatic experience for the first tooth. Good thing the tooth fairy was generous!

"Huh-uh"

2009-09-12T14:00:00.001-07:00

In his short little life so far Aiden has been a boy of few words. He has learned to communicate with hand pointing, and "Uh, Uh, Uh" sounds. Right now he says, "Ma, Da, Bye Bye, and Uh oh." Last week he learned a new word "huh-uh" (no) and that is all he wants to say. He seems to understand when I ask him a question, and gives me the smart answer, "huh-uh," for everything he doesn't want to do. He is growing up so fast and makes me feel sad that my baby will be two in November. Time seems to go by a lot faster when you are "older" and not wanting time to go by so quick. The days of being young, and WANTING to get older seemed to take FOREVER. Aiden has definitely been my most curious boy, and is determined to do everything his older brothers do. If they are working on homework, he sitting right next them, pencil in hand, writing on their papers. He's fearless, but such a mommy's boy!

Labor Day- Pine Valley

2009-09-10T13:42:00.001-07:00

Over the Labor day holiday weekend, our family, my parents, all three brothers, and a cousin went camping at Pine Valley. It was a really nice get away. We used to camp at Pine Valley when I was a little girl, and haven't been back since. It was fun to re-explore from my childhood. Plus, it's so close to Vegas, only takes about 2 1/2 hours to get there. The youngest kids; Matt, Zach and Jenna, played on this rock all weekend. They called it Coyote Rock and would sit and all howl all day.

We took some of the boys cousins and went "Geo-caching". Geo-caching is where you use a GPS to find a "hidden" treasure. They are located all over the world. www.geocaching.com. We found two caches around the campsite.

My little MONKEY Man

Zach showing off his Acorn collection

Jared and Zach picking "acorns"

All the cousins and my little brother Jared, and his friend Hillary.

Update- First day of school

2009-09-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

I have been terrible keeping up on the blog this summer. My new goal is to blog once a week. I don't know if anyone follows the blog anymore but figure its a good way for me to keep a "journal" of what is going in our lives.

Matt and Zach both started school a few weeks ago. I just downloaded the pictures from my camera today. ( I notice I blog more when I have recent photos). Matt started first grade and has Mrs. Lopez for his teacher. He has had a rough first two weeks of school, he gets sad during the day or in the morning and crys. He says it's because he misses his family. I have sent three pictures of the family to school with him to keep in his desk. When he is feeling sad, he can get them out and look at them. Zachary started kindergarten and is LOVING it. He has Mrs. Combado and goes to ALL day kindergarten. His best friend, Dominic, is in the class with him. I am sure they are wild together, but thankfully, he has brought home a "good behavior" card everyday. I am sure they will have their mischievous moments when it's not so new.

Aiden is keeping busy as the family "tornado." He loves to make messes, more messes, and lots of messes. I clean up after him ALL day long. He loves to brush his teeth and is known to walk around the house with a toothbrush and toothpaste. His favorite thing is being a "baseball" player. He finds the glove, Matt's shoes, Matt's hat, and balls and walks around the house looking for someone to throw the ball to him. He is definitely Jared's boy. He looks like Jared and is built just like him. He will be our linebacker for sure!

Zach's 5th Birthday Party

2009-06-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

Singing to the birthday boy

A Horse Pinata!

My good friend made this cake for Zach, she is an amazing cake maker.. it was yummy!

We had a "shooting range" shooting water at the soda cans to knock them over.

We had a "pillow-sack" race, the kids loved it.

Mustache Men

I have always told my boys that they can have birthday parties up until they turn five. After that, each year on their birthday, they get to go do something "special" with dad, like pick a few friends and go to the movies, or car racing. So since this was Zach's last birthday, we let him have a COWBOY party and invite about 17 kids over. Yes, it was CRAZY for the two hours it lasted, but the kids and Zach had tons of fun. HAPPY 5th Birthday sweet Zachy!

Chicago

2009-05-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

Matthew and I took a special trip to Chicago the first weekend of April. We went to see one of my oldest friends from high school, Natalie. She has been living in Chicago for 5 years, and I wanted to go visit her before she moves away this summer. I decided to take Matt with me because I wanted to do something special with him, just he and I, before he gets too old to want to hang out with mom. We stayed for three nights and had the best time. We went to Lincoln Park Zoo, which is right by Michigan Lake, and it's a free zoo, which was even better.

Matt picked out some souvenirs for Zach, and got this lizard for himself. We went to eat right after the zoo at a famous Chicago pizza restaurant and he used his lizard to help him eat.

This was some statue in the park that kids were climbing.

We also went and got pedicures. Matt was excited to soak his feet and get them massaged, but DID NOT want his toes painted. He picked out green paint for Natalie's toes, and she willingly got them painted green.

We also went to Navy Pier and rode on the highest Ferris wheel I have ever seen. I will admit I was terrified and didn't want to move an inch. Taking this photo was terrifying. Matt on the other hand, thought it was great. No fear.

Matt's favorite part of this entire trip was....... Riding the "L" train. He just wanted to ride and ride. Sometimes we had no destination, we just rode the train for a while and then got off and went back the other way. I guess boys just love trains.

This was right before we got on the train, waiting on the platform. He was so excited, he just keep asking when will it be here??

We had such a great time. It was really wonderful to be able to go away for the weekend with him. As a parent, I would recommend little one-on-one trips with your kids. It will make memories that will last a life time for both of you, and as they get older they won't want to spend that kind of time with you. I can't wait until next summer when Zach and I go somewhere special.

Newest Member of our Family

2009-05-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

" Little Joe" was the name from the breeder, and we all liked it so much, we kept it.

Little JOE and Matt Our boys would like to proudly announce the newest member of our family. Yup... Jared and I finally gave in... the Easter Bunny brought the boys quite a surprise this year... a new puppy. He is a Corgi and and of course he is a boy, you think I would get a girl anything? Haven't had to deal with a puppy before but its like having another kid. The boys are having a blast with him.

My Lucky Life

2009-04-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

Note to readers** in no way in this post a complaint, more I have to write so that I can laugh about all the random funny injuries our family has sustained in the last two months.

Feb 2009: Jared tears his Achilles tendon . He was playing basketball at work, and went to sprint and tore his tendon. He had to have surgery the next day to repair the injury. Outcome: In a cast for two month, now in a walking boot, a swollen foot every night, nasty scar, and out of work on light duty until at least July.

April 2009: Jen falls while carry Aiden. I tripped over Matthew and to avoid landing on Aiden, I twist my body to take the fall, and land on my shoulder, dislocating it. End up spending 7 hours in the ER, and now addicted to Loritab. (Not really) Outcome: Shoulder aches everyday, and might possibly have to have surgery to repair the tear to my cartilage, and if I don 't have surgery there is an 80% chance I will re dislocate the shoulder at some point.

April 2009: Carma (jared's mom) breaks her arm. She is my babysitter three days a week while Jared is out on light duty due to his injury. She goes to Phoenix for the weekend, gets hit by a grandson riding a bike and falls and breaks her arm. Outcome: No sitter for me

April 2009: Kathy (my mom) trips and sprains her ankle. My mom went to Prom on Saturday, trips on her way to the door, and sprains her ankle. Outcome: Swollen ankle and can't walk.

So, anyone close to use... you might want to stay clear from us. We got some bad luck or we are seriously the most clumsy family ever.

Loves!

The things they say... Part II

2009-04-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

One of my first blog postings was on some of the funny things the boys have said lately. Everyday they crack me up with something they say that is so random or just out there. I try to write them down, but figure maybe I should blog them too.

Matt and I went to Chicago over the weekend (will post that later) Matt was talking to my friend Natalie and was telling her a story. After the story was over, she told him how smart he was, and he said, " I know I am smart, I have the best remembery."

Matt and Zach are really into playing "mommy and daddy" with their toys. They will get cars, or animals and sit at the table and play. Today they were playing "Jared and honey" (mommy and daddy) Here is how the conversation went. They were playing with a snake and lizard.

Zach: "Jared, come over here, I miss you"
Matt: "Honey, I am coming, I am walking slow because I have a baby in my tummy"

Me: "Matt, how did your honey get a baby in her tummy?"
Matt: " Duh, mom. She went to a wedding, and that is how you get babies in your tummy."

Oh, if they only knew!

Family Update

2009-03-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while because I have been so busy. Right after Presidents day weekend, Jared tore his Achilles tendon at working playing basketball. He had to have surgery two days after, and has been in a cast since the 20th of February. And to make the traumatic incident worse, Jared's dad passed away the same day of his surgery. He has been sick for several months, and finally died of a massive infection in his body that started from his lungs.
Jared is now on light duty at work, and is on a 40 hour work week. Thank goodness for his mom Carma, who has stepped up and is helping to watch the kids three days a week so I can continue to work. Matthew started baseball again last week, the boys are in swim lessons, and I just finished taking another online Math class. Needless to say, I am not complaining, but I am finding that I don't have a lot of extra spare time to spend on the computer. I do still try to read everyones blog.. so keep on blogging!

More family photos

2009-03-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

My cousin Britney took some more family photos in late January. We didn't go at the right time of day, went in the early morning, and the sun was beating down on us. But, we got a few good shots. We went to Calico Basin, right before the entrance to Red Rock, and the kids had a great time walking around and exploring together.

Most Magical Place on Earth

2009-01-22T20:50:00.001-08:00

We went to Disneyland and California Adventure in November with my brother Ryan's family, and my parents. The boys loved the parks, and we had a great time as a family! Been meaning to post this earlier, but with the slacking thing going on.. haven't had time!

I am a SLACKER

2009-01-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

I had to post this picture of Jared. This is his ANNOYED, what the heck are we doing here at this crazy insane place with a million people? We went to the Magical Forest before Christmas and it was insane.. this is the look I got as we were waiting in line for the Merry-go-round.

See, got the face again at Disneyland...

Zach, Kale, and Matt at the Magical Forest. Waiting for the train ride.

Aiden on Christmas morning, riding his new fire truck..

Matt and Zach on Christmas Eve!

I have been a big time slacker on the blog. Its been a crazy last month with the holidays, sick kids, new church calling, death in the family, (Jared's grandpa) work, and all my daily mother duties. We are all doing well.. back to the grind of daily life. Trying to keep up on the clutter in the house (it's not dirty, just cluttery, promise) And I just started a new online Math class. Not sure if I am going to continue with nursing school.. I did finish my biology class, and got an A, but I am starting to feel like, I already have a degree, and I don't want to miss my kids growing up.

Hope everyone had a safe, and happy holiday, and wish everyone, although I am 3 weeks late, a Happy New Year!!!

THANKS Brittney!!

2008-12-01T16:11:00.000-08:00

My cousin Brittney Dye met us at Bonnie Springs a week ago and took some amazing pictures of the family. She is so talented and did an amazing job!! Thank you so much!!

Happy 6th Birthday Matthew

2008-11-24T08:46:00.000-08:00

Novemeber is a busy birthday month for our family. Aiden is the 7th, Matthew's the 24th, mine the 25th, and my mom's the 27th.
Happy sixth birthday today to Matthew. He was so excited today to be turning six. He helped me yesterday bake cupcakes to take to his class today. We made 30 cupcakes each with a frog and grass decorations.
Matthew is a sweet little boy. He loves his brothers and loves being in charge of them. He has his moments where he thinks he is 16 and talks back and gets sassy... But its part of him learning his independence and growing up. WE LOVE YOU and hope you have a great birthday!

Happy First Birthday little baby

2008-11-07T21:51:00.001-08:00

Tonight we celebrated Aiden's FIRST Birthday. I can't believe how fast the year has gone by. I can remember the day he was born so vividly, like it was yesterday. It seems like as I get older the time goes by much quicker.. maybe because it makes me terribly sad that my boys are growing older. I have felt very sad the last few days knowing that this is it... no more FIRST birthday parties. But, I have to keep perspective, there will be lots more firsts for my kids. It's been hard knowing that I am not going to have any more kids. I have been trying to talk Jared into getting his vasectomy reversed, but he's not going for it.
We had some family over tonight for pizza and cake. I feel bad, the last two kids we had big parties for their first birthday, poor Aiden. Oh well, I am sure he won't be deprived of anything. He loved eating his birthday cake. He actually threw a fit when I took it away from him finally. I think he would have eaten the entire piece, but I actually wanted him to sleep tonight. We are going to California in the morning and taking the kids to Disneyland and California Adventure.
Aiden is such a sweet little boy. He has the most amazing little smile. I don't capture it on camera very much because he smiles for me, but then when the red flash light on my camera goes on, he stops smiling and just glares at the camera. He has started to show his personality traits more. He actually has started throwing fits too. He gets very angry at his brothers or parents when we take something away from him. He throws himself down on the ground or arches his back and screams. Its kind of cute though.
HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY AIDEN. We love you!

Aiden wasn't remotely intersted in his presents. As you can see, he is actually holding my bottle of water. That is ALL he wanted to play with.

Grandma Kathy and Auntie Dani holding Aiden.

MMM Cake...

He devoured the birthday cake.

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday!

This picture was actually taken in our trailer last week, but this is the glare he gives me most of the time when I try to take his picture.

At the Halloween party last week. He sat in his bouncy chair for over an hour just watching all the kids.

Happy Late Halloween

2008-11-07T21:38:00.001-08:00

Its been a crazy few weeks at our house... I've been working a lot, and we went out of town last weekend camping in Zion. I will post those pictures later. I wanted to post a few Halloween time pictures. Better late than never!

Aiden as a scary dinosaur..

Halloween night, our friends that we went trick-or-treating with.

Matt and his new girlfriend Camryn. She lives in our neighborhood and is in his kindergarten class.

Some of our friends that came to our house for our kiddy Halloween party! We sure had fun, thanks to everyone that came over.

Matt and Zach dressed up for Matt's school harvest festival!

Zach touching a scary pirate something...

Matt riding a pony at the Pumpkin patch.

To be so CAREFREE

2008-10-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

As you may have gathered from my prior posts, I have my hands full with three boys! Wonderful boys they are, but still there are three. They keep me BUSY, but also keep me laughing at the constantly funny things they do. Last week Matt and Zach were out in the back yard playing. It was a warm day so they decided to turn on the hose and spray each other down. Just a quick spray turned into them both being soaking wet. I had to go out and turn the hose off and told them to take their wet clothes off. As they were taking their clothes off I went to get them a towel. When I got back I found them swinging naked on the swingset. Of course I couldn't resist grabbing the camera and taking a few discreet shots of them. Oh to be young and carefree!

Tribute

2008-09-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

My grandfather Maynard M Dye passed away last night. He had a long battle with prostate cancer which spread to his spine and other bones. He was 84 years old. He was a wonderful man who lived a long life and was blessed with 4 amazing sons, 16 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. He and my grandmother were married for 63 years!! My grandma had several stokes over the last 8 years, and he took amazing care of her, never wanting her to end up in a nursing home. I think held on for so long because he was so worried about her and didn't want her to be alone. Last night, as he lay in the hospice bed, she was at his side and took his hands and told him it was okay to die. She told him that she would be well taken care of by her sons, (and daughter in-laws) and that she loved him. He passed away about an hour later. He was a great example of a giver to take such good care of her. He will be greatly missed.

This is what I found......

2008-09-08T19:28:00.001-07:00

So I taught Matt a few days ago how to use the camera because he wanted to take some pictures of Aiden. Well, today I wanted to take a picture of Aiden eating, and turned the camera on, took some pictures and started going through old pictures. I came across these wonderful pictures of my son's bums. I called Matt into the room and he told me that he and Zachary had been taking pictures of each other. NICE!

Notice the gray tooth... Matt hit the tooth on my brother Jared's head a few weeks ago. We just noticed it started to change colors... has trauma to it. So tomorrow Matthew gets to have the tooth pulled out.

Oh My dear BOYS!!

Aiden 10 Months Strong

2008-09-08T19:19:00.003-07:00

I feel like I don't post much about Aiden so I wanted to have a seperate post just for him. Yesterday he was 10 months old. The kid is a "chunk" as he is called by his brothers and dad. He is wearing size 18 month clothes, and a size 4 diaper. I just recently weighed him and he was almost 24 pounds. Zachary, who is 4, only weighs 35 pounds. He is a delightful baby, cries only when he is being ignored, hungry, or tired. He has started to stand up next to furniture and walks along the sides. He does the "army crawl", and moves around like a speed racer.

This was a Halloween costume that both Matt, and Zach wore. So, I thought well Aiden should wear for his first Halloween. It's a 12 month size costume, and when we put it on him, this is what he looked like.. Capris.

This is what we call his "ugly face". I love it!

Been Busy

2008-09-05T21:07:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while.. I do have pictures I want to post of both Matthew and Zachary on their first day's of school. Matthew started Kindergarten, and Zach is now in "Pre-K". We are all doing well.. I have been crazy busy with getting kids to and from school, working, keeping up on the house (for those of you that have been to my house and know how much tile I have, I scrubbed on my hands and knees, the grout last weekend on all the tile in the house) and I just started my first Biology class towards "maybe" going to nursing school. I have been a little discouraged about going back to school because I met with a school counselor and I have to take Speech 101, don't know WHY i need that, I was a teacher for crying out loud. I also need to take another Math class, and possible retake Psychology 101. I already took that class my very first semester of college, but got a C, so I might need to retake it for an A. Plus I have another THREE BIO classes to take before I can get into the program. Anyways, I just don't know now if I want to devote all this time, and money, towards nursing when I already have a degree, and could go back to teaching. The last week taking Matt to and from school has really made me miss being a teacher, and reminded my why I went into teaching to begin with.. not for the money, but for the kids. I figure I will finish this BIO class and see what I think after Christmas.

This one's for SUE

2008-08-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

A few months ago my wonderful other mother, Aunt Susan Cox, was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was devastating news to our family, but we have all felt strongly that she would be okay and survive this horrible disease. She had a double radical mastectomy on July 7th, and started her first round of chemotherapy last Friday. In honor of her, Jared shaved his head! Yes, his head is that white... no tan with that dark of hair. This was the first time Jared has completely shaved his head, and did it out of love and respect for Sue. We love you Aunt Susan and our thoughts and prayers are with you to have a full recovery! I am not brave enough to shave my head, but will be making a donation to the Susan G Komen foundation in honor of Sue.

My future Pro-baseball player

2008-08-13T21:44:00.001-07:00

Jared was the pitcher for most of the games....Aiden watching the game.

Zach wanted to play T ball but was not old enough to join the league this year. He would go to all the games with us, and watch his brother play. He can't wait to play next year.

Matt in his Cubs uniform

Matt and his best friend Garrett, who lives across the street, were both on the CUBS team this year. The league ended in May, but I just got the pictures finally. Thought they were super cute and wanted to share..

Nothing special..just my boys

2008-07-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

Jared took these pictures of the boys last week and I thought they were cute.......

Jared has been slowly recovering from the "antelope" accident. Tomorrow it will be three weeks and he feels a little better everyday. He is hoping to go back to work on the 6th of August but we are just waiting to see how he feels by then. Since he has been home, his mom has been so kind to come over and help watch the kids and I have been working an extra day. The last 5 years I have only worked 3 days a week! It's crazy working this extra day how behind I have gotten on laundry and keeping the house clean. I just signed up today to take my first Biology class towards becoming an RN. I know I know, I am crazy to want to go back to school and get another degree at this point in my life, but I don't ever want to teach again, and I've really been thinking that being a nurse would be a great career. I have 4 Biology classes and one math to take, and then hopefully I will be accepted into the RN program. My grandfather, my father's dad, has been really sick the last few days. The doctors are thinking that he has Congestive Heart Failure, plus he has prostate cancer that has spread to his spine. It's sad to watch people you love suffer.. My dad is having such a hard time dealing with his parents aging, it breaks my heart. It's not something you ever want to face in life... what to do with your aging parents? I am so thankful for my parents, and Jared's parents. They are amazing grandparents, and parents..

My daily inspiration

2008-07-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

I know this is my third posting for today, but I just wanted to share a link to a blog that I have been following for the last month.... adailyscoop.blogspot.com
Blog is about mother of 4 who writes daily about a tragedy that happened June 14th. Her youngest daughter, accidentally drowned in their jacuzzi. These are her thoughts, feelings and words... so powerful and so inspiring. Get your daily scoop here. She will inspire you. This blog has made me want to be a better mother, wife, sister and friend to all.

Wood Family Reunion July 08

2008-07-13T18:29:00.001-07:00

Holding Aiden

The "Wood" BOY cousins. We have one LONE girl cousin Tobi, born in March to Dana.

Wood Family

Aunt Kristy "Fifi" with Aiden

The Wood Family gathered in Hatch, Utah for our annual family reunion. We had all of Jared's sisters and their families, plus his mom with us. Since it was such a big crowd, we towed our fifth wheel to Hatch, and camped on the side of the house. It was a fun trip, except for the run-in Jared had with an antelope. I wanted to leave the trailer parked on the side of the house until Jared felt better to drive it home, but Jared insisted on driving it home.

How do you eat an OREO?

2008-07-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

Zachary LOVES Oreo Cookies and ate half a box of them while in Hatch. A face only a mother could love!

Hit and Run

2008-07-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

For anyone that has been involved in an accident, you know that they can be terribly painful, and have traumatic results. Well, last Thursday, July 3rd, Jared was involved in a hit and run, literally. Our family went to our cabin in Utah for a "Wood" family reunion for the 4th of July. The second day of the trip, Jared and our brother-in-law Kimo decided to go on a first of many planned dirt bike rides. They packed up the bikes, got the maps, water, all the important necessities, and were on their way. I was in the house with Jared's sister Dana watching the kids when not even 10 minutes later, we heard a bike pull up to the house. I just assumed that either Jared or Kimo forgot something and came back to get whatever was forgotten. I walked out front and there was Jared hanging onto his dirt bike for dear life, yelling that an antelope had hit him. What? I immediately asked him if he was kidding, then as he took off his helmet and I saw his face in total agony, I knew he wasn't. Dana and I had to grab the bike as he had no strength left in him to hold it up as he tried to get off without collapsing. He kept saying an antelope had hit him. I looked at the bike and did not see too much damage, until I walked around on the other side and saw a huge chunk of antelope fur and blood hanging off the bike. Apparently, as they started out, Kimo was ahead of Jared, and they were about 2 miles from the house in a meadow when Jared saw an antelope running out the corner of his eye. He had about 2 seconds to react and tried to speed up to avoid hitting the antelope if it ran in front of him. Well, he wasn't fast enough and the antelope ended up T-boning the rear of the bike, it fish-tailed and Jared was thrown from the bike and landed in a ditch. He doesn't remember much, just spinning and then waking up in face first in the ditch. Since Kimo was ahead of Jared, and didn't realize this had happened, Jared had to get up and come back to the house all by himself. Luckily, there were two guys coming back from the same trail that found Jared in the ditch and helped pick his bike up. I ended up taking Jared to the Panguitch town emergency room, which was actually pretty nice for a small town ER. He ended up with two broken ribs in the front, one broken rib in his lower back, two other fractured ribs, and covered in bruises and road rash from his right shoulder all the way to his ankles. So the weekend of dirt bike and four wheeler riding was put to a halt, and he ended up sitting and sleeping the rest of the weekend. Luckily, the doctor gave him lots of good pain pills to help with the pain. ...... How random is this?

A Cowboy and Dragon Slayer

2008-06-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

If you know Zach, you know he is ALL BOY. No doubt, 100% dirty boy. He loves anything that is dirty, slimy, and has to do with animals. For the last 2 years he has been obsessed with horses. We live out near some horse ranches and practically everyday we have to drive past the horses and stop. In fact, he has named them. So for his 4th birthday I decided to get him some cowboy boots. He has been wearing them around the house riding his horse and wears them when we go out somewhere. There is just something so cute to me about a little boy wearing cowboy boots and shorts. We were driving in the car a few weeks ago and he asked me where do dragons live? I first told him that dragons weren't real, but he kept saying but where do they live? Finally after going round and round with him about dragons not being real, I finally told him they lived at Dragon Mountain, and pointed at the nearest mountain. So now he has become obsessed with dragons. My dad even told him that dragons only come out at night and fly around looking for food. I found him "dragon slayer" armor to help protect him when the dragons come out at night. As sad as I am that I will never have a girl, BOYS can sure be fun!

The Bees are Dead

2008-06-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we got rid of the bees. It cost us about $1000 to have the Bee Master's come out and remove the hive. They had to remove the tile, and then cut a 3 foot hole in the roof to get the hive out. The entire reason we had them remove the hive instead of just killing the bees and then sealing the hole was that we didn't want the honey to drip into the insulation and eventually drip down the walls into the sheet rock, and also we didn't want an infestation of more bugs eating the honey. Well, because it's been so hot, and it was 7 days before they got back out to our house, most of the honey DID drip out of the hive and down onto the first story insulation.. So, basically it was a waste of money to get the hive out. Except it's nice knowing that all those bees aren't in the roof anymore. I thought the "bee" lady told me that it was a 60 pound hive, and either I heard her wrong, or she was WAY off, but the hive was actually about 6 pounds.

Home Invasion

2008-06-17T18:00:00.001-07:00

So we get a knock on our door Sunday from a neighbor asking us if we knew we had a swarm of bees on the side of our house. Obviously we didn't! We called out the Bee Master today, and discovered we have approx a 60 pound honeybee hive under our roof. The bee lady told us probably between 40 to 60 thousand bees living under our roof! They sprayed poison on the bees today, and will come back in 72 hours to then cut holes in our roof and remove the hive. No worries, this will only cost us about $1200 for the hive removal and then another $500 to $800 to get the roof fixed. I am about ready to march up to the top of my roof and demand rent from the queen for the last few weeks. Doesn't she know how much gas costs?? You can't really see it on the picture, but the hive entrance is right in the corner on top between the two windows. I guess bees pick houses randomly.. how did we get so lucky??

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-14T19:01:00.001-07:00

I am blessed to be married to a wonderful guy who is a wonderful DAD. He truly loves his boys, and they ADORE him. He has been on a fishing trip the last three days, and the boys are sick of me and can't wait for him to get home. All day they have been asking what time will he be home... Thanks for being a great dad, we love you!

I am also blessed to be the daughter of a wonderful father. This was Aiden's blessing day, and grandpa Doug blessed him. My dad and I had a rocky relationship growing up, but now that I am older and wiser, we have developed a great relationship. We work together, and its been great seeing a different side of my dad. Thank you for being a great example and grandpa to my boys and for being a wonderful dad.

Pre-K Graduation

2008-06-02T13:36:00.001-07:00

Matthew and his best friend Garrett.

Aiden taking in all the excitement....

Okay, so who would of thought that "graduating" from PRE-K gets you a ceramony? Well, if you go to Lamb Of God pre-school, you get a graduation ceremony. Matthew was so excited to wear a cap and gown and sing for his family that came to the graduation. I video taped the program, and about every 5 seconds, he would look over at me and get distracted from singing. . maybe I can send it to America's Funniest Home videos and win some money.

Isn't he the cutest? I know I am his mom!! I think all my kids are cute.

Happy Birthday ZACHARY

2008-05-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Zach is already four. Time has gone by so fast, and it's been so much fun watching him grow up. I am truely blessed to be the mother of this amazing, wild, and crazy boy. He tries my patience every day, but at night when I tuck him into bed and he looks up at me with his big blue eyes and tells me how much he loves me, all my frustrations for the days events, can't compare to how much I love him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET ZACHY!

The things they say!

2008-05-25T19:32:00.001-07:00

So I have to write about two funny things my boys said: They look like angels, but looks are decieving!

Zachary: While we were camping last week, he took a shower, and while getting dressed, he said to me, "Mom, why do I have balls on my pee-pee?" Really, how do you answer that? I came up with the best answer I could at that moment, and told them they were for holding pee????

Matthew: A few weeks ago, Jared took the boys to Hallmark to buy a card for Mother's Day. While checking out, the Hallmark employee, was admiring Aiden. (Since he is so cute) She told Matt that since he was so adorable she wanted to just take him home. He looked up at her with a dead serious face, and said "You can not take him home because your boobs do not have breast milk." Out of the mouth of kids!

San Diego

2008-05-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try this blogging thing out. More than anything just a new way to record the funny things my kids do everyday. Enjoy!

We went to San Diego last week. We just bought a new fifth wheel and wanted to give it a try camping. We stayed at Campland on Bay, which overlooks Mission Bay. ITs such a cool place to camp and we had so much fun. We stayed for a week, but could have stayed longer. The entire time we were there, Jared and I kept discussing what a cool place San Diego would be to live. Only if we could live right on the beach though. I kept trying to convince him to go to the nearest fire station and see if they would hire him. No luck!! On our drive home, Matt and Zach both told me how sad there were to leave.

The boys trying to get wet.... In fact, they got soaked!

We went to La Jolla Cove to see the Seals. It was a beautiful day, and the boys had a blast watching the seals and trying to get wet on the bridge.