Helicopter Man

We have some exciting news! Brett started training to be a helicopter pilot in October. He is loving it so far and we are really proud of him. I'm glad that he's finally doing something that he enjoys. Right now he is going to Idaho falls for ground school during the week after work and he flies on the weekends. He is getting the hang of it and doing things like "hovering" and "emergency procedures" etc. woot woot!

I'm really excited about the adventures it will bring for us in the future too. I don't know where we'll end up, but I'm game.

Colby's First Piano Recital!

Colby had his first piano recital today. He played "Deck the Halls," and he did a great job. I'm really excited about how much he has enjoyed playing and learning in his piano class this semester. So, a new piano is on it's way to our house and it's time to hunt for a piano teacher. Next semester he'll be taking beginning guitar!

Good Job Colby!

A Little More Catch Up...not Ketchup

Alright, I've really sucked at taking pictures the last several months. Partly because I hate my bulky camera. I need to bite the bullet and just get a small one I can carry around in my purse! These pictures are out of order but were too cute not to post. I promise I'll do better with the pictures.

Luke and I after the Halloween Trunk or Treat for Brett's company. He still has his Lion whiskers and he found some bling to wear at the Trunk or Treat!

This is Jolie's first day of preschool back in August!

Right outside Mrs. Deru's, my Little Preschool

Colby...and his natural charm and winning smile ;o)

My little Lukey Pie and his Barney horn! It's really loud and he loves it. Thanks Andy and Joe for passing it off to us haha!

Babysitting "Daddy Style". I love you Daddy, and this toilet paper roll!

This was at the parade in Blackfoot, right before the Fair. We had a lot of fun and caught a lot of candy and prizes! The kids loved it.

Jolie is excited to catch candy at the parade!

Brett and Luke, getting ready too.

Grandma Olivia and Grandpa Dean came too

The next few pictures are at the petting zoo at the Fair. What child doesn't like to be licked by a goat? We fed the animals and the kids got to pet them and as you can see--it was delightful.

This was also at the fair, Luke LOVED this magnet board. I couldn't get him away from it!

This is Jolie, AKA Purple Pegasus! She totally got into the spirit of Halloween this year. I should have done better with the pictures, because she also had a Butterfly Barbie Princess costume too. She had so much fun.

At the Trunk or Treat...the little Lion walking with daddy

Colby's improvised costume--NERD

How Yummy is this little guy! He is such a sweetheart.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

This year has been filled with joys and challenges. I want to express how grateful I am for my family, my health, my sisters, parents and my friends. I've been through a lot and I've learned a lot and I'm trying to keep my head up and make new goals and find new adventures for 2012. I'm grateful for my blessings, for my Savior and especially for the Atonement.     

Smokezilla

So we've purchase 2 different smokers in the last few months and we love them! This is the original--Smokezilla. We found that this method is extremely time consuming so we also got a Traeger on Craig's list. The Traeger is electric and it uses an auger system with wood pellets that makes smoking anything so much easier. Since our first run, we've smoke all the basics...ribs, brisket, chicken, turkey, pulled pork and more recently a couple of pizzas. It's very fun, and I'm glad that Brett and I have finally found a hobby we enjoy together. woot.

The pictures are from Smokezilla. My brother-in-law Scott who loves to cook dropped everything and came up to Blackfoot with his family to smoke meat with us. We made spice rubs together. We de-spined chickens together. We slathered mustard sauce together. We sprinkled spice rub together and then 13-15 hours later we ate together. Fun. 

Chicken!

Ribs!

Brisket...my favorite. Can you see the pink smoke ring. Love.

Catching Up...

I don't know why I've fallen off of the blogging wagon. I've enjoyed blogging our adventures (and misadventures) so much that I can't believe I've let it slide for so long. I'm going to try to get back in the swing of things again and stay current.
So, in the last six months a lot has happened! I had a great summer with the kids. We went to the movies a lot, swam a lot and went to the gym a lot too! Luke turned one! We took a couple of fun trips to Utah. Colby started sixth grade at the Idaho Science and Technology Charter School. Jolie started her first year of preschool. Brett started training to become a helicopter pilot! We bought 2 new smokers. Colby turned 12, was ordained a deacon and Jolie turned 4! I've been overseeing all of this progress and haven't changed much except for maybe losing some weight. Oh and Brett did that too--good job us. Atomic push-ups have grown on me as I can now see my abs and lunges aren't so bad either.We've had visitors too and some really fun times. Oh and I may have turned 35. Loved it. Here are some fun highlight pictures...

In June, I did The Little Red Riding Hood bike ride with my friends Debbie and Stacey. This is  a picture of the 3 of us and the Big Bad Wolf after the event this year--so fun.

Luke on his 1st Birthday at Leo's Place. He is such a doll. I love him so much.

Luke with mom and dad after enjoying some birthday cake! I don't know what's up with Brett's forehead in this picture haha!

Colby, Jolie and Luke!

This was a fun trip to The Hogle Zoo that we were able to take in August. We had a blast at my dad's company party. Everything was free--EVERYTHING. We may have had a dippin dot/churro/ice cream overload. I can't remember (we did).

Colby being hilarious. He got a dragon tat--temporary of course.

Jolie got her face painted too! Here she is with her popcorn.

On the same trip we were also able to visit the Children's Museum. If you can't tell, Huge was really enjoying the water feature. What a little crazy!

Driving the car with mom!

Being super cute with Dad in front of Grandma and Granpa Colby's house.

Playing blocks at the Children's Museum

Luke riding the carousel at Planet Play, another fun place that we went with Grandma and Grandpa Colby!

Jolie riding Kevin with Grandpa

On another trip we took to Utah, we went to the Dinosaur Museum in Lehi at Thanksgiving Point. I lucked out because we were able to go with my BFF Becca and her two kids! It was a blast. Mostly, I was just happy to hug and be with Becca.

Jolie loved playing in the sand at the museum!

Luke loved it too

Guess what! We went back to Planet Play with Hilerie and Kenny and their family for Spencer's birthday! Here's the carousel to prove it.

Colby's first day of 6th grade, what a handsome boy.

Me and Becca!

Colby The Artist

Colby has been taking art classes for quite awhile now and he is still excited about going every week. I uploaded these photos 6 months ago, and he's done a lot more since then but here are some of his early works of art! We are really proud of him. We are also glad that he has found another outlet that he enjoys so much.