FREEDOM

One Crazy Summer of Fun 2011!

2011-11-27T16:33:00.000-08:00

This summer was crazy. Makinzi learned how to ride without training wheels. We are so proud of her! Just a couple of weeks after Tifani had Madisyn we loaded up in our non-airconditioned Isuzu Trooper and headed to the Manti Pageant with the youth in our ward. In was an amazing trip that I will never forget and eventually motivated us into buying a mini-van with air conditioning. Cade, Makinzi and Cody love playing make-believe. Dressing up is almost always mandatory. This summer Cade was Indiana Jones with a purple satchel my parents sent home from Guatemala, Makinzi was Short-Round with a baseball cap on backwards and Cody was usually some sort of bad guy that chased them around. For Independence Day Tifani's family came down and we lit fireworks. It was a blast. Our kids loved every second of it. Our neighbor, Janet, bought matching T-shirts she found on sale for our kids for the fourth. What awesome neighbors. Our kids love running, riding bikes, or scooters up and down the street visiting the neighbors. One of their favorite neighbors is Bruce. A middle aged man who works in his yard a lot. Our kids love visiting and speaking with him. He is a great sport about it and doesn't seem too bothered. Other activities that kept us busy were jumping on the tramp-displayed in the photo of Makinzi's static hair and T-ball. I coached Cade and Makinzi's T-Ball team. It was a lot of fun. We camped some, hiked, rode our bikes to what our kids call the small ponds and big ponds. We hung out with Melissa a lot and she let us swim in the pool at her apartment almost daily. Our kids love Clayton and are always excited to be with him. We miss the Bogg's family terribly, but we are super excited that soon we will be with them often in Pocatello. Tifani's Dad came into town for a couple of weeks and it was great to be able to spend time with him and with Darin before he left on his mission. Our summer fun was cut short by the news that I was offered a job as an assistant principal at the alternative school in Pocatello. We spent the remainder of the summer, packing, preparing our house to sell, and moving. It has been a huge blessing, but we miss our Nampa friends and ward dearly. Our neighborhood and neighbors were great. We were blessed and we are still being blessed here in Idaho Falls. God is watching over us and we are thankful for the many opportunities He has provided us. All in all it was one crazy summer of fun.

Madi's Baby Blessing

2011-11-27T16:10:00.001-08:00

Blessing a baby is always an amazing and humbling experience. I know that Madisyn is a special daughter of God. I know He loves her. I know that the Lord is watching over her and has much in store for her. I am overwhelmed by the feelings I had during the blessing. They are similar feelings that I had with each of my children. A feeling that God loves each of them and has a specific plan for each of them to fulfill. A feeling that as long as I teach them the gospel in all diligence they will be fine, they will do what is right, they will keep the commandments, they will follow the Savior. Tifani and I are deeply humbled at our responsibility as stewards of these special children of our Heavenly Father. Their faith and love of the Lord comes easily and is always an example to us. Tifani and I love Madisyn so much. She lights up our home. Her smile comes quick and chases away any darkness. Cade, Makinzi, and Cody love her so much. It was so wonderful that Tifani's Dad was able to be here. We love and pray for him. It was wonderful to be able to spend time with Darin before he leaves on his mission. I testify of the family unit. Nothing brings greater joy.

Madisyn Lynn Wallace

2011-06-05T21:26:00.001-07:00

Madisyn Lynn Wallace was born on May 18, 2011 at 7:40am. She weighed 9lbs. 5oz. She was one week early. What a whirlwind it has been the past couple of weeks with Madi now part of our family. Cade, Makinzi, and Cody love her so much and can't get enough of holding her, smooching her, or poking her eyes(mainly Cody). She loves to be held, and I love holding her, which can be a bad combo. I often find myself holding her late into the night just watching her sleep knowing I should be getting some sleep in order to be functional for my other kids early the next morning, but I just know how fast this time goes and I just keep holding her. She is a strong healthy girl and already she has knitted herself into our hearts. She, like our other kids, doesn't really cry. She just gets this disgusted look...lets it build and then....she gives out a loud yell/squawk, she repeats this pattern until taken care of. She is more alert than Tifani and I remember our other kids being. She is happy most of the time and Tifani and I both feel that we have seen her smiling with her eyes. I know that sounds corny, and it is, but it's true. She loves looking around and checking things out. She is a great baby and we love her sooooo much! God has truly smiled upon us for which both Tifani and I feel humbled and more grateful than we can put into words. Thank you everyone for all your support.

The birth went extremely well, as well as one can go I guess. At 5:30am on the 18th Tifani woke me up and said I should call her mom and tell her to start coming down from Weiser, about 1hr. away and she told me to drive to the store and get some milk and donuts for the kids breakfast because we didn't have anything for them. I headed for the store and decided to go to the school and request a sub and print off some work so it was all prepared and then go to the store. I called Natalie Tooley who had said she would watch our kids until Tif's mom arrived. When I was just about done with getting the school work ready Tifani called and was in serious pain. She wanted to know where the heck I was. I hit panic mode. I gunned it to the store, sprinted the aisles in olympic fashion and gunned it home. Tifani had been trying to clean the house and she was now at the point where she couldn't stand when each contraction would come, which was less than 5 minutes apart. We got to the hospital and she was at an 8 and bulging. They rushed us in to a room and started jamming needles for an IV, but were having trouble tapping into a good spot. After a few pokes they finally got one. Tifani was in serious pain at this point and we were worried, as were the nurses that she wasn't going to get some pain relief. Finally, the anesthesiologist showed and gave her an interthecal. It is like an epidural but consists of one shot and starts working in about 30seconds and only lasts an hour. She immediately felt better and she started trying to push out the baby. All was progressing well when Tifani yells "STOP!" She proceeds to explain that she has always wanted to watch and requested a mirror. Everything paused and light conversation was shared until a mirror was located and positioned just right to which Tifani kept making comments pertaining to the grossness of the whole process. After a few pushes out came our beautiful Madisyn Lynn and changed our family forever. I cut the cord, which I am convinced they have the husband do so he doesn't feel totally useless, though it helps very little. The doctor and nurses were great. Tifani was absolutely amazing as always. I was there...I cut the cord...I cried...that counts for something...right. It was amazing and we are so happy to have our special girl. We couldn't imagine not having her now. She already has made us better.

I testify of the family unit. Nothing brings greater challenge, worry, but most of all....joy.
Enjoy the photos!

t
e

Feliz Cumpleaños Cody

2011-03-06T10:52:00.001-08:00

It is hard to believe that Cody is already 2 years old. We can't imagine life without him. He is growing up so fast. He has moved from the crib and shares a room with Cade, he is speaking quite a bit, he loves sports, he loves to growl like a bear, he loves animals, he loves Cade and Makinzi and his new sister that is on the way, he loves candy, and he loves rough housing. I am probably bias, but if I could describe Cody in one word it would be fun. He is always willing to do anything and he has such a fun/funny personality. People also say he looks like me, so he is very handsome. It is so funny to see him tease Makinzi and Cade, he knows already at such a young age how to get to them and then to get them in trouble. He is never afraid to take on Cade, Makinzi, Tifani, or me (Brad), or whoever else wants to challenge him. This gets him in trouble quite a bit, but it cracks me up. Cody told us he wanted a lion cake for his birthday so Tifani obliged. It was a fun little party we had and Cody loved the toys he got. We love him so much and we are so thankful for him in our lives. We love you Cody, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

2010-12-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

Kuna Caves

2010-12-02T23:40:00.001-08:00

We heard about the caves out in Kuna and being the adventurous bunch we are we couldn't resist trying to find them. We explored the internet and found a google map and then just figured it out from there. I love my family. Tifani, Cade, Makinzi, and Cody are all always willing to embark on an adventure which fits great with my personality. The caves, after all the negative comments I heard about them, were pretty cool. We had fun exploring them and I felt a little like Tom Sawyer. I totally recommend checking them out! The latter descent was a little nerve racking with Cody in tow, but once initiated the nerves quickly vanished and the spirit of adventure set in. Each kid got their own flashlight and enjoyed exploring through the darkness. After about 15-20 minutes they had had enough dark and were ready to escape the natural confines of the kuna lava caves. Great fun!

Happy Halloween 2010

2010-12-02T23:18:00.000-08:00

We have a tradition we do every Halloween season. We go and buy a pumpkin, usually from a pumpkin patch (this year we got lazy/busy and got some at Winco) and we come home and carve them, eat donuts and watch "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow-Disney Version" on youtube.com. Our kids love it, but nobody gets as excited I think as I do. Halloween was especially interesting since we decided to go out on Saturday night. Let's just say it was sparse and if it hadn't been for the Rackhams trunk or treat it would have been slim pickins for us as parents with the candy. We let our kids pick their costumes. Cade used a power ranger costume, but unaware of who the power rangers are, he said he was a super strong man that could rip your head off. Makinzi struggled to decide what she wanted to be and changed costumes every 15 minutes. She ended up being a butterfly, ballerina, princess unicorn. Cody kept it simple with a dinosaur costume. He just went around growling all night. Halloween is a fun time of year with kids and I get sad to think these times are limited. Anyway, it was lots fun!

Our kids love to go on bike rides. This is Makinzi just before we took a ride to the "small ponds." We have some small ponds in a subdivision by our house and some big ponds another mile and half past that owned by the city or the fish and game. Anyway, these are our favorite places to ride. After this particular ride we hung Cody up in storage with the bike carrier and got a good laugh out of his always hilarious expression when he isn't quite sure what is going on or what the big joke is all about. Then he finally catches on and thinks it is hilarious that we are laughing about it and he joins in. You can see in this picture his smile starting as he realizes this is funny and is going to join in the humorous occasion.

Cade Turns 6!!

2010-12-02T22:34:00.000-08:00

Cade turned 6 a few weeks ago and we had his birthday party at a bowling alley (as per his request). He had a lot of friends show up, and Grandma and Grandpa Self, Uncle Cameron, and Grandma and Grandpa Thomas showed up after the party to eat dinner with us at Hong Kong in old town Nampa. It was a lot of fun. The bowling alley in Nampa was awesome. They announced Cade's name over the intercom and presented him with a gift. They gave him his own real bowling pin with a written message in marker that said "Happy 6th Birthday Cade!" Tifani didn't dissapoint with her always amazing cake baking and decorating skillz. Tifani and I can not believe how old Cade is getting. He definitely has his own likes and dislikes. He is very chatty and curious. He is always asking questions. His personality is always full of smiles and fun. He has such a good heart and we love him so much. He is such an amazing brother to Makinzi and Cody. We couldn't have asked for a better oldest child. He is a wonderful example to our other kids and is always worried about their welfare. We love you so much Cade. Thank you everyone for coming to the party. It was a blast!

My Sweet Makinzi is now 4 years old!!!

2010-11-28T15:10:00.000-08:00

My sweet little princess Makinzi is now 4! I am a few months late with my post. I think that I have been putting it off on purpose. I don't want to come to grips with the fact that my little girl is one year older. This year we celebrated her birthday at Grandma Shirli's house. She had 4 butterfly cakes all decorated differently. She got a talking Jessie and Woody doll, 2 Tag Readers, a Toy Story beach towel, and lots of other fun things. I posted several pictures of Makinzi from the past four years. She is the best! She is so adventurous, fun, happy & then terrible all in the matter of minutes. She is so tender-hearted and loving, yet scary and threatening if you get on her bad side. She can immediately calm my heart and with the same quickness she can make my blood boil. She is so gifted at communicating. She is so smart. She is so unique and special. She loves to read, dress-up, draw, paint, color, create, destroy, play with Cade and Cody, and snuggle with her Dad. She is everything to me! Makinzi, I love you soooo much! You have changed your Mom's and my life. Happy Birthday!!

Cade Started Kindergarten!

2010-09-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

My Cade started Kindergarten this year! I was so sad his first day and when I dropped him off and he went walking away, I have to admit I started to cry a little! :( He is going to a magnet school called New Horizons which is a dual language school. They speak Spanish 80% of the time and English 20% of the time. He goes to school every Tues/Thurs and every other Friday--all day. It's a long day for a Kindergartner but, he is doing really well so far and is having fun! I try to go in every Thursday for about an hour to volunteer and that has been fun. The big mishap that we have experienced so far is that Brad was a little late to the bus stop to pick Cade up and since they won't let Kinders off the bus without a parent there, he had to ride the whole rest of the route and then be picked back up at his school. He was so sad and scared and he told us that he thought that we forgot about him and that he thought he had to stay at school forever! We felt so bad and needless to say, he won't ride the bus home anymore! He asks us over and over everyday if we are going to pick him up--poor kid! Anyways, we can't believe we already have a school-aged child--it's so crazy! We love you Cade!

I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go Dear Lord!

2010-08-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

We went down and dropped off my Mom and Dad at the MTC in Provo last Monday. They flew out for Guatemala Today, Saturday. It was a great weekend, full of fun. We swam a lot at the Hotel, went and did a live session in the SLC Temple, Attended Church at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, ate at Buca Di Beppo, those old enough went to the Sunday morning MoTab broadcast, the guys attended the BYU Blue Bash-we got autographs, photos, interviewed and put on TV, Daren won a grand prize in a raffle and we heard Bronco speak-, we ate at the Creamery, bought some BYU apparel at the book store, and of course we said goodbye to Elder and Sister Wallace.

This is my Mom and Dad walking away after saying goodbye. I missed them instantly, but I am also so thankful for them and their example. I love them so much and I am so proud of them. They are always setting an example that requires me to strive to follow. Thanks Mom and Dad. You are the best!! You will be in all of our prayers.

Annual Redfish Trip 2010

2010-08-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

Another amazing year at Redfish Lake, ID. We went up on a Wednesday and came back on a Saturday, and since my parents didn't need their trailer, we borrowed it. We had a blast. The Rackhams, Justin and Tori Thomas-Tif's brother and wife, came as well. Also, Bishop Minor made the trip as a first timer. We fished, ate dutch oven grub, picked huckleberries, ate homemade huckleberry ice cream, swam in the lake, sat in the hot pools, rode bikes, hiked, and more. It is always a blast. The Sawtooths are among my favorite places I have ever visited and I never tire of them. Check out the photos.
I FINALLY CAUGHT A FISH ON MY FLY POLE!!! After my Senior year in high school I bought a fly rod, float tube, etc and taught myself how to cast, etc and then fly fished every chance I got the summer before my mission. I never even got a bite. I was so frustrated I sold all my gear. Tifani bought me a fly pole for Fathers Day. I went to Cabellas, told the fly guy of my history and asked for help. He sold me some flys he guaranteed would catch me a fish. I went down on the Salmon just outside of the Redfish campground area and started fishing. I spotted an eddy I was sure would have a fish. I saw some River Otters swim up through the eddy and decided I would take a chance. I waded to the middle of the river. With the water up just above my waste, I braved the current and did my best cast. My fly hit and floated down right into the eddy. It sat for a moment and then, WAM it disappeared. It was my "As a River Runs Through It" moment, until I reeled in the catch. Cade and Makinzi still talk about how small it was. Nevertheless, it is the first fish I caught on my fly pole, and I am proud of the fact that I caught something.
These are the fish Cade, Makinzi and Cody caught and kept just before hitting the grill and then our taste buds.

Part of the White Cloud Range.
After Makinzi caught a fish I took it and hit its head on the corner of this table. Makinzi saw me and picked up the fish and started going buck wild. She kept smacking its head over and over. It was funny and a little disturbing at the same time. Sometimes when you have a rough older brother a little aggression release is good.

It was so cute the way Cody kept just staring at the fish--he couldn't figure out what was going on!
Cody caught the biggest fish out of everyone.

The Rackham boys pose using lilies out of the Lily Pond up above Redfish Lake.

Adios a Herb and Vicki and Reed's Dairy Days

2010-08-28T13:49:00.000-07:00

My Mom and Dad had their farewell and several family members came to say their goodbyes. It was exciting and fun to see everyone. My Mom asked all of us, her children and our families, to sing Nephi's Courage in their farewell meeting. We practiced in our family home evenings and it was awesome to see my kids develop their testimonies through this primary hymn. My parents gave wonderful talks and they never stop amazing me with how awesome they truly are. It is such an amazing blessing to have parents who set a legacy that puts the money where the mouth is. Sometimes it is a difficult legacy to follow, but I appreciate their wonderful examples that seem to never tire in doing what is right and following the footsteps of the Savior.

While at my parents for the farewell we had the opportunity to go to Reed's Dairy Days. It was awesome to go on the horse rides, visit the petting zoo, but most of all the best was eating the ice cream.

You can see my wife in this picture. She is so beautiful, every time I see her I just want to yell Yee Haw! Especially when she's all country girl action photo like this shot with Cody.
My aunt Sharon, her daughter, and Rob's oldest daughter Anika.

Notice Cade carefully monitoring how much Ice Cream he is willing to share from his bubble gum flavor.

July 2010 Finishes with some Fun

2010-08-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

This summer we did a garage sale to try and rid our storage of the innumerable bags of children clothes we have. Garage sales are funny. Their must have been 6 or 7 items that I argued with Tifani about even putting out. I kept telling her that no one would buy that junk and we should just take it to the DI. She insisted and those exact items not only sold first, but sold at full price. Cade and Makinzi loved getting into the mix by selling pop. It was extremely hot and they were very successful bringing in quite a bit of money to add to their savings accounts.

At the end of July we had a ward campout in Cascade, ID on a Friday and Saturday. Tifani and I decided to go up early and camp at Warm Lake because neither of us had ever been there. It was a lot of fun. We fished, swam, hiked, and cooked up some smores. I broke out the fly pole Tifani got me for Fathers Day and put it to work without any luck. Makinzi caught a pretty good size trout that we cooked up and shared. At Cascade Cade caught several perch that he let go. While setting up the tent in Cascade, Tifani urged me to put on the rain fly which I stubbornly denied. In the middle of the night a very violent storm came through so I found myself trying to put on the rain fly at 3am in the middle of a storm. As usual I learned the hard way that I should have listened to my all knowing wife. I say learned, but I am sure this is a lesson that will be repeated. All in all it was a great trip and it is great to have my feet on the mend allowing me to be more active.

Check out Cody's pose! He's a natural.

Cade and Makinzi found this preconstructed fort on our hike.

Summer Lovin=the month of June 2010

2010-07-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

The month of June was extremely busy. Besides what I posted previously, here are some photos of pre and post bunion surgery. The Souzas flew in from Boone, NC. It is always awesome having them around since we don't get to see them all the time. Here are some pics from an awesome family reunion Kendra planned up in Island Park. My Dad rented a cabin for all of us and it was a blast to have everyone together for a week. Enjoy the photos.

Cody at my Mom and Dad's doing what Cody does best. Making a mess with a purpose in mind.

In Idaho Falls, at the Fair Grounds there is a large sand hill. I never knew about it before, but it is a lot of fun. We were driving to the sand hill when we passed a farmers field where a bunch of elephants were grazing. What are the odds. My kids loved it...and so did I.

Tifani made me this amazing cheese cake for fathers day, got me a fishing license and a fly rod. My kids each wrote me a special letter. I love them so much! Thanks Tifani, Cade, Makinzi and Cody you guys are the best!

We went to the zoo and had a great time. I rocked the wheel chair.

Our family reunion was awesome. My Dad rented a cabin for an entire week in Island park. We fished, hiked, ate late night BBQ Burgers, competed in an amazing race set up by Kendra, cruised on the scooters, ate, golfed, swam, relaxed, ate saltwater taffy, etc. It was awesome fun! Thanks Souza's and Mom and Dad for planning such an awesome reunion.

That's right, Cade is hiking in his pajama pants so what. Also, I don't recommend hiking in bunion boots. Kills the arches, oh never mind I don't have any arches.

Killer Bunion Boots Man!!

2010-07-11T16:44:00.001-07:00

School got out on Friday June 4 and on June 5th I found myself along with Dave Cameron, Kirk Nestler and Brian Clark staring at the raging Salmon River during the Big Water Blowout festival at Riggins, ID. This festival isn't for the faint in heart. I have been wanting to attend for about three years. It happens during the first Saturday in June every year in Riggins, ID. The local whitewater rafting companies charge half their normal rates (about $30 a person). It is worth every penny. This year I pooped myself just on the bus ride to our launch spot. One guy, a 2nd year Big Water Blowout attendee, started drinking at the Exodus Lodge (the rafting company we floated with) and didn't stop until launch. Privately he told me it was the only way to keep him calm enough to go through with it. In out raft, I sat front right, Dave sat behind me. On the other side of the raft was Brian front right, then Kirk, and then some dude from Grangeville, ID. On Wednesday the river was running about 43,000cfs(cubic feet per second). By Saturday, the day of the trip, because of the rains the river was at flood stage=83,000cfs. The guides were tentative about running the river because of all the debris floating down-mainly full trees, logs, etc. They decided to go for it and just keep their eyes open and eddy out if large groups of debris were in the way. The trip was unlike any I have ever taken. I have never been in water so fast with rapids so large. It was extremely intense. We flipped on the largest rapid named Ruby that only exists at 60,000cfs.

You Tube and Photo Links of the Big Water Blowout

Here is the slideshow from last years BWBO Festival
http://www.bigwaterblowout.com/slides.htm

This youtube video shows us taking on this class IV/V rapid. We are the 2nd light blue raft that appears at 2:03 on the video. I had a small leatherhead like helmet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRB_klaEoBM

This youtube video gives a better depiction of what the river was like. We are the last raft in the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBAN4rw1Sf4

These are some photos of the trip. Our pictures start around Image 4566 and go to 4589
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/12455994_WYqbw#892165153_j7Zpn

On Sunday after church we drove to Idaho Falls, ID where we would stay for over a month. On Thursday I had surgery on my right foot. Dr. Tolman, whom I highly recommend in Idaho Falls, did the work and he did great. I was born with flat and fat feet. As a result, of the flat not the fat, I developed bunions. Dr. Tolman went in, sliced me up, put some stainless steal screws and a pin and sewed me back together. A week later he did my left foot. Needless to say, my parents helped Tifani and I with the kids and took care of us for over a month. They were as awesome as they always are making us feel like King and Queen of a castle. I am so grateful for such wonderful and supportive parents. They truly are the best of the best! In short, the pain has been minimal if existent at all, and I am healing quickly. It has been like most things in my life, an adventure where I have learned a lot. Currently, I am almost back to normal, at least I can waddle a little. I gained about 25 lbs. though and have had to become creative recently in creating workouts I can do with my ever healing feet. I can not run, hike, or even bike until 13-15 weeks after the surgery putting my reliable cardio runs and Mt. Biking into September. For now P90X with some modifications will have to do. I included some pics including my China Man boots that have caused some laughter and finger pointing more than once in public. (I hate those dreaded boots). My wife has been great through the entire thing. I appreciate her support, my parents, and my kids. My kids are used to a very active me and they have adjusted well with promises of my return to my wildly active self soon. Check out the pics.

Get Your Cruise On!!!

2010-05-17T20:21:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we returned home from a cruise to Catalina, CA and Ensenada, Mexico that set sail out of Long Beach, CA. Thanks Mom and Dad for watching our kids while we were gone! Kirk and Lisa Nestler, Brian and Mindyn Clark, Heath and Stacey Aplington, Mark and Jaylynn Martin, and Nate and Stacey Rackham all went. It was awesome hanging out with friends, building on past memories and making some new ones. The trip went as follows:
Day 1
We met in Twin Falls at Mark's house and traveled down to Las Vegas. We stayed in the Excalibur and had a fun time walking the strip and checking out the Vegas scene.
Day 2
We drove the remaining miles to Long Beach, CA and boarded the ship. It seemed almost instantly that I found myself knee deep in wonderful foods of all kinds. We then disembarked and let the fun begin. Mark instantly made us known on the ship by winning the first game show and bringing home a beautiful plastic Carnival ship trophey. We were all very proud of him. Then we enjoyed laughing until our sides hurt from a comedian's show.
I will be honest, that is where the good entertainment provided by the ship ended. There was an opening show that included dancing and singing by a Carnival entertainment crew, but it seemed the requirement of homosexuality was preferred over actual talent or skill for the trade. Sometimes the flaming was so hot that it literally singed my eyebrows. Dinner was exceptional as we enjoyed all sorts of amazing gourmet goodies and my wife's favorite the famous warm chocolate melting cake.

Day 3
This day we were supposed to arrive on Catalina Island off the coast of California; however, the wind created waves that did not allow us to port so we spent the day sailing around the island. Tifani and I got a little cabin fever and decided to get some running in, after all, we had most likely consumed more calories in the first hours on the ship than we normally do in a week. The bouncing from running and rocking from the ship took a nasty toll on our stomachs and we found our pale selves looking for some motion sickness medicine. Once we popped some of these chewable goodies we felt better, and headed to the buffet/poolside to eat some more and soak up some sun. We did soak up a little more sun than we thought and we are still suffering from it. I thought I was tan, but as soon as we reached the desert of Nevada my face pealed off like a snake shed. Curse the tricks of the humidity. While Tifani laid out, I took some turns down the waterslide and finally convinced Tifani to join along. It was a lot of fun!

This night was the formal night. I abandoned our room and let Tifani and gang get prettied up for the formal dinner. I went up to the casino lounge and enjoyed the soothing sounds of Allegra (an onboard musician and a favorite of ours) while sipping back on an equally soothing virgin piña colada. Dinner was wonderful. I munched down lobster, prime rib, strawberry bisque and some other goodness. After dinner we headed to get our karaoke on, and get it on we did! We dominated the scene to say the least. From the karaoke we headed to the dance club that was a lot of fun except for the 70's techno flash back the DJ entered. After watching some disturbing yet somehow entrancing pole dancing by Kirk and Mark we boogied a little while and then went to watch the Carnival entertainment. I will not recap this as I have mentioned my feeling about it previously. However, it was hilarious to see Mark try and suffer through as much as he could until he exploded and said rather loudly, "I am not spending my night like this!" or something similar and marched out. I think he ended up at a black jack table with a coke plus cherry in his hand and a grin on his face. From then on it was a contest of who would leave the show next. I became competitive seeing how long we could suffer. Luckily I fell asleep and when I was woken by a very loud off tune note I was sure we had won, but Heath and Stacey were holding strong. So we decided to leave together. It was an awesome night, but the fun was just beginning.

Day 4
We ported in Catalina today, well actually it was the Avalon part of the island. We parted ways and some of the group rented beach cruisers and rode around the island, some rented golf carts and cruised around and some went zip lining. We, Tifani and I and Kirk and Lisa looked for some segways to rent but came up empty handed so we headed down to the beach to see what we could find to do. We witnessed a man be pulled from the depths of the ocean and recieve CPR. He was involved in a scuba diving accident. We moved along and found a small surfers shop an the beach where we rented Kayaks, wetsuits, and snorkeling gear. This turned out to be a great idea. We kayaked to frog rock and frog beach which was pretty much secluded, and we saw seals, and several types of fish along the way. We then kayaked back and snorkeled around for quite a while. We found a bat ray that was approximately 4 feet wide and had a stinger of about 3-4 feet. There were tons of fish and it was fun exploring the area. Kirk and I discovered a type of fish we had never seen before that moved like a butterfly, was neon purple and outlined by other colors. It was awesome! I dove down and snagged a good looking shell for Tifani that ended up occupied by a hermit crab that we returned to the ocean. It was a great day and was a lot of fun! We got back on the ship, scarfed down some buffet and then about 2 hours later scarfed some more amazing dinner. It was great!

Day 5
Benvenido a México. We spent this day in Ensenada, Mexico. After bargaining for about an hour with a rental shop, we rented some four wheelers and a rhino for a great price. They are street legal in Mexico, or so it seems, and so we drove around the city and spent a good deal of time bargaining with venders and enjoying the shopping experience. We found some cool things for our kids that they love. One highlight was a guy that does very detailed art using spray paint cans. It was amazing! After shopping we decided to go to a place called the "la bufadora (blow hole)." We drove for about a half an hour and then stopped to ask how much longer we had. When the man told us we had to go at least a 1/2 hour more we turned around and headed back. We probably looked hilarous, a group of gringos cruising on the highway in Mexico on some ATV's and a Rhino. It was awesome though, to see the setting away from the shopping and port. Something a little more real-life. I was shocked by the Applebee's, Ashley Furniture, Wal-Mart(ok I wasn't that shocked about this), and Costco. We then headed to the beach and found some small sand dunes. We had a blast flipping cookies, driving in the ocean, jumping off sand dunes, etc on our rentals. Tifani and I cruised back over to Wal-Mart to get some sun-burn relieving cream. It was fun to mingle with the locals and get that look like, what planet are you from? We drove back, boarded the ship and tried to drown ourselves once again in ocean of food on board.

Day 6
It is always sad to say goodbye. We disembarked this day and continued our journey home. None of us were particularly excited about the long drive ahead, but we were all excited to get home. We took off and traveled very well until about 6 hours from home in the middle of the Nevada desert. Brian was driving when the car started shaking. We had a flat. I had a donut and we hoped we could use it to get to Winnemucca. We couldn't remove the flat tire because of a security nut that can only be removed with a specific key that I didn't have and wasn't given to me by the owners that I bought the car from. So luckily, a man stopped to help us. He gave me a ride back into the nearest town, Fallon, NV. The tire shops were all closed and so it looked like we would be staying the night. I called my insurance, got a tow truck and booked a room for all of us to share at the Econo Lodge. The tow company was going to charge a few hundred dollars beyond my insurance in order to bring all six of us back into town. Luckily, the nice man I was with volunteered to use his business van to bring us back in. He was our good Samaritan. We all ended up back at the Econo Lodge with pizza in our bellies. I enjoyed a good nights sleep wrapped in a blanket with arabian hair all over it and coffee stains (I hope they were coffee stains). In the morning I ran to the Les Schwab and found out all our tires had to be changed so that they matched, otherwise it could possibly ruin our transmission. This ended up being more expensive then the entire trip put together, nevertheless, the issue was resolved and other than cussing the Oregon speed limits we made it home unscathed and with a little extra adventure in our pocket (a very expensive one).

This shirt Brian is wearing was only removed from his back a total of about 6 hours the entire trip. This won him the highlight of the trip award. Way to go Brian!
This is an LDS church in a small, reservation town, in Shurtz, NV. Can anyone say singlewide?
The last couple of days home my mind easily floats to beaches, ATV's, soft serve Ice Cream, 1am BLT/green salad/apple juice room service, the soothing sounds of Allegra, the cool towel creatures constructed by the slaves on the ship, the finishing a meal walking past the buffet and somehow ending up in line grabbing just a little more yummy food, the late night hot tubbing, the often embarrassing but always entertaining karaoke, and of course Tifani's comment to Crystal. Nevertheless, the best part of the whole trip was the company. It was beyond fun to spend time with my friends and especially my wife. I love you guys! I definitely want to do something similar in the future.

My Baby is 1!!!!

2010-03-31T09:43:00.001-07:00

Tifani and I can't believe Cody is already 1. He made a big show on his birthday by taking his first steps. He is now practically running everywhere and hates to be held. He just wants to get down and get moving. He is also into everything, which makes keeping our house clean a current impossibility. Tifani, being her amazing, talented self, made Cody a big dog cake, he loves animals. Whenever he sees an animal, in picture or in reality, he growls and growls at it. Tifani's family came down for the birthday and it was a lot of fun. Cody loved the balloons, toys and clothes he got. Thanks everyone! He is growing up so fast! We love all of our kids so much. I can not imagine life without them.

Catching up-Christmas/Snow fun!

2010-02-10T14:41:00.001-08:00

WE spent Christmas in Weiser this year with my family. Everyone was home for Christmas this year, even Sean and Melissa. We were able to spend Christmas Eve at my Mom's house and Christmas Day out at my Dad's house. We had so much fun, there was tons of snow so we did some snowmobiling--we had a blast! The week before Christmas we went to Idaho Falls to see Brad's parents. We had a great time, Brad took me on a really fun date while we were there (it will be on a separate post). Vicki made Cade, Kinzi, and Cody each a personal picture book of themselves so they can learn to site read,they are really neat, everyone got church clothes and Cade got an Indiana Jones Legos PS2 game--he absolutely loves it!

This is Kinzi in her Christmas dress, she got a matching dress for Tinkerbell, so cute!These are some pictures of Brad and the kids playing is the snow during Christmas break--This was one of Cody's 1st times playing in the snow and he loves it! Makinzi was done playing by the time I got the camera out, she was just hanging out on the front porch throwing snowballs at everyone. I can't tell who was having more fun, Brad or the kids!!!Eating the snow!!! They just constantly eat the snow, it's gross but they love it!

Cody's 1st Haircut!!

2009-12-14T14:59:00.000-08:00

This is just a random pic...

Here's some pictures of Cody's first haircut! He was so good, he just sat and ate Cheerios the whole time! What a cute boy! Here's before:

And after:(P.S. He is 10 months old)

The Big #5!!

2009-12-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

Cade is 5! He is so excited to be 5! He wanted a Geo Trax cake and to go swimming & rock climbing at the Rec. center again. Cade loves swimming and is getting pretty good at it-just recently he started holding his breath and going under the water. He can even swim a little ways while he's under! Kinzi is getting more and more comfortable too--she scares me!! Here are some pictures of the party! We love you Cade!

For Mom & Sua

2009-11-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a sampling of some of the pictures that I have taken lately, enjoy....

Soccer Fall 09

2009-11-01T20:39:00.000-08:00

Cade and Makinzi completed another season of soccer. This was Makinzi's first and she took to it fairly well. I coached Cade's team and Tifani coached Makinzi's. It was another great season. Both teams had great kids and parents that we loved to coach and associate with. It was a lot of fun. We are looking forward to the Spring season. Here are some snap shots.

Jump into Fall!

2009-11-01T20:12:00.000-08:00

We have a few fall traditions we have been adding to over the past couple of years. First, we go to a pumpkin patch for Family Home Evening, usually Linder Farms. We do the wagon ride, pick a pumpkin to carve the following Monday from the patch, and let the kids enjoy the jump houses, train rides, petting zoo, etc. Tifani and I enjoy the deep fried 4000 calorie artery clogging mini-donuts. They are delicious. It is a lot of fun, something our kids always look forward to. This year we went with the Mortenson's. They are a blast. The most hilarious part was when Wendi couldn't resist the little kids train ride and joined in on a, what seems like forever, trip around linder farms. It provided a good laugh for me. Wendi didn't look to comfortable which made me laugh a little more. Another tradition we kind of started this year is the week following our pumpkin pick festivities, we carve our pumpkins and Tifani makes homemade donuts-again ultra unhealthy but who cares, and we watch the Disney version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It can be found in its entirety on Youtube.com. This old Disney classic is hilarious and our kids love it. These are fun traditions that ring in fall for us and that our kids look forward to. The jumping pictures are Tifani and the kids enjoying one of the last warm afternoons before the real cold snap moves in.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

Cade a.k.a Batman, Makinzi a.k.a Ballerina Butterfly Princess, and Cody a.k.a Pumpkin raked in a load of candy this weekend. On Friday we went to our ward Trunk or Treat/Chili Feed. It was awesome. The activities committee did an amazing job with decorations, food, etc. Cade and Makinzi raked in a lot of candy during the Trunk or Treat. Saturday Shirli, Cliff, Cameron and Kirsten came down to Trick or Treat our neighborhood with us. Again, Cade and Makinzi raked in a load. What is the deal with these superhero candysticks? This is the new candy that no one wants. It is like the old peanut butter salt water taffy wrapped in Black and Orange that was as hard as a rock. This white, sugar stick is the most disgusting candy I have ever tasted, and Ihave eaten a lot of candy. Just putting it out there-be ye warned it is nasty stuff. Anyway it was a fun weekend. Enjoy the pics.

s

BYU vs. TCU Homecoming

2009-11-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

We recently went down to the BYU vs TCU homecoming football game. Although the game didn't turn out how we had hoped, the weekend was a lot of fun. We have been searching for a car for about two months and found the one we have been looking for in Ogden, UT. That was a great beginning to our weekend and the owner-private party KSL-let us drive it all weekend to make sure we wanted it. He then even let us drive it home. After Ogden, we all piled in our new ride, parked our old one in a JC Penny parking lot in Ogden, and went to IKEA, always a good time. Finally, we got to our hotel in Provo went swimming and went to bed. In the morning we got up ate some good continental breakfast and headed to the homecoming parade. The parade was good and the hilight was COSMO! My kids love COSMO and they went crazy when they saw him. Cade's favorite float was a pirate ship that served as an advertisement for a new kids pizza place in Provo. Makinzi's would have been the princess float you can see in the pictures, but she was going potty and missed it. Tifani was smart enough to take pictures to update Makinzi on what she missed. After the parade we ate lunch at Legend's grill, a food place located by the BYU practice field that serves as a Hall of Fame museum to BYU athletes. Daren and his crew were there as well catching a nap in a room located upstairs that has a huge TV and is used for BYU football pregame meetings, meals, and film sessions. We used the big screen to watch college football while we ate. Daren and his crew headed to Tucanos for their pregame meal. After eating we headed to the bookstore to stock up on BYU apparel. Decked out in our new gear we headed to the Beane Museum (a must visit) located just above the Marriot Center. This free museum contains the largest collection of taxidermied animals from across the globe I have ever seen. Hilights were the full size African elephant, a garafes head, a hammer head shark, and Cade and Makinzi's favorite the Polar Bear. While inside the museum the once good weather outside turned bad quickly and it rained hard. We made our way through the downpour to the game. Entering the game Tifani and I took the kids down within breathing distance of the warming up BYU players. The kids were mesmerized and got really excited about a BYU victory. Before heading to our seats we loaded up on dinner-cougar dog, nachos and the like. The game was not a huge success for BYU, but my kids enjoyed it until about mid way throught the 3rd quarter, which was the same time I had seen enough. We left at the start of the 4th. My favorite part of the game was partaking of the mysterious COUGAR BRAT-TAIL. BYU has a famous cougar tail that is a two foot long maple bar donut. A Cougar Brat-Tail is a spin off the cougar tail. It features one foot of the two foot maple bar sliced into two pieces. Now you have two one foot pieces of donut bread with one of those pieces layered in maple frosting. The maple frosting slice goes on the bottom-maple up. Then you layer a one foot long brat. You top that with fried onions and then slap on the donut bread to top it. I added Ketchup and mustard, and regretably I neglected to add sauercraut and relish. Next time I will not hesitate. Tifani and I ate it together. I don't know how to describe the experience except that it is unlike anything I have ever tasted and causes deep reflection of the experience. I crave the taste desiring the newness it introduced to my buds and palat. Next year I guess. We had a blast and upon asking the kids what their favorite experience was their answer somewhat surprised me, but in a way I should have expected it. I was mainly hoping for the game-even though it wasn't my favorite experience. They almost simoltameously shouted swimming in the pool Daddy! Nevertheless, my indocrination of BYU is working. Cosmo, BYU, and Brigham Young are common names used in everyday talk in our household. In fact I am doing so well that I sometimes have to clarify to Cade that not all red teams are evil and hated as Utah. Cade immediately associates red with bad now and I can't be dissapointed about that.

Who is the goofball who wanted in our picture?

Cody is 8 months!

2009-10-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

So I just realized that my baby is 8 months old this month! He is so fun! He is "crawling" (he does a bear crawl/crawl) all over the place and pulling up on things. Cody loves food especially bananas and sweet potatoes, but he will try and eat just about anything. He is such a snuggler--way more so than my other two, and I love it! We all love him so much. Cade and Makinzi are on a this kick where they are always trying to pick him up and carry him around which is a little scary because he weighs about as much as them!! Here are a few pictures:

And a few more!:
And finally, I just wanted to post these pics I took yesterday!

TIFANI IS THE BIG 29!!!

2009-10-04T13:04:00.001-07:00

Tifani turned 29 on the 25th of September. I was not so good at giving her the birthday she deserved. Friday, the day of her birthday, I had to cook hamburgers at the Skyview vs. Nampa football game for a wrestling fundraiser. We opened her presents on Thursday and all but 2 of them were the wrong size, so I had to take them back or ship them back. The only things that were not the wrong size was a water bottle I got her, and some compression undies for soccer. I did try and make it a good birthday. I tried to sprinkle in small celebrations here and there over the weekend. We went out to breakfast at a mom and pops in Nampa called the Sunrise Inn. I made her a cake out of Krispy Kreams that you can see in the following pictures, and I did have her presents here and ready to give to her a week in advance,; but, I wish I could have done more to make it a special day for her. I truly am greatful for Tifani and I love her with all my heart. She fills my life and heart. I Love you Tifani and just in case I forgot to tell you, Happy Birthday!

California!

2009-10-04T12:39:00.001-07:00

Our friend John Vantassel got married in the LA temple on September 11,2009. For some time we have been wanting to take our kids on an airplane. Tifani found tickets for $97 roundtrip each so we jumped at the opportunity. It also gave us an excuse to go and visit Melissa and Sean in San Diego. The night before the flight we stayed in Layton with the Thompson's. It was awesome to see Nate and Jonna and their kids. Thanks guys! The flight was awesome and our kids loved it. The airport was a little crazy, but it actually went a lot smoother than I thought it would. Melissa and Sean were awesome hosts. They recently purchased a Vita Mix and so we spent a lot of time finding stuff to blend up and try out. My personal favorite was homemade peanut butter. We bought Honey Roasted Peanuts and then tossed in about 3 cups. You don't have to add a thing and it was the best peanut butter I have ever had. Another hilight was our visit to a hole in the wall burger joint down on Ocean Beach called Hodads. It was recently featured on the food network. I ordered the double cheese burger and I haven't been challenged at finishing a burger for a long time. This burger definitely recieves my respect, and it was delicious. It was so tall I couldn't fit my mouth around it. I had to eat it in layers. The fries are not fries but what I call potato logs and Tifani calls them jo jo's. They are also extremely filling and what we couldn't finish became breakfast the next morning. Their onion rings are equally amazing. Finally we got a chocolate malt to seal the deal. It was an amazing meal that is making my mouth water as I write this. Sean took us on a tour of the Navy base on Coronado where he is stationed. It was awesome. Other events included swimming, eating BJ's pizza, bickering with the downstairs neighbors for being to loud, and hanging out at the beach. Sean and Melissa took our family pictures on the beach in La Jolla. Here are some of the results. I am extremely unphotogenic, a challenge Tifani is always frustrated with. Finally, we went and witnessed John and Whitney's sealing in the LA temple. The temple is absolutely amazing. It is huge! The temple is located right off the freeway on the Hollywood exit. In fact, on a rare clear day you can see the Hollywood sign from the temple grounds. The sealing was awesome and it was fun to see John and get to know Whitney a little more. Aaron and Lindsay were also there and it was fun to hang out with them a little. The trip was a lot of fun. Congrats John and Whitney and thanks Sean and Melissa for the great time!

Happy 3rd Birthday Makinzi!

2009-08-23T14:52:00.001-07:00

Makinzi turned 3 on Aug. 7th!!!! She has been asking for a pony cake for a couple of months so we decided to throw her a cowgirl party. Each kid got to decorate a vest with stickers and crayons, we played some fun games, and everyone got to "ride" the horse. Then of course we had cake and ice cream . Everyone had a great time. We can't believe how fast that she has grown. She is such a special part of our family, we love her very much.

For my Mom's 50th birthday she wanted to go camping with everyone so since we were camping on Makinzi's actual birthday she got a party there too. She got lot's of fun presents, a cool cupcake cake, and a tinkerbell piñata-- she loved it!!

Summer Fun 2009

2009-08-04T19:27:00.000-07:00

This summer has been awesome to say the least! You know it is a great summer when you have a difficult time updating your blog with all the new stuff you have done. Half the stuff we have done this summer we forgot our camera or forgot to take pictures, but here is some more semi-recent stuff we have done. It goes in reverse order from most recent to least recent. The first few pictures include a camping trip we went on at the beginning of this week in McCall, ID. We went up on Sunday and camped on the north side of Payette lake. The Huckleberries were in full season and in about 25 minutes Tifani filled a 24 oz. cup. Cade and Makinzi went exploring and enjoyed eating huckleberries all along the way. We spent time at the lake testing out a new raft we bought. It was a lot of fun. The trip was not all smiles, we barely made it through the night. The mosquitos were just as thick as the huckleberries and they about drove us crazy. It must have been hilarious to other camps hearing us yell at each other as we were on the verge of insanity. We spent a large portion of the night inside our tent. One and 1/2 bottles of OFF wasn't enough. The rest of our stay was awesome and so was the food. We met up with Kirk and Lisa Nestler and stayed in their Trendswest resort. Before meeting up with them we ate at a delicious pizza place and then in the morning we ate at the Pancake House. I would recommend this to anyone and anytime we frequent McCall we visit the Pancake House. Check out the photos. We had a blast with Kirk and Lisa. They are so fun! We swam, played tennis and Kirk even let me beat him in Ping Pong. Thanks you guys it was an awesome trip.

This summer we have spent a lot of time trying to cool off in the backyard. Tifani's mom bought us this awesome blow up slide. I love it and use it just as much as our kids. Tifani refrains and just watches with Cody, but sometimes Cody joins in. This time, in these photos, he made his own little pool out of our wagon.

Redfish was awesome as usual. My favorite part of the whole trip was a hike I took with Cade and Makinzi. We hiked about 5 1/2 miles total and they were awesome the entire way. Cade lead us on a trail I have only taken once that provided one of the most beautiful views of the Sawtooths I have seen, but ofcourse I forgot the camera. Other joys of the trip were hanging out with the Rackhams, and Casey and Kim's family. I will never forget the tube rides Nate provided me. I didn't know my what my rearend looked like until the tube bounced my legs up over my head more than once. Those people who make unflippable tubes need to reconsider their engineering for Nate Rackham. It was a great trip. This was Cody's first camping trip and he did awesome. Thanks for the great time you guys!

Payette River=THE RUSH-Cascade Raft and Kayak

2009-07-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

Tifani and I booked a raft trip for us and a bunch of friends down the class III and IV sections of the lower South Fork of the Payette River guided by Cascade Raft and Kayak. Nate and Stacey Rackham, Bryan and Natalie Tooley, Nate and Kim Marshall, and Tyson and Melissa Downs were among those brave enough to come with. We were paired up with the Downs and so here are some of our photos from our raft during the trip. It was awesome and further ignited my desire to obtain my own raft someday. On one particular rapid where Tifani was riding the bull, we lost half our raft and our guide got slinged about 5 feet in the air above our raft. It was a lot of fun. Thanks for going you guys.

They're here...

2009-07-24T14:51:00.001-07:00

My sister and brother-in-law live in Boone, North Carolina and they came to visit for a month this summer. We were down in Idaho Falls visiting my parents when my sister and her kids flew into Salt Lake. We went down and picked them up with my mom and dad. These are some pics from our little trip. While at my parents it rained and rained. The street flooded so we took advantage and went and played in it. The water was probably a foot deep. It was pretty awesome. Cody has started eating gerber foods. He is a little chunk. This is our first feeding experience. This summer we have been going and going. The longest we have been home is 5 days in a row. Because of this Tifani bought Cade and Makinzi some little blow up bed/sleeping bags. They have been awesome in all of our adventures this summer. On a final note, it has been great to have Benji, Kendra and their kids here this summer. I am not looking forward to them leaving. We will miss them so much. I guess we'll just have to plan a trip to Boone.

ANNIE YOU GOONIE!!!

2009-07-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

The Herb and Vicki Wallace Family Reunion of 2009 is over and what a fun filled week we had. Tifani and I were in charge of planning it this year and we decided on the Oregon Coast. My Dad rented a beach house for a week in Lincoln City and the itinerary was as follows:

Sunday=Drive and stay in Pendleton.
Monday=Drive and eat lunch at Multonomah Falls and get settled in beach house
Tuesday=Go to Newport: go to the aquarium, go crabbing, eat at Moe's
Wednesday=Go to Enchanted Forest in Salem
Thursday=Spend the day on the beach and searching for tide pools
Friday=Check out of beach house, go to Uncle Kevin's dairy, go to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, on the way stop and hike to Munson Falls.

The photos are from all our experiences. It was a blast. Thank you Dad and Mom for the awesome memories.

MONDAY PICS

TUESDAY PICS WEDNESDAY PICS
THURSDAY PICS

FRIDAY PICS

Hiking Jump Creek Falls

2009-06-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I was the Scout Master for our ward and I heard about this place called Jump Creek. My Assistant Scout Master said he knew how to get there, so I planned a trip for our troop. After 3 and 1/2 hours of driving on the never ending web of 4 wheeler and motorcycle trails in the Owyhee Mountains my Assistant Scout Master confessed he couldn't remember how to get there. A week or so ago, I decided to try again this time with directions from my good buddy and Elders Quorum President Sam Clegg. Again we had troubles finding it, but they were only temporary. After asking directions from a farming lady whose breath contained enough alcohol to intoxicate anyone she conversed with and calling Sam about 10 times we found it. It was definitely worth the trip. Our kids loved it and Jump Creek has quickly become one of our favorite outdoor spots(it is only 25 minutes from our front door). The area has several hiking trails, a bathroom, and a firepit. One of the hiking trails leads up to a waterfall and pool area. This hike is a lot of fun crossing the creek and winding through an impressive canyon littered with caves. The trail is lined with some type of flowering plant(I wish I knew what it was, but I'm no biologist) for most of the way that provides an enjoyable smell making the hike that much better. Since we found it we have taken others to experience it. On Monday we had a family home evening with the Tooley's and the Cameron's. We roasted Hot Dogs, drank Capri Suns(both provided by the Tooley's that they aquired free through couponing), made smores, hiked, swam in the falls(actually only I did and I am embarrassed about how long it took me to get in, I am getting soft, once in I doggy paddled around like a freezing labrador, like I said...embarrassing), and enjoyed each others company. It was fun. Cade and Makinzi love jumping up and down in the creek and yelling "jump creek, jump creek, jump creek" over and over. The only set back is the many teenagers that frequent this spot(for non-family or church friendly activities). However, they do a wonderful job at taking pictures of your family. Check ours out. These photos are from our first trip out to Jump Creek.

Makinzi's 1st Haircut

2009-04-27T12:46:00.001-07:00

This is Makinzi's 1st real haircut! She really wanted to get her haircut-probably because she sees Daddy and Cade get a haircut all the time! Brad took her (I know, I'm pretty brave huh??!) and he said that she did really good-she just sat still and listened to the lady the whole time! I think she looks pretty cute!

Just Some New Pictures!

2009-04-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Cody is about 8 weeks old in this picture! He is such a good baby, we are having so much fun with him! He's starting to smile and coo now-- We all just love him.

Standing up with Daddy!

Kinzi doing a great job feeding Cody!

I found Makinzi outside like this--wearing my shoes!! What a silly girl. We have had some really nice weather (on and off) Cade and Kinz are loving playing outside together. They both know how to "pump" their legs on the swing- they can get pretty high!-and they love to ride their bikes. Cade just learned how to ride without his training wheels and is doing awesome. More pictures to come....

Brad's B-Day and Cody's Blessing

2009-03-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

It was an eventful weekend. I completed 30 years on Thursday and we blessed Cody on Sunday. My parents came in from Idaho Falls on Thursday and we celebrated the two events all weekend. Do not feel offended if you weren't invited to either my birthday or the blessing. We didn't invite anyone but family. On Thursday Tifani made me a cake, and even though it didn't set up as she would have hoped it was delicious. In fact I have been eating a piece of it for breakfast almost every day since Thursday (I know my eating is out of control). On Saturday my Dad and I went with an Elders Quorum activity in our ward. We held a clay pigeon shooting activity. Cliff, John Eagle and Uncle Scott came down and set up a course and threw pigeons for us. They also taught us a fun game they call "Custer" to play. It is kind of like lightening or bump in basketball. It was a lot of fun and I now have another new hobby, I just need a shotgun. Saturday afternoon we went to Tucano's. One just opened in Boise. It is my favorite restaurant and needless to say its arrival to the treasure valley has been a blessing (or curse) to me. The blessing is the indescribable food. The curse is the meat sweats I get after eating there. After Tucano's we went on a walk and then to Monsters vs. Aliens. It was a lot of fun. I think I enjoyed it more than Cade and Makinzi did. After the movie I caught myself quoting lines, sharing favorite parts, etc. Tifani, on the other hand, fell asleep.

The blessing went well and it was great to spend time as a family. The burgers, dogs and, thanks to Justin and Tori, Carne Asada provided a great lunch for after the blessing. Plus it was fun to strike up the grill again. The blessing went well and I was humbled by what I was guided to bless Cody with. What a blessing to have the gospel and the priesthood in our lives. It truly provides peace and true joy. It was a great weekend that was packed with good times.

Cody Frank Wallace

2009-02-26T10:14:00.000-08:00

He is here! Cody Frank Wallace was born on February 19, 2009 at 8:49pm. He weighed in at 7lbs 10oz and was 19 1/2in long. Everything ran smoothly and Tifani was awesome as always. Cade and Makinzi have been wonderful. They love Cody to death and shower him with kisses. They each like taking their turn holding him and they have each had an opportunity to give him a bottle. We often have to try and keep them from smothering him with love, a good problem to have. We are so thankful for all the support, meals, visits, gifts, etc. We are adjusting well, Tifani is getting used to operating on low sleep, Cade and Makinzi are adjusting to the sharing of attention, and I am trying to adjust to feeling less than helpful for Tifani. This is probably the hardest thing for my male instincts. Many of the difficulties that come with child birth have to be faced by the mommy, the dad just needs to be there. Just being there is not a strong male suit. It is not that we don't enjoy being there; our instincts are not geared for just sitting and supporting. We like to fix, solve, or eliminate problems or difficulties. Especially when they are placed upon those we love. This is my trial and even though I know Tifani is grateful I am here, I often feel more of a burden than a boyoncy. This leads me to perform a large amount of neglected tasks like cleaning the cars inside and out, fixing sinks, cleaning the garage, changing light bulbs, examining leaks, keeping the kids occupied, etc. In the end, we all have our adjustments to make. We are happy to have Cody with us and we love him with all our hearts. He just feels like he belongs and I can't imagine not having him here. Again, thanks to everyone for their love and support. God has truly blessed us and we are thankful! (There are no pics of Tifani at her request, mothers of newborns will understand)

Christmas 2008

2009-01-24T15:15:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! A couple of weeks before Christmas we traveled to Weiser to poach a Christmas tree from the wonderful wilderness above Mans Creek Reservoir. It was fun. Cade, Makinzi, Tifani, Shirli and I found what we thought was the perfect tree. Those trees are never quite as full as they look out in the forest. Nonetheless, we had a great time hauling the tree to our house and then decorating it. The tree was top heavy or lopsided somehow because it scared the bejebees out of us more than once when it came crashing down. Finally, after a few broken ornaments we got it to stay up.

Christmas was great! This year we spent it at the Wallace's. A snow storm hit on our journey to Idaho Falls, so it took us two days to get there. We made it though, and it was wonderful. Activities of the break included sledding, snow fort building, skiing, eating, relaxing, gaming, playing with presents, shopping, and spending time as a family. Kendra and Benji were in town. It was awesome to see them. We sure miss and love them. They make everything more fun and/or entertaining. We also enjoyed participating in the Christmas Eve Nativity presentation with my Mom's family.

Presents included leapster video game systems, snowshoes, a beebee gun, clothes, pajamas(Tifani made our kids pajamas, her first real sewing experience, see photos), outdoor fire pit, games, a rock climbing class and more. We thank everyone for all the awesome presents, we had a great Christmas.

All Aboard...The North Pole Express

2009-01-24T14:46:00.001-08:00

As part of our Christmas festivities this year we booked tickets on the North Pole Express. It is a train ride that leaves out of Horshoebend, Idaho and takes you to the "North Pole." Santa and Mrs. Claus accompanied our train ride and then the kids got a chance, at the North Pole, to sit on Santa's lap. It was a lot of fun! Along the way we enjoyed caroling, by Santa's elves on the train, and we had fun riding on the outdoor train car. Santa even stopped by our table and talked with Cade and Makinzi. My favorite part was the free candy canes, coco, and cookies. I bought our kids wooden train whistles that I think I had more fun blowing than they did, and still do. Along the way we saw a family of bald eagles and took in all the beautiful scenery provided by the wintery landscape of the Payette River. Cade, Makinzi, and I had a snowball fight at the North Pole while Tifani waited in line for us to see Santa. This is an awesome experience that really resonates the Christmas spirit. We will definitely be doing it again.

Thank you Shirli for the Sesame Street Bash!

2009-01-24T10:13:00.000-08:00

Tifani's mom bought us tickets to Elmo Live at the Idaho Center. Our kids loved it! Even Tifani and I considered charging the front and trying to touch Elmo or Big Bird. We went as far as to scout out which security guard would be weakest in his/her attempt to stop us at rushing the stage. There was an old man that looked in his late 70's who was standing guard and we almost tested his skills but decided against it. Our kids were mesmerized. It was fun. I almost gave in and bought an Elmo beanee for $40, but Tifani stopped me. Thank you Shirli it was awesome!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2008-12-18T09:14:00.001-08:00

This is (one of) our family Christmas cards, I'm posting it for all of you--my Blogger friends and family so we can save a stamp and not send one in the mail! I know pretty lazy! We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas season and a Happy New Year, we love you!

Love-- Brad, Tifani, Cade, Makinzi, and ? Wallace

Did you hear about Cade's Party? It was the BOMB!

2008-11-25T21:29:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Cade's 4th birthday! It was tons of fun. We went to the Nampa Rec Center and did some rock climbing followed by some swimming. Cade, Ty Rackham, Lexi Dean, Alexandria Self, Tanner Real, Isaac Taylor, Laura Flake, Trey Downs, Christian Rackham, and Claire Kranbuhl attended.

I was a little embarrassed. After rock climbing we went to get in the little kids pool. I was eager to jump in and start the swimming fun. Apparently, I was the only adult excited about it, because I was the only one who went swimming. It must have looked pretty funny, a middle-aged, overweight, balding man in a kiddie pool of about 12 kids with adults all along the side watching the show. It's ok. It really took me a while to even notice. I enjoyed being a submarine for the kids to ride on and bouncing a beach ball off their faces and laughing with them about it.

After the events we went to a side room and dug into this awesome cake Tifani made=Spiderman bust. The entire cake was edable. Spiderman's head was made completely of frosted rice crispy treat, how cool is that! My wife is the bomb! Her cake creating skills are legendary. She never disapoints. Cade got tons of awesome presents and we had a blast with all of his cool friends. After the party Cade and I went home and played with his presents for about 2 hours. It was awesome! Thanks everyone!!

One more hilight. Tyson Downs was there and decided he wanted to try rock climbing (he had never attempted it). I belayed him. I picked a pretty difficult route, but he did well. The real reason I picked the route was that at the end when you let go there is some major swinging action, I kinda wanted to see him freak out a little. I got my wish. He let go and somehow sent himself in a spinning motion mixed with the swinging motion. You should have seen his face. I am busting up while writing this just remembering. Love you Tyson! You're the man! Thanks for the laugh! It was an excellent party. Check out the pics.

Happy Birthday Cade!

2008-11-17T11:06:00.000-08:00

Today is Cade's Birthday!!! I can't believe that He is already 4! We love him so, so much!!!
(we will post pics of his party later!)

Halloween 2008

2008-11-17T09:39:00.001-08:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Cade and Makinzi had so much fun this Halloween! Cade was obviously Woody from Toy Story-- he LOVES Woody and even took his Woody with him trick-or-treating, and Makinzi a cute little witch. She really wanted to be a princess, so I told her that she was a witch-princess and she was fine with that! (I already had the witch costume and I wasn't going to buy another one!) By the way, Kinz insisted on wearing those boots, she loves them and wears them everywhere we go!!

My Mom came over and took us out to eat before we went trick-or- treating around our neighborhood. We had a lot of fun! Cade was really scared of the "scary guys"--kids wearing scary-looking costumes and he and Kinz would run and hide from them!! We got way too much candy, the kids buckets were getting too full and heavy to carry! We called it quits around 8:15 or so, and came home so Cade and Kinz could hand out candy from our house--they loved running to the door and giving the kids candy, I think, even more than getting it themselves.

There were some people in our neighborhood who had a huge set-up in their garage, they were singing and dancing and were dressed up pretty good, (pretty scary!) We could hear them from all over the sub-division!!! It was funny because Makinzi just stood and stared at them for the longest time!

Painting Pumpkins

2008-10-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

We decided to paint our pumpkins this year first, and then carve them later-closer to Halloween!! The kids had fun, getting messy in the paint! It will be fun to carve the pumpkins and Cade and Makinzi will love to watch them glow at night.

Family Pics!!

2008-10-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

This is a cute scrapbook page that my sister made! We took these family pictures a few months ago but I haven't had time to upload them to my computer yet. I will do it soon and then post more pics. (click on it to enlarge)

Happy Birthday to Me and PUMPKINS!!!

2008-10-16T13:04:00.001-07:00

I had an awesome birthday this year! Brad made me this really yummy Whopper's Cake (that's all I asked for, for my birthday!) It was amazing, I recommend the recipe to all--it's on the back of the Whopper's box. We both had a game on my b-day, so Brad took me out to a really good Hawaiian restaurant on Friday night, the food was great, and so was the company!! Thanks to those that came! I got lot's and lot's of fun presents-which I thought that Brad went a little over- board on me, but I know that it's just because he loves me!!!

PUMPKIN PATCH!!!
We went to a pumpkin patch again this year, it was so fun, the kids loved it! Here's a few pics to document the night.

We started off on the tractor hay ride, Cade & Kinz loved it.

The tractor dropped us off at the petting zoo. They even had a Zebra and a crazy Camel that was jumping around everywhere. The best part was that they gave the kids free pony rides! They were pumped because, for some reason, they have been wanting to ride a horse really bad lately-it was great fun!

They also had some jump houses, a kiddie train ride, and a kids hay-maze. Cade wanted a really BIG pumpkin and Makinzi wanted a tiny one-they each got their very own pumpkin to take home!

Breakthrough!

2008-09-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we woke up to the thunder and lightening thinking that Cade's soccer game would be canceled for sure. I called the soccer headquarters and they simply said, "show up, if there is lightening we probably will cancel, but if there is just rain we will play." I called all the parents and by the time Cade's game started the rain had stopped, but only 4 out of our 6 players showed. Luckily at this age they only play 3-on-3. The players that showed got lots of playing time. Cade started slow being so shy as to not run around or want to play (flashbacks of last season). Tifani finally gave him a coaches pep talk and got him going (she promised to get him hot cocoa after the game if he scored a lot of goals). So far Cade hasn't scored an unassisted goal in his short career. He did punch one in with the help of a team mate a couple of weeks ago, but since then he has been silent, UNITL THIS GAME! After scoring 2 goals for the wrong team and 2 by using his hands he understood how to get it done. He put in an unprecidented 8 goals. ESPN was trying to interview him after, but we shun the press so we ushered him to the car as quickly as possible. Still, don't be surprised to see some of his hilights on Sportscenter. I am just kidding, Tifani and I are just super proud. In case you didn't know, we love sports and we were both fairly good athletes (Tifani much better than I). We are both also very competitive, so to see our child perform so well was probably a much bigger thing for us than it was for him. Needless to say yesterday was fun! Check out the pics, I got one of each goal.

RISE AND SHOUT! BYU v UCLA 59-0

2008-09-14T10:24:00.001-07:00

We made our annual BYU football trip this last weekend. We picked the BYU v. UCLA game expecting a great showdown. It turned out even better than expected. BYU gave UCLA a severe and practically illegal beating. In fact the worst beating they have recieved in 80 years! Max Hall tied the BYU record for the most touchdowns thrown in a single game at 7. The seats were great as was the entire trip (except for Rob's moldy Teryiaki flavored beef jerkey). A broaker my Dad works with paid for our tickets and for our lunch at the Legacy grill ( a must do if you go down to a game). We sat on the 20 yard line 15 rows up smack dab in the student section. We stood the entire game and joined in with the roudy BYU college goers. Vai Sikahema, X BYU player and official José Conseco beater, carried out the flag for BYU (see Pic). It was awesome to see Fui and Harvey play catch, mingle with Cosmo, chant along with the Haka war dance and take part in another extraordinary part of our Mormon culture-BYU SPORTS (see more pics). I must add that I have a firm testimony of BYU football and sports, no chance for inactivity here. They handed out 1200 shirts at the beginning of the game that said: "BYU fan101: Blue shirt on Saturday/ White shirt on Sunday." The weekend was topped off with dinner at Maddox steak house (in Brigham City on the fruit belt) on the way home. The food here is incredible, this is another must do on my list. I savored every tasty morsel of my world famous steak fed and raised right there behind the restaurant along with everything else they provide, corn on the cob-fresh from the corn patch, homemade rolls and raspberry butter, homemade mash potatos and gravy and to top it off fresh off the tree peaches for peach pie. I also had homemade cream soda and shrimp cocktail. It was amazing-Thanks Dad and Mom! Most of all the greatest thing about the weekend was spending time with my family. They are all so awesome and I love them very much. I can't help but miss my sister at times like this, she makes every thing more enjoyable for me. I wish she could have come to.

GOAL PART 2

2008-09-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

Cade started another soccer season! He has really improved since last year. In fact in their first game of the season he scored his first goal, granted the other kid on his team dribbled it all the way down the field and Cade tapped it in but hey, a goal is a goal right! It is fun to watch him run around and have fun. Tifani is a great coach and all the kids on her team love her. One of the greatest challenges is trying to teach Makinzi that she can't play in the games. She loves her brother and wants to do whatever he does. As a result, when we dress Cade for his games she has to have a uniform on too (Cade's from last season). At practice she does all the drills and practices just like one of the team. She's actually getting pretty good. It is exciting to see your children have fun and learn in sports. Sports are a huge part of Mine and Tifani's lives. I guess I was just always worried that this wouldn't pass on to our children, but it did. They love it. I am excited for all the events to come. I am excited to once again to be a Super Fan! Our fall has been extremely busy. I am the head freshman football coach at Nampa High School and Tifani is the assistant varsity and head jv girls soccer coach at Nampa High School. Tifani and I also coachCade's soccer team, she coaches, I just do what she tells me. I also started pursuing a higher degree called and Education Specialist degree through a U of I outreach program. This degree should only take 2 years, hopefully, and will give me a superintendency certification. Needless to say we are staying busy. Our kids are great! They have been very good at going to practices with us and staying our of mischief. There has only been one complaint of Cade urinating on the newly paved Tennis Courts and when I asked Cade about it he told me he had to pee so he pulled down his pants and went just like I taught him to. How can you argue with that. To add to all this excitement we found out a few months ago that our family will be having a baby. We find out next doctor's visit what we are having, but the baby is due February 28th. We are all very excited.

Makinzi's Terrific Two's !!

2008-08-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

We finally had a birthday party for Makinzi's 2nd birthday(only a week late). We went up to Grandma Self's and spent the night on Saturday. Sean and Melissa were in town so it was a lot of fun to see them. Shirli cooked up an awesome BBQ and as always her cooking never disappoints. She even made me a Bratwurst made from Duck! It was rather tasty. We also took the time to celebrate Shirli's and Cliffords Birthday. Part of the fun involved time up at Manns Creek Reservoir. Ron and Kathy brought there boat and it was fun to watch people try and ski, almost as fun as watching Justin and Tori with their new dog(Pecos). Tifani and I are still cracking up about that(we are not pet people). When we asked Makinzi what she wanted for her birthday all she would say is presents. She loves digging in the sand and getting dirty so Tifani and I agreed that a sand box would be perfect. She loves it!(so does Cade). Some of her other presents were dolls that sing, a Winnie the Pooh tent, a teddy bear with some changing outfits and more. She still awaits presents from my parents so the birthday will continue, lucky girl. I love her so much. It is crazy to see your kids grow and to develop there own personalities. Makinzi loves Cade and he loves her, but she has a lot more fight than her little persona would lead you to believe. I watch her and see my sister Kendra in a lot of what she does. She is not afraid to let you know what she thinks or feels, she is strong and independent, she is funny and quick to laugh. Overall you can tell she has my heart. I love her and I am a little sad that she is already 2. Time has flown and I fear it will continue to move just as quickly if not faster. The other day we went to the doctor because Makinzi's ear drum burst. When the doctor tried to examine her ears Makinzi gave him about 6 rapid fire kicks to the chest. He grasped hold of her and she belted out her scream to let you know she's not happy. The doctor said with a surprised tone, "she's got spunk." I see the toughness, athleticism and competitiveness of my wife in her. The weekend ended on rough note as we tried to organize family pictures. These seem to always make me and the kids cranky, or maybe it's just me. Overall it was a great weekend and a fun birthday.

Annual Redfish Trip

2008-08-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

Another year of Redfish filled with Mt. Biking, Boating, Dutch Oven cooking, Hot Pool sitting (Also known as Hot Pockets), Hiking to Hidden falls, beauty and always adventure. We kind of celebrated Makinzi's Birthday while we were there, and it seems that she is still celebrating as we didn't formally have a party this year. Her presents and miniature parties are continuing and probably will through labor day. I can't believe she is already 2 years old. She still has Daddy's heart in the palm of her hand and manipulates me to get whatever she wants with a power that seems naturally part of the female genetic makeup. This years attendees were our family, the Rackhams, the Markers (Nate Rackhams sister's family), Martin (Nate Rackham's mission companion that lives in England), the Thompson's, and the Steven's. The weather was hot and the water cold until Thursday right when the Marker's were leaving a hail storm moved in and the grumpy weather didn't stop until we left on Saturday. The storm moved across the lake (see pics) and you could actually hear and see the wall of rain and hail coming. This years Mt. Bike trek up Fisher Williams creek loop ended up with Casey and I waiting for Nate who unknown to us had blown a tire and with Martins help stuffed it with grass to pad his rim and then ride the remaining 4 miles out of the White Clouds back country. Tifani and I sold our tent trailer, so this year we were back in a tent and it went better then I thought it would. Boating was fun. I watched, wrecked and learned from Nate Rackham "the Professor" on how to get and land BIG air. The hike to hidden falls was grand and the huckleberries were on, so we picked and ate them all the way up and down. We took our turns at the rope swing and jumping from the cliffs on Redfish lake. The kids loved playing on the beach, in the water, and riding their bikes. I loved the cooking. Lemon Chicken with curry, peach cobbler, taco soup, giant pizookies, pancakes and bacon, BBQ beef and more aided in my 13 lb. weight gain for the week (that is no joke). There are so many things to include about the trip, but needless to say I am sad it is over already, and I can't wait until next years trip. I echo Cade's words about an hour after we were home="Daddy, I want to go back to Redfish and back to camping." Me too Cade, Me too! Check out the photos.

An Ensign to the Nations

2008-08-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since we've updated and somehow Tifani finagled me into doing it. So being the wonderful and obedient husband I am, I concurred. Sorry if my blogs are not as interesting and artistic as Tif's. To me completing the update is the primary objective not impressing the blog surfers.

We have had a wonderful summer which was kicked off with a trip to Lagoon and SLC with the entire Wallace clan (the Souzas were there in heart and spirit). The trip included staying in an awesome hotel with 2 pools one indoor one out, eating at Bucca di Beppo's Italian restaurant, hiking Ensign peek, Lagoon, and attending Sacrament meeting in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (highly recommended). We were lucky enough to reserve(only a 1hour wait even though it was reserved) the Poops, sorry I mean Pope's table at Bucca di Beppo. It is a large round table that seats 15 (we squeezed in 18) with a bust of the current Pope's head in the middle of the table that stares at you all the while you slurp down family style garlic bread, salad, pasta and pizza. The meal was tasty, I am still burping that tasty intake. Ensign peek was an awesome (if awesome is almost completely vertical rocky and dusty trail in 103 degree weather with no shade) hike. The views and history we learned from the markers were worth the trek. Luckily Daren and Julie brought enough H2O for everyone at the top. I learned that our church has it's own flag, and that I was not in as good as shape as I thought I was. Lagoon was great! Our kid's loved the limitless rides for the little ones. Tifani and I loved the Great White roller coaster. Daren and Rob loved the dancing and singing in the night entertainment (especially the Obama look-a-like). In fact Daren immediately went out and bought a pair of tap shoes and hasn't stopped tapping since. He has an aspiration to earn a spot on next summer's lagoon entertainment team. Best of Wishes Deez! Overall it was an awesome trip-thanks Dad Wallace. Check out the photos.

Camping!

2008-08-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

We went camping last weekend and, of course, we forgot our camera! Check out Darin and Julie's blog (Brad's brother) for a few pictures of the weekend! Also, we did all of the things that they did so feel free to read about it as well! Pretty cheap huh!? I could get use to this kind of blogging!!!

PS-- this is our 3rd or 4th camping trip of the summer and we have forgotten our camera every single time, we are a little bitter!! But, good news, we have at least 2 more planned and we will hopefully remember our camera!

Bear World

2008-06-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

On Memorial Day Weekend we went up to Idaho Falls to spend the weekend with Brad's parents. We had a really good time --we got to go to some of Brad's family grave sites and just hang out but the highlight of the trip was going to Bear World which is just outside of Rexburg. Here are some pictures of the trip.

We are a happy family! It was pretty cold and a little rainy that day!

Just a big black bear wandering around our car! One of the bears followed us for a long time, it was pretty cool!

This is the biggest bear at Bear World, I forgot her name, but she is huge! We got a really cute pic. of Cade and Kinzi riding on her back. (Digitally enhanced of course!)

The baby cubs were so cute, they were running around and playing with each other the whole time!

This baby goat was so cute too! Kinzi was chasing it everywhere.

Bear World has a big petting zoo the kids had a lot of fun feeding and touching the animals.

BIG PIG!!!!

There were some fun kiddie rides too!!! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Wallace for a really good time-We love you!

HEROES

2008-05-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

Cade just officially finished his first soccer season! I got the opportunity to coach his U-4 team this spring and we had a ton of fun. Cade had a little bit of a rough start-I think he was like "you always tell me to share and now you are yelling at me to take the ball away from the other kids?" He finally came around and started getting more aggressive, I think that he will do really well this fall. Anyway, he made lots of new friends and we had lots of fun together. Did I mention that Makinzi was so sad because she wanted to play so bad! She's so cute, she can speak really well, in the past month or so she has been surprising me by saying full sentences. It's awesome!

Here's the whole team, aren't they all so cute!Our team name was the HEROES!!

GOOOOAAALLLLLL!

Before Cade's first soccer practice. Notice Makinzi's attire, she wanted to wear what Cade was wearing!

Cade doing a throw-in, good form Cade!

I had to post this picture because Cade had to wear his buzz hat the entire game, it was funny!

"Go, Cade GO"

High-fives!!!!

Cade stuffing his face with candy at the team pizza party!

Kinzi at the party with her cute friend Ellie