LIFE AT OUR HOUSE

My Hawaiian Girls!

2011-02-20T01:22:00.000-08:00

MAIA TURNS THREE!

2011-02-20T00:51:00.000-08:00

SARAH AND SPENCER"S WEDDING

2010-02-15T17:11:00.001-08:00

Sarah and Spencer with Bob and Loretta

Trouble Makers!

CHRISTMAS 2009

2010-02-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

All six of us posing for our Christmas pic!

Emma and Maia in their smooth ride!

Justin and Katie

The 4 girls of the family

Morgan, Mom, Katie, & Sarah

MAIA TURNS TWO!

2010-02-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

Yes - it has been 1 year since I have updated!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAIA

MAIA TURNS ONE!

2009-02-24T06:58:00.000-08:00

Mommy and the Birthday Girl!Daddy and Maia getting ready to blow out candles.
Maia trying to taste her cake!This looks yummy - I think I'll give it a taste!Oh my goodness - this is delicious. GIVE ME MORE!This is way better than baby food!This is the best thing ever!Sugar High!

I have never had a child enjoy their first birthday like Ms. Maia. She was a hoot and gave us some of the best laughs. She loved opening presents and couldn't get enough of her cake!

2009-01-26T23:29:00.000-08:00

See what too much studying will do to you!

2009-01-26T23:16:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Maia - playing with Kaelyn and having a good laugh!

KAELYN TURNS NINE!

We celebrated by having a Spa-tacular Birthday Party

Emma waiting for our Krispy Kreme Doughnut Cake!

Playing Spin the Nail Polish Game

2009-01-01T22:23:00.000-08:00

Pictures of the Hill Family

Mom & Buds' 8 Grandkids

Mom and her girls

Justin & Katie

Beautiful Maia and her Daddy

Siblings with cheesy grins

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2008-12-23T20:34:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

to all of our family and friends.

This has been a wonderful year.

We are grateful for all of our many blessings and for all of you, who endlessly serve our family.

We Love You!

Have a wonderful holiday.

Love,

Justin, Katie, Kaelyn, Kenton, Emma & Maia

Staying up way to late!

2008-09-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

Okay - I apologize for not posting any pics. I admit that I have been too lazy to upload the pics. . . . But I have spent the last 2 hours blog hopping - (which can be so addicting). I have caught up with friends and family from all over the country - I have enjoyed all the videos, pics, and stories - from birthday parties to crazy vacations - to families gathered around the piano. It has been fun! I have a canning session in the morning that should last me well into the night - so I better go get some shut eye. Somehow I conned Justin into helping me can a batch late tonight. He was very good at it, I might add. (I bought 6 boxes of tomatoes from the farmer's market yesterday that need to be processed ASAP.)

For our friends, The Shibatas

2008-08-15T06:13:00.000-07:00

Konban wa. O hisashiburi desu ne. Ima, kazoku to isshou ni Washington D.C. ni imasu. Gunta no byouin de kunren ga ari mainichi asahayai basu de ikimasu. Muzukashikute mo honto ni suki desu. Boku to mina genki de suzushii tenki de yoku asobimasu. Shibata kazoku wa do desu ka? Mina genki desu ka? Atarashii skype account ga aru node moshi hanashitakattara dozo tsukete kudasai. Boku no namae wa brainmagnet desu.

We Love You, Justin and Katie

Crazy Trip Part 3

2008-08-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

During our trip up north, we decided to go up to New England to see what we could see. We ended up just getting to go up and down the coast of Connecticut. There was just to much to see! We figured we would have to go back a time or two to check out the other states in New England.

The tricky part of this trip was deciding when to leave. Traffic is a bear in the major cities and after counting up how many cities we would have to drive through - the number came to 4: DC, Baltimore, Philly, & New York. We decided to leave late around 6:30pm (hopefully this would help us miss most traffic) In the end there wasn't much traffic (except at the toll booths) It cost $30 in tolls one-way up there (and we thought we would have way more than enough with the cash we took - turns out we only had $2 left over. Needless to say, I took more cash with us on the way home - just in case there was an extra toll or two.)

First stop Milford and New Haven.

We got in very late and Maia's sleep schedule was way off. I was up with her until 4 am. We had a slow morning (Justin took the kids down to breakfast and let me sleep in - it was so nice!) Once we headed out, we went to the Yale Peabody science museum and then we toured around Old Campus of Yale - very beautiful architecture.

Kenton in front of the Peabody Science Museum

Old Campus YALE

After all of the touring - we stopped and ate lunch at Claire's Corner Copia - it was delicious food (vegetarian fare). A little plug for the desserts there - they were amazing!

On the way back to the hotel - all of the kids fell asleep. So we thought this would be a great opportunity to relax and check out the beach. Once we got there, you could see a storm rolling in. In a matter of 10 minutes, the winds were picking up fast. Then, Justin declared, "Look, it's a bird, it's a plane. . .it's a tornado!" Of course, I begin to freak out (Justin thinks the tornado is great - nothing new for him being from Oklahoma and all) Somehow I end up driving (or rather trying to drive away from the messy weather). That was a dumb idea. The hail (I swear they were the size of golf balls, but Justin promises me they were only the size of quarters) started shooting down. I was amazed that the windshield didn't break. In the midst of all of the flooded streets the water caused our serpentine belt to come off - no power steering, car starts to over heat, etc. I saw a service center out of the corner of my eye and pulled in there immediately. (At this point I knew that the service center being literally RIGHT THERE next to us meant Heavenly Father was truly looking out for us). I began to calm down quickly (Justin was relieved --- he said I was driving like a crazy woman). The service center let us pull into the garage to keep us safe and we waited out the storm in there. About an hour later we were leaving our car there over night to be fixed and getting a shuttle back to the store ( and then the shuttle took Justin up to New Haven where we ate - we seemed to have left the diaper bag up there with all of the diapers and Kenton's epipens. So here is a plug out to Napoli Nissan in Milford, CT - they were so helpful in our time of need. - especially driving Justin all the way up to New Haven and back to get the diaper bag. - Thank you Mr. Napoli).

Here is the beach where we saw the tornado

Only a day into our vacation - we were considering going home. However, after a good night's sleep we decided to stick it out. We went up to Mystic and toured the historic Mystic Seaport - a beautiful place.

We took a boat ride through the Mystic river

Kaelyn created a scene at the Art Spot for kids in the seaport

Kaelyn and Emma hanging out on a recreation of a sailboat.

After a long day at the Seaport - we were hungry. Mystic Pizza sound famailiar? Because it is - Julia Roberts filmed one of her first films here titled, Mystic Pizza. The pizza was actually really delicious - go for the Grecian if you have a chance to eat there.

We had a great time and decided it was time to go home. Connecticut was beautiful!

Emma turns 3

2008-08-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

Emma's special day is here! She is 3 years old. The festivities started off by getting a package from Grandma Lori & Pa-paw - We love getting packages from them. They are always filled with oodles of fun things! Here is Emma opening her box.

Emma has a nursery rhyme party - and Lil' Bo Peep's Lost Sheep Cake

This cake is delcious!

Maia enjoys the party too! She is 6 months old today!

Emma opens presents. She gets a rocking horse from Grandma & Grandpa and blocks from Mom and Dad. (She picked out another babydoll at the store to get - but mom and dad said 12 baby dolls at home is enough to take care of. It's time to get something different)

Bubba and Emma

This was a fun-filled day, but I am pooped! Time to take a nap in my Daddy's arms.

Crazy Trip - Part 2

2008-08-11T21:57:00.001-07:00

Day 3 - Drop Daddy off at AFIP Training in DC

On the way home we stopped by the Washington Temple so the kids could see it.

Relearn how to drive in DC traffic - it is amazing how quick it comes back to you.

All four kids in front of the Washington Temple.

Emma prances around the temple grounds. She didn't understand why she couldn't go into the temple. She kept asking," but why?" over and over. It didn't matter what explanation I gave her - "but why?"

Emma touches the Savior's feet and notices the marks.

Kenton looks up to the Savior -

A Crazy Trip - Part 1

2008-08-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

Day One - 11th Wedding Anniversary for Justin and Katie

There wasn't much time for romance, when packing has to occur. (I totally stress out when I have to pack my family for a trip - not to mention a 3 week trip) We left in the evening to head north. Along the way we made our first stop in Roanoke to visit our dear friends, Courtney and David. We ate a scrumptious Mexican meal and had some great laughs together. David enjoyed playing with my new camera.

Day 2 - Ethan's Birthday & Baby Kate's Blessing

We spent a day in C'ville to bless Baby Kate and to celebrate Ethan's 3rd Bday. The kids enjoyed full blown pillow wars and taking every single toy Sarah owned out and dumping it on the floor.

(more pics to come when I get some from Sergio)

One of my Favorite Things

2008-08-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

I have finally finished the last book in the Twilight series. I loved every minute of it. My family was abandoned once again for a short time - but they survived. They may have not had clean clothes or a decent dinner in a few days - haha. Anyways, The final book was a perfect closure to a great series. I especially liked the last page or two (I don't want to spoil it for any of you who want to read it, so no telling what it is here) However, I thought is was like the cherry on top of a delicious ice cream sundae.

Let's Go Swimming!

2008-07-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

A Beach Trip

2008-07-05T18:51:00.001-07:00

My Darling Nephew, NOAH

2008-06-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

These are some darling pics of my Brother and his girlfriend's little boy, Noah. He will be one in July. Noah is pictured above with his mom, Morgan. Isn't he cute!

Father's Day

2008-06-15T13:44:00.001-07:00

This father's day we took pics with our favorite Daddy. We made him a book with pictures of us and letters that we wrote to him. We fixed a yummy dinner and ate CHEESECAKE!

Proud Daddy!

Precious Moments

Frog Man

2008-06-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

Kenton has been taking swimming lessons and is getting the hang of it. He was excited to post some of the pictures for his grandparents to see.

During swim lessons, the girls and I tend to go to the changing room to cool off. Emma likes to play hide and seek in the lockers. Kaelyn enjoys just hanging out with the girls (no boys).

Many Faces Maia

2008-06-05T06:58:00.001-07:00

Within 5 minutes Maia made every facial expression she could. It was hilarious. I don't know what she was trying to tell me. Maybe was trying to fill her britches or maybe she was just plain sick of the camera flashing in her face. At any rate - I got some funny pics.

Meet Baby Kate

2008-05-31T20:26:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone - Today I have met my new cousin, Kate Elizabeth. She was born to my Aunt Sarah and Uncle Sergio last week. She is way smaller than me, but I do have 3.5 months on her. She isn't much into the cooing thing yet like me, but I am sure she won't be far behind me. Well, I am looking forward to rolling around on the carpet with her. I have mastered rolling from my belly to my back. I just can't quite figure out how to get from my back back to my belly. It is so frustrating and I have call (cry) out to Mommy for help. Grandma Mary doesn't have enough room for all us grandchildren in her lap now - she is up to 8 grandkids!

Kate sure does like to sleep a lot. Please wake up and play with me. - Maia

Uncle Sergio got a great hammock from his parents in Mexico. We love it, because everyone can fit into it and don't you love how colorful it is! - Kenton

We love looking at Ethan's facial expressions. They remind us of Kenton's expressions at that age.

Kaelyn - our little poser (always has been and I think always will be)

I love my Daddy - Maia

I'm hanging out with Uncle Sergio and Bubba Lou - Emma

New Mommy and all the grandkids.

Goodbye Everyone - hoped you liked the pics! - Maia

States Visited

2008-05-31T19:41:00.000-07:00

States Katie has visited in the past 12 months

States Justin has visited in the past 12 months

Conclusion - I have to get out more!

Kaelyn's Dance Recital

2008-05-19T05:51:00.001-07:00

Kaelyn had her annual Dance Recital - She was fabulous! She knew every dance from start to finish. She performed three dances; jazz, ballet and tap . We are very proud of her and her accomplishments. She has a passion for dance and we are grateful that we have been able to help her culitvate this talent.

DC & Mom's Birthday

2008-05-19T04:31:00.000-07:00

"I am so glad I am out of the car after that long car ride!" - Maia

Happy Birthday Grandma.

Sarah made mom's favorite dessert, strawberry shortcake. The grandkids liked putting their little fingers in the homemade whip cream (which is so easy to make and absolutely delicious!) We enjoyed making her dinner and hanging out with the whole family - I think Grandma did too!

We all enjoyed playing with Cousin Noah.

"Come on mom - enough of the hugs" - Kenton

Mom and Bud with Katie, Sarah and Billy.

"I love my Grandma." - Maia

Our trip Downtown.
Justin went to his conference, while we played and toured around the town. We went to the zoo, the monuments and the Smithsonian. The zoo for our crowd was sure the most fun. Kaelyn, however, would have liked to spend several more hours in the museums reading everybit of information she could get her hands on.

We took the kids to my Dad's Grave in Arlington National Cemetery. They liked seeing the angel Moroni on his headstone. I was amazed that I found it again. All the graves start to run together when you are trying to find a loved one. The rows go on forever and they all have the same headstone. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But we found him and it was nice see it again and remember him.

A Writer in the Family

2008-05-02T15:20:00.001-07:00

Kenton's best buddy, Cameron, hasn't been feeling well. This is his get well card to her. No one helped him. He did it unbeknownst to all of us. When he was through he came to me and said, "I have a letter to mail to my friend." I was amazed at all that he wrote sounding everything out and spelling it exactly how it sounded.

For Cami

I hope you feel better.

Cami, I love you. I am ready to watch Spy Kids 2. I will come some day. I will come when you feel better. I love your colors. Kiss. Kiss. I will give you your letter, because you are sick.

KAELYN'S BAPTISM

2008-04-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

Katie's Family

Justin's Family

Kaelyn and Justin

Anxiously awaiting her baptism

Kenton

Emma being camera shy

Kaelyn was baptized February 9th. We had lots of family and friends come to support her. She was very excited.

Kenton turns 5!

2008-04-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

Kenton was anxiously awaiting his birthday for several months. We've been counting down since before Christmas. He liked to tell everyone who would listen the list of presents that he wanted. We had a Spider Man theme. I made his cake out of several cupcakes and then decorated the top to look like Spider Man. We did the party at Chuck E Cheese's - easy, no mess at my house, and lots of entertainment without much effort on my part. We invited several of the families of kids he plays with regularly. We all had loads of fun, especially Kenton!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPIDER BOY!

The CAKE!

Kenton posing with Chuckie, himself.

Kenton playing skeeball

Emma and Chuckie taking a ride on the town.

Kenton the MAN!

Kenton and his cake.

Kenton and his friends.

Emma loved the cake. Can you tell? Emma and her buddy, Jamison.

Kaelyn stops playing to flash a smile.

Daddy and Maia having some fun too!

Maia at 9.5 weeks

PBR RODEO

2008-04-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

Justin introduced Sergio and Sarah to the world of bullriding. Needless to say, this one was pretty gory. Apparently, PBR has different divisions and this was the Enterprise series. Basically, young kids trying to get enough points to become a PBR (professional bull rider) They are less experienced than the true PBR's riding the PBR's bulls. Few rode to eight seconds and many got hurt. One bull charged the safety rider and knocked his horse over onto the rider and then when the horse got up the bull stomped on the rider. He was carried away on a stretcher, but held his hat high. I found myself on the edge of my seat all night. We had lots of fun and I think Justin has Sergio hooked.

HAPPY EASTER!

2008-03-23T14:35:00.001-07:00

Emma, Kenton, Kaelyn, & Maia celebrate Easter!

Maia cracks a smile for the camera.

Kaelyn and her Easter basket.

Kenton holds onto his basket for dear life, so his sisters won't get any of his candy!

Emma decides her eggs filled with candy are better suited as maracas.

Kaelyn and our "chunky monkey."

Maia on her First Easter. She is sporting her new dress.

Hello Everyone!

Daddy's Little Girls!

How could this beautiful face do any wrong (Her mother may have some stories to tell!)

MAIA at 5 WEEKS

2008-03-11T16:49:00.000-07:00

There isn't much to say - except that we have had another photo session. We have had quite a few recently, but they grow up so fast and we wanted to let the grandparents and other interested family members be a part of it. Maia is a precious baby and has started to become her own little personality. We have had a joyous time getting to know her.

TAKING A SNOOZE

2008-03-09T20:02:00.001-07:00

Justin and Emma take an afternoon snooze on the couch.

COUSIN FUN

2008-03-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Sergio came down this weekend to check out baby Maia. The kids of course had a great time playing with their cousins. The adults love this - because we get to talk and play games without ever being interrupted (okay maybe we were interrupted once or twice). We got through an entire game of settlers, during the day while all the kids were running around - a miracle! Aren't cousins great!

Ethan, Emma, Elli, Kaelyn, and Kenton

Being Silly.

Kissing Cousins.

Aren't they adorable!

Elli, Kaelyn, Kenton

BABY PICS

2008-03-04T13:42:00.001-08:00

GROWING LIKE A WEED

2008-03-02T08:17:00.001-08:00

Maia at 4 weeks

Maia is enjoying a quiet moment in the evening after her siblings have retreated to bed - unwillingly I might add.

Maia is hanging out in her bouncy chair sporting her new "I love Daddy" outfit - Justin is all about having daughters. Our girls love their Daddy and dote on him endlessly. In Justin's opinion - then why wouldn't he want to have more girls.

Maia is blowing bubbles.

"All this picture taking - I think I am ready for a nap," says Maia.

SIBLINGS

2008-02-25T09:46:00.000-08:00

The kids wanted to take pictures with their new sister, Maia. The following photos are the end result of our "fun" photo session on February 25th. Maia has put on a pound or two since our last posting. Mom is producing cream instead of milk these days and Maia has been loving it! She still likes to nurse every 2 hours. Mom is hoping we can stretch it to every three hours very soon (for her sanity's sake). Although, Maia has proven not to be another Emma and has been a very pleasant baby to have around.

Emma tries to hold Maia. Check out Maia's head touching the floor.

Maia trying to lift her head.

MORE BABY MAIA

2008-02-17T17:15:00.003-08:00

Maia is growing with each new day. She is a great eater and seems to be able to tolerate her siblings quite well, despite their constant hugs and kisses. Emma seems to be affected the most by the new arrival (not listening, saying "no" a lot, and yelling at everyone). Justin doesn't blame her - she has been the baby for the past two years and now has just been bumped out of that spot. Kaelyn and Kenton are very big helps to us. Justin goes back to work tomorrow. Thus, tomorrow will prove to be interesting for me. Wish me luck!

BABY MAIA

2008-02-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

BABY MAIA IS FINALLY HERE!

MAIA ELISABETH

She was born February 3rd at 4:39pm

She weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces and measured 20.75 inches

The delivery was quick and uneventful. Mom and baby are doing great!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 2007

2007-12-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

Kaelyn, Emma, & Kenton

Emma

Kaelyn

Kenton

We wish all of our family and friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We have had a wonderful year. The children are continuing to grow like weeds. We also are blessed to have a new addition to our family coming in January - a little girl. Of course, the girls are excited for a new sister. Kenton doesn't think it will be fair, because there will be more girls than boys. His solution - mom just needs to have another baby right away, so we can have a boy! (mom and dad beg to differ). Kaelyn continues to thrive in school, loves dancing, playing the piano, and of course reading books. She is very excited to be turning eight in January and getting baptized. Kenton loves to play anything that has to do with spiderman, starwars, pirates, or teenage mutant ninja turtles. He has begun reading and enoys finding words he knows on advertisements and books that he sees. Emma is our "little"mommy. She loves playing with all nine of her baby dolls. Just the other day - I caught her putting diaper rash ointment (A&D to be exact) on her babydoll, because she had an owie bumb! Justin is at the tail end of completing his radiology residency. He is in the process of applying for a fellowship in Neuroradiology, which will be 2 years additional training. We are both thrilled that the end is getting closer. As far as Katie goes - well I keep busy being mom. Justin has been great to watch the kids tons lately, so I can get out with friends and keep up on my excercise. I figure I better get in as much as I can before the baby comes.

Justin and I can't express how grateful we are for all that we have been blessed with. We have wonderful parents and siblings, who are always helping and supporting us whenever they can. We have so many great friends that have blessed and continue to bless our family with their love, time, and talents. Thank you all!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Love,

Justin, Katie, Kaelyn, Kenton, & Emma

PS: Thanks to our dear friends, David and Courtney, we have these beautiful pictures of our children.

BDAY FOR KT

2007-12-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful Birthday. I got to go shopping, to the movies, out to lunch and dinner - It was wonderful! My dear friend, Laura, made me a delicious Birthday cake that totally hit the spot for me! I had lots of phone calls sending warm b-day wishes. Thank you everyone for making it such a marvelous day!

For those of you wondering what an 8 month pregnant Katie looks like - here I am!

UTAH

2007-11-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

Justin was invited to BYU as a guest speaker for the neuro-science department. I was able to tag along and leave the kids behind with both Grandmas (They were amazing!). We had a fabulous time. We were there a week and still didn't have enough time to see everyone we wanted to. We love visiting all of our friends and family in UT.

Justin and I on the Nebo-Loop. Of course, he likes to rub the belly whenever he can. He says it brings good luck.

Justin and his sister, Sarah.

My best buddies - It is amazing that it has almost been 8 years since I taught with these amazing ladies. These are two of my closest friends, Jaclyn and Rebecca.

HALLOWEEN

2007-11-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the sideways pics. I wanted to get them up and didn't want to take the time to fix them. Kenton was spider man. Kaelyn was Hermoine from HP and Emma was a ladybug. Emma could care less about the costume - she was all about the candy!

How I wish I could take this costume off at night - just for a little while, so I could get a good night's sleep.

UPDATE

2007-11-07T20:22:00.001-08:00

I have been slacking in updating my blog once again. So I thought I would just pick a few pictures of the past few months to put up for you all to see.

Emma and Me enjoy playing in the creek. Emma enjoyed showing us everything she found in the creek - dirt, sand, bugs and so on!

Kenton enjoys dressing up. This particular day he was a pirate. An hour before he was Darth Vader.

Kaelyn painting at a children's museum in VA.

Emma riding the tractor at the museum

Kenton enjoyed making the pyramid and of course climbing on top of it!

HAPPY BDAY GRANDPA

2007-06-19T10:57:00.001-07:00

We want to send out a great big

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to Grandpa Bud. We wish you lots fun and happiness this birthday! We wish we could be there to celebrate this special day with you. Thanks for all you do for us and our family. We appreciate all of your love, generosity, and support. Kaelyn is the artist of our birthday card for you.

Love,

Justin, Katie, Kaelyn, Kenton, and Emma

KAELYN'S DANCE RECITAL

2007-05-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

Kaelyn loves to dance. Thanks to her Grandpa Bud and Grandma Mary she has been able to take lessons from Ms. Kari for the past 2 years. She loves to perform at home for her family and was very excited to be on stage performing 2 dances, a ballet and a jazz dance, for an audience larger than the family. She said she was not nervous at all. She says now that she can't wait until next year when she gets to learn new dance techniques and routines. Here are just a few pics of Kaelyn posing for the camera. Anyone who knows Kaelyn, knows about her posing for the camera - that tilt of her head and that big, big smile!

(Kaelyn posing with her sister, Emma)

(bad pic - but shows her on stage)

SEA WORLD

2007-05-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

Shamu looking for fish from her trainers. After seeing the killer whale show, Kaelyn thought it would be great to grow up and be a killer whale trainer!

The kids and I posing with one of the killer whale trainers.

Taking a lunch break at the Rainforest Cafe. We got to dine with the elephants and sit through three thunderstorms!

Emma and Grandma Lori at the Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney.

Kaelyn and Kenton get fish to feed to the seals and sea lions at Sea World. Believe it or not they actually picked up the dead fish themselves and threw them to the sea lions and seals.

Kenton is preparing to throw a fish to the barking sea lions. If they could jump out of the aquarium, they would. They were very excited to get some fish!

One of the hungry sea lions posing for a picture!

Emma was more interested in the bag of popcorn. She wanted to hold the bag and only she could hand out tiny handfuls of popcorn. No one was allowed to put their hand in her bag. So much for sharing a bag of popcorn with the family.

Emma and Pa-paw dining in the pizza restaurant at Sea World.

Justin had a conference in Orlando and so we invited his parents along. While he was at his conference, his parents, the kids and I hung out at Sea World with all the amazing creatures of the ocean. Justin and I also got to spend sometime with his best friend from college, Dave, and his family. Our families just happened to be vacationing in Florida at the same time. We had a blast hanging out with them! The kids loved seeing their grandparents and of course being spoiled!

A BIRTHDAY WISH FOR GRAMMARY

2007-04-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

GRAND

Grandma always is thinking in "grand" ways! According to the elders she and Grandpa got the TAJ MAHAL of playgrounds for her grandkids. As a mom she always made every holiday grand - from the food to the decorations holidays were "grandacious" at the Hill House.

RADIANT Grandma is as radiant as the morning sun! She always is sending her "rays" out to her grandchildren. They sure do appreciate all that she does for them! There should be a new verse to the song, "I'm so Glad When Daddy Comes Home." It should be, "I'm so Glad When Grandma Comes to Town!"

A
AMAZING

Grandma is amazing! She always has surprises up her sleeves. She always is trying to find ways that will make her family smile! We love that about her. She is an amazing Mom and Grandma.

N

NICE

Grandma - you are so nice! You always bring me skittles says Kenton. You love us says Kaelyn. Emma has plenty of great things to say about Grandma. However, there has been no translation discovered for Emma language yet. Although, I am pretty sure she was saying Grandma is so nice, because she ALWAYS gives Emma treats!

DARING

Who knew Grandmas could be so daring. Kaelyn thinks she is the only one who has a Grandma that has parachuted out of an airplane. Way to go Grandma Mary!

M
MAGNIFICENT

We think you are MAGNIFICENT! We love you, Mom!

AWESOME

Mom - Grandma - We hope you have an awesome birthday, because you are such an awesome person! We wish we could be there with you to celebrate your special day. Know that we are there in spirit. You are wonderful and we want you to know that we truly love you. We are grateful for the love, sacrifice, and devotion that you have given us as a mother and grandmother. You are always in our hearts. We love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

TRIP TO OKLAHOMA

2007-03-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

This past month we were able to visit Justin's family.

Here we are all pictured together. Justin, his parents, two sisters, and each of our families.

MORE DISNEY

2007-01-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures of our Disney World Trip!

Our family posing with Minnie Mouse.

Kenton braves the waters and sets sail with the Pirates of the Carribbean!

Kaelyn gets her face painted like Ariel, her favorite sea princess!

Kenton and his autograph book.

Emma meets Belle.

Kenton gets his face painted like a pirate.

Kaelyn hangs on Mister Potato Head.

Ariel checks out Kaelyn's new necklace. Ariel loved it !

The three pirates!

While in Disney World we celebrated Kaelyn's birthday! She had key lime pie with sparkler candles and of course princess birthday plates.

DISNEY WORLD

2007-01-21T13:43:00.000-08:00

This January we took a vacation to Walt Disney World. We had loads of fun! The weather was perfect - eighties and sunny! Manageable crowds and a breathtaking resort - we couldn't ask for anything more.

Kaelyn and Kenton pose in front of Cinderella's castle.

Emma enjoyed it all! By the third day she was ready to join the parade. She cried everytime the characters left as they passed by.

Kaelyn and Mickey at Downtown Disney. Kaelyn loved all the rides and characters throughout the park. She was a princess in her own fairytale.

Kenton, Kaelyn and Daddy ride the "barnstormer" roller coaster. Surprisingly, Kenton loved it and went again and again!

Kenton - THE PIRATE!

Posing with Sleeping Beauty at Downtown Disney!

PRINCE CHARMING and Cinderella

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2006

2006-12-17T18:03:00.000-08:00

Dearest Loved Ones,

The Life of the Frederick Family in 2006 -

This JANUARY, Kaelyn celebrated her 6th birthday and also had to have plastic surgery on her thumb. We try to remember just the birthday part (the surgery part was too traumatic for mom. Dr. Dad seemed to keep his cool) On her birthday, she enjoyed going on a scavenger hunt around town to all of her favorite places. She not only ate McDonalds, but also got fresh Krispy Kreme donuts hot off the conveyer belt. (For those of you who do not know - Winston-Salem, NC, is the corporate headquarters for Krispy Kreme Donuts, yum, yum!)

FEBRUARY brought Justin's mother and sister, Dawn, for a visit all the way from Oklahoma. They were brave and drove the distance with Dawn's two young daughters.

MARCH, came and went.

This APRIL we celebrated Kenton's 3rd birthday! Can anyone take a guess what kind of birthday party Kenton had? If you answered STAR WARS - you're right! (Like it was that hard to answer. Anyone who knows Kenton - knows he is absolutely obsessed with STAR WARS.)

MAY kept us busy. Emma began cruising around the furniture. Time to rebaby-proof the house to a standing child's point-of-view.

JUNE we headed for the ocean! - Katie's ultimate vacation spot on the east coast. We stayed in Williamsburg, VA and Virginia Beach, VA (Katie's childhood home) She enjoyed reliving her childhood memories there.

In JULY Justin turned the big 31! He was able to take a few days off work and relax from all of hustle and bustle of the hospital. Apparently, from Justin's point of view he never celebrated his birthday as a child, because they were always on vacation - his parents seem to disagree. In order to hush him on the matter, his parents flew in from Oklahoma and threw him a big birthday bash. They gave him a birthday worth not forgetting. It was great to have them here and of course the kids love being spoiled by their grandparents.

In AUGUST Emma turned 1 years old. They grow up to fast! She began walking the week of her 1st birthday and straight into running.

SEPTEMBER, Kaelyn enjoyed starting school. Justin enjoyed having some cooler weather. Emma and Kenton enjoyed (and still do) making messes. Katie enjoyed learning how to make a blog! Finally, I am out of the dark ages of technology. However, my Aunt Marge still wants to know, "What the he*% is a blog?"

This OCTOBER, we headed WEST to Provo, UT - our old stomping ground. We had a fabulous vacation and enjoyed visiting our friends there and checking out some of our favorite places. Katie thoroughly enjoyed her chocolate milk from the BYU Creamery! Justin got his "fix" for the west - it will last maybe a week or two and then he'll be itching to get out there again!

NOVEMBER brought Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving brought people, lots of people to our house (everyone in Katie's family). All in all, we had 15 people at our table. We topped off the weekend by playing, "Settlers." We all became very addicted and couldn't wait until the kids went to bed so we could play again!

And here we are at DECEMBER - one of our favorite times of year. Indeed, we have been playing the Christmas music since Thanksgiving. We look forward to another houseful this Christmas with Katie and Justin's extended family.

We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
We love all of you!

Love, Justin, Katie, Kaelyn, Kenton, and Emma

HAPPY NEW YEAR 1978!

2006-12-14T12:04:00.000-08:00

It is amazing the memories that flood back when I look at some of these old photos! We had good times at Grandmom and Poppy's House on New Year's Eve. Great food, good old dancing, and don't forgot, the many hugs and kisses given at the stroke of mid-night!

This one is for you Jen! We had great times. Rolos, cokes in the bottle, trying to keep the basement door closed before Poppy yelled, "close the basement door!" - all the way to playing Barbie (my favorite was the pool with the shower and the flushable toilet) and getting italian ices up the street!

HALLOWEEN

2006-12-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

Halloween at our house consisted of apple bobbing, eating donuts off of a string, twister, trick-or-treating, good food, and great friends and family!

FAMILY PORTRAIT

2006-12-02T22:00:00.000-08:00

It seems like this was only yesterday!

EMMA GETS LOVES!

2006-12-02T21:42:00.000-08:00

Ethan hands out the hugs on Thanks-

giving day! Emma sure did get as many as she could.

GOING WEST

2006-12-02T20:17:00.000-08:00

Take a peak at our trip west to Utah!

We were able to stay with our good friends, Vern and Shelly. They were more than hospitable - They were wonderful and so generous! We are extremely grateful for their friendship. While we were there, we also saw Justin's sister, Sarah, my best friends from teaching, Jaclyn and Rebecca (They are a blast!) and Justin's mission president and his wife. We had the time of our lives and enjoyed every minute of our vacation!

Justin catches big air!!!

Kenton catches big air!!! - trying to be like Dad.

Kaelyn posing once again!

Kenton and his tongue!

Emma relaxing in the back yard - taking it all in!

There was so much to see on our trip. However, the kids would prefer to play in Shelly and Vern's backyard. Thus, this is where most of our pictures were taken.

SERGIO"S BIRTHDAY

2006-10-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE SERGIO!

We are so sorry that we could not be there for your birthday, but we wanted to send a birthday wish out to you!

Sergio - We searched high and low to find the perfect birthday present for you. To our surprise, it was not as easy of a task as we thought it would be. Kenton thought he might get something for you native to your homeland. Kenton took a quick flight down to Mexico, but got caught up in all of the fun stuff to do down there, that he forgot to look for a birthday present. Before, he knew it - it was time to catch his flight home. Kenton was hoping that Kaelyn might have found the perfect something while she was out looking for a present. He was keeping his fingers crossed.

In the meantime, Kaelyn had hopped on over to the County Fair in search of some unique treasure for you. Unfortanately, all she could come across was a ride on a vintage fire truck. She figured this would be perfect for her Papaw (considering he was a fire fighter for more than 20 years), but not up her Uncle Sergio's alley. Now it was up to Emma . . .

Emma came up with this great idea! She had the perfect present for her Uncle Sergio. She could put on a surprise birthday party for you - Emma put up balloons and streamers. She even put out party plates and hats. Then, she got busy in the kitchen and baked a cake. She knew she could after reading, "Froggy Bakes a Cake." - (she figured she would omit the chocolate covered flies with this cake though."

Emma couldn't help herself - the cake was too good! She ate the whole thing before she could even call you up and invite you over.

It was all up to Kenton to pull something together quick. He might not have a present in hand for you, but he has a great voice and a broadway debut behind him. - He would serenade you . . . here is Kenton in full costume singing, "Feliz Cumpleanos a ti!"

We Love You, Sergio!

Happy Birthday to You and many Moooorrrre!

THE WIGGLES LIVE

2006-09-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

THE WIGGLES LIVE!

Sarah and Sergio invited us to Charlottesville, VA to go see the Wiggles with them in the new arena built right across the street from their house. No troubles with parking or taking an hour to get home. We just walked right in and walked right out when it was over. This picture to the left shows the Wiggles on stage with Dorothy the Dinosaur. Unfortunately, Greg (yellow shirt) was sick and he had Sam standing in for him.

Check out Murry Below!

As Murry walked by he stopped and shook Kenton's hand. Kenton was thrilled!

Kenton, Elli (his cousin), and Grandma Mary enjoy the show!

Elli, Kenton, and Katie pose for a picture as Jeff sings on stage!

Kenton waves goodbye Anthony at the end of the concert.
It was a great time for all of us. We enjoyed watching the kids get so excited singing and dancing with THE WIGGLES!

PAPAW'S BIRTHDAY

2006-09-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Emma wanted desperately to attend her Papaw's Birthday Party! She had to come up with a plan to get there- Ah-hah! She would flag down the postman by batting her pretty blue eyes and waving a makeshift sign.

Her sign read as follows, "HEY Mr. Postman, Can you take me to my Papaw's house?"

Kenton caught wind of what Emma was up to and didn't want to miss out on the party either, so he convinced her to let him share in the efforts of flagging the postman down!

All the commotion Emma and Kenton were causing made Kaelyn pull her head out of her favorite book to come and see what was going on. She too wanted to take part in waving the postman down!

Unfortuantely, the postman said he could not take any live cargo through the mail. Well, you can imagine what a dissappointment this was to Emma and her siblings. Emma couldn't hold back the tears (she thought this might cause the postman to have pity on her; unfortuantely, it did not work and she was left to figure out something else to do)

Emma figured that she would just have to send a message to her Papaw live via satellite. After a few trial runs Emma was able to get the video shot she was looking for - A serenade for her Papaw done by none other than his 3 beautiful, charming, delightful, and energetic grandchildren; Kaelyn, Kenton, and Emma.

So here it goes . . . . Please welcome Kaelyn, Kenton and Emma singing, "Happy Birthday" for their one and only Papaw!

Here's hoping you have a happy birthday! We all love and appreciate you. Wish we could be there to spend the special day with you and the family.
Love,
Justin & Katie

Emma had so much fun singing Happy Birthday to her Papaw that she decided to try her hand at Broadway. Check her out below at her Broadway debut singing, "Teasing Mister Alligator."