Florida with the Family

Our first family vacation that included Sophie! Kent had a conference in Florida and we were lucky enough to be able to travel along with him. We started our adventure flying from Jackson to Salt Lake and then Tampa. After we arrived in Tampa, we drove two hours to Naples where we stayed in a friend's condo. We spent two nights in Naples and then headed to Miami.

Beach fun in Naples . . .

Mom and Sophie lovin' the Pringles!

After Naples, we drove two hours to Miami where Kent spent time with his pathology lab. The kids and I enjoyed not being in the car and spent the entire day at the hotel pool lounging and catching lizards. We LOVED our hotel and wish we could have spent more time there . . . But it was off to Tampa where we spent the remainder of our time in Florida.

Sophie turned three while we were in Miami. She got this new purse for her birthday and loved showing off her new glasses that came inside. These pictures were taken on November 4th. Her birthday.

Morgan and Parker were supposed to take surfing lessons in Miami, but the surf was too flat. So instead, they did paddle-surfing which was equally challenging and exhausting!
More Miami beach . . .

In Tampa we went to Caladesi Island beach which can only be reached via a ferry. We missed our ferry back so the kids hung out eating snacks being silly.

We went to Busch Gardens for two days. Parker and Morgan loved all the rides. I loved the animals. And Sophie's major tantrum of the day only lasted about 20 minutes of screaming her head off in the middle of the park -- All was fine once we found the carosel and the airplane ride.
Morgan was so thrilled about Parker going on the Montu ride with her again that she actually kissed him on the cheek!! I just about fell over! I've never seen them get along so well which made this trip a complete success! Thanks Kent!

Halloween 2008

This was a year of change for Morgan. She was able to dress-up as a Vampire for school, but we cut the cord for trick-or-treating this year -- oh, our baby is growing up! Instead she went to a Halloween party with some girlfriends. Then she came home early since we left for Florida the following morning.
Parker was an Owl for his "Book-O-Ween" party at school. He has been reading the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series and had to dress like a character from the book. I kept asking "aren't there ANY people in the book??" Unfortunately the books are only filled with owls so I ended up creating this costume using my very rusty sewing skills.

Parker's Star Wars costume was purchased before I knew about the school requirement and ended up being about 2 sizes too small. (I tried not to notice as the nearest Target is over an hour away and I didn't have time to do an exchange). At the school carnival, I failed to notice the huge rip along the back-side of the costume. (I have no idea what (if anything) was underneath the costume that night.) It wasn't until the next night while trunk-or-treating at the church that I noticed his blue and white stripped pajamas showing through a gaping hole all the way down his bottom -- wish I had a picture of it -- It was pretty dang funny!

What else could Sophie be, but a beeee-yooo-tiful princess. She loved dressing up and playing the part a little too perfectly.

St. Louis

We were all so saddened and shocked to hear about Uncle Dennis' heart-attack and are so sad for Aunt Barbara and her family . . . The funeral was a sweet celebration of Dennis and his life and what he meant as a husband, father, grandfather and friend. He will be missed by so many people but we will always remember him for his funny sense of humor and quirky smile.

I loved having the opportunity to visit with Grandma Rees -- She's still just the same as always with her quick wit and her knowledge of who's doing what, and what's going on in the extended Rees clan -- What a sweet grandma I have!

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I also got to spend time with Kim, Rich, Sarah, and Mike whom I really don't get to see too often . . . ok, NEVER (not even at the family reunions, MIKE! If you're reading this, which you're probably not!) Fun times at Steak n Shake, White Castle, Old St. Charles, Chesterfield Mall . . . oh memories

Table Rock that Wasn't

So my friends and I thought a nice hard hike would be a great way to enjoy the beautiful fall weather. The trailhead to the famous Table Mountain (or what we like to call Table Rock) is only a few miles from my house. It's not a far hike, I believe it's only eight or nine miles round trip -- but very steep and rocky. Our day started out great and the hike and the weather was absolutely amazing. And the trail wasn't nearly as steep as we had heard . . . well that's because after about four hours of hiking we realized we were on the wrong trail! We had a beautiful hike to Alaska Basin, but after 17 miles of hiking, we never made it to Table Rock. Oh well, a great day anyway.

First Snow

Seems too soon for snow, but yes, it's happening! The kids are very excited about the snow coming. It's been flurrying again a little today and Morgan is so excited -- She can't wait for snowboard season! These aren't the best pics of Sophie, but she was having so much fun playing on the balcony . . .

Sun Valley

Kent and I have been to Sun Valley for the past three years celebrating our anniversaries and it quickly became a favorite getaway. It's only about 4 hours away and has some of the best biking around. We love the restaurants, shops, and the wonderful art . . .

Parker Turns NINE!

Parker has had a big year of changes. His biggest change has been his new school. He is going to Journeys School in Jackson, WY which is a part of the Teton Science School. He is in a class of 44 other kids, grades 3 through 5 with five teachers. He rides the public START bus every morning over the pass; and then after school he rides the bus to the library until Kent or I pick him up. He's had a few adjustments, but seems to really love it now and had a lot of great friends already.

Yesterday I dropped Parker off for his 1st overnight "Journey." They will be going to Twin Falls for 3 days and 2 nights. I feel a little sorry for the teachers and chaperones, but it should be fun for the kids. They get to experience a type of telescope that is only one of three of its kind in the WORLD. They have a lot of fun adventures planned for the kids.

Parker gets of have a "friend" party every other year. This was a great year for a party since he is making lots of new friends at his new school. They went swimming at the rec center and then ran around in the party room and loaded up on ice-cream cake. All the friends got a bionicle and they all had fun putting them together. We also had a family party at Gma and Gpa Shippen's house on Sunday.

Parker's favorite gift was his Star Wars Republic Attack Gunship. He didn't have school on Monday and spent 10 hours putting it together! It was a huge project and he didn't stop until it was all complete. He is very proud of it! I would have taken pictures of the process if I had known that he actually would have completed it . . .