Alyssa Joelle Turns 6

This is my old college roomie, Mel and I, six years ago. Our due dates were just days apart. Can you guess which belly is mine... The big one on the right. And it even was bigger with Cole. They seem to get a pound bigger every time. Yikes! It will be scary if I ever have another baby.


Our sweet baby, Alyssa Joelle, was born September 17, 2003. She weighed 8lbs. These pictures are when she was a couple of weeks old.

First Birthday

Terrific Two-Year-Old

Three-Years-Old
I sewed those roses in her hair. I don't know what I was thinking. We were late for the photo session. She was such a stinker when we got there. She wouldn't smile, unless I gave her quarters. She made me give her one for every smile. You can't tell in the picture, but she has them in her hand.

Four-Years-Old

Five-Years-Old

Six-Years-Old
I took this picture the other day, in our back yard. She was so funny. She definitely likes to do things her way. Most of the pictures we took, she is doing funny poses. This time I had to bribe her with ice cream, if she would smile and cooperate. I try not to do bribes, but for pictures, we do what ever it takes.

Here is a little bit about Alyssa:
Alyssa is really pretty sweet most of the time. When she gets to pick a prize at school for bringing in her boxtops, she has been picking a boy toy to bring home to her brother, Cole Makai.
Her favorite color is pink.
Her favorite foods are banana waffles, and broiled shrimp.
She enjoys helping in the kitchen.
She loves her long hair and won't let me cut it.
She loves to watch Hanna Montana and the Barbie Movies.
She doesn't like to go to school, when she knows her Dad has the day off.
She loves to take trips to town with just her and her Dad in the Honda.
She loves her cat she named lovable.
She likes to play games, like candy land and butterfly bingo.
She loves to do craps (crafts)-(Actually, she says it correctly now).
She doesn't really like side pony tails, or when Mom picks out her clothes.
She really likes her new Hello Kitty alarm clock, "except the part when it rings and I have to get up."

We had a family luau for her birthday party. It was so windy, so we had to do it inside. She wanted a coconut bra and a grass skirt. I made her a flip flop cake. She liked it, but was disappointed that she didn't make it, so she made the cake on the right. We had yummy skewers and Mark made the tastiest pina coladas for everyone. After we ate, we let all the kids break a pineapple pinata. We had a lot of guests, including a swarm of flies. It was rather disgusting. I still feel embarrassed when I think back about how bad they were. We have been battling them since a manure farm started up across the street. With so many people coming in and out of the house, all the flies came in. There have been lots of complaints, so hopefully they will move the manure and not do it again next year. (knock on wood, fingers crossed) If they don't move it, we will probably be moving. Which is sad because we really like how our place is turning out. Everyone please pray that they move the manure. Okay, back to the party...

hum...not sure what happened to Cole's pants.

After the party (Cole was asleep).

She was so happy she got a pink "ipod" It was a pretty fun party. Mark wants to have another luau next summer so he can roast a whole pig in the ground.


One of the main things Alyssa wanted was a party with only girls. You can't really do that with a family party. So we let her have some friends over to play on our play set after school. Mark had the day off and even let the girls take turns riding Alyssa's four wheeler around the yard. They had a good time.

I still can't believe my baby is six-years-old! Oh, how time flies!

Kindergarten... First Grade??

Okay, so we just had Alyssa's first parent teacher conference. The first thing the teacher said to me was "Is Alyssa board?" I kinda wondered, but it really makes me worry if the teacher is noticing it too. She said that there are three kids in the class that are at a higher level and Alyssa is the highest. The teacher doesn't seem to know what to do about it. I think it makes it even harder for Alyssa that kindergarten is a full day. She always asks the teacher, "How many things left until it is time to go home?"I wonder if she should move up to first grade. Oh, how I have been weighing the pro's and con's all day about it. I just don't want her to be board at school and decide that it is stupid. I just want her to be challenged and enjoy learning. She has always been excited about "school" I will often find her in our school room, working in workbooks. When I tell her it is time to.....(insert any task here). She says "Mom, I have to do my homework" She gives herself assignments and pretend homework. Everything in kindergarten just seems too easy for her because she already knows it. I figured that would be a problem and so this summer I didn't push her at all with her "school". She just turned 6 years old. So she'll either be the oldest or the youngest in her grade. Either way it is kinda a bummer. Oh, what to do?????

Alyssa Starts Kindergarten

Alyssa missed her first day of school because we were in Bear Lake. School started early this year and I had planned our trip before I knew. No big deal, it's kindergarten. Most Mom's get all teary eyed when their babies start school, but not me. She was ready to start last year and we were both were counting the down the days. I am a little bummed that she is stuck in kindergarten and is the oldest in her class. I couldn't believe when I dropped her off that they only get red crayons as they are introducing one color at a time. Poor Alyssa knows her alphabet and the sounds they make and is putting words together so to only let her have red crayons??? I hope they move quickly and that she doesn't get too board. I picked her up from school because she had an appointment with the orthodontist to get her retainer. A retainer for a 5-year old??? I thought it was crazy too, but one of her baby teeth never came in because it is fused to the bone. The retainer is to move the other baby teeth out of the way so they can dig it out of the bone. We saw from the x-ray that her permanent teeth up above are a mess-One is laying sideways. Getting her stuck baby tooth taken care of will make her braces easier. I guess we are getting a head start on all of that. She got a pink retainer with sparkles. She wears it 24/7 and even eats with it so we don't have to worry about loosing it. She just takes it out to brush. It doesn't have a wire across the front, so if you don't know, you can't even tell she is wearing one. She has been really good about wearing it. Good Girl!

Her second day of school is when she got to ride the bus. What a big girl! So far she likes to go to school. And if you ask her what her favorite part is "Recess", of course.

Bear Lake Continued

Day 4-5

We spend both days at the beach and playing on the boat. I decided to face my fears and try water skiing. Ryan had a nose plug that he let me use, otherwise I would have drown. They pretty much drug me around the lake for 45 minutes. Mark said that I was up a couple of times, but immediately crashed or the other time I couldn't quite stand up. I guess my legs were too tired and cold. Basically I butt skied. When I crashed that was it. I am not sure if anyone will be able to talk me into trying it again. I am just accepting that I am not a water person. I do better staying on land and making sand sculptures. I really enjoyed sculpting in the sand. I thought a lot about what tools would make the job easier (like a paintbrush to brush off the flaky sand) and imagined mixing in some type of glue so the sculpture could support itself a little better. The next sculpture I made was a frog.
It wasn't quite like I wanted, but the sand around its head kept sloughing off. There wasn't much underneath to support it. This is were I was dreaming of glue.But 15 minutes later, non of that mattered. You know how little boys love to destroy things!! Which is why I am totally amazed that the sea dragon and turtle sand sculptures that we made on Monday, were still intact by Friday. I couldn't believe no one or the elements had touched them. They even inspired some other people to make some. There was another turtle with spikes, a big snail, and a Bear Lake Monster.
I wanted to get a picture of all the kids with their names written in the sand. Aparently non of them thought it was very cool, except for Elly. Isn't she a cutie?Alyssa had her own idea, and wouldn't let me pose her or take more than one shot. I guess she had to get back to playing with the kids.Mark and Britton buried Ryan in the sand standing up. We all were laughing at Ryan and the gay guys that set up camp right next to us. It was a very entertaining afternoon. Ryan and Britton thought that they would share a romantic moment way out in the lake. Mark and I were laughing because we could see their heads way out there and we also could see this surfer guy headed right for them. I couldn't help but use my camera's awesome zoom to snap this pic.

Day 6

We went to the Minnetonka Caves.

The kids thought it was really neat that we were under ground. They all did really well will all the stairs too.Cole Makai wasn't feeling well. The poor kid had a fever, he didn't even care about the choo choo train rock in the cave.
That night we went to a demolition derby at the Rich County Fair Grounds. It was the funnest Derby we had ever been to.
We were an hour early and were lucky to find a seat in the bleachers. I was wondering why they kept selling tickets, when all the seats were full. Well, its because the people just sit on the mountain side. There was even was a kid in a wheel chair up there. (And at one point he fell out of his chair-poor thing) This is one of those events that pulls all kinds of people out of the wood work. Makes for some great people watching.Poor Cole still not himself. But feeling a wee bit better after some Tylenol.
We liked this car because it said "Hi Taylors". The kids had fun picking which cars they liked the best and watching them crash. They threw out lots of prizes to the crowd and did lots of fun games between the rounds. The kids got frisbees and Britton got a candy bar. We were laughing that we want to plan next year's vacation around this Derby--It was a blast! Perfect for our last night there.

Day 7

Time to pack up and head home. We stopped in Georgetown on our way home to see Grandma Weaver. She made us some yummy soup and a huckleberry dessert. It is always fun to see Grandma Weaver.
We are happy that Ryan and Britton wanted to share vacations with us. We all had a great time! Too bad more family couldn't have joined us though. Maybe next year.

Bear Lake Continued

Day 2

We spend the whole day at the beach. We took turns playing on Ryan and Britton's boat and playing in the sand. My parents and Ashley got to hang out with us for the day and Mark cooked us a prime rib dinner that night...mmmmm.
My Mom and I had fun making a sand sculpture.

While all of the adults, but myself went and played on the boat, I sculpted this sea dragon. Mom and Ashley came back just in time to help me do some finishing touches.

The kids loved playing in the sand. Grandpa Joel helped them build a sand castle. Jordan was really good about keeping his cast dry.

Grandpa giving Cole a ride on the ski bandit.

Cole's favorite place to be...the BEACH! He was so happy, the beach is all he talked about.

Alyssa also loved the beach. We all enjoyed another fun day in the sun!

Day 3

We went to Georgetown to see Grandma Weaver. We picked her up and headed up the canyon. We had a picnic, rode four wheelers and picked huckleberries. I have wanted to pick huckleberries every year, but have not known where to go, or what exactly the plants looked like. Grandma Weaver led us to a spot she remembered having some long ago. After trying some berries that weren't huckleberries, we were happy when we found the real thing. Somehow I managed not to get any photos while we were up there. Darn. Here is one of Elly and Cole in our condo's closet that evening. They were hiding.

Bear Lake

Day 1

We rode four wheelers in Fish Haven. The kids had a fun time playing in the stream. We all had fun hiking up the mountain and "exploring". We had a picnic lunch and relaxed.

Then we decided to go into Garden City and go to the Chocolate Bear for a treat. The kids enjoyed some coin-op rides.

And some of the adults also enjoyed the rides. I was sure someone was going to yell at us, but no one did.

I can still hear the ride moan carrying this load.

We decided to hit the lake for a bit before dinner. We walked down the boardwalk from Garden City Park. It was really nice. The kids were so excited to be at the beach! My parents joined us for dinner and stayed the night in a condo that was close to ours. The first day of our vacation was especially enjoyable because we kept thinking "Yea, we are going to be doing this for a whole week--Nice!"

Summer Catch Up

This is really where I should have been this summer, but I just couldn't seem to work it in. This is the 3 day Teton Crest hike I did back in 2005. The last time I thought I could go, I was pregnant and the group I was hiking with didn't think it was a good idea for me to go. Then the next summer I had a nursing baby I couldn't leave. I keep thinking "next summer maybe I can go again", but I haven't made it back. So for real this time "Maybe next summer
(2010)" Don't forget about me, Tracy and Kimberly, I really want to go!

Instead of a great hike, this is what I did......
My parents got extra tickets for us to go with them to Joel's company party at Tauphus Park.

The kids loved the zoo.

Alyssa has been wanting a peacock really bad. She was happy to get to see one at the zoo.

Me and my favorite little people.
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We put Alyssa in swimming lessons at the Ammon Pool. We will definitely be doing it again. I am a terrible swimmer and don't want my kids to struggle in the water like I do.

She was a little nervous at first and didn't want to go under the water.

She was so happy the first day, when she realized she knew a little girl in her class. She had been to a birthday party a month before and met Maddy.

The last day, they get to jump off the diving board.

Hooray Alyssa! Her face is in the water without plugging her nose!!
I think this is amazing because I can't do it!

Her teacher said on her report card that her spider arms were flawless.
Great Job Sis!!
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We picked the best day to go to Ross Park and practically had the place to ourselves. It was a great day. We went with a group from our ward. Mark swam with us for a while and then left for work. When we got done swimming, we went to eat at Sizzler to see him before heading home. He made us the best raspberry shake. Yum! (It was way better than the ones we got in Bear Lake!)
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Mark is never wild about getting his picture taken, but I am glad he let someone snap this picture of us. It would have been great to have the kids in it too, but that was a little too torturous at the moment.

My Mom loves when our whole family is together. We took this picture at Joel's 50th birthday party. There were a couple of us that came after we took the picture and I had to photoshop them in. Any guesses who?

Rob was so funny. He surprised us all, with a reenactment of what we saw at Granite. We all laughed so hard! Even complete with the guy's funny tattoos.