McCaleb Family Adventures

Christmas 2011!

2012-01-29T20:18:00.001-08:00

These are some pictures of the kids at the ward Christmas party. We also have pictures of the Christmas Eve nativity with the kids dressed up. Unfortunately we have no pictures of Christmas day. I'm not sure what happened but we do have a lot of video so the memories will not be forgotten. Brianna and Emily got guitars, Dallin got a remote control car, Savannah got a pretend pony, and Connor got a tricycle. They were all soooo cute in their Christmas outfits. We might have to recreate the look and get a picture next time! For New Year's their cousins came and Jason and I were able to go out with Jeremy and Rebecca to a live band with country dancing. It was actually a really fun way to bring in the New Year! And again no pics:(

Dallin turns 7!

2012-01-29T20:10:00.001-08:00

This year Dallin has really liked the science experiments his teacher does at school. We decided to have a mad scientist birthday party complete with dry ice and caution tape. We did some fun experiments instead of games, like exploding some pop with mentos and melting chip bags into mini size. They all liked his test tube cake. He had a lot of friends there and I'm not sure why we didn't get a picture of everybody. Dallin is a sweet boy and a very smart kid. He loves to play the wii and has a very funny sense of humor. We love you Dallin!

Fall happenings!

2012-01-29T19:41:00.000-08:00

This fall we took a Sunday drive out to Holly Lake to see the changing leaves. It is very pretty up there in the fall. We kind of let the kids wear whatever they want after church so please excuse Savannah's creative liberties on her outfit!

We had fun going sledding out in Heber with our friends the Williams. We built a camp fire and had hot chocolate while everyone took turns sledding on the inner tubes. You can even see some chocolate mustaches. . ha ha!

We have had so much snow this year! The kids got a few snow days to enjoy. Here are some pictures of them playing in the snow. For some reason we couldn't find Dallin's old snow suit from when he was 2. The only thing we could find for Connor was this girl suit from the 80's that somebody gave us. Hopefully he won't be too mad when he gets old enough to realize what we put him in:)

Here are Emily and Brianna at their Christmas piano recital. They both looked so pretty and did very well on their pieces. Brianna was asked to play her piece for Sacrament meeting on Christmas day. She played it very well that day too!

It's hard for me to believe that Brianna is now in Junior High! For Homecoming week they had a different theme each day. One day was when they all had to dress up as farmers. She has also been doing really well in band. She plays the flute and they moved her up to Honor band the second week of school. Then she was the only sixth grader in the school to make it to the all state band. She is a great flute player and she also started learning the guitar this year too.

Halloween!

2012-01-29T19:31:00.001-08:00

This year for Halloween we had Brianna as "Twister", Emily as "monkey business", Dallin was Mario, Savannah was a princess and Connor was a pirate. They were all so cute. Brianna actually got an award for best costume at school. The rest of the pictures probably explain themselves - a trip to the pumpkin patch, carving jack - 0 - lanterns, and monster feet cookie school treats! The kids had a lot of fun trick or treating at the ward trunk or treat and then Jason took the older kids out for some more serious trick or treating!

Savannah's 4th birthday!

2012-01-29T19:19:00.001-08:00

Savannah is really becoming a very good big sister. She helps watch out for Connor and they are becoming good buddies. She loves unicorns and ponies. She loves to talk and makes up princess stories that are very entertaining. She has a very big heart and a lot of spirit! We love you Savannah!

For her 4th birthday we had her friends over for a rainbow themed birthday. She was a little disappointed that it wasn't a pink and purple princess pony party (that request came the day before the party after all rainbow supplies had been purchased). Thank goodness Grandma Bennion came to the rescue and gave Savannah a pink and purple barbie pony without even knowing Savannah's request! On her actual birthday we had a family party and bought her a pink princess cake and she was happy all around!

Connor's 2nd birthday

2012-01-29T19:09:00.001-08:00

Connor is such a cute boy! He is really learning to talk. He is very good at saying thank you for everything. He loves to give kisses and hugs. He calls Savannah baby, which is pretty funny. His favorite thing is his blankie. Everybody loves Connor because he is such a loving boy and will always cuddle with anyone. We love you Connor!

Bennion Family Reunion!

2011-10-17T14:37:00.001-07:00

Here is Mom and Dad who started it all! Thank you so much for bringing us all together. We had so much fun. Our favorite part was just getting to see everyone, but, here are some other fun things we got to do! We love you!

We stayed at a beautiful cabin in Park City Utah. We did alot of visiting, eating, crafts, games, and viewing of old home videos!

One fun thing we did was visit the Alpine Slides. Brianna, Emily, Jason and some others went on the zip line. While the rest of us were waiting we took the kids on the carousel. Not pictured is our trip down the luge runs. We had so much fun!

We took a train ride on the Heber Creeper. We had a car all to ourselves and even ate lunch on the train!

Family Picture Time!

Our California trip

2011-09-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Sea World!

Brianna got chosen to be a part of the presentation at the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center.

Here are the kids at the Discovery Science Museum

Jason went fishing one morning and caught a small shark!

Here are the kids at the resort we were staying at

Here are the kids at Huntington Beach!

The kids at the San Diego Temple

We had the opportunity to take the kids on a really nice trip to California this year. The first day we drove to San Diego and stayed with Jason's parents. The next morning we attended church and then had to travel the rest of the way to Huntington Beach. This was a trip through Jason's work that he earned. We got to stay at the Hyatt right on the beach. It was really nice. The first three days of our trip we just played, and played, and played, on the beach. We checked out some tide pools, built sand castles, body surfed, read books, and napped. There was also quite a bit of chasing down Connor and we had one trip to the emergency room when Jason dislocated his shoulder, but that didn't slow down the fun too much! My favorite memory was cooking hot dogs and smores over a campfire right on the beach with the kids as the sun was going down. After three days on the beach we decided to check out the children's discovery museum. They had a lot of fun with the hands on exhibits. Then we traveled back to San Diego. We went and saw the San Diego temple. Jason and I were able to do a session there which was so nice. It was so beautiful. We stayed with Grandma and Grandpa McCaleb. They took us to see the historic district of San Diego. There was some really fun shopping and eating and museums there. My favorite part of that area was the Mormon Batallion visitors center. They had a really fun and inspiring presentation about the sacrifices of the early pioneers. The whole family really enjoyed the presentation and then they got to pan for gold afterwards! The next day we went to Sea World. We lasted the entire day until the place closed at 10pm! I couldn't believe it. We saw shows and exhibits and rode some rides. It was really fun. The next day we attended church and drove back home. What good memories!

Summer activities

2011-09-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

The kids got to do a lot of fun things this summer! The girls took an art class. This is one of their food art projects. We spent a weekend in the valley for a company trip. Emily got chosen to come up and help the magician during some of the entertainment. Brianna and Emily also participated in a children's theatre camp that produced Sleeping Beauty. The girls got to be part of the woodland animals group. They did a great job. Dallin played in t-ball this year and really seemed to love it. Everyone but Connor took swimming lessons. It was a busy summer!

4th of July

2011-09-18T08:10:00.001-07:00

The 4th of July was really fun this year. We had most of Jason's family at our house for the weekend. Jason decided to have an entry in the parade to advertise his business. He had a friend drive his cool car that was decorated with his business banner. Jason passed out flyers and Brianna and Emily threw the candy. It was really cute. Unfortunately fireworks were cancelled because of the fire danger. However, we had a fun night with a family BBQ and everyone trying out the zip line in the back yard.

Student of the year!

2011-06-12T21:24:00.001-07:00

Brianna was voted in by her classmates as student of the year. They picked one from each fifth and sixth grade class. She is a great student and friend to others. These pictures are of Brianna with her teacher, her principal, and the other participants. She even got her picture in the local paper! Way to go Brianna!

Brianna's 11th birthday party!

2011-06-12T21:17:00.001-07:00

Brianna had a bunch of friends over for her birthday and we ate pizza, made jewelry, played games, ate cake, and opened presents. She seemed really happy with it! Brianna is such a great helper for us. She has really been a great babysitter and kind sister! She has been developing a lot of talents this year in piano, flute, and art class. We love you Brianna!

Sleeping Beauty

2011-06-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

Brianna and Emily participated in a children's theatre project. This year the production was sleeping beauty. The girls were in the woodland animals group and got to be cute bunnies. They were so cute and got to participate in a lot of singing and dancing. Great job girls. We really enjoyed watching it!

Grandma Murdock

2011-06-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

We attended my grandmother's funeral last week. Her name was Margaret Murdock. She was such a wonderful lady, musician, and stalwart example. We will really miss her. Her funeral was such a beautiful celebration of her life. We traveled clear up to Idaho which from our house which was about a 15 hour drive. We got to see Aunt Kenna (my sister) and her family on the way up and back as we spent the night at her house as a half way stopping point. She couldn't attend because of being only a few days away from having a baby (which she just had yesterday!) Anyway, we had so much fun seeing my family and extended family that we do not get to see often. Here is a picture of the kids at Grandma and Grandpa Murdock's house and at the luncheon. Memorial day was Brianna's birthday so we had a little cake there for her too.

Pretty kids!

2011-06-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the kids dressed up. We really have a hard time getting a descent picture!

Dallin's Kindergarten graduation!

2011-06-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

Here is our cutie cowboy Dallin. This is at his Kindergarten graduation. They had a western theme that was really fun. We are really proud of Dallin. He is one smart kid. His teacher said she had to change a reading game. It was who could yell out the name of a word first, but then they changed it to who can beat Dallin. He has really excelled at reading and was started on a 2nd grade reading program. Way to go Dallie boy!

Tangled cake

2011-06-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a cake that I did for my friend's daughter who wanted a Rapunzel cake from the movie Tangled. It was my first time ever "constructing" anything with rice krispy treats and covering anything odd shaped in fondant. As you can see I have alot to learn since by the end the tower was leaning a bit. It lasted though and she was very happy with it.

Spring piano recital

2011-06-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

Here are Brianna and Emily at their spring piano recital. They both did excellent. Brianna played Fur Elise and Emily played Adelveiss from the Sound of music. Good job girls!

Easter 2011

2011-06-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

The kids on Easter morning ready for church. It was a very hectic morning so the picture taking was extremely quick. Nobody noticed Connor had his blankie with him until we looked at the pictures later. Oh well. They were all super cute in person. I really need to get a better camera so you can really see how cute my kids are:)

Here is Savannah finding eggs in the Easter egg hunt we did. I'm not sure what is up with her outfit. It was a little breezy that day so I think someone took pity on her and threw some sweats on over her original outfit. Anyway, it was a very busy weekend. We had most of Jason's family at our house for Easter this year. I think the total was 31 people! We had a lot of fun this year. We misplaced our camera in the chaos so all of these pictures are from our video camera. We didn't end up with many pictures but here's what we have.

Opening Easter baskets!

Here are all the kids dying Easter eggs with their cousins! (I think Connor was gone taking a nap)

Valentine's Day

2011-05-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day this year was on a Sunday. So here are all my cuties dressed in their red and pink!

We were invited to a party and I made this yummy chocolate cake with chocolate roses.

We have a Valentine's Day tradition in the McCaleb household of heart shaped pancakes for breakfast!

Emily's 9th birthday

2011-05-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

For her special day Emily had a bunch of her friends over for pizza on Friday night. They made some fun spring time headbands and flip flops and played a lot of just dance on the wii! She received some very generous gifts from friends and Grandparents and she seemed to think it was a lot of fun!

St. Patrick's day fun!

2011-05-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

For St. Patrick's day the kids decided to make a leprechaun trap. In the morning they found the leprechaun had sadly gotten away but had left some gold chocolate and green M&M's. There were even some leprechaun footprints around the trap!

Christmas 2010!

2011-01-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

Well, I think these pictures can tell their own story! It was a typical Christmas morning where excitement and wrapping paper were literally everywhere. I forgot to take a before picture where everything was in neat pretty piles, but you can see the afterwards!

Christmas Eve anticipation! The kids were so excited for Santa to come! We spent Christmas Eve at our own home and did the traditional reading of Luke 2 and a special dinner.

Savannah loved to talk to Santa at the ward Christmas party.

Here are the kids at Grandma and Grandma McCaleb's house. After opening up presents on Christmas morning we headed down to Tucson for a few days of fun with family.

Emily got to sing some pretty fun songs at the 3rd grade Christmas program!

Brianna started playing the flute this year. Here she is at her first band concert! She also got to sing with a group of five girls in front of the school during the singing portion of the 5th grade Christmas program. I think I must have gotten that on video and forgotten to take a still shot. oops.

Here is Dallin at his Kindergarten Christmas program. They were so cute!

The kids had fun decorating gingerbread cookies

Thanksgiving at our house

2011-01-16T07:47:00.000-08:00

This year we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving at our new house. Jason's brother Jeremy and their family came and the next day Jason's parents and "single" siblings came. We had a houseful, but it was a lot of fun! Aunt Rebecca had the kids set up with pin the feather on the turkey and cute turkey headbands where they had to write what they were thankful for on the feathers. I was especially thankful for a house with a little more room this year!

Dallin's 6th birthday!

2011-01-16T07:36:00.001-08:00

Dallin turned 6 on Dec. 16th! He is in Kindergarten this year and doing great! His last report card said he had mastered every skill and he is an exceptional reader. He is a very good kid. He won't go to bed at night unless he has said his prayers. He likes to thank Heavenly Father for everything including "Santa (because he brings you presents), your eyes (because they help you see), and friendship!" When I was combing his hair last Sunday before church he asked if that was how missionaries did their hair because he wanted to be just like a missionary! We love Dallin for his goodness and his funny sense of humor. All of his teachers say he keeps them laughing!

Savannah's 3rd birthday!

2011-01-16T07:26:00.000-08:00

Savannah turned 3 on November 22nd. Savannah has a lot of spirit. When she is happy she likes to give a lot of love and kisses. When she is not happy. . . well you know three year olds! We love Savannah. She has just entered Sunbeams and everyone in primary can't believe how good the entire class is. They sit so nicely! She loves to bring her little scripture bag to church and be just like her older brother and sisters. She loves to say "for reals" after everything she says and "b'cause" if you ever ask her why. She is such a cute girl and we love you Savannah!

Halloween!

2010-10-31T16:58:00.000-07:00

Here are the kids carving pumpkins (or cleaning them I should say!)

For Halloween this year we had an Alex from Wizards of Waverly Place, her sidekick Harper, Ironman, a pumpkin and Superman. A little explanation for all of those who do not watch the Disney Channel. Alex is a teenage wizard so Brianna's costume was basically a trendy outfit with a wand. Harper is Alex's best friend and on the show she always wears something outrageous with a theme. We got the idea for this ice cream themed outfit off of one episode. Anyway, you really need to be a girl between the ages of 8 to 12 to really get it. So here are the cute pictures!

Catching up!

2010-10-17T16:28:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Baby Boy! Our little Connor boy turned 1 on October 14th. We were going to do the traditional let him have at the cake while sitting in his high chair with his shirt off. However, I sat him too close to the cake while trying to get a cute picture and he just took those clown heads right off! I thought oh well go for it! So, I think the pictures speak for themselves! We sure love you Connor. You have brought such joy to our family and I hope you will always stay so sweet! At one year old you love to smile, play patty cake (you like to say tat a cay tat a cay!) and cuddle. We love you!

Here is our cute boy Connor getting his first haircut when he was 11 months old. We had a hard time getting him to smile for the camera though!

I had my birthday in September. Somehow we ended up with a lot of video and no pictures. Anyway, after many years of trial and error Jason has figured out I like Dairy Queen ice cream cakes and to be taken out to dinner. Thanks honey!

We went on a fun camping trip over Labor Day with some friends. We had a really great time. This first picture is of the kids standing in front of the foundation of a cabin that was in Jason's family for generations.

Jason and I celebrated 11 years of marriage on August 20th. Jason planned a fun trip to Greer, which is a beautiful town just outside of Show Low. Anyway, we enjoyed an evening without the kids and had fun staying at the Tin Star Inn. The next day we went horseback riding and enjoyed a nice lunch. It was just enough time to reconnect with each other before I really started missing the kids!

Jason had his birthday in August. We are getting old enough that it is no longer fun to say what birthday it is haha! Anyway, we had a little party for him and I made him a campfire cake.

Here is Connor at 10 months!

First day of school and last days of summer!

2010-08-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

Here are our first day of school pictures. I teared up when I took the group shot as I realized they are all still little but they won't all be little for long. Brianna is in 5th grade, Emily is in 3rd, Dallin is in Kindergarten and it is totally killing Savannah that she is not in school yet!

Right before school started we got to go to Montana and spend some time with the Bennions. We had so much fun. We went to a waterpark where Grandma B. took the kids down the slide. Notice my action shot! We also got to celebrate Brynlee's 4th birthday. What a fun hula party!

Kids are amazingly creative. I think all my kids need is paper, scissors, crayons, and tape and they could entertain themselves for hours. This is great for me, but a little frustrating when I need to wrap a present and there is never tape around! Still worth it though! Here is what they came up with one day. It was too funny to not take a picture. If you can't tell they all have on paper mustaches.

The girls got to go to a pioneer activity day at church. They had a great time but before they left of course I heard the dreaded words every mom hates to hear "Well, I'm going to need a costume!" Oh man, let's rummage through the dress up box. It's amazing what you can come up with when you really need something fast!

Summer fun!

2010-07-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

Brianna and Emily attended theatre camp again this year. The play they put on was 101 Dalmatians. Emily was a dalmatian and Brianna was a boxer dog. They were both really good and cute! Good job girls!

We had a few visitors for the 4th of July. Grandma and Grandpa McCaleb came with Megan and Jordan and Aunt Molly and Uncle Jarom came with their 3 kids. We had so much fun. On July 3rd our town had a big parade and that night we went to the fireworks.
Here are a few of my favorite moments:

Brianna and Emily flipping over each other in the candy scramble (no one was hurt).

Dallin asking me if I wanted a piece of candy even though he was having such a hard time getting any candy at all (it was survival of the fittest out there). It was like the widows mite!

Savannah waving her flag the entire parade and then jumping out of her chair and yelling YE HA over and over when the horses went by!

Connor kicking and laughing at the fireworks even though it was really late at night and very loud!

We really had a fun time. On Sunday after church we went over to the camp site that everyone was at and had a camp fire. Thanks for coming everyone!

A picture says a thousand words.

Jason is always trying to convince the girls to rub his feet. Usually he looses the battle, but this one time he was successful. However, there was a catch. The girls had one condition and here is the result (notice the painted fingernails!)

Here is Connor at 8 months. He is sporting his new swimming outfit. We were in Scottsdale for Jason's company's regional meeting. They invite the families and put us up in a fancy resort. The families get to have fun while the men are in meetings. There was a big water park right at the resort where we spent quite a bit of time. The weekend ended with a formal dinner for the adults where Jason received an award. Good job honey! Anyway, it was a fun weekend.

Brianna and Emily and I had a fun girls night when the boys were at the father and son's camp out. We made some cute hair accessories, flower rings, and flip flops. I also took some of their holy jeans and cut them off at the knee. Then I added a fabric cuff and made some matching headbands. All the projects turned out cute, but I haven't taken pictures of most of them. I guess we need to have a fashion show and get some pictures. Anyway, here is one picture we got.

I had such a fun time making Brianna's fondant cake that I made one for a friend's birthday and for the 4th of July!

Babies, Birthdays, and Baptisms!

2010-06-02T14:20:00.000-07:00

Brianna turned 10 on Sunday, May 30th. She got some fun clothes from American girl and a lot of hot pink girly stuff since that is now her favorite color! I tried my hand at a fondant cake for the first time and had so much fun with it.

Connor at 7 months. He has really grown. The past few months he has really struggled to gain weight, in fact at his 6 month check up he had lost weight and weighed the same as he did at 2 months. After many doctors appointments, special diets, and a lot of prayers he seems to be thriving and getting very chubby!

Safford Arizona is a few hours from where we live so we decided to drive over to see the Gila Valley temple open house. The kids all expressed special feelings afterwards and I think it was a great experience for them. They had the dedication broadcast to the church buildings in Arizona so the older girls got to experience that also.

Emily was baptized on April 24th. Grandma Bennion spoke at her baptism and it was a very special day. All of her grandparents and a few cousins came to see her. She looked very pretty in her new white dress. We are very proud of what a good girl she is.

I have been trying to take a picture of Connor every month so here he is at 6 months.

3 months of McCaleb fun!

2010-04-11T18:53:00.000-07:00

Here are the kids on Easter with their candy. I wanted to make them Easter outfits, but with 5 kids I didn't think it was very realistic so I settled on making some accessories (boys ties, Savannah's jacket, and hair fabric flowers.) It was so much easier and just as fun!

We had a family party for Emily's 8th birthday. The poor girls was sick on her birthday and didn't even get to go to school. She did get to bring in her cupcakes the next day though. She gets to be baptized on April 24th and she will have a lot of people there to support her for that!

Here is Connor at 5 months old. He always has his two fingers in his mouth. (yes it's a purple bumbo. That's what happens when you are number five and your parents are too cheap to replace something just because it's a girl color ha ha!)

The Friday before Easter we took the kids down to the Phoenix Zoo. They got to pet some sting rays and go on a camel ride. I had the "priviledge" of accompanying Savannah on her ride since Jason had taken his turn on the carousel! We had a great time and that night we went and saw the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple. It was really special since some of my kids are old enough now to actually understand what was being talked about. Emily especially thought it was neat since she will be baptized this month.

On April Fools I made the family some chicken "not" pies for dinner. They looked like chicken pot pies but inside there was vanilla pudding and candies shaped like veggies. They were sure surprised that mom let them have dessert for dinner!

Brianna got first place for her class at the Science Fair this year! Her project was to see if playing music would help plants grow. Great job Brianna!

The kids were playing with the horses I made for Dallin's cowboy themed birthday party. I had forgotten to take a picture at the party so I figured I would take one for memories sake

Valentine's Day marked Connor being 4 months old!

We had some fun on Valentine's day. I did a different heart hairdo on each of the girls and successfully made 72 pink heart shaped rice krispy treats for three different class parties. Not to mention filling out 72 valentine's cards complete with candy treat. Good thing the kids can sign their own names!

Here is Dallin receiving an award at school for the character trait of being honest.

Connor at 3 months old

2010-02-01T10:02:00.000-08:00

Connor's Blessing Day

2010-02-01T09:12:00.000-08:00

Connor was blessed on December 27th. We were at Grandma and Grandpa Bennion's house for Christmas. Connor was blessed on the same day as his cousin Sophie Pearson since they are only 2 weeks apart in age. Grandma had gotten all the grandkids matching Christmas outfits for church. Aren't they so cute!

Christmas 2009

2010-02-01T08:55:00.001-08:00

Christmas morning! What else do I need to say!

Here are all the grandkids doing the nativity story.

Grandma Bennion gave everyone Christmas PJ's on Christmas Eve. Thanks Grandma!

Santa made a surprise visit to Grandma and Grandpa Bennion's house!

Savannah was really tired on Christmas Eve. She didn't even wake up for Santa! We had flown into Billings that morning so we were all a bit tired.

Update

2010-02-01T08:21:00.001-08:00

Here are the kids making a gingerbread house.

Dallin turned 5 on December 16th. We had a cowboy cookout with hot dogs and beans. He had a horse shoe cake. I made all the friends stick horses and forgot to take a picture (can you believe that!) He seemed to really have fun.

Here is Connor at 2 months old. He was 13 lbs. 6 ozs and 23.75 inches long.

Before Christmas we were very busy. Brianna and Emily had a recital for their choir group and piano on the same night. This was Emily's first piano recital. They did excellent. They both did school programs. Dallin also had a school Christmas program.

This was the first snow day of the year. However since then we had the worst storm in our area in 20 years! The kids had one week where they only went to a half day of school.

It's my birthday I can cry if I want to!

2009-12-04T14:51:00.000-08:00

We scheduled our family pictures on Savannah's birthday. She had a complete melt down after about two shots so we hardly got any of everyone all together that worked. But here are a few that turned out cute.

Catching up

2009-12-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

This is what can happen if you turn your back on a 2 year old!

Savannah had her 2nd birthday on Nov. 21st. We had a fun Dora party since this is now her favorite show.

Connor at one month old

We have collected many Christmas outfits over the years. I found that I had one hand me down for each child. They looked pretty good.

The kids had fun in their first year of soccer

Here are the kids at the pumpkin patch the week after Connor was born

Halloween

2009-11-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

Let me just say that getting five kids ready for Halloween was quite an accomplishment! This year we had a rock star, a princess, a pirate, a bumblebee, and a frog.

Connor Douglas McCaleb is born!

2009-10-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

Connor was born on October 14th at 3:21p.m. 9 lbs. 14 ozs 21 inches long. He is obviously well loved by all his siblings.

First day of school

2009-08-12T10:11:00.001-07:00

Savannah is really into wearing everyone's shoes. Here she got ahold of a pair of mine.

Today, Wednesday the 12th of August, the girls started school. Brianna is in fourth grade and Emily is in 2nd grade.

Dallin started preschool on Monday the 10th.

More summer fun!

2009-08-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

Emily lost her first tooth on the night of July 3rd. Here she is on the Fourth of July with her tooth gone.

Jason's parents and his brother Jordan and sister Megan came up for the Fourth of July. Here are the kids at the parade.

Jason's sister Maurine and her kids came up for a visit this summer. Here we are having a campfire in our back yard.

Jason took the family out on the lake for a ride on his boat.

These are some dresses I made for the girls. They were at their cousin Brigham's baptism in this picture.

This is Dallin's first summer to play in T-ball. He seemed to think it was really fun.

Our trip to Venice Italy

2009-07-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

We had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Venice Italy this past week. We are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this summer. We stayed at the Hotel Danieli. Here are a few pictures of our hotel.

Here are some more pictures of the city of Venice.

This was our view from the roof top of our hotel where they had a restaurant where we got to eat breakfast every day.

When you visit Venice you have to go on a gondola ride. It was the very first thing we did there. It was evening time and the sun was setting. I was awestruck by the beauty of the city. The gondoleer took us through many of the canals in the city and sang beautiful music. It was very romantic and a nice first impression of Venice.

Here are some pictures of the Basilica de Mosaic. All the artwork inside and outside the church were made of mosaics. The other pictures are of the bridge of sighs. This is one of the most photographed bridges in Venice. It was the bridge that prisoners had to cross as they went to prison. The bridge gave them their last view of the outside world and the legend says they sighed as they walked into the prison.

We took an elevator ride to the top of the bell tower in San Marco Square. You could see a beautiful 360 degree view of Venice.

One of the main things to see in Venice was San Marco Square. Our hotel was right next to the square. The most beautiful part of the Square was the Doges Palace. A Doge was the political leader of Venice centuries ago. The palace was built in the 13th century. It had amazing artwork both sculpture and paintings.

We took a water bus out to the islands of Murano and Burano. Murano is known for their glass making. We took this picture next to a "glass tree." Burano is known for their lace making. They make lace by hand with these tiny needles. We bought a blessing outfit for our baby boy.

We took a boat out to the island Lido where we got to hang out on a beach on the Adriatic Sea. It was really nice since they had private cabanas where you get some shade if you needed.
On our last day we went to the Academia Museum and the Jewish Ghetto. The Jewish Ghetto had a museum of the Holocaust and what happened to the Jews from Venice. It was interesting to see that part of history from another country's point of view. We also saw the Church of the Ferrari which had paintings by Donatello. We didn't get any pictures of these things since a lot of places would not let you take photos inside.

The last night we were there we had a nice dinner at the hotel.

Brianna and Emily in a play!

2009-06-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

Brianna and Emily participated in theatre camp at the local college here. They had a lot of fun and I was pretty impressed at what they pulled off with so many kids in just two weeks. Emily was a monkey and Brianna was a prickly pear in the production Jungle Book. They did a great job and are excited to see what play they will be doing next year.

Brianna's 9th birthday

2009-06-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

For Brianna's birthday we rented out the Show Low Aquatic Center so all her friends could have fun swimming. She got a new bike and Grandma Bennion gave her an American Girl doll which was a huge hit. I made an ice cream cone cupcake cake. She seemed to think it was a pretty fun birthday.

It's a Boy!

2009-05-22T13:20:00.001-07:00

If you haven't already heard we are having a boy! We are really excited.

Aunt Claire's wedding and Easter

2009-05-22T13:03:00.001-07:00

Here we are at Aunt Claire and Uncle Derrik's wedding reception. Claire had the most beautiful wedding dress I think I have ever seen. It was a very special day. I didn't do a good job of taking pictures because I don't have any from the temple or of Easter the next day. I'm not sure how that happened, but we were pretty much wearing the same stuff!

Fun activities with Grandma and Grandpa Bennion

2009-05-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun things the kids got to do with their Grandma and Grandpa Bennion when we traveled to Montana for Claire's wedding. They went to Chucke Cheese, Grandma and Grandpa treated the out to Build a Bear, and they got to roast marshmallows around their fire pit. My kids are still talking about all the fun!

Emily's 7th birthday

2009-05-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

Emily had a pet shop party for her 7th birthday. No one makes a pet shop cake so I had to get inventive and make her this one. She and her friends had fun making pet shop ears and playing games.

Christmas

2009-02-10T12:08:00.001-08:00

Here are a few things that have happened since the last time I put up any pictures. Dallin had his fourth birthday at Chucke Cheese. We had a great Christmas at home. We went on a trip to Mexico over New Years and stayed right on the beach.The girls had a recital for gymnastics. We have had a lot of snow this winter and the girls have taken advantage of the snow for some fun sledding excursions with Dad!

Savannah's first birthday

2008-12-03T13:22:00.001-08:00

Here is Savannah on her first birthday. The brown blob on top of her cake is suppose to be an ice cream teddy bear.

Sunday

2008-12-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

This was just a cute picture of the kids. Dallin is wearing his first suit.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-12-03T13:16:00.001-08:00

Halloween

2008-12-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween Brianna was a witch, Emily was Tinkerbell, Dallin was Batman, and Savannah was a bunny. We had fun hosting a Halloween party at our house.

Playhouse

2008-12-03T13:08:00.000-08:00

Jason built this playhouse for the kids this summer and they have been having a fun time playing in it.

Dallin's first day of preschool

2008-12-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

Here is our handsome boy on his first day of preschool

baby horse

2008-12-03T13:03:00.001-08:00

A family in our ward owns miniature horses and one had a baby. The kids had fun coming to see this tiny newborn horse.

First day of school

2008-08-06T16:51:00.003-07:00

Brianna and Emily had their first day of school today. Brianna is in third grade and Emily is in first. They came home really excited, so I guess it was a success.

More trip pictures

2008-08-01T08:25:00.003-07:00

Trips continued. . . (we all survived and even had some fun!)

2008-07-31T20:36:00.001-07:00

We had one day between coming home from Tucson (see previous post) and Kara, Dallin and Savannah leaving for Montana to visit family. It was really fun to visit since Krista and Kenna were also there that week. After a few days of fun, Kara traveled home across the country with the two little ones and again only had one day until leaving for our family trip to Disneyland. It was a long day of unpacking, repacking, laundry, cleaning and organizing but by that night she had everything packed in the van for an early departure in the morning. Unfortunately, a half an hour after going to bed she had a kidney stone attack and ended up in the hospital. After an all night stay and an early morning procedure we went home for a little rest and still left for Disneyland only one day delayed. We had a great time. This was over 4th of July weekend. The first two nights we stayed at a hotel right on the beach and spent our time playing in the sand. Jason's sister Megan came with us to help with the kids. This worked our great since Kara was on a lot of pain medication and a little "out of it." On July 5th we went to Disneyland. The kids loved all the rides and meeting the Disney Princesses. The next day we drove home. After we got home Kara underwent a second hospital procedure, but this time we had an entire week before our next trip to Utah where we had our official Bennion family reunion in Salt Lake. The time went too quickly but we savored every second. The first day we visited Temple square and the second day went to Lagoon. We got to meet Tanner's fiance Jenny and are looking forward to another trip to Salt Lake in November. Kara's glad we have a few months to recover before packing again!

Trip to Tucson

2008-07-31T20:27:00.000-07:00

This summer feels like a whirlwind. The kids are starting school August 6th. We had a lot of places to go this summer. Our first trip was to Tucson for a business meeting that Jason's company has every year and the families are invited. They put you up in a nice resort and have a lot of activities so it's usually pretty fun. This year they had a 70's and 80's theme night. We found an awesome baby blue polyester bell bottom suit for Jason for only $1. Kara's style was a little Napolean Dynamite, but it was fun!

Brianna's Piano Recital

2008-07-31T20:23:00.000-07:00

Brianna did a great job at her recital. Her teacher's name is Miss Roxie. She has the kids all sing a song as well as play a piece on the piano. Brianna loves doing both.

Brianna's Baptism

2008-07-31T20:09:00.000-07:00

Brianna turned 8 on May 30th. She was baptized the next day, Saturday, May 31st, by her dad. It was a very special day. Thank you to everyone who traveled to share the day with us. We had a nice meal after the baptism with all the family and Brianna opened some presents and had cake. Grandma Bennion made her a special quilt to remind her of the warm feelings of the Holy Ghost. The quilt also had 8 squares across and 8 squares down to remind her of her 8th birthday and it even matched the colors in her room. What a great idea mom!

Emily's Kindergarten Graduation

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

Good job Emily. The last day of school this year was May 22nd and it snowed!

Emily's 6th Birthday!

2008-07-31T19:47:00.000-07:00

Emily wanted to have a Hawaiian birthday party so we did it luau style. The girls made their own leis, learned how to hula in their grass skirts and had a hawaiian themed cake. I think they all had fun! Her birthday was on April 6th.

Trip to New Zealand

2008-03-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful opportunity to visit Queenstown New Zealand. We got back a week ago and here are some of the highlights. After traveling for about 35 hours we arrived on Monday in time to eat dinner and go to bed. Tuesday we went on a bus to see the town and all around the surrounding area to get a feel for where we were. Wednesday we took a steam boat called the T. S. S. Earnslaw that was almost 100 years old across lake Wakatipu (the lake was about 53 miles long) to Walter Peak. This is a historic English sheep station. They have restored the farm house and it is surrounded by gorgeous English rose gardens. One thing I found interesting was that besides sheep they also farm deer and the cattle there are very different looking. That night we visited Arrowtown which is a nearby historic mining town. We went to a theme dinner where the locals put on a show. There was this man who had to have been pushing 70 years old. He was playing in a band with some other folks about his age. You know stuff like She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes ye ha! Anyway, about the time it was getting really boring there was smoke and the curtains opened and this young band of 20 somethings started rocking out on popular songs. This old guy gets an electric guitar and starts rocking out with them. It had to have been one of the funniest things I have seen to see someone in that generation playing rock music and doing it very well. It turns out that the whole band was made up of his kids and the show ended up being quite entertaining. On Thursday we visited Milford Sound. It was about a 4 hour drive from where we were so we rented a car and Jason got to drive on the wrong side of the road. Milford Sound is a place where glaciers have carved an area out of the mountains and the ocean comes in. We took a cruise to see it. There was a lot of spectacular scenery and waterfalls. New Zealand is where a lot of movies are made, the most popular being Lord of the Rings because of it's stunning scenery. On Friday Jason went fishing on a river with a guide while me and Savannah did a little shopping. Jason caught a good size trout and he was able to take it to a local restaurant and have it cooked for dinner. That night we took a ride up the gondola where you can get a nice view of the city. There is also this luge ride that Jason tried out and said was fun. Saturday we drove the car to a place called the puzzling world. It is this place that has a bunch of rooms and each room is a different optical illusion. It was really interesting. But the big finale was Jason went bungy jumping. New Zealand is the capital of extreme sports and there was a lot of crazy stuff to try out. Jason said it was fun but I was so scared I could barely take the video. Anyway, it was a once in a lifetime experience and we were very grateful to be able to go.

Easter Dresses

2008-03-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day Fun

2008-02-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

This is Dallin's idea of helping when we were making some chocolates. We have a tradition on Valentine's day of heart shaped pancakes at breakfast when we exchange our family valentines.

Renasiance Festival

2008-02-22T19:29:00.000-08:00

Jason won some free tickets to the Renasiance Festival in Phoenix so we decided to go check it out. The kids had fun jumping on these trampolines with rubberbands attached to them that made them go really high. We also had fun visiting Aunt Peggy and Uncle Dean who were so nice to let us stay with them for the weekend. Thanks Merrells!

More snow!

2008-02-22T19:17:00.000-08:00

We had so much snow two weeks ago. The kids missed quite a bit of school due to the weather. Thank goodness for the knitting looms Grandma Bennion had given them. We finally had a chance to try them out and it really kept them busy. Aunt Camille had used these looms to knit the girls some matching hats! Thanks Aunt Camillio! Savannah decided to take a nap instead. She was very comfortable in the beautiful blanket Grandma Bennion made her.

Savannah's Blessing Day

2008-02-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

Jason's new toy!

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

Jason loves his new acquisition! Dallin had fun getting muddy with Dad. The girls don't think getting muddy is quite as fun.

Snow days

2008-02-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

The kids had a lot of fun in the snow!

Savannah pics

2007-11-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

Savannah Rose McCaleb pics
Born: 11/21/07
Weight: 9 lbs.
Height : 21 inches