Going Outdoors!

We love camping!  Unfortunately we do not go as much as we would like but it still does not change the fact that when we go we always have a good time!!!  So this post is dedicated to our camping trip with the Stapley family, Tim and Arlo's elk hunt, Lake Powell and Tim's Prize Bull hunt!


This first picture I found on my husbands phone, he took it the night the boys and I practiced camping out in the living room.  I love spending time with my boys... but camping on the living room floor was not very fun!!!!  Let's just say my boys are bed hogs and air mattresses are not very comfortable in the first place.

But here are the boys during the real thing!!!  They had so much fun camping and I love going with them to see them spend so much time loving and exploring the outdoors.

This is one of their exciting finds after Uncle Paul chopped down a rotting old tree.

This is another one of their favorite activities while camping.  Shooting. Tim is teaching them early, but they love it and so does Tim!

Here is the entire crew of kids that went camping.  They were everywhere!

Not the best family picture but this is on day 3 of camping... can't expect a glamour shot!

The next few are not from a trip but from the backyard.  This one is from Uncle Paul's backyard where Arlo and his cousin Dalin thought it would be a good idea to shot a pigeon with the bb gun.  But, since they shot it, the grownups decided they had to eat it.  So they plucked it, took out it's guts and put it on the bbq and then ate it!!!!

This one is from our backyard, but once again it deals with guns....

These next few are from the 2 hunts Tim went on this year.  The first hunt, he took Arlo along and Arlo was beyond excited.  He got new Camo gear and they filled one of the two tags that they had.  And while doing so Arlo got to watch and learn all that is involved with hunting, shooting and preparing an animal.  The second hunt was Tim's once in a lifetime Bull hunt.  It was one of the first hunts of the season in one of the best areas for the best prize, a bull elk.  Because Tim assured me that this opportunity comes only once in a lifetime, he hired guides to take him out to ensure he got one of the biggest.  All let you decide from the pictures how he did... all I can say is that I am glad my house is too small for the trophy head, and we had to get 2 stand alone freezers to hold all the meat.  After the next few years I will be begging for some cow instead of elk!!!

Lastly, we have our annual Lake Powell trip.  Every year my family is invited by my grandparents to come on their houseboat, Seas the Day, for an entire week.  I love this trip!  And so do my boys.  I did not take my Nikon on the trip this year because I did not want it to get ruined and Tim did not come with me to help keep an eye on the boys so I did not take very many pictures... but the boys had a blast with all of their cousins!

FAIRly Halloween Maze

Fall time is one of my favorite times of the year!  There is so much to do and lets not forget to mention that we finally get to play outside again after the hot summer months we spent inside or in the pool.  But in our house we make the pumpkin patch a yearly ritual.  I take pictures every year and blog about them every year, and so these pictures won't be much different than all the others, but I love, LoVe, LOVE the pumpkin patch so here they are again!

And then there is the AMAZING state fair.  Not quite a yearly affair, but still fun none-the-less.

And fall would not be fall without Halloween!!!!!

This year my boys were both ninjas.   And they were dangerous!!!!  But my favorite story to tell about the night is when Cohen went trick-or-treating up to a house where a very pretty toddler princess was passing out the candy and Cohen went up to her and instead of saying trick-or-treat he said "I will save you princess"  needless to say, everyone around thought he was the cutest ninja around!

This picture also includes cousin Lani who also was a ninja, just like Arlo.  This was taken at the trunk-or-treat the weekend before halloween.  

Bottom line... we still have Halloween candy and it is January:-)

Race Day

Arlo's school put on a fundraising race and Arlo entered.  His group of 4 year old boys was the biggest group and they had to run two heats.  The first heat Arlo won 3rd place.  Then the second heat of boys ran.  Then the top 5 of each heat raced against each other and Arlo got 4th place.  I was so proud of him!  He ran so hard and did so well!  But he did not see it that way.  He was so disappointed that he did not get a ribbon (which were only given to 1st-3rd).  All I can say is that we have a major competitor on our hands.  And given that both Tim and I are very competitive the poor kid has no chance!

I was not the only one who was proud of Arlo... Cohen worships his big brother!  

Can you tell?

Arlo's First Day of Preschool

I enrolled Arlo in preschool this school year 2013-2014.  He was so excited to start school!  Here he is on his first day!

The sun was in his eyes (for all 15 pictures that I took, there was not one where he was not squinting.)

So, we tried again facing the opposite way and still... more squinting!!!

Finally in the shade, we got a good one.  And I was going to go on to one of those photo editing sites and crop it and then put all of his "stats" on it, but I did not get around to it.  But, If I was going to do it here is what it would say....

Arlo Jaxton Gooch

Age: 4

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Food: Strawberries

Favorite Book: Walter's Birthday

Favorite Place to Go: QT

Favorite Song: We are Young by FUN

Here he is at Red Door Number 5  With one of his teachers, Mrs. Klemer, his other teacher is Mrs. Beebee!

And because I am just now posting this (3 months after his first day of school) here is his first school picture... isn't he so handsome!!!!

My One and Only

I am the type of person that sits down at the beginning of the year and writes out a long list of goals.  I usually try to make at least two or three goals under a few different categories such as spiritual, physical, home and family, etc...  I always start off strong and then towards May, I am not looking at my list quite as often, when July comes around I know my goals so well that when I am working on one I am quite proud of myself; but at this point, I am no longer actively planning my time to do so.  And then comes the end of the year that is always so hectic all plans/goals go right out the window.  So, this year I am making one goal.  And that is the goal of keeping up my blog.  I have been horrible this past year.  And I have had many valid reasons and excuses on why I have not been able to get to my blog.  But this year I am not going to permit them to interfere.  I love my blog.  I had my first 100 blog posts made into a book that looks just like a high school yearbook but inside is the perfect photo album complete with captions available for my kids to open and read any time they would like to.  And they do like to!  They love looking at that book and going through those memories.  I use it as a sacrament meeting book and it keeps them busy for over 15 minutes without me because they can look at the pictures and not have to read the words to remember what was going on in the picture.   So, my specific goal this year is to hit 200 blog posts and make another book for my family.  It is a big goal that I will have to work hard to hit since last year I totaled less than 20 posts and I am at a grand total of 163.  I will have to double my posts and pictures.  But, it is something that I can do!  Especially with the coming of our little girl this year!  It will be a good year and now thanks to my goal... A well documented one!  Happy new years!


Warning... the next few posts are all from last year!  But I want to get caught up... so after this, hopefully no more having to wait 2 months for a post and then get blasted with 5 posts at a time. :-)

Let Me Introduce...!!!!

It is about time that I introduce you to my 3rd little bundle of joy...

Nicole Laurelle Gooch

(We Hope)

As of today I am 14 weeks and 4 days.  But here are some of her glamour shots at 13 weeks.

This last picture is my hope of all hopes.  This is our last child.  We are DONE after this!!!!  I have horrible pregnancies and I don't think my husband can last through another.  :-)  But on this last picture supposedly since it is still so early all babies start out with the same part and the white line where the parts should be is the indicator on whether it is a boy or girl.  It is a girl if the line is parallel with the spine and it is a boy if the white line is at a 30 degree angle to the spine.  As you can see, the white line in this picture is parallel which made my ultrasound tech tell me that she thinks the chances are pretty good for this baby being a girl!!!!

Now just because my chances are good does not mean it is for certain.  So, we will have to wait for another 4 weeks before we start buying pink.  (this rule does not apply to grammies who have already gone out and purchased outfits and blankets.)  But just because we have to wait to start buying pink does not mean that I have to wait to start believing it is a girl.  No, Arlo, Cohen and I already call her Lulu, and cannot wait to have a baby girl in the family.  Daddy on the other hand is still holding out hope that it is a boy.  I can give you the whole spiel about how it does not matter what the baby is, I will still love it unconditionally... that is true but I NEED A GIRL!  I DESERVE A GIRL!

Now, with that being said on record, I better not have just jinxed myself :-)