Fun with the kids!

Fun at our new house!!

Lucas loves riding his bike on the back patio.

Lila loves walking on the back patio. She is now a walking machine!!! Only a little late. ;) She had just woken up from her nap, so her hair is crazy, but it was super cute that day - in pig tails! I love dressing up my girl!

Yep, he is wearing a helmet. After the whole concussion thing, (since we can't keep the kids off the rocks) they now have to wear helmets on the rocks. Looks goofy, but its safer. I especially love his outfit this day. He picked out his own clothes. And after riding his bike into some rose bushes, and getting scratched up on his legs, he decided he needed knee-high socks. So the socks, the helmet, and the mix-matched clothes, he looks awesome.

There is a fun Pirate ship in the back that the kids love to play on. It has a steering wheel and a little slide. It is So cute. The kids love to play on, including Lila. She LOVES it! I think she feels like such a big kid on it. She loves to 'drive' the ship, its so cute. This is Lucas on top, he was yelling "Arrrgh Mateys!!" Too cute!

The Worlds Smallest Pirate! Isn't she cute?

Our big move

A couple of months ago Matt and I had to make a big decision for our little family. It wasn't easy. After living 4 years in our student family apartment we decided it was time to move. My sister and her husband had offered some space in their house, so we took them up on the offer. It has been a big change for all involved. Lucas has kind of struggled. He really misses all of his friends, and having a park right outside our door. So he has kind of been acting up, but I think it is tapering down (fingers crossed). He actually went to primary on Sunday without crying, a huge relief! His new teacher could tell he was very hesitant and tried to make him feel better by asking him if he has a grandma. After he told her that he has two grandmas, she told him that she is a grandma. So now, when I ask Lucas what his teachers name is, what does he say? Yep, Grandma. I have yet to learn her actual name. But I will soon. After being here about 4 days we got our new callings (before we met the Bishop, before our records were transferred, kind of funny). I will now be teaching the CTR 5 class and Matt is a Cub Scout Assistant. I am kind of nervous, I have never done primary, ever. But both of us are pretty excited for the challenge.

The move has been a nice change for us. Though it was hard. We miss our ward, and our friends, Matt has a long commute now (but only for 6 more months - then he will be done with classes!! But he is hoping to get his externships here after that, and then graduation in May!). But, I have been able to spend some time with my sister, her husband and her kids. My niece is kind of particular, but she now loves me! :) On our first day here, Lucas and Porter (my nephew who is 2 months younger than Lucas) were playing outside. We have these huge boulders in the back yard, and the kids were playing pirates. Lucas lost his balance and grabbed Porter for support, and pulled him down. Yea, Porter went to the ER with a concussion. He was vomiting. Had to get a c-scan. Not a good start. But things have improved since then.

Over all things are going really well. Matt and I are very happy with our decision to move. And we are so grateful to my sister and her family for welcoming us in.

Pictures to come soon of the kids!

Let's get dirty!

Ok, so excuse the title, but I thought it was pretty funny. No I am not talking "bedroom" stuff, I am talking "The Dirty Dash". It is a a 5k run, in mud. The whole thing is not in mud, but a good amount. My sister got all of us into it and I mean all of my siblings did it!! Thats right ALL 9 of us! Plus, my Brother-in-law Cameron, my sister-in-law Amanda, and my niece Kylee. We were team "Goonies". My sister and I (and her daughters) made everyone a t-shirt for the big event. I am NOT a runner, in fact, I hate running. But, I had heard this was fun, and boy, it didn't disappoint. First, we let the kids go wild in the 'piglet plunge'. Can you say hysterical!? I don't think any of the kids enjoyed it, except my niece Jeanie - I don't know if she actually liked it, but she was the only one who didn't cry. The older 'piglets' did great, it was just the young ones. I think the pictures say it best - with the fake smiles, and the fact that none of them would close their hands or put their arms down. (Picture is missing: Aspen, Nelea, Morgan, Joey, Jeanie, and William)

Lucas was too funny. I talked it up for weeks, getting him ready for it. On the way there, he was totally on board, SO excited to run and play in mud. I guess I forgot to mention that there was going to be A LOT of people. Cause when it came time, he was pretty nervous. Then, he took his first step in the mud, and it went all the way up past his knees. He freaked. I couldn't put him down the rest of the way. But he did LOVE the humongous slip 'n' slide at the end!

Cousin Aspen getting Lucas ready for the big run!

Before

Now onto the adults.... What can I say? We were a bunch of little kids. Literally, rolling in the mud, throwing people in, throwing mud onto people, climbing over each other - let me explain that one. Through out the course they have obstacles. Many of them were things we had to climb over, well, us Stokers (especially the girls) are pretty short (just in case you didn't know). ;) So, my awesome brother in law Cameron and my sister in law Amanda would get all fours and let us girls use them as stools. They really love us don't they? Well it was all fun and games until I decided to go crazy. I tried to jump over a TINY stream (key word- tried). It was like 2-3 feet wide. I get a running start and I leap over it. I forgot to mention both sides are covered in mud, meaning really slippery. As I take off, my back leg slips and I fall. Yep, I pulled a groin muscle. It hurt!! It even took a couple of weeks to heal. After that, the run was still fun, though I had to be careful and slow. Here is the before picture (missing Ryan and Amanda). (We went with an 80's theme - I totally had the best outfit. Everyone else had awesome socks though. :)

And the after. My favorite part of the picture? Well, First, Michelle and Emily. I don't know what they were doing, but it looks like Emily is telling Michelle "Hey, you got a little something on your face." Then, I love Cameron and Tyler. It is like they are admiring each other, and grinning. Awesome. Thanks Family for a great adventure - I am game for next year!