Happy Birthday, Creed!

Yep, our little boy turned two! Creed had a good birthday and received lots of "boy toys". He was overly excited to blow out his birthday cake candle as well. Check it out...



So we tried again...



He's a wonderful boy and we're so blessed to have him!

Has it already been one month?

I can't believe Cadence is already one month old! It seems like I was just in the hospital holding her for the first time. She sure has grown though. She recognizes her families voices and loves to be talked to. Her neck has gotten strong and she lifts her head. And this week we've finally figured out how to get her to sleep on her own. She loves to be reclined so she sleeps in her carseat. Last night she slept for 6 hours in a row and a few nights ago she slept for 5 hours. That's been great. She loves her tummy too which is nice during the day. Once in awhile she'll take her thumb which has been cute. The girls love her and Creed has finally learned her name. Some other popular names he was calling her were Jovie and Heidi. I don't know where he got Heidi, maybe because she was with me when people would say my name. She's been pretty healthy overall considering the sicknesses that have been going around. She's gone to 3 parties, to Sacrament Meeting twice, and numerous outings. We've had fun dressing her up and taking pictures of her. She is a good girl and we love her so much.
Only a few days old

Our little thumb sucker

Photo Shoot during Thanksgiving. Katie's such a great photographer!


"Tinkerbell" (Build-a-Bear costume)

One Month Old

Cadence Da Rappa

No one was harmed in the making of this video... Enjoy!

Speaking of Elena...

She has also started playing the piano. Her enthusiasm is fantastic; she's practicing every day. Rachel has also started, but she's quite busy with school. Here is a mini-recital of Elena's:

Look what Elena can do!

Elena decided that she would take off her training wheels this week! Ben tried a couple of months ago to get her to ride her bike without them, but it was just a bit too early. Since Ben took this week off from work to be with the new baby and the rest of the family, Elena picked a perfect time. After only two days, look at what she can do:



Congrats, Elena! Well done.

Cadence comes home...

Quick recap of the last couple days: Heidi made a quick recovery. Cadence is about the most mellow baby ever. We brought them home today! The other kids are so excited! All's well in the Boyer home. :)

Cadence Grace is Here!

Yep... It's a girl! The bundle arrived this morning at 8:25 am. Cadence weighed in at 7 pounds 4 ounces and 19 inches and was sucking her thumb within the first hour. She's calm, a great eater and BEAUTIFUL! The other kids have all been a bit sick this week, but came over for a few minutes to see Cadence. Heidi lost a lot of blood with the surgery and was zonked out a bunch of the day... but was on her feet this evening making laps around the mother-baby unit. More pics and stories to follow, but here's a start:



Isn't life grand?!

Five More Days!!

Well, I guess it's my turn to actually write something. Ben is usually the one who will post and put pictures up on the blog because if I can't get everything perfect, I can't post at all. So we've had sick kids this week. Rachel got sick on Wednesday, went to school Thursday and then stayed home again on Friday. Saturday, the girls had their Primary Program Practice and Pizza Party to get ready for today. They were both really excited to do the program but then in the middle of the night Saturday night, Elena came down hacking and not breathing well. She caught whatever cold Rachel had. Creed did the same thing tonight. I guess I should count my blessings that they are all getting it out of their systems before Friday.

Yep...Friday is the day! We are going to the hospital at 5:30 AM and I'm getting prepped for my c-section which is scheduled for 7:30 AM. These last 2 weeks have been SOOOO Slow! We are all excited to have this new one coming into our lives in the next few days. Most of our family have put in their guesses of what we are having, how much it will weigh, and what the length will be. Some were hoping that the winner would get to choose the name but after a few of the names they suggested, we told them the prize will definitely not be the naming of the baby. If any of you want to put your guesses in, we'll add them to the list.

My sister-in-law came to Utah from Tennessee this last weekend and we got to spend some time with her. It was great seeing her and chatting. She and I got to spend the afternoon and evening together shopping at Deseret Book, eating ice cream, and doing crafts at my "Fantastic Friday". The kids had a great time with her and Creed even chose to have her put him down to bed...and he went right to sleep for her. You can come back anytime Mel!

We started giving the girls quarters for extra jobs or things they do during the week. Rachel found a glass doll at the DI for $4.00 and loved it. I told her she'd have to earn money to get it herself. I bought it and it's been sitting on my dresser for almost a month. Rachel finally got enough spending money to pay for it!

What a game!

BYU tried to give it away... but what a great finish! Watch:

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Pumkins and Halloween!

The kids all had a blast for Halloween. Ben's feeling old because Halloween seemed a bit anticlimatic, but the kids got lots of cavity causers so it must have been a success. The girls also had fun carving pumpkins. Rachel designed her own pumpkin face while Elena (with a lot of help from Heidi) did a mummy. Here's a bunch of pics...

Our Busy Weekend

Friday: Crazy hair day at Adams elementary. Rachel's hair was by far one of the coolest!

We picked up Katie, Adam and Jovie and were off to Fayette. We stopped in Lehi to pick up Lily (Heidi's brother Ben's baby) and were introduced to "Poo-gloos"... Sewer drainage system cleansers. Bart and Ben Brown have been putting them together. Pretty interesting. They look like black igloos (thus the name).

After arriving in Fayette, we ran over to the Pumpkin Patch in Gunnison to see the wide variety of pumpkins and squash and (the real reason) take a bunch of pictures of the kids in their costumes. Here are Rachel, Elena, Creed, Jovie and Lily:



Friday night was the birthday dinner for Heidi, Adam, Sara and Amy (although Amy was unable to come... Happy B-day!). As always, Sunnie cooked up some yummy food... Shishkabobs- very tasty. We talked, ate and then Katie, Adam and Ben played a friendly game of "cards" till well after 1am. Good times!

Saturday: Heidi, Sunnie, and Katie left at the crack of dawn for the big Scrapbooking Convention in Salina. 9 hours of crafts and sitting. They had a great time, although it didn't sound to appealing to the rest of us.



Ben left the kids with "Little Aunt Sara" and went to the BYU game with his brother Jason. The game was great and came down to the last play:

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Ben then hung out at Brett's house till the rest of the crew arrived around 7:30 to pick him up. The drive home, with a new mattress for Elena on top of the van, was fairly uneventful, although we didn't get home till after 11pm. Traveling can be slow with four kids and a pregnant lady!

Sunday: We enjoyed a nice Sabbath at our new ward. This was our second time there and it seems to be a really good ward. We met with the Bishopric after church, so callings are soon to follow soon.

Creed fell and cracked his nose this afternoon. Poor guy probably could have used a stitch or two, but this bandaid seemed to hold him together for the time being.



Tonight was fun... We traveled to Garland, Utah (about 30 min from Logan) to visit Mac and Tiff Dameron. Mac and Tiff were some of the first friends we made after getting married and moving to Provo. We are excited to be closer to them again as both Rachel and Elena have new friends their same age.

It's sure to be another busy week!

Settling In

We finally made it to our new ward! After Conference and a trip to Fayette last weekend, we went to our own ward today. It starts at 9am, which is good, except that Priesthood, RS and Primary is first. By the time we got to Sacrament mtg, Creed was DONE! Thoughtfully, we had packed plenty of snacks and he managed not to disrupt the whole building. The girls enjoyed their classes; Creed did well in nursery too, although he told the teachers his name was Sam. We're not sure where that came from. Heidi and Ben went to the marriage and family class, which was fun. Our ward's high councilman spoke, but his companion speaker didn't show. It "just so happened" that the stake president had come to listen to the high council member speak, so he took the remaining ten minutes. He's a funny guy and poked fun at the bishop for getting him to speak.

Ben started his job! His first day was Thursday and he was kind of thrown into the fire. The executive director and medical director were both in meetings all day, so he was just handed patient charts as they came into the clinic. Other than his own upset stomach (nerves, you know), the day went all right. Friday was much better as everyone was very supportive and happy to have him there.

We've discovered a fantastic kid's park, Ryan's Place Park, in River Heights, just south of Logan. Ryan was a two-year-old boy that drowned a couple of years ago. In his memory, the community came together and built this amazing park. The kids have been there twice so far and have loved it. Here's a few pics of the kids-






All-in-all, we're adjusting well. We're still waiting for our house in Oregon to sell, although the showings have picked up a bit after we lowered the price. We did receive one offer, a lease option that didn't sound all that great, but at least it was an offer!

We've arrived!

We made it to Utah! Thankfully, it was a fairly uneventful trip, except for a very human friendly squirrel.


The kids were amazing on the drive. Creed especially enjoyed riding in the front of the truck. He could finally see over the dash!
We were excited to arrive in Logan. 7 family members and 5 elders from the new ward were all here waiting for us (we arrived a little later than expected). In spite of the late arrival, we unloaded the truck in less than an hour and were ready to listen to the kickoff of the BYU vs USU game.
We spent Sunday in Cokeville, watching conference. Good times with family... that's really what this move was all about.
We love our friends in Oregon, but are excited to be here closer to family. Pictures of the new place are forthcoming!

2 weeks left...

It's sad, but true! We're leaving for Utah in 2 weeks! Ben passed his certification exam, leaving the house selling as our final hurdle. At this point, though, we're going whether the house sells or not. Ben starts his new job on October 16th in Logan.

Leaving Oregon will be strange and sad, but we're so excited to get closer to family (sorry Diana!). We love the Northwest and would definitely consider returning. Who knows...

Beaverton "Oldtown" Parade

Saturday (the same day BYU beat UCLA 59-0- Whoohoo!!), we took the kids to the Beaverton "Oldtown" Parade. We're not sure of the reason for the big celebration other than a chance to extend the summer fun into the school year. The parade was a blast: lasting longer than an hour and providing enough candy for us to hand out at Halloween this year. The grand marshalls of the parade were the Roloff family (the stars of "Little People, Big World"). They live about 20 minutes from our house, although we've never watched the show.

Here are a few pics of the fun day.

Elena's 1st day of Pre-School

Not to be outdone, Elena also required first day of pre-school pics. She was in pre-school last year, but, no matter, it is a new year! She was pretty cute in her first day outfit. She goes twice a week for 2 1/2 hours. Good times!

Rachel lost her first tooth!!

Rachel has been wiggling her tooth since the end of her Kindergarten school year. Lately though, she has been giving it a lot more attention.



After letting us all take turns wiggling it...



...and after biting into an apple during her second day of school...



...she finally pulled it out on her own!! She was so excited and told everyone she saw that she lost her first tooth!! She looks pretty cute with the gap in the bottom of her mouth, and she talks cute too. Her other bottom tooth is loose now so we'll be able to listen to her little lisp pretty soon!

1st day of 1st!

First day of school! First day of school!
Rachel started 1st grade today! She looked pretty cute in her new clothes, which, of course, had been neatly placed out the night before. Mrs. Jackson is her teacher and Rachel already loves her. Rachel even gets to take her lunches in her new lunch box.

Also of note, Rachel is about to lose her first tooth! Each of the kids gets to wiggle it a bit every day. Should be fun to see her toothless!

"Laborious" Camping over Labor Day Weekend

Whew! It was a quick trip, but taking 5 kids and 1 pregnant lady camping is quite an adventure! The Riley girls, Paige and Taylor, joined us for an overnighter along the Wilson River. We went on a hike, threw rocks in the river, ate lots of good food and had a pretty good time.

Sleeping was another issue. First Creed took forever to fall asleep, then Elena threw up (twice!), Rachel got scared, etc, etc. I'll add a video soon describing the event.

It was fun, though, to get out and enjoy Oregon before Rachel started school.

Rachel Turns 6!!

Today is Rachel's 6th birthday! She's already been spoiled by breakfast in bed, presents and a trip to pick out a new CTR ring (one that won't turn her finger green).
Here are a few quick pics of her day.

Boyer Reunion: Days 5 & 6

A quick note: Scroll down the page and start with Days 1 & 2... if you like things in chronological order, that is. Videos to come soon...

A staple activity, mandated by mom, of course, is taking family pics. Ben and Brock took turns shooting over 300 pics in the space of a couple hours. Thank heaven for digital! It's sure fun to see how much everyone is growing and changing. Here is a pinch of those 300:



These may or may not be the best of the pics, but I was in a hurry. For the rest of the pics and to make your own prints, go to our Costco web site. Call us if you don't already have the log-in info.

After the photo shoot, it was time for a different kind of shoot... Skeet, baby! As a group, we shot over 300 rounds of shotgun shells, at least 300 rounds of 22 shells and I'm not sure how many we shot with Travis' 9mm, but it was being shot the whole time too. Good times...

Taco salads from Melody were the next menu item... very tasty. We spent the afternoon finishing up the tournaments with Ben winning Pool and Ping-Pong and Mariah victorious in Air Hockey.

Not to be forgotten, both Friday and Saturdays were made a bit more interesting as the power went out for a few hours both nights. No matter, we pulled out the lanterns and played games. Jon and Ben even finished the pool tourney by the light of a couple flashlights!

Saturday night was also the combined birthday party for Jessica (15), Nathan (7) and Rachel (6). They were spoiled pretty good with presents and cake.



Definitely a highlight of the week... Travis and Diana got engaged on Saturday night! Congrats to both of you, even if Dad nearly passed out from the shock.

Sunday was, as usual, very relaxed and special (except for the everyone leaving part). Buck and Aubrey blessed little Mikayla and we all enjoyed a fabulous feast at the park.

It was a fantastic week! Other activities indluded plenty of Wii, cards, trampoline, movies, and plenty of talking and eating. We're sorry it's over, but what great memories. (that was a bit cheesy...) Anyway, enjoy the pics and soon to come videos. Call or write if you need copies of anything!

Family Reunion: Days 3 & 4

Bring on the Scavenger Hunt! Four teams all had a blast cruising all over Cokeville while the team of toddlers played with the babysitters and posed for their own pics. We went in search of 1) Water from the waterfall, 2) pics of the Wyoming/Idaho Borders, 3) An item from the visitor's center, 4) A pic on the park playground, 5) Making an airplane and flying it at the "airport", 6) A pic of wildlife from the wildlife reserve (most of us used flies), 7) Draw a chalk picture at the motel, and 8) Catch grasshoppers at the shooting range. Here's the pics from Team 2:



Team 4 won, but everyone had a good time... and drove very fast.

The afternoon was a "Pamper Party" for all the girls and Travis (who bought his way in by rubbing all their hands). The boys watched the kids and took turns taking naps. That watching kids thing is tiring!



That night we had Hawaiian haystacks from the Ben and Heidi Boyers and played pool and air hockey well into the night.

Day 4 brought the river run! I don't have many pics of it, but it was a great time. 20 people jumping in the water, having water fights with other boats, jumping off cliffs and weathering a huge rainstorm were some of the highlights. Again, everyone was pretty tired that night, but we had enough strength to eat BBQ salmon and halibut!

Boyer Reunion: Day 1 & 2

Whoo-hooo! After much planning, waiting and anticipation, the reunion was here! We arrived throughout the day on Tuesday and the party was on. The Hideout was ready... and the new room was amazing! It was definitely the gathering point for the whole week. We enjoyed enchiladas from Sarah and started the first of many games and conversations.
Travis surprised most (especially Diana) by arriving Wednesday morning. He drove all night from Seattle... a sign of good things to come. Then it was off to Bear Lake! We swam, played frisbee, ate good food and played on waverunners. Good times... and everyone was pretty tired by that night.

Creed's Reading?!

He's at least sitting down for more than a few seconds! Watch...

Change of Plans

Well, as some of you know, we are getting ready to move back to Utah for Ben's new job. The expected move date was August 4th for the kids and I, and then Ben was going to pack the moving truck at the end of August and follow us down to start his job as a Nurse Practitioner in Logan. We've had a couple delays though, so we are pushing our move date back until about mid-October. Hopefully by then, we'll have sold our house, found something else in Logan, and will be ready for the big change. We're glad to be able to have a few more months up here in Oregon. We love it out here. The biggest thing pulling us back to Utah is family, which we miss way too much to stay here. If anyone knows of someone looking for a house to buy, we live in a great place, in a great ward. We do get to go back for a family reunion next week though. We're excited to see all of Ben's family and spend some time with them.

Summer '08... So far.

Twinkle, Twinkle

Ben and I have had some fun with our kids after having a busy vacation and an even busier time getting our house ready to put on the market. When we got home from Utah, we went to the Bruno's house to pick up a surprise for the kids. A new kitty! They were so excited to get a baby kitty and she has been a good sport with them always wanting to hold her. She's pretty cute. Her name was Tiger but that was before the Bruno's found out she was a girl, so we changed it to Tiger Lilly. The girls call her Tilly for short. It's been fun having a little kitty again in the house. Thanks Heidi, Emily, and the rest of the Bruno fam for saving her for us! We love her!

Creed has been learning and growing a lot, especially in the last month. He mimics everything anybody says so there seems to always be an echo in the room. It's so much fun to see him communicating and talking with us and the girls. He's such a happy baby, almost all of the time. He loves to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and even performed it on camera. The video is kind of long because we videoed both Tiger Lilly and Creed at the same time and don't know how to edit from our Video Camera yet.

Mexico/Utah Vacation

We're home at last! We had a great time in Mexico and Utah, but we were ready to come home to Oregon. The slideshow has a bunch of our favorite pics from the trip (assuming Ben figures out how to put a slideshow in the blog!)
Will write more soon...

Ben turned 30 on the 30th!!

Ben's golden birthday was this year on March 30th! I had all these plans of making it the best one ever but as always, I was a procrastinator. I gave him 30 reasons why I love him. That was a lot of fun! I was also finally able to surprise him! Shock him actually. He had no idea what I was planning on getting him for his birthday so when he got home and opened his new flat screen TV, he didn't say anything for awhile. I thought maybe he didn't like it, but he was just really surprised that I got it all by myself. (Well, I did have his our friend, Jeremy, help me research the TV's. I have no idea when it comes to electonics). Anyway, he loves his TV and I'm glad I was finally able to get him something without him having to pick it out by himself.

We had his birthday dinner on Sunday and invited the Riley's over to share some Chocolate Cream Pie, Ben's 'cake' of choice.

The girls sang the version "Happy Birthday to you. You're a hundred and two. You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too!" Ben's face tells you what he thought about that.

Anyway, I'm still learning how to do this stuff. If I bore you for awhile, sorry.

New Blog

So after looking at everyone elses blogs, we thought we should start one ourselves. Hopefully we can keep it updated. Tomorrow is Ben's last class of the quarter. He has one more quarter to go before he graduates with his Masters in Nursing. Then comes our next big crossroads.