Happy 10th Birthday AJ!!

 AJ recently played basketball and really enjoyed it so his cake was a basketball jersey.

 AJ finally accepted that he really enjoyed Zumba.  So he decided to have his cool mom throw him a Zumba party.  It really felt like a real dance party.  We had tons of kids there and they all really got into it.  I had several say it was the funnest party they have ever been to.  I can't believe my oldest is already a decade old!!

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween.  Ethan was Jenga Fet from Star Wars.  Jocelyn was a kitty cat.  AJ was a mad scientist.  The kids had a half day of school this year so we enjoyed school parties in the morning and then went to the businesses for trick or treating with friends.  We then went to the church trunk or treat.  

Jocelyn lost her first tooth!

Jocelyn lost her first tooth on October 22nd.  It was hanging by a thread and she agreed to let mom pull it out.  This was her reaction after it was out.  She lost her second tooth about two weeks later.  It was pretty loose and we were walking to our car after the boy's basketball game.  She was pushing a car down the sidewalk and walking at the same time and she crashed onto her face.  Her tooth began bleeding and was barely hanging on.  So once again Mom pulled it out and Jocelyn was traumatized.

Ethan's Baptism

Ethan was Baptized on September 29th.  We had a lot of family support and it was a nice weekend.  We took the Peterson family four-wheeling and shooting on Friday night.  Then on Saturday I was teaching Zumba so Jessica, Evette, and Lisa went with me.  It was super fun to have them come to my class.  The others went to shoot off rockets.  We then had a family luncheon at the Stake Center before the baptism.  We had friends and family come to the baptism and we had refreshments afterwards.  That night we watched a movie in our home theater.  Ethan is a very special boy and it was a special day to see him baptized.

Our California Vacation

 We spent a day at the beach!!  The kids loved jumping in the waves and discovering all the sea life.

 We spent two days in Disney Land.

 Pluto was Jocelyn's favorite and we just HAD to get his signature!!

 CARS Land was AMAZING!!!  We spent one day in California Adventure and Cars Land was the place to be!!  The whole area was set up just like Radiator Springs from the movie.  The only ride that was really worth the wait was Radiator Spring's Racers.  We rode in one of the cars from the movie through the hills and then had a race with another car.

Mater was awesome!!

 The boys have wanted to go to Legoland forever!! So we spent one day there.  All of the lego creations were amazing!!  

Jocelyn and Ethan had a blast playing in their splash area.

Happy 8th Birthday Ethan!!

 I made Ethan a "Creeper" cake for his birthday.  I guess it's some kind of character off of Mine Craft.

 We had a fun party at the Rec Center.  We ate cake and opened presents and then went swimming!!

First Day of School

 The night before school started AJ set out all of his new clothes and decided what he was going to wear on what day of the week.  AJ has really developed his own unique style recently.  

 Ready to walk to school.

Here are the boys dropping Jocelyn off for her first day.  Jocelyn really struggled the first week of school. She cried every day that first week.  She also wouldn't eat her lunch at school. The way that our school organized the first week of Kindergarten was that the kids saw all four teachers.  Each day was a new teacher with the same group of kids.  Jocelyn really struggled with the newness of everything every single day...it was like the first day of school for an entire week!  Then on Friday the kids were assigned a teacher.  I was so grateful when Friday finally came hoping that Jocelyn would feel a sense of security knowing who her teacher would be and where her classroom would be.   We got to her classroom and she noticed that the kids were not the same kids she had been with all week.  She began crying and was upset when I had to leave her.  By the end of the second week she was secure and had made new friends.  Now she is doing really well in Kindergarten.  We have all day kindergarten here so she walks to and from school with her brothers.  She is in the top reading group and is doing really well.  I began subbing this year since all my kids were in school.  It has been an interesting learning experience so far but I am enjoying being able to work and I love working at my kids school when the opportunity arises.  

Lake Powell

We were so lucky to go to Lake Powell this year with our good friends the Jensen's.  We stayed on a house boat with them and their friend's Dave and Lindsey Smith and their daughter Kaylee.  Lake Powell is so breath taking and relaxing.  We enjoyed wake boarding, knee boarding, swimming, cliff jumping, hiking, and spending time together.  AJ tried wake boarding again this year and did really well.  He learned how to get up and would even stay up for about a minute.  Ethan attempted wake boarding for the first time.  Jocelyn was amazing at knee boarding as were the boys.  Tayler came with us this year and we brought along Grandpa Bentley's boat.  Tayler really took to wake boarding this year and couldn't get enough.  The boys enjoyed fishing right off the houseboat and caught some big fish.

Lagoon

Lagoon was a ton of fun this year.  My sister's Tayler, Brittany, and Evette joined us this year.  We spent one day at Lagoon and one day at Lagoona Beach.  The kids really love this fun summer activity.

Bear Lake

We enjoyed a weekend at Bear Lake.  It was Austin's Birthday so Grandma planned a luau complete with a pinata.  It was rough getting going on Saturday morning when we wanted to go boating.  First the battery was dead so we had to go buy a new one.  After we launched we discovered that there was no wake board rope in the boat.  So Austin left to go buy one.  So the rest of us found a spot to go swimming.  We turned off the boat and when it was time to go it wouldn't start.  So we had to wait about an hour before it would start again.  Hours later we finally were able to wake board.  The water was rough so I didn't do so well wake boarding but was able to knee board.  The highlight of the day was that Jocelyn knee boarded for the first time!!  Jon was in the water with her to get her started.  We went pretty slow and she did great.  Her second go around she got up on her knees, but Austin was driving too slow so her board got flooded and fell off.  She was fine though and went for one more ride.  She was so proud of herself when she was finished and said she couldn't wait to tell Rachel and Tavia.

Ready, Set Jump!!

Jon took the kids down to the river one afternoon.  When they got home Jocelyn was so excited to tell me she had jumped off the bridge!!  I got pictures of the next time she jumped!!

Mr. Cool

We went school shopping while we were in Utah.  AJ picked out this pink shirt, skinny jeans, and wide rimmed hat.  His Aunt Jessica wanted him to model his outfit.

Seven Peaks

We spent one day at Seven Peaks.  It was a blast!!  The kids were really brave and were willing to try most of the slides.  Jocelyn did everything she was tall enough for.

Baby Goats

We were able to visit Nate's goats and horses.  Jocelyn was in heaven holding all the baby goats.  She even took a stroll on the horse.

Fourth of July

 We headed to Granite for fireworks on the 3rd.  The most interesting part of this night was when Ethan got lost!!  It was dark and Ethan had been asking about getting a light up sword.  He asked mom if he could go see how much they cost and mom said no.  So he then asked Dad and he said sure.  So Ethan left to find out the price.  Well, the fireworks began and we all enjoyed the show not realizing that Ethan was not there.  After the show was done AJ asked where Ethan was.  Jon remembered that he had said he could go check out the price.  So we began looking for him and Evette went to the front stage to have them announce for Ethan to come to the stage.  We didn't fine him right away and began to get worried.  They announced Ethan's name several times and by then many members of the extended Bentley family were looking for Ethan.  Finally, Grandpa was directed to the lost and found area and found Ethan.  He held onto him and wouldn't let him go.  Ethan said that when the fireworks began a family noticed him and told him to sit with them.  When the show was halfway over the Dad of the family helped Ethan look for us.  They could not find us so he took him to the lost and found.  Ethan said they gave him a pencil and a water bottle and he waited inside a truck.  When I heard that Ethan was found I finally broke down crying.  We were very relieved to find Ethan and Jon was sorry for his poor parenting.  What really touched me was how worried my extended family was and how they were all looking for him and making phone calls.  It's nice to know you have so many people that love and care about you.

 On Saturday we headed to Bountiful for a parade.  Jon and I were driving separately because I was headed back to Draper that night and Jon was staying in Bountiful and then heading back to Wyoming for work.  Well, I had to turn off to get gas and Jon headed on to Bountiful.  Long story short, Jon did not meet up with  the Peterson family and had to watch the parade without us.

Saturday night we went to a Buzz game with the Petersons.  The kids had fun goofing off.  The highlight of the game were the fireworks afterwards.  We were able to go right onto the field and could feel the ashes falling on our faces.  It was a great show.

Jocelyn riding a 2 wheel bike!

Jon spent an afternoon teaching Jocelyn to ride her bike without training wheels.  She took to it really fast and was so proud of herself!

Dress-up Fun

These two girls love to dress up!!  Jocelyn was Peter Pan and Rachel was Tinkerbell.

Circus!

We went to the Shrine Circus in Rock Springs on June 26th.  Before the show started Jocelyn rode a pony and all three of them rode an elephant.  The circus was fun and the kids really enjoyed it.

ZumbAtomic with the Library Program

 Nanette and I were able to do ZumbAtomic for the Libraries Reading program.  He had a blast with the kids and I love the above picture with Mason soaring in the air.

Keith Young Memorial 5K

 Mom and Tayler were able to come to Green River for the weekend and ran the Keith Young Memorial 5K with me.  Tayler and I ran together and my only goal was to run the whole thing and to keep up with a 13 year old.  I haven't ran since the 5K I did on Thanksgiving.  I felt like I was pushing a little to stay with Tayler and she later told me that she felt like she was trying to keep up with me the whole time.  We finished in 32 minutes and change.  I was pretty happy with that since that was about what I was running when I was training for my half-marathon...probably a little better.  I was so sore the next day!!  It was incredibly painful to walk down stairs.

Group picture with Ciera, Nanette, Brandy, Myself, Kolette, Korbin, and Jade