December Joy

December was incredible! While we all had tons to get done, we enjoyed several fun things along the way. Audrey's class made gingerbread houses and I got to bring some icing and supervise the building of the houses. The houses are adorable, and Audrey loved it.

December was also a short dance recital for Audrey. She danced to "Chestnuts roasting on a open fire" and showed us their warm-ups and a few movements across the floor. She danced beautifully and it was fun to be part of her experience.

We got to visit Santa and put in our requests early this year.

As a family, we visiting the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Musuem. Here we are playing as a family around the water table. We always love it here, but Carson was especially excited to show it to dad again.

Christmas Eve:

We acted out the nativity it was adorable seeing the kids participate in the story. Later that evening we made chocolate chip cookies so that we could leave some for santa. The kids helped Chad write a note to Santa discussing coal and whether or not they would get coal or toys. We had a magical evening.

Christmas Day:

Audrey had a hard time sleeping through the night and she woke up at 5:00 am. She patiently waited in her room until the designated time to come out. We had grandma and grandpa come spend the morning with us. We did our stockings first, then opened presents. Favorite toys were:

Kate's new table and chair set,

Carson's dino cave,

and Audrey's Easy Bake.

Later, we had Brett's family join us for Christmas dinner. The food was great and we had a blast. What a wonderful day!

Around and About in November

We are still doing adventures often. Here are the kids at the Aquarium. We got to see them feed the sharks (a first for us), and we all enjoyed hearing that they will open a new wing in January. They already have almost all of the animals. Here the kids are at the coral reef play area which is always their favorite!

Carson was in preschool sports Basketball in November. He loved playing around and running. He is still working on the dribbling and shooting. It is fun to watch him have a good time.

We enjoyed the zoo free day in November - it was such a nice day that it was perfect. We saw lots of animals and enjoyed lunch there. We were joined by Julie and Jen and their kids. How fun to have friends and fun things to do.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was at Chad's parents house. It was such a lovely dinner, and we really enjoyed catching up with everyone. It was like old times, with a family flying in and everyone spending a couple nights all in the same house. With all the grandkids (I believe 13!), I am surprised we didn't go crazy, but it was actually just wonderful. We took family pictures, and here is a candid of some of the kids before the portraits were taken.

The day after Thanksgiving, our family was joined by Brad, BJ and Max at a skiing trip at Alta. It was very fun to ski with the kids. Audrey remembered how to do it quickly and did quite well. Carson got a little nervous, but he really enjoyed hot chocolate and chocolate cookies at the lodge. He says that he is willing to go again this Saturday! Here are Carson and Audrey at the lodge playing around.

Saturday after Thanksgiving, Audrey and her friend Rylee got to see High School Musical 3, AT LAST! We all went and had fun. When we returned home, it was fun to see our Christmas lights turned on and our tree shining.

On the last day of November, we went to temple square and saw the lights and visited the nativity. It was really nice to get such a beautiful start to the Christmas season. Now we have the spirit of Christmas. What a fun time of year.

Squeezing All the Juice out of October

Well, we have had beautiful weather and it has been a lot of fun enjoying fall. We have given Kate the nick-name "Cuddly" and she really is adorable right now. It is funny to hear even Carson's friend call her "Kate Cuddly". What a little sweet-heart.

Chad ran the St George Marathon this year and he did terrific. The day was actually rainy, but he had a PR (personal record) and was all smiles after the marathon. He even claimed that he wasn't hurting. (Hmmm, that was never the case for me, did he really run it?) We are proud of you, Chad.

After the marathon, we all took a trip to the Dixie Rock. This was our first time climbing on the rocks, even though it has been an family tradition in Chad's family for years. Here I am with the kids at the top of the word "Dixie". We really enjoyed climbing around and exploring the cool wind carved rock formations.

This month was a month of field trips for Carson's preschool class. Here we are at the corn maze we visited. We also went to the fire station (twice since the first time they had to leave for a call) and had the Halloween party. It has been especially fun for me this year because Kate and I have joined his class on all their field trips. I have had a satisfying time being able to go on the field trips with him.

We went to the witch festival during UEA break. We brought along two of Audrey's friends and they loved posing with the cool witches. As much as the kids loved spotting the witches, everyone's FAVORITE part was eating fudge! During UEA break, we also visited Aunt Jen and Julie at an Orem park for a few hours on a beautiful day. On Monday of the break, Audrey insisted that we take her to the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum, since she had missed out while she was in school in September. Here are all the kids getting a Dino Ride.

Our family took a fall hike up Little Cottonwood Canyon by Alta Ski Resort. It led to Catherine Pass and Lake Catherine in the Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a nice hike, and the beautiful snowy lake was very rewarding to see. We were climbing on South facing slopes, so not much snow for us, but the view looked very wintry.

This was the last month for Fall Soccer, and here is Audrey getting her trophy from her dad, the coach. We are very proud of these girls. They are first graders playing mostly second grade teams, but still they were very competitive. We can't wait until next year!
Let the Halloween festivities begin! Here are all the grand kids at Grandma's pumpkin party! Every one was so cute in costume. We were all so excited to go. The kids look forward to this annual tradition more than any other. Of course, there were fun games, treats and toys. FUN! Here is Kate with two of her cousins who were also princesses. Kate followed her cousin Romy around all night. Every where Romy went, Kate was right with her. I think she thought the princesses should be together. How cute for her to start getting to know her cousin.

The week of Halloween, the kids had other fun things to do. Audrey got to wear her costume to dance, the younger two wore costumes to story time, and both Carson and Audrey had class parties which I was able to help out with. It was fun to see the parades and play games.

Finally, it is Halloween night. Audrey is Gabriella from High School Musical, Carson is Batman, and Kate is Cinderella. We have had a paper chain to help count the days. I was being begged to make it for a week or two and finally 50 days before Halloween, I put one up. One agonizing day after another passed until it was finally Halloween! Halloween night we trick-or-treated in our neighborhood, getting spooked out by several houses' decorations. After getting much too big of a haul, we came home and called it a night. Then, its only 365 days until the next Halloween. (the chain is NOT going up until it gets down to the 50's again!)

What a fun and magical time it is with these special kids and husband. We are so blessed.

Life is Really Good - - - Just the right pace.

Well, I have adjusted to our new fall schedule, and LOVE IT! I am enjoying the kids so much more. We have gone to parks and gone on bike rides daily, and I feel I have plenty of time to spend with them and still get my to-do's done. I am a happy mom. Having three kids sure was an adjustment for me, but I feel like I am finally hitting my stride.

This month starts the beginning of BYU football - and of course, we hiked to the Y on Labor Day. We invited Brad's family to come with us, and it was amazing weather - cool enough to enjoy the hike. We hit the top, going higher up the Y than we usually go, and the kids did great. Later we had a party when our group joined up with Brett's family and played some "Rock Band Hero" and partied. A little out of character, but a blast!

Audrey's birthday is at the beginning of September, and we enjoyed having a High School Musical Birthday Party. We made posters, strung streamers and balloons, played games and had food. It was very fun. Here she is blowing out her Gabriella birthday cake. She celebrated the day before her birthday so that she could have two special days. She is always thinking!

Carson started 4-year old preschool on the same day as Audrey's birthday party. He is VERY excited to go. He talks about it a lot, and he is ready to learn. He seems a lot more ready to sit and learn and participate. His class goes to a lot of field trips in the fall, and we already went to the Tracy Aviary and have several more lined up for October. While we were at the Aviary, "Get Gephardt" filmed his class and some moms including me. The segment he filmed will probably air on an upcoming Friday. We were answering the question of why geese fly in V's. What a fun trip.

Now that Audrey is in School all day, it is just Carson, Kate and I doing the fun mommy trips. Here we are on our first major one to the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum. The kids had a blast here, and it was fun to get away and do great things. I have found I have the time to many small things with them, daily, and it is so fun to get back to spending time all having fun together.

Both Carson and Audrey have been playing soccer this month. Carson has been playing in "Preschool Sports", a sports clinic for preschoolers at our SL County Recreation Facility. This is his first time playing soccer, even though he has done some other sports camps there. At home, he loses interest pretty quick in soccer, so it was a surprise to see him dominating the soccer floor and scoring goals! The day of this picture, he scored two for his team. He says he is ready to play on a team next spring. That makes both of his parents happy, since he definitely needs physical outlets to channel all of his aggressive energy.

Chad decided to coach Audrey's soccer team this year! We have four neighborhood girls, and we got hooked up with another group of girls in the next neighborhood over. So, we have a full team of first grade girls ready to play. These girls are pretty good and it is fun to watch them get so much better as the season progresses. We started off the season slow, lost the first 3 games, but now we are on a two game winning streak, Saturday's score was 7 - 0. What a fun thing for both Audrey and Chad. We have thoughts of trying to keep this team together and build on it in the next season. Hmmm, we'll see how things play out.

Well, what a great September! Life is Really Good.

The Dog Days of Summer

Wow! It is hard to believe Summer has slipped by. With school starting and fall sports, it is hard to remember summer. It was so nice to look back and remember our fun in the sun!

The kids love playing with cousins at Grandma's house - especially with this cool pirate pool. This evening we had a dinner together with all Chad's family, and then a little pool fun. The next morning was the annual Gutsman race, which the Iverson clan always has several racers to represent the family, and a supportive cheering squad. It was Chad's 23rd year doing the race!

Here I am finishing the Bair Gutsman. The Gutsman is a hiking race up to the top of Bair Canyon (yes, to the top of the Wasatch Front!), and then a 5 mile run on a dirt road to the finish line in Farmington Canyon. I had a great experience, and despite getting lost in the ferns for a few minutes, I finished with a PR - 2 hrs 43 min. What an awesome experience.

Here is Carson, hanging with some of his favorite friends - the dinosaurs at the Dinosaur Park of Ogden, UT. We had grandma join us on a trip back in time. Carson enjoyed running from dinosaur to dinosaur and finding his favorites. He likes "reading" the map and exploring. The background dinosaur sounds make this place extra exciting.

This summer, we have enjoyed doing fun things with my sister, Julie, and her kids. One of our big excursions we do together is visiting the Children's Museum at the Gateway. Kate is LOVING this ball activity. It is always crazy there trying to watch all the kids, and we are always relieved when we leave. But, the kids sure have FUN!

We have enjoyed doing playgroups with neighborhood moms all summer, and they have involved a lot of trips. Here we are at the Tracy Aviary. We thought the best part of the Aviary was their bird show. It was incredible to see those birds perform and be so close to them. Here Audrey is watching a large Vulture, just after it flew right over our heads and landed there.

We have promised the kids we would go to Boondocks for two summers. Two weeks ago, it was finally time to have some fun. The kids chose to ride the Motor-cross cars and to play miniature golf amongst all the fun structures you can see from the freeway. The cars were Carson's favorite by far, but it was also fun to see the golf course up close and feel the Volcano's heat!

Last Saturday, we had an Iverson get together. A pool party and picnic. After the picnic, the kids enjoyed exploring this stream and eventually walking in it and having a mud bath. Meanwhile, the adults enjoyed catching up and having fun as well.

We have mixed emotions about school starting. Audrey started first grade this year. I was really looking forward to a little more freedom in only having two kids at home during the day, and Audrey loves school and her friends. As the big day drew near, I started to get a little emotional about the changes. I have been with Audrey daily her whole life, and it is hard to adjust. Her first day she got on the bus fine and had a great day of school with lots to tell us when she got home. Meanwhile, Carson and Kate asked about her and I realized they didn't know she was already gone (they had slept in late). Later, I got her plate down for lunch, then realized for the first time she would not be eating lunch with us anymore, somehow that struck me as sad and world changing. Then later when we were doing our usual things, Kate turned around and said "Audrey?". I had to remind her that Audrey was at school now. And finally, we feel like we are sneaking around when we do fun things and she is not home to do them with us. I don't know how to feel less guilty. Wow! So much has changed. We love that cute girl.

Here is Carson at his Flag Football camp (Go Preschool sports!). Once again, he loves it and he has finally agreed to give team sports a try soon. What a cutie!

July is the best! Play, Play, Play.

July starts out with the Fourth of July. Chad and I always run the Blacksmith Fork Canyon 15K Freedom Run, which ends at Hyrum, UT (by Logan). This always makes for an early start for the day. We both had good races, and it was fun to run it with Chad's sister, Carrie, and Mom. We had a little fan group at the end. Chad's sister Nicole and her husband Andy watched our kids (thanks Weeze!), and met us at the end, along with Chad's dad and Carrie's husband and kids. Very fun race. We stayed for a pancake breakfast then hit the road for more adventures. We went to a Carnival in Riverton, and stayed for several hours, thoroughly wearing out the parents. Then we had a BBQ, and did fireworks later that night. Chad and I have been joking that we need to Go, Go, Go all summer to fit all the play in. Each weekend, that is truly what it feels like!

The next weekend, Chad and I did an early hike up to Upper Red Pine Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon, then the whole family went to Liberty Park. We had a picnic and splashed in the water. Then we explored the park, stopping at the 7 canyons waterfall (awesome), and the duck pond, and the carnival rides. Once again, parents were very tired after a full day.

The third weekend in July brought another long hike for Chad and I up Bair Canyon in training for the Bair Gutsman. Chad's sister Carrie came with us. Chad's mother watched the kids, and took them to a ward bike parade, breakfast and water party until we got back. Then we went to Lagoon for the day. What a great day that was!! The kids ran to rides ALL DAY. Kate walked (we didn't bring a stroller), and at the end of the day she took off running (I personally could barely move). We COULDN'T wear these kids out. We did lots of kids rides, Audrey rode all but the biggest rides (The Spider was a little too much for her, but she loved Colossus, Wild Mouse, the White Rollercoaster and everything else), Carson was able to ride The Bat for the first time, and he loved it. We also spent an hour or two in Lagoona Beach. For the third week in a row, the parents were very tired at the end of the day!

Last week, my mom and dad came to visit from Texas! We call them Nanna and Poppa. We enjoyed playing daily with them. It is so fun to see the kids get excited to see Nanna and Poppa. My dad has a way with little kids and soon had them reading books and talking with him. Here they are at our house after a dinner and during Family Home Evening. On Tuesday, a couple car loads of us went up to Pocatello, ID to visit my Grandpa King. It was awesome for my dad to see his dad. We had great visits and the kids love playing in the big backyard, sneaking raspberries and climbing the apple trees. It is always fun to visit them. Here is Audrey sitting in the lap of Great Grandpa King. My parents made the trip to Utah because my older sister, Jen, was about to have her first baby. Sure enough, she delivered a healthy baby boy early Tuesday morning, July 22. It is so fun to see the excitement of Jen and especially Jim over their new baby. Here is Jen, during a BBQ she hosted at her house the day she got out of the hospital, on the 24th of July.

On Wednesday, a group of us made the trip to Kennecott Copper Mine to take their tour. I always enjoy that sort of thing (it reminds me that I used to be a Chemical Engineer, even though now I am just a Toxic Engineer of diaper changes). My dad, also an engineer was interested as well. Here are Carson and his Cousin Caleb inspecting the huge copper mine.

We have been doing swimming lessons for the last three weeks, and here are the kids getting in the pool on the last day of lessons. They all did great. Kate and I did a mom and me class, and it was so fun to sing and play games with her. She loves to sing, and "Wheels on the Bus" in the water has become one of her favorites. Carson learned to swim under water in his class, and on the last day spent as much time under water as on top, much to the annoyance of his teacher! Audrey can swim like a fish now, it is so fun to see her progress so well. Swimming lessons are great!

Finally, on the last Saturday in July, we took a family hike to Lake Mary in the Big Cottonwood Canyon. The area up near these lakes is so beautiful!!! We just loved the scenery and the kids loved playing around on this big rock next to Lake Mary. What a fabulous world we live in. We are so fortunate to be healthy and able to enjoy it.

Play, Play, Play!