First Day of School!

I only took pictures of the little boys since the girls were so busy getting "ready". I will try to post some next week.
Berkley! UGHHHHH! Big Kindergarten!

Talan our big 3rd grader!

Classic School Photos!

Talan and Berkley on their first day of school! Talan is starting 3rd grade and Berkley is in Kindergarten.
Talan and his friend Quinn!
Berkley getting off the bus! Yes, even at child #5, I cried my eyes out!
I wanted to hear all about their day! They think I am crazy!

The Troll Under The Bridge

Troll Ave.

Ryder got snatched up by the troll
Tayla, Berkley, and Abi on the top.
All the kids up on top. I was so freaked out. Surprised I even was able to take the picture.


This is the troll that lives under the bridge. Trever found it one day when he was at work with Talan and thought all the kids would enjoy it. Ryder was a little freaked out cause he thought it was real but then didnt want to get off :) It was a very fun day in the end.

Some More Fun Pictures :)

The Ma and Pa
The Children

Day in Seattle

All the kids!!!
The fam :)
Talan's creation with his sea things! Cute huh?
What an awesome view with the space needle and the family...Precious :)
Elli, Abi, and the Old Man.

Donuts are DELICIOUS!
Mom and Dadio...as Ryder calls him.
Basically the cutest girls ever!!
Ryder LOVED it there.
Ryder, Berkley, Talan, Elli by the water.

So for Labor Day weekend instead of going somewhere we decided to take the kids to Alki Beach! Trev and I had a blast there last weekend and thought the kids would enjoy it too!!! We all had so much fun :)

Roller Coaster Ride #1,297

Today I find myself doing something that I thought I would never do. That is, post without a photo of something or some event. I find myself on that rollercoaster of emotions that leave you feeling confused. So today, I thought I would write a little of what I might be feeling.

As I sit at the computer, the window in my office is to my left. The blinds are open and the sun is warming my arm. I can hear the kids in the cul-de-sac playing kickball and peek at them every so often. My house is silent, except for the noise of each key being pushed to form a word. I feel such a wave of gratitude. Grateful for the gift of being here on this earth. I can't find the right words to express what I feel. I just can't believe that I get to be here. Even though there are millions of people on the earth, I feel so blessed that He let ME come. I'm grateful for children. Even though they are so sick of me and ready to go back to school, I am so happy to be their mom. And frankly, I need them to go back to school. I hate to cook, I hate to fold laundry, I hate to shop. So, this combination makes it hard to always fulfill my duty as a mother in a somewhat orderly way. I wish I could hire a maid. And yet, in the same breathe, I find myself blessed that I have so much laundry. That means that we have plenty of clothes. The laundry on my couch means that I have a working washer and dryer. Yet, I hate that I won't fold them. The extra weight I need to lose means that we have plenty of food. This rollercoaster gets faster and faster some days!

I'm grateful for Trever. As we walk through the unknown at this time I feel safe with him by my side. I feel happy that he is next to me. In the same breathe, I feel sad that he has to be the leader on a path that hasn't been paved. I want to do it for him and yet I know that it is his to do. At the same moment, I can't believe that this is where we are. I feel guilty for worrying about this since I know of so many that are suffering in ways that I could never imagine.

I'm grateful for friends. I knew from a very young age how important friends would be, but I never could have guessed that they could impact my life to this degree. The strength that is exhibited is beyond my comprehension. I sometimes feel guilty that I draw on that strength and suck it from them.

I don't always know how to sort out all of my emotions and some of them reoccur so often that I can't find a place for them. The one that reoccurs the most that I never try to put away is the one about how happy I am to be on this earth. My human body doesn't always feel such joy, but my spirit is overwhelmed with joy! This feeling I love. I also try to always enjoy the love I feel from my husband, children, family, friends, and my Savior. I know this love is real.

Well, kind of odd for me to post something like this, I just had the thought and decided I would act on it. Thanks for anyone who actually reads it. True friends!

Weekend Getaway!

Yeah for us! We sent the kids down the street to grandma and grandpa Banker's house and had the weekend for us! We went on a hike to some waterfalls and talked some stranger into taking our photo! It has been such a fun two days! Friday night we went to Alki beach and walked along the beach and watched the people in West Seattle. That is great fun! We tried to find this mexican restaurant that we had eaten at before and we couldn't find it. We decided to try a new place which was a gourmet pizza joint. As soon as we walked in we started to laugh. It was the mexican restaurant that had gone out of business. Pretty weird! Saturday morning we did this hike, shopped for school supplies, and went to a movie! I'm crazy in love with my best friend and feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

Returning Champs!

Go Team! Trever played in the annual "Lace 'em Up" 3 on 3 basketball tournament this last weekend. Every year they draw names out of a hat for teams. His team won last year and he was on the winning team this year! He LOVES this tournament. Our friend, Jeff Lacey, started this tournament 13 years ago and it is still going! It is so much fun for the adults and the kids! They get to play a little ball too!

Talan getting ready to take a shot with Berkley "anticipating" his every move! YES! Count it!
Quinn (friend), Talan, and Ryder! They are getting ready for their turn to play some hoops!

I could like this!

So, I visited a friend's blog and it was so cute! It had that little add up in the left hand corner, so I decided to try it out! It was so fun! Thanks Jonette!

On another note, I'm not so good at posting videos apparently. It worked right after I did it and now there isn't a video to view. Crazy! I'll keep playing with it. This stuff takes time to learn. Be patient with me please as I figure this out!

This is for you Kevin!

The girls were blessed to have amazing Sunday School teachers. Kevin and Kristen Evans won the hearts of all the kids. Kevin was also gifted in his dancing skills. The kids and the Evans' shared their last night together bowling. The Evan's are moving to Dallas. SO SAD!!! So, here is the video of Kevin and his gifted dance moves!

4th Of July!

Talan, Elli, and Berkley with their cousin Hunter posing for the camera :)
Ryder doing something...were not quite sure what.
Elli, Berkely, Abi and Tayla all watching the fireworks.
Abi is in awe!

We decided to take a vacation to Yakima to watch Skyler play in his baseball tournament! It happened to be over the 4th of July weekend so we went to the local fair and watched the fire work show there! It was so much fun!! And an awesome way to spend time with eachother!

SUMMER FUN!!

Talan Learning to wakeboard
Ryder's first time wakeboarding!!
Talan is getting so good!
My boys!!!They had so much fun on the boat
Berkley getting some help from Aunt Deanna to get started!

All my boys had such a fun time at Moses Lake! They all got up on the wakeboard, some with a little help from Aunt Deanna, and were so excited to be just like there dad!! They were so cute learning.

EFY!!!!!

Tayla and her new friends, Sarah and Kayla!
Tayla and Skyler(her cousin) after they finished making a hat! They went to the same session and somehow got put in the same company! Crazy huh? Their counselors even paired them up without knowing.
This is Tayla with the cafeteria Grandma...Gerty! Gerty was in love with their group and they all signed her Book of Mormon!!

Efy was a wonderful experience for Tayla!! She loved every minute of it. Prior to leaving Tayla was just involved in the church slowly growing but now she is fully committed and learning to find ways to keep that commitment!

Girls Camp

This Tayla with her two friends Cady and Stephanie from our ward!
This is Abi and her best friend Paige!!


Tayla and Abi returned home from girls camp just a little while ago and had a blast. They said they were freezing there booties off the whole time!! Abi jokes that Tayla didn't need clothles cause she wore her blanket all week :) But it was a very great experience for the both of them and they both grew so much in the gospel!

I think she is pretty nervous! They just announced her name!
So official! It made me very nervous! My stomach was so sick!
After their victory!
Elli was one of the team captains so she was able to hold the trophy!

STATE CUP CHAMPIONS!

Our little Elli's soccer team won the State Cup Finals today! That is her holding the trophy! It was a great tournament and we are pretty proud of her and her team! GO SYNERGY!!!!

Thanksgiving Fun!

Here we are after the Turkey Bowl! Grandpa Banker, or Bishop Banker, made sure that the game ended in a tie. As you can see from Tayla's sweatshirt, there were some spots of mud!
Ryder, Talan, and Berkley enjoying their new pj's from Mrs. Claus!
Tayla, Abi, & Elli in their new jammies from Mrs. Claus!
The kids love this tradition of getting new jammies and a book from Mrs. Claus on Thanksgiving Eve! The only problem for mom is that I can hardly get them washed in time so they can wear them every night!