Crazy Days!

I feel like I've abandoned the blogging world! Here is a recap of us Llewelyns the past couple of months.

Alex moved home.....figured out that it takes a lot of money to pay rent, buy food, and still hang out.

Sean is a Junior at Orem High (the new building will be done in May). He quit his band, probably because he wanted to spend more time with his girlfriend!

Haili loves her social life now that she is a sixth grader. If she is not dancing, she is off with friends.

Emma decided that she wanted to try something new, so she has been playing soccer this month. She absolutely loves it and is not intimidated to get in and fight for the ball. They've only won 2 games and tied 1, but she had a ball learning the sport.

Scot is moving his business to Orem (YAY!). He needed a change of scenery since his friend and employee died a couple of months ago and our AF office was too large. The best part is that his new office is right above DanceKicks. We'll be neighbors and I can more easily help him out.

I am learning so many new things being the PTA president this year. I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone (a lot more work than I anticipated), but learning is good, right?

That's about it for us! No pictures to post, but you get the idea.

Strawberry

All summer long, we've been promising our girls that we would take them camping. We threw some camping gear into our car and headed to the mountains. Actually we ended up at Strawberry Reservoir. It was so beautiful!

Poptarts and peaches for breakfast...mmm

Scot's brother and sister came with cousins Taylor and Hayden.

Everything tastes sooo good mixed with dirt:)

Scot's other sister came up for the day with her family. The water was cold, so all the kids dared each other to jump in. Surprisingly, they all did it!

didn't catch any fish

The water was a little rough so we made the kids wear a BC or life jacket

The cold didn't stop Sean from diving in to hunt Crayfish

He caught one!

We headed home Sunday afternoon and had a crayfish boil at our house, then made S'mores in the fire pit.

Yummy!!!

Back to School & other randoms

This little (ha ha) guy is taking off for his first day as a Junior at Orem High. I still remember getting choked up when I dropped him off at age 3 for Pre school. Time sure has a way of passing way too fast.

Drive carefully!!!

Haili is not quite as thrilled about school as Emma is, but I think Haili just has to act the part of a "cool" 6th grader. She loves her teacher and enjoys the social aspect of school. Emma is just thrilled to be going back to school this year. She has a wonderful teacher (the best) and a classroom full of friends.

Ride carefully!!!

There they go....sniff sniff. All my babies gone for 6 hours a day.

This is interesting!

Can you say sushi?

Haili caught this fish in Provo river and was so excited about eating it, she nearly ate it raw.

St George with my exercising girls!

Footloose

Pedicures

Shopping

Eating

Card games

Laughing

Thanks girls, it was a blast!!!

Next year, Paris!!!

Bear Claw

Here we all are at our annual "Bear Claw" family reunion this year. Our service projects included cleaning up the carnival area by removing dead trees and branches, ripping out the old outdoor kitchen, repairing the kids zip-line, and working on the underground pipes.

We had such a relaxing time in the mountains playing games and enjoying each other.

(Families left to right)

Mark & Becky Jensen with Matt, Melissa, & Megan (Martin is on a Mission)

Garrett & Kristen Lindsay with Alissa, Ashli, Ciara, Jordan, Casey, Mathew, Preston, & Kyle

Grandpa & Grandma Llewelyn

Scot & Cori with Alex, Sean, Haili, & Emma

Mark & Cinda Parratt with Alex & Macyn (Jake at home - had to work)

Janna Llewelyn with boyfriend Brent

Bert Llewelyn with Taylor & Hayden

Spending some time at the hockey table


Scot explaining how they will tackle the next project

Janna, Cinda, and I took all the little kids on an adventure hike up the mountain. We even took baby Kyle who was riding in a front pack with me. He kicked and smiled as he looked around at everything. He's a natural born outdoors man!

Just chillin

Every year our kids put their talents to good use as they present skits for us in the evenings. They are so creative and we always look forward to what they will come up with next.

Emma acting as "Sebastian" and Macyn as "Ariel" with talk show host Ashli interviewing them.

Haili acting as a Princess on the talk show

We gave Aunt Donna a brand new chain saw and boy was she excited to try it out.

Playing "Mud" in the kitchen area

Uncle Bert teaching the kids how to gamble

Ciara just lost it all!

Sean teaching Haili how to drive the 4-wheeler.

She is a natural!

Alex taking Taylor for a little ride

Alex taking Hayden for a ride

Thank you, thank you Aunt Donna for letting us come to your amazing retreat! We also loved the precious artwork you gave us from Uncle David.

Till next year!

Softball gal

As my boys were growing up, we did the baseball, football, soccer, fencing, you name it kind of sports. Now that they are 16 and 18, I looked forward to ending my career as "sports mom" and entering into a new realm of "Dance mom".

That is until both my girls decided they'd been robbed of the chance to play sports.

We signed Haili up for softball this season thinking it could be fun. She came from NEVER throwing, catching, or hitting a ball before. Her determination and competitiveness made her a very valuable player this season in many ways. This girl can hit, catch, and throw!

She played 2nd most of the season, but these pics are when she played center and left field.

Her "lucky" socks helped them win!

Christensen Reunion

Our Christensen reunions are held every year at one of our favorite spots, Johnson Lodge. We get together and reminisce about our childhood and growing up in Idaho.

Those who attended this year are: Myself with family, Jeni and family, Dane and family, Kim, Elena and some family, Garren and family, Tyler and family, Sheldon and family, Corban and family. Of course we had Grandma Rhea, Dad & Roma, Dave & Norma, and a few of Roma's kids came up on Saturday.

Everyone was there except Quinn and family (new baby born). I love this family and the many memories we have shared and continue to make.

Flag ceremony

Sean with Tanner, Amanda, Natalie, and Kenneth

Hike through the woods

What a guy!

Scot and I celebrated our 18th anniversary yesterday!

Hard to believe we could start out as two teenagers, add 4 kids to the mix, go through the ups and downs of life, and still manage to stick together! The odds were never in our favor, but luckily we both took the gamble and our strong willed personalities had to prove to everyone that it CAN be done.

Here are reasons why I am married to the greatest guy:

1. He makes me laugh, not just little chuckles, the kind you laugh so hard you start coughing and choking!

2. He is brilliant! I always tease him that his head is full of useless knowledge. He seriously knows answers to ridiculous questions that no one else would even care about. Note: If you ever appear on a game show with a life-line, call Scot! He'll probably know it, especially if it's a strange question.

3. He is so supportive of my little escapades with girl friends and family. He volunteers to watch the kids, allowing me to have little weekend getaways without worry.

4. He spoils me by making it possible for me to have all my wants and needs met.

5. He works so hard, yet never lets it take him away from being with me and the kids. He has made career sacrifices to not have to travel away from home much.

6. He tucks our kids in bed every night.

7. He stays up to wait for the teenagers.

8. He loves and respects his siblings and parents. I've never seen him quarrel with any of them.

9. He is always up for family time. Whether it be hiking, biking, boating, traveling, picnics, movies, or anything else we feel like doing.

10. He plays with the kids. Frisbee, softball, tickle time, card games, are just of few of their favorite activities.

11. He cares about his looks and works out to keep a fit body. Love that!

12. He thinks I am the most beautiful girl in the world! (I don't correct him)

13. He knows that my favorite thing is a nice back rub and offers to give me one nearly every day.

14. He makes the most delicious whole grain, homemade waffles every Sunday!

15. He does a lot of the grocery shopping. I just give him my list and he even puts everything away when he gets home.

16. He helps anyone with anything. Always willing to help a neighbor or family member. He even stops on the freeway to give aid to a stranded car or help a family find their lost keys in the lake. We've received many Thank you cards from strangers that he has helped.

17. He is almost never not smiling!

18. He respects that we have differences.

19. He is so supportive of anything I choose to do. I mentioned to him a few months ago that the school was trying to get me to be the PTA pres for next year and he said, "Cascade needs you, you should do it". No hesitation! He went on to say that he'd step up and help so I wouldn't have too many stresses.

20. He is the best Dad & Husband. The kids and I are so grateful for everything he does to make our life better and better.

I love you Scot and happy anniversary!