Love the Wii

I just love the Wii! I don't play it that often, but when I do it sure is fun. My parents came for a visit right after Christmas and I got my Dad to play tennis with me. The best was him jammin out to Guitar Hero. What a good sport!

Fitzgibbons' Tree

Wow, we finally made it over to see the Fitzgibbons' wonderful Christmas offering! Way to go Ryan! I couldn't see one square inch of the tree that was not covered with lights. So beautiful.

Zac's Cool Creation and other cool things

This is one of the tracks Zachary made with the Magnetix iCoaster. The cool thing is it connects using magnets and you can connect your iPod and play music too it, plus sound effects. You'll notice the LEGOs in the background, the Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer is under contruction...

Another shot of it.

Ashley and Mackenzie hanging out in their new castle.


Ashley sporting some new "dress up" earrings.

Another shot, notice she is holding real still so you can see her earrings?

Kids Gifts

Mackenzie's Polly Pocket pop n' swap

Nic's new wall climbing car

Ashley's Trike

Ashley with her new dolly.

After Santa had some of our gifts for him, cookies and milk, he left some gifts for us.

Merry Christmas!

Before...

and After

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're about ready to eat! Happy Thanksgiving to all of our wonderful family and friends. Gobble, gobble.

Twilight!

Heard all the ladies talking about seeing Twilight at midnight on Thursday so I got in on that action right away! Wow was it worth it, I had such a good time with all the best girls last night. Thank you for letting me invite myself. Some ladies got a little rowdy (you know who you are), but it was lots of laughs and heavy breathing...

Happy 6th Birthday Mackenzie

Mackenzie turned 6 on November 1 and had her party on Nov 8. Her close friends came and her favorite cousin, Savannah, came from Salt Lake (BIG thank you to my sister). They all had a lot of fun in the bounce house (shaped like a birthday cake) and eating pizza and cake. She used the money she received from her grandmas and grandpa to buy a Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker. Yummy!

BMX Night

The local BMX track is being threatened by closure. So Zac and I went out to show our support.

Here are pictures when we visited the track as a family to watch our friend Trent race.

It really takes a lot of effort to make it around the track. The Pros make it look so easy.

Never Know Who You're Going to Run Into

I went to the Stake Center to pick up Zachary from his choir rehearsal and ran into my old professor from BYU. Bob Sink was the Broadcast Production advisor over the communications department. Needless to say, he's responsible for what I do for a living. Anyway, I guess his son and family are in our stake, so it's a small world, and it was great to see him after 10 years.

Happy Halloween!

We had two girl pirates, a neon green skeleton and a zombie Motocross rider. Mackenzie told me a few months ago that she wanted to be something "mean" for Halloween this year. That meant absolutely no pretty princess costume for her! I got these pirate costumes on clearance last year so that worked out perfect. Zac borrowed his gear from our next door neighbor, Matt who really does ride Motocross, and added the blood for a little twist. Nic wouldn't tell me he wanted to be until two days before Halloween so the skeleton was all that was left at the store in his size. We went to Trunk or Treat at our church building and then walked around trick or treating with friends. Still lots of candy left...

More Talents from Ashley

I have soooo many talents:

1. My double binky trick (check the post a few below this one)

2. I practice running from the kids trying to steal my Halloween candy

3. I can hold three Pringles cans at once

4. I can write on my hands, face, couch and chair with a purple pen.

P.S. Can't u tell I am the only one home with Mommy and Daddy all day???

Daughtry's "What About Now"

I am not easily inspired by music videos, but this new song by Daughtry really tugs at your heart strings. I was preparing a talk on compassion this past week and I saw this video Sat on VH1 and of course cried. Check it out!

http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/Daughtry/What-About-Now--157691378

OMG!!!!!

Where has the time gone?! I cannot believe we have let about six weeks go by without updating our blog. I am now going to attempt some catch up blogs, which I am going to cheat on by back dating them so it won't look like we are as lame as we are. And I promise anew to keep up on it.

US states I've visited

visited 46 states (92%)


I'd love to see Hawaii **Hint for Aaron**

Soccer Season

Soccer season has started again and Nic is excited about it! We are so happy to be on a team with great friends again. Nic is still working on his endurance during the games. He probably likes playing defender best especially if the other team never make it down to our goal.

Double Binky Girl

Each of our children has many different and unique talents. This is one of Ashley's talents. She learned this on her own so we are very proud of her. She can also do the rolled taco tongue, we'll catch a picture of that soon. I just wish her parents would pay more attention to her so she wouldn't have to resort to two binkys to make herself happy.

Aaron's Birthday

We had a little cake and ice cream with friends and our family for Aaron's birthday. I am allergic to pictures so I am trying to hide in the background and get the candle on Aaron's cake lit. I think I still owe him a birthday present. Ooops!

Skate Park at Washburn

Aaron took these awesome pics at the Skate Park. The pics of our kids weren't in focus, but these other ones turned out really neat.

Happy Birthday - School

Nicholas brought cupcakes to Elizondo Elementary school and quickly became a class favorite. Happy 9th birthday, son! Can you believe over 30 students in 4th grade?? Good luck Ms. Dixon.

So Long Cast

Can you believe it's been almost a month? I love this picture, it really captures Mackenzie's enthusiasm. She loves to be happy, and we love her for it.

One final look at the cast before the visit to the doctor's.

And... voila, it's all better!

First Day of School

Zachary's school day started at 5AM on Monday with a smile--got to get up early to catch that school bus. He is enjoying himself at Cashman (thus far) and he's been really good and enthusiastic about attending a magnet school which focuses on science and math. He enjoys his classes and can't wait until his locker is ready for him to start using it in a couple of weeks. Now if the buses could just get him home when they say they will.


Nicholas and Mackenzie on their first day of school back at Elizondo. Nicholas is going into 4th grade and making the move back to track 5 which means some new and familiar faces in his class.


Mackenzie gets a hug from Mrs. Messerli, her new Kindergarten teacher. Mrs. Messerli was Nicholas' Kindergarten teacher when we moved her to Las Vegas. Has it really been 5 years?? We wish the kids all the best this school year! Make us proud!

Wedding in Tucson

We were able to drive down to Tucson to spend time with my brother, David, and his wife Leticia and attend Leticia's son's, Harry's wedding. Here is Harry with is lovely bride, Jenseng.

Renaye with her Great Uncle Aaron.

My sister-in-law Leticia is in front of Kristin. Here's a shot of all the women, mostly aunts having a good time.

And here's a shot with all the uncles and cousins hamming it up. My brother, Bishop Dave, is fourth from the left, just over Zac's left shoulder.

Zachary's 5th Grade Commencement

Congratulations to Zachary on his all "A's" performance this past semester at Elizondo Elementary School. Ms. Shevokas was a huge help in his education. We are so proud of Zac and hope that he will continue his success in 6th grade year at Cashman Magnet Middle School, even if it does mean that he has to get up to catch the bus at 6AM.


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Not to be outdone, congratulations to Nicholas for making it on to A-B Honor Roll (all A's and one B) and perfect attendance. Way to go, Nic!

Flash Back Friday - Taking to the Sky

Seeing those pictures of Mackenzie in her cast reminded me of Zachary's green cast from two years ago. Here he is seen sporting a well-signed cast and some cool headphones. Nearly all of these pictures are ones he took.

In August of 2006 Zachary and I went up for an introductory flight. Here we are about to preflight the Cessna 172 for our trip. Not shown is the certified flight instructor from Greece.

I have to tell you that this was a GREAT experience. And yes, I am flying the airplane. And no, it's not a flight simulator, though all those hours flying on the computer really helps. The flight instructor was really impressed that this was my first flight. Truth be told it was probably my 20th or so, but it was the first time that I was in the left seat (you can fly from the passenger side too). Oh and that's Nellis AFB off to my left.

Here we are heading east of KVGT (North Las Vegas Air Terminal) and just north or KLAS (McCarran Internaitional). The view of The Strip includes the Wynn with it's green golf course.

And here's our "destination", Hoover Dam on Lake Mead. We made a circle then headed back to KVGT. We (or I should say, I) landed the plane with a little bounce but otherwise all was well. It was a great time in the sky and I have to thank my wonderful wife, Kristin for it.

Oh, and here's the proof that I've been flying for years. This photo was taken around 1983 at Ramona Airport in California. From left to right: my dad, Dick; my little brother, Jess; my mother, Kathy; me, and my dad's mother, Grandma Judy. The Piper Archer II was one of the planes my dad flew a lot while in living in Southern California.