Adventures with the Keyes

Quick Update

2011-12-11T00:32:00.006-07:00

Tanner turned 3 on September 22nd! Tanner walking the girls to the bus stop.

We got a new dog named "Little Guy" He is 3 and such a great dog. He can sit, lay down, speak, shake... and his newest thing is playing dead. Not sure if he learned that before we got him, the previous owners didn't say anything about it. He is a great companion when Cassidy is working nights. And last but not least No one is allergic to him!!! Yipee! We are definitley dog people, so he's perfect for us! We've had him for 3 weeks now. The kids love him!

A few of our eggs, yum!

This egg was our very first one. We took pictures and video of it, and one of the kids (Aniston) dropped it, we laughed and said "We'll get another one tomorrow" It's been fun!

Merry Christmas! Not sure what happened that last few months, but here is a little update......

The Chickens are all doing well, they all eventually started laying eggs around 16-20 weeks. We were getting 6 eggs a day until the weather turned cold. We have been getting about 3 the last week or so. I had no idea they lay less eggs in the cold weather. Still trying to see if I can change that with light or heating sources. The kids love to play with the chickens in the backyard. The chickens weren't allowed out of their coop very often during gardening season, they would eat the tomatoes!! We almost had chicken pot pie a few times! But as long as the kids were out and watching the chickens it was okay for them to roam the yard. It was great for the grass too!

Alyssa is in 3rd grade and is doing great! Abigail is in 1st, she is doing AMAZING! Aniston is loving Kindergarten.

We bought a trampoline in the summer and it was the best purchase we have ever made! The kids love it and spent most their days on it. They are really sad that we had to put it away for winter.

Tanner turned 3 on September 22! He is so big! He still loves horses and cowboys. He is FINALLY into Cars. He loves Lightening McQueen and all the Cars 2 characters. His newest car is a black race car. THere is a black spot in the middle of the white mouth, and so Tanner calls that car his "lose tooth car" Took me a few times to figure out what he was looking for. He is so much fun, I think he loves when his sisters go to school, but he also loves when they come home.

We had a school fundraiser at Ellison Park during the month of October/November. We sold Worlds Finest Chocolate. They were $1 each and pretty easy and exciting for the kids to sell. Our school sold almost $20,000 in chocolates and profited half! The top selling class was given $100 to spend at our School Book Fair, Abigail's class won! I was so glad because I LOVE her teacher!! Abigail was one of the top 2 sellers and she won an Ipod Nano touch screen and also $25 to Build a Bear. My kids all together sold 11 boxes of chocolate! They did awesome! Abigail will be sharing the ipod with her sisters since they worked together.

Christmas is in 2 weeks! Yikes! And we have NO SNOW!! Luckily there is time to get snow! It's December and we haven't seen any yet! The kids are asking for Lalaloopsy dolls and Legos. Pretty easy year for Santa. Tanner is asking for Cows with horns! He is such a cowboy!

CHICKENS!!!!!!

2011-06-15T23:44:00.008-06:00

Some of you may remember the bunny I got Alyssa for her birthday 2 years ago. Long story short, it got left out in the sun...oops! So this year I wanted to try again and get her a new bunny. But when we got to the country store on April 2nd, all she wanted was a chicken or duck...I said NO WAY to the duck! And since we are always in need of a new adventure, we bought 4 baby chicks. Their names were Macaroni, Alvin, Sophie, and Horse. The kids were so excited about their chickens, that they had to take them the next day to Grandma's house and show their cousins.... Alvin (Abigail's chick) died on the way home that night. So Monday we went and replaced Alvin, and decided we better buy a few more, incase of any more accidents. So we had 6. Macaroni, Sophie, Horse,Cody, Melvin, and Nugget. Then on April 9th, a week after getting the chickens, we were gathered in the front room, and here comes Tanner with his chicken, upside down being squeezed and it's kneck was hanging way back. Cassidy grabbed it and took it into the other room where it took it's last breath. We felt so bad! Tanner's Horse had died! Everytime he would talk about it, he would grab his kneck and say Horse. So Sad!! So we went back to the country store that day and replaced Horse with a new Horse that looked exactly the same! I am glad to say that we have survived 10 weeks (9 for Horse) having no more accidents. Although last night the Chickens were pretty curious about our fire in the firepit. If they only knew!! HAHA! At first we had the chickens in a plastic tote with a heat lamp. They shortly outgrew the tote, so we moved them into the bunny cage (poor bunny) and now they are in the big dog kennel waiting for their new Chicken Coop to be finished. It's coming along quite nicely, Cassidy is doing a great job with it! The kids love their chickens! They feed and water them a few times a day, and they let them come out for excersize. My favorite thing to do is to watch the kids chase the chickens to put them back in their home. pretty funny!! I have been very impressed at how well they have looked after them. 5 of the chickens produce ProLific brown eggs, so we will have a lot of good eggs. And Horse is an Americauna Hen (although she is looking more like a rooster everyday-just her coloring) will lay bluish/green eggs. They aren't prolific eggs, so I'm not sure how often she will lay. Hens start producing eggs at 18-20 weeks, so we are half way there. And that's our chicken story! When we get the coop up and running, I will post pictures!

Happy Birthday Aniston!

2011-06-12T00:46:00.008-06:00

A few months ago, Aniston decided that she is ready to be called "Aniston". not AJ or Anna. She is getting ready for kindergarten and wants to be Aniston. But if she is called Anna or AJ by friends or family, it's okay!! 5 years old! She's my baby girl! And now she has decided that she is ready to leave me and go to Kindergarten. We had a birthday party at Grammy's house. It was a tiki theme, and we had water games outside (Cassidy and all the kids ganged up on me and I got soaked! You can see in the picture of Cassidy that he got wet too!!). We made sweet & Sour Meatballs with rice for dinner and had fruit and salads. SO GOOD! We had smoothies and cake balls for dessert. Aniston got 3 new Zhu Zhu Pets and a carrier, polly pockets, clothes, a new helmet, and also hand/elbow/and knee pads. She has been falling down a lot and doesn't catch herself, so she lands on her face an scrapes up her nose. The padding was a perfect gift from Grammy and Gramps! They also got her Crayola color bubbles, and a Miracle Gro flower set. Her flowers are already growing!

Turning 8 is Great!!!

2011-05-14T00:03:00.015-06:00

It has finally happened! Something I have not been looking forward to.....Alyssa turned 8!! Yes, 8 is great if you are the one turning 8, it's an exciting year......but for a Mom to have their oldest child turn 8, how sad! Why has it gone so fast? Since 8 is such a big milestone, Alyssa got to have her very first Friend Birthday Party. It was so much fun! The girls tie-dyed canvas tote bags, suprisingly it was not messy at all! And all the bags turned out great! I would recommend it to anyone for a birthday party! They also played Freeze Dance, once the music stops, you freeze and stop dancing, that was a big hit, and Alyssa's idea. Alyssa was baptized 2 weeks ago on April 30th. It was such a great day! Alyssa had so many family and friends that came out to support her, and that made it even more special! She says she wishes she could be baptized everyday....I wish I could too! Alyssa is so much fun to have around! Besides going through growing pains that last few months, she is so funny! She has me laughing all the time and it always doing silly things and making up songs or games or activities. She is so nutty! She is very smart, and really does like school....even if she tells you other wise. She is enjoying piano lessons, and has now been in piano for 1 year. She has come along way and is doing great! We love you Alyssa!! Stay tuned for my next post.....Alyssa wanted a chicken for her birthday, so we got one for everyone in the family. They are 6 weeks old....except for Tanners...his first chicken had to be replaced, his new one is 5 weeks! So they are just about ready to go outside, which I am glad for because they are getting stinky! Post will come shortly!

Happy Birthday Abigail!

2011-02-19T15:26:00.006-07:00

My little Abigail turned 6 on January 25th! She is getting so big. She decided this year she did not like cake. So we had an Ice Cream Sundae party. It turned out so fun! Abigail loves kindergarten and is starting to read. It's so fun to listen to her read the books she brings home from school. We LOVE her teacher Mrs Kershaw! A few things Abigail got for her birthday are puzzles, movies, Littlest Pet Shops, Model Magic Clay, a much needed BIKE, Flexeez (that's whats on her head in the pictures-Abs and her cousins made bday crowns) a new dress and a bunkbed for her baby dolls. It was a fun day!! We also went out for ice cream with the Keyes. It's a fun tradition to go to LeatherBy's on the kids birthdays.

Some of Abigails favorite things are:

Color-Red

Animal-Horses, Lions and Tigers

Food: Mac and Cheese

Favorite Movie:Cats don't Dance

Favorite Holiday: Easter, Christmas, and Valentines Day

Favorite Season: Summer-so she can ride her new birthday bike

We love you Abigail!! Thanks for being my little sweetheart!!

December 2010

2011-01-09T23:39:00.005-07:00

This year we decided to get the Christmas season started off early. We know how fast it comes and goes, so we wanted to enjoy it for as long as we could. We even decorated a little early this year, a few days before Thanksgiving. We went on a trip on the North Pole Express on the Heber Valley Railroad. We got cookies and hot chocolate and a visit from Mrs Calus and Santa. We also heard christmas stories and sang Christmas songs. The kids had a lot of fun. We rode the Front Runner downtown to temple square and rode the carriage ride around the temple, and saw the lights. There was a man playing the bagpipes. That really was what made me feel the Christmas spirit. It was amazing the feeling that was there. We went back another time with my siblings and the kids' cousins to look at the lights. If you ever go see the lights, go to the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial building. It's pretty cool looking down and seeing all the lights.

My Grandma passed away in December. I am so grateful for the many times this year that my family and I went to visit my Grandparents. We have lots of great memories and some fun pictures that we will cherish forever. The picture shown with my Grandma was taken in November when we went and raked leaves and played in them at my Grandparents house. It's something we've been doing since I was little, and something I hope to continue while my Grandpa is still with us.

Christmas came and Santa spoiled the kids. They loved everything! My favorite gift that Santa brought were some BROWN boy cowboy boots for my little Cowboy. Now he doesn't have to wear the girls pink boots. He even sleeps in his new cowboy boots. He is so funny. I gave in and let the girls ask for anything they wanted. And of course they wanted ipods (shuffles) and DS'. They did get some new LIV dolls and moxie dolls, zhu zhu pets, and my parents gave them some dolls. So they do still play with little girl things, which I am happy for. They aren't too big for babies and barbie dolls. hooray! Tanner got a really cool train table that he loves! Lots of new horses, and some Utah Utes things. The kids are loved that's for sure!!

I am excited for what this new year brings, I hope it's a great one!!

Tanner thinks he is a cowboy!

2010-12-02T02:00:00.002-07:00

Most of you know that Tanner is a big time horse lover!! He is either playing with his horses, acting as a horse, or riding on his sisters who are horses. Well a few weeks ago we put Tanner on Toby's back. Normally Toby doesn't like it, but this one time, he let Tanner ride him (of course we were holding Tanner so he wouldn't fall off). A few days later Toby was in the kitchen laying down, and Tanner went up to him and was saying "Neigh Up" He was pulling at Toby's collar to try to get him up. He needed to ride his horse. It was so funny! Toby sat up for a few minutes so Tanner could sit on his back.

Go Utes #1!

2010-11-12T19:36:00.005-07:00

On Saturday Nov 6th, Cassidy and I woke up at 5am and headed to Rice Eccles Stadium for the ESPN College Game Day. It was a lot of fun. There were lots of great posters and Ute Outfits supporting our team. There were 2 TCU fans right next to us, and all the Ute fans around were giving them a hard time. It was fun cheering infront of the camera's and watching people go crazy! The guys right infront of us had some pretty funny posters, Their friends were texting them saying that they could see their posters on TV. So I bet Cassidy and I were in a few of those shots. We were in the crowd for 4 hours. The crowd cleared away pretty quickly and we were able to take some pictures. The Utah vs TCU game started at 1:30pm, I think we were in our seats at 11:30am. The game started and we knew we were in trouble....Utah didn't have very many good plays. We ended up leaving in the middle of the 3rd quarter, which is something I regret. If I am going to be a Ute fan (this is my first year) then I need to cheer for them win or lose. They did end up scoring after we left, but didn't have time to catch up. It's sad because they weree undefeated. We'll see how they do the rest of the season. Cassidy was able to go to all their home games except the upcoming BYU game. Maybe he'll get lucky and score some tickets! Tanner has been saying "Go Utes" for along time, he has recently added baby at the end. So it's "Go Utes Baby". He is as big a fan as his Dad...the girls too! The kids all wear their Ute shirts on game day... a few days later on Nov 9th was our 9 year wedding anniversary. It only took 8 years for Cassidy to convince me to be a Ute fan!!

Halloween!

2010-11-10T12:19:00.003-07:00

This year for Halloween I wanted 3 witches and a vampire. I'm thinking this was my last year to have the kids all dress in the same theme. Last year they were Ute Cheerleaders and Tanner was a Ute Football player. And another year I had 3 ballerina's. I think it's so fun when they match. But they are getting too old for me to tell them what they are going to be. As you can see in the picture, I didn't get my Vampire. And I kinda lost on the 3 witches too! Alyssa ended up being a Vampire. We had been looking everywhere for Tanner a vampire costume, no stores had them in his size. The last store we were going to look at was Target. Tanner loves horses! And when he saw the horse costume, he wanted it. We tried it on him in the store and he went galloping through the store. It was too cute not to get it. He threw a fit to take it off when we had to take it off in the car. He wore it a few days before halloween, it was so fun for him. He even took a nap in it one day. Then we had our ward halloween trunk or treat, and everyone put their attention on Tanner and his cute costume. It was too much for him and he wouldn't put in on after that night. I carried the costume around so people could see what he was supposed to be wearing. I'm glad we got one good picture with him in it. My favorite thing about halloween this year was that the girls wore their costumes 4 days in a row which kept my laundry low. Some of the fun things we did were: We had our Ward Trunk or Treat, a school Halloween Dance, went to wheeler farm and went on a wagon ride, corn maze, and picked a pumpkin to take home. Visited the witches at Garnder Village, and went trick or treating. Everything was so much fun!

Peanuts, get your peanuts!!

2010-10-21T16:18:00.002-06:00

I had some extra space in my garden this spring, so the kids and I went to J&J Garden Center, and all they had left were peanuts. Yes, Peanuts! So we thought we would get some and try them out. My garden wasn't very successful this year, so sad! I tore it all out last week and decided to dig up the peanuts. From the pictures you can see that I didn't get much. But something is better than nothing. I feel like I succeeded with the peanuts, I didn't know if I would get any. Next year I would like to try again. I pulled them up way too soon. There were tiny little peanut sprouts that I am sure would have grown if I would have left the plants in the ground. When Aniston and I opened the peanut today, they were small like pinenuts and did not taste very good at all. Better Luck next year!!

Tanner is 2 !!!

2010-09-30T23:17:00.007-06:00

On September 22, 2008 I was blessed with the sweetest baby boy, and now he has turned 2!!!!It's bitter sweet. I want him to stay my baby boy forever, but at the same time, the older he gets, the funner he is. He still won't talk to most people. He gets really shy and embarrased for people to hear him talk. Tonight he finally said infront of his Daddy "I am Tanner" and "I am two". He goes around saying "Go Utes" and "Hi" and "Bye". Those 3 things are about the only things he'll say around other people. He'll try and repeat most words that I ask him to- It's so fun hearing him talk.

His favorite animal is a Horse. He's obsessed! He loves playing with his horse toys, and he pretends to be a horse all the time. We bought a new horse movie called "Flicka 2" He watches the whole movie and pretends the whole time that he is a horse. He is like a wild mustang!! He'll also pretend to be a dog and give me wet doggie kisses. When he wants people to follow him (when he is Tanner and not pretending to be an animal) he will try and snap his fingers and he kinda whistles for whoever to follow him. It's pretty funny. And when he isn't playing with his horses, he loves to look at books and also play with cars and airplanes. He loves looking in the sky to see all the planes that go by. He is fascinated with the jets and huge airforce planes. We see a lot since we're by Hill Airforce base.

Tanner loves his sisters. He calls them Sissa (Alyssa) Nannie (Aniston/Anna) and Babbie (Abbie). He plays with them all the time and loves hitting them and then giving them big hugs and kisses afterwards. The name we call him most is TAK (Tanner Andrew Keyes) it seems to fit him well. We also call him Mack. Just a take off from TAK.

He's my sweet boy and I'm so glad he is part of our little family!

P.S. Note to self: STOP buying cakes with black and green frosting!!!!!

School Days!!

2010-08-30T22:56:00.003-06:00

A new school year is finally here. This year Alyssa is in 2nd grade. We found out a few weeks before school started who her teacher was going to be. Miss Coleman, a teacher who is new to our school this year. Alyssa has had wonderful teachers for Kindergarten and 1st grade, I was a little nervous about a new teacher. When I walked Alyssa to her class on the first day of school, we saw her teacher and I was so excited. She is a cute young teacher. Our 2 previous teachers, who we love, were older, and I was so happy that Alyssa is going to get a young teacher this year. She is super nice and is so excited to be teaching 2nd grade. She thinks it's the best grade. Alyssa is an excellent student and loves to learn. She is so stinking smart! Her first homework packet came home today, she wizzed right through it. The teacher also sends a book home each night that the kids have to read and turn in the next day. On the envelope that the book came in, it said that the student needed to read the book 3 times or until they could read all the words on their own. I laughed because the first time Alyssa read it she didn't have a problem. I only made her read it twice because she didn't have a problem with it. She also came home doing sign language. She could spell her name, and I asked her to spell other words in sign. She got mixed up with M, N, and she couldn't remember T. So we called her Aunt, and got it straightened out. Her favorite subject in school is Art. She really really wants to do science.... like make an exploding Volcano type science. She will probably have to wait a few more years for that.

Abigail started her first day of Kindergarten today. I was so nervous for her, I kept telling her that she could stay home and not go to school, but she didn't listen. I drove her to the bus stop (it was raining) and the bus driver (who is super nice) helped her up in the bus and took her to her assigned seat, which is in the front row. Abigail's name was even above the seat. Then the bus drove away..... and I followed it! I got to the school and waited outside in the rain unti the bus came and Abigail got off and went to class. It was really hard to see her walking away to school. She is getting way too big! Then after school I walked to the bus stop and Alyssa and Abigail got off together. Abigail was so excited she couldn't walk with us. I guess we were going too slow. She had a wonderful day at school! She loved it! She learned about the letter A, and the number 1. They read books and played outside.

It was so wierd having Tanner and Aniston at home. I took them to the store for some donuts, we went home and Tanner took a nap all afternoon. So it was just me and Aniston. I let her paint her pumpkin that we had pulled out of the garden a few days before, she loved that! Next week Aniston will start Preschool, and I'll blink and she'll be in Kindergarten. At least I have Tanner around for 4 more years.

Crazy kids!!

2010-07-29T20:35:00.005-06:00

Happy Summer! We have been having lots of fun, I'm not quite ready for it to end. I can't seem to get anything done inside my house because we have been outside so much. These pics are of my girls and thier new little swivel car thing. If anyone knows what it's called, please let me know. I need to buy 3 more. I hear they aren't cheap, but my kids all love them. A neigbor gave it to us, and they love it. Even Tanner gets on and goes. The girls start at the top of the driveway and fly down and turn and go down the side walk. It's fun for me too taking the kids for a ride. I was just noticing in the pictures that non of the girls are wearing shoes and Anna has her feet resting on the wheel covers...probably not the safest thing. Oops! Oh well, no one got hurt and they were having fun!

KEYES our last name....

2010-07-01T21:10:00.003-06:00

Before I was married, my last name was DeJong (De Young). It's dutch, some people thought it was chinese, until they saw us. For the last almost 9 years, I have been a Keyes (Kize). We are usually called Keys. Everyone asks why we pronounce our last name Keyes (Kize) when it is spelled like Keys. Hello people! There is an E in there. It just makes me laugh. It's EYES with a K infront of it. I really don't care if I am called Melanie Keys, it's just funny when people tell me why they think it's KEYS. I got the best one the other day, and that's why I am here writing about it. Because I thought it was too too funny! This person said "Did I say your name wrong?" I told this person it's Keyes (KIZE). This person's response was "Oh, because it's spelled like Keys, with an E thrown in there." REALLY?? That E in there means that my last name is not Keys. FUNNY!!! My husband served his mission in California, and his comps would always say "KEYS if you please". And that's where this blog address comes from...just with the last name spelled right. So I guess I am confusing everyone if you say the blog address in a rhyme. Keys Keyes....whatever...it just makes me laugh.

Aniston Jenice

2010-06-23T14:52:00.007-06:00

Aniston, Anna, AJ, Age, Anna-B's, AnnaBelle, she answers to anything! She is now 4 years old, and thinks she is a grown up! When Aniston was born, she came out with dark red skin and black hair. She has big dark brown eyes! We weren't sure where all the darkness came from, so Cassidy decided to do some reasearch in his family tree. His Grandpa was dark, but he wasn't sure why. What we found out was that Cassidy's Great Great Grandpa was African American, and his Great Great Grandma was from Switzerland, and Cassidy's Great Grandpa was from Spain. We found some old census records that showed us this info. It was really neat to be able to find this out. And now we know why Aniston is so dark!

Alyssa has said recently that she thinks Jesus gave Anna to the wrong family, because she is so dark. And Anna has said that her Mom and Dad died so she came to our family. (I don't like when they learn about dying and death, and all the yucky things they learn so early in life!!)I assure her that she is ours 100%, she is just lucky to have such beautiful dark skin, curly hair and big brown eyes.

She is such a happy girl, with a sassy attitude. Alyssa says she is so "moxie" I guess that's the new word that is going around in school.

Here are some of her favorites....

Color-Pink and purple

Animal- Dumbo's

Food- pizza

Fav thing to do- Play with her Daddy

Fav toy- doll house with little dollies

Fav ride at Disneyland(she's been 3 times)- Dumbo and SplashMountain

Fav thing outside- playing in the water

best friend- Daddy, Abbie, Alyssa, Mom, and Tanner
When she grows up she wants to be a Mom that is Hannah Montana

Fav Movie-The Little Mermaid and Princess and the Frog
Fav Princess- Ariel, Jasmine, Cinderella and Princess Tiana-- pretty much all of them!

We took Aniston's training wheels off her new birthday bike, and she had no problems. She still crashes into cars and bushes every once in a while, but for only being out on her bike a few times, she is doing awesome!! And it helps that we live in a cul-de-sac that has no traffic, they learn so much faster in the street.

We love you so much Aniston and are very glad that you are a part of our family!

Bear Lake

2010-06-11T22:31:00.007-06:00

Last weekend my little family and I headed to Bear Lake. I love Bear Lake, I went with my family every summer growing up. This was the first time camping on our own, and without my parents. We have been having lots of fun dutch oven cooking at home, so we already knew how we would be doing most our cooking. We purchased a camp stove (which is great for emergency preparedness) and a few extra sleeping bags, and we were set! We camped at the Rendezvous Camp ground and there were about 30 campsites, and only 3 were occupied. It was so quiet and my kids got to explore and walk around all the campsites. They loved it! On Sunday we went to the Beach and were only planning on playing in the sand, the water was super cold. Cassidy and I didn't even wear our swimsuits. The sand was fun, but eventually the girls had to make motes around their castles, so they needed water. So Tanner followed, and ended up in the water. But the shallow part wasn't too cold, so the kids all got in the water and played. They loved it!! Back at our campsite, we had a visitor a few times a day. A rabbit! Of course, we can't go anywhere without some little creature, and my kids trying to catch it. Cassidy and the kids also found a baby bunny and followed it home. He lived in a hollowed out log that had fallen over. We didn't let the kids get too close to the rabbit's because they were wild. The kids didn't mind just watching and following them. Other than a wild wind storm that passed through, the weather was wonderful! My neighbor taught us a new way to make smores. 2 striped fudge cookies and a roasted marshmellows in the middle. My kids love them! We have a fire pit in our backyard, and try and make the kids smores with graham crackers and Hershey's, it's a mess and the kids don't eat them. So we are so happy to have discovered this new way to make them. The wind storm hit as we were making the smores, luckily we were able to roast the marshmellows and eat them in the tent. Aniston's birthday was Monday June 7th, so on Sunday (right before the smores and the windstorm) Cassidy made her a dutch oven cake with cherries. It was yummy!! The kids didn't eat much of it, but Cassidy and I sure did enjoy it!
I love my little campers, we had so much fun and I am looking forward to when we get to go back.

The day we came home was Aniston's birthday, so we took her to Boondocks. They give a $25 gift card to the birthday person. it's good for 4 attractions and $5 game play. All you need to do is register online or show your birth certificate to prove it's your birthday. It was a lot of fun.

And the day after that we went to the Zoo. It was a great day to go! We finally spotted the Iguana in the Snake house. We have been going to the Zoo for years, and have never seen it. And the 3 tiger cubs (they are huge) Were playing in the water and were so active. I can't wait for 2012, when they have the Rocky Shores exhibit open. They will have seals and Polar Bears (MY FAV)!! It has been a great start to summer at the Keyes house! Can't wait for more fun!!

Dutch oven Peach Cobbler

2010-05-29T21:41:00.004-06:00

I don't plan on posting all my Dutch oven meals, but this dessert was so yummy!! I was a little hesitant about the recipe. You add the dry cake mix on top of the peaches that are layered on the bottom of the dutch oven. And then you pour the peach juice on top of the dry cake mix. I have never heard of this. And all the recipes in all the cookbooks that are for Dutch Ovens are just like this. So I had to try it! The girls put all the ingredients in, and after they went to bed Cass and I ate it. My neighbor made a yummy strawberry dessert that she shared, so they didn't go to bed without dessert. After we took the peach cobbler out, non of it was stuck to the dutch oven. It all came out clean. That never happens in my home oven. I read in a recipe book tonight that the more you use the dutch oven, the more non-stick it becomes. This is my way of cooking!!

Dutch Oven Ribs

2010-05-24T22:05:00.005-06:00

I decided last week that I wanted to start dutch oven cooking. So I went to Smith and Edwards (awesome store) and got a Lodge brand dutch oven. On Friday night I cured/seasoned it, and then Saturday I got some boneless pork ribs, and tried it out. First I added oil in the bottom of my oven, then peppers and onions. I put the ribs on top and seasoned them with italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper. Cassidy was there to help with the coals, I wouldn't have been able to do that part without him, but now I know, I will be able do it next time. That will be the hardest part. They cooked for a little over an hour, and I drained the juice and added some bbq rib sauce and let it cook for 20 min or so. Such an easy recipe!! It was yummy! So tender! The kids went crazy and ate tons. They loved it I want to try a dessert next.... possibly peach cobbler....yum!

New Adventures

2010-05-20T23:06:00.002-06:00

We have found a few new places this week, and I am sad to say that I haven't had my camera when we have gone out. That's not a norm for me. We like to drive by Hill AirForce Base and watch the huge airplanes take off and land, take off and land. They do it tons of time practicing taking off and landing. We drive down the street and follow it as it makes it's landing and we try to get in the perfect spot so the plane is right over us. The kids love it. On Wednesday night, we wanted to go to Artic Circle for some ice cream, but the rode was blocked off and so we decided to go to Dairy Queen instead. We noticed a rode on the east side of the base (NOTE: There are signs all over the main road saying you can't park to watch the jets). We went down the road and there were no signs saying we couldn't park there. So we watched the jets moving around on the ground, but they wern't taking off. That's when we went to Dairy Queen, got some Dilly Bars, and went back down that road. We watched as the jets lined up on the runway, and at 9:00pm we heard recorded music playing the TAPS ( I think that's what it's called, the military music). And right after the music got done playing, 4 jets took off one at a time. It was awesome! We get to see jets flying above our house all day, and we always have to stop and look, but it was so much cooler going and seeing them take off, especially after playing the music. It was really cool.

Our next fun place we discovered last night was in Syracuse. Called the Jensen Nature Park. They had a pond/mini lake that you can fish in. There was a walking path all around it, there were families with bikes, you can walk your dog if it's on a leash. There were Pelican type birds, and lots of other smaller birds that I haven't seen before. It was really fun. Cass had his fishing pole and tried fishing for catfish (it was the only bait he had). The girls aren't patient fishers, so we walked around the water and watched the birds. It was really fun. There is a lot of grassy areas for picnics, and also a few pavilions with picnic tables. It was such a neat place. I am sure we will be going there often.

It's so fun finding new things and places. I can't wait for our next adventure. The kids and I haven't been to Antelope Island, maybe that can be our next destination.

Birds and Ducks!!

2010-05-11T10:57:00.008-06:00

Layton Park Ducks

Disneyland Ducks

When Alyssa was small and we lived in Woods Cross, there was a neighborhood Pigeon that lived across the street. One day while I was at work, Cassidy and Alyssa caught the bird and brought it in the house. Ever since then, they have been on a qwest to capture and feed birds, ducks, and chickens. Anywhere we go, they try and catch some kind of bird. Last year at Wheeler Farm all the kids were holding pigeons. We had out of town family with us, and they were disgusted that my kids were holding these disease infested birds. It was funny to see their reaction. A few years ago Alyssa held a small rooster at Wheeler Farm, she was heart broken when she had to put it down, when ever we went back to the farm, she'd always look for her little friend. The kids have made pies for birds, and set up a trap to try and catch them, birds came and ate the pies, but didn't get caught in the traps. At the Layton Park, they feed ducks from their hands. The most recent encounter were some ducks at Disneyland that the kids were feeding. Now it really is Everywhere we go! I think it's teaching them patience. They have to sit and wait sometimes for a few minutes for the birds to come to them. They love it!! They also enjoy holding trianchulas at the Davis County Fair..yuck!!

Disneyland 2010

2010-05-02T15:17:00.003-06:00

This year our big family vacation started on April 1st. We headed for Las Vegas to get some yummy tri-tip from Lucille's BBQ. We stayed at the Sunshine Station in Henderson and it was one of the nicest hotels we have ever stayed in.

We stayed at the Park Vue Inn when we got to Anaheim. It was directly across the street from Disneyland. We would walk outside the hotel and we were at the cross walk to go to Disneyland. This is where we will be staying every year that we go to Disneyland. The girls got to sleep in bunkbeds, so that was a lot of fun for them. They had a big deluxe breakfast every morning. There was a huge variety of yummy food! We decided to go to Disneyland for 6 days this year, which ended up being a great idea because it was really busy with spring break.

It's tradition that we always go on Peter Pan first. It was Tanner's first ride, and he cried through the whole thing. He cried lots the first day. It was a bit overwhelming for him. Once he finally figured out that it was fun, he would cry when we had to get off the rides. Finally he got it, and was okay with getting on and off the rides and waiting in line. His Favorite ride was Buzz Lightyear, he loved holding the lazer blaster and seeing all that was going on in the ride. We bought him one of his very own shooters because he loved it so much!

Aniston, Abigail, and Alyssa like the big rides. They LOVE splash mountain, the Matterhorn, and Sourin. When we got off Splash Mountain for the first time Aniston was wet and said "I am soaked, now I need to shake like a dog to get dry." One of our Favorite rides is the Jungle Cruise. It's fun listening to the "tour guide" and seeing all the animals. We went on Sourin over California for the first time, it was so fun to "fly" over California and see all the scenery. Sometimes it felt like we were really up in the sky. It was easy to feel a bit queezy! My parents came with us for the first 3 days at Disneyland. It was fun to have them there with us. it made me realize that 3 days is not long enough to stay at Disneyland. Grammy bought the girls all lanyards so they can start collecting pins. That was fun to go in all the shops and find fun pins to buy. On Easter we went on a Bakery Tour and the workers were giving out sour dough bread that was shaped like Mickey Mouses head. We also went in a tortilla factory and got to eat a fresh tortilla at the end. YUM! We have been to Disneyland 4 times, and there are always new things to see and do This year Sourin was new for us, the bakery tour, the tortilla factory, The new 3D Toy Story Mania ride, and the Aladdin Show. That show was awesome! They were flying in the air on carpets, and using special effects to make the characters get places faster, it was such a neat show. I reccomend that for anyone going to Disneyland. After my parents left, we had 3 more days left. I let Cass take each girl out on a special Daddy Daughter Date. The first night Abigail got to go back to DIsneyland with Cass, then Anna the next night, and on the third night I took Alyssa out for a bit, then Cass took her the rest of the night. When I went with Alyssa we went on Autopia. That was fun. I pushed the petal and she drove the car. She was wild. It was a good thing we were on a track! The kids said the funniest things, they had us laughing the whole trip! After our 6 days were over at Disneyland, we didn't hurry home. We went to the Beach, we went to the Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay in Vegas. We ended up being gone about 11 days. It was a lot of work, but so much fun!! I am going to post some of the funny things the kids said to the right by their pictures....

Oh yes, I can not forget the Tiki Room. We love the bird show. We even turned our family room into a Tiki Room. It's fun, we love it! Maybe someday I will post some pictures!

April Fool's Day Dog

2010-04-01T00:26:00.003-06:00

Toby was born one year ago on April 1st. He has been such a fun dog to have in our home. He is a gentle giant. We're glad we have him....most days! I can not believe how much he has grown. It has been so fun watching him get taller and taller. When will he stop?

Happy 7th Bday this week Alyssa

2010-03-29T00:11:00.006-06:00

My oldest is turning 7 this week! She decided on having a Zhu Zhu Pet birthday party. Last year was a bunny, I am glad these hamster friends aren't alive, she can have as many as she wants!! I found some Zhu Zhu pet cupcake ideas on the Internet and copied them. They were silly, but Alyssa was very happy with them. She even had to make a hamster mask and wore all brown so she would look like a hamster, she is so creative...and crazy! Her Grandma gave her Jilly and Nugget, and a house for them to be in, with attachments for their house. The kids and I got her a new hamster named Tex. He is cute! We also got other attachments for the hamster house. It was fun having a theme and getting only those things. Alyssa did get some darling clothes from her Grandma and Aunt Mandy. Alyssa is so smart and is growing way too fast!! I am so glad I have her!

Our Favorite things....

2010-03-25T14:50:00.002-06:00

We started off the month of March by getting out our fire pit. We have spent several nights roasting Marshmellows and one night we roasted hot dogs for dinner. The girls like to tell stories around the "camp fire" and their stories always have to do with Super Hero's. They are the funniest off the wall stories, and they go on and on and on... We also like to look for airplanes flying above us. Living near the Airforce Base, there are tons of jets and big planes. I think I eat the most roasted marshmellows! YUM!! If the marshmellows catch on fire, we flick them in the grass, and the girls think it is so funny! We love being outside, we love spring and summer, and we love spending time together as a family. Sometimes I think we spend too much time together..... but it's so fun!!

Peter Pan Play

2010-03-04T14:22:00.007-07:00

Alyssa decided that she wanted to be in the Peter Pan Play at school. Not only did she just want to be in the play, but she wanted a speaking part. So she had to sing a song infront of the the PTA and also recite a poem or something she memorized. Her song was "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. And she memorized a Nursery Rhyme, One Two Three four five, Once I caught a fish alive..... She got the part of a mermaid named "Jelly". Her part is "You too Wendy, catch!" The mermaids are teasing Wendy. Alyssa will be throwing a ball at Wendy or blowing bubbles at her. She has learned 6 songs and does a dance with all the other mermaids.

Part of being a mermaid in the Peter Pan play means she needs a costume. We could have bought one at the store that had the Ariel on it, but we wanted one that was nice for Alyssa, since she has a speaking part. I bought some material and was going to make the costume with my good friend Krystal, but she had kids with RSV and she got sick (hope your getting better Krystal). So Cass and I decided that we could do it. And this is what we came up with. We make a good team! I was the sewer and Cass was the cutter. It was fun. My neighbor is going to surge the edges of the fins and it will be done. The top is a swimming suit. Alyssa will have to wear a shirt under it. She'll have hawaiian type flowers in her hair and flower necklace. I am very pleased with it, and Alyssa LOVES it!!

Puppy Love

2010-02-15T22:00:00.003-07:00

I think most the pictures we have been taking lately are the kids and Toby. It is fun to see him laying down so the kids can pet and love him. The kids can't play with Toby (for obvious reasons being his size, and he is a puppy so he gets easily excited), but Tanner will play "fetch" in the kitchen where he gets Toby's ball and rolls it, and Toby will get it and bring it back to Tanner. The kids get the occassional wack in the head by Toby's tail, but for the most part, he is a wonderful addition to our family!

Happy #5 Abigail!!!

2010-02-02T21:51:00.002-07:00

Everytime we went to Walmart Abigail had to ride the Spiderman Bike. That's what she wanted for her birthday. Before her birthday she saw spiderman cupcakes, and decided she wanted those instead of a spiderman bike. I quickly agreed, and she agreed that in the spring we would buy her a girl bike. Abigail's birthday was on January 25th, she is now a big 5 year old getting ready for Kindergarten in the Fall. She is ready, but I am not, so we won't rush it! Abigail loves horses, lions, and Tigers. She can recognize and write all her letters, she can count to 100 (I help her when she gets to 30, 40, 50...) She is very proud of all the things she can do, and reminds us almost daily of her accomplishments. A few of them are... she is good at i-fly, she can climb a rock wall, ride her bike with no training wheels, hold her breath under water, and also paddle. She says some pretty funny things. Aniston was sick and was having soup for dinner recently. Abigail said "What?!?! she isn't having any of this delicious spaghetti?" I ask her how she knows things and she replys "Because I am a smarty pants!"

-If you'll notice in the background what Tanner does best---climbs on everything!!

Yes, we are still alive!

2009-12-08T16:08:00.003-07:00

Happy Halloween! Yes, that is me with a red Utah Shirt and a Ute sticker on my face. I knew I would be in big trouble if I did not wear the University of Utah colors on halloween with my family. No, really it was okay. It was fun having the whole family dress up the same. sorry BYU fans!

I am so excited for this Christmas Season, I love taking the kids to Temple Square to see the lights and going to all the other fun holiday activities around the city.

Alyssa is loving 1st grade, and is a very smart student. I can not believe how fast she picked up on reading Abigail is now writing her name and drawing pictures of her favorite things. Her and Aniston are in preschool. They love it. Too bad it's only 2 days a week. Tanner is a boy! All boy! Nothing like the girls. He is everywhere! On top an into everything! But he is so sweet! I love my family and I am so glad I get to stay home and play with my kids all day.

That's all I have time for today. Please check my other website www.melanie.wakeupandbefree.com for a life changing opportunity. Thanks!

Not much of an update...

2009-09-20T21:17:00.002-06:00

Haven't posted for a while, but I have a few seconds to put some pictures up. Abbie and Anna started preschool, they love it. Tanner is walking and will be ONE on Sept. 22, Toby is HUGE!! ALyssa has 4 missing teeth, we are calling her Jack, short for Jack O Lantern.

Lagoon, Lagoon, and more Lagoon.....

2009-08-05T10:58:00.004-06:00

This summer we have been spending most of our days at Lagoon. We have been going sometimes as much as 4 times in one week. We are pretty close, and we have nothing better to do. Our favorties are the LadyBug Drop, the dinosaur Bob, Odyssey, and Rattle Snake Rapids. Two weeks ago I lost my cell phone (the only phone we have) at Lagoon. I gave it to Tanner when I emptied my pockets before Rattle Snake Rapids. I came back to him, and it was gone. The next day we went and got a new phone through Verizon. For a new phone and set up we paid $41 and some change. We got home the same day and there was an unexpected check in the mail for $42 and some change. The difference was .11 cents. Coincedence? Why did I give my phone to Tanner? Why did we get the check in the mail? We called Lagoon several times and it never came up, I guess we weren't meant to have it back. Now it's a matter of getting all the phone numbers back that we lost. It didn't stop us from going to Lagoon, I just keep a tighter hold of the new phone. Better go, we're off to Lagoon.....

Summer Vacation

2009-06-20T20:52:00.006-06:00

We started the summer off by going to St George for a family reunion with Cass' family. We stayed at the WorldMark condo's. They were really nice, it was like a house, they were fully furnished. They had a kids pool that was 2 feet deep. Alyssa was a little fish, swimming under the water. Abbie got brave and learned to go under the water. She was so proud of herself. We had a lot of fun. We were there from (june 11-june 16th) On June 16th, we decided to head to San Diego California. Cass had the week off work, and we were almost 1/2 way there. Normally we go to Disneyland every year, but in the summer it's so crowded, and we decided to try something different. We started off by going to SeaWorld on Tuesday evening when we got into town, we watched the Shamu show and sat in the "soak zone". We got soaked!! My favorite thing to see are the Polar Bears. We were back at SeaWorld on Wednesday. We liked touching the star fish, Abbie really liked holding the sea cucumber. Thursday we went to the San Diego Zoo. They had a family of Orangutans that were having their morning breakfast. There were two polar bears that were playing in and out of the water, it was fun to watch. They had a hippo that was in the water, we call him MotoMoto. Friday we went to the Wild Animal Park. There were 3 lions, one "lion king", Abbie's favorite. There were animals roaming freely together. rhino's, giraffes (tons of them) antelope, it was as though it was really Africa. They had 6 gorilla's, they were being fed by the zoo keeper. One did the sign for "eat". They are smart animals. We ended our vacation today at the beach in the morning, and SeaWorld afterwards. . We saw the dolphin show, and touched the manta rays. It was a lot of fun this week being here in San Diego, we did a lot of things, and saw a lot. Disneyland is more our thing, there was so much walking at the Zoo and Wild Animal park, we saw mostly birds, monkeys, plants and trees. We are going to keep our tradition of going to Disneyland in March. We also stopped by the SanDiego temple, it was beautiful. Tomorrow we drive home and get back into real life. We'll pick up Toby, I'm sure he'll be a few more inches tall. It's hard to see the pictures, but you get the idea.

Puppy Love!

2009-05-19T16:11:00.005-06:00

This is Toby, our 6 week old Great Dane puppy. Cass surprised the girls with him on Sunday. He is such a great dog. He is great with the kids. He is lazy, he sleeps a lot. He loves attention, and likes to be with us. He lays around where ever we are. Our only problem so far is that he likes to pee everywhere, and all the time. If you have any tips on house training, let us know. We want him to be an inside dog, even if he is going to be the size of a horse.

Missy our bulldog is fine, she is at the co-owners home with her puppies, in a few weeks they'll be sold, and Missy will be sold as well. The bunny died on friday, when I left her out in the sun too long. Yeah, I know, strike 2 for me with bunny's (my 5th grade class pet bunny died at my house during the summer).

Toby is our permanent pet. I was attatched the second I saw him.

Adventure at the Keyes house

2009-04-20T18:59:00.004-06:00

Yesterday (Sunday April 19th) was a normal day, the girls and I went to church, Cass went to work. After church (4pm) we went home and let Missy out, let her back in and went to my parents house. Cass got home at 6:15pm to find Missy in her kennel with 2 babies. Cass had no idea what to do, Missy wasn't going to be having the puppies at our house. To make a long story short, by midnight there were 5 male pups. Missy wasn't doing well with them, she is very tempermental, and she was growling at them and acting wierd. So we decided to seperate them and take the puppies to the other people that have the male bulldog (they are part owners with us, long story). Missy stayed with us, we got everything cleaned up and fell asleep watching a movie. We woke up at 3am to Tanner crying, Cass heard a funny noise in Missy's kennel, and she had a GIRL puppy. They were able to bond and Missy did well with her through the night. Missy was reunited with all her puppies this morning and is doing well with them. We just heard a little while ago that she just had another GIRL! She is still having puppies!!! What?!?!?! They were thinking she was ready to have another one. We'll see. So far 5 boys and 2 girls. Crazy! The pictures aren't very good, but at least there are a few. I hope this all sounds okay and makes sense.

Missy is an American Bulldog. I don't recommend this type of dog if you want a good family dog (I hear the short fat bulldogs are good family dogs). Now that we don't have her anymore, my kids want a Great Dane. We'll see.....

Happy 6th Birthday Alyssa

2009-04-01T20:25:00.005-06:00

Alyssa turned 6 years old yesterday. I am so proud of her. She is doing great in school. She is starting to read, her teacher says she is definitely ready for 1st grade. Alyssa loves doing arts and crafts. She learned to ride her bike without training wheels last year. Cassidy bought her a new bike for her birthday. The one thing that she REALLY wanted was a bunny. A real bunny. So I suprised her with one. We went to the country store on Saturday and she found one she liked. I told her I'd buy it for her when I had more money. Cass got the girls in the car and I went back in the store and bought it. I had it in a box at my feet in the car. I bought a huge bag of bunny food and told her it was fertilizer for the grass when I got it in the car. I gave it to her at her party on sunday, and she was so suprised. The bunny is so good, she plays with it non stop when she gets home from school. It just hangs out with her or hops around. It is fun having her birthday close to easter. We had a bunny party, and she got her bunny. I think it was fun for her. Happy Birthday Alyssa!

Being Crafty

2009-03-17T17:18:00.003-06:00

I don't think anyone wants to hear about how sick we have been recently, so I thought I would post something crafty that I made. I love looking at crafty blogs. This is a bag in a box. It's very fun to give as a gift, and so easy to make. You can make it any holiday or any occasion. I've made matching mini cards to go with them. A friend made me a fun halloween one last year. I can post the instructions if anyone is interested.

Grandma Hatfield

2009-02-08T19:45:00.005-07:00

Today, my Grandma Hatfield passed away. She had pneumonia and was in the hospital since Tuesday night. She couldn't breath on her own and was on a ventilator (sp?). We were hopeful that it wasn't her time to go and that she'd recover. Her mind was sharp. She remembered things from her childhood. I was amazed at her stories and the details she could remember. She will be greatly missed. I am sad that she is gone, I don't think it has really hit me yet. I've cried a lot today. Ask me about it and you'll get lots of tears. If I can give one word of advise, it would be to visit those we love, often. My Grandpa Hatfield got alzheimers and in September 2007, he went to a rest home where he could be taken care of. My girls and I made the trip to Brigham City everyweek to visit. My Grandpa passed away January 2008. Even after my Grandpa died, we still would visit my Grandma. It was winter any many times she would tell us not to come because of the weather. We got to a point where it was harder to visit every week. She always had to make lunch. It was usually potato salad, hot dogs w/ spaghetti O's, or whatever the girls asked for. She loved my kids. She made all the new baby's blankets and hats. The picture below is Abbie and Anna in her hats. We wear them all winter long. I have great memories and no regrets. She will be missed.

January is over?

2009-02-01T17:43:00.004-07:00

What happened to January? It's gone, I can't believe it. Abbie had her 4th birthday last Sunday the 25th. She is getting to be so big. She got a new pink booster seat, so she really thinks she's big. We started out the month with Tanner having ear infections. We had him on antibiotics and he's much better. He is trying to sit on his own, he doesn't care about rolling over. Alyssa has a loose tooth, her front top tooth, it was loose before Christmas, it's alomost out now. Aniston is making us call her AJ (Aniston Jenice) if we call her Anna or Aniston, she says "No, I'm AJ". It's cute. Abbie sometime says "Call me Abigail". They are fun, and they keep us very busy. I have been making crafts and playing with the kids. Cass has gotten into Geneology and is trying to find out why Anna is so dark. He is building his family tree, he is really enjoying it.

This picture was taken 2 yrs ago when we got Lagoon passes. I came across it, and thought it was funny.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T01:17:00.005-07:00

2008 is over, and it's time to begin a new year. Looking back, our family had a pretty good year. We started off with Abbie's birthday January 25th, she turned 3 yrs old. Her party was all about horses. We went to Disneyland in March for 5 days- it was such a blast. We are counting down the days that we can go back. We got pregnant, had a sweet baby boy on September 22nd. I had the "blessing" of getting in a car accident and having the car totalled so we could get into something bigger (It couldn't have worked out better, it's the blessing of tithing and prayer). We found a nice home in Layton so we could get Alyssa started in Kindergarten. She loves it and is learning how to read. Cass turned 29 in September, and yesterday I had my 26th birthday. Wow! We are getting old. By the end of 2009 we'll have a 6, 4, 3 and 1 yr old. Our kids are so great, we love them tons!
I'm so thankful for all our family and friends that we have. We are so blessed to know such great people. Thanks to everyone for making our lives better. I don't know what's in store for this new year, but I hope it's full of family and friends. I don't think we'll have any big changes like 2008 brought us, but you never know.

2008-12-25T11:20:00.003-07:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Finally a new post

2008-12-07T21:24:00.003-07:00

Yeah Yeah Yeah, I know, it's been a while since we've posted. Things here at the Keyes house are going pretty good. The kids have had coughs and runny noses that we can't get rid of. Tanner (thank goodness) is the only one that isn't getting sick. He keeps fighting it off. At his 2 month Dr check up he was 12 lbs. He's an average growing boy. The girls are all keeping busy. They have been making their Christmas lists. Alyssa wants musical instruments and craft supplies, Abbie wants dogs, tigers, lions and horses. Anna wants a new baby doll, a stroller, and a carseat for her baby. Pretty simple things, Santa is pretty happy with their short Christmas lists. We are now in the dog breeding business. If anyone would like an American Bulldog in oh, we'll say March or April, let us know. Long story, call if you really want to know. I'll post pictures soon. Still no internet at our house....soon I hope.

Yeah, I know. Utes won, but that's okay. There's always next year.

The Great Debate

2008-11-16T14:57:00.005-07:00

Saturday Nov 22nd is the big game! The Keyes are big time Ute fans, and the DeJong's are BYU fans. Tanner already has a BYU onsie that he likes to sport. It doesn't make Cassidy very happy, but what can he do, he doesn't dress the baby. Cassidy says that if the Utes win, there will be NO talk of BYU in our home ever again. I say "dito". NO talk of the Utes in our home. No more red shirts, no more talk of needing a Red UofU hoodie. It's all blue! Boys look better in blue anyway. When Daddy is not in the room, the girls chant "BYU BYU BYU" But once Daddy comes in its "Go Utes Go Utes" I'm having fun with it, Cass isn't laughing. GO BYU!!!

Happy Halloween and Happy blessing day

2008-11-02T20:15:00.003-07:00

Halloween has come and gone for another year. This year was fun with the kids being a bit older. 3 kids is 3X the candy, great! Before we got Anna's costume we asked her what she wanted to be for halloween, she said "Dumbo". She loves elephants and calls them all Dumbo. We thought we'd look for an elephant costume. We went to Savers the week before halloween (we had never been in the store before) Cass was looking through the halloween costumes, and there was a Dumbo one. Perfect! She loved it. All the girls had fun. We had Tigger, Dumbo, a cowgirl, and a skeleton. All very different things, last year we had 3 pretty ballerinas.

Tanner's baby blessing was very nice, Cassidy did a really good job. Tanner looks so handsome in his little tuxedo. I love playing dress up with my little boy.

4 kids, not so bad!

2008-10-12T20:29:00.003-06:00

Things at the Keyes house are going pretty good. Still no internet at home, so we can't update our blog as often as I'd like. Baby is doing good and growing. At his 2 week visit, he weighed 8 lbs 7 oz. He is starting to sleep more at night, he usually wakes up every 3-4 hours to eat, and then he's back to sleep. For a few nights he was up every hour, that wasn't fun. Cassidy let me sleep in a lot, while he woke up early to get Alyssa ready for school and to the bus. Alyssa is excited that she taught herself how to blow bubbles with her gum, and also put her hair in a ponytail all by herself. Abbie and Anna love their baby brother and give him lots of kisses. We are happy to say that it snowed last night, that means we won't have any more tomatoes- yes, that's a good thing. We had so many tomatoes this year. My Dad (thanks Dad) bottled tons of tomatoes for us. We had lots of zuccini too. We have loved having the garden. It was nice to run outside and pick a zuccini for bread, or a tomato for our sandwiches.

Welcome Baby Tanner

2008-09-24T15:07:00.006-06:00

Tanner came a little early. He suprised us all. I woke up at 3:30am on Monday September
22nd and my water broke. Labor and delivery went very well, baby was born at 2:29pm. He
was 7 lbs 2 oz and 19 inches long. He came out very alert looking around and had his mouth wide open trying to find some food. Sisters love him, a little too much. I'll post more pictures of baby with sisters soon.

New home

2008-09-21T20:31:00.002-06:00

Here are some pictures of the outside of our new home. I love all the flowers, plants, trees, and garden. We've had tons of tomatoes and zucinni in the week we've been there. The peach tree is a big hit with the kids. I love gardening, so this is perfect for me. We finished the kids room. New paint, carpet, base molding and chair rail. Cass did an awesome job!! It's a good size room, the girls will fit in there until we get the addition finished (we're going to turn the carport into 2 kids rooms, since there are only 2 rooms upstairs). One project at a time. Thanks for everyone who volunteered to help us move. Cass and my Dad loaded everything in the garage and we brought in one box at a time. We'll invite you all over soon.

Alyssa started school and loves it, she gets to ride the bus, so she feels like such a big kid. She already has lots of friends. Abbie and Anna loved going to church today, they weren't the only kids in nursery. They are loving their new house.

We are scheduled to have the baby on Monday September 29th. The closer it comes, the more nervous I am getting about having 4 kids. It seems like such a handful. We'll let everyone know as soon as baby comes. If you don't here from us this week, the 29th it is! YIKES!!

Moving Day

2008-09-12T21:47:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow is moving day (Lucky me I don't have to do much). The old home owners are gone, they lived in the house for 26 years, they were sad to be leaving. It's where they raised their children. When we first went through the house it was nice and clean (small, but nice). Now they are gone and there's so much work that needs to be done. It needs a lot of updating. So we'll be busy. I was rushing baby to come, but now if he waits 2 weeks, it will be okay. At my Dr's appt on Monday, I was dialated to a 2, and 70% thinned. It's a start. No one is letting me do anything, so I won't go into labor because we are moving. I love the backyard, and the garden. It's the best part. The peaches are almost ready, and there are a few pumpkins in the garden. We are HUGE pumpkin fans. We've missed not having a pumpkin patch the last few years. Alyssa starts school on Monday, she gets morning class, and her teachers name is Mrs. Kirshaw. She is very nervous and excited. I can't believe it's all finally here, it came so fast. The picture of the pumpkins are from our old pumpkin patch when we lived in Woods Cross.

Home

2008-09-02T16:27:00.003-06:00

We are finally home owners again. We will start moving in on September 13th, and I'm hoping to have Alyssa start school on Monday the 15th. She is excited to start Kindergarten. We've had everything packed for the last year and a half, so all we really have to pack is our clothes. I'm sad to leave home again, this is where I grew up, and I love it here. My parents are great, and my kids love them. We'll miss them tons. We have pumpkins in the garden waiting for us, and peaches and pears on the trees. The backyard is my favorite part of the house. I'll show pictures as soon as I get some. I'm hoping baby comes right after we move in, I'd be okay with him coming now, the last month of being pregnant is always the worst, I'd be fine skipping it. Lots going on for us, new car, new house, new baby, new kindergartener. It's all happening at once, and I hope we're ready.

Enjoying the last days of Summer

2008-08-25T11:41:00.002-06:00

We have been busy doing fun stuff the last week. We went to Liberty Park and let the girls play in the water. We went back to Liberty Park and went to the Tracy Aviary. That really is worth going to. We've been twice this year. They have tons of birds, and a good bird show. I thought it was run down, but it's definitely worth going to. It's $5 for adults and for kids I think it was ages 4 and up $3. Not too bad. We also went to the Zoo. They have a new carosel, it has so many fun animals and other creatures to ride on. When they were building it I thought they should have got a new animal exhibit instead, but I was really impressed with how nice it was. It was really hot, but still fun being out with the family. This week Cass is out of town for a few days, so we are going to relax. My brother and his family are coming to Utah (from Texas) on Friday, they have a new baby, Caleb, that we haven't seen before. So exciting to finally get to meet him!!!

Davis County Fair

2008-08-17T17:28:00.004-06:00

We have made it a little family tradition to go to the Davis County Fair every year. The girls love the petting zoo and riding the horses. This year they found some snakes and a HUGE (yuck) trianchula spider. We were trying to keep Alyssa away from them. A month or so ago she saw one at the pet store and was frantically crying because she was so scared. We managed to keep her away from the spider for a little bit, but then she spotted it, and was a little nervous, but she saw a little girl holding it, so she wanted to. Then Abbie held it. To top it off, they went back later in the day to hold it again. Crazy girls! Cass and I would NEVER touch one. It was a really fun day, the girls had cotton candy and snow cones. YUM!

Our new addition

2008-08-04T10:21:00.003-06:00

This is our new car. It's not a minivan like I said I was going to get when I had 4 kids, but I think it will work just fine for us. We don't do much driving, so hopefully the gas doesn't eat us up. It's a 2004 Ford Expedition, Eddie Bauer Edition. We think we got a good deal, and since we couldn't get a loan because our home loan hasn't gone through yet, we had to pay cash, so the dealership gave us the price we wanted. Notice it's a WHITE vehicle. If you know us, all 4 cars we've ever owned have been WHITE. Oh well.

So much happening!

2008-07-29T20:48:00.003-06:00

We just found out today that the Insurance is going to total (sp?) our car, damages started at $4,000 and kept going up. But at least they're giving us close to what we owe on it. The accident is really working out to be a blessing for us. We were going to have to sell it and get a bigger car, but were worried about owing more than what we could sell it for. Selling is such a hassle anyway.

We found a home in Layton that is going to be good for us. It's in our price range and it seems like a nice clean home. We are cutting it close for baby to come and Alyssa starting school. Closing is on Aug 27th, and we'll move in Sept 15. The owners are in the military, so they have to wait until they come and move all their things.

Things seem busy and hecktic right now, but it's all coming together. The girls are all doing good, they love this hot summer weather. In the picture Anna is eating a sour skittle.

crazy baby boy

2008-07-25T00:11:00.000-06:00

This picture was taken at about 26 weeks pregnant (i'm 30 weeks now). Baby Boy Tanner has been so crazy in my belly, he's non stop! I can't believe the kind of movements he can make. Today it was his head or bum or some body part pushing out my right side, it hurt. Normally he is active around my belly button, it's almost like he is trying to dig his way out, it's really gross sometimes. You can feel these little body parts rubbing around, and he doesn't stop. I love being pregnant and feeling him move, but oh man! I think I'm in for a real active baby when he comes out. I'm hoping he's getting all his wiggles out now. But I've heard if they are wiggly inside, they come out that way. 10 weeks left, hopefully he'll have a little growth spurt and have less room to move. Yeah right!

You never know what will happen driving to church

2008-07-18T08:18:00.000-06:00

On Sunday I was driving to church and was turning into the church parking lot when I got hit from behind. The truck that hit me was a brand new 2008 Ford Truck, the driver had just bought it the night before, he slowed down since I was turning, but with his new truck being bigger than his old car, and he looked down, he didn't judge his driving right. I didn't know it was coming, all I knew was that my foot was on the break and I was moving forward. Kinda scarey, since I was 28 weeks pregnant. Damages are still being estimated on the car. I have a nice 2008 Chevy Malibu rental car, still not as big as the Impala inside, the car seats are squished in. Luckily the girls rode to church with my parents. My Dad saw it happen and said something like "That guy just hit Melanie." The girls heard that and started crying. After they saw I was okay, they were worried about the car. All Anna would say for days is "My car broke". Abbie was mad at the driver that hit me, we had to explain about 50 times that it was an accident. I never expected to be in an accident going to church. It taught me a good lesson to always buckle up, and buckle the kids up even when I'm going around the corner, you never know what could happen. I keep thinking about the things that could have happened and how blessed we are that everything is okay.

July 4th at the Farm

2008-07-07T09:13:00.001-06:00

Loosing her first tooth

2008-07-05T11:38:00.000-06:00

Alyssa showed us on June 18th that she had a loose tooth. I thought she was too young so I called the Dentist, they said that the front bottom teeth come out between 5 and 6 years old. She was so excited to have a loose tooth. She was even more excited when it came out today. She thinks the tooth fairy will leave her $100. Grandpa gave her $5. The tooth fairy can probably match that. The first picture with the sticky note says "Alyssa has a loose tooth" She was so excited when she found it loose that she had to write it down.

Frogs! YUCK!

2008-06-25T13:41:00.000-06:00

Alyssa got a crazy idea in her head that she needed a frog. So we ventured out to a few pet stores, and didn't find any that we liked. We ended up at the Bountiful Pond, and Cassidy caught some himself. We have to feed them baby crickets. We let the girls hold them today, hopefully they won't die.

We love summer!

2008-06-18T11:48:00.000-06:00

We've been spending our summer days in the backyard enjoying this nice weather (I'm not going to complain that it's been so hot). The girls love playing in the pool. They don't do much swimming. They like to get the play dishes and play house and do other girly things, they are always pretending something. The love being outside, and they love the water.

Oh Boy it's a Boy!!!

2008-06-10T14:47:00.000-06:00

We are very excited to announce that we are going to be blessed with a baby BOY! The girls are very excited to have a baby brother. Alyssa says her sisters give her too much trouble, but baby Tanner will be no trouble at all. She wants to share her room with him. We are planning on naming him Tanner Andrew Keyes. His due date is October 4th, 2008. Lots to get ready in 4 months. Hooray for a boy!!!

I'm starting a blog

2008-06-04T13:18:00.000-06:00

I have enjoyed reading friends blogs that I decided to create my own. I'm new at this, so it may take a while before it's really up and running. I thought today would be a good day to get the blog going, because it's rainy and we wouldn't be going anywhere. But it just means that the kids are trapped inside driving each other crazy, driving me crazy. I hope I can keep things up to date and you enjoy checking it out from time to time.