Haws Reunion in June

We camped in New Mexico and then went hiking at a place called the Catwalk. Here are a couple shots from the hike. You hike to the top and there's a waterfall and river to play in. It was a beautiful hike and a fun refreshing experience at the top. This picture is before we started the hike with Katie, Cassie, Seth, My cousin Hunter, and Isaac.

Aunt Alicia and Seth

Seth and Isaac and my niece Brenli

Aunt Shamane helping Cassie on the rocks trying to get around Isaac

My kids are definitely camera shy! Isaac and Cassie and my niece Ryli

Seth ready to hike

Cassie wanted to walk, but I preferred carrying her in the backpack. We might never have made it to the top! It was a fun time. Glad we went. Bryce and David had Cub Scout Day Camp, so Clint stayed home with them.

May trip up to Utah

Uncle Ryan graduated from U of U, so I took the oldest 3 kids (Katie, Bryce, and David) up to Utah to watch. The ceremony was pretty long and boring for kids this age, but it's never to early to integrate them with the importance of education and of course, (BYU, BYU, BYU!)

Aunt Dorie is always the greatest! She took a day out of her very busy life to help me take the kids on tour of BYU. This was at the Dinosaur museum right across from the stadium.

Even though the stadium wasn't open, they let us in to show the kids the amazing stadium and really feel the spirit of BYU football! Go Cougs!

Then of course, we had to take photo op every chance we could... I intend to get these printed to put in their rooms. (BYU! BYU!)

We also visited the Provo temple and drove by the MTC, since it was on our way. (Mission, Mission)

I know you can't tell all the subliminal messages I'm sending my kids, but all in all it was a great trip. Made me see how fun it can be as your kids get older and can appreciate some of the finer things in life!

Why I love 8 a.m. church...

Katie and Seth figuring out how to put dehydrated onions into a smaller container.

Yes, we're potty training Cassie and washing all the clothes all the time, just isn't worth it!

My master chefs at work! I've officially turned Sunday cooking over to Clint and haven't regretted it since! Bryce, Cassie, and Clint

Everyone wanted to be a part of the crepe making process, except Isaac who was still asleep. Katie, Seth and David

This was our family making crepes Sunday afternoon after naps. THIS is worth getting up early and having so much chaos trying to get out the door... because the afternoons are marvelous!

Bryce's Famous Americans of the 20th Century Play

I know you can't understand all the words, but I thought this was awfully cute. Bryce's 2nd grade class put on a play about Famous Americans of the 20th Century. He was Orville Wright (in the white shirt). He did great and I have to say that I was definitely impressed with this 2nd grade class.

Oh, Yeah! It's softball time again!

Take me out to the ball game... Take me out to the crowd...

Opening Day for Queen Creek Heat Softball

Katie's playing in the minor division again this year and loving it more than last year... much to the pure enjoyment of her mother!

It's going to get hot, but right now the weather is perfect! Good luck this season, Katie!

It's Princess time!

Katie is such a fun big sister for Cassie!

Cassie loves to dress up and Katie is willing to do it for her.

Just because I want the kids to know that we did have some fun times... for when they only remember the fighting...

Flag football in February

David, Bryce, and Jacob all started out on the same flag football team, but with Bryce's broken arm, he only got 2 games in...

That left Jacob and David to hold down the fort!

Enjoying the beautiful weather while watching the game and remembering why we live in Arizona... That memory has to last me thru the summer!

I don't know that this was David's sport, but at least he finished the season and I'm proud of him for that! Good job buddy! Undefeated! Way to go!

Man! It was sure a busy February!

Bryce's surgery on his arm was definitely painful... 2/09

But he took the pictures like a champ!

Smiling, even when he didn't feel like it... Of course, with how many drugs they had him on, he may have felt like smiling... at least right then, just not later!

Let's see how it all turned out...

Ever Wonder what pins in your arm would look like? Here it is in real life!

Pinewood Derby

OK, we all know that the Pinewood derby is just a chance for dads to build cars and then compete against each other right?

Well, Clint did a pretty good job of letting the boys be involved in the process along the way. However, it took way too much time, if you ask me... and since I'm doing the post, you are asking me and it was WAY too much time!

Bryce's finished car.

David's finished car.

Of course, the first race just had to be brother against brother and NO ONE wants to lose that one. It was too bad, but a lesson in life. The boys handled it well and had a fun night. We had about 30 boys competing in the races, so they each got to race plenty of times. Good job everyone!

David's 8th birthday

Happy 8th Birthday David! 2/24/09

This was the family party before the friend party...

Let the games begin! Steal the bacon with Seth B versus Katie... It's a matter of bragging rites!

And then there was tug of war, water balloon toss and too much more fun to even begin to explain! We're sure lucky to have a dad willing to tackle this many 8 year old boys! They had a great time eating pizza, cupcakes, soda, and just running around. Hope it was memorable, David! Sure love ya!

It's our Baptism day!

Bryce and David finally turned 8 and were able to be baptized. It was a great day. 2/28/09

We were excited to finally have it be today!

Dad baptized us. We had a great time with so many people there to support us. We put a couple trash bags over Bryce's cast used duct tape to secure it, and went ahead with the ceremony. It was truly a great day!

Only Bryce...

Yes, only Bryce could break his arm only a week and a half before his and David's baptism! I told him that until he played for the NBA and was collecting a check the size that they were, he better not be trying to hang from the rim of the basketball hoop. Especially because then he could pay his own medical bills! Thanks to all our Doctor friends who helped us to keep the cost down!

Dancing Queen

I just know that she could make me rich by winning "So You Think You Can Dance"! All the music is coming from my ringtones on my cell phones... Maybe one of them is what I use to know that it's YOU calling... :)

The Mortensen Family Ultimate Gift Disney Cruise

Happy 8th birthday, Bryce!

For those of you who don't know, we only give our kids friend parties on the big birthdays like 8, 12, and 16. So this was Bryce's big friend party and it rained the entire time! I could NOT believe it. Here in the desert, who would have guessed? I felt bad, but there was nothing we could do about it so thank goodness for a dad and his friend who are just big boys at heart and made it more fun than any 8 year old boy could ever hope for. Thanks Clint and Joel! We ordered a few too many pizzas, but the boys definitely got all they could eat and more!

It was a little hard to light the candles because of how much wind there was, but we managed and the kids just loved the cupcakes.

We had a water balloon toss. We figured after how wet everyone was, it really didn't matter if the balloon got a little water on them!

Yes, see that puddle? That was how much it rained just in the course of the party. The boys didn't care, though. In fact, it added to the fun of the party.

Yes, it was crazy with this many boys running around, but so worth it. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the smile on these boys faces is worth everything in the world. Happy 8th birthday Bryce! 1/23/09