GossFamilyTribune

Santa

2011-12-15T15:06:00.000-07:00

We went with Nana's daycare to see Santa at the mall this year....as usual Callie wouldn't go within 10 feet of Santa! Beckett went right went over and told Santa he wanted trains. Hadley wasn't too happy about sitting on Old Saint Nick's lap either...in the group shot with Santa she was screaming her head off! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of that.

Cathy holding baby Trystan in his cute Santa outfit. Afterwards the kids got to play in the mall play area...great fun!

Some Hadley Pics...

2011-12-15T14:52:00.002-07:00

We have been slacking on taking pictures of our sweet Hadley so we just took a few...and yes those are cheetos my 8 month old is eating....don't judge ;) Whenever we are away from her for a while she always puts her hand up to say hello along with her adorable smile. It's not quite a wave but is is dang cute! We sure love this baby girl!

Nutcracker 2011

2011-12-13T09:47:00.001-07:00

A few months ago Callie decided ballet was not her thing so only Taylor was in the Nutcracker this year. She was a Soldier Mouse and part of the "Chinese " scene. She did great and had a wonderful time. We were all very proud of her.

Here is the Video of Chinese....Taylor is on the far right with the red hat.

Some fun...

2011-12-13T09:46:00.002-07:00

We had a picnic at Garden of the Gods to celebrate Papa's birthday...it was a beautiful day.

One Saturday we popped into the Library to return some overdue books and found that they were having a holiday craft show....the kids got their face painted by a woman who was extremely talented at what she did. The kids loved it :) If you can't tell...the girls are winter fairies and Beckett is Rodolph.

Another tooth down....

2011-12-13T09:40:00.002-07:00

Family Pictures by Cathy

2011-12-05T10:02:00.001-07:00

Halloween Fun

2011-11-16T14:04:00.005-07:00

We went Trick or Treating with the Nickells, the Goss' (Matt's family) and Nana. The weather was really nice so it made it lots of fun this year. The kids kept chanting "trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat...or I'll pull down your underwear!" Crazy kids.....not sure where they learned that one!
Matt is holding baby Trystan....the cutest little monkey I've ever seen!
Callie was Silver Mist, one of the Fairies from the Tinkerbell movies.
Hadley the Duck hanging in the stroller... And Taylor, our pretty pirate, posing for a picture. Nana made 9 costumes for all her grand-kids this year...she is so amazing. I'm so glad to have her as my Mother-in-Law :)

All the girls in Missy's family were different characters from Strawberry Shortcake....and Logan was the blue Power Ranger.
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We had a great time at the ward party this year. There was the chili cook off, trunk or treating and carnival games. It was so much fun that the fire alarm went off and we all at to clear out of the building :) Turns out it was the fog machine from the Spook Alley that set it off, so no real emergency but it kind freaked out the kids.Brandon and I made Beckett's Thomas costume and Nana made the cute engineer outfit. After we were done putting the cardboard Thomas together, we realized we made a little on the big side. It was a little too heavy and pretty cumbersome for a two year old to manage. At the ward party we put it on wheels and pushed Beckett around. The Dwelle's in our ward made this awesome airplane for their son out of cardboard...had to get a picture of them together. Although it makes our attempt look kinda lame!

Carving Pumpkins

2011-11-14T21:31:00.002-07:00

We watched a scary Scooby Doo movie, carved pumpkins and ate pizza. Lots of fun in one night!

Playing in the Leaves

2011-11-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

The First Snow

2011-10-12T14:59:00.002-06:00

Last year we had a really lame winter here in the Springs. We only had about two snow storms all year. So, i've been hoping that we have a better winter this year and we are already off to a good start. Last weekend the forecaster called for some rain but we ended up getting a good little snow storm...which was perfect for making snowmen. Thank goodness dad was home to help build it...I was cutting up a bunch of apples we picked from Missy's tree to make applesauce and it took all morning (sometimes being domestic isn't all it cracked up to be :)

The sun came out that afternoon and almost all the snow melted....perfect!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

2011-10-12T14:38:00.004-06:00

Every fall since Taylor was just a baby we have always gone to a some sort of fall farm festival. In Utah it was Hee Haw Farms with old Leroy the pig...now it's a farm out in Black Forest that we've been to the past two years. It's always a great time and gets me into the fall spirit, if there is such a thing :)

We got free pumpkins because we came with a friends preschool group. Love it!
All the kids had a great time in the corn box...even Hadley who was practicing her newly acquired skill of sitting up. We kept the gloves on so she couldn't pick up the corn and choke on it.
The kids had a blast going down the big slides on burlap sacks.

Snuggling with Hadley on the hay ride.
The Brandon and kids were loving using the big sling shot to fling gourds out into the field.

I'd say that half of the whole time we were at the farm Beckett spent with the animals at the petting zoo...he absolutely loved petting every single one.

Fall is here

2011-10-11T21:47:00.004-06:00

On Sunday after conference we drove up rampart range road to look at the beautiful fall colors. We wanted to walk around and get some pictures but it ended up being pretty chilly so we didn't do much exploring. Luckily we found a nice pull off the road and got some cute pictures of the kiddos.

On Saturday of conference we sent the kids out to play at the end of the first session....they started their own baseball game.

Watching, coloring, "bingo"ing, snacking...
Earlier in the week Taylor had a skate party at her school so we made it a family affair. Everyone had a great time. The girls have already decided that they are going to have roller skating Birthday parties next year....we'll see :)

Sundays can be exhausting.....

2011-10-11T21:45:00.001-06:00

The first loose tooth

2011-10-11T21:28:00.002-06:00

Taylor has been very excited to have a loose tooth since kindergarten....many of her school mates had lost multiple teeth by the end of the year. She was disappointed, especially when her cousin Logan, who is only 6 month older than her, had 2 loose teeth.

Well, the 2nd week of school Taylor came running home from the bus with a big smile on her face....she had a loose tooth! So it was wiggling time...I have to admit I wanted to wiggle that tooth right out of her mouth for her! I don't know why it bugged me so....but it went on for weeks and finally Brandon convinced Taylor to let him push some floss under the tooth. We were so surprised when that thing shot straight up in the air...we found the tooth 5 feet away! Taylor was excited and Brandon was about to pass out. He gets that way with things like this....silly boy.

The tooth fairy brought Taylor $2.00 for her first tooth , a little steep if you ask me. (But when her cousin gets 2 bucks for his tooth a week prior, there wasn't much of the choice :) The tooth fairy even left a note for her...which mentions not to expect so much money next time....hehehe!

Baby Trystan

2011-10-11T21:18:00.002-06:00

On September 1st, Matt and Cathy welcomed their sweet baby boy Trystan Andrew Goss into their family. We were so thrilled for the safe arrival of this adorable baby boy. Cathy was induced 3 weeks early so he was on the small side at 6lbs 1oz.

I love newborn babies...is there anything sweeter?

Father Sons Campout

2011-10-08T22:25:00.002-06:00

Brandon was very excited about the father/son campout this year because it was the first year he could actually go with his son and campout! He has gone to many of them before, but either went with someone else's son or just went and came home early. Now that Beckett is two years old, he felt he could do the whole thing. The campout was at the B-52 campground on the Air Force Academy so they stopped before entering the campground at the huge B-52 bomber.

At the campground, they set up camp with the other men and sons from the ward and began playing games. They played lots of baseball as well as some football. Beckett enjoyed some time playing with the other boys, but because they were bigger, older, and faster, he stuck with his daddy most of the time. At night, they enjoyed a nice dinner and devotional (which Brandon put on for the ward) as well as lots of "goodies."

Once bedtime came, Beckett was the one who volunteered them to go to bed. Brandon said that as soon as he laid him down, he fell asleep. At first it seemed like it was going to be a good night, but as it got a little colder, Beckett woke up at 3am and never really went back to bed. By 6:30am, Brandon had had enough and they packed up their tent and stuff and came home. They were both exhausted and fell back asleep at home for a few hours. Go boys!

Balloon Glow

2011-10-08T22:19:00.002-06:00

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They even let the kids get in the basket of one of the balloon but Callie wasn't interested.

We went to the Balloon with Brandon's parents this year. It was pretty windy when we showed up so only a few balloon actually participated but it was fun anyways.

Random Fun

2011-10-08T22:11:00.002-06:00

I found Beckett one morning getting ready for school...just like Taylor. It was pretty cute...he even had her lunch box and her pink sparkly shoes :)
So Hadley has been rolling over since she was 4 months old but recently she has been going crazy. I put her down in the living room and a minute later she has rolled into the kitchen!

One Sunday afternoon Beckett felt compelled to water the garden in the nude.
Um yuck....no explanation needed!

Zoo Trip

2011-10-08T22:04:00.002-06:00

Went to the Zoo with our friends the Webbs and some of the family....good time for all...

Papa is crazy...letting the giraffe lick some lettuce off his chin!

Taylor's first day of 1st Grade

2011-10-07T15:04:00.003-06:00

Taylor was so excited to start first grade and be at school all day long. I have to admit it has been nice to have one less kid at home during the day but I do miss her.

She is loving her teachers, Mrs. Seremet and Mrs. Pitmon. They team teach by splitting the week in half. Mrs. Seremet had her baby the 3rd week of school so it has been Mrs. Pitmon full time until Mrs Seremet comes back from maternity leave.

I have been volunteering in Taylor's class once a week and it has been fun to see how Taylor interacts with others at school. She has recently made friends with Miles, who she sits with at lunch. One day I found on her pillow a rock she decorated with Miles' name and a drawn face on it. It had little hearts drawn all over it as well....hmm. She assures me they are just friends :)

Cute Kids and a some nasty worms...

2011-10-07T14:54:00.002-06:00

One afternoon I was making dinner when Hadley woke up from her nap. I had to finish up what I was doing so I sent the girls up to entertain Hadley until I could get up there. When I went upstairs this is what I found....Hadley is so lucky to have such great sisters (and a brother)!

Getting a hair cut with Daddy.
One day I went up to look in on my garden and I noticed that all the leaves on one of my pepper plants were totally gone...I started looking around in my tomato plants and found 6 of these nasty worms. We kept a few in a jar until we so kindly gave them to my nephew Logan! I don't think Missy appreciated that too much :)

Rampart Reservoir

2011-10-07T14:44:00.002-06:00

We wanted to go camping one last time before school started so we went on a Monday night. Brandon and I actually had to attend a cluster meeting and dinner with some of his coworkers that day so we sent the older kids off with Nana, Papa and Missy. We met up with them at the campsite that night. The weather wasn't great and it rained off and on the whole time. In the morning we went to Rampart Reservoir for some fishing....it was beautiful.
Hadley took a nap on the beach under an umbrella :)
Wouldn't be camping without a really dirty 2 year old, would it?

Hadley and Rice Cereal

2011-10-07T14:39:00.002-06:00

We went to Hadley's 4 month checkup the Dr told me to start giving Hadley some rice cereal and then perhaps she would sleep better at night. She actually liked it quite a bit for about a month but unfortunately she didn't start sleeping better. It's a good thing she is so cute :)

Playing in the Backyard....

2011-10-07T14:36:00.002-06:00

Waiting for Dad to get home from his meetings.

T-Ball

2011-10-07T14:28:00.002-06:00

We finished up Coach-pitch and T-ball at the end of July. It was fun but made for some long Saturdays. Taylor really seemed to enjoy it and improved on her batting skills. Callie always enjoyed the first 20 mins or so but then always grew tired of playing. One of the Saturdays Callie wasn't feeling well so I took her home and Beckett filled in for her....I wasn't there but I guess he did awesome, unfortunately we don't have any pictures of that. Next year will be fun to watch 3 of the kiddos playing.

More Utah Fun....

2011-09-01T21:44:00.004-06:00

On Thursday we went to the Veteran's pool in Provo with the Palis. We love his pool because they have big slides that they let you take the kids down on your lap (no other pools let you do that!). We were having so much fun that we totally lost track of time and stayed an hour later than we planned to!
We then headed to the Spanish Fork carnival and Callie was a little tired....we woke her up to get out of the car but then she just went right back to bed on the shady grass!
We met up with our dear friends, the Oylers and fun on the kiddie rides.
Taylor and Kelsee were loving being back together again....it's like they had never been apart for the last year.
Beckett had a grin on his face almost the whole time he rode this mini roller coaster.

Saying goodbye was sad...we miss our Utah friends and hope we always stay in touch!

Scott and Lori were so awesome to let us stay with them for a few nights.... Lori even stayed up late on night and cut my hair for me. I sure miss them!

Utah Trip part 2, The Childrens Museum

2011-09-01T19:52:00.003-06:00

While Brandon was teaching during the day at EFY, I had to come up with things for the kids and I to do. On Tuesday, we spent a lovely day with my dear friend Marnie who lives in Lehi. We mostly just hung out and got to talk, while the kiddos played (like the good ole days.) On Wednesday, I took the kids to downtown Salt Lake to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. I had never been there and didn't know what to expect, but it turned out to be well worth the money spent. We played for 3 hours straight and only one kid cried the whole time...a sign of a really good time :)
Above, Taylor is reading which notes to play for "Mary Had a Little Lamb" Below they are moving faux construction blocks with a little crane...Beckett an Callie loved this area.

Hadley didn't get in on the hands on fun but she was still a very good baby that day.

The kids loved flying the helicopter, even though their was at least five kids crammed into the cockpit at any given time.
After the museum the kids played in the Olympic Splash pad...it felt great on that nice hot day.

Trip to Utah, part 1

2011-09-01T15:41:00.005-06:00

When Brandon got asked to do an EFY at U of U last minute...we jumped on board and made a family vacation out of it. We left on a Sunday after church and stopped at a somewhat shady motel in Grand Junction....but we had a blast swimming in the outdoor pool and hot tub.

When we got to Utah, we met up with many wonderful friends from Springville and Spanish Fork. After a BBQ with some friends, we headed up to Salt Lake, where we stayed at the Guest House on campus. It was pretty nice accommodations, even though we only had one King size bed! We slept all three of the big kids on a pull out sofa. Needless to say, it was difficult to get the kids to sleep both nights! One of the nights we went to eat at The Mayan....lots of fun.Playing on the giant snakes outside the restaurant
Watching the amazing diving show

A visit from Allison....

2011-09-01T15:30:00.002-06:00

Allison came down from my Moms and stayed for a few days of her vacation while Brandon was at an EFY. The kids had lots of fun playing together, especially Evelyn and Taylor. Sisters had lots of fun staying up too late talking :) One morning we went to graffiti falls....great fun for all!

Visit to Berthoud

2011-07-26T21:21:00.004-06:00

We spent a few days in June up in Berthoud. We were able to see most of my side of the family which is pretty amazing considering the number of people that is! We had a great time but I didn't take lots of pictures :( We all went with Allison and her kids and Grandma to a heritage farm where the kids were able to see what a farm was like 100 years ago. Below they are driving a modern day tractor simulator.
We then got to see how much horsepower we have...

Taylor pretending to milk the metal cow
Beckett loved this big tractor...especially since he could get away from the mean chickens that were chasing us everywhere!
We went to a really fun park in Loveland with Allison and her kids

A bunch my family all met up at the White Fence Farm for a huge dinner.....my camera battery died so not too many pictures :( But here we are feeding the animals at the farm.

4th of July

2011-07-25T22:49:00.004-06:00

We all decided to go to the Monument parade this year. We took the shuttle from Lewis Palmer High school. The kids thought it was fun riding the school bus. Although next year I think we decided against the shuttle as it took a long time to get back to our cars after the parade.

We Tie-Dyed the kids shirts with Kool aid...sorta worked :)
Having a elephant in the parade was pretty fun.
I luckily found a little spot with shade for me an Hadley to hang out and watch the parade

After getting super hot at the parade, we headed to Matt and Cathy's to cool off in their pool. We BBQ'ed and just let the kids play all afternoon.

At about 7 we headed up to Palmer Lake to watch the fireworks. The shoot them over the lake so we just laid out some blankets at the park to watch the fireworks. It was really a beautiful place to be. Beckett and all the other grand kids had a blast wrestling with papa.

Hadley's first fireworks and she slept through it!

La Veda....Gator farm

2011-07-25T22:41:00.002-06:00

After the sand dunes we went to the gator farm and had a great time seeing tons of alligators (and we got to hold a few as well), snakes, various other reptiles, fish, ostriches, and bunnies.

La Veda trip Part 2

2011-07-25T22:22:00.004-06:00

We drove out to Sand Dunes National Park....it was a very hot day and sorta fun but I don't think we'll be going back anytime soon. Hadley was crying almost the whole time. Callie got sand in her eyes (making her miserable) and all the kids were totally covered in it. The kids did have fun going down the dunes on the sled and getting buried in the sand.

On one of the nights we went to the lake by La Veda and BBQ'ed and fished. We made some peach cobbler in the dutch over and it turned out perfect, not to mention delicious :)

We had fun just hanging out at the house eating good food and playing lots of games.

Rainbow falls

2011-07-25T22:04:00.002-06:00

We went to Manitou Springs for a quick hike up to Rainbow falls....it was beautiful except all the graffiti everywhere. The kids loved splashing around in the water. Afterwards we went in to town and played in the outdoor arcade. I love being so close to so many fun things!

Monument Lake

2011-07-25T21:53:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago we went with some of the fam to Monument lake for some fishing and splashing in the water. We had a great time and even caught a few (very small) fish.

Here a pic I just had to post of Beckett....he is such a stud!

Birthday Party for the Girls

2011-07-25T21:31:00.003-06:00

We had a big combined friend birthday party for the girls again this year. It was a Wipeout party based off the TV show that we all love to watch. We had a Wipeout obstacle course complete with slip and slide, water guns and baby pools! We also played games with water balloons and had a few relay races with water.
Beckett missed most of the party because it was during his nap time but he made up for time lost when he woke up :)

Having a snack...before eating cupcakes.

A water relay race...

Passing huge water ballons between teams

Coach Pitch and T-Ball

2011-07-25T21:24:00.002-06:00

Here a few pics form the girls 1st game of the season. Hopefully we will get more at their last game this coming week. Taylor is doing really well and almost hits it from the coach every time. Callie is also doing a great job when she chooses to participate (I little bit of bribery has been employed to make that happen!)

Birthdays and Bunnies

2011-06-23T08:40:00.004-06:00

Taylor has been bugging us for months, asking us if she can have a bunny. Of course I was dead set against it at first (We already have 2 dogs, 3 fish and 2 pillow pets :) but we slowly changed our minds. So we surprised Taylor on her birthday with two bunnies and a bunny cage that Brandon made. This is Fancy, when we let her out of the cage she likes to run run right back in!
This is Freckles, when we let her out she likes to hide under the play house so we can't get her!

Can you tell Beckett is a little disappointed he doesn't get any presents :)
On Callie's Birthday she got her very own camera, which she loves!
Chasing bunnies is our new family pastime!

Taylor and Callie's Family Birthday

2011-06-23T08:20:00.005-06:00

Matt and Cathy let us have the girls birthday party at their house so the kids could play in their pool. It wasn't the warmest of summer days and the water was pretty could but the kids we brave and had a great time!

The girls got pillow pets from Matt and Cathy and they were a huge hit!

Sky Sox Game

2011-06-23T08:09:00.001-06:00

Hadley's Blessing

2011-06-10T20:48:00.005-06:00

On June 5th, Hadley was given a blessing by her father, in our ward. She was blessed with many wonderful things including the knowledge that she is a daughter of God. It was a lovely blessing even if Hadley was crying almost the whole time :) Our beautiful Hadley Anne wore the blessing dress that her Nana made. It is the same one her sisters wore when they were blessed.

We were thrilled to have so much of our family present for the blessing.

Camping

2011-06-10T20:33:00.001-06:00

Brandon and his sister Missy took the kids camping up by Monument lake last Friday...they had a great time!

Helen Hunt Falls

2011-06-01T22:19:00.004-06:00

We decided to do some hiking last weekend...we went to Helen Hunt Falls. It's a short hike but is strait up. Needless to say it took our family of six a while to get to the top ;)

When we got back down from the top of the falls we played in the river....lots of fun! It was a lovely day.

Love My Baby Girl!

2011-06-01T22:05:00.003-06:00

It's been really great being here in Colorado....especially when Grandma can come and help when Brandon is out of town!

More Birthday Fun

2011-06-01T21:57:00.002-06:00

On Beckett's actual birthday we went to Chucky cheese and had a great time!

We then came home and opened presents....
Beckett wanted to hold all three at the same time....he loves sports!

Beckett's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-05-24T11:43:00.005-06:00

For Beckett's birthday we had over all of the Colorado Springs family for Waffles and Pancakes (Beckett's favorite food) Beckett's only boy cousin on this side of the family was sick so he couldn't come.....so that left Beckett to play with the girls. Well as you can tell the girls were playing dress up so Beckett was too...oh, well it's kinda funny!

Beckett loves any kind of ball so we made basketball, baseball and football cupcakes. We also served ice cream sundaes in little plastic baseball-cap bowls that Brandon had collected form when he was a kid.

Beckett loved all his toys, especially his train....he carries it around all the time :)

Photo Fun

2011-05-23T13:52:00.005-06:00

While Hadley was having her pictures taken by Cathy, Brandon was taking fun pictures of the other kids using the various backgrounds available. The kids thought it was great fun and Beckett really didn't want to wear a shirt...silly boy!

The kids were using the camera the other day to do their own photo shoot.....

notice the finger print on the camera lens...

Our Sweet Hadley Anne

2011-05-17T21:13:00.004-06:00

My sister-in-law Cathy took these great pictures of Hadley....

Nana's Daycare Puppet Show

2011-05-17T15:26:00.004-06:00

Our very Talented Nana puts on a puppet show for her daycare every year and since we live here now she envolved out kids and they loved it.

Old Mac Berger had a mouth....

Do your Ears Hang Low....

Taylor got to help introduce the different songs they did

Some Hadley Pics

2011-05-13T22:34:00.002-06:00

Swan Lake

2011-05-13T21:58:00.005-06:00

The girls were very excited to be in their second ballet performance, Swan Lake. They did a great job dancing and we were very proud of them.

Here some pictures of those who came to see the girls dance:

Grandma and Grandpa Hunt

We opted to leave Beckett at home for this one since it was right in the middle of nap time, not to mention the whole production took almost 2 1/2 hours!

Papa above and Missy and Abbie below...

Matt and Cathy who is 20 weeks pregnant with a boy!

Nana and Hadley :)

Taylor is the first one to the left of the dancers....she took her performance very seriously and did everything just about perfect.

Callie did a great job as well....she was actually trying to do the right dance moves instead of stealing the show like she did in her Nutcracker performance :)

Brandon's 31st Birthday

2011-05-12T14:09:00.002-06:00

For some reason May 6th often falls during a very busy time in our life and this year was no exception. The girls had their very time consuming swan lake rehearsals and performance Thursday, Friday and Saturday. To make the most of Brandon's birthday, we woke up early and had birthday waffles and opened his gifts.

After that we headed up to Red Rock Canyon to do some hiking and exploring. Callie really enjoyed scrambling up the rocks, with no fear.I had nothing to do with picking out these outfits :)

Happy Birthday Dad!

A trip to the Temple....

2011-05-12T13:53:00.000-06:00

A few weekend's ago we were headed up to Johnstown to see me nephew Dallin be baptized. We decided to stop by the Denver Temple on the way up. It was a sunny day but pretty chilly so we didn't stay too long. Here is the girls standing by the Christus in the visitors center.

There were lots of pretty spring flowers, most of them had snow on them from the night before.

Here is Hadley in her Easter dress. We never took pictures of her in it actually on Easter....having 4 kids makes it tough to remember everything!

I think it was a little too sunny :)

This was the best group shot we got....oh, well!

Easter

2011-05-12T13:35:00.000-06:00

This is what it looked like outside on Easter morning..... Finding the Easter eggs on Sunday morning

Brandon made these frames for the girls ballet pictures and they got them as gifts. We also gave them all activity books for them to use during church.

Getting ready for the big Easter hunt!

We dyed eggs at our house the night before Easter....

Our cute little Hadley just hung out on her bouncy seat on the counter while we dyed eggs.

Beckett had a few tantrums during the whole process....

Nana's Easter Party

2011-04-24T22:00:00.005-06:00

All the kids got to go to Nana's daycare Easter Party this year. The kids had a great time dying eggs, making crafts and doing a big Easter egg hunt in the backyard.

I think Beckett was seeing how the dye tasted....

Nana and Papa have the best yard for Easter egg hunts!

Hadley's First Bath

2011-04-24T21:46:00.002-06:00

When Hadley was 9 days old her umbilical stump fell off so she got to have her first bath...she didn't love it but she put up with it! Although she might have enjoyed it more if we didn't have so many little helpers trying to "help"!

Finally some pictures with her eyes wide open! She seems like she is already smiling. When she is awake she often has a very pleasant look on her face.

Hanging out in the office watching Spring Wipeout episodes while Dad is gone :) The kids love that show!

Hadley's first night at home....

2011-04-24T21:43:00.002-06:00

Hadley started out in the cradle but ended up in bed with mom and dad....doesn't she look so content!

Waiting to go Home

2011-04-24T21:29:00.003-06:00

We were all ready to go home from the Hospital on Sunday morning but due to a mix up our pediatrician didn't show until the afternoon, and we couldn't leave until she saw Hadley...a little frustrating! Finally we they checked us out we got Hadley bundled up because it was cold and raining outside.

Getting her dressed to go home....

The kids waiting for us to say "Lets go home!"

These two look like trouble!

So precious!

Hadley is looking to see what's outside her bassinet :)

Lots of Visitors for Hadley

2011-04-24T21:20:00.001-06:00

Hadley Anne Goss

2011-04-02T20:27:00.004-06:00

Our sweet little girl, Hadley Anne, came into our famliy on April 1st, 2011. She is as beautiful as can be and we are just delighted to have her.

Her due date was April 5th, but after Tina's doctors appointment on March 31st, the doctor suggested being induced before the weekend hit. After only a few minutes of thinking, Tina said yes for the first time in 4 pregnancies! We were not able to get a set appointment but were set on "stand-by." We woke up Friday morning all ready to go and when we called at 7:30am to see if we could come in, the nurse said, "Oh no, we are very busy today. Hopefully we can get you in later this afternoon." Very frustrating. Our hope at this point was to now just go "natural" since Tina had been contracting fairly continusouly since the night before. We went about our day as normal as can be by going to the park, Target, etc. Brandon called the hospital around noon to see what the status report was and they said they hoped to get us in before 1pm. About 1pm though, they called and said they just had a boom of pregnant moms come in so they hoped to get us in later. Around 3pm, they finally called and said we could come in!

We checked in and when they finally checked Tina (after an hour of being on pitocin), she was at a 6 so they broke her water. At 6pm, they brought in a big exercise ball to put between her legs and make sure she was really ready. About 15 minutes later, they came in and she was ready!

Her epidural worked pretty good, but when it came time for pushing, she seemed to feel everything. Even had some nice screams in there!

At 6:34, Hadley Anne was born with beautiful, long, black hair. She weighed 8.1lbs and was 21 inches long. She scored a 9 on the Apgar Scale, so she literally is just about perfect! She did cry for the first hour of her life, but after that, she is quite the sleeper and eater.

How grateful we are for this beautiful little girl.

One of our traditions is to have presents ready from the newest child to the previous children. Beckett was pretty excited about his new golf set as the girls were esctatic for their movie "Tangled" as well as a fun velcro game for outside.

Wow, we still can't believe we are a family of 6 now!

Beckett was just adorable with Hadley. Immediately he wanted to hold her and just cuddle with her. He constantly pointed out that she was "naked" and wanted to make sure she was happy.

Callie was very excited this time for the new baby. With Beckett, she wasn't quite sure if she wanted somebody to take attention from her.

We could have not asked for a better "2nd mom" as Taylor likes to be referred to! She just loves her little sister and gave quite the yell when she found out our baby was a little girl! Taylor is amazing with Hadley, as she was with Callie and Beckett.

Swim Lessons

2011-03-14T20:02:00.003-06:00

We decided to get the girls in some indoor swim lessons before summer this year. The girls had a really great time and I think we may do another session after the baby is born. Callie really progressed a lot.....even though her teacher wanted to kick her out after the first lesson because Callie couldn't stop splashing her!

Taylor did really great with being able to stay under water for a long period of time as well as being able to swim a short distance.

Valentines Day

2011-03-08T20:26:00.004-07:00

Nana made the girls these cute Valentine's skirts and Beckett the baseball shirt....which they all love! Valentines Day was a little busy since it was Monday. The girls were dying to open their Valentine cards and presents before swim lessons but Beckett wasn't awake yet. So we got him up a few minutes before we had to leave. The girls got new shoes (Taylor got shoes she can tie...her newly acquired skill) and Beckett got a train book with mini trains....he was much happier when her opened his present then he was in the picture below!

That night after swim lessons, dinner and FHE we decorated cookies and had a great time. Although I think the kids were eating more frosting than was making it on to the actual cookies!

Just a little bit messy....

I think Beckett may have sat on his cookie :)

The finished product....well what was left after the kids were done! Brandon even made a "First Vision" cookie....silly seminary teachers!

A Fancy Nancy Day

2011-02-19T19:52:00.004-07:00

Taylor and Callie both love reading the Fancy Nancy books. In one of the books, Fancy Nancy shows her family how to be fancy....Taylor wanted to do this so we planned a Saturday for all things fancy.

The pictures are in reverse order....so here are the pictures of us all fancy and at the restaurant. We went to Conways Red Top....which is a burger joint. Kind of a dive but very yummy!

Conways has huge 1/2 lb burgers....the size of your head! Oh, and the curly fries were divine.

The kids were so well behaved that we even stayed for dessert....Chocolate Cherry Milkshakes....delicious!

All fancied up and ready to go to dinner.....

Below are the pictures of how we got fancy!

A little dash of makeup for the girls.....

Painting the nails...

Callie being silly while she waited her turn to get her haircut.

Taylor's new haircut....

We cut off about 4 inches!

Even Beckett got his haircut....so he could be fancy too!

Sledding in the Mountains

2011-02-13T20:31:00.003-07:00

On Saturday, we decided to take the family sledding near woodland park. Missy and her four kids and Nana and Papa came as well. We had a great time and nobody got hurt! The snow and weather were perfect. Beckett loved being pulled up the hill on the sled...I think he almost fell asleep!

Brandon thinks Callie is pulling the "Sasquatch" pose here!

Ice Skating

2011-02-07T20:13:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago Brandon and Missy took the older kids ice skating for their first time. Everyone had a great time but I think the adults were totally exhausted afterwards!

Old Colorado City Ice Sculpting Festival

2011-01-25T20:45:00.003-07:00

We went to Old Colorado City with Nana and Papa to check out the ice sculpting festival....we came at the beginning of a weekend of events so there weren't too many sculptures done yet but we got to see one made while we ate ice cream cones.... Taylor was the only grandchild that would go near the armadillo!

Eating our lunch, while waiting for the sculpting to begin.

An ice piggy bank....

All the kids had a great time sliding around on this huge ice checkerboard.

I'm not sure what these bulls had to do with ice sculpting but Taylor got on for a quick picture with one of them!

Snow Day Tea Party

2011-01-25T20:25:00.003-07:00

Taylor's school had a snow day so she decided we needed to have a tea party. In fact we had two tea parties that day.... one with sandwiches shaped like stars and juice to drink and he other one with milk and cookies. It was pretty fun....even if Beckett dressed up like Snow White!

Everybody doing the big cheese.....

Beckett absolutely loved drinking the juice from the little tea cups....I must have filled up his cup at least 10 times!

Earlier that day shoveling snow...I honestly think we have only done this 2x's this whole winter!

Enjoying some nice weather outside a few days later......

Random Fun

2011-01-25T20:10:00.003-07:00

I had a bunch of random pictures...so I thought I'd post them together. Above is a picture of everyone wearing a rubbery caterpillar toy that was broken into sections on their feet.....strange, I know, but it was hours of fun that night!

Taylor and Beckett love to take pictures....Beckett is always saying "cheese"

Um...I guess this is what happens when you have 2 older sisters.....

On my Birthday....Brandon and kids surprised me by waking up early to go and buy Panera bagels (my fave!) So we ate them in bed. Then I got to open my birthday presents....it was a great way to start my birthday!

Garden of the God's with the Hunt's

2011-01-17T20:20:00.004-07:00

A couple days after Christmas, my brother and his wonderful family came down to visit for a day trip. Since we have been having so much warm weather (I am so ready for a real snow storm!) we decided to go explore Garden of the Gods and have a picnic. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.

Christmas at Nana & Papa's

2011-01-17T20:05:00.002-07:00

Christmas Morning

2011-01-14T14:56:00.005-07:00

It was awesome waking up in our own home on Christmas morning....we've been looking forward to that for years! As I said in a previous post, the kids were sick so they ended up sleeping in on Christmas morning. Brandon and I got up at 7 am...the time the kids usually wake up. By 8 we were tired of waiting so we went and woke the kids up :)

Here is Beckett handing out presents.....but watch out, instead of handing it to you nicely, he would huck it at your face! This is a good shot of his eye, it was pretty swollen that morning.

Taylor made this wreath and card for me at school. The kids also made me an apron with a big picture of the kids on it that Taylor helped iron on.

Beckett got lots of toys, since we really didn't have many boy things in the house. He got dinosaurs, cars and tools....all of which the girls have loved playing with as well.

Callie LOVED all of her presents...she got melty beads, sparkly shoes, pjs, play dough cake making set, puzzles and a few other little things that she loved.

Taylor saw these hats at a craft show she went with me to and she really wanted one, so I secretly bought one for her and Callie that day....she was thrilled to get it. She also got a kids sewing machine, snow boots, winter jacket, pj's and some other fun crafty things (she loves to make stuff!)

Christmas Eve with the Hunts

2011-01-11T14:01:00.003-07:00

We went up on the 23rd to stay the night at my parents house so we could enjoy Christmas Eve with them. However, all 3 of our kids ended up with a horrible cough that kept us up most the night so we were all kind of dragging on Christmas Eve but we still had a great time.

The pictures are in reverse order...but you get the idea!

Acting out the Nativity is our Christmas Eve tradition. This year Taylor played Mary, Callie was a sheppard/wiseman, and Beckett was a very sad Joseph (you'll see why later)

Baby Jesus was played by the newest member of the family, Elynn....she is so cute!

Riding on Grandpa's back, while he wears his official camel sweater!

Aunt Torie getting Beckett dressed up as Joseph.

Callie giving her signature crazy smile!

Taylor was begging to be Mary this year.....

We don't usually let Beckett have his pacifier outside of his bed but....

LOOK what he did to his eye! As I said before he was very tired so we laid him down for a second nap on my Mom's bed....he was quiet for about 20 mins but then we heard him crying and coming down the stairs. His eye was covered in blood. I think he was rolling around in bed when he slammed his head down on the headboard or something. Regardless...we felt pretty bad for Beckett so we let him keep the paci for the night.

Zoo Lights

2011-01-06T15:09:00.005-07:00

We went to see the Zoo christmas lights at the Cheyene Mountain Zoo with Nana, Papa and the Nickell cousins... The night we went happened to be dollar pony rides....so all our kids got a ride, which they loved!

Callie was lucky because she kept asking if she could ride the christmas pony but they were using a different with Taylor and Logan....but right before her turn they switched to the pony she wanted.

Taylor and Logan were getting excited for the pony rides while we waited in the long line.

Feeding the girafes is always fun...their tongues are so long....and if you don't watch out they'll lick you!

The two pictures below were taken the Sunday before christmas....just thought they were too cute not to include them!

The Nutcracker Ballet

2010-12-14T20:10:00.007-07:00

This past fall, both girls started taking ballet at Rachael's School of Dance and have really been loving it. They have been so excited to be in the Nutcracker and it was a wonderful performance with the whole spectrum of skill level.

I didn't know it would be so much work getting the girls ready 3 times (2 dress rehearsals, and the performance). We had to slather up their hair with gel and hair spray so their hair would stay in their ballerina buns and put on stage makeup (which putting eyeliner on a 3 year old is a joke). Anyways, Taylor loved it and Callie just giggled a lot because it tickled when I put on her makeup.

I guess Callie is tired of getting her ballerina bun for the 3rd time that week.

Here is Callie stealing the show as a sheep. She was running all over the stage, twirling and spinning. In the picture below the girls were supposed to be off the stage but Callie wasn't done performing! The whole audience was laughing at our cute little girl!

Callie also played a baby mouse but none of the pictures really turned out because of the lighting.

Below, Taylor is on the right, next to the big girl. She did her Angel dance perfectly and she looked beautiful.

Taylor was also a bunny in one scene but because of the lighting we didn't get any good pictures.

Here is Taylor with her Kindergarten teacher, Mrs Miller. Taylor absolutely loves her and was thrilled when she found out her teacher was coming to watch her dance.

After the 2 hour long performance, Callie was done with costumes and taking pictures! So this is all we got from her at the end of the show.

Taylor was excited to get her flowers and pose for lots of pictures!

Here is who came (Grandma was there too but didn't make it into the picture)

The pictures below I took backstage at one of the very long dress rehearsals.

I didn't even tell the girls to strike a pose but this is what they gave me...pretty cute!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

2010-12-13T20:09:00.003-07:00

One of the reasons we were excited about getting back to Colorado was for Brandon's family tree-hunting trip (with permits of course). We went up to Pike National Forrest and hiked around for a few hours with no luck of a tree. It was a beautiful day, but the kids were still getting cold and exhausted. Right when we were about to settle for less, we went on the other side of the road and it was like night and day. Literally, the other side, down a hill a little ways, was like a Christmas tree garden! We had lots to choose from and because we have a vaulted ceiling, we were able to find the perfect tree at the perfect height! We even got a tree for the girls room which thrilled them to no end. The second we got home the ornaments and lights came out and voila, we were singing, Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree! (not literally--kind of sac religious, huh?). What a fun way to start the season!

November Fun

2010-12-12T21:42:00.007-07:00

On one of the many beauiful days of November, we went on a hike with Brandon's dad to Palmer Park. It is such a beautiful hike that is easy enough for kids to do the entire way and ends with breath-taking views of Colorado Springs.

This is one of our two snowstorms of November. The kids were esctatic to go out and play. Too bad it didn't last long!

Just having some fun playing "soccer" with our basketball and volleyball.

This was an early Christmas gift from Brandon to me. My kitchen had very little kitchen counter space with even less storage. Brandon enjoyed making this in his new shop downstairs. The kids and I love it!

Update....

2010-11-02T20:24:00.003-06:00

So, I'd thought I'd share with the world my lovely not-so-little scar. It's been a little over 2 weeks since my surgery and I'm actually surprised that my scar isn't too bad. The photo makes it looks redder then it actually is (but what you can't tell is that it is pretty bumpy) The surgeon told us that by 6 months, it will look much better and after a few years it will just look like a crease in my neck.

I finally met with my endocrinologist (Dr Book) last week (it took almost 2 months to get in!) She has me taking lots and lots of vitamins, especially calcium and Vitamin D since my labs are still not up to par since the surgery. I bought $50 bucks worth of over the counter varieties of vitamins, like gummies, chewables and carmels (viativ) because I was getting sick of popping horse pills at every meal!

Dr Book seems very knowledgeable about my situation and we have a written out game plan of how we will deal with my thyroid issues from now on: during pregancy- blood tests every 4-6 weeks to monitor thyroid levels and appointments every 2-3 months. She feels it would be best for me to do the iodine radiation treatment after I'm done nursing baby #4. However, it is still our choice but I'm really feeling like it needs to be done. It just doesn't sound like a fun process....first you stop taking your thyroid medication for 3-5 weeks until you become sufficiently hypothyroid for the treatment. That alone will make me very tired and weak....which with 4 kids isn't great! Then they give me my radioactive iodine and with in a week I will have a body scan to locate any remaining thyroid tissue (cancerous or not). I will also have to isolate my self for a few days since I'll be radioactive :) Then I finally get to start taking my thyroid medication again but it can take another 5-7 week before my levels will be up to normal again. I will need to have a whole body scan every year since recurrence with my type of cancer (follicular variant of papillary cancer) is 25-35%

So there you have it!

The last of the Halloween activites

2010-11-01T21:45:00.006-06:00

On Halloween we went to Nana and Papa's and did some trick or treating....what cute bunch!

We made carmel apples before hand....

Below are the few pictures Brandon took at the ward party....I was in charge this year so needless to say I was running around making sure the chili cook off, carnival and trunk-or-treat went as planned. We didn't get a family picture this year :( but I we had the whole Wizard of Oz thing going on. I was a witch, Brandon was the tin man, Taylor was Dorthy, Callie was Glenda the good witch (although she would only refer to herself as a princess :) and Beckett was the cutest little scarecrow I have ever seen!

Out in the parking lot trunk-or-treating......Beckett really loved the whole idea!

On the Monday before Halloween we did our traditional family party, with pizza, carving pumpkins and watching a movie (How to Train your Dragon....it was really good) We had a great time and we were glad to have Grandma there to help out!

Having a little taste!

October Fun!

2010-10-24T20:13:00.004-06:00

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo offers a "Boo at the Zoo" experience that we took advantage of. It was a little pricey (even as members), but it was well worth it. The kids put on for their first time costumes that their Nana made for them. Taylor was Dorothy, Callie was the Good Witch, Beckett was the Lion. There was so many people in costumes, the kids just loved it. We didn't get to see many animals (other than a freakish deer that jumped out of the woods and scared everybody), but it was still a blast.

We have a beautiful, big tree in our front yard that has left plenty of leaves for Brandon to rake and the kids to play in!

For our pumpkin adventure this year, we went to a place in Black Forrest that had lots of fun activities: huge slides, petting zoo, pumpkin bowling, hay maze, fenced maze, tractor rides, and hay bail climbing. We also got to pick out some pumpkins that we will carve later.

We love October!

Trials, Tears, Faith, & Hope

2010-10-11T22:09:00.006-06:00

The last few weeks have been hard, but with faith in the Atonement of Christ, we have made it through thus far and push forward to the upcoming weeks and months. It started with joy as we found out we were expecting our 4th child, but upon the first doctor's visit, they found a growth on Tina's thyroid. After two weeks of testing, it was concluded that she has folicular neoplasm (a form of cancer that is very curable). She will have a procedure done this coming Thursday where they will remove her thyroid (right below the Adam's apple) and the growths (three to be exact). At first the news was hard, but through combined prayers of us and many wonderful people, we feel confident that all will be well.

Tina's surgery was supposed to be last week, but the weekend before (October 2nd), we received a phone call from Brandon's mom letting us know that Kyle Wallace, Brandon's adopted little brother took his own life. He was 20 years old and had the biggest heart you could ever find. The funeral replaced Tina's surgery and thus her surgery will be this week. It was definitely a hard week and it will continue to be hard knowing a loved one is no longer with us in the flesh. Below is a picture of Kyle that was taken in 2005 when he came out to visit us in Utah when Taylor was born.

At the funeral, Brandon was asked to read a poem that he wrote in behalf of Kyle. The poem is below. We love Kyle and we know that in the Spirit World he is receiving love from those of his family and those that knew and loved him. He will be missed, but what joy enters our heart to know we will be reunited again in the afterworld where there will be no more pain and tears. Our faith and hope will carry us through as we know that we are not alone; but rather, Christ's atoning sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane and later on the cross was for moments such as these. We love you Kyle.

A Heart As Yours

Life is what it is.
It can hurt.
It can bless.
It can leave bruises.
It can create smiles.
But what it can’t offer,
Is a heart as yours.

A heart as yours,
Is one that is unconditional;
One that brings warmth to cold days;
One that listens regardless of the time;
One that feels pain for others;
One that rejoices with good news;
One that never stops giving;
One such as a heart as yours.

Each person in life offers gifts.
Some it is the gift of energy;
Others it is the gift of knowledge;
Or even the gift of talents.
But with you it was easy to see,
Yours was a gift of compassion.
Each gift is desired by others,
And it is no different for us,
We desire a heart as yours.

Thank you Kyle for being you,
And blessing us with a heart as yours.

Manitou Springs Fun

2010-09-16T15:15:00.002-06:00

Last weekend we went to an Arts festival in Manitou Springs. We enjoyed browsing the art and crafts. The kids had fun making masks, making big bubbles and playing on the playground. Afterward we headed into town to find somewhere to eat lunch. We stopped and played on the rides...of course they loved it and wanted more!

Balloon Glo and Baseball Game

2010-09-16T14:57:00.005-06:00

A few weekends ago there was a huge air balloon festival going on here in town. Instead of getting up really early for the launching we opted for the balloon glo. It was pretty fun as you got to get up close to the air balloons....man they put off a lot of heat!

Brandon, Taylor, Kelly, Logan and Papa all went to the Rockies game vs the Atlanta Braves. They had a great time even though they got home super late on a school night!

Zoo Trip

2010-09-16T14:07:00.003-06:00

We went to the Zoo a few weeks ago with Nana, Papa, Missy, Kelly and all their kiddos. We decided to buy a zoo pass, so hopefully we'll get there a another time or two to make it worth it!
At lunchtime we took the kids on the carosel...they loved it, even though it was $2 a person!

Spiderman.....

Looking at the tigers....

Feeding the birds was really cool

Feeding the giraffes was lots of fun....never got any great pictures of our kids, but here is a great one of my nephew Logan.

Our new Backyard....Before and After

2010-08-16T20:27:00.002-06:00

Before

After......Lots and Lots of work!