Reynolds Family

I have to admit I miss my little house. It was perfect for me. I loved everything about it..... But I am loving the space! I don't have a ton of pictures, but I do have a few. The house is nice already, but we did paint... Everything. It hadn't been painted for quite sometime and was desperate for a fresh coat, some things just wouldn't wash off. Plus it was time for some new colors. I love paint. I love how it changes the look of everything. I loved my other paint colors, but it was time for a change. I steered away a tiny bit from my Shabby chic colors, in hopes to find something that would still bring it out the look I love so much. The VERY FIRST room on my list (which Jeff thought was dumb and crazy) was the Garage! Yep. The Garage. I love a painted garage. I hate when its dull white, always has a dirty look etc, and lets be honest, once you move, you are NEVER going to empty out your garage to paint it. So after alot of work, I did it. Jeff helped too, and Ended up loving it and says he is SO glad we did it.

Before..



After..






Trying to decide on a "Grey" for Parker's Room, which they ALL turned out blue!


Awe... The Charcoal Grey I wanted. Thank you Pottery Barn. The picture does not do Justice to the color.


The main part of the house..







The Office..



Everything has officially been painted in the WHOLE house. I love it. It feels so clean and Fresh. Now I just need to go around and take finished pictures of everything! To be cont...

My kids took on a New Years resolution that some friends have been doing for the last couple years. This is a first for them, Yep, They chose to do this all on their own, and actually approached us with the idea.

NO CANDY FOR A YEAR!

We kind of laughed because we KNEW this wouldn't last. IF they make it the whole year without eating candy, they get $100 (and it can only be a one hundred dollar bill)!

There are a few exceptions. The kids get to pick 3 days out of the year that they can have candy, any 3 days they want. The picked Valentines day, Easter and Halloween. Not surprising. Smart actually.

To date- They HAVE done it! We are shocked, and so proud of them for setting a goal and following through with it. It is an eye opener how much candy is thrown your kids way. They turn it down, sometimes hard, sometimes not. They are very honest with it, which is the first thing we get asked when anyone finds out about this challenge. We get many phone calls when they are with friends to find out what they are being offered is actually candy or not. They are allowed to have Cookies, or a cupcake, etc. It's Only candy they cant have, and that does include toppings on ice cream, etc. They usually opt for crushed Oreos, or just plain Chocolate or Carmel syrup.

We have also found that if there is a piece of candy they didn't want to turn down, they bring it home, place it in a bag they have their names written on and save it for that ONE day that is coming up that they can have it.

Sooo.. Valentines day was no big deal, they didn't even eat candy all day like we thought, but when Easter came, They made up for it. The planned their 24 hours of candy eating and spread it out into 2 days, so that they could have candy in the morning of the next day. Smart kids. The day after Easter, I woke up much later than they did, to walk downstairs and see a table FULL of wrappers! They were in heaven until 8am. Kind of glad they were headed off to school that day!

Soooo... Would $100 be worth it to you, to give up candy for a whole year??? Not me!

Way to go Parker and Hailey.. Keep it going!! You have made it this far!

***I swear I will never do this to myself again. Catching up is hard, if it weren't for the book I am working on, I wouldn't even do it!

Wrapping up 2010 and excited for 2011!

The kids enjoyed Thanksgiving which we spent in CA. We ate, and ate and ate. Parker was also able to participate in my families traditional Football game, which he loved!

The day after Thanksgiving, We always go shopping. I personally think its so fun. Its like a Thrill of the hunt. People are CRAZY, and I love being caught up in it. Don't ask me why. We do usually end up saving allot, which is great. My mom always watches the kids overnight and in return we usually pick up some of the items she needs as well so she doesn't have to go out. Good deal. We pulled an all nighter this year. My nieces and Nephews wanted to join us which made it fun too. I was able to separate everyone with their own list of must grabs! They had a blast. We sat out in front of Target, drank hot chocolate, played card games, watched a movie and even slept a tiny bit. Granted I was Pregnant this year, which made it a alot harder to stay awake, but we managed. By morning, all my brothers and sisters were in line with us. The craze started at 4 am! Yikes.

Here are some of my black Friday partners in crime..







I am not the Shop online kind of person.. Fighting crazy people, watching meltdowns, throwing elbows, arguing, and racing around, is so much more fun. If you are in doubt, join my family one year, I promise you will be entertained! We have already converted a very good sister in law, that swore on her life, she would never be a black Friday shopper!

Maybe we will be able to tell our kids some good stories about how we scored some of their most favorite gifts at Christmas time. Good times!

Christmas!

We spent Christmas at home this year. We loved it. Nowhere to go, no schedule, P.J's all day, and this year we were even lucky enough to have Grandma, Grandpa and Amy come watch the madness.

We played games at Kevin and Taryn's Christmas Eve


The kids opened up their new pajamas (a tradition)


Christmas Morning



Waiting to rip in..



Berkley's favorite (Thank you Grandma and Grandpa)


Hailey's Favorite (Thank you Santa)* she had been asking for a 3 story Barbie house for over a year!


Parker's has a couple favorites (Thanks to Santa and Grandma and Grandpa)

iPod Touch







Indiana Jones Monopoly


Soccer Goals



Playing Games



We had a great day, We all made a fantastic Breakfast, played games, played with toys, and enjoyed visiting.

Every Year the kids school does a Turkey run around Thanksgiving. Parker was chosen for his class to participate and he was thrilled. The kids must do a relay race against other classes while carrying a 10lb turkey. He practiced at home doing sprints with 10 lb items. He was determined to be as prepared as possible for his team. He even went as far as asking for my Baby sling, that he could put on, throw the turkey in, so that his hands were free. Hahaha, his mind is always spinning for ideas. We love Him!

All the kids lining up. They take this race very serious. It is talked about all the time!



Parker and His Best Friend/teammate Brandon T.

This little Girl got her first hair cut. After praying for Hair like her older sister, I threw in the towel, and decided the Mullet must go! I am so happy with her hair! She looks adorable with it short.


She sat so Still, and Loved it. I was surprised. After she was pleased to choose a sucker. The whole hair cut took MAYBE 5 min. The lady couldn't believe it. I am sure when she saw me walk in with 3 kids she was dreading it. We chose the girl with Tattoos all over her arms in hopes that she would understand the youthful look I wanted. The older Lady's in there made me nervous with that it would be too old fashioned, or that they would cut her bangs.

Final Result! Couldn't be happier!

To say that Parker loves Soccer would be an understatement. An obsession, maybe would describe it. He dreams about one day being a Professional Soccer player. He plays everyday at school, has played every season & off season the last 4 years,and he is lucky enough to have a Dad that Loves it too!

Jeff has been coaching Parker's team the last few seasons. Parker has a great group of friends that all play together and they have been on the same team since 2ND grade. We have gone through more team names, more uniforms, more trophies, more pictures, more practices, and more games than I can remember, and we love every minute of it! I hate to miss a game! They are so exciting to watch, and Parker is becoming quite the little player out on the Field. He is fearless, in fact his new coach has recently named him the little scrapper on the Field. We played up a division this last season so our boys were up against some BIG kids. Didn't stop them at all. Parker has also taken an interest and is working hard at Goalie. He normally takes his place on the Field as a defender, but is loving the goalie position now. He received a Goal for Christmas, and practices daily in the backyard. Jeff and Parker also go to the park so his dad can take some tough shots at him to help him improve.

Parker and Hailey's First day of school 2010







While looking through all these photos and categorizing them, Hailey wanted to know " What is Berkley doing in this Picture, and what does it have to do with the first day of school"?
Short story: Immediately after returning from dropping the kids off, Berkley Ran to Hailey's room, opened the drawer that she has been FORBIDDEN to get into, pulled out Hailey's stuff, put it on and was beaming from ear to ear! I had to take a picture!

We had a great FHE, thanks to a wonderful family in our ward. The King Family invited us over for some Horseback riding for Family Home Evening one night. The kids were in heaven, Especially the Girls! Brother King taught the kids some things about Horses, and then had them each take turns on a smaller horse. He Then taught Parker and Hailey how to steer a Horse and Buggy, and Hailey was able to take Berkley around on a little ride. They had so much fun, walking around the stables, and learning how to take care of the animals. The kids even collected some eggs from the Coops and were able to take them home to eat. The eggs were blue to our surprise.

Jeff and I were already talking about setting up some service projects for our kids to participate in, so when we arranged with Brother King to come over on Saturday Mornings to clean stalls, feed the animals, and any other chores that needed to be done, they were thrilled. They would much rather help with these kinds of chores than yard work!

So for sometime, the kids would meet at the King Ranch (along with me doing the chores too) and do whatever needed to be done. Brother king made them work hard.






Berkley exploring




Early Saturday Mornings *It was hard to have a camera going at the same time helping, hence the lack of photos






The kids didn't complain once about what they were asked to do. They had to rake stalls, load up all the droppings, wheel barrel it out to a huge pile of "you know what" which they had to walk in, hose it down, deliver hay, fill up water basins, etc etc. On the King Ranch, they have 9 horses (3 of which are pregnant) several goats, and countless chickens so you can imagine how much work needed to be done.

Brother and Sister King gave the kids a challenge and they have to complete a goal (Parents choice) and then they can come back this summer for Riding lessons. We took the challenge, and chose Reading. The kids have been working hard at the amount we have given them, and are on their way!

Berkley is a Pro when Going to Nursery. She loves it. She asks every day if she can go to "chuch" and play with her "Hi Friends!". She is getting so big!! She also Asks if she can go to "chuch" to drink the water?? Go figure. We think its because in Nursery she gets to have water in a little cup and not in a Sippy Cup.



Loves Her Boots!

Shortly after returning from CA, and returning to school, I had just convinced Hailey that having a Birthday Party was just not going to happen (other than a family one). We just had too many things going on, and had just spent a good amount of money staying in CA for the Summer. She of course took this news to her Dad, which resulted in a Birthday Party at Build a Bear! I am not sure what it is about Jeff and Hailey, The two of them are trouble sometimes, at least for me and Parker. They have some sort of connection that I dont understand! She is his Princess, end of story. Sooo When Jeff insisted on giving her a party, I told her she could only invite a couple close friends. We did agree on that. I have to say, it was easy, easy, easy. Jeff pretty much did the hosting with the Store, and Hailey was in Heaven.

The Birthday Girl


The Party Group


Hailey was totally embarrased when "Freddy Spaghetti" had the Store sing to her





Opening Presents


Loves Make-up


Luke and Hailey, These two have been best little friends since they were 2 years old. They are SO much alike, and get along perfectly!! *just Recently Luke has changed his "Best Friend" status to boys only, except he wrote her a note, saying she was still his Girl "Best Friend". He is always a crack up!


Turned out to be a great day, and after finding some great coupons on the good old Internet, We ended up scoring this Party for under $100!