Sunday, October 11, 2009

Camping at Mt. Charleston 2009


















So here are a couple pics of our campin trip. We got there late due to car trouble, but the kids had fun playing in the dirt. Their favorite game to play was to throw rocks in the trees. They even did pretty well on our "hike". We found out however that they HATE being cold. I mean HATE it! But all in all....it was a great break and fun little trip. We'll have to do it again...but next time in July or August when it's warmer! :)

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Pioneer Day '09








These are some of the pics from the Pioneer Day parade this year. Even though it was crazy humid here we still had a good time. Zoe got to ride on the float that our ward put together and throw candy. She completely snubbed her family as she drove by, which as fairly consistent to how things go around here.


Chuck E Cheese







The other night we decided we were bored and the kids were sick of the house so we decided to go to Chuck E Cheese's. It is a pretty cost effective way for the kids to run off some energy as long as they don't eat! Brielle and Zoe pretty much enjoyed all of the rides except the one with the monster truck shown here. That is genuine terror in their eyes.



Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Fourth of July!!!!












Zach had to go out of town for a funeral so we were solo on this holiday...but luckily our good friends the McKnights came over with their girls and we had a bbq and our own little fireworks show. After we set off our own we went to watch the big fireworks show at Green Valley Ranch Casino. From where we were parked we could actually see the strip and all the fireworks shows going on across the valley...but my pictures didn't turn out so great. It was lots of fun...Brielle got super dirty and we managed to do sparklers without any burns this year! Hooray! Zoe LOVED the big fireworks show...can't wait to do it next year...if we're still here! :)



Friday, July 3, 2009

Zoe's Dance Recital














AWWW!!! She is getting WAY to big for my comfort zone! Here is Zoe's 2nd dance recital! Less nerves than last year so it went lots better! Brinly, (pictured above) and her did such a GREAT job! They did a Lollipop dance, a sleeping baby dance, a sailor dance and a "silly"dance! It was so cute! Miss Amy ALWAYS does such a good job, way above and beyond what anyone else should have to!!! WE love her!!! Who would have thought that I would have a dancer!!! It figures...it must be karma. (p.s. she is still playing soccer in the fall too though!!!) :)

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Last Minute Trip Home!!!!
















































Ok...so work was REALLY slow and we decided on a crazy whim that we needed a break...Zach especially from studying for the MCAT....to try and drive the 16 hours home. Zach and the kids stayed for a little over a week while I flew back on Sunday for work the next week. We had so much fun and I was SOOOOOO happy to see my sisters! Nachelle was crazy busy with the outage, but i got to see her a little and my beautiful pregnant sister Celeste...ahhh i'm so jealous of how cute she is. Anyways, above are mainly pics of the kids and all the many animals and activities that they did. Unfortuantely I think we have country kids, who LOVE to play outside, and get dirty. Maybe one day we'll be done with Vegas and have our own big green backyard!!!! P.S. My favorite pic is of the one where Brielle feeds Max her cereal and when Zoe and Brielle are feeding Sis. Gayda's Llamas. Such fun!!!







Friday, May 29, 2009

Mama's Big Helper



Ok, so this video isn'tp qe2 terribly exciting, it just makes me feel OLD! Zoe is getting so big...she will be in school next year..many of her friends start this fall. And I know it's a simple thing but she can make her own food....I thought I would forever be making snacks and lunches etc. But in this video she is actually making oatmeal for Brielle. I was busy switching the laundry and Brielle took an instant oatmeal packet to Zoe...and Zach caught most of it on this video.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Balboa Beach California!






































After finals...we decided after living here almost 3 years it was time that we finally went to California. I have never been there and we wanted to do something fun with the girls. Tami was there visiting and helping so it worked out PERFECT! We did it in one day...which we learned we won't do again...it's too much. Nevertheless it was lots of fun! We all got very red...even though it almost rained, but we jumped in the waves and built many sandcastles. Zoe LOVES to build sandcastles and look for seashells on the beach. We actually found quite a few still whole, which we promptly glued to a picture frame and put in Zoe's room. Brielle's favorite things to do were to chase the birds, eat the sand and quickly run away from Mom towards the water and scare her to death. Zach's favorite thing to do was look up what med schools are near the beach and see which ones he could get into. :)







Fun times at Christmas!!! Home, Sweet Home!


















Here are just a few random pictures that capture what we did as we were home for a couple weeks at Christmas! Zach and I fondly refer to it as Never Never Land, because we got to play like kids! Grandparents and Aunties were only to happy to watch/listen for the kids at night, so Zach and I got to PLAY! We played a TON of Air Soft Guns...and I should've posted the bruise I got on my face from my husband shooting me at point blank range!!! And the boys had only too much fun showing off their booties while getting down on Twister. Later we went target shooting as well...I'm not as good a shot as I thought. My husband on the other hand is AMAZING! Grandpa Tom also took Zoe and Brielle to the Wildlife Refuge down the street and Zoe STILL talks about this almost every week!!! And I mean EVERY week!!! She is dying to go back to that place! All in all it was a needed break to recharge our batteries! Oh, yea and p.s. The girl in the funny glasses with me is my brand new sister in law Morgan...and I LOVE her! She is great. Don't we look sexy in our air soft glasses????



Ripley Family Update!




Ahem!...well as you can tell it has been MONTHS since i did a post...so I thought I would catch everyone up to date on the Ripley Family life...hold on to your breath...it's SOOOO exciting!!! ( ok, maybe not that exciting.) Well after a fabulous Christmas break, which I am gonna post pics of, we came back with and extra person, Nasty! She lived with us and helped with the kids while I found a job and started working full time. Which is a blessing and an unfortunate necessity. We really needed for me to find a job after being laid of last year, and it has been hard to find, but we finally did and hooray, bills are being paid! Zach has been CRAZY busy with school and getting ready to apply to med schools. Between taking 4 upper division classes, studying for the MCAT test (which he takes June 18th), shadowing physicians, and volunteering at the hospital once a week...he pretty much has his plate full. If all goes well we should be accepted to a med school around Christmas! Zoe played soccer for the first time this year and liked it for the most part, she continues dance and has a recital on June 23. Brielle is growing in leaps and bounds and I can't believe my BABY is almost 2!!! She ALWAYS wants to be doing whatever Zoe is doing, and bless Zoe's heart she has the patience of Job. Brielles favorite things to do are make messes and play ring around the rosy...with anybody she can rope into playing with her! Keep checking the blog...it won't be another 7 months before my next post...I swear!!!