Here’s Dave’s latest project!  He built a doghouse for Sasha that includes a small hallway when you enter that you then turn the corner for the sleeping area.  And don’t forget the lovely porch where she can hang out and stay cool in the summer.  It is completely insulated so I don’t have feel guilty making her sleep outside when the snow starts!

Katelyn thought it was so cool that she wants to trade bedrooms with Sasha!  Actually, she climbed in so that Sasha would follow her in and get used to going in it.  We couldn’t get Sasha to go in until Katelyn went in and she’ll follow Katelyn anywhere.

Here are the lovely Halloween treats I made for a little Halloween party we went to.   They are chocolate covered strawberries turned into pumpkins!  They were pretty cute and very tasty!

So I finally decided to put something new on my blog.  I know, will wonders never cease!  But since I was going to all that trouble of actually putting in some pictures I decided to go ahead and catch you up on the last year of our lives.  So I started back in last December and wanted to show off our new little puppy (she’s not so little now but she was when these pictures were taken!).  There were also some fun pictures of the kids right after a big snowstorm when we got just a ton of snow.  There’s also pictures of all 3 kids and their birthday parties.  Then there are pictures of the two big vacations we have taken this year.  In May, Dave and Haley went to Hawaii (just the 2 of us) and left the kids with their grandparents.  We did a guided kayaking tour, the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Dole Pineapple Plant, the Hawaii temple (it was actually closed for renovations but we still visited), and some just plain fun!  Our other big vacation included the whole family going to California for 9 days.  It included Sea World, Wild Animal Park, the beach, Universal Studios, Disneyland and California Adventure.  We have now had our fill of theme parks!  You’ll see some pictures taken of the kids with different characters.  We actually could have had more but the kids were too scared of the people dressed up at the beginning so we missed having pictures with Shrek & Fiona, Spongebob, Aladdin & Jasmin, Sully, Mr. & Mrs. Incredible, but it was fun to see them even if we missed a great photo opportunity.  We all had a blast and now have to get back to real life. 

 P.S.  I wanted to show off so many pictures at once that I am limited on how they appear in the blog.  They are kinda small, I know, but you can click on one at time to see it bigger.

Christmas brought the newest addition to the Hurst family . . . Sasha!

Oh, she was the CUTEST puppy!

We got a LOT of snow last winter!

We did a family production of the story of the birth of Christ

Jace & Tyler were such wise men

Here’s Joseph and Mary (John makes a great donkey!)

The adults had a tough time playing their chimes

But the kids knew just what to do!

Our little pup had to jump high to make it through all that snow

Here’s what you call having a bad hair day!

Now it’s springtime and Katelyn graduated from preschool

She loved her teacher, Miss Cameo

Daddy couldn’t get off work, but Grandma made it

Then came Jocelyn’s birthday with a beautiful butterfly cake

We played lots of relay races at her party

Including 3-legges race

Daddy and Tyler were so fast!

By the end of the party they all ended up in the river!

Dave & Haley celebrated Cinco de Mayo at a ward party

Jocelyn was lucky enough to have her cousins from Alabama at her party

Haley’s niece, Marni, had a great time in Utah

Uncle Matt thinks Tyler’s overalls come with handles!

Tyler showing off his brand new overalls his daddy bought him.

Here’s our wonderful, amazing, I wanna go back trip to Hawaii!!!

Did you know this is how a pineapple grows?

Dave showing off his big guns!

Dave loved Pearl Harbor!

The Polynesian Cultural Center was fabulous!

What lovely young men!

July came and we celebrated Katelyn’s birthday

She had a pony party, so everyone had to get down and eat like ponies.

Who needs a theme park when Grandpa is around?

September brought Tyler’s birthday and his race car track birthday cake.

Our first day of vacation we went to Sea World.

We got to pet bat rays. (they are thick and slimy!)

Ahhhhh, it’s going to eat me!

They had some great shows to see.

The pet show was a big hit and we got to pet some animals after.

Our little polar bear cubs.

This is a new variety of penguin, a Jociguin.

And don’t forget the Kateguin.

All the kids got their fill of junk food!

Tyler’s favorite ride at Sea World was Elmo’s flying fish.

This was the coolest giant blow-up bouncer.

The second day was the Wild Animal Park.

Tyler got to dig for dinosaur bones.

Jocelyn and Quincy put on a puppet show.

What a view!

The kids all got to pet and feed deer.

Even Dave got into the action.

The lorikeets were a big hit.

Haley’s not surprised by this bird, but by what just landed on Jocelyn’s head!

Jocelyn didn’t like having her head be a landing zone.

Katelyn was the only kid brave enough to let them land on her arm.

Michael and Olivia loved it too.

Katelyn’s cousin birthday party

Katelyn celebrated her birthday with her cousins.

 

We played Pin the Tail on Daddy.

 

Lucky for him we used stickers and not real pins for those tails!

 

If this is a new tradition for the birthday girl then I’ll pass when it’s my turn!

 

Katelyn wanted donuts at her party so Grandma & Grandpa decided the kids had to earn them first.

 

Can I get a little help here please?

 

Bubbles was the big finale to this fabulous party.

Katelyn’s 4!

We started by letting everyone decorate their own princess hat which they thought was the greatest idea ever!  We had four little girls there: Katelyn, Kate, Kaitlin, and Hailey (plus Jocelyn).  Interesting names, huh?

 

Did you know that with enough glue and decorations that 4 year olds can spend up to 45 minutes decorating a piece of poster board rolled up???  It was great!

 

Jocelyn was in charge of make-up.  She thought this was a very grown-up role for her in helping out at her little sister’s party.

 

Katelyn took her role as host very seriously and gave one heck of a tea party.

 

That cake is something isn’t it!  Okay, so it was a good idea and if I’d had more time it could have been something fabulous but to a 4 year old it was the greatest castle ever (especially since it came with a miniature Sleeping Beauty to play with after)

 

And the best part about a party . . . the PRESENTS!

 

And they lived happily ever after.

 

Bama-Lama-Land

We tried our hardest to get five children ages 2 to 7 to all smile at the same time . . . how well did we do???  Well, hopefully the ones Heather took came out better than this one!

 

Who cares about pictures when you can throw rocks into water!

Birmingham Zoo

Sweet sisters                             Let’s go pan for gold, girls!

 

You won’t find these in Utah!

 

Who knew that you had to go to a zoo to see some geese?

 

ALL ABOARD!

 

Oh, isn’t that sweet.

 

Ahhhhh!  He’s got me!

 

Thanks to an all-you-can-ride pass we rode the carousel no less than 8 times!

 

This was probably the favorite attraction.  Jocelyn was the only one brave enough to let the birds land on her to eat.

 

Katelyn loved feeding them too, as long as they didn’t touch her.

 

Oh!  That bird can fly!

High School Flashback

Look at these lovely young ladies.  Why, they don’t look a day over 16! 

Rosemary, Haley, Lisa, Carrie, and Becky with their children.  However, if you’ll notice Haley has somehow lost two of hers. (The girls weren’t exactly being very cooperative that night for pictures.  They must get it from their father!)

Rosemary Beach

Jocelyn and Katelyn made a great new friend down in Florida, Daisy the froggy!  Every day they hoped to find her swimming in the pool so that they could play with her.

 

      How many floaties does it                               Ride ‘em whale-boy!             take to keep Katelyn afloat??                                                            

 

Katelyn took to the water like a little fish and loved every minute there.

 

                  Typical Tyler!                           Poppi with Katelyn and Jocelyn

 

These three girls were the best of friends at the beach.

 

A little family picture (minus Daddy who was attending a work conference at the time and had to miss out on the beach experience which it turns out he didn’t mind too much.  Not much of a beach lover!) 

 

We made Mimi a lovely birthday cake out on the beach one night.  Doesn’t it look tasty?

 

Tyler decided it felt so good he wanted to share the experience with Poppi.  Isn’t he such a considerate little boy?

 

Oldest to youngest: Maggie, Jocelyn, Katelyn, Marnie & Tyler

Balloons!

We had a great time going out to eat at Brick Oven but the kids’ favorite part was the balloon man.  He made Jocelyn a beautiful Sleeping Beauty and Katelyn asked for Belle (who normally is wearing a yellow dress) is sporting a lovely blue dress (we decided that surely as a princess she must have had a full wardrobe which would include a blue dress!)  It was pretty late by the time we got home and Katelyn was so grumpy that she was unwilling to pose for a picture with her princess but Jocelyn was more than happy to model with both princesses.

LOOK OUT!  Tyler and his Sharptooth (also known as a T-rex for those not familiar with the great movie, Land Before Time) are on the prowl for some yummy prey. 

100 Day Heart Challenge

Recently Haley participated in a contest called a 100 day Heart Challenge.  Fifteen women were randomly chosen by computer out of about 200 applicants and they competed to get “heart healthy” in 100 days.  By implementing an exercise program and eating healthier they were challenged to lose weight, lower their cholesterol, blood pressure, waist size, and resting heart rate.  Although she didn’t win she felt like a winner anyways!!  This picture was taken at the award banquet held at the end of the 100 days when the winner was announced.