Lukey turned 5!

I can't believe it has been 5 years! The time has flown by! Luke is such a sweet, loving, tender hearted little boy and he brings so much spice to our days! (one day he told me while we were driving in Snowflake, that he just saw a hooker. I was a little concerned until I figured out that a hooker is kinda like Mater, a tow truck with a hook on it...i was relieved!)

Somethings we did for Lukes birthday while in the valley:

got to play on neighbors tractor, he even started it and let them control the throttle

I have no idea why this picture won't turn the right way.

Had a birthday party with his Cate cousins

Really excited that Leslie made him a how to tame your dragon cake!

Daddy's kind of party favors!

I didn't know when I bought it but moon sand is MESSY! but fun!

Luke really thought that the first morning he woke up 5 years old he could go to school (kindergarten)! Poor kiddo...has to wait a few months, good thing he has pre-school to keep him busy!

Halloween

Halloween was crazy this year! The week before Caleb moved to Phoenix to start a new job and I was trying to pack our house all up in between all the things going on!

We took our usual Willis Farm trip to pick out pumpkins. And it never fails, the little one always gets a pie pumpkin!

I had the boys draw what they wanted to carve on the pumpkins.

Ryan was the cutest hunter I have ever seen (he was looking for 'wabbits')

Lukes dream came true and he got to be Iron man!

Train Park October

There is a train park up in NW phoenix that Calebs mom always is talking about taking the kids to. So we went. It is just a bunch of retired guys that have this huge plot of land that they have model trains everywhere! They even have a few trians that are big enough for people to ride on (not as big as real trains though). They took us out for about a half hour ride all over their little park and it was so fun! They have little villages set up with barbies and toy animals, and each little place has its own theme it was really cute! And the boys LOVED it. Ryan always asks to go to the train park!

waiting patiently for our turn

just got off the train

funny signs all over the place

one of the model trains they had driving around

Loving watching the trains

Shooting (we do alot of this)

Luke is getting pretty good at shooting with dad helping him

Ryan liked playing in the bullets

The damage Luke did to his box with my 10/.22

Packard Addition(s)

In September we got 2 welcome additions to the Packard family! Cole got married and gained a daughter (Sascha)! We are so excited! Luke couldn't be happier that his best friend is now his cousin! (funny story though. Sascha told Luke that when her mom married Cole she wouldn't be Lukes friend anymore because they would be cousins!)

All the Packard Grandkids (the look between Luke and Egan worries me!)

Love that Blake is trying to catch Sadie! (while everyone else looks on helplessly)

Ryan was obsessed with the veil

Me and my newest sister in law! (ABOUT FREAKIN TIME TOO!)

And my hubby lookin hot as ever ;)

Taylor 5th ward Girls camp

I got to go back to Vernon to go be a leader on the over night hike some of our wards girls needed to do. We had a blast! We about got flooded out with SOOO much rain but it made for some interesting games in the tent, (like ZZZZZZIP........BOOOOONG). What a fun bunch of girls!





After we got back to camp we went to Harris Cave (really a lava tube), and Thresa talked to them about how our lives would be as dark as the cave if we didn't have the light of Christ. It was neat.
The theme for camp was 'there's no place like home'. On our way back from the hike Theresa decided she was the scarecrow (maybe the lion?) and the girls started missing their makeup so we used some mud to freshen them up!

Packards Take over Brown Creek (picture overload)

When I was little every summer we had the Flake family reunion at Brown Creek (by Vernon). We haven't been for YEARS but this year we decided to go camping the middle of July (monsoon season). It was SO much fun! All my brothers came with their kids and we spent a few days playing in the water, riding the horse and just hanging out. My boys LOVE to play in the dirt and water and with their cousins so it was a very sad day when everyone got packed up and left.

There was a lot of stick throwing for Arils
Ryan was a dirty kid, even though he was in the water more often than not

Brown Creek is a natural spring, we took a walk to the spring head (and got drenched on the way back)


One of the most beautiful places on earth I think!

Me and my boys, (caleb didn't come)

picture taken before everyone got there, missing Will & Carries bunch

I didn't have the heart to tell him that there were no fish in a natural spring :)

Uncle Orin was nice enough to give Luke a ride on Blue


This was a MAJOR accomplishment. Ryan was scared to death to go over the make shift bridge

there was lots of rock/stick throwing in the creek



We saw a few of these out there too

Swim Lessons

Introducing our future Olympic swimmers! I was lucky enough to stand in line for 3 hours to sign these two up for swimming lessons! They sure had a good time.

It was really good for Luke. There were a couple of times I glanced over at his group and he was crying because they were pushing him out of his comfort zone but he bucked up and learned alot. He can't wait to get back in the pool and play, he shows me in the bathtub all the things he has learned!

Ryan was in the mom and tots group so I got to get in the pool with him and play. It was fun. They focus on getting to the wall with the little ones and floating. He LOVED jumping off the side of the pool and scoot along the side of the wall to the ladder and climbing out and jumping in again. On the last day of his class Caleb took an early lunch and came to play in the pool with Ryan and had alot of fun.

I loved the swimming lessons because they were right before nap time, and both kids would be so worn out from spending an hour in the water and i was lucky to make it home and get them out of swimming suites before they crashed!