The Buyack's Adventures

November Fun

2011-12-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

The weather here in Arizona is so beautiful in November so I decided to take the kids to the Zoo. I also took Ingeborg and Jenna. We had fun looking at all the animals.

The kids love to play at the little park by the petting zoo.

Ingeborg's first time to the Phoenix zoo.

Adalynn and Monroe at their first grade Thanksgiving performance and feast.

Mariana's mom sent Allden a transformer for his birthday.

She sent Alydia this baby alive first tooth doll that she loves!

Patsy turned 8 and was baptized, this is all the people that attended.

This is the loft of our playhouse in the playroom. We now have a slide and a ladder so they really love to play in that room.

After Thanksgiving we drove up north around Pine to chop down our Christmas tree.

Grandpa with his chainsaw ready to chop down the tree.

We brought the forest home with us! This tree was cut down to 12 ft tall to fit in the family room, it was also about 9 ft wide!

October fun stuff

2011-12-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

Phineus and Ferb Show live at U.S. Airways. We had a great time watching the show!

Brett took us all to Sushi Ken the kids got to try using chopsticks and try new food.

Alydia celebrated her 3rd Birthday

Adalynn has been taking dance and she had a dance concert right outside the dance studio along with a carnival for Halloween.

Alydia got to ride a pony at the carnival.

We went to Bounce U to celebrate Alydia and Allden's Birthday

Allden just turned 5!

Alydia got a new baby and stroller for her birthday.

Allden really wanted the Cars cake! He goes crazy for everything cars 2

Knut and Allden. Knut is Ingeborg's dad and was traveling in California for work and came to visit us for a weekend.

Alydia and Knut she got a rapunzul dress up set.

Allden with his good friend Brody

Halloween

2011-12-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

Brett won tickets at work to go to the Mystery Mansion and the theme was Vampire wedding. So we dressed up like vampires and had dinner and a show. It was pretty funny but they picked on people in the audience to participate and I was picked on a little which I didn't like but still a fun night.

Here we are at our dinner table. We had to put tags on telling us what character we were in the play.

We had fun picking out pumpkins and carving them.

Yes we dressed up for trick or treating. I found a bag of costumes and pulled out something for Brett and I to wear we had fun trick or treating with the kids.

We went to our ward trunk or treat and the girls brought their good friends Corey and Jessie. We had a fun time!

Arizona State Fair

2011-11-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the Arizona State Fair along with Allden's preschool class. We got in for Free! We had a great time! First we looked at all the animals.

These were some of the biggest roosters I have seen.

We liked the llamas.

Alana's favorite was the butterfly exhibit. You could pick up the butterfly's with q-tips that had some nectar on them. Alydia and Allden were a little scared to pick them up.

The kids got to go on 3 rides....bumper boats was a hit!

Bumper Cars....and they also went down a giant slide and Alydia went on a carousel ride. It was a fun day!

Schnepf Farms

2011-11-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

We took the kids out to Scnepf Farms for the first time and had so much fun! They had a dog show that the kids loved! These dogs would catch around 18-20 frisbees in 60 seconds!

The Cool Bus!

We watched a BMX show which was pretty good.

They had a petting zoo with lots of goats and Alydia likes goats now! Anden was a little scared of the animals if they got to close.

We also had a delicious dinner with chilli and chicken with a live band. We went on a few rides, they had a roller coaster, we did the 4 acre corn maze and we did the spooky train ride. We had a great time!

Cabin in October

2011-11-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

After our fun vacation in California we drove up to Utah to our cabin and met up with Derek and Emily and Jenna and John. It had snowed quite a bit the last couple days so we found a beautiful white blanket of snow surrounding our cabin.

We can't go to the cabin without visiting our favorite national Park Zion! This is our usual picnic spot with a grassy play area for the kids to run around. It was a beautiful day.

Allden is becoming quite the hiker.

We did the Emerald Pools hike....it's quite long but fun.

The kids liked playing in the sand at the end of the hike near the little pool.

I love this place!

Disneyland and California Adventure Park Day 2

2011-10-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

Thursday turned out to be a beautiful day! The girls wore pink and the boys wore their Tron Shirts in gray. We saw mickey when we arrived and had to take a picture with him. Anden was very curious about Mickey and didn't want to look at the camera.

Disneyland is decorated up for the fall. It was so fun to have my parents there with us for the day.

We headed to California Adventure park when it opened to get fast passes for the world of Color show that night. Then we did the coolest ride called Soaring over California. We had to do a ride swap and I sat out first but then 3 oldest got to go again with me. It was a really cool experience you really feel like you are flying over parts of California.

Here is the picture of the picture of Splash Mountain. Alana got pretty wet sitting in front! It was an hour wait so I did the Winnie the Pooh ride with Alydia and Anden a few times while we were waiting.

This was a picture moment, Allden is actually holding hands with Alydia and being so nice to her!

It's a small world. I think this was Anden's favorite ride. He loved looking around at all the lights and colors. I think we had that song in our head for the rest of the day but it's still a fun ride.

This is at Mickey's Toon Town we got stuck in the dog pound.

Cool glasses to see the new Star Tours Ride. Everyone loved it except me....it made me sick!

This was the astro blaster ride with Alydia and Ingeborg at Disneyland

California Adventure Park. The huge roller coaster was closed for repairs.

This was the 4D glasses we got to wear for the new Toy Story ride at California Adventure Park. We had to wait a long time but it was worth the wait. We had a blast! We got to shoot lots of stuff!

This was the coolest show called the World of Color! It was a huge water show with lights, music and they projected different movie characters showing scenes from Disney Movies. They even had fireballs at the end it was amazing!

Everyone was exhausted! I coudn't resist this picture seeing Daddy snuggled up with 2 kids snuggling with him! What a great day!!!!

Los Angeles Temple

2011-10-16T15:57:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning we woke up to the rain. We had to check out of our hotel that morning and pack the car in the rain! We then drove to the next hotel and dropped off our baggage and headed out for the adventure of the day. The forecast called for rain all day so no Disneyland or beach but even better we found the Los Angeles Temple. Ingeborg's friend met up with us for the day and we first found a place to eat lunch called the soupplantation it's like our Sweet Tomatoes at home. Anyways buffets are always a trick with 5 young children but we made it through the line and sat down to enjoy our lunch. Suddenly we were mobbed by a group of 15 or so foreigners all taking pictures with the kids and kissing them on the cheeks! We found out they were from Turkey but didn't speak much English they thought our kids were beautiful....Anden didn't like it and started screaming but the rest of the kids put up with the pictures and attention. I wish I had a picture of the event. I felt like we were famous people or something.

The Los Angeles temple is huge and beautiful! It's the 2nd largest in the world. They have a great visitors center. The kids are playing at this table that they could draw or color pictures and then they were displayed on the big screen.

The Christus room was beautiful. We listened to the presentation which always brings the spirit. Then we watched a new movie about John Taylor. We had the theatre to ourselves and it was a neat experience.

Finally the sun came out and we walked around the temple grounds and took some pictures.

I love to go to the temple and hope all my kids will get married there someday!

The spire is really tall with the angel Moroni on top.

Disneyland and California Adventure Park

2011-10-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

The kids are out of school for Fall break so we headed to California! The first ride of the day was the tram from the parking structure to the entrance of the park. We got there bright and early! We got 2 day park hopper tickets so we could enjoy both parks. We had never been to California Adventure Park and were excited to explore. Tuesday morning turned out to be overcast and rained part of the morning so we did get wet but it scared away a lot of the crowds.

Yeah! We have arrived at Disneyland! I made mickey mouse tie dye shirts for the family, it was quite the project but they turned out cute!

Disneyland was all decorated for Halloween!

Here we are waiting in line for the Matterhorn Bobsleds, even Alydia got to do this ride and she loved it!

Look at those cuties! I love the blue eyes!

Here is the castle in the morning when it was raining, everyone was walking around with Disneyland ponchos but we survived without them and saved a lot of money.

The Thunder Mountain railroad was Allden's favorite ride. It was only a 10 minute wait so we did it a couple times.

Here we are eating our lunch on the Mark Twain Riverboat.

Alydia's favorite ride was the Winnie the Pooh ride I think she went on it a least 6 times! She was excited to see the "real" winnie the Pooh and Tigger too!

Here is the castle in the afternoon when the sun came out! Yeah!

Anden did so good and was happy all day!

We didn't want to wait an hour to see Tinkerbell but we did peek through and snuck a picture anyways for Alydia.

We walked over to California Adventure Park around 4 and the first ride we did was the Grizzly River Run! Big Mistake! The ride was fun but we all got completely soaked! I didn't have dry clothes or Poncho's so we were cold for a little while.

We got unicorn pops for everyone to keep us going a little longer.

We went to Bugs world and saw the 3D movie "It's Tough to be a Bug" it was pretty entertaining and they had spiders coming down from the ceiling and stingers sticking out into your back and stink bugs smelling. We had fun with our bug eye glasses!

The last ride of the day was the Tower of Terror. We got lucky someone gave us fastpasses. Brett, Ingeborg and Adalynn went first while I waited out with the other kids then Ingeborg went again with me. It was the most intense ride and it felt like your stomach went to your head. It was quite the rush! What an amazing and fun day!

More September Pictures

2011-10-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

Allden passed his level at Swim Kids USA! He had to swim the length of the pool by himself with his clothes on! Good job Allden! His teacher is Chris and he really likes him and is doing really well. He is learning the freestyle stroke now.

The activity Day girls had a mother daughter party in which the girls got to dress like mom and the mom's dressed like the girls. So I put french braids in my hair and put a bump it in Alana's hair and let her wear some of my make-up. We had costa Vida burritos for dinner, a hula hoop contest in which I won out of the moms! Alana did pretty good too with the girls. We took pictures and laughed and had fun!

We set up a little baby pool for Anden in the backyard we finally have some grass yeah!

Allden's preschool class got to take a tour of the firestation in Gilbert, of course Alana and Addy wanted to come along too. We got to look at the firestation and see all the tools on the truck it was fun to learn about.

They even had pink firehats, which was exciting for the girls.

Allden had his fire outfit from preschool. What a fun time!

September Pictures

2011-10-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

Anden was having fun putting the fire hat on and off. We got it at Firehouse Subs Brett's favorite place for lunch so I met him for lunch one day at work and had fun getting firehats and eating subs

Anden loves to Eat! It's best to eat without any clothes because he likes to feed himself and makes a big mess!

Aaron and Christen set up their big waterslide at Grandma's house and they had so much fun!

We got new sidewalks around our house! While the concrete was setting up we put our handprints in! The kids love the sidewalks it's a track around the entire house and they rollerblade around it all the time!

The activity day girls did a powder puff derby race. Alana and Brett made the 928 Porsche and had fun building it together. We had fun watching the races.

Alana got first place on one of the races which she was very excited about!

Good race Alana! Brett figured out some little tricks to make it go faster next time.

August Pictures

2011-10-12T15:31:00.001-07:00

Allden started preschool! Here he is sporting his new Cars 2 shirt and his Cars backpack with his best friend and neighbor Brody. We are doing a Co-op preschool and there are 5 kids in the group. Allden loves it!

The boys playing with Dad!

Anden is really getting around now crawling and getting into everything! He hasn't started walking yet but pulls himself up and walks while holding onto something. He loves to eat but he's still a pretty small kiddo compared to others his age.

I took the kids to the Phoenix Children's Museum their favorite place was the grocery store. They loved pushing around the carts, shopping for food and checking out. They also had fun at the ice cream stand and Allden especially loved racing the cars down the track.

Also at the museum they have a big castle the kids get to paint. There are lots of layers of paint on that thing but they sure had fun. Good thing the paint was washable because they got it all over themselves.

Mariana came back from Venezuela to go to school at ASU. Her mom, Dad and sister came to help her get situated in her dorm. They are the nicest family and we are so happy we still get to see Mariana. Her parents took us to a nice dinner at the capital Grill. This was the nicest restaurant we have ever been to and the food and company were great!

The last night her parents were here they went to cheesecake factory, we met up with them for dessert. We got a big piece of chocolate something and boy did Anden love it!

Allura is Mariana's room mate at ASU and Mariana, her dad Tony and Mom Miriam. I wish I could speak a little more spanish with them.

Alydia playing with her cousin Pearl in the playhouse.

Alana's Baptism

2011-08-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

Alana was just baptized on Saturday! All the family was there to celebrate her special day! The cousins all sang a special song and both Grandma's gave beautiful talks. It's crazy that I now have an 8 year old! The kids are growing up so fast. Alana said she felt very happy. After the event we had all the family over for some food and visiting.

Fun Weekend with the Gustavsen Family

2011-08-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

Ingeborg's parents were having a vacation in California and Ingeborg had to come here to start school....so they took the weekend and drove over from LA to meet our family. Ingeborg's 2 sisters stayed at our house and her parents stayed in a hotel close to our house. They were only here for 2 days so we crammed in a lot of fun! They are from Norway but their English is very good. They are a very active family and like to have fun! They arrived on Friday afternoon, we visited and ate a good dinner then went out. All the girls have been in gymnastics so we thought it would be fun to take them to Airworx in Chandler....it's a place with huge trampolines. After working up a sweat we took them to Coldstone Creamery, the best ice cream in town!

Saturday we took them to Canyon Lake. It was busy with lots of people but we had a picnic lunch and stayed cool in the water. We all had a great time! Alydia really liked Johanna and Synova her sisters.

Anden loved the water! We put an infant life jacket on him and he just layed on his back and relaxed in the water. Aaron and Christen and their girls came along so we had lots of fun and laughs.

This is the family from Norway. Knut, Ingeborg, Synova, Johanna and Marit (I hope I spelled them right)

After the fun at the Lake we went home and showered and got ready for a fun night. We left the 2 youngest home with a babysitter and went to Rawhide. We went to the steakhouse for dinner. They had live western music and the kids could dance. The food was good and the company was great.

The kids doing their favorite thing....Dancing!

We threw the kids in jail

Sunday morning they made us yummy Norwegian Pancakes....they wer big and thin like crepes, we put whipped cream and strawberries inside.

For Sunday dinner we had the Pratt's and the Hunsakers over along with the Gustavsen family so we had quite the party!

Ingeborg was showing us a book of her pictures.

Liddy found a friend!

Allden enjoyed going to the "cowboy" town.

Playing at the park at Rawhide.

Pearl and Alydia

Canyon Lake

2011-08-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

Our neighbor and friend took us out on his boat at Canyon Lake. We had a blast!

Alydia quickly became friends with Ingeborg and wanted her to take her swimming at the lake. The kids were all excited to get new life jackets so they could go in the deep water and float.

Brett tried to wakeboard for the first time. It looked pretty hard. I just stuck to ski's it's much easier.

They had a huge tube....the size of a queen mattress so we all piled on and got pulled behind the boat it was a lot of fun!

I ski'd all around the lake till I got tired....it was a lot of fun....it makes us want to get a boat.

First Day of School

2011-08-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

The first day of school! Alana is in 3rd grade this year with Mrs. Farkas (she also had her in first grade) Adalynn is in 1st grade with Mrs. VanDeBueken. They were both excited to go back to school and see their friends. The summer went by very fast!

Welcome Ingeborg! Alana's 8th B-day party

2011-08-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Our new foreign exchange student arrived on my B-day. She is from Norway. Since it was Sunday we all got ready for church then went to the airport with the posters the kids made and got there just in time to see her get off the airplane. We were all excited to meet her. Her English is very good. We took her to church for the first time and helped her meet some new friends in young womens. We got her into Perry High School so she will meet many people there and get to walk to school.

We had a little B-day party to celebrate Alana turning 8! She invited her cousins and her best friends from school. We had pizza, cupcakes and icecream and then headed to Basha Pool for a fun evening! They all had a blast swimming, going down the slides, lazy river and the diving board.

Alydia and Ingeborg are already friends.

Alana got a couple gift cards from Target which she used towards a Kinect for the X-Box. She loves it!

Her cousins Patsy and Monroe gave her a fun game! She also got a scrapbook kit and art supplies. We also took her to build a bear where she picked out a dog and an outfit....she loves stuffed animals, art, and games.

Cibola Vista Resort and Arizona Science Center

2011-08-01T22:50:00.001-07:00

We stopped at the Cibola Vista Resort near Lake Pleasant in Peoria for 2 nights on the way home from the cabin. We had a 2 bedroom suite with 2 baths and 2 kitchens. It was a nice place and had a huge pool with a waterslide. The kids were very excited to go swimming. Brett attended some meetings the next day and the kids and I went down to the pool and went swimming for a couple hours. I put the baby down for a nap so that made it a little easier to manage. Alana was the only one tall enough to go down the water slide but she didn’t want to go on her own then Addy needed to go to the bathroom but wanted me to go with her so that was the hard part because I can’t leave the other kids on their own in the pool. We had fun playing red light green light and I gave Alydia and Allden shark rides. We had some lunch then we had to go to a time share presentation and we put the oldest 3 kids in the child care place and the presentation seemed to take forever! Of course we didn’t buy anything but had to listen to it all….we feel bad saying no but the numbers just don’t make sense to us.

Saturday morning we checked out of the resort early at 7:30am and headed to the AZ Science Center for the United Way Intel event. They had breakfast and we could get into the planetarium and the IMAX theatre until 10 am. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed to the planetarium it was cool but the kids got bored about half way through. The next show was a 3-D IMAX show about the waves in Tahiti. That one was really cool the kids were holding their hands out trying to grab the fish as they floated by and it felt like you were in the movie as the waves were pounding down and the surfers were surfing. We need to go to Tahiti sometime it looks beautiful! After the show we wondered around the science center for a couple hours and let the kids explore the different exhibits. It’s a fun place for kids and adults. Everyone was hungry so we went to lunch at Kwan’s SamPan in Mesa. It’s a chinese restaurant and Alana says it’s her favorite. It’s old and reminds me of Granny….I remember taking her to dinner there. We had fun looking at the different animals we were depending on the year you are born. After lunch we headed home. We unpacked and cleaned out the car and started on the laundry.

Alydia didn't want to go on the weather thing she was scared....the kids watched all the different types of weather and feel the wind, rain, heat and even an earthquake.

You sit on a seat and have to pull yourself up with the rope.

Addy is lying on a bed of nails!

Alana and Addy had a wheelchair race. We all had a great time!

Utah trip....Rhino's and Bryce Canyon

2011-08-01T22:33:00.000-07:00

The cabin was open for 4 nights so we headed up before the kids had to go back to school. Summer is the best time to go to the cabin but it is also when we rent it out the most.

We spent one day out on the Rhino’s, my parents rented one and we rented one. I put Anden in the little pouch and he sat up front with me. Then we had 2 kids in the backseat and 2 kids in my parents backseat. We made a big huge loop and really enjoyed the beautiful countryside and scenery. I think this is as good as it gets. It started to pour down rain the last 15 minutes of our ride and it was freezing! I love riding the trails throught the aspen trees and meadows, it's so beautiful!

Brett had to work some more but my parents and the kids and I went down to Bryce in the suburban for the day. When we got there it started raining but stopped long enough for a picnic lunch. Then we went to the visitor center and hung out and watched the movie about Bryce Canyon and looked at all the animals until the rain stopped. Then we drove to the Bristle Cone trail and the hike only took about an hour it was really easy. My dad hiked with Alydia and I hiked with Anden. It was a beautiful hike with nice views.

Alydia played music for papa on my phone for the entire hike.

The weather was beautiful in the 60's and had to wear a light jacket. It was a nice getaway from the heat in AZ.

Silly pictures

2011-07-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know why the girls decided to put pull-ups on their heads but they thought it was pretty funny so we took a picture.

Anden was being really cute in the bathtub. He is 13 months old now! He has 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom. He crawls around everywhere and squeals really loud when he wants something.

Allden and Alydia are either best buds or enemies.

The girls were sweeping after the huge dust storm! Everything was covered with dirt!

Alydia and Allden were playing on the slide at the park in Kanab Utah. What a fun park! It's way to hot at home to go to any parks.

Anden was getting buried by the rubber chips and laughing the whole time.

Adalynn swinging at the park in Kanab. She lost her first tooth this summer.

Alana is getting old enough to actually help with the baby....she enjoyed helping him on the slide and playing with him.

Summer Swim team

2011-07-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

Alana has kept busy this summer with swim team at Perry Pool next door. She is a very competitive girl and enjoyed the races. She improved a lot this summer and always did her best. Her favorite stroke was the butterfly and she even got first place in the last meet on the butterfly. She also did freestyle, backstroke and breast stroke.

We tried to keep the kids cool in the sprinklers at the swim meets. Alydia has really improved her swimming skills this summer and passed the beginning survival class at Swim Kids USA. She was able to float on her back for 10 seconds on her own. Allden and Adalynn also took swimming lessons at the Perry Pool and have improved their swimming skills. They all love to be in the pool. They all wish we could have our own swimming pool. We hope to someday.

Getting ready for the race! Alana also took a diving class to improve her diving skills and really enjoyed it.

Utah trip with Mariana's parents and Anden's 1st B-day

2011-06-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

Mariana's parents came all the way from Venezuela to meet our family! They were so kind and it was so fun to get to know them. Now we know how Mariana was such a good girl! So they arrived in Phoenix on Thursday night, Friday Brett and Mariana took them to tour ASU where she will be going to school then we took them to a D-backs game! We headed to the cabin on Saturday and drove up through Payson and Sedona and the scenic route. The first day there we took them to Zion National Park and took them on the Riverside Walk. It is a easy and scenic hike.

Alydia enjoyed holding hands with Tony....he was just like Papa to her.

We went to Bryce Canyon and hiked a little.

Here is the crew....we had a fun time hiking and taking pictures.

Anden liked Mariana's shades

Hiking the trail....very slowly.

Mariana and the Daddy's

Mariana really liked Alydia and protected her from her big brother!

We made Smores back at the cabin out at the firepit. It was very cold but we had a blast....this was the first time for her parents to make smores

This was Anden's 1st Birthday! We sang Happy Birthday. He has only 2 teeth but 2 more coming in on the top. He loves to crawl and eat all the time!

Guns are illeagal in Venezuela so we packed some of Brett's guns and took Mariana's parents out to the forest and set up some targets to shoot at. Tony and Mariana took turns shooting all the guns....I shot a couple rounds but just tried to keep the kids out of the way. The kids played down by the stream and went wading in the freezing water.

The day after we got back from the cabin we had all the family over for a big party and Mariana's friends. Mariana's mom is an incredible chef and made a feast of yummy food. We had pork, rice, potatoes, taqueno's, juice, and birthday cake to celebrate Anden's B-day. We had a great time visiting with everyone.

Anden really enjoyed his cake! I can't believe he is already 1! The time is flying by! We had a very busy week but really loved spending time with Mariana and her parents. Brett spoke a lot of Spanish....I wish I could speak more. Tony left on Saturday morning, Mariana and her mom stayed a few more days and went shopping and cleaned up and packed Mariana's bedroom. Her room seems so empty now! I sure miss Mariana but I know I will get to see her when she comes back to ASU in the fall.
We have another foreign exchange student coming to our family on my Birthday....July 17th she is from Norway. We are excited to meet her and hope she will enjoy our family.

The End of May Phoenix Children's Museum, Jenna's Wedding and Last days of School

2011-06-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

I got a culture pass and took the kids to the Phoenix Children's Museum. That place is sooooo fun! This is the noodle forest.

Alydia enjoyed scooping ice cream and sharing it with everyone

Allden and Alydia both enjoyed shopping at the grocery store with the little carts, realistic food and checking out just like mommy.

They went up in the treehouse thing and rolled balls down tubes and did it over and over and over.

Anden loved the racecar

Our little artist painting the castle.

This was a cool contraption you put scarfs in and it sucks them through a bunch of tubes and spits them out and the kids try to catch them....they played on this for awhile. So much fun! The museum is perfect for their age we'll have to go again.

We are all excited that my last sister Jenna got married in the temple to John Dobbins

What a beautiful couple!

Me and my sisters.

Jenna's reception was outdoors at the Mell's house. It was beautiful! The kids enjoyed the punch and food and dancing to the music.

We all helped decorate the car with balloons, streamers and paint.

The kids love making forts and tents

Addy's water day

Addy and her cousin Monroe were in the same class and loved it

Alana with her best friends at school.

Alana and Jessica

2nd grade pizza party

The school rented a waterslide and Alana loved racing.

Adalynn's last day of Kindergarten

Addy and Monroe with their teacher Mrs. Huffman

Cute hats dads!

Addy with her old Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Newberry

May....camping, mothers day, temple and limo ride

2011-05-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

President Monson urged us to put a picture of the temple in our children's rooms......so we went down to the temple and took a picture of each child in front of the Mesa temple and plan to hang it in their room.

We participated in a United Way service project with Alana and Adalynn. We had a good time putting together school kits we were in charge of putting crayons, CD's and scissors ina a pouch to go in the kits. The girls were really good workers.

Addy had mom's day at school. They sang songs to us then we made a little picture frame and decorated a sugar cookie. We had a good time!

Alana read the most books out of all of 2nd grade so she got to go on a Limo ride to Peter Piper pizza. She had a great time.

We took the kids camping for the first time. We went up to workman's Creek. The kids were very excited to sleep in the tent they also loved roasting marshmallows

We found a pretty waterfall near our campground. We went on a little hike and came to a big orchard of apple treess and stoppped to take pictures.

The kids all found "walking" sticks

April Fun!

2011-05-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

Hanging out at Grandma's house for Sunday dinner

We took pictures of all the grandkids....it's difficult to get all the kids to look and smile at the same time!

I took the kids to Arizona Museum for youth and Anden loved playing with the soft blocks.

Alydia and Allden had fun pretending to be Astronauts

Allden was the big bad wolf and Alydia was little red riding hood....she was afraid of the wolf and ran away saying don't bite me!

My little prince and princess dressed up at the museum....they had so much fun!

We went to Bass Pro and took picture of the kids with the Easter Bunny. This was our first time at Bass Pro it is a huge store and a lot of fun to see all the animals.

The kids loved watching all the fish in the aquarium!

Brett won tickets at work to go see the Disney movie African Cats. They had a pre-show party with radio Disney and got their faces painted. We had a great time.

The kids with their cousins....they love to play together!

Alana's Easter gifts

Allden got some new shoes, Thomas the Train and a new church outfit.

Mariana even got presents from the Easter Bunny. Her mom was so nice and sent the kids all an easter gift also. Allden, Alydia, and Anden got a huge sugar cookie with their name on it and Alana and Addy got a big easter egg filled with candy.

Anden got a fun new book.

Alydia enjoyed eating the candy and she got a tinkerbell rolling backpack to cart all her stuff around and she loves Tinkerbell!

Easter Sunday with Addy's new green dress.

Allden is so handsome with his new church outfit.

All the kids got cotton candy at the SEVRAR family picnic at Desert Breeze park.....there was food and bounce houses and we had so much fun.

We finally got a bicycly trailer so I can go on bike rides with the little kids. Allden is a little big and usually Alydia will be sitting in the back.

Allden was so tired at church that he fell asleep on his friend Brody....guess they both needed a little nap during primary.

Costa Rica

2011-04-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

When I arrived Brett and his friend Jose and wife Sue took us to a neat restaurant overlooking the city of San Jose

This is looking out our window at the Mariott hotel....this is where Brett stays when he is working here.

Coco Beach

The water was nice and warm....we found lots of crabs in the tidepools, we tried to put Anden's feet in the sand and he hated it and screamed!

Playa Hermosa

We love the jungle!

Up in the mountains near Blue River Resort

My Machito! (this is what the Costa Rican's called Anden)

Arenal Waterfall

Rio Celeste Hideaway hotel! this place was beautiful!

Tenorio National Park. The water was so blue and pretty!

Rio Celeste waterfall! This was amazing and beautiful! This was our favorite place in Costa Rica!

We had to cross a couple bridges across the blue Rio Celeste. What an amazing hike! People said we couldn't do it with the baby!

Sitting by the hot springs at Tenorio National Park!
What a fun vacation! We love Costa Rica! Brett's parents were so awesome to take the kids for a few days so we could enjoy our 12 yr anniversary....a much needed retreat!

Family Pictures

2010-11-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

The Grand Canyon

2010-10-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

We took a day trip from the cabin to the North rim of the Grand Canyon. The drive was a little over 2 hours. We had a great time hiking around enjoying the weather and taking pictures!

Navajo Lake and Cascade Falls October Cabin trip

2010-10-17T16:13:00.000-07:00

Our first day at the cabin we drove down to Navajo Lake which is only about 10 minutes away. The aspen trees were all changing colors reds, oranges, and yellows it was fun to get to experience the Fall colors.

As you can see Alana has lost her 2 front teeth! She had fun skipping rocks in Navajo Lake.

Alydia had fun throwing rocks into the lake. She is so much fun and makes us smile everyday.

We had a nice picnic lunch by the lake.

Marianna was a big help with the kids and we have enjoyed having her along.

Alana and Adalynn loved hiking in front with Grandpa Pratt. The Cascade Falls hike is beautiful with a big waterfall at the end and nice views. The kids did great on the hike!

Anden was a good sport and enjoyed the hike too.
Dad carried Liddy on his back most of the way.

View of the waterfall from the top.

Adalynn had fun climbing up on rocks for her picture.

We took a walk down to the little stream that runs through the meadow in front of the cabin.

Anden is a happy little guy most of the time. He is 4 months old now!

Arizona Science Center

2010-10-17T15:47:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the Arizona Science Center and we had a blast. They had a new display called all about me. It had all things about the body, one display showed the digestive system and it even had a little slide you go through with a "tooting" sound effect as you come out. The kids thought it was sooo funny! There was a big nose you throw little balls into and then it sneezed really loud. Alydia got really scared and started crying she didn't like the nose. The kids got to look at a real sheep brain and all kinds of interesting things. We also saw a presentation with fire that the kids enjoyed. What a fun afternoon!

Hiking Brcye Canyon in Utah

2010-09-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

We hiked to the bottom of Bryce Canyon with our family. Alana was the first to the top and even Allden hiked the entire way! We love hiking with the family and the weather was perfect. I think this was Mariana's first hike too. Our friends Aaron and Jeannette also joined us and we all had a great time!

The life of our children

2010-09-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

Alana had a lateover with Patsy and Rovie and they dressed up stuffed animals and had fun playing. Alana got to take her class monkey home and had to write about her adventures over the weekend with him.

We have added a new person to our family. Her name is Mariana Ferrer and she is 17 and from Venezuela. She is a foreign exchange student and will be living with us for the next 10 months. Her english is very good and she has been teaching us Spanish and cooking and helping out around the house. She is going to Desert Hills high school and has joined the volleyball team.

Adalynn started taking piano lessons and is enjoying it and doing very well.

Anden is starting to sleep through the night! Yeah!

Alydia is talking in complete sentences and is so much fun!

Alana is loving 2nd grade!

Allden is still taking swimming lessons and is in a playgroup once a week he is the oldest at home in the mornings and loves to be the little bully to Alydia.

Anden's Baby Blessing

2010-09-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

Addy, Patsy, Alana, Kilynne, Monroe and Raif after Anden's blessing.

We blessed Anden Mark Buyack on August 1st in church. All the family was there to support us and we had quite a large circle. Brett was a little nervous but gave a wonderful blessing. Brett and I and the girls all shared our testimony and we all felt the spirit on this special day. I am so grateful for my sweet little boy. Even though he is my 5th child I love him just as much as the others and it is still so amazing and I am so grateful to be a mother!

First Day of School!

2010-09-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

2010-09-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

Happy 7th B-day Alana!

I made a flip flop cake but it got a little melted.

We had a swimming pool, slip and slide and lots of water balloons.

We had a water party at our house for Alana's 7th B-day. She invited lots of friends and had so much fun.

Alana loves animals and has been saving her money for a rabbit. So for her 7th B-day she finally got one. I think the bunny was pretty scared when we got him home with all the kids so excited to see him.

Utah- Arches National Park and Rhino riding

2010-09-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

This is delicate arch from a distance. It was too hot to hike to it and we still had too far to drive.

We packed all the kids in the Rhino and went out for the day. Alydia fell asleep once but still had fun.

Alana was so excited this butterfly landed on her finger.

Brett was the lead Rhino and navigator we had a blast exploring the trails!

I was afraid the kids were going to fall over the edge.

We rode the Rhino's to a beautiful overlook.

Telluride Colorado

2010-09-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

I love hiking in beautiful places!

What an amazing place for a house at the top of these waterfalls! We hiked up to see the view WOW!

We parked at the bottom of this beautiful waterfall and had a picnic.

3rd Day in Colorado

2010-08-24T22:34:00.005-07:00

We went to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Alana was a good photographer. She was afraid of heights and didn't want to look down into the canyon.

Alana enjoyed finding many different kinds of wildflowers.

The kids favorite part of the day was swimming at the natural hotsprings pool in Ouray. The water was really warm like a warm bath. It was nice and shallow in most areas so the kids could all walk around the pool.

Just another day in Paradise! The weather was beautiful! Why do I live in Arizona?

Colorado Day 2

2010-08-24T22:07:00.009-07:00

This is the view from the street where we stayed in Ouray.

Silverton

The kids love to throw rocks into the water.

Colorado is beautiful and pictures don't do it justice! We are in love with the huge mountains and the green everywhere! We took a beautiful drive from Durango to Silverton and stopped in Silverton for some treats and throwing rocks in the river. It's a beautiful little town in the mountains.

Then we drove the million dollar highway to Ouray Colorado otherwise known as the Switzerland of America. We stayed in a nice cabin just outside the town.

Colorado Trip Day 1

2010-07-24T22:09:00.002-07:00

We took a family vacation to Colorado to escape the heat! On the drive there along the Indian reservation was a place that had dinosoar footprints. We needed a break from driving anyways so we walked around and looked at all the footprints in the rocks. It looked pretty cool but not sure if they are for real. We also passed by Monument Valley but it was getting dark. We stopped for the night in Cortez Colorado and stayed in a Holiday Inn Family Suite it had 4 bunk beds and was pretty fun. It was probably about a 7 hour drive.

Look at these Dinosoar Footprints!

Our Newest Addition Anden Mark Buyack

2010-06-09T18:34:00.008-07:00

Our little bundle of joy was born on June 8 at 12:28pm he weighed 8lbs 7.5 oz and 20" long. He was born at the Gilbert Mercy Hospital just 13 minutes after arrival!

Brett was a great support during the intense delivery....all natural! I was relieved it didn't last too long! Labor started around 10am but started getting intense around 11 and we had to get everything arranged and rushed to the hospital!

What a little miracle! I was so excited to meet our new little boy. He sure had a lot of dark hair more than my little girl Alydia! I'm now relaxing and enjoying a little one on one time with my little boy.

Grandma Hunsaker was very excited to meet him and has been very helpful with the other kids while I went to the hospital. It's great to have another wonderful mother nearby!

I'm so grateful to have Brett to help me in raising this little boy he is such a great Daddy!

Anden Mark Buyack....his first name was suggested by his sister Adalynn and we all liked it. His middle name is after his Grandpa Hunsaker who is a great example and support to us.

Adalynn and Allden were very excited to come to the hospital and see their new baby brother. They had to inspect every little part of him and asked lots of questions. Allden is excited to have another boy in the family.

Cabin Trip

2010-06-09T18:20:00.008-07:00

We took a little weekend getaway and headed north to our cabin in Duck Creek Utah to escape the heat and spend some time together as a family. I hoped I wouldn't have the baby early in Utah.

We found a fun park and enjoyed a picnic lunch and took some fun pictures. The kids had fun playing with their cousins Patsy and Monroe. We also were there with Grandma and Grandpa Hunsaker and Grandma Pratt.

I was kicked back relaxing and all the kids jumped on me.

Alydia had fun picking flowers. She is 19 months old now and so much fun. She talks a lot!

This is the little stream that runs by our cabin. The kids enjoyed throwing rocks in.

This is the bridge over the river in the meadow by our cabin. We enjoyed the nice cool air as compared to home and I enjoyed relaxing with the family.

Peter Piper Pizza

2010-05-28T22:27:00.002-07:00

We took the family to Peter Piper Pizza since we filled up the marble jar. We had pizza and had about 60 tokens we burned through. Alydia loved riding on the little merry go round.

The girls cashed in their tickets and got these silly teeth!

Alydia liked to drive the bus.

Allden had a great time on the merry-go round.

Grandma and Grandpa Hunsaker and Grandma Pratt also came to join us in all the fun.

Alana's favorite game is air hockey. She is our competitive one. We all had a great time!

Pictures of the kids

2010-05-28T22:11:00.003-07:00

We had family pictures last Saturday and we took a few of our own but the kids were not cooperating at the same time. Adalynn loves to dress her little sister just like her.

Alana and Addy had fun playing with their cousins new bunny. Alana loves animals and wants to get a pet.

We tried to take pics of the kids before church and it's really difficult to get everyone to look and smile at the same time.

Alydia did not like Allden touching her!

Shooting guns in the Desert

2010-05-28T22:04:00.002-07:00

Brett enjoys shooting guns! We went out to the desert earlier this month and shot some targets.

Alana is helping dad load the bullets.

Alydia did not like wearing the headphones!

Addy had fun shooting this little gun with Dad's help.

Construction update

2010-05-15T21:28:00.004-07:00

Sorry these are not in order. It's been fun to watch them build our house. We watched the concrete pumper pour the foundation, watching the framer's raise the walls and the crane put on the trusses. The guest house is all framed and our house is still coming along with framing....it's exciting to really get to see our plans coming to life!

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-15T21:23:00.002-07:00

Alana and Addy woke up early they were so excited to make me breakfast in bed. Dad helped them make a yummy breakfast and I had to pretend waking up. They made me cards, and neclaces. I also got to shop for myself a little which is always fun and got some new shoes and jewelry. I didn't want to post my picture in my pj's without make-up =) Brett also had the entire house cleaned that was a wonderful gift! I love my family! Only 4 more weeks to go and we'll have another little boy!

Building our new House

2010-05-09T16:09:00.002-07:00

In case you have been wondering what we have been up to....we have finally started construction on our new home. It has been fun to live next door and walk over and watch the progress every day. Allden has really enjoyed seeing the big tractors move the dirt to build the pad, then he watched the cement trucks pour the foundation and just this past week we watched the crane putting trusses on the roof.

New Year's 2010

2010-01-10T16:04:00.003-07:00

We had a real mexican fiesta for New Years and stayed out and partied until 2am! We had good homeade tamales and frijoles and the works. We had a fun time! We celebrated with a Mexican family in Guamays.
They had a real mexican pinata that everyone beat as hard as they could and it still didn't break! They really know how to make them strong in Mexico! Finally they just pierced a hole and ripped it open and everyone grabbed candy.

We lit off fireworks...sparklers and lots of loud popping ones.

We went down to San Carlos Mexico with our family and my sister Jenna who just returned from her mission.

Disneyland

2009-10-14T20:30:00.006-07:00

We went to the "happiest place on earth" Disneyland! Alana and Adalynn were tall enough to ride all the rides and they did great walking all day from 10am to 10pm! Brett's parents stayed in a rental home with us 2 miles from Disneyland and kept the baby so we could enjoy the day. They dropped off Allden in the early afternoon so he could experience Disneyland too. Around 8pm they had an amazing fireworks show above the skies at Disneyland.

Here is the relaxing boat cruise we took.

The kids enjoyed seeing Woody from Toy Story.

The Matterhorn was the kids favorite ride. We did this ride twice.

Beach Day

2009-10-13T20:59:00.001-07:00

Brett was having fun with the new camera taking pictures of the kids. Allden will be 3 this month! Adalynn will be 5 in January and Alana is 6yrs old! They are getting big fast!

We went to the Children's Beach in La Jolla for a relaxing afternoon. We found these cool looking pelicans catching fish.

We saw several Harbor Seals and were able to get up pretty close to them and watch them. This one barked at us a little to make sure we didn't get too close. It's funny to watch them flop around on the sand like a big caterpillar.

A nice lady took a family picture for us. It was a beautiful sunny day. Brett asked why wouldn't you want to live here? The only reason I could think of is that it's too expensive!

We grabbed some Subway sandwiches and tried to have a nice picnic lunch out on the grass but were bullied by a flock of seagulls trying to get our food. Alana and Brett had to chase them off but they kept trying to come back and attack our food!

Whenever we go to San Diego we love to see the temple! It's like a beautiful white castle.

Sea World

2009-10-13T11:42:00.017-07:00

We took the family to Seaworld on Monday October 5 over the fall break. They had it decorated for Halloween. We had a great day!

The first show we attended was the Story of Shamu. We sat in the splash zone but didn't get wet. They jumped out of the water and did a flip it was cool to watch.This was the rapids ride which we got pretty soaked on. Good thing we had rain poncho's!

We went to Elmo's playland and they had a fun little tunnel that Alydia had fun crawling through.

Brett took the kids on the spinning sea stars. I get sick on those spinning rides!

We enjoyed looking at all the fish in the aquarium. Alydia really liked seeing all the fish up close!

We got to wear these funky 3-D glasses for the Elmo 3-D show. It was funny to watch the kids reaching out and trying to grab things that were popping out of the screen. Allden even said "I can't get it!"

We went to the Artic exhibit and saw a polar bear, beluga whale, and a huge walrus! We also went on the wild Arctic ride that simulates being in a helicopter flying through the Arctic, it was pretty cool!

We enjoyed the Sea Lion show with a little Halloween theme. They danced to "Thriller"

We found a Halloween scene to take some pictures, the boys were matching and the girls were matching, we were asked a couple times if the girls were twins.

What a fun day for all!

Shooting

2009-09-06T16:03:00.003-07:00

Check out my gun! This one had a pretty good kick!

Alana is aiming for the target with Papa's help

Alydia is Papa's pal especially when he has pens in his pockets. She didn't mind the gun shooting too much.

Brett is practicing his shooting skills to go hunting for elk with his Dad next month

Allden had to have a turn shooting the chipmunk too!

We were trying wings on Alydia. She is 10 months old now and has 4 teeth. She is so fun!

Dance Class

2009-08-15T10:44:00.002-07:00

Alana and Adalynn just finished up a dance class through the City of Chandler it was a 9 week class and at the end they did a little dance for the parents it was cute.

First Day of School

2009-08-15T10:41:00.002-07:00

I can’t believe Alana is starting school and summer is over! She is going to be a big first grader! We met her teacher her name is Mrs. Farkus, she seems nice. She doesn’t have anybody from her Kindergarten class with her. I think they divided them all up and there were only like 6 kids from her class that were staying at Weinberg. At least she’ll get to see them at recess. She does know 2 boys from church in her class and she chose to sit at a table with all boys. Funny that my little girl likes to play with the boys more than playing with the girls. She loves the things they love like Star Wars, racing, competition etc. So it will be so weird to have her gone to school from 8:30 till 3:00, I’m loosing my baby girl! Addy still has to wait another year before she gets to start Kindergarten but I’ll put her in preschool 2 days a week.

Alana's 6th B-Day Party

2009-08-15T10:32:00.002-07:00

Alana had her her 6th birthday party the Saturday after her B-day. She wanted a Star Wars Party so we had 8 kids over plus Alana and Addy and we decorated with Star Wars stuff and played 6 different Star Wars games. We played pass the death star, DARTH bingo, Meteor Shower (balloons dropped from up high with candy in them) asteroid hunt(foil covered prizes hid all over the house), pin the ship on the galaxy and light saber training(we made light sabers out of pool noodles cut in half with duck tape for the handle.) We also had Pizza and cupcakes and opened presents. I spent all afternoon on Friday preparing for the party, it was a lot more work than I thought but Alana had fun helping me get ready to play all the games. Everyone had fun and I think it went well. She got a few board games, a couple light sabers, a bubble machine, some star wars books and a little paint set.

White Water Rafting the Pacure River

2009-08-15T10:13:00.001-07:00

Saturday July 18 we woke up very early so we could go river rafting at the Pacure River. As we were heading out the door for breakfast in the morning we got a phone call from Aaron and Christen saying they couldn’t go because Christen was sick all night. So we were bummed that they were not going. We had a quick breakfast and then drove over to drop off Alydia at Jose’s house for the day. I had a hard time leaving her behind. We drove about an hour and a half to meet the group for river rafting. We met at the Rio Tropicales main office and had breakfast we then got on a bus to the top of the Pacure River. We were on a raft with 3 other guys and our guide was Christian. So I was the only girl on the raft, the guys were all really nice and we had an awesome time. This was my favorite part of the trip! We had class 2 to class 4 rapids, we just listened to our guide and worked as a team and nobody fell in the river. A couple of the other boats had people fall out or even tip over. The scenery was just amazing! There were waterfalls everywhere along the way and the green jungle is so beautiful! Words just can’t describe the breathtaking beauty we enjoyed here! We all jumped in and floated for a little ways when we got to a smooth part in the river. We rafted about 18 miles and it took about 3 hours. Since it is rainy season here the river was higher and faster. When we were done rafting we got to shower and change and then had a yummy hot lunch back at the main office where we had breakfast. What an amazing and fun day! I wish we were able to take more pictures!

Manuel Antonio

2009-08-15T09:56:00.004-07:00

Friday July 17, Happy Birthday to me! I’m 29 years old today! We had a typical Costa Rican breakfast again of Gallo Pinto and eggs and toast. Then we headed out to Manuel Antonio for the day. While we were waiting in line to pay for our ticket we saw a sloth in the tree with a baby hanging onto it, it was really cute! As we were hiking in we saw more sloths and monkeys and iguanas and lizards. This place is just full of wildlife! The beach was beautiful and the water was so nice. We got snorkeling gear and snorkeled for a little while and saw some neat fish. We then hiked up to another beach that was less crowded and had lots of rocks and some tide pools. Alydia had fun playing in one of the little tide pools. She tried to pick up some little hermit crabs and eat them! Brett found some star fish while snorkeling he loves to play with creatures in the ocean!This place was beautiful! We headed out and had a quick lunch and then had to drive back to San Jose for the night. Just another day in paradise!

Arenal to MonteVerde

2009-08-09T14:02:00.003-07:00

Thursday July 16 we headed out after a typical Costa Rican breakfast and got to Monteverde around 12:00 we had lunch at a nice restaurant and then went to the La Selvatura zip lines. The drive was beautiful even though we had lots of dirt roads. Pictures don't do this place justice! This drive was the most scenic drive of our trip!I love all the green and the mountains it reminded me a little of Switzerland. We got to go on a special zipline tour with only the 2 of us so it only took 1 hour. So Aaron and Christen went first and then came back and watched the baby so we could go on the tour. It only took an hour since it was just the 2 of us. It was amazing! The tarzan swing was really scary I screamed really loud it was like bungee jumping and I was so scared I almost didn’t want to do it but I’m glad I did. We all had a fun time! The last zip line was 1 km long and we got to ride it together. We felt like birds flying over the jungle, it was really fun! The ziplines are amazing! What a fun day!
We had to still drive all the way down to Manuel Antonio for the night. We ate dinner on the way down in Jaco at a nice Mexican restaurant. We stayed in a hotel called Mimo’s it was a nice place in Quepos which is pretty close to Manuel Antonio.

Tortuguero to Arenal

2009-08-09T13:55:00.002-07:00

The drive from Tortuguero to Arenal took about 5 hours. We drove through this cool tree tunnel and past all the bannana fields. We stayed in a place called Los Colinas it was right in the town of La Fortuna, it had a big terrace and you could see the volcano from there. We tried to see the lava flow that night but it was too cloudy. We walked around the town and looked in a few shops and then enjoyed dinner at the Lava lounge.

Bocas del Torro to Tortuguero

2009-08-09T13:39:00.003-07:00

Tuesday July 14, we got up early for breakfast in Bocas and had yummy American pancakes. The people who own Lula’s B&B are from Georgia and moved their family there. They were really nice to talk to and we really enjoyed our stay there. We got on the 8am boat back to the mainland and the transition back to our car was much better than coming there. We had our own air conditioned taxi with just the 4 of us. We got back to our car and drove past Siquerres and then had to drive over an hour on a rough dirt road to get to the boat dock to Tortuguerro.

We had to pay $175 for the round trip boat ride to get to Tortuguerro. The boat ride took a little over an hour and it was beautiful! We went down a big canal the water was brown and it was thick rain forest on both sides of the river it was beautiful and amazing! When we arrived Alfonso-a tour guide helped us find our hotel. We stayed at El Icaco’s it was on the ocean side of the island. The room had no air conditioning so it was hot that night. This place was very remote with dirt paths and very wild. We had dinner at a restaurant on the water and we wanted to take some pictures and couldn’t find the camera anywhere. We realized we had left it on the boat and were stressed about it. We decided not to go on the turtle tour that night but we went and sat down by the beach and talked and enjoyed listening to the waves rolling in. We didn’t see any turtles but still enjoyed ourselves.

Wednesday July 15, we woke up very early to go on a 6am canoe tour of the canals. The canoe tour was great it was so peaceful and calm. We saw a big caiman up really close. We saw an iguana up in a tree, we saw a humming bird nest with little eggs in it. We also saw and heard lots of howler monkeys. They are really loud and sound like bears. We also saw several little squirrel monkeys and lots of different kinds of birds. It started raining on us but we were prepared with an umbrella and rain ponchos. Alfonso our guide had lived on Tortuguero for 20 years and was very good. We saw our boat driver and asked him about the camera and he said he didn’t see it. Ugh! Now we were really frustrated that we had all those pictures lost! This was the second time this has happened to us! At least we still will get pictures from Aaron and Christen. We had breakfast and then checked out to get back on the boat to our car. Another beautiful boat ride. When we got back to our car Brett asked the guy again about the camera and even asked to look in his backpack but he wouldn’t let him see and then he took off. We are pretty sure he took the camera.

The best part of the trip is getting to spend 24/7 with Brett and Alydia!

Costa Rica/Panama

2009-08-08T22:50:00.003-07:00

Sorry it has taken so long to post pictures of our Costa Rica trip but better late than never.

Saturday July 11 we headed to the airport with Aaron and Christen and Alydia. We left Alana, Addy and Allden behind with Grandma Hunsaker. My mom will sleep over at our house Monday through Thursday and then Kayleen will take over again on the weekend. We flew out of Phoenix on US Airways around noon and arrived in San Jose Costa Rica around 6:30pm. We met up with Brett’s friend from Intel at the rental car place and he helped us find our hotel. We stayed at Casa Alegre we had a nice big room and made a baby bed for Alydia. Then we headed out to find some fast food and found Wendy’s-pretty lame that we fly to another country and find the American fast food. Brett had been really sick this entire week leading up to the trip he had stomach problems but he had a blessing and he was feeling better.

Sunday July 12, we got up early and had the typical Costa Rican breakfast including Gallo Pinto, scrambled eggs and toast it was delicioso. Then we headed out to get to Bocas Del Toro Panama. On the way we stopped to take a picture of the temple.It was a very long day of travel and it took us about 10 hours to get there. When we got to the border we parked our car at a lady’s house that we paid to watch the car. Then we went through the Costa Rican side to stamp our passport and then walked across the bridge to the Panama side to go through immigration.

The old bridge between Costa Rica and PanamaWaiting at the border to get our passorts stamped.

Then we all got pushed into a big van to drive to the boat dock to get to Bocas. It was $10 per person and it had no A/C and they were trying to cram as many people as they could into the van. We finally left and got down to the boat dock in Al Mirante for a 30 minute ride out to Bocas. We stayed at Lula’s. We had dinner by the water and did a little shopping this place is beautiful! I think it was a lot of hassle to get there but it was worth it.

Monday July 13 we had a relaxing day in Bocas. We enjoyed a good breakfast and then went down to the boat dock and took a ride out to Crawl Cay where we went snorkeling and ate at the restaurant. We put Alydia in a little blow up tube and held onto her while we were snorkeling. We saw lots of fish and had a good time. When we got back we sat at a restaurant by the water and had some food and relaxed then took a taxi to the north side of the island to go to Bocas del Drago and Estrella Beach. That beach was really cool we had to walk about 30 minutes to get there but there were huge starfish in the water everywhere! We enjoyed the beautiful sunset and the nice calm beach and warm water. We headed back to the room to shower and go to dinner. We ate at a nice restaurant right out on the water. Just another day in paradise! We found some cute dresses for the girls in one of the little shops. We took lots of good pictures of the starfish but then our camera was stolen and all those pictures were lost!

Prescott

2009-06-28T16:47:00.003-07:00

This weekend we drove up to Prescott to stay with my Grandma Pratt. She has a summer home there and enjoys having some visitors. We were excited to take a little road trip and get out of the heat! We drove up Friday night and came home Sunday morning. Saturday we drove up by Thumb Butte and explored the area. It's really pretty up here.Then we took the kids to the park and enjoyed the weather and some quality time with the kids. After all the playing we threw the 4 dirty bodies in the bathtub and got a couple cute photos.

Ringling Bros. Circus

2009-06-28T16:32:00.003-07:00

We took the kids to the circus on opening night at U.S. Airways Center on June 24th. We went with Brett's parents and his 2 brothers and their kids. We all rode the light rail together to the circus and had a great time! I liked the elephants it was cool to see them all standing up on 2 legs on a stool and leaning on each other!

We also saw tigers dancing and roaring!Alana and Addy were amazed and Addy asked "Is this real?" They especially loved sitting by their cousins.

Grandma and Granpa rescued Alydia and got her to go to sleep towards the end. They had fun watching the circus and seeing the kids reactions.

Alydia

2009-06-28T16:24:00.002-07:00

Alydia is so much fun! She is almost 8 months old now and really getting around she can stand up if she is holding onto something and she scoots around everywhere. We have to watch out for all the small objects because she puts everything into her mouth.

Alana loves to play with Alydia and keep her entertained.

Allden loves to push Alydia everwhere in her walker. Alydia is pretty fast in that thing like a little Flintstone baby!

We love those big blue eyes and great smile. She makes us smile everyday! She just got her 2 bottom teeth and is growing everyday!

Splash Pad at the Zoo

2009-06-28T16:20:00.001-07:00

We went to the Phoenix Zoo with my friend Collette and her kids and the girls really enjoyed playing in the splash pad! Kids get in free to the zoo all summer!

Celebration of Learning

2009-06-28T16:13:00.002-07:00

Alana is saying good-bye to her Kindergarten teacher on the last day of school.

Grandma Pratt and Granma Hunsaker both came to her Celebration of learning program with all the Kindergarteners. They made a special t-shirt to wear and they sang lots of songs.

We are so proud of our little Kindergartener and can't believe she will be going to 1st grade!

This is one picture of her class singing. She made lots of friends in her class and will miss them over the summer. Alana has learned so much this year. She is now reading and writing very well.

Father's Day Kickball with Alana

2009-06-28T16:05:00.002-07:00

Alana with her Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Newberry. She loved her teacher and had a great Kindergarten year!

Dad and Alana eating Nachos at the Father's Day kickball event at Weinberg.

Dad and Alana after playing a competitive game of kickball. Alana is our little competitive child and loves to play games. They had a father's Day kickball game with their fathers on the last week of school. They had a great time!

Lisa's Garden Boxes

2009-05-24T15:39:00.002-07:00

This is my very first attempt at gardening and it's been a lot of fun. I made 3 4x4 boxes out of 2x6 plywood and filled them with good soil mix and planted everything from seeds. Now we are enjoying the fruits of my labor. I planted corn, spinach, lettuce, snap peas, carrots, marigolds, cucumbers, watermelon and cilantro. We have enjoyed watching it grow and learning lots about plants. Alana has been watering the garden for me everyday.

Trampoline water balloons

2009-05-24T15:27:00.002-07:00

When I was a kid me and my brother would fill up huge water balloons and put them on the trampoline and let the water squirt out everywhere. So I filled up a huge balloon and didn't tie it and let the girls get in their swimming suits and they had a great time! I think Allden was flexing his muscles or something cute. He didn't want to go on the trampoline with the girls at the time but now he loves to jump.

Alydia was just entertained by hanging out in her walker moving around and watching the girls. She is almost 7 months now and getting to be so much fun!

Brett's Redneck Day

2009-05-24T15:17:00.002-07:00

Brett spent his Saturday out mowing all our weeds and watering trees and doing a bunch of outside chores and got quite the red neck from sun burn. He killed a couple gophers one by jumping on it and another he threw a big rock at. He also found this cool looking lizard we thought it might be a horny toad but not sure. We let the kids keep it for a couple hours then we let it go. Our neighbors were getting irrigation so with the water flowing down the ditch Brett let the girls go swimming in the ditch. They had a great time. (I guess this is our redneck swimming pool)

Brett and the girls floated all the way down to the end of the street in the ditch. Fun times!

San Diego Zoo

2009-05-07T12:21:00.014-07:00

Saturday we went to the San Diego Zoo which I had always heard good things about so I figured it would be fun to check out. We first went on a guided bus tour to get a good overview of the zoo, it’s huge! We saw some animals from the bus. Then we had a picnic lunch and walked around and saw more animals. We wanted to go on the skytram ride but it broke down and didn’t work for the rest of the day. We saw the polar bear, the panda(it spends 95% of it’s time sleeping) Alligator Fighting Rhino's my favorite is the giraffes there was a baby that was only 2 weeks old, it was so cute. They said they only sleep 30 minutes per day in 2 minute intervals. The kids were still tired from an exhausting day at Sea World so they were a little whiny about all the walking but we still had a good time.

After the zoo we met up with Brett’s brother Tim and his girlfriend Erin who live here in La Jolla. They took us to a restaurant in downtown La Jolla which was good but very expensive. Then we enjoyed a nice walk along the beach and saw all the seals down on the beach and watched them for a little while. It’s very cool down by the ocean compared with inland and we all had jackets on. I enjoy looking at the ocean and enjoying the beauty.

Sunday we packed up to head home. We drove across the Coronado bridge and saw the Hotel del Coronado and drove down the silver strand (a big sandbar) down to imperial beach and then headed back up to La Jolla and saw the San Diego Temple. It is the most beautiful temple! You are just driving along the highway and come up over a hill and then you see it Wow! We walked around and took some pictures. We got some lunch at Wendy’s and then hit the road for the long boring drive home. We got home around 8:30 and got the kids to bed and now we are back to the grind! It was a fun weekend away. Brett really enjoys the beautiful weather and is trying to convince me to move somewhere else besides ugly deserty and hot AZ.

Sea World

2009-05-07T10:55:00.006-07:00

We just got back from a fun weekend in San Diego! We left Thursday afternoon and arrived a little after 10pm, the drive takes about 6 hours but it was hard to get away Brett worked and I spent the day packing etc. We rented a 1400 sq ft home in a neighborhood close to the San Diego Zoo. It was a great set up for our family because we had a little privacy and we had a kitchen and had breakfast every morning and cooked one dinner to save some money.

Friday we went to Sea World.

We saw a Flamingo parade when we arrived. Everyone was excited and this was the highlight and favorite of our stay. I hadn’t been there since I was a teenager so I was excited too! We enjoyed the dolphin show, Sea Lion show, Shamu show and pet show. We always sat in the splash zone but really didn’t get too wet. The shows were crowded but we got there early enough to get good seats. The kids really liked the shows. We also saw the shark encounter which was one of my favorites.

They now have rides there like the Elmo Playland is geared towards little kids and they had 3 rides there that everyone could ride. They had a rocking Eel, Flying Fish, and Spinning Tea Cups (I still hate the spinning ride even Allden got a little sick on that one. They also have 2 big rides there the journey to Atlantis which is a roller coaster and it splashes down into the water. That was fun, Alana got to ride it but Addy was just a little too short. Then we went over to Roaring Rapids it’s a big raft you get on and ride down a river and you go under a waterfall and get soaked. It’s a good thing I brought rain poncho’s to keep us dry. The crowds were pretty light and we never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a ride. We folded up some granola bars and put them in the heel of Addy’s shoe and then tied them back up again to give her a little extra height and they let her go on the raft ride.

We were at Sea World from open to closing time we got to see just about everything there and everyone had fun. The weather was beautiful! We also met up with Brett’s cousin Eileen and her 4 kids at Sea World.

Brett was our photographer so he didn't get in many pictures!

Spring Break at the Cabin

2009-03-23T10:22:00.003-07:00

We had a fun week going up to the cabin and having a little time to relax and spend time together as a family. We left on Wednesday afternoon around 4pm because Brett had a very busy day at work so I had to do all the packing and preparation….it takes forever to get everything ready for a trip! The girls are getting better at helping pack their own clothes and things so that really helps. We arrived around 11:30pm so we made pretty good time, we just went through the Wendy’s drive through for dinner. I think it’s easier to travel in the evening with the kids because the sleep for half the trip and it is much more peaceful and Brett and I can talk and enjoy the drive. When we came home on Sunday it felt like the longest drive ever because the kids were awake the whole time.

Thursday we just spent the day hanging out at the cabin, Alana went sledding with Tom and had fun playing in the snow. There was still quite a bit of snow but it was really starting to melt. I met up with a friend from our ward who was up there with her husband and showed them the cabin. Brett had lots of meetings and just worked all day. He is trying to catch up from the week he had to take off when he was sick with Pnemonia. Mom and Dad, Spencer and his boys arrived around 9pm that night.
Friday all the boys went skiing/snowboarding up at Brianhead. Mom and I and the kids spent the day going down to Cedar City for the warmer weather. Mom really hates the snow, and the younger kids don’t like it much either. The drive down to Cedar is always beautiful, we went shopping at a couple stores and had lunch at Costa Vida then let the kids play at the park. It was in the low 70’s and beautiful. The boys got back from skiing and said they had a great time except for Avery who broke his arm! Brett snowboarded for half the day and skied the other half. He decided he liked skiing better. Tom and Brett didn’t wear sunglasses so their eyes got a little sunburned and were red and sore. I wished I could have gone skiing but I’m pretty tied down with a nursing baby right now. The last 5 years I have been nursing or pregnant! Oh well I know that motherhood is wonderful and one of the greatest and most important works I will do in this life.

Our squirrel finding the candy!

Saturday we went to Zion’s National Park. We took a picnic lunch and enjoyed a couple hikes. We did the Riverside walk by the river and saw lots of squirrels. It is an easy path for the kids and very pretty. At the end of the trail someone had left their backpack and a bag of jolly ranchers and goldfish and the squirrels were getting into them. One squirrel ate a big jolly rancher and a starburst. After a lunch break we did the middle and upper Emerald Pool hike. This hike was a little tougher for the kids, Brett carried Allden in the backpack and I had Alydia in the little front pack. Alana hiked on her own and Addy hiked with Papa he gave her a piggy back ride a couple times. No matter how many times we go to Zion I always enjoy the beauty and the great outdoors.

Our family with Grandma and Grandpa Pratt (Lisa's parents)
Brett carried Allden on his back for the entire hike!

Tom and Alana hanging out.

Our 10 yr Anniversary!

2009-03-15T16:01:00.003-07:00

We have been married 10 yrs as of Friday March 13th! We had a quick getaway to a cabin up in Heber for one night. Brett had fun driving his Porsche on the winding roads racing around corners! Derek and Emily were so nice to watch the kids Friday night. We started the weekend off by enjoying a nice steak dinner and then drove up to Heber. We took the baby with us but it was nice to get away from the rest of the kids for a night. Saturday morning we enjoyed a yummy breakfast at June's cafe! We explored Heber and enjoyed a little snow. We drove down through the Salt River Canyon on the way home. Brett had so much fun driving his Porsche around the corners, luckily we never met any cops. We had a great time! I think it's essential for a marriage to take time to continue dating and having time away from the normal daily activities. We are happily married and looking forward to the next 10 yrs.

Freestone Park

2009-03-15T15:53:00.002-07:00

This week Alana was on Spring Break. We spent Thursday afternoon at Freestone park. The kids enjoyed feeding the ducks, having a picnic lunch with Grandma Pratt, Aunt Vicki and Marla from Utah, Grandma and Grandpa Carson and Derek and Emily. The kids also enjoyed playing on the playground.

Girls and Korean dresses

2009-03-15T15:38:00.002-07:00

Alana and Addy sure love their baby sister Alydia. Alydia is 4 1/2 months old now. She is generally a happy little girl when she isn't tired or hungry. She is laughing out loud and rolling over now. Adalynn loves dresses and wanted to wear the dress to bed.

Tom who is our foreign exchange student from Korea gave the girls a special Korean outfit. They looked so cute in them. It has been fun to have Tom live in our home, he has been a big help around the house and the kids adore him!

Blake's Miracle Swimathon

2009-03-15T15:26:00.002-07:00

Last Saturday Alana and Adalynn participated in Blake's Miracle Swimathon. Alana swam 16 laps across the pool! Adalynn swam 7 laps! Great job girls!

Adalynn catching her breath after a lap. Good job Adalynn!

Alana is our little fish and loves to swim and is getting better all the time! After swimming laps and getting changed the Phoenix Suns Gorilla presented them with a certificate and congratulated them for their good work! A couple of the Phx. Suns cheerleaders were also there.In the parking lot there was a bouncy house which the girls enjoyed and a rock climbing wall which the girls had fun trying. It was a fun day!

Adalynn's Preschool Apples to Zebras

2009-03-15T15:18:00.002-07:00

Adalynn has been attending the City of Chandler's Apples to Zebra preschool program this year. She had a performance with all the classes where they sang a bunch of songs. It was cute! They made shirts in class that they work for the big performance. She has enjoyed the social part of preschool making friends and making crafts but I think I want to put her in a different preschool next year that is more academic based. She has to wait an entire year before she gets to start kindergarten. This is Adalynn's preschool teacher that she has had for a year.

These are some of Addy's biggest fans that came to watch her sing. Go Addy!

Happy Birthday Brett

2009-03-15T15:06:00.002-07:00

Better late than never....Brett's B-day was February 28th and I'm just getting around to posting the blog. Anyways I planned a birthday party for him with all the family. We went to dinner at Joe's BBQ in downtown Gilbert. The weather has been so nice so I thought it would be nice for the kids to run around and play outside. I got him a real ice cream cake from coldstone creamery! It was a hit and Brett wished there was more. Then we had a mini golf competition at Golfland it was pretty fun. My Dad won (maybe he cheated =) and Brett and I tied for 2nd place then the runners up were Christen, Tom, and Aaron.
Brett went to the dunes on Saturday for his Birthday it was a guy trip with his brother Kyle and my brother Derek. They rode hard all day in the hot sun and Brett was pretty sick when he got home. The doctor told him it was probably just heat exaustion but he had a terrible pain in his chest and a cough so we took him to the E.R. on Wednesday night. We sat around there getting all kinds of tests done and they found out he had Pneumonia! So they gave him some antibiotics and sent him home. He's been down for a good week with this awful stuff but I think he is finally back to normal again! Thank Goodness!

Phoenix Zoo

2009-03-10T23:00:00.002-07:00

I'm a few weeks behind on our blog....but at the end of February Alana's Kindergarten class took a field trip to the Phoenix Zoo. I followed the bus and met her there with the rest of the kids. We walked around with her friend Hadley and her mom. We had a good time!

Sunday Dinner

2009-03-10T22:45:00.002-07:00

Look at those 5 beautiful princesses! Every other Sunday we get together for dinner with Brett's family and the girls love to play dress up and dance to music.

Kyle brought over a golf cart with a train attached and kept the kids entertained for awhile!

Every day life in the Buyack's Home

2009-02-17T21:59:00.002-07:00

Alana and I creating some craft project she wanted help with. When I was younger I loved to make things too. I enjoy being a mother although I never get to do much of anything without getting interrupted every couple minutes by children. 4 kids in 5yrs sometimes makes me crazy but I don't know what I'd do without them!

Brett is usually the picture taker so I took this one. When he is home he is usually working or getting things done around the house.

Alana loves to make cards. She handmade all her valentine's for the kids in her class (she didn't want the store bought ones).

Addy wears some fancy dress up outfit usually everyday. She loves to dance to music, read, pretend and make things.

Alydia is 3.5 months old now and is a good baby most of the time, she is entertained by the kids around her. She loves to smile and coo and sometimes even laughs. She even rolled over for the first time this week.

Tom is trying to study. He enjoys watching movies, listening to music, texting friends, and playing with the kids. He has been a big help around the house and we enjoy having him here.

Here is our typical 2 yr old Allden. He loves to follow Addy around and play with her. He likes to get up on the sink and play in the water. He loves anything with wheels...his bike, doll stroller, cars, trucks, quads. He keeps me on my toes!

Hiking San Tan Mountain

2009-02-17T21:38:00.002-07:00

Last Saturday we were going to go to the dunes but the weather looked like it was going to be pretty bad so we stayed home and we went hiking the San Tan Mountains. I have lived here in AZ my entire life and I don’t think I have ever hiked the San Tan mountain, it was a pretty easy hike just over 2 miles with pretty gradual elevation to the top. The girls are great at hiking and Allden walks really slow so we let him walk the first part then put him in the backpack so we could go a little faster. The desert and mountains can be really pretty, we went late in the afternoon and the sun was setting as we were coming back and it was so peaceful and beautiful! After the hike we were all hungry so we found a cool Mexican restaurant called Rio Rico’s and Brett had a huge burrito! It was yummy!

What a beautiful view! The desert can really be beautiful!

Resting near the top of the Mountain
Enjoying a huge burro at Rio Rico's

Tom mowing the lawn

2009-01-31T22:58:00.002-07:00

Brett put Tom (our foreign exchange student) to work today and taught him how to mow the yard. Brett appreciated the help! Tom has been great with helping out with things around the house!

Alana's medal

2009-01-31T22:55:00.002-07:00

Alana passed her Bronze level in swimming lessons! When they pass to the next level they play olympic music and she gets to stand up on the podium and get her medal. She was so proud! We are proud of her too. She has been taking lessons since May and has come a long way in her swimming skills.