Twin Falls Temple

Yesterday we went to the Twin Falls Temple Open house. It was such a great experience. I took my boys with me so they could experience the temple before it's dedication. My grandmother, my sister Rachel, my mom and my Aunt Sheryl also joined us. We left pretty early so we could get there in time to visit with my cousin Becky and her family who just moved into their brand new home. The drive was good. My boys did so well. They were quite the good travelers! The drive was a little under 2 hours and we got there just in time to eat and then make it to the temple's open house at 2:20 p.m..
The Twin Falls temple is located right at the top of canyon. It overlooks it. It was so beautiful. It was pretty small. I couldn't believe how small it was inside but it was still beautiful. We had to wear those small annoying booties that you have to wear for any open house really. My boys did not like those so we ended up carrying them through the tour.



Afterwards we took some pictures outside the grounds and then we went for treats inside the cultural hall in the buiding behind the temple.
My boys missed out on their naps but did suprisingly well. I couldn't believe how well they behaved.
Then it was back to Becky's house to help them unpack. We ended up staying until 8 p.m.. We helped them get alittle situated.
It just reminded me of how much I hate moving! Here are some fun pictures of our trip.

three

Today my oldest son Keaton turned 3 years old. I have been in shock all day at the fact that I have a 3 year old. What a wonderful three years it has been too. We had such a fun day today. We played at Grandma Quinn's house today with Ava and Rachel. We went swimming and then came back home for his birthday party. We made it a simple family get together and we made homemade pizza, which all the kids loved, and they we went swimming in our swim pool and then came back for cake and ice cream. This year I wanted to make something cute and fun for Keaton's cake. I found this really cute idea at Target. The idea was a cupcake dino. I completely blew it. But thankfully he is still young and doesn't care. I don't think I am a cake maker at all. Keaton loved all of his gifts! Thanks to all of you who made Keaton feel so special and so loved on his birthday.





Here are some fun things about my little man Keaton that we have noticed over the past 3 years.....
- when Keaton was born he weighed 9 lbs. 9 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long. When the nurse looked at him she commented that he didn't look like the typical newborn.
He was HUGE!
- Keaton was a colic baby. He would drive his mom nuts after 7-8 hours of screaming but his mom still loved him very much.

- he has always been a daddy's boy.
- there is always room for treats
- he loves baseball or any sport that has a ball involved. He will usually hit the baseball 9 out of 10 times. He is that good.

- he is a very sensitive boy when it comes to feelings.
- he loves grandma and grandpa's house
- his best friend is his Andrew, his younger brother.
- he loves nursery and all the stories about Jesus.
- he loves to be tickled to sleep just like his mom.
- he loves The Incredibles
- he is a leader, he is so willing to help out (especiall in nursery, he helps out quite a bit)
- he is very creative and has started to play well by himself
- he loves to wrestle
- he is just so darn CUTE!

Happy Birtday sweetheart! We love you so much and we are so happy you are in our family. Life just wouldn't be the same without you. I think Heavenly Father sent you to us so that we wouldn't feel that lonely space that was left empty. You have changed our lives and we can't wait to see what life has in store for you. We love you so much Keaton. I LOVE YOU!

Mini-Snyder reunion

(me and all my sister-in-law minus 2 others)
I got home late Wednseday night around 8:30 p.m. and then had enough time to wash clothes, clean my house and get packed up again leave for Utah. Every other year my in-laws have a family reunion. This year it happened to be in Arizona and since it was so far away we decided to have a get together with all the siblings that wouldn't make it down there in Provo. We left Thursday morning and got home this evening.
I love my in-laws. What a great group of people. They are so different from my family but that is what makes them them. Lance is the 4th of 10 children and it is fun to get together with all of them. We don't see them much so when we get together they know who to have a fun time. Everyone was there minus 3 siblings. John, in Brazil on his mission, Lee and Jaclyn who live in Arizona and couldn't make it and Shauna and her family because of the same reason as Leea and Jacly. We sure missed you guys!
We went swimming, shopping, and stayed up late every night just talking. That didn't help with my girls camp hangover but we aren't going anywhere anytime soon so hopefully we can all catch up on some sleep. My boys were hammered.
On our way home we stopped in Twin Falls to see my cousin Becky and her kids who just recently moved there. It was fun to see them. Kimberly, Idaho is a very small town. I couldn't believe how redneck it really was. No offense Becky, we still love you. We saw their brand new home that they have built. It is a very nice home. We can't wait to come over and stay a weekend. We also took the boys to see the Twin Falls Templs. The open house is until the middle of August. We didn't have time to go in but we are going back on Friday with my family who got tickets for us. I think they will really enjoy that. Keaton keeps asking me questions about the temple. He is intrigued by the Angel Moroni on top.
Keep posted for more pictures to come. Here are some from our week in Utah.

(this was the water slide we brang up so the kids could play on it. It was a hit)

(my neice Emma, with the best bitter beer face)

Girls Camp

It has been awhile since I last posted and so much has happened this past week. I went to Girls Camp this year and I LOVED it! It was so much fun! I honestly do have the best calling in the world. The girls were great, most of them anyways. We had an action packed week. We had a great hike, one girl got heat exhaustion but made it back safely, movie night under the stars, "The Utlimate Gift." That was a great movie. I recommend it to everyone. Then we went waterskiing and tubing. That was a lot of fun. We just camped on the lake and it was easy access. The girls loved the water. Then our last day we played a great game of Ultimate Frisbee and then we ended a great camp white water rafting down the Payette River. It was so much fun.
The only bad thing I am suffering from my camp hangover is sleep. We honestly didn't got to bed until 2-3 am. and then be up by 7 to help get things moving again. We had a smore eating contest and I am proud to say I won with 7 smores in one night. It is no wonder I didn't sleep well that night. All that sugar kept me up. We had a great time and it was such a neat experience to get to know the girls better and honestly become best friends with some of our leaders. Thanks to everyone who came and we missed all of you who didn't make it. Next year will be here soon!


More pictures to come when I get a hold of all of them.

twenty-nine

I remember when I was in my teens thinking that 20 yrs. old was old. Now I am twenty-nine years old and I feel really old, but not really. This year my birthday was on a Sunday, fast Sunday if you will. Birthdays on a Sunday are pretty low key. But it was a great day. Our testimony meeting was incredible. I was so touched with all of the testimonies that were shared. It was really sweet to attend that meeting.
Afterwards we all took naps and then went to my parents for a fabulous dinner my mom put together. You would have thought it was Thanksgiving. Thanks mom for a great dinner. Then we had family over for cake and ice cream. It was so yummy!
Everyone was so generous with their gifts, I got a certificate for a pedicure and manicure, extra spending money, thoughtful cards from so many, a swimsuit and great gift cards. Thanks everyone, I have the best family ever!
I love being 29! I can't wait to see what this year has in store for me and my family.
Also, one other thing. Our Stake President has asked that then entire stake turn the t.v. off and all nintendo games. Cutting back completely from screen time for one month. We have the goal as a stake to read 500,000 pages. We are suppose to keep record of how many pages we read as individuals and as family. This is going to push us to be creative. It has been so nice to put a movie on for a short while to get them calmed down or to keep them distracted so I can get some work around the house done. Wish us luck!

I am off to Girls Camp tomorrow morning until Wednseday. Lance will be in charge of the boys until then. I think they will do great. They are going to love just having "dad" time. I will post it all when I get back.

4th of July

I love this time of year. The warm weather, the late summer night when the sun doesn't set until 10:30 p.m. and just being with family. This year was kind of relaxed. We didn't do much during the day. Lance has been studying really hard for this new job he will start in August, so I took the boys over to my parents home so he could study in peace. We just hung out and played with my parents. They love it over there. I also love being over there.
Later in the evening we had dinner and fireworks at our place. It was fun to have all of our extended family with us. Some went swimming and some stayed to relax. About 9:30-10 o'clock we started the fireworks. I remember when I was a little child thinking that the ones we bought at the firework stand were the best and nothing could beat them. Well I have realized over the years that they are all the same fireworks but just in different wrapping. I swear every firework we set off was the exact same. It kind of lost its effect once the big ones started all around us. I swear it would have been easier to put me on a lazy susan and spin me around in time to see all of them take off. We had some amazing shows put on. We stayed up until 11:30-mindnight to watch them.
Another great year. Thanks to all of you who came and contributed to our fun evening.

Twilight

So I finally found out about the Twilight Series. It has been the talk in our Young Womens and among the grown-ups too. I couldn't believe how much everyone was getting into it and telling me I had to read them. I bought the series yesterday and I must say I am pretty hooked on it. I didn't really think a story about vampires would be taht interesting but let me tell you IT IS! I recommend it to all of you who love to read. You won't want to stop.