The Houghton Family

Christmas Day

2008-12-25T11:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas was magical this year. The kids are all at that stage now where they were all SO excited for Santa Claus to come. Conner had a very hard time getting to sleep because he was so excited. He even woke up and told me that he heard Santa and the Reindeer on the roof!

This year for Christmas morning Grandma and Grandpa Houghton came over to watch the kids open their presents and the kids really loved that.

Kenadee was really hoping for Kit the American Girl Doll. Conner was dying to get a Wii and little Ethan wanted race cars. I guess that they were all pretty good this year because Santa brought them all just what they wanted.

After they opened up their presents from Santa and Mom & Dad, we went over to grandma & grandpa houghtons for another round of presents and fun. We have had such a great time this year for Christmas. It has been so much fun getting together with the family.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve started out with the kids opening up presents from Grandma Georgia and Grandpa Bruce. Since they are on their mission in Connecticut, the kids persuaded us to open the presents as early as possible.

This year for Christmas Eve the Blanchard side of the family got together at Ryan & Jenae's new house in Salem. We had fun visiting, eating dinner and of course, participating in the annual nativity show. What a special time of year that we get to reflect on the birth of the Savior. We are all so blessed!

Conner's Kindergarten Christmas Program

2008-12-20T11:05:00.000-08:00

Conner's Kindergarten class put on great christmas show. Conner sure enjoys his class and is quite the little singer too!

Gingerbread Houses at Grandma & Grandpa's

2008-12-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

One of the kids favorite traditions during the Holidays is going over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to build gingerbread houses and to watch Polar Express. The kids had fun eating pizza along with lots and lots of treats. Even little Ethan built a house!

Visiting Santa Claus

2008-12-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

The kids have been so excited this year to go and visit Santa Claus. We got lucky and found Santa Clause at the Provo Towne Center Mall. As you can see they were loving every minute of it. Kenadee told Santa that she wanted "Kit" an American Girl Doll. Conner wants a Nintendo Wii, and Ethan wants race cars. We were surprised to see that Ethan didn't even cry.

A Day at the Movie

2008-12-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

This year the Spanish Fork movie theater had a free showing of the Polar Express. We decided to take the kids and cousins to the movie. All the kids had a blast, especially when Santa Clause showed up after the movie was over to see the kids.

Halloween 2008

2008-10-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

Halloween this year was great! Even the weather was unusually nice. This year the kids did a lot of trick or treating, along with going over to their cousins (RJ & Jamie) house for a little party. The week before Halloween we even managed to make it over to the famous Grandma Houghton party just in time for the costume parade.

Rifle Hunt

2008-10-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

As you can see from this picture, we had a great group of hunters and soon to be hunters for this years Rifle Deer Hunt. We all enjoyed each others company and had fun eating, shooting BB guns, riding horses, playing catch, telling stories around the campfire and of course hunting for the big one. Conner and I went hunting with the Ryan Johnson Family, the Jeff Higginson Family, the Ryan Blanchard Family, The Brian Hughes Family, & The Nick Slye Family.

Conner really did good on the rifle hunt this year. He got up really at around 4 am and rode horses with dad, and even hiked around and help spot many the deer. It won't be long before he really is carrying his own rifle.

Conner and dad showing off Scott Higginson's buck.

Reed, McKay, Issac & Conner loving to see the deer that was brought back to camp on opening morning.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-15T15:01:00.000-07:00

It's becoming a fun little tradition to go over to the Pumpkin Patch over at the "Red Barn" and South Ridge Farms in Santaquin. This year we went over for family night with Grandma & Grandpa Houghton, Shelly & Rod, and Todd & Nicole. The kids had fun on the hay ride and picking out their own special pumpkins. Grandpa even treated everyone to ice cream afterwards. What a fun family night!

Conner's Soccer

2008-10-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

Conner has had an absolute blast playing soccer this year. His team happened to win every game this year, and when compared to last year's team that lost every game, it was quite the turn around. Conner was the star player scoring at least 5 or 6 goals per game. He does however need to learn a bit of humility since he would shout out how many goals he scored each time, and then remind the other team of what the score was. He is a sweet boy and didn't mean it how it sounds, but we did need to remind him not to rub it in.

Tagged

2008-10-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

Jami tagged me, so I guess I better be a good sport and participate.

8 TV Shows I watch

Grey's Anatomy
HGTV
Food Network
Army Wives
Brothers & Sisters
ESPN (thanks to Kyle)
E Channel
Jon and Kate plus 8

8 Things that happened yesterday

Packed up everything to head home from St. George
Went to church
Drove home form St. George
Unpacked
Made Dinner
Read to my kids
Played games with my kids
Read

8 Places I like to eat

PF Changs
Outback
Brick Oven
Joe Vera's
Octavios
Cafe' Rio
Red Lobster
Chef's Table

8 Things I'm looking forward to

UEA
Trip to Florida next month
The Holiday Season
Getting my new water softener
Going to visit my Mom and Bruce on their mission (they don't even leave for a few more weeks but I can't wait until I can go out and visit all the areas they will be over)
Kyle's new job position (less stress)
The starting of a new year so we can close out all the books from Kyle's door business and never have to do them again
Date Night

8 Things on my wish list

Pay off our house
Going to Disneyland with the kids
New mattress
A cleaning Lady
Kids that never whine
Kenadee to be doing better in math
My basement to be decorated
A new camera

No More Diapers!!!!!

2008-09-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

I swore that I would never do a potty training post, but I am so excited that I just have to say no more diapers at the Houghton house. Ethan has mastered using the toilet all in one week. YEAH!

Kenadee and Conner Start School

2008-09-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

The first day of school has come. Kenadee and Conner are both in school. I can't believe summer is over. Ethan may as well enroll since I am at the school almost every day and he has to be dragged along with me. Somehow I got roped into being on the PTA board as the treasurer. I am so glad that my kids love school. They have both said that they wished it was longer. Let's see how long that lasts.

Kenadee's 7th Birthday

2008-09-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Kenadee has turned 7 years old. It scares me to think of how fast she is growing up. She reminds me so much of me and that is the scariest part of all. She is totally independent and does not like to be told what to do. I have a feeling that her teenage years might be a little rocky, but we love her just the same. She is my my little sidekick. She comes along with me where ever I go. I can't explain how much this girl means to me. She had to have a great big birthday party and invited 12 girls. Talk about crazy, but she had lots of fun. Then we met up with all of the family at the park to continue the celebration

Yellowstone

2008-09-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

The kids and I headed down to Yellowstone with out Kyle this year. He had to work and the kids just could not miss the chance to go. We met up with the rest of my family and had a lot of fun. Kenadee and Conner fed the bears. We saw tons of wildlife. Of course we had to see Old Faithful but, I think the best part for them was that all their cousins were there. Thanks Bruce for letting us stay at your place.

Lagoon

2008-09-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Houghton took Kenadee and Conner to Lagoon for the Westland Construction work party. They have not stopped talking about it since. They had so much fun. As you can see from the last picture the were completely worn out.

Swimming at Grandma Georgia's

2008-09-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

We have had some great times this summer swimming in my mom's pool. It is said to see summer coming to an end. Kenadee is my little fish and can stay in the water all day. She is a great swimmer. Conner really mastered swimming this year. He is solid as a brick and I didn't know if he would ever be able to float, but he finally figured it out. Ethan will get in for about five minutes and then he is done and just wants to run around and look for bugs.

HORSE RIDE AT GRANDPA'S

2008-09-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

Kenadee loves horses or any animal for that matter. She'll take any chance she can get to ride at Grandpa's house. Conner and Ethan don't mind the horses. They will ride here and there, but Kenadee is my true cowgirl. Grandpa took her on her own special ride for her birthday. She rode out of the arena and up the mountain on her own horse. I think that was the best birthday present she got.

EIGHT YEARS DOWN ETERNITY TO GO

2008-09-02T07:20:00.000-07:00

This is Kyle and I eight years ago. We thought we knew everything, but really we had know idea what was ahead of us. We recently just celebrated our anniversary and it got me thinking about how I became Ellen Houghton. We definitely shocked everyone when we started dating. People would do a double take when they saw us together. I remember being at a bridal shower and the girls there were talking about how Kyle was dating someone new and could you believe that he wasn't marrying his high school girlfriend. I just sat there and didn't say a word. I wasn't ready to say that I was the new girl. A while back I handed my debit card to a cashier and she looked at it funny and said, "your last name is Houghton" and I said yes. She was confused because she thought that I had married someone else. It is funny to think about how surprised everyone was but truthfully I think Kyle and I were more surprised than anyone. Neither one of us had each other in their long term plans of life but here we are eight years and three kids later. I feel very blessed for what I have. I am very lucky to have Kyle in my life. He takes his role as husband and father very seriously. I continue to look forward to what the upcoming years will bring.

Bow Hunt 08'

2008-08-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

Kyle and his nephew Gentry headed out for the bow hunt this year. They came up empty handed. I am just glad that they are alive considering that Kyle was chased by a bear the week before.

Sleepover with Grandma & Grandpa Houghton

2008-07-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

Kyle parent's had a grandkid sleep over. The dressed up and played on the big water slide. Never a dull moment at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Houghton's and Higginson's Camp at Tower

2008-07-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

Kyle and his friend Joel took Conner and Gunner up to sleep over at tower mountain. This was the test to see if they were old enough to go with them out on the deer hunt this year. I think they past the test. They did great.

Boating to Utah Lake

2008-07-11T16:16:00.000-07:00

Utah Lake may not be the prettiest but it is the closest and the warmest. My niece and nephew both got up on water skis. We had a few major scares with the tube but all and all it was a lot of fun.

Lake Powell

2008-06-06T16:54:00.000-07:00

We had a nice trip to Lake Powell. We didn't take Ethan so it made it much more relaxing. The weather was perfect but the water was freezing. Kenadee loved to look for lizards and Conner couldn't get enough fishing. Kyle proved that he can still wake board and slalom ski and I enjoyed getting a tan.

Kenadee Plays T-ball

2008-06-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

Kenadee played T-ball for the first time this year. I'm not sure if she really enjoyed it that much, but she gave it a good effort. She is a pretty fast runner, but she also throws the bat pretty hard after she hits the ball. So if you are in the crowd you better take cover.

Kenadee and Conner Graduate

2008-05-27T16:43:00.000-07:00

Kenadee and her teacher Mrs Peterson. I can't believe she will be going to first grade next year. Kenadee and I both loved Mrs Peterson. She was a wonderful teacher and taught Kenadee so much. Her biggest accomplishment this year was learning to read. She picked it up so fast and reads every day. I hope her love for reading continues through out her life.

What good grandparents. They all came out to support Kenadee on her big day.
Conner and his teacher Mrs Jenni. He learned so much this year and can't wait to start kindergarten. He is quite competitive so he tries to keep up with Kenadee and he has done pretty good. Most of the learning skills that Kenadee has past off Conner can do as well. I guess his compitive spirt has turned out to be an advantage when it comes to school work.

Davis Ranch

2008-05-10T16:39:00.000-07:00

Summer Larsen threw a graduation party for her husband John up at the Davis Ranch. We are so happy for John. All of his hard work at Law School has finally paid off. Congrats John!

It was fun to see a lot of old friends and to catch up with each other. The highlight for the kids was the fishing. Every cast you would have a fish on.

Camping in Moab

2008-05-06T16:58:00.000-07:00

We got together with about ten other families and headed down to Moab for a camping/4-wheeling trip. Here we are all loaded up and ready to go.

This is our campsite from a distance. It was called the needles. Unfortunately we found out why they call it the needles. We got caught in some major wind storms and when the wind blows that red dirt it feels like you are getting hit with thousands of needles.

The kids had a great time with their mini 4-wheelers. They took turns giving Ethan rides. It entertained them for hours.

We went on some great 4-wheeler trails and hiked to some fun little caves. I think that is the dirtiest I have ever been. We had a lot of fun but I have never been so ready to go home.

My Baby Isn't a Baby

2008-05-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

This is Ethan just a few minutes old.

This is him at age one.

This is him right now at age two. I know everyone says it, but time really does fly. Ethan turned two years old on May 2nd. He has officially graduated from being a baby. (even if it is hard for me to accept) All he wanted to do for his birthday was to go golfing. Kyle took him to the putting green and you would have thought that my little Ethan was in heaven. I wish that I could bottle his sweet innocence and keep him this way forever. I think that the hardest part of being a mom is knowing that you have to let your kids grow up. It is a joy to be Ethan's Mom.

Dance, Dance, Dance!

2008-03-31T10:51:00.000-07:00

Kenadee had a dance competition this weekend. She danced and smiled the whole time. I was so proud of her. This competition thing is new to us. I think that we might take a break for a few years and start again when she is a little older. She competes all most every Saturday and she misses playing with her friends. I don't blame her at all. She doesn't love it enough to make it her whole life right now.

Easter Fun

2008-03-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

Kyle's parents do an egg hunt as well. The kids has so much fun. Kyle and I also enjoyed it since we found a good amount of money.
Easter Sunday. All dressed and ready to go in their new Sunday clothes.
The kids with their Eater baskets. The Easter bunny was very good to them this year. They were excited about what they got.
Easter egg hunt at Grandma Georgia's house. My Mom hides money in the eggs. The Houghton family came out quite well this time. This year was a little sad because it was so small. All of my bother's and their families live to far a way to have been able to make it. They were all missed.
Kenadee and Conner coloring Easter eggs. This is a yearly tradition. Although I'm hoping that Ethan spilling egg dye all over the tile and staining it green will not be a tradition.

Happy Birthday Kyle!

2008-03-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

Kyle turned 29 this weekend. He has always promised to be a millionaire by the time he is 30. He has one year to make an extreme amount of money. Good luck! I figure once a year it is okay to brag about my good husband. I hope I don't bore you.

He has a kind heart.
He is an amazing father.
He tries his hardest in all that he does.
He is very driven to achieve the goals he sets for himself.
He is the most giving person I know.
He honors his priesthood.
He still takes me on a date once a week.
He isn't above housework.
He loves me despite the fact that I am a little crazy.

I could keep going. But I think you get the point. I married a pretty great guy. Happy Birthday Kyle! Your family loves you.

St George anyone?

2008-03-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

We spent the weekend in St George. The weather was beautiful. It was just what we all needed to cure our cabin fever. We hiked, golfed, fished and shopped. We had a great time.

Surgery Buddies

2008-03-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

Conner and I both went in for surgery the same day. He kept calling me his surgery buddy. I think it helped him stay calm to know that his mom was going to have surgery too. Conner had tubes put back in his ears for the third time. He did great and didn't complain once. I on the other hand had my tonsils out and complained a lot. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. A big thanks to all the family and friends that helped take care of my kids while I recovered.

Thanks Jo and Neil

2008-02-07T09:14:00.000-08:00

Jo and Neil hosted our annual Supper Bowl party. It was fantastic. Kyle makes his famous coconut shrimp every year for the big event. This year he let the kids help.

My nephew Issac was the odd one out. He wanted the Patriots to win. He couldn't be persuaded to cheer for the Giants. He held on to the very end holding his breath in hopes that the Giants wouldn't be able to score. Unfortunately he was disappointed.

Snow Day

2008-01-19T13:43:00.000-08:00

My niece and nephew spent the weekend with us and we all need to get out and have some fun. Since we have all of this great snow we decided to take advantage of it. Kyle pulled the kids through the snow with the 4-wheeler and they couldn't get enough of it.

My Kids

2008-01-16T16:24:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since some of you have seen my kids. Here our their latest pictures. Kenadee is 6 1/2, Conner is 5 and Ethan is 20 months.

Another years has come and gone.

2008-01-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

As 2007 has come to an end I have been thinking about different events that happened through out the year. I thought I would share a few.

-Kyle left the family business to go out on his own.

-Ethan had his first birthday and was pronounced healthy by the cardiologist at Primary Children's Hospital.

-A wonderful trip to Hawaii and an even better one to NYC.

-Conner scored his first goal in soccer. (even if it was for the wrong team)

-Kenadee officially started elementary school.

-Said good bye to Grandpa Gibb. He will be greatly missed.

We had our share of great times and some sad times in 2007. I look forward to what 2008 has in store for us.

I am now an official blogger!

2008-01-14T12:45:00.001-08:00

I have decided to jump on the blogging band wagon. I hope this will remind me to take more picture and help me keep track of events that happen in our lives.