The Christmas Parties Begin

We are still two weeks away from Christmas but the craziness has BEGUN!!! Not only is the present buying madness in full swing but the multiple Christmas parties have arrived as well... This weekend we were able to participate in 3 different parties.

One was a work party at our community center clubhouse, another was a white elephant friend party, and the last was our ward party. It was a crazy weekend but a ton of fun!! It is a great time of year and especially enjoying it with friends and family.



The Ward Party was fun. There was a station where all the little kids could make crafts. Logan is getting ready to make some above and Connor is proudly showing off his reindeer craft he made.




Here is our work party at our clubhouse. It was a great setting. We had room to enjoy conversation, plenty to eat, and even pool tables, ping pong table, and foosball table. It was a good time except for the fact that I had to host and give a speech at the end :)




Lastly, at the Ward party the kids got a chance to sit on Santa's lap. They all rattled off their list and got a candy cane from him. It was a great time for all.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a blast for Thanksgiving weekend this past week! We decided to stay in San Diego this year and enjoy a Thanksgiving with just us and some friends. It ended up being so much fun. So since we were technically orphans all weekend it was nice to have friends there to help make it fun. On Thanksgiving Day, The Mendenhalls, good friends of ours, took us in along with some other friends and we enjoyed dinner over there. We watched a little football, the kids all played and had a blast with their friends, and we were able to have some adult conversations. It was nice. They had the little kids all set up in another room with a coloring page and crayons at their place setting on the table. I felt like we were at an official restaurant...

The next day we went to Highland Ranch park with some friends, the Reese's and Mendenhall families. We had a little picnic lunch and were able to play croquet and latter golf. I think that was the first time Brayden ever played croquet and he didn't do too bad. Our kids also enjoyed the playground of coarse and it was a blast to just hang out again with friends.

Finally on Saturday after cleaning up the house, putting up the Christmas tree and lights, we were invited to go for a hike with the Fisher's, our friends. They took us to a really cool hike on the cliffs at Torrey Pines. We had been to this beach several times as a family and it has been a spot I have frequently surfed at, but we had never seen the hiking trails up on top of the mountain before. So we hiked a little loop that was about a mile overlooking the ocean and high up on the trail. The kids all did surprisingly well and it was a blast. Thanks for the new adventure Fisher family!

It was a busy but fun weekend!!

Brayden Turns 6

Our little Brayden is not so little anymore. Just this past week we celebrated his 6th Birthday. I am always shocked by the new age he is turning for some reason, as if I didn't know 6 would come after 5.....I think it is a little bit of denial. Denial that I could possibly be old enough to have a 6 year old, denial that he has actually lived 6 years, and scared with the thought of how fast time is flying.

We are so grateful to have Brayden in our family and as our son. He is such an amazing boy in many ways and it is no coincidence that he is the oldest, so that he can set the example for the rest of our children. He is a special spirit that makes us all want to be better. We love you Brayden!!

When given the choice between Chuck E' Cheese with the family or Spy Party with his friends, he went for the Spy Party. So this last Saturday we hosted a Spy Party with a bunch of his friends. They made spy badges, followed clues to find the missing presents that someone had stolen, and played with all of Brayden's cool spy stuff that he got from his friends at the party. Overall it was a lot of fun.

This picture was after school on his birthday. They gave him a birthday crown and he was sportin it when I picked him up for school so I had to take a picture.

Drive In Movies

This last Saturday we converted our living room into a drive in movie theater. It was all Camille's idea, of coarse.... We made the kids cars on Friday night with wheels, steering wheel, headlights, and even a hole where they could stretch their legs. Then our kids creative minds kicked in and they cut some additional holes which included a cup holder, an Ipod holder, and radio. Not sure how we forgot those but our kids were there to help fill in the gaps. The Fishers came over to enjoy the night with us. Camille made up coupons for the kids and had a little snack bar as displayed below. They were able to get 2 cups of popcorn and 3 pieces of candy.

The featured film of the evening was Cars 2. Most of the kids stayed in their cardboard cars through the whole movie which was pretty impressive. It certainly turned out to be a fun movie night!!

Oma's Pumpkin Patch

Some friends of ours told us about this pumpkin patch that they visit every year during Halloween time. We missed out on going last Saturday before Halloween and were a little unsure if it would be worth it to go after. But we still made the trip to Lakeside yesterday to see what it was all about. As we pulled up honestly I did not think much about it....it was a farm that just looked like they had a bunch of pumpkins out.

But then we went inside........what an awesome place it was!! For the next 3 plus hours our kids were in absolute heaven and completely entertained. They did all of the following: went through a corn maze, practiced milking cows on pretend wooden cows, went on a hay ride through the farm, slid down cotton seed hill on sleds, petting zoo, played basketball, frisbee, tetherball, and football, roped a plastic cow head, jumped on a hay bed, played on their awesome playground, watched Daddy kick a 30 yard field goal, and at the end of the day picked out their very own pumpkin. Kids + Stuff to Keep them entertained = Happy Parents

It was an absolute blast and we are so grateful for the recommendation. We hear they open it back up for Christmas and we will be back for sure.

Oh Man!!

As Connor moves through this sponge stage where he is soaking in all the words he can and repeating them, we are finding ourselves constantly laughing. So I thought I would capture some of his favorites on video. One being.....Oh MAN!!

Enjoy!

Logan Finishes Soccer

This is Logan's first trophy for soccer so I wanted to capture it and post it.

Much Needed Visitors

We have been blessed to have some very helpful visitors ever since Dylan was born. Two days after he was born my parents showed up for 5 days. Then the day they left Camille's Mom and sister Kathryn showed up to help out for a week. We are so grateful for all they you did for our family during that time. Between washing dishes, cleaning up the house, laundry, cooking, etc. we could not have done it without you.

THANK YOU!!!

Boys Night Out

It seems that ever since Dylan came into our family that I have had many opportunities to be with the other boys. Last Friday was no exception. I decided to take Brayden and Logan to the RB High football game. We had a blast watching them thump their opponent in the first half. Unfortunately they didn't quite finish the job in the second half. It was a great night teaching my boys about football and supporting our team.

Dylan @ 2 Weeks

Connor's Latest

I would say Connor's latest and greatest, but it seems that each new day brings something different and unique with this little man. This is the first boy we have had that has naturally been obsessed with balls since before he could even walk. With the others I have had to lay some sport influence to even get them to play baseball, basketball, football, etc. with me. But with Connor he is the one coming to me with a ball and then getting in position to catch it, throw it, hit it, or kick. In this portion of his life I couldn't be happier. In a lot of ways he reminds me of myself.

So with that background in mind, Grandma and Granddad came into town this week and noticed his love for all that is sports. So of coarse they decided to do something about it. So last night we went to Target and got him a little tikes basketball hoop and tee. If there was ever a boy who will thoroughly enjoy those gifts it is Connor. And he did not disappoint! From the moment we set up the hoop and tee he has been making baskets and hitting home runs. He was so excited that he even had to go to sleep with the basketball last night. As much as I tried to pry it from those tiny fingers he was not going to let it go. And then when I had broken down the cardboard box and was about to throw it away, he laid on top of it with his blanket to somehow protest and pay his last respect to the box that brought him the greatest gift he has received so far in his short little life.





The next on the list for him is his love for his new brother Dylan. As you might have seen in the last post where we had a video of Connor, he absolutely can't get enough of his brother Dylan. So the other day I had not seen Connor in a while and started searching for him. I never quite know where he might be hiding so I searched all over the house and outside. The last place I would possibly check would be in our room where Dylan was taking a nap. But as I walked in I was shocked when I saw Connor up inside the bassinett sitting with the baby laying between his legs :) It was a scary image but I quickly realized he was just trying to love this new little brother. When I walked up he was trying to get the pacifier in his mouth. What a great big brother!! I don't have pictures available from this one sorry.

Oh Connor, we love you more and more each day. You are hilarious.

Introducing Dylan James

At 10:08pm on October 12th, our 4th son was born. We had decided a while ago that we liked the name Dylan and when he came out he looked the part and did not vere us from that pre-determined decision. Dylan was the biggest of the 4, weighing in at 8 lbs and 5 ounces and was 21 inches tall. We came into the hospital at noon and it went very smooth through the operation. Camille was able to get the all important epidural before the major contractions started which made for a nice comfortable labor until she was ready to deliver. Then all of the sudden she felt that the baby had dropped a lot. So we called the doctor and luckily she made it before the baby just came crawling out. By the time she got there Camille only had 4 pushes to go before he was out, a total of 7 minutes. Amazing!! That is by far the quickest push we have ever experienced. Dylan has been very chill thus far and seems to be a very content baby. THANK GOODNESS!! We do not need anymore noise in our house right now, just ask our neighbors :) He seems to have many of the same features of our other boys, namely the nose, eyebrows, etc. One distinct feature that only Connor and him have shared is dark hair.

Many people have asked me, so are you going for a basketball team? To this I have replied, "yes", and now it is complete :) With 4 boys and me as the veteran (other word for "old") member of the team, it seems that we have officially created a basketball team. We love our boys and so grateful they are a part of our lives. Today we had Brayden, Logan and Connor come to the hospital to meet their new little brother. It was so much fun to see how excited they were to enter the room and each hold him for the first time. The funniest one was Connor, who once he started holding him would not let him go. He would get mad at Logan and Brayden for even trying to touch the baby while he was holding him. He is already a very protective older brother!! Of coarse there is a video of this below that I am sure all will enjoy. We also got a visit from our friends the Mendenhall's, who brought us our favorite, pina colada with strawberries from Jamba Juice. Thank you guys, that was so timely. And it was great to have your company.

We are so glad to welcome this new addition to the Stevens family! Welcome Dylan James, we already love you so much! And a special tribute to the families watching our boys during this time. THANK YOU for your help and service!! We couldn't have done it without you.