STEPHENSON'S

Pack Meeting...

2011-11-12T19:22:00.001-08:00

Garrett had his very first Pack meeting and was so excited about it. He had lots of support with his brothers who think he is the coolest because he is in scouts and the couple of times they called him up the boys would just light up and get so excited. Garrett was also very excited to have Grandpa and Grandma Stephenson and Grandma Sue come to watch him receive the Bobcat Trail patch. He sure does make quite a handsome little scout. I know Trevor is so proud of his little cub scout.They had a fireman come and teach fire safety and he passed his helmet around for the boys to see...This was learning a special applause I can't remember what they called it. They had quite a few crazy ones...Garrett trying to figure out how to put my bobcat pin on...

HALLOWEEN

2011-11-11T20:33:00.001-08:00

The boys favorite holiday is Halloween and they had a great time this year with plenty of parties and they made out like bandits with their bags of candy!

Garrett was a karate kid for one party...Porter stayed true with being a cowboy...The pirate for year #3...Brody the lion...ROOOOOARrrrr!Garrett was Anakin Skywalker for his school party and trick-or-treating...This is Mase the pirate minus the flavor savor but with a little scruff...

Veggie Tales..

2011-11-11T20:14:00.000-08:00

Who knew I could be a creator on Veggie Tales??!! Porter had a school project to turn his little gourd into something. Porter wanted to turn it into a vampire but I couldn't figure out how to really make that work so I played up the idea of a sumo-wrestler and he eventually jumped on board after showing him some fun sumo wrestler costumes and some fun facts that Garrett has in one of his books. Then a few days later we were at Aunt Amanda's house and they had checked out a Veggie Tales DVD from the library and much to my surprise was a little sumo-wrestler veggie that looked just like the one Porter and I put together minus the hands and feet.

Stephenson Family Photos...

2011-11-11T19:38:00.001-08:00

When Aunt Lou and Uncle Matt came for Garrett's baptism Carol called around and found the sweet Tara Criddle to come and take some quick shots of the family for us all. She did such a good job and we are so happy with the big family photo...Grandpa and Grandma Stephenson...Uncle Matt and Aunt Megan Stephenson family... Uncle Bob and Aunt Amanda Sainsbury family...Uncle Matt and Aunt Emily Smith family...The Trevor Stephenson Family... Some CRAZY kids... (missing Matt and Megan's kiddo's)

Cowboy Days...

2011-11-11T19:16:00.000-08:00

Mason had cowboy days at preschool and so we took a couple of photos of him one day all decked out. Brody thought he needed to dress up for cowboy days too so when we dropped Mase-O off we came home and got Brody cowboy-ed up...Brody posing for me all on his own. Such a silly little boy.

VISITORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-11-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

Trevor's family has taken over Trevor's role of spoiling the boys and I rotten. We feel so blessed that Matt, Emily, Nate, Bay, Jack and Ry would take the loooong drive from Arizona to be here for Garrett's baptism!! It was so fun to have them here to play with for some of the fun Autumn events. We spent a lot of time just hanging out while the kids were lost up on the hill playing, building forts and running around and in various rooms playing games or watching movies between Grandma Carol's apartment and Aunt Amanda's apartment. PRICELESS!! Thank you guys for coming to visit and help us get through life without Trevie. We LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!

Waiting patiently to head to Greenbluff...

The gang that made it to Greenbluff minus Grandma Carol......she is behind the camera.We played...Fed the donkey and ponies...And picked yummy apples...One night we made some YUMMY Carmel apples with the apples we picked...We were so excited to get to spend one evening celebrating Jack's big birthday turning 6. He is such a cute and fun kid. All the kids got to watch Spooky Buddies at the movie theater room in the apartment building which they loved in the lazy-boy recliner seats with big bags of popcorn.Then we all came back for some spooky fun treats...

We miss you guys and can't wait for you to come back and play again!!!

Garrett is EIGHT!!?!!?!!!!

2011-11-07T17:45:00.001-08:00

Garrett turned 8 and he sure thinks it is GREAT!! I can not believe that I have an eight year old. That is just insane. I am so OLD!! This birthday was quite an exciting one for Garrett and quite an emotional one for me. Garrett was SO EXCITED to start SCOUTS and get BAPTIZED!!!! Trevor and I had talked so many times about how weird it was going to be when Garrett turned eight and was able to get baptized. WE were going to feel so old when that happened. It was such a harsh reality for me to go through this event without Trevor. It was so difficult for me to truly enjoy this fun step with Garrett when Trevor wasn't physically with us, I am sure he was there in spirit but it is just not the same. Luckily we have such an amazing family and even Aunt Lou and Uncle Matt were able to come up and be here for the baptism and stay and play for a week. Thank you for all the distractions and fun times!!

Garrett's Birthday shirt...The birthday present he picked out because it had four guys for all of his brothers to be able to play with him...Garrett couldn't be more excited to be in scouts, especially because his Dad loved scouts and was a huge believer in scouts forming you in to a good man...My big boy all dressed up for his baptism...He chose to have Grandpa Jim baptize him...His best buddy Grandma Carol...He chose to have Grandpa Don do the confirmation...The boys were SO EXCITED for Garrett to get baptized. They were so cute watching him they absolutely LOVED it!!! I had to get up and give a short spot light on Garrett, it was amazing that I was able to make it through the whole thing. I am not sure if anyone could understand me through all the tears but Garrett loved it and wanted me to keep the copy I had made in case my mind went blank.....

Garrett Andrew Stephenson was named after his Dad. He was born in Spokane WA. He is the oldest of four boys. His brothers think he is a pretty great brother... most of the time. Garrett likes to run, ride his bike, play games, tell jokes and be silly. He loves school and is so excited to be in scouts. But most of all he loves playing and spending time with his family that surrounds us. Garrett loves the Gospel. He is such a great example to me. I often times find him reading his scriptures all on his own. He loves to bare his testimony. He even reminds me when it is fast Sunday and he wants to fast and has a purpose. Garrett loves to give service, just like his Dad. In fact for his birthday this year he wanted so badly to help in the church service project for the National Day of Service that he told me if I let him go that could be my birthday present to him. When he got home I asked him if that was the BEST birthday present EVER?!! And he said to me without skipping a beat, "Almost, but the best gift will be when I get baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then I will be a member of the Church."

I am so proud of my big boy for choosing to get baptized and to follow our Savior's example. I know this church is true. I know if you live the Gospel teachings you will find the greatest happiness. I know our Heavenly Father loves us. I know Trevor loves his big boy and is so proud of him, I can picture him up in heaven bragging to everyone about what a great kid he has.

The next day at church Garrett was so excited to get up and bare his testimony and this is what he shared:

Hello, my name is Garrett and I would like to bare my testimony that I know that the church is true. And I got baptized and it felt good and I could feel the Holy Ghost. And I hope all you kids choose to get baptized. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

I can't believe I get to be the Mom of such a brave spiritual little man. I have never been that brave, not even today. I am so blessed with such amazing little boys!!

Spokane County Fair...

2011-09-27T22:29:00.001-07:00

We were able to go to the Spokane County Fair this year with Grandpa Jim, Aunt Amanda, Uncle Bob and the mob of boys. I sometimes wonder what people are thinking when they see Amanda and I out with our huge mob of boys. We had a good time at the fair. Right as we walked into the fair Ziggy Ziggler was at the tractor pull and rounded our boys up to compete in the tractor pull. They all loved it of course. It was so funny because they only competed with one other person so we sat in the bleachers waiting for them to call each boy down. As they called Mase down they asked him where he was from and he says, "Arizona." The announcer went on about having someone all the way from Arizona and Amanda and I couldn't help but laugh. He is so funny. He told me long ago that when Jesus puts Daddy's bones back in and he comes back to life we are going to move back to AZ. I guess you never know. Maybe he knows more then I do. I would be happy to go just about anywhere if Trevor was able to come back to us. We sure miss having him around. His joy for life was so contagious.After the tractor pull we walked around and checked out all the animals. Carson, Robby and Bowen.My cute little Brodster boy....I think he looks more and more like Trevor all the time!!!! It makes me so happy to see Trevor in the boys. It helps keep his memory fresh in my mind. Not to mention who wouldn't want to see his cute face???Cute. Fun. Bo....Porter and his fair buddy, Ty...There's that crazy Ty face...Garrett and Easton...Mase and Porter trying on Grandpa Jim's sun-glasses.Garrett was so happy to walk around with his Grandpa... he was Garrett's fair buddy.The boys checking out all the rides trying to decide which ride they wanted to try out...These cute faces....couldn't delete any of them.Brody was the last one left on the bench, he was so engrossed in watching the crazy rides...Carson chose the Ring of Fire and talked his Dad into going with him. It was so hilarious watching him on the ride. His face looked like he couldn't have been more miserable. He got off and told Amanda that he kept his eyes closed the whole time. Amanda said, oh you didn't like it??? and he said, "NO, I LOVED IT!!!!" Funny kids. I know I was the same way when I was younger. But really what is so enjoyable about scaring yourself to death??? If you have to have your eyes closed the whole time with a look of terror on your face until it's over then I think when you stop you think you liked it but in reality it is the overwhelming rush of happiness that you made it through alive and you confuse that feeling with loving the ride. I don't know???Garrett and Porter chose to try out this ride along with Robby and Ty. Garrett is not quite a fan of the rides, he gets too nervous. Porter loves the rides. I am not sure where Garrett gets his nerves from because I LOVED rides as a little kid and loved the roller coasters upside down and everything crazy. I am pretty sure Trev was the same. However we did go to Six Flags on our honeymoon adventure and we went on two rides and Trev could hardly hack it. He was ready to go. He was a little nervous, but he had just fallen off a roof and broken both his feet not too long before we were married. But I know he was a dare devil growing up. And he did go on some pretty crazy roller coasters at Sea World a couple of years ago. As for me now I am quite the wimp about them. I hardly have the stomach to just go swing on a regular swing. Easton talked me in to trying out this ride with him. I thought sure, no big deal. It was so fast and quite brutal. I could hardly walk straight when it was over. The next morning I had a huge lump and bruise on my back where my clasp to my bra sits from it throwing me into the rock hard seat. Who knew I was getting to be such and OLD LADY???? :( Easton loved it though.......besides the lump on his head from it throwing his head into the bar. You have to be stiff as a board and totally under control to ride that ride or you could have some serious injuries.Yeah, we survived the ride..... but who the heck can't keep their hand out from in front of the camera....MASON.Much better......Me and my ride buddy E and Mr. Joe Cool.Mason and Bo loved the swings...Then I took Brody on a little spinning Bear ride. He was not happy about me making him go on this ride...Not EVEN when Mase and Bowen decided to join us........ He was TICKED. I am such a mean Mom. But oh how he loved it once we got going.......Look at that smile!! :)

We also enjoyed some yummy kettle corn and elephant ears compliments of Grandpa Jim. Thank you everyone for helping us have such a good time at the fair. And I can't forget some fun times watching the mutton busting, there was quite a few kids that didn't think it was all they said it was cracked up to be. Brave little kiddos if you ask me. I would have never agreed to do something like that.

Preschool, First and Second Graders...

2011-09-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

Garrett was so excited to start school but a little nervous about having a new teacher by the time he got home he was in LOVE with his new teacher. Aunt Amber asked Garrett today how he was liking one of her all time favorite teachers Mrs. Barnes. He replied, "She is AMAZING!!" It is such a blessing to me and I know the boys as well that they have such loving and great teachers. Porter loves Mrs. Nemri like Garrett and I already knew he would, and Garrett has been so excited that he is able to go and say hi to Mrs. Nemri on occasion. When I was quizzing the boys on their first day of school and getting the scoop on how it went. Porter says to me, "I feel like I have gone to 1ST grade life for 100 days already!!" I said, "You do??? Why?" He says to me, " Cause I wasn't EVEN nervous." And he wasn't; not even when he was getting ready to leave. He was bouncing off the walls and being such a goof ball as you can see from the pictures. It still comes as quite a shock to me since he was one of the shyest little people I know. Mason is still loving his wonderful teachers; Teacher Barbara and Teacher Kimbo. He loves having not just one of his favorite cousins but TWO of his favorite cousins, Drew and Bowen at school with him. So far I hear from his teachers that they are doing great and are all the best of buddies. We are so blessed to live by so many great cousins!!! As for Brody home all on his own. He is doing awesome. He is happy as a clam to play on his own and has quite the imagination. He plays and plays and talks the whole time like the boys are right there playing with him. I love that we are able to have this one on one time together. I love these cute little boys so much!!

Lost Memories Found...

2011-09-16T22:17:00.000-07:00

Uncle Bob put some pictures of the summer fun from his camera on a thumb drive for me so I could put them on my computer and update my blog. It was such a sweet surprise to come upon these pictures. You might be wondering, Why??? Not particularly the best pictures of me for sure since a am ready to bust with Brody due at any moment. But it was sweet memories with Trev that I had not thought about and it was like finding a lost memory I may have not other wise remembered. I love to hear stories of Trev no matter how big or small especially ones I haven't heard before because they help keep his memory alive and it is always fun to learn something new of my best friend. He is so cute!! I miss our little family more everyday!!

This was a family reunion the summer Brody was born. We always love to go spend a day at River Front Park. Trev loved to get snow cones with the kids...Of course the goat has always been a huge hit...Visiting outside our house off of Conklin while the kids are playing in the blow-up water slide Trevor couldn't live with out. :)

The Bouncy Place...

2011-09-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

Brody is such a blessing to me in so many ways. I think there is something about your last baby that holds a little extra tight on those heart strings. I absolutely love and consider that he looks so much like his Dad a huge blessing to me. He has a smile that just melts my heart and a laugh that makes me so happy. His eyes remind me the most of Trev. He makes so many different faces that are similar looks of Trevor. I love that as the kids are all in school that he is my little buddy and he is so content with it. One of the greatest blessings that Brody has given me is the story at, "The Bouncy Place". This summer one of the events that Trevor's family put together for us all to enjoy was an hour of jumping at Sky High. Brody did not want anything to do with jumping with everyone. He cried and whined. I tried jumping with him. NO WAY! He wasn't going to have that. I held him and tried to jump. NO WAY! On a side note, that is against the rules. He was pretty much just miserable to be around. He was hanging on me crying wanting me to hold him until I picked him up then he would cry and fight his way down. I was ready to throw in the towel. Then the guy there was lining everyone up to play a game of dodge ball and all of a sudden like someone had just flipped a switch in his head he says to me, "I want to play." And then he takes off running on to the trampoline and jumped and bounced happy as could be until our hour was up. I was amazed and relieved and thought what a nut-job he was but then had fun jumping the rest of the time my self. A couple of days later I was getting Brody ready for bed and he was telling me that his Dad had given him a lego toy. I said to him, "No, that was from Uncle Joel." Then I asked him where his Dad was because since the time we told him what had happened to his Dad he would always say his Dad was with Jesus. He says to me, "Him is at the bouncy place." I said, "what???" He responded the same, "Him is at the bouncy place." I said, "He is???? Did you see him there???" He says, "Yes, him was watching us." It just melted my heart and made me so happy. A while later I was taking a remembrance book of Trevor out that has a picture of Trevor on it and he pipes up the second he saw it and says, "That's my Dad. Him is at the bouncy place." We have since had a few conversations about him seeing his Dad at the bouncy place. Every time it is the exact same story and in one conversation he says to me, "Him saw you." I just wanted to hear more, I could have talked to him about it all day. He said that he was smiling and that he loves all of us. There are not words to describe the huge blessing that story is to me. I truly believe that Trevor was there watching us and that is why he went from being miserable to the happiest kid alive. What a sweet experience. The only problem now is that he thinks that his Dad is always at the bouncy place and that he is no longer with Jesus. He still to this day when his Dad is brought up will say, "Him is at the bouncy place." I just love this little boy. I had to post some of my all time favorite pictures of this guy. Trev and I could look at his cute little face all day long. He just cracked us up...

Trevor's Dad always says he wishes Brody could stay this way forever and be our little mascot. He can be quite the stinker but he is one DANG CUTE KID and such a blessing to all of us!! Love you Brody James Stephenson. :)

Trevor Andrew Stephenson

2011-09-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

This summer we have spent many hours trying to finish my sweet husbands grave site. I wanted so much for it to be something that stood out like Trevor did but wasn't over bearing. I wanted it to symbolize what a unique person he is and was beautiful in a rugged sort of way just the way I saw Trev. I am so grateful for Trevor's family and their help during the countless hours in the hot sun, dirt clouded air and prickly weeds, working our buns off and making blisters so Trevor can have a beautiful resting place until we meet again. It means so much to me that you would all take the time to make this happen this summer. I am so glad we all have such a nice place to go and remember all the wonderful memories we have with Trevor. I want the boys and I to take good care of Trevor's grave site. I feel like that is one way I can serve Trevor in a way the boys can see so they will always know of my deep love for their Dad. Thank you! Thank you! For all of your help. Trevor will always be so loved and missed!!Digging up weeds and cleaning a spot to lay the rock...Thanks for all your help Mr. Brody.I great way to celebrate Memorial Day weekend!!Thanks boys. You guys are AWESOME!!Some final finishing touches just before Trev's birthday before we lay the rock...The laying of the rock...Starting to come together......WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!!!!The finished project..... Thank you so much Jim for helping make it all come together. I enjoyed finishing it up with you and I am sure it made Trev happy to see us two working together. Love you!! :)Till we meet again.

Grand Coulee Dam...

2011-09-16T17:15:00.000-07:00

One of our little adventures while the whole Stephenson gang (minus Matt Smith :( ) was in town this summer was a picnic dinner while we waited for a ferry ride and then on to Grand Coulee Dam to check out the museum and wait for the laser light show. We left just after church one Sunday and made it back home that evening about 1:00a.m. We will do just about anything for a little entertainment. :) It was so fun having everyone around to play with for so long this summer. We love our family!!

Uncle Bob is one good sport entertaining my boys ALL THE TIME... they love them some Uncle Bob time...Brody catching a ride with Carson on the hike up the hill to the dam museum...Cute Bo jack-hammering...This one of Carson cracks me up every time I see it!! :)The whole gang with Uncle Bob taking the picture and who knows where Grandpa was??!!Watching the dam water flow... What is a late night party without some glow sticks to swing around???Thanks for always entertaining us!!!

Random...

2011-09-16T16:55:00.001-07:00

I have been borrowing who's ever camera I could since my camera is broken at the moment and these random pictures of the boys were on my Dad's... Also these fun ones of my brother Leigh's girls out with my parents and my sister Melody and her cute family....Playing at River Front Park. Cute little Kendal on the big red wagon slide...

Looks like they might be ignoring the NO FEEDING THE DUCKS sign... :)Uncle Adam and Avery...My Dad and little miss Emma...My cute Mom and Kendal...

We weren't here for that party but it looks like they had fun. We were able to see Leigh and his cute girls while we were in Utah this summer though. My good friend Lisa was so kind to arrange for Leigh and his cute girls to come for dinner at her house and she fed us. It was so fun to get to see Leigh and his sweet girls.

My Little Brother Got MARRIED...

2011-09-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Lisa, Melody and I threw a little bridal shower for the newest addition to our family...MRS. Katherine Larane (Hockett) McCombs...It was fun to be able to do a little something to participate in preparing for the wedding.Ryan and Katie were sealed in the Spokane Temple on Friday July 8TH...Our little bit of family that was able to attend... My Mom did a lunch in her back yard after the sealing...Saturday the 9TH was the reception held in their honor at the Spokane Valley Stake Center...They did an ice cream bar that was a huge hit with my kiddo's... :)The wedding cake made by the one and only "Punky" my sweet grandma who has made everyone's wedding cake...Uncle Chris and little miss Evelyn sitting with my Uncle Paul and his cute little man Andre...My Mom's Uncle Terry and his wife Kelly...My Mom's cousin Joanne and my Grandma (Punky) and Grandpa Goodman...My Uncle Steve and wife Sam...Grandma Ruth and my Aunt Ally...The Ellerd Family...The Farman family...My cute sis Melody and her little man Avery...Mrs. Ryan McCombs dancing with my crazy boys. Ryan and Katie stayed at my parents house which happens to be the place that we are currently living while they waited for their school to start. My boys loved having Ryan and Katie living with us and thought Katie was the best because she was happy to read them stories, play board games, push them on the swings and play tag or any other game they could think up, walk them to the park, and pretty much entertain them to their little hearts desire. She was able to come and visit them this last weekend while Ryan was at drill for the Army reserves and they had the best time playing non-stop with her from about 1:00p.m. until just after 9:00p.m. Talk about a good sport. Thanks Katie, it's fun having you in the family!

4TH of July BBQ...

2011-09-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

A continuation of the Warne family reunion. Yummy left over food from the Luau and BBQ. And endless fun for the kids playing in the sand pit while the parents visit with a lot less interruptions. :) No pictures of the kiddo's though. :(

Grandpa and Grandma Warne.. Grandma and Trevor's Aunt Sally..

By the end of the trip poor little Brody thought he needed Monkey Moo everywhere and his pacifier and he thought he needed to be hanging on me at ALL times. I am proud to say when we returned home I was able to brake my large 3 year old from the pacifier habit.....now to move on to potty training. If only I could get into the mind set of it all. It is all my fault. I just don't want to take the time to do it. Poor kid. Any takers on the Job??? :) Some of the group...

Baptism....

2011-09-13T23:01:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to be able to attend Easton's big day getting baptized. I can't believe our kids are getting so big. It was a really nice baptism and so much fun for us to be there with the whole Stephenson gang. Garrett is really looking forward for his big day coming up next month.Aunt Lou gave such a great talk on the Holy Ghost...Brody showing Aunt Sally his best friend Monkey Moo.

60 YEARS......

2011-09-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

The boys and I were so privileged to attend Trevor's Grandparents 60TH wedding anniversary celebration. It was a big Luau full of Hawaiian games, dances, fantastic food, chants, fun talents shared by many and wonderful company. I feel so blessed to be apart of such a truly amazing family. Trevor's grandparents are two of the most kind, generous and loving people I have ever met. They are such a wonderful example to so many. Thanks for inviting us to join you in such a joyous occasion. Here's to many more years of happiness together. You are so loved Grandpa and Grandma Warne.The Smith's...

Me and my crazies...

The Sainsubury bunch...

Garrett telling his great MTC joke....

Eating some of the BEST food I have ever eaten...YUMMM.

Aunt Amanda and the Brodester...

Bay-Lou and Garrett...

Grandpa, Porter and Maso...

The twins and Mase and Port...

The boys love their Grandma... Lots of grand kids and great-grand kids...

Games...

Joey....Isn't he just so cute?!!! Trevor's Uncle Bob and Aunt Emily are in the process of adopting him. :) Cousin E...

Nate, Porter and Garrett... these kiddo's cannot get enough of their cousins.

These cute boys have on the shirts that Grandpa and Grandma Warne brought back for them from their mission in the Philippines. I loved that they fit them now so they were able to wear them for this fun occasion especially since Trev served his mission in the Philippines as well. We sure missed Trev for the big party.

FUN Cousin time....

2011-09-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

The boys have absolutely LOVED getting to spend so much time with their cousins!!!! It makes me so happy that they play and get along so well with all of their cousins form both sides of the family. Lots of playing in UT and then lots and lots more back in Spokane/Coeur D' Alene: museums, parks, beaches, pools, hikes, lakes, cabins with mice....(YIKES!!!), canoe rides, camping, fires, s'mores, smoke bombs, fire works, rock climbing, BBQ's, service projects, movies, collecting sticks, trading seats in different vans (mainly lots of rides in the big gray bus), and lots and lots of treats. I am sure I am forgetting a bunch as well. You get the point. LOTS of SPOILED little BOYS!!!!

Catching Up.....

2011-09-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

Trevor's sister Amanda and her family moved to Spokane this summer from Mississippi and we have had a blast having them here. Amanda is super Mom with five crazy boys and she has been such a huge help with my crazy boys while I have had different meetings and things. One of those things was a huge garage sale. There is a huge garage sale every summer in Liberty Lake and my Mom and I decided we needed to hook up with her Uncle and try and sell a bunch of our stuff that has been taking over my parents garage so Amanda and Carol signed up for having the boys stay the night and doing a little sale of their own selling lemonade, water, pop, cookies, candy and cinnamon rolls in the middle of the garage sale. They made out pretty good and were able to have a little spending money to take on our vacation to UT. Amanda is such a good sport to take on four more boys. NINE BOYS!!!!!!! I am sure she must get some crazy looks when she is out and about with the whole gang. We just love them and hope they don't get too sick of entertaining us all the time!!! :)

PARTY ARRR ARRRrrrrr.....

2011-08-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

We have had a summer full of Pirate Birthday Parties. Starting off with Aunt Amanda and little cousin Bowen. Lots of yummy chocolate cake.....

Pirate games and presents....Fireworks....

Then on to Easton's in UT. We celebrated at Pirate Island...

With a huge pizza and more games...

Then back in ID we celebrated some more for my little pirate dudes, Porter and Brody... digging up gold and rubies...... Making sand mermaids and the smiling sandman.... Went hunting for the hidden treasure..... Decorated cupcake sea-monsters.... And opened lots more presents...

Then back at Grandma and Grandpa McCombs', more celebration with all the cousins and Aunts and Uncles on Mom's side of the family...... Can you say SPOILED ROTTEN?????

My Cutest Most Favorite "July" Birthday Boys In The Whole WORLD.....LOVE THAT THEY LOOK SO MUCH LIKE THERE CUTE DAD!!!!

We have survived a whole year....

2011-08-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

I can not believe we have survived a whole year without my most favorite boy in the whole world. I would have to say what I miss the most is his is smile, laugh and sense of humor that filled our home. I am so blessed to have my other four favorite boys in the world that have a little piece of Trev in each one. I am so scared that these sweet little boys are going to forget what an amazing father, husband and person their sweet Dad is. It just brakes my heart that they have to live through this life without him. Trevor made everything in life better for us no matter how hard the situation. I wish so much I could be more like Trevor, but everyday I fall so short of even coming close to the person that he is. I love him so much and can't wait to be with him again. The boys and I have been thinking of some of our favorite memories with Trevor today. Garrett said his favorite memory was, "Dad coming in really early in the morning and waking him up and having him wear a roof top solution shirt, (like his Dad and probably matching shorts), and taking him to work for the day before anyone else was awake." Porter's favorite memory was, "him at our birthday parties." Trevor was always a big part of putting together the boys birthday party. He helped me make the cakes and everything. The birthday we liked to talk about today was Porter's ninja turtle party where Trev colored the milk in their cereal green so they could have mutant milk and same with the frosting on the cinnamon rolls he made. Brody had something I couldn't quite decipher but he wanted to go on and on about his favorite things about, "MY DADDY". He was very upset when I tried to move on to Mason and he wasn't done yet. Mason said he loved him at the birthday parties too. For Mason's birthday we did a pirate party and Trev put on a fun treasure hunt with the boys and made the coolest map too. He even tore it up and burnt the edges to make it look really old. Trevor was really such a fun Dad and just ate up his little boys. He was always so proud of them and I know he still is today. Trevor is my favorite everything. But the one I have thought about a lot on and off lately is one that I was reminded of at church when a couple that was sitting in front of me nudged each other and then took the kids that were next to them and moved them to their other side so they could sit next to each other. Trevor before we ever had kids told me he never wanted our kids to sit between us. He didn't like the idea of our kids getting in between us and us not staying attached to each other like when you are first married. He many times through out our church going days would do just as the couple in front of me. He'd nudge me and we would move the kids so we could sit next to each other. He all our marriage would say, "I feel like your so far away!" and then he would pull me next to him so we were touching and hold my hand. I am so grateful for his example to me of how to love so perfectly. I know I will always fall short but I will still try to be a little more like Trev each day. I love you BIG love!!

TEAM STEPHENSON...

2011-08-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

I wanted to start posting some of the things we have been up to this summer. I feel bad I am so behind. My camera is broken and I need to go and get it fixed so I have been stealing pictures off of other peoples camera. So unfortunately these posts aren't going to be in perfect order but what do you do??? A couple of days after Trev's birthday the boys and I headed to UT for our first family trip without Trevor. It was a wonderful trip but also a very emotional trip for me. The drive there was really hard besides that fact that I am not much of a driver and I get so, So, SO sleepy. As we drove and headed towards UT, a trip Trevor and I have taken many times in our married life, I couldn't help but have such an empty and lonely feeling without my best friend by my side. Those are the times that you think you are doing good and it just comes and slaps you in the face. I thought the trip might be a little difficult but I wasn't thinking it would be the drive that hurt the worst. I do pretty good if I have prepared myself knowing something might be difficult. It is the times that you haven't mentally prepared yourself that feels like it jumps out of nowhere. Trevor and I loved to take trips and the adventure of it all. I have never in my life known a better traveler and driver as Trevor. He was pretty much a super hero when it came to driving long distances and being able to stay awake. We drove to TX from WA and back a couple of times and that is a 30 hr+ drive that he could do on his own. Driving straight there no stopping for a nights sleep and me never touching the steering wheel. Our trips will never be the same without him. The boys were really good while we traveled and I have a wonderful visiting teacher who packed us a very huge, yummy lunch and snacks for our trip. We are so spoiled. We were also lucky enough to get to follow Trev's sister, Amanda, down to UT and have her little man Easton come and entertain my kids for part of the trip, which was really nice since we don't have a DVD player in our van. We were able to go stay and play with my sweet friend Lisa and her cute family while also spending lots of time with Trev's family as Trevor's grandparents were celebrating their 60TH wedding anniversary. One of the big events that was on the list of things to do was race in the Freedom 1/2 Marathon in Salt Lake City on the 4TH of July. It was quite the event with our Team Stephenson shirts in honor and memory of Trevie. It was so fun to have so many people to run with and participate in the race. I am sure Trev was looking down on us laughing and at the same time so happy that we would all run with shirts the say WHEEEEE on the back of them in his memory. Trevor is so loved and missed. I wish so much I could see that great smile of his in person and squeeze him tight. The problem he is going to have when I see him again is that I might never be able to let him go again. I love you Trev.

The picture above is before we ran the big race and below it is all of my sweet sister in-laws. Everyone that participated in the running of the race was Trevor's Dad, Trevor's sister Amanda and her husband Bob, Trevor's sister Emily and her husband Matt and Matt's Dad, Trevor's and my sister in-law Megan and my good friend Lisa and me. It was really a fun experience and one we hope to make a tradition.

We look funny because we are all twirling our finger like Trev would do as we say, "WHEEEEEE!!!"The fronts say TEAM STEPHENSON 2011 and the backs say Wheeeee! In memory of Trevor.

Happy Birthday....TREVIE..

2011-06-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

My better half would have turned the big 3-0 today. We miss Trevor so much and it is hard to believe that we have made it this long without him here with us. It seems unfair for life to keep going and for him to not be enjoying all the new adventures together with us as a family. It has been a hard month for us with Trevor and my 9TH year anniversary, Father's Day and Trev's Birthday. At times I just want to give up and throw in the towel. If it hadn't been for all the love and encouragement I receive from family and friends I don't think I would have been able to make it this long still standing. We are so incredibly blessed with such an amazing family that has pulled together to help each other through the hard, harder and hardest days. I am so glad they are in this journey along with me. Garrett asked me months ago if we could go up to the cemetery to celebrate Trevor's Birthday. We decided that was a perfect plan and got a big bundle of balloons to release and Aunt Amanda had the grand idea of wrapping candy bars up for everyone to unwrap as they said one of their favorite memories of Trevor. There were not many times when we could be out driving around with Trev and him not stop to grab a treat, "candy bar" and maybe a caffeinated beverage. Aunt Lou was so sweet to send the boys Trev and her favorite treat as kids and one of their favorite books to read, 'Sheldon's Lunch'. We decided that Papa Jim should read the favorite book after we all sobbed trying to get out our favorite memories of Trev while Amanda Sue recorded us. I wonder if Trev was able to watch us and what he thinks as we are all down here struggling to cope with the big whole left in our hearts from loosing such a wonderful part of us. I miss our little family so much and all the adventures of going through life together. We always would say how fast it is going and would get worried that it was all going to go so fast. Now it doesn't seem like it could go fast enough. Although this past year has seemed to go quick the day to day with out being able to look forward for Trev to walk in the door after work seems forever long. One day we will all be together and we will say it was all worth it!!

So excited to release the balloons....We had a few casualties.....some got away before it was time and some popped. :(Garrett gets so excited.

KG Celebration...

2011-06-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Porter had his KG Celebration the other night and he was so cute and excited about it. He came home and told me what time he needed to be there and that I could put him in a costume if I wanted to but I didn't have to. I asked him what kind of costume and he says, "like a handsome dress." I asked him what kind of a handsome dress and he says, "maybe like my church clothes." So we dressed him up in his church clothes and borrowed Garrett's tie. He was very excited to wear a tie. He was so cute singing all the songs and was even more excited to watch the little video of all the pictures of his classmates and him through out the school year. He was thrilled to be able to have his own copy of the video and tries to get his brothers to let him watch it but they barely made it through one round and then had had enough. I really just love how excited Porter gets but is still so sweet and subtle about it. I am so proud of him for doing such an awesome job in school this year. He got great grades and has become such a big little man and has become so much more confident in himself. Trevor I am sure is just beaming with pride watching these little men grow into such smart and nice young men. You are such a great boy Porter, you are so loved. I love that you are so content with life it reminds me of your Dad. Picture with the glasses but I wanted some without. It is hard to not have a glare with the glasses.

Randomness...

2011-05-28T22:37:00.000-07:00

Just some random cute pictures. Brody before I gave him a hair cut. I hate cutting their hair so I wait till it is way too long. I really should work on being better about it. He looked so handsome with his new hair cut I couldn't resist taking some pictures. I didn't pose him he was being that cute all on his own. Funny thing he did the other day was walk up to his book shelf and folded one arm placing it on his belly and rested his other elbow on the folded harm taking his chubby little hand placed it under his chin kind of squeezing his cheeks and stood there looking back and forth saying....."hummmm.......hummmm.....hummmm..." It was the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. Love him and so glad he is so cute because he can certainly be quite the stinker. He also made me laugh the other day when he took a dish towel and put it on his shoulder and says to me, "Look, I Papa Don." My Dad makes the boys pancakes just about every Thursday morning because they have late start at school and when he makes pancakes he always has the dish towel on his shoulder. Such a cute little smarty pants. ;)

Here are lots of random pictures of Mason still working really hard to keep his eyes open when I take pictures of him. He is such a silly little man. And just as cute even though he can't be normal for a picture!! I am glad these boys keep me going everyday!!

Another Lost Tooth...

2011-05-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

Porter was very excited to loose another tooth. He has been working on it for quite sometime. He has asked just about everybody to pull it out for him and some even said yes but not until he asked Ryan did anyone actually follow through. Thanks Uncle Ryan for following through for Porter and pulling out that itty bitty tooth. Porter has the smallest little baby teeth I've seen. And this time the tooth fairy even showed up when she was suppose to. Happy Day!! :)

Windermere 1/2 Marathon...

2011-05-21T23:21:00.001-07:00

I finally fulfilled my goal of running a 1/2 marathon. Trevor and I started training for it six weeks after Brody was born....he will be 3yrs this July. Life was so crazy, always changing and on the go we were never able to train steady and plan a time and a race to run. I wish so much that Trevor could have been there to run it with me. Trevor was always so supportive of anything I wanted to do. Did anything he could do to help me achieve my goals and would always cheer me on with such love and enthusiasm. I got a little teary at the beginning of the race when I saw other girls' husbands down on the centennial trail where we ran with their camera's cheering on their wives. I just know Trev would have been right there cheering me on with that big grin on his face. It was really hard to not have him there. I am so grateful for my Dad that trained with me and pushed me to challenge myself a little more, all the while running on a bad knee and bad ankle always in pain. He also was patient for me to get out of the porta-potty to start the race a couple of minutes after the race started. Haha..... We were about the last two to cross the starting line. I think I pushed myself a little too fast at the beginning. Definitely slowed down towards the end and had multiple thoughts that there is no way I am going to be able to finish this running......but I did!!! :) I was so happy when I looked up and saw my cute boys cheering me on. Garrett jumped in and finished the last little bit of the race with me. If you asked him he ran 1/2 of it with me. He is a funny little character. He was pretty excited that when they called my name out as I crossed the finish line they mentioned my fan coming in along side of me too. When my Dad and I were looking up our times on-line after the race he was pretty disappointed they didn't have his name and time too..... because after all he ran 1/2 of it!! Thank you to my Mom for handling all of the boys on her own to come and cheer my Dad and I on and to Jim and Carol for coming and showing their support with treats and Gatorade for us all!! You are so great!!! Also for all the support from my awesome sister in-laws who called and checked on me and cheered me on. I pretty much have the absolute BEST sister in-laws in the WORLD!!!! I honestly could not possibly think up any better sisters to have. You guys are so awesome. You deserve an award......no joke!!! I love y'all!!! :) My time ended up being 1:55. I came in 8th place in my age bracket out of 120 something. 59th place out of all the girls out of I don't know how many. 172nd place out of everyone and there was over 900 running. Not too shabby for my first race!! :) My Dad and I at home right before we left for the big race. Only picture we got. My cute little man decided to wake up at the crack of dawn with me and so he got to ride with us to drop us off at the race.......how could anyone NOT take a picture of that cute face????

What 30 Looks Like.....

2011-05-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

Well who would have guessed this is what 30 looks like??? My awesome sister in-law, Amber, threw me an 80's themed 30Th birthday party full of great company, yummy food and bunko playing till wee hours of the night. It was so fun to see all the different getups the girls came up with that were 80's style!! Thank you Amber and all the fun girls that came and helped make turning 30 not seem so bad. Thank you also for all the sweet gifts you shouldn't have gotten me. I loved them all. You are ALL TOO SWEET!!! I was also incredibly spoiled by ALL of Trevor's family and my parents and a few others who know who they are. Thank you so much for helping make an incredibly emotional and hard day in my life bearable!!! I love you all so much and wish there was a better way for me to express and show how truly grateful and blessed I feel to have you all in my life. Your thoughtfulness and love has touched my heart and will never be forgotten. Trevor and I always would talk about how when we turned 30 we were then going to be SO OLD. I still don't feel any older, I am not sure if I ever will. It is such a strange and sad reality to have big moments with out my best half. I miss him so much and it hurts a LOT!!

Fast and Testimony...

2011-05-02T21:16:00.001-07:00

Garrett has such a love for this gospel. This last fast and testimony meeting he was very excited to fast for his first time for his Uncle Bob and Aunt Amanda to be able to sell their house quickly and find a job close by us. He even turned down snacks during sacrament from his cousin with a little reminder from me that he was fasting. He did such a great job and didn't complain once about being hungry. He was also very excited to get up during sacrament meeting and bare his testimony. He was a little disappointed that he wasn't able to get up every Sunday and bare his testimony. He has been waiting since last month when he bore his testimony for the first time. He let a few people go before him and when he got up he said, "Hi, I am Garrett. I want to bare my testimony. My Dad couldn't read. Someone told him to read some scriptures. He did and they helped him. I have a testimony that the scriptures are a good step for life." When he was done and sat back down he looks at me after I told him good job and he said. "I kind of got stage fright." It makes me so happy that he as the desire to want to do good and the courage to say what he believes. I hope that he will continue to have those characteristics through out his life. I am so proud of him and I know that Trevor must just look down at these boys and smile his wonderful big smile that we all love. : )

Garrett had a homework project that I knew about close to the beginning of April that was due the last Friday of April and of course I am teaching him bad habits of procrastinating until the last minute. I kept thinking I will do it this time and then I move it to another time and then another time and before you know it it is down to the day before and things came up keeping me from getting the things I needed for him to do his project. We are then on the way to his grandma Carol and grandpa Jim's house so they can watch the boys so I can do my visiting teaching. Luckily they were kind enough to run to the store with the boys and get the things he wanted to make his poster, so we ended up only staying up until 10:00PM instead of who knows when. I sure hope I have learned my lesson. But if I am being honest I am sure this won't be my last late night project helping these boys with their homework. Just when you thought you were done with school. : ( Garrett was quite proud of his poster that was on taking care of our earth. He came up with what he wanted to do to take care of the earth and that he wanted to use pipe cleaners to make the earth. It was a poster contest and I asked him if everyone had brought in their poster. He said only 3 people had. So I guess I did better then not doing it at all. : ) Then I asked him who had the most creative one. He says, "I think I pretty much did." He cracks me up. Not a lack of confidence in himself. Ha ha.

Happy Easter...

2011-04-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

I just want to say I am so grateful for the Atonement and the sacrifice of our Savior for all of us. It has so much more meaning this year as I ache for the loss of my sweet husband. I am so grateful for the gift of the Resurrection and the opportunity to be with the love of my life once again. We were able to go and have a couple Easter egg hunts and the boys of course absolutely LOVED them!! They were able to hunt with their cousins Ryan, Jacob and Drew at Grandma and Grandpa Stephenson's and my sweet cousin Michelle put on a neighborhood Easter party at her house with lunch and egg hunt plus games. The boys loved it and I was very impressed by her energy and thoughtfulness. The boys loved what the Easter bunny left. One of them commented, "The Easter Bunny is SOOO NICE!!" That made my heart happy. :) They also loved the goodies from their Aunt Amanda, Uncle Bob and cousins, and Aunt Lou, Uncle Matt and cousins. Thanks guys, for always thinking of us. We so appreciate all you do for us!! We also were able to go and enjoy a very yummy dinner at Uncle Matt's and Aunt Meg's house with Papa Jim and Grandma Carol. Everyone is so good to us. Thank you. Thank you. I really don't think I could possibly tell everyone enough how thankful I am for all the help I continue to get and just for the friendships and love shown.

I love these pictures of Garrett, they crack me up. I couldn't pick just one so I put them all on. He can pull some pretty crazy faces....

Porter Lost His 1ST TOOTH....

2011-04-25T19:54:00.001-07:00

Porter has been working on loosing his first tooth and one day he was showing me how wiggly it was and we ate dinner and then he was watching a show and came running to me to let me know he had lost his tooth physically and literally. We are thinking he must have swallowed it, we looked all over but he has the tiniest little baby teeth so who really knows. I told him I was so sad how was the tooth fairy going to come when he didn't have a tooth to give them??? We didn't have time the night he lost it but we came up with the idea of writing a note to the tooth fairy and drawing them a picture of the tooth and see if the fairy would stop by then. The tooth fairy that comes to this house, sad to say, is one pretty crappy tooth fairy. He drew his picture and put it under his pillow and when he got up NOTHING. I couldn't believe the fairy forgot. Porter wasn't discouraged at all. I asked him if he was sad and he said, "No, maybe he found my tooth and left the money there." I was so glad he gave the fairy that idea and gave the fairy plenty of time to make it happen and then luckily grandpa was making pancakes for pancake Thursday and was distracting Porter. After the fairy had plenty of time to find Porters missing tooth I asked Porter if he checked under the kitchen table maybe that was where his tooth fell out and sure enough the fairy had left him a couple of dollars and lucky him Grandma Carol was on her way to pick him up and he got to go spend it at Target. Talk about one very lucky fairy!! :)If you look closely in this picture you can see the tiny space where the tooth is missing. It was very difficult to get a good picture of it. Porter is one wiggly little kid.Mason wanted in a picture. His smile in this picture reminds me of his Uncle Leigh.Porter's note to the Tooth Fairy...... Dear Tooth fairy. SRE (sorry) i lost mi (my) tooth. Wi (will) you pes (please) le (leave) me sum (some) mune (money). I love it when they are learning how to spell. It is a lot like my spelling, luckily I have spell check!! ;)

Blessed....

2011-04-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

Although I would rather of had about a million different trials in my life then the one a will no doubt struggle with the rest of my life I would never in a million years change the fact that I was able to fall in love and experience the little bit of life I was able to with Trevor. Trevor is one of a kind with the best personality, so full of excitement, humor, and love. Trev made everything in life better and more enjoyable. I never wanted to leave his side, I just could never get enough of him. There are many reasons I feel so blessed in my life but I would just like to share one today that Porter shared in a talk during primary: Heavenly Father Speaks to us Through His Prophets:

I am so glad that Heavenly Father talks to the prophets and tells us things we should do. The prophets have told us that Heavenly Father would like us to keep a journal. President Wilford Woodruff has said that journals are, "of far more worth than gold."

I am so glad that my Dad listened to the prophets while he was serving a mission and kept a journal. It is fun for me to hear the stories on his mission and learn about the blessings Heavenly Father gave him for serving him. I like to hear how much he loves Heavenly Father and this church and that he knows they are true.

President Wilford Woodruff said writing in your journal can be a blessing to us and our families. I have a testimony of that because my Dad's journal is a blessing to me.

A few weeks after Porter gave his talk in primary Garrett got up all on his own and bore his testimony in sacrament meeting. Let me tell you the nerve factor of having him go up there and not knowing what he was going to say. My stomach was in knots. He did such a good job though. This is what he said, "I would like to bare my testimony. My Dad served a mission in the Philippines and he kept a journal. I love to hear his stories on his mission, they are a blessing to me. I can feel the spirit." Those might not be his exact words but close to it. I should have written it down when I got home. Anyhow, it sent me in to tears and then I had to leave. Garrett has such a sweet testimony and love for this church and his Dad. I am so proud of him and all of my little men. They have been such a strength to me and they have been amazing through all that they have endured. I too am so grateful for Trevor and the fact that he one served a mission and two that he kept a journal because it is such a strength to me and I know it will be a strength to the boys through out their life. Trevor has such a sweet testimony that he shares multiple times through out his journal and it is a confirmation of the wonderful person I have always known him to be. He has such a big heart and love for everyone he comes in contact with especially the less fortunate and he tells of his love for his family, friends, leaders and Heavenly Father. There is no hiding who you are as a person in your private journal and Trevor is as wonderful in his heart as we have all known him to be in person. I love and miss him so much!

I had to post these pictures of Porter because I forgot what a goof ball he use to be and it brought I smile to my face because Trev is such a goof ball too and I think they look so much alike. I am so sad that you forget what these little men looked like. I love the baby faces and chubbs!! : )

Happy St. Patty's Day...

2011-03-28T09:07:00.001-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day. To tell you the truth Trevor and I have never really celebrated St. Patrick's Day but the boys have some of the best Aunts and Uncles around and their Aunt Lou sent some goodies for the kids to have on St. Patrick's Day. The night before Garrett was so excited for some Leprechauns to come. Thank goodness for Aunt Lou she had me supplied with bags of chocolate gold to hide and little party hats, balloons and green pop rock candy!! The boys were so thrilled and Garrett spotted a bag of gold the second he came down stairs in the morning and continued to help the rest of the boys find theirs. Thank you so much Aunt Lou, Uncle Matt, Nate, Bay, Jack and Ry. We love you guys!!! : )Brody didn't like the hat on his head. It could possibly be due to me accidentally snapping the elastic on his cheek as I was trying to put it on him. : ( But balloons are always a big hit for any kid that I have ever known!!Mason loved his hat so much he decided he was going to take it for show and tell at school that day. So I had to take some pictures of him in it and like I have said in the past this kid has the hardest time taking a good picture and it is because he can't keep his eyes open. This is just some of about 50, no joke, he is ridiculous. Garrett went through a faze like this but he was one and every time you pulled out a camera he would instantly close his eyes or squint. In this picture he decided to try and hold his eyes open...Getting closer....Finally I figured out to just have him look at Garrett standing behind me..... man it was one tough picture to get. Silly little boy.....But worth it because he looks like a little Leprechaun with that red hair!! : )

Funny Boys...

2011-03-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

It was so funny to me the other day when Porter looks in Garrett's ear and says, "Garrett. You need to clean out your ears. I see a MONSTER driving a Monster TRUCK in there." Trevor would always tell the boys we need to clean the monsters out of your ears and then of course they always wanted to see the monsters on the Q-tips. GROSS..... I know. So then this morning as I was getting the boys ready I remembered that I needed to clean out Garrett's ears because of Porters funny comment so I tell Garrett to go and get some Q-tips so I could clean out his ears because Porter said there were monsters in there driving monster trucks. Garrett laughs and Porter pipes up and says, "Yeah....I saw the TRACKS!! Hahaha. I love him. : )

Here are a couple of Porter walking on his hands. Trevor was always so impressed at how well he balanced on his hands.Mason-Rooni being a crazy spaz.... as usual. He was very excited about his airplane he made at school yesterday...Megan and I went out on a "Hot Date" Saturday night and Uncle Matt was very impressive for taking on ALL the BOYS!!! Grandma Carol was there for moral support but she said Matty was awesome and did everything on his own which included making and feeding them all dinner. Thanks so much guys. You are the best!!! Uncle Matt even had a present he picked up from one of the dentist that buy from him.... Brody LOVES it and has now made this pacifier his FAVORITE!!! We think it is pretty funny looking....

Terms of Endearment...

2011-03-12T21:53:00.000-08:00

Things I miss hearing.... When Trevor and I first started dating and up through the honeymoon stages of marriage he called me goose and I called him moose. Goose came from silly goose and I am not quite sure where the moose came, probably just because it rhymed with goose. Cheesy I know but we were young and lets just face it.... Corny. Through out the years I would hear goose every now and again and it always brought a smile to my face. Then after Garrett was born I stopped working and watched a lot of Regis and Kelly in the morning as I laid on the couch with my newest little man and one day, I cannot remember for the life of me which actress was on, but they were talking about having their little person climb in bed with them and cuddling and calling them their little lover. I for some reason thought that was the strangest thing to call your child and told Trev about it and we jokingly started calling Garrett our little lover and eventually each other and it kind of just stuck through the years. I have heard a lot of babe and lady. And most common through the last few years my name has been "Vern" which stemmed from lover to lovern to Vern. I could not even begin to explain how badly I would love to hear Trevor call for Vern. I also would love to hear him say, "I love you big." which then I would tell him I love him back and he would ask, "How Big??" I would tell how big and he would say, "I love you this big".... with his huge arms spread as wide as they would go with a big grin on his face. Trevor is the sweetest boy I know. He was never shy about telling me how much he loved me and how beautiful he thought I was multiple times every single day of our life together and bringing me home flowers. I would often find little love notes randomly through out the house in places he knew I would get into often. He would also leave me love notes on the shower door or bathroom window so as I was showering and the doors and windows fogged up I could see his notes. I wish I could just squeeze Trevor tight and let him know how much I love him and miss him. I am reminded often of what a wonderful husband and father he was and still is. I love. Love. Love him.

Talent Show...

2011-03-01T20:59:00.001-08:00

The boys signed up to be in the primary talent show put on last Friday. Garrett signed up to do a head stand which he doesn't really know how to do and Porter signed up to walk on his hands. Well, I have been reading Trevor's mission journal to the boys and Trev had written about the MTC and while I was reading it to the boys Garrett says to me, "How do you fish in an 'empty sea'???" I started to laugh and then explained to him that it wasn't an 'empty sea' it was M.T.C. which stood for missionary training center. I told my parents about it and Garrett overheard and my Dad laughed and said that was a good joke Garrett. So Garrett's thinking, I'm funny I made a joke and tells me to tell Grandma Carol his "joke". So then next thing I know he is telling me he changed his talent and now he was going to tell his joke. It turned out to be a good thing since he really didn't know how to do a head stand and I didn't have the desire to teach him how to, but then the pressure was on how to figure out to present his joke. I over heard my Dad telling him to say something about fishers of men and then as it came down to a few hours before the show the perfect line popped into my head and anyone who knows me knows I am no comedian and rarely get a joke. I am the worst. But this is what we came up with, and when I say "we" I am pretty sure I had some help from Trev on this because that is definitely not a talent of mine. Joke: I have been hearing about going to the MTC to learn how to be fishers of men. But what I don't understand ...... Is.....How do you fish in an "EMPTY SEA"???? hahaha : ) Garrett did AWESOME. He got right up there and it took a second for him to start but he did such a good job and delivered it perfect. I asked him when he was done if he was scared and he says, "When I was going up there I was nervous and I thought I was going to THROW UP. But I feel good now." Haha. Porter was AMAZING too, he has come leaps and bounds out of his shell it is hard to believe it is the same kid. I have a feeling Trevor has had a little hand in helping him along the way too. I like to think so anyway. Porter got right up on stage and almost hand walked right off the stage. I asked him if he was scared and he said, "NOPE, I wasn't scared!" I am so glad. I am so proud of those little stinkers for being so gutsy and getting right up there and following through with what they said they would do. Again certainly not a talent of mine to get up in front of a big group or small group for that matter and put my self out there. I know Trev must have just been beaming and so proud of these little boys. This is a picture of Garrett on stage but I was so sad Porter went right before Garrett and for some reason I couldn't get my camera to take a picture so I missed him. : ( The two little talents at home after the show. Garrett got a medal for picking up the most garbage after the show. I tried really hard to get a good picture of Porter but he would not hold still for me for one stinken second and so this is the best I got. Garrett even had to have him in a head lock to get him to hold still. Little stinker.Of course Mason and Brody wanted in on the action...Mason showing me some of his tricks...I had to get some pictures of Brody in his hat. He has just recently started wearing a hat and I love it. He looks so much like Trevor to me in a hat and I just want to eat him up. I also love. Love. LOVE the hat hair. I know I might be weird but I always loved Trevor in a hat and LOVED it when his hair was all matted down from his hat. I just thought he was the cutest and so it makes me so happy that Brody will wear a hat now. He is a little cheeser and was being so funny so they are pretty goofy pictures but I got a couple good ones too...You would think someone was tickling his neck.....but they weren't....Awww........Who wouldn't love Trevie's little Brody?????

Private Ryan McCombs

2011-02-18T20:55:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my little brother Ryan just got back from boot camp. He has joined the Army reserves and now my Dad and all 3 of my brothers have served or are currently serving in a branch in the military. It seems so crazy to have my baby brother all grown up especially when I think about the years between him and I are 11 and the years between him and Garrett are 11. By the time Ryan is my age Garrett will be Ryan's age. Now that is just a scary thought. Anyhow, this night Ryan was going to a ball for his company and there he was promoted. Very exciting. Good job. My boys just think he is pretty darn neat. They love their Uncle Ryan.

"Angry Eyes"...

2011-02-18T19:58:00.000-08:00

Well my Mom thinks that if someone hasn't already there needs to be a children's book on the baby pirate. Brody is so funny when he is pretending to be a pirate or any "bad" guy for that matter he holds pretty firm to the character and is constantly coming up to me and telling me, "I hurt you." with his 'angry eyes' on, his pacifier hanging out of his mouth and his Monkey Moo dragging behind. He is too funny and just so darn cute. My Mom really thought I had better capture it on camera and it turned out to be a lot harder then I thought. He can hold firm until the camera comes out and then he just wants to smile. The boys love to dress up and be pirates, cowboys, superheroes, and Vikings.

Another New adventure for poor Monkey Moo is that Brody thinks it is so funny to stick his tail in his ear and act like he is on the phone. He came up to me the other day with his monkeys tail in his ear and says, "Mom....look phone. Look phone......Hello.....Hello....Mom....Look phone...phone." and then starts laughing. He is really quite the character. In Trev's words..."Who wouldn't love my Brody??!"Half hearted angry eyes...Pirates with their monkeys are the scariest...My cute little Porter-Roo...The boys love to put in these nasty teeth... I love how he is holding the gun to shoot with both hands...The "ANGRY EYES"...Not quite sure what is going on here. Superhero Pirate with a scary face???I do love my Mase-O-Rooni too but he for some reason he has the hardest time taking a good picture he always manages to have his eyes closed and be pulling some weird face that doesn't even look like him and so he didn't make the cut this time. I couldn't handle putting on a bad picture that doesn't show his real cuteness.

I also wanted to write down that the boys were so sweet the other week. I went up stairs to get them ready for school and they had made their best attempt to make their beds. For those of you who may not know me real well I am a CRAZY person that has to have things just perfect or I can possibly be driven to the loony bin. I am at the first step towards recovery because I can admit it. : ) Although I really don't think I will be fully cured. Anyhow, I thanked the boys and told them how sweet they were to do such a nice thing and then Garrett says to me, "Mom....but don't remake them pleeeease.......Are you going to remake them???" I just smiled and thought, Trev is that you?? Trevor would attempt on quite a few occasions to make our bed and then tell me not to remake it and sometimes get hurt feelings when after he left I would. I know I am so mean. Sometimes I could resist and let it go but usually only when Trev was hanging out at the house and I was afraid he would catch me in the act. I know, right?? "SICK"!!! Anyhow it made me smile all day thinking of that and yes when the boys left for school I remade the beds. That night as Garrett was getting into bed he says to me, "Mom, I know you remade the beds." I said, "You do.... how do you know??" He says, "Because they are way nicer." So funny but he didn't have hurt feelings. I still love how sweet they were to do that and then they kept it up for a couple of days and one day I did let them keep them that way. I was quite proud of my self. I often wonder what Trev gets to see and know and if he heard Garrett and I that day and was laughing at us. I miss him teasing me. Love that sweet boy.

Trevor Andrew Stephenson

2011-02-11T22:10:00.001-08:00

It is amazing how quickly life changes. I have been looking back at pictures of the earlier life of Trev and I and it is crazy how much we had gone through in our short 8 years of marriage together. I can't believe it has already been 6 months since my sweet Trev has passed away. The physical pain has eased but I still miss him everyday and think about him no less then a million times a day. The things I miss most are his wonderful smile and laugh. I miss him kissing me on the forehead and then whispering to me, "Do you know what that's for?" Me, "Why???" "Because I love you so much." I miss him pulling me close to him and at the same time telling me, "I feel like your so far away." I miss his love licks & bites, he would be really naughty and give me a big slimy lick where ever was easiest to get to on my face or bite and when I would get upset he would say that they were "love licks." I miss his big hugs and his twinkle in his eyes. I miss being partners in life. I miss falling to sleep on the couch with my legs in his lap. I miss his love for life and his sweet way of teaching our little boys. I miss his goofiness and him and I fighting over covers in bed until one of us pushes the other out of bed and we are dieing laughing because we will never grow up. I miss how he played with the boys and how they lit up when ever they saw him. I miss making birthday cakes with him. I miss how he served others. I miss him getting so excited over what his friends or family had going on. He has such a sweet love for his friends and family. I miss our long drives and our adventures. I miss him so much their is no way I could ever even begin to explain it. I so miss biting on his eye brows and ear lobes. He is my best friend in the whole world and I am so grateful for the gospel and the hope it gives me that we will be together again for eternity as a family. I am so blessed to have had the time I had with Trevor and have his wonderful influence in my life and I am sure I will continue to think of him everyday of my life until we meet again....

GLASSES...

2011-01-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

We found out Porter needed glasses right before we left for Christmas. The order came yesterday and Porter just loves them. He is so funny about them. I asked him when he got home from school yesterday what his teacher thought of his new glasses? He says to me, "I'll give you one guess. She had me get up in front of the class and show everybody." It was too funny. I guess that means she liked them. : ) Porter has been telling my Dad and I that he has a ring that makes him a super hero so when the eye glass place called to let us know that his glasses were in my Dad told him that now when he puts his glasses on he will be in disguise and no one will know he is a super hero. So the kids have all been calling him Peter Parker because that is the only super hero they know the real name to. Little do they know Clark Kent is the one famous for putting his glasses on and then no one can tell he is Superman. Funny little boys. His Grandma Carol has told him that his cousin Robby thinks it is pretty neat that he got glasses because he has glasses too. So Porter comes home from school today and says, "Robby is excited that I have glasses because he has them too.....Maybe that is why they want to move by us." I am so glad that he loves his glasses, we tried to get him ones that looked as close to Trevor's as we could. I love that he is my little mini Trev. I hope he looks more and more like him all the time. It would have been so fun picking out glasses with Trev. I miss that boy.

It took me over an hour to find a decent picture of Trev with his glasses on. He really didn't wear them very often. I always thought he looked so cute in his glasses.

Garrett is a little jealous that he doesn't have glasses. He keeps telling me that he wishes he had glasses. I wonder how long they are going to think they are "COOL" for???!!! Anyhow since I was taking pics of Porter, Garrett and Mase wanted in on the action too. Actually Garrett did ask me the other day, "would you take a picture of me holding my Nerf gun because this is one of my favorite presents I got for my birthday.. you know?" He is so funny. My little Mason Rooni, he is just plain silly.

Thursday Buddy...

2011-01-28T19:49:00.001-08:00

On most Thursdays I watch my nephew Ethan so his Mom can go and volunteer in her daughters class at school. The first Thursday back after Christmas vacation Ethan came over and the boys were so cute they ran down stairs both saying they wanted to watch Toy Story 3, ran to the toy box grabbed Woody and Buzz and sat down so excited for me to put on their show. As it started they just lit up it was about the cutest thing EVER so of course I HAD to get some pictures. : )

It was a little difficult to get a picture of them both looking and smiling at the same time because they really wanted to watch the SHOW. Funny little boys.

Garrett Andrew...

2011-01-22T23:14:00.000-08:00

Garrett's second top tooth finally came out. His tooth had been SO loose for SO long but he is a little bit wimpy about pulling it out himself and there is just no way I could pull it out. I am TOTALLY as WIMPY as they come. Absolutely no stomach for it. There goes my dreams of being a dental hygienist. Anyhow his cousin Bailey had hers loose too while we were in AZ and pulled hers out but Garrett wouldn't have it. Well, it was so ridiculously loose it just looked so funny hanging there and we went out to eat after his cousin Jenna's baptism. Jenna was looking at it and talking about it being loose and I said, "Jenna why don't you pull it out." She's says, so matter of factly, "Okay." She reached right in there and one second later says, "Here you go." and hands Garrett his tooth. It was really very comical but I am guessing you would have had to of been there. Happy Day for Garrett and me. She saved the day. I can't believe how big my boy is getting. He is so handsome. We really tend to butt heads quite a bit, but he is honestly such a sweet little boy and has such a big heart. I love him to death and he is a lot like his Dad in so many ways. He has the hardest time out of the boys dealing with the sadness of his sweet Dad not being around. It is really heartbreaking. I so wish I could bring him back. One day we will be together again. I am so looking forward to that day. WE LOVE HIM SO MUCH!

My Emotional Wreck...

2011-01-22T23:03:00.000-08:00

These two little kiddo's were playing so good one day while the bigs were at school and I thought Brody just looked so darn cute in my Dad's old Army hat so I pulled out my camera hoping to get some cute pictures of him and he liked it for one second and then just lost it. He is such a crazy emotional basket case. Even with a rotten face on he is still so darn cute. GOOD THING! : )What a handsome little man this guy is.... my Mom thinks he could be a child model with that cute face and red hair.He had had enough....He means it....HOW DARE I...

Goodbyes...

2011-01-22T21:06:00.001-08:00

It was sad to see Bob, Amanda and their cute mob of boys go before us. We played just a couple days longer after they left. Garrett and Porter were so excited to be able to go to school with Garrett's teacher that he had the last couple of months of last school year and then the first couple of days of the start of this school year. His teacher Mrs. Connelly really should get teacher of the year. She is so amazing and so sweet to all the kids but I couldn't believe how sweet she was to my kiddos and I for only having known us for such a short time. She wrote Garrett and had the class write Garrett a couple of notes that he just loved getting and reading. She really is a wonderful teacher. And little Mase-O got to go to preschool with Teacher Lou. He loved it and thought it was so much fun. The last night we were there we had a winnie roast for dinner and made smore's for dessert. Thank you Aunt Emily and Uncle Matt and all you cute kids for letting us come and invade for almost 2 WHOLE WEEKS. You guys are so amazing to let us come and stir up your routine for so long and chauffeur us around and entertain us. We loved being able to go and be with so much family. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family. I know Trev was just looking down on us with a big smile from above. Nothing meant more to him then to see his family together and to be with his friends which was really family to him. I remember when ever I did something with one of his best buddies wives without him it made his day. He was always so cute about it. He loved for me to become friends with his friends wives. Good thing his friends married such great girls. We love them. : )

After the winnie roast I dumped the boys in some soapy water and put their matching pj's on for the final pictures of our wonderfully fun trip...

I couldn't get Brode to look away from the TV...They had had enough pictures by this point in time...THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR SUCH A GREAT TRIP!!

BUDDIES...

2011-01-22T20:57:00.001-08:00

Brody just adores his little cousin Ry. She is so much fun and such a sweet little cousin to Brody. They were outside riding bikes with these cowboy hats on and I just couldn't resist getting a picture. I was so glad that Brody remembered his little buddy from when we had lived there, I know we hadn't been gone too long but sometimes kids can be so funny but he had no problems. They just jumped right back into to their little buddy roles. LOVE THEM. : )

UNCLES...

2011-01-22T20:41:00.000-08:00

I just have to say.....These boys have the BEST Uncles in the WORLD. My boys just could not get enough of their uncles and their uncles were such good sports and so loving towards them. It makes me so happy and I know Trev so happy to know that these boys will always have such wonderful men in their lives and I cannot even begin to express how much that means to me and I know Trevor, too. Thank you guys for being so wonderful to these little boys it means more then you will ever know. Brody fell asleep on Matt when I was out running errands with Amanda and when I got home I just had to get a picture. Matt was such a good sport, big drool puddle and all. Brody really loves his Uncle Matt. He loves to point him out in pictures and this wonderful video that Uncle Bob put together for the boys and I of any little snippet that Trev is in. Like I said The Absolute Best Uncles EVER!!! I truly mean that.Uncle Bob and The Wonderfully Cheerful Aunt Amanda... It was so cute the other day I overheard the boys playing some sort of wrestling game and I hear, "This is how Uncle Bob does it." Uncle Bob is so good at getting down on the ground and wrestling around with these wild monkeys and they couldn't eat it up anymore. They LoVe IT!

MidNight MadNess...

2011-01-22T20:08:00.001-08:00

While we were in AZ I was able to run my first official race, the 21ST Annual Midnight Madness on New Years Eve. It was only 3 miles so not really a big deal, but it was a lot of fun. We were a little nervous when all of us were past out with our mouths wide open on the car ride over to the race from pure exhaustion but once we were there and freezing our buns off we were ready to run. Emily and I had plans to run the Surprise 1/2 marathon this month when we were living there but unfortunately those plans fell through and she is running without me. :( I hope to run my first 1/2 this spring here in Spokane. Wish I were running it with Em. Thanks girlies, I had a lot of fun. So glad you decided to join us Amanda, you did awesome. Love you guys!!

Just after signing in... During the race...Just finishing...After we got all our goodies...

Dance Party...

2011-01-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

All the kids loved to do the Wii dance games.... Aunt Lou, Aunt Amanda, and even Uncle Matt were so nice to help out my stiff little man Mase with the dance moves...

Motocross...

2011-01-22T19:20:00.000-08:00

We took a trip out to the speedway to watch some motocross. It was wet and cold and all fun and games until Mase took a spill in the mud puddle. We actually really did have a fun time watching and it made me a little Trev sick because I knew he would have loved it. Trev loved to ride his dirt bike and do jumps on a hill outside our back door on our property. I really miss his cute face he was so much fun. Man I love that boy.The boys watching and a cute picture of cousin Robby the oldest of the group...My cute little boys... I think Brody looks like a little stud muffin. : )I love how Porter has his arms around his buddies Jack and Ty...What was that??? HOT ChAcOlAtE!!!!!! YaY.......Happy Day.The kids loved to climb all over the bleachers and Brody really thought he was quite the "Big Man"...The hot chocolate just made his day and to have one of his own was almost just more excitement then he could handle...Cousin Bailey was being so cute with Brody...Cousin Jack...Aunt Lou and Aunt Amanda...tyring their best to keep warm.Miss Bay-Lou...My Big toothless man...Porter Bear...

Mase-O-Rooni... The Brodster...

Playing in the SNOW in ARIZONA...

2011-01-20T15:28:00.001-08:00

We went to the train park in Scottsdale and played in the freezing cold in the snow in ARIZONA. Yes that is right SNOW in ARIZONA. : ( I know you might be thinking if it was snowing, Where- O -Where is the snow???? Well, it might be hard to see but it REALLY was SNOWING. And it was pretty darn cold. I know the people in AZ were probably thrilled but for us coming from Spokane we were excited to be getting out of the COLD and SNOW. What do you do?? We had fun anyhow. The Brodster was thrilled to find a slide there and his cousin Easton was next in line...Can you say CHEESE?????Garrett and one of his bestest cousins Nate...Little Miss Beanie loved for me to take pictures of her....Papa Jim paid for all the cousins to take a ride on the carousel...All the fun cousins...

THE GIFT...

2011-01-20T15:04:00.000-08:00

Johnny, Jada and their cute little bundle of kiddo's came out to see us while we were in AZ. We just love them so much and are so glad that they would take the time out of their busy lives to drive over an hour to come and see the boys and I over the holiday season. They are so much fun and Jada made the boys and I the most amazing gift......we absolutely LOVE this blanket of Trevor's shirts. Trev didn't have quite enough variety to make the whole blanket. For those of you who knew him the last few years of his life he pretty much wore the "Roof Top Solution Uniform" every day. It was all I could do to get him to change into something else even when we were going out on a "HoT DaTe". So some of the shirts were donated by his best buddies and some picked up by John's sweet mother and Jada Oh the Miss Cleverly Clever and Talented Jada made some of the shirts that had special meaning of certain places to Trevor in his life. I am not sure if that makes any sense to anyone else but I just want to say, Thank You So Much. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!!!!!!! And thank you to any of Trev's buddies that donated some of your memorable shirts for the project. It really and truly means so much to me and Garrett loves to look at it and point out the ones he remembers Trevor wearing and learn the meaning behind the other ones. You guys mean the world to us. We love you so much!! Thank You. Thank You.

CrAzY COUSINS....

2011-01-19T22:43:00.000-08:00

The CrAzY cousins after church on Sunday....

Easton, Robby, Nate, Garrett, Carson, Bailey, Porter, Mason, Riley, Brody, Bowen, Tyler and Jack.SiLlY picture..... LoVe these guys.... so much fun getting to spend time with everyone. : )

RaNdOmNeSs...

2011-01-19T22:22:00.000-08:00

Random pictures......just because they are so darn cute.Uncle Matt Smith's parents were so sweet to send matching PJ's for the boys for Christmas. The boys thought it was pretty cool that they matched their cousins Nate and Jack. Cute little Beanie...These two asked me to take this picture. I can't for the life of me remember what they were pretending to do??? But such cute faces. : )Aunt Lou and I...

Playing at the Park...

2011-01-19T21:51:00.000-08:00

We spent as much time as we could at the parks so the kids could run wild and play and the adults could get as much uninterrupted social time as possible. It was so nice the first couple of days that we were there. I could sit outside all day and soak up the sun and fresh air. Too bad it got so chilly after that for the rest of the time. : ( We still enjoyed the good company and togetherness. The boys loved getting to choose which Aunts car they were going to ride in to each adventure....Brody loved riding in Aunt Moo's (Lou's) van and listening to Barenaked Ladies Snack Time CD and singing the Popcorn song.The boys love throwing the ball for Scout.....Especially the Red Head and the Toe Head.We loved just chillen on a blanket watching the kiddo's play.Brody LOVED the slide and went down it probably 100X...... he especially loved it with his little buddy Beanie. Brody ran around like a wild man who had never stepped foot outside before. He soaked up every second he could of being outside. I guess it's these long winters in WA.Cute GiRl... : )

Christmas Morning in Arizona...

2011-01-19T21:20:00.000-08:00

As I said before we flew into AZ on Christmas Eve and did Christmas morning in Spokane the day before but we saved the stockings for Santa to fill in AZ. The boys loved being at their cousins house on Christmas morning. We were there last year too, so it was nice for them to be able to be there again this year. They were happy with what they found in their stockings and we couldn't believe how the overwhelming generosity kept on coming even as we crossed over so many states. To see so many peoples way of showing kindness and love towards my family and me has truly been an amazing and humbling experience. Our hearts have been so touched. We couldn't possibly say ThAnK YoU enough. We were so surprised to have so many gifts this Christmas morning since we had just had our Christmas in Spokane and didn't bring any gifts to open. I was in awe of the wonderful friends that Matt and Emily have in AZ and the sweet, thoughtful gifts that were given to me this Christmas morning. It brought tears to my eyes and overwhelming emotion for the love shown to me. I loved each and every gift so much and this year it definitely has special meaning to me. Thank you so much for thinking of me. Thank you to Grandpa and Grandma Warne for your sweet donation towards our trip in AZ, I have been told that you sent money for food and more gifts. You are really too sweet, we are so blessed to have you in our lives. Emily and Amanda, thank you for thoughtfulness on the gifts you are so good at knowing us and choosing just the right things. We love you guys so much!!

Boys on a Plane...

2011-01-19T12:28:00.000-08:00

Some very nice, anonymous person donated tickets for the boys and I plus Carol to fly to AZ to be together as a family this very difficult time of year. We feel so blessed to have been able to be together with Trevor's wonderful family and reminisce about all the wonderful things we remember about our sweet Trevor. We all miss him so much and look forward to being able to be with him again. There really are not words to say how I feel towards that anonymous person who donated the tickets. It means the world to us. Thank you. Thank you.

The plane ride to AZ went really well. The boys loved it. Mason and Brody got a little nervous after take off. Mason was laughing as it took off and then after a few minutes he says, "Mom.... Mom.....I want to drive to Arizona.....I want to drive to Arizona.....Mom... I want to DRiVE to Arizona." It was pretty humorous. He was fine after it leveled out. With treats and the very exciting drink you get to pick out on the plane it was a smooth ride. On the way home not quite as smooth of a flight but we made it and over all was a good experience. Thank you Carol for flying with us. Would not have been as good without you!

Sleepy Boy...

2011-01-19T12:16:00.001-08:00

You have to be REALLY, REALLY tired to fall asleep on this rocking chair. It is so hard and uncomfortable. Poor little man played so hard he couldn't keep his little peepers open. I just love a picture of a sleeping baby, they are so sweet when they are asleep. : )I could just nibble on his little cheeks....

Christmas Morning Early...

2011-01-18T22:08:00.000-08:00

We left for Arizona on Christmas Eve morning so we had our Christmas morning with Grandpa and Grandma McCombs the morning before. The kids wrote Santa a letter letting him know they were not going to be here Christmas morning and asking if he could come early. They were thrilled when they found out Grandma Sue was going to help Santa this year and be an Elf and so she was able to hand deliver it to Santa himself when she was working at Santa's Fantasy Flight. The boys were so happy to see that Santa left them just what they asked for.... A razor scooter for Garrett, a bike with pirates on it for Porter, a Spiderman scooter for Mason and Brody got a car garage.

I love going through and looking at the pictures of the boys because I can see so much of Trevor in each one of them. They all have a different look but I love finding Trevor in each of their faces. I miss Trevor so much and it was definitely hard this year not having my partner in crime, we had so much fun getting Christmas together for the boys and if you know Trev he just knew how to bring joy to anything. It will never be the same but I am hopeful that we will be together once again. Till then we will do our best to find joy on our own and enjoy his wonderful memory.

We were very spoiled this year by so many wonderful people who were so generous and thoughtful. I can not even begin to express the love and gratitude I have for the many people who have made our transition without the love of our lives here with us as smooth as possible. I have been truly taken back by the generosity and Christ like love that has been shown to us. I hope that through out the years the boys and I will be able to repay all that has been given to us to those that we come into contact that will need the same love and support we needed to get through this life. Thank you to everyone for everything. We love you and are so grateful. The remote control cars were a big hit, one of the many thoughtful gifts............Thank you. Thank you.

SANTA...

2011-01-18T21:44:00.000-08:00

Our ward did a Christmas brunch with yummy food, Santa, and the primary singing us songs and a really nice video of the Nativity. The boys loved the food and were so excited to sit on Santa's lap.Brody didn't want to do it by himself, but this is leaps and bounds from last year. Trevor sat on Santa's lap with Brody on his and still Brody was NOT happy last year so I was thrilled. He is even smiling. : )The primary dressed up to sing us Christmas songs...Mason didn't want any part of it and these two look like little gangsters with their headbands on. Can you tell by the look on Garrett's face he wasn't feeling to well. He came running off the stage in the middle of the presentation and was crying. He was so pale and said he didn't feel good and needed to go to bed. Poor little man. After a bit he was fine so it was nothing serious.

School Project...

2010-12-14T20:55:00.000-08:00

Garrett had to decorate a ginger bread Man and make up a story to go with him. We were quite proud of his pirate ginger bread man. Garrett said he was glad that he was the only one that made a pirate one because his was the most different. I wish I had kept a copy of the story. If he brings it back home I will post what he came up with, with the help of his Papa Don. Garrett is doing so good at school. I had his and Porters conferences with their teachers and they both said the boys are doing so good and excelling in each subject and both are so kind and respectful and good listeners and work really well with others. Garrett has received multiple awards for his good behavior. Their teachers have been so great. Porter's teacher said Porter is really shy but he has come a long way and he will answer questions she asks him in class and he even had to give the scripture in primary and I was so proud of him for not having any reservations and getting right up and giving the scripture with my help. It is amazing the leaps and bounds he has come from just this last year. He would never even get up to do the fun things in sharing time to help with the lesson even with my help. I am so proud of both of my sweet little boys and am so happy they are doing well.

Lost Tooth...

2010-12-14T20:41:00.001-08:00

Garrett has been working on loosing his tooth for the last couple of weeks and was so excited to come home and show us he had finally lost it. My Dad tried to pull it out before he left for school but it started to bleed so he stopped but apparently he loosened it up just enough. He looks like he lost a couple because the hole is so big but it is just one. When Garrett grins really big it reminds me so much of Trev. I love it!! I can't believe how big he is getting.

Boys Room...

2010-12-14T20:12:00.001-08:00

This post is mainly for Amanda.... I changed the boys room up a bit. I wanted them to be reminded of all the fun things that they loved to do with their Dad while he was here so he is always fresh in their mind. Trevor LOVED his boys so much and is so proud of all of them and their sweet spirits. I know he is watching over them.I found this lamp shade with a map on it and I had to get it because Trev loved to show the boys all the places he and we had been and all the places we wanted to go.This is the collage dedicated to some of the boys favorite things they did with their Dad. They just adore him. Trevor is an amazing Dad.I love this picture of Joseph smith kneeling in the grove. It is a great reminder to keep the faith even with the many challenges we will go through in this life. Joseph Smith is such an amazing example of courage and strength. Then of course the cork board to hang all the wonderful art projects the boys bring home.

The only things I have left to do is refinish the bunk bed in a darker brown closer to the dresser and I would like to have the walls painted a shade darker brown.

THANKSGIVING...

2010-12-14T18:50:00.001-08:00

This Thanksgiving I am so thankful for the gospel in my life. I am thankful for the Atonement. I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to know and love my sweet husband, Trevor. I am so thankful for four sweet boys that remind me everyday of their wonderful Dad!! I have been overwhelmed by the love and support of my family, friends and unknown angels. I know my boys and I have been watched over and I have so much gratitude in my heart. I hope that I can always remember to teach the boys to be thankful and recognize the many blessings we enjoy. We have had a great loss, but we also have been given so much and we are so lucky to have the opportunity to be together with Trevor again one day and I look forward to that day. We were able to spend this Thanksgiving with my parents, Joel and Amber's family, Lisa and Chris's family and my grandpa and grandma Goodman. We had fun being able to visit with them, play games and eat good food. I have an amazing family, we are so blessed!!

I tried to get a good picture of all the boys on Thanksgiving, this is the best I got of all four of them, Brody wasn't being very cooperative. Then there is these crazy monkeys, they have so much energy. I wish I had even half the energy these little men have then I would be doing good.

Happy Birthday to My Mason Boy...

2010-11-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

My Mason Boy turned 4 on the 15TH of November and was so excited for his parties. His Aunt Meg threw a little party for him on Sunday and he loved all the attention and thought he was pretty special. He had a fun party until the end......it went out with a bang......throwing up. Poor little man but by morning he was ready to play some more. Thanks Meg for being so thoughtful and having a little party for Mase, you guys are the BEST!!His Aunt Lou and cousins sent a package with How to Train Your Dragon and some How to Train Your Dragon goodies and he was so funny opening it because he got so excited and couldn't believe all the stuff inside his package. So worth the money and time on gifts when you get such a good reaction!! They have only watched the movie about 5 times everyday since they got it. I think it is safe to say that one was a winner!! Thanks Aunt Lou, Uncle Matt, Nate, Bay, Jack and Ry. We love you guys!! :)A little photo shoot by the one and only Porter photographer...After we were ready for the day and before we had to send Porter off to school we ran to Target for Mase to spend his B-Day money from his Grandma Carol. He thought he was one cool dude with his OWN money to spend and ran right to the super hero toys and finally settled on Batman. He was so excited to pay for it on his own he kept trying to cut in front of the lady that was before us and pay the cashier. What a funny little man. He sure loves his super hero!! Thanks for the money Grandma Carol, it was a BIG HIT!!After Porter left for school Mase and I had a fun time going shopping for him for some new clothes and picking out his B-Day dinner and cake and B-Day cookies for his preschool class the following day. He sure thought he was special and loved telling everyone it was his Birthday and that he is four now. Mason loved his little party at Grandma Sue's and loved his pillow pet from Mom, dinosaurs from Grandma Sue, spiderman and shirt from Aunt Amber & buddy Drew, and How to Train Your Dragon costume, superhero cape, Viking towel, and goodies from Aunt Amanda and cousins. You guys sure know how to make a little man SMILE!! Thanks everyone for making Mason's day so special. We are sure lucky to have the BEST family EVER!!! Love Porter the Viking.... :)

HALLOWEEN

2010-10-31T20:31:00.001-07:00

Since Halloween this year was on Sunday the boys just enjoyed there school parties and we went with Matt and Meg and there family to enjoy their Trunk or Treat. The boys had a good time and didn't seem to mind that they didn't go trick or treating on Halloween night. They loved just getting to see all the kids come to the door all dressed up in their costumes. Garrett wanted to be a soldier and loved having Papa Don paint his face like he did when he would go to the field to do his war games. Porter was a pirate...His pirate face...And of course Mase was a pirate but this is the best I could get of him good thing we captured his pirate face on the previous post.Brody was a monkey after his monkey moo...

CRAFT PROJECTS...

2010-10-29T22:35:00.001-07:00

Garrett brought home this gourd from school and had to be creative and turn it into something that he had to take into school to be judged. He had the idea to turn it into a spider and I think he turned out pretty cute. Garrett is so proud of him!! Garrett is so cute about his simple love of life!!Porter brought home a spider hat he made at school and needed to get a picture, too!! Porter is LOVING school so much, it makes me so happy!!Don't mind his brown teeth, he is just eating candy, I promise I do brush his teeth!!

Halloween Party...

2010-10-29T22:26:00.001-07:00

Mason had his preschool Halloween Party and he loved getting into character as a pirate.... in case you couldn't tell that is his pirate face!! This kid is such a character, he cracks me up so much just like his Dad!!!

PUMPKINS....

2010-10-29T22:19:00.001-07:00

For FHE the boys decorated their pumpkins and had a good time piecing together their pumpkin heads. I think they turned out pretty cute!!!

GREENBLUFF

2010-10-29T21:33:00.001-07:00

Oh how I missed Greenbluff last year.......we were able to go this year with G & G Stephenson. We headed to Siemers farm and fed this little Mama goat and her baby....Played at Fort Siemers....Ate warm pumpkin doughnuts......YUM....Listened to the live band.....Found our way through the corn maze.....without cheating this year. :)Took a peek up at the top of this castle....there was a picture of a creepy person on the wall and Papa Jim held Brody up to see it and he started screaming bloody murder... so sad but so funny at the same time. Funny little boy!! There also was a man dressed up in a scary gorilla costume and was in a cage that he would get out of and scare people. Porter was NOT a fan. These boys crack me up sometimes!!Stuffed animal petting zoo...After the maze we needed another snack and what could be better then kettle corn?!!On to another farm...Petting the miniature horse...Playing on top of the hay maze...

It was a fun day, thanks for going with us Grandma and Grandpa!!

COWBOY DAYZ...

2010-10-29T21:20:00.001-07:00

Mason had Cowboy Days at preschool one week and he got to dress up like a cowboy for the two days of preschool. He loved it and thought it was so much fun. He is such a character. He has been loving school and I keep hearing that his teachers just love him and his buddy Drew. Those two are quite the pair, so funny!! I tried to get a good picture of him before he left for school and this is what I got.... he can not hold still for one second he is such a SPAZ. I love him ....he keeps me on my toes!!I finally had him sit down to see if I would have better luck with getting him to hold still....not much... his face in this picture cracks me up!! :)FINALLY....something decent! :)

Out On The Farm...

2010-10-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

We went out with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Carol to their good friends house and were able to see and pet their baby calves and also see and ride their miniature horses/horse. The boys loved it and had such a good time. It was so pretty and peaceful there. Mason was the biggest fan he wanted to keep going and going and going. Porter liked it as well but Garrett went for one short ride and that was enough for him. Brody was happy just looking at them. In the picture below he was getting the little horse to trot and Mason thought it was the funnest thing, he would just laugh and laugh as he bounced around. Now for the ride on the real deal! He couldn't get enough. They also got this horse trotting with Mase and we just about lost mason he was coming down the side of the horse but he held on for dear life and still thought it was so great!! He has such a contagious smile!! Such a funny little boy!!Brody liked them and would pet and even feed them but didn't want anything to do with getting on one.

Birthday Party #2...

2010-09-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

On Garrett's actual Birthday I had a meeting so Grandma Carol and Grandpa Jim picked up the boys and took Garrett lunch and cupcakes to have in Garrett's class at school. He loved it and thought it was the greatest!! Then when he got home from school Grandma Sue had this fish bowl all set up and we headed to the pet store and he got to pick out a couple of fish and a frog. The boys love to watch the fish and frog and named the fish Goldie, Ruby and the frog Hook. They are suppose to be pirate names because his fish bowl has a sunken ship and treasure so they are pirate fish!! Then we ran to dinner and came home to have brownies and ice cream with his McCombs family... Who brought more presents that he couldn't stop smiling over...This smile reminds me of his Dad's smile...so handsome!!Trying out his Nerf gun from his Uncle Joel and Aunt Amber and their kids....

I just can't believe how big my boys are getting!! Thank you to everyone who went out of their way to make this such a special day for Garrett. You guys are the BEST, you know who you are!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Garrett turns SEVEN...

2010-09-30T14:21:00.001-07:00

Garrett was so excited to go to his Uncle Matt and Aunt Megan's house and find a Pirate Birthday Party all set up for him by his Grandma and Grandpa Stephenson and Uncle and Aunt. They played games....Went hunting for the lost treasure... (reading clues to find the hidden treasure)Opening the hidden treasure chest....To find what?......All things PIRATE!!! So fun the boys loved it!!!

Opened presents and ate a very yummy homemade cake by his Aunt Megan....(SOOO GOOD!!!)Can you see Brody's black eye? He has been very accident prone, he must get it from his Dad. Although I have bruises up and down my legs from who knows where so maybe he gets it from the both of us, poor kid!!But he still has one of the BEST smiles EVER....The little pirate crew.... Thank you to everyone for making Garrett's Birthday a special one. He literally LOVED ALL of his presents and made comments on multiple occasions about being so LUCKY because of all the great presents he got. He is one easy kid to please, he reminds me of Trevor in that way, thinking everything is the GREATEST!! What a great quality for him to inherit from his sweet Dad!!

Mason's 1ST Day of PRE-SCHOOL..

2010-09-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

Mason started his first day of pre-school about a week after the boys went back to school and he was so excited until the day came around and his bestest buddy/cousin Drew who is in his class was sick on the first day of school and so Papa Don had to bribe him with some candy to stop him from crying and giving me such a hard time about him having to go to school. He LOVES school now and teacher Barbara and teacher Kimbo are so great!! We were sad because Mason was suppose to be in his Aunt Lou's class in AZ, but this is the next best thing for sure!! Mason is doing really good and LOVES going to play at his Aunt Amber and Uncle Joel's house with his best buddy Drew. Mason is usually Wolverine and Drew I think is Spider man. They are really very cute together and have been inseparable. Mason is there just about everyday, he usually goes in the afternoon when we take Porter to the bus stop conveniently placed right in front of Joel and Amber's house and then Brody goes down for a nap and we pick him up when we grab the boys at the bus stop on their way home from school. Love this face of Mase!! These are right before we left for school. I didn't get any at school because I didn't want it to be dramatic when I left. When I dropped him off his teacher was walking him down the stairs and I snuck out, it worked out perfectly!!Of course like always everyone wanted in on the action...

First Day of School at Sun Rise Elementary...

2010-09-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

The boys had two first days of school this year. They are excited to get to be going to the elementary school that their Dad went to. Garrett is loving his teacher Mrs. Yara Nemri who Trevor and I knew from high school. Yara has been so great to Garrett and we couldn't be happier that she is Garrett's teacher. Garrett was very excited to be able to ride the bus again like he did at his school in TX. The best part about it is that it is down the street right in front of his cousin Jenna's house so even for the first day of school he wanted to ride with Jenna.Little miss Jenna and Garrett. It was a little bright that morning...Garrett has been doing good in school and loves it but the first or second day of school he tells me that he likes it but something made him kind of sad. I asked him what it was and he says he asked a boy that looked just like his best friend at school in TX if he wanted to be friends and he said," no". Then he goes on to tell me that he will just ask him again tomorrow, maybe he was just ignoring me. So I of course was broken hearted for my sweet boy and the next day Garrett gets home from school and Say's he asked him again and he said,"Yes" And now today he will say that little boy is his best friend at school. Whew. That was a close one for that little boy, I might of had to go and have a few words with him! Just kidding! :)

Mr. Porter went from all day school to just 1/2 a day of school and doesn't leave until the afternoon, so his first day I drove him and walked him into his class. His teacher's name is Mrs. Beschta and Porter loves her and is doing so well. He has really come leaps and bounds out of his shell. I am so proud of him he is so smart and sweet and just so tender hearted!! I wanted a picture before we left for school and of course all the boys wanted in, they are so silly!!
We had to get a picture in front of the sun for Sun Rise Elementary...He was so brave going and sitting right down and not even scared for me to leave. He looks so much like his Dad, I LOVE IT!!! Porter is such a big guy, my Mom likes to call him her gentle GIANT. He came home the other day on the bus and says he had a good day but there was a boy trying to kill him. I said, WHAT? He repeats it and says there was a boy on the bus chocking him and he even had cuts in his neck from the boys fingernails digging into his skin. I stopped the bus and let the driver know and he said he would report it to dispatch it was the second time this kid had done that to someone on the bus. I couldn't believe it, but Porter was so nice and I asked him what he said to get the boy to stop and he said he didn't say anything, the other kids on the bus told the bus driver and the bus driver made him stop. I can just picture poor Porter just sitting there not knowing what to do because he is too nice to do anything back. So the next day Grandpa showed him what he could do to stop someone from chocking him that wouldn't hurt the person. Why can't kids just be nice? I hate it when someone messes with my kid!!!!!

TREVOR ANDREW STEPHENSON

2010-09-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

On August 12TH my sweet husband of 8 years past away. Trevor is the sweetest boy I have EVER known. He had such a love for life and always a twinkle in his eyes and a huge smile on his face. The first thing I fell in love with about him was that every little thing in life he thought was the GREATEST thing EVER. He always reminded me of a little boy on Christmas morning so EXCITED!! He loved his friends like they were his family and he loved his family and thought of them as his best Friends. He always wanted the best for everyone, he was constantly thinking of ways to make someones situation better and he always wanted to have a part in making it happen. He served so many people and brightened so many peoples lives. He is the best husband I could have ever imagined. He constantly served me in so many ways and always with a sweet kiss and loving smile on his face. We were partners in everything that we did when he was home to making meals, cleaning up meals, bathing the kids, walking them to school and being goof balls together. We loved to be together as a family and exploring and having fun. There were very few times in our marriage when we were separated other then from necessity of work. I was so drawn to Trevor and never liked to be away from him. He was the most loving father and the boys just adore him. I loved to watch them play together and watch him teach them, he had such patience when he taught them. Trevor is the love of my life and my best Friend and I will miss him dearly through the rest of my life here on earth and long to meet him again someday with open arms!!!

First day of School...

2010-08-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

Yes you read that right. It is time for back to school, they start so EARLY in AZ. The boys were so excited for the first day of school they woke up at 5:40 in the AM. Crazy little turds!! They were so cute walking to school together. We stopped at the church to meet up with the cousins and get the back to school pics...Mason wanted in on the picture and he had to wear his back pack to school too, he is going to do preschool with his Aunt Emily and he is SO EXCITED. He was a little disappointed to not be starting the same day as the other boys. He is also missing them (mostly Porter) terribly. He asks all day when the boys are coming home and if it is time to go get them. It is really kind of sad. Brody was taking a nap today and we put Mason down for one too. Mason didn't nap long and when he got up he asked if Porter was home and if it was time to get him and then when we said no and put a movie on he asked if we could go get them after the movie. NO! :( Then he asked if we could wake Brody up so he could play trains with him. TOO SAD!!They all wanted in on the action...This just happens when I want to get a picture...Crazies!!Garrett the BIG 1ST Grader...Porter the Big Kindergartner...The boys and their cousins...Garrett at his big kid desk...Porter was a little more nervous this day because there were so many parents hanging out (we think). I wanted a picture of him sitting at his table but he wouldn't let go of Trevor's leg. Trev went out and most all the other parents cleared out and he finally sat down and was good to go. The boys have been loving school and have been so excited every day when they get home to tell us all about it and show us what they were up to for the day!! So happy they are loving it!! Hope Mason learns to play better on his own and with Brody. Fun little boys!!

Oh the Torture...

2010-08-10T20:16:00.001-07:00

Oh the torture this poor little Monkey Moo must endure while he befriends this little munchkin. This is only a small fraction of the abuse this monkey has gone through and I am sure he will live through much, much more!! I love how this man LOVES his Monkey Moo. They are so cute together!!He is ticked that I took his pacifier out so I could get a cute picture without it...But he got over it quick enough! :)

The Middles...

2010-08-10T19:57:00.001-07:00

These little middles seem to get the short end of the stick a lot because they are the middle children and it seems no matter how hard you try they end up being left out of a lot of different things and for sure they get far newer clothes because they get the hand-me-downs from Garrett that are still in good condition and so how do you go out and spend money you don't really have on more clothes? Well, for school we did. These little cuties got to pick out a couple of new shirts for them to start school. The sad thing is when we washed Mason's it is now too small for him and has been given to Brody. We just can't seem to get it right. That is what happens when I try and shop somewhere other then my normal children's clothing stores. Anyhow they wanted to get some pictures together in their new clothes. Such cute little boys!! They make me smile!!

Preview to KG...

2010-08-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

Porter had a little preview to KG the week before school actually started he was so excited and did so well. We were not even aloud to go in with him, we just dropped him off at the gate to the play ground at the school and he lined up by his teacher and we watched him from afar until he walked into to the school. He took it like a champ, he was REALLY QUIET but he never got emotional. In our last ward in TX it took Porter a year to talk to the teacher and so I have been really worried about him and have been trying to practice with him at home to try and make sure he would at least answer his teacher if she asked him a question. Well on his way home from his little preview he says to Trevor, "I talked the most." Trevor says, "You talked the most?!" Porter, "Well, not the most most." He is so funny!! When we saw his teacher on the first day of school we asked her if Porter talked to her at all and she said not a peep. Too funny! I love to see him get so excited about school, he is so quiet and cute about it, but his face just lights up! I LOVE IT!!!

White Tanks Hike...

2010-08-10T18:30:00.001-07:00

The other weekend we decided to hike the White Tanks because we have hiked them a couple of times and you hike to a waterfall but there has never been any water. Well there happened to be a hard rain the night before so we decided to hike up and see the waterfall with actual water falling from it!! The boys were so excited to take their hiking sticks that Papa Don helped them make and while I was getting Porter ready he says to me, "Mom, we are famous. Do you want to know why?" I asked him, "Why?" And he goes on to tell me, "We are famous because we have walking sticks. Papa Don is really good at making walking sticks!" It was so cute and matter of fact!! This is a picture of Trev pretending to be drinking the fresh water. :/The boys loved trekking through the water...This is just a random pic of Brody when we were getting ready for the splash park. I just thought it was too cute to not post. I love this little stinker!!

Road Trip...

2010-08-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

Road trip back home from Utah we decided to stop in Vegas on our way home and wanted to show the boys the big toy store they have. After a great adventure in finding a parking spot and getting into the right building we found out it was no longer there. :( It is still an adventure seeing all there is to Vegas so we walked around the shopping center we were in took a picture at a statue and then drove down the strip, picked up lunch and headed on our way...Hoover Dam. It felt like we were in the dam line for EVER. It took a good hour or more for us to get over the dam and on our way!!! Since it took so long we decided we better get out and get a picture because we will never go that dam way again!