Whippersnappers & Shenanegins

Baby Jane!

2011-07-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

We love her!

36 weeks and counting!!

2011-05-16T10:07:00.001-07:00

I am 36 weeks a long! I really can't believe how short the pregnancy as seemed, except for this last few weeks and it feels like it is still forever away. My Doctor is planning on inducing me on the 5th of June, if all goes as planned. 3 weeks. I can last 3 weeks???

I am so excited to meet this little girl of ours!! I am so excited to have a little girl. Of course I love my boys, but every mother wants to have a little girl of their own, right? I am excited about pink, bows, dresses, and all the fluff that goes along with girls. It will be so different that the blue, sports, transformers, legos, swords, and guns I am use to with my boys. I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father is giving us a girl. I just can't wait to meet her!!! I keep referring to her as "her" because we don't have a name picked out for "her" yet. I want to name her Jane and Austin wants to name her Ava. I like Ava, but it is really popular and I don't want her to be "Ava B." in school. I told him he could pick any middle name he wanted, except for something really stupid, (if you know Austin, he'll do something like that just to be funny) I do think, because I have had to be pregnant for 9 months, that ultimately he will let me name her Jane...??? He keeps reminding me that he gets to bless her and will name her what he wants...

This is the her room. My sister-in-law let me use her daughter's crib set. I put everything together and I think it turned out so cute. Thanks Shari!

Easter Fun!

2011-05-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

Easter fun! Coloring Eggs, Easter Baskets, Easter Egg Hunts! What a great day!

Spring Break!

2011-04-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

During Spring Break we went to Southern Utah to go hiking. The weather was crappy, so hiking wasn't really in the cards. But we had fun with Aunt Marie anyway.

San Diego Trip!

2011-02-22T19:25:00.001-08:00

Austin had to go to San Diego for work, so one of the weekends he was there, we went down to visit him.

The highlight of the trip for the boys (including Austin) was going down to the river by our hotel and throwing rocks in the water.

While Austin was at work, I took the boys to Legoland. The boys Loved it!

Mini town USA was really cool. They made mini models of famous cities out of legos. So cool!

Jack and Luke got to dig for dinosuar fossils.

We rode in a lego boat- Jack of course had to drive.

Jack got to drive a lego car.

Lukey was so sad he wasn't big enough to ride the lego horses as it was one of Jack's favorite rides. Luke kept crying and saying "Lukey no too little" Poor Lukey!

We saw a lot of cool stuff made out of legos- a dragon,

a bionicle,

and a giant dinosaur playing the x-box.

Sea World!

On Austin's day off, he went with us to Sea World!

We got to see and touch sea stars.

We saw and got to touch sting ray. Jack loved it, but it kinda freaked Luke out to touch them

We saw Dolphins.

Sea turtles

Flamingos

Sharks (although can't see any in the tank behind)

Of Course our favorite thing to see at Sea World were the Killer Whales, but of course, we didn't get any pictures... yes I am dumb!

Such a fun Trip!

Byers' 2010 Year in Review

2011-01-07T17:23:00.000-08:00

2010 has been a great year for our family. The Lord's blessings have poured upon us this year and we are very thankful for all our friends and family that have loved and supported us.

The beginning of the year, Austin's hard work paid off when he Graduated with his MBA. He has also enjoyed playing on many softball leagues and a basketball league that he organized. This past October he quit his job at Northrup Grumman began working at Hill Air Force Base and is enjoying his"cushy" job working for the government. Austin has also enjoyed getting into an excersize routine as he ran his first 1/2 marathon in September. He also started doing P90x in which he got 2/3 the way through, but got an neck and wrist injury so had to take a break. After a couple week break, he was about to start back up but in the last few days sprained his ankle playing basketball. Poor guy!

Marlynn begun teaching her 8th year of Kindergarten. This fall she began working "afternoon" Kindergarten and has enjoyed the mornings off with the boys. In April she ran her first 1/2 marathon and also in June ran the Wasatch Back with several girls in the ward. She ran another 1/2 marathon in September which Austin ran with her. (of course he beat her time!) In June Marlynn was called to be a organist for the ward, which has been a challenge. Also this December Marlynn was called to be the Beehive advisor in Young Womens, which she is excited about.

This summer Austin and Marlynn had the opportunity to go on an Alaskan Cruise thanks to Aunt Marie who came and stayed with the kids. We also stayed 1 night in Seattle where we got to see the Red Sox play the Mariners and also see the Space needle. We had a great time!

This year Jack started Kindergarten and is loving it. He goes with Marlynn to school, but is not in her class. He has enjoyed making new friends and is learning to read. This fall we put him in soccer with his age group, but in the first game scored 10 goals, so we moved him into the older group where he seemed to fit right in. (yes, Austin is so proud) He loves star wars, video games, playing with his friends, and playing sports with Austin in the back yard.

Luke is a delight in our family! He is the sweetest little boy and we are having so much fun with him! 2 year olds are so much fun because they say and do the cutest things. He is obsessed with Elmo and Toy Story. He loves playing with his older brother and copies everything Jack does. He absolutely loves books! He has a million toys, but we always find him sitting in the middle of a pile of books. For only being 2 he talks really well and we laugh at all the funny things he says.

We are looking foward to 2011. 2011 looks like a another great year, as we are expecting our first little girl in June. We hope that the Lord continues to bless us this upcoming year!

Jack's 6th Birthday!

2011-01-07T17:20:00.001-08:00

For Jack's 6th Birthday, Grandpa Tom took Jack to Chuckie Cheese's. After we went back home and had a piece of his Star Wars cake and opened his presents. Jack loves Star Wars!

Happy Birthday Jack!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T17:17:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! Santa came to our house and our boys were so happy!

Thanks Santa for all the wonderful stuff!

Jack's Kindergarten Feast

2010-12-16T09:48:00.000-08:00

Jack's Kindergarten Class had a "Thanksgiving Feast" at his school in the cafeteria. Daddy couldn't make it (mommy was running around being a teacher) so we invited Grandma Gaylene to come and eat with Jack. Thanks Grandma for coming!

We are so thankful for Jack!

Snow!

2010-11-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

We love Snow! Our First Winter Storm!

This was Luke's first real experience with the snow. I got him all dressed up to go play outside with Jack and Daddy. I think little ones are so cute in their snow clothes.

We made his first snowman!

He is kissing and hugging the snowman in these pictures. So Funny!

Soon after these pictures Jack does what Jack does and destroyed the snowman! What a stinker!

Luke's 2nd Birthday!

2010-11-17T09:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to our sweet little monster!

Luke is such a sweet boy. I can't believe he is already 2. He has been such a joy and I am so glad he is in our family. Everything he does is so cute, even when he is naughty, I try hard not to laugh at him.

For his birthday, Grandpa Tom and Grandma Gaylene took him and our family to Chuckie Cheese's for dinner and to play. He had so much fun, he didn't even want to stop to eat.

After, we went back to our house and had cake and ice cream. If any one knows anything about our little Lukers or has heard me talk about him, you will know that he is obsessed with Sesame Street and Elmo. So, of course his cake had to be Sesame Street.

What a sweet boy! We love him very much!

Funny Boys!

2010-10-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

Apparently it is so funny to wear your pants on your head. My boys are hillarious!

Family Fun!

2010-10-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun riding the frontrunner down to Salt Lake to the Planetarium. We also went to a movie before heading back home. Lots of fun!

Sweet Girlies!

2010-09-30T19:04:00.003-07:00

This past weekend was the Baptism of my nieces, Ashlyn and Brecklyn. These two girls are so sweet! It was wonderful blessing to be part of this spiritual day. I am so glad that these two girls made such a good choice!

My Boys' Future...If they don't shape up!

2010-09-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

Jack's First Day of Kindergarten!

2010-08-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

I take Jack to my school, but he is not in my class. I put him in my friends class because I just think he would be too naughty for me and would fight the other kids for my attention.

I am very excited for him. So far he has loved it. And he told me that he loves his teacher. He was very well behaved for her, but was very sad that he didn't get to ride the bus home. Sad.

Hollie's Baby Shower

2010-08-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

Hollie came to visit this summer and while she was here, my family and I threw her a baby shower. Thanks for all those friends and family that attended. She got some good loot!

Alaska!

2010-07-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

In Alaska we went on several hikes. It was so beautiful!

On one of the hikes, as I was walking past a stream, I saw some shiny stuff. I put my hand down and grabbed it, and it was gold! I panned for gold. Really cool. I could have payed liked a hundred bucks to do it as an excursion, but I did it for free! Awesome!

Alaska Cruise: First Stop Seattle

2010-07-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

We had the great chance to go on an Alaskan Cruise this summer. The cruise set sail in Seattle, so we decided to go there a day early and see the RedSox play the Mariners (they just "happened" to be in seattle that day) Austin catching a ball in the out field- Okay not really, it was just a backdrop!

This picture is really awful and very embarrassing!

We also of course went to see the Space Needle.

Without knowing, we unintentionnally entered the back door of the Science Fiction museum. We got to see some cool stuff before we realized we were there "illegally." Don't worry folks, once we realized where we were and that we didn't pay, we left.

We also went to the farmers market and saw the famous fish throwing store. It was really cool.

Fun Fun Fun!

Happy Day! Our Trampoline is fixed!

2010-06-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

When we moved to our new house, Jack was very upset and didn't want to move. We kept telling him, " But Jack, you will have a trampoline at our new house." Basically, the trampoline was the only reason Jack was willing to move. But after the first summer here, {while Austin was jumping on it} one of the springs broke off and went flying up in the air and landed on the roof. Needless to say, it became a safety hazard, so Austin took it down and for over a year we had a hole in the middle of our yard. Now Jack had no incentive to live here anymore and several times asked to go back to "our old house." But Happy Day Austin bought him a new trampoline. YEA! Now he is willing to live here with us.

Our little Entreprenuer

2010-06-18T22:57:00.000-07:00

Jack and his cousin Liv decided they wanted to have a "garage sale" and sale some little "treasures" that had left over from my pre-school incentive treasure box. They sold them for 1 cent each. They didn't make that much money...but they had fun.

The Dukes of Hazard

2010-06-17T22:51:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows the show the Dukes of Hazard, and the famous cousins Bo and Luke Duke. Well...

Unintentionally, my Bro and Sis-in-law named their little boy, Bo. He is only 4 months older than our little Luke. Just like the T.V. show, this Bo and Luke are going to be trouble makers.

Family Pics 2010

2010-06-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

My nieghbor, Carrie, {Carrie Elton Photography} is a wonderful photographer! She took pictures of our family and we love every pciture she took. She was able to get good pictures of each of us, which is a huge feat, considering Luke is Mr. I hate standing here for longer that 2 seconds, Jack is Mr. I hate my picture getting taken and Austin is Mr. Non-photogenic. These are just a few of my favorites.

"Pirate Park"

2010-06-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

There is a new park by my house that Jack calls the "pirate park" because the big toy is in the shape of a pirate ship. you can tell my camera is a piece of @#$@! After our first visit, Jack wanted to go back and wear his "pirate" gear. We had to dress up Luke too!

Jack and Luke's Preschool Graduation

2010-05-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

While I go to work, Jack and Luke go to Northridge High's Day Care. {Little Noble Knights Day Care} We have been so blessed to be able to take our children there. They have a wonderful program and Jack and Luke love going.
As a working mother it is wonderful to be able to have a place to drop off your little ones and know that they are happy and healthy and in good caring hands. The teachers are wonderful and do their very best to meet the needs of each child. The waiting list is very long and I was fortunate to be able to get both my children enrolled. Jack has been attending since he was 9 months old and Luke since he was 8 weeks old. This was Jack's last year because next year he will be going to Kindergarten, which he is very upset about. He has several friends that he will miss.

'You gotta be crazy to run that far"

2010-05-05T23:16:00.000-07:00

I ran my first 1/2 marathon -Salt Lake City. I loved it. I never thought I would be able to run a marathon. Actually I never thought I could run more the 6 miles without getting completely bored of running. But running the SLC half was so fun! It was exciting to run with so many people at once. Feeling the excitement and competiveness of everyone lite a fire in me. Running long distances is definately a "mental" thing. I've learned that I have to get mentally ready as well as physically.

I of course had my ipod, which Austin just had downloaded new music for me. He just put random music on it, some of his choices made me laugh.

I was suprised to get to mile 3, it didn't feel like I had ran that far yet, and felt the same way at mile 5. At while later I hadn't seen any signs for a while telling me how far I had gone, so I guessed I was about on mile 8. I was pleasantly surprised to see the mile 9 marker soon after. About mile 11, I started feeling tired. I knew I could finish it, but started feeling my joints hurting. The last 2 miles were tough. Mile 11 had us run up state street, which is a "gentle" incline. I turned the corner onto South Temple and saw the gateway, it was a beautiful sight!
When I ran into the gateway, which was where the race ended, I sprinted the last 200 yards. I couldn't believe I had the much left in me to sprint at the end. I did get a little emotional and teary. I felt like I had accomplished so much. I finished in 2:05. I am so proud of myself. Yea me!

I was number 5000 (what are the odds of getting a number like that) When I went to get my bag of stuff, I had to tell the guy my number and he said with a wierd look, "are you sure." I guess it was odd for him too.

We had a Egg-celent Easter! (okay I am pretty corny)

2010-04-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

Easter is so much more fun for the kids! Jack was so excited about the Easter Bunny coming that he wanted to go to bed early because he didn't want him to skip our house because he wasn't in bed. He was begging me to go to bed. Of course as soon as he woke up, he came and woke us up. We had to coaks Luke (and Austin) into waking up. The Easter Bunny brought Luke a ball- of course, he won't play with anything else.

The Easter Bunny brought Jack a transformer, some army guys, and a chocolate bunny(which by the way was the only think Jack wanted the Easter Bunny to give him.)

Of course the Easter Bunny scattered eggs around the house to find. Jack filled up his basket fast, but Luke was more excited about throwing the eggs around and opening them then finding them.

We had another Easter Egg Hunt and Grandpa and Grandma Byers' house with our cousins Liv, Bo, and Aubrey. Jack of course wasted no time filling up his basket. Luke just wanted the candy.

Too much Candy! Thanks alot Easter Bunny!

Coloring Eggs!

2010-04-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

We dyed Easter Eggs with our cousins Ashlyn, Brecklyn, and Liddy. Jack was so proud of his eggs!

I have got the cutest kids!

2010-04-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

My kids are cuter that yours!

What a cheeseball!

Just some cute pictures!

2010-03-28T22:03:00.000-07:00

We went to Carl's Jr. and let the boys play in the play place. Luke is getting really good a climbing and going down the slides. He is getting so big!

All right I am a loser! I need to update this more often!

2010-03-12T22:14:00.000-08:00

Jack and Luke and their favorite toys

2010-02-15T21:05:00.001-08:00

Luke loves anything that is (in the shape of) a ball- and I mean anything- balloons, apples, limes. He was throwing an apple around the other day. He loves to play fetch with himself. He will throw it, then run after it.

Luke has recently developed a love of vacuuming, which of course, I am supporting 110%.

Jack is obessed with the X Box! (Oh- just like his Daddy, how sweet!) His favorite games are his Indiana Jones lego game and also his GI JOE game. If I let him, he would play all day. Sometimes, (when I am a bad mom) I'll let him play longer than he should!

Luke

2010-02-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

What a silly boy! He is getting so big!

BYU against Utah! Go BYU

2010-01-30T21:20:00.000-08:00

Austin bought us all tickets to go to the BYU vs Utah game! It was so fun! The boys had fun too!
BYU kicked Utah's butt! Go BYU!

Jack's B-day! He's 5!

2010-01-07T15:24:00.000-08:00

Jack GI-JOE birthday! I made him a "camo"cake. (I really like to decorate cakes)

Jack as "Snake Eyes."

Christmas!

2009-12-29T14:51:00.000-08:00

Christmas was great ! This year was fun because Jack was so excited about Santa Claus! It was fun to see him so excited about what Santa brought him. Luke didn't care. He was oblivious to the whole thing. He would rather play with the wrapping paper.

One the of the highlights for me at Christmas was that Hollie came to visit for 1 week and a 1/2. Which definetly wasn't long enough. But we had fun.

One of the days after Christmas, we went bowling! I bowled a 150! I did really good!

(yes ladies, he's single-and he can bowl a 200)

He's fortunately not single-ha ha

(just kidding Adam-Don't cry-at least Hollie likes you)

The day before Christmas we went and visited my Dad's grave.

We hope you had a merry Christmas. (Sorry Austin, there isn't any picture of you. I just didn't see you that much! I was hanging out with Hollie)

Austin's Graduation

2009-12-11T21:45:00.000-08:00

Out Little Grad! We are so proud of him. It has been a long 30 years, but he's finally done with school...maybe...

Reminiscing-It has been a great year for Luke!

2009-11-19T18:23:00.000-08:00

I was just reminscing through some pictures of Luke over the past year. He is such a sweet little guy. I am so sad that he is getting so big. I just want him to stay little and sweet forever! He is such a blessing to our family.

He needs a hair cut!

Luke's 1st Birthday!

2009-11-17T17:51:00.000-08:00

We can't believe he is 1! This year has gone by so fast! He is so sweet! I made him a cake that looked like a candy corn, mostly because that was what he was for Halloween and I thought since his birthday is close to Thanksgiving, it was festive. Anyway, he had a great day!

Halloween

2009-11-06T17:05:00.001-08:00

We had a great Halloween! This

is a picture of Jack's first pumpkin that he actually carved all by himself! He said it is suppose to be a skeleton.

For Halloween, Little Lukers was a candy Corn, Jack was a "black" ninja, and Austin was a burglar. I put a paper sack over my head. To all those who know of an infamous video Hollie and I made when we were younger, I was suppose to be the Notorious "Johnny Boeby."
Austin was embarrassed to stand in a picture with me, he thought my costume was dumb. He was right.

My cousins carve the neatest pumpkins every year. They have a big party where all my extended family and friends are invited to come down and help carve pumpkins. This was the first year I have gone in a long time. Icarved 2 pumpkins that were, by my standards, pretty cool, but, as you can see from the pictures, some are really intense. They are really cool to see every year. It was fun to be a part of it.

Jack's Pre-school

2009-10-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that I started a little pre-school in my home. The Little Peanut Preschool. I thought it would be something fun for me to do with Jack. I have about 10 students including Jack and let me tell you, Jack is the worst behaved one! But we are having fun. Here some pictures of him at our Pre-school.

Kissy Face!

2009-10-23T22:38:00.000-07:00

Wanna Kiss!

Who couldn't resist a sloppy kiss from this litte face?

Lukers is a Wild Man!

2009-10-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

Lukers is getting so big! He finally started crawling about a month ago and now he is everywhere! He's also my human vacuum, everything goes in his mouth that he finds on the floor!

Our New Snow-Blower

2009-10-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

This is our new snow-blower. It does have a plow that is going to push the snow off the drive way this winter. But in the meantime, Austin is having a lot fun with it.

2009-10-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

I had the great opportunity to run in the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay. I was on a team of 12 people who took turns running a 171 miles. The race started about 30 miles outside Mesquite and ended up at the Red Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The Team was split up into 2 vans. I was the 4th runner which put me in van #1. Other than my sister-in-law Tori, I didn't know any of my team mates. It was so fun getting to know them. The race took us about 27 hours to finish.

This is a picture of van #1. After spending about 27 hours with these poeple, they became my new best friends! It was a blast and each person made the experience wonderful!

Tori was runner # 1. She took off- she is fast. She was in front of all the runners- but then took a wrong turn and ended up back tracking 1/2 a mile. She wasn't very happy and she had to sprint to catch up.

Getting ready for my first run- 3 miles.

I am waiting at the exchange for Steve to bring my the slap bracelet so I can start my run!

Off I go. It doesn't look like it but I just ran 3 miles up a pretty steep hill. It was about 12:00 pm- it was hot!! AH! It kicked my butt!

All done! What a rush!

Getting ready for my next run. I had to run @ about 10:30 pm. I ran 3 more miles.

Me getting ready for my last run. It was about 6:30 in the morning. I was so tired, I didn't think I could go anymore. I had only slept maybe 2 hours over the last 24 hours and I had to run 5 more miles!!! When you push your body to do something you didn't think you could do, you feel so amazing!

Me and Tor at the finish line! Running the Ragnar relay was one of the most rewarding experiences! Thanks to Austin for letting me go and taking care of the kids! Thanks for your support, even though I know you weren't excited. Thanks to Tor for thinking of me when they needed one more runner! Thanks to Ross and Tami for putting the team together! I am glad all those people flaked out! What a blast! I even got a medal!

My Boys

2009-09-22T21:39:00.001-07:00

Okay, Okay, I have been stuck in the stone age and Hollie has been updating my blog for me, which is pretty pathetic. So I guess, inspired by all my friends' blogs, I better start blogging myself. These are pictures of my beautiful boys that were taken over the summer.

2009-06-19T10:01:00.001-07:00

BYERS FAMILY

2009-06-05T05:57:00.000-07:00

2009-04-09T05:50:00.000-07:00

MY FAMILY

2009-03-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

These pictures are not in order of the most recent events. This was last summer - Marlynn and Jack got to visit her favorite sister Hollie in Cleveland. We took a trip out to DC while she was there. She got to see the Kirtland Temple and other Church sites Ohio, it was fun to have her there. Just think, little Lukers was in her tummy...that's sweet.

2009-03-24T08:34:00.001-07:00

This a few months late but -

Luke Thomas Byers

Marlynn never posted any of this new little guy, He's so adorable!

2009-03-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

Luke Thomas Byers

2009-03-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

Ah - when Marlynn and Austin were dating. Look how happy they look.....not so much anymore - pa-ha!

2009-03-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Very Random Pictures...

Since Marlynn never updates her blog, I have decided that I (her sister Hollie) am personally in charge of posting some pictures of her little family, that she doesn't know how to. I do what I can....

2009-01-06T08:08:00.001-08:00

2009-01-03T12:51:00.002-08:00

My brother Mark used some weird effect on his camera and it made Hollie's face look like a war zone.

2009-01-03T12:51:00.001-08:00

This blog is for my sister Hollie. She wanted me to have a blog, so there you have it.