Cardinals Baseball Game with the boys

We took the boys to a Cardinals Baseball game the end of September and I forgot to post about it. We had a great time. Although we spent a lot of money by the time the night was over, the kiddos had a blast! We were on the 13th row between home and first base (closer to home plate though). Parker thought for sure he'd catch a fly ball :) (didn't) and Evan was infatuated with breaking the peanuts out of the shell and getting them all ready to eat for us in his cotton candy bucket. The night was awesome.... perfect weather, perfect seats, no baby to hold and fight the whole time, it was GREAT!!!! I hope the link will connect you to a few of the pics from the night. Click on each picture to get the full view or do a slide show :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/CondiffCrew/CardinalsBaseballGame#

At the carwash...

What a nice man I have to wash AND wax my van... with a lot of help from Evan and little help from Mason. (And yes, I'm sure this was his unconscious effort to get out of the dog house :) haha) It was BEAUTIFUL weather on Saturday that it was screaming water and fun. I don't know that washing the car was fun, but Evan loved it. Mason, OF COURSE, loved the bubbles and was just as happy to play in the bucket of suds. It was so clean when Chris was done, he said "Let's go sell it and get you a new one!" I laughed and said, "Are you ready to start the INSIDE?!" So, YEP! I'm still the owner of one certified M3 Vehicle.... (Mormon Mommy Minivan).

Tan and Park in the KAYAK

Tanner can be a lazy kid. He will do what you ask, but he's not going to go above and beyond just because. If it's something he likes, then he'll give it 100%. We went over to a local lake with some friends while they swam and trained for the triathlon. We took our kayak in case someone needed some "rescuing" (and yes I "rescued" someone) and also so the boys could try it out. It was 7 or 8 at night, so getting dark, but you can see that Tanner is actually working hard on this thing. He loved it! He would dig and thought it was great to see how fast he could go.
So of course... anything Tan does, Park is up for the challenge. Here's Parker glidin' by. He loved it as well and they both want to know when they get their own :) I'm glad Chris is helping to instill "fun" into them, but I know they're going to be sad when they get another ball of some sort at $20 instead of a kayak at way more than $20 :)

Bestest Friends!!! and more Best Friends!!!

So to basically to finish off my Utah trip, I couldn't not talk about seeing all my friends. I'll start with my best friend, Kelly (aka Kelly Nielsen, Kelly Crawford, KellBell, and KellBell from Hell :) ) Every time I'm in Utah I make sure that Kell and I hook up and treat her to lunch at "our spot", Robintino's. I don't know why we always go there...it's not that great, but it's just something we started about 15 years ago. We always get the same thing and nothing has changed. I'm part of her family and she is for sure welcomed to mine. We've been through happy times, sad times, exciting times and even death of a great friend times. We've laughed A LOT, cried a little, hugged as much as we can when we're together, danced too much together (between drill and the Bay... what were we thinking) and all-in-all we've stuck together. We both have 4 kids, she has 2 boys and 2 girls and I just love her to peices! Love you, Kell!


I was also VERY fortunate to hook back up with one of my bestfriends from Jr. High, Kathryn Wilbur Christiansen. We played soccer growing up and were locker partners and had a good time hanging out and going to dance clubs before we were of age (actually that was only time I went to any dance place was... illegally!) I remember listening to Poison and Guns'N Roses and when she colored her hair in her bathroom sink and ALL her brothers and sisters :) and the fun times we had together. We ended up going our seperate ways in high school, still staying friends until just after college. It was sooooo nice catching up with her and seeing and hearing about all the things we've missed. She's a single mom of 3 and Kat, you rock! I don't know how you do what you do, but you're awesome! Keep going, girl! She does Interior Design in SLC and Park City areas and so if you need a decorator, I know one ;)

Utah was a great time to visit friends and see a lot of long time friends at the Bountiful July 23th (celebrating July 24th) parade. It was fun to see Molly Cash Davenport, Steph Ridges, Katie Johnson Dana, Brad West, Sarah Moore, Joe Russell, Carrie Nash and old friends from my ward.


I must say, I had a blast in Utah!!! It was so much fun seeing my family. Thanks for their sacrafice in getting together while I was there. Thanks again, honey! I owe you big time, but next time... let's all go!!! :)

Man in Trees

Parker has found a new love trees this year. He has learned to climb them like a monkey when there are no branches or climb up a limb to get to where he wants. This is one of his favorite things to do and loves to take "snacks" and read in the tree. The best part about this particular tree is that you have to have the upperbody strength to pull yourself up and he's the only that can do it. Way to go, Park!

How you too can have a CHUNKY MONKEY like mine!

Many people have asked me what I do to have such a cute, yet fat baby?! Well here's my secret... SAND! We go to lake and while I take pictures of the kids on the jet skiis or whatever, he eats sand. It's filled with all the vitamins, minerals and E-coli you could ever imagine. Results will vary by individual. Not recommened for 12 months of age or older. Consult your friend you asked to watch him while you took pictures and give her a major guilt trip for finding your child like this! Still love ya, Mar!

Abide by the law of the land???

To give you a little insight into our family, we don't always follow by the rules. I will use myself as the example today. When I was 15 I stole my dad's car when he was out of town before I even had a learners permit (if I ever even got one :) ) Then when I was 19 I got my license suspended for too many speeding tickets in a short period of time (coming home from Ricks every weekend from Idaho to Utah can do that to a person). I won't even get started on Chris' issues!!! So why not pass this down to our children?! The law in Missouri is you must be 14 to drive a jet ski. OOPS!
As you can see, this is Tanner driving and having a blast! If we or our friends we went with weren't out, he was on and long gone. He hasn't wanted to ride with us lately because it was "boring", so being 11 and driving isn't boring anymore.
Which brings me to Parker. Almost everything Tanner does Parker can either do or it or figures out a way to get to do it. Point at hand: Tanner is driving the jet skiis, why can't I? My response was because you're 8, Chris' response was here's how it works, be careful and responsible and if you get caught, we don't know you. So now you can see Parker, who is 8, out driving the jet ski alone as well. Luckily no one was hurt and no one was arrested... this time. I will post more fun pics of Mason eating sand at the beach and Evan riding the tube later. We did have an AWESOME time once again at the lake and thanks to the Carlton's for supplying some good entertainment and fun once again!

To finish off the "SURPRISE" night

These are the babies born in 2007 (thanks to my editors for catching the date mix up). From left to right are: Blake 8 months old (Tami and Tony's), Jaden 16 months old (Mike and Julie's), Abby 14 months (Ponch and Rochelle's), and Mason 10 months (Becky and Chris'). To have 4 grandchildren in 8 months makes for a busy year.
This was NOT the best picture of all the grandkids, but it's the one that will stay and have to work. Here are grandma and grandpa with all the grandkids, except my 3 oldest (Tanner, Parker and Evan) who stayed home. The grandkids range in age from 15 1/2 to 8 months and there are 17+.
17+ leads me to the end of the night "Surprise". We had all given dad much heartfelt and time consuming gifts like photobooks, a personalized song or a DVD of his life or presents that the grandkids had made. Well my older brother Steve surprised everyone when he and his wife came down from Montana (they said they weren't coming because I wasn't coming, so I had to let them know early I was coming!). So the night ended on an exciting and happy note. See picture below:
So this very ugly baby is how my brother told my dad (hence the previous picture of emotions) that they are expecting their first kid (after time and trials). Steve took a current picture and added parts to his baby picture to get this very FUGLY baby! It was the cherry on top of an eventful night. Congrats Steve and Kate and may your baby be better looking than this!

Cousins and best buds FOREVER!

This is Blake and Mason at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Mas is 2 months older than Blake, but I wouldn't be surprised that when they get older, Blake will be bigger than him. Chris and I hope we're about 5'8" (he's the tallest in his family and I'm the shortest) and yet Tami is 5'9" and Tony is like 6'5" (Blake's parents) so it's just for now.

Mason kept getting into grandma's cupboards and here you can see his innocent, "What I'm not doing anything!" pose.

4 WHEELIN'... YIPPEE!

These are for sure not the most flattering pics of me, but we did have a good time. Tami's kids have two four wheelers (thanks, Papa Bruce!) that they share with the cousins when we get an opportunity to get together. I was privledge to get to take Aliya out for a ride, only she drove. By the end of going "jerk... stop... jerk... stop" from her hitting the gas and letting off, I had to bring us back home. She did a GREAT job for only being 3 and really did drive it whole time (see I was doing a "look no hands, mom". Then I took Mason for a quick spin around the block. I think he appreciated "the wind in his hair" vs. water in his face (when we go jet skiing). It was a fun family activity and Tam and Ton were AWESOME for letting (and trusting) A LOT of kids drive them on their own!

Happy 70th Dad!!! SURPRISE!!!

My dad had his 70th Birthday this past week and I was able to go to Utah and surprise him. I knew all my brothers and sister would be there and didn't want to miss out, but I've missed out on things before. So I told them I wouldn't be able to go because Chris had to work (which was true... he worked... just not in Chicago like I said...he'll be there tomorrow, a week later). Anyway, i didn't tell anyone i was coming, except my little brother Chuck (Christian) because he was my ride. He picked me up from the airport in his Land Rover and I dropped him off to get his other car. So he went out to mom and dad's first and I showed up at 10:30pm and rang the doorbell. Tami and Tony were already up from Pheonix, so mom answered the door, surprised and tam was shortly behind her. But it was truly the surprise on my dad's face when I walked in with Mason and he was shocked. It was fun and all worth it to see his face. I was able to see and surprise Ponch and Ro and Mike and Julie and their families on Saturday. It was so fun to just hang out. Saturday Mason was sick, so it wasn't what I was planning on, but we worked it out. He napped while everyone else was swimming. Then we had the cousins driving 4 wheelers. Sunday was church and a Luau. Monday was shopping and dad's big party surprise with dinner at the Mandarin (yum!) and "program". Tuesday was lunch with Kell at our traditional, Robintino's. It was fun surprising Kat Tuesday night and that was really great to see and spend time with both of them. Wednesday was lunch at Paradise Cafe' and the good old Bountiful Parade where it was really fun to see Steph, Molly, Kim, Carri, Joe, Brad and people I grew up around. Then I stayed up way to late (again) talking with my "big sis", Rochelle and left and came home Thursday morning. The flight GOING to Utah was great with Mason... he got his own seat and he did wonderful! Coming home SUCKED! The plane was full, he had to be on my lap, he wouldn't sleep, he peed through his diaper and just wasn't as pleasant. I'm grateful for a husband who let me go be with my family for a few days and take care of the 3 older boys at home. Thanks, honey.... YOU ROCK!!! :) PS Pictures to come soon.

Six Flags of FUN!

We were able to go to Six Flags here in St. Louis while Chris' mom was visiting and let me just tell you we had a BLAST! After being pregnant last summer and missing out on all the "summer fun", we hit it full throttle. Thanks to a great friend, Brooke, for watching Mason so we didn't have to worry about him while we were there. Tanner and Parker were both big enough to ride all the rides by themselves and Evan was able to do a lot of rides and rollercoasters. His favorite was of course Scooby-Doo and his favorite rollercoaster was Tony Hawk. Tanner's favorite was Batman, Mr. Freeze and the Excalibur. Parker loved "The Boss" and Tony Hawk. I don't know if it's because I've been on those before and loved them, but I'll tell you my new favorite is the Superman ride. It takes you up 110 feet and you sit looking over the park and you just hangout there for what seems to be forever. Then you just freefall down super fast and your stomach goes into your throat so you can't scream if you wanted too and it's AWESOME! We are excited to go back soon! We're sad we didn't get time to hit Hurricane Harbor (the water park), but maybe next time.

Nanny came for a visit!

Chris' mom, Carolyn came up from Houston, TX for a visit with her grandboys. We did something everyday she was here and the kids had a blast. We were able to go bowling, to the movies, Six Flags, swimming, and we ate out... A LOT! It was fun for Tanner to see that he only has about 1/2" and he'll be as tall as Nanny. I took her for her first pedicure and might have started her onto a little pamperin' she can enjoy at home. Thanks for the visit, Nanny!

An effort for a FAMILY PHOTO!

So we tried to get all 4 boys together and of course the 3 oldest couldn't help but look at Mason as I'm trying to get him to laugh, but this was the best one we were able to snag.

We thought it might be fun to attempt a new family picture and this was the best picture we could come up with. The lighting was not perfect, but we can at least say we tried. We thought we'd go PLAID so that when we look back on this photo, we'll laugh and say, "That was so ugly, I can't believe we wore that!"

Our 4th of July and FIREWORKS!!!

Needless to say we had a GREAT time this 4th of July! I will add more pictures later, but this is a "typical" Parker idea. We see lots of frogs, big and small, around our house and catch (and release) a lot. So he had caught a baby frog the day before and we were just getting ready to start our fesitivities. Parker yells, "WAIT!!!" and so we wait. He comes back with tape and his frog and a big smile. He decided it would be a great idea to send "froggy" into space :) Yep... you know the rest of the story. My 8 year old with a great big smile on his face, taped forggy to the rocket, lit it, and sent him to space. Don't worry, he did not explode, but I'm sure with the force of take off and the landing, that baby froggy didn't make it :( For all you froggy lovers, I'm sorry and you can report me to BPA (Bad Parents Association). It was the highlight of HIS night! PS click on the picture if you want to see "froggy".

SuMmER fUn aT mARk TwAiN LakE... KiNdA :)

Pictured L-R Tyler Hudson 6, Eric Hudson 8, Evan Condiff 5, Tanner Condiff 11, Kaitlyn Hudson 6, and Parker Condiff 8. (Not in picture Bradley Hudson 14 months, Mason Condiff 9 months)

Same order, just upside down :)

Parker eating an apple on the "scooper".

We don't feed Mason enough, so he's eating a stick and just hanging out.

So because we hadn't put the jet skiis in the water yet, the kids were playing on them. I drove the big kids (no babies) around the parking lot. They had a good time and thought they were cool and now you can read what really happened.

We had the opportunity to take our jet skis up to Mark Twain Lake with our friends the Hudson's on Friday. Lake temperature was good, weather was good, everthing seemed good. We got up there (about 1 1/2 hours North) and found out because of the flooding the lake was so high it had wiped out the beach area for the kids. So not sure what to do, we had a picnic and let them play on the playground. These were a few of pics I took not thinking we'd be able to jet ski (that's what happens when you only have 2 jet skiis and 10 people... 6 kids and no beach to play at). Because I didn't get to go jet skiing last year because I pregnant, the itch was too bad and I just HAD to get in that water!!! So I finally said, sorry guys, I gotta get in that lake! So we put them in and the kids played on the dock (until they got in trouble) and I had a BLAST!!! I forgot how much I love jet skiing with the kids and family and spending time in the sun. Thanks, babe, for letting me "catch up" on my addiction and for being a great babysitter while I enjoyed them for a bit by myself (and wiped it so bad, we were done for the day!!!) Wish we would have had pictures of that to post, but when you're trying to watch a baby and kids on a dock and your truck is way up the hill, pictures just aren't as important anymore.... but we had fun at the playground :)

Mason's 1st trip to the POOL

So I was a bad mom and forgot the whole camera thing, but at the end I remember this was Mason's first official summertime trip to the pool (besides Great Wolf Lodge in KS in February). So it's not the best picture, but wanted to get them on the blog. The reflection of the water isn't helping Mason, but if you compare and look at Chris' size and Mason's size, you can see he's a big boy :) With all his crawling around and climbing up things, he's maintaining weight (and could even be loosing weight!) Wait til our first trip to the lake with the Jet Skiis... that will be fun!!!! Stay tuned!!!