Yes, its been forever......

Ok so moths have gone by.  I have found a new sense of urgency to get my butt in gear with my blogging.  I was asked for a picture the other day for my son, and I quickly panicked, because I didn't have the picture that was needed ANYWHERE!  I am a bad mom!  Poor Mason has almost nothing documented of his life.  Oh, so if life I suppose.  So in the next few posts, I am going to try and get caught up.  It will be messing and probably out of order, but you will have to deal with it :)  It will get better soon:)  So with that said, here we go:)


Award Ceremony for Makenzie!  We were so proud of her!  She got the Academic Achievement Award.  What a smarty pants:)

 Yep, out at Dad's grave, and I am a totally dork.

Oh cute little Mason in Primary.  He so loves it:)

 Swimming Lessons!! What a difference a year makes!  My kids LOVE swimming lessons!!  It has been such a great experience!!

GRADUATION DAY!!!  My little girl is no longer a Kindergartener.  It breaks my heart that this was the last year I would have her home during the day.  (Btw, I didn't choose this outfit for this special day.  The asked the kids to wear their school tie dye shirts.  Just needed to clear that up.)

 All her buddies at the picnic afterwards.

This is my girl soulmate:)  Andrea.  Love her.  This is our hike up Tablerock.

More pics for you!

So I pretty much blow at writing anything on this blog:(  But, at least I can update some pictures:)

Drew and I ran in the Dirty Dash!  It was SO much freaking fun!  We got a awesome group of friends together and had the best time!!

Our little ones LOVE to ride their bikes!  Makenzie rides with no training wheels (and has for some time)  Mason loves his balance bike.

Drew and I got to play a direct part in the temple dedication here.  It was incredibly amazing!!! We feel very lucky to have gotten to see our prophet and help the youth that day.  We also got to go through the open house twice.  Our kids loved it.

Catch up time.....

Wow, its been forever, so here is a blast of some of the things we have been having an awesome time doing  over that past few months.  Hold on to your shorts:)

We have a KINDERGARTNER!!!!  I really can't believe it.  All will ask, did I cry the day I took her?  Glad to say, I held it together until she walked into her classroom.  She was so dang excited, it made it easier.  I dare say her brother has had an even harder time adjusting than I.

 There she goes........ (but yes, I walked her all the way.  Still do:))

I am SO lucky that some dear friends of mine (and her) are all in the same class together.  Thank heavens for small mercies.

We celebrated with a little U-Swirl after.  No better way I would say:)

My little man wants to do school everyday just like his sister.  I won't complain:)

We have been very lucky to have dear friends with a boat!  We have been able to get a few times with our kids, and even a bunch of couples for just a date night!  It was one of the funniest nights I have had in such a long time.  Wake-boarding is awesome:)

This is my sweet hair after the day:)

My kids are really becoming great buddies.  They love having sleepovers together now.  It really makes me such a happy mom to see this:)

We are POTTY-TRAINED!!!! We Bannings are officially done with diapers FOREVER!!! Thanks to Drew, and the bribe of this new Iron Man figure, we got it done in just a few days.  Awesome!!

We have a new patio extension out back that we are truly loving.  This summer has been awesome just hanging outdoors.

 We have a bike rider!!! No training wheels needed.  Its so fun!:)

Got to go ZIP LINING!!!!  I went with some awesome friends up in Horseshoe Bend.  It was SO much fun!! I can't wait to do it with Drew.:)

Nothing but God's Country......

We got to spend the most amazing day today out at Drew's Grandpa's ranch. We went with his parents. This ranch is a very large ranch, so I hadn't ever seen it all before. It was nothing short of breath-taking. It was so incredibly to be so far away from everyone and feel the calm around you. I don't think you know what you are missing until you go to a place like this. Here are some pictures from our adventures today:)

Of course my kids got to learn all about death on the ranch today:) Truthfully though, they loved it. I thought it was pretty cool too:) Good ol' Nana didn't quite until we found a skull:)

And of COURSE, one must always have a walking stick:)

Below are some shots that, to me, are so incredibly beautiful. I think the story that Drew's mom told me behind everything I shot here today made everything that much more amazing. This was a pump watering hole that Drew's Gpa made almost 80 years ago. A natural spring is deep beneath it. It isn't very often you see things like this anymore. It's not is the best shape, but this has been virtually unmaintained that whole time.

This shot doesn't give it justice, but I couldn't believe how many nails they used in this old pump house! Again this pump house was built almost 80 years ago too.

This is the old farm house built on the property. It was owned by a man, who's twin brother owned another just like it a mile away or so. Drew's mom wouldn't let them burn the wood up even when it completely fell. I'm so glad she appreciates this history too. It was awesome to hear about the rooms in this house, the basement where they would find rattlesnakes ALL the time. Yikes!

Here are a few shots of where we got to go today. This is just a drop in the bucket of their something like 40,000 acres? It could be way more, I can't remember. All I remember is hill after many hills:) It was incredible.

There is a small wind farm on the ranch. I know some people hate the look of these things, but I think there is something elegant about them. Beautiful!

Our kids LOVED the binoculars!!

Fun times had by all!!!!! We stopped in town on our way home, played on a train and grabbed a bite to eat to feed our tummies:)